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College scorecard, chess, furlough days, beekeeping, ‘The Rise of Women’

Education roundup

When Sonoma’s school budget was cut last year, one major line item was a reduction in the number of days that students are in school. The five remaining days off this school year (out of eight furlough days) have now been restored, thanks to new funds made available to the district. Mark your calendars, as March 29, April 1, May 3 and May 24 are back as student instructional days. June 3 will return as a staff-only workday. 

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I follow Justin-Siena high school on Twitter and I loved their tweet last week that apparently Justin-Siena is located in the happiest city in the country. The Atlantic magazine released the results of its review of the happy words, sad words and swear words used in 10 million geotagged social media posts (using what an outside research calls a hedonometer) and declared Napa the happiest city. California as a state didn’t make the top five, however. Whether or not it has any validity, it is an interesting story. tinyurl.com/b7d7o9k.

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A big MetLife survey found that teacher job satisfaction has hit its lowest point in a quarter of a century, and 75 percent of principals believe their jobs have become too complex. For almost 30 years, the survey has polled 1,000 teachers and 500 principals in K through 12 schools across the country. Only 39 percent of teachers described themselves as very satisfied with their jobs on the latest survey, down from 65 percent in 2008, and down five percentage points just over the past year. Budget cuts, less professional development, less collaboration and stress are the primary factors contributing to lower job satisfaction. I am checking with the district to see if Sonoma polls its teachers in this way.

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Researchers have some new advice for high school students who want to improve their grades: become friends with high-achieving classmates. Researchers found a direct correlation between student’s grades and the academic environment of their social network. If a student’s class ranking at the start of the study was higher than average for her social network, it tended to fall over the course of the year. Conversely, if a student initially ranked below the rest of her group, her class ranking tended to rise over time.

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The Department of Education last week launched a new college scorecard website, whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education/college-score-card. The site is great in that it is designed to help families get, as President Obama put it, “the most bang for your educational buck.” The site lists colleges by their cost, average student debt and student loan default rate (which correlates to student employment after graduation). Interestingly, advocates for liberal arts education worry that the scorecard oversimplifies the college-selection process and places too much emphasis on financial aspects of the decision.

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The education and teaching website, TopMastersInEducation.com, has published a list of the 50 best books for new teachers. The list is a compilation of the books most recommended for new teachers by experienced teachers and principals. The goal is to provide new K through 12 teachers with a ready-made list of books they can turn to for inspiration and guidance. It is a wide range of titles that share a high level of online recommendations. Go to topmastersineducation.com/50-best-books-for-new-teachers/ .

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St. Francis Solano School’s robotics team competed in the F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Northern California Capital District Championship on Feb. 9.  Students were judged on their solution to a problem that older people face. Team “Miss Merida,” comprised of eighth-graders Alyssa Bonfigli, Ava Castro, Sofia D’Amico and Kiara Miles, chose to focus on older people’s difficulty with technology by creating the easyTouch tablet.  Team “John Deere,” comprised of eighth-graders Dylan Cavaz, Ian Copple, Maitland Eagle and Joey Sangiacomo, chose to focus on the difficulty older people have with seeing in the dark by creating the Hawk Light. The teams did not bring home any awards, but the students got a great deal out of the experience.

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The Sonoma Valley Education Foundation (svgreatschools.com) has announced that its 2013 Red & White Ball will be held on Saturday, Aug. 24, at the Plaza. Dave Martin’s House Party Band will play and the event will feature food from the Sonoma Valley School Gardens as well as local wines. All proceeds from the Red & White Ball will be invested in local schools. A brand new Fiat will be raffled off again this year. Since 1993, the Education Foundation has raised more than $5 million for the public schools of Sonoma Valley.

Sonoma Dance Academy is holding a spring break dance camp on the campus of The Presentation School at 20872 Broadway the weeks of March 18 to 22 and April 1 to 5 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The camps are broken out by age (3 to 6, 7 to 12 and 10 to 17). Some weeks have general “best of” themes and some are teen dance boot camps. Tuition is $250 a week. Register online at sonomasummercamps.com.

The fifth-annual Scholastic Chess Tournament for grades K through 8 is set for Saturday, May 11, at 10 a.m. The contest, put on by chessforkids.com, will take place at Strawberry School, 2311 Horseshoe Drive in Santa Rosa. The cost to enter is $25. Players will compete in all three rounds against players of the same or similar grade level. Registrations must be received by Thursday, May 9. Call 527-6427 for more information or got to chessclubforkids.com.

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A new book, “The Rise of Women,” by Thomas DiPrete and Claudia Buchmann, looks at how and why female students continue to outpace their male counterparts in education. It turns out that the trend began with students born in the 1950s, because since then the rate of men’s college graduation rates stopped growing (settling at around 27 percent), while by 2010, women’s graduation rates had jumped to 36 percent. Today, women outpace men in college enrollment by a ratio of 1.4 to 1. I don’t think anyone is suggesting that women are smarter, but girls have better average social and behavioral skills than boys, and that relates to girls’ higher average grades. “The grade gap isn’t about ability,” said Ohio State’s Claudia Buchmann, who co-authored the study, “it’s really more about effort and engagement in school.”

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Broccos Old Barn, at 19660 Arnold Drive, now carries honeybee supplies and is hosting a free beekeeping class on Saturday, March 9 from 10 a.m. to noon that is appropriate for ages 12 to adult. In this introduction to beekeeping class, instructor Randy Sue Collins will present an overview of the life of a honeybee and how to start a hive. You can sign up at Broccos Old Barn or call 938-2291.

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There is an interesting conservative news site written by and for college students. Thecollegefix.com bills itself as “Your Daily Dose of Right-Minded Campus News.” Whether or not you lean that way, any site that aims to get kids invested in, educated about, and concerned with current affairs is a good thing.

You may have seen the tabloid monthly, Kid Scoop News, in your child’s classroom. The paper, which is produced out of Sonoma, recently won a Parent’s Choice Award. Only 20 percent of products submitted receive any of their commendations. Parents’ Choice Foundation is the nation’s oldest nonprofit consumer guide to quality children’s media. Kid Scoop News is a free newspaper for students ages 7 to 12 in Sonoma whose teachers have signed up for a classroom subscription. The newspaper is always free to students, but there is a cost per-classroom, that is frequently covered by a local sponsor. The paper’s content includes short news features, puzzles, games, brainteasers and a monthly calendar of local events. Some of the content is kid-created. The paper’s features also appear in more than 300 newspapers nationwide, including the Index-Tribune. Vicki Whiting is the publisher and editor. For more information, go to kidscoop.com or parents-choice.org/allawards.cfm.