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Item(s) found: 555
Senate Resolution Pushes for Public Release of CRS Reports
Date CapturedFriday May 08 2009, 7:11 PM
[A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online from The Center For Democracy and Technology Senate Resolution Pushes for Public Release of CRS Reports 1) Senators Introduce Resolution to Make Congressional Research Public 2) Public Access to CRS Reports Limited by CRS Policies 3) Senate Resolution 118 Improves on Previous Resolution]
A Successful Plan for Racial Balance Now Finds Its Future Uncertain
Date CapturedWednesday August 22 2007, 8:06 AM
NY Times reports, "White Plains’s plan takes pains to give parents genuine choices. In January and February, parents of entering kindergartners visit elementary schools and rank their top three picks. A family will get first choice, which 90 percent of families do, unless the number of applicants of that child’s race exceeds certain caps, which at a school with 100 kindergartners might be 13 blacks, 46 Hispanics, and 41 'others.' Should that happen, a lottery is held for all students in that racial group, with assigned numbers on colored slips of paper picked out of a basket at a public meeting. Remaining kindergartners get second choice or, rarely, third. Buses are provided for students living more than half a mile from school. The plan also balances assignments at the two campuses of the middle school."
Ithaca City School Distrist (ICSD) partners with families, community
Date CapturedMonday August 20 2007, 7:25 AM
Ithaca Journal guest columnist Lisa Harris, director of Academic Intervention Services opines, "Among the important elements for partnership in the Ithaca City School District Strategic Plan for Equity is 'Family and Community Advocacy and Involvement.' The plan states 'Every child needs an advocate to support his or her success in school. Families and community members can be the most effective advocates for children if they are welcomed and engaged by schools, and if they have effective strategies to support student success.' This strategy involves supporting programs that promote involvement — especially for families who can feel disconnected with school, providing training so that educators can effectively involve and partner with families and providing families with successful programs to help them support their children's performance and participation. Some examples follow."
The Confidence Men
Date CapturedTuesday August 14 2007, 10:09 AM
By Eric Hanushek . Hanushek writes, "Clients want a bottom-line statement about how much spending would provide an adequate education, and they want this cost estimate attached to their specific state. Few people care about the 'studies' on which consultants base their reports, or even their validity, because nobody really expects schools to implement these specific programs if given extra funding. Clients simply want a requisite amount of scientific aura around the number that will become the rallying flag for political and legal actions. Summing the added cost of the separate programs suggested by Picus and Odden, I estimate that the overall plan, if fully applied, would increase average spending in Washington by $1,760 to $2,760 per student, or 23 to 35 percent. This estimate of the increased spending necessary to achieve “adequacy” is very similar to the percentage increases they have recommended to other states, and numbers like these will presumably become part of the headlines surrounding the new court case. But pity the poor states that actually implement the Picus and Odden plan. They are sure to be disappointed by the results, and most taxpayers (those who do not work for the schools) will be noticeably poorer."
Working To Learn, Learning to Work: Unlocking the Potential of New York's Adult College Students
Date CapturedTuesday August 14 2007, 7:36 AM
Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy (SCAA) and the Center for an Urban Future (CUF) study, "Specific recommendations include: * Provide financial aid to part-time students in their first year. In 2006, the New York State Legislature took the first step towards assisting working adults by establishing a 'part-time TAP' program. However, New York should abolish the pointless requirement that students study full-time in the first year to qualify for part-time TAP. * Abolish discriminatory TAP benefits and income thresholds for unmarried childless adults, so that they can receive the same benefits at the same income thresholds as all other students. * Abolish all previous financial aid schedules and get rid of the 'don’t come back' rule, which ties students who leave college and return later to the income and benefit schedule in effect when they first entered college. Since schedules are improved every few years, older schedules are considerably less generous than current ones. * Create a remedial education financing program outside of TAP, so that students can enhance their opportunity for academic success while preserving TAP eligibility for creditworthy classes."
School supplies pile up for needy students
Date CapturedMonday August 13 2007, 8:16 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "A wide variety of Monroe County agencies, churches and businesses will donate school supplies to thousands of needy youngsters in the next few weeks. Some organizations are still appealing for drop-offs, while a few have already filled their storage rooms to bursting."
New test rules fail CUNY's mission
Date CapturedSunday August 12 2007, 7:50 AM
NY Daily News op-ed contributor William Crain, professor of psychology at The City College, CUNY opines, "CUNY should totally revamp its admissions policy. It should give test scores only the weight they merit, and should use them as part of a holistic assessment that includes students' high school grades, talents and motivation. And it should look for ways to give more students a chance to enter the college of their choice. For generations, CUNY shone as a beacon of democratic opportunity. It can do so again."
KLEIN PLAYS FAVES: FOES
Date CapturedFriday July 27 2007, 7:59 AM
NY Post reports, "The Campaign for Fiscal Equity, whose 14-year-old lawsuit won billions of extra education funding for the city over the next four years, said some of the cash won't reach the struggling schools it's supposed to help."
Who Needs Honors Courses? Try Everyone.
Date CapturedFriday July 20 2007, 9:59 AM
Washington Post Jay Mathews writes, "Assume, as Esformes [former teacher] did, that students from every part of the demographic curve have the intellectual ability to handle a challenging and vibrant class, and maybe our high schools will finally rise out of their long slumber and show us what every kid can do."
Chancellor Answers Critics on School Financing Data
Date CapturedWednesday July 18 2007, 8:34 AM
NY Times reports, "The city (New York City) this month said that it would use nearly half the funds to reduce class sizes. Detailed figures released by the city yesterday showed how much extra financing school districts and individual schools would receive, but still did not specify where class sizes would be cut. Critics say the distribution raises the question of whether schools that are relatively high-performing are getting too much of the money."
EYE$ ON SIZE
Date CapturedWednesday July 18 2007, 7:44 AM
NY Post Chuck Bennett reports, "Parents and advocates will be able to look at how the money is used in every targeted school — a move they had been loudly demanding for some time. Still, leaders of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, the coalition of school and parent groups that initiated the suit against the state, were cautious in giving their thumbs up to the latest proposal, noting they still want to comb through the fine print. In all, the New York City school system will receive $1 billion extra in city and state funding for the 2007-08 school year. "
New school plan for aid, smaller classes
Date CapturedWednesday July 18 2007, 7:21 AM
NY Daily News reports, "More than $133 million will go to 688 schools that historically received less funding per student than similar schools. The rest will be steered to various citywide programs to improve teacher quality and reduce class size."
Utica schools to re-examine racial balance -- Utica schools to re-examine racial balance
Date CapturedMonday July 16 2007, 9:20 AM
uticaOD.com reports, "A recent Supreme Court decision could affect policies governing the Utica City School District's magnet program and its plans to redraw school attendance boundaries, school officials said. While school leaders say they will stay committed to creating diverse schools, the court's decision to strike down two other districts' integration plans worries some community members who wonder if the district will keep pushing to achieve racial balance in schools."
RACE-BIAS FLAP IN ELITE-HS TEST PREP
Date CapturedMonday July 16 2007, 6:23 AM
NY Post reports, "A free course offered by the city Department of Education to train students to ace admissions tests at elite public high schools like Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Tech has been quietly enforcing separate standards for blacks and Latinos compared with whites and Asians for the past decade, The Post has learned. Asian and white students had to be 'free-or reduced-lunch eligible' to qualify, according to department guidelines - meaning a white or Asian student from a family of four with an annual income above $37,000 was too rich for the program. Black and Latino students had no such family-income requirements."
Transferring Up
Date CapturedWednesday July 11 2007, 5:33 AM
NY Times op-ed contributor Jonathan Kozol opines, "Congress has an opportunity to take advantage of the opening created by Justice Kennedy later this year when it reauthorizes the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The law gives children the right to transfer from a low-performing school to a high-performing school if the low-performing school has failed to demonstrate adequate improvement two years after being warned of its shortcomings."
BEYOND 'BROWN' -- RACE-BLIND ROADS TO DIVERSITY
Date CapturedMonday July 02 2007, 9:51 AM
NY Post Op-Ed contributor ANDREW J. COULSON director of the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom opines, "A central goal of compulsory integration polices has been to achieve racial balance at the school level. But Harvard's Civil Rights Project has observed that public schools are little more racially integrated today than they were before such policies were introduced.
Diverse community can turn around our segregated schools
Date CapturedMonday July 02 2007, 8:22 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opines, "City schools, unlike those in the suburbs, must deal with the social and economic impediments to learning such as poverty, joblessness and teen pregnancy. And they shouldn't be expected to go it alone if the district's abysmal graduation rate and poor test scores are to turn around. There must be a communitywide effort to improve city schools. Maybe that should be the new diversity model — all segments of the community pitching in."
Money, Not Race, Fuels New Push to Buoy Schools
Date CapturedSaturday June 30 2007, 11:13 AM
NY Times TAMAR LEWIN and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN report, "For several years, two lawyers intent on helping black children do as well in school as white children had a kind of roadshow: Michael A. Rebell would describe the recent successes of state-court litigation, forcing more financing for poor children’s schools, as a matter of basic equity. But James Ryan would argue that integration was the best approach. "
What Yesterday's Supreme Court Decision Means For NYC Schools
Date CapturedFriday June 29 2007, 6:44 PM
The Politicker's Andrew Mangino writes, "That profoundly insightful excerpt is proof that the court — or at least one middle-road justice on it – is trying to update the law for the 21st Century. Justice Kennedy here is calling for community forums to solve the issues with new solutions that consider race but do not give it more weight than it deserves at the cost of other factors ranging from heritage to economic background to ideological perspective. It is advice directly aimed at a city like New York."
Rescuing Brown v. Board of Education: Profiles of Twelve School Districts Pursuing Socioeconomic School Integration
Date CapturedFriday June 29 2007, 2:07 PM
By RICHARD D. KAHLENBERG, SENIOR FELLOW AT THE CENTURY FOUNDATION concludes, "Making American schools integrated is tough work, requiring strong political leadership and a sustained commitment to the promise of equal opportunity. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in the Louisville and Seattle cases present new obstacles, but across the country, school districts are not giving up, and indeed, are coming up with an alternative that can be an even more powerful engine for social mobility."
Ruling on race and schools watched
Date CapturedFriday June 29 2007, 8:50 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "A 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that voluntary race-based admission policies in Seattle and Louisville, Ky., schools are unconstitutional threatens Rochester's Urban-Suburban Interdistrict Transfer Program. But Fred Wille, superintendent of Monroe-BOCES I, says the decision won't shelve Rochester's program — the oldest voluntary school desegregation program in the United States. BOCES I coordinates it."
Use of Race in School Placement Curbed
Date CapturedThursday June 28 2007, 5:59 PM
NY Times reports, "In a decision of sweeping importance to educators, parents and schoolchildren across the country, the Supreme Court today sharply limited the ability of school districts to manage the racial makeup of the student bodies in their schools."
Graduation season: Don't forget the dropouts
Date CapturedFriday June 22 2007, 8:29 AM
Ithaca Journal opines, "For those who don't get their high school diploma, the statistics are not promising. Compared with other people their age, the dropout is more likely to end up in prison, divorced, unemployed, living in poverty, unhealthy or receiving public assistance, according to a report on high school dropouts from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The dropout earns about $9,200 less a year than high school graduates. And a study conducted in 2001 found that four out of 10 young adults who did not receive a high school diploma received some type of government assistance. When the Ithaca City School District and the Village at Ithaca published the first Equity Report Card, we were particularly concerned that more than four out of 10 African American, Latino or Native American children who entered ninth grade in 2001 did not graduate in 2005."
'POOR' JUDGMENT -- PAYING FOR GRADES FAILS OUR KIDS
Date CapturedWednesday June 20 2007, 8:13 AM
NY Post columnist Andrea Peyser opines, "Kids whose parents chose to (a) stay married or (b) work three jobs aren't eligible for this program, which, so far, will be funded with private donations. We're not talking chump change. A student could earn $50 just for getting a library card. Two hundred bucks for visiting the doctor. And $600 a pop - up to $3,000 - for passing five Regents exams. Parents can climb aboard the gravy train, too, raking in dollars just for climbing out of bed and attending parent-teacher conferences, or holding a job. Make no mistake. This payoff is just for kids living below the poverty line. Middle-class families who want to buy new sneakers or indulge in a cold six-pack on a Saturday night need not apply."
Harpursville schools cleared of discrimination charges
Date CapturedWednesday June 06 2007, 9:24 AM
Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "The Harpursville Central School District has been cleared of charges that it discriminated against its female athletes. In a decision dated June 1, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights concluded there is insufficient evidence to support any of the three allegations filed against the rural Broome County district."
My faith is in cash; City's public education stinks, so I gave Catholic schools $22.5M
Date CapturedSunday June 03 2007, 9:19 AM
NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "Wilson, who was married but has no children, is himself the product of public schools. But that was back before teachers were unionized, he said. Wilson angered city teachers union President Randi Weingarten when he used the announcement of his big gift last month to blame unions for the problems with schools. And, during his 90-minute sitdown with The News, he continued his assault, repeatedly knocking unions for 'feather-bedding' and creating a 'rigidity' that hurts kids. He said he wants to help Catholic schools both because he thinks they're better and because they're 'under siege' from unions determined to 'deprive them of a shred of government money.'"
New Jersey charter schools deserve larger share of state aid package
Date CapturedWednesday May 30 2007, 10:16 AM
Asbury Park Press reports, "A couple of real-life scenarios illustrate the impact of the state's policies toward charter schools: Two siblings in Newark attend different public schools: One attends North Star Academy Charter School and has an almost certain prospect of attending a four-year college. The other child attends East Side High School and has only a 15 percent chance of attending a four-year college. The child who attends East Side High School receives $17,974 in education funding, and the child who attends North Star is funded at $10,582, or 59 percent of his sister's funding level. Two young brothers share a room and live with their single mother in an apartment in Red Bank. One attends Red Bank Middle School, the other Red Bank Charter School. The boy at Red Bank Middle School will receive Targeted At-Risk Aid (TARA) funding next year, while his brother at Red Bank Charter will not. Each pair of siblings comes from the same home and therefore shares the same socioeconomic backgrounds, challenges and needs, yet they are not treated equally by the state."
Ithaca Central School District programs extend academic support
Date CapturedMonday May 21 2007, 7:13 AM
Ithaca Journal Op-ed contributors Lisa Harris, director of Academic Intervention Services and others write, "Money from the Consolidated Grants is continually being cut. However, the ICSD has done its best to provide instructional enrichment in after-school/extended-day programs. These programs offer field trips, exposure to arts, sciences and crafts, as well as assistance with homework practice and review or previewing of key concepts, including vocabulary. Mentoring and tutoring provided by trained community volunteers augment our staff's resources."
GIVING UP ON SCHOOL REFORM?
Date CapturedTuesday May 15 2007, 8:03 AM
NY Post Op-Ed contributor Rev. Johnny Ray Youngblood, co-chair of East Brooklyn Congregations and of the Metro NY Industrial Areas Foundation opines, "The impact on the teaching corps in poor-performing schools is obvious. Newer and younger teachers have a very high attrition rate. Assigned to schools no other teacher chooses to go to, surrounded by teachers as new and inexperienced as themselves, younger teachers tend to have less support, less mentoring and less success. A large percentage leaves within three years. The effect on the students is also great. They don't benefit from the wisdom and professionalism that years of trial and error can bring a teacher. Instead, they see the newest and least equipped teachers year after year. Turnover in their schools is much higher than in other schools. Their morale and performance suffer. The financial impact is also serious. Because the better schools have higher numbers of veteran teachers, they have bigger budgets than poorly performing schools. Funding formulas announced by Chancellor Klein last week begin to correct this unequal funding. But the success of the city's most challenged schools depends not just on more funds but also on the gradual redistribution of more experienced teachers into every city school. Without a corps of veteran teachers, no amount of money can make students and schools succeed."
Evaluating 'No Child Left Behind'
Date CapturedFriday May 11 2007, 8:35 AM
The Nation contributor Linda Darling-Hammond, the Charles E. Ducommon Professor of Education at Stanford University writes, "Perhaps the most adverse unintended consequence of NCLB is that it creates incentives for schools to rid themselves of students who are not doing well, producing higher scores at the expense of vulnerable students' education. Studies have found that sanctioning schools based on average student scores leads schools to retain students in grade so that grade-level scores will look better (although these students ultimately do less well and drop out at higher rates), exclude low-scoring students from admissions and encourage such students to transfer or drop out. Recent studies in Massachusetts, New York and Texas show how schools have raised test scores while 'losing' large numbers of low-scoring students."
Formula for class success
Date CapturedWednesday May 09 2007, 10:18 AM
NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "Nearly 700 underfunded schools will see an influx of $110 million next year under the city's new student funding formula, officials announced. As principals across the city began scrutinizing their 2007-08 budgets yesterday, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein laid out specifics of the new "weighted" system designed to create more equity."
CASHING IN ON KIDS
Date CapturedWednesday May 09 2007, 9:55 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "According to the plan, a school could receive as little as $3,788 for a first-grader who lives above the poverty line, did not transfer from a failing school and is proficient in English. But a first-grader who lives in poverty, transferred from a failing school and cannot speak English could funnel $8,212 to the same school's coffers. Depending on a child's special needs, a school could expect to receive an additional $2,121 and $8,637. While schools already receive additional city money to address student needs - including learning and English-language difficulties - budgets have never been so specifically weighted to student traits."
Charter schools are on the way
Date CapturedWednesday May 09 2007, 9:14 AM
Times Herald-Record opines, "Believers believe they offer a new birth of freedom from unions and regulations; nonbelievers believe they offer a government-funded attack on standards and salaries."
District using busing information in study
Date CapturedMonday May 07 2007, 10:56 AM
uticaOD.com reports, "School district leaders will rely on computer software programs to study the city's student population."
ACLU Urges Rhode Island Supreme Court to Review Truancy Courts
Date CapturedThursday May 03 2007, 9:32 AM
The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island today asked the state Supreme Court to review a case that raises fundamental questions about the procedures used by so-called “truancy courts” that prosecute students who are absent from school. The ACLU filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case arguing that essential due process safeguards are absent from the operation of these courts, which have become increasingly prevalent in public schools across the state. “The ACLU is very concerned about the increasing numbers of parents and children pulled into the truancy court system,” said Amy Tabor, an ACLU cooperating attorney and author of today’s brief. “Some school districts treat children as truant whenever they arrive at school a few minutes late, even though their lateness has resulted in only a few minutes of missed homeroom.”
Bundy Aid cuts: Proposal should be rejected
Date CapturedTuesday May 01 2007, 7:56 AM
Ithaca Journal opines, "Cutting aid to all private colleges because some are larger and have more resources doesn't do justice to students who study at colleges in the state. Our Assemblywoman, Barbara Lifton, said it best in Saturday's article. While the Robin Hood philosophy behind Rivera's proposal makes sense in theory, students from all types of socioeconomic backgrounds study at private colleges in New York. Though there are no restrictions on how the aid is spent, Bundy Aid ultimately allows private schools to offer more financial aid to students who need it to attend college. Rivera's efforts would be better spent on trying to fine-tune the Bundy Aid system so that the money does ultimately reach students who need a lot of financial assistance to attend colleges."
High school revelations
Date CapturedSunday April 29 2007, 9:18 AM
The Journal News opines, "More starkly than ever, the new data capture the gulfs between wealthy and poor school districts, between white and non-white students, between general education students and disabled ones. The only way to narrow those gaps is to quickly identify students in danger of failing to meet standards, consistently give them resources and supports, and for those still struggling in high school, give them the time they need to pull through."
School districts serve all children
Date CapturedSaturday April 28 2007, 10:13 AM
The Journal News opines, "Those who come to the board, no matter from what community, need to remember that all youngsters in East Ramapo, no matter what kind of school they attend, are the district's children."
Rush to slash class size will hurt our schools
Date CapturedMonday April 23 2007, 9:00 AM
NY Daily News Op-ed contributor Michael Rebell, executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity, at Teachers College, Columbia University opines, "A mandated average class-size reduction plan is likely to be applied across the board to virtually all schools in the system, while it is clear that we should, at least at first, target the students with the greatest education deficits. Let's not forget that it was for them that the CFE case was waged and won, and that the Court of Appeals invalidated the old funding system to ensure that funding follows need. When they meet tomorrow, the Board of Regents should approve regulations that allow class-size reductions to be limited to low-performing schools and to follow improvements in teacher quality and the availability of adequate space."
Our Children’s Agenda
Date CapturedFriday April 20 2007, 3:22 PM
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, "If our children’s agenda is to succeed – if we are truly to achieve equal opportunity for every child in New York – we will need your help. We will need the help of parents, teachers, neighbors, communities of faith, and non-profit organizations. Because achieving equal opportunity is just half the battle. We still need to ensure that our children make the most of it."
Academy might relax scores to admit blacks
Date CapturedThursday April 19 2007, 9:25 AM
Times Herald-Record Greg Bruno reports, "The nation's top service academies have all reported difficulties attracting minority talent in recent years. Black candidates have been especially hard to lure. Of 1,311 freshmen who entered the military academy last year, 78 were black, or about 6 percent. Overall, 6 percent of West Point cadets are black, versus 22 percent of the active Army and 12.5 percent of the country."
'Marketplace' Report: Sallie Mae Buyout
Date CapturedMonday April 16 2007, 7:19 PM
NPR Day to Day reports, "The nation's largest student loan lender, has accepted a $25 billion takeover offer. The buyers are JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America, together with two private equity firms. This puts Sallie Mae into private hands at a time of political scrutiny. Marketplace's John Dimsdale talks with Madeleine Brand about the state of student loans and the potential impact of the takeover."
Not all schools benefit from state budget's boost to pre-k
Date CapturedTuesday April 10 2007, 9:47 AM
THE JOURNAL NEWS reports, "In districts that already offer pre-K, some educators say they are pleasantly surprised and want to use the money to enroll as many children as possible come September. Others worry that if they expand, they'll be left paying for expensive programs themselves if the aid dries up. And in districts that do not offer pre-K - and will not be offering it soon -- educators are wondering where their share of the money will end up going, because the funds cannot be used for anything else. 'I thought, "OK, we're not using the money. What's going to happen to it?" ' said Haldane Schools Superintendent John Di Natale. It turns out the money that has been allocated to districts without pre-K programs will go into the state's general fund."
Long Island Aid Comes at Westchester’s Expense
Date CapturedSunday April 08 2007, 11:04 AM
NY Times reports, "Westchester has high taxes, but it also has the highest incomes in the state by far — about $300,000 per student in the schools, compared with about $160,000 on Long Island and it fell below that cutoff because of its high average income. In spite of its many affluent enclaves, Nassau and Suffolk Counties are more diverse than Westchester, and their ratios are above the cutoff. The result is that all Long Island districts will get the higher aid amount, a total of more than $70 million of the $100 million in high-tax aid. Only some Westchester districts get aid, and it amounts to a total of $1.2 million."
Fixing the School Aid Formula
Date CapturedSunday April 08 2007, 10:24 AM
NY Times opines, "Mr. Spitzer and the Legislature have clearly not removed all the fiddling from the budget process. You can be sure that Westchester lawmakers will fight fiercely to adjust things to their benefit, as they have every right to do. But the bottom line for this year: Westchester made out O.K. Long Island did better than O.K. The New York City schools did well, and will do better in coming years, and so the rigged process that unfairly brought wheelbarrows of cash to Long Island over the years will not be sustainable. The process of adjusting an unjust system is far from over. But at least it has begun."
Westchester lawmakers to push for more school aid
Date CapturedThursday April 05 2007, 9:30 AM
Journal News reports, "They [Brodsky and five Assembly colleagues] sent a letter yesterday to Paul Francis, Gov. Eliot Spitzer's budget director, laying out their case. The $100 million was to be used to aid "high-tax" districts, the lawmakers noted, and Westchester certainly qualifies. 'Once a decision was taken to provide High Tax Aid, the decision to exclude Westchester's students and taxpayers was discriminatory, unfair and destructive,' the lawmakers wrote. 'That decision must be reversed and we ask for your help and the active support of the Governor to reach that goal.' But in an interview, Francis rejected the idea, noting that Westchester schools overall got a 9.4 percent increase in state aid and that the new tax-rebate plan is generous to the county as well. 'Our view at this point is the overall set of efforts to Westchester (represents) ... a fair way to end this year,' he said. 'Next year is the right time to address these issues.'"
Real N.Y. school reform has only just begun
Date CapturedWednesday April 04 2007, 8:34 AM
NY Daily News guest contributor Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform opines, "Many Democrats in particular will find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between, on the one hand, a reform-minded governor who is responding to a frustrated public and, on the other, to entrenched political forces that have proven to be more than willing to simply continue along without making important changes that would make excellence commonplace in our schools. Among the reforms we must begin to try without further delay: genuine accountability for our teachers that gives principals more authority to hire and fire educators; pay scales that give different teachers different salaries, based on market realities and quality; an aggressive overhaul of the way teachers are trained; and more choice for students and families. To be sure, the most historic part of this year's education budget is the resolution of the 14-year-old Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit, under which the state will now hike its spending on education by billions of dollars per year. But lasting change will require much more than just sending more and more money into systems where children compete with grownups for their share of the attention. In that regard, the fight has just begun."
Proposed school funding plan divisive, damaging
Date CapturedTuesday April 03 2007, 9:34 AM
Ithaca Journal guest columnist Mark Lewis, Superintendent of the Lansing Central School District opines, "I urge all Lansing taxpayers to visit the School Statewide Finance Consortium Web site [ www.statewideonline.org ] to learn more about what is being proposed in the name of support for all Upstate districts. See firsthand how it will affect your property taxes, then let our representatives in Albany know that the SSFC proposal is divisive, damaging, and worst of all, unfair to Lansing taxpayers."
Schools budget, gov win cheers for fund formula
Date CapturedTuesday April 03 2007, 9:25 AM
NY Daily News reports, ""What has school reformers excited is a four-year plan to better distribute school dollars using a formula based exclusively on need - not on political clout. That formula will mean that city schools, given New York's poverty rate and the high number of city kids struggling to learn English, could get close to $6 billion more by 2010 - numbers consistent with the ruling of the state's highest court in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit, which ordered a more equitable distribution of school funds."
Charter OK no help till next year
Date CapturedMonday April 02 2007, 10:20 AM
NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "Many of the city's 58 charter schools have long waiting lists of parents hoping to enroll kids. The schools, often seen as innovative, are subject to less bureaucracy and have more flexibility than traditional public schools. The new charter law addresses some parent concerns by requiring the Education Department to hold hearings before placing a charter within an existing public school. It also requires new charters that enroll 250 students in their first two years to hire only unionized employees."
Fears on school funding
Date CapturedMonday April 02 2007, 10:14 AM
NY Daily News CARRIE MELAGO reports, "The promise behind the plan is that it will end inequity among schools and replace unfair, decades-old formulas that have led to drastic variations in funding, even among similar schools. Under the plan, certain city funds will be directed to schools on a per-pupil basis. Extra cash then will be added to a school's budget based on its students' special needs, ability to speak English, family income and other factors. But the Education Department has not yet decided on the exact formula, causing anxiety among some parents who fear better-performing schools will lose out."
Charter the right course
Date CapturedSaturday March 31 2007, 8:56 AM
NY Daily News opines, "Small, flexible and free to experiment with reforms that would be impossible within the confines of a 600-page union contract, New York City's 47 charters get superior results. Last year, 66% of their elementary kids were up to snuff on standardized math tests, compared with 53% in city-run schools in the same districts. The comparison on English tests was 56% passing in the charters, 48% in city-run schools. Charters are giving low-income, minority children a fighting chance to get ahead in life - and blazing the trail toward better education for all. Lawmakers should do all they can to spread this opportunity far and wide. That means a straightforward expansion of charters without costly mandates and innovation-squashing rules."
New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch: Plan would allow flexible, sensible school funding
Date CapturedFriday March 30 2007, 9:08 AM
Union Leader Op-Ed by New Hampshire Gov. Lynch opines, "This amendment sets a floor -- requiring the state to provide at least 50 percent of the statewide cost of an adequate education -- and ensures that the state will not abandon its responsibility for education. It requires that some state education aid be provided to every school district. And with this amendment, we will be finally able to effectively target education aid -- lifting up the communities that need help the most and finally ensuring that all children in all our communities have the opportunity they deserve for a good education and better lives."
School aid clash in Albany
Date CapturedTuesday March 27 2007, 8:59 AM
Post-Standard reports, "The purpose of a school aid formula, says Syracuse University professor William Duncombe, who studies and develops them, generally is to equalize resources to give struggling districts a better shot at meeting achievement standards."
Bitter fight over school aid splits lawmakers
Date CapturedMonday March 26 2007, 9:09 AM
Buffalo News reports, "The governor’s allies say his plan recognizes that needs are greater in struggling schools in Buffalo and other communities that have seen the ability to hike property taxes eroded by stalled economies. Detractors say it is a Robin Hood approach that fails to recognize suburban schools still have rising costs, in part due to state mandates, and that the resulting increase in property taxes to cover Albany’s smaller shares to the suburbs will only convince more people to flee the state."
Divvying up the aid
Date CapturedSunday March 25 2007, 10:29 AM
Newsday Op-Ed contributor Leanna Stiefel, professor of economics at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and an associate director at NYU's Institute for Education and Social Policy writes, "New York has been out front in the amount of political bargaining that determines funding, but is way behind in making the system fairer and more transparent. More than 40 states use some version of a 'foundation' aid formula that bases state aid on student need and district fiscal capacity. Many allow the richer, often suburban districts to supplement the amount with local revenues, but usually an add-on limit is arrived at by a political compromise that keeps the richer suburban districts supporting the entire state system. Few states, though, have no real formula and start as New York does from a determination of shares. New York's citizens and lawmakers have a number of decisions to make. Among them is an answer to the question: Are we a state community? In a time and world that are divided and divisive, do we in this state want to move toward a public school system that provides adequate funds to students who are at particular risk of not making it? Do we want to try to provide equal opportunity for all? Or not?"
Education rally touts Spitzer plan
Date CapturedSunday March 25 2007, 9:41 AM
Times Union reports, "Speakers lauded Spitzer's $19.2 billion education proposal while blasting the Senate majority for lopping state aid to so-called high-need districts like Schenectady and siphoning it to wealthier downstate suburbs. Kris Thompson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R-Brunswick, disagreed with that assessment. 'The suburban school district would suffer the most under the governor's proposal, it is not equitable nor is it fair to the districts,' Thompson said during a phone interview afterward. 'The Senate wants this record increase to be distributed fairly throughout the state.'"
Ohio legislators, educators look to solve school funding
Date CapturedSaturday March 24 2007, 9:16 AM
Coshocton Tribune reports, "Ten years ago today the Supreme Court ruled that Ohio's method of funding education was unconstitutional. A decade and three more unconstitutional rulings later, organizations, legislators and educators say they are trying to come up with a fair and equal method of funding Ohio's 613 districts. Educators hoped the unconstitutional ruling passed on March 24, 1997, would bring change, not years of more struggling to provide equal, quality education throughout the state."
TUSD plan: Students stay near home
Date CapturedSaturday March 24 2007, 8:33 AM
Arizona Daily Star reports, "'In 1978, TUSD settled a class-action lawsuit filed by Hispanic and black parents. TUSD agreed to bus students across the city as well as establish magnet schools to racially integrate the district. By creating magnet schools with specific entrance criteria and prescribed ethnic balances, TUSD sought to entice some of its top students to leave their neighborhoods and further create integrated schools. Under the terms of the lawsuit, any changes to TUSD must be approved by a federal judge. The terms of the settlement gave TUSD five years to rectify the problem. The order still has not been lifted, though board members and Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer say they've done what they were ordered to do. TUSD also receives state funds for desegregation efforts. For the 2006-2007 school year, it received $62.4 million in state funds for desegregation. If unitary status is granted, according to state law, TUSD will continue to receive the money.'
Ithaca Central School District progress on equity: Myth or reality?
Date CapturedFriday March 23 2007, 9:45 AM
Ithaca Journal contributor Michael Koplinka-Loehr, part-time coordinator of the Village at Ithaca writes, "The ultimate evidence of progress in the realm of equity in Ithaca schools will be increased proportions of students from all backgrounds meeting and exceeding state academic standards. Independent of your personal predisposition about progress, your constructive involvement is needed to bridge the academic outcome divide. Volunteer now to help all students achieve their dreams, and to craft a community that we all can be proud of for generations to come."
Focus on black male representation in special ed, honors classes
Date CapturedWednesday March 21 2007, 8:26 AM
Journal News contributor Fred Smith, assistant superintendent, pupil personnel and curricular services, New Rochelle School District writes, "The question is this: 'Are black males overrepresented in special-education programs and underrepresented in honors programs?' The African American Men of Westchester, along with other groups, organizations and individuals, is looking for answers, in an upcoming forum hosted by Iona College's Department of Teacher Education. AAMW has long been concerned about the high numbers of African-American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian students in classes for the educable mentally retarded, the emotionally disturbed and the learning disabled. AAMW is also concerned about the low numbers of students from these groups who are assigned to programs for the gifted and talented."
Rallying for more funding
Date CapturedTuesday March 20 2007, 10:44 AM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "A regional struggle over state school aid is heating up on Long Island, as opponents and supporters of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed budget stake rival claims for more money. Yesterday, representatives of 19 school districts, mostly in Brookhaven and Islip Towns, joined in contending that the governor's plan shortchanges the Island. Organizers billed the news conference as the largest number of districts ever to speak with a single voice on the subject of aid, but acknowledged the difficulty of forging coalitions in a region so diverse."
Curriculum major focus of equity plan
Date CapturedMonday March 19 2007, 9:29 AM
Ithaca Journal Op-Ed contributors Michael Melamed, Interim Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for the ICSD and Kim Fontana, Director of Staff Development and Research write, "Ithaca's equity plan has five major strategies in the area of curriculum: (1) The district will clearly articulate the curriculum; (2) Principals and department chairs will choose programs and materials that are researched-based and that support critical thinking and diverse perspectives, as well as promote student empowerment; (3) The district will support the implementation of these programs with consistency and integrity; (4) Staff development opportunities will be offered to ensure that teachers have the resources and knowledge to teach the curriculum to heterogeneous groups of students with success; (5) Teachers will be given the opportunity and expectation to develop materials to support multicultural and multiracial perspectives as well as promote critical thinking."
Spitzer: They Can’t Handle the Truth
Date CapturedSunday March 18 2007, 10:58 AM
Room Eight blogger Larry Littlefield writes, "I’d like us to be 'one state,' but not if doing so means the city is made to sacrifice to help the rest of the state while the rest of the state is outraged because they are told, falsely, that they are being cheated by the city. This is an outrage, and what is said and not said, because politicians want to pander to those outside the city, has consequences. Someone should go to the libraries Upstate and collect some juicy quotes from the days when NYC was flat on its back economically, and the rest of the state resented bailing us out. Even though, net of all state revenues and expenditures, NYC was always a net contribuor the state budget, even in the early 1990s when 1 million were on welfare and the city lost 300,000 jobs. What an attitude! Please Governor Spitzer, stop feeding it!"
Albany Divided on Calculation of School Aid
Date CapturedSunday March 18 2007, 8:49 AM
NY Times reports, "The Senate’s proposal put education advocates in an awkward position: Should they accept a proposal that calls for more spending but uses the old shares system, or hold out for a new shares system? Several said that the Senate proposal was like getting a bonus instead of a raise — a nice influx of money in the short term, but one that is not built into salaries as a starting point for future years. Geri Palast, the executive director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, which brought the court case, said: 'This is a historic moment where we can finally realize the promise of C.F.E. The good news is that there will be a major investment in education — both the governor and the Senate have talked about major investments — but the critical element still is to make sure that the formula goes to the neediest districts.'”
Spitzer plan sacrifices LI schools
Date CapturedFriday March 16 2007, 10:21 AM
Newsday Op-Ed contributor Dean G. Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), New York State Senate deputy majority leader writes, "The Senate Republican plan helps every homeowner and offers significantly greater relief than the governor's proposal. Under Spitzer's scheme, homeowners with household incomes below $80,000 would receive an additional tax exemption equaling 50 percent of their current STAR savings this year, with the savings declining as household income rises. This year, our plan provides every homeowner with a check for approximately 90 percent of the STAR benefit, regardless of household income. The Senate Republican plan also promotes school budget accountability. The governor's proposal would distribute these property-tax relief funds to the school districts, which, in turn, are expected to pass these savings to taxpayers. By providing this benefit directly to homeowners, the Senate Republican plan enables property-tax payers to distinguish between actual school district spending and property-tax relief."
But State Senate must not lose sight of Albany's looming future deficits
Date CapturedFriday March 16 2007, 10:09 AM
Newsday opines, "Based on a study by the Long Island Association and the Long Island Education Coalition, the senators criticize Spitzer's plan to maintain the region's share of new school money by substituting greater tax relief for smaller education-aid increases. Even if the total of tax relief and school aid should equal the Island's traditional share overall, they point out, the tax relief goes directly to homeowners. It doesn't help school districts pay their bills. The Senate is also right to worry that, while some poor districts here will get the double-digit increases they need, most districts will see only 3 percent - well below the state average and local cost increases. Clearly, Long Island needs more than Spitzer proposed, even if this generally wealthy region can't expect as much extra as others."
Latinos Online: Hispanics with lower levels of education and English proficiency remain largely disconnected from the internet
Date CapturedThursday March 15 2007, 6:28 PM
By Susannah Fox, Pew Internet & American Life Project and Gretchen Livingston, Pew Hispanic Center find, "Differences in levels of education and English proficiency explain much of the difference in internet usage between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Internet use is uniformly low for whites (32%), Hispanics (31%), and African Americans (25%) who have not completed high school. However, 41% of Latino adults have not finished high school, compared with about one in ten non-Hispanic whites and one in five African Americans. The same pattern is evident at the other end of the spectrum of educational attainment. College-educated adults all have equally high levels (about 90%) of internet use regardless of race or ethnicity, yet the college educated make up a smaller share of the Latino population when compared with non-Hispanics. Language is also a powerful factor, as internet use is much higher among Latinos who speak and read English fluently than among those who have limited English abilities or who only speak Spanish. Language is not an issue in the white and black populations as the shares of adults with limited English abilities is quite small. A statistical analysis of the survey results shows education and language are each highly significant factors when other differences in group characteristics are taken into account. When the different levels of language or education are controlled statistically, Hispanics and non-Hispanics show similar levels of internet use."
New Jersey Gov. Corzine visit draws protest over school-funding formula
Date CapturedThursday March 15 2007, 8:31 AM
Asbury Park Press reports, "The parents held signs urging the state to reform its education funding policies, including eliminating the Abbott school district designation, which provides extra state aid to poor districts. Freehold is not an Abbott district and has been getting flat funding for years as have other districts throughout the state. Parents at the demonstration said the inequitable funding must stop and that their district desperately needs money."
CALIFORNIA -- Study calls for more targeted school funding
Date CapturedWednesday March 14 2007, 11:25 AM
San Francisco Chronicle reports, "A soon-to-be-released study of California's public education system says the state will have to stop pouring money blindly into schools -- and spend far more money specifically on kids with the highest needs -- if it wants every student to succeed."
Public schools are doing quite well
Date CapturedMonday March 12 2007, 10:29 AM
Buffalo News Lionel S. Lewis writes, "There are clearly numerous burdens or distractions in the lives of a great many students that keep them from their studies and learning, from learning basic facts and absorbing societal norms and values. In light of this, the achievements of the public schools and their teachers seem remarkable. The public schools have been slow in complying with the requirements set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act, and it is too soon to assess if its sticks and carrots can work to improve them. The schools have been doing quite well, and they probably couldn’t “do a much better job” no matter how many more resources were made available. In short, a principal goal of the No Child Left Behind Act of 'improving teacher quality' would appear not to be a pressing problem, because a basic premise that too many teachers are incompetent and underqualified is clearly a slander."
The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool: Using Early Education to Improve Economic Growth and the Fiscal Sustainability of States and the Nation (2006)
Date CapturedSaturday March 10 2007, 1:50 PM
The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool: Using Early Education to Improve Economic Growth and the Fiscal Sustainability of States and the Nation, Committee for Economic Development. Selected recommendations: "CED recommends that communities, states, and the nation make access to publicly funded, highquality preschool programs an economic and educational priority. The economic benefits from preschool will be greatest when all children are provided with access to high-quality, publicly funded preschool programs. States with existing preschool programs should expand access by eliminating enrollment restrictions based on family income, and maximize program efficiency by coordinating state prekindergarten, federal Head Start, and child-care programs. To achieve the potential economic benefits, preschool programs should provide adequate contact hours to improve student learning and provide options for integrating high-quality child care to meet the needs of working parents. Furthermore, states should welcome a diverse set of providers that meet quality standards and the needs of the parents and communities they serve. Business leaders should advocate preschool and other complementary childhood programs and services, emphasizing the strong returns on investment, and the leveraging of current expenditures. CED recommends that publicly funded preschool programs meet the quality standards necessary to deliver the promised economic benefits."
School voters want accountability, poll finds
Date CapturedFriday March 09 2007, 8:10 AM
Daily Freeman reports, "School district voters in Ulster and Dutchess counties want more accountability from public school officials, and a majority of voters believe public schools should be funded by income taxes, not property taxes."
Congressman to Introduce No Child Left Behind Alternative
Date CapturedThursday March 08 2007, 2:39 PM
CNSNews.com news reports, "Under [Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.)] his proposal to be introduced next week, the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act of 2007, states would no longer be required to follow regulations tied to federal funding, and it would allow them to 'assume full responsibility for the educational needs of its students.' But Andrew Rotherham, co-director of the education think tank Education Sector and a member of the Virginia State Board of Education, said, 'The reason we're in the jam we're in is in no small part because of the states.' Rotherham said the federal government has had to intervene to improve equity in America's school systems as well as the quality of education."
The Mexican American Struggle for Equal Educational Opportunity in Mendez v. Westminster: Helping to Pave the Way for Brown v. Board of Education
Date CapturedWednesday March 07 2007, 11:46 AM
RICHARD R. VALENCIA, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the College of Education of the University of Texas at Austin writes, "Few people in the United States are aware of the central role that Mexican Americans have played in some of the most important legal struggles regarding school desegregation. The most significant such case is Mendez v. Westminster (1946), a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 5,000 Mexican American students in Orange County, California. The Mendez case became the first successful constitutional challenge to segregation. In fact, in Mendez the U.S. District Court judge ruled that the Mexican American students' rights were being violated under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Although the Mendez case was never appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, a number of legal scholars at that time hailed it as a case that could have accomplished what Brown eventually did eight years later: a reversal of the High Court's 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, which had sanctioned legal segregation for nearly 60 years." Teachers College Record Volume 107 Number 3, 2005, p. 389-423 http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 11792, Date Accessed: 3/7/2007 11:44:54 AM
Require 'Pledge of Allegiance' in all public schools
Date CapturedWednesday March 07 2007, 9:01 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle contributor Stephen J. Minarik, chairman, Monroe County Republican Party opines, "The Pledge of Allegiance is not a political tool that may be abused in order to protest President Bush, the war in Iraq or any other policy or belief. It is a profound symbol of unity and freedom for the United States and its people, and regardless of our elected officials or state policies, all Americans can and must support its central message — that we, as U.S. citizens, stand indivisible in support of our great nation and its democratic system of governance. The pledge advocates for the equality of all people, a government that protects these rights and derives its power directly from the people, and a nation of individuals that is united behind the common goal of progress and freedom."
In Diversity Push, Top Universities Enrolling More Black Immigrants
Date CapturedTuesday March 06 2007, 10:50 AM
Washington Post reports, "The nation's most elite colleges and universities are bolstering their black student populations by enrolling large numbers of immigrants from Africa, the West Indies and Latin America, according to a study published recently in the American Journal of Education. Immigrants, who make up 13 percent of the nation's college-age black population, account for more than a quarter of black students at Ivy League and other selective universities, according to the study, produced by Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania."
Teacher union ads flunk
Date CapturedTuesday March 06 2007, 7:00 AM
NY Daily News Bill Hammond writes, "Here's the truth. Spitzer wants to boost annual state aid to public schools by $7 billion, or 40%, over the next four years. That's far more than the Court of Appeals required in its ruling on the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. It's enough cash to finance things teachers have been talking about for decades, such as smaller class sizes. Most interest groups, if confronted by a windfall that huge, would break out the champagne. Not NYSUT. After praising the governor for providing 'increased funding,' they turn around and attack him for wanting to open more charter schools and offer a minuscule tax break to private-school parents."
Reaching a deal on education
Date CapturedMonday March 05 2007, 9:00 AM
Jewish World Review Michael Barone writes, "The fact is that our schools are not as good as they could be. This doesn't hurt kids from affluent, stable, book-filled households too much — they're mostly going to do well even if they go to mediocre schools. But it does hurt kids from low-earning, single-parent, bookless households who fall behind in poor schools and too often never reach their potential. It would help them if these Democrats and Republicans could once again reach a deal. Let's hope the insiders are wrong on this one."
Cutting off library funds would curtail education
Date CapturedMonday March 05 2007, 8:19 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle guest essayist Catherine Carlson, former Rundel Memorial Library Foundation board member writes, "I hope library funding will not be decreased but only increased, as libraries have done more than other institutions to build and continue our democracy and to further the education of our citizens. Libraries are the only egalitarian system available to the entire public. To not fund this institution would be to take away from many citizens their primary, easy access to a variety of learning tools, information, communication, knowledge and learning."
Cheerleading battle on hold
Date CapturedSaturday March 03 2007, 8:59 AM
Star-Gazette reports, "By the next school year, the district needs to provide the Office for Civil Rights with this information: •The process for application and selection for membership. •The purpose for the group's participation at athletic events. •The names of the groups' advisers. •Each group's budget for the next year. •Names of all members. •A list of events at which each group is scheduled to participate during the 2007-08 school year. •A description of how it was determined which group would participate at which events. By the end of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years, the district must provide the federal agency with the dates of events at which each support group participated during the year.z'
Chancellor Klein's Testimony Before the Senate Finance Committee and the Assembly Ways and Means Committee
Date CapturedFriday March 02 2007, 12:53 PM
EXCERPT: There is a lot in the budget proposal that we in New York City are happy about. Highlights include: significant increases in overall educational funding that take a major step toward fulfilling the promise of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity; a foundation formula that factors in student need and provides more transparency and stability to school funding; enhanced accountability that ties new education dollars to student performance; the lifting of the charter school cap; and an expansion funding for pre-kindergarten programs. (READ FULL TEXT)
Split over state aid to schools
Date CapturedFriday March 02 2007, 9:03 AM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "Under Spitzer's plan, New York City would get a 9.49 percent increase next year, or $637 million. In contrast, Long Island schools would get an average 5.2 percent increase, or $113 million - $29.4 million less than the increase they received this year. That would reduce the Island's share of statewide aid slightly, from 12.5 percent this year to 12.18 percent next year, according to the governor's budget office. Senate Republicans say the Island's share this year is actually slightly larger than that, and that any shrinkage would set a bad precedent."
State education officials question funding distribution
Date CapturedWednesday February 28 2007, 7:08 AM
The Journal News reports, "Some lawmakers and educators said at a budget hearing on education that they worried the new distribution formula would shortchange the 303 districts that receive only 3 percent increases. Education budgets may rise by 7 percent a year, so four years at 3 percent annually would place a heavier burden on local taxpayers to fund education, said Senate Education Committee Chairman Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie, who noted that most school systems in his district would get 3 percent increases. 'If we're talking about fairness, I think there has to be changes (in the formula),' he said."
EdTrust Releases Funding Gaps 2006: How the Federal Government Makes Rich
Date CapturedMonday February 26 2007, 9:34 AM
"University of Washington Research Assistant Professor Marguerite Roza shows that, despite district bookkeeping practices that make funding across schools within the same district appear relatively comparable, substantially less money is spent in high-poverty and high-minority schools. Teacher salaries are the clearest example. Roza looks at salary expenditures in a variety of districts and finds troubling inequities in the allocation of this key resource among schools in the same district. For example in Austin, a city with one of the largest salary gaps, the gap in average teacher salaries between the highest and lowest poverty schools within the district amounted to $3,837. In a school of 25 teachers that gap amounts to $95,925 less per year for a low-income school; in a school with 100 teachers, the gap increases to $383,700 per year."
Kentucky court sides with legislature in school funding case
Date CapturedSaturday February 24 2007, 8:40 AM
Lebanan Enterprise reports, "Judge Thomas Wingate wrote in his Feb. 13 decision that more funding for education is a good idea and that funding education should be the legislature's first priority. However, he did not feel it was the court's role to weigh in on how the legislature determines that funding."
Statement by Secretary Spellings on 12th-Grade Achievement Reports Released by the Nation's Report Card
Date CapturedFriday February 23 2007, 9:03 AM
Secretary Spellings, "The consensus for strengthening our high schools has never been stronger. It is unacceptable that only half of our African American and Hispanic students graduate from high school on time when nearly 90 percent of our nation's fastest-growing jobs require post-secondary education or training. The President's new proposals include: a $1.2 billion increase in Title I funds for high schools; an additional $1 billion over five years for Academic Competitiveness Grants for low-income students who take on a rigorous high school course load; and $365 million for the American Competitiveness Initiative to strengthen math and science instruction."
School Finance Reform: Back to Where We Started
Date CapturedFriday February 23 2007, 7:18 AM
New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies studies finds, "The objectives intended by the court were to equalize opportunity to obtain adequate education (“pupil equity”) and to equalize the tax burden associated with providing it (“tax equity”). However, it now appears that the laws and programs to reform school finance, enacted beginning in 1999 to comply with the Claremont II decision, have had no effect on pupil equity, as measured by per pupil spending. Among the highest spending districts, spending is now actually a little higher relative to the median than it was in 1999. Also, while the new laws enacted in 1999 initially did affect taxpayer equity and resulted in somewhat more equal tax rates for schools among towns, much of that change has been eroded away in the past six years. If current trends continue, the variation in tax rates will be just as great in two years as it was in 1998. In essence, measured against the two goals of the Claremont II decision, the state’s school finance reform has had little impact, and we are back to where we started in 1999."
Math Lessons: How to Make New Funds Count for New York City Public Schools
Date CapturedThursday February 22 2007, 5:40 PM
2/28/2007 8:30 am; The Century Foundation, 41 East 70th Street, Manhattan.
Shortchanged
Date CapturedTuesday January 16 2007, 5:38 AM
NY Post DAVID ANDREATTA reports, "City middle schools are caught in a "pattern of neglect" that is magnified in the poorest neighborhoods, a study to be released today charges. The study, by the NYC Coalition for Educational Justice, an organization of parent advocacy groups, found middle schools are plagued by substandard teachers and an unequal distribution of resources and course offerings."
Photos chronicle decrepit schools
Date CapturedMonday January 15 2007, 9:29 AM
The Post and Courier reports, "If a picture says a thousand words, then a photography exhibit on display this week should enlighten Charlestonians to the plight facing students and teachers in rural schools across the state. 'But What About Us?' features 60 photographs taken by students in seven of South Carolina's most rural school districts. The pictures depict unsafe and unsanitary school conditions, from broken playground equipment to leaky roofs to clogged sinks to rotting floors. The exhibit will be on display all week at the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, and the documentary film 'Corridor of Shame: The Neglect of South Carolina's Rural Schools' will be screened on Wednesday night."
Data show where Ithaca City School District (ICSD) has progressed
Date CapturedMonday January 15 2007, 7:08 AM
Ithaca Journal contributor Michael Pliss, Ithaca City School District's Director of Information and Instructional Technology writes, "The Equity Strategic Plan calls for us to set local benchmarks for progress toward equity. The experience of identifying and collecting the diverse array of data for the First Annual Equity Report Card makes plain the need for flexible student information systems and for staff training in data stewardship and data governance. Collecting and analyzing data for equity is not an end in itself. But we believe our ability to make real progress in eliminating race, class and disability in student success and participation is critically supported by our efforts in data analysis. Knowing where we are is a crucial first step in getting to where we need to be, a place where all students are achieving their dreams."
A promising education
Date CapturedSunday January 14 2007, 9:03 AM
Times Union contributor Frederick J. Frelow, director of the Early College Initiative at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, N.J. writes, "The next chapter on civil rights in New York will begin in the state's public schools. Indeed, the future of an entire generation of Americans is in the hands of our state leaders right now. They can create national models for education finance, leading the way for 49 other states to meet King's challenges and make good on the Founders' promise. This investment will not only yield a better prepared work force, but make New York's young people ready for true citizenship."
For Teachers, Being 'Highly Qualified' Is a Subjective Matter
Date CapturedSaturday January 13 2007, 10:22 AM
Washington Post reports, "Legal loopholes and uneven implementation by states and the U.S. Department of Education have diluted the law's impact on the teaching workforce, some education experts say. They say that meeting the standards of quality is more about shuffling paper than achieving two vital goals: ensuring that teachers are prepared to help students succeed and reducing the teacher talent gap between rich and poor schools."
Inner-city Buffalo students 'nudged' toward college
Date CapturedFriday January 12 2007, 11:23 AM
Buffalo News reports, "African-American high school students in Buffalo are getting a nudge toward higher education under a new initiative at Hilbert College. The small liberal arts college in Hamburg is partnering with two Buffalo churches to bring high school juniors to the Hamburg school. The students will stay for three weeks during the summer, get a dose of campus life and receive tutoring to sharpen the academic skills they will need for college."
Keeping MLK's message alive in education
Date CapturedFriday January 12 2007, 9:40 AM
Ithaca Journal contributors Ithaca College MLK Scholar Courtney Clemente and Deborah Mohlenhoff, member of the MLK Community Celebration Committee and the coordinator of Community Service and Leadership Development for Ithaca College write, "On MLK Day 2007, we encourage you to act upon Dr. King's words as a change agent to level the playing field for all so that many are not left behind. In his Nobel Prize Lecture, Dr. King remarked, 'I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.' To honor Dr. King's work around the issue of poverty, Tompkins Community Action will be running a poverty simulation at the community MLK Celebration to educate participants on what it means to live in poverty." The 13th annual celebration of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be held Monday, Jan. 15.
University of Michigan Head Balances Law, Diversity
Date CapturedThursday January 11 2007, 7:29 AM
NPR All Things Considered: Recent judicial and electorate decisions in Michigan have limited schools' ability to use affirmative action to promote diversity, a development that has left colleges scrambling to form new strategies. Michele Norris talks with University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman, who says she remains committed to diversity. There are ongoing judicial challenges to Proposal 2, the ban on affirmative action that Michigan voters passed in November.
High-speed help
Date CapturedTuesday January 09 2007, 6:02 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin opined, ""If you live in the rural edges of Greater Binghamton you may live in a zone where all you have available for Internet access is dial-up service. At least that's a gateway, but in today's fast-paced computer communications, it's akin to Stone Age technology. Some features just won't work well with dial-up. Broadband is becoming the industry standard, with wi-fi as the choice for cutting edge businesses. Lacking access to broadband can hamper not only communication but educational research. In other words, it puts our rural students at a disadvantage to their peers."
NYCLU Urges Spitzer to Implement School-Based Reform, End School Segregation
Date CapturedSaturday January 06 2007, 11:04 PM
ACLU press release: "The recommendation that the state work to decrease racial inequality in the education system arises from Racial Transformation and the Changing Nature of Segregation, a recent study of racial segregation in public schools, prepared by Gary Orfield and Chungmei Lee for the Harvard Civil Rights Project, which showed that '[t]he highest levels of black segregation [are] found in New York, Illinois, California and Michigan. In these states, the average black student attended schools with less than one-quarter white students in 2003.' The NYCLU urged the governor to adopt a vigorous program to combat school segregation, including introducing effective magnet schools and adopting transfer programs that foster integration."
Missouri school funding trial focuses on property assessments
Date CapturedSaturday January 06 2007, 3:36 PM
AP reports, "A trial on how the state funds public schools focused Thursday on suburban districts' concerns that some areas are undervaluing property, a key factor in the state method of doling out education dollars. Early witnesses and evidence narrowed in on property assessment practices around the state, a particular concern to 26 largely suburban plaintiff school districts in the Coalition to Fund Excellent Schools."
NY Gov. Spitzer backs off $8.5B school aid
Date CapturedFriday January 05 2007, 2:53 PM
Newday JOHN HILDEBRAND reports, "Gov. Eliot Spitzer has backed off supporting the addition of up to $8.5 billion in statewide school aid that he had endorsed during his campaign, a key aide said yesterday."
Chicago Mayor Daley issues challenge on school funding
Date CapturedFriday January 05 2007, 10:16 AM
"Mayor Richard Daley challenged state lawmakers Thursday to reform Illinois' education funding system to take the burden off property taxpayers and reduce inequities between rich and poor districts."
Cheerleaders at Monroe County school girls' games: Hurrah
Date CapturedFriday January 05 2007, 6:32 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle contributor Lynda McGarry writes, "The promotion and publicity issue addresses inequities found in the treatment of girls' teams by booster clubs. The decision doesn't affect cheerleaders at football games, which the Office of Civil Rights recognized was a unique sport with no counterpart for girls. It is a shame that it has taken 20 years for schools to figure out that they were not in compliance with this aspect of Title IX."
Spitzer promises no taxes, more ‘investment’
Date CapturedWednesday January 03 2007, 2:55 PM
AP reports, "Most of Spitzer's address underscored his campaign promises, including a $6 billion property tax cut over three years and billions of dollars more for schools. Wednesday's proposals include: --Longer school days and school years, after-school programs and better teachers as well as greater accountability for school spending. 'There will be no more excuses for failure,' Spitzer said. 'The debate will no longer be about money, but about performance; the goal will no longer be adequacy, but excellence; the timetable will no longer be tomorrow, but today.'"
Male practice players help women's teams
Date CapturedWednesday January 03 2007, 9:21 AM
Buffalo News reports, "For the most part, male practice players serve as the scout team. They learn and run the opposing team's plays on offense and defense, so that the women's team can practice against them. This, the NCAA says, is a violation of Title IX. Using male practice players, the anonymous CWA said in a statement, takes away opportunities from female players. 'Any inclusion of male practice players results in diminished participation opportunities for female student-athletes, contrary to the association's principles of gender equity, nondiscrimination, competitive equity and student-athlete well-being,' the group said in a written statement."
Baltimore, Maryland classroom aides on move
Date CapturedWednesday January 03 2007, 8:02 AM
Sun Reporter reports, "As the Baltimore school system scrambles to meet a provision of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, it is transferring more than 150 classroom assistants to different schools next week. Assistants considered qualified under the law are being moved to high-poverty schools, while those considered not qualified are moving to schools serving wealthier children. The transfers are prompting outrage among many of the assistants and the teachers and others who work with them. They say the system didn't plan adequately and now is disrupting the lives of the assistants and the relationships they have built with children."
Leaders Brace for Adverse School Ruling
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 11:14 PM
NNPA reports, "Although the U. S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of affirmative action in the University of Michigan Law School case three years ago and Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, Black leaders say affirmative action and school desegregation are among the most important issues facing Black America in 2007 – both being at risk. 'The Supreme Court is likely to issue a devastating opinion in the Seattle cases [this] year and it will possibly set back the premise of Brown v. Board of Education to provide quality education for all children,' says Harvard University law professor Charles Ogletree."
Missouri school districts going to court for more state money
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 9:35 AM
POST-DISPATCH reports, "But defenders of Missouri's school funding system believe the state has done everything right in the past few years to fend off an expensive court ruling. They point to the adoption in 2005 of a new school spending plan that attempts to mimic the philosophy favored by many courts nationwide. The plan calls for the state to spend upwards of $800 million more on schools over a seven-year span. More than $120 million has already gone to the new formula."
Plattsburgh fears for funding
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 6:24 AM
Press Republican reports, "Wachtmeister [Plattsburgh City School Board member] stressed that he is not saying New York City schoolchildren don't need more money, but "the bottom line is New York City is fabulously wealthy." Yet, he said, the people who dominate the power elite are not going to want to pay the taxes. 'Rich people in New York City send their kids to private schools, and that is one of the major reasons New York City doesn't spend as much as it ought to on its own students, because there is no interest in doing so. But they can afford to, given the income and property wealth in New York City.'"
Money myth in education
Date CapturedTuesday January 02 2007, 3:23 AM
Washington Times contributor Matt Warner, education task director for the American Legislative Exchange Council writes, "This month, the American Legislative Exchange Council -- the largest U.S. nonpartisan group of state legislators -- released the 2006 Report Card on American Education concluding that 'despite substantial increases in resources being spent on primary and secondary education over the past two decades -- per pupil expenditures have increased by 77.4 percent (after adjusting for inflation) -- student performance has improved only slightly.' CFE argues that Americans need to shell out billions more -- on top of the nearly $500 billion they spend now -- to reduce class sizes, spend more per pupil and raise teacher salaries. If these "reforms" were the answer, no doubt most Americans would pay the price. But in fact America's classrooms have already been shrinking over the last two decades. Today's class sizes are nearly 11 percent smaller than in 1983 -- the year the Reagan administration issued its education report titled 'A Nation at Risk,' a clarion call for serious reform in education."
NCAA gives new meaning to gender-bias
Date CapturedSunday December 31 2006, 9:12 AM
Sierra Times Diane M. Grassi writes, "Women’s sports will continue to thrive because of the attention paid and insight given by men in collaboration with women. Gender equity will not evolve without the support of men. Its intent was not to bar men. Its intent was to help women succeed. And unless the NCAA realizes that, Title IX will not fulfill its intended purpose."
New York schools wait for aid
Date CapturedSunday December 31 2006, 8:20 AM
Newsday reports, "During his campaign, Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer held out the promise of as much as $8.5 billion annually in new school assistance statewide, to be phased in during four or five years. It would include about $4.7 billion for New York City, along with substantial increases for other needy school systems. Details of his plan are scheduled for release Feb. 1, as part of his first budget message. In the interim, school advocates from Long Island and New York City are putting forth potentially rival claims for large shares of the money."
Data could help both sides in Missouri school funding case
Date CapturedSaturday December 30 2006, 8:35 AM
AP reports, "The lawsuit challenging Missouri's school funding method as inadequate and unfair was filed Jan. 6, 2004, in Cole County Circuit Court. With the litigation pending, lawmakers in 2005 revamped the way the state distributes money to public schools. The old system depended largely on the property tax base, and as property values rose, the state was unable to keep up with the higher payments districts were due. The new formula instead sets a target of what it takes to provide a sound education to each student, derived from spending levels by districts that score highest on a state report. Extra funds are provided for disproportionate numbers of 'at-risk' students. The formula determines what each district should get and provides state money for what is not raised locally."
Title IX watch over at Portsmouth Rhode Island school
Date CapturedFriday December 29 2006, 11:28 PM
Newport Daily News reports, "Portsmouth High School's new gym and renovated locker rooms provide equal facilities for girls and boys, according to a recent letter from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights that ends a three-year dispute over gender equity at the school."
Face the music
Date CapturedFriday December 29 2006, 4:20 AM
Daily News columnist Errol Louis writes, "Right now, there's no guarantee that a nickel of the new billions from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity will go to putting arts back in New York City schools. Whatever else they do, Bloomberg and Spitzer must not blow this historic opportunity to revive art in the souls of our city's children."
Strides And Setbacks In School Funding Effort
Date CapturedThursday December 28 2006, 10:25 PM
Queens Chronicle reports, "Said Geri Palast, executive director of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, in a statement, 'Spitzer’s commitment to educational excellence, not mere competence and sufficiency, is critical to the future of New York’s schoolchildren, our most valuable human resource.'”
MAEP: Law dictates divvying of funds
Date CapturedWednesday December 27 2006, 10:58 AM
Daily Journal reports, "When people refer to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding formula, words like complex or complicated are almost always used to describe it. But at the heart of MAEP is a simple concept: Determine the amount of money needed to provide each student an adequate education and the state's share of those funds."
Change in the air for California schools
Date CapturedWednesday December 27 2006, 8:27 AM
AP reports, "Scott [Sen. Jack Scott, chairman of the Senate Education Committee] said the state's first priority in considering changes should be teacher quality. It should ensure that all students have access to the best teachers, rather than having them concentrated in wealthier schools that already have high achievement rates, as they are now. 'I'm working very hard on this matter because it may be the key civil rights issue of the 21st century: What are we doing to address the unequal quality of teaching?" he said. "Here we have the students in the low-performing schools, many of them are English-language learners, they come from poverty homes, and yet we haven't distributed our teachers in such a way that the best teachers are teaching in those schools.'"
Education: For rich towns, breaking up's the thing to do
Date CapturedTuesday December 26 2006, 11:07 AM
AP reports, "This month Barnstead asked the state Board of Education for permission to withdraw from its shared school administrative unit with Pittsfield, citing money as the reason. Because multi-town SAUs pay for education with a formula that counts the number of pupils in each town and the town's assessed property valuation, Barnstead -- with fewer students and more property wealth -- is paying a larger share of the SAU's $419,613 annual operating costs. 'There's a perceived inequity,' said Keith Couch, chairman of the Barnstead School Board. 'The perception is we've got less kids, so how could we be paying more?'"
Stage set for Tennessee school funding feud
Date CapturedMonday December 25 2006, 5:38 PM
The Tennessean reports, "One of the biggest battles during the upcoming legislative session — slated to begin Jan. 9 — is shaping up to be a tussle between urban and rural school districts over funding. The Basic Education Program funding formula for K-12 schools is being challenged by urban school systems, who say that their portion of state tax dollars is falling while their costs are growing."
The meaning of Brown vs. the Board
Date CapturedMonday December 25 2006, 4:42 AM
LA Times contributor GOODWIN LIU, law professor at UC Berkeley and co-director of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity writes, "According to the U.S. government's brief opposing the integration plans, Brown 'held that intentionally classifying students on the basis of race violates the equal protection clause.' In oral arguments this month, this position won a sympathetic ear from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who likened the children in Seattle and Louisville to the children in Brown because 'they're being assigned on the basis of their race.'"
Bill defines 'cherishing' New Hampshire education
Date CapturedSunday December 24 2006, 6:23 PM
Portsmouth Herald reports, "The amendment would state, in part, that the state would 'cherish public schools by targeting education funding aid in support of an opportunity for a quality public education.'"
Act early
Date CapturedSunday December 24 2006, 9:06 AM
Times Union contributor Karen Schimke, President/CEO of Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy in Albany and a co-convener of the Winning Beginning NY coalition writes, "Making access to early care and education a public responsibility allows children of all economic classes to share in the well-documented developmental benefits of such care. This, in turn, helps reduce future achievement inequalities between more- and less-advantaged children. This may cost us taxpayers more today, but we'll reap handsome rewards in the future."
The Best and Worst in Education, 2006
Date CapturedFriday December 22 2006, 8:12 AM
Richard D. Kahlenberg, Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation concludes, "In 2006, momentum appeared to build to take action on the fundamental economic divide that continues to riddle K-12 and higher education—the very institutions that, in America, are supposed to be the 'great equalizers.'”
Educators want to reopen 'Brown v. Board' school
Date CapturedFriday December 22 2006, 7:12 AM
USA TODAY reports, ""Brown's old neighborhood school, Sumner Elementary, has been shuttered for years. Two black Kansas educators want to turn it into a charter school for at-risk students, most of whom, they say, will be black or Hispanic. Their bid, which goes before the Topeka school board next month, has a certain symbolic importance: Not only would it reopen the landmark building, potentially to children of all races — it illustrates how far the discussion on race and schooling has moved since Brown."
Speaking Truth to Power on School Desegregation. Is Power Listening?
Date CapturedThursday December 21 2006, 8:24 AM
TC contributor Amy Stuart Wells, professor of sociology and education and the deputy director for research at the Campaign for Educational Equity at Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York City writes, "The Supreme Court will have until the end of June to rule in these cases. At the end of the day, these nine justices will have to decide whether the means used by these two school districts justified their goal of racially balanced schools. No one knows what role the social science research will ultimate play. If the court, especially Justice Kennedy, is bent on ending attempts by school districts or other government entities to acknowledge our country's history of racial inequality and segregation and create race-conscious programs to address that legacy, then they (and he) will do so, regardless of the evidence that this will result in far fewer educational opportunities for poor students of color."
Ithaca Central School District report shows shortfalls in minority staff, AP participation
Date CapturedThursday December 21 2006, 7:26 AM
Ithaca Journal reports, "Diversity among faculty continues to be a struggle for the district. Of the 18 confidential or managerial positions, none are held by minorities. In 2005, only six percent of the district's teachers were minority, while 28 percent of the students the district educated were African-American, Latino, Native American or Asian. District Superintendent Judith Pastel said the district will be trying new ways to let a more diverse pool of people know openings exist in the area. 'For the first time we are going to use radio to advertise open positions,' she said. Beginning next year, the district will advertise on Power 106.9-FM, an urban radio station in Syracuse. The report card will be released every fall, the officials said."
Worker sues UFT and Randi for $3M
Date CapturedThursday December 21 2006, 4:31 AM
NY Daily News reports, "A United Federation of Teachers office worker slapped the union and its president with a $3 million lawsuit yesterday, charging she was defamed in a press release."
Report Says Poor Students Shortchanged
Date CapturedThursday December 21 2006, 3:45 AM
AP reports, "'We cannot close the education achievement gap in this country without addressing the funding gap which keeps our low-income and minority children at a disadvantage,'' Kennedy [Sen. Ted Kennedy] said in a statement Wednesday. 'States must take responsibility for ensuring access to resources for all our children, but the federal government has to do its part as well.'' Like the government, states also are failing to allocate their own school dollars in a way that targets the neediest students, the report says."
EdTrust Releases Funding Gaps 2006
Date CapturedWednesday December 20 2006, 5:47 PM
On average, states and localities spend $908 less per student in districts educating the most students of color, and $825 less per student in districts educating the most low-income students as compared to what is spent in the wealthiest and whitest districts. After a 40 percent adjustment – the same adjustment used in the Title I formula to analyze state funding policies to low-income students – six states have funding gaps between the lowest and highest poverty districts that exceed $1,000 per child: Illinois, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Race-Based Programs May Face Final Curtain in Supreme Court
Date CapturedWednesday December 20 2006, 8:41 AM
Legal Times Tony Mauro writes, "In 1954, William Coleman Jr. sat next to Thurgood Marshall as he argued Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court. In the same chamber on Dec. 4, Coleman, now 86, watched as the arc of the landmark Brown decision took a stunning turn. He heard the Brown decision being invoked as a possible reason for striking down modern-day efforts to keep public schools integrated. "I was shocked," said Coleman, now senior counselor at O'Melveny & Myers in Washington, D.C. 'It's the most ridiculous thing in the world.'"
New Jersey school funding formula stirs criticism before it's even public
Date CapturedTuesday December 19 2006, 8:54 AM
The Star-Ledger reports, "The biggest money would be to districts bordering the Abbott cities, many of which face the same is sues of poverty as their urban neighbors but have not seen any additional aid for the last several years."
There's another path to achieve school integration
Date CapturedTuesday December 19 2006, 6:15 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle columnist Mark Hare writes, "Breaking the cycle of poverty is the way to bring the poor into the mainstream and help them build productive lives. I don't see an easy way to get there. But Richard Kahlenberg, of the New York City-based Century Foundation and a leading researcher on integrating the poor into middle class schools, writes that economic integration faces a much easier court test than racial integration and it typically achieves noticeable improvement — though not miracles — in minority performance. I know, I know. You've heard this from me before. But there is growing awareness that the key to breaking generations of urban poverty is to end the isolation of the poor. I support all the voluntary efforts to do this — all the churches and business providing tutors and mentors, shelters for teen mothers and battered spouses where routine and stability are cultivated as the building blocks of middle-class families. "
Jeb Bush leaving a tumultuous mark on Florida's schools
Date CapturedMonday December 18 2006, 6:35 PM
"AP reports, "Others now are measuring the governor's education performance as he prepares to leave Tallahassee. There's little consensus but even his critics concede Bush put a laser focus on education in Florida like never before. 'I really believe he has a sincere desire to help kids who are in schools that are not performing at the level they should be,'' said Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association. `'You've got to give the guy credit for that. He did something that we've neglected in this state for far too long.' The union leader, though, faulted the governor for expanding private school vouchers instead of adopting proven solutions and for fighting against class-size reduction by claiming it was too expensive while still cutting taxes. The governor also missed opportunities to improve schools because he refused to include the union in policy decisions, Ford said."
Report on the Cost of Education
Date CapturedMonday December 18 2006, 10:05 AM
The primary purpose of this report is to calculate the costs New Jersey school districts face in meeting state performance and accountability standards. Costs addressed include: 1. A per-student “base” cost (which reflects only the cost of serving students with no special needs); and 2. Adjustments to the base cost that reflect the added cost of serving special need students (including special education students, at-risk students and English language learners). To identify these costs, the report used two nationally recognized study approaches. The Department weighed the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, and then selected one – the Professional Judgment Panel (PJP) approach – whose results form the basis of the report’s findings.
Ithaca Central School District offers varied support services for students
Date CapturedMonday December 18 2006, 9:23 AM
Ithaca Journal contributors Sheila McEnery, director of Special Education and Lisa Harris, director of Academic Intervention Services for the Ithaca City School District write, "One of the elements of the action plan is targeted academic support. The goal relating to this area reads: Assure that every child has the specific academic support necessary to be successful in school. This may include a variety of academic intervention services and strategies in foundational areas (e.g., literacy, mathematics) or broader skill sets necessary for academic success (e.g., study skills, time management, computer skills, library use)."
Education quality as well as costs should guide Hawaii school mergers
Date CapturedMonday December 18 2006, 7:28 AM
Honolulu Star-Bulletin writes, "The board is likely contemplating how a new formula to divvy up funding based on students' educational needs will work if there are fewer schools in competition. When the Weighted Student Formula was first worked out, smaller schools were faced with devastating cuts. A revised formula resulted in larger schools losing what they felt was an unfair share. The conflict finally sent the board and the Department of Education back to the drawing board. Consolidation might be playing a role in a final resolution."
Discussion of New Jersey education cost report set tomorrow
Date CapturedSunday December 17 2006, 8:50 AM
The hearings will be webcast throughout the day and can be viewed online at www.njedge.net/ doelive.
Bias inquiry favors school employees
Date CapturedFriday December 15 2006, 10:14 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "In what is being called a 'win-win' by stakeholders, city school Superintendent Manuel Rivera and members of the Clergy Review Board said nine current or former African-American school employees would be reinstated or otherwise compensated after a review of school hiring practices."
Ideas to aid black youths
Date CapturedThursday December 14 2006, 8:33 AM
Baltimore Sun Reporter writes, "To push more black male students toward success, Maryland should turn to academic solutions such as single-sex classrooms and street-level fixes such as pairing ex-convicts with young men in the neighborhood, a panel of education experts told the state school board yesterday. A task force of 45 educators, business leaders and union officials met for two years to prepare a report intended to address a persistent problem in academic achievement for black males in the state."
Disabled students: We'll sue college
Date CapturedThursday December 14 2006, 8:04 AM
NY Daily News reports, "In their complaint, the students claim that the school denies access to disabled entrances by locking elevators and lifts; does not offer disabled rest rooms in some buildings, and fails to put up proper signage for disabled access. Brooklyn College officials disagreed with the claims."
Spitzer’s school plan will benefit all
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 10:15 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal contributor Billy Easton, executive director of Alliance for Quality Education writes, "Throughout his campaign, Spitzer consistently articulated an education plan based on proven strategies. The elements of his plan will get many more children prepared to succeed as adults. He starts with pre-kindergarten, which increases graduation rates and employment success and reduces crime. He supports smaller classes, which show long-term increases in test scores, graduation rates and college preparedness. Training and recruiting skilled teachers is another Spitzer education priority that is backed by extensive research. He supports producing strong principals to lead our schools. And he advocates helping kids who are falling through the cracks by partnering with community-based organizations (such as after-school programs), expanding literacy programs and improving vocational education. This is a refreshing vision designed to actually address the needs of every child. It is not difficult to imagine it cannot all be done on the cheap. What is the price tag Spitzer has identified to pay for all of this? $8.5 billion. This is for a multiyear statewide solution, not a New York City focused plan."
Ohio State Education Board wants say in school-funding reform
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 9:25 AM
Plain Dealer reports, "The report calls for school-based budgeting to ensure that money gets to the buildings that need it most. It also says the state should align financial decisions with 'best practices' - educational initiatives that have proved effective. The report also calls for the state to more aggressively 'weight' funding so the children who are hardest to educate get the most money."
New Jersey state report lays foundation for new school funding formula
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 9:17 AM
NewJersey.com reports, "Using data from 2004-05, the report set a total base per-pupil amount of $7,367 for K-8 districts and $8,496 in K-12 districts. It then added thousands more for children with disabilities, from impoverished homes, and with limited English skills. For instance, a child with severe disabilities would cost up to seven times above the base, or nearly $60,000 in a K-12 district. Children of poverty cost about 50 percent more, or almost $13,000."
Pennsylvania school-cost study will help improve funding, group says
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 9:03 AM
AP reports, "The legislation ordering the study calls for an examination of school districts that achieve high standardized test scores with low spending, the effect of enrollment fluctuations on education costs, and whether factors such as poverty levels, population density, and the number of disabled students should warrant more money for a school district. The state's public schools are funded largely through a combination of local property-tax revenue and state subsidies, with poorer school districts receiving a larger share of state aid. But critics have long complained that poorer schools still do not receive enough to compensate for local revenue shortfalls, and that the state lacks a consistent funding formula."
Adjusting a Formula Devised for Diversity
Date CapturedWednesday December 13 2006, 3:41 AM
NY Times reports, "After a federal appeals court barred Texas from explicitly counting race in admissions to its colleges, the state struggled to find another way to diversify the student body. Nine years ago, it came up with an elegantly simple formula: all students whose grades ranked them in the top 10 percent of their high school classes would automatically be admitted to any campus, including the flagship here."
New U.S. Department of Education Guide Showcases Charter High Schools Closing Achievement Gaps
Date CapturedTuesday December 12 2006, 9:29 AM
The U.S. Department of Education has released a new publication that highlights eight charter high schools that are using innovative methods to help close the achievement gap between low-income, minority, and special need students and their peers.
Charter High Schools Closing the Achievement Gap
Date CapturedTuesday December 12 2006, 9:01 AM
Prepared by WestEd for the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement. Study concludes, "Closing the achievement gaps that separate the academic performance of various subgroups of students is a central goal of current education reform efforts nationwide. Hard-earned progress has been made at the elementary school level, but high school students are not progressing nearly as well. Indeed, it is at this level that performance gains in general have been most elusive and chronic student achievement disparities among significant subgroups seem most intransigent. Yet success is not beyond reach. This guide profiles eight charter secondary schools that are making headway in meeting the achievement challenge. They are introduced here so their practices can inspire and inform other school communities striving to ensure that all of their students, regardless of their race, ZIP code, learning differences, or home language, are successful learners capable of meeting high academic standards." U.S. Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement, Charter High Schools: Closing the Achievement Gap, Washington, D.C., 2006.
Most Expensive Private High Schools
Date CapturedMonday December 11 2006, 10:39 AM
Forbes.com reports, "But despite the escalating costs, more elite schools are increasing efforts to diversify their student bodies. Financial aid budgets are on the rise, with help now extended to at least one in four students at most elite schools, allowing for a broader ethnic and socioeconomic mix than in years past. Over 21% of prep students are minorities, according to the NAIS, up from 16% ten years ago."
Clarity needed on race in schools
Date CapturedSaturday December 09 2006, 6:47 PM
Cincinnati Enquirer reports, "U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday plunged back into the divisive issue of reverse discrimination by hearing Louisville and Seattle school cases over assigning students on the basis of their skin color. The original lawsuits were brought by white parents denied their first choice of schools. The court's decision could affect hundreds of districts, including those in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, where many public school districts are even more racially imbalanced than in Louisville and Seattle."
High court takes a different look at school desegregation
Date CapturedThursday December 07 2006, 6:26 AM
The Journal News opines, "Hundreds of classroom integration programs across the nation, including one in the Lower Hudson Valley, could be in jeopardy if the U.S. Supreme Court's initial take on two test cases this week is an indication. The cases, out of Seattle and Louisville, were brought by white parents whose children did not get the schools of their choice due to racial considerations in forming the student bodies."
Disabled students to rally at Brooklyn College
Date CapturedThursday December 07 2006, 4:27 AM
NY Daily News reports, "At issue is access to two major halls on campus, Harris said, as well as what he described as faulty automatic door openers and a lack of sensitivity to the needs of students with disabilities."
After Council Balks, Bronx Schools Project Is Withdrawn
Date CapturedThursday December 07 2006, 3:22 AM
NY Times reports, "The small schools have been widely criticized for taking fewer special education students and children with limited English proficiency than other schools. The city’s admissions rules allow officials in the small schools to control admission to their freshman class, giving preference to students who express interest by attending open houses or information fairs. Any remaining slots are distributed to applicants randomly by a computer system. "
America's indentured graduates
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 7:38 AM
Christian Science Monitor opines, "Should college, so necessary in today's economy, become as freely available as K-12?"
Black, white and Brown
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 7:37 AM
LA Times opines, "Breyer has the better of the argument. Taking account of race to bring children of different backgrounds together is fundamentally different from using race to keep those children apart. Is there a ray of hope that Kennedy, the likely swing vote in these cases, will agree?"
Rochester school integration effort at stake
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 6:33 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "A Supreme Court ruling striking down voluntary integration programs by school districts across the country could end the decades-old Urban-Suburban Interdistrict Transfer Program as Rochester-area residents know it."
Colin Powell helps City College
Date CapturedWednesday December 06 2006, 5:05 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The endowment will provide permanent funding for 21 scholarships and eight paid summer internships every year for poor and underserved students to work at the Powell think tank at the Harlem campus of City College."
'Resegregation' of Metro schools cited at high court
Date CapturedTuesday December 05 2006, 8:50 AM
The Tennessean reports, "Smrekar [associate professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University] said Metro Nashville's schools have become drastically unbalanced since the race-based requirements were abandoned. Metro Nashville has about 72,000 students, 37.8 percent of which are white, 46.5 percent black, 12.1 Hispanic, 3.4 percent Asian and less than 1 percent Native American or Pacific Islander. 'Nashville has more single-race schools in the district because they have removed race as an element in assigning students,' she said. 'Without a race-conscious policy, you get resegregation.' Since the end of desegregation, the district is home not only to more single-race schools, but also to more schools with a high poverty rate. And with a high poverty rate comes inequality, Smrekar said."
Court Reviews Race as Factor in School Plans
Date CapturedTuesday December 05 2006, 3:20 AM
NY Times reports, "By the time the Supreme Court finished hearing arguments on Monday on the student-assignment plans that two urban school systems use to maintain racial integration, the only question was how far the court would go in ruling such plans unconstitutional. There seemed little prospect that either the Louisville, Ky., or Seattle plans would survive the hostile scrutiny of the court’s new majority. In each system, students are offered a choice of schools but can be denied admission based on their race if enrolling at a particular school would upset the racial balance."
Service-Learning Mentoring: One Answer to the Minority Teacher Shortage
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 8:39 PM
TC Records writes "Some researchers believe minority students are more successful in the classroom when their teachers reflect their racial or ethnic group (The Collaborative, 2004; Nuby & Doebler, 2000). Others believe minority teachers are beneficial to everyone (Gordon, 2005; Gursky, 2002), and their presence can help create an awareness of and appreciation for diversity. Service-learning is one approach that can introduce prospective minority teachers to the field and prepare them to enter and succeed in teaching careers." Teachers College Record, Date Published: November 09, 2006. http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 12835, Date Accessed: 12/4/2006 8:38:00 PM
Court justices wrestle with desegregation arguments
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 2:40 PM
USA TODAY reports, "The Supreme Court today stepped into the debate over voluntary public school integration plans, with justices questioning whether programs in two districts are an acceptable move toward student diversity or another name for illegal racial quotas. In separate arguments involving school districts in Seattle and Louisville, justices referred repeatedly to a 2003 Supreme Court ruling that permitted the limited consideration of race to attain a diverse student body on the college level."
Small Schools Exclude Many Immigrants
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 8:37 AM
Gotham Gazette reports, "It is the policy of the New York City Department of Education to allow a small school to exclude English-language learners (and special education students) during its first two years of operation. This is permitted, according to the department, so that the schools can build up the necessary infrastructure to provide the instructional services these students require. But, as it turns out, many of the older small schools still do not offer programs for these students, according to a new report issued by The New York Immigration Coalition (the organization for which we work), Advocates for Children, and seven immigrant community-based organizations."
High Court Will Hear School-Integration Arguments
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 8:07 AM
NPR reports, "The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday that challenge voluntary school-integration programs in the Seattle and Louisville, Ky., school districts. Courts have played a pivotal role in desegregating the public schools since the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education ruling."
An Assault on Local School Control
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 6:54 AM
NY Times opines, "It is startling to see the Justice Department, which was such a strong advocate for integration in the civil rights era, urging the court to strike down the plans. Its position is at odds with so much the Bush administration claims to believe. The federal government is asking federal courts to use the Constitution to overturn educational decisions made by localities. Conservative activists should be crying 'judicial activism,' but they do not seem to mind this activism with an anti-integration agenda. If these plans are struck down, many other cities’ plans will most likely also have to be dismantled. In Brown, a unanimous court declared education critical for a child to 'succeed in life' and held that equal protection does not permit it to be provided on a segregated basis. It would be tragic if the court changed directions now and began using equal protection to re-segregate the schools."
Cases retread Brown vs. Board of Education steps
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 5:53 AM
LA Times reports, "With the arrival of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., civil rights lawyers believe there may be a five-member majority determined to strike down race-based integration programs."
SUNY New Paltz rates high for Hispanic graduates
Date CapturedMonday December 04 2006, 4:55 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "The association [American Association of State Colleges and Universities] picked out the 10 most successful of those schools. New Paltz was among the five that had the most success at narrowing the gap in graduation rates between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students, according to a press release."
FREE US ALL FROM UNFAIR AND CORRUPT ED. SYSTEM
Date CapturedSunday December 03 2006, 8:57 AM
NY Post Ryan Sager writes, "When companies have to compete, consumers win. Yet when it comes to one of the most important products any of us will ever purchase - a child's education - we treat parents (at least the nonrich) as prisoners instead of as consumers. The reason? Because a corrupt education monopoly - consisting of the teachers' unions, the principals' unions, and public-school administrators - doesn't want to have to compete."
Historic case in the balance
Date CapturedSunday December 03 2006, 6:54 AM
Newsday TOM BRUNE writes, "At the heart of the battle over the school integration case being heard by the Supreme Court is the legacy of the 1954 landmark decision in Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. For the Seattle and Louisville, Ky., school districts, which are being sued, that question becomes whether their goal of racial and ethnic diversity is valid, and whether it justifies using a student's race to create integrated schools."
Treat athletes equally
Date CapturedSaturday December 02 2006, 8:32 AM
Monica Silas, in a Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin letter to the editor writes, "Title IX is about equity under the law and empowerment of our young female athletes. It is not about cheerleading."
Connecticut NAACP gets permission to join No Child suit
Date CapturedSaturday December 02 2006, 8:09 AM
AP reports, "Blumenthal [Connecticut attorney general] said Friday night that although the state and NAACP are technically on opposite sides of the case, they share the desire for better student achievement, equal access to high-quality schools and other education improvements."
Arkansas Supreme Court reappoints masters to review public schools
Date CapturedFriday December 01 2006, 9:12 AM
AP reports, "Arkansas' long-lived school-funding case got another lease on life Thursday, for at least six months, with officials now under an order to prove they have complied with the state Supreme Court's requirement to deal with shortcomings that justices criticized a year ago. The high court reappointed two special masters who had previously served in the case, to conduct another review of the adequacy and fairness of the state's public school system. In a 5-2 ruling, the court said it was not sure that reforms passed by legislators in April were enough to meet the court's standards."
Schools consider same sex classrooms
Date CapturedFriday December 01 2006, 7:22 AM
Capital News 9 reports, "Brighter Choice Charter School is unique, in that it's one of the few public schools in Albany that offer single sex classroom settings. And now all public schools have the option to do the same. Brighter Choice Principal Melissa Jarvis-Cedno said, 'Its essential that parents have options that have not been traditionally afforded to them. If you look in the Capital Region, we have so many single sex schools, but they're for people who can afford that. So its crucial that public education allows parents to have equal opportunities for the children to enjoy single sex education.'"
Washington Assessment of Student Learning achievement gap costly to fix, officials say
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 1:34 PM
Seattle Times reports, "The Washington Assessment of Student Learning serves as "a messenger" that students of color continue to lag behind white students and some Asian students, and the so-called academic achievement gap still exists, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson said Wednesday."
Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994-2005
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 8:55 AM
"This [NCES] report presents 11 years of data from 1994 to 2005 (no survey was conducted in 2004) on Internet access in U.S. public schools by school characteristics. It provides trend analysis on the percent of public schools and instructional rooms with Internet access and on the ratio of students to instructional computers with Internet access. The report contains data on the types of Internet connections, technologies and procedures used to prevent student access to inappropriate material on the Internet, and the availability of hand-held and laptop computers to students and teachers. It also provides information on teacher professional development on how to integrate the use of the Internet into the curriculum, and the use of the Internet to provide opportunities and information for teaching and learning." Wells, J., and Lewis, L. (2006). Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994–2005 (NCES 2007-020). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
A New Way on School Integration
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 8:08 AM
This term, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering challenges in two school districts to the constitutionality of voluntary racial school integration plans in elementary and secondary education. In the latest issue brief from the Century Foundation, Richard D. Kahlenberg discusses the possible effects of the court's decision.
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul
Date CapturedThursday November 30 2006, 7:59 AM
Columbia Teachers College Bruce Baker, associate professor in educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Kansas and Michael A. Rebell, executive director of the Campaign for Educational Equity and a professor of law and educational practice at Teachers College, Columbia University write, "Having both worked diligently for years to rectify inequities in education finance systems, we are concerned that the particular silver bullet emphasized in the Fordham report- 'an approach known as "weighted student funding"- 'would, if enacted as proposed, be more harmful than helpful to children's interests."
Birmingham coach, board of education settle discrimination case
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 8:21 AM
AP reports, "The settlement caps a long-running case that began in 2001 and gained national attention last year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title IX protections cover people who complain of gender discrimination on behalf of themselves or others."
A Slide Toward Segregation
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 8:14 AM
Washington Post Ruth Marcus writes, "A half-century after Brown v. Board of Education, it's come, amazingly, to this: The Supreme Court, in the name of preventing race discrimination, is being asked to stop local schools from voluntarily adopting plans to promote integration."
So Many Schools, So Few Options:How Mayor Bloomberg’s Small High School Reforms Deny Full Access to English Language Learners
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 7:08 AM
Key findings: ELLs Are Not Given Full and Equitable Access to All Small High Schools, Parents of ELLs and Students Reported Barriers in the High School Admissions and Enrollment Process, The Small School Policy for ELLs Appears to be Forcing ELLs to Remain in Large High Schools that Do Not Have Services to Meet Their Needs , Small Schools are Not Being Created in Queens, in which the Largest Number of ELLs Reside. A joint report by: The New York Immigration Coalition & Advocates for Children of New York In collaboration with: Chhaya Community Development Corporation Chinese Progressive Association Chinese-American Planning Council Council of Peoples Organization Haitian Americans United for Progress Make the Road by Walking Metropolitan Russian American Parents Association November 2006.
New York City Schools hit on immigration bar
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 7:01 AM
NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "The report charges the vast majority of small schools either don't have services for so-called 'English language learners' (ELLs), who comprise almost 12% of the high school population, or exclude them altogether. It also says that immigrant families have less access to information about options for their kids. The city Education Department allows new schools to exclude both ELLs and special-ed students in their first two years because the schools are too new to properly serve those kids. It's a policy being reviewed by the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, which launched a probe after a complaint from a citywide group of high school parents. "
KIDS HIT LANGUAGE BARRIER
Date CapturedWednesday November 29 2006, 6:56 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Researchers could not say how many of the 184 new small schools created under Bloomberg exercise the two-year exclusion policy. But they found that 41 percent of 126 small schools surveyed do not offer any English-as-a-Second Language or bilingual services - apparently in violation of city, state and federal laws. 'The problem isn't just access,' said Chung-Wha Hong, director of the New York Immigration Coalition. 'Sometimes they can get in the door but they then face a long-term problem because there are no services for them.' The city Department of Education insisted that only a handful of small schools did not have a single ESL student enrolled."
No Need To 'Charter' A New Course
Date CapturedTuesday November 28 2006, 10:33 AM
The Evening News (Pennsylvania) contributor Dr. Tim Daniels, executive director of the PA Coalition of Charter Schools, lifetime educator and former head of the Office of Educational Initiatives for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania writes, "The American Federation of Teachers called for a "moratorium" on the opening of additional Philadelphia charter public schools. This is the same interest group that opposed charter school legislation back in 1997 when Act 22 of 1997 was passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Implying there are enough charter schools now, the AFT says the district's charters already offer 'a tremendous amount of choice for the citizens of Philadelphia.' What about the 20,000 students on waiting lists?"
Race-Based Review
Date CapturedTuesday November 28 2006, 9:58 AM
National Review Online contributor Roger Clegg, president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity, which joined the amicus briefs filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation in the Seattle and Louisville cases writes, "On December 4 the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases — one from Louisville and one from Seattle — that challenge the constitutionality of race-based student assignments in K-12 public schools. Since it is uncontested that the two school systems are engaging in racial discrimination, the legal issue is whether the use of race is “narrowly tailored” to a “compelling” interest. The Court should rule that there is no such compelling justification for the school systems’ racial balancing, for three reasons."
Grant bolsters Hawaiian education
Date CapturedTuesday November 28 2006, 8:48 AM
The Star Bulletin reports, "The University of Hawaii has won $3.8 million in federal grant money over the next five years for improving and enhancing native Hawaiian education."
Community college is less engaging for part-timers
Date CapturedMonday November 27 2006, 3:23 PM
USA TODAY reports, "There is a 'significant difference' in the experiences of part-time and full-time students at community colleges, a new report finds. And a key reason, it suggests, is that part-time students — who represent about two-thirds of those at all community colleges — are more likely to be taught by part-time faculty."
Gov. cheers, CFE jeers court ruling
Date CapturedMonday November 27 2006, 5:44 AM
Legislative Gazette reports, "After 13 years and three appeals, what might be the final ruling in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case was issued last week with New York’s highest court ordering the state to budget at least $1.93 billion more for New York City’s public schools."
School aid vows fail arithmetic
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 6:24 PM
Columnist Jay Gallagher writes on CFE and school funding, "Shazam! Add money to New York City schools, but don't subtract any from anywhere else. What could be better? That sounds like a good math problem for the next Regents' math exam, which some New York students have so much trouble mastering. The problem goes something like this: take a pot of money. Divide it up into sections. Then take the same pot of money, and make some of the sections bigger, but don't reduce any of the others."
New Jersey school funding reform panel to discuss proposals
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 1:18 PM
AP TOM HESTER Jr. reports, "While the school funding formula hasn't been announced, education department officials presented a plan under which experts determine how much it costs to educate New Jersey children. That cost - about $8,500 for K-12 schools - would be used as the basis for state aid allocations to schools. Funding for special education, children with language problems and transportation would be added as needed. - The number of senior citizens in a community would be considered when state aid for schools is decided."
Board to consider adding 'sexual orientation' to Waterloo Schools policies
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 9:53 AM
The Courier reports, "State officials cited 'major incidents of our students being harassed' because of homosexual orientation, Jones wrote. They believe including the group in the protected list 'will help reduce the harassment ... and keep our district from legal litigation.'"
Assessing the value of pre-k: Benefits seem clear, but are there unintended consequences?
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 8:41 AM
The Daily Progress (Virginia) reports, "Private and public preschools are growing as more research has developed that reinforces the importance of early childhood development to later academic success. Parents who can afford private preschools have acted on these findings, enrolling their children earlier and at an increasing rate. But some worry this may contribute to the gap in achievement that exists in public schools."
Day one, item one
Date CapturedSunday November 26 2006, 8:08 AM
Newsday opined, "First, Spitzer must propose a dollar amount for helping not just the city but also poor suburban and upstate districts - without cutting existing funds for any community. Then he has to craft a new formula, based on need and not political clout, for distributing all school aid. Then there's the issue of accountability. Although the court said the state doesn't need a new system of oversight, Spitzer must make sure both the education department and school districts have the resources to ensure that aid money is well spent. How much more should be spent? Based on authoritative studies, public and private, it's clear the court's $1.9-billion minimum for the city is too little. A more reasonable sum is $6 billion - with most going to the city - on top of the $15 billion-plus the state now spends annually. Who should come up with the money? Primarily the state, which has failed to give the city a fair share. But it would be fair if city taxpayers - who also have a history of shortchanging schools - ponied up as much as one-third of the new funds. How should aid be distributed? Most should go to the districts with the neediest students, who tend to be the most expensive to teach."
Schools debate inequity
Date CapturedSaturday November 25 2006, 8:22 AM
Post-Standard reports, "A recent federal ruling dealing with promotion and publicity for girls and boys high school sports teams may be troublesome for some Central New York schools. Most school officials interviewed for this story said they treat boys and girls teams equally in all areas but one cheerleading. They do not have cheerleaders cheer at equal numbers of boys and girls games. The sport most often affected by this is girls basketball."
Distance learning programs can close ethnic gap
Date CapturedSaturday November 25 2006, 8:07 AM
Times Union contributor WILLIAM M. STEWART, Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management, Excelsior College, Albany writes, "Going forward, community organizations, government agencies, churches and other groups working with minorities can significantly impact these numbers by encouraging black and Hispanic adults to consider accredited distance learning programs as a means to completing their college education."
Educating boys, girls separately can benefit them, whole society
Date CapturedFriday November 24 2006, 6:14 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle contributor Sister Ann Collins, president, Nazareth Schools — The Hall and The Academy writes, "Title IX regulations have always permitted school districts that receive public funds to provide public single-sex elementary and secondary schools under certain circumstances. The new regulations make it easier to offer single-sex classes, activities or schools while ensuring that students of both sexes are treated in a manner that will satisfy Title IX's nondiscrimination requirements. As an educator, I believe single-gender education has its place among the learning options we must offer all families in our community. Although the Title IX changes go into effect today, local public schools reportedly have no plans to make this option available any time soon. For now, students in the Rochester area who wish to choose single-gender education must continue to look to private schools."
Landmark NYC school aid ruling comes up about $3 billion short of lower courts' recommendations
Date CapturedThursday November 23 2006, 8:47 AM
Inside Albany reports, "Surprisingly, the decision’s author was Eugene Pigott, Pataki’s final appointee to the court. Pigott was sworn in a couple of hours before the CFE arguments. Pigott wrote that the trial court had erred in having the panel of retired judges conduct a new review of how much a sound basic education cost. His opinion focused on the separation of the branches of government. 'The role of the courts is not, as Supreme Court assumed, to determine the best way to calculate the cost of a sound basic education in New York City schools, but to determine whether the state’s proposed calculation of that cost is rational.'”
Inside Albany (IA)
Date CapturedThursday November 23 2006, 8:44 AM
This week on Inside Albany: Less than expected-Landmark NYC school aid ruling comes up about $3 billion short of lower courts' recommendations. CHECK SCHEDULE
State high court finally discovers its limitations
Date CapturedThursday November 23 2006, 7:28 AM
NY Daily News Bill Hammond writes, "He [Eliot Spitzer] campaigned on promises to spend as much as $8.5 billion settling the CFE case and to support legalization of gay marriage. He won with 70% of the vote. Now he has the right to be wrong, and this Court of Appeals won't stand in his way."
The vital role of community colleges
Date CapturedThursday November 23 2006, 4:51 AM
Boston Globe contributor William D. Green, chairman and CEO of Accenture writes, "In addition to teaching people new skills, junior and community colleges often help students learn how to learn -- to gain the kind of solid footing it takes to continue their education. Research shows that students who transfer from a two-year institution to a four-year college or university are often more successful than those who start at a four-year institution. As a society we need to applaud the accomplishments of two-year college graduates and encourage baccalaureate institutions to accept transfer students who have proved they can be successful students. In the long run, junior and community colleges not only help students gain confidence in their ability to learn, but they also provide them a foundation for achieving better jobs. The potential ripple effect on the economy is obvious."
Public Colleges as ‘Engines of Inequality’
Date CapturedThursday November 23 2006, 3:22 AM
NY Times opined, "The obvious first step would be to boost the value of the federal Pell Grant program — a critical tool in keeping college affordable that the federal government has shamefully ceased to fund at a level that meets the national need. But larger Pell Grants can’t solve this crisis alone. Policy changes will also be required in the states, where public universities have been choking off college access and upward mobility for the poor by shifting away from the traditional need-based aid formula to a so-called merit formula that heavily favors affluent students. The resulting drop in the fortunes of even high-performing low-income students — many of whom no longer attend college at all — is documented in an eye-opening report released recently by the Education Trust, a nonpartisan foundation devoted to education reform."
Only the Bathwater -- Or the Baby, Too?
Date CapturedWednesday November 22 2006, 5:46 PM
Teachers College Columbia University reports, "TC Professor Amy Stuart Wells provided historical context for that question in the Symposium's opening presentation, in which she noted that unlike many other developed nations, the U.S. has traditionally focused on educational achievement as a primary means to better the lot of the economically disadvantaged. Where other nations have established broad social welfare systems, Wells said, the U.S. has historically 'laid the task of rectifying societal inequalities at the schoolhouse door.'"
In their court
Date CapturedWednesday November 22 2006, 10:00 AM
Times Union opined, "An epic court battle is over, then, but with a workable solution for neglect of school children, of all people, not yet in sight. Mr. Spitzer and the Legislature must provide them with the resources they've long been denied. While they're at it, they might fix the formulas for education funding statewide. Otherwise, they might find themselves right back in court, bracing for a ruling that's even more damning."
A big lesson in unfair lawsuit
Date CapturedWednesday November 22 2006, 4:40 AM
NY Daily News Michael Goodwin writes, "The lawsuit demanded Free Money. It argued that the court should ignore years of budgets negotiated by the Legislature and the governor and substitute a funding scheme that liberal advocates and one judge favored. Never mind that those budgets reflected not only the needs of schools, but also of hospitals, police, highways, parks and thousands of other things that government does. Breaking schools out and funding them in a vacuum is not fair nor does it make any sense. And government must do everything with a fixed amount of money. The pie is divided - maybe not always equally or fairly, but we elect our representatives to make those decisions. We can unelect them if we don't like their choices. The school funding lawsuit was an end-run around those democratic processes."
A Minimum for City Schools
Date CapturedWednesday November 22 2006, 3:36 AM
NY Times opined, "Mr. Spitzer wants the city to contribute more, perhaps as much as $1 billion extra, but he might have a hard time getting Mayor Michael Bloomberg to go along."
Brentwood's budgetary woes linger
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 10:28 AM
Newsday JOHN HILDEBRAND reports, "In Brentwood, as in New York City, four students out of every five are poor enough to qualify for discount school lunches. But unlike New York City, Brentwood was awarded no extra money for its schools more than a decade ago, when it sued the state. The court defeat left bitter feelings in this blue-collar district -- Long Island's largest, with 16,600 students -- where per-pupil spending is little more than half what is spent in Gold Coast communities."
Court ends battle for school funds
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 9:27 AM
Buffalo News writes, "While about 150 school districts have been defined as having 'high needs,' it is widely assumed that the Big Five city school districts will benefit the most by the court case and its spin-offs. For example, the Cheektowaga-Sloan School District, while deemed a high-needs school system, expects little financial benefit."
NYSUT blasts court decision on CFE; looks to Spitzer to do the 'right thing'
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 6:13 AM
NYSUT PRESS RELEASE: "For more than a decade, the court has repeatedly supported the premise of the CFE case: Every child must receive a sound basic education," Iannuzzi [New York State United Teachers President ]said. "Now, in addition to stripping away accountability measures, the court has basically said to every student in New York, 'Let them eat cake.'"
TOP NEW YORK COURT SUBTRACTS $3.7B FROM SCHOOLS
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 5:57 AM
NY Post Kenneth Lovett and David Andreatta report, "The school-funding ruling yesterday by the state Court of Appeals: * Requires state to increase operating aid to city schools by a minimum $1.93 billion annually. * Leaves final decision on spending above $1.93 billion with governor and Legislature, not courts. * Rejected state argument for a new office to monitor spending. * Tossed a lower court's order requiring $9.2 billion in additional school capital spending."
COURT BITES JUDGE
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 5:52 AM
NY Post opined on New York school funding lawsuit, "Gov. Pataki deserves two measures of credit for yesterday's ruling: * For having fought this case for so long - his entire 12-year tenure - in a state practically run by school unions and other special interests. Practically everyone agreed (wrongly) that the city needs billions more for schools. Even though it already spends far more per student than most other cities. And even though there is no credible evidence that extra money can guarantee students learn more. * And for assembling a high court - he appointed five of its members - that doesn't confuse itself with the Legislature."
State ruling could boost school aid
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 5:32 AM
Times Herald-Record reports on CFE court decision, "Middletown, Newburgh and Kingston school officials will be watching with interest. The three are among 19 small- city school districts that filed suit against the state in March 2005. They used the CFE case as a model, alleging their students, too are disadvantaged for lack of state aid. The small cities' lawsuit continues, said Robert Biggerstaff, executive director of the Association of Small City School Districts."
Extra school money is cut in CFE school funding court case
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 5:10 AM
Times Union Rick Karlin reports, "The court's majority also found that Pataki's method of calculating education costs -- which led to the $1.93 billion figure -- was valid. CFE had used a different method that resulted in a higher price tag. The governor's method included a "filter" that excluded some of the highest-spending districts for comparison purposes."
Breathing Room for Spitzer in Decision on New York City Schools
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 3:19 AM
NY Times reports, "Certainly, the political tug of war over the issue will provide early tests of Mr. Spitzer’s relationships with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the leaders of the State Legislature. Mr. Spitzer and Mr. Bloomberg have already publicly skirmished over how to divide up the bill for new financing of city schools between the state and city governments. In Albany, the Democratic Assembly will probably want to go well above the court’s $1.9 billion floor, while the Republican Senate, led by upstaters, will most likely rebuff such spending."
New York Court Cuts Aid Sought by City Schools
Date CapturedTuesday November 21 2006, 3:17 AM
NY Times DAVID M. HERSZENHORN reports, "New York State’s highest court ended a landmark legal fight over education financing yesterday, ruling that at least $1.93 billion more must be spent each year on New York City’s public schools — far less than the $4.7 billion that a lower court called the minimum needed to give city children the chance for a sound basic education."
Courtroom Alchemy: Adequacy advocates turn guesstimates into gold
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 8:07 PM
James W. Guthrie, professor of public policy and education, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University and Matthew G. Springer, research assistant professor of public policy and education, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University write In Education Next, "The principled cause of adequacy is legitimate. America’s public schools surely would be enhanced if assured the optimal mix of resources, incentives, practices, and structures. Consequently, we set forth three recommendations by which adequacy-driven reform and cost modeling strategies can become more effective." Authors recommendations include investing in research, raising the standards and changing the venue from the courthouse to the statehouse.
New York Must Pay Schools $1.93B More a Year
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 10:39 AM
AP reports, "The state Court of Appeals, in a 4-2 decision, set the minimum to be spent, but said the Legislature should be allowed to determine the final total. The Pataki administration had argued that decisions on how to spend public money are the responsibility of the executive and legislative branches, not the courts. 'In fashioning specific remedies for constitutional violations, we must avoid intrusion on the primary domain of another branch of government,' Justice Eugene Pigott wrote for the majority."
An Education Gov?
Date CapturedMonday November 20 2006, 4:45 AM
NY Post contributor Thomas W. Carroll, president of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability and chairman of the Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls and the Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys, the top elementary public schools in Albany writes, "To start with, we need to get over the artificial distinction between public and private schools. As Rev. Floyd Flake is fond of saying, we should focus on educating the public, not public education. With literally hundreds of thousands of students now attending schools that the state Education Department designates as failing, the territorial and exclusive focus of some on public district schools is misguided. Our focus should be creating more good schools and fewer bad schools, regardless of whether these happen to be organized as private, religious, public charter or standard district schools."
Tax credits for private school tuition? Yes
Date CapturedSunday November 19 2006, 7:04 PM
NY Daily News contributor CATHERINE HICKEY, superintendent of Catholic schools of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York writes, "For hundreds of thousands of poor and working-class parents, public school is the only economic option. A real tax credit is a reasonable way to ensure that each and every child can obtain a good education in the school of his or her parents' choice."
Ruling: Texas classes divided by race
Date CapturedSaturday November 18 2006, 7:05 AM
Dallas Morning News reports, "For years, it was an open secret at North Dallas' Preston Hollow Elementary School: Even though the school was overwhelmingly Hispanic and black, white parents could get their children into all-white classes. And once placed, the students would have little interaction with the rest of the students. The result, a federal judge has ruled, was that principal Teresa Parker was,' in effect, operating, at taxpayer's expense, a private school for Anglo children within a public school that was predominantly minority.'"
New Focus on Affirmative Action
Date CapturedFriday November 17 2006, 3:49 AM
The Washington Post reports, "The number of minorities -- particularly black Americans -- winning government contracts and being admitted to public colleges and universities in California has dwindled since a ballot measure was passed 10 years ago outlawing preferential treatment for minorities in those areas, according to a study released yesterday. The report comes as the longtime controversy over affirmative action is gaining new attention. Michigan voters last week adopted a constitutional amendment essentially taking the same action as California, and the American Bar Association is facing criticism from some groups for strengthening its diversity requirements for accreditation of law schools."
Placing College Graduation Rates in Context: How 4-Year College Graduation Rates Vary With Selectivity and the Size of Low-Income Enrollment
Date CapturedThursday November 16 2006, 5:23 PM
This NCES report shows that graduation rates dropped systematically as the proportion of low-income students increased, even within the same Carnegie classification and selectivity levels. Variations by gender and race/ethnicity also were evident. Women graduated at higher rates than men, and in general, as the proportion of low-income students increased, so did the gap between female and male graduation rates. The gap in graduation rates between White and Black students and between White and Hispanic students, on the other hand, typically narrowed as the as the proportion of low-income students increased. Horn, L. (2006). Placing College Graduation Rates in Context: How 4-Year College Graduation Rates Vary With Selectivity and the Size of Low-Income Enrollment (NCES 2007-161). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Big classroom squeeze in New York City
Date CapturedThursday November 16 2006, 4:23 AM
NY Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "The average class-size details for kindergarten to eighth grade were released for the first time yesterday under City Council legislation requiring the Department of Education to turn over the data twice a year. High school classroom sizes will be released at a later date, officials said."
Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) school funds case Mike's No. 1 goal
Date CapturedWednesday November 15 2006, 4:52 AM
NY Daily News Joe Mahoney reports, "But Sanders [former Assembly Education Chairman, now a lobbyist] and Senate Education Committee Chairman Steve Saland (R-Poughkeepsie) said the key to making progress will be whether the city becomes more generous with its own classrooms. 'The city has been folding its arms and maintained consistently they don't want to provide a dime,' Saland said."
Separation anxiety: Segregating schools by gender is unwise
Date CapturedTuesday November 14 2006, 9:27 AM
The Battalion Online Amanda Kaiser opined, "Proposing use of the education system to experiment with any arrangement not solidly supported by research is a sick and expensive joke, considering the abundance of problems with clear answers that remain unsolved. Changes to Title IX fail to address the real problems in education, and by deepening the divisions by which groups are segregated, these changes open the door for inequality. Lawmakers and educators should be striving for a system with fewer arbitrary divisions where students have equal opportunity to learn together."
Justices to weigh school diversity
Date CapturedTuesday November 14 2006, 7:25 AM
USA TODAY reports, "The school districts in Louisville and Seattle are at the heart of a pair of legal disputes, now before the U.S. Supreme Court, that test whether public schools can use race as a factor in determining where students go to school. The cases, to be heard by the court Dec. 4, have drawn national attention because they could affect policies in districts across the country. The key legal question in the Louisville and Seattle lawsuits — which were filed by parents of white students who weren't allowed to attend the schools of their choice — is whether school-assignment plans that use students' race as a factor violate the Constitution's guarantee of equality."
'Guinea Pig' Kids Uproar
Date CapturedTuesday November 14 2006, 5:35 AM
NY Post CARL CAMPANILE and STEPHANIE GASKELL report on students as subjects in university studies, "More than 50 of those studies focused on health, psychology, race, ethnicity and religion - mostly on kids in the poorest neighborhoods. All were conducted with parental consent, but as an incentive, parents and kids often were compensated. 'This is outrageous,' Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron said. 'I'm concerned about any form of therapy going on in our schools.' But Mayor Bloomberg defended the research. 'We've been doing this for a number of years and we will continue to do it,' he said.
Education stats show New York City of wise guys, gals
Date CapturedTuesday November 14 2006, 4:39 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The city Education Department attributed rising graduation and lower dropout rates to an increase in programs devoted to keeping kids in school longer, including the Young Adult Borough Centers, targeting high school students who might be considering dropping out."
Plan separates boys and girls
Date CapturedMonday November 13 2006, 9:20 AM
Herald Tribune reports, "Until recently, federal Title IX regulations were unclear on whether public schools could legally separate the sexes. In 1995, just three U.S. public schools had single-sex classrooms, according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education. But in the past few years, the federal government has been moving to clarify the rules and is actually now calling for schools to research the effects of single-sex classrooms. Today, there are about 250 public schools with single-sex classrooms -- including seven in Florida."
For kids' sake, bill deserves a chance
Date CapturedMonday November 13 2006, 9:07 AM
The Times reports, "A bill called the Urban Schools Scholarship Act has been languishing in the Legislature. It would create a five-year pilot project in Trenton, Newark, Orange, Camden and Elizabeth modeled after a successful program in Pennsylvania that serves some 25,000 students. Scholarships would be awarded to 4,000 low-income children in the first year and 20,000 by the fifth year. (Advocates no longer call the grants 'vouchers,' a term they be lieve has become politically loaded.) Each family would receive up to $6,000 per child for elemen tary-school tuition or $9,000 for high school, which the admitting school would have to accept as full payment. The cost -- capped at $24 million in the first year, $120 million in the fifth -- would be covered by contributions from corporations in return for a dollar-for-dol lar tax credit from the state."
California law makes community college more affordable
Date CapturedMonday November 13 2006, 8:12 AM
The Lompoc Record reports, "A recent law has reduced enrollment fees at California community college campuses from $26 a unit to $20, beginning Jan. 1. The nearly 25 percent drop in tuition fees will affect 11,000 students at Hancock College and more than 2 million students statewide, said Rebecca Alarcio, Hancock spokeswoman."
Growing a City, From the Roots Up
Date CapturedMonday November 13 2006, 3:37 AM
NY Times reports, "Nowhere else in Michigan, and perhaps in the rest of the country, has that goal materialized as fast as it has in this postindustrial city, where a group of anonymous donors established a fund that pays up to 100 percent of tuition and fees at any state college or university for graduates of Kalamazoo’s three public high schools. It is called the Kalamazoo Promise, and came into fruition just a year ago. In the graduating class of 2006, the first to qualify for the program, 400 students were eligible. About 90 percent of those took the offer."
Detours on the Road to Greater College Graduation Rates
Date CapturedSunday November 12 2006, 4:24 PM
The Louisiana Weekly contributor Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League writes, "According to the American Council study, African-Americans are the most likely to drop out of college than any other minority group. Of students who entered college in the 1995-1996 academic year, only 36.4 percent of Blacks received a degree, compared to 42 percent of Hispanics, 58 percent of Whites and 62.3 percent of Asian Americans."
New Jersey tax relief: Who gets what? When?
Date CapturedSunday November 12 2006, 4:04 PM
NorthJersey.com reports, "Paying for public education now accounts for about one third of the total state [New Jersey] budget and two-thirds of every property tax bill. Legislators have promised a new method for distributing those tax dollars to public schools. The current formula centers on factors such as enrollment and socioeconomic makeup of the community; legislators promise a new method that tailors the aid to students' needs and other factors."
Title IX Reform Takes Center Court
Date CapturedSaturday November 11 2006, 9:11 AM
U.S.News & World Report reports, "If the department rewrites Title IX rules on athletics, it will be only the latest concern for women's groups, which cried foul last month when Spellings announced new rules that open up the possibility of single-sex education in public schools. To Jocelyn Samuels of the National Women's Law Center, the new regulations add up to an 'under-the-radar attempt to gut Title IX standards.' She has vowed to bring legal challenges against public schools that enact single-sex reform. If athletic regulations came next, she said, 'all options would be on the table.'"
Massachusetts preschool initiative smart business move
Date CapturedSaturday November 11 2006, 8:09 AM
The Republican opined, "Nobel laureate James J. Heckman argues that early intervention for disadvantaged children promotes staying in school, raises the quality of the workforce, enhances the productivity of schools and has the effect of reducing crime, teen pregnancy and dependence on welfare. And a Chicago study concluded that every dollar spent on early childhood education yields a return of $7 in higher taxes on earnings and lower expenditures on welfare, prisons, crime and special education."
Review of school job complaints expands
Date CapturedSaturday November 11 2006, 7:47 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "An effort to review discrimination complaints by former City [Rochester] School District employees is poised to gain in size and expand in focus. The Clergy Review Board, a 12-member group formed to help the school district identify and rectify discrimination complaints from African-American employees, will launch 'Phase II' of its plan during a meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Peace Baptist Church, 6 Oregon St."
2006 Essential Elements: Schools-To-Watch
Date CapturedFriday November 10 2006, 8:23 AM
Models of Academic Excellence, Social Equity, Developmental Responsiveness, Organization and Structure. For more information about NY State's Schools to Watch program please visit the New York State Middle School Association Website at http://www.nysmsa.org/.
From the Desk of Jean C. Stevens, Interim Deputy Commissioner, New York State Education Department
Date CapturedFriday November 10 2006, 8:08 AM
ELA and Mathematics Results on the New York State Testing and Accountability Reporting Tool (nySTART): Beginning November 14, authorized users in schools and districts will be able to access parent reports for the grades 3-8 State assessments in mathematics using nySTART. Beginning November 13, files containing the mathematics parent reports will be distributed to Regional Information Centers and the Big 5 school districts. If your district has contracted with a Regional Information Center or BOCES to print the reports, please contact them for information about the printing and distribution schedule. Information about interpreting student scores, particularly the standard performance indices, is available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/nystart/2006/InterpretingStudentScores_files/frame.htm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Accountability Verification: On November 14, school districts and charter schools will have access to two sets of reports allowing them to verify student data that will be used to determine each district’s and school’s accountability status at the elementary and middle levels for the 2006-07 school year. Each school superintendent, school principal, and staff member with account administrator privileges can access these reports through nySTART, using their personal UserIDs and passwords. The deadline for submitting data changes to your district’s Regional Information Center or Level 1 Repository operator is November 20. More information about the verification process is available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts/nystart/. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Essential Elements Schools to Watch: New York State is one of 14 states that has joined Schools to Watch, a national recognition program developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. In New York, seven schools were selected for the 2006 group of Schools to Watch by distinguishing themselves in academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity and organization and structure. A list of the schools is available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/mle/news/schools2watch.htm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reminder of Annual AHERA Notifications to Employees and Parents: The federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) requires all schools to provide public notification regarding inspections and other activities related to asbestos. Schools must also make its asbestos management plan available for public inspection. For more information, go to http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/facplan/AHERA/aheranotifyreminder.htm. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VESID Update: National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) and National Instructional Materials Access Center (NIMAC): Guidance regarding NIMAS and NIMAC, as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, is now available at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/persprep/nimas.htm. NIMAC is designed to streamline access to instructional materials that meet the NIMAS standard for students who are blind or have other print disabilities. Please review and share as appropriate; a response is needed no later than November 30, 2006. Provision of Special Education Services to Parentally Placed Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary School Students with Disabilities: This memorandum, available at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/policy/ nonpublic.htm, informs school districts of their responsibilities to provide special education services to parentally placed nonpublic school students with disabilities for the 2006-07 school year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Previous News and Notes: 10/27/06 10/20/06 10/6/06 11/09/2006
School sports equality: Ed. Dept. ruling shows progress
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 8:08 AM
The Ithaca Journal opined, "While we can debate at length about what subjects should be taught in our schools, one thing is clear: Teaching our students at an early age about equality is an important lesson that will only help them accomplish great things in life. Ensuring that lesson is communicated on our athletic fields is a solid step for everyone."
State's top officials talk tax reform as deadline looms
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 6:50 AM
AP Tom Hester Jr. reports, "The pleas came during a Statehouse news conference about a week after advocates for suburban schools beseeched lawmakers to implement a new funding plan that would likely take money from city schools and redistribute it. The state is required under Supreme Court order to provide heavy financial help to 31 city schools. Those districts get 55 percent of all state school aid, while most of the other 585 districts haven't seen any increase in financial aid in five years, forcing them to rely more on property taxes that are twice the national average in New Jersey. Lesley Hirsch, of the Education Law Center, which has advocated for poor children, said the state funding for poor schools has improved education for young children. 'Any new school funding law must strengthen, not diminish, this effort while giving disadvantaged students across the state the same educational opportunities,' Hirsch said."
Affirmative action is essential to education; end its erosion
Date CapturedThursday November 09 2006, 6:25 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle contributor Daan Braveman, president, Nazareth College writes, "Affirmative action is again under attack, this time in Michigan. Voters there approved a proposal banning affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment based on race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes. Michigan joins Washington and California in banning the use of affirmative action programs. Such success in Michigan is likely to spark similar efforts in other areas of the country."
Teacher deal's Bloomy win-win
Date CapturedWednesday November 08 2006, 4:46 AM
NY Daily News reports, "In return, Bloomberg hopes to count on union President Randi Weingarten to stand by his side when he takes on Albany in two big battles: wrestling billions in aid from the state in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit and retaining mayoral control over the schools when it comes up for renewal in the Legislature in 2009."
Forced cheer
Date CapturedTuesday November 07 2006, 8:13 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin opined, "Tier schools in past decades have addressed this issue [Title IX] by allowing groups of students to form sport-specific cheering squads instead of just one representing the school. The benefit of this approach is that it opens the door to allow even more students to be involved with cheerleading. Doesn't that capture the spirit of Title IX and make much more sense than this mandate from the Department of Education?"
Separating the Sexes
Date CapturedMonday November 06 2006, 7:18 AM
The UCSD Guardian reports, "The new regulations are such that one sex can have its own school, as long as there is a 'substantially equal' co-ed equivalent. This means it is acceptable for an all-boy school to be started - without an all-girl school - so long as there is a co-ed school in the area. This raises many questions about equality of opportunities for the genders. In theory the rules are designed to adhere to Title IX, but in practice this design seems a little too similar to 'separate but equal.' History clearly shows that separate almost never guarantees equal."
New Jersey struggles to define an adequate education
Date CapturedMonday November 06 2006, 7:08 AM
Press of Atlantic City reports, "The state Department of Education last month estimated the base cost of educating a child at about $8,000 for K-8 students and $8,500 for those in high school. Keep in mind the base cost is like buying the base model of car. It will run, but it won't be as powerful or enjoyable as the higher-priced model. Advocates on all sides were appalled, saying districts already spend more than that and are struggling to maintain programs. The Education Law Center, which represents children in poor districts, came out with its own report last week showing that district base spending in 2004-05 was between $9,300 and $10,900."
Teachers aim for inclusion in school events
Date CapturedMonday November 06 2006, 5:25 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Teachers shared their ideas about how to celebrate diversity during the Multicultural Education Conference on Friday at the State University of New York at New Paltz. The 12th annual conference was sponsored by the New Paltz college and a number of state and local educational organizations. A total of 275 teachers, administrators, students and community members from the mid-Hudson Valley attended the event, themed 'Opening Minds, Closing the Gap: Fostering Achievement and Equity for All.'"
The Progress of Black Student Enrollments at the Nation’s Highest-Ranked Colleges and Universities
Date CapturedSunday November 05 2006, 1:33 PM
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education writes, "For the fourteenth consecutive year, JBHE publishes its survey of the percentages of black first-year students at the nation’s highest-ranked universities and liberal arts colleges. This year, for the sixth time in the last eight years, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill leads the other universities in the percentage of black students in its first-year class. The Ivy League schools did well with Columbia leading the group. Among the nation’s highest-ranked liberal arts institutions, there is a new leader. This year, Swarthmore College in suburban Philadelphia has the largest percentage of black students in its entering class."
Chancellor Cites Favoritism at a New York School
Date CapturedSaturday November 04 2006, 7:31 AM
NY Times ELISSA GOOTMAN reports, "Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein said the school’s practices were a 'stark and different' example of the kind of favoritism that he has been trying to eliminate from the city’s array of coveted schools and gifted programs. Officials say an examination of the school’s most recent kindergarten admissions documents shows that school officials were looking not only at students’ performance, but also at how involved their parents were likely to be."
Group protests Title IX
Date CapturedFriday November 03 2006, 8:03 AM
Washington Times reports, "About 100 student-athletes rallied in front of the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education yesterday to demand reforms to Title IX, the oft-debated law that calls for gender-equity in college sports."
Parity ordered for STAC cheerleaders
Date CapturedFriday November 03 2006, 6:46 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "Vestal also was cited for a publication that its booster club produces as an annual fundraiser, Capobianco said. The Vestal booster club sells copies of a yearly program, featuring player rosters, photos and paid advertisements. The Office of Civil Rights determined that the girls' and boys' publications were of unequal quality."
I-A: Move would fix Title IX compliance
Date CapturedThursday November 02 2006, 8:58 AM
College Heights Herald reports, "An Office for Civil Rights audit revealed that Western is spending too much athletic aid on female athletes. Administrators said the problem stems from having more male athletes than female athletes who don't receive financial aid."
Oneonta HS cheerleaders to be at girls, boys games
Date CapturedThursday November 02 2006, 7:58 AM
The Daily Star reports, "The cheerleaders will be cheering at the boys basketball seven homes games as well as seven girls basketball games. The action comes as a result of an Office of Civil Rights complaint made by a parent in the Binghamton area earlier this summer."
Ithaca City Schools enlists NYU in quest for equity
Date CapturedThursday November 02 2006, 7:51 AM
Ithaca Journal reports, "The Ithaca City School District is receiving help from a New York University program to help the district better serve all of its students. The Equity Assistance Center at New York University's Metro Center is a program aimed at reducing disparities in education."
Scores of Men and Women Athletes from Eliminated Teams Join Together for Largest Title IX Reform Rally
Date CapturedThursday November 02 2006, 7:06 AM
National Review Online reports, "Scores of student-athletes that have recently lost their teams because of Title IX enforcement will be holding a rally and press conference in front of the Department of Education on Thursday, November 2 to demand immediate reforms to save college sports. In what will be the largest protest ever for Title IX reform, athletes from dozens of sports and a host of schools will be speaking out, supported by coaches, parents and advocacy groups."
Panel to discuss equality in sports
Date CapturedWednesday November 01 2006, 7:42 AM
Ithaca Journal reports, "Experts from across the country will gather Thursday [Nov. 2] at Ithaca College to discuss gender and sexual orientation discrimination in sports."
Professors' association says female faculty continue to face inequality
Date CapturedTuesday October 31 2006, 8:15 AM
The Daily Texan reports, "The American Association of University Professors released a report Thursday condemning the gender inequality faced by women in higher education institutions, especially in doctoral universities. According to the report, female faculty are underrepresented and underpaid compared to their male colleagues."
Make youth sports community-based
Date CapturedMonday October 30 2006, 8:44 AM
Times Union contributor JOHN H. MUNSON, New York Home Educators' Network, in a letter to the editor writes "The real solution isn't to allow home-schoolers on public school teams; it's to replace interscholastic sports with community-based sports."
In New Jersey, System to Help Poorest Schools Faces Criticism
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 11:59 PM
NY Times WINNIE HU writes, "Garfield is a so-called Abbott school district, one of 31 poor districts that have received a total of $35 billion in state aid since 1997 as part of an ambitious court-ordered social experiment to narrow the achievement gap between rich and poor students, whites and minorities. In a decision that set a precedent for school equality cases nationwide, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the poorest urban school districts should be given the resources to spend as much on their students as the wealthiest suburban districts do. Now a growing number of New Jersey elected officials, educators and parents are calling for sweeping changes to this school financing system, saying that it has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars in the Abbott districts. For every success story like Garfield, where fourth-grade test scores have risen to the state average, there are chronic problems, like those in Newark, Camden and Asbury Park."
Minority enrollment in college still lagging
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 9:05 PM
USA TODAY reports, "Minority enrollments rose by 50.7% to 4.7 million between 1993 and 2003, while the number of white students increased 3.4%, to 10.5 million, the report says. White high school graduates are more likely than black or Hispanic peers to enroll in college. The report says 47.3% of white high school graduates ages 18 to 24 attend college, vs. 41.1% of black and 35.2% of Hispanic high school graduates. Among students who entered college in 1995-96, 36.4% of blacks and 42% of Hispanics earned a bachelor's degree within six years, vs. 58% of whites and 62.3% of Asian-Americans."
Are Single-Sex Classrooms Legal?
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 7:46 AM
U.S.News & World Report writes, "But on October 24, the Department of Education announced new Title IX regulations based on the guidelines of a No Child Left Behind amendment. Old regulations allowed for same-gender classes only in rare cases like physical education and human sexuality classes. But lawmakers in 2001 wanted to make those rules more flexible, and so the new ones expand that option to any class or school that can prove gender separation leads to improved student achievement. The change could lead to a wave of single-sex classrooms and even schools in public systems across the country. But it will also likely lead to legal challenges."
Proposal 5: Investing in future, or bankrupting Michigan?
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 7:31 AM
AP reports, "Supporters of a ballot measure that would establish mandatory school funding levels say it would force the state to adequately fund education, which would create a better-educated work force and provide a boost to Michigan's ailing economy. Opponents of Proposal 5 say it would mostly benefit retiring teachers by shoring up pensions while softening incentives to improve pupil performance and siphoning off funding for other state services."
Title IX enforcement hits James Madison hard
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 7:25 AM
The Washington Times reports, "There is no dispute Title IX has closed large gender gaps for women in academics. According to one study, 9 percent of medical degrees in 1972 were earned by women and 38 percent in 1994. With law degrees, the numbers went from 7 percent to 43 percent. It also can be said that Title IX has caused the most turmoil in athletics -- college, high school, secondary and elementary education. Title IX requires proportional participation opportunities. The percentage of female athletes in the athletic program needs to match the percentage of women in a school's student body. The only defense to failing to have the mandated number of participants is for a school to demonstrate it is gradually adding women's sports over time to try to expand participation or that it already has accommodated the interest and ability of all women. While enforcement has been getting stricter in the past decade, the fallout from Title IX has become bigger and bigger."
Regents Propose State Aid Hike
Date CapturedSunday October 29 2006, 5:55 AM
Post-Journal reports, "Historically, four aids in particular have experienced significant increases as schools report their expenditures: building, transportation, public excess cost for special education and BOCES aids. As a result, the Regents eventual recommendation may vary by as much as $200 million. An update will be available in December. 'Student achievement has been improving, but we have far to go,’' said Robert M. Bennett, regents chancellor. 'To accelerate this progress, we must invest the funds our neediest children deserve so they can all get a good education. The Regents are urging full access to pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds. Our total state aid proposal offers a fair and sustainable solution to one of New York’s most critical issues.'’’
NYSUT calls for federal relief for new English learners
Date CapturedSaturday October 28 2006, 8:07 AM
New York Teacher reports, "The union [NYSUT] believes the new testing would be a violation of the 1974 landmark civil rights Supreme Court decision Lau v. Nichols. 'It is our opinion that using the same ELA tests designed for, validated and normed on English-proficient students to measure the ELA performance of their ELL peers is to blatantly deny them the civil rights protected under this decision,' Neira [NYSUT Vice President and UFT representative] said. 'It is our opinion that in the United States using the same test is not equal treatment for our ELL students.'"
High School coaching jobs for blacks are few in New Jersey
Date CapturedFriday October 27 2006, 9:53 AM
Northjersey.com reports, "Opportunities have expanded for blacks in the NFL because of the 'Rooney Rule,' adopted in 2002, that stipulates that at least one minority candidate be interviewed for each head coaching vacancy. No such rule exists in the Garden State at the high school level because the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is powerless to impact hiring choices. But some say the organization should be more proactive in encouraging schools to interview minority coaching candidates."
The Promise of Single-Sex Schools
Date CapturedFriday October 27 2006, 8:53 AM
WSJ Opinion Journal writes, "Inspired by evidence that some children learn better in sex-specific classrooms, more than 240 public and charter schools around the country have begun offering single-sex education (although not all provide it for every course). Most significantly, the typical student is from a low-income, minority family. Parents compete fiercely, often by lottery, for the chance to give their kids the kind of learning environment that wealthier parents regularly pay for at all those single-sex private schools."
Ohio Supreme Court again does disservice to public education
Date CapturedThursday October 26 2006, 10:32 AM
The Morning Journal opined, "The Supreme Court's first disservice came when the court failed to enforce its DeRolph ruling that ordered state officials to replace Ohio's system of funding public education. The current system, the court ruled, was unconstitutional because its over-reliance on local property taxes put less-wealthy school districts at a disadvantage. Now, the charter school ruling preserves a fast-growing drain of taxpayer dollars away from public school systems."
BOARD OF REGENTS PROPOSES MAJOR REFORM IN STATE AID TO NEW YORK STATE SCHOOLS
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 5:47 PM
The Board of Regents today recommended a $1.48 billion increase in State Aid to schools for 2007-2008. Most of this funding would go to school districts educating the State’s neediest children. The Regents propose an increase in State Aid to schools that is designed to link funding to the cost of a successful education. Like last year’s proposal, the proposal this year features a simple Foundation Formula that would replace 31 separate aid categories: District's State Aid = [Foundation Cost X Pupil Need X Regional Cost Index] – Expected Local Share
The Children Left Behind
Date CapturedTuesday October 24 2006, 7:44 AM
The Cornell Daily Sun contributor Laura Taylor, a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University writes, "The achievement gap between whites and Latinos and blacks is staggering. At the end of high school, black and Latino students have reading and mathematics skills that are roughly the same as white students in eighth grade. Beyond that, black students are half as likely as white students to have a college degree by age 29, and Latinos are only one third as likely."
Sign-up for multicultural education conference ends Tuesday
Date CapturedMonday October 23 2006, 7:25 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "The 12th annual Multicultural Education Conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 3 in the Student Union Building Multi-Purpose Room at the State University of New York at New Paltz, 75 S. Manheim Blvd."
Tolerance at schools may help stem the 'brain drain'
Date CapturedMonday October 23 2006, 5:59 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Since business officials are concerned about the brain drain, could they get schools to focus more on how gay students are treated? Ognibene [gay teacher] had the following tips for business officials: If your business has written gay-friendly policies, perhaps including domestic partner benefits, share such policies with school boards. A school district's gay-friendly policy might make teachers feel safer about being 'out.' This allows gay students to have positive gay role models in their formative years. Ask schools if they have gay-straight alliances or diversity clubs. Ognibene estimated that slightly more than 20 schools here have such alliances, a big increase from the couple that existed when he started one at Fairport nine years ago."
New welfare requirement hard on single-parent college students
Date CapturedSunday October 22 2006, 6:04 PM
AP reports, "A new federal rule that limits welfare payments to single parents in college could hurt their efforts to get out of poverty, advocates say. The change requires them to work 20 to 30 hours a week in addition to their studies to qualify for payments. Previously, parents in college had been allowed to count 10 hours a week of classes toward the work requirement and also had to work at least 10 hours a week at a job. College officials and advocates said the result is that some students might be forced to drop out or be discouraged from enrolling."
Money Flows Into Teacher Bonus Program
Date CapturedSunday October 22 2006, 9:40 AM
Newsday Ben Feller reports, "Using the old-fashioned incentive of cash, President Bush's program encourages schools to set up pay scales that reward some teachers and principals more than others. Those rewards are to be based mainly on test scores, but also on classroom evaluations during the year."
Press #1 for a Bad Idea
Date CapturedSunday October 22 2006, 8:44 AM
NY Times op-ed contributor Rebecca Jacobsen, former teacher and doctoral candidate in the politics and education program at Teachers College, Columbia University writes, "THE Yonkers Public Schools just started an automated polling program, called Connect-ED, that asks parents to enter their opinions on school policies by pressing the number keys on their phones. The president of the Yonkers Board of Education, Bernadette Dunne, says the system will help close the information “backpack gap” — so called because school notices requesting parent responses typically get buried in children’s backpacks, never to emerge."
Mid-level districts short on funding, New Jersey school study finds
Date CapturedSaturday October 21 2006, 8:57 AM
The Star-Ledger reports, "Hundreds of New Jersey school districts, too well-off to receive large amounts of state aid but not wealthy enough to count on local taxpayers for more support, don't have enough funding to provide their students an "adequate" education, a state report indicates."
Children with, without special needs grow at the Stepping Stones Learning Center
Date CapturedSaturday October 21 2006, 8:05 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle guess essayist Mariellen Cupini, CEO, Stepping Stones Learning Center writes, "Each class is staffed by a core team of three: state-certified special education and regular education teachers and a classroom assistant. In addition, during the class, other teachers/therapists assist. These include speech, occupational, physical and music therapists, as well as social workers. While these professionals target the children who receive these services, the entire class benefits.."
Turmoil at Gallaudet Reflects Broader Debate
Date CapturedSaturday October 21 2006, 7:36 AM
NY Times DIANA JEAN SCHEMO writes, "Should Gallaudet be the standard bearer for the view that sees deafness not as a disability, but as an identity, and that looks warily on technology like cochlear implants, questioning how well they work and arguing that they undermine a strong deaf identity and pride? Or should Gallaudet embrace the possibilities of connecting with the hearing world that technology can offer?"
Relax, It’s Just Preschool
Date CapturedSaturday October 21 2006, 7:23 AM
NY Times contributor HILLARY CHURA writes, "Sources like the Department of Education nces.ed.gov, schooldigger .com, psk12.com and schoolsk-12.com allow you to examine school size, some demographics and occasionally test scores in public or private — but rarely both — schools. The material, however, can be dated. Apple-to-apple meters are hard to pinpoint since students at independent schools rarely take the mandatory tests as do their counterparts at public schools, said Myra McGovern, spokeswoman for the National Association of Independent Schools."
Title IX has impact on schools
Date CapturedSaturday October 21 2006, 12:08 AM
HERALD NEWS reports, "In recent years, the federal act has come under fire from critics who claim that creating gender equity comes at the cost of male sports. Last year, groups promoting Title IX were angered when a Title IX commission clarified that schools choosing to demonstrate compliance by proving they were fulfilling the needs and interests of female students could use an e-mail survey to gauge interest."
The American Competitiveness Initiative: The Education Revolution Begins
Date CapturedFriday October 20 2006, 4:05 PM
Baltimore Times reports, "With the announcement of American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), low-income and minority students have an excellent opportunity to prepare themselves for well-paid careers in science and technology. However, this federal assistance program will best benefit students of color, only if their parents are aware of the initiative's goals, areas of focus and the criteria to qualify for financial aid to support secondary education."
Education-study data released after suit by advocates for poor
Date CapturedFriday October 20 2006, 8:53 AM
NorthJersey.com reports, "The New Jersey Education Department released documents Thursday, including some cost projections for public education, after advocates for poor chil- dren sued to gain access to the data."
School Lunch Crunch
Date CapturedThursday October 19 2006, 9:14 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports, "Claiming that students who con their way to a free lunch cost the DOE as much as $5 million annually in federal reimbursements, the agency on Monday will begin requiring more students to pay cash before getting served. The policy is aimed at students whose household income disqualifies them from receiving a free lunch, but who finagle one by preying on compassionate cafeteria cashiers and lax enforcement of eligibility rules."
New York City Mayor Bloomberg Says City Won’t Pay in School Financing Case
Date CapturedThursday October 19 2006, 3:20 AM
NY Times reports, "According to The News, Mr. Spitzer also suggested that the linchpin of the mayor’s education agenda — the Legislature’s decision in 2002 to give the mayor control over the school system — could be a tool used to pressure the city. 'In the background, you have the issue of mayoral control and other factors that will weigh in the balance in terms of how the negotiation plays out,' he said."
NEW JERSEY OPINIONS ON SCHOOL FUNDING
Date CapturedWednesday October 18 2006, 8:52 AM
Conducted for: Association for Children of New Jersey by Monmouth University Polling Institute. Data Collection: September/October 2006.
Imagine the best schools in the world ... no exceptions, no excuses
Date CapturedWednesday October 18 2006, 7:39 AM
Delawareonline contributors Marvin N. Schoenhals, Vision 2015 and Chairman/President of WSFS Financial Corporation and Valerie A. Woodruff, Delaware's Secretary of Education write, "Over the past 11 months, our 28-member Steering Committee has worked very hard. We have come to grips with the strengths and challenges of Delaware's public school system. We have searched the world for the best practices of school systems that are succeeding. Our plan, Vision 2015, results from an unprecedented level of research, analysis, discussion, debate, and decision-making. To support the Steering Committee, we engaged nearly 80 individuals in work groups, and involved another 400 citizens in more than 50 meetings throughout Delaware. And we engaged two top-flight firms -- The Boston Consulting Group and Cambridge Leadership Associates -- to keep us focused and moving forward. We really did our homework. And we did a lot of it."
Binghamton schools get $4.85 million windfall
Date CapturedWednesday October 18 2006, 6:03 AM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "The state money is coming from EXCEL -- Expanding our Children's Education and Learning -- an allocation that the state Legislature approved in April to help school districts with building projects. The amount is substantial -- $2.6 billion statewide, with $400 million going to high-need districts outside New York City, including Binghamton."
Union College makes SAT history
Date CapturedWednesday October 18 2006, 5:11 AM
Times Union reports, "After years of debate, Union administrators decided such standardized tests were "a prestigious but flawed instruments" with demonstrated biases based on racial, gender, socioeconomic and cultural factors, according to Dan Lundquist, Union's dean of admissions and financial aid. The tipping point for Union's decision to drop the standardized test requirement for admission came amid widely reported SAT scoring errors in the past year and a continued refrain from the anti-test movement."
Leaving Prison Doors Behind, Some Find New Doors Open
Date CapturedWednesday October 18 2006, 3:33 AM
NY Times reports, "Post-prison programs like the College Initiative — and like College and Community Fellowship, a similar effort that is part of CUNY’s Graduate Center — were developed in response to a drastic reduction a decade ago in college programs in the nation’s federal and state prisons, specialists in prisoner rehabilitation say. At that time, with crime rates having climbed, many elected officials worked to make sentences and prison conditions tougher."
New York City on hook for $1B in school aid
Date CapturedTuesday October 17 2006, 4:46 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The city [New York City] has long argued that it should not have to pay one penny to make up for the state's historic shortchanging of city schools, and so far the courts have not ordered the city to shell out any of the $5.6 billion they have set as the tab."
BARBER TELLS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO ''STOP THE FUNERAL'', WEEK OF OCTOBER 5-11, 2006
Date CapturedMonday October 16 2006, 10:23 PM
The Wilmington Journal prints the testimony of Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President of NC NAACP To the North Carolina State Board of Education, in Goldsboro, September 7, 2006.
New York school aid fix beyond courts
Date CapturedMonday October 16 2006, 9:26 PM
Poughkeepsie Journal opined, "Any realistic, statewide and permanent solution to how schools are funded will have to come from state lawmakers — and, indirectly at least, from the taxpayers who elect them. The courts have a role, but it will be impossible, and wrong, for them to try to micromanage from the bench."
Ithaca Central School District equity: Identify strengths, weaknesses
Date CapturedMonday October 16 2006, 7:41 AM
Ithaca Journal contributor Melina Carnicelli, assistant superintendent for human resources, Ithaca City School District writes, "I envision ICSD's human resources department as the organizational hub that continuously emphasizes equity through effective workplace policies/practices and professional development at all levels. The HR department sets the tone for the organization and is the point of contact and partnership with community organizations and individuals committed to recruiting, hiring and sustaining a highly qualified and diverse workforce. This vision is not an initiative, program or special project; it is not in addition to the work we do ... it IS the work!"
$5B Headache
Date CapturedMonday October 16 2006, 7:14 AM
NY Post contributor Sol Stern writes on the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) lawsuit, "The high court heard arguments on the case Tuesday; its past rulings suggest it will hold that New York City is entitled to almost $5 billion a year in extra state funding for its schools - close to the amount that the trial court ordered last year. That means a huge political migraine for Spitzer. On the one hand, the forces that backed the lawsuit - the teachers' union, the education-industry interests, New York City Democrats - represent the heart of Spitzer's liberal political base, and eagerly anticipate a big payoff. On the other hand, the billions in higher taxes needed to pay for the increased funding for the city's schools will make it impossible for Spitzer to fulfill his campaign promise to rescue the state from its looming fiscal crisis."
Early-college program set for California students
Date CapturedSunday October 15 2006, 9:11 AM
LA Daily News reports, "The Santa Clarita campus is set to open for the 2007-08 school year and will be on the college's new Canyon Country campus. The concept of the school is to take students who are underrepresented on college campuses - minorities, low-income students, English-language learners and first-generation college students - and put them into a college setting. This addresses a statewide trend - a decrease in minority enrollment in universities."
Behind the Barriers at Gallaudet
Date CapturedSaturday October 14 2006, 3:16 PM
NPR reports, "What are the underlying reasons for the turbulent protests at Gallaudet University? At least two dozen people were arrested after three days of student demonstrations at the liberal arts college for the deaf in Washington, D.C." AUDIO LINK
Nurseries’ success hard to measure
Date CapturedSaturday October 14 2006, 9:39 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH reports on babies born in prison, "The inmates spend their days in classes on parenting skills, CPR and car-seat safety. There’s a weekly story time for the babies and sessions on 'the power of the praying parent' for their mothers. The babies are isolated from the rest of the prison and don’t leave their immediate area. Other inmates serve as nannies while the mothers go to class, see counselors or visit the dining hall for meals.
Court should not determine school funding
Date CapturedFriday October 13 2006, 5:04 AM
UticaOD.com writes, "Whatever the court decides in this case [Campaign for Fiscal Equity], our children's education is really in our hands. It's up to us to pressure the legislature to take the appropriate steps to reform the school aid formula."
New York City Middle School Admission Studied
Date CapturedFriday October 13 2006, 3:33 AM
NY Times reports, "Speaking to members of the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council, Mr. Klein [New York City Schools Chancellor] said he was concerned that the process often unfairly favors savvy and well-connected parents."
Lawmakers seek less education spending:State looks to lower education spending
Date CapturedWednesday October 11 2006, 8:16 AM
The Journal News Yancey Roy reports, "Instead of a range of $4.7 billion to $5.6 billion in additional aid, as ordered by a mid-level court, state lawyers want the minimum set at $1.93 billion. State lawyers also want the court to issue its decision in a legally softer way - a "declaratory judgment," rather than a "directive." A directive would provide less wiggle room. But that was met with skepticism by a judge who has seen the case bounce around the legal system for 13 years."
School dollars back on court docket
Date CapturedWednesday October 11 2006, 5:15 AM
Times Union reports, "The Court of Appeals in 2003 ruled on CFE's behalf, agreeing the approximately 1.1 million-student New York City system had been shortchanged over the years and should get more funding. Since then, however, Gov. George Pataki and the state Legislature missed a court-ordered deadline to solve the funding problem and litigants have been back to both local and state courts several times in what could best be described as a classic legal saga of briefs, arguments, court rulings and appeals."
School Financing Case Argued Before New York State’s Highest Court
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 11:29 PM
NY Times reports, "Lawyers on opposing sides of a lawsuit that challenges the fairness of the state’s education financing system argued before the Court of Appeals on Tuesday over how much more money it would cost to give New York City’s schoolchildren a decent education — at least $4.7 billion or only $1.93 billion."
Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions and Harm our Children
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 9:20 AM
Read "Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions and Harm our Children" by Eric Hanushek. This link allows the reader to read the book by chapters.
Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions and Harm our Children (CHAPTER 1)
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 9:13 AM
By Eric Hanushek. Read chapter 1, by Sol Stern. Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. New York: The March of Folly.
America's Nobel minds
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 7:08 AM
USA Today opined, "These overachievers [Nobel winners] say something about education reform. It's imperative that we improve the quality of education so more Americans can get a decent crack at earning a living wage and making the American workforce more competitive. But it is also important because among the great many kids in the USA who are not getting a good education are some potential geniuses — and maybe even more Nobel Prize winners."
Bus carries school spending drive
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 6:21 AM
Poughkeepsie Journal reports, "Some critics contend the existing court ruling would not help other low-income districts and would only apply to funding for the city. 'They couldn't be wronger,' Ulster County legislator Susan Zimit said. She cited several Mid-Hudson Valley schools that would receive increased funding if the court supports the AQE/CFE formula."
CFE Supporters Rally for Aid Formula
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 6:16 AM
WXXI reports, "People demanding a new state school aid formula cheered as members of two pro-education groups pulled into Rochester Monday on board a school bus. Members of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity and the Alliance for Quality Education are touring the state on their way to Albany."
School Financing Case Plays Out in Court, and in Classrooms
Date CapturedTuesday October 10 2006, 3:21 AM
NY Times reports, "Geri D. Palast, the director of the fiscal equity group, said it had asked the court to impose strict controls to make sure the money was spent wisely. 'Accountability is at the core of this,' she said."
Improving minority education means knowing law, New Jersey parents told
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 1:38 PM
The Record (New Jersey) reports, "The statute [Title 18A], for instance, lists classes that must be taught in all districts. It outlines professional qualifications for teachers and lists the powers of the state and local school boards. In short, it's a blueprint for public education in New Jersey."
Courting Failure: Education Experts Expose the Politics behind the Nation's School Finance Lawsuits
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 10:08 AM
The Hoover Institute writes, "One of the most devastating elements in these [school funding equity] trials is the high-profile 'costing out' studies used to calculate the price tag of an adequate education. None of the studies effectively deals with any of the inefficiencies that currently exist in public schools, presuming that what is needed to get the desired student outcomes is simply more of the same -- and more money to support it. Indeed, some of the studies explicitly choose the most expensive way of running an educational program rather than the least expensive, inflating the costs and completely ignoring any possible change in the incentives or operations of public schools. Unfortunately, the courts have frequently sided with these recommendations."
Grants aid push for AP courses in Niagara Falls School District
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 9:55 AM
Buffalo News reports, "The goal is to bring more students, including minority students, into AP courses, chief school administrator Mark Laurrie said last week."
Advocates call for solution to fiscal equity lawsuit
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 8:23 AM
AP reports, "Tomorrow, the latest appeal will be heard, but a negotiated solution may extend beyond the end of Pataki's third term."
Fighting for dollars and sense
Date CapturedMonday October 09 2006, 5:45 AM
Newsday JOHN HILDEBRAND reports, "Lower courts already have ruled that the city shortchanges its students in that amount - for example, by employing thousands of uncertified teachers. Supporters hope a ruling in favor of city schools would also reap more money for needy districts elsewhere in the state, including Long Island. They base their hope on a political calculation: They assume that if the court orders the governor and legislature to distribute the money, that individual lawmakers then would demand that other needy districts also benefit from the windfall."
Up to court to end sellout of New York City schools
Date CapturedSunday October 08 2006, 8:46 AM
NY Daily News op-ed contributor Robert Jackson, plaintiff in CFE vs. State of New York and chairman of the Education Committee of the New York City Council writes, "It is to the enduring shame of this nation that millions of schoolchildren still struggle to learn in overcrowded classrooms with uncertified teachers, using outdated textbooks, and emerge bereft of a chance in life. These are conditions that demoralize, insult and crush young spirits, that breed despair, ignorance and civic alienation. The enduring social cost is enormous."
$11.6 Million in Grants Awarded for Highly Qualified Special Education Teachers, Early Intervention Personnel
Date CapturedThursday October 05 2006, 5:52 PM
The money will also be used to train specialists in early intervention and other aspects of services for students with disabilities, recognizing that the earlier children can be identified as being in need of services, the greater the likelihood they can reach their education potential.
Early Admissions Aren't the Problem
Date CapturedThursday October 05 2006, 7:07 AM
Washington Post Op-Ed contributor Amy Gutmann, president of U of Pennsylvania writes, "To end or not to end early admissions: That is the question that colleges and universities are debating once again. The passion is great, but the stakes are small and the debate is a distraction from a far more important matter: the urgent need of all but a handful of colleges and universities to improve financial aid for students from low-income and middle-income families."
Educators criticize potential federal cuts to education
Date CapturedFriday September 29 2006, 9:47 AM
Mid-Hudson News reports, "Dutchess and Orange County educators Thursday called on area members of Congress to resist funding cuts to education."
Let's Really Throw Open Doors to Higher Education
Date CapturedFriday September 29 2006, 8:39 AM
The Houston Chronicle Op-Ed contributor Margaret Spellings, a former Houstonian and U.S. secretary of education writes, "Higher education is a public as well as a private good. Parents, students and taxpayers pick up the vast majority of the tab for higher education. Over the years, we've invested tens of billions of dollars and just hoped for the best. It's time to ask what we are getting for our money."
Tackle Utah education disparity
Date CapturedFriday September 29 2006, 1:12 AM
Deseret Morning News editorial writes, "The report ["Closing Educational Achievement Gaps for Latina/o Students in Utah,"] points out the inadequacy of Utah's school funding in terms of per pupil expenditures, Utah's large school and class sizes as well as data that show that Utah funds districts with the highest percentage of minorities at lower rates. The researchers contend that while the methodology of the latter point could be disputed, 'the fact remains that districts with higher percentages of students of color, in fact, need more funding than (other) districts in order to move from 'equality' to 'equity.'"
New Orleans suit targets school busing: Parent says service must be provided
Date CapturedThursday September 28 2006, 8:23 AM
The Times-Picayune reports, "Calling into question the responsibilities of charter schools that now dominate New Orleans' public education landscape, a Lusher Elementary parent has filed a lawsuit challenging the school's decision not to provide bus service to its students."
The Invisible Face of CFE: New York’s Small City School Districts in Crisis
Date CapturedThursday September 28 2006, 7:47 AM
Prepared by Robert Biggerstaff, New York State Association of Small City School Districts' and written by Charles A. Winters, former Newburgh administrator, study concludes students in small New York state urban settings suffer as much or more than children in New York City from chronic underfunding. Small-city districts have comparable poverty levels, draw from a less wealthy tax base and students fail just as much, if not more, than New York City children.
Report stresses woes of schools in smaller New York state cities
Date CapturedThursday September 28 2006, 5:54 AM
Times Herald-Record reports, "Released yesterday by the New York State Association of Small City School Districts, the study says students in urban settings like Newburgh, Middletown and Kingston are suffering as much — or more — as kids in New York City from chronic underfunding."
Data Proposals Threaten Education and Civil Rights Accountability
Date CapturedWednesday September 27 2006, 8:14 AM
The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University concludes, "Data tracing trends over time is, of course, a central requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act, essential for judging compliance with various civil rights court orders, and required by the special education law. In some states, the change will make it appear that individual racial groups suddenly are performing substantially better or worse on some achievement tests even when nothing has changed about actual test results. One must not confuse the increases and losses in proficiency levels with actual achievement. In fact, policymakers would do well to be wary that the proposed guidelines do not result in unfair and arbitrary sanctions on schools and districts since the changes do not reflect actual improvements or losses in achievement levels."Lee, C. and Orfield, G. (2006). Data Proposals Threaten Education and Civil Rights Accountability. Cambridge, MA: The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University.
School board formulates policy on religion
Date CapturedWednesday September 27 2006, 7:45 AM
The Daily Freeman reports, "School officials say teachers must maintain neutrality on religious issues while recognizing that some concepts can only be taught with a limited number of cultural references."
New York City Schools Even Odds for Gifted Kids
Date CapturedTuesday September 26 2006, 4:49 AM
NY Post David Andreatta reports on a uniform application procedure for gifted children, "Citing an unreliable hodgepodge of selection criteria that varied from school to school and district to district, Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said that a standardized system would ensure equity."
Giving Kids the Chaff: How to Find and Keep the Teachers We Need
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 9:08 AM
Marie Gryphon, director of educational programs at the Institute for Humane Studies and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute concludes, "Teacher quality can be improved dramatically when hiring managers understand the attributes that make for good teachers and are given the right incentives to make good hiring decisions. Many of the current public policy proposals to improve educational quality in American public schools, such as merit pay and hiring bonuses for teachers with subjectspecific expertise, attempt to create the same economic stimuli that are naturally present in competitive markets. Allowing families to choose their schools, and giving schools the freedom and market incentives to make wise personnel decisions, will reward good schools and good teachers, providing more students with the high-quality education they deserve."
National Science Foundation (NSF) awards $3.3 million grant to Cornell to bolster the percentage of women faculty members
Date CapturedMonday September 25 2006, 8:50 AM
EurekAlert announces, "Cornell is committed to diversity, gender equality and promoting an environment in which all faculty can achieve their potential in research, education and service. The representation of women faculty in the university's science and engineering departments falls too far below the level of female doctorates produced nationally, according to Cornell administrators."
Missouri State, ACLU settle lawsuit over women's tennis
Date CapturedSunday September 24 2006, 9:13 AM
News Tribune reports, "Most schools meet Title IX requirements by demonstrating that the percentages of male and female athletes are substantially proportionate with the percentages of male and female students enrolled. Schools can also demonstrate a history of expanding athletic opportunities for the underrepresented sex or show that athletic programs accommodate the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex."
Beacon Club advocates for disabled students at University of Louisiana
Date CapturedSunday September 24 2006, 9:05 AM
"'I didn't know about these services until the end of my freshmen year,' he [student] said. 'It makes a difference to take a test in a distraction-free environment. Before I was taking a test in an environment with 30 to 100 students. It adds a different level of stress when you have a condition like ADHD.' Through the Services for Students with Disabilities office, he's able to have extra time to take his tests in a quiet environment."
NAACP urged to help Tennessee schools aim high
Date CapturedSaturday September 23 2006, 6:04 PM
The Tennessean reports, "School accountability and community involvement are key to ensuring that all children, regardless of their race, economic background or physical condition, are getting a fair shot at a good education, a panel of educators told NAACP members Friday."
North Dakota college board approves gay-inclusive antiharassment policy
Date CapturedFriday September 22 2006, 11:57 PM
Advocate.com reports, "North Dakota's board of higher education has ordered the system's colleges to review their antiharassment policies, which must include a ban on harassing someone because of his or her sexual orientation. The sexual orientation provision is not required by federal or state law, said Pat Seaworth, the university system's lawyer."
Secretary Spellings encourages free tutoring program
Date CapturedFriday September 22 2006, 9:45 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH reports, "Spellings said some school districts haven’t been forthcoming enough about parents’ options, perhaps because the districts pay for the tutoring with the federal funding it receives."
Ithaca and educational equity
Date CapturedFriday September 22 2006, 7:58 AM
Ithaca Journal guest columnist Patrice Lockert Anthony opined, "The effects of individualism and its impact on racism, on society's psyche, are deeply ingrained. To positively impact our future we need a community-wide commitment to change, equity and excellence for all. Without that commitment, like the Ithaca City School District's commitment to equity, promises and laws are just words on paper."
It's deja vu for some test questions
Date CapturedFriday September 22 2006, 5:41 AM
Newsday John Hildebrand reports, "When the state's [New York]first fourth-grade tests came out in 1999, published reports quoted some Coney Island schoolchildren as exulting because they already had read most of the passages. On Long Island, educators continue hearing similar stories. Said Neil Lederer, superintendent of Lindenhurst schools, 'I would imagine that where students are exposed to that, it gives those students a real advantage.'"
‘We're always going to have to fight'
Date CapturedThursday September 21 2006, 9:58 AM
The Citizen reports on Title IX panel (Peter Liddell, Athletic Director of Cayuga Community College, Joan Sitterly, Athletic Director of SUNY Cortland, Shelly Connors, a physical education teacher and coach and Dr. Chris Mack, a professor at SUNY Oswego and panel mediator) discussion, "The panel discussed the effects of title IX on local schools across Central New York. Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 banned sex discrimination in schools, whether is [it] be in academics or athletics."
Unfair Advancement
Date CapturedThursday September 21 2006, 3:52 AM
NY Times Op-Ed contributor Rodney Labrecque, head of Wilbraham & Monson Academy, a college preparatory school opined on Advanced Placement (AP) tests, "Even if Advanced Placement were an effective high school education tool, there is little evidence to think it would be a useful yardstick for admissions. A 2004 study of the University of California system found that 'the number of Advanced Placement and honors courses taken in high school bears little or no relationship to student’s later performance in college.' (Not surprisingly, the College Board, which administers the tests, rebutted this conclusion.)"
Single-sex schools more common
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 9:13 AM
UPI reports, "The U.S. Department of Education is expected to release guidelines soon which could cause those numbers to exploded, Stateline.org reported. Administrators are caught between conflicting laws, the No Child Left Behind Act, which allows single-sex classrooms, and the 1972 law [Title IX] that bans gender discrimination."
Is Ithaca Central School District really committed to equity?
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 7:49 AM
Ithaca Journal Op-Ed contributor Audrey Cooper, on behalf of ACTION: Activists Committed To Interrupting Oppression Now! writes, “'Continue efforts to recruit and retain a staff that is ethnically and culturally diverse. Ensure that all search committees see this as a key district goal, and enlist the support of the community in attracting and retaining staff of color at all levels. Train supervisors to insure (sic) that the workplace is free of bias, harassment, prejudice, or discrimination and is a safe and welcoming place for all employees.' Despite the intentions implied in the above words, many of the superintendent's actions indicate a lack of commitment to such recruitment and retention."
Rivera addresses racism concerns
Date CapturedWednesday September 20 2006, 5:27 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Rochester School Superintendent Manuel Rivera pledged Tuesday to investigate charges of institutional racism in the City School District and create a better system for employees to raise workplace concerns without fear of retaliation."
Columbia Alters Financial Aid for Low-Income Students
Date CapturedTuesday September 19 2006, 7:16 PM
NY Times KAREN W. ARENSON reports, "Columbia officials said that even though the campus already has the most socio-economically diverse student body in the Ivy League, the move to replace loans with grants for low-income students will enhance that diversity further."
Highlights of the Final Report of the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education: A Test of Leadership-Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education
Date CapturedTuesday September 19 2006, 5:24 PM
U.S. Department of Education press release: "Secretary Spellings formed the Commission on the Future of Higher Education to launch a national dialogue on the need to strengthen higher education so that our students and our nation will remain competitive in the 21st century. As a college diploma becomes more critical, higher education must be accessible to all Americans and meet the needs of America's diverse and changing student population. The Commission found that: College access, particularly for low-income and minority students, is limited by inadequate academic preparation, a lack of information and persistent financial barriers; The current financial aid system is confusing, complex and inefficient, and is therefore frequently unable to direct aid to the students who need it most; and There is a shortage of clear, comprehensive, and accessible information about the colleges and universities themselves, including comparative data about cost and performance."
Drive urges reworking school aid
Date CapturedTuesday September 19 2006, 5:32 AM
Times Union reports, "Stratton [Schenectady mayor] said the resolution of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit could add $60 million in state aid to Schenectady City Schools over the next four years. That is the figure included in a proposed settlement of the lawsuit, according to the Alliance for Quality Education, a statewide group that advocates for more school funding."
It's still rich school, poor school
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 8:48 AM
The Oregonian reports, "The Portland Schools Foundation was created in a time of waning support for public schools to harness the energy and means of wealthy parents and keep them from fleeing to private schools. The equity fund grew out of a desire to ensure that holding onto those parents didn't just serve to widen the gap between rich and poor schools."
Wisconsin Desegregation NewsTracker
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 8:17 AM
The Journal Times reports, "More than two-thirds of Racine Unified's [Wisconsin] school buildings wouldn't comply with a proposed desegregation policy based on student enrollment data from last school year."
Women athletes finally get their due
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 7:43 AM
Kansas City Star reports, "The university [Central Missouri State] is inviting women who played sports before the early 1970s to attend the homecoming football game Oct. 14 to get letters that only male athletes could earn at the time. So far, about 100 women have indicated they will attend, organizers said."
Early Admissions
Date CapturedMonday September 18 2006, 3:31 AM
The Washington Post opined on Harvard's changed admissions policy, "As other schools ponder whether they can afford to follow the example of Harvard and Delaware, they would do well to note the widespread reaction of parents, teachers and guidance counselors who see the decision as a step toward easing the anxiety, tension and premature pressure that has come to permeate the process for too many students."
The battle over charter schools in California
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 11:31 AM
Inside Bay Area reports, "Despite the growth, charters make up only about 6 percent of the state's schools, and they enroll only about 3 percent of California students, according to EdSource, a nonpartisan educational policy group. Charter schools never have found easy acceptance in the state. School districts have fought or blocked their creation within city boundaries, teachers' unions accuse the movement of undermining hard-won contracts and charter operators complain they have been hamstrung and undercut by a confusing and constricting stream of laws that stifle the very reform the schools were formed to foster."
New Hampshire given final chance to step up to education plate
Date CapturedSunday September 17 2006, 10:52 AM
Portsmouth Herald opined, "What the courts, school officials, parents and students really want and need is a specific list of what courses and levels of proficiency constitute an adequate education in today's world. The plans put forth by legislatures and governors since the first Claremont education funding suit in 1993 define adequacy based on how much the state can afford to pay toward the education of its children, not what the children actually need to be educated adequately."
Harvard Ends Early Admissions, and Guess Who Wins
Date CapturedSaturday September 16 2006, 1:06 PM
NY Times reports, "Harvard officials argue that the program gives yet another leg up to well-off students, who don’t need to compare financial-aid offers from numerous colleges and who often attend high schools where counselors help put together applications. After the announcement, many people within education urged other colleges to take a similar step."
Rural schools lobby for cash to ease logging losses
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 8:33 AM
The Oregonian reports, "More than 200 rural educators and officials from 22 states converged on Capitol Hill this week in a last-ditch effort to pressure Congress to continue payments to rural counties hurt by cutbacks in federal logging."
No Worm for the Early Bird
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 8:26 AM
Wall Street Journal opined on early admissions, "This week, Harvard University announced a plan to drop its "early admission" program in order to encourage more economic and racial diversity in its applicant pool. That the Crimson gatekeepers are trying yet another strategy to promote campus diversity will surprise no one."
CFE Gears Up for Court Date
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 7:57 AM
WXXI Karen DeWitt reports, "CFE wants the State's [New York] highest court to affirm the lower court's finding that around $5 billion additional dollars per year will be required. And Wayland [CFE attorney] says he wants the state's highest court to make clear that the legislature and governor must comply with the court's order."
Some see early South Carolina childhood program opening voucher door
Date CapturedFriday September 15 2006, 1:04 AM
AP reports, "Under the new law, children have to live in the suing school districts and meet age and income limits to get into the privately operated programs. But they can 'attend schools outside that geography,' DeVenny [director of statewide early childhood education program] said."
Service-learning program gives children a ‘jump start’ into school
Date CapturedThursday September 14 2006, 1:36 PM
"The School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has launched a new outreach and service-learning program aimed at helping economically disadvantaged preschoolers get a "jump start" on kindergarten, while giving college students experience in the classroom."
Shortage of Bronx school nurses critical
Date CapturedThursday September 14 2006, 9:01 AM
NY Daily News reports, "Maysoun Freij, an advocate for the New York Immigration Coalition, said, 'New York has the fortune of having a large pool of bilingual and bicultural students who could go on to become nurses and doctors if given the chance.'"
It's way past time for school funding reform
Date CapturedThursday September 14 2006, 5:56 AM
Times Herald-Record contributor Sue Books, professor in the Department of Secondary Education at SUNY New Paltz opined, "In 2003, the funding gap between the 25 percent of school districts in New York with the most and the least poverty was $2,280 per pupil. Between two high schools with 1,500 students each, this amounts to $3.4 million a year. Funding gaps on this scale mean children in some schools receive much more than others of almost everything money can buy for schools: buildings in good repair; well-qualified and adequately compensated teachers; challenging programs; opportunities to participate in art, music and sports; and enough guidance counselors to help students through the increasingly complex college-application maze."
Binghamton leaders support new funding plan for education
Date CapturedWednesday September 13 2006, 3:30 PM
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports, "The officials who spoke at a press conference at Binghamton City Hall said lawmakers should come up with a statewide solution that would funnel more state school aid money to less affluent school districts statewide, including those in the Southern Tier."
Why don't we really make education a top priority?
Date CapturedTuesday September 12 2006, 11:33 PM
Editorial Board of the Union-Bulletin opined, "Poll after poll has told us that the people of Washington state (and, frankly, every other state) put quality education atop their priority list for government. If so, why has higher education - a key segment of a quality education - become so expensive that a great many working, middle-class parents can no longer afford to send their kids to college."
Segregated schools: New debate, old problem
Date CapturedTuesday September 12 2006, 7:12 AM
USA TODAY DeWayne Wickham opined, "In essence, this 1974 ruling gave whites who flee to the suburbs the cover they needed to perpetuate the school segregation that the high court outlawed 20 years earlier, many of the panelists argued. In 1935, W.E.B. DuBois, the black sociologist and civil rights activist, wrote that 'the Negro needs neither segregated schools nor mixed schools. What he needs is (a good) Education.' Chambers thinks DuBois is right — and so do I."
Harvard Ends Early Admission, Citing Barrier to Disadvantaged
Date CapturedTuesday September 12 2006, 2:58 AM
NY Times ALAN FINDER and KAREN W. ARENSON report, "Harvard will be the first of the nation’s prestigious universities to do away completely with early admissions, in which high school seniors try to bolster their chances at competitive schools by applying in the fall and learning whether they have been admitted in December, months before other students."
Save the Children USA
Date CapturedMonday September 11 2006, 11:04 PM
War leaves 43 million children without education, study finds
Date CapturedMonday September 11 2006, 10:56 PM
AP reports, "The report is part of Save the Children's five-year "Rewrite the Future" education initiative that will be launched Tuesday by more than 40 countries. The campaign will try to help millions of children in conflict-affected areas gain access to education."
Race, Poverty and Special Education
Date CapturedSunday September 10 2006, 10:58 PM
Connect for Kids reprints National Academies editorial by Christopher Cross, senior fellow at the Center on Education Policy, "To make sure that minority students who are poorly prepared for school are not assigned to special education solely for that reason, teachers should be required to first provide them with effective instruction and social support in mainstream classrooms before considering special ed."
Michigan’s Big Property Tax Cut, and the Lessons It Has for New Jersey
Date CapturedSunday September 10 2006, 2:01 AM
NY Times RICHARD G. JONES writes, "Some elements resembling parts of Michigan’s solution have already been suggested in Trenton. For instance, at the start of the special legislative session, Gov. Jon S. Corzine proposed a cap of 4 percent on the annual increase in property tax rates. In many towns, the rate has climbed nearly twice that in one year. And while legislators have also discussed reducing the state’s reliance on property taxes to pay for public schools — last year, $10.8 billion, or 55 percent, of the state’s $19.6 billion property tax levy was used for education — no legislator has at this point suggested a change as drastic as the one in Michigan."
Upstate schools want aid if N.Y.C. gets more funds: September is "Act For Education Month."
Date CapturedSaturday September 09 2006, 8:24 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "In anticipation of next month's hearing in the state Court of Appeals, the groups rallied education and political leaders in Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo and other cities to push for the passage of legislation to increase school funding if the Court of Appeals upholds a ruling to send more school aid to New York City."
Changes in New York state school funding urged
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 11:51 PM
Mid-Hudson News reports, "Sottile (Kingston mayor) said he feels that richer counties are being favored in the current school funding system, funded by property taxes, and that the poorer, and more in need counties are being left in the dust."
New Hampshire State Supreme Court invalidates school funding system
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 11:03 PM
AP reports, "In a strongly worded ruling, the state Supreme Court agreed Friday that legislators have failed to define a constitutionally adequate education, as about two dozen school districts claim."
$17 Million in Grants Awarded Under the Advanced Placement Incentive Grant
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 10:37 PM
Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced the award of 33 grants totaling $17 million to boost participation of low-income students in advanced placement courses and tests. The grant is being provided to states, school districts, and national education nonprofits to help increase advanced placement access rates for economically disadvantaged students.
Secretary Spellings Announces Partnership with 100 Black Men of America, Inc.
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 10:33 PM
According to the agreement, the U.S. Department of Education will seek "to fully engage the African American community and its leaders in the successful implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act as it relates to school choice, charter schools, supplemental services, parent report cards, and all of the benefits and options provided to parents with students in schools in need of improvement."
Watch Inside Albany
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 7:00 PM
This week on Inside Albany: Patience thin on CFE-Advocates in NYC school aid case say it's time for the state to pay up. Make children a priority-New coalition wants policymakers to pay more attention to kids. (check schedule)
Idaho high court closes school funding suit, but questions linger
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 8:44 AM
Idaho Stateman reports, "University of Idaho law professor Elizabeth Brandt thinks closing the case did not end the controversy, but instead signals that the court will let the Legislature decide how to fix the problem — not mandate a funding formula from the bench. 'When they say the case is closed, all they mean is that there's a final judgment,' Brandt said. 'That doesn't mean the court isn't going to enforce its order.'"
Let Schools 'Look Like America,' Too
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 7:49 AM
LA Times opined, "The administration [Justice Department] is telling the court that school systems that place a priority on diversity violate the 'equal protection of the laws' guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. In his brief, Clement argues that'"the use of a racial classification to achieve a desired racial balance in public schools' is just as unconstitutional as old-fashioned racial segregation."
More state money sought by Syracuse schools
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 6:12 AM
The Post-Standard reports, "As classroom doors swung open for another year in Syracuse Thursday, elected officials and educators called on the state Legislature to meet the terms of a court ruling and put up billions of dollars to provide poorer school districts with the same resources as wealthy ones."
Syracuse board hears unions' pitch
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 6:08 AM
Post-Standard reports, "Towsley [Central and Northern New York Building Trades Council] said the arrangement can save money, get Syracuse students trained through union apprenticeship programs, increase women and minority participation and increase safety."
Albany Common Council backs call for education funding reform
Date CapturedFriday September 08 2006, 12:34 AM
Capital News 9 reports, "The Campaign for Fiscal Equity wants New York State to close the gap in education funding. And the Albany Common Council is backing the cause in declaring September 'Act for Education Month.'"
NAACP, school leaders meet in Wayne County, North Carolina
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 10:25 PM
News 14 Carolina reports, "The topic of segregation came up at a state Board of Education meeting Thursday. The board was in Wayne County touring some of the lowest-performing schools in the state that a judge threatened to shut down. It was a chance for North Carolina’s NCAAP leader to tell members that issues of segregation can no longer be ignored."
State called on to comply with court ruling on New York City school funding
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 9:05 AM
The Business Review (Albany) reports, "Elected officials in Albany, N.Y., and Schenectady will hold events Thursday designed to pressure the state into complying with the court ruling in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case."
Local New Jersey NAACP reacts to racial school probe
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 8:59 AM
Asbury Park Press reports, "The ACLU contends there was a pattern of segregation in how Lakewood refers special-education preschoolers to out-of-district schools."
Plattsburgh State Upward Bound's success rate: 92-percent college attendance with a 60-percent graduation rate
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 7:34 AM
Press Republican opined, "Upward Bound projects provide academic instruction in mathematics, laboratory sciences, composition, literature and foreign languages. The local students experience living in the university's dormitories and move to their classes in real-life collegiate settings. While attending lectures and getting homework in subjects like public speaking, creative writing and foreign languages, the students also participate in a variety of out-of-classroom activites, like attending leadership conferences, hiking and field trips."
California Governor Won't Sign Textbook Bill
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 3:48 AM
NY Times reports, "A bill passed by state lawmakers would have barred school textbooks from using language that is discriminatory to gays, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refused Wednesday sign it."
Report Finds U.S. Students Lagging in Finishing College
Date CapturedThursday September 07 2006, 3:35 AM
NY Times reports, "The report 'badly miscalculates New York’s TAP program and inaccurately portrays higher education in New York as unaffordable,’' said John R. Ryan, the SUNY chancellor. 'Nothing could be further from the truth.'”
Feds decrease education grants to Connecticut
Date CapturedWednesday September 06 2006, 7:07 PM
AP reports, "Federal grants for programs and services required under the No Child law are based on U.S. Census poverty figures, so many New England states have seen their grants drop because of their relative affluence compared with other parts of the country, state education officials said."
Inequality and the Right to Learn: Access to Qualified Teachers in California's Public Schools
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 6:46 PM
By Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University. "The article outlines the legal rationale for insisting on access to qualified teachers for all students, analyzes the reasons for the current shortfalls in California, and proposes a set of remedies based on research and policy outcomes elsewhere." Teachers College Record Volume 106 Number 10, 2004, p. 1936-1966. http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 11677, Date Accessed: 9/5/2006 5:46:06 PM
Computer and Internet Use by Students in 2003
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 11:00 AM
This report examines the use of computers and the Internet by American children enrolled in nursery school and students in kindergarten through grade 12. One of the more important findings presented in the report is that schools appear to help narrow the disparities between different types of students in terms of computer use. Differences in the rates of computer use are smaller at school than they are at home when considering such characteristics as race/ethnicity, family income, and parental education. DeBell, M., and Chapman, C. (2006). Computer and Internet Use by Students in 2003 (NCES 2006– 065). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
A ride to pre-K
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 5:40 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle opined, "It is well-known that children in the poorest city neighborhoods are more likely to live with single working parents or parents who don't own cars. This makes transporting children to a 21/2-hour pre-K program difficult, if not impossible. Those few agencies that host prekindergarten programs and use their own resources to transport kids find their services are in demand."
Exam-free rule for religious holidays in New York City schools
Date CapturedTuesday September 05 2006, 4:29 AM
NY Daily News reports, "The law was spurred after statewide English exams for third-graders were scheduled during the Muslim holidays of Eid-al-Adha and Eid-al-Fitr during the last school year."
At 2-Year Colleges, Students Eager but Unready
Date CapturedSaturday September 02 2006, 9:17 AM
NY Times reports, "Aside from New York City’s higher education system, at least 12 states explicitly bar state universities from providing remedial courses or take other steps like deferred admissions to steer students needing helping toward technical or community colleges. Some students who need to catch up attend two- and four-year institutions simultaneously. The efforts, educators say, have not cut back on the thousands of students who lack basic skills. Instead, the colleges have clustered those students in community colleges, where their chances of succeeding are low and where taxpayers pay a second time to bring them up to college level. The phenomenon has educators struggling with fundamental questions about access to education, standards and equal opportunity."
Where's the courage in education reform?
Date CapturedSaturday September 02 2006, 9:07 AM
Scrippsnews contributor Star Parker writes, "According to NCLB, students in failing schools must be notified and permitted to transfer to another school. We have found that 250,000, about 30 percent, of the students in the LA system are eligible for such transfers, yet notification is not being given and there have only been only slightly more than 500 transfers."
Promise Abandoned: How Policy Choices and Institutional Practices Restrict College Opportunities
Date CapturedFriday September 01 2006, 9:25 AM
Kati Haycock, Director of the Education Trust and author of the report writes, "Though college leaders may not have intended this, higher education — especially the four-year college sector — has become a mechanism for reinforcing social class, rather than a vehicle for fostering social mobility. That’s bad for low-income and minority families. And it is bad for America."
Affirmation Exercise Dramatically Alters Racial Achievement Gap
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 1:14 PM
Medical News Today reports, "'People subjected to widely known negative stereotypes impugning the intelligence of their group are aware of these negative characterizations and may worry that performing poorly could confirm the stereotype of their group,' said Julio Garcia, associate research scientist in the Psychology Department at Yale."
Class-Action Suit in New Jersey Filed Over Education
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 12:16 PM
School Reform News, The Heartland Institute, Aaron Atwood writes, "A strong partnership between national and state-level school reform activists has already formed in support of the lawsuit. Several national groups--including the Black Ministers' Council, Latino Leadership Alliance, and Alliance for School Choice--have joined forces with a state group, Excellent Education for Everyone (E3), to support the plaintiffs."
$3 billion plan for struggling California schools is revealed
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 12:08 PM
UNION-TRIBUNE reports on agreement with the California Teachers Association, "The estimated 600 schools in the pilot program would be selected from applicants among 1,600 low-performing schools whose scores on statewide tests are in the bottom 20 percent. The schools would have to maintain an average class size of 20 students in kindergarten through the third grade, a current requirement, and an average of 25 students not to exceed 27 students in most fourth-through 12th-grade classes. The schools would have to have at least one credentialed counselor for every 300 students. Using a new index, the average experience of teachers would have to equal or exceed the district average. The schools also would have to move toward a three-year goal of improving their test scores. Pupil attendance and graduation rates also would be expected to show improvement."
On exam, Massachusetts charter schools get edge
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 11:59 AM
Boston Globe reports, "Jeff Wulfson, associate commissioner of the state Department of Education, said the findings show that charter schools outperform regular public schools, even when demographics are taken into account. For example, the study found that students in Boston's charter schools, including black and Hispanics who have scored lower in the past, performed significantly better than students in regular public schools."
Surf's Up! Settlement Means Internet Use For More Students
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 10:10 AM
The Tampa Tribune reports, "The new funding results from a 2003 settlement of a class-action suit in which Florida accused the computer giant of violating antitrust laws and driving up the cost of technology. Microsoft denied all allegations but settled for up to $202 million, paid out in the form of $5 and $12 technology vouchers to reimburse Florida consumers and businesses that had purchased Microsoft products."
Test results similar among San Diego campuses
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 9:11 AM
UNION-TRIBUNE reports, "Where choice programs make the biggest difference is in diversifying school populations to include a mix of ethnicities, races and socioeconomic backgrounds, according to the study. Nonwhite students, especially black students, are generally more likely to participate in choice programs than whites. Usually, these students opt to go to schools that have more white students and are higher-achieving."
Hawaii DOE floats new funding idea
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 8:47 AM
Honolulu Advertiser reports on student-weighted funding, "Creation of a funding formula based on student need is a legislative mandate that's part of the Reinventing Education Act of 2004. The new funding mechanism has become one of the primary education issues in Hawai'i. The goal of the formula is to assure more equitable distribution of money among the state's public schools and, ultimately, improve student performance. And it would affect every regular public school in the state."
Students’ Paths to Small Colleges Can Bypass SAT
Date CapturedThursday August 31 2006, 8:28 AM
NY Times TAMAR LEWIN reports, "Half a century ago, the SAT was a tool for opening college access to students who did not come from elite schools, a steppingstone to academic meritocracy. But many admissions officers now see the test as a barrier to low-income students and those who do not speak English at home. Test scores, college officials say, present a skewed picture both of poor students who have had little formal preparation, and wealthy ones who spend thousands of dollars — not to mention evenings, weekends and summers — on tutoring."
Houston, Texas schools minority report
Date CapturedWednesday August 30 2006, 6:24 PM
The Dothan Eagle reports, "Hiring and promoting minorities is the Houston County Schools’ last obstacle before coming out from under a federal desegregation order. A competitive labor market and convincing minorities fresh-out-of-college to locate to a rural area is making this tough."
Workshop on transgender teacher will go online
Date CapturedWednesday August 30 2006, 7:37 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "The meeting with students is the next step for the district, which has already met with parents and trained staff to support a transgendered science teacher who will start the school year as a woman."
The National Center for Schools and Communities at Fordham
Date CapturedTuesday August 29 2006, 1:28 PM
New Jersey's forsaken school funding formula to be reviewed
Date CapturedTuesday August 29 2006, 9:12 AM
AP reports, "About 55 percent of the property tax money collected annually in New Jersey goes toward schools, and about $10 billion of the $30 billion spent every year by the state goes to school operations."
Literacy program to expand in Buffalo
Date CapturedMonday August 28 2006, 12:56 PM
Business First of Buffalo reports, "The program will allow Project Flight to establish BookNook programs with on-site libraries and a family literacy resource center, as well as tutors for children, parents and teachers at the two at-risk schools."
Special Mount Saint Mary program helps college freshmen succeed
Date CapturedSunday August 27 2006, 8:49 AM
Times-Herald reports, "Over the summer, the private college in Newburgh took 13 incoming freshmen, all financially or academically disadvantaged, and put them through an intensive prep course. Classes and study time ran from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. There were tests and counseling, designed to help them learn to succeed in the fall semester and beyond."
Good news in public education
Date CapturedSunday August 27 2006, 8:16 AM
The PressRepublican opined on school choice, "Private schools have long argued that New Yorkers should have a choice in the schools they attend. They do have a choice, but the law provides a free education in a public school. It doesn't provide subsidies for schools that could drain money from the public system. Nor should it. School choice is a luxury, not a necessity."
Don't confuse learning with research skirmish
Date CapturedSaturday August 26 2006, 9:35 AM
Times Union Op-Ed contributor JEANNE ALLEN, Center for Education Reform, Washington, D.C. responds to "It's wrong to declare the charter school movement as revolutionary," Aug. 14 Op-Ed, "Mr. Morse closes his letter saying: 'If our government intends to seriously address the root causes of poor performing schools, our elected leaders must look to the origins of poverty, illiteracy and school failure, and not continue to exploit urban school children and their struggles for their own political gain.' We couldn't agree more. And to that we might add that research war skirmishes have nothing to do with parents wanting to send their children to a school that works."
Administration backs white school parents in integration appeal
Date CapturedFriday August 25 2006, 2:40 PM
San Francisco Chronicle publishes LA Times report, "For decades afterward [Brown vs. Board of Education], school districts across the nation adopted policies to bring about racial integration in their classrooms: Some set enrollment guidelines that prevented schools from becoming nearly all black or all white, while others have used magnet programs that consider a student's race. Many of those policies remain in effect. Clement, the Bush administration's chief lawyer before the high court, said such programs should be struck down whenever they involve the use of a 'racial classification' to decide who may enroll."
Utah preschool alternative proposed
Date CapturedFriday August 25 2006, 2:26 PM
Deseret Morning News reports, "It would offer training to day-care centers and existing preschools. It would provide outreach for low-income, immigrant and otherwise disadvantaged families, including home visits, creating small groups and working with public libraries and neighborhood schools, Stephenson [Senator] said. Families also could attend 'learning parties' at public or private schools to acquire such skills and build school community bonds."
Agassi Prep offers kids of Las Vegas a reason to learn
Date CapturedFriday August 25 2006, 8:22 AM
USA Today reports on Agassi charter school, "'Picture every year, all the time that you see sort of these evolutions of the children themselves,' he [Agassi] says. 'All of a sudden, they're ninth graders. You think, 'You were third graders. Look at you. You're standing taller than me, speaking better than I speak, having more of a plan for your life than I have for mine.' The kids are the best part of this.'"
Children's pre-K education is crucial to their future success
Date CapturedThursday August 24 2006, 9:06 AM
Idaho Statesman Op-Ed contributor Eldon Wallace, retired associate commissioner of finance with the Missouri Department of Higher Education opined on early learning, "We are being confronted with overwhelming evidence that the great potential for early learning and for social-skill development during the first five years of life has not been met for many of our children. As a result, there is a major gap in kindergarten readiness in Idaho between the children who are educationally neglected and the children of parents who can afford preschool and/or have time, knowledge and motivation to work with their child."
Manhattan: Teacher Exam Suit Back to Lower Court
Date CapturedThursday August 24 2006, 8:54 AM
NY Times reports, "In 2003, Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled in favor of the state and the New York City Board of Education, rejecting the class-action suit brought on behalf of hundreds of black and Latino city teachers who were dismissed after failing the tests."
Demand for preschool widens — as does ethnic gap
Date CapturedThursday August 24 2006, 8:41 AM
The Journal News reports, "Hispanic parents tend not to send their children to preschool for a number of reasons. Financial constraints, low educational status and a cultural preference for caring for children at home are among the most common explanations."
City slapped in special ed lawsuit
Date CapturedThursday August 24 2006, 7:52 AM
NY Daily News reports on class-action lawsuit charging special education children are cheated out of services when disputes erupt, "A lawyer who has represented parents of special education students but is uninvolved with the lawsuit agreed that the hearings are an obstacle, particularly for those who can't afford lawyers."
Do Charter Schools Make the Grade?
Date CapturedWednesday August 23 2006, 9:45 AM
NPR Elaine Korry reports (audio), "For a decade charter schools have been touted as an alternative to under performing public schools. But a new government survey shows these schools lagging slightly behind public schools in student achievement."
Statement by Secretary Margaret Spellings on Release of NCES Study on Charter Schools
Date CapturedWednesday August 23 2006, 9:37 AM
Secretary Spellings, "Charter schools are empowering low-income parents with new educational options and providing an important lifeline for families in areas where traditional public schools have fallen short of their responsibilities."
A Summary of the Current Research on California's Effectiveness at Improving Student Achievement
Date CapturedTuesday August 22 2006, 7:07 PM
Key Findings: "The available research, presented chronologically below, shows that by introducing high-quality and innovative approaches into public education, California’s charter public schools are having a positive impact on the state’s public school system."
The 38th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools
Date CapturedTuesday August 22 2006, 10:47 AM
(September 2006) By LOWELL C. ROSE executive director emeritus of Phi Delta Kappa International and ALEC M. GALLUP, co-chairman, with George Gallup, Jr., of the Gallup Organization, Princeton, N.J. "In probing the public’s opinions of NCLB, the PDK/Gallup poll finds that there is widespread support for the law’s goals -- closing the achievement gap between African American and Latino students and their white peers and improving educational outcomes for all students -- but broad disagreement with its specific strategies. When asked whether testing students in only English and math, as currently required by NCLB, can give a fair picture of a school, 81% of the public say no. And 78% are worried that the law’s focus on these two subjects will mean less emphasis on other subjects. The poll finds that two-thirds of those surveyed oppose measuring school success by the percentage of students passing a single statewide test, while 81% prefer measuring the improvement that students make during the year."
The Future of D.C. Public Schools: Traditional or Charter Education?
Date CapturedTuesday August 22 2006, 8:58 AM
The Washington Post reports on charter schools in DC Public Schools, "As charters have proliferated, the number of students attending traditional schools has plummeted from 80,000 a decade ago to 58,000 last school year. Because tax dollars follow the student, charters now claim at least $140 million a year that might otherwise flow to neighborhood schools. That has led traditional schools to cut programs, lay off teachers and, for the first time in nearly a decade, close."
Free college-prep exams for New Yok City students
Date CapturedTuesday August 22 2006, 8:08 AM
Daily News Erin Einhorn reports, "In addition to helping kids get into college, Klein said, the test and its results will also serve to help teachers and parents to know the areas where each student is struggling and extra attention is needed. The College Board says that similar arrangements in other cities dramatically increased the number of students taking the test and better prepared them for college."
U.S. Education Department Grants Provide Over $11.6 Million for 23 Native Hawaiian Education Programs: Improving Innovative Education Emphasized Under No Child Left Behind
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 9:55 PM
US Dept of Education announces, "Nearly two dozen Native Hawaiian Education (NHE) programs on Oahu, Maui and the island of Hawaii have been selected to receive $11,609,750 to develop, assist and expand innovative programs that provide supplemental services and address the educational needs of Native Hawaiian children and adults, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced today."
Single-Sex Versus Coeducation Schooling: A Systematic Review
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 5:07 PM
"This report deals primarily with single-sex education at the elementary and secondary levels. Research in the United States on the question of whether public single-sex education might be beneficial to males, females or a subset of either group (particularly disadvantaged youths) has been limited. However, because there has been a resurgence of single-sex schools in the public sector, it was deemed appropriate to conduct a systematic review of single-sex education research."U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, Policy and Program Studies Service, Single-Sex Versus Secondary Schooling: A Systematic Review, Washington, D.C., 2005.
When it comes to schools, Texas parents know best
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 9:08 AM
Chron.com contributor Dr. James Leininger funds private scholarships for low-income children and advocates enactment of school choice programs in Texas. Leininger writes, "Giving all parents the same ability to find the best school for their child gives power to parents to fulfill to the needs of their children. Under such choice programs, schools are no longer able to take students for granted, but instead must compete to convince parents that they will do the best job in educating their children."
CUNY'S CLASSY TACT-IC TO TEACH GRACES
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 7:41 AM
NY Post education writer David Andreatta reports, "Believing that the curriculum at the esteemed City University of New York business school is second to none, college officials said the new program focuses on refining students in the social graces inborn to country-club kids attending pricey universities. Workshops on dining etiquette, accent reduction, global affairs and presentation skills are on the agenda. There is also talk of offering students golf lessons to prep them for the inevitable day when they will entertain fat cats on the links."
Free preschool will help Latinos and US
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 7:29 AM
Christian Science Monitor contributor Alexandra Starr, journalism fellow in child and family policy in 2005 opined, "To give all kids a chance to be successful in school, we have to intervene early. Kindergarten is too late. But creating more early education programs isn't enough; states need to proactively reach out to Latinos. If they don't, expanding pre-K could ironically increase the disparities in educational achievement, as more whites and African-American kids enroll in these programs, and Latinos continue to be left out."
ELITE SCHOOLS UNDER FIRE
Date CapturedMonday August 21 2006, 7:03 AM
NY Post editorial opined on academic achievement and enrollment at CUNY and elite schools, "Lowering admissions standards at elite public high schools - in other words, admitting students who are not able to handle a deliberately difficult and challenging workload - will hardly prepare those students for academically elite colleges and universities."
Lack of cheerleaders for girls' sports probed [Binghamton]
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 2:28 PM
AP reports, "Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination against students, requires equal benefits for girls' and boys' teams, including cheerleader and band support, according to the Women's Sports Foundation, an advocacy group."
Funding windfall will go to salaries, programs: North Dakota legislature to consider equity formula; state funds will help some districts
Date CapturedSunday August 20 2006, 1:32 PM
Grand Forks Herald reports, "Devils Lake Superintendent Steve Swiontek has no trouble finding potential uses for his school's expected windfall in state funding for education. 'No. 1, we'll look at teachers' salaries,' he said. 'Our base salary is $23,200, compared to about $30,000 at Grand Forks and Fargo.'"
Nebraska seeks dismissal of NAACP lawsuit
Date CapturedSaturday August 19 2006, 9:15 AM
AP reports, "State officials on Friday sought the dismissal of an NAACP lawsuit challenging a Nebraska law that it says amounts to state-supported segregation in public schools."
Looking beyond textbook learning: Upstate educators urged to embrace innovation at Saint Rose institute
Date CapturedSaturday August 19 2006, 8:21 AM
Times Union reports on seminar, "He [Noguera] is considered by many to be one of the nation's most important voices on education reform and diversity. The institute, formed last year with a $1.6 million federal grant, trains educators to better deal with modern issues affecting schools. Much of Noguera's address focused on creating a solid environment for teaching in urban areas, especially when dealing with low-income and special education students, as well as those who do not speak English. Teachers and administrators, especially in urban school districts, must work hard to create strong relationships with students to interest them in learning, he said."
Rising college fees will cost us in time
Date CapturedFriday August 18 2006, 12:07 PM
USA Today commentary by Julianne Malveaux, economist and author, "Education is supposed to be an equalizer. But with costs rising, students are trading down dreams of an Ivy League education for one at a state university, and from a state university to one at a community college. While all education will bear fruit, we are creating a bifurcated system in which the best education will go to those who can pay for it. Students of color and those of modest means will most likely be the ones left behind."
Idaho must consider key issues for community college system
Date CapturedFriday August 18 2006, 10:15 AM
Idaho Stateman Op-Ed contributors Gary Michael and Kevin Learned, co-chairs of the Higher Education Committee of the Idaho Business Coalition for Educational Excellence, an organization of nearly 70 top business leaders from across Idaho opined, "The Idaho Legislature has appointed an Interim Committee on Community Colleges "to analyze postsecondary education in Idaho and to make recommendations to the next Legislature." The Idaho Business Coalition for Education Excellence (IBCEE), an organization of current and retired CEO's from throughout Idaho, applauds this effort and looks forward to the committee's recommendations. In our view, a community college network will greatly benefit many post high school students and, ultimately, Idaho employers who depend on a sustained, diverse and well-trained work force."
Girls' sports hit hard by bias - study
Date CapturedFriday August 18 2006, 8:35 AM
NY Daily News reports on gender inequity in sports, fewer college scholarship scouting opportunities for women, and study findings, "According to Gotbaum (public advocate), girls involved in team sports 'are less likely to develop osteoporosis, breast cancer and diabetes as adults, and more likely to adopt long-term exercise programs.' And they're less likely to use drugs, smoke, have unwanted pregnancies or commit suicide, she added."
Minority Students Decline in Top New York Schools
Date CapturedFriday August 18 2006, 8:01 AM
NY Times ELISSA GOOTMAN reports, "More than a decade after the city created a special institute to prepare black and Hispanic students for the mind-bendingly difficult test that determines who gets into New York’s three most elite specialized high schools, the percentage of such students has not only failed to rise, it has declined."
Montana one of many states failing NCLB teacher equity requirements
Date CapturedThursday August 17 2006, 6:23 PM
AP reports, "The Education Department is asking the Montana Office of Public Instruction to do one of two things: either provide data showing that poor and minority children are taught by teachers with similar qualifications and experience as those who instruct other children, or submit a revised plan. McCulloch said Wednesday that the state would provide the department with more information, but that her office doesn't have the technology to collect information on teacher experience levels, which the department is requiring."
Hispanics seek bigger cut of Buffalo schools work
Date CapturedThursday August 17 2006, 10:46 AM
Buffalo News reports, "Community leaders, for the second time in as many years, are claiming that Hispanic workers and contractors are being shut out of the huge public works project."
Feds to audit Utah teacher data
Date CapturedThursday August 17 2006, 9:38 AM
The Salt Lake Tribune reports, "Utah is experiencing unpleasant fallout after missing a July deadline for submitting a teacher quality plan to the federal Office of Education, as required under No Child Left Behind laws."
U.S. Department of Education Releases Results of State Plans for Highly Qualified Teachers in Every Classroom
Date CapturedThursday August 17 2006, 9:31 AM
US Department of Education announces, "Nine states developed plans that were recognized by the experts as satisfying all six criteria outlined in the guidance provided by the Department. These are New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Louisiana, New Mexico, Kansas, Maryland and Nevada. Thirty-nine states submitted plans that partially satisfy the six components and will be required to improve these plans and address the peer concerns by Sept. 29, 2006."
Census, Rochester has more youth: Experts say city should focus on creating jobs to keep them here
Date CapturedWednesday August 16 2006, 10:08 AM
Democrat and Chronicle reports, "Mildred Vazquez, executive director for Puerto Rican Youth Development, said the numbers alone don't reveal a lot. 'My first question is, are these college graduates. Do they have diplomas?' she said. 'You have a city with a significant number of people with no education and no way of getting an education, who don't have the means to even get a job that pays minimum wage.'"
Texas voucher advocate starts ad campaign: Low-income parents urged to seek school choice from Legislature
Date CapturedTuesday August 15 2006, 10:56 AM
Houston Chronicle reports, "Texans for School Choice wants a pilot program that allows low-income families in the state's urban public school districts to send children to any school, including a private or religious school, at taxpayer expense."
North Dakota school funding aid
Date CapturedMonday August 14 2006, 12:04 PM
Grand Forks Herald reports on North Dakota school funding reform and the state commission's reform promise, "to greatly reduce disparities, while guaranteeing that no districts will get less than they currently do."
Prioritize Utah's minority school plan
Date CapturedMonday August 14 2006, 11:52 AM
Deseret Morning News editorial opined, "Utah schools are dealing with a population boom, and unlike previous booms, the student body has become more diverse than ever. The state and local school districts need solid plans to ensure the needs of poor and minority students are met and that children who attend school in lower-income neighborhoods have experienced and well-qualified teachers."
Don't pay kids to flee schools
Date CapturedMonday August 14 2006, 10:29 AM
USA Today opined on NCLB and America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids, "Federal accountability rules snagged struggling schools such as Rockefeller, which means Washington has a responsibility to lend a hand. That requires doing something more effective than handing out vouchers that encourage the most motivated families to abandon those schools."
Opportunity for all children
Date CapturedMonday August 14 2006, 10:07 AM
USA Today op-ed contributor US secretary of Education Margaret Spellings opined, "President Bush's proposed America's Opportunity Scholarships for Kids would help low-income families whose schools have failed to meet state academic standards for five or more years. Parents could use the scholarship money to transfer their children to a higher-performing public, charter, or private school or enroll them in an intensive tutoring program. For those cities and districts committed to meeting No Child Left Behind's goal of every child reading and doing math at grade level by 2014, this is an additional tool to help get them there."
CUNY IN THE CROSSHAIRS
Date CapturedMonday August 14 2006, 8:45 AM
NY Post opined on academic standards at CUNY, "As CUNY's own records confirm, the percentage of black students at City College slipped from 40 percent in 1999 to 30 percent last year. At Hunter College, the decline was from 20 percent to 15 percent. At Baruch, black students made up 24 percent of the undergraduate population in 1999; last year, the number was down to 14 percent. But, notably, no one is charging that the results are in any way the result of intentional discrimination. Indeed, overall black enrollment at CUNY has increased 1.3 percent."
Pennsylvania education costs to be studied
Date CapturedSunday August 13 2006, 12:42 PM
Bucks County Courier Times BEN FINLEY reports on Pennsylvania (and Maryland) school funding, costing-out studies, constitutionality, and property taxes, "This school year, Pennsylvania will work out a math problem that many other states already solved: How much money does it take to make sure every student meets the standards of the No Child Left Behind Act?"
No excuse in leaving kids behind
Date CapturedSunday August 13 2006, 12:08 PM
The Enquirer opined on teacher quality, equity, and the achievement gap, "Children were left behind. They're still being left behind, and one reason is because they tend to get the teachers who are left behind as well."
Connecticut schools racial gap shrinking: Black, Hispanic students improving scores
Date CapturedSunday August 13 2006, 11:28 AM
Republican-American reports, "Rising scores among minorities are not the only reason the gap is narrowing. The percentage of white students reaching the state goal here fell slightly in both reading and writing compared with 2000-01, though they rose from the previous year."
Business group rips schools, says taxpayers don't get good return on investments
Date CapturedSunday August 13 2006, 10:17 AM
Star-Gazette, Jay Gallagher reports, "The state's test scores are improving but more needs to be done to shift money to poorer districts, said a spokesman [Dunn] for the state Education Department. '... Too few dollars still go to the students and the schools with the greatest need, and class sizes are bigger there. The Board of Regents is urging a major reform of the state aid system. This will help tremendously to close the achievement gap,' said spokesman Tom Dunn."
Giving students a taste of life on campus
Date CapturedSaturday August 12 2006, 8:25 AM
Times Union reports, "Siena's Urban Scholars Program brings gifted and talented students from the Albany city schools to the campus for Saturday seminars throughout the year. Each seminar runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is focused around a particular theme in science, liberal arts, or business."
Illinois education group rips state, teacher plans
Date CapturedFriday August 11 2006, 1:55 PM
Chicago Sun Times reports, "Illinois has plans to help direct qualified teachers to the neediest students, but a national education group [Education Trust] Thursday said the plans fall short and ranked Illinois among the worst states in identifying schools that are shortchanging kids."[Illinois has a "Grow Your Own Teacher" program, a mentoring program for principals and looking at "performance pay" for teachers.]
Advocates of education for the gifted slam state's policy
Date CapturedFriday August 11 2006, 8:54 AM
Journal News reports, "With so much emphasis placed on global competition, advocates of gifted education say, children who show intuition, aptitudes and brilliance should be nurtured, not ignored. Others say that gifted children will do fine without anything special."
Creating Equitable Public Education in the U.S
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 11:50 PM
Washington Post contributor Elena Rocha, Center for American Progress writes on weighted student funding, "The most dramatic impact of the weighted student formula is its capacity to serve to change the way we think about student populations, and consequently how we serve them; it will create powerful incentives to serve disadvantaged children. Establishing equity in funding will support greater equity in learning."
APA: ZERO TOLERANCE POLICIES ARE NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS THOUGHT IN REDUCING VIOLENCE AND PROMOTING LEARNING IN SCHOOL (READ REPORT)
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 1:10 PM
APA Task Force on Zero Tolerance reports, "By changing the relationship of education and juvenile justice, zero tolerance may shift the locus of discipline from relatively inexpensive actions in the school setting to the highly costly processes of arrest and incarceration. In so doing, zero tolerance policies have created unintended consequences for students, families, and communities." Task Force on Zero Tolerance: Chair: Cecil R. Reynolds, PhD, Texas A&M University; Jane Conoley, EdD, University of California at Santa Barbara; Enedina Garcia-Vazquez, PhD, New Mexico State University; Sandra Graham, PhD, University of California at Los Angeles; Peter Sheras, PhD, University of Virginia; and Russell Skiba, PhD, Indiana University.
At schools, less tolerance for 'zero tolerance'
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 12:10 PM
USA Today reports, "There are growing signs that zero-tolerance policies are steering more teens into the juvenile justice system, says Russell Skiba, an Indiana University educational psychologist. 'Things that used to be handled by principals land kids in juvenile detention,' he says. The report also mentions racial disparities; minorities are expelled more often than whites for comparable offenses."
Denver Public Schools sets English policy: First-ever guidelines issued for teaching Spanish speakers
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 11:28 AM
Rocky Mountain News reports, "DPS [Denver Public Schools] has been operating since 1999 under a federal court agreement that governs its English Language Acquisition program. It stems from a 1971 court action against the district by the Congress of Hispanic Educators, a group of DPS employees alleging discrimination against Hispanics. The action later morphed into a focus on English language learners. But while the court order speaks to how such students are to be identified and tracked, it does not dictate instruction, according to Aquino and DPS Superintendent -Michael Bennet."
Civil rights leader fights the tide to back Jersey school vouchers
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 10:45 AM
The Star-Ledger reports, "The 52-year-old Jackson said he gradually came to the cause of school vouchers -- he prefers the term 'school choice' -- after he arrived at Orange's St. Matthew's AME Church in the early 1980s. The Black Ministers' Council later filed a brief on behalf of the plaintiffs in the state Supreme Court's Abbott v. Burke school equity cases, but he said he grew disillusioned by the slow gains in the state's most troubled schools."
An education in costs: With project half done, Buffalo schools' overhaul is in jeopardy
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 9:33 AM
The Buffalo news reports, "If the project can't be sustained, some students will benefit while others remain in outdated schools that are ill-equipped to meet the demands of 21st century education. That would raise issues of equity that school officials are determined to avoid."
CUNY Seeing Fewer Blacks at Top Schools
Date CapturedThursday August 10 2006, 2:03 AM
NY Times KAREN W. ARENSON reports on equitable access to CUNY, "Laura M. Schachter, the dean for diversity and compliance at Hunter, said that many qualified black and Hispanic students did not know much about Hunter and did not apply. 'It is our job to make them aware,' she said."
Dallas school sued over racism accusations
Date CapturedWednesday August 09 2006, 7:59 PM
Chron.com reports, "Attorneys for the plaintiffs opened their case by presenting an e-mail they said was sent by the school's PTA president. The e-mail said only a few Hispanic students would be selected to appear in a brochure intended for residents of Preston Hollow, one of the city's more affluent neighborhoods."
California charter school makes efforts to ward off charges of elistism
Date CapturedWednesday August 09 2006, 10:28 AM
Santa Cruz Sentinel reports, "Since PCS opened in 1999, it has been dogged with charges of elitism. Its student body is overwhelmingly white and the average student's family often donates more than $1,000 a year, even though it's a public school. Half the students in the county are Latino, but PCS has a Latino population of just 5 percent."
Proposal Adds Options for Students to Specify Race
Date CapturedWednesday August 09 2006, 7:55 AM
NY Times reports, “'We basically have a continuous way of defining these categories that’s gone on for close to 40 years, and this is going to be a big change,' said Gary Orfield, the director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard, who said the proposal would harm the ability of researchers and civil rights groups to track race on campus."
SUNY expands library access to 60 campuses: SUNYConnect brings most new benefits to community colleges and smaller SUNY schools
Date CapturedWednesday August 09 2006, 7:44 AM
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, "The 18 million volumes are housed in SUNY libraries, and thousands of electronic resources and images also are available. Users can get information ranging from articles in the latest medical, nursing and science journals to images of paintings and sculpture from the cave shrines in Dunhuang, China."
Hawaii DOE suggests restoring cuts: Recommendations would alter a system of weighted funding
Date CapturedTuesday August 08 2006, 8:46 AM
Honolulu Star-Bulletin reports, "The recommendations would restore much, and in some cases all, of the budget cuts some schools would have faced under the weighted student formula, which shifts funds to schools with more poor, non-English-speaking students or others with learning challenges."
Study doesn't set back school choice
Date CapturedMonday August 07 2006, 9:22 AM
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel opined, "Leaders of teachers' unions are crowing over the findings, saying they show that public money should not go to private schools, as in Milwaukee's voucher program, since such schools perform no better than do public schools. However, the officials are reading too much into the study, which has little to say to a desperate, low-income Milwaukee parent who feels his or her child is trapped in a bad public school other than that any alternative deserves scrutiny."
Black colleges recruit Hispanics
Date CapturedMonday August 07 2006, 8:18 AM
AP reports, "Still, educators say the nation's two largest minority groups are a natural fit on a college campus.'They are both underserved communities when it comes to higher education,' said Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund. 'We have got to educate them so that we can have a competitive workforce in the 21st century.'"
Gates Foundation expands scholars program
Date CapturedMonday August 07 2006, 7:14 AM
AP reports, "The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation says it will add $58 million to expand its $1 billion Millennium Scholars program to target low-income and minority students seeking a graduate degree in public health."
Let's do more for the libraries
Date CapturedSunday August 06 2006, 9:17 AM
NY Daily News opined, "For students, they are homework centers. For the unemployed, they are job centers. For anyone without a computer, they are Internet access. For small children, they are story time. For immigrants, they are the English language."
Libraries more crucial than ever
Date CapturedFriday August 04 2006, 8:57 AM
Press-Republican opined, "Perhaps most important, libraries offer Internet services to people who can't afford or for whatever reason don't have a computer. Kids from poor families are thus put onto even footing with their wealthier classmates."
School Choice Lawsuit in New Jersey Raises Much Needed Public Awareness about the Crisis in Education
Date CapturedTuesday August 01 2006, 6:52 PM
Hispanic Business reports, “'It is clear that students are not receiving the education the state constitution demands. No student – Hispanic, White, Black or Asian – should be forced to attend a school that violates their constitutional right because of where they live. These students deserve equal protection under the law and must be granted an immediate remedy.' said Martin Perez, Board Member of Hispanic CREO and President of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey."
Cornell, Colgate designated gay-friendly; Ithaca, SU also among the 100 best campuses listed in new college guidebook
Date CapturedTuesday August 01 2006, 7:43 AM
Post-Standard reports, "Queer studies, as it is often called, is not yet a staple on campus. Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva are among the relatively few schools to offer a major in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Studies, although the schools didn't make the new guide."
$1.75 Million Grant to Support College Students With Scholarships, Internships and Mentors
Date CapturedMonday July 31 2006, 11:22 PM
SpaceRef reports, "A consortium led by the Hispanic College Fund (HCF) with the support of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and the United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP) was awarded a $1.75 million grant to administer NASA's Motivating Undergraduates in Science and Technology Program (MUST) and award scholarships and internships to undergraduate students pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, more widely known as STEM fields."
Phasing out ASL course was difficult but needed
Date CapturedSunday July 30 2006, 8:33 AM
Star-Gazette guest contributor Raymond Bryant, superintendent of the Elmira school district writes, "The primary factor in the elimination of [American Sign Language] ASL is the district's difficulty in finding teachers certified to teach it. No Child Left Behind requires a qualified teacher in every classroom, yet of the three teachers teaching ASL in the district this past school year, only one was certified to teach it."
Inside Albany (IA)
Date CapturedFriday July 28 2006, 11:31 AM
This week on Inside Albany (IA): Suozzi vs. Spitzer -Excerpts of what could be the only debate in the Democratic gubernatorial primary include candidates' exchange over the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) lawsuit, New York's ongoing school funding court case. Check schedule.
Tech learning is hands-on
Date CapturedThursday July 27 2006, 8:45 AM
Times Union reports, "It's all part of the college's Science and Technology Entry Program -- or STEP -- which introduces minority and disadvantaged middle and high school youth to areas of science, math and technology."
Colorado migrant students urged to harvest college degrees
Date CapturedWednesday July 26 2006, 10:49 AM
The Pueblo Chieftan reports, ".... students who do not have legal resident documentation may apply and attend college as an international student. International students, however, pay nonresident tuition, which is considerably higher than what a resident student pays."
Providence College to no longer require SATs for admission
Date CapturedWednesday July 26 2006, 10:15 AM
Providence Journal reports, "Providence College's president, the Rev. Brian J. Shanley, said three factors convinced him to make the policy change: evidence that test scores were not as good an indicator of student performance as grades and the rigor of classes in high school; a desire to increase access to minority and first-generation college students; and a perceived inequity in the current college application process."
CUNY FACES BIAS PROBE
Date CapturedWednesday July 26 2006, 7:58 AM
NY Post reports, "Programs aimed at helping black male students at the City University of New York are the focus of a federal bias probe after a civil rights group charged the programs discriminate against women and non-black students."
Judge: Pennsylvania school can't cut women's sports
Date CapturedTuesday July 25 2006, 10:19 AM
AP reports, "Slippery Rock University must reinstate two women's sports it cut for budget reasons because the school is not complying with a federal law requiring equal opportunities for female athletes, a federal judge ruled."
HOPES ON HOLD, ALBANY HAMSTRINGS SCHOOL REFORM
Date CapturedTuesday July 25 2006, 8:02 AM
NY Post guest op-ed contributor Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City schools writes, "Charter schools provide high-quality education to some of the poorest communities in our city, giving amazing opportunities to children who are more than 90 percent African-American and Latino."
Poor pay the price for high museum fees
Date CapturedTuesday July 25 2006, 7:42 AM
Daily News guest contributor David Jones, president and CEO of the nonprofit Community Service Society writes, "More and more, New York is moving toward a city divided by income and class - a culturally segregated city, where many affluent people can afford cultural amenities, while many low-income families, largely minorities, are being priced out. This is unacceptable."
Black Student Enrollment at UCLA Plunges
Date CapturedMonday July 24 2006, 10:46 AM
NPR reports, "The number of black students at UCLA has been falling for years, partly due to a ballot measure that ended racial preferences in admissions. School leaders now say something has to change."
New Jersey school voucher fight tilts to the right
Date CapturedMonday July 24 2006, 9:17 AM
The Record reports, "A lawsuit to apply New Jersey's public-education funding toward private-school tuition has key support from some of the country's most conservative charitable foundations, including those run by heirs to the Wal-Mart and Amway fortunes, public records show."
Texas groups sue, say state comes up short in bilingual education
Date CapturedMonday July 24 2006, 7:20 AM
El Paso Times reports, "The groups want a judge to order the Texas Education Agency to more closely observe and evaluate bilingual programs to make sure students with limited English skills get the same quality education and opportunities as students who speak the language fluently."
Education Alliance (Brown University)
Date CapturedSunday July 23 2006, 8:59 PM
School deal idles, the CFE school case should be a focus of ongoing campaigns
Date CapturedSunday July 23 2006, 9:41 AM
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle editorial opined on fiscal equity, "Those on the CFE side have expended most of their energy demanding that new billions be allocated. But school quality is not a money issue alone, or even primarily. It's about leadership at every level, beginning with the classroom, properly trained teachers, involved parents."
FREE CHILDREN FROM THESE 'PRISONS'
Date CapturedThursday July 20 2006, 7:57 AM
NY Post columnist Ryan Sager writes, "Let this be clear to everyone: Public schools in New York are prisons for low-income families - and the jailers are the city and state teachers unions."
Campaign for Fiscal Equity
Date CapturedFriday July 14 2006, 1:30 PM
Female Advantage Mumbo Jumbo
Date CapturedThursday July 13 2006, 8:52 AM
The Huffington Post. Dr. Kathleen Reardon writes, "College is where the playing field is largely leveled. Success is more predictable than it is in most aspects of life. If you study you can get reasonably good grades."
Gender gap isn't biggest woe
Date CapturedWednesday July 12 2006, 8:23 AM
USA Today op-ed Sara Mead (see study on Education New York Online), "Instead of focusing on differences between male and female college enrollment, California's educational energies would be better spent making sure students of all genders and races have the education and opportunities they need to realize their potential and contribute to California's economy."
Finish the Test
Date CapturedWednesday July 12 2006, 7:47 AM
Post-Standard on Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) lawsuit, "The CFE filed a brief last month asking the court to force the state to obey the ruling or face sanctions. The state responded this week with a counterbrief arguing, among other things, that the court has no business telling the state how to fund education. The ball is back in the Court of Appeals."
Small Colleges, Short of Men, Embrace Football
Date CapturedMonday July 10 2006, 7:18 AM
NY Times registration. NY Times reports, "Some small American colleges, eager to attract men to increasingly female campuses, have taken notice of how many students like Mr. Bosworth can be lured to attend by adding football teams. Officials at these colleges say football can bring in more tuition-paying students than any other course or activity — and not just players themselves."
Rhode Island educators want more high school students to take college classes
Date CapturedSunday July 09 2006, 11:15 AM
Boston Globe reports AP story, "State educators hope to increase the number of minority and low-income students attending college by having them take some classes while still in high school."
College pennants needed
Date CapturedFriday July 07 2006, 2:44 PM
Nashoba Publishing reports, "The idea is to immerse the students in an environment filled with pennants from the different colleges and universities from around the nation and to encourage the students to look outside McNairy County, Tennessee, to see other possibilities for their lives."
Growth, Diversity Highlight Arlington's 'Wonderful Story'
Date CapturedWednesday July 05 2006, 11:07 AM
Catholic Herald reports, "Catholic schools in the Arlington Diocese continue to grow and reach out to minority students in an unprecedented way, Dr. Timothy J. McNiff, diocesan superintendent of schools, told a group of journalists June 28 at a press briefing in Arlington."
New York's teachers are public workers looking to be treated fairly
Date CapturedWednesday July 05 2006, 8:24 AM
Times Union includes letter to editor from NYSUT president, "The New York State School Boards Association gets an A in creative fiction for arguing that adding equity to the Taylor Law would increase property taxes ("An education in soaring property taxes," June 29). The specter of higher property taxes is a red herring from an organization that has enjoyed the upper hand in contract negotiations for nearly 40 years and opposes a level playing field for teachers and other school employees."
Pennsylvania universities gear up for new program
Date CapturedMonday July 03 2006, 9:11 AM
A partnership between universities and Philadelphia schools has culminated in Project EFFORT, a summer urban academy for students participating in Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP).
Community College Transfers Shut Out of Elite Colleges
Date CapturedFriday June 30 2006, 10:20 AM
Read executive summary of referenced report on Education New York Online EDUCATION POLICY page, COMMUNITY COLLEGES folder.
The Lure of the Sea, and Science, for Minority Students
Date CapturedFriday June 30 2006, 8:03 AM
NY Times registration
GAY IS 'OUT'
Date CapturedThursday June 29 2006, 8:59 AM
NY Post registration
Divided Senate panel rejects 'Net neutrality'
Date CapturedWednesday June 28 2006, 10:32 PM
NASA launches education initiative
Date CapturedWednesday June 28 2006, 9:54 PM
Ithaca Central School District ‘zeroes in' on causes of inequity
Date CapturedWednesday June 28 2006, 7:58 AM
Ithaca Journal
American Library Association (ALA) calls for equity in telecommunications reform
Date CapturedMonday June 26 2006, 10:43 AM
States Work to Narrow Teacher Equity Gap
Date CapturedSaturday June 24 2006, 9:36 AM
Kansas City InfoZine
Title IX changes could stifle dreams
Date CapturedFriday June 23 2006, 7:55 AM
USA Today
Race is still part of equation for equal education
Date CapturedSunday June 18 2006, 9:29 PM
It's discrimination. It's wrong.
Date CapturedSunday June 18 2006, 9:15 PM
Connecticut PTA tackles achievement gap with aid money
Date CapturedSunday June 18 2006, 9:20 AM
Teach For America
Date CapturedSaturday June 17 2006, 5:07 PM
Teach For America is the national corps of recent college graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in ensuring educational equity and excellence for all children.
South Carolina early learning program helps at-risk students
Date CapturedFriday June 16 2006, 10:20 PM
Ohio Gov. Taft's plan to expand program for high school/college students raises concerns
Date CapturedFriday June 16 2006, 8:49 AM
Recognizing the true potential of students
Date CapturedFriday June 16 2006, 8:20 AM
NYC's New Small Schools Are Focus of a Bias Inquiry
Date CapturedFriday June 16 2006, 7:22 AM
Feds cast eye on city special ed
Date CapturedFriday June 16 2006, 6:42 AM
A Comparable Wage Approach to Geographic Cost Adjustment
Date CapturedThursday June 15 2006, 4:39 PM
Geographic cost differences present many complications when researchers attempt to make systematic comparisons of educational resources, and failure to address such differences can undermine the equity and adequacy goals of school finance formulas.
Find ways to get top teachers into underperforming schools
Date CapturedWednesday June 14 2006, 7:52 PM
Equity In Education Funding: A Tale Of Two Cities
Date CapturedMonday June 12 2006, 7:52 PM
Colleges Recruit in Black Churches: CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY ISSUES APPEAL TO LIFT ENROLLMENT
Date CapturedMonday June 12 2006, 6:29 PM
Equitable racial balance sought
Date CapturedMonday June 12 2006, 8:41 AM
When poor kids get poor teachers
Date CapturedMonday June 12 2006, 7:18 AM
see "TEACHING INEQUALITY: HOW POOR AND MINORITY STUDENTS ARE SHORTCHANGED ON TEACHER QUALITY" on education new york online EDUCATION POLICY link, TEACHER QUALITY folder.
Students Say Safety Plan Discriminates In Schools
Date CapturedFriday June 09 2006, 7:14 AM
Senator McCain and Senator Obama Announce Campaign for Nation's First Public Internet Channel
Date CapturedThursday June 08 2006, 9:46 PM