Click here to return to OFCN's Main Index Page.
--- Wednesday --- November 20, 1996 --- Vol. 6 --- No. 88 ---
D #### ##### #### ### #### #### ##### ### #### ####
A ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##
I #### #### #### ## ## #### ## ## ##### #### ## ##
L ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##
Y ## ## ##### ## ### ## ## ## ##### ## ## ## ## ####
THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
SHATTERING STEREOTYPES | SPOTLIGHT |
St. Louis parent, Darlene | |
Turner, received the Involved | A BRILLIANT IDEA |
Parent of the Year by Project | |
Appleseed. Project Appleseed | Last week, the Boston |
President Kevin Walker said | School Committee, in an |
Turner was honored because she | attempt to end its struggle |
"shatters the urban myth that | with the McLaughlin family, |
single mothers simply don't | decided to abandon its |
care about their children's | current racial quota system |
education," writes a Project | and allow Julia McLaughlin |
Appleseed press release | to remain at Boston Latin. |
(11/18). | However, Julia's dad and |
Turner is one of only two | lawyer, Michael McLaughlin, |
regular parent volunteers at | indicated he wants to go to |
Sumner High School in St. | trial because the city |
Louis. After a student was | refuses to admit that a |
murdured on campus during a gun | racial quota system is |
battle, Turner asked worried | unconstitutional. Other |
parents who showed up at | parents of white children |
school, "Where y'all been?" | denied admission are poised |
She said only an army of | to file a class-action suit |
parents wil stop the violence | if the Boston School |
in public schools. "The | Committee doesn't base |
schools and the police can only | entrance to exam schools |
do so much," she said. | only on merit. |
Project Appleseed is | |
sponsoring National Parent | City Councilor Gareth |
Involvement Day on 21 November | Saunders has an idea: Why |
and Public School Volunteer | not develop more "prep |
Week, 13-21 April. For more | classes, more tutoring [for |
info see Project Appleseed's | minority students] so that |
web site: | all children have a fair |
http://members.aol.com/pledgeno | shot." (#3) |
w/appleseed. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"If it comes down to that choice, it might be a matter of
figuring out which is the least of two evils." --
Richard DeColibus, president of the Cleveland Teacher Union, on
choosing between charter schools and allowing Mayor Michael White
to control the schools. The union favors charters. (#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 |
Staff Writer: Rosemary Polanco |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
HIGHER EDUCATION
PIE-IN-THE-SKY FUNDING?: Ohio's higher ed dilemma. (#1)
CHARTING A NEW COURSE
CHANGE OF HEART: Cleveland teachers may okay charters. (#2)
FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
NOT OVER, YET: More parents seek suit over exam schools. (#3)
NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL
SOME IMPROVEMENT, BUT NOT ENOUGH: NEGP reports on goals. (#4)
BREAKING THE MOLD
NOT ALL ARE CELEBRATING: Disney's school adventure. (#5)
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
The DAILY REPORT CARD would like to know which members of
the business community read the DRC and to find more business-
school projects. If you are a representative of a large or small
business, please complete the form at the end of today's DRC.
Thank you for your cooperation.
===== HIGHER EDUCATION =====
*1 PIE-IN-THE-SKY FUNDING?: OHIO'S HIGHER ED DILEMMA
Last week, the DAILY REPORT CARD reported that Ohio may soon
deliver a "performance-based" higher education budget, which
means state colleges and universities would secure more state
funding for recruiting, educating and graduating more students.
(See DRC 11/15/96) However, state Budget Director R. Gregory
Browning said the state may not be able to afford the new plan,
which calls for a 7% to 8% increase in spending for higher
education.
Currently, the state's higher education budget is
"enrollment-driven," meaning that each school's subsidy is based
on the number of students enrolled and the level of course work
they are taking, writes the paper.
"Higher education must recognize the financial realities ...
Those are big numbers that will be inside of what appears will be
a reasonably tight [state] budget," he said. Browning is a
member of the Ohio Higher Education Funding Commission, but was
not present when the commission last week unveiled its plan for
the state to add more than $130M in "performance funding" to the
higher education budget.
Ohio Gov. George Voinovich (R) had encouraged the commission
to explore "performance-based" funding, but did not commit to any
additional state funds, reports the paper. According to the
PLAIN DEALER, the governor and the Legislature decide how much to
allocate to higher education.
The commission's recommendations go before the Board of
Regents this Friday for inclusion in the 1998-1999 biennial
budget. That budget then proceeds to Browning's office, where it
will be included in the overall state budget that is released in
February, with a legislative vote by 30 June, reports the paper.
Browning: "We understand that this [request] represents
something of a challenge to the state. But we sensed we were
asked to deal with some problems that simply could not be
addressed at current funding levels. And we tried to respond in
a more responsible way than simply asking for more money for all
of the schools."
===== CHARTING A NEW COURSE =====
*2 CHANGE OF HEART: CLEVELAND TEACHERS MAY OKAY CHARTERS
Cleveland teacher union officials may support charter school
legislation if it means the Legislature will not give Mayor
Michael White control of the public schools (Stephens,and Grant,
Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 11/12). "If it comes down to that
choice, it might be a matter of figuring out which is the least
of two evils," said Richard DeColibus, president of the Cleveland
Teacher Union. "We aren't inherently against charter schools, as
long as teachers aren't penalized in the process."
DeColibus and other union officials have met with State Rep.
Michael Fox (R), who is chairman of the House Education
Committee, in an attempt to reach a compromise on charter
schools. According to the paper, teacher support for charters is
contingent on the language of the law. Any voucher component
would be nixed by the union, which remains opposed to school
vouchers.
Fox said a coalition supporting charters could emerge from
sundry groups who do not want the mayor to take over the schools.
Coalition members could include the union and the local NAACP.
Fox: "The political imperative of giving it to the mayor is
irresistible unless there's an alternative that had big support
from stakeholders. They're not saying they're for [charters],
but they're saying maybe. What was significantly different is
that in past conversations with those guys, the answer was simply
'no way.'"
However, Fox also added that a combination of charters and
vouchers could be sustainable within a mayoral-controlled school
district.
===== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE =====
*3 NOT OVER, YET: MORE PARENTS SEEK SUIT OVER EXAM SCHOOLS
Last week, the Boston School Committee ended its
controversial racial quota system for admission in order to
settle a lawsuit filed by Julia McLaughlin, a white student who
was denied admission to Boston Latin School even though she
scored better than many black and Hispanic students on the
schools' entrance exam. School committee members also agreed to
let McLaughlin attend Boston Latin. (See DRC 11/18/96)
However, the BOSTON GLOBE reports that other parents whose
children were denied admission may seek a class-action suit
against the school (Chacon and Hart, 11/16). "There's no
compelling reason why this Julia gets in and other Julias don't,"
said Robert Tumposky, co-chairman of the Citywide Parents
Council, an umbrella organization of parent groups.
According to the paper, Michael McLaughlin, Julia's father,
has filed a motion rejecting the committee's proposal. As
Julia's lawyer, he intends to proceed with the trial because the
city has "refused to admit that its racial quota system is
unconstitutional," writes the paper. "The feeling from
[McLaughlin] is that he wants a judgement in the case because the
committee is being too vague," explained Mark White, an attorney
working with McLaughlin. U.S. District Judge Arthur Garrity Jr.
will decide whether to dismiss the case or proceed to trial,
reports the paper.
If Garrity decides to dismiss the McLaughlin suit and permit
some type of quota system to remain intact, other parents,
"encouraged by Councilor-at-Large Peggy Davis-Mullen," will
follow up with their own class-action suit. "I will definitely
consider a lawsuit" if school board members do not make admission
to the exam schools based strictly on merit, said Robert Losi, a
Hyde Park parent, whose son in two years will take the Latin
School entrance exam. "I don't want to come across as a racist,
but it is the fairness factor."
City Councilor Gareth Saunders (Roxbury) said he hopes the
school committee is "looking for ways to compensate the minority
and poor children who will lose seats because of this. There
needs to be more prep classes, more tutoring, so that all
children have a fair shot."
School Superintendent Thomas Payzant and others observed
that losing in trial could limit options for creating a new
admissions policy that incorporates some type of quota system.
Payzant: "There was a feeling that the farther we move up the
legal ladder through appeals or other courts, the more we would
have limited our options."
==== NATIONAL EDUCATION GOALS PANEL ====
*4 SOME IMPROVEMENT, BUT NOT ENOUGH: NEGP REPORTS ON GOALS
Despite "encouraging progress in the states," overall
national performance toward reaching the national education goals
is "virtually static," writes the National Education Goals Panel
in a release announcing its sixth annual report (11/19).
The NEGP report assessed overall national performance by
examining 25 indicators selected to measure progress toward the
eight national education goals. According to the findings,
performance has improved in five areas, it has declined in eight
and has remained unchanged in the other areas.
For example, national performance has improved in the
following five areas: infant health; family reading; math
achievement in grades 4 and 8; degrees earned in mathematics and
science by all students and by females; and threats and injuries
to students at school. However, performance fell in areas such
as 12th-grade reading achievement; teacher preparation;
participation in adult education and in closing the gap in
college completion rates between whites and Hispanics.
Student drug abuse and violence are major obstacles in
reading the national education goals, writes the report, with
both on the rise in the nation's schools. "These rising trends
are disturbing not only because they pose health and safety
dangers to teachers and students, but also because drug use and
discipline issues clearly inhibit learning," said Ken Nelson,
NEGP executive director.
Standards and assessments also are featured in the 1996
report. The report contains a discussion and question and answer
section designed to help readers understand the significance of
standards and the assessments needed to measure whether students
have mastered challenging subject matter. "There is no way we
can be assured of annual progress toward reaching the goals until
states and communities develop and use rigorous standards and
design new forms of assessments," said Gov Roy Romer (D-Colo.),
NEGP chairman for 1997.
"The panel is encouraged by the increasing number of states
that are creating new standards and assessments, and we hope that
our 1996 report will assist them as they go about their work,"
added Romer. According to the report, 32 states have developed
state standards, and an additional 14 states are reportedly
developing standards. Forty-five states have statewide
assessment systems.
A state-by-state review of progress toward the goals also is
included in the report, "Goals Report: Building a Nation of
Learners." NEGP uses 21 state core indicators selected to
measure progress toward the goals.
Findings from the state-by-state section include: Twelve
states -- Ala., Ariz., Md., Miss., Nev., N.., N.Y., N.C., Ohio,
Pa., S.C., and Vt. -- have made significant improvement in five
of the key performance areas; six states -- Calif., Colo., Conn,
Iowa., Ky., and Texas -- have made significant improvement in six
or more performance areas; twenty states have achieved the 90% or
higher high school graduation rate called for by goal 2 --
Alaska, Conn., Dela., Hi., Iowa, Kan, Maine, Md., Mass., Minn.,
Mo., Mont., Neb., N.J., N.D., Pa., S.D., Utah, Wis., and Wy.
The report also found that 46 states have increased the
percentage of mathematics and science degrees awarded to all
students, while 30 states have increased the percentage of math
and science degrees awarded to minorities and 48 for female
students.
U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), whose state fared
poorly in the NEGP report, pointed to "three concrete and
achievable steps" that he is working on to help N.M. make
progress toward achieving the national education goals. Those
areas include: assisting states develop world-class standards
and assessments; beginning to address the gap in school
completion rates; and working to expand access to the Advanced
Placement program.
Copies of the 1996 National Education Goals Report and
Executive Summary are available free-of-charge from the NEGP by
faxing a request to the panel at 202/632-0957; by sending an e-
mail message to NEGP@goalline.org; or by visiting the panel's
website at http:\\www.negp.gov.
==== BREAKING THE MOLD ====
*5 NOT ALL ARE CELEBRATING: DISNEY'S SCHOOL ADVENTURE
While most parents are exuberant over Disney's Celebration
School located in Southern Fla., a few disgruntled parents have
moved back north (Postal, Orlando SENTINEL, 11/15). The paper
notes that the Celebration School is a joint project of the Walt
Disney Company and the Osceola (Fla.) school district. The
school is located in the newly built Celebration community, which
Disney is developing in western Osceola, writes the paper.
Celebration School, which opened in August, is a "showcase"
for technology and "innovative instruction," reports the paper.
For example, traditional subjects are integrated and students are
grouped into "neighborhoods," where teachers work in teams.
Roger Burton, who moved to Celebration from suburban
Chicago, said he and his family may move back north because he
claims his child is bored doing work "that they've done four
years ago." A meeting between Burton, his wife and school staff
proved friendly but futile, reports the paper. Another family
already moved back to their hometown in Pa., and two other
parents interviewed by the paper also expressed concern over the
school's academic policies.
The paper also notes that two teachers out of 21 have left
the school. Celebration Principal Bobbi Vogel claims the
disgruntled parents and faculty may not have "fully understood
what the school is trying to do," writes the paper. She said the
school is working on improving communication of its goals.
DAILY REPORT CARD READERS
BUSINESS COMMUNITY
Please complete the following if you work for or are an
official of a large or small business. Return the form by mail:
DAILY REPORT CARD; 1255 22nd St. NW; Suite 502; Washington, D.C.
20037 -- by fax: 202/632-0957 -- by e-mail:
DRC_publisher@goalline.org.
Thank you for your assistance.
Name:
Title:
Business:
Address:
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Would you like to read more stories related to private
sector involvement in schools and school systems?
Yes _________
No ___________
Please add the DRC to your business's press mailng list for
education projects:
Barbara Pape
Publisher
DAILY REPORT CARD
1255 22nd Street NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. 20037
202/632-0952
202/632-0957 (fax)
DRC_publisher@goalline.org
Click here to return to OFCN's
Academy Program
Click here to return to OFCN's Main Index Page.
John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org