Education in the United States Presented by California State University Dominguez Hills Lynne Cook Ann Selmi Kim 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 Dept. of Education figures

What is special about schools in the U.S.?

One important issue is Local Control of Schools

Instead of a System of Nationally Controlled Schools, Thousands of Locally-Elected School Boards Make nearly all decisions about the school

This includes: What is taught (curriculum) What teachers use to teach (textbooks & materials) Who teaches (teacher and administrator 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 Estimates

U.S. Early Childhood Education (ECE)

U.S. ECE Programs Come in All Forms Different Funding Sources Different Locations Different Audiences Different Activities

U.S. ECE Programs Government Funded for Children with 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 experience or AA/2 years experience or 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 Preschool Teacher’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 interesting ideas we learned from the article… Italy??Spain??? Bakersfield?? Dominguez Hills??

The article leaves us wondering if the U.S. should: 1. Provide some children with high quality preschool programs? or 2. 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 Think the U.S. Should Do? High Quality Programs for Fewer Children? Reasons: Lower Quality Programs for All Children? Reasons:

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: Council for Exceptional Children:

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 l aw 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.7 b.5 c.13 d.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 2 nd 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 , 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

Questions or 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 Assessment Questions 3. How interesting were the activities? On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest:

Thank you See you next week.

Break…