Contents of this issue:
- Granholm rejects charter bill
- Too many schools left off 'dangerous' list, say critics
- Proposed D.C. voucher system worries private schools
- Voucher support crosses party lines
- Homeschoolers make National Merit list
- Public schools failing minorities, says Education Secretary
GRANHOLM REJECTS CHARTER BILL
LANSING, Mich. — A plan expected to expand the charter school
presence in Detroit fell apart last Wednesday after Gov. Jennifer
Granholm ceased negotiations with key Republicans.
Granholm said that the proposed bill did not fulfill earlier
agreements between her and lawmakers. Granholm spokeswoman Liz
Boyd said the governor objected to what she called "a loophole"
that would allow the establishment of charters beyond the agreed-upon 150. Republicans countered that the draft bill was offered
to Granholm for her review and changes, but that she used it to
quash the deal that was in the making.
"It's unfortunate that the governor has chosen to play politics
on something that, as early as last week, she was ready to
announce an agreement on," Bill Nowling, spokesman for Sen. Ken
Sikkema, R-Wyoming, told the Detroit Free Press.
Detroit school officials cancelled classes last Thursday because
thousands of teachers in that district said they would rally
against the charter bill proposed to the Governor and miss
school.
SOURCES:
Detroit Free Press, "Granholm: Deal on charters is off,"
Sept. 25, 2003
https://www.freep.com/news/education/chart25_20030925.htm
Detroit Free Press, "FUTURE OF DETROIT SCHOOLS: Charter rift with
GOP tests Granholm," Sept. 26, 2003
https://www.freep.com/news/education/chart26_20030926.htm
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Time to Stop Beating Up on
Charter Schools," November 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4864
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Impact of Limited School
Choice on Public School Districts," July 2000
https://www.mackinac.org/2962
TOO MANY SCHOOLS LEFT OFF 'DANGEROUS' LIST, SAY CRITICS
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Most states set the threshold that determines
what constitutes a dangerous school too high, leaving out schools
that are truly dangerous to students, say some critics of a list
of such schools.
The "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2002 requires that states
report dangerous schools to the federal government and allow
students at those schools to transfer elsewhere if they feel
endangered. Forty-four states have not defined any of their
schools as dangerous, but "we know significant crime and violence
continue in many schools around the country," said Dr. Ronald
Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety
Center.
For instance, in Colorado, a school of 1,000 students could have
179 homicides per year and still remain off the dangerous schools
list. In Ohio, the list was regarded as a joke, said Richard A. DeColibus, president of the Cleveland Teachers' Union. "State
education officials just wanted to protect the reputations of
their schools, so they said, 'We'll write the regulations so that
no school could ever be considered dangerous.'"
SOURCES:
New York Times, "Threshold for Dangerous Schools Under New Law Is
Too High, Critics Say," Sept. 28, 2003
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/28/education/28DANG.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Case for Choice in
Schooling," Jan. 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3236
Michigan Education Report, "President signs 'No Child Left Behind
Act,'" Winter 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4082
PROPOSED D.C. VOUCHER SYSTEM WORRIES PRIVATE SCHOOLS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some private school leaders in Washington,
D.C. are worried that the proposed federal voucher program for
District students will hinder their administration and autonomy
in matters of hiring, admissions, testing and curriculum.
Maret School head Marjo Talbott said that federal money always
comes with regulations that would compromise a private school's
ability to make its own decisions. Georgetown Day School head
Peter Branch agreed."...There is no question that if they attach
onerous requirements that threaten the independence of
independent schools, schools will either not participate or drop
out," he said. "I'm not interested in who I hire, what we teach,
how we teach it, or how we assess our success to be dictated to
us."
Others, however, are optimistic about changes that may affect
schools. "We can work out any issue they want us to," Patricia
Weitzel-O'Neill, superintendent of Catholic schools in the
Archdiocese of Washington, told the Washington Post.
SOURCES:
Washington Post, "Private Schools Leery of Voucher Trade-Offs,"
Sept. 28, 2003
https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A11153-2003Sep27
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Friedman Says Vouchers and
Tax Credits Useful Route to Greater School Choice,"
March 19, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4117
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Case for Choice in
Schooling: Restoring Parental Control of Education,"
Jan. 29, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3236
VOUCHER SUPPORT CROSSES PARTY LINES
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The plan to give some Washington, D.C.
students vouchers to attend private schools is backed by both
Democrats and Republicans, breaking the traditional political
divide in most voucher debates.
The Senate plan would allow $7,500 to each student per year to
attend the school of their choice. Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif.
and District Mayor Anthony Williams, also a Democrat, support the
bill. "I've gotten a lot of flak because I'm supporting it," said
Feinstein. "But guess what? I don't care. I've spent the time.
I've gone to the schools. I see what works. I see what doesn't
work."
Most Democrats are still opposed to the idea of vouchers.
According to Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Sen. Feinstein "has
identified problems, but she hasn't identified the solutions —
not good solutions."
SOURCES:
Los Angeles Times, "Vouchers Find Favor Outside GOP,"
Sept. 26, 2003
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-na-vouchers26sep26,1,6393981.story?coll=la-news-learning
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Friedman Says Vouchers and
Tax Credits Useful Route to Greater School Choice,"
March 19, 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4117
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Case for Choice in
Schooling: Restoring Parental Control of Education,"
Jan. 29, 2001
https://www.mackinac.org/3236
HOMESCHOOLERS MAKE NATIONAL MERIT LIST
CHICAGO, Ill. — The number of home-schooled National Merit award
recipients has greatly increased over the last several years,
making the group a formidable opponent to traditional students
vying for the same awards.
In the National Merit Semifinals, the number of home-schooled
students has risen 180 percent since 1997, from 100 to 266. The
number of homeschoolers that received National Merit Scholarships
(the program's top prize) has increased 500 percent, from 21 to
129 since 1995.
The National Home Education Research Institute reports that
homeschoolers' standardized test scores are consistently above
the national average. "I knew my abilities already, but it's nice
for people who think home schooling won't work," Sarah Bramson, a
home schooled Illinois senior and National Merit semifinalist,
told the Chicago Sun-Times.
SOURCES:
Chicago Sun-Times, "Home-schooled students shine in National
Merit list," Sept. 29, 2003
http://www.suntimes.com/output/education/cst-nws-home29.html
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Home Schoolers Make Case for
School Choice," May 2002
https://www.mackinac.org/4364
PUBLIC SCHOOLS FAILING MINORITIES, SAYS EDUCATION SECRETARY
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The education chief of the federal government
said Wednesday that public schools are failing minority students
on a level great enough to be called apartheid.
Using statistics of the performance of minorities in schools,
Education Secretary Rod Paige showed that the current
establishment is not achieving its job to educate all students.
Because most failing students are poor, "effectively, the
education circumstances for these students are not unlike a
system of apartheid," Paige said.
Paige said that current laws should be enough to turn around
scores, but they are being hindered by "significant, powerful
forces entrenched in the old ways, mired in self interest."
SOURCES:
Boston Globe, "Education chief says schools failing minorities,"
Sept. 25, 2003
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2003/09/25/
education_chief_says_schools_failing_minorities/
Michigan Education Report, "Privately managed public school
academy raises achievement for minority students," Spring 2002
https://www.educationreport.org/4371
MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
https://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
https://www.mackinac.org), a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.
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