October 21, 1987

Education Week, Vol. 07, Issue 07
Education New Asbestos Regulations Seen Swamping District Officials' Time, Money, Efforts
To oversee their compliance with the asbestos-control law passed by the Congress last fall, school officials in Rutherford, N.J., gave Patrick Fletcher a new responsibility. The elementary-school curriculum specialist became an asbestos expert.
Ellen Flax, October 21, 1987
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9 min read
Education Members of the National Board
Members of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards include:

Mary-Dean Barringer, Chapter 1 resource/demonstration teacher, Wayne County Intermediate School District, Mich.; Lewis M. Branscomb, professor of public service and director of the science, technology, and public-policy program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Alan K. Campbell, executive vice president and vice chairman of ara Services Inc. in Philadelphia; Iris Carl, elementary mathematics teacher, Houston (Tex.) Independent School District; Ivy H. Chan, special-education teacher, Garfield Elementary School, Olympia, Wash.; James P. Comer, Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry, Yale University; Ernesto J. Cortes, Jr., member of the national staff of the Industrial Areas Foundation, Austin, Tex., office; Joseph D. Delaney, principal, Spartanburg High School, S. C.

October 21, 1987
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4 min read
Education Chicago Teen Shot in School
A 15-year-old student at DuSable High School in Chicago's South Side, was fatally shot last week in school in what was described as a "street gang" type of conflict.

The student, Dartagnan Young, who was shot in the chest in a hallway as he walked between morning classes, died soon after being taken to the hospital.

October 21, 1987
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1 min read
Education Study Faults 'Bland' Prose in History Texts
The recently documented lack of student enthusiasm for American history may be largely the product of bland, fact-filled textbooks that pay scant attention to great events and heroic individuals, according to a new report.
Robert Rothman, October 21, 1987
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4 min read
Education Question & Answer: 'A Chance To Make a Difference'
James A. Kelly, the new president of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, began his education career as a high-school history teacher in suburban St. Louis in 1956.

Mr. Kelly earned a master's degree in education from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.

October 21, 1987
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9 min read
Education Idaho Board's Policy Will'Result in a Brag Sheet'
The question of who controls the content of student newspapers can be a thorny one for even the smallest school districts.

In the small community of Lapwai near Lewiston, Idaho, the school board's decision last spring to approve a policy limiting students' freedom to publish stories on "nonschool topics" has prompted a sharp editorial attack in the Lewiston Tribune.

October 21, 1987
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2 min read
Education Pregnancy-Prevention Ads Are Directed at Teen-Age Boys
Teen-age boys are the focus of the latest series of posters and advertisements produced by the Children's Defense Fund in a multi-media campaign designed to help curb the teen pregnancy rate.

The public-service ads, which follow an earlier series targeted at girls, highlight unwelcome consequences of adolescent fatherhood. One ad, depicting a young man holding a baby, carries the headline "An extra seven pounds can keep you off the football team"; another shows a youthful couple with an infant, under the message "Don't let a hot date turn into a due date."

October 21, 1987
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1 min read
Education Nebraska Tax Revolt Targets School Boards
Taxpayer groups in three Nebraska communities have moved to oust their local school boards to protest property-tax hikes that the boards claim were forced in part by reductions in state education aid.
Kirsten Goldberg, October 21, 1987
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5 min read
Education People News
The current student-to-counselor ratio of at least 300 to 1 in many urban districts is a "national disgrace," Ernest L. Boyer, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, has told a group of college admissions counselors.

Mr. Boyer, whose 1986 study, College: The Undergraduate Experience in America, found that "the path from school to college is poorly marked," recommended that the ratio be cut in half and that counselors be given greater recognition and status within schools.

October 21, 1987
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1 min read
Education Budget Woes Threaten New Showcase School
The students who will travel from their dormitories at the state-sponsored public residential high school here to the Capitol in Springfield this week have a personal stake in their on-site observation of how the government works.
William Snider, October 21, 1987
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6 min read
Education Research And Reports
Sharp increases in the amounts paid out in liability-insurance claims are responsible for the huge rise over the past two years in insurance premiums paid by municipal governments, day-care centers, and various industries, a new analysis has concluded.

"Rapid increases in rates derive largely from the most obvious source--unexpected increases in payouts, amplified by the large reserves that must be carried by [some] lines," Peter Huber writes in the Oct. 2 issue of Science.

October 21, 1987
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2 min read
Education News Updates
A plan recommended by a Massachusetts task force on teacher training would require that prospective teachers pursue a liberal-arts major in undergraduate school, receive clinical training with practicing teachers, and earn a master's degree within five years of starting their careers.

In its final report, issued this month, the 35-member panel created by the Massachusetts Board of Regents of Higher Education and Department of Education modified6an earlier draft's stipulations concerning the liberal-arts or sciences undergraduate major. The new version would allow some colleges, such as Wheelock College and Lesley College, which have strong undergraduate education programs, to create programs that integrate liberal-arts subjects with professional studies. (See Education Week, Sept. 9, 1987.)

October 21, 1987
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1 min read
Education Bus Drivers End Strike in Boston
School buses in Boston were rolling last week after bus drivers agreed to end their 31-day strike and restore transportation for the district's 27,000 students.

The drivers agreed to enter binding arbitration with the bus companies that hold the city's student-transportation contracts, but the arbitration is limited to economic issues.

October 21, 1987
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1 min read
Education Grants for Curriculum Centers Set
Federal officials have announced the award of $6.9-million in grants for the establishment of four new research centers focusing on instruction in specific academic subjects.
Deborah L. Gold, October 21, 1987
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2 min read
Education News In Brief
A task force appointed by Vermont's governor has called for consolidating the state's 323 school districts into 65 regional units, but observers say the plan faces an uphill battle.

Noting that the current system of overlapping districts "foster[s] confusion and competition in governance," the 11-member panel, which submitted its report to Gov. Madeleine M. Kunin this month, urged the creation of district boards to oversee all elementary and secondary schools in their regions.

October 21, 1987
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2 min read
Education New Publications Examine Education Law, Literacy
Education and Law

The Courts and American Education Law, by Tyll van Geel (Prometheus Books, 700 East Amherst St., Buffalo, N.Y. 14215; 502 pp., $29.95 cloth). This review of state and federal statutes and judicial opinions highlights trends in education law.

October 21, 1987
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4 min read
Education Surprise: Freshman Enrollment Is Surging
This fall's unexpected jump in freshman enrollments at many colleges, coming at a time when the college-age population is decreasing, suggests that a growing proportion of high-school graduates is pursuing higher education, admissions officers say.
Robert Rothman, October 21, 1987
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8 min read
Education Certification-Panel Head Selected
James A. Kelly--a former teacher, foundation executive, and school-finance expert--last week was named president of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Lynn Olson, October 21, 1987
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6 min read
School & District Management Contractors See Lucrative Market for School Services
Spurred by rising costs and aggressive corporate sales efforts, a growing number of school districts are hiring private contractors.
William Montague, October 21, 1987
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7 min read
Education Judge Reduces Control Over Denver's Schools
A 28-year school-desegregation suit in Denver--which yielded a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1973--drew a step closer to resolution this month when a federal district judge issued an interim decree reducing his control over the district's student-assignment process.
Tom Mirga, October 21, 1987
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4 min read
Education 'English-Only' Push Opposed in Ariz.
A coalition of educators, politicians, and community activists has announced plans to combat a proposed "English only" amendment to Arizona's constitution by promoting an alternative "common language" amendment.
Susan M. Knight, October 21, 1987
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1 min read
Education District News Roundup
District of Columbia school officials are predicting that as many as 250,000 people will join hands on Nov. 18 as part of an elaborate, citywide ceremony marking American Education Week.

Almost 35 miles of streets throughout Washington will be closed for at least five minutes for the event, which organizers are calling Hands Across the City.

October 21, 1987
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2 min read
Education Capital Digest
The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee last week approved a bill to reauthorize programs aimed at preventing child abuse and promoting adoptions.

The bill, S 1663, would authorize $48 million in fiscal 1988 for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, which provides grants to states for social-service programs and research.

October 21, 1987
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2 min read
Education Los Angeles Board Votes To Place District on Year-Round Schedule
After years of debate and public resistance, officials of the Los Angeles Unified School District have voted to put nearly all of the district's schools on a single year-round calender.

By a 4-to-3 vote, the Los Angeles school board approved last week a plan that will also greatly increase the number of schools operating under multiple-track attendance schedules, in which students take their vacations at differing times during the year.

October 21, 1987
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2 min read
Education Contract for Assessment Again Awarded to E.T.S.
The Education Department has renewed its contract with the Educational Testing Service to run the National Assessment of Educational Progress for the next 30 months, department officials said last week.
Robert Rothman, October 21, 1987
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1 min read
Education Debate Grows on Classroom's 'Magic Pill'
Adelia Lorenzo considered her 7-year-old son, Michael, to be a "normal, healthy boy." She thought nothing of his racing his bicycle up and down the street or banging in and out of the screen door on their ground-floor apartment in this suburban Los Angeles community. Nor was she overly concerned about his occasional playground fistfights.
Debra Viadero, October 21, 1987
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9 min read
Education State News Roundup
A Colorado state court has opened the door for the second major challenge to the state's school-finance system in less than a decade.

District Judge Jeff Bayless ruled on Oct. 2 that a group of 17 parents and eight other taxpayers may proceed with a suit seeking major reforms to equalize spending among the state's 176 school districts.

October 21, 1987
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2 min read
Education Suit Seeks To Void Va. Law Barring Elected Boards
A long-standing Virginia law prohibiting elected school boards is under attack from the American Civil Liberties Union, which charges that it tends to discriminate against blacks and other minorities.
William Montague, October 21, 1987
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3 min read
Education Vocational Education Column
An amendment to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act that would provide services to single pregnant women has been added to the Senate's omnibus reauthorization bill, which was approved by the full Labor and Human Resources Committee last week.
Reagan Walker, October 21, 1987
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2 min read
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