Fast Report

01/20/04 -- Pay-for-performance can raise student achievement

• Pay-for-performance plans work best when their primary goal is to increase student achievement, concludes a study by the Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC). When there are multiple, competing goals, such as developing new compensation or professional development plans, the focus on student learning can be blurred, the report finds.

Catalyst For Change analyzes Denver's four-year pay-for-performance pilot program, which was jointly sponsored by the Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.

In general, middle and high school teachers in schools participating in the pilot program registered test score gains, while teachers in pilot elementary schools did not.

In all cases, however, teachers who had excellent objectives for improving student achievement were more successful in raising test scores.

More states addressing anti-gay violence

• Violence and harassment against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students is widespread, but a growing number of states are taking steps to make schools safer for LGBT students and the children of LGBT parents, according to a report released Nov. 18 by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute.

Eight states and the District of Columbia have passed laws banning discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, reports Education Policy: Issues Affecting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth.

Three states and the District of Columbia ban discrimination against students on the basis of gender identity. At least five other states have adopted anti-harassment or nondiscrimination regulations covering sexual orientation.

Despite this progress, the task force says more needs to be done. "This report makes clear that -- with a few sterling exceptions -- schools are failing in their responsibility to create safe environments, and our youth are paying an awful price for this failure," says Executive Director Matt Foreman.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network reports that 83 percent of gay, lesbian, and transgendered youths have faced verbal harassment at their school because of their sexual orientation, and 42 percent said they had been physically harassed.

Meanwhile, on Jan. 6, the Morgan Hill, Calif., school district agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle a lawsuit brought by six gay students who said they were subjected to beatings, death threats, and other harassment. The district, located near San Jose, did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement. It also agreed to hold training for students and teachers to discourage anti-gay harassment.

CDC offers schools flu-prevention advice

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines Jan. 8 on the spread of the flu in schools.

As of Jan. 9, 93 U.S. children have died of the flu during the current outbreak, the CDC reports.

While the guidelines say vaccinations are the best way to prevent the flu, school leaders can also take these steps:

• Remind students and staff to wash their hands frequently and provide alcohol-based hand rubs in each classroom.

• Remind students and staff to cover noses and mouths when coughing or sneezing and make sure that tissues are available in all classrooms and common areas, such as libraries or lunchrooms.

• Encourage sick students and staff to stay at home until they have been without fever for 24 hours to help prevent spreading illness to others.

• Any decisions about closing a school due to increased flu activity should be made in consultation with local and state health departments. It is unknown whether school closings are beneficial in controlling the spread of flu.

FEMA issues school design primer

• The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a guide to help school building designers and school district leaders develop schools that are safe from terrorist attacks.

Primer to Design Safe School Projects in Case of Terrorist Attacks (FEMA 428) includes information on how to conduct a threat/risk assessment, prepare site layout and building design, and create school safety plans. It also describes how to build safe rooms within schools that will resist chemical, biological, radiological, and blast threats.

Join the 'world's largest concert'

• Public schools across the nation are invited to participate in the annual "World's Largest Concert," which will be telecast March 11.

The concert, which will involve millions of schoolchildren, teachers, and citizens from around the world, is sponsored by the National Association for Music Education and has been formally endorsed by NSBA.