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--- Monday --- March 10, 1997 --- Vol. 7 --- No. 23 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
SLAVES TO FASHION | SPOTLIGHT |
New York City Schools | |
Chancellor Rudy Crew spoke of | A CRAZY IDEA |
his support for mandating | |
school uniforms for grade- | The privatization of |
school children in New York | public education was a |
City public schools (Goodnough, | "crazy idea" just a few |
N.Y. TIMES, 3/9). He said too | years ago, notes investment |
many children base their self- | analyst Michael Moe. But |
image on the clothes they wear. | today even Wall Street is |
By forcing children to wear a | bullish on the possibility. |
uniform, the students will | |
begin to base their self-image | Some compare the emerging |
on academic achievement instead | private education firms to |
of fashion. | the H.M.O. movement of the |
Crew: "These young people | 1970s. Back then, many |
have literally gotten the | thought turning a profit on |
notion of human worth confused | the sick and dying was |
with the notion of material | taboo. "Making money off |
worth. It's time for us to | kids -- that's the same |
clear this notion up that you | kind of thing. So change |
are not what the label says in | is possible," says Kian |
the back of your shirt." | Ghazi, of Lehman Brothers. |
In the past, Crew has backed | |
away from a mandatory school- | Indicators of privati- |
uniform policy; instead, he has | zation going mainstream: |
allowed schools to develop | two investment firms have |
their own policies. | sponsored education |
During his remarks at | industry investment |
Teacher's College at Columbia | conferences; and a group of |
U, Crew also spoke in favor of | private education companies |
a longer school year as | have created a lobbying |
necessary for meeting tougher | group for their businesses. |
academic standards. | (#2) |
|_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"Ultimately, the question will be: 'Who can do the best for the
cheapest?'"
Michael Moe, an investment analyst for Montgomery Securities in
San Francisco. (#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 ==============
CITY HALL
PHILADELPHIA NEWS: Budget hearings go smoothly. (#1)
THE PRIVATE EYE
IN BUSINESS: Privatization is hot on wall street. (#2)
FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
COURTROOM BRAWLING: Tough questions in N.J. (#3)
BYTES AND PIECES
COMPUTER LITERACY: What it is and how to get there?. (#4)
SCHOOL-WITHIN-A-SCHOOL: Tapping technology. (#5)
==== CITY HALL ====
*1 PHILADELPHIA NEWS: BUDGET HEARINGS GO SMOOTHLY
Relationships between Philadelphia school district leaders and
City Council members have become rosy since the city and district
have joined forces to sue the state over school-finance issues
(Jones and Marder, Philadelphia INQUIRER, 3/5). Few angry
exchanges took place at a recent City Council hearing on the
school district budget, which in the past would have been filled
with "venom," writes the paper.
The lawsuit filed by the city seeks $52.8M for the next
fiscal year and "millions more after that," reports the paepr.
In the suit, the city claims that the state has underfunded the
district since 1991, "when its funding formula changed from a
per-capita system to one based on property values and income
levels," reports the paper. Accoridng to the paper, the state
denies all charges.
The INQUIRER explains that it is up to the school board to
approve the district's line-item budget. However, the Council
does authorize taxes that support public education. This year,
one council member said he plans to propose a two-year tax
authorization to "emphaisze to the public -- and perhaps to the
courts -- that there will be no new tax dollars forthcoming from
the city in the next two years," writes the paper. The Mayor and
Council also have promised to give the district a $15M grant, and
to authorize a sale of tax liens that is estimated to yield $40M
in new money for the district, reports the paper.
===== THE PRIVATE EYE =====
*2 IN BUSINESS: PRIVATIZATION IS HOT ON WALL STREET
Privatization is the "new buzz on Wall Street," writes Kevin
Bushweller, associate editor of THE AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD
JOURNAL, March 1997). According to Bushweller, a growing number
of investment analysts are encouraging investors to look at the
"fledgling education industry."
Bushweller writes that the emerging education industry
parallels the H.M.O. movement in this country, which during the
1970s experienced "growing pains" similar to those being felt
today by the EMOs -- education management organizations, which
include Education Alternatives Inc., Alternative Public Schools
adn The Edison Project. Twenty years ago, government funds were
the primary source of revenue for hospitals, explains Bushweller.
However, most hospitals began to feel a financial crunch when
expenses outpaced revenues. "The shortfall opened the door for
health maintenance organizations ..., whose primary motive was to
turn a profit," reports Bushweller.
In the beginning, turning a profit on the sick and dying was
"outlandish," said Kian Ghazi, an analyst for Lehman Brothers.
He added: "Making money off kids -- that's the same kind of
thing. So change is possible."
Michael Moe, an investment analyst for Montgomery Securities
in San Francisco observed that just three or four years ago, the
notion of privatization of education was a "crazy idea." Moe:
"People said,'You can't make a profit in education; that's
unconscionable.' Now, the question is, 'Can you make money?'
Ultimately, the question will be: 'Who can do the best for the
cheapest?'"
Bushweller points out that two major Wall Street investment
firms -- Lehman Brothers and Smith-Barney -- sponsored their
first education industry investment conference. He added that
Harvard U's Kennedy School of Government also recently sponsored
a policy forum called "Business Opportunities in the Education
Industry," which was broadcast on C-SPAN.
Another sign of movement in the privatization world: A
"sizable" group of private education companies have joined forces
to create the Education Services Council, a lobbying group for
the industry. The industry also has a monthly newsletter called
"The Education Industry Report," which "provides short updates on
industry news and publishes the EI Index, a composite of the
stock prices of publicly traded companies in the education
industry." John McLaughlin, editor of the St.Cloud, Minn.-based
newsletter: "There's nothing sacrosanct abut schooling that says
we can't make money off it. Education is ripe ... for investment
today. The rewards could be great, but so could the losses."
According to Bushweller, the most-likely-to-succeed niche
market for private education firms is services for at-risk
students. Bushweller cites a Lehman Brothers investment analysis
that predicts "explosive growth potential" for the at-risk
market. Publicly traded companies listed on the EI Index that
target the at-risk market are: Children's Comprehensive
Services, Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Res-Care, Louisville, Ky.; and
Youth Services International, Owings Mills, Md. "It's a no-
brainer," said Moe. "The at-risk market for K to 12 is doing
very well, with great opportunities looking forward."
Another potentially strong niche area is preschool services.
Moe noted that "this $30 billion niche market is growing by about
12 percent a year," writes Bushweller.
"It's not a passing fad," said E.S. Savas, professor of
public policy at the City U of New York and director of the
university's Privatization Research Organization." "First you'll
see a proliferation of companies and then a consolidation."
However, he cautioned school boards to think hard about
entering a contract with a private firm, especially if the vote
is 5-4. "That's not a good sign," he warned.
===== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE =====
*3 COURTROOM BRAWLING: TOUGH QUESTIONS IN N.J.
The N.J. state Supreme Court peppered the lawyer
representing disadvantaged urban schoolchildren in a suit against
the state with tough questions (O'Neill, Philadelphia INQUIRER,
3/5). State Attorney General Peter Verniero, who was defending
Gov. Christine Whitmans' s (R) school-aid law, also was intensely
questioned by the Court.
Justice Gary Stein expressed extreme "skepticism" over
Whitman's plan, particularly in its ability to "fairly reflect
the unique costs of preparing poor urban students to meet the
state's stringent new curriculum standards," writes the paper.
Justices Alan Handler and Marie Gribaldi were doubtful that
the school-aid law could eliminate the spending gap that remains
between wealthy and disadvantaged districts in order to guarantee
a top-notch education for urban students, reports the paper.
Garibaldi: "My problem is that we're talking about a 10 percent
disparity in spending, and it's hard to see how reaching 100
percent parity will make any substantial difference unless it's
tied to specific programs."
The lawsuit is a twenty-year-old battle brought by the
Education Law Center, which initially asked the court to declare
the state's school-aid formula unconstitutional because it
permitted "huge spending gaps to develop between poor and wealthy
districts," notes the paper. In 1994, the court directed the
state to create a new spending law that would eliminate the
disparity.
However, Whitman charges that money alone is not the
solution. Her plan: higher curriculum standards -- then
determine what it would cost a typical district to provide those
standards on a per-pupil basis, writes the paper. The state now
guarantees aid for disadvantaged districts up to this new per-
pupil expenditure.
The Center has challenged Whitman's plan, charging that per-
pupil costs for disadvantaged districts are much higher than what
is allowed under the law.
According to the paper, "the justices didn't sound confident
that [the law] would work." No one is sure when the court will
issue a ruling on the constitutionality of Whitman's school-aid
law.
===== BYTES AND PIECES =====
*4 COMPUTER LITERACY: WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO GET THERE?
Most everyone wants today's students to become computer
literate. Unfortunately, classrooms nationwide offer computer
courses that are only "shadows of the real thing," according to
Mark German, director of curriculum development for the Los
Angeles-based Futurekids, Inc. (PRINCIPAL, National Association
of Elementary School Principals, March 1997).
Computers currently play two roles in most schools:
information resource and self-contained teaching machine, writes
German. Under the information resource model, computers "can
complement books, magazines, videos and other media." A
multitude of software packages are available to turn computers
into "teaching machines," in which students can plug into math,
reading, writing or other courses at their own level, notes
German.
These models, while "commendable," do not allow students to
get the most from computer technology, according to German.
Instead, he urges schools to develop computer curricula that
"mimic[s] real-world application." Students could assume the
role of entrepreneur and use a spreadsheet to project future
sales, or of an engineer who uses the computer to generate a new
automobile prototype, explains German. "These examples all
require computer literacy in the truest sense of the term," he
writes.
German features two Futurekids schools: Brookwood
Elementary School, in suburban Grand Rapids, Mich., and
California Elementary School, in Orange County, Calif. At
Brookwood, teachers first underwent computer training, and then
"took 18 K-5 classes through 50-minute weekly lessons that
covered everything from the basics of computer hardware through
word processing, spreadsheets, databases and graphics." Their
work was based on a "structured computer literacy curriculum that
covers 110 technology areas, each with its own grade-specific
learning objectives and projects," explains German. He notes
that the computer literacy curriculum boasts more than 700
individual learning objectives."
German points out that a "gratifying use of the Internet for
children is electronic mail," which allows students to have
instantaneous communication with other students, scientists, and
teachers worldwide.
"Here's the best thing about computer literacy: Once you
have it, you can keep on applying it," comments German. He notes
that although the technology of today soon will become dated,
students who understand contemporary hardware and software will
more easily be able to "apply their skills to more advanced
applications without having to start from scratch."
Cindy Caywood, principal of California Elementary, told
German of where computer education should be headed. "I want my
kids to come out of here saying, 'I'm not afraid of this. I can
try this," she said. German added that Caywood "understands that
computer literacy is not so much a set of skills as an attitude,
a philosophy, and a sense of self-confidence."
German concludes that computer literacy is being able to
"plunge into a new technology," with the understanding that with
practice it can be mastered. "If we can teach that kind of
computer literacy in the classroom, we will have met a
fundamental challenge of the Information Age."
*5 SCHOOL-WITHIN-A-SCHOOL: TAPPING TECHNOLOGY
The Oakland (Calif.) Technical Center-Northwest Campus plans
to open a school-within-a-school that will feature "hands-on
study in computer-aided design, machining and robotics," writes
the Detroit FREE PRESS (Moorlehem, 3/4). The program, Technology
& Engineering Academy For Manufacturing Science (TEAMS), is
designed to prepare student's for high-tech manufacturing jobs.
According to the paper, 40 Oakland County juniors and
seniors will participate in the program, beginning next fall.
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