EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS    

NATIONAL

Bush Plan Could Alter Bilingual Education
The Washington Post, February 21, 2001

President Bush's proposed education plan would get rid of a stipulation that the federal government give preference to bilingual education over English-only programs—a move that worries some bilingual education supporters and wins high praise from opponents of the instructional approach.

Democrats Offer Bush a Compromise on Education
The Los Angeles Times, February 25, 2001

Centrists from both houses say a bipartisan deal 'is well within' reach if the president will back off his position on vouchers. The potentially decisive Senate voting bloc endorses many of his basic goals.


Consensus is Lacking on Bilingual Education
The New York Times, February 24, 2001

Among immigrant groups, views about the programs that are meant to ease their children's transition into English are mixed. Some groups of parents, like the émigrés from the former Soviet Union, seem overwhelmingly to reject bilingual education, while staunch supporters can be found among other groups — for example, parents from Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Economic Scene: Smaller Classes Don't
Necessarily Equal Better Education
The New York Times, February 22, 2001

Despite the intuitive appeal of smaller classes, empirical economists have had a hard time finding any evidence that cutting class sizes increases learning. According to Edward Lazear, an economist, the key variable is not class size per se, but how likely it is that students disrupt one another's learning.


Act 60 Narrows Gap in Test Results
Rutland Herald (Vermont), February 22, 2001

As a result of Act 60, a law designed to reduce funding disparities between communities in Vermont, the gap between rich and poor communities in the amount they spend per pupil has narrowed the past three years. An analysis of fourth grade testing found that student achievement has improved over that time and that the poorest communities showed the biggest improvement.

Study Questions Edison Schools
Detroit Free Press, February 22, 2001

According to a Western Michigan University study released Wednesday, Edison Schools -- a for-profit school management company -- has been no more successful at boosting student achievement than the districts that hired it.

Blacks Making Strides, Census Says
The Arizona Republic, February 22, 2001

A report today by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that more African-Americans than ever are finishing high school and earning college degrees, and they are also earning more money than ever.

(See also: In Education, African-Americans Are Closing the Gap with Whites, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 22, 2001.)

Low-Income Students Said
Hurt by College Aid System
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 22, 2001

According to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, a panel authorized by Congress to oversee financial aid, low-income students who are otherwise qualified academically to get into college may soon be shut out nonetheless because of a financial aid system that favors middle class students. (See also: College Hopes Dim for the Poor, The Washington Post, February 25, 2001)


Many Blacks Seek Choice of Schools
The Boston Globe, February 26, 2001

But while vouchers are a conservative idea, it was African-American anger at the ''achievement gap'' between white and minority students, not free-market ideology, that sparked the Milwaukee program. A black state legislator from the city led the voucher fight in Wisconsin's Legislature.

Schools Expelling Slaveholder Names
Detroit Free Press, February 27, 2001

New Orleans has been thorough in purging the names of slave owners from schools. The names of Mary McLeod Bethune, Langston Hughes, Barbara Jordan and Arthur Ashe have replaced those of Confederate generals, governors and even a president. Similar efforts are underway in other southern cities and towns.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Seeks Different Sort of Teacher
The Washington Post, February 23, 2001

District officials have announced a plan to recruit 100 people from other careers to teach in D.C. public schools. Announcement of the program came a day after the city's new school board president, Peggy Cooper Cafritz, said that about half of the school system's 5,660 teachers are either unqualified or incompetent.

VIRGINIA

Schools' Success On Tests Notable
SOL Achievements To Be Recognized
The Washington Post, February 25, 2001

Thirty-four Loudoun County schools, nearly 80 percent, met the accreditation mark on the battery of state tests. Nine other schools reached goals needed to prove that they are making annual progress and considered on target to meet the standards by 2007, when accreditation will begin to depend on test results. Across Virginia, only 22 percent of public schools fully met the benchmarks.

MARYLAND

Survey Finds Young Pupils Unprepared
The Baltimore Sun, February 27, 2001

According to Maryland's first-ever survey of 5-year-olds' school readiness, only two in five children in the state are fully prepared to tackle the rigors of kindergarten. State officials say that the findings indicate a need for more money and programs for preschool children. See MSDE press release.


Seeking More Time for the Youngest Students
The Washington Post, February 27, 2001

Reid Lyon, Chief of Child Development and Behavior at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, contends that it is necessary to set up quality all-day kindergarten programs and do away with half-day sessions if children -- especially those from poor or non-English-speaking households -- are to develop the skills they need to be strong students.

Board Votes State Reconstitution
for Baltimore City School
MSDE Press Release, January 31, 2001

The Maryland State Board of Education (MSDE) voted to place the Westport School (school number 0225) in Baltimore City under state reconstitution. In addition, the State Board identified 12 low performing schools in Baltimore City and Baltimore and Prince George’s counties for local reconstitution – a probationary status in which the State provides additional resources and technical assistance and monitors progress in student performance.

PENNSYLVANIA

Board OKs Just 3 of 25 Charter Bids
The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 27, 2001

Philadelphia's Board of Education yesterday approved only three of 25 applications to open charter schools in the city - far fewer than in previous years.

Mediator Joins Talks With Teachers Early
The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 27, 2001

In the Colonial district, union leaders want to end a controversial merit-pay system, calling it divisive.


Ranks of Teacher Aides
Growing to Meet Growing Needs
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 27, 2001

Teacher aides account for a growing chunk of the public school work force. In 1997, full-time aides were 10.6 percent of staff, roughly one teacher aide for every 83 pupils. Pennsylvania fell just below the national average, with 17,508 aides in 1997 making up 8.5 percent of total staff.

Bethel Park Teachers Weigh Possibility of Strike
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 27, 2001

Teachers in the Bethel Park School District have threatened to strike Thursday in a dispute over language in the five-year contract the district and union approved last fall.


LIU Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
Citizen's Voice (Wilkes-Barre), February 27, 2001

With no admission of liability, attorneys for the Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18 and its former executive director settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed on behalf of a 15-year-old girl who attended the LIU's Alternative Learning Center in Plains.

PUBLICATIONS

Brown V. Board of Education: A Civil Rights Milestone and Its Troubled Legacy
By James T. Patterson. Illustrated. 285 pp.
New York: Oxford University Press.

A review of this book appeared in The New York Times recently.

Is There a Backlash Against Educational Standards?
Public Agenda, 2000 (pdf file)

A recent survey study by Public Agenda -- a nonpartisan, nonprofit public opinion research and citizen education organization based in New York City -- found less social promotion, more summer school, few signs of a standards backlash, and large numbers of parents still uninformed about important factors that impact quality public education.

WEBSITES & LINKS

District of Columbia Public Schools Website

Delaware Department of Education's School Improvement Webpage

Maryland State Department of Education Website

Pennsylvania Department of Education's Education News Page

Virginia State Department of Education - Governor's Best Practice Centers

West Virginia Department of Education - Office of Special Education

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