Education Celebration 2002: The Bold Truth About Public Education

My decision to use the theme “Education Celebration” this year is due to the overwhelming press public education has received the past three years. While some may use the printed and visual media as an excuse for “brow-beating” public education across our nation, I prefer to acknowledge this unprecedented coverage of our profession to be the best solution to a growing nation- barely 2000 years old.

In bringing public education to the conscious level of our nation on a daily basis, likened only to that of our nation’s wars and military conflicts – we have shown success in winning the plight of public education in achievement and accountability.

Just as East Longmeadow Public Schools has received the many awards and accolades you have seen scroll across the screen this morning, public education across our nation has received a report card worthy of praise and promise. So lets talk about some facts and figures about the noblest of professions we call Public Education…

In the category of STUDENTS:

• FEWER STUDENTS ARE DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL. Drop out rates have decrease over the last decade from 15% to 11 % nationally.

• HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE TAKING MORE CHALLENGING ACADEMIC COURSES. The percentage of students completing a full core academic curriculum of English, Social Studies, Math and Science rose from 14% in 1982, to 50% since 1994.

• HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE TAKIKNG TOUGHER MATH AND SCIENCE COURSES. The percentage of students taking trig, chem.. and physics have gone up from 36% to 58% nationally.

• MORE STUDENTS WITH DISCABILITIES ARE IN THE CLASSROOM. From 1986 to 1996, inclusion classrooms have increased from 26% to 45% across our nation.

• SAT SCORES HAVE INCREASED. From 1983 to 1993, the average SAT score has increased from 494 to a score of 511.

• ACT SCORES HAVE INCREASED. From 1982 to 1999, the average ACT score has risen from 20 to 21.

• STUDENTS ARE TAKING MORE ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMS. Between 1984 and 1997, the number of AP exams taken by high school students, per 1000, nearly tripled- from 50 to 131.

• MORE STUDENTS ARE GOING ON TO COLLEGE. Compared to the 1980’s, college and university admissions have grown from 53% to 67% of all high school graduates across our country.

• SCHOOL CRIME IS DECLINING. The post- columbine focus on school climate and discipline is paying off. Communities across our nation have rallied to educate the “whole student” both academically and socially. School crimes have decreased from 155 per 1000 students to 102 per 1000 in 1993. This number is still to high- but the nation is seeing schools move in the right direction. Community crime interventions perhaps can learn from public education interventions.

In the category of GENDER:

• MORE GIRLS ARE TAKING HIGH LEVEL COURSES. The percentage increases of females completing high level math and science courses has grown from 35% in 1982 to 61% in 1994 of all high school graduates.

• MORE WOMEN ARE EARNING GRADUATE DEGREES. The biggest change in gender statistics appears from 1972 to 1996 where the increase ranges from 1% to now 43% in professional degrees.

In the category of STAFF:

• PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE WELL EDUCATED. Nearly 45% of all public education teachers now hold a master’s degree and 1% have doctorates.

• PUBLIC EDUCATION TEACHERS HAVE DISPELLED THE NOTION OF PRIVATE PREP VS PUBLIC EDUCATION. 99.3% of all public education teachers have a bachelor’s degree compared to 93% of private school teachers.

In the category of TRUST:

• THE USA TODAY NEWSPAPER RATED TEACHERS #1. This summer, the USA TODAY newspaper conducted a survey about public servants and trust. Teacher came out on top! In this world of post Enron, post Sept. 11, and amid religious scandals, you can still count on educators.

• IF IT TAKES AVILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD, IT MUST TAKE A COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT AND FINANCE EDUCATION. After four years, we have finalized our strategic plan for East Longmeadow Public Schools. It combined and internal analysis by our staff and an external critique by our community culminating in 10 strategic goals for our schools.

• CURRICULUM CONTINUES TO BE REFINED IN OUR DISTRICT. Frameworks, national standards and MCAS have directed “what” we teach. The teachers’ lesson plans prescribe “how” that teacher will teach to different learners, so it is only natural that we focus on curriculum mapping this year that will direct “when” we teach specific parts of our curriculum to our students. Curriculum Mapping is nothing new- we actually started this last year in our grade-level meetings, department head structure, and curriculum discussions. We will continue mapping this year.

• FINALLY, TRUST MEANS THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS- OUR CHARACTER COUNTS. Last year, a large committee of educators, parents, and business men and women gathered for half of the year to discuss the climate of our schools. Nine character traits were ultimately selected among the hundreds of possible to describe how we want students and staff to conduct the business of education. These nine character traits dictate our code of conduct, classroom rules, and professional standards to each other.

• IN HONOR OF OUR EDUCATION CELEBRATION, I AM UNVEILING A NEW RECOGNITION PROGRAM FOR OUR RETIRED EDUCATORS- THE EDUCATOR HALL OF FAME. This program serves to honor those educators who have taught and retired here in East Longmeadow Public Schools and have changed the lives of so many. Rules and criteria still need to be written- I invite all who would like to serve on this committee to notify me in the next few weeks. Together, we can develop selection criteria as we memorialize retired teachers above the doorway of each classroom in our schools.

As students come in tomorrow to our schools and classrooms, lets remind them that this education celebration is not over- its just beginning…

Thank you, and God Bless America.