EDUCATION & EQUITY NEWS    

NATIONAL

Conferees Agree on Education Package
The Washington Post, December 12, 2001

House and Senate negotiators have agreed on a far-reaching education plan that would dramatically expand student testing and hold schools responsible for closing the achievement gaps separating many poor and minority students and their middle-class and white peers. (See also: Something for Everyone on Capitol Hill in Schools Bill, The Los Angeles Times, December 11, 2001.)

House Conferees Reject Fund Rise For Special Ed
The Washington Post, December 1, 2001

A congressional conference committee working to finalize President Bush's education reform plan rejected an attempt to substantially increase federal special education funding.

Increased Choice Found To Have
Modest Impact on School Improvement
Education Week, December 5, 2001

Researchers from the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education have found that when parents have more options for their children's schooling, academic achievement, salaries, and graduation rates in school systems all tend to improve—but not by much.

Education Choices Untested
The Washington Times, December 7, 2001

According to new book titled Rhetoric vs. Reality: What We Know and What We Need to Know About Vouchers and Charter Schools by a RAND research team, a decade of experimenting with charter schools and voucher programs has not met proponents' highest expectations nor opponents' most dire predictions.

Violent Deaths Drop At U.S. Schools
The Washington Post, December 5, 2001

According to new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, violent deaths at school -- including slayings and suicides -- dropped by 43 percent from the 1992-93 school year to 1998-99.

MARYLAND

Maryland Considers Statewide Curriculum
The Washington Post, December 10, 2001

Maryland educators have proposed creating a model statewide curriculum to ensure that all students -- including those in small counties with fewer resources to develop quality lesson plans -- are consistently taught according to state standards.

Teacher Strike Force
The Baltimore Sun, December 11, 2001

A team of classroom troubleshooters seeks to raise the standards and morale at troubled Baltimore County schools.

Prince George's 'Judge's School' Targets Troubled Students
The Washington Post, December 7, 2001

Prince George's County will set up an alternative program for troubled students who have been kicked out of school, a pilot program that could be a model for Maryland, state officials said yesterday.

NAACP Sets 2 Local Goals on Education
The Baltimore Sun, December 4, 2001

The Carroll County branch of the NAACP joined the civil rights organization's national effort to end disparities in education, vowing yesterday to lower the county's minority drop-out rate and to encourage African-American students to enroll in college preparatory classes.

In Montgomery, Enrichment vs. Inequity
The Washington Post, December 4, 2001

The Montgomery County school board is considering a policy that would allow PTAs, private individuals, groups, corporations andlocal city governments to raise or donate money to pay for capital improvements. The policy, critics fear, could mean that rich schools could not only jump the line but build bigger and better schools.

Private Funds in Public Schools
The Washington Post, December 4, 2001

A summary of policies on the use of private funds in public schools at different school districts in or near the Washington, D.C. metro area.

PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia Schools Receive $4 Million
The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 8, 2001

As it prepares to take over the Philadelphia School District because of poor performance, the Pennsylvania Department of Education awarded more than $4 million this week to city schools statewide for improved test scores and attendance.

Pennsylvania Threatens to Hold Up School Pay
The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 7, 2001

The Christmas paychecks of 27,000 school district employees have become a bargaining chip in the latest skirmish between Gov. Schweiker and Mayor Street over the future of the Philadelphia schools. The governor's office said yesterday that it would not give the district a $70 million advance so it could meet its Dec. 21 payroll. Instead, Schweiker wants to split the amount, asking Street to ante up $35 million of the $45 million that the city has promised but never turned over to district coffers.

Pennsylvania to Study School District Finances
The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 4, 2001

Gov. Schweiker's administration plans to analyze Philadelphia School District finances before resuming negotiations with the city on a school-reform plan. Schweiker and Mayor Street have announced jointly that they had pushed back last Friday's deadline for a state takeover of the district largely because of a disagreement on financing. The new deadline is Dec. 21.

Schools' Woes Luring Many Suitors
The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2001

Nine management firms - including Edison Schools - want a hand in helping to run city schools under a state takeover.

Edison Schools' Finances Worrying Some Analysts
The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 5, 2001

Some analysts say Edison is burning through cash so rapidly that it could run out of money by this summer - with or without a Philadelphia contract.

VIRGINIA

Schools Brace for Lean Times
The Washington Post, December 12, 2001

Educators predict that Virginia's economic decline will result in lean budgets for major school systems in the next fiscal year.

State to Lose Unused Money
Richmond Times-Dispatch, December 11, 2001

Virginia will lose an additional $40 million in federal funds that could have been used for children's health insurance, according to a state watchdog agency.

SPECIAL ARTICLES & REPORTS

Getting Standards Right
The Hoover Institution, December 10, 2001

Moving a School District Into Big-Time Fund Raising
American Association of School Administrators, December 2001

Rhetoric vs. Reality: What We Know and What We
Need to Know About Vouchers and Charter Schools
RAND, 2001

Searching for Miracles
American School Boards Journal, December 2001
(A look at school privatization efforts.)

Tear Down This Wall: The Case for a Radical
Overhaul of Teacher Certification (pdf file)
Progressive Policy Institute, November 27, 2001

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