Rocco Basile Report: Trends in Education for 2010

Technology is truely evolving at the speed of light, so here is a list of trends that will influence education in the new year:

Check out eBooks -- the latest in reading, eBooks will proliferate, although they will not replace traditional textbooks anytime real soon. But the consulting firm - Frost & Sullivan in Atlanta - say the devices will gain traction in the K-12 arena in the year 2010

Netbooks and their functionality will grow in 2010 -- These are expected to become even more popular sd they become affordable, with prices of $200 - $300. Small, computers like this are helping bridge the technology between schools where students don't have access to computers.

Interactive Whiteboards -- These are large display systems allowing teachers and students to work together and they are gaining ground in the K-12 schools. The tools have been around for a quite some time, but the educational arena wasn't ready to use them ten years ago. Now they are.

-- Rocco Basile

Has the Economy Affected Top Twelve Educational Trends?

Every generation has sets of educational trends that are constantly evolving right along with the times. By taking a look at these trends, higher-education institutions are better able to prepare for the future students to become productive members of society and world leaders.

As you know I am fascinated with how our children develop and learn, as evidenced from the topics on website at http://www.roccobasile.net/ - especially the underpriviledged kids in the charities where I serve as a Board member such as Children of the City. (Kaylen on right)

Let's take a look at five of these predictions (there are twelve in all) to see if the economy has affected them in any way this last year.

1. Evergreen students - It is the 18 year olds who are bringing the new technologies to college campuses, but due to this fact they expect the infastructure to be in place to support their new evergreen ideas. But this last year the biggest trends included social media like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, interactive mobile smart phones, and places like SecondLife.com are a great tools to train students virtually. Universities continue to explore new ways to integrate these tools into a productive learning environment and the slow economy only slows down the process of implementation.

2 Globalization - The demand for higher education worldwide is increasing and will continue to grow. There a re 100 million college students globally, and the growth areas have been India, China and the Middle East. Today students must prepare for a global workforce.

3. Techninal and informational literacy. Technical literacy among teachers in increasing, and more are using computers and ew technology in teaching. Students may be device savvy but they need to improve on being information savvy, therefore using technology for academic purposes is the new goal. a wave of faculty retirement is bringing new teachers to the forefront who are younger and more technologically savvy.

4. Enrollment, retention, and branding. Schools are hip to using the Internet to market academic programs, and e-learning online is well under way (e.g. Zinch.com is to help students in the college application process). Colleges have built attractive brands, and are using new methods to enroll and keep students in school - such as call centers to contact students and leave voicemails if they miss classes.

5. Mobility. Colleges are compelled to capitolize on feature rich mobile phones to reach students new ways such as texting, instant messaging, video, etc. Now colleges are exploring ways to use PDAs to deliver coursework, field data, training modules, schedules, and much more.

Just as colleges and universities are experiementing with technology tools to improve learning, our younger students are less fortunate in some communities where public schools simply do not have the government support for funds to provide the technology - especially during bad economic times.

Life is a learning experience ... This is why programs like ChildrenoftheCity are so critical to communities like Brooklyn.

-- Rocco Basile

New Education Secretary Arne Duncan Announced

President Elect Barack Obama just named his Education Secretary -- longtime friend and fellow Harvard alum Arne Duncan, who headed the Chicago public school system. He has a reputation as an educational reformer, and will be very strong for our country as part of the strengthening of student math and reading skills as an educational trend in the New Year, a topic I cover on my website http://www.roccobasile.net/.

Duncan was responsible for closing then reopening and improving a once failing school known as the Dodge Renaissance Academy on the West side of Chicago. Now 79.4 percent of their students meet or exceed state goals; in reading, 69.7 percent of the students meet or exceed the goals.

Focus to attention is what most students need to improve their skills in reading and math. We know this from the work being done at Childrenofthecity.org, in Brooklyn, New York. This charity recently rallied together over 100 volunteers to distribute free Thanksgiving meals to needy families at their facility on Sunday November 23, 2008, feeding over 700 adults and children. 119 families in all came to Children of the City and received a Thanksgiving meal which included a 25-lb box of food to feed a family of 6 and either a ham or turkey.


“One in five people standing in line at a soup kitchen this Thanksgiving was a child. 1 in 4 children right here in New York City live in poverty” said the organization's Joyce Mattera, Executive Director and Founder.

--Rocco Basile

The Cost of Education Today

Today's New York Times had a Letter to the Editor response to a prior article by writer Tamir Lewin that was published on December 3, 2008 focusing on how College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S. based on the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Eric J. Furda, the dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania wrote that there are some institutions like his that do offer aid to students. There, undergraduate students who are eligible for financial aid are offered no-loan packages, regardless of family income.

He went on to say what this means is that students from typical families with incomes that are less than $40,000 per year will pay no tuition, nor room or board. Penn accepts students based solely on academic and other strengths, not on families’ ability to pay. And despite the current economic crisis, they remain steadfast in this commitment to educate the best and brightest young people, regardless of economic background.

Here's my favorite part of his comments... Penn’s founder Benjamin Franklin once said, an investment in education pays the greatest interest.

As I continue the work I do for my two charities, including Children of the City and the Joe Dimaggio Award Committee, for my Alma Mater, Xaverian High school (left photo), it is rewarding to know that the youth participating in these programs will have a chance to attend college and universities, because of the care we are putting into helping them now. My website, http://www.roccobasile.net/ features many of the exciting programs that are in progress.

But it is pretty sad to read the some of the statistics in the report. College tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 while median family income rose 147 percent. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last ten years, while students from lower-income families, on average, get smaller grants from the colleges they attend than students from more affluent families.

-- Rocco Basile

Education in Thailand Poses Long-term Threat

In my research for my own educational trends website, http://www.rocdcobasile.oprg/, I often come across interesting articles about educational situations, or trends from other countries. The country of Thailand's political stability is a mess because of the months-long standoff between the administration and the People's Alliance for Democracy. What is more compelling however, than this country's politics, is the quality of basic education. It is this issue that will pose a long-term threat to the country, according to a recent report by the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment.

Left: These children are members of the Palong, a Mon-Khmer tribe found mostly in Burma's Shan state.

Halfway into the five-year evaluation of the performance of both primary and secondary schools across the country, the bad news is out. One-fifth of the 22,811 schools did not pass, and with more than 12,800 schools yet to be evaluated, since most of them are small ones located in remote areas, the chances of these passing the standard are remote, as they are already struggling to find enough money to run the schools, as well as teachers.

This is such a sad story in a country with a government where politicians taking the helm of the ministry of education do it for position and for the sake of their party, and not for the students.
And even through teachers are considered very important when general elections come, and are influential in rural areas they too can convince voters who to cast the ballot for when the time comes to vote. This is why many policies and projects target the teachers.

In Thailand, over the past eight years, there have been only two ministers in education who were qualified and praised by educators keen to see improvements in education.

Perhaps the country should consider a template for improved education that works from other countries, and cities, like the program instituted in Brooklyn, NY by Children of the City. Volunteers help the children with their homework, and provide a community environment where kids want to learn.

--Rocco Basile

The source for tis article came from Saritdet Marukatat, a News Editor, Bangkok Post.

Statistics on Our Country's Education

According to a website called Charity Navigator, there are about 1.5 million elementary school teachers and 1.1 million secondary school teachers in the United States, and the amount spent, by average, on home schooling per child in the United States is about $450. Here are some more interesting statistics, and you'll find other data on my website at http://www.roccobasile.org/.

• There are between 8 and 15 million children nationwide are unsupervised at the end of each school day;
  The average deaf child isn't introduced to English until age six, upon entering school.
  87% of Americans aged 18 to 24 have completed high school with a diploma or an alternative credential such as a General Education Development (GED) certificate;


• School districts in the U.S. with the highest child poverty rates have $1,139 fewer state and local dollars to spend per student than the wealthiest districts; and


• When among 18- to 24-year-old Americans are given maps, 70 percent cannot find New Jersey and 11 percent cannot find the United States.

This country is in a sad state when it comes to the education of our youth. And based on the charities that i have been working with, the only resolution are programs that actually do make a difference, like Children of the City.

On October 30 we had a Friends and Legislators Cocktail Party which was hosted by Commerce Bank. The purpose of the event was to bring together individuals from the New York business community, political community, and philanthropic community to continue dialogue around educational, social, and humanitarian needs of disadvantaged children and families in Greater New York.

Before Christmas we will be hosting our annual toy drive. Stay tuned with more info.

-- Rocco Basile

Election results and Education.

Now that the election is over, let's take a look at how the process affected education and students, and also how the results will affect education. All of us know the importance of voting and teaching our youth about the process of creating laws, tracking election results and voter turnout, and teaching students what its like to make tough decisions. It is what our elected officials make every day. After all, if our children don't get it when they are youth, then who is going to be there in the political world when we are all old and gray?

Over the last couple of months, our country's media have been broadcasting ads in which this year candidates for office talk about goals, dreams, and their accomplishments, and make promises. On Election Day, it isn’t about how many babies those candidates have kissed ... it’s about the number of votes.

As you may know, I believe that lack of education is the root of most of the troubles in this country. My website, http://www.roccobasile.org/ focuses on trends in education, and shows allot of information on how educating our youth will help reduce crime, poverty and violence. That is very obvious from working with my charity programs including Children of the City.

Teachers in classrooms nationwide have been using Election Day as a significant teachable moment. One website called Education World, even houses lessons that emphasize election vocabulary, the importance of voting, and the jobs that elected officials do. Election Day is all about preparing kids to understand this year’s election results.

And now that the results are in, here's what we can look forward to in the new administration insofar as education and our youth. Rahm Emanuel apparently will be Barack Obama's White House chief of staff. Here's what he proposed several months back: Force students to complete high skill and at least one year of college or higher education. Expanded education tax credits.

And in a Q&A session with Fox News, here's what the new president elect Obama said.

Q: As president, can you name a hot-button issue where you would be willing to buck the Democratic Party line & say, "You know what? Republicans have a better idea here?"
A: I think that on issues of education, I've been very clear about the fact--and sometimes I've gotten in trouble with the teachers' union on this--that we should be experimenting with charter schools. We should be experimenting with different ways of compensating teachers.
Q: You mean merit pay?
A: Well, merit pay, the way it's been designed, I think, is based on just a single standardized test--I think is a big mistake, because the way we measure performance may be skewed by whether or not the kids are coming into school already 3 years or 4 years behind. But I think that having assessment tools and then saying, "You know what? Teachers who are on career paths to become better teachers, developing themselves professionally--that we should pay excellence more." I think that's a good idea.
Source: Fox News Sunday: 2008 presidential race interview Apr 27, 2008

-- Rocco Basile

Educational Trends: Social Media in Education

New resources are appearing every day about social media marketing, networking and other forms of social media. What is it, and how are educators using social media? Social media is defined as the online technologies and practices used to share opinions, ideas, experiences, perspectives and insights with other people. Therefore, in the education world, social media is changing the way we learn, teach, interact and access others worldwide. People everywhere are having conversations online.

Social networks were only beginning to gain traction in the spring of 2007. Now their memberships are in the hundreds of millions. For the latest trends check Author Paul Gillin's book, The New Influencers and its website - NewInfuencers.com. But following is a quick rundown of some of the activities involved in social media:

1) Websites that are properly optimized - so people can find them via search engines online
2) RSS feeds, or Really Simple Syndication - people can now publish online
3) Optimized article submissions linking back to your website
4) Blogs and Vlogs - to share content and videos (e.g. YouTube or Google Video)
5) Webcasts/Podcasts/Videocasts - Another way to share information from a desktop
6) Social networks (MySpace, Flicker, Stumble Upon, etc.)
7) Socializing web content (tagging and bookmarking) - it's a library online
8) Communities online - niche groups according to interests and topics

Today, many businesses have been using social media and now employers are finding the benefits of using social media including: 63 percent are using social media to build and promote their brand, 61 percent are using it to improve communication and collaboration, and 58 percent are using it to increase consumer engagement. Study Finds Rapid Enterprise Adoption of Social Networks.

For many educators, the implications of social media are huge. Blogging is an enjoyable way to share information, to learn from others, and also to make professional acquaintances, while podcasts or videos can help others learn anytime, anywhere. Just take a look at my own website, http://www.roccobasile.org/, where you can note all the educational articles that I have compiled having to do with the programs I am involved with for my educational charities.

What amazes me is how fast kids have adapted to the concept of social media. MySpace is a huge congregation of sharing among kids. And as another example, at one of my charities known as ChildrenoftheCity.org, one of the ways in which we raise funds involves online social media marketing to share our successes and to let others know the good work being done.

Anyone can use social media tactics for one of the following goals:
1. Conversation Mining. Research and mine consumers in vertical and horizontal networks and communities.
2. Invite influencers (customers/teachers/parents) into the circle to share and learn.
3. Choose the tools. Subscribe to tools and assign several people to watch and listen to online conversations about education in your area.

Social media in education also provides the ability for students to interact across cultures, both virtually and directly. It also allows intercultural researchers to create new forms of study abroad via co-seminars, to create or even analyze culture creation through new social technologies. This could radically transform our approaches to international and intercultural education.

Here are some social media networking sites for educators, networking and sharing information:
Education Futures - exploring the rise of innovative knowledge societies
Twitter - where people can share in real time
Facebook.com - (Sign up; review groups; use Friendster)
LinkedIn.com - ask “Questions” and “Answers” on Linked-In
Squidoo.com - a place to post and share topical information
Gather.com - where you can post educational content
Skype - for instant messaging using audio/video
Second City - for virtual teaching and conferences

In summary, social media today is blending innovative technologies with social interaction, and the co-construction of new knowledge into popular social media outlets for online interaction that are centered around Web 2.0. Who knows what tomorrow will bring!

-- Rocco Basile

Should we Encourage Kids to get a High Degree?

It recently came to my attention in an article in the Wall Street Journal that workers with professional degrees, like lawyers, or doctors, were the only group to see their inflation-adjusted earnings increase over the recent economic conditions. Workers in every other educational group, such as Ph.D.s or high school dropouts, earned less in 2007 than they did in the year 2000. So a person with a bachelors degree's wages actually fell. And even more compelling to note, is the fact that it is proving how there is now an even bigger economic gap.
(Source: Census Bureau. Data don't include 2008 earnings.)

In my work for the Joe DiMaggio Committee, one of the charities that I am involved with, education is the primary concern, because we raise money to provide a good education for children of financially challenged families. The Committee's premiere fund raising event is The Joe DiMaggio Award Gala, to benefit Xaverian High School, my alma mater.

Economists are citing multiple reasons for falling wages for people with a bachelor's degree including:

• Blue and white-collar jobs are being sent abroad to places like India.


• Immigrants competing for jobs in the U.S. has increased.


• Job growth during the 2001 to 2007 expansion was weak compared to the late 1990s.


• Rising health-care costs are big part of total compensation today; more than in the past.


• The Census data measure income, which doesn't include the health-care bills paid for by employers


• Inflation-adjusted median salary for people with professional degrees was $89,602 in 2007, up about 3 percent from 2000, when the median salary was $87,158, according to the Census. There were income declines in all other groups including those with college and doctorate degrees.


• Inflation-adjusted median salary for a person with a bachelor's degree fell about 3 percent, adjusted for inflation, to $47,240 last year from 2000. Median master's-degree salaries fell

Census data shows the value of and education. In 2007 the median income for people with a bachelor's degree was about two-thirds more than for those with only a high-school diploma. And people with a master's degree made 20 percent more than those folks who only had a college degree.

--Rocco Basile

Food Expert Talks about Schools and Children's Nutrition

Prue Leith, internationally known food expert and chair of the United Kingdom’s School Food Trust, recently discussed health news, parents and children on http://www.vision.org/. She believes that fighting obesity beginnning in childhood, is worth doing. As she discussed the role of family and relationships in nutrition, Leith emphasizes that children are not eating right, “because their parents were not taught anything about food and a lot of them were not taught to cook.”

“Family meals have gone right out the window,” she said, chiding parents who give their children pocket money instead of making sure they eat a good breakfast. “Forty percent of children buy a chocolate bar and a fizzy drink on their way to school by way of breakfast ...”

Research has proven that most foods are an acquired taste, so once you have given someone like a child nine two ounce portions of broccoli , they will like it. It has also been proven that behavior and concentration are linked to good versus bad diets and nutrition.

Leith talked about the methods of teaching nutrition and which works best in schools, recommending teaching about food and cooking in school, and in cases where it is possible, she believes the kids should grow food or go and visit farms. The reason? Because just as soon as children start getting interested in food, they are more likely to care about what goes into their own bodies.

The country of Finland reduced its obesity rate from 35 percent to two percent in 15 years thanks to radical changes in the school system. The schools created a pleasant atmosphere for eating and also taught children about food, getting them actively involved in working in kitchens, serving as well as cleaning up and.

We live in a "snacking society" with pressures from commericals and ads from food manufacturing companies, so Leith also discussed positive and negative peer pressure with regard to the fight against obesity. Schools, parents, family and relationships with the teachers all play a critical role.

Leith encourages parents, teachers, catering staff and school officials to get involved by setting an example for good nutrition and eating habits.

-- Rocco Basile

The Status of Educational Reform

Have you ever wondered why all of the sudden there are more computers in K-12 classrooms across the U.S? For over ten years now, reformers have attempted to revolutionize the way schools operate, and this includes how students learn. There have been a number of top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top changes in areas including administration, curriculum and even outreach. The result of many of these reforms, is that technology is now playing a bigger role in education.

When you look back, education reform appeared in 1983 when a report called A Nation at Risk was published, outlining the poor state of affairs within the K-12 environment. It highlighted low basic comprehension rates to high dropout rates, and was what made administrators and policy makers pay attention to the fact that educational reform was needed.

After that, one of the changes was in the area of standardization of testing among students. A number of states began to legislate merit pay programs for educators, so by 1986, there were 46 states that offered merit pay plans, an increase from 28 states in 1983. Teachers were evaluated on their educating ability and knowledge of their subjects in order to determine not only raises but also their bonuses.

Today research now suggests that the initial focus on standardization did little to affect student learning and comprehension, and that the studies suggested that changes in professionalism and administration did not indicate an effective education strategy implementation - with teaching guidelines becoming more complex but less coherent. What was missing? One of the core issues was teacher empowerment.

Which brings me to the question, which I have covered on my own website, http://www.roccobasile.org/, what motivates kids to learn from their teachers? During this reform movement, educators were interested in a number of new education theories offering insights into the way students learn. One of the theories includes something called "constructivism," where students learn by doing rather than observing.

One of the biggest complaints about the American education system has been its top-down approach with the states governing schools. Today, schools and teachers are asserting more control over education management decisions. Non-profit charter schools and for-profit education management programs are offering students public school learning environments that break away from the traditional state-run system.

Children of the City, for example, has been wildly successful with its after school and summertime programs. By personally connecting with each child and youth in their environment, the non-profit fosters strong relationships to teach, inform and counsel on various life issues and skills through programs such as its Create Success, where parents have seen dramatic increases in student’s reading and math levels, healthy study habits, communications, and improved peer relationships.

All in all, parents today now have more choices. They can actually choose to take their students out of poorly run schools and place them into parochial schools for example, or as with an increasing number of families, parents and their offspring can get out of the classroom and do homeschooling instead.

Are we Pushing Kids too Hard in School?

In many states, schools are back in session after the summer break. We’ve been seeing the new trends for earlier educational trends for kids, such as academic tutoring programs for three year olds, and middle school students taking algebra courses. Educating our kids is starting earlier and earlier.

These trends are being driven by parental anxiety about the fact that many schools that have failed to challenge our children, boost achievement for disadvantaged students, as well as tougher college entrance exams. Are we pushing our kids to move ahead too quickly? Or is America losing its ground in education of our youth globally?

Futurist James Canton believes this might be the case. In his book"The Extreme Future" he said, "Quality public education, in crisis today, will either propel or crash the future aspirations of the American workforce."

The deputy superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, Lynn Spampinato, believes that schools are simply trying to adjust to the realities of the 21st century.

"We don't want education to be the way it was in 1920," she said. "There's more for children to learn today, more exposure to all kinds of information at younger ages. Education doesn't set the values and the pace of society, but it's our job is to prepare students for the world they're going to live in."

One example is a trend toward introducing concepts of math and science in middle school. This used to be called an acceleration class, but now the expectation in the state standards is that all students need to be learning it. The reason for this change is a survey called the "Trends in International Math and Science Studies" done in 1995. The results showed American students were ahead in fourth-grade math but dropped to the bottom in 12th.

Educators seem to agree that the younger the child, the more controversial it becomes to push down academic curricula. Most agree that young children learn best in rich play environments that stimulate the senses in age-appropriate ways. I have been collecting research like this on my website http://www.roccobasile.org/ for about a year now, and one of the programs that I am very heavily involved with which backs this up are the youth programs at Children of the City, a non-profit that reaches at-risk inner-city children and youth with hope, guidance and resources to positively affect their lives and communities.

Children of the City programs include FutureSafe, a collaborative monthly event that is attended by an average of 500 children. It is designed to deter children from drug abuse, delinquency, gangs and even teen pregnancy. It is often a first step for children when it comes to engaging in structured afterschool activities. Click here to learn more.

Student SAT Scores are Lowest in Decade

News just out today about our country's high-school students and their poor performance on SAT college-entrance exams. There is a bigger gap now between minority groups (who score lower) and the overall population. This raises the question, which I have been covering for the last year in my website http://www.roccobasile.net/, about the quality of education in the U.S. This news is really sad.

Apparently the average scores for the class of 2008 were as follows:
502 for the critical-reading section;
515 for mathematics; and
494 for writing.
Note: Each section judged on a 200 to 800 point scale.

These scores match the averages last year in 2007. What this means is that the combined scores remain at the lowest level this current decade. Reading scores over the past two years were the lowest since 1994, while math represented the worst since 2001.

The really bad news is that African-American students only received an average critical reading score of 430, which is 72 points below the general population and also three points beneath the 2007 level.

what does all this mean? The wide variations among different groups of students taking the SAT tests has now fueled yet another debate on the effectiveness of our system's test-preparation courses aiming to improve the performance and SAT scores.

According to the College Board, a New York-based nonprofit that oversees the SAT test, says the stalled scores stem from a larger and more diverse group of students taking the test.

In total, more than 1.5 million students from the high-school class of 2008 took the SATs. That is two percent more than in 2007 and eight percent more than five years ago. Minority SAT takers comprise 40 percent of test takers, up from one third in the last 10 years.

--Rocco Basile

Middle School Students

About 96 percent of middle school students - that bridge between gradeschool and highschools comprised of grades 7 8 and 9 - believe that it is very important or somewhat important to make good grades. An awkward age, these students are between childhood and adolescence, experiencing the physical, emotional and cognitive changes associated with this stage of human development. Nine in ten (90%) said they felt prepared and expected to succeed.

I remember this age well, because it was before my time as a student at Xaverian High School in
New York. You can find more information on my interests in
educational trends at http://www.roccobasile.net/, where I list many aspects of my charity work via supporting the school's Joe DiMaggio Award Gala where we raise funds for the school. Xaverian includes one of New York City's only International Baccalaureate Programs. Xaverian attracts about 1,400 students annually, and in addition to its reputation for academic excellence, the school is renowned for graduating young men of strong moral character .

According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), Lumina Foundation for Education, Phi Delta Kappa International (PDK) and their KnowHow2Go campaign, commissioned Harris Interactive last March 2007 to conduct a poll called "Voice From the Middle." They polled 1814 seventh and eighth graders who shared their perspectives about current school experiences and expectations for high school. (Source: http://www.pdkintl.org/ms_poll/ms_poll.htm)

The middle school survey also found the following:
• 93 percent of students say there is “no chance” that they will drop out of high school and not graduate. (This is compared to the nearly 500,000 students who drop out annually as estimated by the NCES and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
• 83 percent of students know little or nothing about the classes they need to take to graduate from high school.
• About 32 percent say that they have “quite a bit” or “a great deal” of information about the classes they need in preparation for college.

Cash to Kids for Passing AP Subject Tests Flunked

In the news today (New York Post) it seems a very controversial initiative paying high-school students for passing Advanced Placement (AP) tests has apparently failed. The new program, which was targeting black and Hispanic students, didn't spur kids to make the grade, according to the Council of Urban Professionals, the organization who distributes the funds.

Here's how it was supposed to work -- 25 low-income city public schools and six parochial schools were offered private money on a sliding scale - from $500 to $1,000 - if they passed their five-point AP subject tests by scoring between three and five.

The interesting thing is that right here in New York, we have a program called Children of the City that is non-profit, and seems to be working really well to help students improve their grades. As I am on their Board, I support this charity wholeheartedly on my own educational website, http://www.roccobasile.org/.

Here is one student's success. David began volunteering in the programs at Children of the City when he was a teenager. Then he began writing and performing Rap music with values-based lyrics that reiterated the principles that he had learned when he attended the non-profit's Future Safe Program. David now provides tech support for the traders at Goldman Sachs, and he credits Children of the City with helping him learn the principles for success that helped him to rise above the effects of poverty.

The Advanced Placement test program seemed to have a good mission, as it was meant to prepare more kids for college and give them some money to spend in preparation. But the number of students passing their AP tests in the 31 schools actually dipped to 1,476 this year - down five from 2007, when there was not a cash offer. So it actually backfired! The "pass" rate fell from 35 percent in 2007 to 32 percent this year.

Apparently people behind this privately funded initiative said they saw many positive results on such as an 8 percent increase in the number of AP tests taken in total, plus a 19 percent increase in students scoring at top point levels. And in fact, the passing rates increased by more than 50 percent at nine of the 31 schools.

More than 1,100 students are collecting about $1 million. Meanwhile, our Children of the City kids are collecting much more than than.

-- Rocco Basile

Back to School Educational Issues Include TIME

This year, children will face a number of issues and challenges at school and in the classroom including bullying, violence, and discrimination as well as the fact that there are some disadvantaged schools and classrooms without enough books or desks. What's more, many children themselves are facing individual challenges such as health problems, depression, obesity, dyslexia, disabilities, and other social issues.

Parents and teachers alike know that education is more than just classrooms and books. That we know, and I often post articles on this topic in my own educational website known as RoccoBasile.org. But what is finally encouraging, is that the government is finally proposing new bills to help deflect problems like this and increase a student's chances to learn.

For instance, Senator Kennedy recently (8/1/08) introduced the Time for Innovation Matters in Education (TIME) Act, which appears to be an important next step for the expanded learning time movement.

Co-sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, it is intended to provide federal funding that supports states expanding their school days in pilot schools. This reform initiative, modeled after the Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative, would enable low-performing, high-poverty schools to implement a longer school days or school years, by 2010. If enacted, the TIME Act allocates $350 million next year and up to $500 million in the year 2014.

Senator Kennedy emphasizes the need to help American schools to remain competitive, and also a need to ensure that each student gets a 21st century education. He and his co-sponsors believe in expanded learning time as a promising new reform strategy for American schools.