The Leading Edge

Today's guest blog is from Yasmin Bowers, project manager of AASA’s Healthy School Environments.

During the preconference session on Thursday morning (January 14, 2010), I had an opportunity to share dream IAQ programs and goal of the Symposium experience with other attendees. My dream was that every school be able to complete its renovations in a healthy and sustainable manner with the support of administration and community. I also shared the need for student IAQ curricula that explains the relationship between IAQ, health, and environment. My goal of the Symposium was to network and promote the resources of AASA’s Healthy Schools Environments and Asthma projects. The person next to me shared that his dream IAQ program have “top-down” implementation within his district, and that the program be adopted by the superintendent and board. Others shared the need to have a fully funded IAQ Department for a larger urban school district, student and parent engagement, and an IAQ culture to sustain efforts.

With this energy, I knew that the rest of the Symposium would be quite the journey. Over the next two-and-a-half days, I attended panels, award ceremonies and breakout sessions that mirrored lecture from college courses. These experiences were modeled after an “Epic Journey” to reach our destination—the completion of our Design Challenge in which IAQ recommendations were to be made to our Challenge District based on a presentation made on the current state of the district’s IAQ, challenges, success, and goals.

The format of the Symposium allowed me to network and bond within a group setting in order to address the challenges of the Design Team, also allowing me to work with people that I might not have otherwise met. My first Symposium was a great experience that allowed me to support AASA’s sponsored attendees and participate as a Symposium attendee in order to apply its strategies to AASA’s Healthy School Environments.

Please apply for an AASA Scholarship to attend the 11th Annual EPA IAQ TfS Symposium. For more information about the Symposium visit www.iaqsymposium.com. I hope to see you there.

Today's guest blog is from Yasmin Bowers, project manager of AASA’s Healthy School Environments.

On Wednesday, January 13, 2010 I geared up for the 10th Annual Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for School (TfS) National Symposium at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC by attending a welcome meeting for 35 AASA-sponsored attendees. This meeting served as an introduction to the EPA IAQ TfS program, an opportunity for attendees to interact with colleagues in the field of school IAQ and share successes and challenges, and a forum to discuss future IAQ action plans. For months, I have had remote correspondence so the welcome meeting was a great opportunity to meet face-to-face.

The energy of the welcome meeting was of encouragement and positivity, which foreshadowed the rest of the Symposium. Attendees desired to learn more about incorporating TfS into their district’s IAQ programs and to seek the knowledge and experience of speakers and fellow peers in overcoming challenges.

AASA-sponsored attendees had the following agendas and expectations of the Symposium:

• Use the Symposium experience to reassure the safety and health of schools
• Use the Symposium experience to build credibility, especially regarding the unique HVAC usage of portable classrooms 
• Use the Symposium experience to manage occupants and educate best management practices for IAQ
• Use the Symposium experience to strategize ways to bring departments together (i.e. custodial, HVAC, shop, health, IAQ)
• Use the Symposium experience to balance energy efficiency and IAQ initiativesUse the Symposium experience to connect IAQ with green initiatives
• Use the Symposium experience to address humidity challenges while balancing energy efficiency
• Use the Symposium experience to implement non-traditional approaches to IAQ (i.e. IAQ coursework and community outreach)

On Monday, President Obama released his budget proposal for FY 2011. AASA applauds the support for and investment in education in President Obama’s 2011 budget proposal and the changes in No Child Left Behind that are assumed in the proposal. The significant increases in funding for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the focus on improving teaching and closing the achievement gap are important steps toward long-term positive change in our schools.

However, AASA is concerned with the decision to shift a significantly larger proportion of dollars into competitive grant programs. While understanding the Obama Administration’s commitment to rewarding and duplicating successful programs and practices, AASA urges Congress to maintain formula grants to provide a more reliable stream of funding to local school districts. Formula-driven funding represents the dedicated funding stream that allows school districts to appropriately plan for and invest in innovation and reform. Our members are concerned that competitive grants will have a disproportionately negative impact on small and rural districts that do not have the capacity to prepare grant applications.

AASA strongly encourages both Congress and the administration to recognize—and be prepared to react to—the possibility that the sizeable increase in federal education funding may not translate into funding increases at the local level. With state and local economies struggling under severe budget shortfalls, Congress and the administration need to be alert to supplanting of federal funds. When states play ‘shell games’ with federal dollars intended for schools, the nation’s students lose.

You can read AASA's full response and talking points here.

AASA lost a dear friend January 22, when Dr. Charles Thomas of Lincolnshire, Illinois -- the former chairman of AASA’s Committee on Federal Policy and Legislation (FPL) -- passed away. We in Public Policy remember Charles as a faithful leader of AASA’s legislative efforts during the three years he served on AASA’s policymaking body. We came to know and respect his sense of commitment to children and to the profession of education leadership.

Charles made his mark, in particular, during the year in which he served as chair of the FPL. We remember his thorough and thoughtful decisions, some made on spur-of-the-moment issues that would suddenly pop up before a vote in a committee or the floor of the House or Senate.

A college athlete, who had been a starting fullback for the University of Wisconsin, Charles once told The Herald newspaper of suburban Chicago that most athletes, by tradition, moved into physical education for their degrees. But he rejected that path, “I got into social studies,” he said, became a teacher, and then became the first African-American administrator (assistant principal) at Evanston Township High School. After earning his masters and PhD degrees in educational administration at Northwestern University, Charles became the first African-American superintendent in Lake County, Ill., when he was named Superintendent of North Chicago Community Schools.

It was at that stage in his career that Charles received his appointment to the AASA Federal Policy Committee. We have fond memories of working with him while he guided the Committee through the complex national issues he helped his peers navigate to reach an AASA legislative policy position.

His life as an educator seems best described by a quote he gave The Herald in 1973 at the time of his rise to the superintendency, “Everybody will say kids are different and need to be taught differently. But when you get to the point of implementing the program, that’s where the problem comes in. It makes a difference whether you want to be sensitive to a kid’s needs or just teach the course and write the kid off.”

Clearly, Charles Thomas wrote off no one. And we are forever grateful for his insight, his leadership and his long lasting friendship.

On Thursday morning at 10am the House Education and Labor Committee will be marking up HR 4247 on seclusion and restraint. Although AASA has a current policy that seclusion and restraint should only be used as a last case scenario, we have serious concerns with the current bill.

Specifically, the current bill would prevent school districts from including any mention of appropriate seclusion and restraint techniques from inclusion in the behavioral plan within the Individualized Education Plan. This runs against any proactive discussions that the school district could have with the families.

Secondly, the bill would prohibit the use of any mechanical restraints in school districts. This would include handcuffs. AASA is concerned that this would prevent law enforcement or school resource officers from responding to dangerous situations on school grounds.

Finally, AASA remains concerned that the overly negative language in the bill disrespects the hard work of educators throughout school districts across the country.

We need AASA members to call your Representative before Thursday. Here is the letter that AASA sent the committee this week. We need to make sure they keep the needs of educators in mind as they consider the best way to handle seclusion and restraint. AASA urges the committee to create legislation that would support the policies being created at the state level in this area.

Secretary Duncan has announced the next call in USED's series of monthly conference calls.

The next call, scheduled for Wednesday, February 3, will discuss President Obama's FY2011 budget proposal.

DATE: Wednesday, February 3

TIME: 2:30-3:30 p.m. ET / 1:30-2:30 p.m. CT / 12:30-1:30 p.m. MT / 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PT

Call-In #: 1-800-857-9825

Passcode: EDUCATION (given verbally)

RSVP: Please reply to this message (or Adam.Honeysett@ed.gov) by COB Tuesday, February 2, if you or a designated representative will join the call.

NOTE: In order to accommodate a large number of participants, please only use one line per office. Also, please call-in 10-15 minutes early. There will be time for questions.

In case you haven’t heard, when President Obama unveils his FY11 budget next week, the proposal will include a major increase in funding for elementary and secondary education.

Before I delve into some concerns, let me give you a rundown of the money, keeping in mind that much of the detail will remain unknown until the budget is formally released. The proposal will represent a 6.2% increase in federal education spending and consolidate 38 K-12 programs down to 11 and eliminate six programs deemed duplicative or ineffective. The proposal will raise federal education spending by as much as $4b for ESEA. Three billion will be proposed in the budget, with an additional $1 billion contingent upon reauthorization of ESEA. The baseline increase of $3b includes the $1.35b already announced for Race to the Top.

Given the tight economic times at the federal and especially state levels, we acknowledge the commitment that a 6% funding increase represents. That said, how did we reach six percent? What is the numerator and what is the denominator? Are we comparing the discretionary budget to FY10 appropriations? How do we account for stimulus dollars? What is the baseline? Show me the (math behind the) money!

Beyond the math, AASA will be analyzing the budget as usual:
- What programs are cut?
- What programs are consolidated?
- How are the remaining programs funded? Funding cuts, level funding, or funding increases?

Much of the detail—the information that answers the questions above—is not publicly available. For that, we have to stay tuned to next week’s budget release. Check back here for updates!