The Daily Report Card

--- Friday --- April 25, 1997 --- Vol. 7 --- --- No. 36

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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
A service of the National Education Goals Panel

============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"My view is that the purpose of schooling is to equip you on the
one hand for college and work, and the general enjoyment of the
use of the mind, but it also is to equip you for good
citizenship." -- Philadelphia School Superintendent David
Hornbeck, on service learning. (#2) _______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the American Political Network, Inc. |
| 282 N. Washington St., Falls Church, VA (703) 237-5130 |
| APN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|

============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============

GOAL ONE: SCHOOL READINESS
I AM YOUR CHILD: Goals Panel contributes to campaign. (#1)

GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
SUMMIT FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE: An all-star line-up. (#2)

RESEARCH NOTES
LIFE ON THE STREETS: Tough, but getting better. (#3)

HIGHER EDUCATION
CAMPUS DIVERSITY: Washingtonians want it. (#4)

FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
HIGH COURT DOESN'T PLAY BALL: Lets stand Title IX case. (#5)

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===== GOAL ONE: SCHOOL READINESS =====

*1 I AM YOUR CHILD: GOALS PANEL CONTRIBUTES TO CAMPAIGN
The National Education Goals Panel announced a special "Goal
1" initiative to coincide with the "I Am Your Child Campaign," a
nationwide effort to draw attention to the needs of children
during the first three years of their life. Later this year, the
Goals Panel will release a status report of young children, and
in the year 2000 it will publish a companion document assessing
changes that occurred.
"The I Am Your Child Campaign thanks the panel for its
special effort of focus on the lives of young children," said Rob
Reiner, chair of the I Am Your Child Campaign. "Through the
panel's work, we will be better equipped to improve programs and
policies for young children and their families." Reiner, who
played Meathead in "All in the Family," also is a Hollywood
producer. He produced a special called "I Am Your Child," to be
aired on ABC on 28 April at 8:00 EST.
The Goals Panel's 1997 publication will describe the
conditions of young children through a number of key national
Goal 1 indicators pertinent to the birth-to-3 age span including:
prenatal care, birth weight, immunization, family literacy,
preschool participation, and preschool participation for children
with disabilities, writes a Goals Panel press release (4/16).
Ken Nelson, executive director of the Goals Panel: "In
keeping with the panel's goal to serve wide audiences, the
publications will be designed for use by parents, the general
public, early childhood experts, educators, advocates and state
and national policymakers."
The upcoming publication marks the Goal Panel's fourth
publication on early childhood this year. The panel released
"Getting a Good Start in School" in February. In July, the panel
will issue "Ready Schools," and later this year it will publish
"Early Childhood Assessment Guidelines."
For more information on the National Education Goals Panel
or to obtain an NEGP publication, send a fax to the panel at
202/632-0957, visit the panel's web site at http://www.negp.gov,
or send E-mail to NEGP@goalline.org.
For more information about the "Early Childhood Public
Engagement Campaign," call 202/338-4385, or visit the campaign's
we site at www.iamyourchild.org.
For information about community outreach in the campaign,
call Ellen Galinsky at The Families and Work Institute, 212/465-
2044.

===== GOAL THREE: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP =====

*2 SUMMIT FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE: AN ALL-STAR LINE-UP
This Sunday, Philadelphia will host the kick-off for the
Summit for America's Future, starring President Clinton, former
U.S. presidents George Bush and Jimmy Carter, General Colin
Powell, and celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, John Travolta
and Tony Bennet (Mezzacappa, Philadelphia INQUIRER, 4/23). The
purpose of the event is to promote volunteerism to help young
people in their quest for a promising future.
Specifically, there are five resources summit sponsors
intend to establish for young people: mentorships with adults,
safe and structured after-school activities, physical health,
marketable skills and an opportunity to give back to the
community by volunteering, reports the ARLINGTON JOURNAL
(Jennings, 4.24). Summit activities will start Sunday morning in
Philadelphia's Marcus Foster field, where the presidents and
others will address a crowd of volunteers. Throughout the day,
2,000 delegates from 140 communities nationwide will discuss what
they call the "crisis facing America's children," and they will
develop action plans for their communities, reports the INQUIRER.
Entertainment will conclude the summit, as participants enjoy a
show hosted by Oprah Winfrey. Events continue on Monday and
Tuesday.
Last week, a national coalition of education and service-
oriented groups announced a plan to name 10,000 schools by June
1998 as models for service learning, reports the paper.
The INQUIRER notes that community service, particularly
mandated student service, has garnered some bad reviews along the
way. In 1990, two Bethlehem, Pa., students sued over their
districts requirement of 60 hours of community service for
graduation. Two other cases followed: in Rye Neck, N.Y., and
Chapel Hill, N.C. According to the paper, courts upheld the
school districts. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to take on
the subject.
Other criticism of service learning stems from educational
concerns. Some conservative groups charge that students do not
learn "properly outside a structured classroom," and that service
learning strays too far from the basic function of schooling --
"to teach basic academic subjects," writes the paper.
Despite the criticism and court cases, service learning is
blossoming nationwide. While religious schools have long held
community service activities as an important part of their
curricula, the concept is beginning to take hold in public
schools, writes the paper. Philadelphia School Superintendent
David Hornbeck, while head of the Maryland DoEd, started the
process that now requires all high school students in Md. to
perform 100 hours of community service to graduate. Hornbeck:
"My view is that the purpose of schooling is to equip you on the
one hand for college and work, and the general enjoyment of the
use of the mind, but it also is to equip you for good
citizenship." He plans to bring the community-service
requirement to Philadelphia, notes the paper.
The INQUIRER describes community-service activities in other
Philadelphia-area school districts and points to a Brandeis U
study that found students engaged in community work have higher
grades, feel better about school and are more likely to attend
four-year colleges. "The problem with schools is that they're so
damn boring," said Harry Silcox, former principal of
Philadelphia's Lincoln High School and new head of the institute
for Service Learning, a training enter located at the
Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. "We're trying to
shovel information into kids all day while they're sitting in
seats. That's not going to work anymore."
For more information on the Summit, see the "Turning the
Tide" section of Philadelphia Online at http//www.phillynews.com.
The Institute for Service Learning can be reached at 215/951-
0343.

===== RESEARCH NOTES ====

*3 LIFE ON THE STREETS: TOUGH, BUT GETTING BETTER
America's urban communities continue to be plagued with
problems of crime, dilapidated housing, lack of jobs and
dysfunctional schools, but silver linings are visible, according
to a new report issued by the Center for National Policy and the
Local Initiatives Support Corporation. From the report: "...
the real story of cities today is more complex, and more
positive, than the constant focus on these problems makes it
seem.
The report, "Life in the City: A Status Report on the
Revival of Urban Communities in America," challenges policy
makers to consider and "capitalize" on three accomplishments of
some urban areas: "finding a new place for cities within a
changing economy," by, among other things, improving metropolitan
labor market connections and tailoring welfare reform to fit
local conditions; "improving public services," including public
schools; and "rebuilding low-income neighborhoods," writes the
report.
In a brief section on school reform, the report describes a
more rosy picture of public education often missed by some
commentators. For example, students attending schools
categorized as "disadvantaged urban" schools by the National
Assessment of Education Progress, over a twenty year period have
closed the NAEP-test gap "on their more advantaged counterparts,
despite increasingly disadvantaged socio-economic and educational
backgrounds." The report observes that " ... these statistics
tell what for many is a surprising story: The academic
performance by the nation's least advantaged students has not
plummeted. Indeed, overall these students and their schools have
made some important strides since the 1970s."
The report also points to a RAND Corporation study that
found in 1994 that general national test-performance gains can be
"attributed in significant part to increases in the number of
college educated parents during the 1960s and 1970s," writes the
report. This finding makes the progress of disadvantaged
students even more extraordinary. "Students in disadvantaged
schools improved their proficiency despite the fact that their
families did not have the same increase in parental education and
incomes as the rest of the population."
Syndicated columnist David Broder reviewed the report in his
WASH POST column, with a view from Chicago (4/23). He cited the
work of Dr. Richard Tolliver, of St. Edmund's Episcopal Church,
located in the blighted Washington Park area of Chicago.
Tolliver was able to open the doors of an independent,
nonparochial school with four classes, located in his church
building. He also notes the work of the Resurrection Project, a
coalition of Pilsen neighborhood churches, which has made a day
care and social service center located in a building donated to
the group by the Catholic Archdiocese.
Despite these successes, the report mentions that the most
recent NAEP data indicates a stagnation in overall achievement
scores between 1992 and 1994.
The report includes case studies on six urban areas: South
Bronx, Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and
Washington, D.C. It discusses the role of neighborhoods and
presents recommendations that include calling for effective tax
credits and continuing targeted programs that provide critical
leverage.
Copies of the report are available by contacting the Center
for National Policy; 1 Massachusetts Avenue NW; Suite 333;
Washington, D.C. 20001; 202/6682-1800.

===== HIGHER EDUCATION =====

*4 CAMPUS DIVERSITY: WASHINGTONIANS WANT IT
America is growing apart, say a majority (64%) of
Washington-state voters polled, and 65% said diversity programs
on college campuses help bring society together. Fifty-five
percent of those surveyed said every college graduate should have
to study different cultures, and by a margin of nearly three to
one, those who have an opinion say that diversity programs in
colleges and universities raise rather than lower academic
standards.
The telephone survey of 600 registered voters in the state
of Washington was conducted 6 March to 13 March 1997. It is the
first-ever statewide poll on diversity in higher education,
writes a press release for the Campus Diversity Initiative, a
program of the Ford Foundation (4/24).
"While abstract statements about diversity education produce
varying degrees of support and opposition, Washington state
voters voice nearly universal approval when asked about specific
diversity programs," said Elway Research President Stuart Elwas,
the firm that conducted the poll. "Campus programs that help
students meet emerging challenges are likely to generate public
support."
Other findings: more than nine in ten respondents agree
that, "in the next generation, people will need to get along with
people who are not like them" and that the "nation's growing
diversity makes it more important than ever for all of us to
understand people who are different than ourselves;" just one in
five Washingtonians say the nation is doing a good job of
preparing itself to meet the challenges that lie ahead;" by a
margin of more than three to one, respondents say that diversity
education does more to bring society together (65%) than drive
society apart (21%); and 87% agree that "our society is multi-
cultural and the more we know about each other, the better we
will get along."
The survey also found overwhelming agreement on these
issues: diversity has a more positive than negative effect on
the general atmosphere on college campuses (73%); having a
diverse student body has a more positive than negative effect on
the education of students (77%) and courses and campus activities
emphasizing diversity have more of a positive than negative
effect on the education of college students (72%).
"I'm pleased to learn that almost three-quarters of
Washingtonians agree that diversity has a positive impact on
campus atmosphere," said Seattle Central Community College
President Charles Mitchell. "At Seattle Central we take great
pride in our diverse student body. And to capitalize on that
strength and help our students understand and appreciate
diversity, we have developed an innovative approach to team
classroom teaching, called Learning Communities. In these
courses, cultural pluralism is integrated into a wide variety of
disciplines. Students are encouraged to talk and share their
ideas, thoughts and feelings about the subject matter. This kind
of teaching helps prepare students for today, and for tomorrow's
workforce."
The survey is the third and final phase of the research
conducted by the Ford Foundation Campus Diversity Initiative.
Seattle is one of two pilot cities "in which the Ford Foundation
is working with a group of colleges and universities to explore
the impact of and attitudes toward diversity," writes the
survey's introduction.

===== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE =====

*5 HIGH COURT DOESN'T PLAY BALL: LETS STAND TITLE IX CASE
U.S. Supreme Court justices let stand a "closely watched"
lower court ruling that found Brown U discriminated against women
in varsity sport offerings (Mauro, USA TODAY, 4/22). "This is a
significant moment in the history of Title IX," declared NCAA
official Janet Justus. "With this decision, I think way more
schools are going to come in compliance."
USA TODAY research discovered that only 28 of 303 NCAA
Division I schools were in compliance with numerical parity
between men and women in their sports programs, writes the paper.
Some university officials counter that lower participation rates
by female students is a matter of choice. They express concern
that compliance will signal the end of some men's programs,
reports the paper. "More and more men's programs are being hurt
by this," said Bruce Baumgartner, Edinboro U coach and four-time
Olympic wrestling medalist.
According to the paper, an appeals court concluded that
Brown violated the federal Title IX law, "which bars gender bias
in any public or private educational institution that receives
federal funds." The court's ruling affects Brown and schools in
the following states: Maine, Mass., R.I., N.H. and Puerto Rico.
Maureen Mahoney, a lawyer for Brown U, explained that the
Supreme Court could decide to hear the issue in another case.
"This is not the end of the line," she said.
USA TODAY is online at http:\\www.usatoday.com.

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John Kurilecjmk@ofcn.org