UPDATED: K-12 Could Be Bright Spot in Austere Budget

Education Week blog link

By Alyson Klein on January 27, 2010 9:45 AM

K-12 education could be one of the few areas increased in the president's budget.

According to this story, President Barack Obama's budget will call for up to a $4 billion boost to the U.S. Department of Education's budget, or a 6.2 percent increase. Part of that includes the $1.35 billion in additional Race to the Top spending.

And at least $1 billion will be used to help push the administration's goals for renewal of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, whose current version is the No Child Left Behind law. Of course, in past budgets, various administrations have proposed all sorts of funding and Congress has simply moved it around to meet their needs.

But obviously, reauthorization has moved up the legislative agenda, possibly because it's one of the few areas where there is likely to be some bipartisan agreement and cooperation.

The Department won't be without a few reductions. Apparently, in the budget to be released Monday, 38 programs will be streamlined into 11 and six will be scrapped. Any guesses which ones will be targeted?

And, of course, the question remains: Will this increase in K-12 spending, even though it's just one of a very few boosts in an otherwise slim budget, be enough to gain support from education organizations and practitioners?

UPDATE: Stephen Sawchuk has the teacher implications over at Teacher Beat.

UPDATE 2: So, after a call with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, we have a somewhat better breakdown of that $4 billion. It includes $3 billion for a whole host of K-12 programs, including that $1.35 billion increase for Race to the Top. But $1 billion would be contingent on Congress passing a reauthorization of the ESEA. That's highly unusual, as Duncan acknowledged on the call.

It will be interesting to see what the chairman of the House and Senate appropriations committees (Rep. David R. Obey of Wisconsin and Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa) have to say about that move.

UPDATE 3:Duncan said specifically that the $10 million Promise Neighborhood program, which helps communities create programs that pair education with support services, such as health and college counseling, would be slated for an increase

Will Teacher Programs Be Scrapped in Federal Budget?

By Stephen Sawchuk on January 27, 2010 12:09 PM
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2010/01/will_teacher_programs_be_scrap.html

There are many teacher implications to this Washington Post exclusive on the federal budget. President Obama's 2010 budget request will apparently include some new funds for education, but will also collapse the number of federal K-12 ed programs from 38 to 11 and eliminate six programs altogether.

Translation: Overall education spending will go up. But it might not be going to the teacher programs, and the one you depend on may be going buh-bye.

Practically all of the federal education programs, to one extent or another, affect teachers, but there are quite a few that are specifically focused on educators. The ones I can think of just off the top of my head include the Title II state teacher quality grants, a flexible teacher-oriented funding stream that mainly supports professional development and class size reduction; the Teacher Incentive Fund, a program that seeds teacher and principal performance-based compensation; Troops to Teachers and Transition to Teaching, two programs that help career-changers enter the classrooms; Education Technology and Math and Science Partnerships, two programs that support professional development; the Teacher Quality Partnership grants, which supports teacher preparation and "residency" programs; and support for advanced certification, such as through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

If I were a betting man, I'd expect the administration to preserve and expand the TIF, which is one of its vehicles for promoting teacher effectiveness. I suspect the TQP program will also stay about the same, because as a senator, Obama supported language to rework the program that ultimately got put into effect in the 2008 Higher Education Act renewal. And I would anticipate something happening to Title II, given the tidbits Arne Duncan mentioned in our recent interview with the EdSec.

I'll be sure to comb through all this when we see the details and do an updated post once I know what's what. But keep in mind that, even if the budget zeroes out, consolidates or tweaks some of these programs, all of that has to go through Congress. And every federal program, no matter its size, has one or two ardent defenders on Capitol Hill.

New Online Program Gives Students a Flexible, Affordable Option for Anytime, Anywhere SAT Preparation

DALLAS -- Archipelago Learning, a leading subscription-based online education company, today announced the introduction of Study Island SAT, a web-based SAT review program that provides students and schools with a flexible, affordable and effective option for SAT preparation.

While traditional SAT review programs tend to be expensive and require students to modify their schedules around set evening or weekend classes, Study Island SAT allows students to build a study regimen that is completely flexible to their particular needs, and at a fraction of the cost. Study Island SAT's web-based platform makes the program accessible anytime, anywhere an Internet connection is available, and unlike typical online practice and test-prep programs, it teaches both the content and strategies to achieve the best possible results on the SAT exam.

"Many SAT review programs are simply too expensive for schools to provide for all students or for parents to purchase for their children, particularly in these tough economic times. Unfortunately, this results in an unfair advantage for those students from higher socioeconomic homes where parents can afford expensive programs. Moreover, many programs require students to attend classes on-site at school or at a private facility", said Tim McEwen, CEO for Archipelago Learning.
"Study Island SAT can be done on the student's schedule at a fraction of the price of traditional programs, without sacrificing the results. It's like having a one-on-one tutor that works at the student's pace, from wherever the student wants to access the program.
In addition, since many students take the SAT more than once, the program can be repeated as many times as needed during the one-year subscription term, making it even more cost-effective."

Archipelago Learning partnered with Tutor Associates, a New York City-based leader in one-on-one tutoring, to create Study Island SAT.
The program combines Tutor Associates' proprietary Learning Tools and curriculum, which have been developed based on years of successful face-to-face tutoring, with Study Island's online learning platform, which is used in over 21,500 schools in the United States and Canada, to deliver expert SAT knowledge with engaging graphical content. David Oblath, president and co-founder of Tutor Associates, commented, "We jumped at the chance to collaborate with Study Island to bring our SAT curriculum online. For those of us in education, Study Island represents the gold standard of accessible, effective instruction. We knew that with their technology, our SAT curriculum would transcend traditional SAT prep to become a dynamic learning tool, enabling any student to improve their performance on the test."

A core aspect of Study Island SAT is the use of animated, interactive instructional videos that train students on key test-taking strategies and help them avoid common pitfalls. This approach is designed to be as effective as having a live coach or taking a class. Study Island SAT includes in-depth, interactive lessons in math, critical reading and writing, and real-time progress reports to show students' strengths and areas that need more practice. The program also provides hundreds of printable flashcards so students can practice common SAT vocabulary, as well as full-length practice tests to reinforce students' skills and develop their confidence.

Study Island SAT is available for purchase by schools, districts and learning centers, as well as parents and students. More information along with pricing for individuals and quantity discounts for educational institutions is available at the Study Island website: www.studyisland.com/SAT.

Archipelago Releases Study Island Version 3.0 Newest Version of the Online Standards Mastery Program Offers Enhanced Assessment, Instruction, Communic

DALLAS, Jan. 7, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Archipelago Learning (Nasdaq:ARCL), a leading subscription-based online education company, today announced the release of Study Island Version 3.0. With new and expanded tools for assessment, instruction, parent communication, collaboration and planning, Study Island v3 provides a cost-effective, comprehensive solution to meet diverse needs of K-12 school districts at a very affordable price, averaging $3 to $10 per student.

Administrators, teachers, parents, and students alike will benefit from the variety of new features and capabilities included in Study Island v3. For example, the new Custom Assessment Builder enables teachers to easily build customized assessments in reading and math, giving them the ongoing data they need to make informed instructional decisions. Additionally, the new Writing Assignment module gives teachers and students a paperless way to develop writing skills across the curriculum.

Study Island v3 also simplifies communication between teachers and parents with a new parent notification system. Teachers can choose from a set of pre-defined notification emails, or schedule and send customized messages to parents about student performance, upcoming assignments, suggested topics of study at home, and other school events such as field trips.

In addition to increasing the communication flow with students and parents, Study Island v3 gives teachers a digital meeting place for real-time collaboration and networking, as well as new professional development tools.

"Faced with a variety of achievement and accountability mandates, school districts often juggle multiple technology systems -- each designed for a specific purpose and specific users. The cumulative cost can be substantial, not to mention the toll it takes on teachers who must cobble together information from all these systems to meet students' needs and keep parents informed," said Tim McEwen, CEO for Archipelago Learning. "Study Island is a single, integrated product that eliminates the need to purchase disparate systems for instruction, assessment, planning and communication, which can save school districts thousands of dollars annually and save valuable instructional time. With the introduction of Version 3, Study Island is designed to offer an even more comprehensive suite of instructional resources, with robust tools designed to improve the performance of all stakeholders in a child's education."

Additional new and improved Study Island v3 functionality includes:

• Text-to-Speech Functionality: When turned on, a student will be able to highlight text and click the speaker icon to have text read aloud.

• Professional Development Toolbox (PD Toolbox): A collection of standards-based lesson plans, lessons, instructional videos, and supplemental resources to provide educators with "just-in-time" classroom best practices.

• Interactive Toolkit: A set of tools available to the student, such as on-screen ruler, protractor, calculators (classic and scientific), scratch pad, and text highlighters.

• Enhanced Reporting: A new report that helps measure Response to Intervention. The report shows a specific student's progress in specific subjects and topics by graphing sessions and scores for both on grade level material and building block topics.


About Archipelago Learning

Archipelago Learning is a leading subscription-based online education company that provides standards-based instruction, practice, assessments and productivity tools that improve the performance of educators and students via proprietary web-based platforms. Study Island, the core product line, helps students in kindergarten through 12th grade master grade-level academic standards in a fun and engaging manner. Study Island products are utilized by approximately 9 million students in more than 20,000 schools in 50 states. For more information, please visit www.archipelagolearning.com. Archipelago Learning is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.