December 11, 1996
Education Week, Vol. 16, Issue 15
Law & Courts
Official-English Case Bogged Down by Procedure
Washington
The U.S. Supreme Court last week took up an Arizona constitutional amendment requiring the state and local governments to conduct most business in English.
School Choice & Charters
Texas District Mulls Student Aid for Private Schools
An affluent school district near Austin, Texas, whose students are high achievers, has proposed giving scholarships to students to attend private schools in what the school board says is a move to ease overcrowding.
Education
Windows to the Past, Pt. III
| MADE IN THE U.S.A. "Americanization class" brought the schoolroom to a factory floor on West 14th Street. Evening elementary schools taught many illiterate and foreign-born adults the skills they needed to work and pass citizenship exams. In 1941, half the 14,000 students in these classes were between 30 and 50 years old. (May 23, 1922) |
Education
News in Brief: A National Roundup
Crew Seeks Tough Standards, Assessments for N.Y.C.
New York City Schools Chancellor Rudy F. Crew last week asked the city school board to adopt the rigorous academic standards written by the private, Washington-based New Standards project.
Early Childhood
Software for Preschoolers Makes Market Inroads
More U.S. families than ever are expected to buy personal computers this month, in response to intensive Christmas-season marketing and growing interest. Soon, more tiny hands will be grasping computer mice and clicking on cartoon characters to make them bark or sing, or dragging letters and numbers around the screen to form words or sums.
Families & the Community
Polling Techniques Help Districts To Get Closer to Their Customers
National reform groups, state education agencies, and school districts have in recent years dramatically increased their use of surveys and focus groups to help guide policy and reconnect with a disaffected public. The surging interest in the sophisticated techniques reflects educators' newfound awareness that public engagement must be considered every step of the way if efforts to improve schools are to succeed.
Education
Windows to the Past, Pt. VI
| WOMEN'S WORK. Vocational programs were not restricted to boys and men. At the Manhattan Trade School, young women learned the sought-after sewing skills they would need to land a job in the city's garment district. (July 3, 1919) |
Education
Community Resources
State governments increasingly are using revenues from alcohol, tobacco, and gambling to help pay for education and health programs, a report by a coalition of education and health groups says.
Education
Plan for Rating TV Programs Likely To Mirror Age-Based Movie System
A panel of television-industry executives was nearing completion last week of the details of a new system for rating TV programs, and several news accounts suggested the system would resemble the age-based ratings applied to motion pictures.
Budget & Finance
Companies Seeking To Drum Up School Business Form Trade Group
Winning more business from public schools is the aim of a new trade association formed by private companies involved in student transportation, school food service, building maintenance, and classroom instruction.
Education
State Journal
Joseph A. Spagnolo, the Illinois state schools superintendent, has become the target of some lawmakers after expenses detailed in a confidential audit became public.
A rough ride
Joseph A. Spagnolo, the Illinois state schools superintendent, has become the target of some lawmakers after expenses detailed in a confidential audit became public.
Student Well-Being
AIDS Education Will Be Billings' New Full-Time Job
As Judith A. Billings prepares to step down from her post as Washington state's top school official, she faces an even bigger education job.
Ed-Tech Policy
Technology Update
The best educational entrees on the World Wide Web are served fresh, not frozen, according to the judges for the 1996 National Information Infrastructure Awards.
School Climate & Safety
95% of Calif. Districts Get Aid To Cut Class Size
Ninety-five percent of California's 895 school districts qualify for the state's class-size-reduction program, officials announced last week.
Education
Riley's Fate May Hinge on Other Cabinet Decisions
Washington
More than four weeks after winning re-election, President Clinton has not picked the person to lead his education team for his next term.
Standards
Districts Pare 'Electives' for Core Courses
Toughen the mathematics and science requirements and see the payoff in higher student achievement. At least, that was the intention of Anne Arundel County, Md., school officials who were aiming to improve middle school students' performance on state exams.
Education
News in Brief: A Washington Roundup
Sen. Coats Chooses Not To Challenge Jeffords
The Senates most liberal Republican will be in charge of the chambers education policy starting in January.
Early Childhood
Early Education on Legislative Docket in N.Y.
All-day kindergarten and pre-kindergarten are emerging as a top 1997 priority of leaders of the New York Assembly, a move observers say may signal that states are taking a new look at the early grades.
Education Funding
U.S. Is Big Education Spender in Global Study
Washington
The United States spends more per pupil on K-12 education than does virtually any other nation participating in a new international study, but the huge disparities in spending among the 50 states give it a unique fiscal split personality.
School Choice & Charters
A Working Experiment
Right now, all the delays don't bother Sister Judith Murphy. Not the fact that her students have been in school for nearly two months and they're still not in their new building. Not that they have to hold classes in the corners of a roller rink and gymnasium across the street from the school, which is being renovated. Not that their audio-visual room consists of five computers sitting on what looks like a bar in a nook off the gym, and not that her religion classes are being held in a concession stand under a sign that says: "Enjoy Coke; Good with food." None of that bothers her right now.
Education
Windows to the Past, Pt. II
| NEW FACES. Immigrants poured into New York City at the turn of the century. Many--like this class of Chinese boys--learned their new country's language and customs in the classroom. (June 3, 1935) |