EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS    

NATIONAL

Parents Fear Their Children
Will Be the Targets of Bigotry
The New York Times, September 18, 2001

In New York City, many parents of Muslim, Sikh and South Asian background kept their children home from school the past week, out of fear that they would become targets of bigotry. Many private Muslim schools were temporarily closed.

Education Department Announces Aid Available
to School Districts Impacted by Terrorist Attacks
(press release)
U.S. Department of Education, September 14, 2001

Learning to Be Wired
The Washington Post, September 16, 2001

Last September, a Maryland-based group of educators, psychologists, physicians and other professionals issued a report titled "Fool's Gold: A Critical Look at Computers in Childhood." The group, linked its conclusions about an overemphasis on technology in education to a deeper concern: that childhood itself is under attack these days, from a variety of cultural and commercial forces that appear to be intent on rushing children through it as fast as possible.

Debate Weighs Merits of Schools for Homeless
The New York Times, September 19, 2001

The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that about 40 schools for homeless children are operating in 19 states. Many advocates for the homeless are against this growing trend, supporting instead the integration of homeless children in mainstream public schools.

Opinion: Accountability
Should Start With Teachers
The Washington Times, September 17, 2001

Teachers unions, with very few compromises, are opposed to merit pay for individual teachers. The author of this piece argues that this is a major obstacle to positive reform.

MARYLAND

Maryland Rules Against Arundel School Plan
The Washington Post, September 18, 2001

The Maryland State Board of Education has struck down Anne Arundel schools' attempt to cut class time for fine arts, health and physical education from the middle school curriculum and replace it with an extra hour of reading instruction designed to improve test scores.

See also: State Rejects Reading Plan, The Baltimore Sun, September 15, 2001.

Arundel Won't Back Down
on Middle School Reading
The Baltimore Sun, September 19, 2001

Anne Arundel County middle school principals vowed yesterday to continue providing pupils with almost two hours of reading instruction every day, despite a state order to spend more time on fine arts, health and physical education.

Valuable Hours in the Afternoon
The Baltimore Sun, September 16, 2001

A profile of a successful afterschool program in a poor housing project in Annapolis.

Ecker Accepts Carroll Post
The Baltimore Sun, September 16, 2001

Interim Superintendent Charles I. Ecker of Carroll County Public Schools has agreed to accept a four-year appointment as superintendent starting in July.

PENNSYLVANIA

Face to Face
Journal of Staff Development, Fall 2001

Three leaders of the Palisades School District describe how they improved test scores and professional development by visiting classrooms and responding to feedback from students.

SPECIAL ARTICLES & REPORTS

Challenging Failing Schools
Shelterforce Online, July/August 2001

Changing The Ground Rules
Shelterforce Online, July/August 2001
(About the decentralization of Chicago's school system and its effects.)

Fool's Gold: A Critical Look
at Computers in Childhood
Alliance for Childhood, 2000

Lessons in Collaboration: Bringing
Together Educators and Community Builders
Shelterforce Online, July/August 2001

Parent Power!
Shelterforce Online, July/August 2001

Places To Learn: School Facilities Provide
An Entry Point For Community Organizers
Shelterforce Online, July/August 2001

Sexual Minority Students Benefit from
School-Based Support—Where It Exists
Harvard Education Letter, September/October 2001

Solving Shortages through Teacher Cooperatives
Hoover Institution, September 17, 2001

WEBSITES & LINKS

Alliance for Childhood
(www.allianceforchildhood.net)

An organization committed to "fostering and respecting each child's inherent right to a healthy, developmentally appropriate childhood."

American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
(www.adc.org)

An organization that provides information, consultation, and support towards ending discrimination against Arab Americans.

Educators for Social Responsibility
(www.esrnational.org)

An organization that focuses on social and emotional learning, character education, conflict resolution, violence prevention, and intergroup relations.

National Emergency Assistance Team (NEAT)
(www.nasponline.org/NEAT/)

A project of the National Association of School Psychologists that helps schools, families and communities cope with crisis situations.

National Coalition for the Homeless
(www.nationalhomeless.org)

An organization that engages in public education, policy advocacy, and grassroots organizing to end homelessness.

National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
(www.nlchp.org)

An organization whose mission is to "alleviate, ameliorate and end homelessness by serving as the legal arm of the nationwide movement to end homelessness."

NECA/ Teaching for Change
(www.teachingforchange.org)

A not-for-profit organization that promotes social and economic justice through public education.

Shelterforce Online
(www.nhi.org/online)

A magazine published by the National Housing Institute, an independent nonprofit organization that examines issues of poverty and racism, disinvestment and lack of employment, safety, and education.

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