1. 4K Reaches 80 Percent of Districts
Eighty percent of Wisconsin school districts now offer 4-year-old kindergarten (4K), State Superintendent Tony Evers announced. Sixteen districts added 4K programs this year. The 333 districts now offering 4K serve 38,075 children, up 4,000 from last year.
Of these 333 districts, 101 offer 4K through the community approach, which blends public and private resources. Wisconsin is one of the nation’s leading models for combining educational and community care services for 4-year-olds.
Licensed teachers provide instruction for all public school district 4K programs.
Research has shown that children who attend developmentally appropriate early learning programs do better in school, have fewer referrals for special education, and are less likely to need extra services or to be held back in grade. Additionally, children who attend quality early childhood programs are more likely to graduate from high school, work, and avoid incarceration.
Wisconsin was one of five states involved in the National Center for Early Development and Learning study of State-Wide Early Education Programs (SWEEP). Key findings showed Wisconsin 4K students were above the national average on three of the four academic skills assessed. The SWEEP study found improvement in all four dimensions of children’s social skills: assertiveness, frustration tolerance, task orientation, and peer social skills.
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2. Blue Ribbon Schools Nominees
State Superintendent Tony Evers nominated eight public schools for national recognition as Blue Ribbon Schools:
Nominations are made based on specific criteria in two categories: dramatically improving schools and high performing schools.
"Congratulations to these schools for student performance on state assessments that qualifies them for nomination to this national recognition program," Evers said. "These schools are focused on student learning so every child graduates ready for the workforce or further education."
Nominated schools must complete an application from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) that focuses on results and scientifically based instruction. USDE reviews applications and will announce Blue Ribbon Schools next September. Schools earning the award receive a plaque and flag signifying their status as a Blue Ribbon School. A principal and teacher also will be invited to attend a recognition ceremony in Washington, D.C., next fall.
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3. "Promise Neighborhoods" Inspiration to Speak in Madison
Geoffrey Canada, who started an effort on which President Obama has patterned a new stream of federal funding, will deliver a keynote address at a DPI conference, January 12.
Nearly all children growing up in a particular area of New York City become involved in the web of programs created by the Harlem Children's Zone, Canada's non-profit organization. The work starts by targeting expectant parents and continues until the child reaches college. After-school activities, charter schools, health care, and many more efforts are part of the holistic approach.
The results include math scores that leap an average of 35 points after a student enters the Zone's charter school, and an invisible achievement gap in math between the school's largely African-American students and white students in the city as a whole.
Community-based nonprofits around the country may have the opportunity to replicate the model in 2010, using $10 million proposed by President Obama for planning grants in the new Promise Neighborhoods effort, based on the Harlem Children's Zone. Also, Governor Jim Doyle has said Wisconsin's proposal for Race to the Top funding includes a kindred strategy in Milwaukee.
Canada will share his vision for "Saving All the Children" at the Wisconsin Promise Conference, January 12 in Madison. Registration is available on-line.
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4. STEM Schools
Subscriber Submission!
A DPI-ConnectEd subscriber has asked for an article about the STEM School breed of charter school.
Randall School in Waukesha and the Wausau Engineering and Global Leadership Academy are two such schools; each will begin operating as a STEM School in 2010-11. The idea is to focus the curriculum around issues in STEM. While the STEM acronym literally refers to "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics," it is typically used to signify a multidisciplinary, integrated approach to all of these subjects which sometimes incorporates other disciplines as well.
That's what makes these schools exciting, says DPI Science Education Consultant Shelley Lee: "Yes, students will be learning about science and math and technology...but as they move forward in a STEM environment, they look past the different disciplines and they begin to realize that these subjects are not subjects in isolation of each other."
Comprehending this integration of different subjects requires higher-level, more abstract thinking—and that means students are forced to learn some of the 21st century skills that employers and higher learning institutions have said they are looking for, such as problem-solving and creativity.
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5. Energy Efficiency Information
Focus on Energy provides resources to help schools and government operations increase energy efficiency and save money. Focus on Energy is a partnership of state regulators, Wisconsin utility companies, and other groups.
There are fact sheets about topics such as introducing renewable energy into Wisconsin schools, maps which show the locations of 2,652 Wisconsin facilities that have partnered with Focus on Energy to complete energy-efficiency projects, and a list of financial incentives for energy efficiency projects.
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6.
Happy Winter Break!
DPI-ConnectEd is now on hiatus until January 4.
Have a great week, and a wonderful winter break!
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