September 15, 1993
Education Week, Vol. 13, Issue 02
Education
Column One: Curriculum
The practical aspects of becoming a citizen are the subject of a guide released by the National Council for the Social Studies and the Educational Extension System. The 92-page "Citizen Handbook'' contains information on everything from how to get a marriage license to how to file tax returns.
Education
4 States Have School-to-Work Laws Like Clinton Proposal
WASHINGTON--Only four states have already passed laws requiring the kind of comprehensive school-to-work system proposed by President Clinton, according to a report by the General Accounting Office.
Education
Parents, Officials Scramble When School Doors Stay Closed
In Chicago and New York City last week, operators standing by at telephone hot lines logged thousands of calls from parents scrambling to find spaces and places for children whose summer vacations were technically over, but who had nowhere to go.
Education
Consulting Firm Among Finalists For Minneapolis Superintendent
A private, for-profit consulting firm is among the five finalists being considered by the Minneapolis school board to assume the duties of superintendent of the 41,000-student district.
Education
Half of Adults Lack Skills, Literacy Study Finds
Nearly half of all adult Americans cannot read, write, and calculate well enough to function fully in today's society, and people in their early 20's have poorer literacy skills than did those in a 1985 survey, according to a federal study.
Education
Administration Backs Disabled Girl in 'Inclusion' Case
The Clinton Administration, signaling it will take a strong stand in controversies involving disabled students' desires to be educated with other children, has joined in a California lawsuit involving a mentally retarded girl who wants to attend her neighborhood school.
Education
Teacher's Firing Spurs Debate Over Standards, Expectations
As Adele Jones winds up another shift waiting tables at the Lamp Post family restaurant, she pauses for a moment to read some new fan mail. The envelope is marked only with her name and the restaurant's, no address, but by now the Postal Service knows where to find her. Some letters just say "Adele Jones, Georgetown, Del.''
School Climate & Safety
Romer Calls Special Session To Focus on Youth Violence
Responding to public dismay over a surge of youth-related crime in the state, the Colorado legislature last week convened a special session on the problem of juvenile crime and violence.
Education
People News
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has appointed Valarie Willis French, the former director of curriculum and instructional development at the College Board, to be its vice president for assessment operations.
Education
Gore Panel Urges E.D. To Abolish 41 of Its Programs
The Education Department should eliminate a sixth of all its programs and consolidate more than a dozen others, the "reinventing government'' task force headed by Vice President Gore urged last week.
Education
Stress in Balancing Work and Family Felt at Home, Study Finds
The stress parents feel when they have trouble balancing work and family is more likely to spill over into the home than the workplace, a new study shows.
Education
District News Roundup
The firing of six top administrators has sparked protests by staff members, parents, and students at the private Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pa.
Education
State News Roundup
School officials in Pennsylvania are violating federal law by failing to resolve special-education disputes on time, a group of parents allege in a federal class action filed last month.
Education
Publishing Column
For those tired of history texts written by committee, a former teacher and journalist has created a 10-volume alternative--a narrative history of the United States by one author, working with student editors.
Education
D.C. Opens Afro-Centric School, But Flap Over Content Continues
District of Columbia school officials opened the city's first African-centered school last week amid controversy over the content of the new program and the qualifications of its developer.
Education
Despite Threat of Legal Action, Court Tapes Are Selling Briskly
A new audiotape collection of oral arguments in 23 landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, promoted as a teaching tool for schools, is selling briskly despite the threat of legal action from the Justices.
Education
"From Red Tape to Results'': Selected Highlights
- Reduce the number of Education Department programs from 230 to 189.
Education
Preschool Access Linked To Where a Family Lives
Families' access to preschool programs varies widely depending on the part of the country they live in and the wealth of their community, a new report concludes.
Education
Fewer Teachers' Strikes Are Reported This Year
The 1993-94 school year opened around the country with half the number of teachers' strikes as last year, according to statistics from the National Education Association.
Education
Calif. Governor Vetoes Bill To Redefine Education Roles
Gov. Pete Wilson of California last week vetoed a bill aimed at ending a decades-long power struggle between the state schools chief and board of education.
Education
School Spending, Performance Not Linked, Report Concludes
A state-by-state comparison of student achievement and school-funding levels shows no correlation between spending and performance, a report released by the American Legislative Exchange Council last week contends.
Education
News Updates
A white Louisiana principal accused by some black parents of physically and mentally abusing their children will be transferred.
Education
Groups Fighting Outcomes Plan in Wash. at Odds
Strategic and ideological differences have splintered the network of grassroots groups opposing Washington State's performance-based school reforms.
Education
Students Sexually Harassed By Peers May Collect District Damages
Students may recover money damages from school districts for sexual harassment by other students, but only if they prove that school officials intentionally failed to stop the harassment, a federal judge has ruled.
Education
Job Freeze Cited as Chicago Delays Opening of Schools
The Chicago Board of Education last week postponed the opening of school for the city's 411,000 students until Sept. 14, saying that a new hiring freeze imposed by the state had made it impossible to fill critical vacancies.
Education
National News Roundup
Total spending by all levels of government on education will hit a record $493.3 billion this school year, a 50 percent increase over the past decade after adjustment for inflation, according to the U.S. Education Department's annual back-to-school forecast.
Education
State Journal: Vacation report; A New old weapon
One of the chief authors of Massachusetts' new education-reform law has fired what appears to be an opening salvo in his bid to unseat the state's Republican Governor next year.
Education
Teachers' Contract At Issue in Contest For Boston Mayor
When the Boston School Committee and the local teachers' union announced last week that they had tentatively agreed on a new contract, the pact instantly became a hot-button issue in the city's eight-way mayoral race.