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--- Monday --- May 6, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 42 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
CATCH THE SPIRIT | SPOTLIGHT |
The Prudential Insurance | |
Company of America and the U.S. | RACE AND ACHIEVEMENT |
DoEd produced a booklet | |
designed to explain the "many | Reams have been written |
benefits of volunteer | about the gap in achieve- |
experience" and suggest various | ment levels between white |
community service options for | and minority students. |
young people (Prudential press | Couple this concern with |
release). "Catch the Spirit: | the renewed interest in |
A Student's Guide to Community | quotas, and you have a |
Service" also includes advice | storm brewing over American |
on how to pick a volunteer | education. |
activity and lists sources of | |
additional information. | Boston Latin illustrates |
Prudential decided to develop | the heat generated when the |
the booklet after conducting a | two debates collide. The |
nationwide survey of high | public school requires an |
school students last year on | entrance exam. One white |
the subject of volunteerism. | student who was denied |
Survey results revealed that | admission sued the school, |
while 95% of respondents | claiming reverse |
believe in the importance of | disrimination. Boston |
community service, few know | Latin Headmaster Michael |
where or how to get information | Contompasis defends the |
about community volunteer | school's policy of setting |
activities. | aside 35% of placements for |
Copies of the booklet can be | minority students. He |
ordered free-of-charge from the | claims teachers, most in |
Consumer Information Center; | subtle ways, hold lower |
Department 588C; Pueblo, Colo. | expectations for minority |
81099; or at the World Wide Web | children, which translates |
sites of Prudential | into a self-fulfilling |
(http://www.prudential.com) and | prophecy. (#3) |
the Consumer Information Center |_____________________________|
(http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov).
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"Its study should not be a boring recitation of facts from a
textbook." -- Anne Petersen, deputy director of the National
Science Foundation, on the study of science. (#1)
_______________________________________________________________
| 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 FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
HANDS-ON SCIENCE: Better than reading it in a book. (#1)
STATESIDE
IN VIRGINIA: A surprise resignation. (#2)
FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
QUOTAS AT LATIN: Judge ready to rule. (#3)
STOP DESEGREGATION: Nixon on the warpath. (#4)
PRIVATE EYE
THE TROUBLE WITH TURNER: An uphill battle for APS. (#5)
===== GOAL FIVE: MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE =====
*1 HANDS-ON SCIENCE: BETTER THAN READING IT IN A BOOK
A survey of principals and personnel officers found that
hands-on science education is preferred to the traditional
textbook and lecture approach (Riechmann, AP/PITTSBURGH POST-
GAZETTE, 4/24). "When it comes to teaching methods, hands-on
science is the favorite -- hands down," said Margo Barnes, senior
vice president of the Bayer Corp., the Pittsburgh-based company
that commissioned the survey.
According to the paper, about 60% of the 300 human resource
directors and 301 elementary school principals surveyed said
students are not prepared in science to compete for current
entry-level jobs. Seventy-five percent of respondents agreed
that students will not be prepared for such jobs 10 years from
now unless teaching methods are overhauled.
About three-fourths of both groups said "inquiry-based
learning, hands-on experimenting, solving real problems and
encouraging critical thinking are becoming more important in
succeeding in the work world," writes the paper, according to the
report. However, the groups disagreed over the quality of
schools: 75% of principals ranked their schools as "good" or
"excellent" in teaching students these skills; while only 32% of
the human resource officers ranked the schools as high.
The POST-GAZETTE notes that hands-on, experiment-based
teaching is recommended as part of the science standards released
last year by the National Research Council, an arm of the
National Academy of Sciences.
"Science is such a stimulating source of continuous
exploration and discovery," said Anne Petersen, deputy director
of the National Science Foundation. "Its study should not be a
boring recitation of facts from a textbook."
===== STATESIDE =====
*2 IN VIRGINIA: A SURPRISE RESIGNATION
Va. school superintendent William Bosher last week announced
that he will leave his post to accept the job of running the
schools in a suburban Richmond district (Hsu, WASH POST, 5/2).
According to the paper, Bosher has been a key player in Gov
George Allen's (R) education team and has "loyally defended" many
of Allen's controversial proposals.
Bosher and Allen made clear that the resignation did not
signal any difficulties in their relationship. "I'll always be
indebted to the governor for giving me the opportunity to work
with him," said Bosher. "I believe strongly in our efforts to
identify higher academic standards and in developing assessment."
However, he added that his as new job as superintendent of
Chesterfield County schools moves him closer to the classroom,
writes the paper.
Allen praised Bosher for his leadership in moving "the
debate forward from a simple hue and cry for more money to a
well-focused plan for accountability." However, there were
"echoes of discord in the background," reports the paper. A
former school board member remarked that Bosher had grown tired
of clashes with board members, particularly with Allen appointees
who made "derogatory comments about the public schools,"
according to the POST.
Board Vice President Lillian Tuttle, an Allen appointee,
challenged that notion. "I'm a little stunned," she said. "The
notion Bill Bosher was running away from this board ... is more
than laughable, it's wrong."
An Allen aide said a permanent successor for the post will
be named soon.
===== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE =====
*3 QUOTAS AT LATIN: JUDGE READY TO RULE
Minority quotas for admission to Boston Latin was defended
last week by the school's headmaster, Michael Contompasis
(Rakowsky, BOSTON GLOBE, 4/24). According to Contompasis,
elementary school teachers hold lower expectations for minority
children than for white students. "I have seen how some teachers
can communicate lower expectations to minority students than
white students," even if it is unconsciously, said Contompasis.
"Students of all races have a tendency to live up or down to
those expectations."
Lower expectations are communicated to students in "subtle
ways," which may explain why minority students are
underachievers, writes the paper. For this reason, minority
students score lower on the entrance exam for Latin School, "the
city's most prestigious public high school," the paper reports of
Contompasis' argument.
Contompasis included his comments in an affidavit to U.S.
District Judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr. defending the use of quotas
at Latin and other schools that require an entrance exam, writes
the paper. Garrity is overseeing a reverse discrimination suit
filed by Julia McLaughlin, age 13, who challenged Latin's policy
of setting aside 35% of the school's seats for minority
enrollment, according to the paper. McLaughlin was denied
admission to the school "despite a higher exam score than some
minorities who were accepted," notes the paper.
Earlier this month, Garrity said McLaughlin probably will
win her "trailblazing " legal suit, although it may take years.
Superintendent of Schools Thomas Payzant responded to the
case by insisting that it is "not acceptable" for teachers to
communicate lower expectations for students, whether or not in a
subtle manner. He pointed to the city's new learning standards:
"The goal is for all children to achieve to higher standards."
Garrity intends to review why minority students from Boston
public schools tend to score lower on the entrance exams than
minorities from private and parochial schools, writes the paper.
Paul Parks, former chairman of the school board, places the blame
on inadequately prepared teachers. "I've always said the problem
with Boston public schools is a teacher and principal problem,
because they are not trained to teach in an urban setting."
*4 STOP DESEGREGATION: NIXON ON THE WARPATH
Mo. Attorney General Jay Nixon recently filed a request in
federal court requesting an end to the desegregation program in
the Kansas city School District (St. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 4/27).
"The state's only obligation under the court order has been to
fund the buildings and programs," said Nixon. "The state has met
this important prerequisite for ending court control."
According to Nixon, the state already has paid the district
more than $1.1B, including $540M for buildings and equipment.
Larry Ramsey, acting chief executive officer for the district,
said the district will oppose Nixon's request, writes the paper.
"We believe there is still some improvement that can be made,"
said Ramsey. He pointed out that a gap still remains between
white and minority student achievement levels. "There are still
old vestiges of segregation found in the school," noted Ramsey.
Nixon also is attempting to halt desegregation plans in St.
Louis by asking a federal judge to order "unitary" status in the
St. Louis schools. Nixon is dismayed that U.S. District Judge
George Gunn appointed WIlliam Danforth, former chancellor of
Washington U, to help mediate a settlement in St.Louis, writes
the paper. Nixon's concern with Danforth: In Dec., Danforth
urged Gunn to maintain the city-county busing program in St.
Louis.
==== PRIVATE EYE ====
*5 THE TROUBLE WITH TURNER: AN UPHILL BATTLE FOR APS
Critics and supporters of Alternative Public Schools Inc.'s
management of Wilkinsburg, Pa.'s Turner Elementary school agreed
that the firm's takeover of the school would be difficult at best
(Haynes, Pittsburgh POST-GAZETTE, 4/26). And both were right,
according to the paper.
The community, neighboring Pittsburgh, has remained
"bitter[ly]" divided over the Nashville, Tenn.-based firm's
presence in the school, reports the paper. The state Supreme
Court in Oct. remanded a teachers union lawsuit challenging the
APS management to Common Pleas Court in order to hold evidentiary
hearings, which have yet to be scheduled. An arbitrator in Jan.
ordered the district to return furloughed teachers because their
termination had violated the union contract. The district
appealed, and a hearing is set for next month, writes the paper.
"Right now, this is a very tense time for us," acknowledged
principal Elaine Mosley. "We get beat up on pretty bad outside
the school, but we encourage each other."
Another obstacle for the school centers on special
education. The school was found to be in violation of several
special education regulations, which the school's special-
education coordinator said began long before APS was in charge.
Parents are split over the decision to bring in an outside
firm to manage the school, notes the paper. For example, parent
Tarue Watson detects a positive change at the school, where
children are much better behaved and have higher self-esteem
since APS arrived, writes the paper. But Robin Hurt expressed
concern that the company is not always responsive to parents'
concerns.
One parent, Spencer Craig, attributes much of the school's
problems on disruptive students and what to do with them. He
added that some parents disagree with Mosley's philosophy that
every child can be saved, reports the paper.
Mosley points out several of the strong points of Turner
since APS took over: three computers are in each of the school's
17 classrooms and each student receives daily computer time; some
classrooms got new desks, while all received new carpets; and
there are a "host" of after-school activities including a chess
club, school choir, and student council, writes the paper
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