NCSL Impressions – Rep. Moss
Assistant Minority Whip Carol Spackman Moss
Millcreek
Monday, July 20 – Pre-conference tour: Microsoft School of the Future
Microsoft and Philadelphia City School District partnered to build a 65 million dollar high tech school to serve as a replicable reform model of learning for the 21st Century. It is located in a working class, high crime neighborhood in West Philadelphia. Open, light, and attractive, it sits on eight acres in the middle of rundown row houses and boarded-up shops, a stark contrast for the 650 students, 75% who come from the surrounding neighborhoods, and 25% from other parts of Philadelphia. Opened in 2006 with only 9th graders, the school now has 750 students and will graduate its first class in June 2010.
Microsoft provides laptop computers for every student and teachers use Smart Boards in all the classrooms. The first year they used no textbooks, had no formal core classes, and no grades. Now, four years later, they are moving to grades, block schedules, pairings such as English/Social Studies, and more focus on core curriculum concepts pulled from collaborative (team) projects. The changes have come as a result of the reality that colleges require high school GPA’s and public school students still have to take standardized tests for state and federally mandated accountability measures.
Surveys show that the primary reason students want to attend the School for the Future is for safety, both from other students and for the opportunity to be in a clean, well-maintained building. There are many qualities to praise about the school and the students who escorted us on the tour and answered our questions. Still, the jury is out on whether the management skills and ideals of a private company can be successfully superimposed on students and improve their preparation for the 21st century workforce.
Tuesday, July 21 – General Session: Bill Gates – A Bold New Vision for Education
Bill Gates asserted that the federal stimulus money gives a unique opportunity for creating bold innovations that will create education excellence. He believes that any schools—charter, traditional public, or private, that improve learning and enhance student success, should be replicated. Following up on a previous address at NCSL in Seattle, he reiterated that many of our public schools, high schools in particular, are obsolete and are not going to prepare students for the workplace of the 21st Century. Once again, he emphasized that education is one of our greatest challenges because the stakes are so high. Both our economic future and our quality of life are dependent on our children being well educated.
Tuesday, July 21 – Funding Higher Education in Tight Fiscal Times: Is Performance Funding the Answer?
This session examined the positive and the negative aspects of performance funding which links state funding to institutional goals and has the potential (or not) to target state resources more productively and improve accountability. One particularly salient point was that if we DON’T get kids to finish college, but only attend, it is an economic drain to the state. This is one reason for to consider shifting away from paying only for enrollments. Instead, shift the paradigm: colleges and universities should serve the state’s needs, rather than the state meeting the universities’ needs.
On the negative side: Would performance funding lead institutions to limit enrollment only to higher achieving students which could cause fiscal instability. It could also result in grade inflation.
Two other points: An argument for maintaining tenure for higher education is that older faculty should train younger faculty, not be in competition with them. Also, capping enrollments creates big problems and is usually counter productive in the long term.
Tuesday, July 21 – Education Committee Federal Policy Discussion and Committee Business Meeting
Committee business included an update on federal education issues including a panel discussion on the effectiveness of charter schools. Committee members voted to support policies on early education and charter schools.
*See NCSL website at ncsl.org for complete policy statements. Short summaries are below:
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: NCSL supports early care and education and its benefits, especially in lessening the adverse effects of childhood poverty. Studies dramatically demonstrate that participation in quality early care and education programs can increase the number of young adults who are literate, employed, and enrolled in postsecondary education. Early childhood education, while relatively expensive, shows promise of a high return on investment. NCSL commends the federal government in allowing the states more program choice and fewer mandates in early education.
PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS: I have attached the entire document because of its relevancy to our state’s ongoing policy debates regarding the growth of and funding for charter schools. At the general business meeting, this policy was adopted by a majority vote of the states, but not without some vocal opposition from several states, including Utah. It can be downloaded here.
Tuesday, July 21 – ARRA: Federal Dollars for Education Reform
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act lays out four specific goals for education reform and requires states to make progress toward them. Four experts gave details and state legislators discussed the opportunities and challenges they present. See website for specific details.
Wednesday, July 22 – General Session: The Economy: What’s in Store?
Renowned economists shared their ideas on how to get out of the recession. They all agreed that the economy is slowly recovering and the recession should hit bottom in the next couple of months. After that, they agreed on very little—the stimulus, the need for a second one, and unemployment numbers. They did, however, agree that spending on infrastructure tends to get money into people’s pockets quickly.
Wednesday, July 22—Women’s Legislative Luncheon, Featuring the Women’s Opportunities Resource Center of Philadelphia
The Women’s Opportunities Resource Center (WORC) promotes social and economic self-sufficiency for women by providing training, small business start-up loans, incentive savings programs, and access to a network of resources. It has been a Philadelphia success story.
Wednesday, July 22 – Leading in Turbulent Times
The speaker, Jim Kelly, a former professional football player with the Buffalo Bills (I had never heard of him, but clearly, most of the audience had) was billed as a person who could teach legislators how to enhance their leadership skills, but he simply gave a motivational speech he had probably delivered hundreds of times about his son’s disability from a rare genetic disorder and told how he started a foundation to fund research for the condition. He gave a lot of play by play of football games and detailed his career path.
Thursday, July 23 – The Word From Washington and NCSL Business Meeting
Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke spoke about White House initiatives and their impact on the states. I have attached a summary of his remarks. Following his speech the business meeting was conducted and delegates voted on policy positions that will guide NCSL’s advocacy efforts before Congress and the administration. The following states had the most disagreements with the respective positions: Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Texas.
Friday, July 24 – General Session: The Politics of Change – Speaker, Peggy Noonan
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sibelius, was scheduled to speak on the movement to reform health care. Unfortunately, she had to cancel. (Maybe she heard about Utah legislators who want to opt out of ANY federal health reform legislation and thought it would be a tough crowd.)
Peggy Noonan’s commentary on the personalities of the presidents she has worked for and observed since Ronald Reagan proved to be fascinating. Of course, she was also promoting her latest book, Patriotic Grace: What It Is and Why We Need It.
Friday, July 24 – 21st Century Learning: Moving Beyond School Walls
As moderator of this session, I introduced the presenters and gave a brief description of the expanded learning programs that each had initiated or were instrumental in implementing in their respective states. The presenters were Paul Reville, Secretary of Education of Massachusetts; Representative Nancy F. Stiles, New Hampshire; and Karen Crompton’s counterpart in Rhode Island, Elizabeth Burke Bryant, Executive Director of Kids Count in Providence, R.I. Each did a presentation on innovative programs that are helping promote learning outside the school walls, including New Hampshire’s effort that grants high school credit for programs taught by community experts. If anyone would like more information about these programs, I have resource materials and contact information I would be happy to share. Their presentations were followed by Q and A. This was one of the sessions that NCSL videotaped and has posted on their website.
Friday, July 25 – America’s Changing Demographics—What it Means for Policymakers
Paul Taylor of the Pew Research Center gave population projections from 2005 – 2050. He calls them trends, not predictions, but this information will clearly influence voting patterns and future public policy decisions. Taylor referred to the Pew Research Center as a “fact tank,” not a “think tank.” I urge each of you to go to their website at www.pewresearch.org for the most fascinating information you can find anywhere, information that will have a profound influence on political races, strategies, and policy decisions. A few examples: (1) 76% of 2008 voters were white; in 1988 it was 88%. (2) Most illegal immigrants live in households with children. (3) The U.S. fertility rate from 1917-2006 is slightly rising, probably due to immigration (4) Japan, Italy, and Germany have the world’s lowest fertility rates (5) the increase in suburban schools is in the non-white population. (6) Fewer people are changing residences, probably because of the recession and two-income households.
Take a look at this website for more illuminating facts, including cool graphics, particularly maps with interactive features.
