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April 16, 1999
Accountability is
American's buzz word of choice in education circles today, and for good reason:
most parents want it, and find it lacking in our schools. Surveys show that more
than 90% of all parents surveyed want their children to learn the basics and be
held to high standards. Further, they want schools to be held accountable for
results. To their credit, several states have started holding people -- students
and schools -- to tough standards, but some school officials (hopefully in the
minority) don't like the heat. In Texas, a deputy superintendent was indicted
for tampering with scores to make the district's students appear smarter.
And a spokesperson for the NEA's
Texas affiliate which serves 80,000 teachers said about testing, "Our major
complaint is that careers are on the line. You can be fired if the children
aren't performing."
As our children might say, DUUUHHH!
The heat should be sparking people to work harder, and those that can't,
shouldn't be in business.,
Elsewhere, our weekly glimpse at
schools working takes us to Pittsburgh, PA, where founders of the Northside
Urban Pathways charter are working hard to close a successful first year.
They've encountered challenges beyond what most educators can even imagine, but
what draws them together is a united passion and commitment for making things
work no matter what the obstacles. Kudos to Northside Urban Pathways, our
charter of the week!
And if you know anyone in Wyoming,
you might want to direct them to the Citizens for Educational Choice, a growing
group of dedicated parents and citizens who want to bring about better schools.
They've started a newsletter to network people across the state, and are
bringing together people to have an impact on public school policy. To get on
the weekly update list, e-mail Nancy Hamilton at treyham@uwyo.edu,
or call the Center at (800) 521-2118 for more information.
Next week, we hope we'll be able to
report on good news about the Florida school choice debate, where the Senate is
slated to consider the Governor's bill this week, but is being deluged by
union-paid opponents to kill all reform proposals currently on the table. Oh,
the battle never ends! But the cause is just. Bye for now.
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The CER Newswire is published by The Center for Education Reform, the nation's leading authority on school reform. CER is dedicated to making schools better for America's children by improving educational access and excellence for all. CER works with parents, teachers and policymakers to advance meaningful education improvement initiatives.
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