________________________________________  THE VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT August 29, 2005 - Vol. 5, No. 33 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Covering education news in Vermont and beyond... Informative, provocative, unique... Published by Vermonters for Better Education  VBE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to enlist parents and the public at large in achieving quality educational opportunities for all the children of Vermont by monitoring the state of education in Vermont; promoting the value of educational freedoms for all parents; and giving parents the evaluative tools with which to identify excellence. Libby Sternberg, executive director: VTBetterEd@aol.com NEWS & ANALYSIS... AN INTERVIEW WITH RUTH STOKES, SBOE MEMBER The State Board of Education is now made up of a mix of appointees from Governor James Douglas and former Governor Howard Dean. One of the most recent appointments is Williston resident Ruth Stokes. The VER will occasionally interview members of the SBOE to allow readers an insight into members' approaches to education issues. VER: What is your background in education? RS: My whole experience with education was evolutionary. I first served on the board of my kids' nursery school and then eventually I ran for the school board -- and that's how it started. I also served on the board of the Vermont School Boards Association. That's how I was introduced to Montpelier and the legislative aspect (of education). It was partly around that experience that I was sought out and ran for the legislature. I have spent many years involved in education issues. It's always been a passion of mine. VER: Over your years of service, has any particular challenge loomed large? RS: Most school board members and legislators struggle with the fact that while there is supposed to be local control, there is a frustration with how little control -- even at the state level -- we really have. It's not to say that serving in these arenas doesn't afford people an opportunity to do some positive things, but it's always a frustration. VER: On the flip side, do you have any particular accomplishments, things you feel proud of? RS: One of the things I'm proud of in respect to school board service was opening up avenues of communication and dialogue (with the community) because I always felt that the more that communication went on, the more you had the community support for what you're doing and support for...the budget. VER: You've been on the state board since March. What are your first impressions? RS: This board is sort of in a transitional phase. We have members appointed by both governors and frankly, I am really pleased at how you really can't tell that -- that obviously people have views about issues that may differ but I've found them to be a really committed bunch of people -- committed to the kids and the education system in Vermont. No one's there for the politics of it -- no one's interested in higher office. Obviously, people have different views and different approaches, but I have been really pleased at the focus of the board, which is really on the kids. It comes up in every issue -- what is best going to benefit the kids. VER: Since 1999, you've also been involved in VTSOS. Tell us a little about that. RS: VTSOS is an organization that provides tuition assistance to low-income parents in order to allow those people to make alternative choices for their children. One size doesn't necessarily fit all. Children are assigned to schools, by virtue of where they live, and those schools don't always meet every child's needs. If you have the means, you can make different choices for your children. VTSOS empowers parents to make other choices for their children. The parents who are interested in this have stories that run the gamut -- from parents who feel that despite all of the focus and all of the resources we put into special education, they don't quite make the cut but still need help, to parents whose kids are really gifted. VTSOS has been for me one of the most rewarding things I've ever done because it empowers parents who are struggling with not being able to meet the needs of their children. VER: What do you believe are the biggest challenges looming ahead for the SBOE? RS: The board has identified early education as one issue. There are really some basic issues and questions that are involved in the way this has all turned out -- from legislative prerogative to the substance of the issue. People have raised a lot of concerns that are valid -- how this came about, what level of service is appropriate, where should those decisions be made, etc. Another issue is school leadership. A lot of research shows that success depends on the quality of the principal. One of the things we're going to work on is building support for leadership at that level, and working on recruitment and retention issues. And another issue is to continue to look at alternative licensure issues to make sure we do have the best people, especially in the shortage areas. I also think the whole board feels as though there's somewhat of a disconnect between the education constituencies -- not just the VSBA, teachers union, etc. but parents groups, homeschool groups, people who are really interested in and focused on education. I think we're all interested in beefing up that area of communication. VER: At the end of the session, Sen. Susan Bartlett publicly criticized the Douglas appointees on the SBOE, claiming you are all "right-wing," obviously using that phrase in a negative way to imply you all have knee-jerk views on certain issues. Were you stung by those comments? RS: I was very saddened and disappointed that she issued a blanket indictment. It would have been bad enough if she'd not been personally acquainted with SBOE members, but in my own case, I'd had the opportunity to work with Sen. Bartlett (in the legislature), and to have her say that when she knows better was a disappointment.  THE TWO FACES OF REP. CROSS  Rep. George Cross (D-Winooski) has been sending commentaries far and wide explaining how Vermont ended up with a universal early education program at the end of the last legislative session. Part of his pitch is that the state's schools have had the authority for many years to draw down the Education Fund for public preschool. They didn't need the statutory authority added to the law books to do so (which begs the question again: why, then, did Sen. Don Collins feel compelled to rush funding language into the budget bill at the last minute if it was already there available for use?). But this is the Rep. Cross of 2005. The Rep. Cross of 2000 must have thought statutory authority was, in fact, needed because in that legislative year, he was a member of the House Education committee that introduced H.834, a bill that proposed "to create an early childhood committee to study how to establish a comprehensive, unified, universally available system of early childhood services; and to appropriate funds therefor." The bill went to Appropriations but never came out of that committee.  *   *   * FROM ELSEWHERE... The Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation On the web at: http://www.friedmanfoundation.org PDK SCHOOL CHOICE POLL QUESTION SKEWS RESULTS INDIANAPOLIS, AUG. 23 - A new survey released today by the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation shows that serious questions remain for the second year in a row as to whether Phi Delta Kappa's annual poll uses biased questions to produce the appearance of public opposition to school choice. Each year, Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) releases a poll addressing, among other things, the issue of school choice and school vouchers, claiming that the public opposes school choice. For years, experts like Terry Moe of Stanford University have argued that the poll's school choice question uses loaded language designed to distort the issue and artificially produce "opposition" to choice. To shed light on this controversy, the Friedman Foundation commissioned a poll from the highly respected company Harris Interactive®. We surveyed 1,000 American adults asking them either the PDK poll question or a nearly identical question with just two small changes removing the controversial words. The results are shocking. This small wording change produces a 23-point shift in the poll results. Without the controversial question wording, 60% of Americans favor school choice, compared to 37% using the PDK question. An identical test conducted on last year's PDK poll found that the same change produced a 22-point shift in results: PDK QUESTION: "Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose A PRIVATE SCHOOL to attend AT PUBLIC EXPENSE?" Results: 37% favor; 55% oppose; 5% neither favor nor oppose; 2% don't know/refused. HARRIS POLL QUESTION: "Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose ANY SCHOOL, PUBLIC OR PRIVATE, to attend USING PUBLIC FUNDS?" Results: 60% favor; 33% oppose; 5% neither favor nor oppose; 2% don't know/refused. The poll was conducted by telephone the week of August 12-15, 2005 among a nationwide sample of 1,000 US adults aged 18 and over. It has a margin of error of ± 4.4 percentage points. Data are weighted by age, gender, region and race to be nationally representative of the U.S. General Public age 18+. "This issue is too important to muddy the waters with biased polls," said Robert C. Enlow, executive director of the Friedman Foundation. "Our children are counting on us to give them a decent education, or they won't succeed in life. Too many children aren't getting an education that is tailored to fit their individual needs. America's parents understand that, and that's why they support school choice by such a large margin." Phi Delta Kappa is an advocacy organization that supports the government school monopoly. While the Friedman Foundation supports the right of every organization to promote its views and also to conduct research -- we do the same ourselves -- journalists have a responsibility to look at both sides of the issue and to scrutinize all research by the prevailing standards of scientific accuracy. The annual PDK poll fails to satisfy those standards.  *   *   * WE WANT.....EMAIL ADDRESSES!  The Vermont Education Report reaches approximately 3,000 subscribers, but we'd like to grow our list. Do you know anyone who would enjoy reading the VER? Tell them to visit thie web site to sign up for the VER. Or....have them send their email addresses to us at Mailto:VTBetterEd@aol.com. Thanks!  FUNDRAISING BONUSES!  Thanks to those who've responded to our annual plea for money! We still need more, though, to support the efforts of Vermonters for Better Education. Remember, we're one part-time staffer and a volunteer board - yet we've been able to play a major role in education policy in the state. Here's a special offer of thanks to donors who send in a check of $100 or more.... We'll send you a signed copy of David Kirkpatrick's 1997 booklet "School Choice: An Idea that Can't be Conquered." Kirkpatrick's columns frequently appear in this newsletter. This 30-page booklet was originally published by the Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation. For donors who contribute $300 or more... We'll send you a signed copy of a teen mystery inscribed to the child of your choice (provide the name with your donation) by the Edgar-nominated author herself (who also happens to be the editor of this newsletter). Bonus thank-you gifts are available while supplies last. Donors who sent in contributions in the past two months may request one of the bonus gifts by emailing Mailto:VTBetterEd@aol.com Send in your check today: VBE, 170 Church Street, Rutland, Vermont 05701. (If you'd prefer not to receive the thank-you bonuses, please let us know.) Thanks!  WHO COVERS EDUCATION IN VERMONT? We do! Consider a gift to Vermonters for Better Education, the publisher of the weekly Vermont Education Report, Vermont's ONLY continual source of education news. Send donations to: VBE, 170 Church Street, Rutland, Vermont 05701. VBE is a nonprofit organization and contributions are tax-deductible.  *   *   * The VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT is published by Vermonters for Better Education 170 Church Street, Rutland, VT 05701, 802.773.5240 Contact VTBetterEd@aol.com for more information.   Subscribe Here SubscribeRemove

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