EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS    

NATIONAL

Harvard Study Says Big Schools
Have Largest Dropout Problem
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 21, 2001

According to a Harvard University study, the nation’s dropout problem is most severe in a few hundred big-city schools that graduate less than half of their freshman classes.

Promise of Bipartisanship To
Be Tested Early and Often
The San Francisco Chronicle, January 22, 2001

President Bush's promise of bipartisanship will get an early test tomorrow when the new president introduces an education bill that is a cornerstone of his agenda.

Children's Computer Use Grows,
But Gaps Persist, Study Says
The New York Times, January 22, 2001

According to a report issued today by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, children's access to computers varies with family income. Only about 22 percent of children in families with annual incomes of less than $20,000 had access to a home computer, compared with 91 percent of those in families with incomes of more than $75,000. Poorer families are also less likely to have an Internet connection.

Clinton Sets Up Inequality Panel
The New York Times, January 15, 2001

President Clinton set up a presidential commission Monday to figure out how to make sure that children of all races and ethnic backgrounds have access to the same educational opportunities and resources.


Early Head Start Yields Benefits, HHS Study Says
The Washington Post, January 13, 2001

According to the program's first detailed study, two-year-olds enrolled in Early Head Start performed better on child development tests, had larger vocabularies and were able to speak in more complex sentences than other children living in poverty.

Ashcroft's Accuracy on Desegregation Challenged
The Washington Post, January 18, 2001

A federal district judge ruled in 1981 that Missouri was a "primary constitutional wrongdoer" in perpetuating segregated schools in St. Louis, both by denying blacks an equal education in the past and doing little to remedy the situation later. U.S. Attorney General nominee John Ashcroft was the state attorney general for Missouri during that period.

Education Nominee Sails Through His Senate Test
The Washington Post, January 11, 2001

Secretary of Education nominee Paige emerged from his hearing before the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee with bipartisan assurances of a swift confirmation, which would make him the nation's first black education secretary. But Democratic senators also warned him that any move for a federal voucher program -- which Paige and President-elect Bush support -- would face strong opposition.

VIRGINIA

Area Schools Revisit Issue of Diversity
The Washington Post, January 18, 2001

After two failed attempts to use race in making enrollment decisions for its magnet schools, Arlington County schools are once again facing a challenging question: How to legally create diverse schools.

Educators Struggle to Revise Standards
Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 22, 2001

As the Virginia Board of Education works to revise its history and social science Standards of Learning, originally written in 1995, the board faces these questions: What events should be taught? What should be left out? How can controversial topics be taught fairly?

(See also: "Lawmakers Seeking SOL Changes," Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 21, 2001.)

Program Mixes Fun and Fluency: Fairfax Literacy Club Helps Students Speak Two Tongues
The Washington Post, January 21, 2001

Bailey Elementary School's Heritage Language Literacy Club is an after-school program three days a week in which Spanish-speaking students in grades 2 through 5 are tutored by older Spanish-speaking students, all under the supervision of bilingual teachers.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Peggy Cooper Cafritz, the new president of the D.C. Board of Education, said yesterday that she wants Superintendent Paul L. Vance to sign a three-year contract and that a board committee will pursue the matter.

MARYLAND

Arundel Schools Chief Seeks Budget Increase

Under a budget proposed yesterday by Superintendent Carol S. Parham, Anne Arundel County schools would have smaller classes, more reading instructors and across-the-board pay raises for staff members. (See also "Chief Shows School Plan," The Baltimore Sun, January 18, 2001)

Many Support Funds to Close Gap
The Washington Post, January 18, 2001

Parents from Silver Spring and northeastern Montgomery County praised Superintendent Jerry D. Weast's proposed school budget at a hearing last week, saying it shows a commitment to closing the gap in academic achievement.


Montgomery Career Classes
Are Paying Off for Students
The Washington Post, January 18, 2001

The students who took Montgomery County's vocational and technology classes seven years ago are typically making more money than their classmates, according to a study released by the county schools yesterday.


Schools' Policy of Open Enrollment May Be Closed
The Washington Post, January 18, 2001

Howard County's school enrollment policy allows children to attend any school that has room for them if their families provide the transportation. Due to problems and complaints, however, Maurice F. Kalin, Associate Superintendent for Planning, recommended last week that the Board of Education repeal the open-enrollment option and adopt a system under which parents must convince the board that there are compelling reasons to transfer.

Metts Seeks $11.5 Million to Decrease Class Sizes
The Washington Post, January 18, 2001

Prince George's Superintendent Iris T. Metts is seeking $11.5 million for an initiative to lower class sizes in the early grades.

PENNSYLVANIA

Bias Charged in Fight Arrests
The Philadelphia Daily News, January 18, 2001

The Philadelphia School District was accused yesterday of unfairly meting out justice in connection with racially inspired fights Monday at George Washington High School.

ARTICLES & REPORTS

"What's Wrong With Private Funding For Public Schools?" Dissent Magazine, 2001

"Do School Vouchers Improve Student Performance?" The American Prospect, January 1-15, 2001

"Interview with Outgoing Education Secretary Richard Riley," PBS's "Online Newshour", Jan. 17, 2001.

WEBSITES & LINKS

Education Financial Statistics Center

This component of the National Center for Educational Statistics' (NCES) website provides information and resources on school finance issues.

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