Public
Wants School Funds Americans are opposed to any funding cuts in education and will vote against elected officials who cut support for public schools, according to a public opinion poll conducted in January by the Public Education Network (PEN) and Education Week.
When the school year begins this fall, 3,000 to 5,000 schools nationwide probably will be declared "failing" by states, which would make their students eligible for federally paid tutoring or transportation to other public schools.
The Supreme Court is weighing the question of whether the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), in concert with a US civil rights law, empowers individuals to sue a school for damages over the unauthorized disclosure of records. (See also: Supreme Court Considers Whether a Privacy Law Gives Students the Right to Sue, The New York Times, April 25, 2002.)
The Young Women's Leadership Charter School, a new all-girls public middle and high school focused on math, science and technology, is one of the few schools of its kind in the country.
Many teachers and administrators feel they cannot adequately discipline children with special needs under current federal rules, some senators and educators said during a hearing on the issue.
Funding
Thwarts Popular Program D.C. school officials are scaling back a popular after-school program that is running out of money, leaving working parents no choice but to pick up their children earlier in the day and find alternative day care come June.
The District public school system is far short of the money it needs to modernize 10 schools a year over the next 10 to 15 years, officials said yesterday, throwing into question promises by Mayor Anthony A. Williams to get the work done on that schedule.
MSPAP's
Death Puts Squeeze on Officials Because the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program does not fit the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, Maryland school officials must develop a new test that will be administered beginning in the 2002-2003 school year to all students in grades three, five and eight. (See also: Opinion: Goodbye to MSPAP, The Washington Post, April 29, 2002; Schools Seek MSPAP Substitute, The Washington Times, April 29, 2002; State Panel Had Recommended Major Change in School Testing, The Baltimore Sun, April 25, 2002.)
Howard County's Comprehensive Plan for Accelerated School Improvement - which will target the county's 15 schools with the lowest test scores or highest percentages of poor students - involves more accountability from teachers, principals and central office staff.
Within weeks, school districts across Maryland will begin receiving the first installment in a new school aid plan that will eventually add $1.3 billion to the state education budget.
Maryland has addressed the question of how to make sure poor school districts have the means to provide a basic education by nearly doubling state education aid over the next six years.
The Anne Arundel County school board has named Eric J. Smith, the current head of schools in Charlotte, NC, as its next superintendent - and offered him a salary and benefits package worth $300,000.
The Montgomery County school board has agreed to give police greater access to schools and to support county officials in applying for a $3.4 million federal grant to pay for 32 additional officers -- a dramatic change from last year, when it strongly opposed the presence of police in schools, deeming it unnecessary and excessive. |
Child
Advocates in Delaware Recognized As of Dec. 31, 2001, 101 Delaware lawyers were representing neglected or abused children pro bono (free of charge) in Family Court -- a dramatic increase from 28 the previous year.
Approximately 1,000 Students from Downstate elementary and middle schools watched dancers of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds perform traditional routines at the Schwartz Center for the Arts, in celebration of the third annual Delaware Multicultural Day.
Deadline
Extended for Teachers to Request Transfers The city teachers' union and the School Reform Commission have agreed that teachers need more time to decide if they want new assignments this fall. The original deadline for teachers to request voluntary transfers was May 1, but has been moved to May 17.
Philadelphians have long complained that it's unfair to base school funding on property taxes, since kids born into suburban affluence get more education dollars than those in weaker tax bases -- but the movement has spread in recent years to struggling rural districts.
The question of how to pay for education has emerged as the defining policy issue in the 2002 race for Pennsylvania governor.
Although details remain unclear about how 70 Philadelphia schools targeted for overhaul will operate this fall, the School Reform Commission has approved academic standards designed to ensure that the schools measure up - or the managers will be fired.
Worried
Fairfax Parents Bombard Supervisors Fairfax County Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech has threatened to kill popular programs to cover what he perceives to be a shortfall in the budget for the next school year, resulting in hundreds of e-mails and calls to the Board of Supervisors' offices from parents.
The Virginia Board of Education is seeking public comment on the Standards of Quality, which describe educational services that school divisions must provide under state law.
State education officials' criticism of low-performing schools has drawn sharp rebuttals from educators. (See also: Comments Anger Teachers Group, The Washington Times, April 29, 2002; Low-Rated Schools Scolded, Richmond Times-Dispatch, April 26, 2002..)
Seven years after the birth of the Virginia's Standards of Learning, some teachers continue to resist implementing the rigorous academic requirements.
Learning
and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science
in U.S. High Schools Beyond
School-Level Internet Access: Children's
Reading and Mathematics The
Influence Of High School Racial Composition
For newsletters from previous weeks, visit the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium's (MAEC) News Archives page. For a list of key publications on equity and school issues published over the past two years, please visit MAEC's Reports page. For a list of upcoming conferences on equity and school issues, please visit the MAEC's Conferences page. To subscribe to listservs on education and equity issues, please visit our Equity Listservs and E-mail Lists page. |
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The Mid-Atlantic Equity Center is one of ten Equity Assistance Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It provides technical assistance and training services free of charge to school districts in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. |
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