The recession that has hit almost every aspect of the US economy over the last few years is also affecting teacher pay, according to a report from the National Council on Teacher Quality. The report found that, while teachers were largely protected from losing jobs and unemployment, their salaries were negatively impacted in most cases.

To investigate the effect of the recession on teacher pay the National Council on Teacher Quality, which is a nonprofit organization working towards improving teacher effectiveness, analyzed salary data from 41 of the largest school districts in the country. The report looked at average yearly salary increases that included raises negotiated in contracts, cost-of-living increases, and longevity increases, but not raises due to teachers getting extra certification or advanced degrees. These average pay increases dropped from 3.6 percent during the 2008 to 2009 school year to just 1.3 percent for the 2011 to 2012 school year.

The report found a few districts that stood out for giving higher than average raises. These included New York, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Fresno, California, Jefferson County, Kentucky, and Chicago. In Chicago, teachers have fared better during the recession than most of their peers around the country. Chicago teachers received pay increases equal to four percent for 2009, 2010, and 2011. This was in addition to raises for longevity. The teachers went on strike in 2011 when the district stopped the contractually-negotiated raises.

In other districts investigated in the report, teacher salaries remained flat, or even, as was the case in Albuquerque, decreased. Overall, average teacher salaries for the entire country from 2000 to 2012, have not improved much. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, teacher raises adjusted for inflation have only averaged one percent for more than a decade. The average salary for a teacher is $56,643. This is lower than the average for most other professions with advanced college degrees.

Many professionals and those involved in education would like to see these trends reversed. The president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, Kate Walsh, for instance, believes that teachers, especially those that are the most effective, deserve to be paid much more. What will happen as the economy rebounds from the recession remains to be seen.

The most recent data on preschool and how it is funded across the US includes startling numbers. According to an annual report from the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education, the funding for preschool programs in the US dropped by $500 million over the course of the 2011 to 2012 school year. The loss in funding is greater than any seen in previous years and was accompanied by a fall in quality of preschool programs.

The author of the report, Steven Barnett, claims that the state of preschool in the US is a state of emergency and that funding is needed to create high-quality programs that help students achieve later in school. According to the report, there are ten states that do not even offer preschool programs, and among those that do many do not meet minimum standards for quality. The report finds that nearly half a million preschool students, which represents close to half of the students enrolled in the country, are attending programs that do not meet the standards that would qualify those programs for federal aid. The states that met the most quality benchmarks included Alabama, North Carolina, Alaska, and Rhode Island. Those meeting the fewest were Texas, Vermont, Ohio, Florida, and California.

Another troubling finding in the report is the lack of growth in preschool enrollment numbers. Only seventeen states increased their preschool enrollment for the 2011 to 2012 school year, while fifteen states saw declines in enrollment. The increases in other states were not enough to offset the effect of population growth.

Research indicates that early childhood education is crucial to later student achievement, that it prepares young students, improves productivity in the labor force, and decreases societal issues such as delinquency and crime. Accordingly, President Obama has stated that making preschool universal is a real priority for his second term. The funding is at odds with this viewpoint, however, and has dropped over the last few years with federal budget cuts. The recent sequestration cuts have made the issue even worse and have many worrying that the trend in preschool cuts will not improve.

A revolution in higher education is happening and it is being spearheaded by a new kind of university. The Minerva Project, based in San Francisco and founded by former CEO of Snapfish, Ben Nelson, has collected millions of dollars in venture capital and is hoping to open in 2015. The Project has also announced that it will be awarding an annual prize of $500,000 to the best educators. Nelson describes the award as essentially a Nobel Prize for teaching. The first award will be given in the spring of 2014.

Awarding such a large prize to an educator is, in itself, revolutionary, but the innovation does not stop with the prize money. The Minerva Project is a for-profit, educational institution that will confer university degrees. Nelson believes that the demand for limited admission spots at top universities, as well as high tuition costs, have left the door open for new ideas in higher education.

Although the new school is not yet open, it has already attracted and hired big names in education. Former president of Harvard University Lawrence H. Summers and president of the New School of New York, Bob Kerrey, are both advisors. A former dean at Harvard and director at Stanford is the founding dean of the new school. Stanford professor and Nobel Prize winner Roger D. Kornberg will lead the Minerva Academy, which will award the annual teaching prize.

The plans for the Minerva Project include drawing top students from around the world and admitting them with the same high standards as other selective universities. The students will live together in various places around the world, but classes will be small, online seminars. The plan is for tuition to be half that of top-tier and Ivy League schools. Another unique aspect of the school is that students will move around the world. The first class of students is slated to live and learn in San Francisco. After one year, they will move to another city.

The Minerva Project has been making waves in higher education with grand plans that have yet to be realized. The amount of money raised and the distinguished faculty already on board indicate that the new university is serious about getting started. The $500,000 educator prize is just another revolutionary idea to come from Minerva.

For the first time since 1996, new broad recommendations for science education have been introduced on a national level. Following the adoption of the Common Core standards by 45 states and the District of Columbia for language arts and mathematics standards, several states and organizations put together a similar set of benchmarks for science education.

The new guidelines for science education are called the Next Generation Science Standards and they were introduced on April 16 for the first time. They were written by a consortium put together by the governments of 26 states including representatives from such organizations as the National Science Teachers Association and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Research Council.

The aim of the Next Generation standards is to create comprehensive guidelines with the long-term goal of encouraging more students to enter science and engineering disciplines and careers. The creators of the standards wanted to emphasize the practice of science and an understanding of what science really is in the hopes of battling what is seen as widespread societal ignorance on the subject.

Included in the new standards are two controversial areas of science: evolution and climate change. The standards include an emphasis on the human causes of climate change and on evolution as an important concept in life sciences. The creators of the standards felt it was necessary to include these topics in a comprehensive set of guidelines for science education. Some, however, worry that these inclusions will deter certain states from adopting the standards.

Another important change included in the standards is the inclusion of real world examples and hands-on instruction. The intent of the creators of the standards was to include more depth of knowledge and less breadth. Students will be expected to delve more deeply into some topics to get a better understanding of how science works and to better learn how to investigate, analyze, and evaluate scientific ideas.

States are not required to adopt the standards, but the 26 involved in creating them are likely to do so. Other states may join in, but costs may prove to be a factor in the decision. Many state education departments are facing budget issue and the cost of implementing new standards and their assessments may be prohibitive.

Learning to write in the fluid, cursive script has long been a part of elementary education. Today, however, with the focus on digital devices and keyboards, cursive is in danger of becoming extinct. New national standards, called the Common Core, being adopted by many states no longer include cursive writing as a necessary element of a child’s education. Teachers are also leaving cursive out of more classrooms in favor of typing skills as a way of better preparing students for their futures.

Some educators make the case for leaving cursive behind by citing technology, while others refer to budget and testing constraints. With waning school budgets, teachers must ditch the less relevant lessons in favor of important modern skills. The implementation of standardized testing also restricts teachers’ flexibility when it comes to deciding what to include in the classroom.

While the reason for eliminating cursive in schools is obvious to many, the arguments for continuing to teach children how to write in this way are not so clear. Most teachers and administrators who believe in continuing cursive education in schools cite the connection to the development of fine motor skills. As elementary-aged children develop, they get better at making small movements with their hands. This skill is helped by putting pen to paper. Others argue that without cursive, students would be unable to read many historical documents. Another argument in favor of cursive is the simple ability to sign one’s name.

The Common Core national standards, now adopted by 45 states do not include cursive, but according to their authors, do not discourage it either. To teach or not to teach cursive to elementary students is officially left to the discretion of states and local districts. North Carolina is one state that is taking a “back to basics” approach to education and is making sure its students learn cursive writing. The state House recently passed a bill requiring that cursive be a part of public elementary school curriculum. Also included in the bill is the requirement to memorize multiplication tables. California, Idaho, Georgia, and Massachusetts have taken similar steps.

In other states, citizens are taking matters into their own hands. New Jersey grandmother Sylvia Hughes started a cursive club when she learned that handwriting was no longer a requirement in her grandson’s school. She ended up with 60 third graders eager for her cursive instruction. As technology changes and minimizes the daily need for cursive, handwriting is expected to fade further from education and instruction, but with legislators and individuals taking a stand it may not disappear any time soon.

As technological developments in computing and digital media grow with leaps and bounds, education has started to get a piece of the action. Just a few short years ago, districts struggled to an adequate number of laptops to accommodate all students. Now, schools are stocking classrooms with tablet computers. Textbooks made with ink and paper are falling by the wayside, as tablets take over. Students are also accessing the internet for research and using interactive tools and games to enhance learning.

There are many reasons why having tablets in schools is great for students. Textbooks can be updated throughout the year to include new information. Apps created for the classroom can help students interact with learning materials in new and more meaningful ways. Most of all, tablets give teachers an invaluable tool in helping children to think and learn.

Until recently, Apple’s iPad was the go-to tablet for most school districts. Now, newer competitors are giving the iPad a run for its money with benefits that are desirable to schools such as long-lasting batteries, easy ways to input data, and lower price tags. Some of these competitors are unexpected, like the Kuno made by a family-owned company in Indiana called Curriculum Loft. Districts like the Kuno for its user-friendly software, educational apps, and content filtering capabilities.

Media giant News Corp. is also getting in on the K-12 tablet market. The company is creating a new tablet called Amplify, which is Android-based and will include interactive lessons, as well as tools for classroom management. The goal is to create a device that will meet all of a classroom’s needs. These tablets are expected to cost between $300 and $350.

Dell is also an iPad competitor with its Latitude 10 tablet. It debuted in the fall of 2012 and uses Windows 8 as its operating system. This gives the advantage of providing a format that is familiar to most teachers and students from using PCs.

Around the world, tablet use in schools is trickier because of the costs. A Canadian entrepreneur, Suneet Singh Tuli, recognized the need for a cheaper tablet for foreign markets and created the Aakash and Ubislate 7, both used in India. They retail for just $45 per tablet. As technology improves and the competition gets fiercer, U.S. schools may also benefit from lower prices in tablet computers.

In a recent public statement, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel explained and defended his plan to close 54 schools in the district. He stated that the action was necessary to fulfill his responsibilities to the children of the city, many of whom are stuck in failing schools. He continued to say that the closings were not popular or easy from a political standpoint, but that to go ahead with the plan was necessary.

The announcement of Emanuel’s plan to close schools was given by the district’s CEO, Barbara Byrd-Bennett. The 54 closings mark the largest number of schools shuttered in a single year in Chicago Public Schools, the third largest district in the nation. The action will affect close to 30,000 students and includes 53 elementary schools and one high school.

The mayor and Byrd-Bennett have said that the closings are needed, in part because of a nearly $1 billion deficit. Furthermore, the schools are only half-full, in need of many expensive repairs, and failing academically. The closing plan is expected to save the district over $500 million over the next ten years in terms of capital costs. It will also save nearly $50 million each year in operating costs. With the savings, Emanuel hopes to invest in the schools that remain, improving the buildings and the academics.
Much of the public, including parents, teachers, and community leaders, is dissatisfied with the planned school closings and have expressed their views. Thousands planned to protest the closings downtown in the Loop. They disapprove of the plan because of the loss of community schools and the loss of union jobs. In addition to the union-led protests, several prominent African American clergy members expressed their disapproval with a letter sent to city hall.

In spite of the public outcry over closing local schools, Mayor Emanuel put a halt to negotiations and has moved forward with the plan. Public hearings have been going on for the last few months, but the public still feels it has not been heard. The move to finalize the closings will become official when the school board votes on the issue in May.

Q-Comp, or Quality Compensation, is a voluntary teacher “pay for performance” system that was enacted across Minnesota in 2005. The program was created by then governor Tim Pawlenty and passed by the state legislature in July of 2005. The law introduced several factors that affect teachers, such as professional development, teacher evaluation, and career advancement options, but it is the performance pay component that is receiving attention now.

Around 10,000 teachers in the Twin Cities area participate in the Q-Comp voluntary pay for performance program, and of those nearly 99 percent are receiving bonuses. This number has caught the attention of legislators and others and raised questions over the effectiveness of a program that rewards nearly everyone with bonuses that average $1,864.

The purpose of the Q-Comp program is to raise the quality of education by rewarding teachers for excellence. Those who support the program claim that it has done just that. Critics say that the attempt to improve teaching by tying salary to performance has been diluted and is no longer effective.

Q-Comp was an early merit pay program and a front runner in the now popular idea of linking teacher pay to student performance. The idea has grown since 2005 with other programs, like president Obama’s federally funded Race to the Top, being implemented and tried out across the country. Critics of merit pay turn to Q-Comp to point out the flaws of paying teachers based on performance.

Exactly how teachers receive their bonuses through Q-Comp varies depending on the district. Evaluation of a teacher may include peer observation, teacher mentoring, professional development, level of education, experience, and of course student achievement. Supporters of the program say that Q-Comp has given teachers the chance to work together to improve teaching quality and to get access to rigorous professional development opportunities.

While the fact that nearly all teachers are receiving bonus pay under Q-Comp sends up immediate red flags, its proponents claim that the situation is more complicated. There are different tiers of bonus pay and less than one third of participating teachers have received the maximum bonus. Teachers and administrators like the program, but members of the legislature do not. It is likely that some changes will be made, but for now Q-Comp stays in place.

The non-profit organization TeachersCount, founded in 2001 by Diana Burroughs and Dini von Mueffling, is dedicated to the promotion of the teaching profession, helping the public to appreciate teachers, and providing educators with valuable resources.

The organization’s long-running and ever-popular ad campaign and series of public service announcements highlights the teachers who inspired famous and successful entertainers, athletes, journalists, and other newsmakers. The “Behind Every Famous Person is a Fabulous Teacher” campaign launched in 2006 and included an introduction by then First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush at the Time Life Building in New York. TeachersCount now offers posters featuring famous people and their favorite teachers for free.

“We entrust the care and education of our children every day to their teachers,” said Diana Burroughs, current Executive Director of TeachersCount. “The better valued and appreciated our teachers are, the better it is for all of us. Our goal at TeachersCount is to recruit the best teachers possible, recognize their value, and retain them in the profession.”

For those already in the profession, TeachersCount provides valuable resources. On the “I’m a Teacher” page, the organization offers information for professional development including listings of graduate schools, conferences, awards, and grants. They also support a program, along with the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, here called TeachersDisCount, which gives teachers the chance to save on retail items for the classroom. Inspirational and informational articles round out this page with interviews with education professionals, education news, and stories from students.

The “I’m a WannaTeach” page caters to those who are interested in becoming teachers by providing valuable information and resources. On the “I’m a Teacher Booster” page, anyone who loves and supports educators can find a way to get involved. People are encouraged to contribute stories of how teachers helped, supported, and cared about them. There are also articles that highlight the need to elevate the teaching profession and to demonstrate appreciation for educators.

A new program on the TeachersCount website is the Be Counted Poll. The poll asks a new question of readers every month. The questions are related to current events and issues in education and the answers and comments are used by TeachersCount in weekly press releases that go out to national media sources.

As debate continues across the country regarding standardized testing, accountability, vouchers, and countless other controversies in education, TeachersCount continues to shine a bright light on the good that teachers do in the world.

At this year’s South by Southwest Conference and Festival (SXSW), Bill Gates gave the keynote address for the education portion of the event, called SXSWedu. SXSWedu brings together leaders in the world of education to speak about and to discuss important issues. The purpose is to start meaningful conversations about education and to start collaborations that will bring about positive changes in education.

This year Bill Gates, a leader in educational philanthropy gave an inspiring keynote talk that hit on several topics, but focused on the inevitable changes in education. He described the current state of education as being at a technological tipping point. Growth in demand from parents, teachers, and students for more technology and an educational environment that better mirrors our wired world is leading to an inevitable and large increase in the use of technology in the classroom.

One of the strongest points Gates made in his talk addressed the notion of connectivity. Gates talked about the ways in which social media have changed student interactions. He pointed out that people no longer re-meet their classmates at 10- and 20-year high school reunions. Social media keeps students connected during school and for years afterward.

Gates called upon teachers to take advantage of social media and other technologies to create greater connectivity between themselves. Teaching has traditionally been a career of isolation. When the school day begins, teachers go into their separate rooms, teach and only see each other again in passing or at the end of the day.

Gates would like to see teachers come out of isolation and connect with each other in meaningful ways to help improve education. He wants teachers to collaborate about specific students and teaching practices, but also in regards to more general ideas and philosophies of education. He believes that there are great teachers whose skills are not being utilized to improve the craft in others. When teachers can connect with each other, learn from each other, and put best practices to work, education for students will improve.