February 11, 1998
Education Week, Vol. 17, Issue 22
Education
Making the Visit Worthwhile
Though there is a wide variety of home-visiting models, experts have identified certain characteristics that can improve the chances for success:
School & District Management
House Calls
Two years ago, Ohio launched Early Start, a program that sends trained
caseworkers into the homes of infants and toddlers considered at risk
of abuse, neglect, or developmental problems.
Education
Learning To Care
Six years ago, when Anna Mercer-McLean became the director of a
small child-care center serving poor families here, most of the
teachers in the program had no more than a high school education. Fifty
percent of the teachers were leaving every year.
Accountability
The Push for Accountability Gathers Steam
Through test scores, performance evaluations, "endorsed" diplomas, and a host of systems that reward success and punish failure, policymakers are demanding results as they seek to assure parents and taxpayers that their children are getting a good education and their money isn't being wasted.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Waging a War on Incivility
While Congress wrangles over President Clinton's proposed voluntary
national testing plan in reading and mathematics, a far greater issue
for K-12 education--pervasive school disruption--cries out for equal
time in the national debate. The problems of abysmally poor school
culture and its accompanying bad behavior daily undercut any attempt to
address academic achievement.
Early Childhood
Opinion
Child-Care Combat
Colorful combatants in Washington and across the nation--like jaunty
roosters embroiled in a cockfight--remain locked in battle over school
choice and whether to further de-center public institutions. They
rarely pause and take stock of lessons from neighboring policy arenas.
Tireless lunging and pecking at each other has become
all-consuming.