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In a state that takes education seriously, it was no surprise that Iowa was one of the first to participate in McREL’s Balanced Leadership program. What was surprising, however, was how educators embraced the program and coordinated their efforts to create the best statewide application of leadership training to date.

Over the next few years, McREL consultants delivered Balanced Leadership to hundreds of principals in eight of Iowa’s 10 AEAs. Today, every school and district leader in Iowa has been touched by our work.

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Although we will continue to feature our workshops, new products and services, and newsroom content via the McREL E-news, this new feed allows us to share even more information with our subscribers.

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A new study reported in the journal Science found that, although Chinese students knew more scientific facts than their U.S. counterparts, neither group was particularly skilled in scientific reasoning. Conventional wisdom has held for many years that teaching science facts will increase reasoning skills. The authors suggest increasing the use of inquiry-based learning to boost reasoning skills, which determine a student's ultimate success in scientific careers.

A new report has found that the number of K–12 students enrolled in online courses has increased by 47 percent in the past two years. And all indications are that the growth will continue, as more than 80 percent of schools surveyed say they are looking for providers of online content.

A new study suggests that Barack Obama's election may help decrease the achievement gap between blacks and whites. They are calling it the Obama effect. Although it is too early for comprehensive research, a preliminary study showed that the performance gap on a 20-question test administered to blacks and whites practically disappeared after Obama's election and inauguration. This suggests that Obama may provide the inspiration needed to reduce anxieties about racial stereotypes that had been shown to lower test-taking proficiency.

New research shows that students in Michigan, as well as the rest of the nation, are seeing little to no benefit from the tutoring they receive as part of a national program to help supplement education from failing schools. Only 20–25 percent of students take advantage of the free tutoring at all, and there is no enforcement of the quality of the tutoring programs.

You may also be interested in the REL Central at McREL research brief, Missed Opportunities: Supplemental Services in the Central Region States, which finds similar problems plaguing the Central Region states.

A report from the National Governors Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Association of State Boards of Education has found that states are not doing enough to ensure students are poised for success. Although the past few years have seen an increase in coursework requirements and other improvements, there is no consensus about what actually constitutes college-readiness and career-readiness. To effectively prepare students for success, the report says, schools need to clarify their expectations, align their standards to real-world expectations, improve teacher and principal performance, and ensure principals are effective instructional leaders.

A new report from the National Research Council synthesizes studies about informal scientific learning—that taking place in museums, through educational television programming, and other non-traditional methods. These informal channels can significantly deepen scientific interest and understanding, particularly for groups that typically show little interest in science.

While it is commonly understood that some college students need remedial education in some subjects, there has been little research about the progression of students through the remediation process. This report finds that only 30–40 percent of students who require remediation actually complete the entire course. The rest drop out before completing the program. In effect, higher education institutions are losing students before they even get started.

A new study compares the amount of recess children receive with their classroom behavior. The study found that classroom behavior improves significantly when children have at least one recess of 15 minutes or more every day. The study also found that black, low income, and inner-city students were more likely to be denied any recess at all.

The new State Teacher Policy Yearbook finds states largely at fault for poor teacher quality. The primary findings of the report show that only 2 states require evidence of teacher effectiveness before granting tenure. In addition, the report found that states are not doing enough to identify effective teachers, are responsible for keeping ineffective teachers in the classroom, and provide barriers to retaining effective teachers.

The U.S. Department of Education is now accepting applications from state certified pre-K–12 public school teachers for the 2009–2010 Teaching Ambassador Fellowship program. The program provides public school teachers with the opportunity to contribute to public education on the national level. Fellows can be either Washington Fellows, full-time federal employees at the U.S. Department of Education, or Classroom Fellows, remaining in their local schools under their regular teaching contracts.

Application Deadline: March 16, 2009

HP is offering over $9M in grants to U.S. secondary school districts to launch initiatives that support student success in mathematics and science. Schools interested in applying for one of the 25 grants should submit a proposal that supports the following areas: Leadership capacity, digital learning environments, the secondary student design & research experience, and high-tech career awareness.

Application Deadline: March 30, 2009

The Urban Teacher Partnership (UTP) will hold its Second Annual Great Teachers for Our City Schools: National Summit on Recruiting, Preparing and Retaining Quality Urban Teachers on April 1–3, 2009, in Denver, Colorado. The summit offers presentations and discussions involving urban teacher education partnerships from across the country. Featured speakers also include Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone and the Honorable Bill Ritter, Governor of Colorado.

The goal of the Summit is to promote and build important national networking capacity among urban P–16 education partnerships that are working to develop quality teachers for high-needs urban schools.

The Summit is sponsored by the Urban Teacher Partnership—made up of Metropolitan State College of Denver, Denver Public Schools, and the Mayor's Office for Education and Children in collaboration with the Educational Testing Service, State Higher Education Executive Officers, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, the College Board, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, the Center for Teaching Quality, and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching are among the highest honors recognizing the contributions of highly qualified mathematics and science teachers. Nominations are now open for mathematics or science teachers with 7–12 years experience.

Nomination Deadline: May 1, 2009.

Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky recently hired McREL to evaluate their district in funding, safety, college and career readiness, instruction, and advancing competiveness. The district plans to use the report to benchmark their progress and identify areas in need of reform. So far, the district has found McREL's report to reaffirm their goals and strategies, and raise awareness of areas that need to be improved.

Park City Schools are contemplating moving to a four-day school week. Before they make a decision, however, they are trying to evaluate all sides of the issue and review the available research, which has been summarized by McREL.

A small classroom in Sioux Falls brings together students from diverse backgrounds and ages in a one-room classroom for grades 3–8. McREL Principal Evaluator Andrea Beesley notes that children in such classrooms are often shortchanged on activities and can have trouble switching to larger schools later, but that they do benefit from working with children in other grade levels.