Table of Contents

Outstanding Leaders in Public Education
Annual Meeting Highlights
Election Results
Horace Mann Prints
"The Art of Teaching" by Horace Mann
Horace Mann Display
The Ambassador Awardees
Public v. Private Schooling

Outstanding Leaders in Public Education

Wendy Puriefy accepting "Outstanding Friend of Public Education" award from Gary Marx, HML Board Member.

Wendy D. Puriefoy is a nationally recognized expert on issues of school reform and civil society. Ms. Puriefoy is well known for her passionate advocacy of education equity for poor and disadvantaged children and has written and spoken extensively on the issues.

Ms. Puriefoy has been deeply involved in school reform since the 1970's when she served as a special monitor of the court-ordered desegregation plan for Boston's public schools. As president of PEN, Ms. Puriefoy has been the leading force behind systemic reform initiatives in school finance and governance, curriculum and assessment, parent involvement, school libraries and school health. With support from national foundations, PEN launched multi-million dollar public engagement initiatives focused on teacher quality, standards and accountability, and schools and community services.

Carroll Johnson accepting the "Outstanding Educator" award from Carol Choye, HML Board Member.

Carroll F. Johnson is a Professor Emeritus of Teachers College, Columbia University. His illustrious accomplishments in education span decades, beginning in the Georgia public schools where he started as a teacher and eventually became principal. Dr. Johnson was also a major player in key pivotal historical moments. He was the superintendent of White Plains, New York when desegregation was first implemented across the country. As a southern gentleman in a northern urban school district, his commitment and perseverance in desegregation are still appreciated today. Dr. Johnson has spent 40 years teaching at the college and graduate level. His commitment to education is evidenced in his passion in equipping superintendents for the fulfillment of their responsibilities. He is the former chair of the Superintendents Work Conference and has had extensive experience working with superintendents.

Annual Meeting Events

 Highlights of the  86th Annual meeting of the Horace Mann League included the following (170 attended):

Held in conjunction with the Suburban School Superintendents and Teachers College Alumni.

Susan Fuhrman, President of Teachers College reviewed steps to involve Teachers' College faculty and students in the urban schools near the Columbia University campus.

Newly Elected Horace Mann League Officers and Board Members

Fred Hartmeister, Dean of Graduate Studies at Texas Tech. University (Lubbuck, TX) was elected President.	Steve Rasmussen, Superintendent of the Issaquah School (Issaquah, WA) was elected President-elect.
Vice President is George Garcia, former Superintendent of Schools in Kansas City (MO), Tucson (AZ) and Boulder Valley (CO).	Past President  is Colleen Wilcox, former Superintendent of the Santa Clara County Office of Education in San Jose, CA
Charles Fowler, Executive Director of the Suburban School Superintendents were elected to the Board of Directors.	Claire Sheff Kohn, Superintendent of the Masconomet Regional School District (Topsfield, MA)

Horace Mann Prints

The three Horace Mann prints represent the significance of the major contributions made by Horace Mann.

Each print is $15.00  or $35 for the set of three. 

Each print is 24" by 36" and suitable for framing.

These prints make excellent gifts to present to citizens or organizations in your community who support public education.

To order, send an email:  jmckay@hmleague.org  or online at:

WWW.HMLEAGUE.ORG  -  Click on "The Horace Mann Prints."

Mann's Book, "On the Art of Teaching"

The book, "On the Art of Teaching," by Horace Mann is an excellent token of appreciation to present to colleagues, student teachers, and school board members. 

A number of school districts present a copy of "On the Art of Teacher" to new teachers as a gesture of appreciation for joining their team.

On orders of 50 or more, the front cover can have special printing added, i.e.,  the name of your school district.  Some who have presented this book have written a special note of welcome on the inside cover.

The "On the Art of Teaching" is $10 per copy.

Horace Mann League Displays

 The League has two displays for loan to members.  The one pictured is 8' by 10' feet in size.  A small display (4' by 5') can be placed on a table.

Both displays can be shipped to your district or organization at HML expense. 

To view the available months to schedule the display, click here.

To view photos of where the display been shown, click here.

Community Consolidated School District 62,  Des Plaines, IL

Terrace Elementary School Fifth Grade Students with the CHIPS teacher, Erin Smith, Board President Murphy and Principal Nancy Bang.

The League's Ambassador Award

 The League's Ambassador Award is presented to members who recruit ten new members.  Four members were presented the "Ambassador" award at the 2008 Annual Meeting

To view past recipients of the HML's Ambassador Award, click here.

Carol Choye (NJ),  Brent Clark (IL), and Colleen Wilcox (CA) Not pictured, Art Stellar (MA)

Public Schools Vs. Private Schools: New Study Says There Is No Difference

Oct 12, 2007

Many people assume that students enrolled in private schools perform better academically than do students attending public schools. The Center on Education Policy (CEP), however, disagrees. According to a new CEP study, private school students and public school students perform equally on achievement tests in math, reading, science, and history.

To determine whether or not family involvement or background characteristics impacted the difference in academic performance between private schools and public schools, the Center for Education Policy (CEP) did a special study based on analysis of the National Educational Longitudinal Study (1988-2000). They found that there is no real difference between the academic performance given by public and private school students from the same low-income bracket and background, suggesting that family involvement has more of an impact than the school setting.

Summary of CEP Findings

· Low-income students attending public high schools performed just as well academically as low-income students attending private high schools.

· Neither private school students nor public school students with similar background characteristics were more likely to attend college.

· Young adults at age 26 who attended private school are no more likely to be engaged in civic activities than young adults who attended a public school.

· Private school graduates aren't any more satisfied with the jobs they hold at age 26 than are public school graduates.

'Contrary to popular belief, we can find no evidence that private schools actually increase student performance,' stated Jack Jennings, the president and CEO of CEP. 'Instead, it appears that private schools simply have higher percentages of students who would perform well in any environment based on their previous performance and background.'

What sets the CEP study apart from other studies that have compared private school students to public school students is that the CEP study used an additional range of factors, including earlier test scores, parental expectations, parental involvement, and the effects of income. Other studies have typically relied on academic test scores alone.

The one difference that CEP found between private schools and public schools involves SAT scores. According to the study, private school students have the edge on the SAT. The CEP notes that this could be because private schools tend to offer more test prep resources than do public schools.

Source: Center for Education Policy

A Harvard University study challenged the results, using the same data but different methods. Researchers found that private schools came out ahead in 11 of 12 comparisons of students.

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG06-02-PetersonLlaudet.pdf

Earlier in 2006, an analysis of math scores by two University of Illinois researchers found similar results to the NCES study. The authors of Charter, Private, Public Schools and Academic Achievement found that "after accounting for the fact that private schools serve more advantaged populations, public schools perform remarkably well, often outscoring private and charter schools."
http://www.ncspe.org/publications_files/OP111.pdf