Articles of Interest

~~~~>  Valuable Real Estate

Federal Law to Aid Charter Schools in the District of Columbia Draws Flak
November 17, 2004

District of Columbia officials are screaming foul over a new federal provision that requires their city to offer any surplus school property to charter schools for at least 25 percent less than its appraised value.

The measure was introduced by Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., as an amendment to the annual spending bill for Washington’s local government. The bill became law last month. But local leaders are now complaining that they were never told that the amendment was in the works—not by Sen. Landrieu’s office, nor by Friends of Choice in Urban Schools, a local charter advocacy group that pushed the initiative.

“Whenever you have a local organization that actively undermines home rule, it is upsetting,’’ said Jim Graham, a Democratic member of the District of Columbia Council, who described himself as an advocate of charter schools. “This is local property, and it was local decisionmaking which has been taken out of our hands.’’

He said the city would now work to have the requirement repealed.

Charter advocates say going over the local government’s head was the only way they could force it to turn over surplus buildings to needy schools instead of selling them for profit to others buyers.

“The [local] administration has for all these years ignored charter school needs while deciding what to do with the surplus buildings,’’ said Robert Cane, the executive director of Friends of Choice in Urban Schools.

Mr. Cane said the law previously gave Washington charter schools first preference in buying surplus school buildings. But of the 58 buildings declared surplus since 1996, charter schools were able to get only 13.

The new measure says that charter schools will get the “right of first offer’’ to lease or purchase surplus buildings at a 25 percent discount.

Charter schools have grown rapidly in the District of Columbia since they were first authorized in 1995. Charters enroll just under 16,000 students this year, around 20 percent of the total public school enrollment in the city. Mr. Cane said that of the 42 charter schools, two-thirds have yet to find permanent facilities.

Brian Geiger, a spokesman for Sen. Landrieu, said the law that authorized charter schools in the city had intended for such schools to get a preference for surplus school buildings.

“This was just a tweak to ensure that happened,’’ he said.

~~~~>  Bush’s School Agenda Will Get a 2nd Term

President to Push for Expanded Accountability in High School
By Erik W. Robelen and Michelle R. Davis

President Bush will enter his second term with a range of campaign plans on education, from expanded testing demands to new cash awards for effective teachers, only some of which are likely to become law.  But one thing is clear: The controversial No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, his signature initiative for schools, is here to stay.

After winning a tight election race with 51 percent of the popular vote, compared with 48 percent for his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the president reiterated his commitment to education in a Nov. 4 press conference.

“We must continue the work of education reform, to bring high standards and accountability not just to our elementary and secondary schools, but to our high schools, as well,” he said.

Mr. Bush put noticeably less emphasis on education during his second campaign for the White House, which came against a backdrop of concerns about terrorism and the war in Iraq.  Exit-polling data suggested education was far down the list of voters’ most important issues in choosing a president.

Nonetheless, Mr. Bush invoked the bipartisan No Child Left Behind law often, as he did during several campaign stops the day before the election. 

“We passed education reforms, good solid education reforms to bring high standards to our classrooms,” he said in the clincher battleground state of Ohio on Nov. 1.  “Math and reading scores are now up in America.  We’re closing an achievement gap by helping our minority children.”

The federal law has stirred up a lot of passions, from those such as the president who vigorously defend it, to those who believe it needs substantial changes or should be undone altogether.  But love it or hate it, no one disputes that the law’s essence will remain with President Bush retaining the White House, and with Republicans enlarging their slim margins of control in the House and the Senate.

Rep. Michael N. Castle, the Delaware Republican who chairs the House Education Reform Subcommittee, said he would not rule out some congressional tinkering with the law next year—as many analysts have predicted—but he said any such changes would not be as much as the law’s critics would wish for.

“There might be things that are done,” Mr. Castle said in an interview on Nov. 3. “But if anyone believes that No Child Left Behind is going to be swept away, or changed significantly, they’re wrong.”

“The next four years are Bush holding tight to No Child Left Behind,” said Jack Jennings, the director of the Center on Education Policy, a Washington think tank, and a former top aide to House Democrats.

Mr. Bush said that there would be changes in his Cabinet, but he offered no specifics.

The future of the federal K-12 law wasn’t always so clear.  Signed by President Bush in January 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act reauthorized—and significantly overhauled—the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that was first passed in 1965 at the urging of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

In the heat of the presidential-primary season, the measure—which imposes stiff demands on states and school districts to improve student achievement and upgrade the quality of teachers—became something of a punching bag for the crowded field of Democratic hopefuls. Former Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont, the early frontrunner, led the charge with his vow to “dismantle” the act. But others who sought the Democratic nomination, including Sen. Kerry and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, his eventual vice presidential running mate, also jumped into the fray.

During a candidates’ debate in January, Sen. Edwards said his 2001 vote in favor of the law was a mistake. Sen. Kerry called the law, which he also voted for, a “one size fits all” approach and vowed to rewrite its accountability measures.

But the Kerry campaign’s rhetoric on the No Child Left Behind Act shifted considerably after the Massachusetts senator clinched the nomination and headed toward the general election. Sen. Kerry continued to argue that President Bush hasn’t supported adequate funding for the law, but backed off explicit calls to rewrite it.  Instead, Mr. Kerry said that the president had mismanaged its implementation, and he vowed that, if elected, he would make it “work for our schools.”

Exactly what he meant, however, was subject to much interpretation, and perhaps wishful thinking, by some Kerry backers.

“A presidential candidate is frequently a blank canvas upon which everybody paints their hopes and dreams,” said Andrew J. Rotherham, the director of education policy at the Progressive Policy Institute, a Washington think tank aligned with the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.

But Mr. Rotherham said he believes that those who were hoping Mr. Kerry might make fundamental changes to the law would have been disappointed.

“A Kerry win would not have meant a wild deviation [on education],” he said. “The two campaigns were operating within a fairly narrow bandwidth.”

At the same time, given the strong backing that Sen. Kerry won from the two national teachers’ unions—both of which have been sharply critical of the federal law—he presumably would have faced far more political pressure than President Bush to rethink some of the law’s requirements.

The Bush administration has so far resisted calls to amend the federal statute.  The law will come up for reauthorization in 2007, well into his second term.

“It’s as if a tree has been planted that really needs at least another four years of nurture to be secure,” said Sandy Kress, who helped craft the law as a White House education adviser to President Bush and informally advised the re-election campaign.  “What No Child Left Behind represents will be continued, will live, will be nurtured, and will be given a chance to make a real difference in the way education works.”

Mr. Kress added: “That’s not to say that administratively and legislatively, there won’t be opportunities to improve and strengthen and make things work smarter and better.”

Reg Weaver, the president of the 2.7 million-member National Education Association, which endorsed Sen. Kerry, said he believes the No Child Left Behind law will see some changes during the next Congress.

“I think the question is no longer shall the law be changed,” Mr. Weaver said last week.  “I think the question is how it should be changed.  I do believe there are Republicans and Democrats who see that.”

Meanwhile, President Bush has a set of new plans for education, some of which he says are intended to build upon the No Child Left Behind Act.

For one, he would require more high school testing, with assessments in reading and mathematics each year in grades 9-11.  Under the current federal law, high schools must test students only once.  Mr. Bush also has proposed creating a program to help struggling middle and high school readers.

In addition, the president has said that he wants to establish a new, $200 million pot of money to encourage schools to use 8th grade test data to devise individual performance plans for entering high schoolers.

Furthermore, he has put forward a plan—similar to one proposed by the Kerry campaign—to set up a $500 million Teacher Incentive Fund for states and districts that reward “effective” teachers. The fund would provide cash awards of as much as $5,000 each to 100,000 teachers a year.

Mr. Jennings of the Center on Education Policy called the president’s proposals “campaign rhetoric just to say he had a program.” He said he believed few, if any, would actually be enacted.

“Those things were just props for the campaign,” Mr. Jennings maintained.

If Mr. Bush, however, makes these initiatives a political priority, his stronger majorities in the House and especially the Senate may well help ensure their passage.  The party has added four seats to their majority in the Senate and at least four in the House, with one still undecided late last week.

During his press conference last week, Mr. Bush cited education as one of the areas where he expected to see action.

“I’ve earned [political] capital in this election, and I’m going to spend it,” he said.  “You’ve heard the agenda: Social Security and tax reform, moving this economy forward, education, fighting and winning the war on terror.”

But Kathleen Porter-Magee, the associate research director at the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, which is generally supportive of the administration’s education agenda, said she thought it would be more difficult for the president to push through some of his new ideas with the kind of strong backing he saw with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act.

“There is more resistance than there was then,” she said. “There was broad bipartisan support, but now when it comes to education, things are a little more polarized.”

Especially as Election Day approached, partisan tensions in Washington had become inflamed.

Leading Democrats have long contended that President Bush broke his “promise” on adequate funding for education, a point he strongly disputes but one that has caused continuing friction. Democrats have also complained about some of the administration’s decisions in implementing the No Child Left Behind law.

Sen. John Kerry, listens to his running mate, Sen. John Edwards, during their concession on November 3.

But last week, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said now is a time for reconciliation after the divisive election.

“Obviously, the results are disappointing,” he said in a Nov. 3 statement. “But I’m very hopeful that we can work together with President Bush to heal the divisions in America and make real progress for America’s future.”

President Bush, in his Nov. 3 victory speech to supporters after Sen. Kerry conceded defeat, said, “[T]oday I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent: To make this nation stronger and better I will need your support, and I will work to earn it.  I will do all I can do to deserve your trust.  A new term is a new opportunity to reach out to the whole nation.”

Some analysts expect Mr. Bush and Republicans in Congress to press hard to expand federal support for private school vouchers over the next four years.  The first such federal program, a pilot plan in the District of Columbia, was enacted earlier this year.

The president for three consecutive years now has proposed a $50 million program for vouchers and other school choice pilot programs across the country, but Congress has never provided money for it.

Another contentious issue in President Bush’s second term will likely be setting federal spending levels for education.  During the campaign, Sen. Kerry repeatedly argued that the president was shortchanging the federal education budget.

Sen. Kerry had promised to spend an additional $200 billion over 10 years on education programs.  And while that figure may have been overambitious, it seems likely that the Democrat would have pressed for higher levels of spending on education than President Bush has.

Federal education aid has grown dramatically since President Bush entered the White House in 2001, in part because each year Congress has provided more than Mr. Bush’s request.

If the president’s most recent budget request is any indication, he’s hoping to slow the growth rate.

His Department of Education budget plan for fiscal 2005, which began Oct. 1, would provide an increase of $1.7 billion, or 3 percent, to a total of $57.3 billion in discretionary spending. Congress has not yet completed work on a 2005 appropriation for education.

Ultimately, when it comes to debates on the budget, education policy, and other matters, the election results—with Mr. Bush’s popular-vote as well as electoral-vote majority and the GOP gains in Congress—handed Republicans both a real opportunity and a heavy responsibility.

“I think that we as a party have a responsibility to govern,” Rep. Castle said. “If things don’t happen now, it’s going to be the fault of Republicans. Our leadership … needs to get together and have an agenda that’s meaningful and is going to help the people.”

“If not,” Mr. Castle said, in coming elections “there’s going to be the normal retribution.”

~~~~>  Secretary of Education Rod Paige Resigns, Spellings Nominated

White House Press Release

On November 5, the Friday after Election Day, Secretary Paige submitted his letter of resignation to President Bush.  "I am very proud of the many accomplishments achieved by the talented and committed men and women of the United States Department of Education," the Secretary said, asserting, among other items:

The resignation is effective January 20, the end of the President's first term, although the Secretary agreed to continue to serve "until such time as my successor is confirmed.

As expected, President Bush has nominated Margaret Spellings to be the next Secretary of Education.  Spellings currently serves as Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy.  She is responsible for the development and implementation of policy on education, health, housing, justice, labor, transportation, and other elements of President Bush's domestic agenda. 

Prior to her White House appointment, she worked for six years as Governor Bush's Senior Advisor, with responsibility for developing and implementing education policy.

Her state work included the Texas Reading Initiative, the Student Success Initiative to eliminate social promotion, and one of the nation's strongest school assessment and accountability systems.

For more information, please visit:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/11/20041117-4.html.

~~~~>  Update on Kate Mullany House Bill

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Congressman Mike McNulty (D-Green Island) praised the House of Representatives' passage of legislation designating the Kate Mullany House in Troy, New York as a National Historic Site.  Senator Clinton's legislation, which was approved in the Senate in September, was approved by the House of Representatives, and now heads to the President for signature.

The legislation passed by Congress designates the Kate Mullany House as a National Historic Site and affiliated area of the National Park System. As First Lady, Senator Clinton visited the site in 1998 as part of the "Save America's Treasures" program.  Not only does this legislation honor Kate Mullany's work and life, but it would also authorize the National Park Service to provide important planning, interpretive, and preservation assistance. In the House, Representative McNulty introduced the companion bill to Senator Clinton's legislation.

"This legislation is an important tribute to Kate Mullany, and is also an important tribute to New York's rich history of women's and labor rights, and to the many individuals who fought so hard to improve the lives of women and workers across the nation," Senator Clinton said.

"Linking this site with the National Park System will attract New Yorkers and Americans to this wonderful site and showcase all that Troy has to offer," Senator Clinton said. "When the Kate Mullany project is fully completed, the rich and vibrant history of the American labor movement will be displayed in a wonderful location. And when people come to study this movement at the Kate Mullany site, they will know that the voices of the men, and especially the women, who led the American labor movement, have been preserved forever."

"It has been a real pleasure working with all those New Yorkers who want to highlight Kate Mullany"s life. Paul Cole of the New York State AFL-CIO, and his board of labor, community and women leaders have each put in a lot of work on this issue for several years. I believe that it will be a tremendous addition for Troy, helping to revitalize an historic neighborhood and bring attention and resources to the city,"Senator Clinton said.

Congressman McNulty said, "After nearly a decade, we are at the finish line. Establishment of the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in Troy will bring long overdue recognition for the amazing life and accomplishments of an icon of the Capital Region's rich heritage and history. I am pleased to have helped bring Senator Clinton's legislation to the House floor and I am thrilled it has passed unanimously."

"I am so grateful to Senator Clinton for her hard work on this legislation, which really began during her 1998 visit to Troy as First Lady to designate the Mullany House as a National Historic Landmark. She continues to be a tireless supporter of working families in the Capital Region, across New York State, and throughout America. And I cannot say enough about the contributions and efforts of Senator Joe Bruno, the past and present Mayors of the City of Troy, Paul Cole and the New York State AFL-CIO, local historians Rachel Bliven and Paul Bray, and countless others who have helped bring this project to fruition," McNulty added.

Paul Cole, Secretary Treasurer of the New York State AFL-CIO, said, "The passage by the House of Representatives designating the Kate Mullany House as a National Historic Site is a remarkable achievement. Credit goes to Congressman Mike McNulty and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and their staffs for their perseverance and their political skill in gaining bipartisan support for the legislation.

"We look forward to entering into a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service to provide technical, planning, interpretive, and construction assistance to preserve the Mullany House as well as their assistance in promoting, interpreting and researching the home and related sites."

"The City of Troy has a longstanding and extensive labor history, and this news today will go a long way in preserving the Kate Mullany legacy in the Collar City. I would like to thank Senator Clinton for all of her hard work in seeing this effort through to this point," said Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian.

In June 2003, Senator Clinton introduced legislation to establish the Kate Mullany House in Troy as a National Historic Site. In October 2003, Senator Clinton testified in support of her legislation before a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee.

The Kate Mullany House is located at 350 8th Street in Troy. The House has been designated a National Historic Landmark. When Kate Mullany arrived in the United States, she went to work washing, starching, and ironing clothes at the nation's first commercial laundry in Troy. Kate Mullany and the other workers were required to work 14 hours a day for only $2 a week under harsh conditions. In February of 1864, Kate Mullany and 200 of her fellow female laborers organized the first women's labor union in the U.S., the "Collar Laundry Union." Together, they were a formidable force and, after striking for a week, they were able to secure a $.25 wage increase. The Collar Laundry Union continued as an influential force in the Troy collar and cuff industry for five years beyond its formation, which was very unusual for women"s labor organizations at the time.

The New York State AFL-CIO, working in conjunction with the not-for-profit American Labor Studies Center, purchased the House. They plan to create a national Center of American Labor Studies at the Kate Mullany House, which they envision as both a significant repository and research site that will document the history of the American labor movement. This Center is envisioned to have a profound impact upon the revitalization of the Troy neighborhood, which includes the Kate Mullany House.

Get Connected: Web Site Links

~~~~>  Grants Forecast

Be sure to review the Fiscal Year 2005 Grants Forecast which lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the U.S. Department of Education has invited or expects to invite applications for awards and provides actual or estimated dates for the transmittal of applications under these programs.  The lists are in the form of charts -- organized according to principal program offices -- and will be updated regularly through July 2005.  For more information see: http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/find/edlite-forecast.html,  

~~~~>  Improving School-to-Work Transition for All Students

Too many students leave high school without the occupational and academic skills to succeed in the workplace or in postsecondary education. School-to-work transition initiatives offer a promising approach to this issue and require major school restructuring.

A report by the Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, America's Choice: High Skills or Low Wages! (1990), states that "America may have the worst school-to-work transition system of any advanced industrial country.  The curriculum of the typical American high school is geared toward preparing students for four-year colleges and universities.

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/stw/sw0.htm

~~~~>  Labor Awareness Program Web Site at the Institute for Labor Studies/University of Missouri Kansas City!

The Labor Awareness Program (LAP) is a 15-lesson curriculum for high school students, apprentices, new entrants into the workforce, union members, etc. It aims to familiarize students with the world of work and the labor organizations that represent workers. Go to: http://www.umkc.edu/labor-ed/lap/

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