^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^"^B*""Wt^" " l ^VOL. 3 1 , NO. 2 7 - A P R I L4. 201 2EDUCATION WEEKAMERICANEDUCATION'SNEWSPAPEROFRECORD 2012 Editorial Projects in Education $4O edweek. org:BREAKING NEWSDAILYNEWDIRECTION: In McDowell County,W.Va.,an ambitious,five-year partnership of more than 80 private and public groups is looicing to tumaround one of the state's lowest-performingrural districts. The initiative,launched in December,is being led by the AmericanFederationof Teachers and includes such diverse groups as the College Board,Blue Cross Blue Shield,and the united Mine Workers, PAGE BParental EngagementProves No Easy GoalBy Sean CavanaghFew would quarrel with the goal of increas-ing parents' and families' engEigement in edu-cation in the name of school improvement. Butthere's far less consensus on what that engage-ment should look likeand on howeducatorsand fxjiicymakersshould be promoting it.Those questions are evident in the federalNo ChildLeftBehind Act, whichrequiresthousandsof schools receiving Title I aid toset aside a portion ofthatmoney for family-engagementactivities. The Obamaadmin-istration, among others, would like to boosttheamountof moneydevotedtoparentalPAGE16 >FOCUSON:EXPANDEDLEARNINGOut-of-School Field on Hunt for TrainingBy Nora FlemingAs out-of-schoolprogramsandthe expec-tations for themgrow, the field is strugglingto identifythe kind of training staffmembersneed to meet those expectations.A varietyof effortshavesprung upacrossthe country to defineandimprove thequal-ityof after-schoolstaff,some of whichbearresemblanceto thequestto improvetheef-fectivenessof classroomteachers. Butgiventhat many out-of-school prograims face limitedfunding and their staffs tend to he young, part-time workers who rarely commit to the job forlong, questions remain over howto provide pro-fessional development in a cost-effective way."We have a hardenough timecreatingef-fectiveteaching in K-12. It's even harderforafler-schoolprograms, whose staffare youngpeoplewho canconnect withkids huthavehighratesof turnover," saidRobertGranger,thepresidentof the WilliamT. GrantFoun-dation,whichhasunderwrittenresearchandothereffortstoimproveafter-schoolprograms. "After-schoolwork has hoursandpay for staff that make it not a career job,butstaffstillneedongoing coaching whiletheyare working withyouth. The bestprogramsandsystemsarefiguringouthowtomakethathappen."While emerging research points to positivePAGE14 >GreatSchools.org Finds Its NicheSchool Ratings Service HasDesigns on Parent MarketBy Christina A. SamuelsPlugaschoolnameintoanyInter-netsearchengine,andwithinafewpages, you're likely to come across theGreatSchools website.GreatSchools.orgneatlyranksmorethan136,000 traditional public, private,and charter schools nationwide ona scaleof 1 to 10, based on state test scores. Butwhat often draws readers Eire the gossipyinsider comments posted by parents, stu-dents, and teachers, and the star ratingsthose commenters contribute.Thegrowthof onlineschoolratingserviceshasgone handinhandwiththegrowthof theschoolchoice move-ment: Parents need independentinfor-mationon the array of educational op-tions opening up to them. And the SanFrancisco-basednonprofitGreatSchoolshas gEimered long-running support fh)mphilanthropiesthatbacksuchschoolPAGE15 >-, A boyholds a lamb on the groundsofthe 4-H chapterin Mahmoudia,Iraq. Morethan3,000 Iraqi youths now take part in 4-H. PAGE 6New RulesPush DownGrad RatesAll States NowRequiredTo UseUniform FormulaBy Jaclyn ZubrTyckiStatesare grappling withafederalrequirementthatisforcingthemtouseanew, moreuniformmethodofcalculatinghighschoolgraduationratesa method that, in some states,is yielding ratesthatare20 percent-agepointslowerthanthosestateshave reported in the past.Under a 2008 update to federaledu-cation rules, the states were required toreplace their patchwork of graduation-rate formulas with a four-year "cohort"rate, beginning in the 2010-11 schoolyear, eind to use that number this schoolyeiir to determine whether schools aremaking adequate progress undertheNo Child Left Behind Act."This is the first year we havetruegrad-rate accountability," saidRobertW. Balfanz, theco-director of the Ev-eryoneGraduatesCenteratJohnsHopkins University, in Baltimore. Be-cause of alag in reporting graduationrates, not all the states' rates for 2010-11 have been reported yet.But as theycome out, the adjustedcohort rate willbe "empowering for communities" wish-PAGE12 >DIGITALDIRECTIONSStudents CreateFake E-ProfilesTo Bully PeersBy Michelle R. DavisTwo teenage girls werearrestedinFloridaand charged withcyberstalk-ingaftercreatingafakeFacebookpage impersonatinganotherstudentandusing it to bully her. StudentsatanIndianapolishighschoolsetupfalse Twitteraccountsfortheirprin-cipal ind tweeted offensivecommentsbefore the account was shut down.Andata Minnesotamiddle school,someonecreatedafalseFacebookprofilefora 6th graderandused it tomake violent threats.Students' creation of fake online iden-tities is forcing schools to deal with suchbehavior, which raises legal as well asschoolsafetyconcerns. Infact,somebehavior in such situations can now bedeemed illegal under state cyberbully-ing laws or evencyber-impersonationand identity-theft laws.Thirty-eightstateshavebullyingPAGE13 >EDUCATION WEEK APRIL 4, 2012www.edweek.org 13DI GI TALDI RECTI ONS> Tracking news and ideas in educational technologyOwww.digitaldirections.orgStudents Use Fake Online Identities to Torment Their PeersCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1lawsthatincludeabanon "elec-tronic harassment" in their provi-sions, Eind 14 states have laws thatexpresslyprohibitcyberbullying,according te the CyberbullyingRe-searcbCenter, whichtrackssuchlegislation.Some states, such as New Jersey,also have identity-theftlawsthathave beenused in cases involvingfakesocial-networkingprofiles,andCalifornia,NewYork,andTexas all havelaws agEiinst cyberor digitalimpersonation.WhilecyberbullyingisoftenjustanelectronicformofsuchtraditionEdbulljdngtechniquesasspreading rumors and teEising, "on-line impersonationis one of thosenew, creative ways te be really hurt-ful,"saidNancy E. Willard, a law-yer andtbe directerof theCenterforSafeandResponsibleInternetUse, based in Eugene, Ore."Creatingafakeidentityforabairmfulpurpose would likely meetthe standards of mEiny of these stat-utes," sbe said.Murky Legal issuesInFebruary2010,threestu-dents at NewbujyportHigh Schoolin Newburyport,Mass., createdafake Facebook page for a classmateanduseditto postnegative com-mentsaboutotberstudents. Tbevictimwasunawareof theprofileuntil be was teised andconfrontedby otber students at scbool. Princi-pal Michael Parentsaid.Atthetime,theschooldidn'thave a bulljong policy tbat Mr Par-entbelievedallowedbimtotakeaction, sincethefakeprofilewascreated off school grounds. As a re-sult, tbe matter was referred te theNewburyportPoUce DepEirtment,andtbestudents wereultimatelycbarged with identitytheft.They receivedno scbool punisb-ment, Mr. PEirent said.Sincethen,theschoolhasde-visedanew "transition" programfor freshmenset te laimch in thenext school yeEir-that emphasizesproper Internet etiquette and use of.social networking.Inaddition,Massachusettshasadoptedastatewidebullying lawthat "makes itmore clear tbat webave te investigateit," Mr.Parent.said of such online bebavior. "It ex-pands therole of theschool te in-clude off-sitesocial media."Butmanyschoolleadersandother educatersare less certEiin oftheir reach when dealing with fakeprofileson sociEil-networking sites.Court rulingson such issues havebeensomurkytbattbeNationalScboolBoards Association filed abrief witb tbeU.S. Supreme Courtlast year asking for clarificationincases inwhich cyberbullying con-stitutes "off-CEimpusspeecb."Tbe brief was in responseterul-ings by tbeU.S. Courtof Appealsfor the 3rd Circuit in two separatecases involving studentswho cre-atedfakesocial-networkingpro-filesof scbool staff members. In boththe J.S.V. BlueMountain SchoolDistrictcaseandthe Layshock v.Hermitage School District CEise, thecourt ruled that punishments metedout agEiinst students by the schoolswere unconstitutional.TheNSBA,basedin AlexEindria,Va., argued in the brief that the in-creased useof social networking hasled te "a stunning increase in hEirm-fulstudent expressionthatschooladministraters are forced te addresswith no clear guiding jurisprudence."In January, the U.S. Supreme Courtdeclined te take up the cases.Ms. Willard oftheCenter for Safeand Responsible Internet Use saidschools can act wben a fake social-networking profileevenone cre-atedoffcampuscausesa "sub-stantiEil disruption" te astudent'seducation. Tbecourtsseemmoreinclinedtoallowadministratorste tEike disciplinEiry action whenastudent, rather than an adult, is tbevictim of a fake profile, she said.However, Ms. Willardcautioned,when tracing fakeFacebook, Twit-ter,orMySpaceprofiles,scboolsmust referthe situationtelaw en-forcementif school officialsneedtefindout tbrou^ tbe social-network-ing site whocreated a fake profile."It'sagainstfederallawforthewebsitestoprovidethattypeofidentifyinginformation," she said."If there is the potentiEd of a crimi-naloffense,lawenforcementcanissue a subpoena."Tbat's wby it's criticEil for schoolste work with law-enforcementandmental-beEdthofficialstedeveloppoliciesandproceduresbeforesuchasituationoccurs, Ms. Wil-lard said.Alternatives to CourtStudentswho createfakeFace-book profUes Eire getting caught upin tbe criminal-justicesystem inaway tbat'sreminiscentof thestu-dent "sexting" incidents froma fewyeEirs ago.In some of those CEises, teenagerswho bad texted nude or otherwiserisqu photes of themselves te otherstudents were cbarged under child-pornographylaws,saidSameerHinduja, a co-directer oftheCyber-bull3Tng Researcb Center, which isbasedatFlorida AtlEintic Univer-sity, in Jupiter.Mr. Hindujasaidapplications ofidentity-theft;laws in cases of fEikeFacebookprofiles"overstepwbattheoriginal laws for identitytheftwere written for."Somestates,includingFloridaandNew York,arenowdealingwithsuchcasesinawaythatavoids criminalpenaltiesbyfun-neling young offendersto alterna-tive or "diversion" programs, awayfromtbe court system.IntbecaseofafakeFacebookpagecreatedby two EsteroHigbSchoolstudentsinFloridaaboutayearago, forexample,teenagegirlswerechargedbyIOCEJ policeimder cyberstEdking laws. But lawenforcementthen handed the caseover te the Lee County hiunan-ser-vices depEirtment'sNeighborhoodAccountabilityProgram, a "rester-ative justice" programfor juvenileoffenders, said Nora Donate-Hiteh-cock, the progrEim coordinaterandsupervisor.Thecasewasdealtwithmoreswiftlythanitwouldhavebeenina juvenilecourt,Ms. Donato-Hitchcocksaid, andthe focuswason improving thesituation.One oftheEstero teenagers wasrequiredtomakeananti-cyber-buUying YouTube video. The othercreated a "Facebook for Dummies"fiierof "do's and don'ts" for an anti-buUjdng program.Botbstudentswererequiredteapologize te tbe victim and orderedtestay off sociEd-networkingsitesfor a significantperiod of time, Ms.Donato-Hitcbcock said.Lessons LeamedDealtwithproperly, suchcasescan provide a positive lesson, edu-caters say.FouryearsagoatColonyHighSchool inPalmer, Alaska,severalstudentscreateda MySpacepageimpersonating PrincipalCydDuf-fin. Thestudents wrote, in the guiseoftheprincipal, that she didn't likecertaingroups of students, includ-inghearing-impairedandAsianstudents, andthesitefeaturedafakephoteof Ms.DuftinwearingKu Klux Klan robes.Wben Ms. DuffinEderted officiEdsat MySpace, tbe company shutthepagedown, butrefusedtorevealwhocreatedit.Ms. Duffinthensuedthecompany, butultimatelydroppedtbelawsuitafterthestu-dents confessed te their actions.Thestudentswhocreatedtheprofile were not known as trouble-makers,shesaid,andreceivedonly a shortsuspension.Buttheincidentforcedthe dis-tricttosetclearpoliciesaroundcyberbullyingandfakesocial-networkingprofiles, andMs. Duf-fin saidshefeelsconfidenttodaywben dealing witb such issues.Ms.Duffinhas used theincidentteteachotherstudentsabouttbepitfallsof suchsupf)osedpranks.Every year, shemakes anappear-anceinaclasscalledCyber Law.Her CEise is the prime exEimple.TheLeadershipand LearningCenterINVIGORATE YOURMINDFreshIdeas for Senior LeadersJoina selectgroupofcolleaguesfromacrossthecountryalongwithDouglasB.Reeves,founderofTheLeadershipandLearningCenter,andnationallyrecognizedspeakersCathyLassiter,AinsleyRose,andSteveVenturainaprofessionaldialogueabouthowtoleadschoolsthroughthepressuresandchallengesofeducatingchildrentoday.Inthisintimateandpersonalizedsetting,youwillgainInsightintoemergingtopicssuchas:Redesigning thework ofthecentralofficetoimprovestudentlearningBuilding alearning organizationfromtheboardroomto theclassroomCreating asuccessionplantosustain theworkMaximizing thepotential ofeverystaffmemberSeniorLeadershipNetworkJune10-12,2012In Botiider, Colorado.To join this exclusivenetworkandevent, contactBrookeLittleat 303-504-9312ext.227orBLittle@leadandlearn.comTheLdershit) andLearning Ceni^rO^ i s rpgisteredtrademarkot AdvancedLearning Centrs, Inc.HouffhtonMIfflinHarcoitrtPuWishing Coni[larly. 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