Education in the United

StatesPresented byCalifornia State UniversityDominguez Hills Lynne Cook

Ann SelmiKim Trimble

Agenda

Administrative Issues

Overview of US Education

Preparation of Teaching Professionals

Focus on Early Childhood Education

Children with Disabilities

Questions & Answers

Please use the U.S. Educational System Notesheet to take notes.

During this part of the presentation

What do we know about schools in the U.S.?

First, the Number of Schools

There are nearly 100,000 public schools (98,817)National Center for Educational Statistics

They are made up of

National Center for Educational Statistics

73,000 Elementary Schools

26,000 Secondary Schools

and

How many students attend these schools?

Total: 54.8 million students (Pre-K through Grade 12)Based on 2009 estimates

What kind of schools do they go to?

Based on 2008 U.S. Census numbers

Who are these students?

Public School Students Only

What else do we know about them?

Additionally 13% receive Special Education Services

That is approximately 6.5 million students

2008-2009 Dept. of Education figures

What is special aboutschools in the U.S.?

One important issue is

Local Control of Schools

Instead of a System of Nationally Controlled Schools,

Thousands of Locally-ElectedSchool Boards

Make nearly all decisions about the school

This includes:

• What is taught (curriculum)

• What teachers use to teach(textbooks & materials)

• Who teaches (teacher andadministrator hiring)

• When they teach (school schedules and holidays)

What kind of training does a teacher need?

1. Education (minimum of bachelor’s degree)

2. Subject Matter Competence (rigorous state academic test or a bachelor’s degree in the subject area)

3. State Certification (pedagogy, state performance standards)

What is a teacher’s salary?

Level

General Education

Special Education

Preschool $42,150* $55,650

Elementary $54,360 $55,650

Secondary $55,500 $57,380

*Preschool annual salary based on multiplying hourly mean wage by a “year-round, full-time” hours figure of 2,080 hours

Source: US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2010 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimateshttp://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_611100.htm

U.S. Early Childhood Education (ECE)

U.S. ECE Programs Comein All Forms

Different Funding Sources

Different Locations

Different Audiences

Different Activities

U.S. ECE Programs

Government Funded for Childrenwith Economic and Developmental Needs:

•Children birth to 5 years old •Located at homes, centers, or schools

•Focus on development/school readiness

All Others, Family or Employer Funded Programs:•Child Care = 6 weeks-12 years•Preschool = 2 years to 5 years•Located at homes, centers, schools, workplaces, churches/temples•Focus on development/school readiness

Percentage of Children in U.S. Preschool

The overall number of children enrolled in preschool categorized by race.

Government Funded ECE Programs Children with Economic and/or

Developmental Needs

Family’s Cost for Care of One Child

Child Care: $400 to $1000 for an entire week, usually all day

Preschool: $400 to $1000 for an entire month, usually half-day

ECE Program Workers for Typically Developing Children

Directors: 15 college units/4 years experienceor AA/2 years experienceor BA in EC/1 year experience or Supervisory Permit/0 exp.

Teachers: 12 college units/6 months experience

or Child Center Permit

Assistants: High School Graduate

or Student in Occupation Program

ECE Program Workers for Children with Disabilities

Directors/Teachers:

Depending on the state,

Four-Year University Degree or

Fifth-Year Post Graduate Degree

Assistants:

Two years of College Coursework

What Is a PreschoolTeacher’s Salary?

Preschools for Children without Disabilities: An average of $2800 per month

Preschools for Children with Disabilities: An Average of $4200 per month

Unfortunately, the U.S. government does not

pay for most young children’s education.

As you have read…

You will use the following: 1. Lawrence Article: About Everyone’s Child

2. Notesheet: Lawrence Article Questions with Your Notes

During this part of the presentation…

First thing to do…As a group,

1. Review the article and share ideas from the Lawrence Article Questions.

2. Choose one person from your group to share with everyone two ideas that your group found interesting.

We will return in 10 minutes to share our two ideas….

Your 10 minutes is up!

Just to review,1. You read about what happened in the

1998 election in Dade County, FL.2. You then learned what happened four

years later in the 2002 election.3. The author described the importance

of “building a movement” in the U.S.4. Information was presented on the

“Kindergarten Movement” in the US from the 1950s on.

Now, let’s share the interestingideas we learned from the article…

Italy?? Spain???

Bakersfield?? Dominguez Hills??

The article leaves us wonderingif the U.S. should:

1. Provide some children with high quality preschool programs? or2. Provide all children with lower quality preschool programs?

As you know…

• Governments today do not have much money.

• The U.S. wants to increase support for preschoolers.

You task is to help us convince the U.S. government to either:

Provide high quality programs for some preschoolers

or

Provide lower quality programs for all preschoolers.

During the next 10 minutes…

Discuss the current U.S. ECE situation and give reasons why the U.S. government should either have:

high quality programs for fewer children

or

lower quality programs for all children

You will share your information in 10 minutes….

What Do You Thinkthe U.S. Should Do?

High Quality Programs for Fewer Children?

Reasons:1.

2.

3.

4.

Lower Quality Programs for All Children?

Reasons:1.

2.

3.

4.

Now, let’s share your ideas on what the U.S. should do with

their ECE Programs…

Italy?? Spain???

Bakersfield??Dominguez

Hills??

Two Websites to Look at

National Association for the Education of Young Children: http://www.naeyc.org/

Council for Exceptional Children:http://www.cec.sped.org

Special Education in the U.S….

Q.1 Children with disabilities are provided public education.

Q1:True- Children with disabilities are provided free appropriate public education.

• 1975: U.S. enacted Education of All Handicapped Act (EHA).*

• Mandates a free and appropriate public education for children and youth ages 3-21 who have disabilities.

• * The law is now known as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Q.2 Children ages 0-2 who have disabilities do not receive public services.

Q.2: False– Children 0-2 with disabilities DO receive public

services. • IDEA was amended in 1986 to mandate

services to infants, toddlers and their families. • Children from birth through 2 years of age

and their families receive Early Intervention Services from a credentialed Early Childhood Special Education Teacher.

• Services are described in Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP).

Q.3 Medical professionals determine if a child has a disability and needs special education.

Q 3. False—Educators and parents determine need for

special education.

• Medical professionals may determine if a child has a disability.

• Not all children with disabilities need special education.

• Parents, educators, and specialists jointly determine if a child requires special education and related services.

Q.4 Today about ___% of all U.S. public school children receive Special Education Services.

a.7b.5c.13d.27

Q.4: About 13% of US students receive special education.

US Federal Categories for Special Education• Learning disabilities• Mental retardation• Emotional disturbance • Multiple disabilities • Hearing, vision, orthopedic or health impairments• Autism • Traumatic brain injury

• Developmental delay

Q.5 Specific learning disabilities, disorders involving either the understanding or use of spoken or written language, account for the greatest percentage of children receiving special education in the U.S.

Q.5: True– SLD is the most prevalent disability in special

education.• Specific learning disabilities account for

nearly half of all students receiving special education.

• Speech or language disorders are the 2nd most prevalent.

• SLD was the fastest growing category; now Autism and TBI are growing rapidly.

Q.6 Special education is typically provided in general education classrooms.

Q6: False– Special education is provided in many settings.

• Special education services are offered in a continuum of placements (range from general class to institution).

• Students are to be educated in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).

• In 2007-08, 58% of students with disabilities spent most of the day in general education.

Q.7 Schools offer special curriculum for students with disabilities.

Q7: False- Most students with disabilities follow the general education curriculum.

• Every student eligible for special education has an Individualized Educational Program (IEP).

• The IEP specifies goals, objectives and how a student is to be taught.

• What is taught? The general education curriculum in the vast majority of cases.

Thinking about Inclusion

If we are to achieve a richer culture….we must weave one in which each diverse human

gift will find a fitting place” Margaret Meade

Italy?? out of 7

Spain?? out of 7

Bakersfield?? out of 7

Dominguez Hills?? out of 7

Questionsor

Comments?

In your group, write any questions you have about this presentation. We will discuss them as a class.

Please take a few minutes to respond to the questions on the following page.

Write your short responses on a piece of paper and give it to your instructor.

Session Assessment

1. How useful was the content of today’s class? 2. How interesting was the presentation?

Session AssessmentQuestions

3. How interesting were the activities?

On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest:

Thank you

See you next week.

Break…