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--- Monday --- January 29, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 8 -
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
RANKING STATES | SPOTLIGHT |
For the tenth consecutive | |
year, public school enrollment | HIGH-TECH HYPE |
grew. The figure rose 1.4% and | |
the graduation rate climbed | Overcrowding is a problem |
2.3% in 1994-95 over the | that plagues Dade County, |
preceding school year. These | Fla. One solution promoted |
and other tidbits can be found | by some educators calls for |
in the National Education | building separate |
Association's "Rankings of the | technology centers where |
States, 1995." | classes of students are |
According to the report, 43.9 | bused once a week to ease |
million students attended | crowding at their regular |
public schools in 1994-95, up | school. Teacher aides, |
almost a million from the year | including parents, would be |
before. Other findings: in | available to help the |
1994-95, local jurisdictions | students on-site with |
provided almost 48% of school | lessons presented by |
revenue, while states provided | teachers via satellite and |
46% and the federal government | computer hook-ups. (#7) |
contributed 7.2%; for the first | |
time in recent years, 1993-94 | Technology boosters -- |
local funding exceeded state | from the White House to the |
contributions as public educa- | State House -- may be |
tion's primary revenue source; | applauding. But some |
and males made up almost 27% of | educators aren't cheering. |
the K-12 teaching force for the | "Is such an education |
1994-95 school year, continuing | really what we want for our |
a 10-year decline. | children?" queries author |
"Rankings of the States" has | Douglas Noble. Children, |
been published annually by the | especially young ones, need |
NEA since 1957. For more | more hands-on projects and |
information contact the NEA at | interaction with teachers, |
1201 16th Street NW; Wash., | they say. |
D.C. 20036-3290; 202/822-7200. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"Computers, laserdiscs, and interactive video are the blackboards
of tomorrow." -- S.C. Gov David Beasley. (#2)
_______________________________________________________________
| A service of the National Education Goals Panel |
| Published by the Education Policy Network |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Wash, D.C.; 20037; 202/632-0952 |
| The DRC hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
WATERWORLD: Saving Aquarius. (#1)
STATESIDE
EDUCATION #1 FOR S.C. GOV: Salary hikes, tech & charters. (#2)
THE PRIVATE EYE
BACK TO WORK: Wilkinsburg teachers win round one. (#3)
TAKING STOCK
TOP TEN: Changes affecting students during past 30 years. (#4)
CHARTING A NEW COURSE
IT'S STARTING TO LOOK LIKE A MOVEMENT: Charter schools. (#5)
PROMISING PRACTICES
SHAPE UP, OR SHIP OUT: A plan for low-achieving schools. (#6)
OVERCROWDING: Radical solutions abound in Dade. (#7)
===== GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE =====
*1 WATERWORLD: SAVING AQUARIUS
Student participation in the Jason Project, an education
program that transports students to different part of the world
via technology, is in jeopardy (multi cites). The Jason Project
depends on continued federal funding of the Aquarius, a state-of-
the-art laboratory on the ocean floor. Congressional budget
deliberations "deep six" the nation's only undersea research
laboratory, writes the U of North Carolina at Wilmington press
release (1/24). Aquarius is managed by the UNCW.
Bob Ballard, discoverer of the RMS Titanic, founder of the
Jason Project and senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, recently testified before a joint hearing of
Congress to stress the importance of underwater exploration and
urge Congress to continue funding for oceanographic study "so the
next generation can explore the 71% of Earth that lies
underwater," writes a Jason Project press release (1/25).
Aquarius budget cuts could doom the Jason Project's reach to
millions of students, according to Ballard and UNCW officials.
Aquarius is scheduled to be used by Jason Project students in
April.
===== STATESIDE =====
*2 EDUCATION #1 FOR S.C. GOV: SALARY HIKES, TECH & CHARTERS
S.C. Gov David Beasley (R) outlined his agenda for improving
education during his State of the State address (multi cites).
Beasley intends to raise teachers salaries, sign charter school
legislation, increase the use of technology and double the size
of the Governor's School for Science and Math.
The governor also wants "to add a 'V' to the three Rs,"
writes The STATE (Farrington, 1/25). "Character education is no
substitute for parents or clergy, and it never will be," he said.
"But given the courts' complete misinterpretation of the church-
state doctrine, it's all we can do in public schools and it
merits attention." Public school children should be taught basic
values such as honesty, responsibility and respect, he noted.
Under the governor's plan, teacher salaries would increase
3.4% to hike them up to the Southeastern average. Schools would
receive during 1996-1997 $20M for the first year of a technology
plan, said Beasley. The paper writes that the funds would wire a
satellite link to every school's media center, which would allow
students easy access to the Internet. "Imagine the possibilities
of making our best and brightest tachers available to every
school," said Beasley. "Computers, laserdiscs and interactive
video are the blackboards of tomorrow," he added. The paper
reports that the total phase-in of Beasley's technology plans
runs from $80M to $100M, which does not include teacher training,
software, or purchase of a computer for every class.
Beasley also called for charter schools, as a way to "give
local school districts, parents and families grater flexibility
and choices about how to deliver education." A House bill
supported by the S.C. Chamber of Commerce would allow charter
schools or individuals to "operate free of state regulation,"
reports the paper. Local school boards would be given the
authority to approve charters.
The governor also urged the expansion of the Governor's
School for Science and Math at a cost of $18M. And the
GOvernor's School for the Arts would be expanded from a summer-
only to a year-round program, under Beasley's plan. The cost is
estimated at $6M in public funds, plus $12M in private
contributions, reports the paper.
===== THE PRIVATE EYE =====
*3 BACK TO WORK: WILKINSBURG TEACHERS WIN ROUND ONE
An outside arbitrator ruled 10 Jan that the 14 Wilkinsburg,
Pa., teachers fired when Alternative Public Schools Inc. took
over their school should return to work (Ponessa, ED WEEK, 1/24).
The Wilkinsburg Teachers Union filed a grievance with the city
school board over the dismissal of the teachers.
According to the paper, the ruling was a setback for
supporters of privatization, who in Oct won a temporary victory
when the state supreme court allowed the agreement with the
private firm to continue. The high court sent the lawsuit back
to lower courts.
Barbara Bell, chief negotiator for the Wilkinsburg Education
Association, explained the three points used by the arbitrator to
undergird his ruling: state law makes subcontracting of teaching
services illegal; the district did not provide the one-semester
notice before layoffs as required by the current teacher
contract; and there was no student-population decline in the
1,900-student district, which is a prerequisite for teacher
layoffs under the teacher contract.
The district is appealing; and a hearing is scheduled for
next month by the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, writes
the paper.
===== TAKING STOCK =====
*4 TOP TEN: CHANGES AFFECTING STUDENTS DURING PAST 30 YEARS
The growth in the number of dysfunctional families, the
influence of technology and crime and violence head the top ten
list of changes affecting students during the past 30 years,
according to the 1994 finalists in the National Superintendent of
the Year program. Details of the changes are presented in a new
publication by the American Association of School Administrators
tilted "How Students Have Changed ... A Call to Action for Our
Children's Future."
Barbara Johnson, a counselor at a Colo. elementary school is
quoted in the book. "In my 20 years as a teacher and 10 as a
counselor, I see greater anger, depression, fear, and rage.
Because of the pressure on parents ... they' don't spend enough
time with their kids. Kids learn a range of inappropriate
emotional vocabulary from the television What's sad is the loss
of human interaction, the loss of touch with nature, and the loss
of community. Their emotional skills are just not there."
Clinical psychologist Katherine Smith agrees. Without
parental attention, children become more influenced by their
peers, which means they "spiral out of the family because they
are not getting what they need at home -- support, understanding
and a sense of belonging," she observes.
The rest of the top ten changes affecting students during
the past 30 years, as compiled by the National Superintendent of
the Year finalists, include: communities are changing, becoming
more diverse; the influence of the mass media has tightened its
grip on children, giving them more knowledge at an earlier age;
students question authority and shun traditional values and
responsibilities; a hurry-up society often lacks a sense of
community; changing workplaces create demands for higher levels
of literacy; knowledge about learning styles demands new kinds of
education; peers exert a powerful influence on values.
The publication traces socio-cultural events, from the
"green lawns, McCarthy Hearings, Miss Clairol and Wonderbread,"
of the 1950s to the "numbing 90s," which have ushered in MTV,
Generation X, Rodney King videotapes, the O.J. Simpson trial and
the Oklahoma City bombing.
"If we pass the job of minding the kids onto the TV set, if
we fail to listen actively to what they have to say or to hold
them accountable for their actions, we deprive them of what they
need to know to build decent futures -- for themselves and
everybody else," said Bernard Friedlander of the U of Hartford
department of psychology.
School leaders offer 10 recommendations in the publication,
including: teach kids to be socially competent, to manage and
resolve conflict; create a learning environment in the home; and
allow parents time off from work to be with their children and
visit their child's school.
The booklet, "How Students Have Changed -- A Call to Action
For Our Children's Future," is available by contacting AASA
Publications; 1901 North Moore Street; Arlington, Va. 22209;
703/875-0748. Single copies are priced at $7, including postage
and handling.
===== CHARTING A NEW COURSE =====
*5 IT'S STARTING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE A MOVEMENT: CHARTER SCHOOL
A new report issued by the Indiana Education Policy Center
provides a comprehensive picture of the status of charter schools
across the country. "Charter schools are beginning to look like
a significant educational movement," according to "Charter
Schools: Legislation and Results after Four Years".
Three years ago, only two states -- Minn. and Calif. -- had
passed charter school legislation. Now, 19 states have charter
schools on the books, writes the report. The publication also
notes that as of September 1995, 250 charter schools had been
approved, and 226 of them were in operation.
However, the movement does have major glitches, according to
the report. High staff turnover, "formidable" organizational and
financial barriers and vociferous opposition from many lawmakers
and educators plague the charter school movement, notes the
report. From the report: "However, given the current education
policymaking trend in Indiana -- indeed in many states -- toward
deregulation and decentralization, charter schools will in all
likelihood be on the legislative agenda again in 1996."
The report writes that although charter schools are a new
concept, some questions surrounding them are beginning to be
answered. For example, most charter schools are small, and there
are more elementary than secondary charters. Charter schools
serve a student population comparable to the overall public-
school population regarding race and socioeconomic status; "not
an elite population of upper-middle-class white students, as some
had feared," notes the report. Parent involvement in charter
schools tends to be higher than in other public schools, partly
because one charter-school method used to ensure parental support
is a contract requiring parents to a certain level of involvement
each month.
However, the report finds that because charter schools are
in a nascent state, the effect on student achievement has yet to
be documented.
The publication is divided into five chapters, covering
these topics; background information on charter schools; an
analysis of charter school legislation in all 19 states where it
has passed; examination of charter school legislation that was
considered and defeated during the 1995 session of the Indiana
General Assembly; a summary and discussion of the existing
research on the more than 200 approved and operating charter
schools nationwide; and recommendations for state legislators.
A list of references and contact list of people and
organizations also is presented.
Copies of "Charter Schools: Legislation and Results after
Four Years" are available for $12.00, including postage and
handling. Payment must accompany order and be payable to Indiana
University. Contact the Indiana Education Policy Center; School
of Education Office; Smith Center for Research in Education;
Suite 170; Indiana U; Bloomington, Ind. 47408-2698; 812/855-
1240.
==== PROMISING PRACTICES ====
*6 SHAPE UP, OR SHIP OUT: A PROPOSAL FOR LOW-ACHIEVING SCHOOLS
Metro (Nashville, Tenn.) Schools Director Richard Benjamin
wants all personnel, from principal to custodians, to face
reassignment if achievement scores at their low-performing
schools do not improve (Klausnitzer, The TENNESSEAN, 1/23).
Benjamin submitted his proposal to the school board last week.
According to the paper, the "changes would serve as a method to
shake up low-achieving schools."
"I think it's a great idea," sad Jim Turbeville, director of
Metro High schools. "This gives us something to target. If a
school performs poorly on gain scores as well as raw scores two
years in a row, then something needs to be looked at."
The TENNESSEAN notes that the proposal is based on changes
reported in the state's School Report Card scores, which
currently is under state review. The report cards include both
raw scores and gain scores, statistics that show how much
knowledge students acquired from one year to the next on the
state's achievement tests.
Schools with reading scores below the 45th percentile and
gains below the 90th percentile for two consecutive years would
be placed on probation, under Benjamin's plan. These schools
would be required to undergo the "arduous" accreditation process
of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, reports the
paper. The process is a year-long intensive self-study and
problem solving program.
Schools that fail to receive accreditation based on its own
shortcomings -- "not on the system's inability to provide certain
items, such as books, or librarians" -- would be restructured.
All school personnel, principals, teachers, secretaries and
custodians, would be transferred to other schools. "If you've
been low and you can't go through the process, then everyone is
gone," explained Turbeville. "We start all over. We build a new
school," he added.
*7 OVERCROWDING: RADICAL SOLUTIONS ABOUND IN DADE
Almost 200,000 more children are expected to enroll in
Metro-Dade County, Fla., public schools over the next 19 years,
in addition to the over 300,000 students already in the system
Mailander, THE MAIMI HERALD, 1/24). Dade County educators are
proposing a series of "radical" solutions to the overcrowding
problem, from learning outposts to home schooling, reports the
paper.
"Urban school districts like ours are facing incredible,
overwhelming odds," acknowledged Dade Superintendent Octavio
Visiedo. "We don't have a lot of land, we're experiencing,
tremendous growth, and we don't have much money. We have to
change the way we do business," he added.
Many elementary schools cope with overcrowding by cramming
two classes of students into one room, which means more than 50
children are in a room designed for half that number, according
to the HERALD. Some middle schools and high schools offer
lectures to classes of from 50 to 200 students in auditoriums.
One alternative for educating a burgeoning student body is
the building of separate technology centers, "where groups of
children will take turns being bused one day a week to free up
space in their regular elementary schools," writes the paper. A
group of Dade principals and teachers are designing these center,
called Voyager Learning Centers. Draft plans call for opening
these centers in stores, churches or even private homes, notes
the paper. One proposal calls for a teacher in a traditional
school to simultaneously teach Voyager students through computer
and television hook-ups. The HERALD notes that this model
required unprecedented parental involvement, often as teacher
aides when the teacher is only electronically present.
Another proposal is charter schools. Charter school
legislation is on the verge of being passed this year in the Fla.
Legislature. Groups applying for charters are responsible for
providing the space for the school, as well as operating the
program.
Home-schooling is another measure that could alleviate
overcrowding, according to some educators. Already, more than
800 Dade parents teach their children at home, reports the paper.
Some Dade officials want to "tap into this middle-class trend" by
contracting with some parents to run mini-schools from their
home, according to the paper. The arrangement could be a win-win
situation since the home school parents could get public school
funds or equipment to carry on their work.
Another option bandied about is to create satellite centers
that allow children to be schooled at the same place their
parents work. According to the paper, over 400 Dade public
school students attend four satellite schools in their parents'
workplace; at the American Bankers Insurance Group, Miami
International Airport, Mount Sinai Medical Center and light's
Turkey Point plant. The HERALD writes that the employer provides
the space and the school system contributes the teachers and
equipment.
But controversies surround most of these plans. Some warn
of the over-reliance on technology. The HERALD quotes Douglas
Noble, author of the 1991 book "The Classroom Arsenal." "Is such
an education really what we want for our children?" he asks of
classrooms based on high-technology, which may further the aims
of private firms more than the goals of educating children.
An increased reliance on technology also may lead to less
direct contact with teachers, argue others. Excessive computer
use runs counter to the needs of young children, maintain some
researchers. They argue that young children learn best through
experimentation, hands-on activity and interaction with teachers
and students.
Many parents are leery of any solution to overcrowding that
requires additional transportation of their children. They are
fearful for their child's safety, especially after the recent
kidnap and murder of a child dropped off alone at his school bus
stop.
But Visiedo is undeterred. "We're moving more and more away
from the typical way of teaching," he observed. "It's going to
be a combination of kids learning in schools, centers, at home
and at work. This is part of the crowding solution. It has to
be."
Reporter Jodi Mailander prepared a series of four articles
on Dade County public schools. Topics covered include the
basics, safe schools, where does the money go and overcrowding.
To order a reprint of the series, send $10 to Factline/Education;
The HERALD; 1 Herald Plaza; Miami, Fla. 33132. Orders must
include name, address and phone. Or, fax orders to 305/995-8183.
Fax orders must include a credit card number and expiration date.
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