The NEGP Weekly for July 13, 2001

[Annie Golden <GOLDENA1@WESTAT.com>]

*****************THE NEGP WEEKLY*****************
A weekly news update on America's Education Goals 
and school improvement efforts across America from the 
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL

Friday - July 13, 2001 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 108
*************************************************

CONTENTS

**STATE POLICY 
1.) DISABLED STUDENTS:  MUST PASS INDIANA'S HIGH SCHOOL EXAM (Goal 3)
2.) OHIO REVAMPS STATE TESTS:  ALIGNS WITH STANDARDS (Goal 3)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) COMMUNITY INTERVENTIONS:  KEEPS KIDS IN SCHOOL (Goal 2)
4.) ASSIST: DELMAR, DELAWARE, PROGRAM HELPS SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS LEARN 
(Goal 3)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) COMMUNITY-BASED AID FOR DISABLED STUDENTS:  HELP FROM THE DoED (Goal 6)
6.) "No Such Thing as a Vacation from Reading":  DoEd'S SUMMER READING
PROGRAM (Goal 3)

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) IBM'S REINVENTING EDUCATION:  GAINS REPORTED (Goals 3 and 4) 
8.) THE RIVER PROJECT:  A NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SPECIAL (Goal 3)

**FEATURE STORY
9.) WESTED:  AIDING LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS (All Goals)

 
********************
STATE POLICY NEWS
********************


1.) ******** DISABLED STUDENTS:  MUST PASS INDIANA'S HIGH SCHOOL EXAM
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement and Citizenship)

Students with disabilities are required to pass the same high school exam in
Indiana as their peers who are not disabled, under a ruling from the Indiana
Court of Appeals.  Students must pass the test in order to graduate.

In a 1998 lawsuit, four disabled students claimed their due process rights
were violated.  They claimed that they were not given sufficient notice
needed adjust their curriculum to pass the exam.  The students also argued
that the state violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA) because they were denied test-taking accommodations.  

The unanimous opinion made clear that the state had given the students
enough time - three years - to prepare for the exam and that opportunities
to retake the test were available to students who did not receive proper
notice of the test.  The justices also ruled that the state did not violate
IDEA, stating that the federal law only requires that the students receive a
free and appropriate education.  

For more information, visit the state of Indiana at
http://www.in.gov/ai/gov/state/html.  Click on Judicial Branch and then
Indiana Court of Appeals.
		

2.) ******** OHIO REVAMPS STATE TESTS:  ALIGNS WITH STANDARDS
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement and Citizenship)

A new Ohio state law overhauls the state's proficiency tests by aligning
them with academic standards (Rubin, EDUCATION DAILY, 6/15).  The law also
limits the tests' use in determining whether students will be promoted to
the next grade or earn a high school diploma.

The new law is based on recommendations developed by Governor Bob Taft's
Commission for Student Success.  Last year, the Commission reported that the
Ohio tests were "rushed into place before the academic standards they were
meant to measure had taken hold," reports the paper.

For more information on the new law, visit
http://www.state.oh.us/gov/releases.  Click on "Taft Signs Student Success
Bill into Law."


*************************
COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS
*************************


3.) ******** COMMUNITY INTERVENTIONS:  KEEPS KIDS IN SCHOOL
(Goal Two:  School Completion)

The Center for Community Change developed a community-based program, piloted
in the District of Columbia, that has successfully helped at-risk students
stay in school.  The three-year Public Housing Graduates Demonstration
Project (PHG) used a host of community interventions as well as stipends to
motivate students to study and attend classes and avoid drugs, crime and
teen pregnancy. Interventions included:  stipends of $100 per month for
sophomores and juniors 
and $200 per month for seniors who attended school and completed other
assignments; after-school tutoring centers in every housing project with
mentors, tutors, computers; two visit to local colleges each month to learn
to be college-ready; and volunteer "Mighty Moms" and "Mighty Pops" from the
community who offered students guidance and support.

According to the Center, four in five students (80 percent) who participated
in PHG remained in school.  Typically three in five youth living in public
housing who enter eighth grade never graduate from high school.  Seventy
percent of the PHG students went on to college or a trade school.

For more information, visit the Center for Community Change at
http://www.CommunityChange.org.


4.) ********ASSIST: DELMAR, DELAWARE, PROGRAM HELPS SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS
LEARN
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement and Citizenship)

A program underway at Delmar Junior High School in Delmar, Delaware, is
successfully improving special needs students' reading skills using
technology.  The ASSIST  (Assistive Skills and Strategies Incorporating
Special Technologies) Initiative was developed by Rebecca Kelly, a teacher
at the school, and last year was awarded the International Reading
Association's Presidential Awards for Reading and Technology.  

Delmar is a small school for seventh and eighth graders, located in rural
Delaware.  Eighth-grade students enrolled in ASSIST saw an average increase
of 2.4 grade levels from the spring 1998 administration of the
Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test to the 1999 administration of the same test.
Eighth-grade students who did not use the technology improved 1.2 grade
levels.  No student in ASSIST failed English in 1999.

For more information on ASSIST, visit the International Reading Association
at http://www.reading.org.


*********************
FEDERAL POLICY NEWS
*********************


5.) ******** COMMUNITY-BASED AID FOR DISABLED STUDENTS:  HELP FROM THE DoED
(Goal Six:  Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning)

Last month, President George W. Bush signed an executive order to provide
greater opportunities for people with disabilities to engage fully in
community life and in employment.  Under the order, the U.S. secretary of
education is directed to work cooperatively with the attorney general;
secretaries of health and human services, labor and housing and urban
development; and the commissioner of the Social Security Administration to
provide assistance to states and communities in expanding community-based
alternatives for persons with disabilities.  

The order is intended to help states comply with the U.S. Supreme Court
decision in Olmstead v. L.C. [527 U.S. 581(1999)].  According to the ruling,
states are required to "place qualified individuals with mental disabilities
in community settings, rather than in institutions, whenever treatment
professionals determine that such placement is appropriate, the affected
persons do not oppose such placement and the state can reasonably
accommodate the placement, taking into account the resources available to
the state and the needs of others with disabilities."

For more information, visit the Department of Education at
http://www.ed.gov.


6.) ******** "No Such Thing as a Vacation from Reading":  DoEd'S SUMMER
READING PROGRAM
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement and Citizenship)

U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Page and Mrs. Lynne Cheney late last month
kicked off the Department of Education's summer reading campaign.  "No Such
Thing as a Vacation from Reading" encourages adults to read with children
each day to prevent summer fall-off - the documented loss of reading skills
that can take place when children do not practice reading during the
extended summer vacation.

The reading program is supported by the Department of Education's
Partnership for Family Involvement in Education.  The partnership was formed
to involve businesses, community organizations, faith-based organizations,
foundations, schools and other groups in building and supporting strong
relationships between children and adults.

For more information, visit the Department of Education at
http://www.ed.gov.


*********************************
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICES
*********************************


7.) ******** IBM'S REINVENTING EDUCATION:  GAINS REPORTED
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Citizenship and Goal Four: Teacher
Education and Professional Development)

In 1994, IMB launched a $45 million education reform program with goals to
improve academic performance for students in middle and high school, to
improve teaching and to provide better overall management in school systems.

A three-year study of IMB's program, Reinventing Education, found the
program has led to significant gains for students and school districts.  The
study, conducted by the New York City -based Education Development Center's
Center for Children and Technology, found that the program:
>  aided grant recipients in creating effective and lasting professional
development programs
>  districts were able to sustain reforms they developed using these grants
even after their awards expired
>  helped establish programs that can serve as models for other school
systems

For more information on Reinventing Education, visit IMB at
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ibmgives.  For information on the study of
Reinventing Education visit the Center for Children and Technology at
http://www.edc.org.


8.) ******** THE RIVER PROJECT:  A NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SPECIAL
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement and Citizenship)

The National Geographic Society last month unveiled a national river
education campaign for students.  The six-month initiative offers online
resources for teachers, parents and students, including hands-on
river-related projects, games, an interactive river system exploration
program, K-12 educational activities and links to educational Web sites.  

The river campaign also features an Aqua Heroes contest for students in
grades K-12.  Students must investigate a river-related problem and create a
solution and publicize the issue to their communities.

For more information visit the National Geographic Society at
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographyaction.


*****************
FEATURE STORY
*****************


9.) ******** WESTED:  AIDING LOW-PERFORMING SCHOOLS
(ALL GOALS)

WestEd, a nonprofit research, development and service agency originally
created by Congress in 1966, is involved in a program that helps
low-performing schools meet higher academic goals for students.  California
lawmakers passed a bill two years ago that allows selected low-performing
schools to work with "external evaluators," including WestEd, which serves
Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah.

Initially, WestEd worked with 21 low-performing schools throughout
California, and this year the group added 31 more schools.  WestEd's latest
issue of R&D Alert features the group's work with El Verano Elementary
School.  The school's population consists of a growing number of English
learners, students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches and "staff
looking for knowledge and skills to address these changes," writes the
newsletter.

WestEd's External Evaluator (EE) project first surveyed the staff and
conducted classroom observations to gain first-hand knowledge of the
challenges facing the school and its students.  WestEd's EE project staff
now are working with El Verano to create an action plan for improving
student achievement, including the achievement of students in need of
English Language Development (ELD).  "The core of our approach is that we
take schools through a process that is collaborative and standards-based,"
explained EE Project Director Shelia Weiss.

An individual EE is assigned to each school.  The staff person uses a set of
principles developed by WestEd as well as others, including WestEd
curriculum experts and teacher leaders from the California Reading and
Literature Project and the California Mathematics Project.

One WestEd goal is to ensure the entire school is involved in the process of
reform.  From the newsletter:  "The EE provides an external review, but it
is school faculty, administrators, students, parents and community members
who must come together to write a plan for improving student achievement."

WestEd also encourages the involvement of the school district by requesting
the district to appoint a liaison to each school the agency is working with.
"We want the district to really know what's going on the whole way," said
Fred Tempes, director of WestEd's Comprehensive School Assistance Program,
which houses the EE project.

El Verano's principal and staff attribute WestEd's involvement with helping
the school stay focused on student achievement.  "Teachers here are very
responsive to the needs of this changing population, but it's a matter of
resources.  What resources do we need in place to be sure every child is
going to succeed," said El Verano's principal Louann Carlomagno.  "People
are very willing to change once a vision is developed and goals are in
place, but we need some coaching to know how to make that change."

Tempes added that WestEd only works with schools that are willing "to
contract with us on an extended, three-year basis, so that we come back
periodically, monitor implementation of the plan, coach them on the
implementation, help them modify the plan if it's necessary, but keep them
focused on the main issue, which is student achievement."

For more information, visit WestEd at http://www.WestEd.org.


************************************
The NEGP WEEKLY is a publication of:
The National Education Goals Panel 
1255 22nd Street NW, Suite 502 
Washington, DC 20037; 
202-724-0015 

NEGP Acting Executive Director: John Barth 
Publisher: Barbara A. Pape 
http://www.negp.gov 
************************************

The NEGP/ Daily Report Card (DRC) hereby authorizes further reproduction and
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WHAT IS THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL? 
The National Education Goals Panel is a unique bipartisan body of state and
federal officials created in 1990 by President Bush and the nation's
Governors to report state and national progress and urge education
improvement efforts to reach the National Education Goals. 

WHAT DOES THE GOALS PANEL DO?
The Goals Panel has been charged to: 
* Report state and national progress toward the National Education Goals. 
* Work to establish a system of high academic standards and assessments. 
* Identify promising and effective reform strategies. 
* Recommend actions for state, federal, and local governments to take. 
* Build a nationwide, bipartisan consensus to achieve the Goals. 

WHAT ARE THE NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS? 
There are eight National Education Goals set for the year 2000. They are: 
1) All children will start school ready to learn. 
2) The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90%. 
3) All students will become competent in challenging subject matter. 
4) Teachers will have the knowledge and skills they need. 
5) U.S. students will be first in the world in math and science achievement.
6) Every adult American will be literate. 
7) Schools will be safe, disciplined, and free of drugs, guns and alcohol. 
8) Schools will promote parental involvement and participation. 

WHO SERVES ON THE GOALS PANEL AND HOW ARE THEY CHOSEN?
Eight governors, four state legislators, four members of the U.S. Congress,
and two members appointed by the President serve on the Goals Panel. Members
are appointed by the leadership of the National Governors' Association, the
National Conference of State Legislatures, the U.S. Senate and House, and
the President. The number of Republicans and Democrats are made even by
appointing five governors from the party that does not control the White
House.
 
The current Panel Members are Governors Frank O'Bannon, IN (Chair,
2001); Jim Geringer, WY (Chair-elect); John Engler, MI; Jim Hodges, SC;
Frank	Keating, OK; Paul E. Patton, KY; Jeanne Shaheen, NH; Tom Vilsack,
IA;
U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, NM; U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, VT; U.S.
Representative George Miller, CA; Representative G. Spencer Coggs,
WI; Representative Mary Lou Cowlishaw, IL; Representative Douglas R.
Jones, ID; Senator Stephen Stoll, MO. 

The annual Goals Report and other publications of the Panel are available
without charge upon request from the Goals Panel or at its web site
http://www.negp.gov. Requests can be made by mail, fax, e-mail, or Internet.


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