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--- Monday --- September 15, 1997 --- Vol. 7 --- No. 55 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
__________ __________
A SUBSTITUTE UNION | SPOTLIGHT |
Leaders of Boston's | |
substitute teachers have met | LEARNING + TEACHING |
with the state's Labor | |
Relations Commission to discuss | Home-schoolers, while a |
plans to cede from the Boston | tiny percentage of the |
Teachers Union and create their | school-age population, are |
own union (Hart, BOSTON GLOBE, | receiving a mighty amount |
9/10). They are demanding | of press attention. |
higher pay, health benefits, | |
stronger grievance procedures | At a meeting late last |
and access to professional | month, the Georgia Board of |
development workshops. | Education agreed that they |
BTU President Edward Doherty | couldn't agree on whether |
argues that the Boston | home-schoolers should be |
substitutes are among the | able to participate in the |
highest paid in the state. He | Governor's Honor Program or |
said the union will try to keep | the HOPE Scholarship pro- |
the substitutes on board. | gram. However, the Board |
A hearing before the commis- | of Regents was clear that |
sion is scheduled for 9/18. | home-schoolers, unlike |
| students from accredited |
AFTER SCHOOL CRIME | schools, must take the SAT |
Juvenile crime triples from 3 | II subject tests to be |
to 4 p.m., the hours | admitted to any of Ga.'s |
immediately after school, | state colleges. |
according to a report by Fight | |
Crime: Invest in Kids, a | At a Mass. home-school |
coalition of police chiefs, | conference, one speaker |
prosecutors and crime | lauded the home learning |
survivors. The group complains | environment. "Learning is |
of a "disinvestment" in | the important part of the |
childhood and recommends more | equation, not teaching," he |
funds for after-school | said. (#4) |
programs. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"Getting kids involved is great. It also helps the community
become more comfortable with the school."
Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas,
on the system's new community service requirement. (#3)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20010; 202/724-0124 |
| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
CHARTING A NEW COURSE
EAST TEXAS CHARTER SCHOOL: Debut delayed despite funds. (#1)
FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
RELIGION AND THE COURTS: Rosary beads to anti-semitism. (#2)
SERVING THE COMMUNITY
SERVING CHICAGO: New high school requirement. (#3)
HOME SWEET HOME
SPOTLIGHT ON HOME SCHOOLING: Struggles and triumphs. (#4)
A WORLD VIEW
"FULBRIGHT AT FIFTY:" Assessing the ed-exchange program. (#5)
===== CHARTING A NEW COURSE =====
*1 EAST TEXAS CHARTER SCHOOL: DEBUT DELAYED DESPITE FUNDS
The Cypress Youth Lodge Charter in East Texas is not ready
to open its doors, despite and advance of $240,519 from the state
(Fikac, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/11). "In hindsight, we
obviously should have stopped this funding earlier, but we were
repeatedly led to believe it was going to open," explained Debbie
Graves Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency.
According to the paper, the Cypress Youth Foundation of
Dallas received about $21,000 monthly from the state from
September 1996 through June. The state then suspended payments,
writes the paper.
Ed Palmer, chief operating officer for the foundation for
the past five months, concedes that the group has experienced
unexpected delays. They were not able to raise enough money for
its site and facilities. Palmer said the school is expected to
open by the end of the year. Palmer: "This is money they [state
officials] have put out in good faith and we are utilizing in
good faith to open this school so we can repay it." The school
plans to take in less money from the state once the school is
open in order to repay what it owes.
Senate Education Committee chairman Teel Bivins said it is
unclear whether an advancement of funds to a charter school based
on enrollment that is nonexistent is a violation of the law. But
it "clearly ... is an administrative mess-up," he added. Bivins
strongly recommended that the TEA, the state board and possibly
the Legislature look into the matter of distributing funds before
enrollment is certified.
Ratcliffe offered that in order not to allow this to happen
again the TEA will "visit every charter school at the beginning
of each school year and additionally as necessary to confirm
enrollment."
The Cypress Youth Lodge is planned as a residential facility
for troubled youth and students at-risk of dropping out of
school, reports the paper.
===== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE =====
*2 RELIGION AND THE COURTS: FROM ROSARY BEADS TO ANTI-SEMITISM
TEXAS: U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled that the New
Caney school district may not prohibit students from wearing
rosary beads to class (Tedford, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/4). The
district forbade two boys from wearing rosary beads around their
neck, outside their shirts, because a Houston-area gang uses
rosary beads as a symbol.
"In Houston we have had gang members use religious symbols
for their purposes," explained Kim Ogg, director of the city of
Houston's anti-gang task force. "The school districts have a
responsibility to make campuses safe."
David Chalifoux began wearing rosary beads around his neck
in January. The paper reports that no complaints were made about
the rosary beads until a school police officer stopped the boy in
March and told him to put the beads where they would not be
visible. Chalifoux refused. School officials then said he and
another boy wearing rosary beads could not attend class until the
beads were concealed. The boys were told that the rosary beads
were a gang symbol and that school officials feared trouble on
campus.
However, Judge Hittner noted that there was "insufficient
evidence of actual disruption at New Caney High School to justify
the infringement on plaintiffs' religiously motivated speech."
Chalifoux, after hearing the decision: "I'm very excited. I
love it [the decision]. I can express my faith."
ALABAMA: A Jewish family in Pike County, Ala., has filed a
federal lawsuit alleging that their children have "endured a
five-year campaign of anti-Semitism," writes the Philadelphia
INQUIRER (Copeland, 9/4). Wayne and Sue Willis and their four
children are the only Jewish family ever to attend local schools
in Pike County, notes the paper.
The paper observes that the suit, taken up by the Ala.
chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, has taken place
concurrently with Gov Fob James Jr.'s (R) quest to put school
prayer back in the schools. In July, James stated that the Bill
of Rights does not apply to states in issues of establishing a
sanctioned religion. Meanwhile, ACLU lawyers have been working
to strike down a 1993 law that allows student-led prayers in
classrooms. Although U.S. District Judge Ira DeMent struck down
the law, the DeKalb County school system refuses to comply.
On 4 August, ACLU lawyers filed suit on behalf of the
Wilises', requesting that Pike County schools be enjoined from
creating an established religion. The suit also demands that the
Willises' children be "protected from religious harassment, and
that they be allowed to exercise their religion and display its
symbols," writes the paper.
Joel Sogol, chairman of the Alabama ACLU's litigation
committee: "It's my sense that part of what's happening is our
elected officials have taken the position that you can inject
religion in our public lives and you can inject it into our
schools,too. I don't think it's particularly unique to Alabama.
But here you've got this tacit consent from the governor, and
that's made it worse."
Pike County School Superintendent John Key voices a
different perspective on the matter. "This is just the ACLU's
method to fight Fob James and his quest to get prayer back in the
classroom," he said. "I'm convinced they saw this as an
opportunity on their part to further their cause."
==== SERVING THE COMMUNITY ====
*3 SERVING CHICAGO: NEW HIGH SCHOOL REQUIREMENT
Beginning next year, Chicago high school students will be
required to participate in 60-hours of community service as a
prerequisite for graduation. "There is no better way to reach
and reinforce honesty, respect, tolerance, work ethic,
discipline, self-respect and respect for others," said Paul
Vallas, chief executive officer of the public schools.
Chicago students already must meet "toughened back-to-basics
graduation requirements that include passing mastery exams at the
end of their sophomore and senior years," writes the Chicago
TRIBUNE (Washburn and Martinez, 9/4). The 60-hour community
service requirement will be spread over their four years in high
school and could include tutoring underclassmen, volunteering in
schools, local churches, nursing homes, or other institutions.
The Cleveland PLAIN DEALER reports that federal courts have
upheld community service requirements in Pa. and N.Y. (Driscoll,
AP, 9/5). Md. also has a statewide policy that requires students
to complete 75 hours of community service to graduate.
Critics complain that mandatory service is an oxymoron -- it
creates "antipathy when volunteer assignments are forced upon
teenagers," reports the TRIBUNE. Others caution that service in
inner-city school systems "carries a negative connotation" and is
more likely to be seen as a punishment rather than a service.
Don Ernst, director of government relations for the
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: "It's
almost like an oxymoron to me: Mandating service. To me, the
ethos should be is that it comes from the heart. I would like to
think that schools could create a culture where it would be
expected."
Vallas disagrees: "We are focusing on academics, but it is
important children learn ethics and develop a sense of community.
Getting kids involved is great. It also helps the community
become more comfortable with the school."
==== HOME SWEET HOME ====
*4 SPOTLIGHT ON HOME SCHOOLING: STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS
GEORGIA: The Georgia Board of Education last month tabled
two resolutions that dealt with home-schooled students (Loupe,
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 8/15). A state rule revision
would have made home-schooled students eligible for the
Governor's Honors Program, a six-week summer program for gifted
high school students.
Larry Atwell, Georgia School Superintendents Association
president, argued against the rule change, pointing out that a
mother or father would be the ones to nominate their own children
for the program.
State School Board Chairman Johnny Isakson countered that
home-schooling parents pay "sales tax, property tax and income
tax." Isakson: "... I'm reluctant to appear to remove a
competitor from competition, especially if that person pays the
same taxes as everybody else to fund public education. In public
education, we've got to ensure that our product is the best
choice and not be afraid of any competitor."
The paper notes that the competition is open to both public
and private school students. State Superintendent Linda Schrenko
said her agency has "defined a home school as a private school."
Access by home-schoolers to the HOPE scholarship program was
the other measure tabled by the state board of education.
An ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION editorial questions the
soundness of the "afraid-of-competition" argument. From the
paper: "Supporters of home schooling say the education
establishment is afraid of the competition [home schooling]
provides, but that is unlikely. Even with its rapid growth in
recent years, home schooling still accounts for just a shade over
1 percent of Georgia's total enrollment."
The paper argues: "Educators have reasonable concerns about
bending the rules for home-schooled students. State education
officials are right to insist that home-schooled students do well
on standardized tests in order to be eligible for HOPE
scholarships. And as for academic plums such as nomination to
the Governor's Honors Programs, an objective panel should take
applications from home-schoolers and nominate the top 1% for the
final selection."
The paper cautions, however, that the state should not put
up "unnecessary barriers to home schooling."
In another matter, the Board of Regents have ruled that the
state's home-schooled students must take the SAT II subject tests
for admission to Ga.'s public colleges and universities. The
tests are not required for graduates of accredited high schools
(Cheakalos, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 9/10).
BOSTON: A home-schooling conference was held last month in
Waltham, Mass., sponsored by the Cambridge-based Holt Associates
(DiDomizio, BOSTON GLOBE, 8/3). Holt Associates publishes
"Growing Without Schooling," the nation's oldest home-schooling
magazine.
John Taylor Gatto, an award-winning New York City public
school teacher, was the keynote speaker. Among Gatto's many
honors are: three-time winner of New York City's Teacher of the
Year award, and two-time winner of the New York State Teacher of
the Year. "The reason I won these things was that everyone
assumed I was getting great results by following school
procedures," said Gatto. "In fact, I got the awards by teaching
the way children learn, the way many home-schoolers do, and the
kids would produce way beyond expectations in every area,
including standardized testing."
Individualizing student learning is the key, according to
Gatto, who added that individualization is the crux of home-
schooling. "The very first minute I would face my class in the
fall, I would pass out big file cards and say 'I want you to
write three things down that you want to learn. Forget school,
forget I'm an English teacher. Whatever it is you want to learn,
I'll guarantee you by the end of the year that at least one of
those things you'll be well on your way to learning."
The GLOBE reports that the individualized approach to
learning is advocated by Holt and advanced in most home schools.
"Home schoolers are embedded in an environment where most other
people don't do it that way," said Gatto. "So no matter how
strongly they feel they're doing it right, there's this haunting
worry that somehow or other maybe they're cutting their kids out
of the loop. So I'm coming out of the loop with a bunch of
school honors to tell them 'You're doing it right.' To the
extent that I was doing it right and I got these awards, I was
doing what you're doing."
Gatto also holds that home-schoolers are in a better
position given the large class size of most schools.
"Structurally, home-schoolers are in a more sensible environment
to encourage learning," he said. "Learning is the important part
of the equation, not teaching. This is what home-schoolers have
been for the last 20 years re-discovering: That kids are
learning machines, that they have an infinite capacity to learn
what you and I would consider advanced things. What they don't
have an infinite capacity for is to be taught. The ratio between
teaching and learning in a school probably works best when it's
10% teaching and 90% learning."
Other conference workshops included: "Creative Ways to
Learn History and Social Studies," "Homeschooling for
Excellence," by authors David and Micki Colfax, who sent three
home-schooled children to Harvard, and a workshop by Donna
Nichols-White, editor of "The Drinking Gourd," a magazine for
African-American home-schoolers.
For more information, contact Holt Associates; 2269
Massachusetts Avenue; Cambridge, Mass. 02140; 617/864-3100.
==== A WORLD VIEW ====
*5 "FULBRIGHT AT FIFTY:" ASSESSING THE ED-EXCHANGE PROGRAM
The nation's premier education-exchange program, the
Fulbright Exchange Program, needs an infusion of funds and other
steps to ensure its future success, according to a new study
released by the National Humanities Center. Begun after World
War II by Senator William Fulbright, the program is praised in
the report as an "educational exchange success story, one richly
deserving the superlatives regularly showered on it."
However, the report observes that today's world is vastly
different from the one in which the Fulbright was conceived.
>From the report: "The international geo-political situation has
become much more complex. The international economy is more
interdependent and competitive." Higher education and American
society also has changed since the 1940s, notes the report.
These externalities offer "challenges and opportunities" for
the program. For example, the program, according to the report,
has suffered from severe underfunding. The program also faces a
conundrum: While experts appreciate the complexity of the
program, they also agree that it needs to be streamlined.
Finally, the recent announcement of the merger of the United
States Information Agency, where Fulbright is housed, with the
Department of State "offers an important opportunity to
strengthen the Fulbright program, but many questions remain to be
resolved."
The report offers eight recommendations:
1. restore federal funding, reduced in recent years, to
$125M and restore funding for "Fulbright-Hays" activities that
support the development of experts in modern language and area
studies to $5.9M; 2. assure a larger number of students grants in
the current mix and make scholar grants more flexible; 3. direct
any new funding or savings from streamlining to developing
nations and maintain mature programs with traditional partners;
4. press for greater financial reciprocity from other
governments; 5. seek new partnerships with U.S. foundations,
business, cities and states; 6. streamline program management;
7.strengthen the role of the Fulbright Scholarship Board to build
links between the policy community, educational institutions and
the public; and 8. guarantee the program's independence and
flexibility as it returns to the State Department with the merger
of USIA.
Nineteen members of a steering committee oversaw the year-
long study. They include American and international leaders from
the fields of eduction, international affairs, business,
philanthropy and politics. Symposia, held in eight cities
throughout the U.S., and extensive consultations here and abroad
gave focus to the issues the Fulbright Program faces in a
dramatically changing world.
Funding for the study was provided by the Ford Foundation,
the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation.
For more information contact the National Humanities Center;
7 Alexander Drive; P.O. Box 12256; Research Triangle Park, N.C.
27709-2256; 919/549-0661.
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