NEWS, CONFERENCES AND REPORTS on Education & Equity

NATIONAL

Teachers' Race Linked To Students' Scores
Education Week, September 19, 2001

A study of 6,000 Tennessee schoolchildren suggests that both black and white children score higher on mathematics and reading tests when their teachers are the same race as they are.

Education Bill Getting Closer to Completion
The Los Angeles Times, September 19, 2001

The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagontragedy yanked President Bush away from his top domestic priority: passing education reform legislation, but he and congressional leaders said they won't let the tragedy deter them from resuming work on an education reform bill in short time.

MARYLAND

Tough Choices for Schools, Developers
The Baltimore Sun, September 23, 2001

Developers and officials predict that construction of homes in Howard County will be significantly slowed in coming years by new, higher school enrollment estimates and the resulting tighter controls on development around crowded schools.

See also:

Schools Note Likely Areas of Crowding,
The Baltimore Sun, September 21, 2001.

Bus Routing Leaves Kids at Curb in Pr. George's
The Washington Post, September 23, 2001

Nearly a month into the new school year, Prince George's school officials acknowledge that their vaunted new computerized bus routing system is a mess: Some buses are not arriving at Prince George's County schools until noon, and others are not showing up at all, leaving students stranded at busy intersections and missing class time.

School Rebuilds Learning Curve
The Baltimore Sun, September 21, 2001

Since last March, when state education leaders chose Westport Elementary-Middle School (southern Baltimore) from a list of 96 failing schools in Maryland as the one most in need of a takeover, the school has undergone a dramatic transformation: The city has completed $300,000 worth of building renovations and signed a $4 million contract with New York-based Victory Schools Inc. to manage Westport, finessing their way around what would have been a full state takeover of the school.

Reforms Working at Juvenile
Facilities, State Report Says
The Baltimore Sun, September 21, 2001

According to a progress report drafted by the Department of Juvenile Justice and Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend's office, Maryland's long-troubled juvenile detention facilities are "cleaner, safer, more secure and more disciplined" as a result of two years of reforms.

Stress Felt in Middle Schools
The Baltimore Sun, September 20, 2001

In Howard County the last school year, the number of suspensions in middle schools increased while suspensions in elementary and high schools declined.

PENNSYLVANIA

Ridge Exit May Delay Schools Decision
Philadelphia Daily News, September 24, 2001

Governor Ridge’s spokesman said it's highly unlikely that Ridge can reach an agreement with Mayor Street on fixing Philadelphia schools in the days before he leaves office.

See also:

Student Scores Continue to Climb
Richmond Times-Dispatch, September 20, 2001

Students Make Substantial Achievements
The Washington Times, September 20, 2001

SPECIAL ARTICLES
& REPORTS

Effective Capacity Building
in Nonprofit Organizations
Venture Philanthropy Partners, August 2001

Exploring Organizations and
Advocacy: Strategies and Finances
Urban Institute, August 2001

From Access to Outcomes: Raising
the Aspirations for Technology
Initiatives in Low-Income Communities
Morino Institute, 2001

Latinos in School: Some Facts and Findings
ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education,
February 2001

Linda Darling-Hammond on Teacher Preparation
George Lucas Foundation, 2001

Moving to the Head of the Class: Students Who
Teach in Summer Programs Learn, Give Back
What Kids Can Do, September 23, 2001

Student Movement: The Fatal
Flaw in the Bush Education Plan
The Washington Monthly, September 2001

Teachers, Race and Student
Achievement in a Randomized Experiment
National Bureau of Economic Research, August 2001

WEBSITES & LINKS

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 Center for Health Statistics
(www.cdc.gov/nchs)

The federal government's principal vital and health statistics agency, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Washington School Research Center
(www.spu.edu/orgs/research)

An independent research and data analysis center within Seattle Pacific University -- funded through a gift from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation -- whose mission is to "conduct sound and objective research on student learning in the public schools, and to make the research findings available for educators, policy makers, and the general public for use in the improvement of schools."

What Kids Can Do (WKCD)
(www.whatkidscando.org)

A national nonprofit organization founded in the winter of 2001 that documents "the value of young people working with teachers and other adults on projects that combine powerful learning with public purpose for an audience of educators and policy makers, journalists, community members, and students."

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For newsletters from previous weeks, visit the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium's News Archives page.

For a list of key publications on equity and school issues published over the past two years, please visit the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium's Conferences and Reports 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.

	EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS
	Week of September 24, 2001