March 28, 2001

Education Week, Vol. 20, Issue 28
Mathematics Introduction to Algebra: It's Elementary
Mathematicians and educators say that students need to be introduced gradually to algebraic concepts throughout the elementary school years. The only question is how to teach it. Includes an accompanying story, "Civil Rights Campaign Evolves Into Algebra Crusade."
David J. Hoff, March 28, 2001
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7 min read
Education Massachusetts Students and Substance Abuse
The following chart comes from a 1999 survey of about 7,000 students in Massachusetts. The figures represent the percentages of students at each grade level who reported making illicit use of the substances listed at least once.
March 28, 2001
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1 min read
Mathematics Civil Rights Campaign Evolves Into Algebra Crusade
When Robert P. Moses worked on civil rights voter-registration drives in the 1960s, the math was simple. The more black citizens who voted, the stronger the voice they had in political affairs.
David J. Hoff, March 28, 2001
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3 min read
States Governors Seeking Levers To Improve Education
Many states are seeing a shift toward greater gubernatorial leadership in education. As governors are being asked to bolster poor schools, set uniform education rules, and make the schools accountable for their performance, some are seeking broader powers to get those tasks done.
Mark Stricherz, March 28, 2001
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15 min read
Mari Pearlman
Teacher Preparation Ed. Schools Strain To File Report Cards
Hundreds of colleges and universities around the country, compelled by Congress to submit report cards profiling their teacher-preparation programs and the students who complete them, are scrambling to pull together data before the April 9 deadline.
Julie Blair, March 28, 2001
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11 min read
Education School Construction Funds Remain a Question
The $1.2 billion federal pot for emergency school repairs and maintenance could be in jeopardy under the Bush administration's budget plan, some school officials fear.
Joetta L. Sack, March 28, 2001
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3 min read
Federal State Journal

Survival of the Fizziest

Efforts to curb soft drink sales in schools went flat this month in both Maryland and Minnesota, despite concern among state legislators about the health effects of the drinks and what many see as a commercial invasion of public schools.
March 28, 2001
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1 min read
School & District Management Second Study Questions Research Linking Voucher Threat to Gains
Debate continued last week over a recent report that connected gains in student achievement in Florida to the state's voucher program, as another scholar came forward to question the conclusions of the Manhattan Institute study.
Jessica L. Sandham, March 28, 2001
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2 min read
Families & the Community Poll: Words, Actions Fail To Match On Public Engagement
School leaders say they strongly support efforts to solicit feedback about policy matters, but their actions often fall short of that ideal, a new poll says. Teachers, meanwhile, often feel "out of the loop" on school policy decisions.
Mary-Ellen Phelps Deily, March 28, 2001
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3 min read
School Choice & Charters Arizona Charters Found To Yield Greater Gains in Reading
Arizona students enrolled in charter schools for two or three consecutive years showed stronger gains on reading tests than their counterparts in traditional public schools, according to a study released last week.
Mark Walsh, March 28, 2001
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3 min read
Student Well-Being Firm Moves Closer To Brain-Imaging Test for ADHD
A Boston company is nearing the final phase of testing a diagnostic drug that could offer health-care providers a long-awaited medical test for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Darcia Harris Bowman, March 28, 2001
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2 min read
States La. Taps Gambling Revenue To Raise Teachers' Salaries
Louisiana teachers stand to get a raise next fall, thanks to the state's gamblers.
Erik W. Robelen, March 28, 2001
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1 min read
Uta Frith
Special Education Dyslexia Found To Transcend Language
English is tricky. Words with the same letter combinations can have entirely different pronunciations: mint and pint, for instance, or love and clove.
Lisa Fine, March 28, 2001
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3 min read
Student Well-Being Appellate Court Rejects Extracurricular Drug Testing
A federal appeals court last week struck down an Oklahoma school district's policy of drug tests for students engaging in extracurricular activities such as cheerleading, band, choir, and the Future Farmers of America.
Mark Walsh, March 28, 2001
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3 min read
Education News in Brief: A National Roundup
  • Broward Schools Can't Bar Scouts,
    Judge Says
  • Nev. District To Hire Edison
  • Execution Will Prompt Closings
  • N.Y.C. Cancels Food Contract
  • Teacher Disciplined for Prank
  • Okla. District Recovers Funds
  • Colorado Panel To Probe Gap
  • Parents Sue Over Slur
March 28, 2001
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6 min read
Education Corrections
A chart accompanying an article in the March 21, 2001, [print] issue of Education Week on a 28-nation civics study gave an incorrect score for Switzerland. That country's students averaged a score of 98 on the 160-point scale.
March 28, 2001
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety Second High School Shooting Rocks Calif. District
The California district where two students were slain this month was rocked last week by another shooting, in which five people and the alleged gunman were injured.
Lisa Fine, March 28, 2001
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3 min read
Education Take Note

White-Glove Test

Clean homes tend to house more successful children, according to researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Their study relates home cleanliness to how long students in those households stayed in school, and how much they earned when they got jobs.
March 28, 2001
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1 min read
Education Sponsors of Events
The following organizations submitted information on their April through December events. The information is subject to change, and the listing may not include all events sponsored by a given group. The addresses and phone numbers of sponsors are provided in the month-by-month listings.
Michelle Galley, March 28, 2001
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9 min read
Mary Francis Taymens
Education People in the News

Mary Francis Taymens

The National Catholic Educational Association appointed Mary Frances Taymens as the executive director of its secondary schools department this month. Ms. Taymens, who was chosen by ncea President Leonard DeFiore, will start her new job July 1. Formerly the department's associate executive director, she joined the Washington-based organization—a professional group with more than 200,000 members—in 1993. Its secondary schools department develops programs for teachers and administrators in Roman Catholic schools nationwide.
March 28, 2001
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1 min read
Student Well-Being Thefts of Drugs Prompt Schools To Tighten Up
As evidence mounts that the abuse of controlled substances used to treat ADHD is on the rise, growing numbers of school administrators are feeling the weight of that responsibility. Includes the chart, "Massachusetts Students and Substance Abuse."
Lisa Fine, March 28, 2001
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9 min read
IT Infrastructure & Management ACLU, Library Association File Suits Against Internet-Filtering Law
The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Library Association launched a legal attack last week on a new federal law that would require schools and libraries to install technological devices—often called filters—to block minors from accessing pornographic images on the Internet.
Andrew Trotter, March 28, 2001
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5 min read
Student Well-Being On a Mission
The story of Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh and its successful after-school program could serve as a parable for other faith-based programs.
Robert C. Johnston, March 28, 2001
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13 min read
School Climate & Safety Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling That Gives Schools Right To Restrict T-Shirts
The U.S. Supreme Court declined last week to hear the appeal of a high school student who was barred from wearing Marilyn Manson T-shirts to school.
Mark Walsh, March 28, 2001
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2 min read
Education Federal File

Shooting for the Moon

Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa knows well that huge monetary increases for education are going to be a tough sell to the Republican-led Congress and White House. But he's still promoting a pie-in-the-sky idea that tops the record-breaking proposals by other Democrats.
March 28, 2001
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1 min read
Rep. Joe Negron
School Choice & Charters Fla. Debates Expanding Its Voucher Program
Two years after Florida lawmakers approved the first statewide voucher program in the country, the debate over using tax dollars to send students to private or religious schools is raging again in the Sunshine State. Includes the story, "Second Study Questions Research Linking Voucher Threat to Gains."
Jessica L. Sandham, March 28, 2001
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5 min read
States News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup
  • N.M. Legislature Passes Bill That Includes Merit-Pay Plan
  • Pa. Governor Wants Aide as Chief
  • N.Y. State Eyes District Takeover
  • Audit: Mass. Misspent Ed. Money
March 28, 2001
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4 min read
Equity & Diversity Hillsborough, Fla., District Declared 'Unitary'
One of Florida's longest-running desegregation orders has been overturned by a federal court—the latest in a string of decisions to reverse decades of court oversight in Florida districts once found to operate racially divided schools.
Robert C. Johnston, March 28, 2001
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3 min read
School & District Management In Short
Analysts often gauge the federal government's support for education by the size of the U.S. Department of Education's budget.
March 28, 2001
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1 min read
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