Back+to+school+with+less

= The 2011-12 school year opens with fewer teachers and programs in many districts but also new ideas amid a national debate on money's impact on education in the 21st century. =

== By [|Steve Esack] = =// Published by the Allentown Morning Call //= = //8/27/11// = = = = = = = =Money.= =It is both the lifeblood and bane of public education.= =When times are good, teaching ranks explode, technology gets enhanced and curriculum expands. When times are bad — as they are now — people and programs get cut.= =Perhaps not since the 1980s has this financial yin and yang of education been more evident than in the 2011-12 school year, which begins for some students Monday and for others next week.= =With a reduction in state funding, loss of federal stimulus money and the slow pace of economic recovery, most districts will open with fewer teachers and either larger class sizes or changes in programs.= ="Money does make a difference," said Bethlehem Area Superintendent Joseph Roy.= =The question school boards, superintendents, faculty and lawmakers are asking is: Will kids and parents notice?= =In [|Bangor] Area, classrooms will get more crowded. In Bethlehem, middle-schoolers will have fewer teachers. And in Allentown, high-schoolers will have fewer academic choices.= =Salisbury Township, on the other hand, has found a way around the bad economy by making a new deal with Apple computers that will provide 950 students in Grades 6 through 12 with their own laptops. Ninth-graders will have something else too: a new home. They will be moved to the high school for the first time following the completion of a $22 million renovation.= =Students at Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts will welcome new principal Sharon Fehlinger. A new superintendent will take the helm in the Parkland district. And East Penn will unveil a revamped website that provides demographic, test score and survey data for each school.= ="Kids will adapt to whatever the situation is," said Ed Boksan, president of the Parent Advisory Committee in the Bethlehem Area School District. "But I think the parents' concern is how does this impact overall education, and the jury is still out on that until we see how the school year plays out. And it could be, positive things come out of the changes."= =It will take at least 180 school days to determine how districts weathered the financial storm. And as they navigate the choppy economy, they'll also have to adapt to shifting political winds that can further reduce local control over public education.= ="The idea that schooling is a local matter has been changing significantly for about the past half century and that shift has accelerated with increased state and federal involvement," said Adam Nelson, a professor of educational policy studies and history at the [|University of Wisconsin-Madison].= =In Harrisburg, Gov. [|Tom Corbett] is moving ahead with plans, initiated by his predecessor, to implement stalled Keystone graduation exams for core subjects like algebra, English, biology and social studies. He also has promised to implement a statewide teacher evaluation system that would be tied in part to student test scores. Corbett also will be pushing the Legislature to pass a controversial law allowing poor families to apply taxpayer-funded vouchers to private schooling if their children are in schools that performed poorly on state tests.= =In an interview, state Education Secretary Ron Tomalis said he is encouraged by the number of school districts that are contacting the Department of Education to join a pilot program on the teacher evaluation system. He said the state will be hosting a webinar for districts that want more information. After a tough budget season that led to changes, Tomalis said he is encouraged by how districts have stayed focused on kids.= ="As always we want school districts to have a very successful year," he said.= =But East Penn Superintendent Thomas Seidenberger said he wishes Corbett's administration would back that up with action.= ="Our employees responded to the governor's plea for wage freezes," Seidenberger said. "So now we need the governor to end his fixation with vouchers and the proliferation of charter schools. We need him to visit high quality public school districts to rediscover the benefits we provide for our students."= = **Washington's mandates** = =The Obama administration has been a strong advocate of reform and that stance is expected to be reflected in anticipated changes to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The presidential directive will come with a quid pro quo that would allow states to seek waivers from some aspects of the law only if they adopt President [|Barack Obama]'s education reform measures. Obama has made adopting those measures, which include merit pay for teachers and the removal of principals and teachers from failing schools, a condition for districts to receive federal School Improvement Grants and for states to compete for federal Race to the Top grants.= =The nation's economic woes have helped fuel the reform debate, said Nelson, the Wisconsin professor. But money, he noted, can't bring about real reform.= ="Reforming schools is not just about whether you have enough money to spend on new programs or you feel teachers are well prepared for the classroom," he said. "School reform is about fundamental structural issues … and huge [funding] inequalities."= =No other district in the Valley has adopted the mantra of reform like the Allentown School District, which had the most teacher layoffs (112) of any district. The staff cuts may be hard for students to ignore, especially at the elementary level where gym and library studies are now in the hands of some classroom teachers. The layoffs were tied to personnel and curriculum changes implemented by former Superintendent Gerald Zahorchak, whose Pathways to Success program is aimed at better preparing students for college and careers.= ="What we've done is built around the idea of getting kids to make progress in the fundamental areas of math and reading," Zahorchak said Aug. 9, nine days before he quit the post and his deputy, Russ Mayo, was elevated to take his place as acting superintendent. Zahorchak's resignation capped a tumultuous year in which he failed to get the backing of teachers, parents and students on the speed and substance of his reforms, which included replacing high school electives to make room for more college and Advanced Placement courses and removing principals from four district schools to secure federal grants.= =Reform may look good on paper but in practice, it has sparked the ire of educators and the public. It hasn't helped that Obama's push for education reforms came during a particularly painful budget year that brought layoffs, program shifts and superintendent buyouts.= =Less than a week after the Allentown board bought out Zahorchak's contract for $250,000, which includes a one-year salary and a $55,000 payment, the [|Philadelphia] School District used tax money and private donations to buy out its superintendent's contract for $905,000. Zahorchak, like Philadelphia's Arlene Ackerman, considered himself a reformer but never won support for changes from the community. Both their buyouts now are under investigation by the state auditor general's office.= =Their sagas highlight a shift in the education climate, where reformers proceed at their own peril.= =Jack Jennings, president and CEO of the Washington think-tank Center on Education Policy, said recent history shows superintendents need strong communication skills to get staff, students, parents, business leaders and media to believe in their reform goals. Secondly, Jennings said, superintendents need a firm grasp of daily operations— transportation, safety, maintenance, supplies, books. Reforms will fail if operations are a mess.= ="Economic pressures may not let up any time soon," Jennings said, but the pressure on superintendents to improve education knows no limits.= = **Challenges for local districts** = =Some of Zahorchak's reforms already have taken root. Students at Allen and Dieruff high schools will return next week to find fewer electives as part of Zahorchak's plan to steer more students toward Advanced Placement courses and dual enrollment programs through [|Lehigh Carbon Community College], where they will earn college credits while fulfilling high school requirements. That worked out for 428 students, but not for a number of others who failed LCCC's math or English entrance. Honors classes have been reinstituted for those students.= =Allen senior Ashley Liriano, 16, said while Zahorchak was focused on adding more AP and college courses, he wasn't looking out for the majority of students — those in the middle. Now, she said, average students will have fewer opportunities.= ="I'm taking Track 1, average level," she said. "I dislike how we don't have as many electives as we had before."= =Logistically, the biggest change is new start times for all Allentown students as the district replaces the 7:55 a.m. start with staggered times: 7:30 a.m. for high school, 7:50 a.m. for middle school and 8:45 a.m. for elementary school.= =In Bethlehem, where changes are being implemented gradually, Roy said his administration tried to protect mandated programs from budget cuts. Consequently, average classroom sizes will remain the same.= ="We protected that pretty well," he said.= =But elementary schools lost after-school activities, high schools lost some electives and preschool was cut back from serving about 300 students to about 100 of the neediest learners.= =Bethlehem's biggest program change is at the middle schools, where layoffs eliminated team teaching, a method that addresses the academic, social and family needs of students. Instead, homeroom teachers will attempt to address those needs.= ="The elimination of middle school teaming, I think, is going to have a huge impact on the delivery of instruction and supports to students," said Jolene Vitalos, president of the teachers union. At the high schools, the district will be implementing a new feature to the code of conduct. After a student is disciplined for breaking a rule, teachers will use a concept called 'restorative practices' to try to get students to understand how their actions affected the victim.= ="A lot of times it's an apology," Roy said.= =In Bangor, a small district of about 3,320 students, the lean budget will swell class sizes, said Superintendent Pat Mulroy.= ="Programmatically, we're hanging on," she said. "If you're in America right now and you're not in the top 2 percent [of wealth], you're just hanging on."= =Mulroy said increased class sizes will be the biggest issue when students start back Monday. The largest increases will be in elementary grades, where nearly every room has grown to more than 22 students, she said.= ="The ability to give kids individualized attention is going to be affected, I think, at all levels," Mulroy said.= =In Parkland, one of the wealthiest districts in the Valley, academics were spared the budget ax.= ="We were able to trim around the edges of the budget without affecting any core programming," said Superintendent Rich Sniscak, who rose from Parkland High principal to central administration to become chief this year. The challenge, Sniscak said, will come next year when the budget is expected to get tighter as the state taxing index stays low.= ="The challenge will be a little bit stiffer coming into the '12-13 budget," he said.= =For all districts.= =//Reporters [|Patrick Lester] and [|Andrew McGill] contributed to this story//= = = = = = = = = =News= =home=