The NEGP WEEKLY for August 16, 2001

[Negpweek <NEGPWEEK@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

Thursday -August 16, 2001 -- Vol. 2 -- No. 113
*************************************************

CONTENTS

**STATE POLICY 
1.) MASSACHUSETTS:  EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM GUIDELINES (Goals 1 and 3)
2.) CONNECTICUT:  ORDER DISTRICTS TO DEVELOP LOCAL GRADUATION CRITERIA (Goal
3)

**COMMUNITY AND LOCAL NEWS 
3.) LATINO COMMUNITY EDUCATION GRANT:  A CAPITOL PROGRAM (Goal 3)
4.) EDISON:  IN CHARGE IN LAS VEGAS (Goal 3)

**FEDERAL POLICY NEWS 
5.) ARTS EDUCATION:  A DoED MODEL (Goal 3)
6.) AMERICAN HISTORY:  GRANTS FROM THE DoED (Goals 3 and 4) 

**RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PRACTICE 
7.) DATA LITERACY:  HELP FROM TERC (Goal 5)
8.) WELFARE-TO-WORK:  IMPACT ON TEENS (Goals 3 and 7) 

**FEATURE STORY
9.) STATE OF OUR NATION'S YOUTH:  A HORATIO ALGER SURVEY (Goals 7 and 8) 


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


1.) ******** MASSACHUSETTS:  EARLY CHILDHOOD CURRICULUM GUIDELINES
(Goal One: Ready To Learn and Goal Three: Student Achievement)

Massachusetts education leaders have developed new guidelines to help early
childhood programs offer "developmentally appropriate" instruction for young
students (Cohen, Boston GLOBE, 8/5).  According to the paper, the preschool
guidelines offer activities and lessons in each subject that match a
student's ability.  The guidelines are based on the state's K-12 curriculum
frameworks in English, math, science and social studies.  

While critics worry that the guidelines will purge creativity from preschool
classes, others praised the guidelines for being appropriate for
preschoolers.

The guidelines must be approved by the Board of Education.  Board members
are expected to review the guidelines in the fall.

For more information, visit the Massachusetts Department of Education at
http://www.doe.mass.edu.


2.) ******** CONNECTICUT:  ORDER DISTRICTS TO DEVELOP LOCAL GRADUATION
CRITERIA
(Goal Three: Student Achievement)

New state legislation directs Connecticut's school districts to develop a
list of skills students must demonstrate to graduate from high school.
Under this plan, school districts will be permitted to establish their own
graduation requirements, "as long as they include student results on
Connecticut's 10th-grade assessment," writes EDUCATION WEEK (Archer, 8/11).


The paper reports that the bill is a compromise "amid debate over whether to
adopt an exit-exam system in which students' scores on statewide assessments
would determine who earned a high school diploma and who didn't."

For more information, visit the Connecticut General Assembly at
http://www.cga.state.ct.us


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


3.) ******** LATINO COMMUNITY EDUCATION GRANT:  A CAPITOL PROGRAM
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement)

The District of Columbia public school system is launching a new effort to
improve educational services to the city's burgeoning Hispanic population
(Chan, WASHINGTON POST, 8/9).  The Latino Community Education Grant Program
will award $1 million in grants to community groups to provide education
services to the Hispanic community.  

According to the paper, city leaders will conduct a session later this month
for community groups to explain the program's purpose, with the deadline for
proposals set at August 31.  Grants will be announced September 19, with
funding to commence on November 1.  Each community group will be able to
receive up to $50,000.

For more information, visit the District of Columbia public schools at
http://www.k12.dc.us


4.) ******** EDISON:  IN CHARGE IN LAS VEGAS
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement)

A court ruling has determined that Edison Schools, a for-profit business,
will operate two North Las Vegas and four Las Vegas elementary schools and
one Las Vegas middle school for the 2001-2002 school year (AP/SAN FRANCISCO
GATE, 8/8).  A district judge last week dismissed a lawsuit by the Nevada
State Education Association, the Education Support Employees Association and
State Assemblyman Wendell Williams, all of whom were trying to void the
school district's contract with Edison.  

Clark County school officials unanimously agreed to a five-year contract
with Edison last April.

Clark County District Judge Nancy Saitta said, "I have some grave concerns
about the program we are going to be imposing on the kids of these schools.
I want to make it clear:  If this contract brings us to a juncture that
there are problems, these issues will need to be revisited."

Edison will receive per-student funding from the state and pour up to $1.5
million in start-up money into each school it manages, writes the paper.
Part of the funds will be targeted to reading and math instruction.  School
days and the school year will be lengthened.

For more information, visit Edison Schools at http://www.edisonproject.com.


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


5.) ******** ARTS EDUCATION:  A DoED MODEL
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement)

The U.S. Department of Education's Arts in Education Model Development and
Dissemination Grant program is designed to further develop model projects
that effectively strengthen and integrate arts in elementary and middle
school core academic curriculum.

The program will support projects that develop, document, evaluate and
disseminate promising models that demonstrate their effectiveness in several
ways, including:
>  integrating arts into the core elementary and middle school curricula by
strengthening the use of high-quality arts in academic instruction and
strengthening the place of arts as a core academic subject in the school
curricula;
>  improving students' academic performance, including their skills in
creating, performing and responding to the arts.

The Arts in Education program was created by Congress to provide grants to
school districts and other groups to help them further develop promising
practices.

For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Education at
http://www.ed.gov/ofices/OESE/ArtsED/html.


6.) ******** AMERICAN HISTORY:  GRANTS FROM THE DoED
(Goal Three:  Student Achievement and Goal Four: Professional Development)

The goal of the U.S. Department of Education's Teaching American History
Grant program is to support programs to raise student achievement by
improving teachers' knowledge, understanding and appreciation of American
history.

Under the proposal, school districts and institutions with expertise in
American history will collaborate over a three-year period to ensure that
teachers develop the knowledge and skills necessary to teach traditional
American history in an "exciting and engaging way."  Districts must
demonstrate comprehensive professional development approaches for providing
high-quality American history instruction.

For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Education at
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/TAH/html.


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


7.) ******** DATA LITERACY:  HELP FROM TERC
(Goal Five: Math and Science)

TERC and Key Curriculum Press have announced a partnership designed to
improve the model for teaching and learning middle and high school
statistics.  The primary research vehicles for the project are two advanced
software programs, Fathom Dynamic Statistics, for use by high school
students, and Tinkerplots, for middle school students.  The intuitive,
visual interface used by the programs allows students to easily manipulate
data, writes a TERC press release.

The National Science Foundation-funded project is expected to reach hundreds
of teachers and thousands of students.  It will combine data visualization
tools with academic research about the way teachers and students learn and
process statistical concepts.

For more information, visit TERC, a non-profit education research group
based in Cambridge, Massachusetts at http://www.terc.edu.


8.) ******** WELFARE-TO-WORK:  IMPACT ON TEENS
(Goal Three: Student Achievement and Goal Seven: Safe and Drug-Free Schools)

A study conducted by Manpower Research Demonstration Corps found that teens
whose mothers participated in welfare-to-work programs "appear to do worse
in school and have more behavior problems than teens from other welfare
families," writes the BOSTON GLOBE (Meckler, 7/31).  The paper also points
out that other studies of the effects younger children whose mothers are
part of welfare-to-work are more positive.  

Three studies in Florida, Minnesota and Canada all found that teens with
mothers in welfare-to-work faired less well than their counterparts in
families that stayed in the traditional welfare system.  For example,
Florida teens with parents in the Family Transition Program showed lower
school achievement and were more apt to be suspended from school.  Forty
percent of teens in the program had been suspended, compared with 32.7
percent of teens whose families were in the traditional welfare system.  

For more information on welfare-related issues, visit the Welfare
Information Network at http://www.welfareinfo.org.


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


9.) ******** STATE OF OUR NATION'S YOUTH:  A HORATIO ALGER SURVEY
(Goal Seven: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Goal Eight: Parental
Involvement)

The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans recently released
its latest survey of American youth.  The State of Our Nation's Youth 2001
found that American teens nationwide decidedly want parents to be involved
in their lives.  Almost half of the teens surveyed picked a family member as
a role model.  More than a quarter of those surveyed said school violence is
caused by parents spending too little time with their children.  Only the
bullying of students by others garnered more votes in this category.

"Having a strong relationship with our families is very important to our
success, "said Michael Hsia, a rising senior in Livermore, California.
"Maybe it's time for mothers and fathers across the nation to realize that
and provide more support."

Other findings from the survey include:
>  84 percent of teens said future success would be defined by whether they
have close family relationships.  Also rated high were having a close group
of friends, making a contribution to society and having an active spiritual
life.  Making money and being famous were favored by far fewer as indicators
of success.
>  A majority also said they do not feel pressured to look a certain way,
get along with their parents, have sex, use drugs or drink.
>  The largest problem cited by teens was the pressure to get good grades.
>  75 percent said they plan to go to either a four-year or -two-year
college, with another 17 percent stating that they plan on some post-high
school education. 
>  One-third of high school students said peer pressure to take drugs, drink
or have sex, is at least a minor problem for them.
>  Only 57 percent of teens said they lived with both of their parents.   
>  Nearly half of all minority high-school students and 42 percent of
inner-city students reported that they worried a great deal about violence.

The Horatio Alger Association intends to use its State of Your Nation's
Youth reports to gain a "better understanding of the attitudes, opinions,
fears and hopes of students . . . [so to] better target its outreach
programs to reach more students at risk.

For more information and copies of this year's and past year's surveys,
visit the Horatio Alger Association at http://www.horatioalger.com.


************************************
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 
************************************

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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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