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--- Friday --- April 11, 1997 --- Vol. 7 --- No. 31 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
ACHIEVING A WEB SITE | SPOTLIGHT |
ACHIEVE, an organization that | |
emerged from the Education | IT'S ONLY JUST BEGUN |
Summit sponsored last year by | |
business leaders and governors, | The Computer Revolution |
is on the Web: | is far from complete, |
(http://www.achieve.org). The | observed Terry Crane, |
group also issued an annual | president of Jostens |
report featuring steps to take | Learning. She scrawls |
to encourage tough academic | three new education "R's" |
standards. The COALITION ON | on the 21st century |
GOALS 2000 reports on ACHIEVE's | chalkboard: Resources, |
report: 32 states already have | Results and Reform, with |
mandated new standards and half | technology as the catalyst. |
the 50 companies that | |
participated in the summit have | Jostens, which produces |
agreed to consider high school | education software, joined |
transcripts in making hiring | forces with the American |
decisions, according to the | Association of School |
annual report. | Administrators to ascertain |
| the views of teachers and |
FAILING SCHOOLS | superintendents on the |
At an Education Commission of | progress of the technology |
the States meeting earlier this | revolution. The survey |
year, state leaders involved in | found that both groups |
state takeovers of failing | wanted more -- more |
urban schools spoke openly of | computers and more teacher |
difficulties they encountered, | training. Another finding: |
likening the experience to | educators are more keen on |
"trench warfare." Their | intranet connections, which |
stories are told in a new ECS | will allow them to |
publication called "Urban | communicate within a school |
Perspectives." Pricing info is | or district, than on |
available by calling ECS at | Internet access. (#1) |
303/299-3692. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"Everybody is in agreement. Nobody wants to get on the bus."
Dade County School Board Chairman Solomon Stinson, on school
busing. (#3)
_______________________________________________________________
| 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 ==============
TAKING STOCK
CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY: What teachers have, what they need. (#1)
FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
MOVING BACKWARDS: Schools becoming more segregated. (#2)
DADE'S DESEG DILEMMA: Should it stay, or should it go. (#3)
BYTES AND PIECES
"TOMORROW'S PROMISE:" Jostens unveils new software. (#4)
CHOOSING SCHOOLS
PRIVATE SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS: Tax credit for contributors. (#5)
SPECIAL EDUCATION
OUT OF SAME HYMNAL: Special ed groups get same religion. (#6)
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===== TAKING STOCK =====
*1 CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY: WHAT TEACHERS HAVE, WHAT THEY NEED
Effective teacher training and more modern computers are
what an overwhelming number of classroom teachers and
superintendents said they need to build classrooms for tomorrow,
according to a poll conducted by Jostens Learning Corporation and
the American Association of School Administrators.
"Teachers and superintendents clearly are sending a message
that professional development for teachers must be a priority,"
said Dr. Terry Crane, president of Jostens Learning. "As the
nation's leading educational software company, we know that when
the training focuses on integrating computers into classroom
instruction, schools do see increased results in student
achievement."
Other findings: 72% of respondents said teacher training,
while readily available, focuses on basic computer operation,
rather than on integration of computers into classroom
instruction (56%), using the Internet (52%), or the use of
instructional software (51%); schools or the school district
provides most of the computer training for teachers; and teachers
most often use computers in computer labs or in the classroom.
Respondents also pointed to the importance of intranet
connection, as well as Internet access. Teachers and
superintendents noted that computers most frequently are used for
classroom instruction, teaching basic computer skills, or record-
keeping. Karl Hertz, president-elect of AASA, applauded
President Clinton's technology initiatives, but said the White
House should stress establishing more in-school intranets, as
well as connections to the Internet.
According to the poll, computers are most often used to help
teach the following subjects: vocational skills (53%); reading,
writing and language arts (52%); sciences and health (35%);
mathematics (33%); history and social studies (20%);
extracurricular activities (22%); and art and music (10%).
The survey also addressed the potential impact of a pending
decision by the Federal Communications Commission on how $2.25B
in computer technology discounts will be distributed to schools
across the country. Under the FCC's ruling, which is expected to
be rendered 8 May, schools will receive discounts of 20% to 90%
on telecommunications services, internal networking and Internet
access. The release further explains that "Congress amended the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 to require telecommunications
providers to offer equipment and services at discounted rates to
schools."
Poll results indicate that about 60% of those surveyed were
aware of the discounts. Thirty-five percent of respondents said
the discount should be used to connect classrooms to the school's
computer network, 29% said Internet access and 23% said better
telecommunication services, such as high capacity phone lines.
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), a sponsor of the
legislation calling for the discounts commented: "This latest
poll reinforces what we have known all along: that school
superintendents and teachers recognize the value of providing
discounted rates to schools in order to assure access to
technologies that improve teaching and learning -- especially in
the classroom. The Snowe-Rockefeller-Exon-Kerrey provision
included in law will do just that, and now we must ensure that
all of our nation's teachers and administrators are aware of the
discounts and benefits this provision can offer."
===== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE =====
*2 MOVING BACKWARDS: SCHOOLS BECOMING MORE SEGREGATED
The percentage of minorities in schools with an
overwhelmingly white student body dropped considerably between
1991 and 1994, partly due to Federal court rulings that made it
easier for school districts to end desegregation plans. Harvard
U researchers, led by Dr. Gary Orfield, prepared a report
documenting the decline in desegregation nationwide called
"Deepening Segregation in American Public Schools," writes the
N.Y. TIMES (Applebome, 4/8).
From the report: "In American race relations, the bridge
from the 20th century may be leading back into the 19th century.
. . . We may be deciding to bet the future of the country once
more on separated but equal. There is no evidence that separate
but equal today works any better than it did a century ago."
Other findings from the study: an increase in segregation
in suburban schools; a trend toward more segregated schools is
more rampant in the South, which had become more integrated than
the North; Hispanic students are becoming more isolated in poor
and minority schools. "We are at a historic turning point in
terms of the struggle for access to opportunity in American
schools," said Orfield. "There is a clear trend. For both black
and Latino students, the contact with whites is going down."
The TIMES notes that the study is based on school enrollment
that found in fall 1972, "after the Supreme Court's 1971 decision
mandating schools busing, 63.6% of black students were in schools
where less than half the student body was white." In 1986, the
percentage remained the same. However, since then it has risen
to 67.1%, according to the study.
Chester Finn, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute,
disputes the tragedy Orfield and his colleagues find in the
numbers. "More and more minority parents, when asked what they
care about for their kids' schools, no longer say they care about
the skin color of the kid in the next seat," he said. "They care
if their child is going to a safe school that teaches them to
read and write."
Court decisions that have had an impact on desegregation,
reported in the TIMES, include: 1954, Brown v. Board of
Eduction, which declared the South's separate but equal" school
philosophy unconstitutional; 1971, Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Board of Education, which began school busing to end segregation;
1991, Board of Education of Oklahoma City v. Dowell, in which the
Court ruled that a school district that had complied for several
years with a desegregation order could be allowed to return to
segregated schools; and 1992, Freeman v. Pitts, where the Court
"made it easier to end desegregation even when the full order to
desegregate had not been accomplished," reports the paper.
*3 DADE'S DESEG DILEMMA: SHOULD IT STAY, OR SHOULD IT GO
Ongoing discussions in Dade County, Fla., typify the
seachange attitudes over desegregation most recently noted in a
Harvard U study (See today's DRC #2). The Dade School Board last
month began discussing whether to end a Federal court order that
calls on the district to desegregate their schools (Mailander,
MIAMI HERALD, 3/20). "It's outdated," said newly elected school
board member Manty Sabates Morse, on the desegregation order.
"This is 1997 . . . This busing is upsetting."
According to the paper, the court order originally was
issued by U.S. District Judge C. Clyde Atkins, who continues to
monitor the district. Last year's election of four new board
members is the impetus of the discussions to end racial busing.
Board Chairman Solomon Stinson: "Everybody is in agreement.
Nobody wants to get on the bus."
The paper reports that 27 of the county's 281 regular
elementary, middle and high schools are 90% or more black, with
another 43 schools 90% or more Hispanic. "No school has an
overwhelming majority of white, non-Hispanics because they make
up less than 15% of all public school students," writes the
paper.
Some observers comment that the Dade School Board could have
trouble ending the desegregation order because it has a history
of ignoring the order when convenient, "building and opening
schools in areas where almost all of the students are of one
race." Gordon Foster, a desegregation expert who helped create a
1969 plan to integrate Dade's public schools: "In Dade, God
knows what would happen. It's a tangle. But most schools are
single-race already, so it can't get much worse. How to deal
with that needs to be fought out in the political arena, not the
courts. It's time for all that to end."
===== BYTES AND PIECES =====
*4 "TOMORROW'S PROMISE:" JOSTENS UNVEILS NEW SOFTWARE
At a press conference releasing new poll data on classroom
technology (See today's DRC #1), Jostens Learning Corporation
also unveiled a new software product called "Tomorrow's Promise."
The software, available for both Windows and Macintosh, includes
mathematics and reading programs at levels K-8 and language arts
for grades 3-8.
"Featuring all-new curricula, modular options, multimedia
graphics and easy-to-use management, "Tomorrow's Promise" is
designed to appeal to educators who want comprehensive curriculum
and flexible technology solutions," said Susan Richardson, vice
president of product marketing for Jostens Learning. "Our new
modular format makes the power of Jostens Learning's basic
curriculum available to all schools regardless of their size,
technology orientation in a classroom or lab and budget
constraints," she added.
A Josten's press release noted that the firm is the only
educational software company that provides "virtually 100 percent
objectives coverage for the five major national assessment tests
(ITBS, CTBS, SAT, MAT and CAT).
A demonstration of the new product line by local elementary
school students followed the press conference.
Jostens has gone through a company overhaul, offering new
products, new partners and new management, including Terry Crane,
the recently hired Jostens Learning president. Crane's previous
experience includes working for the Richardson Independent School
District in Texas as a teacher, principal and computer expert.
Most recently, she ran Apple Computer's education division from
1994-1996.
For more information on "Tomorrow's Promise" or other Josten
products call 800/244-0575, or visit The Jostens Learning Website
at http://www.jlc.com.
==== CHOOSING SCHOOLS ====
*5 PRIVATE SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS: TAX CREDIT FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Ariz. lawmakers last week passed legislation that allows tax
credits of up to $500 for anyone who makes a contribution to
charitable groups that provide private scholarships (CENTER FOR
EDUCATION REFORM press release, 4/4). The School Tuition
Organization Tax Credit bill also provides a tax credit of up to
$200 for individuals who contribute to any public school for
extracurricular activities, including bands, sports or science
labs.
"This bill strengthens what we have already done with open
enrollment and charter schools to offer substantial choices for
parents," said Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Graham
Keegan. The governor is expected to sign the bill into law.
According to the release, Ariz. "leads the nation in
providing more choice per capita than nearly any other state
through its expansive charter laws and public school choice
enrollment provisions." The state also provides for schools to
send up to 4,000 at-risk or disadvantaged children to private
schools at public expense, if the school district is not capable
of meeting the students' needs.
==== SPECIAL EDUCATION ====
*6 OUT OF THE SAME HYMNAL: SPECIAL ED GROUPS GET SAME RELIGION
Fifteen groups of Mass. parents, teachers, administrators
and advocates of special-education students, who typically are
engaged in battle with each other, presented a united front for
reform of state law that effects the special education population
(Avenoso, BOSTON GLOBE, 3/20)
Prior to this truce, "every group would have their own
complaint or their own program they wanted to keep," explained
Ruth-Ann Rasbold, a parent of a special-need child and member of
the advocacy group Federation for Children with Special Needs.
"It would end up confusing the issue, letting the Legislature do
what they wanted and allow us not to take any real action."
The plan agreed to by a wide range of education and parent
groups includes: having parents share costs for independent
evaluation of special-education students, narrowing the
definition of a learning or emotional disability; require
special-education evaluation teams to "defend, with written
documentation, their decisions on whether a student qualifies and
to increase the number of days special-education students can be
suspended before special-education teams must meet to see whether
the behavior is linked to student disabilities," writes the
paper.
Under the proposal, funding for special education would be
shifted more to the state level. For example, the state would be
required to reimburse school districts for some transportation
costs and to pay for building renovations that make schools more
accessible to disabled students, reports the GLOBE. "This would
free up a lot of dollars for regular education and allow for a
lot more flexibility with programs," said Sheldon Berman,
superintendent of Hudson schools. Parents said they were
not concerned that the proposal would prohibit needy children
from receiving special-education services. "I don't think
there's a doubt in the world that the kids who need the services
will continue to get them," said Andrea Watson, co-chair of the
special-education Parent Advisory Council in Chelsea. "The kids
who will get cut are the ones who never should have been there in
the first place, the ones who get booted into special ed because
teaches don't want to deal with them."
According to the paper, Mass. has the highest percentage of
special-education students in the country. The state spends
about $835M on special education, which is a 34% increase from
1990. Spending for regular education rose only by 22% from 1990,
notes the paper.
The plan will be reviewed by the Legislature's Special
Education Study Commission and the Special Education House
Working Group, which are expected to announce their own proposals
this summer.
While Gov. William Weld (R) did not take a position on the
newly released proposal, he praised the groups for their
cooperation. "I'm not prepared to say exactly where we'll come
out, but I think the fact that even the so-called advocates for
special ed are talking about substantial changes in the system
being made is a good development," said Weld.
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