Although there has been a push to make “the nation’s report card”—the National Assessment of Educational Progress—better reflect the academic performance of all children in America’s schools, the effort hasn’t gone far enough, Florida Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson wrote recently.

As colleague Lesli A. Maxwell and I noted late last year, overall, the numbers of 4th and 8th grade students who took NAEP and were identified as having disabilities or being English-language learners rose in 2011, continuing a long-term trend that began more than a decade ago when NAEP first allowed students to use accommodations, such as additional time, when taking the exams.

As the Tampa Bay Times wrote, last week’s letter from Commissioner Robinson comes two months after NAEP results showed Florida’s reading and math gains have stalled after years of steep increases. In addition, last week’s Quality Counts report showed Florida tumbling from the sixth-ranked state to 11th place among states, with NAEP scores playing a role in that drop.

Maryland, which Robinson pointed out as having among the lowest inclusion rates—
only 31 percent of their identified students with disabilities in 4th grade and 30 percent in 8th grade—was the top ranked state in Quality Counts.

On the most recent NAEP administration, 40 states, plus the District of Columbia, met the goal of including 95 percent of all students in the original testing sample for the reading assessment for grades 4 and 8. In math, Oklahoma was the only state to fall short of the 95 percent inclusion goal for both grades, while Maryland did so in grade 8.

The Times reported that Cornelia Orr, the executive director of NAGB and the former testing honcho in Florida, said that while the percentages of excluded students in some states may appear large, the raw numbers of students are small, so it doesn’t make a large difference in the overall scores.

Robinson told NAGB that they should consider a policy of only reporting or using state-level results if the minimum standards of inclusion are met. “This would ensure the validity of the reported results for the nation and for the participating states. States not meeting the minimum standards should face funding sanctions.”

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Friends and alumni of Northwestern Oklahoma State University and members of the Alva and surrounding communities are invited to a beauty and wellness workshop Thursday, Jan. 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom on the Alva campus. Feeling Good Inside & Out will feature health advice from Dr. Elizabeth Kinzie, skincare and makeup tips from Arbonne, Mary Kay and Merle Norman, and a fashion show showcasing styles found locally at Brown’s Shoe Fit Co, The Busy B, Daisy Village, Gypsy Cowgirl and New 2 U.

Northwestern nursing students will also offer health screenings, and area merchants will demonstrate scarf tying techniques. Participants will have the chance to win door prizes related to the evening’s theme.

Feeling Good Inside & Out is the second event in the Community Connection Series hosted by the Northwestern Foundation & Alumni Association, committed to establishing new and strengthening current relationships between members of northwest Oklahoma communities and Northwestern Oklahoma State University.

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A municipal school district could be established in Germantown provided the city keeps all of its current students, including those who live outside Germantown but inside its school attendance zones.

That’s what educational consultants told the Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Tuesday night.

The report, like the ones released Monday for Bartlett and Tuesday morning for Collierville, essentially carves up the Shelby County School system into separate municipal districts that likely could have contracts or agreements for shared services.

The consultant’s reports follow last year’s decision to consolidate Memphis and Shelby County schools. The suburban cities are considering forming their own municipal districts, a controversial move that would likely spark legal action in opposition.

Several Germantown residents liked what they heard Tuesday night. “It shows we are really on the right track to go forward,” said Charles Baker, 40, whose first child is due to be born in May.

Carlin Stuart, 45, has a 4-year-old daughter in pre-school. “I’m encouraged that the cost factors are in line,” he said. “If we go forward, it will be a high-quality school system.”

“I’m not for it at all,” said Darrell Thompson, 53, of Bartlett. “What if the new (unified) school district is the cream of the crop? We’re going to get popped twice.”

Germantown Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy said she was surprised to hear the consultants report on a municipal school district with 8,100 students rather than a Germantown-only district with the 4,500 public school students who live in the city. “When you spread the administrative and building maintenance costs against low enrollment, it results in a higher per-student cost,” she said.

The reports for Bartlett, Collierville and Germantown all outline that each of the cities could fund a municipal school district by increasing the property tax rate by 15 cents or tack on a -cent local-option sales tax increase.

Retired Shelby County School Supt. Dr. Jim Mitchell and Dr. Bill Bozeman with Southern Educational Strategies gave the report Tuesday night at the Germantown Municipal Center’s council chambers.

Mitchell said SES was asked to produce a feasibility study on “what it would cost to run a comparable program of what you have now. We weren’t asked to provide what it would cost for a good, better or best” school system.

The smaller municipal school districts could consolidate some functions like transportation, nutrition service and custodial work, and could also allow students in one town to attend schools in another municipality under what is called “cooperative educational contracts.”

For example, Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner said that about 1,000 Collierville children attend Houston Middle and High schools in Germantown. Collierville would consider ways to address that so parents can send their kids to the schools of their choice.

At first glance, Joyner said, the report validates what the suburbs have said, which is that municipal districts are feasible.

“I am impressed. It looks better than I hoped it might look,” Joyner said.

Projected revenue for the Collierville Municipal School District is estimated to be $58.7 million with $57.5 million in expenses if Collierville increases its $1.43 property tax rate by 15 cents per $100 of assessed value. Projected revenue for a Germantown School District is estimated at $62.4 million with $60.9 million in expenses if Germantown increases its $1.48 property tax rate by 15 cents.

The consultants said the -cent sales tax increase would reduce or eliminate the need for a property tax increase to meet the minimum contribution for local funding.

Teacher salaries would remain the same as what they are now under Shelby County Schools, according to state requirements.

Lakeland provided summaries in its study Tuesday, but not the entire report. Arlington is expected to release its report today. Since Millington entered into a contract for the study later than the other subdivisions, its report won’t be ready until sometime in March.

The suburbs are leaning on legislation passed in Nashville a year ago that revived “the power of municipalities to create municipal school districts.”

But such attempts are almost certain to face legal challenges, including whether the suburbs have the right to establish municipal districts and whether they have a claim to ownership of the school buildings within their boundaries.

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An electrocardiogram, also called ECG or EKG, monitors small changes in electricity that appear on the skin of a person that the state of the heart during the heart beat. This test is especially valuable and very basic given to assess the state of the heart, the operation of implanted devices such as pacemakers, and the presence of diseases that can affect the heart. An EKG technician training allows students to learn how to use this equipment properly.

The small electrodes are attached to the skin of a patient’s chest, arms and legs to detect signals from different regions of the heart. Most machines also have a printing capacity to document the readings. It is a non-invasive, painless procedure that is very important for the diagnosing process.

An EKG technician is trained to use different types of electrocardiographs necessary for taking electrocardiograms. EKG technician training usually involves learning a course, which takes from two months to a year or more to complete. Students learn the cardiovascular system and how it works as well as necessary medical ethics and medical terminology.

There are different types of machines for making pictures and recording results. The use of these involves undergoing EKG technician training and getting a certification. There is also a Holter monitor which is used to record cardiac activity in an ambulatory patient over a period of 24 to 48 hours. Also technicians can perform a stress test, where a patient’s heart activity is measured while undergoing increased levels of work on a treadmill.

A training program also includes learning how to prepare and treat patients, how to set the machine and get records, and how to maintain the electrocardiograph. Although the reports are given to physicians as cardiologists to interpret, ECG technicians can recognize anomalies in the primary readings after taking a specific course.

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