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--- Friday --- May 16, 1997 --- Vol. 7 --- No. 42 ---
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THE UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
__________ __________
CHOICE AND RACE | SPOTLIGHT |
Boston school and political | |
figures want to avoid | KINGPIN |
reenactment of the school | |
busing wars of the 1970s. For | Darryl Kilbert is the new |
this reason, Mayor Thomas | "kingpin" in New Orlean's |
Menino and two City Council | Alice Fortier High School. |
members have urged school | Kilbert doesn't sell drugs |
superintendent Thomas Payzant | or belong to a gang. He is |
to form a commission to examine | the school principal, who |
ways to bring more choice to | has drawn the line on |
the schools. Their goal: To | discipline. |
render unnecessary Councilor- | |
at-Large Peggy Davis-Mullen's | His strategy: Get rid of |
proposal to put a nonbinding | students who are severely |
referendum on the November | disruptive by directing |
ballot asking voters if they | them to other programs, |
want to scrap the current | including vocational and |
assignment plan (Anand, BOSTON | adult ed. "If I hadn't cut |
GLOBE, 5/9). While Davis- | them loose, a handful would |
Mullen praises the idea of a | turn into a crateful and |
commission, she warns that the | eventually a truckload and |
commission should not be | a warehouse full." (#1) |
comprised solely of the mayor's | |
allies. Davis-Mullen also | But Kilbert and other |
chastises her colleagues for | educators still do not rule |
not wanting to have an open | the turf when it comes to |
discussion about how students | expelling disabled |
get assigned to certain public | students. Although a |
schools in the city. "It | rewrite of IDEA has given |
perpetuates the idea that | teachers and administrators |
Boston is a racist city when | more options, some educa- |
the leadership is too fearful | tors claim the law does not |
to have an open discussion," | go far enough. (#5) |
she said. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"If the mayor ends up running the school district, our first
priority will be getting a new mayor."
Richard DeColibus, president of the Cleveland Teachers Union.
(#4)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 202/632-0952 |
| The DRC hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
GOAL SEVEN: SAFE SCHOOLS
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT: Weeding out bad seeds. (#1)
STANDARD BEARERS
THE GOIN' AIN'T EASY: Texas' curriculum rewrite. (#2)
TESTS AND TESTING
TWEAKING THE TEST: Mich. proficiency test under fire. (#3)
TAKING OVER
ONE STEP CLOSER: Mayor likely to take over schools.(#4)
INCLUSION
A NEW IDEA: Legislation goes to President. (#5)
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===== GOAL SEVEN: SAFE SCHOOLS =====
*1 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT: WEEDING OUT BAD SEEDS
New Orleans principal Darryl Kilbert is the new "kingpin" on
his high school campus. His magic ingredient for turning around
a school lost to gangs and violence: weed out the disruptive
students and send them off to other programs (Nabonne, New
Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 5/6). Kilbert: "I'm not going to let
bad apples destroy what the rest of us are attempting to do to
get the school moving in the right direction. If I hadn't cut
them loose, a handful would turn into a crateful and eventually a
truckload and a warehouse full."
Less than a year after becoming principal, Kilbert sent 130
disruptive, low-achieving students packing. Last June, Kilbert
sent 300 students letters of warning: If their behavior and
school performance did not improve, they would be asked to leave,
writes the paper. Kilbert targeted students 17 and older "with
poor behavior and those who didn't have nearly enough credits to
graduate," reports the paper.
Faculty conferences were held at the beginning of the school
year to determine who on the list may be willing to shape up.
According to the paper, about 70 students "did not make the cut
and were directed to alternate routes, such as adult education."
The remaining students were placed on probation and required to
sign a contract stating their intention to obey the rules for
attendance, performance and behavior.
The TIME-PICAYUNE reports progress at Alice Fortier High
School since Kilbert took the reigns. Average daily attendance
is 84%, up from last year's 74.2%; suspensions are down from 257
last year to about 150; on average, students are earning a 1.8
grade-point average, slightly better than last year; and
expulsions have dropped slightly from 28 last year. "It's
getting better all the time," commented Ronald Mike, one of five
Fortier security guards.
Kilbert also is trying new techniques to help students
improve their academic record. For example, he experimented with
giving struggling students more instructional time; a concept he
will extend to the entire school next year.
Al Alcazar, director of Loyola U's Community Action Program,
praises Kilbert's get-tough tactics. "He has had to make this
tough decision to really turn the school around." Alcazar also
represents Loyola in the Jeremiah Group, a congregation-based
network that focuses on sundry community issues, including
education, writes the paper. According to the paper, the group
has formed a partnership with Fortier, "meeting with teachers and
parents to discuss ways to help Kilbert reach his goals."
==== STANDARD BEARERS ====
*2 THE GOIN' AIN'T EASY: TEXAS' CURRICULUM REWRITE
A divided Texas State Board of Education gave preliminary
approval to a core subjects plan last week (Sanchez, Fort WOrth
STAR-TELEGRAM, 5/9). "This has proven to be a very challenging
process," said Education Commissioner Mike Moses. "I regret
those who feel this has not been an honorable process."
Board members are in the midst of revising the state's
public school curriculum, a proces begun two years ago.
According to the paper, Texas is in the national spotlight
because of the huge quantity of school books purchased by the
state: Any change in the Texas curriculum will have an impact on
the way textbooks are written.
In this latest vote, the board approved English, science,
social students and math, all required courses, writes the paper.
Curricula for economics, health, physical education, Spanish and
English as a second language also were approved by board members.
These are optional courses.
After a final vote, the board will give state officials 60
days to make final revisions to the curriculum rewrite. The
board is scheduled to take two final votes on the matter in July.
Advocates of the English curriculum said it provides a
"necessary framework for educators," while critics complained
that it does not "specifically set out what students are expected
to learn in each grade and doesn't make recommendations for
literature texts," writes the paper. For example, the STAR-
TElEGRAM notes that under the rewrite, "Charlotte's Web" could be
taught three years in a row.
Six of the board's 15 members expressed concern that the
board is "falling victim to a federal conspiracy to give
Washington control of local schools," according to the paper.
The six voted against rewrites for math, science, social studies,
English and health.
If it wins final approval, the curriculum rewrite will be
put in place beginning in the 1998-1999 school year.
==== TESTS AND TESTING ====
*3 TWEAKING THE TEST: CHANGES NEEDED IN MICH. PROFICIENCY TEST
The categories used to define student achievement on Mich.'s
High School Proficiency Test do not adequately describe student
ability and are demeaning, according to some educators (Van
Moorlehem, Detroit FREE PRESS, 5/10). Testimony from testing
"experts" was given before the state House Education Committee,
writes the paper.
Students taking the statewide exam are given one of three
designations: proficient, novice and not yet novice. Joanne
Jacobson, assistant superintendent of Fraser Public Schools and
president of the Macomb Association of Curriculum Administrators,
said the word "novice" is not fair, given the test's difficulty.
Ernie Bauer, a testing official with the Oakland Schools,
added that the 44% of students who were deemed novice showed a
wide range of achievement. "What we have is an A, C and D, but
nothing for the Bs." His suggestion: Add a fourth category,
"competent."
According to the paper, the 11-hour exam made its debut in
1996 and tests high school juniors in reading, writing, math and
science. The test became controversial this year when schools
released the first set of scores and conducted the second round
of testing. From the paper: "Barely one-third of students
statewide passed the science and writing tests, and fewer than
half passed in math and reading."
==== TAKING OVER ====
*4 ONE STEP CLOSER: CLEVELAND MAYOR LIKELY TO TAKEOVER SCHOOLS
The Ohio House last week made it more likely that Cleveland
Mayor Michael White would soon take control of his city's public
schools. In a 56-37 vote, House members passed a bill allowing
for a mayoral takeover (Suddes, Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 5/9).
Lawmakers predict it also will win Senate approval.
Under the House bill, Cleveland schools would be run by a
nine-member board and chief executive officer appointed by White.
After four years of a White-controlled school system, voters in
the Cleveland school district would determine whether to keep the
schools under mayoral control, reports the paper.
Democrats challenged the bill, sponsored by Reps. William
Batchelder (R) and Mike Wise (R), claiming that it deprives
Cleveland school district residents of their right to elect a
school board. Republicans countered that the current board is
rendered powerless since the school system is under state
control.
Several Democratic lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to pass
amendments that would have called for an earlier districtwide
vote on the takeover. All measures failed, writes the paper.
Richard DeColibus, president of the Cleveland Teachers
Union, and a foe of Mayor White, said the union would continue to
battle against a mayoral takeover bill in the Senate. "If the
mayor ends up running the school district, our first priority
will be getting a new mayor," he said.
Ohio Gov. George Voinovich (R) is expected to sign the bill.
==== INCLUSION ====
*5 A NEW IDEA: LEGISLATION GOES TO PRESIDENT
Congress this week passed legislation that overhauls the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, guaranteeing more
money and flexibility to educate disabled children. However,
sections on disciplining disruptive and violent students
diagnosed with disabilities remains controversial, with teachers
and administrators complaining that the bill does not go far
enough.
While the bill does not seek additional federal funding, it
changes the funding formula to ensure that the $3.8B appropriated
for IDEA is targeted to the classroom, rather than administrative
overhead. "It moves the funding formula from one that is based
on the number of disabled children, which encourages
identification of disabled students, to one using objective
population and poverty data," explains a U.S. House of
Representatives committee on education and the workforce press
release (5/13).
The WASH POST reports that a primary reason for the funding-
formula change is to try to "diminish the incentive that schools
now have to classify students as disabled." (Sanchez, 5/15). The
issue has become critical in recent years since the number of
students classified disabled has jumped to 10% of the school-age
population, primarily due to a broadening of the definition of
disabled to include areas such as hyperactivity.
The legislation also "streamlines and consolidates paperwork
and procedural requirements, creating real dollar savings for
schools and time savings for teachers," writes the release.
Diane Shust, a lobbyist for the National Education
Association, points to a "small but so critical" provision that
requires regular classroom teachers to be involved in developing
educational plans for disabled children (Clymer, N.Y. TIMES,
5/14). Shust hails the provision because teachers, who spend the
most time with the student, often are "frozen out of the planning
process," reports the paper.
The new IDEA puts more teeth into discipline procedures for
disabled students; but some groups maintain the provisions are
not strong enough. Sandra Feldman, president of the American
Federation of Teachers: "While we're pleased with the many
positive changes made to the law, IDEA doesn't go far enough in
dealing with disruptive behavior. The legislation offers no
language to let schools immediately remove a seriously disruptive
student who is disabled, unlike a situation involving a non-
disabled student. This double standard is unfortunate and in the
past has led to drastic consequences."
The N.Y. TIMES details changes in the provision dealing with
discipline (Applebome, 5/14). In 1975, legislation for the
education of disabled children was first passed with a provision
that stipulated disabled students could not be suspended from
school for misconduct for more than 10 days. An amendment to
that provision allowed disabled students to be suspended for 45
days for gun possession. In order for a student to be expelled
for a longer period, a committee that included the child's
parents must conclude that the misconduct had nothing to do with
the disability, reports the paper.
Under the bill passed this week, "offenses that could bring
a 45-day expulsion were expanded to include not only gun
possession but also bringing drugs or other weapons to school,"
explains the paper. Other changes: administrative procedures
before administrative officers replaced formal court hearings;
and assaults and conduct most likely to cause injury or severe
disruption are included in the new language.
Special-education advocates claim the new law goes too far.
They fear that the law tilts toward expelling students rather
than providing counseling. "The approach is totally wrong," said
Diane Lipton, a lawyer at the Disability Rights Education and
Defense Fund, in Berkeley, Calf. "... the knee-jerk reaction is
to move the kids out, which is only moving a problem someplace
else."
Michael Resnick, executive director of the National School
Board Association, was pleased with most provisions of the new
law. "This legislation will substantially improve services to
children with disability," he said. "But in some areas, like
discipline, it falls short of what we wanted."
The full text of the IDEA legislation is posted at:
www.house.gov
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