Governor Heineman's comments on Education- part 2

In an earlier blog I commented on Governor Heineman's interview with the World Herald (October 9, 2011) on education in Nebraska. Here is what he said about changes that might boost student performance.

Heineman- "We need a longer school day and a longer school year. Kids who aren't performing, help them out in the summer.---(In Fremont)We were going to have kids in the fourth grade who could do fifth grade math go to the fifth grade class. "And, Oh. we can't do that." They can play together in the under 12 soccer league, but they can't be in different classes just because of age? We have to get away from some of the old mind-sets. If kids can progress faster, so be it. If we can challenge more kids in the last half of their senior year, let them take dual credit courses at community colleges.."

My opinion- I agree that a longer school year would increase student achievement (right now most schools in Nebraska schedule 180 days). Other countries have students in school at least 200 days, many are at 220 days. But the cost of adding school days makes it unaffordable in the minds of many. Especially if schools cannot produce evidence of increased learning.

As far as placing students into classes by age, in the Bancroft-Rosalie Elementary we want students placed at the correct level of difficulty so that the student can be successful. If the work is not challenging the student, we want to accelerate that student into a higher level of work. This is called cross-grade grouping. The problem with placing students is that we want to avoid placement decisions based on "parental energy"- a term I heard used by an Elkhorn administrator to describe efforts by parents to get students placed into classes that the student did not meet the critieria for. We have to get past the excuses ("my child is not a good test taker", or "it might hurt their self-esteem")and make academic decisions based on student data. Some might argue that too much emphasis is placed on reading, writing and math, but if students don't master these skills when they are young, that limits their potential as adults. There are many people who are comfortable with the status quo of "the haves and the have-nots". Public schools should be a place where family social status does not effect student learning.

I also enjoyed the sports analogy. He has a point. I know of football coaches that will spends hours on weekends collecting data on their players (watching film) and making very detailed practice plans to improve player performance. How can we get the same enthusiasm for teaching math, or science, or english?

As for dual credit courses, B-R offers a possibility of up to 29 credits through Northeast Community College. Currently 21 B-R students are taking dual credit classes.

I am glad to see our Governor is a supporter of many of the things we are doing at B-R. I hope he will support providing the resources necessary for all Nebraska schools to improve student performance.

Sub-District volleyball bracket - All Games Tuesday Nov. 1

Directions to Adams and to the Adams Park

If you are going to the football game tonight here are some directions.

8th grade trip to Midland and Metro

Midland College received a great review from several 8th grade students after their campus visit Tuesday. The cafeteria, with the ice cream bar, was a big hit. The meal was free, courtesy of Midland University. Metro Community College in South Omaha was also visited. The trip was paid for by an Education Quest grant. The goal of Education Quest is to get every student to attend college after high school. Midland and Metro were chosen because the sophomores visit Northeast and Wayne State college, so this will give students an opportunity to see something different. Mrs. Ras sponsored the trip and Deb Bonsall made the trip as the bus driver.

Photos of new school display sign

Here are some photos of the school display sign installed last Thursday. Today it is running short videos and photos of students of the quarter. The resolution is very good. It is best viewed driving down the hill from the south. The north view is slightly obstructed by a tree.

Cuming County sales data

The following table shows the impact of a city sales tax for all four towns in Cuming County.

Football Play-off First Round game at Freeman 6:00 pm

Thursday the first round play-off game will be at Adams-Freeman at 6:00 pm.

Adams is south of Lincoln, about a 2 hour 45 minute to 3 hour drive.

School will dismiss at 2:00 pm.

The football team will leave right after eating at 12:45.

School Display Sign up and running

Love Signs just completed the installation of the new school display sign. Mrs. Nolting and Mrs. Ross are being trained on how to post presentations (messages) to the sign. Come check it out tonight at Parent-Teacher Conferences.

B-R 8th grade receives grant to make campus visits

EducationQuest has selected 15 schools to receive Eighth Grade College Access Mini-Grants. They are Bancroft-Rosalie Community Schools; Bluffs Middle School, Scottsbluff; Burwell Jr.-Sr. High School; Centennial Public School; Crawford Public School, Culler Middle School, Lincoln; Emerson-Hubbard Schools; Gering Junior High; Lefler Middle School, Lincoln; Madison Middle School; Oakland-Craig Public Schools; Stuart Public School; Valentine Middle School; West Point-Beemer Jr. Sr. High School; and Wisner-Pilger Jr. Sr. High School.

Through the grant funding (the grant was written by Mrs. Ras), 8th grade students at these schools will go on at least one campus visit and participate in activities related to college access, such as creating an Activities Resume, exploring careers that require higher education, and learning about financial aid and scholarships. The effort is part of EducationQuest’s 8th, 9th, and 10th Grade Initiative, funded by the federal College Access Challenge Grant, with the goal to increase the overall college-going rate in the state.

Bancroft-Rosalie students will be going Tuesday, Oct. 25, to Metro Community College in Omaha and Midland University in Fremont.

iChat may need to be shut off

The inappropriate student use of iChat has brought us to the point of having to make a decision about whether the distractions iChat causes during classes outweighs the educational benefits of iChat as a learning tool. iChat allows teachers and students to communicate throughout the school day. But some students are on iChat when they should be listening to the teachers or doing their schoolwork. I happen to believe that we allow students access to what the Mac computers have to offer and expect them to act responsibly. But recently I have begun to question whether or not our student body is capable of handling this responsibility in a mature way. I hope the B-R students can prove me wrong. But if we have to shut down iChat for all students in order to improve the school learning environment, then we will do what we have to.

There have been a few instances of inappropriate comments being sent between students during the school day. Any comments that are harassing, threatening or personal attacks will result in a loss of computer privileges for those students.

Football play-off shirts coming soon

The shirts will be shipped this week.

Lewis and Clark Volleyball Tournament Bracket

I am Cuming County Video

Check out the marketing video put together for Cuming County. Mike Wegner, Danny and Amber Bridges and Family, James Hulstein and John Ross are in it. Make sure to watch the out takes at the end.

http://vimeo.com/30684932

Student Trip Fund-raiser at Senior Center Sunday Oct. 23

Students will be holding an omelette feed fund-raiser this Sunday to raise money for their educational trip to Costa Rica.

B-R receives Cattleman's Ball grant

Linda Munderloh accepted a check for $2200 from the Cattleman's Ball last Monday night. Mrs. Munderloh wrote the grant,and funds will be used for supplies for CPR, CNA-Nurse Aide, and EMT classes.

Listen to B-R vs. Winnebago football game live Friday night

Governor Heineman’s thoughts on Education in the Omaha World Herald last Sunday

I really enjoyed reading the Governor’s comments last Sunday. He and I have a similar philosophy on education. Here are a few of my own thoughts on what the Governor said.

Nebraska State Accountability Tests
Governor, “We need multiple years and multiple scores before we’ll be able to figure this all out.”
Cerny- I agree. Schools are still trying to figure out exactly what is on the tests. For example, last spring when the junior high students were taking the practice science assessments, Mr. Slaughter and I were looking at the questions and making notes to see if we had taught what they were testing. It will take time for schools to make curriculum and instructional adjustments necessary to improve test scores. But once schools know what is expected, I am confident that the results will improve.

Governor, “If you give these kids four years of a good teacher, we can overcome this (low scores). So what are we doing to get good teachers in the classroom?”
Cerny- I somewhat agree. Obviously every student deserves a good teacher. But I hope readers are not interpreting his comments to mean there are a lot of “not good” teachers in the schools. I have two opinions on what “we” need to do. First, teaching is much more a science than an art; good teachers are made, not born. Therefore, teachers require professional development and it is the responsibility of the administrators to provide the structure and support teachers need to improve their teaching skills.
Second, even good employees can become complacent in their jobs. Motivating staff is the most difficult task administrators face.

Ranking schools based on test scores
Governor, “Academics have to be on the same level (as athletics).”
Cerny- I somewhat agree. We need to recognize schools that are doing a great job educating students. The problem is that the media gives all of the recognition to the good athletic teams, but in academics the attention is given to low performing schools. Schools should be ranked based on individual student growth, not on overall student performance. It is more difficult to get a below average student to achieve at an average level than it is to get an above average student to perform at an above average level.

Out of time today, I will try to finish my analysis tomorrow.

Walthill forfeits October 21 Varsity Football Game

Walthill has forfeited the varsity football game next Friday October 21. They only have 7 players left on their football team.

People have asked if it will hurt our power points. A forfeit win is no different than a regular win. We would receive 40 points for winning the game or winning by forfeit. We do have the choice of declining the forfeit and not counting the game. We would only have seven games and the point average would be based on those games only.

B-R school board summary

Bancroft-Rosalie School Board news

The Bancroft-Rosalie Board of Education met Monday, October 10, 2011 at 7:30 pm in Bancroft.

In new business, the board reviewed the school transportation program and the school insurance. The 1997 bus is scheduled for replacement this year. The board discussed purchasing a mini-bus or a ten passenger van. The meeting adjourned at 8:43 p.m.

Nebraska-Ohio State football game

This is one of the most interesting Nebraska football games I have attended. The two halves were completely different games. There is a story going around that some of the fans left the game early, but that was not the case in my section, or in any section around me. Those going to get a runza or a pop at half-time were mistakenly thought to be leaving. There was a chorus of boos from the student section when we were intercepted right before half, but that was it except when Suh came out at the end of the game and received a loud "SUH!"

Unfortunately, I had a few complainers behind me that spent the whole game demanding Taylor Martinez be benched and Carl Pelini fired. They weren't even satisfied when Nebraska came back to win the game. I don't think any reasonable person thought this was going to be an easy game. Both teams had very talented players and Ohio State had a good game plan. Nebraska coaches saw what Ohio State was doing and made the necessary adjustments at half-time to win the game.

There is a lot of talk today about how Coach Pelini responded to a sportswriter from the World Herald at the Press Conference after the game. The writer wrote an article last Thursday that I feel personally attacked Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez. Coach Pelini called the writer out on it at the press conference. Maybe it would have been better to have just refused to respond to any of his questions, but the point needs to be made that 20 year old college athletes are not fair game for character assaults by sportswriters. If they want to comment on their performance, that's okay. But to say that he doesn't belong here in Nebraska? Let's save that kind of talk for drug dealers and other criminals. Even they get a chance to face their accuser.

Fall Reading testing for grades 3-12 completed

The Fall MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing results are in. A score in the range of 235-240 indicates college readiness.

Here are the grades and the number of students scoring above the 50th percentile. The number scoring above 235 in in parentheses.

Grade 3 12 of 16 Excellent results!!!! (0 scored above 235, and we wouldn't expect 3rd grade to be college ready in reading)

Grade 4 10 of 23 (0)

Grade 5 10 of 18 (0)

Grade 6 15 of 22 Excellent results!!! (0)

Grade 7 11 of 20 (1 scored college ready)

Grade 8 7 of 17 (1)

Grade 9 9 of 17 (1)

Grade 10 11 of 19 (2)

Grade 11 9 of 14 (2)

School Board agenda October 10, 2011

Bancroft-Rosalie Community School
Regular Board of Education Meeting Agenda
Monday, October 10, 2011 --- 7:30 p.m. in Bancroft

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call

3. Read and approve the minutes of the September 12, 2011 regular board meeting,
Annual budget hearing, and hearing to set property tax amounts.

4. Treasurer’s Report
A. Approve the Bills
B. Financial Review

5. Review Agenda
6. Public Hearing

7. Administrator’s Reports:
A. Superintendent’s Report
B. Principal’s Report

8. Old Business:
A.

9. New Business:
A. Annual Review of School Insurance.

B. Annual review of transportation.

C.

10. Discussion Items
A.

11. Executive Session-

12. Future Planning- Next meeting- Monday, November 14, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.

13. Adjournment.

Jean Fridays for Staff

Starting this week, teachers and paras have the option of wearing jeans on friday's if their students meet the following conditions:

Pre-6 Each student group completes at least one lesson a day in Reading, math and language for the week..

7-12 No students failing on the weekly eligibility list.

Students can help their teachers by working hard and getting good grades. Let's see those jeans!

SEQUEL TO SETTLEMENT STORY UNFOLDS AT NEIHARDT SITE

In keeping with this year’s theme of “Biography: Written Lives,” on Sunday, October 9th at 2 p.m., amateur historian and author D.R. Haskin will read excerpts from his newest installment to the story of the Haskin family who helped settle Northeastern Nebraska. The first book, The Hills of Mars, followed the entrepreneur Samuel J. Haskin and the founding of the settlement of Mars in northern Antelope County near the Verdigris River. The sequel Beyond the Hills of Mars is a “tale of a tiny community’s struggle to survive, a mother’s heart-breaking loss and her will to keep going. “ Told through a daughter’s eyes, the book brings to life the hardships of the time and leaves a legacy of hope. Based on actual events, Beyond the Hills of Mars is a touching story of survival.

D.R. Haskin is the great, great grandson son of Samuel J. Haskin one of the pioneers in the settlement and development of Mars, Nebraska. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology, Psychology, and Animal Behavior, and has spent 10 years researching the history of Mars, Nebraska.

The Neihardt State Historic Site is located at 306 W. Elm Street, Bancroft, NE. The program begins at 2 p.m. with a reception and book signing. The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact us at 1-888-777-4667 or Neihardt@gpcom.net. Check our website for future events: www.neihardtcenter.org.

Secretary of Education proposes changes to No Child Left Behind

Last week Education Secretary Arne Duncan joined Morning Joe on MSNBC to talk about proposed changes to No Child Left Behind. Duncan commented that "we basically want to get out of the way of the states. While the law has good intent, there are fatal flaws today. Far too punitive. Many ways to fail, no reward for success."

What officials want to fix is the rigidity of the current law, which set standards so restrictive that entire schools are deemed to be failing if only a few students don't meet test standards. Under current rules, a school's success is based on a statewide test that assesses several categories. If just one subcategory — such as students with disabilities or those who are economically disadvantaged — doesn't make its federal Adequate Yearly Progress benchmark, then the entire school fails.

Since President Barack Obama announced last month that he would sign an executive order allowing states to request waivers from mandatory participation in NCLB, at least 27 have indicated that they will ask to opt out.

In response to a question on what changes they are proposing, Duncan replied,"We encourage states to raise standards not dummy them down from no child left behind. Make sure districts are turning around chronically under-performing school. In exchange we will get out of their way and give them more room to move. The trade-off is a higher bar and give them flexibility to hit the higher bar."

The Nebraska Department of Education does not believe Nebraska will qualify for the proposed waiver of NCLB requirements. Many states have adopted a set of Common Core Standards- Nebraska is not one of them.

The NCLB goal that all students will be proficient in Math and Reading is a worthy one, but it is not realistic to expect all students to be proficient if you have high standards. I would like to see the feds back off on the punishment for low achieving schools, and focus on improving student achievement in those schools on "the naughty list". I believe in holding schools accountable for the performance of their students and the importance of student proficiency in "reading, writing and arithmetic." These are the basic skills that students need before they can ever be considered "college and career ready", the latest term for describing 12th grade student proficiency.

NCLB is often criticized because it "leads to teaching to the test." Yet all good teachers have objectives for their students and assess student progress toward meeting those objectives- which is teaching to the test. As far as I am concerned, this criticism is a false and misleading argument, jargon for those who fear accountability.