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--- Wednesday --- June 4, 1997 --- Vol. 1 --- No. 5 ---
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
NEGP Weekly
THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS
__________ __________
SUMMER SCHEDULE | SPOTLIGHT |
A reminder: The DAILY REPORT | |
CARD will publish on Monday and | KEEPING KIDS IN SCHOOL |
Wednesday during June, | |
Wednesday's only in July and | Truancy rates are as high |
will not publish during August. | as 30% in some school |
We will be back three-days-a- | districts, according to the |
week in September. | U.S. Justice Dept. School |
| districts nationwide are |
A REQUEST | experimenting with a wide |
We are interested in | range of methods for |
information regarding | keeping kids in school. |
technology and the classroom, | |
including teacher training, | TEXAS: Tough state |
curriculum development and | truancy laws require school |
funding issues. If you are | officials to notify the |
involved in bringing technology | parents of a student who is |
to the classroom, please send | chronically absent. Tutor- |
information to: | ing, counseling, boot camp, |
drc_publisher@goalline.org OR | court fines and even jail |
fax info to 202/632-0957. | time are possible conse- |
Include contact name and | quences for truants. (#1) |
phone/e-mail. Thanks! | |
| MURFREESBORO, TENN.: |
HEAD START'S NEW CHALLENGES | Cason Lane Academy helps |
A national Head Start | kids stay in school by |
conference held in Boston last | offering extensive after- |
month focused on three new | school programs. (#3) |
challenges facing disadvantaged | |
young children: homelessness, | And more of those who do |
violence at home and in the | drop out drop back in to |
neighborhood, and mental health | take the GED. A record |
problems (Hart, BOSTON GLOBE, | number of adults took the |
5/27). | test in 1996. (#2) |
|_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"This is role modeling from hell."
Paul Krouse, publisher of Who's Who Among American High School
Students and Who's Who Among America's Teachers, on a recent
survey of teachers about parents. (#5)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20010; 202/632-0952 |
| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION
HELPING STUDENTS STAY IN SCHOOL: Texas boasts tough law. (#1)
"WHO TOOK THE GED?" Data Book Shows Huge Gains. (#2)
GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
CASON LANE ACADEMY: The school of the future today. (#3)
GOAL FOUR: TEACHER EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD: Teachers find parents culpable. (#4)
GOAL SIX: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING
MAKING CONNECTIONS: Getting students from school to work.(#5)
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===== GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION =====
*1 HELPING STUDENTS STAY IN SCHOOL: TEXAS BOASTS TOUGH LAW
A 1995 change in state law has given more bite to Texas'
truancy laws (Martinez, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/27). Under the
law, school districts can require students and parents to attend
school, counseling, tutoring or a variety of other programs for
keeping students in school.
Texas schools must notify parents or guardians of students
who have unexcused absences for full days or even a single class
five days in a row in a six-month period, notes the paper. If
after receiving a warning, the student has three more unexcused
absences in a four-week period, the district can file a case with
a justice of the peace against the parent, student or both. A
fine of $500 plus court fees can result.
According to the paper, 43,135 warning letters were mailed
to parents of Dallas' 155,000 students in 1997. During the 1996-
1997 school year, 10,040 cases were filed in the district.
The paper reports that truancy rates run as high as 30% in
some cities across the country (Data from the U.S. Justice
Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention.) One enticement for battling truancy is economic.
For example, the Dallas Independent School District recovered
$3.5M during the 1995-1996 school year primarily by "buckling
down on truants," writes the paper.
However, more compelling reasons exist to fight truancy.
"For a growing number of youth, truancy may be a first step to a
lifetime of unemployment, crime, and incarceration," said Shay
Bilchik, an administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention. "Truancy often leads to dropping out of
school, delinquency and drug abuse." Janet Coplin, Dallas school
district's juvenile justice liaison, added: "If kids aren't in
school, they're out loitering, hanging out with older kids,
breaking into people's houses and doing things they shouldn't be
doing."
According to the paper, school district policies on truancy
fall under one of two categories: "dangling a carrot or wielding
a club." The paper adds that "many districts report little luck
with the former, and many incentive programs have proved
unpopular with parents and taxpayers." In a desperation move,
Multnomah (Ore.) County school leaders earlier this year tried to
put in place a pilot program that would have paid 75 parents
$3.00 every day they brought their child to school. Public
outcry ended the program before it got off the ground.
Other incentive programs used by some school districts
include rewarding students with good attendance records with:
bicycles, ice cream socials, pizza parties, pencils and stickers.
Several high schools have tried raffling off a car; giving
students with few missed days raffle tickets, reports the paper.
On the other hand, some school districts prefer a tougher
approach to handling truants. Schools have penalized truant
students by taking away or denying them a driver's license,
taking them and their parents to court and even jailing or fining
students and parents.
Texas education officials agree that an intervention-type
program, such as denying students' driver licenses or taking them
to court, has been successful in keeping students in school.
School attendance improved for the majority of youth in a random
sample of truant students who had been taken to court, according
to Martha Hawkins, coordinator of the Dallas Independent School
District's Attendance Improvement and Truancy Reduction Program.
In a related article, two Texas' justices offer different
approaches to penalizing truant students. Justice of the Peace
Diana Orozco-Garrett sends her truant students to tutoring or
counseling sessions. However, Justice of the Peace Juan Jasso
prefers a tougher method: He assigns his truant student to a
truancy boot camp, which is a two-month program combining
physical exercise with classroom instruction.
*2 "WHO TOOK THE GED?" DATA BOOK SHOWS HUGE GAINS
A record number of adults in the U.S. and Canada took the
General Educational Development tests in 1996, according to a new
report issued by the American Council on Education. "Who Took
the GED?" found that 758,570 people completed the GED Tests in
1996, a 5% increase over the previous year and the largest number
in the more than 50-year history of the exam.
In addition, more than half a million adults earned a GED
diploma last year by meeting their jurisdiction's passing score
requirements, representing a 16% increase over the past decade.
A record number of test-takers indicated that they planned
further education and training beyond the high school level.
"It's great news for the nation that the number of people
who earn GED diplomas each year continues to grow," said ACE
President Stanley O. Ikenberry. "It's even better news that the
majority plan to go on to college or other forms of postsecondary
education."
The report also found that nearly 65% of those who took one
or more tests in the five-test battery in 1996 said they were
seeking a GED diploma to qualify for additional education or
training. "While more than half a million adults each year earn
their equivalency diplomas through the GED Tests, there are 44
million Americans who haven't finished high school," said GEDTS
interim director Joan Auchter. "The GED provides an opportunity
for adults to find a way back into the system."
Other findings: Ten U.S. states reported increases of at
least 15% in the number of persons completing the GED tests --
Miss., Vt., Ill,., Idaho, N.D., Texas, Nev., Neb., Ariz., and the
District of Columbia; Alaska, and Va., were the only two
jurisdictions worldwide that reported decreases of 15% or more in
the number completing the GED; the average age of GED-diploma
recipients in the U.S. and its territories last year was 25; and
67% of GED test-takers reported completing tenth grade or higher
before leaving formal schooling.
Copies of "Who Took the GED? GED 1996 Statistical Report"
is available for $20 plus $5 for shipping and handling from the
GED Fulfillment Service; P.O. Box 261; Annapolis Junction, Md.
20701; 301/604-9073.
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*3 CASON LANE ACADEMY: THE SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE TODAY
Cason Lane Academy, a public school in Murfreesboro, Tenn.,
offers students the "Tower Record" approach to education: It
remains open about 12 hours a day every weekday except six major
holidays, writes Ronald Brownstein, a columnist for the L.A.
TIMES (5/27).
Brownstein notes that the typical 8:00 to 3:00 school
schedule was constructed for an agrarian era that no longer
exists. Today's family needs a longer school day so students
have somewhere to go while both parents work. According to
Brownstein, the alternative to staying in school longer isn't
"baking with mom; it's bonding with Super Mario." Bill
Shacklett, the Cason Lane PTA president: "It's not the Beaver
Cleaver model of what the day is in the life of a child. But we
don't live in that world anymore. If the kids are at school, you
know they're safe and they're being [watched] by people who care
about them."
Jason Lane is open from 6:00 a.m. to after 5:00 p.m.
However, what sets the school apart is both the "Breadth of its
extended-day offerings and the extent of their integration into
the basic school day," writes Brownstein. For example, students
can select from 65 different classes in the after-school program
-- from remedial math to music, cooking, sports and a Lego club
for the youngest students, reports Brownstein.
Susan Gendrich-Cameron, principal at Cason Lane, has
"reorganized teacher schedules so that as many as half of them
also teach in the extended day," notes Brownstein. He adds:
"The result is a modular vision of education that allows parents
and students to customize their schedules."
"It provides me with the extra child-care I needs," said
Mary Austin, a Cason Lane parent. "And even if he could go home,
it's much more creative than sitting in front of the Nintendo and
the TV."
John Hodge Jones, the school superintendent "who has
championed the reform" in Murfreesboro: "We need a school day
and a school year that fit the needs of the modern economy and
the modern home. But the schools haven't faced competition, and
they haven't changed."
Although Cason Lane is not the only school keeping its doors
open, only about 30% of public school nationwide offer any
before-or after-school programs -- "and many of those amount to
little more than baby-sitting," according to Brownstein.
Brownstein reports that Cason Lane has been able to offer
extended hours without exceeding the district's existing per-
pupil cost of $4,600. The school has adjusted teacher schedules
and cut back on other costs, including bus service. Parents are
charged $1.25 an hour for the first child and $1 for each
sibling.
Austin: "You can't beat the deal."
===== GOAL FOUR: TEACHER EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT =====
*4 LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD: TEACHERS FIND PARENTS CULPABLE
Today's parents are dangerously disengaged from their
children's schooling and oblivious to the perils of adolescence,
according to a recent survey conducted by Who's Who Among
American High School Students. Teachers surveyed were identified
by teens featured in Who's Who Among American High School
Students as educators "who made a difference in their lives."
Nearly 80% of teachers surveyed have been in the classroom for
more than 10 years.
Findings from the survey: teachers surveyed said that 73%
of parents are less willing or able to spend time with their
children; 63% are less involved with their children's school
lives; 69% are less ethical/moral; 53% are more self-centered;
and 41% are less demanding.
The survey also reported that teachers have a better sense
of issues teens must deal with than do their parents. Teachers
rank parent apathy second to peer pressure as the key reason for
school violence, notes the survey. Other findings: while 45% of
teachers say students cheat on tests, and 40% of students admit
to it, less than 4% of parents think their children do; teachers
said 65% of students copy work they do at home, 66% admitted to
it, yet only 12% of parents think their children copy homework.
Other findings: 60% of teachers and 41% of students
reported that teens have drinking problems, yet only 16% of
parents agree. The report notes that alcohol is very common at
parties given by students -- according to 74% of teachers and 77%
of students. However, only 52% of parents think alcohol is
prevalent at student parties. A "distressing" 73% of parents say
they didn't know where their children drink alcohol.
"This is role modeling from hell," said Paul Krouse,
publisher of Who's Who Among American High School Students, Who's
Who Among America's Teachers, and the annual surveys of teens,
parents and teachers. "Teen drinking goes on right under
parents' own roofs where they should have the power to stop it.
This is an example of how parents are contributing to teen
problems by turning a blind eye when they most need to pay
attention." Krouse added: "Since this is the first generation
of parents that acknowledge experimentation with drugs, they
apparently think it is inevitable or of little concern that teen
drinking is so widespread"
Teachers also complained in high numbers that students have
become less respectful of authority (81%); less ethical/moral
(73%); less responsible (65%), more self-centered (60%) and less
studious (57%).
The teachers surveyed also find that "schools are too soft,"
despite the movement for higher standards. From the survey: 32%
of teachers say their schools are excellent; 27% say that school
is very academically challenging for students; only one third say
school is very challenging for below average students (34% and
average students (35%); less than 40% say teachers challenge
students to work hard; and only 39% say most teachers in their
school make class interesting.
Krouse: "If we're soft at home and soft at school, today's
teens will be hard-pressed to meet the rigors and demands they'll
face when they enter the worlds of work and parenting
themselves."
The survey, "Unwilling, Unable and Unprepared: Top Teachers
Rate Parents, Teens and Schools," was conducted among 2,733
teachers identified by teens featured in Who's Who Among American
High School Students as educators who made a difference in their
lives.
===== GOAL SIX: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING =====
*5 MAKING CONNECTIONS: HOW TO GET STUDENTS FROM SCHOOL TO WORK
A disconnect exists between the world of school and the
world of work, according to a report released by the Comittee for
Economic Development. Young people, particularly disadvantaged
students in inner cities, are most harmed by the disconnect and
schools and businesses must overhaul their programs to meet the
needs of these youth.
"Unfortunately, schools generally do not recognize the
employer as an important customer or the potential of the
workplace as a learning environment," said CED Trustee Harry
Kamen, chairman, president and CEO of Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company. "The centerpiece for education reform should be the
creative use of the workplace as a context for learning." The
MetLife Foundation funded the CED report called "Connecting
Inner-City Youth To The World of Work."
The report urges schools to integrate academic and
vocational education in the "contextualized" classroom. It also
calls on schools to design new curricula and classroom activities
to develop workplace skills and positive work attitudes.
Other recommendations include: exposing students, teachers
and school counselors to work through guest speakers, field
visits, job shadowing and internships; organizing high schools
into academies, schools-within-a-school or majors focused on
careers and industries; integrating career awareness and career
exploration throughout the elementary and middle-school years;
and coordinating secondary school and post-secondary education
through tech prep and 2+2 programs, in which the final two years
of high school and two years in community colleges or vocational
schools form a continuous educational experience.
The report also urges the business community to: do more
recruiting in inner-city schools; provide student internships and
other opportunities to give inner-city youth real job experience;
put workers as young as 18 on real career ladders; use school
transcripts and teacher recommendations when making hiring
decisions; and reward entry-level workers for educational
achievement and skills even when these credentials are more
relevant to future duties than current ones.
The report concludes: "Preparing America's youth for
employment is a national investment. Even in times of concern
about the federal deficit, adequate funding for education and
education-to-work transition should receive high priority."
Copies of "Connecting Inner-City Youth to the World of Work"
are available for $12 plus 10% postage and handling from CED;
Distribution Division; 477 Madison Avenue, N.Y., N.Y. 10022. Or
call Maria Luis at 212/688-2063, ext. 212.
Visit the CED website at www.ced.org
THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS
* GOAL 1: READY TO LEARN
All children in America will start school ready to learn.
* GOAL 2: SCHOOL COMPLETION
The high school graduation rate will increase to at least
percent.
* GOAL 3: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
All students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having
demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter including
English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and
government, economics, arts, history, and geography, and every
school in America will ensure that all students earn to use their
minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship,
further learning, and productive employment in our Nation' modern
economy.
* GOAL 4: TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Nation's teaching force will have access to programs for
the continued improvement of their professional skills and the
opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to
instruct and prepare all American students for the next century.
* GOAL 5: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
United States students will be first in the world in
mathematics and science achievement.
* GOAL 6: ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING
Every adult American will be literate and will possess the
knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and
exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
* GOAL 7: SAFE, DISCIPLINED, & ALCOHOL- AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS
Every school in the United States will be free of drugs,
violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol
and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning.
* GOAL 8: PARENTAL PARTICIPATION
Every school will promote partnerships that will increase
parental involvement and participation in promoting the social,
emotional, and academic growth of children.
_______________________________________________________________
| National Education Goals Panel |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Suite 502; Washington, D.C. 20037 |
| 202/632-0957 (Fax); e-mail: negp@goalline.org |
| Web site: www.negp.gov |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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