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--- Friday --- March 15, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 26 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
PUTTING OFF UNTIL TOMORROW | SPOTLIGHT |
Another shut-down of the | |
federal government was held off | PRIVATELY FUNDED VOUCHERS |
by House and Senate approval of | |
a one-week spending measure | Say the "V" word -- |
(Pianin, WASH POST, 3/15). | vouchers -- and heads turn, |
Key to budget negotiations is a | voices shriek, while others |
squabble over funding for | quickly run for cover. But |
education and job-training | mention that the vouchers |
programs. | for private schools are |
Earlier this week, Senate | funded by private dollars, |
Republicans acquiesced to the | and calm is restored among |
White House and their Demo- | the ranks of educators and |
cratic colleagues to increase | policymakers. |
spending on education and job- | |
training by $2.7B (Gray, N.Y. | Ga.'s Children's |
TIMES, 3/13). However, a | Education Foundation is |
House-passed version does not | sailing through the calm |
include the higher figure. | amidst the storm over |
The Senate's vote of 84 to 16 | private school choice. |
means restoration of spending | Private money collected by |
near 1995 levels for Head | the foundation provides |
Start, Goals 2000, summer youth | vouchers for children in |
employment, two college loan | the Atlanta area to attend |
programs, and other education | private schools. |
and training programs, writes | |
the paper. | But foundation leaders |
The POST reports that | face another challenge. A |
President Clinton and first | $1M donation and other |
lady Hillary Rodham Clinton | contributions have quickly |
have appeared at schools across | dwindled. They need an |
the country to "underscore the | infusion of funds to add |
federal role in education" and | more children to their |
pressure Congress to increase | program. (#7) |
aid to education and training. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"What we should have gotten was 100 percent compliance." -- Fla.
House Education Chairwoman Cynthia Chestnut (D), on the inability
of schools to decrease class size, despite additional state
funds. (#4)
_______________________________________________________________
| 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 |
Staff Writer: Elizabeth Gage |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION
INFORMATION & COORDINATION: Needed to reduce truancy. (#1)
GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
THE INVISIBLE HAND: Becomes more visible in Ohio. (#2)
MONEY FOR ART: Annenberg grant helps NYC school. (#3)
STATESIDE
AN ELUSIVE GOAL: Class size in Florida. (#4)
FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
MINN'S COMMUNITY SCHOOL PLAN: Winners and losers. (#5)
LA.'S GIFTED AND TALENTED?: Quandary over who gets in. (#6)
CHOOSING SCHOOLS
SCHOOL VOUCHERS: Private funding cuts controversy. (#7)
===== GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION =====
*1 INFORMATION & COORDINATION: NEEDED TO REDUCE TRUANCY
Dallas County school officials are beginning to tackle the
school district's student truancy problems, editorializes the
DALLAS MORNING NEWS (3/11). Public schools hired more than a
dozen people last year to enforce truancy, and justices of the
peace report an increase in attendance rates, reports the paper.
However, in order to accurately assess the level of truancy,
school officials must reconsider policies that link attendance
rates with funding because they provide incentives for schools to
underreport attendance rates, thereby distorting truancy rates,
pens the paper.
The NEWS notes various reasons students are absent from
school: a nomadic family life, fear, boredom, lack of parent
control, sickness, age and poor academic skills. According to
the editorial, many of these problems occur among elementary
school children, raising the urgency for early intervention.
Reducing truancy requires social service and legal
intervention, suggests the paper. Stringent law enforcement also
can improve attendance rates. Justice of the Peace Diana Orozoco
claims many young defendants have increased attendance rates
after only one court visit. Orozoco's inability to explain why
students change their behavior highlights the need for more
information and research regarding truancy, notes the paper.
According to the paper, anti-truancy programs are limited
because there is not enough data available to assess what works
and what does not. If someone created and collected data for
monitoring truancy programs, then schools and courts would be
able to address the problem more appropriately, writes the paper.
Until then, courts and schools will "dole out punishments and
hope for the best," the editorial states.
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*2 THE INVISIBLE HAND: BECOMES MORE VISIBLE IN OHIO
Sixth-grade Ohio students will be expected to respond to
economics questions for the first time on the Ohio Proficiency
Test, which will be administered 18 March (Skertic, THE
CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 3/8). The test measures students' skills in
math, writing, reading, science and citizenship. Economics
questions will be included in the citizenship section of the
exam.
However, many teachers were unclear about how to present
economics to elementary students, writes the paper. The Greater
Cincinnati Center for Economic Education at the U of Cincinnati
gathered economics materials designed for older students and
revised it to accommodate sixth-graders. Teachers then were
trained to use the materials and lessons in their classes.
Suggested lessons include teaching the factors of production by
setting up a paper airplane factory and teaching the concept of
competitive markets by using a pizza factory game, reports the
paper.
Doug Haskell, associate director of the center, said that
the test appears to measure reading skills and economic
knowledge. "If a kid doesn't know what the word entrepreneurship
means, then they're not going to get that question right,"
Haskell said.
The paper notes that teachers appreciated the materials and
training provided by the center. "They told us the concepts the
test would go over -- factors of production, supply and demand
curve -- and they told us how to prepare the students," said
Marilyn Maddox, a social studies teacher at Eastwood Paideia.
*3 MONEY FOR ART: ANNENBERG GRANT HELPS NYC SCHOOL
New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) and Schools
Chancellor Rudy Crew gathered last week to celebrate a $12M
Annenberg Foundation grant plus $24M in private matching funds to
be used to promote art education at the Manhattan School for
Children (Hartocollis, Philadelphia DAILY NEWS, 3/10). The
school, an alternative program housed within Public School 165,
incorporates art education to "explore math, science, archeology
and sociology," reports the paper.
The DAILY NEWS describes other funding for public school art
programs in a school district besieged by budget cuts. For
example, some funding for the arts comes through teachers'
contracts, which provide money for cluster teachers to cover the
prep periods of regular teachers, writes the paper. Additional
funding comes from candy sales or at the expense of something
else, such as math or language arts resources.
The grant is modest compared to the per-capita $36M a head
for the city's million public school children. However, Vartan
Gregorian, president of Brown U and coordinator of the grant,
said he hoped it would begin to institutionalize arts in the
schools again.
===== STATESIDE =====
*4 AN ELUSIVE GOAL: CLASS SIZE IN FLORIDA
Fla. has not yet reached its goal to reduce class size for
first graders (Silva, MIAMI HERALD, 3/7). Last year, the state
lawmakers targeted $40M of the state's education budget to
capping the number of students in first-grade classes at 20. The
schools were supposed to use the money to hire teachers' aides to
meet the new 20-1 student-teacher ratio. However, a state
survey, which did not include Dade County, indicates that the
state is far from achieving its goal, reports the paper.
The average class size for Fla. first grades has been
reduced from 24.3 students in the fall of 1994 to 23.1 in the
fall of 1995. House Education Chairwoman Cynthia Chestnut (D)
expressed concern that $40M in state funds led to only a small
reduction in class size. "What we should have gotten was 100
percent compliance," she stated.
Several studies report that only drastic reductions in class
size make a significant difference in student achievement, yet
many lawmakers and parents believe that any reduction in class
size is worth pursuing, reports the paper.
Earlier this month, the Education Committee voted
unanimously to designate more money to reduce class size in
first, second and third grades. However, the legislature acted
without having a complete picture of the class-size situation
since Dade County was left out of the survey, notes the paper.
Octavio Visiedo, Dade school superintendent, criticizes the
survey, which counts first-grade tachers and first-grade students
"in a simple calculation aimed at portraying an average class
size," writes the paper. Visiedo claims the survey method is
inaccurate because it fails to consider the $100M that Dade
schools spend on elementary teachers of art, music, physical
education, Spanish and gifted children. Children are pulled from
"routine, crowded classes" to attend the special courses, notes
the paper.
Schools may have problems finding additional classroom space
needed to meet the goal. The Legislature may be forced to
address the increase demand for schools as more parents expect
their children to be in smaller classes, writes the paper.
Projected costs to achieve the class-size goal next year
include $33M to finish meet the goal for first grade, and $86M
for second and third grades. "Somebody's going to have to
explain where it's going to come from. It's a substantial amount
of money," said Education Commissioner Frank Brogan.
==== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE ====
*5 MINN'S COMMUNITY SCHOOL PLAN: WINNERS AND LOSERS
The Minneapolis school district has "thrown away the key" to
the American dream of escaping poverty by getting a good
education, declares John Shulman, a Minneapolis civil-rights, in
an editorial (MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE, 3/3). The district's plan
described as "community schools" or "neighborhood schools" is
misleading because parents assume their children will be able to
attend schools in their neighborhood; a faulty assumption,
according to Shulman.
Instead, the plan will have two consequences. First,
schools will become more segregated by race and socioeconomic
status. Second, two-thirds of white parents will be able to send
their children to neighborhood schools, while far more inner-city
children will have to be bused to schools outside of their
neighborhood, explains Shulman.
Shulman claims that the Minneapolis school district
inaccurately presumes that inner-city students will benefit from
more segregated schools. He cites district information that
indicates a decline in reading gains when racial segregation and
socioeconomic segregation increase.
The plan also is illegal because it violates the states
desegregation rule, the Minnesota constitution, the U.S.
Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown vs.
Board of Education, concludes Shulman.
Shulman refers to the state board of education's desire to
know whether inner-city parents approve of the plan. However,
the school district cannot assess how inner-city parents feel
because the families have not been accurately and fully informed
of the plan, according to Shulman. Perhaps the district should
take more care to ensure that the media presents more accurate
descriptions of the proposal, he suggests.
The proposed plan raises another serious legal issue.
Attendance areas "appear to have been gerrymandered so as to
include inner-city children. In other words, the district has
created oddly shaped attendance areas that allow affluent
families to choose neighborhood schools but unnecessarily bar
three quarters of inner-city families from access to neighborhood
schools," Shulman writes.
The Minneapolis school district was found guilty of
segregating students by race in 1970, reminds Shulman. Now, the
district wants to segregate students by race and socioeconomic
status. The proposed plan must be scrutinized by all members of
the community before it is implemented, he concludes.
*6 LOUISIANA'S GIFTED AND TALENTED?: QUANDARY OVER WHO GETS IN
Three La. school systems, including Orleans Parish, are
under investigation by officials from the federal Office of Civil
Rights (Nabonne, THE TIMES-PICAYUNE, 3/2). The complaint:
African-Americans and minorities may not have equal access to
special programs for gifted and talented students.
Although African-Americans represent 90.2% of the student
population in Orleans Parish public schools, less than 3% have
been identified as gifted and talented. In contrast, white
students account for only 6% of the total student population;
however, 33% of these students qualify as gifted and talented,
notes the paper.
Investigators from Dallas will examine statistics, test
scores, screening procedures, family traditions and cultural
influences in three of the states largest parishes: Orleans,
Caddo and Calcasieu. They intend to establish trends and
indicators that can help the state eliminate the gap between
white and black student participation in special programs, writes
the paper.
The investigation was prompted by a review of data that
revealed the discrepancy in participation among races. State and
federal laws require that students demonstrating high performance
in academics and intellectual aptitude must be screened and
offered special classes if appropriate.
Investigators claim that approximately 10% of the student
population should be in a program for gifted and talented
children, with 10% usually qualifying as disabled. However, 4%
of Orleans students are enrolled in gifted and talented programs
and 8% are in classes for the disabled. Out of those enrolled in
classes for the mentally and physically disabled, 94% of the
students are African-American.
Kathy Storey, a regional investigator explained that "it's
not that we want to nail anybody or dismantle programs. We just
want to increase access."
Orleans special education director Rosalynne Dennis insists
that the school system has not violated laws, reports the paper.
She claims that gifted and talented enrollment may be down
because many of the students who qualify decide to attend private
schools or audition for a slot at the city's performing arts
school. Other children who qualify decide not to attend because
they do not want to do extra work, writes the paper. Another
administrator said some children choose not to participate
because they inaccurately perceive gifted and talented students
as "a bunch of elitist children off in a room by themselves."
The review will be completed this month, according to the
paper.
==== CHOOSING SCHOOLS ====
*7 SCHOOL VOUCHERS: PRIVATE FUNDING CUT CONTROVERSY
Privately funded vouchers in Clayton County, Ga. have helped
parents cover the cost of private school for the past four years
(White, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 3/4). The vouchers are designed to
give low- to moderate-income families a choice of where to send
their child to school.
The Children's Education Foundation provides the vouchers
that have enabled 200 students to attend the school of their
parents choice, writes the paper. Most families have selected
religiously affiliated schools. Vouchers cover half of a
students tuition up to $3,000. Initially, the funds were
available on a first-come, first-serve basis dependent on family
income. Now the foundation considers parental involvement in PTA
meetings and whether parents limits TV watching, reports the
paper.
A recent study by the Georgia State University Policy
Research Center found that parents whose children received
vouchers detected three changes in their child's schooling:
students received more individual attention in private schools;
academic performance increased as did the amount of homework; and
children began reading for pleasure more frequently. The study
was conducted by David Sjoquist, an economics professor.
The foundation started the fund with a $1M donation from
insurance entrepreneur Hank McCamish, notes the paper. Parents
who received the first 200 vouchers in 1992 were guaranteed four
years of tuition assistance, according to the paper. CUrrently,
there is enough money for children now in the program to continue
through eight grade, according to Chuck Johnston, foundation
president. However, more donations are needed for new children
to receive vouchers.
Critics of publicly funded vouchers have not challenged the
foundation's work, reports the paper. The difference, according
to the critics, is the use of private versus public funds.
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