Education Station NewsOK.com Blogging Community

Looking to learn to write the great American novel?  Or to learn to teach others to write novels, poetry and nonfiction?

State Regents last week approved a new degree program at Oklahoma State University: a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

The graduate program aims to train the practicing writer/teacher and will begin enrollment in fall 2012. The Association of Writers and Writing Programs cited an increase in the number of jobs for writers, both in academic jobs and as self-employed or freelance.

The MFA in creative writing requires 42 to 45 credit hours.

Other new programs approved by State Regents are:

OSU-OKC: Associate in Applied Science in Dietetic Technology; East Central University, Ada: Master of Science in Accounting; Tulsa Community College: Associate in Applied Science in Computer Programming, Transaction Processing Facility and Certificate in Computer Programming, Transaction Processing Facility; and Western Oklahoma State College, Altus: Associate in Applied Science in Production Agriculture.

More than 400 schools and libraries in Oklahoma are each receiving 40 large, high-quality reproductions of historically important American artworks.

They’ll also get a book full of information and ideas on how to integrate the art into the study of other subjects, plus access to additional lesson plans online.

Oklahoma’s 424 locations are among more than 26,000 schools and libraries nationwide taking part in Picturing America, a free initiative headed by the National Endowment for the Humanities to promote American history and culture.

Applications to receive the materials next year will be available again from Aug. 4 through Oct. 31 at this site.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

When people ask me where I went to college, it takes me a second to form an appropriate reply. I claim credits from three institutions (and a failed attempt at another). Generally people want to know where I graduated (UCO), if I went to OSU (I did for a year and still look good in orange apparel) and which alma mater was most influential (Redlands Community College.)

Redlands, then called El Reno Junior College, was most influential for several reasons, the most important being my family could afford to send me there (if I also worked a job or two.)

I don’t remember what I paid for tuition per hour, but I’m sure it was far less than the current rate of $97. That said, Redlands and all other state community colleges remain the best bargains in higher education.

If you look at the cost of 30 credit hours (a year’s worth), the tab at Redlands is nearly $1,000 less than at the least expensive four-year campus, Langston University. It’s less than half the cost to attend the University of Oklahoma.

Yes, you could argue that the OU professors might be more highly qualified, holding doctorate degrees and using better equipped classrooms. None of that matters if you can’t afford to go there in the first place.

Without Redlands, I wouldn’t have started my college journey, and gotten some necessary scholarships to continue on at bigger campuses.  Without Redlands, I wouldn’t have gained the confidence in my education abilities to carry me forward.

So next time someone asks where I went to college, I won’t hesitate to say Redlands Community College – even if I’m wearing orange.

Susan Simpson, Education Writer

Deputy State Superintendent Andy Young is retiring this summer after seven years with the department.

Among his last duties is cleaning out his office — including, he says, a lot of frog figurines, a collection that has drawn many questions over the years.

“I think it’s stood for the fact that the children we serve are symbols of frogs needing to be kissed so they can turn into princes and princesses, and I think (educators) always try to do what they can to reach out and do what they can for kids,” he said.

That work will continue, he added.

“Our challenges have never been few and they will not be fewer. … I’ve been very proud of the efforts of this state and my colleagues here and I want to let you know that I appreciate that very much,” Young said.

As Young ends his time with the department, Betsy Mabry is beginning hers.

Thursday was Mabry’s first meeting as a State Board of Education board member as a representative of Congressional District 3.

Mabry is a science teacher from Enid and the 1993 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

Complimentary books frequently make their way into the newsroom. I don’t have time to read them all — I’m still working my way through Jodi Picoult’s novels — but did receive one recently about a timely topic I think is worth sharing.

The book is called “Time to Learn,” and its premise is that the last school bell ringing out at 2:30 p.m. “makes no sense at all.”

Authors Christopher Gabrieli and Warren Goldstein write:

We wrote Time to Learn because we think it’s just the right time for a practical, large-scale transformation in American public education. We think it’s ‘time to learn’ from the available evidence — and we give you a ton of it in what follows — that our children need more ‘time to learn’ all of what they need to succeed and thrive in the twenty-first century. No one knows exactly how long the standard school schedule has clocked in at about six-and-a-half hours a day, or how it got to be that way, but just about everyone knows it’s not giving kids or teachers enough time to produce high school graduates well prepared for higher education, for the workplace of our newly global economy, or for citizenship in our democracy.

A little less than a year ago, State Superintendent Sandy Garrett called for a Time Reform Task Force to study the length of the school day and school year in Oklahoma. (Here’s a recap of their recommendations, and you can view the task force’s full report here.)

“If you want to raise expectations, this is the kind of discussion we need to be having,” Garrett said later.

So let’s have the discussion. Is the school day — or the school year — too short? And if you were in charge, what would you change?

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

The nonprofit Center for Education Policy released a national report today studying the effect of NCLB: Has it really helped?

Researchers found that they couldn’t tell whether the No Child Left Behind Act has indeed left fewer children behind. But what the law did give the researchers was more data because of the required testing and reporting.

Here’s what that data showed about Oklahoma.

-The percent of all students proficient in reading and math saw a moderate-to-large gain all levels — except middle school reading — from 2002 to 2007. The percent of middle school students proficient in reading saw a slight gain.

-In reading, the achievement gap narrowed between blacks and whites, Hispanics and whites, and American Indians and whites on all grade levels except for high school Hispanics. There was no change in the gap between high school Hispanic and white students in reading.

-In math, the gap narrowed between whites and the other racial groups on elementary and middle school levels, but widened across all racial groups at the high school level.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

Nearly 2,000 teachers in Oklahoma have National Board Certification, putting it in the top 10 of states with the most such teachers. (View a map of National Board Certified teachers here.)

A study released this month by the National Academies, completed at the request of Congress, finds that the certification does make a difference in the classroom, for both student performance and teacher retention.

Here are some statistics provided by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which created National Board Certification:

• -There were about 63,800 National Board Certified teachers working in all 50 states and Washington D.C. as of March 2008.
• -Nearly one-fourth of 2008 State Teachers of the Year were National Board Certified, and such teachers won National Teacher of the Year four times since 2001.
• -Half of 369 education preparation institutions say they align their master’s degree programs with National Board Standards to a great extent.

 However, Milton Hakel, chairman of the committee that wrote the report, also said that cause-and-effect is not clear.

“We don’t know whether the certification process itself makes teachers more effective as they become familiar with the standards and complete the assessment, or if high-quality teachers are attracted to the certification process,” Hakel said.

Are you or did your child have a National Board Certified teacher? Share your comments about the program below.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

An economic squeeze and environmental awareness are generating incentives for schools to cut back their energy usage.

For instance, a Texas-based program called Watt Watchers encourages selected students to monitor classrooms, rewarding those that turn off lights at times like lunch and recess and leaving reminder notes on the doors of energy offenders.

In Hawaii, the education department recently notified more than 100 schools that they can receive rebates of between $2 and $45,000 for saving electricity. Another hundred-plus schools, though, have to reimburse the state thousands of dollars for excessive energy usage.

In Oklahoma, two education centers are listed on BuildGreenSchools.org as being registered with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): Oklahoma City Educare and Fort Sill’s Child Development Center.

What kind of incentives do you think would get Oklahoma schools to cut back their energy consumption?

I’d like to hear your ideas – especially from students – so share them here on NewsOK’s Education Station.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

My mom was involved in the PTA at the schools my brother and I attended.

I always imagined that PTA meetings were full of other parents just like my mom — people who I saw doing everything from making photocopies for teachers to raising money for student clubs to organizing field trips.

It didn’t occur to me then, really, to think of PTA meetings as being full of parents who were just like somebody’s dad.

But Byron Garrett will become the association’s first black male chief executive officer at its national convention next week.

He follows in the footsteps of Chuck Saylors, who last year became the organization’s first male president-elect.

Males make up about 10 percent of PTA membership. Here’s what a recent PTA survey has to say about their influence:

• -More than 75 percent of respondents described their PTA’s level of male involvement as “somewhat involved,” “involved” or “very involved.”
• -A little less than 75 percent of respondents said male involvement is “valued” or “very valued” by the PTA.
• -More than 50 percent of respondents said their PTA holds a special membership drive, hosts specific male-oriented events or in some other way specifically tries to attract and retain male members.

Comment below to share how your school encourages father figures to get involved.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

There’s a MAPS for Kids community meeting tonight and another tomorrow for Oklahoma City schools.

These meetings are held to get input from teachers, parents, students and others in the community about construction and renovation plans for the school.

For those who have attended one of these meetings, I’d like to know what you think of the forum. Or, share why you choose not to go.

Leave your comments here on NewsOK’s Education Station blog.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter