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EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS |
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Week
of May 7, 2001
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EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS |
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Week
of May 7, 2001
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Revised
Education Bill Is Unveiled Given the definition of what constitutes a "failing school" that is contained in the revised education bill, a school would not be given a passing grade if most of its students are showing progress in proficiency tests but a specific minority group of students or students with limited English skills is not. The Senate also voted, 79-21, for an amendment to authorize more than $100 billion for Title I programs to help disadvantaged students.
President Bush says that he is abandoning hope that private school tuition vouchers will survive his education reform package but that he expects support from both parties for a set of school bills now before Congress. See also:
Television ads featuring black working-class parents pleading for educational choices such as vouchers and charter schools are causing a stir in the nation's capital. And they'll be shown in other cities soon.
According to a recent study (pdf file) by the Pacific Research Institute, a conservative think-thank, Catholic schools in Los Angeles effectively educate low- income and minority students at costs sharply lower than the Los Angeles Unified School District's and achieve a much lower dropout rate.
Two-thirds of the teenagers involved in deadly shootings in schools say they were seriously bullied. And studies show that those doing the taunting and hitting are more likely to end up in jail as adults.
Though it gets little attention, corporal punishment in schools remains legal in 23 states, and the United States Education Department's most recent data show that 365,000 children were paddled in the 1997-98 school year, most in a swath of Southern states that could be called the Belt Belt.
With more than one million teachers nearing retirement and a growing supply of students to teach, America will need two million new teachers in the next decade.
Officials at Wheaton College (Mass.), a small liberal arts college that abandoned the SAT as an admissions requirement in 1992, say they have no regrets.
When testing programs are reworked, or sometimes just tinkered with, they lose the ability to make direct comparisons with student achievement over time—a situation that every state with a testing and accountability program will likely face if it keeps its programs updated.
Calling for an end to high-stakes testing, a group of protesting Oakland students charged that the state's annual standardized test is a waste of money, racist and biased against low-income students and those who speak English as a second language.
The writer of this opinion piece argues against high-stakes testing programs. See also:
The
Challenge of Measuring Schools For the fourth straight year, in Thursday's Extra editions [Wednesday in Prince William County], the Washington Post will measure how hard the D.C. area's 145 public high schools are trying to prepare students for college.
According to the school system's top security official, District public school teachers and staff have been accused of using improper force to punish students in 195 cases since September, and investigators have substantiated 77 of the incidents.
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Group
Issues School Report According to a study released yesterday by the Baltimore Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), children who live in the Baltimore's poor neighborhoods are taught by a disproportionately high number of novice teachers and fewer experienced pros than their wealthier peers. Prince
George's Test Scores Show Best Gains Ever
Governor Parris N. Glendening has announced that Prince George's County will receive $46 million for school construction and renovation in the coming fiscal year and Montgomery County will receive $45 million.
Baltimore City and fast-growing Howard and Frederick counties emerged yesterday as big winners in next year's $295 million school construction budget as Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced the final $99 million worth of projects. (See also: Glendening Allots Last of School Funds, The Baltimore Sun, May 8, 2001.)
Deal
Reached on Education, Pensions Governor Ridge has won legislative approval of his education package - including a business-funded, $30 million school-choice plan - in exchange for raising pensions for legislators, state workers, and 234,000 teachers and other public-school employees originally excluded from the pension increases.
Another three proposals for charter schools were approved by Philadelphia's Board of Education May 7th, raising the total for this year to six. One of the schools will serve students at risk of dropping out. (See also: Board OKs 3 Charters, Rejects 10, The Philadelphia Daily News, May 8, 2001)
According to Phil Goldsmith, interim chief executive officer of the School District of Philadelphia, violent incidents reported within the district were down nearly 22 percent in April 2001 compared to April 2000. He attributes the improvement in part to having mandatory metal detectors in high schools.
With the help of a $171,000 federal grant, the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Community Partnerships has initiated a three-year project with local nonprofit organizations that offers computer lessons to children and adults, training for technology jobs, used computers, and technical support to schools, churches and community organizations in West Philadelphia.
City
School Board to Study Testing Proposal The Richmond School Board has decided to give more thought to a proposal that requires students to pass Standards of Learning tests in order to receive passing grades in the corresponding courses. (See also: Board Delays Decision on Tests, Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 8, 2001.)
Fairfax County School Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech has proposed a 3 percent cost-of-living raise for all employees and an extra $6 million in pay increases just for teachers.
Helping
Hand: How Private Philanthropy
The
Pacific Research Insitute's A program of the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, a non-profit research organization which promotes policies that emphasize a free economy, private initiative, and limited government. A project jointly sponsored by the Fordham University Graduate Schools of Education and Social Service whose mission is to build the power and capacity of low income parents and communities to improve their children's schools For newsletters from previous weeks, visit the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium's News Archives page. To subscribe to listservs on education and equity issues, please visit our Equity Listservs and Forums 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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