EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS    

NATIONAL

The Rush to Rewrite History
The Christian Science Monitor, October 16, 2001

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, curriculum developers across the US have been culling information on the Middle East to help teachers shape new lessons.

Students Report School Crime at Same Level
as 1970s But Use of Suspension Doubles
Justice Policy Institute, August 29, 2001

A policy brief by the Justice Policy Institute reports that while students are as well behaved and are reporting the same rates of crime seen in the 1970s, the number of youth suspended on an annual basis has nearly doubled over the same period.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Teachers Could Get Leeway To Punish: D.C.
May Expand Permissible Use Of Physical Force
The Washington Post, October 20, 2001

The D.C. Board of Education is planning to widen the conditions under which teachers are allowed to use physical force against students, responding to concerns that the current policy does not give teachers enough power to quell violence at school.

Study Examines Juvenile Crime Rate:
D.C. Does Better Than Maryland
While Jailing Fewer, It Finds
The Baltimore Sun, October 23, 2001

According to a recent report by Building Blocks for Youth, during the 1990s, the District of Columbia reduced the number of teens it kept jailed while Maryland increased that number.

MARYLAND

Schools Oversight Hearing Protested -
Prince George's Official Disputes Purpose
The Washington Post, October 21, 2001

The chairman of the Prince George's County school board says a legislative hearing planned next month in Annapolis on the status of the school system is intended to embarrass the board.

Building Better Readers Program: Struggling Pupils Learn the Basics of English One Sound at a Time
The Baltimore Sun, October 22, 2001

In the "SpellRead Phonological Auditory Training" program at Howard County's Mayfield Woods Middle School , pupils drill on distinguishing the 44 different sounds that make up the English language, essentially trying to rewire their brains to focus on breaking up words into their basic components.

City Schools' Consultants to
Give Closing, Efficiency Ideas
The Baltimore Sun, October 22, 2001

A new list of Baltimore schools that may be closed as part of an effort to make the system more efficient is expected to be announced at the public school board meeting on October 23rd.

Enthusiasm Endures As Principal Departs
The Washington Post, October 22, 2001

This article describes the successful practices teaching and disciplinary practices instituted by Marian White-Hood, principal of Kettering Middle School in central Prince George's County.

PENNSYLVANIA

Plan: Disband School Board, Install Edison
The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 23, 2001

Under a scenario outlined by Governor. Schweiker to Mayor Street, Edison Schools Inc. would manage the Philadelphia district and the local Board of Education would be abolished. School board members immediately erupted in anger, saying they were not consulted enough and questioning the rationale for such a drastic measure.

Cyber Schools Cost Big Bucks,
A Critical Report on PA Says
The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 17, 2001

In a highly critical white paper on the state's fledgling cyber-school movement, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association says that taxpayer-supported cyber charter schools, which provide online education to students in their homes, are draining more than $18 million from local school districts.

Color of the Keystone: Racial and
Ethnic Disparity in the Use of
Incarceration in Pennsylvania
Justice Policy Institute, August 13, 2001

In 2000, Pennsylvania led all jurisdictions (including all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the federal prison system) in having the greatest disparity between the White and non-White incarceration rate.

VIRGINIA

Schools Making Headway On SOL
Virginia Passing Rate Nearly Doubles
The Washington Post, October 17, 2001

Virginia schools nearly doubled their rate of success on the Standards of Learning exams this year, with 40 percent meeting the state's benchmarks, up from 23 percent last year.

Splitting Schools and Roads
The Washington Post, October 21, 2001

Fairfax County's Chamber of Commerce has endorsed a plan to raise money for transportation -- but not education -- through a referendum to increase the sales tax, a position school advocates say shatters a year-old coalition and pits the two critical issues against each other.

Only Passing Scores Count: Board
Alters Policy on Full Accreditation
Richmond Times-Dispatch, October 23, 2001

Under a new policy, the Virginia Board of Education will count only passing scores of students who retake end-of-course SOL tests toward the school's accreditation rating in history and science, thus easing the standard a school must meet to receive full accreditation under the Standards of Learning program.

SPECIAL ARTICLES & REPORTS

A Tale of Two Jurisdictions:
Youth Crime and Detention Rates in
Maryland & the District of Columbia
Building Blocks for Youth, October 2001

Eliminating a "Yes, But" Curriculum: By
Listening to What Students Want to Read
and Modeling Effective Reading Strategies, Educators Can Teach Students to Love Reading
Principal Leadership, October 2001

Evaluations of Community
Schools: An Early Look
Coalition for Community Schools, 2001

High Stakes Testing: Is it Worth the Risk?
SmarterKids.com, 2001

Lack of Racial and Ethnic Health Data Hinders Efforts to Close Gaps in Health Care
The Commonwealth Fund, October 18, 2001

Off Balance: Youth, Race & Crime in the News
Justice Policy Institute, April 2001

Quality Education Is a Civil Rights Issue:
If African Americans Are Going to Make Significant Progress in Education Reform,
They Need to Organize
Harvard Education Letter, 2001

School Choice Crucible: A
Case Study of Boulder Valley
Phi Delta Kappan, October 10, 2001

Teamwork at the Top: Keeping the Board-
Superintendent Relationship Healthy and Happy
American School-Board Journal, November 2001

WEBSITES & LINKS

U.S. Department of Education's Office
of School Improvement Programs (SIP)
(www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SIP/index.html)

The Office of School Improvement Programs (SIP) administers a large number of programs authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended by the Improvement America's School Act of 1994.

Building Blocks for Youth
(www.buildingblocksforyouth.org)

An alliance of children's advocates, researchers, law enforcement professionals and community organizers that seeks to protect minority youth in the justice system and promote rational and effective justice policies.

Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
(www.cjcj.org)

A private non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce society's reliance on the use of incarceration as a solution to social problems.

Constitutional Rights Foundation
(www.crf-usa.org)

A non-profit, non-partisan, community-based organization dedicated to educating America's young people about the importance of civic participation in a democratic society.

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