EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS    

NATIONAL

Coming Sooner: Start of School
USA Today, August 13, 2001

Pressures from mandated state testing and academic demands are causing more school districts across the country to start school before Sept. 1, some as early as the first week of August.

An Early Start on Education
The Washington Post, August 13, 2001

The federal government is spending $350 million a year on the Early Head Start program to help the low-income families whose children are most likely to lack the needed skills. But research on the subject is thin, only 3 percent of low-income families are served by Early Head Start, and disagreements on how to help such children are frequent and sharp.

Teachers Exiting Private Schools for Public Districts
The Los Angeles Times, August 12, 2001

Intense demand for teachers nationwide is challenging private schools to sweeten the pot or risk a decline in quality as more instructors choose public schools.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Schools Outline Plans For Special-Ed Buses
The Washington Post, August 11, 2001

In an effort to eliminate lengthy travel times, late pickups and drop-offs and other chronic problems, D.C. school officials say they will provide about 550 bus routes for 3,345 special education students in the coming academic year, up from 463 routes.

D.C. Gap Between Rich, Poor Widening
The Washington Post, August 13, 2001

According to new census data, the District of Columbia has growing numbers of rich and poor as the middle class is shrinking.

MARYLAND

Summer Curricula Bridge Gender Gap
The Baltimore Sun, August 13, 2001

Concerned about girls' lagging achievement in science, math and technology, Maryland educators are increasingly turning to summer programs to combat the gender gap.

Teacher's Pet
The Baltimore Sun, August 13, 2001

An interview with Douglas Becker, head of Baltimore's Sylvan Learning Systems.

The Young Serving the Younger
The Baltimore Sun, August 13, 2001

In Baltimore County, hundreds of middle school pupils help run the public library's summer reading program.

Program Helps Pupils Keep
Sharp Edge on Reading Skills
The Baltimore Sun, August 12, 2001

This article profiles "Reading Edge," a program of the Baltimore Reads nonprofit literacy organization that has been instituted this summer at Charles Carroll Barrister and James McHenry elementary schools.

PENNSYLVANIA

Edison's Report Card is Mixed
The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 13, 2001

Governor Ridge has put his faith in Edison Schools Inc. to help solve Philadelphia's public education woes, but the 10-year-old company's work in other parts of the country has had mixed reviews.

Educators Log On
The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 9, 2001

Six virtual charter schools are approved to open in Pennsylvania this fall.

Future of a School Tax in Hands of Some Voters
The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 14, 2001

According to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, voters in about one-third of the school districts that collect an occupational tax will get to decide in November whether to eliminate the tax in exchange for higher local income-tax rates.

VIRGINIA

SOL Scores Climb in Arlington
The Washington Post, August 10, 2001

Arlington students taking the Virginia Standards of Learning exams this spring scored higher than a year ago on 24 of the 28 tests, according to figures released by county school officials.

Arlington Approves Magnet Admissions Plan
The Washington Post, August 9, 2001

The Arlington County School Board has approved a new admission policy for its three popular countywide magnet schools -- its third attempt to draft a policy to ensure diversity at the schools without running afoul of the law.

Earley Plan: Teacher Tests
Richmond Times-Dispatch, August 13, 2001

Under a proposal introduced by Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark L. Earley, teachers hired in Virginia in coming years would have to undergo two new competency evaluations - and possibly mandatory tests.

SPECIAL ARTICLES & REPORTS

Addressing Nonprofit Technology Needs
and Resources: A Community Toolkit
The Benton Foundation, 2001

Background for Community Level Work on
School Readiness: A Review of Definitions,
Assessments and Investment Strategies (pdf file)
Child Trends, December 2000

Education For All Young Children: The Role
of States And The Federal Government in
Promoting Prekindergaren and Kindergarten (pdf file)
Foundation for Child Development, April 2001

Evaluation Exchange: Out-of-School Time Issue #1
Evaluation Exchange: Out-of-School Time Issue #2 Harvard Family Research Project, 2001

(Description: A series of articles that address the challenges and possibilities for evaluating after school programs in the new era of accountability.)

The State of Our Nation's Youth 2001
(requires registration)
Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, 2001

The Surprising Consensus On School Choice
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Summer 2001

Trends Among Hispanic Children,
Youth and Families (pdf file)
Child Trends, March 13, 2001

Understanding Dropouts: Statistics,
Strategies, and High-Stakes Testing
Center for Education, 2001

WEBSITES & LINKS

Expose Racism and Advance School Excellence (ERASE)

A national program, coordinated by the Applied Research Center, that challenges racism in public schools and promotes racial justice and academic excellence for all students.

Foundation for Child Development
(www.ffcd.org)

A national private philanthropy "dedicated to the principle that all families should have the social and material resources to raise their children to be healthy, educated, and productive members of their communities."

Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans - Educational Programs
(www.horatioalger.com/edupro/edupro.htm)

A private membership association that provides scholarships and other support to secondary students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Baltimore Reads
(www.baltimorereads.org)

A non-profit organization that provides services for improving child and adult literacy in the Baltimore area.

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