ParentInfo, July 1, 2007

Last Updated on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 at 5:01 AM

In this issue:

-New Hires at Kentucky Department of Education

-Avoiding Summer “Brain Drain” and Weight Gain

-Education Spending: How Kentucky Compares

-Kentucky Schools Have “What Parents Want”

-Positive Parenting Tips for Summer

New Hires at Kentucky Department of Education

The Kentucky Department of Education announced the following new leadership hires. All are expected to begin their duties before the beginning of the 2007-08 school year.

Elaine Farris has been named deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Learning and Results Services. Farris will oversee five offices: District Support Services; Teaching and Learning; Assessment and Accountability; Leadership and School Improvement; and Special Instructional Services.

Ken Draut has been named associate commissioner of the Office of Assessment and Accountability. Draut will oversee the Divisions of Assessment Implementation and Assessment Support.

Jamie Spugnardi has been named associate commissioner of the Office of Teaching and Learning. Spugnardi will oversee the Divisions of Curriculum Development, Early Childhood Development and Secondary and Virtual Learning.

Larry Stinson has been named associate commissioner of the Office of District Support Services. Stinson will oversee the Divisions of Data Management, District Operations, Facilities Management and Nutrition and Health Services.

Avoiding Summer” Brain Drain” and Weight Gain
The studies are clear: all students experience learning loses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. So how severe is this “brain drain?” Studies show kids fall almost 2.6 months behind in math skills over the summer. In reading, low-income children fall an average of two months behind in reading, while their middle-income peers tend to make slight gains.

“Summer should be fun, but parents shouldn’t let it be a break from learning,” says Ron Fairchild, executive director of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Summer Learning. “High quality summer learning opportunities keep children healthy, safe and on track in school.”

Here are some ideas:

Visit your local public library. Participate in library summer programs. Make sure your kids are reading books. Use opportunities like the new Harry Potter release to get kids reading.

Enroll your kids in summer camps. There are camps programs for kids of all interests in just about every price range.

Take educational trips. These can include low-cost visits to parks and museums, or you can look into vacations with educational themes.

Summers are great for informal learning. Parents can use this time to structure opportunities. If your kids are interested in comics or technology, you want to expose them to as much as possible in order to allow them to become students of their hobbies.

Practice math skills every day. Think about opportunities through cooking to learn fractions or trips to the grocery store as an opportunity to learn math skills, just doing measuring or tracking temperature.

Play educational games. The trick is: how do we make this fun and motivating while giving them serious opportunities to learn the skills they need?

In addition to academic losses, children may also gain unhealthy weight over the summer. Escape from the usual routine can translate into lazy eating habits, and for many kids, too much free time is spent watching TV or playing computer games. Parents can help kids stay active and eating healthy with these tips from the American Heart Association:

Move it! Encourage physical activities that kids really enjoy. If they like it, they’ll stick with it.
Plan times for the whole family to take a walk, ride bikes, swim, garden or just play outdoors.
Be a role model. Your healthy active behavior says, “Do as I do!”
Set specific goals and limits that kids understand and work toward like completing one hour of physical activity a day or cutting the number of desserts back to two a week.
Be supportive and reward good behavior with anything but food, especially candy and sweets.
Get children involved in planning and preparing menus. They’re more likely to try new foods if they’ve had a hand in preparing them.

Limit time with TV and video games. Just like during the school year, there should be a similar strategy over the summer months. It always makes sense to provide structure and limits. The key is providing a balance and keeping kids engaged.

Education Spending: How Kentucky Compares

The United States spent an average of $8,701 per pupil to educate its children in the fiscal year 2004-05, according to a recent report from the Census Bureau. Public Education Finances: 2005 indicates some states paid more than twice as much per student as others. New York was the biggest spender on education at $14,119 per student. Utah spent the least at $5,257 per pupil.

So how did Kentucky stack up? The Census Bureau indicates Kentucky spent an average of $7,118 to educate each student during the 2004-05 school year. That puts the state in 43rd place in per pupil spending on education among the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The average spent per student was $8,701.

According to the report, the majority of spending, about 60 percent, goes directly to instruction with about 30 percent spent on support services such as operations and maintenance, administration and pupil transportation.

Under the U.S. system, funding is largely a state responsibility, with 47 percent coming from state governments, about 44 percent from local sources and about nine percent from the federal government.

Kentucky Schools Have “What Parents Want”

Twenty Kentucky school districts apparently have what parents want. SchoolMatch of Columbus, OH, the nation’s largest school selection consulting firm, named the districts recipients of its 16th Annual “What Parents Want Award.”

To determine winners, SchoolMatch complied information from more than 95,000 parent questionnaires nationwide to determine what parents most often look for when deciding which school districts are best for their children. The criteria included school systems that:

are competitive in academic test scores and academically solid with an appropriate level of rigor
are accredited
have earned national recognition for excellence
offer competitive teacher salaries
spend more than the national average on instruction and library/media services
offer small class sizes
offer high-quality secondary education programs

According to SchoolMatch only 16% (2,516) of the nation’s 15,571 public school districts consistently provide “What Parents Want” in public education.

In Kentucky, the 2007 winning districts are:

Beechwood Independent
Boone County
Daviess County
Elizabethtown Independent
Erlanger-Elsmere Independent
Fayette County
Fort Thomas Independent
Franklin County
Hardin County
Jefferson County
Jessamine County
Kenton County
Madison County
McCracken County
Murray Independent
Oldham County
Pikeville Independent
Russell Independent
Warren County
Woodford County

Positive Parenting Tips for Summer

As a parent, you are the most influential person in your child’s life. So, how you work through family issues can have a positive influence on behavior throughout the family as well as at school. The American School Counselor Association offers the following positive parenting tips for summer:

Sibling conflicts: Stay on the sidelines (unless there is bloodshed), and help your children learn to appropriately express their negative feelings. Urge your kids to articulate their anger with the use of a “magic sentence” that includes the phrase “I feel….because…” This will help put them in touch with their emotions rather than acting them out. Encourage them to listen to other people’s “magic sentences” and then repeat back what they understand they heard. They may have to listen (or repeat it again) until they get it right.
Discipline: Children develop security, self-esteem and have fewer behavioral problems when they are provided rules, consistency, consequences, praise and positive acclamations. Consistency is the key to making behavior work. If you give in once, it’s like a slot machine that pays off. Winning once is addicting. If the slot never paid, no one would ever put money in. Put the rules in print. This takes the heat off the parent as the bad guy and places it on the “rule.” Rules must be clearly stated and reasonable for the child’s age, developmental level and emotional stability. Choose consequences that fir and relate to the rule broken. For example, coming home late from friends’ houses should result in not seeing that friend for a few days, NOT missing a trip to the amusement park. Praise is also important. Look for opportunities to say a nice word, especially when it is unearned and spontaneous.
Parental conflicts: Two words can be used to deflect arguments. “Nevertheless” and “regardless” will help avoid confrontation and negotiation and keep your child focused on the issue when they seem to want to engage in an unending argument or defy your authority. For example, you say: “John, please pick up your room, then feed the dog.” Your child responds: “But Sarah never had to do any chores.” You say: “Nevertheless, I want you to pick up your room and feed the dog.” Be sure to keep the statements that specify the task short, direct and to the point.
Family meetings: At least one night a week should be set aside for family meetings. Everyone should have an opportunity to tell how he or she feels during this open forum. Only through open, honest communication can a family increase its positive relationships and grow together.