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Matthew Lynch published in Matthew Lynch, Policy & Reform

Special Education Graduation Rates Lag Behind

More than four out of five high school students graduated on time in 2014, the highest rate on record. Although some discredit the statistics validity, it’s fairly clear that obtaining a high school diploma is better than not. Though these rates are an achievement, lost in the discussion is the much lower rate of graduation for special education students.

Nationwide, only 63 percent of students with disabilities graduated in 2014, a rate of approximately 20 percent lower than the national average. In states including Mississippi, Nevada and Georgia, special needs students graduated at half the rate of their non-disabled peers. The rate for students with disabilities is lower than 60 percent in 20 states.

These depressed rates and the large gap between special needs students and non-disabled students is alarming. Particularly because it has been documented that students with disabilities who graduate are much more likely to spend their early adult years in school, preparing for work and ultimately working, when compared to those who do not graduate. Students with disabilities who obtain a high school diploma are three times less likely to get into trouble with the law than their peers who dropout.

The bright side is that research has identified what steps need to be taken in order to reach more special needs students and ensure graduation. Rates are higher in states in which disabled students are encouraged to obtain a diploma with the same requirements for students without disabilities. Interestingly, graduation rates for students with disabilities are significantly lower in states that offer alternative special education diplomas. These diplomas are emended so that students do not need to meet general education requirements.

Graduation rates for students with disabilities have improved slightly over the past few years. The increase has been attributed to increased endeavors to support students with disabilities and integrate them into general education classrooms. To continue the upswing in special education graduation rates, students with disabilities will need to be a top priority. High expectations and clear methods to reach these students will be paramount if the graduation rates are to continue to improve.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/todd-grindal/post_10880_b_8976972.html

 

Click here to read all our posts concerning the Achievement Gap.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

4 ways university professionals can boost student success

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish this guest post on stealth assessment as a way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Anica Oaks

Students sometimes need a little extra help, encouragement or advice to succeed at college. Not all students have the same levels of skills and motivation when they come to class and complete their assignments. University professionals, including professors, teaching assistants and staff, can do a number of things to help boost students’ success. The following are some of the best strategies for improving the performance of students who may need a little extra help.

Provide Clear Guidelines for Success

In order to succeed, students must have a clear idea of what’s expected of them. They should be aware exactly what counts towards their grade in each class. In some classes, exams and term papers are the main criteria. Other classes require a certain amount of class participation. Students should be told precisely what percentage of their grades depend on which factors.

Encourage Students to Communicate With Professors

Some students who need extra help may be reluctant to ask for it. When students are having a problem, they should be encouraged to communicate with their professors. If students don’t initiate this communication, it’s up to the professor or faculty adviser to do so. If someone is performing poorly in a particular class, he or she should make an appointment to speak to the professor during office hours.

Help Students Find the Right Schedule and Curriculum

Many students have busy schedules, often balancing work, school and family commitments. Not all students can realistically attend classes full-time. Students who take more classes than they can handle often burn out or don’t do as well as they should in any of their classes. In some cases, part time study is more appropriate. Another solution for students facing time restrictions is an online degree program. Helping students identify the most practical and convenient way to study can help them succeed.

Make Student Services Easy to Access

Many students can benefit from counseling, career guidance and other college services. They may need to talk to someone about personal or academic issues that they can’t discuss with their professor, parents or friends. Colleges usually offer a wide variety of services through professionals with a master’s in higher education program, but students are not always aware of how to access them. Some students may feel reluctant to seek help. That’s why it’s important to assure students that there’s no shame in seeking help and that their sessions will be completely confidential.

Success in college requires a healthy partnership between students, professors and others, including deans, faculty advisers and counselors. Students may need some special encouragement to access the resources that are available to them on campus. It’s important for university professionals to closely monitor students and identify what kind of help they may need.

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Anica is a professional content and copywriter who graduated from the University of San Francisco. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. She was raised in a big family, so she’s used to putting things to a vote. Also, cartwheels are her specialty. You can connect with Anica here. If you are interested in becoming an educator, Anica suggests that you check out a master’s degree in higher education from Abilene Christian University.

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Matthew Lynch published in Matthew Lynch, Policy & Reform

6 Saddening Facts about Childhood Obesity and Unhealthy Body Image

The rate of obesity among children is skyrocketing—and this is something to worry about. After all, as you might expect, obese children are at a higher risk for diseases such as diabetes, arthritis and heart disease.

But there are some other things that you might not know about childhood obesity and its implications.

1. For example, did you know that…by the age of four, one out of every five children is obese? Yes, a full twenty percent of children are obese by the time they are four years old.

2. Obese children also tend to have low self-esteem, poor grades, and are less likely to attend college (particularly girls).

3. Children from low-income families and those of Hispanic, African American and Native American heritage are at a higher risk of falling prey to obesity.

4. Poor diet and lack of exercise are the two main culprits. Simply put, sedentary behaviors are on the rise. The average American youth watches 1,500 hours of television per year and they go to school an average of 900 hours per year – the math right there should tell you something about where our kids are learning the most, and how it is being absorbed.

During the 1500 hours of television watching, experts tell us that children are mostly eating high calorie snacks. Additionally, American society is riddled with fast food, refined foods and processed foods that calorie laden. Is it any surprise that so many children in this country struggle with their weight?

5. Television and other activities at home are not the only factors to blame, though. Our K-12 schools are also playing a role in the rise in obesity and unhealthy lifestyles among kids. To start with, many schools lack physical education programs, with a mere 4 percent of elementary schools, 8 percent of middle schools, and 2 percent of high schools offering daily physical education.

6. Perhaps the oddest point when it comes to the rising rate of obesity is this: American culture teaches children that thin is better, and that you simply cannot be too thin. Rising rates of anorexia and bulimia among young women and men are the result of poor messages about body image that children frequently hear. These eating disorders generally begin between the ages of 11 and 13, particularly for girls. In fact, nearly half of all girls from grade 1 to grade 3 want to be thinner. The top wish for girls ages 11 to 17 is to lose weight.

Obviously, messages American children receive from the media and society in general need to change. Young girls learn that to be attractive and to be a success, you must be thin. Boys receive similar messages and learn that thin and muscular is the preferred body type. As a result, boys as young as 10 years old are bulking up at the gym and many young men are taking steroids to build muscle, at great detriment to their overall health.

So on one hand, children learn that they need to remain thin to be attractive and successful. But on the other hand, they do not have the resources to establish healthy eating habits on any level – and schools are really no help.

For schools to really get behind a healthy approach to body image, diet and exercise, an atmosphere that promotes acceptance of self and the importance of overall health should be established. Classroom and learning materials should portray different body types and images. Ensuring students know a thin body isn’t necessarily a healthy body and that healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes is also important. It is not enough to simply tell them though; students need to be equipped with healthy lifestyle tools to make the right choices when they are on their own.

What do you think we as Americans do to better address both the obesity and unhealthy body image issues that run rampant among K-12 students? Please leave a comment in the comment section below—I would appreciate hearing your thoughts.

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Matthew Lynch published in Policy & Reform, Testing

Education officials to re-examine standardized testing

Education officials will re-examine standardized testing in the U.S. due to growing complaints from the public. The general consensus is that students pre-kindergarten to 12th grade are taking too many exams.

Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of Great City Schools recently said, “Testing is an important part of education, and of life. But it’s time that we step back and see if the tail is wagging the dog.” The Council of Great city schools represents 67 urban school systems.

The Council of Chief State School Officers, which represents education commissioners in every state, has also joined in on the effort.

Teachers have always administered tests; but exams became a federal mandate in 2002 under the No Child Left Behind Act. It requires states to test students annually in math and reading, starting in grades 3 through 8 and ending with high school.

In the past two years, four states have delayed or repealed graduation testing requirements. Four other states, including Texas, where the idea of using these tests began, have reduced the number of exams required or decreased their consequences.

In addition to federally required tests, states have added on more assessments, many that mandate exams such as an exit test to graduate high school.

On average, students in large urban school districts take 113 standardized tests between pre-K and 12th grade.

The number of standardized tests that U.S. students take is too high. While I feel that the idea to use tests to hold schools accountable is a good one, the frequency and redundancy of standardized testing has gone too far. It is essential to measure student achievement, but I hope that further analysis of standardized testing will lead to ways to relieve some of the burden that these tests bring to our students.

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Equity, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

4 Reasons Why Classrooms Need Diversity Education

School climate and school culture directly impact student success. As a result, it is particularly important for the school culture (and the classroom culture) to reflect, acknowledge, and celebrate diversity. Taking these feel-good ideals and making them a reality can be tough for educators, especially with so many other initiatives on their ever-tighter schedules.

But I think that this is so important that as an educator, you must take the time to do it. How to celebrate diversity in the classroom is another article, but for now, I want you to begin your journey with knowing exactly why it’s important.

1. Because the idea of “diversity” is not even that straightforward. Not only must schools recognize diversity evident among broad racial and ethnic groups (e.g., Asian or Hispanic), but the diversity within these groups must be recognized as well. For example Chinese and Japanese students may share common cultural characteristics as a result of being Asian, but will also have distinctly Chinese and Japanese cultural characteristics that differ from each other. The same is true of Caucasian students who come from vastly different family backgrounds, even from the same neighborhoods. In the interest of treating students equally, giving them equal chances for success, and equal access to the curriculum, teachers and administrators must recognize the uniqueness and individuality of their students.

2. Teachers have a particular responsibility to recognize and structure their lessons to reflect student differences. This encourages students to recognize themselves and others as individuals. It also encourages the appreciation of a diverse school population, and brings a sense of connection between disparate cultural heritages within a single school’s culture. It is certainly in the best interest of students and teachers to focus on the richness of our diversity. Recognizing and acknowledging our differences is part of treating students fairly and equally.

3. So that you can facilitate the process of learning overall. One reason for seeking out and acknowledging cultural differences among students is the idea that learning involves transfer of information from prior knowledge and experiences. To assist in this transfer process, it is important to acknowledge the students’ background, and to validate and incorporate their previous knowledge into the process of acquiring new information. All students begin school with a framework of skills and information based on their home cultures. This may include a rudimentary understanding of the alphabet, numbers, computer functions, some basic knowledge of a second language, or the ability to spell and write their names. It also includes a set of habits, etiquette and social expectations derived from the home.

4. So that you can help students assimilate what they learn with what they already know. If a student cannot relate new information to his own experiences, or connect the new material to a familiar concept, he may perceive the new information as frustrating, difficult or dismiss it completely, believing it to be in conflict with his already tenuous understanding of the world. Teachers have the responsibility to seek out cultural building blocks students already possess, in order to help build a framework for understanding. Some educational pedagogy refers to this process as “scaffolding.” Recognition of a student’s cultural differences provides a positive basis for effective learning, and a “safe” classroom environment. Every group of students will respond differently to curriculum and teachers must constantly adjust to be sure their methods are diverse, both in theory and in practice.

What are some easy ways you’ve found to promote diversity in your classroom? Leave a comment below.

Also, if you’re interested in learning more about how you can celebrate diversity in class, here are some tips I have for you.

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Matthew Lynch published in Policy & Reform

California education funding sees a boost

Pre-recession spending levels are back in California. Well, at least California education funding has returned to pre-recession levels. Students are seeing the same funding to their schools that existed before the housing crash of 2008.

According to Sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com, “[s]oaring tax revenues have carried per-pupil education spending in California beyond where it stood before the Great Recession.”

But is California education funding really improving?

On the surface that seems to be awesome news as state legislatures had cut California education funding in the face of budget cutbacks and dwindling tax coffers.

But as information posted via Redding.com points out, the funding is still not enough. California education funding is still in the bottom 10 of states when it comes to adequately resourcing students and schools. Getting back to pre-recession levels is nothing to celebrate; it’s just a starting point for what needs to be funding reform for the education in the state.

It will also be interesting to watch how quickly funding could expire as economies continue to grow. The marker is that California’s tax revenue seems to be healthy again, but we’re basing that off of money accumulated nearly 10 years ago. If we adjusted the funding based on what is actually being earned, and taxed, today this news may not seem so rosy.

What’s honestly the most surprising is that it has taken this long for the levels to return to 2007 levels. We should have seen this news in 2011 or 2012. It’s still not enough though rising education funding is something worth praising.

Even with that bit of information, new money, or old money dependent upon how one views it, is good. More investment for education isn’t a bad thing. I just hope that California education funding continues to grow so its students see better appropriation in their state.

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Matthew Lynch published in Ask An Expert, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

Here Are 4 of My Thoughts on Whether Universal Pre-K is Necessary

In his State of the Union address, President Obama brought up the topic of universal Pre-Kindergarten learning and praised the programs already in place in states like Florida, South Carolina and New Jersey. He connected Pre-K initiatives to his Race to the Top program that has the lofty goal of making the U.S. the worldwide leader in college attendees and graduates.

His administration claims that the academic skill sets needed to reach that goal must have their foundation before Kindergarten and that the responsibility for that lies in public funding.

But is this true? Here are my thoughts from an educator’s view.

1. First, it’s no secret that the U.S. lags behind other developed nations, especially when it comes to science and math. To compete as a nation on a global scale, this generation of K-12 (or P-12) students simply need to know more than their parents did as children. This fact has led to some passionate discourse both for and against more stringent academic standards that start in early childhood and extend into the college years.

2. Universal Pre-K programs tend to benefit disadvantaged and at-risk students the most. Children from middle-to-high class socioeconomic backgrounds do not feel the positive effects of preschool as strongly as their low-income and minority peers. In families where at least one parent can be home with children in the early years, and able to do basic learning activities with them, the impact of Pre-K programs are virtually non-existent by the time the child is in mid-elementary school. Children that participate in play-oriented preschool programs but have attentive parents that expose them to minimal learning fare just as well, or better than, peers who attend regimented Pre-K programs.

3. Socialization and preparation are two other reasons for pre-Kindergarteners to attend school. Of course, academics are not the only benefit to Pre-K programs. Socialization and an idea of what to expect when the school years come along are also an integral part of the Pre-K process. Kindergarten used to be an adjustment year for children, but now kids who arrive in these classrooms are expected to know much more.

4. Be aware of how preschool can affect these same children when they reach kindergarten and beyond. As I have said before, being prepared for the next school year is also an important part of the Pre-K process. Kindergarten used to be an adjustment year for children, but now kids who arrive in these classrooms are expected to know much more. Common Core standards exist at the Kindergarten level, with the expectation that these students will know how to read simple sentences competently, do basic addition and subtraction problems and understand basic time concepts. States that already have tax-funded Pre-K programs test Kindergartners and report back to the preschool provider the results. In some cases, future funding rests on whether or not the Pre-K program adequately prepared enough students for the academic rigors of Kindergarten.

So then the question becomes one of impact. Will universal learning at a younger age make a big enough difference long-term to justify the added cost and resources? How much time do children really need to learn what they will need to know to compete globally?

Parents seem to be split on the issue, with one side affirming the need for stronger academic standards and the other side bemoaning the difficulty of material their young children bring home from school. Districts throughout the country have listened to parents’ complaints when it comes to implementation of all-day Kindergarten (versus the traditional half-days) and some parents have even decided to homeschool their children because they so strongly disagree with the academic rigor. Given this cultural climate, I wonder what is to be expected when more states roll out

Pre-K programs? Right now it is voluntary for families – but will that always be the case?

Is universal Pre-K a necessity – and if so, are American educators, parents and young students really ready for it?

Leave a comment—I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

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Matthew Lynch published in Parental Involvement

The Crucial Role of Parental Involvement

By Matthew Lynch

It is beyond any doubt that low-performing schools would benefit from developing strong parent-school partnerships. However, it is not always easy to promote such a culture of shared responsibility. Schools may face difficulty in attaining an efficient collaborative framework among stakeholders, which include teachers, parents, students, the community, and the administration.

Generally, education and school leaders try to generate a social framework that will help teachers, administrators, and parents resolve differences in a peaceful and supportive manner. Overall improvement of student performance can be the outcome of improved relationships between teachers and parents.

Education leaders can encourage parental involvement by improving the structural environment of schools that directly affects teachers, administrators, students, and parents. Historically, American culture has tried to promote a locally inspired, community-based school structure; however, most of the calls for decentralization of schools and school district systems have failed to remove the bureaucratic nature of schools. This includes a structural division of responsibilities, a strict set of laws and regulations, and hierarchical control over the functionality and operation of schools.

Bureaucratic systems often create barriers that prevent teachers from developing effective student-teacher relationships and discourage parents from taking part in helping students develop their learning skills. Centralized schooling systems under the burden of stern bureaucracies can also cause alienation of teachers and obstruct student development. On the other hand, bureaucratic systems help teachers control and use their expertise to guide students effectively. A reduction in bureaucracy would increase administrative tasks among teachers, which would then have a negative impact on their performance.

The bureaucratic system should be based on flexible formulae that will guide the teachers, administrators, and parents in promoting the learning skills of students and help them achieve better results. The centralized or hierarchical authority of schools can be used to implement these supportive regulations and policies to enhance parental involvement. On the other hand, the wrong set of policies or the lack of flexibility may harm the process of teaching and learning.

Schools must be prepared for the fact that one outcome of effective parental involvement programs will be the desire of parents to become partners in the decision-making process existing in schools. Thus, school personnel must possess a genuine belief that shared responsibility for multiple aspects of the educational enterprise will result in improved learning environments for children and youth.

Understanding the deep-rooted importance of family and parental involvement in education and its effect on the academic performance of a child, requires recognizing the fact that parents are children’s first teachers. Home is the first school, and as such, it is the place where children learn an abundance of skills, knowledge, and attitudes, some of which supports what is taught in schools.

When parents get involved with their children’s education, they tend to succeed academically and perform better on exams. They miss fewer school days and tend to be more conscientious about completing school-related work outside of school. Conversely, children, whose families are not as involved in their school experiences, are often unable to compete academically with peers, have irregular attendances, and are less likely to graduate from high school.

Because of the positive impact that parent and family involvement in education has on the performance of children, schools often try to encourage parents and family members to increase their participation in the educational process. In order to increase partnership of parents with schools, schools must create an environment that offers enough incentives and support for parents.

Schools cannot expect that all parents and family members will increase their level of parental involvement on their own. School staff, including teachers, other school personnel, maintenance staff, and administrators, must work together to develop an environment that encourages parents to ask questions and share their feedback with school personnel. Some parents will need to be invited to schools, and learn to view schools as places where they may seek advice, receive suggestions on any number of school/student related issues, and understand it is a place where their inputs and thoughts are welcomed.

Some parents may be dissuaded from getting involved with what they perceive as a group of close-knit educational professionals who engage in language and practices meant to exclude parents from the work of educational systems. School districts must make sure parents understand state standards and assessments so that parents can be more involved in monitoring the progress of their children. Schools are required to make sure that communications with parents are in a language and format that are understandable to parents. In order for America’s children to succeed academically, the crucial role of parental involvement must be embraced wholeheartedly.

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Matthew Lynch published in Matthew Lynch, Policy & Reform

3 Things That Barack Obama Did For P-20 Education in 2015

When Barack Obama assumed the presidency, he was confronted by a nasty set of problems in P-20 education. High student loan debt, lack of affordable early-childhood education options, and everything in between were put in the President’s lap and have been issues he’s addressed in both terms.

Given the nature and sheer number of challenges, his administration has done a great deal to foster positive change and progress. In a bid to build upon his already stellar record on education, Obama implemented a number of education reform initiatives in 2015.

Obama gave $1 billion to Native American Education. President Obama’s budget request included $1 billion for American Indian schools next year, with millions of those dollars dedicated to restoring crumbling buildings and connecting classrooms via broadband Internet.

Administrative officials said the President was inspired to increase funds to better serve this population partially after last year’s visit to the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. He and the First Lady traveled to North Dakota and met with young people who shared how drugs, violence, and poverty impact their lives.

The federal government reported that around one-third of Bureau of Indian Education schools were in poor condition last year. This has forced students to learn in classrooms that fail to meet health and safety standards.

The BIE oversees 23 states and serves over 40,000 children in nearly 200 schools.

In addition to renovations, Obama’s budget included funds to expand broadband access at BIE schools, expand scholarships for post-secondary education, and help tribes deliver their own education programs.

Young people in Indian Country are some of the most at-risk in the United States. Many grow up in communities suffering from poverty, unemployment, and substance abuse. More than one-fifth of Native Americans over 25 never earn a high school diploma. Of those who attend college, only 39 percent earn a bachelor’s degree within six years.

I can only imagine the impact $1 billion will make on the Native American community, which is in such dire need of resources. Students do not deserve to have roofs caving in on them—they deserve to attend school and get an education in dramatically better conditions. I think Obama’s proposed funds could support some big changes in Native American education, changes that will lead to improved high school graduation rates and hopefully end the Native youth crisis.

Obama announced $240 Million in STEM funding. President Barack Obama used the spotlight of the 5th annual White House Science Fair to announce $240 million in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) funding, which will come from private businesses, foundations, and schools.

Calling the National Science Fair “the most fun event of the year,” the President praised the sophistication of the projects presented from scientists as young as kindergarteners. He emphasized the need for society to keep pushing STEM initiatives, through vocal and financial support, and said that this generation of students will “define the contours of the 21st century” through their advancements.

It’s no secret that President Obama is a big proponent of STEM learning and initiatives. Since the start of his first term, he has pushed for higher accountability in schools where these subjects are concerned and has looked for ways to funnel funding towards them—schools with strong STEM programs, for example, see more

Race to the Top funding. Keeping up with other countries when it comes to STEM initiatives is a priority for the President, and he sees long-term economic value in encouraging students today.

I’m interested to hear more about the specifics of this funding, though. What programs will it specifically fund? Will some of it go to scholarships? We know that young women tend to lose interest in STEM learning around middle-school age. Will some of the funding address this growing concern? Computer coding is also an area that is rapidly advancing in demand. How will these funds help bridge that gap?

Where would you like to see some of this $240 million in STEM funding applied?

Obama administration released a testing action plan for K-12. President Obama is determined not to allow the moniker of “lame duck” to stick to him. In 2015, Obama and the Department of Education released their Testing Action Plan, which aims to reduce the burden of tests that many students are tasked with taking.
While Obama has little recourse in scaling back how often states tests its students, his administration can at least provide an outline. Part of that outline includes having schools “send parents written notice” if students exceed a two-percent cap of classroom time that they may spend taking tests.

The whole point of this initiative is to utilize additional ways to measure student success as opposed to just testing. Included in the action plan are ways that schools may determine “how well students are learning and schools are functioning” by using “portfolios, projects, technology-supported assessments, students surveys,” etc. It’s still assessment, though, instead of just teaching and letting students learn—something that critics argue is sorely lacking in P-12 classrooms today.

In addition to the cap on testing and student measuring tools, the administration stated that it will be more flexible with federal standards when it comes to teacher evaluations. How that flexibility will look remains to be seen, but if they are willing to go easy on testing, then teacher evals may see similar variety.

On his way out of the White House, Obama is attempting to untangle the legacy of No Child Left Behind and create a new path and perhaps leave a presidential legacy on education.

Did I miss anything? What would you add to the list?

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Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Matthew Lynch, Policy & Reform

2 Ways That Language Instruction Shined in 2015

In today’s global world, it is important that students leave high school knowing more than just one language. Several innovative school districts in the U.S. are making this a reality by ensuring that their students learn a second language.

Maryland districts add Spanish immersion at three of its elementary schools. Prince George County in Maryland is working hard to immerse young students in foreign language. Three schools in the county started formally offering Spanish immersion as part of an expansion option for children this school year.

Mariluz Mendez, a kindergarten teacher at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, said that some of her students who have never spoken a foreign language before her class are now reading books in Spanish.

Executive Director of the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages Marty Abbott explained that the number of school districts that use a foreign-language immersion model rises each year. Spanish is the most commonly taught foreign language in U.S. schools, and Chinese is seeing a significant increase.

Gina Bowler and Delores Millhouse, two parents who did not have children in the public schools last year, lobbied for Schools Chief Kevin M. Maxwell to add Spanish immersion to the district’s list of offerings.

Bowler wants to give her daughters all of the advantages available to other children. She believes fluency in multiple languages will give students “many advantages in their academic lives, their professional lives, and their personal lives.”

Right now, kindergarten classes in each of the three participating elementary schools enjoy the new offering. Subsequent grades will be added each year. The district also offers Chinese immersion at a few schools.

I fully support Maryland in its decision to offer Spanish immersion in its kindergarten classes. Research points to benefits such as greater understanding, tolerance, and appreciation for other languages and cultures. I anticipate and hope that we will see an increase of language immersion programs throughout the U.S. in upcoming years.

NYC expanded dual-language programs. The New York City Education Department plans to expand dual-language programs offered in the city’s public schools.

Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina stated that 40 dual-language programs in elementary, middle and high school levels would be created or expanded for the 2015-2016 school year. As of June, there were 150 dual-language programs in the city. The new dual-language program will receive a $25,000 grant to prepare for the implementation and $1 million in federal funds.

The programs will primarily be in Spanish, but there will also be some in French, Haitian-Creole, Japanese, Chinese, and Hebrew. The programs will aspire to teach students to read, write, and speak in two languages. Half of the students will be English speakers and the other half will already speak the second language in the classroom.

Dual-language programs have been spreading around the United States as school districts strive to prepare students to compete for jobs in a globalized, multilingual world. The methods used in each school vary. For example, some teachers may teach half of the school day in English and half in another language.

Beyond the job prospects and global advantages, education experts say that dual-language programs can also attract middle-class families to attend poorer schools they may otherwise evade.

I think this shows that New York City is using its multicultural community to its advantage. Dual-language programs promote a positive school culture and can help close the achievement gap. I anticipate we will see students from a range of backgrounds attend schools that offer dual-language programs as more and more parents recognize the importance of bilingual education.

Can you think of any other stories that we missed?

Click here to read all our posts concerning the Achievement Gap.

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