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--- Wednesday --- April 16, 1997 --- Vol. 7 --- No. 34 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel
__________ __________
PARTNERS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION | SPOTLIGHT |
People For the American Way | |
and the NAACP have united in a | RELIGIOUS RELIC |
"historic collaboration" to | |
promote public education and | While the one-room |
battle voucher warriors | schoolhouse may be a thing |
(Partners for Public Education | of the past for public |
press release, 3/31). | schools, it has been |
The campaign's kick-off was | resurrected by many |
in Baltimore on 3 April, where | religious ones. A recent |
hundreds of clergy members, | study found that while |
parents, educators and others | public school run one-room |
participate in workshops and | schoolhouses have declined |
listened to speakers discussing | since 1985, private school |
threats to public education. | one-room schools have |
NAACP President and CEO | risen. (#2) |
Kweisi Mfume: "Vouchers are a | |
pernicious, steal-from-the- | One four-room schoolhouse |
poor-and-give-to-the-rich | recently featured at the |
scheme. They would take money | National Catholic Education |
away from our public school | Association convention is |
students, give it instead to | St. Boniface, located in La |
private schools, and abandon | Crosse, Wis. La Crosse |
many of our children in the | farmers, with the goal of |
process. Our focus should be | keeping tuition affordable |
on keeping our strong schools | for their neighbors, have |
strong and making our weak | made significant financial |
schools better. Education must | donations to the school; |
be a fundamental guarantee for | which could make public |
each child, and for our | school officials, who |
nation's precious democracy." | continually struggle to get |
Visit the NAACP at: | voters to pass school |
www.naacp.org -- and People for | levies, quite guilty of one |
the American Way at: | of the seven cardinal sins. |
www.pfaw.org |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"Isn't it wonderful?"
Louisiana State Rep Robert Barton (R), on the state's budget
surplus, some of which will be targeted to education. (#1)
_______________________________________________________________
| 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 ==============
STATESIDE
DESPERATELY SEEKING DETAILS: Ill. GOP at odds with Gov. (#1)
STANDARD BEARERS
VA. GOV WANTS TOUGH STANDARDS NOW: Not so fast, say others.(#2)
BYTES AND PIECES
BIG BROTHER OR SAFETY PATROL?: School internet-monitoring.(#3)
TAKING OVER
CLEVELAND TAKEOVER: How long should it last? (#4)
IT'S FINAL: State takes over Hartford schools. (#5)
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===== STATESIDE =====
*1 DESPERATELY SEEKING DETAILS: ILL GOP AT ODDS WITH GOV
Ill. House Minority Leader Lee Daniels is miffed that Gov
Bob Edgar (R) has not provided specifics on his school tax-
increase plan (McKinney, Chicago SUN-TIMES, 4/16). "What's the
governor's plan?" queried Daniels.
Edgar's school funding proposal calls for increasing the
income tax and property tax each by at least $1B. He also wants
a net cash gain for education, writes the paper.
Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan supports Edgar's
efforts. The paper also reports that Paul Vallas, CEO of Chicago
Public Schools, has agreed to help the governor's bipartisan
commission and the governor's office on school funding issues.
According to the paper, there is a "wide philosophical gap"
that separates some suburban Republicans and the governor over an
"income tax increase to prop up needy school districts
statewide."
Edgar has, however, won over the SUN TIMES. In an editorial,
the paper praised Edgar for his "bold move" to reform the state's
school funding formula. "And bold moves are needed if the
General Assembly is to put together a package that raises the
state income tax, cuts local property taxes and requires the
state to ensure that there is a uniform minimum spending standard
in schools," pens the editorial (6/16).
==== STANDARD BEARERS ====
*2 VA. GOV WANTS TOUGH STANDARDS NOW: NOT SO FAST, SAY OTHERS
Va. politicians and educators all agree that students should
face tougher academic standards; however, some dispute the
timeframe for implementing higher standards (Cain, WASH TIMES,
4/16). The state Board of Education is holding hearings
statewide to seek citizen input in the matter.
According to the paper, the board is dominated by Allen
appointees, who want "stricter graduation requirements and school
evaluations in place in July, as planned," writes the paper.
They are challenged by Delegate Kenneth Plum (D) and others
who claim Allen, "who cannot succeed himself as governor, is
rushing to burnish his resume, perhaps looking toward a run for
the U.S. Senate in 2000," reports the paper.
Last year, Allen vetoed Plum's legislation that called for a
delay in the start-up of standards. Michelle Easton, president
of the state Board of Education, charged that Plum's attempt to
delay implementation was "one of the most blatantly political
moves I've ever seen." She claims Plum wanted to delay the
standards in hopes that Lt. Gov. Donald Beyers (D) would be
elected governor and name Democrats to the Board of Education.
Plum argues that the standards, which emphasize back-to-
basics, will eliminate electives. Plum: "Art, music, the
vocational courses really are getting squeezed out. I don't
believe it's necessary to do that" to make schools accountable.
The paper notes that many of the new tests have not been
developed, nor do school officials know what students must do to
earn a "proficiency" grade. "We endorse the move toward higher
academic and proficiency standards," said Stuart Gibson, a member
of the Fairfax County School Board. "[But] tell us what is
expected of us before you expect us to do it."
===== BYTES AND PIECES =====
*3 BIG BROTHER OR SAFETY PATROL?: SCHOOL INTERNET-MONITORING
Wiring for computer access is the easy part, according to
some educators. The more difficult task lies in devising
Internet-monitoring policies that protect students from "scabrous
material," grant them e-mail privileges, yet monitor their
whereabouts, without infringing on their right to privacy
(Goodnough, N.Y. TIMES, 4/19).
According to the paper, more than half the nation's public
schools have Internet access, with more on the way through a
month-long project called Net Day. Thomas O'Neill, the N.J.
coordinator for Net Day, likens the project to a dad teaching his
child how to ride a bike. "You get them up and running, but you
can't tell what they're doing once they go around the block."
Some schools, however, are intent on monitoring student
behavior on the Internet. The Hazlet, N.J., district purchased
filtering software, "which blocks access to Internet chat rooms
and Web sites they consider offensive," writes the paper. A more
controversial policy is in effect at Hunterdon Central High
School in Flemington, N.J. The school uses monitoring devices to
"track student's every move on the Internet," which "raises
questions form civil libertarians about the students' right to
privacy," reports the TIMES.
Hunterdon also requires students and parents to sign a
contract that outlines computer prohibitions and behavior. For
example, students are not allowed to use vulgarities, destroy
files or reveal their home address on the Internet.
Neptune, N.J., schools' computer policy are more
restrictive; they do not permit students to send chain letters or
use the Internet for political lobbying, reports the paper.
Other educators are wary of too restrictive school policies. Dr.
Pare of Hunterdon Central observed that if you restrict a word
like "breast," you end up eliminating access to information on
breast cancer.
Most schools have not established rules for using the
Internet and e-mail. Lynn Reuss, who directs technology programs
at the N.Y. State DoEd, complains that wiring projects like
NetDay "provide initial wiring solutions, but what's missing is
sound instructional training to tell them why, where and what
for."
The WASH POST reports that some library systems also are
grappling with the broad range of information available on the
Internet, and questioning the value of that information for the
libraries' youngest readers (Argetsinger, 4/21). John Newell,
president of the Board of Trustees of the Anne Arundel libraries:
"We can't really pull the plug on something because we don't
appreciate the subject matter. We have to respect people's
rights to access what they want to access. Yet, he concedes that
"when you have people going into the library and seeing
objectionable pictures on a screen, I can understand why they're
upset."
Boston's Mayor Thomas Menino ordered filtering software,
which blocks Internet sites with sexual content, for the city's
library system, writes the paper. However, library officials
protested, claiming the software violates readers' First
Amendment Rights. According to the paper, a compromise was
reached: the software was installed on computers used only by
children.
A sample of other libraries dealing with the Internet:
Cuyahoga County (Ohio) libraries require that children under 18
must have a written statement from their parents allowing them to
log on; and Ohio and Texas Legislatures are reviewing legislation
that would require all libraries to install blocking software,
reports the POST.
Many librarians are not pleased with installing blocking
software. "It's nobody's business what you read in the library
but yours," said Judith Krug, director of the American Library
Association's office for intellectual freedom. "It's nobody's
business what you access on the Internet but yours." She offers
advice to parents who worry what their child may view on a
library's computer: Supervise them.
==== TAKING OVER ====
*4 CLEVELAND TAKEOVER: HOW LONG SHOULD IT LAST?
If state lawmakers agree that a school board appointed by
Cleveland's mayor should take over the district, voters should
give the new governance system at least four years to have an
impact, according to Cleveland schools Superintendent Richard
Boyd (Marrison, Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 4/11). He challenged
groups who want only to wait two years. "Two years is not
sufficient," he declared. "You can't make a real impact in two
years. You just cannot. The real question is how much you'll
make in four."
Boyd was testifying before the Ohio General Assembly's
Select Committee on School Governance. Committee members were
reviewing five governance proposals, including the controversial
Wise-Batchelder proposal. Republican Reps. Mike Wise and William
Batchelder have proposed that Cleveland's mayor appoint a nine-
member school board from a group of candidates recommended by a
diverse panel, writes the paper. Under the plan, professional
administrators would be hired to manage the schools. Voters
could decide to keep or abolish the new governance system after
four years.
The Citizens League of Greater Cleveland, while supporting
general tenets of the proposal, argue that the mayor should not
have the authority to name a superintendent, "nor should he
choose the chairman of the new nine-member board," writes the
paper. However, League Executive Director Janis Purdy said the
experiment should run longer than four years. "Because this is
truly an experimental situation, that legislation should
establish a six- to eight-year pilot project," she said.
*5 IT'S FINAL: STATE TAKES OVER HARTFORD SCHOOLS
Conn. lawmakers, in nearly unanimous votes, terminated the
Hartford School Board, handing management of the school district
over to state officials (Green, HARTFORD COURANT, 3/17). The
Legislature devoted all of last Wednesday to discussing and
voting on the state takeover, culminating in a 27-9 vote in the
Senate and a 135-7 vote in the House in favor of the takeover.
Hartford Mayor Michael Peters: "I lost the Whalers and I
lost the school board in one week. Great. This is awful. But
we are going to be OK. Hopefully we can get some of the faith
back into the school system." According to the paper, Gov John
Rowland is expected to sign the bill.
A provision of the bill gives legislators and the governor
20 days from the governor's signing of the bill to decide on the
members of the new panel to oversee the schools. The panel could
include fewer than seven members, will be racially diverse, but
may not include Hartford residents.
New rules for collective bargaining are detailed in the law,
including the demand that arbitrators give "highest priority" to
students instead of supporting contract language, writes the
paper. The trustees also could open current labor contracts, if
a majority of union members approve.
In a surprise move, the Hartford Federation of Teachers
endorsed the bill, even over the disapproval of the union's state
federation. "We were willing to take the risk," said HFT
President Cheryl Daniels. She refused to comment on her
disagreement with the state federation and other labor leaders,
who distributed leaflets stating that the takeover was "not good"
for the city, children or the state, notes the paper.
Despite the near total agreement among lawmakers, some
expressed skepticism that the takeover measure will beget
improved outcomes. "I don't want anybody here today to think we
are dealing with the causes of the problems in the city of
Hartford," said Rep Jefferson Davis (D). "We are dealing with
the symptoms." Rep. John Martinez (D) commented that the school
district's troubles were not only the result of "alleged
mismanagement, but a result of poverty and racial isolation."
In an analysis of the unprecedented takeover law, the
COURANT notes that takeovers in other states have primarily been
about seeking improvement in the management of the central
office, and less on enhancing student achievement, which is the
crux of Hartford's takeover law.
An insert in the paper describes takeovers in other states,
including: N.J., which seized control of Jersey City (1989),
Paterson (1991) and Newark schools (1995); Ohio, where a federal
judge in a desegregation case ordered the state to assume control
over Cleveland's schools (1995); Ill., where the Legislature gave
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley "broad powers" to manage city schools
(1995); Washington, D.C, where a financial control board created
by Congress disbanded the school board, putting a retired Army
general in charge (1996); and Md., where a bill before the
Legislature would give the governor and state board of education
"a role in replacing Baltimore's school board and naming a new
city school chief," writes the paper.
N.J. educators advised patience. "You just can't be Big
Brother coming in -- and then they get their act together and you
leave," said Robert Boose of the N.J. School Boards Association.
"The problem is, once you leave, you're back to the same old
processes." He added: "I think [Conn.] is in for the long haul
if they're serious about it, if they're not just there to grab
attention."
Gerald Tirozzi, assistant secretary for elementary and
secondary education at the U.S. DoEd, commented that the Hartford
experiment could become a "wonderful laboratory for the whole
nation." Tirozzi, a former Conn. education commissioner, added
that most state takeovers were premised on improving financial
mismanagement, while Hartford's case is based on concern over
poor academic performance. "There isn't a real history of states
taking over school districts on the quality of education," he
said. "Where it has happened, it's too early to tell."
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