News and Information

For instance, a study of 5,200 fifth-graders and their parents, which appeared in a 2008 issue of the Journal of School Health, revealed that students who had low-quality diets were more likely to perform poorly in school.

In a recent San Jose Mercury News editorial, three California-based healthcare professionals wrote about the ways in which Healthy Kids, a program designed to provide children with health insurance, has improved the lives and education of youths in Santa Clara County.

According to the article, more than 60 percent of students in the San Jose Unified School District have medical, dental and vision coverage. This has helped children who suffer from asthma, as the number of students who need to go to the emergency room for their condition dropped to one in six with health coverage.

Furthermore, they wrote that the number of students with asthma who were advanced or proficient on the California Standards Test, a part of the California STAR Testing Program, was equal to or greater than the number of students without any health conditions who achieved these scores.

This was the case in Connecticut, where officials from the West Hartford Public Schools recently shared a PowerPoint presentation and handouts that provided information on the implementation of the new Standards, West Hartford's Patch website reported.

The presentation was given by Eileen Howley, assistant superintendent for instruction and curriculum in the district, as well as Paul Vicinus, director of teaching and assessment. According to the news source, both education officials are excited about the CCSS.

"The Standards don’t tell us how to teach, they teach us what to teach," Howley told the news outlet.

Howley added that small shifts are being made to West Hartford’s curriculum, rather than radical changes. Ultimately, there is the belief that teachers and students will become more engaged through the implementation of the Standards.

When the CCSS were adopted on July 7, 2010, Mark K. McQuillan, state education commissioner, issued a statement that said Connecticut’s current standards are already high. However, by embracing the Common Core, Connecticut can offer a more uniform educational experience.

  The more diverse the country’s population becomes, the more English language learners there will be in the nation’s classrooms. In fact, Education Week reported that between the 1997-1998 and 2008-2009 academic years, the number of these students enrolled in public schools increased by 51 percent.

  In Iowa, nearly a quarter of the state’s English language learners are attending classes in the Des Moines Public Schools District, according to The Des Moines Register. More than 5,100 children in the District are receiving help developing their English reading and writing skills. All together, these students speak more than 80 different languages.

  Several of Des Moines’ newest residents come from the Asian countries of Bhutan and Myanmar, the news source stated. In some cases, students from these nations cannot even write or read in their native language, which makes picking up English more difficult.

  Due to the high number of students in need of language assistance, District officials have considered offering more courses for English language learners, according to the news outlet. The District’s Vinh Nguyen told the news outlet that the longer English language learners remain in the Schools’ English proficiency program, the better their results on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS).

In Wisconsin’s Green Bay School District, not only will the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) mean changes for schools’ curricula, but the report cards they send home to parents as well, the Green Bay Press Gazette reported.

Schools that are implementing the CCSS are expected to have new report cards in place by the 2013-2014 academic year, the news source stated. Format-wise, the report cards are not expected to look that different from those that are currently sent to students' homes. However, the information they contain is expected to provide parents with an understanding of how their children are performing in terms of meeting the benchmarks set by the new Standards.

In the Green Bay School District, pupils and their parents can expect to see numerical marks, the news outlet reported. A student who receives a one is not meeting expectations, while a four indicates that he or she is exceeding expectations.

Schools that have embraced the new Standards have done so to provide their students with the knowledge and skills they will require in order to succeed in college and beyond, according to the CCSS’ website.

Based on the results of the 2011 California STAR Testing Program, while there was an increase in proficiency levels among all subgroups, an achievement gap still exists for Latino students, according to the California Department of Education. However, one of the state's school districts is committed to helping these pupils raise their scores.

Mountain View Patch reported that three institutions in the Mountain View Whisman School District - Bubb, Castro and Huff Elementary Schools - have all received approval to implement their School Improvement Plans. Among educators' goals is to improve students' scores on the California Standards Test (CST).

Subgroups that attend classes in the School District continue to struggle with the CST, the news source stated. For example, at Huff, only 59 percent of Hispanic students scored proficient to advanced in mathematics.

To reverse this trend, Huff plans to establish an after-school homework help center for students who require additional assistance, according to the news outlet. The institution will also provide multiple training sessions for teachers to help them work with Spanish-speaking pupils.

There are many topics that teachers and parents of school children may think about on a regular basis, from the safe use of the internet to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and how they will affect students' learning. These subjects and more were recently discussed at the Delaware Parent-Teacher Association's (PTA) 100th anniversary conference on November 12, the Brandywine East Community News reported.

This event, which was held at the Delaware School for the Deaf, managed to attract almost 100 state delegates, educators and parents, according to the news source. The conference's theme was A Century of Voices, while Tom Carper, the U.S. senator for Delaware, opened the event talking about the importance of parental support.

Several other state officials spent the afternoon participating in a panel discussion on the CCSS, the news outlet stated. Delaware adopted the new Standards on August 19, 2010, and many students in the state have already been introduced to elements of their new curricula, according to Coastal Sussex Morning News.

"We have to set standards that allow our children to be globally competitive," Quinn Gray, president of the Delaware School Board, said, as quoted by the news source. 

As schools prepare to transition from their current educational standards to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), it is expected that educators from some states will have questions on the implementation process. This February, these teachers and school officials will be able to attend a national conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

The forum, titled Architecture for Implementing the Common Core Standards: Strategies, Partnerships & Progress, will be co-hosted by the Council on Postsecondary Education and the College Readiness Partnership from February 27-29. It is fitting that the event will be held in Louisville, as Kentucky was the first state to adopt the CCSS on February 10, 2010.

While the first day of the forum will be dedicated to helping Kentucky-based educators, the remaining days of the conference will be open to school officials from other College Readiness Partnership states, such as Massachusetts, Oregon and Wisconsin.

Those who attend the forum at the Marriott Louisville Downtown Hotel will hear from higher education leaders, as well as Kentucky school officials who will share their CCSS successes as well as the challenges they have faced during the implementation process.

The University of Iowa College of Education's Iowa Testing Programs has replaced the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) with the Iowa Assessments, the Iowa City Press Citizen reported. According to officials behind the revamped tests, the changes will lead to benefits for both students and teachers.

For instance, Catherine Welch, director of statewide testing programs at the University, told the news source that the Iowa Assessments allow educators to track students' growth from year to year.

"They will have reports that provide more detailed information about a student’s individual performance at a standard level," Welch told the news outlet. "It can serve as a guide for how a child has changed over the years and where that child needs additional help and where more progress is expected."

Welch added that the revised tests were designed based on content that makes up the Iowa Core and the Common Core State Standards.

According to the University's website, the Iowa Assessments are available at different levels and measure students' abilities in broad academic areas, such as reading, social studies, math and science. The tests also focus on important skills, including the capitalization of words and punctuation.

Outstanding teachers and parental support are just two of the factors behind high scores on the 2010-11 California STAR Testing program in the Etiwanda School District, the Fontana Herald-News reported.

Students' test results in the several schools in northwestern Fontana that make up the District helped Etiwanda surpass all other districts in San Bernardino County in terms of STAR test scores, according to the news source.

Across the District, 10,455 students in grades two through eight took part in the California STAR Testing program, the news outlet stated. Based on their scores, 76 percent of students were proficient in math, while 74 achieved the same designation in language arts. Additional progress was made in closing the achievement gap for African American pupils and English learners in the areas of English and language arts.

"Etiwanda School District attributes high test scores to strong parent support, outstanding teachers and support staff, exceptional site leadership, the focus on standards, and our after school and in-school intervention programs," Sylvia Kordich, the District's assistant superintendent of instruction and pupil services, told the news outlet.

In addition to English, language arts and mathematics, the California Standards Tests measure students' abilities in science and history-social science, according to the California Department of Education.

For example, the District managed to achieve an attendance rate of 96.8 percent, which, according to the news source, is higher than other North Shore schools. Furthermore, many Whitefish students showed that they wanted to take part in school activities outside of the classroom as well. More than 80 percent of middle and high school pupils participate in extracurricular activities on a yearly basis.

In terms of standardized assessments, students in the third, fifth and seventh grades managed to perform at an average of 2.6 years above grade level in reading, language arts and math on last year's Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), the news outlet stated.

While subject matter on these assessments varies depending on the test level, the ITBS also measures students' abilities in the areas of listening, social studies, science and computation, according to the University of Iowa's College of Education website.

"We are proud of all of those results and how they work together in terms of providing very excellent educational performance," Gavigan said, as quoted by the news source. 

Ohio's St. Helen School is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, The News-Herald reported. Among the Catholic parish institution's many academic accomplishments have been awards and high scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS).

What sets the School apart from other institutions is the fact that when it opened in 1961, students were given unicycles to ride through the halls, the news source stated. This was due to Reverend James Moran's belief that pupils should be physically fit.

Unicycles are no longer a part of the education process at St. Helen, which serves students in preschool through the eighth grade, according to the news outlet. The School is also the home of the new Cargill Science Center, a state-of-the-art facility where young learners can conduct experiments.

In addition, the news source reported that St. Helen students have consistently scored in the ITBS' upper 10 percent.

The ITBS, which can be adopted by states outside of Iowa, has undergone several changes this school year, including a change in name to the Iowa Assessments, according to The Gazette. 

Several schools from around the country were recently honored at the Intel Schools of Distinction Awards in Washington, D.C. Among the institutions that were recognized was Valley Christian Junior High in San Jose, California.

Valley Christian received the Intel Foundation's Star Innovator Award for its achievements in math and science education, as well as the institution's ability to promote 21st-century skills among its students. This honor provides the school with $15,000, in addition to funding from other prizes, for a grand total of $125,000.

"By honoring the Intel Schools of Distinction winners, Intel hopes to inspire other schools to reinvigorate their own programs and prepare America's youth for success in the global economy," said Shelly Esque, vice president of Intel's Corporate Affairs Group.

Among Valley Christian's accomplishments has been its students' ability to consistently score in the nation's top 17 percent in mathematics on the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10) over the past four years.

According to Pearson Education, the maker of the SAT-10, this multiple choice assessment helps teachers better evaluate their students' progress. 

On September 15, the U.S. Department of Education released the names of the 305 schools across the country that have been selected as 2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools. Among these institutions were 49 private schools, including St. Barnabas Catholic School in Indiana.

According to The News-Leader, St. Barnabas earned the honor based on several academic factors, such as a rigorous curriculum, high expectations and students' scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). In fact, the school's performance was judged based on assessment scores from the last five years.

St. Barnabas uses the ITBS to evaluate its 730 students, the news source reported. The assessment measures test takers' abilities across several academic areas, including math, reading and language.

"Being named a National Blue Ribbon School is very exciting for our whole parish community," Principal Kimberly Browning told the news outlet. "Our past and current students, parents and teachers have worked diligently to achieve at the highest levels."

According to the news source, the U.S. Department of Education has awarded Blue Ribbons since 1982 to highlight examples of the best school leadership and teaching practices. 

Georgia's Savannah Christian Preparatory School has several reasons to celebrate, the Savannah Morning News reported. In addition to high test scores and national recognition, the institution is celebrating its 60th year of educating local children.

According to the news source, Savannah was established in 1951 as the Evangelical Bible Institute, a boarding school for eight children. Throughout the School's 60-year history, much has changed, except for the institution's commitment to its Christian roots.

Today, more than 1,000 students attend preschool, elementary and high school at the institution, the news outlet stated. Recently, the elementary pupils' performance on the math and reading portions of the Stanford Achievement Test helped Savannah become a National Blue Ribbon School.

Pearson Education developed the Stanford Achievement Test to help administrators gauge students' academic abilities, according to the company's website. Meanwhile, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program was designed by the U.S. Department of Education to honor institutions that have raised their level of academic performance.

The news source reported that Savannah students' math and reading scores on the Test managed to place the school in the nation's top 15th percentile.

The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) is provided by the University of Iowa's College of Education and is used to measure student progress in kindergarten through the eighth grade, according to the institution's website. Even though the assessment is designed for pupils within the state of Iowa, school districts across the U.S. are able to administer this voluntary test.

Saint Gabriel School in Windsor, Connecticut, is a private institution that administered the ITBS to its students, The Hartford Courant reported. These pupils did so well on the assessment that they will be recognized as a 2011 Blue Ribbon School for academic excellence by the U.S. Department of Education.

In order to receive the designation as a Blue Ribbon School, students must have taken the ITBS and scored within the 85th percentile, the news source stated. Pupils at Saint Gabriel managed to surpass this criteria and placed in the 90th percentile. Patricia Martin, the School's principal, credits the high scores to her institution's educators, who provide a customized approach to teaching that takes students' strengths and weaknesses into account.

"Saint Gabriel achieves excellence quietly, but very effectively as evidenced by this distinguished recognition," Dale R. Hoyt, the superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Hartford, told the news outlet.  

The Center on Education Policy recently released the results of a survey it conducted among districts in each of the 44 states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) between February and April of 2011. Findings provide a sense of schools' progress as they implement the changes to their curricula.

According to the CCSS' website, the initiative is designed to define what knowledge and skills students should acquire over the course of their academic careers. Based on the results of the survey, 57 percent of respondents feel that the English and math standards are more rigorous than those they are meant to replace.

Furthermore, many survey participants reported that they anticipate little resistance to the more rigorous standards from educators and members of their communities. This is good news for the 66 percent of school districts that are currently developing comprehensive plans and time lines for the implementation of the CCSS. Meanwhile, 61 percent of respondents are purchasing or plan to acquire materials that will align with their new curricula.

To help teachers prepare for the transition to the new standards, 48 percent of school districts also plan to provide opportunities for professional development.

Students at Butler Elementary School in Iowa will be greeted by several changes when they resume classes for the new school year, including more classmates and classrooms, The Messenger reported.

The closing of Hillcrest Elementary School in Fort Dodge is the reason behind Butler's larger student population, according to the news source. The institution accepted all of Hillcrest's pupils, as well as other learners from the district. As a result, there are now more than 460 pupils at Butler.

To accommodate all of these students, Butler has extended its facility to include four new classrooms, the news outlet reported. In addition, four Hillcrest teachers have transitioned to Butler, where instructors now meet for 40 minutes each day to discuss their students' progress.

As a result of the school's physical and academic changes, students' test scores have increased, especially in the areas of math and reading, the news source reported. Butler now boasts 82 percent proficiency in reading, which is above the 40th percentile on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS).

This assessment is designed by the University of Iowa College of Education to test the abilities of students in kindergarten through the eighth grade, according to the institution's website.

The University of Iowa's College of Education provides schools throughout the state with an opportunity to gauge the effectiveness of their teaching through the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). According to the institution's website, this assessment is provided to students in kindergarten through the eighth grade.

Irving Elementary School in Waterloo, Iowa is one institution that has taken steps to improve the quality of its academic programs, and, as a result, its students' progress, the Waterloo Daily Courier reported.

Changes at Irving began with the new school year on August 8, according to the news source. Now, students have the option of entering their classrooms at 8:15 a.m., which is 35 minutes before the official start of the school day. For teachers, having pupils in their seats early provides a chance to go over objectives and goals. This early classroom time also offers students a chance to complete homework assignments that may have been neglected the night before.

"It's just an extra layer of support," Frederick Zimmerman, a fifth-grade teacher at Irving, told the news source. "Give me a month. You'll see the progress."

Zimmerman added that the early classroom time helps ensure that students are engaged when the day officially begins.

Although the Clawson School District in Michigan recently met the state's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), officials feel there is still room for improvement, which the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative may be able to help fast track, Clawson Patch reported.

Results that were released by the Michigan Department of Education show that Clawson Middle School, Schalm Elementary and Kenwood Elementary schools all received an A, while Clawson High School was given a B, according to the news source. However, despite the fact that the institutions met the state's AYP standards, students did not meet the goals that were established for elementary and middle school reading.

Michigan is currently in the process of adopting the CCSS, which Jan Ellis, a spokesperson for the state's Department of Education, told the news outlet will establish specific academic goals for the district's students.

"We want to raise the rigor of what students know, rather than lower the bar," Ellis told the news source.

According to the CCSS' website, Michigan adopted the initiative on June 15, 2010.