EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS    

NATIONAL

Troubling Label for Hispanics:
'Girls Most Likely to Drop Out'
The New York Times, March 25, 2001

According to a recent study, Latinas in School, published by the American Association of University Women, Hispanic girls leave school earlier than all other groups of young people, male or female, and are the least likely to return.

Edison Schools Accused Of Discrimination in S.F. Report Alleges Violation of State Education Code
The San Francisco Chronicle, March 27, 2001

A monthlong investigation by San Francisco school officials charges the national for-profit Edison Schools Inc. with discriminating against black students, urging special education kids to apply elsewhere and threatening teachers.


Teachers Say They're 'Left Out of Loop'
The Washington Times, March 26, 2001

According to a new report released by the New York-based opinion firm Public Agenda, seventy percent of teachers say they are "left out of the loop" in crucial school decisions.


State Warns of Massive Test Failures
The Dallas Morning News, March 23, 2001

According to a report from the Texas Education Agency, at least three out of five students would fail and be denied a diploma if they took the state's new graduation test today.

49 Million Kids Swell U.S. Schools:
Most from Boomer or Immigrant Families
The San Francisco Chronicle, March 23, 2001

According to the most recent figures from the Census Bureau, the number of students enrolled from kindergarten through high school has risen to 49 million, the record population figure first set in 1970.

LeapFrog Jumps Ahead of Bigger Toy Makers
The Seattle Times, March 27, 2001

For the first time ever, the country's top-selling toy during the holidays was an educational product, LeapFrog's LeapPad, a high-tech read-along book complete with word and phonics lessons priced around $50.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Educators Accused
of Violence Against Pupils
The Washington Post, March 27, 2001

D.C. school officials are investigating complaints by students and parents that employees at H.D. Cooke Elementary in Adams-Morgan have used physical force and threats against children and that the school's principal has not responded to their concerns.

MARYLAND

'Work to Rule' Protest Disrupts Student Clubs
The Washington Post, March 25, 2001

Teachers at most of Calvert County's public schools have started a "work to the rule" action -- limiting the length of time they work to only 7 1/2 hours a day -- to show their dissatisfaction with contract negotiations. As a result, schools have had to halt several after-school activities.

Lessons About Learning
The Baltimore Sun, March 26, 2001

Tthe Baltimore Orioles Academy, a new school organized by the nonprofit organization Communities in Schools Inc., takes an innovative approach to helping children with problems in school. It focuses on the influences in pupils' homes, in their neighborhoods and within the children themselves that make them less likely to succeed academically and more likely to drop out of school.

Teachers Moving Beyond Paychecks
The Washington Post, March 26, 2001

The new Montgomery County teachers union contract raises the starting salary for teachers, adds four paid days for teacher training, promotes teacher involvement in curriculum development, provides an extra $1,000 a year to elementary teachers who serve as team leaders, and calls for the development of a "career ladder" to recognize and promote effective teachers, among other features.


Improved Prospects for Youths Envisioned
The Baltimore Sun, March 27, 2001

Two Youth Opportunity -- or YO! -- Centers opened recently in federal empowerment zones in East and West Baltimore. They offer what experts say is a fresh approach to finding college programs and jobs for teens and young adults ages 14 to 21.

Md. Gun Safety Bill Stalls in
Dispute Over NRA's Role
The Washington Post, March 27, 2001

An effort to teach gun safety in all Maryland schools was shelved, in part because state lawmakers could not agree on the National Rifle Association's involvement in the program. (See also: Gun Education Bill Falters in Md. House, The Baltimore Sun, March 27, 2001)

PENNSYLVANIA

Private Firms Enlisted to Run
Troubled PA School System
The Washington Post, March 23, 2001

Pennsylvania education officials announced plans last night to transfer control of the entire 7,500-student Chester Upland school district to three private firms. This is the second time this year that a failing Pennsylvania school district has been transferred to corporate management.

Pennsylvania Charter Schools
Lag Public Schools, Study Says
The Chicago Sun-Times, March 27, 2001

A recent study of Pennsylvania's charter schools found that test scores are much lower in charter schools than in regular public schools. Read PA Department of Education press release and Western Michigan University press release. (Editor's note: The study itself reported findings in favor of charter schools as well..)

Philadelphia, Chester Upland
Look Abroad for Teachers
The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 26, 2001

Philadelphia and Chester Upland are among a growing number of urban school districts nationwide that have begun recruiting teachers from foreign countries.

Schools Ask City to Help Close Gap
The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 27, 2001

The financially-strapped Philadelphia school system yesterday pleaded with City Council for $45 million to help close the books on the current fiscal year and approved a $1.73 billion spending outline for next year that projects a deficit of $235 million. (See also: Council Delays Vote on Transfer of $45M to Schools, Philadelphia Daily News, March 27, 2001)

School Board Votes to Use
Bonuses to Fight Teacher Gap
The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 27, 2001

The Philadelphia Board of Education has approved a bonus plan whereby teachers of critical subjects will receive an extra $1,500 and teachers at understaffed schools with receive an extra $2,000.

Taking Schools to Cyberspace
The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 26, 2001

Internet-based schooling is a growing trend in Pennsylvania's public schools. Two such cyber-schools are already operating, four more will start in September, and applications for more than 70 others are pending.

VIRGINIA

After School Feud, a Time for Mending
The Washington Post, March 25, 2001

A five-day public grievance hearing between a Bealeton high school principal and the Fauquier County school superintendent has dominated conversation and news in the southern part of Virginia. Among other charges, the female principal has accused the male superintendent of gender discrimination.

ARTICLES & REPORTS

Autonomy in Exchange for Accountability:
An Initial Study of Pennsylvania Charter Schools
Western Michigan University, 2000

An Evaluation of Student Achievement
in Edison Schools Opened in 1995 and 1996
Western Michigan University, 2000

The Good, the Bad, and the Useless: Recognizing
the Signs of Quality in Educational Software
Electronic School, March 2001

WEBSITES & LINKS

The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University
(www.wmich.edu/evalctr/)

The Evaluation Center is a research and development unit that reports to the Vice President for Research at Western Michigan University. Its role is to provide national and international leadership for advancing the theory and practice of evaluation, as applied to education and human services.


Free Federal Resources For Educational Excellence
(www.ed.gov/free/ )

In summer 1997, more than 30 Federal agencies formed a working group to make hundreds of federally supported education resources available at this web site.

 

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