Education Trust News

A Step Forward on Improving Teacher Prep

Teacher education is overdue for retooling, and some good ideas have emerged from the national debate on just how to do it. Indeed, a new report by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) lays out a promising road map for preparing 21st-century educators.

To overhaul the way we train teachers—and make a difference for the kids who need them most—will take several key components, as urged by NCATE:

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Educators Inspired, Informed at Ed Trust National Conference

At the 2010 Education Trust National Conference, a common refrain rang clear: We can close the achievement gaps for low-income students and students of color. But only if this goal becomes a national priority and the movement is led by people with a can-do attitude.

Over 600 advocates, educators, experts, and parents converged on the nation’s capital to get their annual dose of inspiration and information at the 21st national conference on the theme, "Take Charge of Change: Effective Practices to Close Gaps and Raise Achievement.” Workshops by leaders in the education reform movement provided wisdom and insight on the tough work of closing achievement gaps.

Ed Trust President Kati Haycock urged conferees to think about the social implications of denying all students a solid education. “When people tell us that we can’t fix public schools until we fix poverty, we should tell them that they have it backwards,” said Haycock. “We cannot fix poverty until we fix our public schools.”

Two Southwest Schools Perform High for Latinos

At Morningside Elementary School in Brownsville, Tex., Principal Dolores Cisneros Emerson gives her teachers a tall order: Nine out of ten students must meet or exceed state standards. Her staff and the kids they serve are beating those high expectations. In 2009, 99 percent of the school’s fifth-graders met state standards for math and science, and 99 percent of third-graders met state reading standards.

This story of soaring achievement is played out in a border town touched by the violence of Mexican drug cartels, at a school where all of the children are Hispanic and 91 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

In neighboring New Mexico, Griegos Elementary School, with a student body that’s three-quarters Hispanic and 60 percent low-income, reaches for—and achieves—excellence.  Last year this Albuquerque school helped 91 percent of its fifth-graders meet state reading standards.

Like Morningside’s  Emerson, Griegos’ principal Tom Graham sets the bar high for every one of “his” kids. “We have the same expectations for all students, rich or poor,” says Graham.

Four Public Schools Receive the 8th Annual Dispelling the Myth Awards

K-12 Neighborhood Schools in Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas Proving Success is Possible For All Students

At last week’s national conference, The Education Trust honored four outstanding public schools with the eighth annual Dispelling the Myth Awards. The award recognizes outstanding work in narrowing achievement gaps between student groups, exceeding state standards, or rapidly improving student learning. (Visit the conference Web page to learn more about the conference and download workshop presentations.)

With dedication, high expectations, and relentless attention to the business of teaching and learning, the educators working in these high-poverty and high-minority schools prove every day that all students can learn at high levels when they are taught to high levels.

The 2010 Dispelling the Myth Award winners are:
•    Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School, New Orleans
•    Jack Britt High School, Fayetteville, N.C.
•    Griegos Elementary School, Albuquerque, N.M.
•    Morningside Elementary School, Brownsville, Texas

Four Public Schools Receive the 8th Annual Dispelling the Myth Awards

K-12 Neighborhood Schools in Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas Proving Success is Possible For All Students

Last week, The Education Trust honored four outstanding public schools with the eighth annual Dispelling the Myth Awards. The award recognizes outstanding work in narrowing achievement gaps between student groups, exceeding state standards, or rapidly improving student learning.

With dedication, high expectations, and relentless attention to the business of teaching and learning, the educators working in these high-poverty and high-minority schools prove every day that all students can learn at high levels when they are taught to high levels.

The 2010 Dispelling the Myth Award winners are:
•    Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School, New Orleans
•    Jack Britt High School, Fayetteville, N.C.
•    Griegos Elementary School, Albuquerque, N.M.
•    Morningside Elementary School, Brownsville, Texas

Superman, Move Over: Neighborhood Schools Can Soar

Around the country, educators at high-poverty, high-minority neighborhood schools aren’t waiting for Superman to help their students achieve. Some are already succeeding at the tough work of teaching high-level skills and knowledge—despite a host of out-of-school challenges.

Take Ware Elementary in Fort Riley, Kansas, located on an army base. Some 76 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-priced meals and most of their families struggle with the trauma and stress of at least one deployed parent—often serving in locales that are among the most dangerous on earth. 

Yet at this neighborhood school, academic achievement is skyrocketing. Among its fifth-graders, for instance, 99 percent of students score at or above proficiency in reading, and 70 percent exceed state standards. In fact, Ware won Ed Trust’s Dispelling the Myth Award in 2007. 

White House Plan Spotlights Latino Education

Earlier this week, President Obama signed an executive order renewing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Launched in 1990, the initiative aims to ensure that America’s Latino students, now one-fifth of the nation’s schoolchildren, get the education they need to achieve success beyond high school.


The president acknowledged that even as the number of Latino students grows, our schools too often give them the worst of what our public education system has to offer.