EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS    

NATIONAL

Bush to Sign Education Bill - But the
Debate over Required Testing Goes On
San Francisco Chronicle, January 8, 2002

President Bush is signing education legislation Tuesday to require public schools to test students in reading and math in grades three through eight. Supporters say the expanded testing will give parents and school officials information needed to help improve schools. Critics say it will crowd out subjects not on the tests, cost too much and stifle creativity.

Preschool Standards Lacking
in Most States, Study Finds
Philadelphia Inquirer, January 8, 2002

Although six in 10 children under age 5 attend some kind of prekindergarten program, most states have no standards for preschool instruction and the average preschool worker earns only half an elementary school teacher's pay, according to a study by Education Week.

U.S. Education Progress Earns a C
CNN.com, January 7, 2002

A survey of education progress in the 50 states and District of Columbia -- published by Education Week -- gives the United States an average grade of C across a broad range of categories.

Colleges Price Low-Income Out of Education
Detroit News, January 7, 2002

A recent study by the Lumina Foundation for Education says there are only five states in the nation where all the four-year public colleges are affordable for low-income students, and in many of those, the students still need to borrow money to get by. (See also: Universities Dispute Study That Calls Them Unaffordable, Chicago-Sun Times, January 8, 2002.)

Teachers Train in New Classroom: Cyberspace
Christian Science Monitor, January 3, 2002

School districts across the nation are beginning to use interactive, web-based videos for teacher training.

MARYLAND

Family Donating $5 Million
to Help Middle-Schoolers
The Baltimore Sun, January 8, 2002

Investor Eddie C. Brown announced that his family's foundation would donate $5 million to provide educational and personal support to Baltimore's African-American middle-school children through the "Turning the Corner" Achievement Program.

County Fights Cut in School State Aid
The Washington Times, January 8, 2002

Montgomery County, Md. officials are fighting a $1.1 billion five-year funding plan proposed by a state-appointed panel, which they say will shortchange wealthier school districts while increasing state aid to less affluent and poorer performing areas like Prince George's County and Baltimore city.

Parents Are Connecting With School-Home Links
The Baltimore Sun, January 6, 2002

Maryland's School-Home Links program - which aims to teach parents how to read to children, expose families to computer technology and improve standardized test scores - delivers worksheets and other materials to families via the Internet, rather than relying on children to carry them home.

PENNSYLVANIA

Edison Paid 85G to Gain Access
Philadelphia Daily News, January 8, 2002

Edison Schools, Inc.. paid $85,000 to four politically connected professional firms to help make its way into the Philadelphia community, sources say.

Takeover Opponents Get a Boost
Philadelphia Inquirer, January 4, 2002

A Pennsylvania court has voided the law that allowed the state to seize control of the Harrisburg schools -- thus encouraging those fighting the state takeover in Philadelphia to continue their challenge.

SPECIAL ARTICLES & REPORTS

Building Blocks for Success - State
Efforts in Early-Childhood Education
Education Week, 2002

Building Services and Systems to Support
the Healthy Emotional Development of Young
Children–An Action Guide for Policymakers
National Center for Children in Poverty, 2002

Improving the Odds for the Healthy
Development of Young Children in Foster Care
National Center for Children in Poverty, 2002

The National Study of Girl Neighborhood Power: An Out of School Program for Girls 9 to 14 (pdf)
The Urban Institute, October 2001
(A report on a national initiative to provide out-of-school activities and services for girls living in low-income neighborhoods.)

Using the Census 2000 Supplementary
Survey to Illuminate Child Well-Being (pdf)
Child Trends, Fall 2001

WEBSITES & LINKS

Knowledge Path: Racial and
Ethnic Disparities in Health

National Center for Children in Poverty

National Center for Education
in Maternal and Child Health

National Endowment of the Humanities
2002 Summer Seminars and Institutes
for School Teachers

Welfare Information Network
- The Working Poor

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