Vol. 4, No. 18
May 14, 2002

* REFORM: Single-sex education has been in the news lately, following the announcement by the Bush Administration that they'd soon be issuing new regulations encouraging the establishment of public schools that provide single-sex education for both boys and girls. A number of new single-sex schools have opened or are about to open, particularly in the charter arena, and more and more evidence is cropping up to suggest that many children do indeed benefit from the experience. For a long time, groups from the ACLU to the National Organization for Woman have opposed such arrangements, disregarding the fact that some girls and some boys do better in a single-sex environment. For more reading about this issue, go to Parent Power February 2001: The Growing Support for Single Sex Schools, CER Monthly Letter February-March 2002, and link here for more on A Better Choice Charter Schools. See also "Single-Sex Schooling Splits Thinking," By Ellen Sorokin, The Washington Times, May 14, 2002.

* ACHIEVEMENT: A new accreditation process for charter schools has yielded its first awardee: The Princeton Charter School of Princeton, NJ. Long a widely-acclaimed school, started in response to a lack of high standards in the traditional district, the Princeton Charter School won accreditation from the American Academy for Liberal Education. The accrediting program is designed to, "recognize public charter schools of high distinction," and as AALE President Jeff D. Whallin noted, "The Princeton Charter School has met our standards very well indeed -- and in every stage of the accreditation process." For more information, go to the American Academy for Liberal Education Website.

* HISTORY: "Still a Mystery to Many Students" read the headline from the Washington Post last Friday, when the National Assessment of Education Progress results were released. Far from stellar, the minor gains made since 1994 were dwarfed by the reality that proficiency in history is enjoyed by only 18 percent of 4th graders, 17 percent of eight graders, and 11 percent of our twelfth graders. If basic skills are all you require from our schools, then you'll still be disappointed by the numbers: 49, 48 and 32 percent of our 4th, 8th and 12th graders respectively demonstrate only basic skills. A majority of our twelfth graders -- whose school careers started roughly around the time that the nation began recognizing school deficiencies -- have history knowledge that is considered below basic. With a world changing rapidly and a need for proficiency in world affairs greater than ever, this should be a wake up call to every educator or education leader that history curricula and materials need a major overhaul to avoid such catastrophic results for the next generation. For more information on history education in the U.S., see Parent Power September 2000: Don't Know Much About ... History?.

* HISTORY II: The Newswire would be remiss if it did not recommend worthwhile suggestions to respond to the nation's history drought. The History and Geography programs developed by E.D. Hirsch and the Core Knowledge Foundation have been recently produced into a wonderful set of books for the early grades through a partnership with Pearson Learning Group. The Pearson Learning/Core Knowledge History and Geography series gives students in depth knowledge about the events that have shaped our country and our world. For more information, call 1-800-321-3106 or visit http://www.pearsonlearning.com. All royalties from the books support the Core Knowledge Foundation.

* CHARTERS: Any day, a bill that would revise the New Hampshire charter school law will be signed -- or vetoed -- by Governor Shaheen. The New Hampshire charter school law was passed way back in 1995, and seven years later, not one charter school has been opened. The state legislature recently passed a bill that would allow an additional authorizer, the state board of education. Currently, only local school boards have the ability to sponsor charter schools. And we see where that's gotten them. Governor Shaheen has vetoed other bills over the past several years that would have brought some much-needed changes to the existing law. It's our hope, therefore, that the governor signs this bill and brings the citizens of New Hampshire into a new era of reform.

* FIRST GRADUATES: The first group of seniors from Washington, D.C.'s Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School for Public Policy will graduate later this month. These 24 graduating seniors have been admitted to an impressive group of colleges and universities including Brown University, Carnegie Mellon, Seton Hall, the University of Pittsburgh, University of Cincinnati, George Washington University and Georgetown University.

* CHARTERS II: Attention charter school operators. Your presence is requested at the 2002 Charter Schools National Conference, being held in Milwaukee, WI June 19-22. The three-day conference begins at 1:00 pm on June 19. Time is being set aside for individual state meetings. State education agencies, state charter school associations and state technical assistance providers are urged to work together to make state and regional meetings an integral part of this national conference. Funding to defray travel and registration costs is available for this conference from the Federal Public Charter School Program (PCSP) and in some cases additional funds may be available through your state to supplement existing PCSP grants funding for this purpose. Check out the conference listing on CER's Calendar of Events for more information and links.

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