EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS    

NATIONAL

Transition 2001: A Changing Of the Guard
Education Week, January 10, 2001

This page on Education Week's website contains links to articles on cabinet appointments by President-elect Bush and other transitional developments that affect education.


Bilingual-Education Battle May Go to Massachusetts
The Boston Globe, January 7, 2001

The bilingual education laws in Massachusetts and New York have come under the scrutiny of a growing anti-bilingual education ballot initiative movement subsidized by California millionaire Ron K. Unz. Unz already has bankrolled two successful anti-bilingual education ballot initiatives: in California in 1998 and in Arizona last month. Massachusetts state Rep. Jarrett T. Barrios, commented that ``The fact that our law hasn't kept up with advances in bilingual education pedagogy leaves a vacuum that becomes a political opportunity for anti-immigrant, anti-bilingual education forces.'' Barrios has assembled a task force in hopes of coming up with a bill to improved the Massachusetts law, which is more than three decades old.

2000 & Beyond: the Changing Face of American Schools
Education Week , September - December 2000

Gazing into the century ahead, this five-part series uses demographic projections as the starting point for examining some of the forces that can be expected to shape public education. Provides an overview of broad demographic trends, including the growing number of school-age youngsters, the increasing diversity of the student population, and the large number of children still living in poverty.

School Is a Home for Children Without One
The Washington Post, January 9, 2001

This story profiles Pappas Elementary School in Phoenix, AZ, the largest and most developed school for the homeless in the country.

Federal Funding Requires States
to Protect Disabled Students
School Law News, January 5, 2001

States must ensure that their programs do not discriminate against disabled students if they want to continue to accept federal education dollars, ruled the U.S. 8th District Court of Appeals in its December 22 decision in Jim C. v. Arkansas Department of Education. The lawsuit alleged violations of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

MARYLAND

Reading Initiative Gets Mixed Results
The Washington Post Wednesday, January 3, 2001

New internal studies show mixed results for Montgomery County's two-year-old Reading Initiative program, which cut class sizes in the first and second grades and provides each student with at least 90 minutes of uninterrupted reading instruction every day.

School System CFO Moved
The Baltimore Sun, January 9, 2001

In a surprise move, Baltimore County schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston has transferred Chief Financial Officer Robin L. Churchill - a key member of his Executive Cabinet - to another post within the school system.

VIRGINIA

More Inclusion Urged in SOL Curriculums
The Washington Times, January 9, 2001

Some educators have expressed concern that proposed revisions to Virginia's Standards of Learning curriculums do not include the contributions of minorities and omit what they called "key political figures" in Virginia's history.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

No One to Watch Over Them: Tight Job Market, High Rents, Welfare Changes Worsen District's Day-Care Shortage
The Washington Post, January 8, 2001

A new survey study by the University of the District of Columbia has found that more than 5,000 children under the age of two are on waiting lists to enroll at day-care facilities and home-based child-care centers in the District.

PUBLICATIONS

The Digital Classroom: How Technology is
Changing the Way we Teach and Learn
The Harvard Education Letter

This special issue features more than 25 articles and essays that discuss the rewards and challenges of integrating technology into schools. Topics include professional development, equity issues, building a technology program, distance learning, girls and computers, special needs, using technology to teach science, math, reading, and writing, and much more.

Evaluation of Community Schools: Findings to date
Coalition for Community Schools, 2000

This 41-page report summarizes what is known about the impact of schools that provide extensive learning opportunities and community services to students, families and the community before, during, and after school, seven days a week, all year long. The report includes profiles and school data from 49 community school initiatives.

"Technology and School Reform: A View from Both Sides of the Tracks," Education Policy Analysis Archives, January 2000

This journal article examines and compares the technology reforms instituted at an elite private school with those instituted at an impoverished public school.

Indicators of School Crime and Safety
National Center for Education Statistics, 2000

Provides latest statistics on school violence, student drug use and student's views of school safety. Funding for Programs Led by or Supporting People with Disabilities

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

The Ethel Louise Armstrong (ELA) Foundation awards grants ranging from $1,00 to $5,000 per project, to organizations and programs led by or supporting people with disabilities in areas including education, advocacy, leadership development, mentoring and the arts.

Contact:

Deborah Lewis, Foundation Director
Ethel Lousie Armstrong Foundation
2858 N Marengo
Altadena, CA 91001.

Tel: 626-398-8840
Fax: 626-398-8843
E-mail: executivedirector@ela.oer