Quick Hits

Police officers expand patrols to D.C. charter schools: Washington, D.C., officials dispatched police officers Monday to patrol the district's charter schools for the first time in several years. The move has drawn criticism because it does not greatly increase the number of school resource officers but divides them among more schools. "It's a Catch-22 situation," said the co-founder of a nonprofit group that works with at-risk youth. "The charter schools need the same protection as the public schools, but it's going to have an impact on the safety of the [regular] schools." (Washington Post)

Students improve reading, world knowledge through newspapers: A North Carolina teacher uses newspapers in the classroom to help her gifted middle-school English students improve their reading and vocabulary skills by prompting discussion about current national and world events. "It's the stimulus for pertinent conversation," Cynthia McFadden said. "We should never underestimate our kids just because they're in middle school. It's really bringing what's happening in the world into this little classroom." (The Sanford Herald)

New York fifth-graders using smart phones for core-subject lessons: Fifth-graders in a New York state school are part of a pilot program to use smart phones -- which are linked to the Internet but cannot be used to make calls or send text messages -- as mini-computers to find and share information throughout their core-subject classes. During a recent science lesson, students demonstrated their knowledge of the properties of light by creating digital drawings of transparent, translucent and opaque objects, which were then uploaded to the teacher's computer for review. (The Saratogian)

Schools make progress with instruction-based turnaround strategies: A number of poor-performing Chicago schools -- some targeted for restructuring or closure -- are making progress with a program called Focused Instruction Process that's aimed at boosting achievement by promoting teachers' professional development, parental engagement, constant improvement and shared leadership. Developed by the nonprofit Strategic Learning Initiatives, the flexible program has teachers providing more focused lessons and reteaching when regular assessments show that students are struggling to master skills. (Education Week)

Can New Orleans retain its post-Katrina teacher corps?: New Orleans schools have recruited teachers nationwide in an effort to ease a teaching shortage and draw new talent to struggling schools that have been in transition since Hurricane Katrina. Many of these educators have been recruited through Teach for America and other nonprofits, but some are concerned that those teachers are more likely to leave New Orleans or the teaching profession, hurting education in the process. (National Public Radio)

Rural students take ownership of schoolwork with agriculture focus: Educators in Kansas are using agriculture as a basis to teach all subjects to K-5 students at the 10-acre Walton Rural Life Center, believed to be the first school in the nation to adopt an entirely agriculture-based curriculum. Officials at the rural charter school say the hands-on program is a good fit for students, who they say are more engaged in learning under the curriculum. "Everyone was worried about how we were going to integrate agriculture into the curriculum," the principal says. "Once we got started, it was natural. Now it's just second nature to them." (The Wichita Eagle)

PBS survey shows increase in digital-media use in classroom lessons: A PBS survey shows that classrooms using digital technology among K-12 educators is at 76%, up from 69% in 2008. The survey also showed that while teachers prefer using pre-screened DVDs in the classroom, 72% use content downloaded or streamed from the Internet as a way to integrate short segments of electronic content into their lessons. The report looked at responses from preschool educators for the first time, revealing that 33% are frequent or regular users of digital resources. (eSchool News)

6 states are selected for program to curb high-school dropout rate: The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices is launching a two-year initiative to curb high-school dropout rates in six states by assessing the extent of the problem there, evaluating existing services and developing policies to address the issue. The participating states -- Colorado, West Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Tennessee and Minnesota -- applied to the program and will each receive $50,000 from the NGA to implement their plans. (Education Week)

Education secretary promotes streamlined financial-aid form: Education Secretary Arne Duncan is touting a streamlined version of the government's application for college financial aid that is aimed at improving access to college education for lower-income students. About 20 million students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid each year. "Folks are working really hard to make it simpler so it's not a barrier," Duncan told students Tuesday at a high school in Washington, D.C. (Washington Post)

New NGA CENTER Issue Brief Recommends Actions Governors Can Take to Increase U.S. College Completion Rates: To address the increasing necessity for students to obtain a college degree or certificate, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) today released an issue brief, Increasing College Success: A Road Map for Governors, that outlines actions governors can take to increase U.S. college completion rates. According to the brief, nearly 75 percent of future jobs will require a postsecondary degree or certificate; yet, U.S. college completion rates are flat. Increasing College Success recommends that states improve students’ readiness for college and careers; provide necessary supports to students as they enter into college and persist in earning a degree; remove barriers that make it hard for students to transfer from two- to four-year programs; and experiment with performance-based funding. “Because technological changes continue to increase the demand for workers who can think critically, the majority of the jobs of the future will require a college degree or certificate,” said NGA Center Director John Thomasian. “This brief outlines ways that governors and states can help more students achieve college success while also holding the postsecondary system more accountable for college completion.” (Nat'l Gov's Assn)

Charter puts mission of 100% college enrollment to the test: Houston inner-city charter school YES Prep North Central -- where 100% college enrollment is the primary goal -- plans to graduate its first class of seniors since opening in 2003. The school will be the second YES campus to test the school's mission of using extended school days, a rigorous curriculum, a strict code of conduct and low student-teacher ratios to ensure that all students get accepted to four-year schools. The other YES Prep school that serves seniors has sent 100% of its 12th-graders to college since 2001. (USA TODAY)

Teach for America graduates focused on schools, not community: Although Teach for America graduates are much more involved in their communities than their peers, they are less dedicated to other areas of civic service than those who were accepted but did not enter the program or who dropped out, according to a recent study by a Stanford University researcher. The study gauged factors such as voting, civic engagement and giving to charity. The lack of involvement outside of education is attributed to exhaustion and disappointment with Teach for America's methods. Wendy Kopp, the group's founder and president, disagreed with the findings. (New York Times)

Will Socratic teaching find a place in 21st-century schools?: Cincinnati is just one of three districts across the country that offer "paideia" K-12 curriculum in public schools -- a method where the curriculum is focused on the Socratic method of in-depth discussion and classical debate. Paideia programming declined in schools as curriculum became increasingly focused on content-based instruction and standardized testing, but proponents of paideia teaching say it may regain popularity as educators move toward the teaching of 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, collaboration and creativity. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Program aims to raise achievement among black males: Woodlawn High School in Maryland's Baltimore County is one of six schools nationwide participating in a pilot program to raise achievement among black male students. The grant-funded initiative is part of the nationwide college-preparatory program Advancement Via Individual Determination -- or AVID -- and brings in black male teachers and tutors who focus on students' individual learning styles, provide lessons in organizational and note-taking skills and incorporate culturally relevant information into the curriculum. (The Sun)

Gallup: Data show teachers optimistic about their lives, well-being: Recent research by the Gallup Organization shows that teachers rate themselves higher than other professionals such as business owners and executives on an overall well-being index. Teachers also expressed significantly more optimism about their lives than other professionals, scoring highest or near the top among 12 professions in how they rated their access to resources for leading a healthy life, their emotional health and their propensity to engage in healthy behaviors. However, the Gallup data show that teachers are less satisfied with their work environments. (Gallup)

Brain-based curriculum is used to help preschoolers learn math skills: More early-education teachers are using brain-based methods for teaching young students fundamental concepts in math and other subjects. One proven preschool program taught in Buffalo, N.Y., uses lessons, activities and computer software that is based on the findings of cognitive research that shows preschool-aged students can begin to link quantities with symbols like numbers, and that they may also be able to recognize geometric symbols. (New York Times)