LETTERS.Improved Relations BY LEE JENKINS Lee Jenkins is a Welsh professional footballer with Welsh representative honours from schoolboy up to under-21 level. He progressed through the Swansea City set-up and was a first team regular for several seasons at either right back or in midfield before moving to Kidderminster Superintendent, Enterprise School District, Redding, California Redding (pop. 104,295) is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA, located on the Sacramento River and on Interstate 5 south of Shasta Lake. It is the largest city north of Sacramento, as well as the northernmost designated metropolitan area and city with over 100,000 I would like to add a postscript to the September issue ("Outcomes: The Dirtiest Word in School Reform") regarding Focus on the Family. AASA AASA American Association of School Administrators AASA Asian American Student Association AASA Association of Academies of Sciences in Asia AASA Aging and Adult Services Administration AASA Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army members might like to know that James Dobson James Clayton "Jim" Dobson, Ph.D. (born April 21, 1936 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is the chairman of the board of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization he founded in 1977. , the organization's president, recently hired Linda Page as his administrator for educational policy and programs. She is a former public school teacher and administrator from California. I believe the future relationship between AASA members and the Christian media will be better because of Linda. The need for Focus on the Family and AASA to publish negatives about each other should disappear. Avoiding Conflict BY G.E. McCARY, III Assistant Superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. for Instructional Services, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools, Elizabeth City, North Carolina Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, in the United States. The population was 17,188 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pasquotank CountyGR6. How very much I appreciated Joseph Boeckx's article ("Developing Community Support for Outcome-Based Education  This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers.Please [improve the article] or discuss this issue on the talk page. ") in the September issue. We are one of nine outcome-based education pilot sites in North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. and have pursued a careful community involvement process similar to the one he described. So far, it has enabled us to avoid much of the conflict and controversy that has divided other districts. I am particularly interested in the process Boeckx used to involve higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. and corporate partners in developing curriculum and assessment, particularly the first-year College Prep Science/Technology course he described, as well as the true outcome-based academies his district is developing. Visionary Advice BY THOMAS R. GUSKEY Professor, College of Education, University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky, also referred to as UK, is a public, co-educational university located in Lexington, Kentucky. , Lexington, Kentucky I enjoyed Joseph Boeckx's article in the September issue. It was clear, concise, and highly informative. Best of all, it showed that with visionary leadership, thoughtful planning, careful implementation, and ongoing support, real improvements can indeed be made. I hope it will be widely read. Affective Outcomes BY WILLIAM J. PRICE Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University, mainly at Ypsilanti, Mich.; coeducational; founded 1849 as a normal school, became Eastern Michigan College in 1956, gained university status in 1959. , Ypsilanti, Michigan What I find disturbing about the views of Phyllis Schlafly, president of The Eagle Forum, and Beverly LaHaye, president of Concerned Women for America Concerned Women for America is a conservative Christian political action group active in the United States. The group was founded in 1979 by Beverly LaHaye, wife of Christian Coalition co-founder Timothy LaHaye, as a response to activities by the National Organization for Women and , is not their now-familiar criticism of outcome-based education in general and William Spady in particular, but rather their appalling lack of understanding about the nature of the society and the real world we now collectively inhabit. Consider first their view of the contemporary American family. The Norman Rockwell family with father at work and mother at home nurturing the children is no longer the predominant family pattern in America. U.S. Census Bureau demographic data show an explosion in single-parent families, an epidemic level of children born out of wedlock wed·lock n. The state of being married; matrimony. Idiom: out of wedlock Of parents not legally married to each other: born out of wedlock. , and one of every four children living in poverty. The traditional stability of the family unit has been lost and with it much of the capacity to shape a child's character in the home. This fact was driven home to me recently by a principal who described enrollments in his district. "How would you describe a family unit," he asked, "where the mother is living with her three children fathered by three different men, none of whom she married, as well as her current live-in boyfriend and his friend?" In her article, "A Radical Redefinition of Schooling," LaHaye argues that "teaching value and beliefs should be left exclusive to families." Parents, she argues, "provide essential lessons at home....Schools cannot provide a substitute." Given the above description of a family unit, what is the likelihood that those children will develop appropriate life skills and behaviors necessary to a productive and emotionally healthy life? Cannot a highly effective teacher serve as an effective parent substitute to assist the child in positive character development? My second concern is the lack of understanding by critics of outcome-based education of the needs of the workplace as reported by employers. In addition to literacy requirements, employers need workers who have learned to work as members of a team, report every day on time, and have good attitudes toward work. Schlafly contends that fostering such attitudes about the workplace does not belong in schools. Schools must deal only with objective knowledge, she argues. At a time of considerable racial and religious intolerance and rising violence, what greater role could schools have than helping parents develop positive moral behavior in their children? It would be tragic for our education system to abdicate ab·di·cate v. ab·di·cat·ed, ab·di·cat·ing, ab·di·cates v.tr. To relinquish (power or responsibility) formally. v.intr. To relinquish formally a high office or responsibility. responsibility for teaching character development in children when our society is in great peril of losing those virtues that have brought our nation to greatness. Sizer's Kudos TED SIZER Chairman, Coalition of Essential Schools, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island  “Providence” redirects here. For other uses, see Providence (disambiguation). Providence is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. * The September issue of The School Administrator is a "coup" for you to get a dialogue started. Linda Chion-Kenney does first-class work in her lead article, "Negotiating the Challenge of Outcome-Based Education." Still Reluctant DAVID LLOYD Director, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Noun 1. Department of Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Health and Human Services, HHS , Washington, D.C. * I commend you for focusing the October 1994 issue on abuse of students by educators. Sexual abuse of children and adolescents by school personnel is a serious problem, and school administrators need to pay attention to their role in preventing and identifying it. Unfortunately, some of the cases cited and comments from school administrators seem to indicate a continuing reluctance to address the problem unless forced to do so by liability concerns or cases that have become public knowledge. Even the administrators who have implemented new safeguards are quoted as bemoaning the impact of such cases on their ability to run the school district, as opposed to regretting the effect the abuse had on their students. Moreover, some information presented is confusing regarding legal responsibilities of school personnel as mandated reporters of child abuse. They are required by law to report suspected cases of abuse to child protective services child protective services Sociology A state or county agency that addresses issues of child abuse and neglect and/or law enforcement. If school districts want to require the report also be made to a designated individual or committee, that is a matter of school Policy. However, it is not a substitute for reporting to the appropriate agencies that are the only bodies authorized to investigate. Nevertheless, the positive aspects of your presentation far outweigh the negatives. You have given administrators who want to improve their school system's prevention and carly intervention policies a great deal of good information to work with. Other potential resources are the Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information (800-394-3366) and the National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse Child sexual abuse is an umbrella term describing criminal and civil offenses in which an adult engages in sexual activity with a minor or exploits a minor for the purpose of sexual gratification. (800-543-7006), both of which are funded by our center. Accurate Portrayal ALAN L. BARBEE Investigative Specialist, Fairfax County Public Schools The Fairfax County Public Schools system (abbreviated FCPS) is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. , Springfield, Virginia * Based on my experience in conducting investigations of sexual abuse, I found the series of articles on dealing with abuse allegations in your October issue to be an accurate portrayal of the issues facing school administrators today. The best advice I could offer school administrators is to have an atmosphere that acknowledges that sexual abuse does occur in school settings and to ensure that allegations are properly reported and thoroughly investigated. I was pleased to see this advice was woven throughout the articles. Unfortunately, some districts still prefer to handle such matters quietly and allow abusers to move on, permitting future victimization victimization Social medicine The abuse of the disenfranchised–eg, those underage, elderly, ♀, mentally retarded, illegal aliens, or other, by coercing them into illegal activities–eg, drug trade, pornography, prostitution. to occur. I am proud to work for a school system that has the courage to face the issue and deal with it in a professional manner. Sadly Regular KELLY FRELS Attorney, Bracewell and Patterson, Houston, Texas The October is sue of The School Administrator was of considerable interest. Our firm deals with the issue of sexual a use allegations against teachers all too often. In fact, four of our 14 attorneys who represent school districts currently have active matters in litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. involving this issue. All the rest of us work with school districts nd school administrators on these issues regularly. I have taken the liberty of circulating your publication throughout our firm's school section. Timely Value HOWARD I. KALLEM Chief, Elementary and Secondary Education Policy Development Branch, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education * We are sharing widely within the Office for Civil Rights the series of articles in the October issue that discusses how school leaders can deal with issues related to allegations that school employees have sexually harassed students. These articles are of particular interest to our office because we are developing updated policy guidance on the implementation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 as it applies to sexual harassment sexual harassment, in law, verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature, aimed at a particular person or group of people, especially in the workplace or in academic or other institutional settings, that is actionable, as in tort or under equal-opportunity statutes. of students in schools, colleges, and universities. |
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