By Smita Ghosh

Virginia City Considers Apology for School Segregation
Associated Press/Daily Press – September 22, 2009

On October 5, the Charlottesville, VA City Council will vote on a resolution issuing a formal apology for the city’s “massive resistance” to desegregation in the late 1950s. During Massive Resistance, cities throughout Virginia closed white schools rather than obey the Federal Court’s order to desesegregate.

Westchester Lawmakers Put Off Vote on Historic Housing Desegregation Settlement
LO HUD.com – September 21, 2009

On Sept. 21, the Westchester, NY County Board of Legislators delayed a vote on an historic housing desegregation settlement that mandates the construction of affordable housing in white communities, postponing the vote by one day. The Board is struggling to meet a court-ordered deadline that, if not met, means the deal is void and the county would take its case to trial.

TUSD: Discipline Colorblind
Arizona Star—September 22, 2009

In response to a critical column in the Sept. 20 Arizona Republic, officials of the Tucson, AZ school district reiterated the fact that the district does not operate a “two-tiered” discipline system based on race. Acknowledging that the discipline rate does differ for students of different races, the District described a move toward a “restorative,” as opposed to punitive, method of discipline that would be an opportunity offered regardless of race. The model will not be required, but offered to all schools.

Help with Aid Form Found to Boost College Attendance
Education Week – September 23, 2009

A study showed that those who received a federal application for student financial aid (FAFSA)—and had help completing it—were three times more likely to enroll in college the next fall than were their peers who had no such assistance. The researchers in the study—hailing from Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Toronto—worked with H & R Block to automatically input student tax information. They gave this assistance to some students, and also told gave these students an estimate of the federal aid that they would receive. Thirty percent more of these students enrolled in college, 33 percent more won federal aid, and 39 percent more submitted FAFSAs than those in the control group, who did not get the assistance.

Latest Challenge in ‘Race to Top’: Find Review Team for Applicants
Education Week – September 23, 2009

The U.S. Department of Education is seeking 50 to 80 outside judges to help award grants from the “Race to the Top Fund,” a portion of the economic-stimulus program that finances state projects embracing innovative educational policies. The Department is looking for, according to Secretary Arne Duncan, “disinterested experts” who will review applications without interference of personal interest. In 2006, during a high-profile review of how the department handled Reading First grants, the department’s inspector general indicated officials may have intended to “stack” the panels of grant reviewers with those who favored a particular teaching methodology.

National Standards: Has the Time Finally Come?
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Blog – September 22, 2009

On September 21, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers released a public draft of the college-and career-readiness standards in English-language arts and mathematics for K-12. The groups anticipate that states will voluntarily accept the standards, reflecting a growing consensus that aligning state graduation standards would strengthen the country’s education system.

Read More:

• The Common Core State Standards Initiative
• Skills Set Drafted For Students Nationwide

N.Y.C. Charters Found to Close Gaps
Education Week – September 22, 2009

A study from researchers at Stanford University found that attending a charter school in New York City made City students more able to match the scores of students in the wealthier suburbs. The researchers found that attending a charter school from kindergarten to 8th grade can close the achievement gap with a similar student in the affluent suburb of Scarsdale, N.Y., by 86 percent in mathematics and 66 percent in reading. They also found that charter high schools increased student scores.

The “Harlem-Scarsdale achievement gap” is generally 35- to 40-points. The students in the charters studied were admitted by lottery. The results of this study contradict those of a study from the Center for Research on Education Outcome (CREDO), which found that students in more than 80 percent of charter schools either performed the same as-or worse than-students in traditional public schools on mathematics tests. This could mean that New York charters are better quality, but could also calls into question CREDO’s methodology. More on the CREDO Study.

Study Finds Mayor Bloomberg’s Boast on Graduation Rates Misleading
New York Daily News – September 23, 2009

A Columbia University study casts doubt on Mayor Bloomberg’s faith in small schools-finding that the increase in graduation rates that the mayor touts may actually occur from changing student populations in the new schools. The study’s authors found that students entering the new schools were between 10 and 15 percentage points more likely to be reading and doing math at grade level, as measured by state tests. Lower-performing students, said researchers, were likely to be in other large schools.

A Political Swirl on Charter Schools
Boston Globe – September 22, 2009

On Sept. 21, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick sent a hand-delivered letter to the State’s Board of Education requesting the revocation of a charter that the state had granted, and reflecting a growing sense that state education officials granted the charter for political-not educational-reasons. The controversy surrounds an e-mail about a charter that was granted this for a school in Gloucester, despite objections from city residents and education specialists. In the e-mail, Education Secretary Paul Reville expressed concern that Patrick would alienate potential supporters of the governor’s public education-including the Boston Foundation and the Globe, whose editorial page has advocated for more charter schools-if he denied the application.

Smith Ghosh is a Paralegal in the Education Practice of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.