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--- Wednesday --- July 31, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 60 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL | SPOTLIGHT |
President Bill Clinton and | |
his challenger former Senator | HOUSTON, |
Bob Dole (R-Kan.) have put | WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM |
forth education plans they hope | |
to fulfill from the White | Houston school chief Rod |
House. | Paige signaled to the |
Clinton has proposed spending | district's trustees some |
$5B over the next four years to | problems he faces as |
subsidize renovation loans for | commander of the schools: |
schools. Dole's plan includes | overcrowding, no money and |
a school voucher program that | an image problem. |
would give states up to $2.5B | |
in matching grants from the | Paige has proposed |
federal government to help low- | allowing students who are |
and middle-income families pay | "capped out" of their |
for tuition at public, private | neighborhood school to |
and parochial schools. | attend either another |
Key elements of Clinton's | public school or a private |
School Construction Initiative | one. But that smells too |
include: up to 50% interest | much like vouchers. One |
subsidy for new school con- | lawmaker pointed out that |
struction and renovation; and a | the Legislature already |
one-time construction initia- | voted thumbs down for any |
tive fully paid for by a one- | voucher program. (#4) |
time spectrum auction, an | |
auction of portions of the | Sol Stern, editor of CITY |
spectrum between channels 60- | JOURNAL, might support |
69. | Paige's effort if it |
Dole's goal is for Congress | included tax credits for |
to match state and local | Catholic schools, which |
funding for voucher programs. | Stern claims is a success- |
Goals 2000 and other education | ful yet taboo model for |
programs would be eliminated to | educating all children.(#7) |
pay for the voucher plan. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"The real failure of high schools is that when 14-year-olds start
to mess up -- and they will mess up -- our high schools are not
organized to provide the help they need." -- Melissa Roderick,
assistant professor at the School of Social Service
Administration at the U of Chicago. (#5) ______________________
| 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 TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION
TRUANCY VANS: A new way to keep kids in school. (#1)
STANDARD BEARERS
OUT OF SYNCH: High school & community college standards. (#2)
MONEY MATTERS
LEGAL MARATHON: Battle over millage cap ends in Atlanta. (#3)
THE PRIVATE EYE
PRIVATIZE: One way to ease Houston's overcrowding problem.(#4)
TAKING STOCK
CHICAGO HIGH SCHOOLS: Not doing their job. (#5)
CHARTING A NEW COURSE
HOME ALONE: Texas districts not seeking home-rule status. (#6)
HE SAID, SHE SAID
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: Not a prayer's chance as reform model. (#7)
TAKING OVER
WHO'S IN CHARGE: Battling for control in Cleveland. (#8)
** Publisher's Note: Thank you for your patience and concern
expressed via calls and e-mail these past two weeks when the
DAILY REPORT CARD did not publish. The publisher's mother is
resting well and the DAILY REPORT CARD will continue to publish
from both Washington, D.C. and its temporary second home in
Pittsburgh, Pa.
===== GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION =====
*1 TRUANCY VANS: A NEW WAY TO KEEP KIDS IN SCHOOL
Under a proposed truancy program, police would travel
Chicago neighborhoods in "truancy vans" to gather "errant Chicago
public school students," writes the SUN-TIMES (Southwell and
Rotzoll, 7/25). The vans would drive the students back to
school.
However, some are less sanguine about the results of the new
plan being considered by the Chicago Board of Education. Police
are "undermanned" in the truancy wars, remarked U of Chicago
researcher Melissa Roderick. She also pointed out the low number
of truant officers and social workers due to budget cuts.
A better way to tackle truancy problems is to improve the
school environment, according to Anthony Bryk, director of the
Consortium on Chicago School Research. "In many high schools the
norm is not to go to school, and we have to figure a way to break
the norm," noted Bryk. "You have to signal in their minds it's
not OK. You have to create larger ties between parents and
communities and rely less on technological solutions."
==== STANDARD BEARERS ====
*2 OUT OF SYNCH: HIGH SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE STANDARDS
Fla. community college officials can expect to designate
more funds for remedial freshman classes, according to some
observers (AP/THE ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/21). The reason: while
community colleges have raised their standards, high schools
statewide operate under old, less rigorous standards.
According to the paper, 60% of the high school graduates who
enrolled in community colleges were required to take at least one
remedial course after failing math, reading or English placement
exams. Beginning this fall, the passing scores for the placement
exams will be higher, which many interpret to mean that 80% of
entering students will fail at least one of the three tests. "No
doubt about it," said Tallahassee Community College President
T.K. Wetherell. "Short term, it's going to mean more students
requiring remediation."
Tallahassee Community College and Miami-Dade Community
College are the only schools taking the option to delay using the
tougher exams until autumn of 1997. "The only way you're going
to make it work long term is to revamp the high school
curriculum," explained Wetherell.
===== MONEY MATTERS =====
*3 LEGAL MARATHON: BATTLE OVER MILLAGE CAP ENDS IN ATLANTA
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Issac Jenrette ruled last
week ruled that Atlanta's school system can continue to exceed a
cap of 20 millage points that is required in the state's 1983
revised constitution (Cumming, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION-JOURNAL,
7/20). Jenrette said the exemption made for Atlanta and 24 other
city school systems is "plain and unambiguous" in the state
constitution's language.
The paper explains that the 25 school systems were exempt
from a cap "prior to the 1983 constitutional revision." Jenrette
also declared that all systems under the exemption could continue
to levy more than 20 mills.
Attorney Robert Proctor, who brought the lawsuit that
challenged the exemption to court, did not view Jenrette's
decision as a total defeat for his cause of lower taxes. "I'm
delighted that I have a decision I can take to the state Supreme
Court, so I can have a final decision," he said. However, he
expressed disappointment that it "took over two years to get one
out of Fulton County Superior Court." Proctor had unsuccessfully
argued that Atlanta should not be exempt from the cap because
city voters never approved such an exemption as required by the
1983 state constitution. Amy Totenberg, attorney for the Atlanta
school system, countered that the city's pre-1983 exemption made
such approval unnecessary, reports the paper.
===== THE PRIVATE EYE =====
*4 PRIVATIZE: ONE WAY TO EASE HOUSTON'S OVERCROWDING PROBLEM
Houston school Superintendent Rod Paige earlier this month
suggested that the district's trustees consider expanding the
school district's "contract for service program." (Bryant,
HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/24). The proposal was immediately branded a
voucher program by some opponents of vouchers and privatization,
reports the paper. "The Legislature expressly dealt with the
issue [vouchers] in last session and we voted it down," declared
State Rep Sylvester Turner (D), an opponent of vouchers.
However, Rep Ron Wilson (D) defended Paige's proposal as a
"midway between what we passed [charter schools and more local
control] and where we're going." "It's not a voucher program,"
he added.
Other observers mused that Paige's plan may have been made
"in retaliation for [Houston] voters nixing the proposed $390
million bond issue in May that would have provided money to deal
with overcrowding and facilities problems," writes the paper.
One private school owner, who already has a special education
contract with the district, speculated that private schools may
not be able to accommodate an influx of public school students
because of their low teacher-student ratio.
The paper reports that last year about 2,611 students were
"capped out" of their neighborhood schools and were forced to
attend schools in another area. District officials estimate that
nearly 4,000 additional students will face the same problem this
fall.
Under Paige's proposal, capped out students would have the
option of attending a school not operated by the district. The
receiving school would have to commit not to charge tuition or
fees, take attendance, administer the TASS state exam and accept
all children who applied, according to the CHRONICLE.
A recent survey of Houston teahers, parents and taxpayers
discovered that the district has a "serious image problem" that
must be corrected before residents invest time and money in the
public school system (Bryant, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/25). State
Comptroller John Sharp released the report that was prepared by
the Houston Independent School District.
Complaints waged by respondents: central administration is
top heavy; there is little accountability of how tax dollars are
spent; student discipline is lacking; bureaucratic "red tape"
wastes teachers' time; and overcrowded classrooms and antiquated
equipment hamper student learning.
===== TAKING STOCK =====
*5 CHICAGO HIGH SCHOOLS: NOT DOING THEIR JOB
A survey of 39,000 Chicago public school sixth-, eighth- and
10th-graders found general dissatisfaction at the upper grades
(Rotzoll, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/25). "Our high schools are
failing miserably," summed up Penny Bender Sebring, director of
the Consortium on Chicago School Research, and co-author of the
report.
Sebring added that "fixing" a single area, like a local
school council or a weak principle, will not ameliorate an
"across-the-board institutional failure" that plagues many
schools. Instead, "broad-based changes" are needed for
meaningful reform to take place, she said.
Melissa Roderick, co-author of the report and an assistant
professor at the School of Social Service Administration at the U
of Chicago, blames the "chaotic environment" that many children
are thrown into when they move to the high school level. The
young high school students are suddenly in schools with
enrollments 500% larger than their grade school, "given too much
independence, and are expected to meet increased academic demands
without the day-to-day follow-up and support they need to
succeed," she stated. Roderick: "The real failure of high
schools is that when 14-year-olds start to mess up -- and they
will mess up -- our high schools are not organized to provide the
help they need."
Sebring also pointed out that elementary school children are
accustomed to "doing all kinds of activity." Once they enter
high school, however, "they're doing three [activities]:
sitting, listening and taking notes," she added.
Safety was another issue of concern for student respondents.
While many felt secure in their classrooms, they were not as
comfortable in the hallways, bathrooms and outside their school
building, according to the report.
Paul Vallas, chief executive officer of the Chicago public
school system, said the study "reinforces the aggressive approach
we are taking to changing priorities in they system -- ending
social promotion when students are not academically prepared for
the next grade; requiring mandatory summer school for struggling
or failing students, a program which next year is being extended
to high schools, and a soon-to-be announced comprehensive truancy
program."
===== CHARTING A NEW COURSE =====
*6 HOME ALONE: TEXAS DISTRICTS NOT SEEKING HOME-RULE STATUS
Not one Texas school district has sought home-rule status,
the cornerstone of the state's new education reform law (Stutz,
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/23). "We have not had any interest
expressed by a school district in a home-rule charter. Not even
a nibble," said Joey Lozano, a spokesman for the Texas Education
Agency.
Jane Backus, an executive with the Texas Association of
School Boards, suggests one reason for the lack of interest: the
25% of voters who are required to turn out at the polls to
endorse a home-rule charter. "We have heard from people in
school districts that the threshold is just too high," she
explains. Backus observed that some districts might be waiting
for the November general election, "when the turnout always
exceeds 25%," as opposed to holding a local school board
election, when turnout typically is under 20%, notes the paper.
Texas Gov. George Bush (R) responded that he might be
willing to adjust downward the 25% voter requirement to ease the
home-rule charter process.
Backus also pointed out that other provisions of the 1995
school reform law promoted local control by, for example,
permitting district leaders to seek waivers from many state
regulations. District leaders may feel they do not need to
resort to seeking a charter given these new freedoms. "The see
no reason to rock the boat at this time," said Backus. "They
feel the Legislature made a good-faith effort to give districts
more local control."
==== HE SAID, SHE SAID ====
*7 CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: NOT A PRAYER'S CHANCE AS REFORM MODEL
Catholic schools are highly successful at educating the
disadvantaged yet remain "taboo among those who talk the loudest
about compassion for the downtrodden," according to Sol Stern,
contributing editor of CITY JOURNAL (W.S. JOURNAL, 7/17). Stern
blames the alliance between liberals and teachers' unions as well
as a "secular discomfort with religious institutions." Stern
is astounded that no New York City public official as taken the
city's Cardinal John J. O'Connor's education offer: "Send me the
lowest-performing 5% of children presently in public schools, and
I will put them in Catholic schools -- where they will succeed,"
writes Stern. The offer would save the city tremendous money
since the average per-pupil cost of educating a child in a
Catholic school, $2,500, is a third of what it costs to send a
child to the city's public schools, he reports.
Yet the success rate of Catholic school students is
significantly better than that of public school students,
according to Stern. He cites a 1990 RAND Corporation report that
compared the performance of children from the city's public and
Catholic high schools. Stern notes that "only 25% of the public
school students graduated at all, and only 16% took the
Scholastic Aptitude Test, vs. 95% and 75% of Catholic school
students, respectively."
Stern also reports that Catholic school students scored an
average of 815 on the S.A.T., compared to 642 of the "small
'elite' of public school students who graduated and took the SAT"
in neighborhood schools and 715 for those in magnet schools.
He admits that "I myself have felt this discomfort [with
Catholic schools] over the years ... Every morning, as I took my
sons to public school, I couldn't help notice the well-behaved
black and Hispanic children in their net uniforms entering the
drab parish building. But my curiosity never led me past the
imposing crucifix looking down from the roof, which evoked
childhood images of Catholic anti-Semitism and clerical
obscurantism."
Stern eventually overcame his discomfort and entered a
Catholic school to observe their efforts at educating children.
Stern: "I found myself wishing that my own son's fourth-grade
teachers at nearby Public School 87, reputedly one of the best
public schools in the city, were anywhere near as productive and
as focused on basic skills as Miss Viti," a fourth-grade teacher
at St. Gregory the Great in Manhattan. According to Stern, "my
boys' teachers have wasted an enormous amount of time with empty
verbiage about the evils of racism and sexism. By contrast, it
was taken for granted [in the Catholic schools that he visited]
that a real education is the best antidote to prejudice."
Stern chastises First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and author
Jonathon Kozol for not mentioning the efforts and successes of
Catholic schools in their respective books. He also admonishes
former N.Y. Governor Mario Cuomo, who Stern alleges flip-flopped
on public aid to Catholic schools due to pressure from teacher
unions.
Stern argues that "politically controlled schools are
unlikely to improve much without strong pressure from outside.
Thus, the case for government aid to Catholic schools is now more
compelling than ever, if only to provide the competitive pressure
to force state schools to change."
==== TAKING OVER ====
*8 WHO'S IN CHARGE: BATTLING FOR CONTROL IN CLEVELAND
Cleveland's school district budget crisis is so severe "it
would be criminal not to put a levy on the ballot," said the
district's school Superintendent Richard A. Boyd (Stephens and
Jones, Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 7/19).
However, some school board members are not so enthusiastic
about supporting a levy. Board member Gerald Henley voiced his
opposition to a levy, stating that the board would have no
control over how the money is spent. Cleveland schools have been
under state control for over a year, notes the paper.
A levy may end up on the November ballot despite
protestations from the board. According to the paper, U.S.
District Judge George White, who handles the district's
desegregation case, recommended the levy and announced that "he
would have the ultimate say over whether such a measure is placed
before voters," writes the paper. White: "The mechanism would
be for this court to order something, one way or the other. I
think you've got to move. If there isn't agreement [with the
school board] somebody has to get back to me real soon and ask
what you're going to do, and I'll tell you what to do."
Boyd plans to seek school board approval for a levy at their
8 August meeting.
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