election results favor public education

Our national elections proved that voters support public education. Ballots across the country were crowded with propositions (more than 24) to improve education.

California voters rejected a heavily financed voucher proposal by a large majority, with citizens fearing a poorly written proposal would deplete public education funding.

Michigan residents rejected vouchers for children in failing school districts by almost 70%. The proposal would have offered vouchers worth an estimated $3,300 to any child living in a district where less than two-thirds of students graduate, regardless of whether the child was in a public or private school.

While South Carolina approved a state lottery to finance education, Arkansas rejected the idea of a lottery, along with casinos and charity bingo, even though proceeds were earmarked for charity and education. North Carolina approved the state's record $3.1 billion bond issue to improve higher education.

In addition to education propositions, another issue appearing on ballots was gun control. Voters in Colorado and Oregon cracked down on gun shows by approving background checks on all buyers. The measures were prompted by shootings by high school students in the last two years.

voucher update

Education - with a capital "E" was a primary focus and a hot button issue this fall for candidates in national and state campaigns. Regardless of who won the national election, voters knew extensive educational initiatives would be proposed.

President-Elect Bush, who strongly supported vouchers in his campaign, saw a voucher initiative soundly defeated in his own state last year. However, his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, successfully guided the passage of a voucher program in his state. Including the referendums defeated in Michigan and California last month, 10 voucher initiatives have been spurned by voters in recent years. Twenty-eight states defeated or delayed voucher-related legislation this year.

In another setback for vouchers, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2 to 1 on Dec. 11 that Cleveland's school voucher program, which principally went to religious institutions, violated the U.S. Constitution's separation of church and state. About 96% of the 3,700 participating students used the state aid of up to $2,500 to attend parochial schools. This case was the second in two years in which federal appellate judges rejected the use of tax money for parochial school tuition. As other states debate and establish controversial voucher programs and the President readies his programs, the Ohio ruling very likely may become the test case that is ultimately reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Voucher proponents are beginning to reexamine their strategies, opting to concentrate on state legislatures, governors and mayors and on more narrowly defined programs (such as for poor children or students in failing schools). New York lawmakers are looking at private school tax credits and New Jersey lawmakers plan to copy an Arizona program that makes donations to scholarship funds tax-deductible.

Clearly vouchers, whether called "school choice" or tied to charter school initiatives, will continue to dominate the educational headlines for the coming year(s). It will be our responsibility in the future to monitor the new initiatives and to keep informed on the three fronts that the voucher battles will be fought - legal, political and educational!

WHAT YOUR CHAPTER CAN DO

- Look up your local newspaper(s) on the Web and get the names of local, state and federal elected officials for the next time voucher proposals come up.

- Prepare your members now for communicating with their legislators on vouchers in the near future. Publish material in your Chapter bulletin that helps your members understand why Women's American ORT opposes vouchers. The Web site of Americans United, www.au.org, is a good source for material. You can also look at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs' (JCPA) site at www.jewishpublicaffairs.org and fill in the search request with "vouchers for public education." On the National Parents and Teachers Association's Web site, www.pta.org, you can find information on vouchers by clicking on "legislative issues."

education funding makes a difference

According to two new reports by the Rand Corporation on the education reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, reforms seem to be making a difference, but some states are doing much better when measuring achievements based on comparisons of students with similar racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Indiana is a high performer and California ranks dead last. These rankings can be explained in part by per pupil expenditures and how funds are allocated. States with the best records have lower teacher-student ratios in the lower grades, higher participation in public pre-kindergarten programs and a higher percentage of teachers who are satisfied with the resources they are provided for teaching.

California's $4 billion class-size reduction (CSR) reforms began after the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress tests were given. The results of an ongoing evaluation of CSR by a consortium headed by the American Institutes for Research and Rand, including Policy Analysis for California Education, Edsource and West Ed, reveal gains from the push to reduce the size of kindergarten through third grade classes, but also a shortage of qualified teachers in the upper and primary grades. CSR has not changed the content or method of K-3 instruction, but teachers in reduced-size classes spend more time working with individuals, small groups and children with reading problems. They also report less disruptive behavior during lessons.

WHAT YOUR CHAPTER CAN DO

- Plan programs to discuss public education funding and class size in your community. Invite speakers from the League of Women Voters, your local school board, or educators from your local university or college to speak on topics including funding in your state, vouchers and what individuals can do to make education reform a priority.

- Check out www.rand.org, www.classize.org (site of the CSR Research Consortium) and The League of Women Voters' site, www.lwv.org, for more information on school reforms.

- Make sure your members know that Women's American ORT has been a long-time supporter of quality public education by publishing articles in your bulletins and presenting programs at meetings.

computers vs. libraries

Is there a dichotomy between those who use the library and those who use the Internet? A national survey of 3,097 adults, "The Impacts of the Internet on Public Library Use," conducted by the Urban Library Council, an association of large public libraries and corporations that serve them, found that 75.2% of Internet users also used the library, and 60.3% of library users also used the Internet. Forty percent of the survey population used both the library and the Internet.

Use of the library and the Internet were positively related to educational attainment and higher annual household income. Both types of users were better educated and reported a higher income than nonusers.

Of significant interest to us as women are the responses affected by gender. The percentage of females who reported using the library was higher than the percentage of males. However, the percentage of males who reported using the Internet was higher than the percentage of females.

The primary reason respondents did not have access to the Internet was cost. To read the report, see www.urbanlibraries.org.

The American Library Association (to which WAO belongs) has made a five-year commitment to speak out about the value of libraries and librarians to our communities, schools and businesses in this digital age.

WHAT YOUR CHAPTER CAN DO

- Plan what your members can do to celebrate the American Library Association's National Library Week (April 1-7, 2001). This year's theme is "@ your library." Check out www.ala.org.

- Collect books for our "Adopt-A-Shelf" campaign. Many chapters have presented books to public libraries, school libraries, hospitals, hospices, senior residences, Jewish community centers and shelters for abused women. For more information on "Adopt-A-Shelf," call the National Office, 800.51.WAORT, 263.

- Donate used books to a library book sale. Use your bulletin to make members aware of the needs of your local library.

- Volunteer to read to children as part of a library literacy programs.

grading on employability

The Kent, Wash., school district got a "rude awakening" according to Sandy Schwartz, director of technical and applied programs for the district, when area employers complained about students' sloppy appearance and poor attitudes when applying for jobs. The Kent Chamber of Commerce and the district took a joint survey of how well the schools have prepared students for the workplace, and the answer was: not well.

As a solution, school officials have added "employability" to high school students' report cards to measure work habits and attitudes, cooperation, commitment to quality, quantity of work, attendance and punctuality. They hope the grades, an addition to traditional academic grades, will help students obtain summer jobs and build future careers. The employability grade will not figure into a student's grade-point average, a factor in college acceptance. Students will rate themselves first and then discuss the rating with their teachers who make the final judgement. Students who score high on employability will receive "hire me first" cards which they will use during job interviews with employers. Parents and students will see the first "employability" grades early in the new year.

WHAT YOUR CHAPTER CAN DO

- See www.rethinkingschools.org and look at the many articles on school reform. You may want to print and distribute them to your members.

- Look up www.familyplay.com and check out articles on education and what parents can do to help their children. Consider how your Chapter can encourage your community to make education more meaningful to students.

Visit www.netaction.org for consumer's reports for Internet users, to learn about using the Web for outreach and activism, and to sign up to receive NetAction reports via e-mail.

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