EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS    

NATIONAL

U.S. Schools Turn More Segregated, a Study Finds
The New York Times, July 20, 2001

A Harvard University study (pdf file) has found that K-12 classrooms grew more segregated in the 1990's, despite a growing diversity of the general population and support for integration in public opinion surveys.

See also: Schools' Racial Isolation Growing, The Washington Post, July 18, 2001.

Differences Hold Up Education Plan
The Washington Post, July 23, 2001

As negotiators gathered on Thursday, July 19th to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions of the education bill, they predicted that the legislation will pass, but not soon enough to satisfy the President's hope for final approval by early next month.

With School Testing, Unresolved Questions
The Washington Post, July 24, 2001

Congressional negotiators are facing great difficulties in devising school accountability standards that will be useful in states with widely differing educational standards measured by a variety of math and reading tests.

See also: Belatedly, a Front Is Forming to Fight Education Legislation, The Los Angeles Times, July 24, 2001

Unhealthy Cuts for Head Start
The New York Times, July 24, 2001

President Bush wants to cut funding for Head Start in 2002, in per child terms, by 2 percent. Inflation will further reduce the value of services received by each child. The program has not suffered a similar cut since the Reagan budgets of 1983 and 1986.

Commission Backs National Testing
The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 22, 2001

At the annual conference of the Education Commission of the States, there was agreement about Bush's goal to measure achievement by all children regardless of background, but there was also concern that the plan expects too much too fast, could wreak havoc on states' existing testing systems, and cost money the federal government doesn't provide.

Potential Bush Nominee Under Fire
USA Today, July 17, 2001

Senate education committee chairman Edward Kennedy has announced his opposition to President Bush's plans for nominating Gerald Reynolds, a staunch opponent of affirmative action, as assistant secretary of Education for the Office of Civil Rights.

6.3 Billion In Formula Grants Awarded To States
For School Improvement Efforts (Press Release)
U.S. Department of Education, July 13, 2001

$6.3 billion in formula grants have been awarded this month to states for an array of education programs spanning pre-kindergarten through adult education and including teacher training, as well as programs to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their more advantaged peers.

Defending Desegregation
The Washington Post, July 24, 2001

As desegregation plans across the country are under increasing attack, a study (pdf file) published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that desegregation plans of the 1970s reduced high school dropout rates for blacks by 1 to 3 percentage points.

DELAWARE

Delaware Receives $25 Million In Grants From
U.S. Education Department (Press Release)
U.S. Department of Education, July 13, 2001

MARYLAND

Summer Success in Small Classes
The Baltimore Sun, July 22, 2001

Increased state funding this year has allowed Baltimore County and Prince George's County to reduce class sizes in the Maryland Educational Opportunity Summer Pilot Program, a summer reading program for K-12 students.

Dyslexia Pioneer Still Making Gains
The Baltimore Sun, July 22, 2001

This article profiles Roger E. Saunders, who has worked to establish a number of institutions and programs in the Maryland area for teaching dyslexic children.

Maryland Receives $98.1 Million In Grants From
U.S. Education Department (Press Release)
U.S. Department of Education, July 13, 2001

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania Receives $258.5 Million In Grants
From U.S. Education Department (Press Release)
U.S. Department of Education, July 13, 2001

VIRGINIA

Virginia Receives $114.4 Million In Grants From
U.S. Education Department (Press Release)
U.S. Department of Education, July 13, 2001

WASHINGTON,D.C. METRO AREA

Jesuits Plan D.C. School For Poor
The Washington Post, July 23, 2001

Area Jesuits are planning to build a tuition-free middle school for boys on North Capitol Street.

District Of Columbia Receives $98.3 Million In Grants
From U.S. Education Department (Press Release)
U.S. Department of Education, July 13, 2001

WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia Receives $48.1 Million In Grants
From U.S. Education Department (Press Release)
U.S. Department of Education, July 13, 2001

SPECIAL ARTICLES & REPORTS

America's Children: Key National
Indicators of Well-Being 2000
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2001

Desegregation and Black Dropout Rates
National Bureau of Economic Research, 2000

Educational Achievement and
Black-White Inequality (pdf file)
Mathematica Policy Research, July 2001

Genome Mappers Navigate the Tricky Terrain of Race
The New York Times, July 20, 2001

Schools More Separate: Consequences
of a Decade of Resegregation (pdf file)
Harvard Civil Rights Project, 2001

Retaining the Next Generation of Teachers:
The Importance of School-Based Support
Harvard Education Letter, July/August 2001

WEBSITES & LINKS

Child Care Information Exchange
(www.childcareexchange.com)

A site with up-to-date news and resources on the early childhood profession.

Education Commission of the States
(www.ecs.org)

A national, nonprofit organization that helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement policies to improve student learning at all levels.

Mathematic Policy Research, Inc.
(www.mathematica-mpr.com)

A private firm that conducts research on health care, welfare, education, employment, nutrition, and early childhood policies and programs in the United States.

National Bureau of Economic Research
(www.nber.org)

A private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works.

National League of Cities
(www.nlc.org)

An organization that seeks to "support and build upon the many roles that local elected officials and municipal governments can play to improve outcomes for children and families."

   Programs:   

Institute for Youth, Education & Families Campaign to Promote Racial Justice

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