May 4, 1994
Education Week, Vol. 13, Issue 32
Education
Judge Rejects Puerto Rico School-Voucher Plan
In a case being closely watched by both sides of the private-school-voucher debate in the United States, a Puerto Rico judge has struck down a voucher plan that includes private religious schools.
Education
Calif. Foundation Urges New Approach to Labor Negotiations
A California foundation's efforts to improve labor-management relations in school districts throughout the state appears to be transforming the way many school and union leaders do business there.
Education
E.D. Study Identifies Obstacles to Pursuing Reform Strategies
Schools face a rocky road in implementing new education-reform strategies for disadvantaged students, a federal report suggests--even when those strategies have been proven to succeed elsewhere.
Education
Administration Column
Wilson Learning Corporation, a major provider of private-sector sales and management training, is betting that its programs can be adapted for teachers and principals in public schools.
Education
No Clear Trend Seen in Recent Finance Decisions
Although upcoming courtroom developments in several big states may yet make clear a trend in school-finance litigation, decisions in several smaller states within the past year have made discerning any national direction little more than a guessing game.
Education
Nixon Leaves Mixed Legacy on Education, Family Issues
Richard M. Nixon, who was buried last week in California, left a record in education that was as paradoxical as the man himself.
Education
News In Brief
The Colorado House of Representatives has passed a sweeping measure that would eliminate property taxes for education beginning in 1996, as long as next year's legislature places an alternative funding system before voters.
Curriculum
Books: Readings
The respected educational researcher John I. Goodlad, expands on his previous work on teachers and schools in Educational Renewal. True "renewal,'' he writes, requires the continuous examination of institutional purpose, roles, and responsibilities. Below, the director of the University of Washington's Center for Educational Renewal cites the enculturation of the young as a primary mission of schools:
Education
Hooked on Books
Within the walls of Dodson Elementary School in Hermitage, Tenn., a Nashville suburb, is the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow, a three-year, $3 million research project funded by Apple Computer Inc. and the National Science Foundation. About 60 of the school's 3rd and 4th graders participate in the program, which attempts to infuse technology into every aspect of the curriculum. The classroom itself is chock-full of the kind of equipment most teachers only dream of: Apple computers, laser printers, videocassette recorders, and camcorders.
Education
National News Roundup
More Americans now give their local schools high marks than did five years ago, and most endorse public school choice and a longer school year, according to a recent poll by The Associated Press.
Education
Federal File: Capitalist concerns; The disability factor
If districts continue hiring private, for-profit companies to run schools, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights may study the issue, the panel's chairwoman said last week.
Education
State News Roundup
The Georgia board of education voted unanimously last month to eliminate the state's general diploma, a move that would leave students with the choice of pursuing either a college-preparatory diploma or one based on vocational-and-technical-education programs.
Education
Legislative Update
The following are summaries of governors' budget requests for precollegiate education and final action by legislatures on education-related matters.
Education
Publishing Column
In the ever-expanding world of multimedia publishing, the recent marriage of Dr. Seuss and the compact disk seems to be a natural sequel to Theodor Seuss Geisel's last book, Oh The Places You'll Go.
Education
Ala. Governor's Reform Plan Introduced as 43 Bills
With the start of a special legislative session on education and crime last week, Gov. James E. Folsom Jr. of Alabama had his $1 billion comprehensive school-reform plan introduced in the House as 43 different bills in a bid to insure the passage of court-ordered reforms that did not occur in the regular session.
Education
System of Regional Property Taxes Debated in Vt.
After weeks of back-and-forth debate, the finance committee of the Vermont Senate was moving late last week toward a vote on a bill that would create a system of regional property taxes to reduce funding disparities between rich and poor school districts.
Education
E.D. Rights Official Faces Bias Charges, Protests
An Education Department decision to return a regional civil-rights director to his job has prompted other employees to wage a rare public campaign in an effort to oust him.
Education
Curriculum Column
The American Textbook Council has published a provocative manual that outlines the shortcomings and assets of history and social-studies textbooks and offers guidelines to educators who select texts for their schools.
Education
House Clears Way for Conference on Head Start Bill
Washington
The House last week approved a measure designed to improve and expand the Head Start program, paving the way for a House-Senate conference this week.
The House last week approved a measure designed to improve and expand the Head Start program, paving the way for a House-Senate conference this week.
Education
Rights Act Does Not Apply To Cases Before 1991 Enactment
In a victory for employers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 last week that the Civil Rights Act of 1991 does not apply to cases that were pending at the time of its enactment.
Education
Vote at School in L.A. Stirs Up Debate Over Balance of Power
A Los Angeles elementary school's decision to give teachers' votes more weight than those of parents in an election to determine the school calendar has touched off a local debate over how parents and school staff members should share power.
Education
Schools With Ties to Nixon Mark Former President's Death
At a memorial ceremony last week at Nixon Elementary School in Roxbury Township, N.J., students and teachers watched a video's flickering images of their school's namesake, Richard M. Nixon.
Education
Court Orders New A.F.T. Elections in D.C.
A U.S. District Court judge last week ordered the District of Columbia affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers to hold new, federally supervised elections for its officers.
Education
State Journal: False advertising?; The name game
A gubernatorial campaign commercial so irked John Tyson Jr., the presiding officer of Alabama's state board of education, that he called a news conference on the State Capitol steps last month to denounce it.
Education
Corrections
An article on national academic standards in the Jan. 19 issue of Education Week incorrectly stated that the study of ecology is at the core of Alabama's social-studies program. According to the Alabama education department, the state's social-studies program, like California's, focuses on the study of history and geography.
Education
Judge Faults Board for Suspending Miss. Principal in Prayer Flap
Bishop Knox returned to his job last week as principal of Wingfield High School in Jackson, Miss., after a county judge ruled that the local school board was wrong to suspend him for allowing students to say prayers over the intercom.
Education
Va. Board Allows 2 Districts To Begin Classes Before Labor Day
In a blow to Virginia's influential tourism industry, the state board of education has granted the first exemptions to an eight-year-old law requiring that school classes begin after Labor Day.