March 6, 1996
Education Week, Vol. 15, Issue 24
States
Equity Debates in States Shift To Standards and Technology
When Gov. Christine Todd Whitman addressed the New Jersey legislature earlier this year, she tackled her state's thorniest political problem, deep inequities between wealthy and poor schools.
School Choice & Charters
Students Learn More in Magnets Than Other Schools, Study Finds
A new national study suggests that students learn more in public magnet schools than they do in either public comprehensive high schools, private schools, or Roman Catholic schools.
Education
'NetDay' Numbers
"NetDay96'' is a statewide cooperative effort by California's technology industries, public schools, and communities to install the wires needed to provide at least 20 percent of the state's 13,000 schools with access to the Internet. On Saturday, March 9, volunteer teams across the state will begin the ongoing initiative. Although the numbers are updated hourly, as of late last week:
Curriculum
Early Arts Lasts a Lifetime, Study Says
Students who receive school- or community-based arts education are more likely to participate in the arts as adults, a study commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts says.
Education
N.Y.C. To Stop Proficiency Testing of All Hispanics
The New York City board of education voted last week to stop its long-standing and often-criticized practice of automatically testing all students with Hispanic surnames for their English proficiency. Those tests are used to assign students to bilingual-education programs.
Federal
Alexander Has Change of Heart On Federal Role
One day after Lamar Alexander was confirmed as the secretary of education in March 1991, he strode into the White House to present President Bush with a strategy Mr. Alexander later called "the American education agenda for the rest of this century."
School & District Management
Fla. Considers Bill To Allow Breakup of Big Districts
As enrollments in many of Florida's largest school districts continue to balloon, state legislators are considering a bill that would allow the state's big county-based systems to break up into smaller districts.
School Choice & Charters
Nearly a Third of Schools Found To Exceed Enrollment Limits
An audit of the private schools in the Milwaukee school-choice program by the Wisconsin education department has found that nearly a third of the schools exceeded enrollment limits set by state law.
Education
Presumed Innocent
Pleasanton, Calif., reveals its aspirations in its name. Set amid the hills of golden grass that give California its nickname, between the San Francisco Bay and the Central Valley, the century-old town didn't even have a professional fire department of its own a generation ago.
Education
People Column
Where, oh where, is Mrs. Lind-Sherman?
That's the question Martin Luther King Elementary School students in Seattle will be trying to answer for the next three months in the absence of Jan Lind-Sherman. The 1st-grade teacher, who won $8 million in the state lottery two years ago and has continued teaching since then, packed her bags last week and headed for Australia--the starting point for a three-month sabbatical.
That's the question Martin Luther King Elementary School students in Seattle will be trying to answer for the next three months in the absence of Jan Lind-Sherman. The 1st-grade teacher, who won $8 million in the state lottery two years ago and has continued teaching since then, packed her bags last week and headed for Australia--the starting point for a three-month sabbatical.
Education
Riley Calls for Fresh Fight on Illiteracy
Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, delivering his third annual "state of American education address," called last week for a renewed fight against illiteracy, and said that debate over public education has grown too divisive.
Education
Publishing Column
Students weary of cracking the traditional textbook to get a glimpse of history can now browse the pages of Old News, a family-run publication which offers freshly written stories covering historical events.
Budget & Finance
Close Vote Predicted on Okla. Tax-Rollback Plan
A Super Tuesday squeaker is shaping up in Oklahoma next week, but it has nothing to do with the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Law & Courts
Religious School Vouchers Get Day in Court
Vouchers for religious-school students faced their most important legal test in more than two decades here last week in the small, ornate chamber of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Teacher Preparation
Teacher-Educators Explore the Uncertain Future of Education Schools
Nearly 2,000 teacher-educators gathered here to talk about diversity, but many of their discussions revealed an underlying concern about the vitality of colleges of education.
Education
State Journal
The new chairman of the Massachusetts state school board says that having a student representative on the panel "was as much nonsense as a pediatrician asking an infant what medicine is best."
Members
The new chairman of the Massachusetts state school board says that having a student representative on the panel "was as much nonsense as a pediatrician asking an infant what medicine is best."
Education
Federal File
After months of criticism from both President Clinton and leading Republicans over what they consider socially irresponsible programming, television-industry executives were treated to several days of political plaudits last week, when they announced that they will craft a voluntary ratings system.
Rate the Ratings
After months of criticism from both President Clinton and leading Republicans over what they consider socially irresponsible programming, television-industry executives were treated to several days of political plaudits last week, when they announced that they will craft a voluntary ratings system.
Federal
Panel To Review Programs for Redundancy
House Republicans last week pledged to review every education and training program run by the federal government, contending that the programs are redundant and pose paperwork nightmares for participants.
Education
Bursting at the Boundaries
Florida has had county-based school districts since 1947, when a governor's commission called for more-centralized systems. Since then, several of the state's 67 districts have grown to be among the largest in the nation. The following Florida districts are among the nation's 100 largest public school districts, based on 1992-93 enrollment figures from the U.S. Department of Education.
School Climate & Safety
Department To Issue Guidelines on School Uniforms
Proponents of school-uniform policies got another boost as President Clinton ordered the Department of Education to distribute manuals on the subject to the nation's 15,000 school districts.
Professional Development
Chicago, Phila., N.Y. To Share $10 Million For Teacher Training
The DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund last week announced nearly
$10 million in grants for teacher professional-development programs in
three urban districts.
Law & Courts
Firestorm in Wake of Salt Lake City Vote Continues To Grow
The formation last week of a support and advocacy group for homosexual teachers in Utah capped a series of protests over the Salt Lake City school board's ban on extracurricular clubs.
Teaching Profession
Negotiators To Step Up Talks in Oakland Strike
Neither a cooling-off period following a confrontation between striking Oakland, Calif., teachers and district officials nor renewed negotiations last week brought the two sides much closer to an agreement.