| Can
Schools Alone Lift 100 Percent of Children
to Proficiency by 2014?
On
November 13 and 14, 2006, scholars, educators,
civil rights leaders, and policy-makers
gathered at Teachers College, Columbia University,
for the Campaign for Educational Equity’s
second annual symposium, “Examining
America's Commitment to Closing Achievement
Gaps: NCLB and Its Alternatives.”
NCLB, the federal education law, which states
as its goals the elimination of achievement
gaps and the attainment of proficiency on
state exams by 100 percent of students by
2014, also calls for “highly qualified”
teachers in all classrooms and a fair, equal,
and significant opportunity for all students.
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School
Funding Adequacy and Equity Lawsuit Filed
in Washington State
On
November 20, 2006, the Federal Way School
District and an array of individual plaintiffs
in the district asked a State Superior Court
to declare Washington State’s school
funding system unconstitutional under the
state constitution, in Federal Way School
District v. State of Washington. Alleging
that the funding system is “arbitrary
and irrational” and that it “fails
to amply fund education in all school districts,
including the Federal Way School District,”
the Complaint describes funding disparities
that it claims are “not based on any
geographic, demographic, student population,
cost of living or other educationally relevant
factor.” Read
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| Myth-Dispelling
Schools Have Keys to Success
All
too often, it is alleged problems with public
education that make headlines, but recently
the Education Trust put the media’s
focus on school success stories. In November,
five public schools received the Education
Trust’s annual “Dispelling the
Myth” awards, which honor high-performing
schools that serve large populations of
low-income and minority students. These
five schools – and others across the
country – are lessons in how capacity-building,
strong leadership, and more resources can
turn around poorly performing schools.
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| New
Jersey Legislature Proposes Sweeping School
Funding Changes
After
three months of committee hearings, the
New Jersey Legislature released in November
nearly one hundred recommendations for what
it has called “property tax reform.”
The proposals are sweeping, involving major
changes to the state’s school funding
system, recommendations for consolidation
of school districts and municipalities,
and a wide range of other ideas. Many legislators
have lauded the recommendations, citing
both an additional one billion dollars proposed
for schools and a large reduction in property
taxes, but the proposals also face opposition
on several fronts. Developing the recommendations
was only one step in what is certain to
be a much longer process of possible budgetary,
school funding, and governance changes in
New Jersey. Read
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Translating
Policy into Action: National and Pennsylvania
Conferences Address School Funding
In
mid-November, the Education Policy and Leadership
Center (EPLC) and 15 additional Pennsylvania
organizations co-sponsored an Education
Finance Symposium. Molly A. Hunter, Access
Managing Director, led a wide ranging discussion
of school funding issues in the symposium’s
opening plenary, and Dr. Alvin Thornton,
former chair of Maryland’s Commission
on Education Finance, Equity, and Excellence
provided an inspiring keynote address. Also
in November, at the Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities’ 14th annual State
Fiscal Policy Conference, participants from
over 30 states met in Bethesda, Maryland
to discuss a wide range of topics on state
government responsibilities, including “Financing
a Good Education for All Children.”
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