--- Friday --- October 18, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 75 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
SODA WARS | SPOTLIGHT |
A new fundraising tool for | |
some schools is revenue | "WE EXPECT |
collected from soda machines. | TO LEARN AND ACHIEVE" |
Philip Gainous, principal of | |
Montgomery County, Md.,'s Blair | ... is part of the |
High School, said the machines | school's pledge recited |
bring in more than $40,000 some | every day by students at |
years (Beyers, WASH POST, | Houston's TSU-HISD |
10/14). He uses the funds to | Laboratory School. The |
defray the cost of | school is the first to be |
scholarships, club activities, | located in a housing |
bus transportation, | project. Teachers know the |
However, the proliferation of | tough times faced by each |
soda machines has some nutri- | child, but that does not |
tionists up in arms. Even U.S. | "deter us," says Herschel |
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) | Williams, principal. |
sounded off against soda | |
machines in schools. Leahy: | The students enjoy an |
"These vending profits go for | innovative curriculum and |
good causes. But when it comes | exposure to the outside |
to vending machine junk food, | world via field trips. |
it would be better to put pu- | School officials plan to |
pils ahead of vending profits." | add another school in the |
| same housing project.(#6) |
DRUG USE UP IN TEXAS | |
Teen drug abuse is on the | A HOUSTON CHRONICLE |
rise in Texas, according to a | special section on educa- |
survey conducted by the Texas | tion asks what is the key |
Commission on Alcohol and Drug | ingredient for a successful |
Abuse. Thirty four percent of | school: curriculum, staff, |
students in grades 7 to 12 | parental involvement? (#4) |
reported using an illegal drug | Principal Williams might |
for the first time, up from 22% | add high expectations. |
in 1992. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"This trend report suggests that mediocrity is still common in
our schools and excellence is still rare." -- Michael Guerra,
executive director of the National Catholic Education
Association, on the Nation's Report Card. (#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 TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION
TRUANCY: Old game, different rules. (#1)
GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
THE NATION'S REPORT CARD: Slight rise in math and science. (#2)
STATESIDE
START FROM SCRATCH: Recommendation to Ark. DoEd. (#3)
THE BIG PICTURE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: The paper is "studying our schools". (#4)
PROMISING PRACTICES
TURN-AROUND SCHOOL: It took a threat. (#5)
A SCHOOL IN THE PROJECTS: One-of-a-kind. (#6)
===== GOAL TWO: SCHOOL COMPLETION =====
*1 TRUANCY: OLD GAME, DIFFERENT RULES
Education researcher Susan Black observes that truancy is a
problem that has plagued the nation for over 100 years (Black,
THE AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL, Nov. 1996). "School leavers"
concerned school officials in 1872, according to Taylor U
Professor Doug Rohrman. Even with the advent of compulsory
education laws in 1884, less than half of all U.S. students
attended public school regularly. "Truancy, then has always been
part of the school scene," she pens.
Throughout her article, Black describes sundry programs
aimed at reducing truancy rates. For example, ninth-graders in
Marion, Ohio, can work on truancy problems along with their
parents through their school's Community Service Early
Intervention Programs. Christine Haas, executive director of the
program, claims that early intervention improves the chances of
the students staying in school.
However, some educators say that waiting until high school
to catch a truancy problem is waiting too long. "As many
researchers see it, schools need to think about intervening with
students before truancy becomes habitual," writes Black. One
elementary school counselor noted: "We tend to think that when
our youngest students are absent it's because they've got a cold,
or perhaps a common childhood disease such as chicken pox or
measles. Of course, many students are absent from school for
these and other acceptable reasons. But when I investigated the
reasons behind our elementary students' absences, I found all
sorts of truancy problems, such as kids whose parents kept them
home to baby-sit a younger brother or sister."
Pittsburg, Kan., offers an early-intervention program
explains Black. The program takes a "family systems approach"
for elementary and middle school students. School officials
report truant children to the county attorney's office "as soon
as irregular, unexcused absences from school are noticed," writes
Black. Community resources then are notified to work with the
child, parents and siblings. Researchers Robert Sheverbush and
Arlene Sadowski of Pittsburg State U claim that truancy is a
problem that occurs among family members. They recommend that
intervention include siblings and parents of the truant child.
Collaboration among the truant, family, school, law enforcement
officials and counselors is key to the Pittsburg program, notes
Black.
Black also highlights the work of Brenda English, Los
Angeles County's deputy district attorney and Tom Higgins, head
of the district attorney's Juvenile Division. English and
Higgins point to the strong connection between truancy and
elevated juvenile crime rates. Their goal: "catch habitually
truant kids before they become tangled up in lives of crime,"
writes Black. They use the weight of their office to notify
parents that school attendance is mandatory and that "they face
court action if their child is truant," reports Black. English
adds that uncooperative parents face fines or jail time, but most
in the end agree to work with the district attorney's office to
help their child.
Black's article is peppered with statistics on truancy and
state statutes that mandate school attendance. She also refers
to a 12-page guidebook produced by the U.S. DoEd and the U.S.
Department of Justice that was distributed to every school
district in the country. The "Manual to Combat Truancy" defines
"the pervasive problem of truancy, provides research data, and
offers schools some means and methods for deterring truancy,"
notes Black.
The AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL is published monthly at
1680 Duke Street, Alexandria, Va. 22134. Subscriptions are
$48.00/year and $5.00 per issue.
===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====
*2 THE NATION'S REPORT CARD: SLIGHT RISE IN MATH AND SCIENCE
American students are scoring at slightly higher levels in
math and science, but reading and writing scores have remained
virtually the same over the past decade, according to the latest
report by the National Assessment Governing Board and the DoEd
(multi cites). "This trend report suggests that mediocrity is
still common in our schools and excellence is still rare," said
Michael Guerra, executive director of the National Catholic
Education Association.
The "Nation's Report Card" was released early this year,
after allegations by several sources including the Bob Dole
presidential campaign, that it was being withheld. Pascal
Forgione, commissioner of the National Center for Education
Statistics, said the report was not delayed for political
reasons, "but simply fell behind other priorities at the center
and has not been finalized," writes the HOUSTON CHRONICLE
(Riechmann, 10/12).
A national representative sample of students ages 9, 13, and
17 were tested in writing, science, math and reading. Findings
from the report include: after declining during the 1970s,
science test scores for all age groups have improved since then;
math scores remained stable during the 1980s and now are rising
slightly; reading scores have changed only slightly since the
early 1970s; and writing skills of fourth-grade students have
been stable since 1984, while the average score for 11th graders
has declined slightly and the average score for eighth-graders
has dropped significantly between 1992 and 1994.
Fiorgione said the full report will be available 30
November.
===== STATESIDE =====
*3 START FROM SCRATCH: RECOMMENDATION TO ARK. DoEd
The Arkansas DoEd should be dissolved, which means
terminating all positions and allowing employees to re-apply for
jobs in the newly created department, according to a study of the
state DoEd (Roth, Arkansas DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE, 10/12). Gene
Wilhoit, director of the DoEd's general education division,
commissioned the study this year from the U of Arkansas at Little
Rock.
The report found the department "moderately dysfunctional,
inefficient." Changes implemented over the years have not helped
the DoEd operate more efficiently, notes the report. Instead,
the climate of constant change has "become itself a part of the
culture, creating uncertainty, a growing lack of trust and
communication, and a tendency to resist passively by adopting
changes inform rather than in substance," writes the report.
To rectify the situation, the report recommends a "decisive
implementation," which the paper writes means dissolving the
department and terminating all employees. According to the
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE, the DoEd would have to close its doors for
about a month in order to stop functioning and start all over
again.
Another recommendation calls on eliminating the three
assistant directors who oversee all major areas and substituting
six units: communication and special projects; information and
technology; finance and internal administration; educational
support; accountability; and school finance and administrative
support services. In order to accomplish this goal, some
employees would be relocated, while other positions would be
terminated.
The study suggested the department "seek authority and
special funding" from the Legislature to create an early
retirement program for employees who are released from work.
writes the paper.
Other recommendations: seek waivers for some federal
regulations; disburse federal funds through the block grant
process; merge the vocational education division with the general
education division; and use more technology. The report also
suggested that DoEd personnel better recognize that schools and
school districts are its clients and the department's goals,
mission and policies should be directed to serve those clients.
The DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE filed a complaint with Pulaski County
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Stodola to get the department to
release the report. DoEd officials had refused to release the
report until after a board of education meeting. Stodola
informed Wilhoit and U of Arkansas at Little Rock Chancellor
Charles Hathaway that they would be arrested for violating the
state Freedom of Information Act unless they "complied with the
newspaper's request," reports the paper.
More than 30 educators and business leaders statewide
participated in the study, along with U of Arkansas faculty and
staff members.
===== THE BIG PICTURE =====
*4 HOUSTON CHRONICLE: THE PAPER IS "STUDYING OUR SCHOOLS"
The HOUSTON CHRONICLE published an extensive special report
on "Studying Our Schools," which includes two sections: the
first an examination of major issues facing public schools,
followed by a listing of statistics and test results for the more
than 1,000 public schools in several Texas counties (10/13).
The articles in the special section report primarily on
curriculum, parental involvement, teachers and administrators
school safety and school finance. An opening article titled "The
Search For Quality Education," discusses several successes and
failures among Houston-area public schools (Markley).
Mark Twain Elementary School was once a school few affluent
and educated parents would enroll their children. Neighborhood
parents, who tend to be middle- and upper-middle class, rallied
to transform the school to one they would send their children.
They organized a Friends of Mark Twain group that "walked door-
to-door, surveying parents, recruiting children to a school they
were convinced could be changed for the good." The group also
lobbied their school district officials, members of the school
board and others to build a magnet school at Mark Twain that
highlighted literacy development. "We really rallied
politically," said Beth Fowler, a psychologist. "We were very,
very vocal. Part of the reason Mark Twain has changed is because
we became very politically active."
The parents were successful in overhauling the school,
according to the paper. Mark Twain now boasts the highest rating
given by the Texas Education Agency -- exemplary. Other ratings
are recognized, acceptable and low-performing.
The paper points out a dispute over what causes a school to
become a high-achieving school. Some educators claim curriculum
is everything. "I've been telling the [Houston] district for
over a decade: Your problem isn't your staff," said Gayle
Fallon, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers. "For
the most part, it isn't your administration. It isn't your
governance structure. It's the curriculum."
Houston Superintendent Rod Paige disagrees. For him, a
strong principal makes the biggest difference in a school. Paige
also asserts that highly successful schools know how to garner
parental support and involvement. They also have teachers who
expect the most out of their students and are "unwilling to
accept excuses for their students' performance," writes the
paper.
Other articles in the special section expand on the themes
of parental involvement, quality teachers and principals and
curriculum.
==== PROMISING PRACTICES ====
*5 TURN-AROUND SCHOOL: IT TOOK A THREAT
Baltimore, Md.,'s Patterson High School in 1994 was rated
the worst school in the state and was threatened with a state
takeover. Now, however, the school is considered to be on the
road to success, thanks to the effort of Bonnie Erickson, the new
principal (Hotakainen, Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/11).
Erickson's agenda included bringing in new teachers and
janitors, installing a phone in every classroom and demanding
that students be "called and tracked down whenever they skipped
out," writes the paper. She also divided the 2,200-student
school into five smaller academies and installed new steel doors
to separate them, which made it more difficult for students to
"roam the halls and get into trouble," notes the paper.
According to the STAR TRIBUNE, school violence waned,
teachers felt safer, students showed up for class more often, and
morale was boosted after Erickson overhauled the school.
The STAR TRIBUNE reported on the Patterson experiment
because the state is poised to adopt a similar model to improve
public schools. None of the changes that occurred at Patterson
would have been implemented without the threat of a state
takeover, however, writes the paper. From the STAR TRIBUNE:
"The tough approach is the centerpiece of a controversial school-
performance program that's winning national acclaim and being
hailed as a possible model for Minnesota." While Md. already
includes achievement testing in its "exhaustive" report card,
Minnesotans continue to debate over the value of statewide
achievement testing, writes the paper.
*6 A SCHOOL IN THE PROJECTS: ONE-OF-A-KIND
The TSU-HISD Laboratory School, located in Houston's Cuney
Homes, is the only public school in the nation housed in a
housing project (SCHOOL BOARD NEWS, 10/15). All of the 130 K-5
students live in Cuney homes or another housing project. But the
teachers "don't use that as a crutch in terms of what they can't
do," said Principal Herschel Williams. "We know they have
certain deficits. But we're not going to let that deter us in
terms of what we need to provide them."
Innovations in operation at the school include: cooperative
learning; multi-age classrooms; "Move It Math" curriculum, a
program that relies on manipulatives to teach math concepts; and
"Success for All" language arts program, which was developed at
Johns Hopkins U. The children also take many field trips,
including one to Washington, D.C. According to the newsletter,
the students have picked pumpkins on a farm, saw the opera
"Aida," and toured the Johnson Space Center. The paper also
notes that the school's small size allows educators to easily try
creative approaches and just as easily discard the ones that do
not work.
The school is a joint venture of the Houston Independent
School District, the Houston Housing Authority and Texas Southern
U, a historically black college located across the street from
Cuney Homes. The housing authority provides the site and the
university provides student teachers, tutors, training and
support services, writes the newsletter. Numerous businesses and
professional organizations contributed equipment, time and money,
notes the NEWS.
The Lab school is run in conjunction with the housing
authority's Parents as Learners program. PAL participants engage
in education or training programs, including courses on conflict
resolution and computer skills.
The Lab school's motto, which is recited every day after the
Pledge of Allegiance is: "We are prepared. We always walk. We
are always respectful. We have only friendly physical
interactions and conversations. We expect to learn and achieve."
School officials plan to open a new school in 1999 at Cuney
Homes that would serve 1,200 students in grades pre-K to 8.
Williams said he and other school and housing officials hope the
Lab school could become a national model for urban education,
writes the newsletter.
-30-
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