December 14, 1983

Education Week, Vol. 03, Issue 14
Education Northeastern Governors Join Forces To Establish Regional Drinking Age
In an effort to reduce alcohol-related traffic accidents, the governors of seven Northeastern states have agreed to work together for the first time to establish a uniform drinking age for the region
Cindy Currence, December 14, 1983
•
6 min read
Education Federal News Roundup

An agreement between the Congress and the White House over the fate of the new U.S. Commission on Civil Rights appeared to unravel last week with the announcement that all three Presidential nominees to the old panel will be granted seats on the new body.

Early in the week, President Reagan surprised civil-rights leaders and members of the Congress by refusing to appoint the old commission's vice-chairman, Mary L. Smith, to the new panel. Instead, Mr. Reagan named a Laredo, Tex., high-school teacher, Esther Gonzalez-Arroyo Buckley, to the panel.

December 14, 1983
•
25 min read
Education Forum Said Successful in Rallying Support for Change
By many accounts heard here, Education Secretary Terrel H. Bell's wish for the national forum on excellence in education last week was fulfilled.
Thomas Toch, December 14, 1983
•
7 min read
Education Settlement Proposed in K.C. Desegregation Case
A settlement that would rely on voluntary student transfers to increase minority enrollment in suburban school districts to as much as 15 percent has been proposed in the Kansas City metropolitan school-desegregation suit.
Fred Schecker , December 14, 1983
•
2 min read
Education Models Column
Educational programs or activities designed to solve problems or address issues in schools will be the focus of this column. Readers are invited to submit items for possible inclusion to: Models, Education Week, Suite 560, 1333 New Hampshire Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

December 14, 1983
•
4 min read
Education Oklahoma Progress Jeopardized by Massive Revenue Shortfall
Faced with a $155-million budget deficit and legislative resistance to higher taxes, Gov. George P. Nigh of Oklahoma has ordered state agencies to cut their budgets, beginning with a 26-percent reduction this month.
Charlie Euchner, December 14, 1983
•
7 min read
Education Publishing Column
Twenty-one parents and 18 students who think the reading textbooks used by the Hawkins County, Tenn., school district violate their religious convictions have filed suit in federal district court.

The suit, brought against the Hawkins County Board of Education, charges that the textbooks used in Church Hill Elementary and Middle Schools are "un-American" and "un-Christian." The parents and students seek an injunction blocking district officials from forcing students to use the books and from suspending students who refuse to read the books in class, according to Bill Snodgrass, district superintendent.

December 14, 1983
•
5 min read
Education For The Record
President Reagan, during a nationally broadcast radio address, Dec. 3, 1983:
December 14, 1983
•
6 min read
Education States News Roundup
The plaintiffs in New Jersey's new school-finance case, which was originally scheduled to go to trial this month, have appealed a trial judge's dismissal of their suit. Chancery Judge Virginia Long of Mercer County dismissed the complaint on Nov. 15 on grounds that the plaintiffs had failed to exhaust administrative remedies.

The suit, Abbott v. Burke, contends that the changes made in the state's school-finance system in response to the state supreme court's 1973 order in a successful challenge, Robinson v. Cahill, have failed to provide adequate or equal fiscal resources for urban districts.

December 14, 1983
•
5 min read
Education Administrators Favor Idea of Merit Pay But See Problems Establishing Systems
Most superintendents support merit pay for teachers, but they think poor evaluation procedures and staff dissension could hamper its effective implementation, according to a recent survey by the American Association of School Administrators.
Anne Bridgman, December 14, 1983
•
3 min read
Education Ariz. Ed. Groups Plan Reforms
Education groups in Arizona that "influence the day-to-day activities in schools" are in the process of developing their own recommendations for achieving excellence.

The Arizona Education Convocation, which includes representatives from education schools, teachers' unions, the parent-teacher association, and the Arizona Department of Education issued a preliminary report last month that focused primarily on teacher compensation and training.

December 14, 1983
•
1 min read
Education Reagan Education Policy Debated
The Reagan Administration's record during the past 22 months "proves that the President came to Washington not to bury education but to resuscitate it," a high-ranking Education Department official told a group of educators meeting here last month.
Tom Mirga, December 14, 1983
•
1 min read
Education Study Finds Neglect of Humanities at State Level
Little Rock, Ark--Preoccupied with improving mathematics and science instruction and generally improving schools, few states are promoting instruction in the humanities--and, in fact, there appears to be little agreement among state and local school officials on what "the humanities" are, according to a new survey of state education departments.
Thomas Toch, December 14, 1983
•
3 min read
Curriculum Using 'Real Books' To Teach Reading Said To Heighten Skill, Interest
Twelve years ago, alternative programs at three elementary schools in Upper Arlington, Ohio, abandoned their basal reading texts and many of the other trappings of a conventional reading curriculum. Instead, the children in the suburban Columbus alternative programs, which now enroll more than 600 students, learn to read from "real" books--picture books and children's literature, including works by such well-known children's authors as Tana Hoban, Leo Lionni, Maurice Sendak, and Brian Wildsmith.
Sheppard Ranbom, December 14, 1983
•
8 min read
Education High Court To Rule on Related Services, Law on Draft Registration, Federal Aid
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week to decide how far a federal anti-discrimination law requires school districts to go in providing medical services, such as catheterization, for handicapped students.
Tom Mirga, December 14, 1983
•
5 min read
Education Athletics Column
If a national fundraising effort proceeds as planned, construction of a hall-of-fame museum and research center for high-school athletics will begin in two years.

The National Federation of State High School Associations this year started a national drive to raise $7 million to build a national hall of fame in Kansas City, Mo. The campaign has raised only about $50,000 so far, but the director of the effort says he expects to have enough financial commitments within a year and a half to start construction.

December 14, 1983
•
4 min read
Education Duluth Strike On, Others Threatened in Minn.
Picketing in the sub-zero temperatures of a Minnesota winter, teachers from the Duluth public schools last week continued a strike that began on Dec. 1, but they were hopeful that a mediation session Dec. 8 would produce some progress.
Susan Walton, December 14, 1983
•
5 min read
Education The Vatican Endorses Sex Education in Schools
The Vatican's recent policy statement on sex education probably will reduce opposition among American Catholics to programs that both parochial and public schools have developed since the early 1960's, according to educators familiar with the issue.
Charlie Euchner, December 14, 1983
•
3 min read
Education District News Roundup
Voters in the Southern Gloucester County (N.J.) Regional High School District will have their seventh opportunity to approve the money the district needs to build a middle school that would end 15 years of split sessions at Delsea Regional High School.

The high school, which now has 1,531 students, has been operating on a split schedule since 1968. The first shift of students arrives at about 7:30 A.M.; the second departs at about 6 P.M.

December 14, 1983
•
6 min read
Education People News
A schoolteacher who teaches in a one-room schoolhouse and earns $6,300 a year may have a chance for fame and fortune if she decides to allow a California movie-production company to make a film of her life.

Janice Herbranson lives in rural McLeod, N.D., population 50, where she teaches five students at Salund School. When a survey was published naming her as possibly the lowest-paid teacher in the country, Ms. Herbranson was contacted by Ron Shere Productions.

December 14, 1983
•
2 min read
Education Research and Reports
Drug abusers have two personality traits in common, according to the results of research conducted by James M. Schuerger, a professor of psychology at Cleveland State University.

Four out of five substance abusers shared two common traits, Mr. Schuerger found--they were guilt-prone and had low self-control.

December 14, 1983
•
4 min read
Education Reagan's Chance for Education Change Said Lost
Although President Reagan and his supporters entered the White House with "the most radical education agenda" in recent history, "by any scorecard, they have lost more battles than they have won," concluded two researchers in a report released last week.
Tom Mirga, December 14, 1983
•
3 min read
Education Arizona Panel Cites 'Unpopular Choices' Needed To Improve Schools
A longer school year, increased graduation requirements, and programs designed to attract "gifted" students to the teaching profession are necessary for educational reform in Arizona, a report from the Governor's Committee on Quality Education states.
Cindy Currence, December 14, 1983
•
5 min read
Education Concerns Raised Over Voc.-Ed. In Reform Era
Vocational educators say they are worried that the pressures for more academic courses generated by recent national reports on improving education will diminish the numbers of vocational-education programs and students.
Susan G. Foster, December 14, 1983
•
4 min read
Education Calif. Seeks Ways To Improve Teacher Training
The master-plan committee of the California State Board of Education, having won the full board's approval of its model high-school graduation requirements, has now turned its attention to ''excellence in professional education."
Michael Fallon, December 14, 1983
•
2 min read
Education Illinois Board, Education Groups Ready for Tax-Increase Struggle
Illinois public schools are being shortchanged, and the quality of education will continue to decline without additional funds, the chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education has warned.
Don Sevener, December 14, 1983
•
4 min read
Education Magnet Schools Called Successful Tools For Desegregation and Good Education
Magnet schools are pronounced a resoundingly successful educational innovation in a U.S. Education Department study that the researchers call the first national look at the effectiveness of the magnet concept.
Susan G. Foster, December 14, 1983
•
4 min read
Education Justices Hear Memphis Case On Reverse Discrimination
The federal government's top lawyer told the U.S. Supreme Court last week that federal judges cannot order local governments to preserve the jobs of recently hired blacks by laying off whites with more seniority.
Tom Mirga, December 14, 1983
•
3 min read
Education Tax Hikes, Brighter Business Climate a Boon to Schools in Some States
Although some states, like Oklahoma, are struggling with multimillion deficits, others, after several years of financial hardship, are beginning to see some relief. And some are even anticipating budget surpluses.
Cindy Currence, December 14, 1983
•
6 min read
Load More ▼