MIT Cuts Teams to save $1.5 Million

The athletic department of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is cutting eight teams, including men and women’s ice hockey and gymnastics, skiing, competitive pistol, golf, and wrestling to save $1.5 million. Students and coaches feel disappointment, as well as uncertainty about how cuts will affect the school’s top national rankings.

Students and faculty alike have expressed concern that the programs contribute to the prestige and admissions totals at the school—which, in the long run, earns them funding and alumni donations. Together, these factors influence the school’s national rankings—which have always placed MIT as one of the nation’s top institutions. Anticipating cuts, MIT students held protests and held fund-raisers in attempts to avert program cuts, but the programs were dropped to relieve the budget of the athletic department.

Prior to cuts, MIT’s athletic department supported 41 teams. While the student body feels overall disappointed about the cuts, the school responds that even under the brightest economic conditions, budget-wise, 41 teams were difficult to maintain. In addition, leadership asserts that the cuts will strengthen the remaining 33 teams.

Preschool Enrollments Dwindling

Even preschools are seeing the effects of the tight economy with declining enrollments. While some pre-kindergarten educational facilities are still full, directors at many across the country are worried that they will not fill enrollments in the fall. Leaders are aware that high levels of unemployment and sinking salaries are resulting in fewer registrants, as more parents opt to keep children at home and others seek less expensive means of supervising and educating children prior to kindergarten.

In the past, many educational facilities for pre-kindergarten aged children consistently had years-long waiting lists that required parents to sign up prior to delivering a child they intended to enroll; however, for many schools, those days are over. Linda Jo Platt, the director of a local Manhattan nursery school explained, “Normally, we have phones ringing off the hook from parents inquiring about the school.” On a more negative note, she added, “This year, the phones have been dead.” The school, which usually has a waiting list of 40-50 families, now has open spaces for the fall and does not anticipate that they will be filled.

It isn’t just Ms. Platt’s school. Olivia Hewitt, co-president of the Westchester Association for the Education of Young Children, a 300-member consortium of nursery school educators, says, “Everyone is stunned,” She explains, “There are empty spaces and whether or not they are in your school, it is making everyone nervous.”

Historically, in times of low employment, families pull children from pre-school for less expensive alternatives. Rising unemployment and lower salaries have been reflected in low levels of enrollment in all types of educational facilities. Until those numbers improve, it seems likely that pre-kindergarten classes will continue to see lower levels of enrollment.

The Economic Impact of Underachievement

According to a new report from McKinsey & Company, underachieving schools have had more than just a social impact on the U.S.—they’ve had an economic impact as well. “The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools” says that while the causes of the gap may not be well known, the consequences of it have not been fully understood, either.

The report identifies four education gaps: between the U.S. and other nations, between black and Latino students and white students, between students of different income levels, and between students of different systems and/or religions. As a result of these gaps, the report says, valuable human potential is wasted, creating the economic equivalent of a “permanent national recession” even larger than the current one. On the individual level, these gaps can lead to lower earnings, poor health, and higher incarceration rates.

To download the full report, visit McKinsey & Company.

Columbine Observes 10-Year Anniversary of Massacre

Columbine High School near Littleton, Colorado, was closed today in observance of the Columbine massacre 10 years ago in which 12 students and one teacher were killed and two dozen others were wounded. The school held a sunset candlelight vigil to honor the victims, and visitors flocked to the Columbine Memorial near the school. To date, Columbine remains the most violent high school shooting incident on record.

L.A. School Board Votes in Favor of up to 5,400 Layoffs

The school board for nation’s second-largest school district, facing a $596 million shortage for the upcoming school year, voted yesterday to lay off as many as 5,400 teachers and support personnel before next fall. The AP reports that the exact number is unknown because the district is awaiting state and federal funds, and some of the layoffs may be offset by an early retirement program. However, district Superintendent Ramon Cortines, who claimed to have tried unsuccessfully to reach layoff-sparing compromises with unions all over the district in the past two weeks, said that even though he’s “recommended that the majority of the stimulus money be used to save jobs,” the incoming funds will not be sufficient “to save all the jobs.”

Although the Los Angeles Board of Education also voted on Tuesday to save the jobs of some 2,000 elementary school teachers, the decision to lay off so many other teachers and staff members has been unpopular. Many unions feel that district spending should be reigned in before pursuing furloughs, salary reductions, and layoffs. Opponents of the board’s decision also say that it will compromise the quality of education in the district. Moreover, they feel that inner-city schools will be disproportionately affected because the majority of their staffs are new hires, and the state mandates that positions be eliminated starting with those who have the least seniority.

Online Education: Huge Growth Creates Concerns

As the economy has tightened in recent years, online education has seen explosive growth. Once viewed as an up and coming industry, online schooling is now booming. While the industry grows for students of all age groups, online institutions seek to provide answers to concerns and solutions to issues including accreditation and quality of learning.

The number of Americans who enrolled in at least one online course doubled from 2003 to 2009—and online students now include school-aged children as well as adults. More than 4 million Americans enrolled in at least one online course last fall as compared to 2 million in the fall of 2003. For the large online institutions, such as University of Phoenix, new enrollment has jumped by about 20 percent just over the past year. Online students now include K-12 as well as adult learners. As of February 2008, a total of 18 states had charter school programs online.

The explosive growth has lead to questions and concerns about the quality of instruction. For school aged children, state officials and parents alike question the best approach to ensuring that online classes provide youths with the same standards—or higher ones—that those met by traditional classroom studies.

Internet college courses face frequent complaints regarding poor quality. While some schools provide quality online courses for as little as $500 per class, others charge up to $9,000 to $10,000 for master’s degrees, despite being unaccredited–therefore receiving no recognition from employers or other colleges. In a recent survey, nearly half of professors who had taught an online course indicated that online students received an inferior education. Many online institutions are taking measures to ensure quality instruction, such as limiting student count to 20 per class and requiring instructors to respond to students within a 24 hour time frame.

Detroit Schools to Close and Cut Jobs

Detroit schools may see mass closings and layoffs beginning as soon as this summer and extending into the 2009-2010 school year. Robert C. Bobb, former president of the District of Columbia Board of Education and the state-appointed official in charge of finances of the impoverished school system, explained that the cuts are critical to alleviate the budget deficit and school funding crisis.

Mr. Bobb deemed the cuts as critical and says reform must be quick, rather than incremental. His plan calls for closing 25% of the city’s 194 schools and cutting the jobs of 10% of teachers. Over summer, the plan involves permanently closing 23 schools, which will require transferring over 7,500 students. During the next school year, 30 to 40 additional schools would be closed. This year, the plan calls for 600 teacher layoffs.

The capacity of the school system cannot be supported by current funding that has been impacted by a dwindling student body, little local tax revenue, and poor handling of funds. Over the past decade, enrollment in Detroit schools has fallen by 10,000 students each year. High poverty levels in the district mean little local tax revenue as well. In addition, corruption and mismanagement of existing funds have exacerbated the district’s funding crisis.

Officials hope that reducing the size of the school system will alleviate the deficit and allow critical reforms to be made quickly. Mr. Bobb requested $200 million of Michigan’s $1.5 billion of federal stimulus money, of which $25 million would go to school safety and security, and $81 million to repair and augment buildings to accommodate students from closing schools. Mr. Bobb feels that these changes will not only improve students’ education, but that they will also create jobs for and improve the quality of life for Detroit residents.

Excessive Facebook Time Lowers Grades

A study done by researchers at Ohio State University (OSU) indicates that university students who use Facebook tend to spend less time studying and make lower grades. According to researchers OSU, the results show that most students who regularly do social networking on Facebook site perform more poorly on exams by as much as a grade point. Researchers believe that the results hold try to social networks in general, though the study was done specifically on the habits of users of Facebook.

Researchers first surveyed 219 undergraduates and postgraduates about their study habits, grades, and time spent on Facebook. They found that 65% of Facebook users accessed their account daily, often checking it several times for new messages. Some users spent just a couple of minutes each time they checked for new messages, but others surfed for more than an hour each time. The study indicates that 68% of students who used Facebook had a ’significantly’ lower grade point average than those who did not use the site.

Aryn Karpinski, a researcher in the education department at Ohio State University who lead the research specifies that the discrepancy between grades of Facebook users and non-users is “the equivalent of the difference between getting an A and a B.” It appears that the main issue with the social media application is not the social network itself that is an issue but the time users spend on it.

Karpinski explains, “Our study shows people who spend more time on Facebook spend less time studying.” She adds, “Every generation has its distractions, but I think Facebook is a unique phenomenon.” Karpinski will present the findings in the study at the upcoming annual conference of the American Educational Research Association.

Brown Wants Community Service by British Youth

Prime Minister Gordon Brown aims to make community service a compulsory part of youth education in Britain. Under his plan, teenagers would be required to fulfill a minimum amount of community service by age 19, while political opponents have hinted at their own agendas involving service by youth on a voluntary basis. Brown’s proposal will be officially launched in September, but it will only go into effect if his political party is reelected.

Under Brown’s plan, every teenager would be required to do a minimum of 50 hours of community work before the age of 19, Gordon Brown has announced. The Prime Minister feels teens will turn to crime less often and gain a sense of citizenship by doing volunteer work for charities, the elderly, or people with disabilities. If the plan becomes official, volunteer service could become part of the National Curriculum and would ideally involve teenagers helping in charities not only in Britain, but worldwide.

Even if the Labour Party is not victorious, teens may still be asked to serve the community, as Brown’s main political opponent, Tory leader David Cameron, has proposed a program that would involve community service by 16-year-olds. Under this plan, teens would do charity work and physical training. Cameron’s program, however, would be voluntary.

Each plan has support among various groups. The region has been alarmed at increasing rates of knife crimes and other violence among teenagers in recent years. Officials and police chiefs have urged leaders to introduce compulsory community service and other solutions.

Colorado Enters “Race to the Top” for Federal Education Dollars

After outlining some of the Obama administration’s education reform objectives last weekend, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is in Denver, Colorado, today to visit two schools and assess Colorado’s student-achievement data.

Colorado is considered one of many states with sufficient political clout to nab a share of the $4.35 billion in education stimulus money, but it lacks a clear track record of improvement. According to the Denver Post, graduation rates, literacy, and the number of minority students who attend college are below the national average.

Thus, the state is trying to outline a plan for how it would allocate the additional resources and overhaul public education. Senator Michael Bennet, a former Denver Public Schools chief, has said that the state must be willing to try out a new education model. That model could include teacher performance monitoring, literacy standards starting at kindergarten, and greater power for principals to hire and fire liberally. Colorado doesn’t have much time, however, as the application for funds is due in August.

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