A really expensive Band-Aid

The administration’s budget proposals assumed an unemployment rate of 8.1% for the whole year. Unfortunately, unemployment hit that level in February and continues to rise fast. So Obama’s economic stimulus package, despite its staggering enormity, may be too little too late. Nonetheless, the economic resources allocated to education represent a source of hope.

The U.S. Department of Education intends to channel $100 billion to the nation’s $14,000 school districts over the next few months. In fact, $44 billion will be made available to states before the end of March. Teachers across the country, especially new teachers at the bottom of the hierarchical totem pole, are suffering due to several rounds of layoffs that have already been enacted and are expected in the future, resulting from steep drops in tax revenue.

Along with the e-mail notification that was sent to education officials across the country were instructions to “spend funds quickly to save and create jobs.” Those who received the message were told to keep tabs on how they had spent the money – I think we all know the pain of failing to save that one important receipt! Education officials were also told to spend in ways that will provide a cushion when the stimulus money runs out in two years.

The education stimulus package represents:

$5 billion in Title I financing, for disadvantaged students
$6 billion for disabled students
$33 billion in fiscal stabilization money, to deal with past and future cuts in spending.

As someone who has taught in a broad variety of public and private schools, the variety is astounding. I remember walking on to a public high school campus in northern California and being shocked to see several couples openly kissing in the middle of campus. There were couples at my high school who chose to spend their free periods in the same manner, but at least they had the courtesy to retreat to a secluded bench.

One gem at Stanford University represents the sort of program that would benefit greatly from continued financial support. The Redwood Environmental Academy of Leadership (REAL) program holds classes two times a week at local Redwood High School. The outdoor biology classes cultivate a love of science among underprivileged students and are popular because students appreciate the opportunity to learn while outside under the sun (remember, it’s California!) as opposed to being confined behind desks inside.

The REAL program is funded by a grant from the Stanford initiative on improving K-12 education. In an area the size of a football field behind the school, students study how the creek found there fits into the ecosystem in a broader context. Students study how development has changed the creek ecosystem and explore their own responsibilities for the future sustainability of Earth’s delicate ecosystem.

My own high school also had local wetlands that were of environmental interest, spurring us to start a “Save the Wetlands” campaign. While the wetlands have since been replaced by tennis courts and a swimming pool, other projects we began with the Ecology Club are still going strong, like the recycling program. One would hope that initiatives like the REAL group will inspire students to live in an environmentally conscious way that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. For those currently involved in the program, 70% students are Latino, 40% are English language learners and 70% are from low-income households. Students are gaining hands-on experience, in the creek performing water flow analysis, pH tests, and gathering specimens for data collection. Relatively low-budget programs like this represent an ideal source for economic stimulus funding.