March 18, 1987

Education Week, Vol. 06, Issue 25
Education Reforms May Dissuade Some From Career in Teaching, Group Says
Recent proposals to concentrate teacher education at the graduate level would "significantly reduce" the number of students from selective liberal-arts colleges who choose to teach in the public schools, according to a group of leading private colleges and universities in the Northeast.
Lynn Olson, April 24, 2008
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5 min read
Education News Update
Laval S. Wilson, Boston's superintendent of schools, has recommended establishing a health clinic in one district high school this fall that would prescribe, but not dispense, contraceptives.

In making the recommendation, which must be approved by the school committee, Mr. Wilson rejected a controversial proposal to establish clinics in two high schools and two middle schools that would dispense contraceptives. That proposal had been approved by a task force appointed by Mr. Wilson. (See Education Week, Jan. 28, 1987.)

March 18, 1987
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2 min read
Education Members of the National Commission
Daniel E. Griffiths, commission chairman and former dean of New York University's School of Education.

Richard L. Andrews, professor of education at the University of Washington.

March 18, 1987
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1 min read
Education Honig Unveils $1.5-Billion School-Reform Plan
California's state school chief and two key lawmakers unveiled a comprehensive $1.5-billion legislative package last week that they said was designed to "keep the reform movement going'' in public education.
Tom Mirga, March 18, 1987
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3 min read
Education The Bear Facts About Earthquakes
City Hall in Los Angeles has been hit with an avalanche of letters from children across the country seeking earthquake-safety tips from Yogi Bear, who is, as he likes to remind others, smarter than the average bear.

Comic books featuring safety lessons by the picnic-basket-snatching cartoon character were intended for distribution only in Los Angeles-area schools. But when 3-2-1 Contact, a national monthly magazine for children, erroneously reported in its March edition that readers could obtain free copies by writing to Yogi at City Hall, the letters started pouring in.

March 18, 1987
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1 min read
Education 'Tuition Futures' Concept Gains Support
Legislators in some 40 states are weighing "tuition futures'' proposals designed to help parents save money for their children's college educations, according to the Education Commission of the States.
Robert Rothman, March 18, 1987
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4 min read
Education Federal News Roundup
The number of reported cases of child abuse or neglect rose by 54.9 percent from 1981 to 1985, but the resources to help such children increased by less than 2 percent in the same period, according to a Congressional study.

The House Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families surveyed the 50 state governors and the mayor of the District of Columbia for its report, "Abused Children in America: Victims of Official Abuse,'' released this month.

March 18, 1987
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2 min read
Education Federal File
Former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, who left the bench to head the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution, spent most of last Thursday with the panel's newly created education-support committee, discussing ways to involve the nation's schoolchildren in the bicentennial.

Mr. Burger noted that at least 30 television productions are planned to mark the event, one of which is an animated "Peanuts'' special on the Constitution, scheduled for the opening of school next September. Mr. Burger said he thinks the title is "It's Yours, Charlie Brown.'' Then he added after a pause: "I recently became acquainted with Charlie Brown through my grandchildren.''

March 18, 1987
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2 min read
Education State High Court Rules on Home Schools
Massachusetts' highest court has handed down a ruling that sets guidelines for school superintendents and committees to follow in determining whether parents are competent to teach their children at home.
Tom Mirga, March 18, 1987
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3 min read
Education Legislative Update
Oregon lawmakers last week overwhelmingly approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would create a financial "safety net'' for school districts that would otherwise be forced to close because of voter rejections of school-tax levies.

If the proposal is signed by Gov. Neil Goldschmidt as expected, it will be presented to voters in a May 19 special election.

March 18, 1987
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5 min read
Education Business, School Leaders Call for Massive Effort On Literacy
Leaders from the business and education communities issued a joint call last week for American institutions of all varieties to join with schools in a nationwide effort to improve literacy skills, particularly among the disadvantaged.
Robert Rothman, March 18, 1987
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5 min read
Education NCATE Revises Standards To Avoid Duplication
Many institutions seeking national accreditation for their teacher-training programs will soon be able to do so at less cost and with less duplication of effort, under new standards approved by the group that accredits such programs.
Blake Rodman, March 18, 1987
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4 min read
Education Private Schools Column
Private-school teachers should increase their involvement in current efforts to reform teacher education, particularly the work of the planning group for the proposed national certification board, those attending last month's annual meeting of the National Association of Independent Schools were told.

Lee Shulman, professor of education at Stanford University, noted in a speech to the group that only public-school teachers are included in the 33-member planning group, sponsored by the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy.

March 18, 1987
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4 min read
Education Teacher Recruitment, Selection Procedures Outdated, Study Says
Despite a predicted national teacher shortage, many school districts are still relying on the selection, hiring, and placement practices they used when job candidates were plentiful, according to a study released this week by the RAND Corporation.
Blake Rodman, March 18, 1987
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7 min read
Education Research and Reports
Schools should drop their bias against poor children and focus more on student outcomes, such as performance, attendance, and dropout rates, according to a new opinion survey on school reform conducted by the Network for Effective Schools.

School leadership--on the part of superintendents, principals, and other administrators--must also play a more dominant role in ensuring quality, according to the four-month study, which was released last month.

March 18, 1987
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1 min read
Education States News Roundup
The New Jersey Department of Education has unveiled a plan for placing 10,000 high-school graduates from the state's 81 urban high schools in private-sector jobs by 1992.

Called "10,000 Graduates ... 10,000 Jobs,'' the program is intended to "give students a tangible goal for which to strive,'' said Saul Cooperman, the state's commissioner of education, in announcing the initiative this month.

March 18, 1987
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1 min read
Education Women and Teachers Said Among Most Underpaid
Teachers, child-care workers, and college professors are among the most "underpaid'' employees in the nation, according to a new analysis of data from the 1980 U.S. Census.
Debra Viadero, March 18, 1987
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5 min read
Education Panel Urges 300 Programs for Administrators Should Be Closed
The first national commission to focus specifically on improving school administration has urged that 300 of the more than 500 colleges and universities that prepare administrators cease to do so.
Blake Rodman, March 18, 1987
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7 min read
Education Educators Unsure of Implications Of Immigration Reforms
As federal officials move to implement the landmark Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, educators are attempting to assess its potential consequences for the schools.
Ellen Flax, March 18, 1987
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8 min read
Education Districts News Roundup
Four employees of the custodial department of the Los Angeles Unified School District, including the director and the deputy director, have been charged with stealing at least $500,000 in school supplies.

According to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, which announced the charges March 4, the employees operated a "theft ring'' for three years without the knowledge of school officials.

March 18, 1987
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7 min read
Education Network Will Test Ideas Before Studies Recommend Them
The National Network for Educational Renewal is only one part of a three-pronged effort directed by John I. Goodlad to find ways to improve schooling and the education of educators.

But having the network of school-university partnerships in place, Mr. Goodlad said, will provide his University of Washington research team with a rare advantage in completing the project's two companion studies: Many of their recommendations will have already been tested.

March 18, 1987
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5 min read
Education Participants in the National Network
Listed below, by state, are the universities and school districts involved in the National Network for Educational Renewal, as of March 12:
  • Arizona: The Greater Tucson School-University Partnership. University of Arizona, Amphitheater unified school district, Catalina Foothills unified school district, Flowing Wells unified school district, Marana unified school district, Sunnyside unified school district, Tanque Verde unified school district, Tucson unified school district, Vail unified school district.
March 18, 1987
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3 min read
Education Ala. Board Will Appeal Textbook Ruling
The Alabama State Board of Education voted 5 to 4 last week to appeal a federal district judge's landmark order banning 44 textbooks from use in the state's public schools because they promote the "religious belief system'' of secular humanism.
Kirsten Goldberg, March 18, 1987
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4 min read
Education National News Roundup
Leaders of a number of national groups that describe themselves as "pro-family'' held a press conference in Washington last Friday to urge that public officials promote sexual abstinence among the nation's young people.
March 18, 1987
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1 min read
Education People News
Gov. Mario Cuomo of New York has once again taken up the theme of values education in the public schools, saying in a speech this month that schools have a responsibility to "at the very least ... work to make young people aware that some standards of virtue and decency do exist.''

Speaking at a forum on education at the State University of New York in Old Westbury, Mr. Cuomo said that while the burden of instilling values lies primarily with families and churches, schools should do more. They must counter a "message of silence,'' he said, and teach students that "in every society,there is a code of behavior, an understanding of what is right and wrong.''

March 18, 1987
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1 min read
Education Four Teen-Agers Die in Apparent 'Suicide Pact'
In what some experts are calling a tragedy of unusual proportions, four teen-agers in Bergenfield, N.J., killed themselves last Wednesday in an apparent "suicide pact.''
Debra Viadero, March 18, 1987
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3 min read
Federal Carnes Says 'Competitiveness' Legislation Is Not Necessary
Education Department officials did not endorse federal aid for instructional programs to "strengthen the competitiveness'' of American industry.
James Crawford, March 18, 1987
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1 min read
Education Congressional Panels Outline Education Budget Priorities
The four key Congressional committees that control federal funding for education have formally expressed their opposition to the deep spending cuts proposed by the Reagan Administration.
William Montague, March 18, 1987
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5 min read
Federal Bennett's Chapter 1 Proposal Criticized
House Democrats last week accused Secretary of Education William J. Bennett of attempting to limit the cost of the Chapter 1 program by portraying it as a "poverty program."
James Crawford, March 18, 1987
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4 min read