TEST Act Introduced in Congress

For those of you in the Montessori community concerned with standardized testing of your students and the ever increasing numbers of those tests...

Rep. Steve Israel- D-NY introduced the Tackling Excessive Standardized Testing Act (TEST Act) on Thursday. The proposed bill is backed by the American Federal of Teachers.

Highlights include:

• Limiting testing to one per year for students in grades 3-8. English in grades 3, 5 and 7 and Math in grades 4, 6 and 8.
• Schools in the top 15% would move to a 4 year cycle of testing

This bill is likely to be a hard sell. Both Kline and Miller- top R and D on the House Education Committee support the current testing schedule in their re authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) bill. Tom Harkin- chair of Senate Education Committee also supports the current system of testing in his version of the ESEA.

Of interest, Arne Duncan, USDE, has begun discussing the "burden of over testing" and has suggested that his department be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Read more here:  http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2014/09/aft_backs_newest_proposal_to_r.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

Policy Updates that Impact Montessori Education

Since Congress has returned from the August recess, education legislation, especially early childhood education, has seen an increase in bipartisan support. Recent polls indicate that upwards of 70% of Americans polled support greater financial support for early childhood education. After all, who could argue with the notion of providing high quality education for "our youngest, most vulnerable citizens?"

Strengthening Education Through Research Act- passed the House in May but has now been passed by the Senate HELP (Heath, Education, Labor and Pensions) Comm. and will soon be up for a full vote. This bill reauthorizes educational research through the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) but now requires a balance of topics on preK, K-12, and post secondary education. A change to "scientifically valid research" rather than "scientifically based research standards" will encourage the use of more methodologies.

Child Care Development Block Grant passed the Senate this past spring but has just passed the House with changes which have not yet been published to the web. This bill reauthorizes the CCDBG which provides early childhood education program expansion for low income families (a family of 4 making $50,000 annually) by providing vouchers which can be used by a family to choose the ECE program of their choice. Private providers and independent schools can apply for the use of these funds provided they demonstrate a standard of quality established by the state or local jurisdiction. Translated, this means a given score on a QRIS , recognized staff qualifications and education, and mandated professional development.

Strong Start for America's Children passed the Senate HELP Committee earlier this year but is now being taken up again as legislators realize that Early Childhood Education is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for voters. This bill would grant federal funding to both school districts and private providers to serve children 0-6 years of age (income levels have not been determined but the trend is towards increasing the minimum for a family of 4- in OK it is $137,000) as long as quality standards are met and all ECE teachers have a degree in early childhood. This bill is being sponsored by Senator Harkin and Representative Kline, both of whom will be retiring at the end of this session.

School Improvement Grants administered by the USDE have recently added to the model so that local school districts may now use funds to implement early learning interventions to add pre-K to elementary schools. As with all of this federal funding, there are teacher education and professional development requirements, and mandated early learning standards requirements.

At the state level-

WA- increase of child care subsidy by 4%; revising Early Childhood Education and Assistance program standards of quality.
NH- NH Supreme Court overturned a ruling striking down the state's tax credit scholarship program. The program allows businesses to receive tax credits for donations made to organizations used for tuition at another district school or private school.
FL-the teacher's union is backing a lawsuit against the state's education tax credit scholarship program. This program allows businesses and individuals to claim tax credits for donations made to state approved organizations which give money to students for tuition at private schools.
NYC- the universal preK program which opened this fall is serving 50,000 children. This is an increase of 20,000 from last year with a prediction of serving 73.000 by fall 2015. The center found that to have enough spaces for children they had to use a mixed delivery system of public and independent providers but the standards for quality are the same for all. There is no income limit for families wanting to apply for these slots. Because of the requirements for teacher education, there are not enough high quality teachers and the city is fast-tracking individuals to get the needed training.
IN- was recently awarded by the Schools for Tomorrow Conference as having the "best voucher program" in the country because it offers autonomy of the independent schools, the $ follows the child, and there are no caps on the numbers of vouchers awarded.

What does all of this mean for the Montessori community? Regardless of your school setting, be it public or independent, and regardless of the students being targeted for service- low income, at risk, ELL, special needs- the one thing in common for all Montessori schools is the definitions of high quality being established at the state and federal level. These qualifications have not, for the most part, been determined with involvement of Montessori educators and in many ways, have a direct negative impact on our schools.

The issue then is How do we support and protect high quality Montessori programming regardless of setting or student population? How do we compromise and comply with accountability without compromising our integrity? If we really want to provide a Montessori education for as many children as possible, isn't it important to have a conversation about the quality of that Montessori education?

Comments?

An Opportunity for the Montessori Community? Preschool Development Grant Update

The USDE and DHH announced yesterday that 32 states have submitted their "intent to apply" for a share of the $250 million grant competition. Final applications are due Oct. 14th.

There are two types of grants- one for development of early childhood programs and systems of accountability and one for expansion of existing programs and accountability.

The states applying for development grants include: HI, IN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, UT, and Puerto Rico.

States applying for expansion money include: AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, IL, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, NJ, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, and WV.

If you live in a development state, now would be perfect time to make a connection with the state department writing the application. Call your state Child Care Licensing office, or state Department of Education to find the correct agency and person. Make a contact, ask for a meeting to share general information about the value of including Montessori as an option for early childhood education in your state.

If you live in an expansion state, now would be a perfect time to get involved. Contact your state Office of Early Learning (or equivalent- it might be licensing) and find out how the Montessori community can participate.

Washington- state provides a good "case study" for a state applying for an expansion grant. The Department of Early Learning (DEL) is "seeking input from the community." WA. is currently providing 10,091 preschool slots for families but with additional federal funds, they propose increasing that to 25,091 spaces. Additional funds would also be used to provide "curriculum support, professional development and tuition, and to increase private pay options."
WA. is defining high quality as: full day (5 hrs), highly trained teachers, an evidenced based curriculum, access to comprehensive services, a rich learning environment, and positive teacher-child interactions.

What makes WA interesting is its similarity to many of the states seeking Preschool Development Grant money. Many states want input from the community, all are increasing availability of programming, all see the need for a mixed delivery system that includes public and private providers, and all are mandated in this grant to both increase slots for children but also increase "quality" based on standards not that different from WA.

High quality Montessori education meets all of these. The task before us is educating and explaining how and why. It's all in the translation. Our most basic advocacy work can be explaining to these state agencies how we can contribute to their data base of high quality programs and a highly trained work force. We must interrupt how Montessori education meets the standards and criteria of accountability with the language and presentation that doesn't require us to compromise on best practice but helps others understand just what that is and how it fits in serving the needs of all children.

As always, Montessori Forward is about Montessori educators supporting one another on our common goal. Have a question, have a story to tell about your meeting with a state agency? Share so the rest of us might learn and explore these issues together.

Let's not miss this golden opportunity to become a part of the conversation on just what great education looks like.