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ARCHIVE FOR SEPTEMBER 2005
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND CONFERENCE ADDRESSES URBAN REFORM ISSUES (9/15/05)
More than 125 sociologists of education attended a one-day conference of the American Sociological Association’s Sociology of Education Section the day before the annual ASA meetings in Philadelphia in August. Alan Sadovnik, Associate Director of IELP, organized the event. Speakers included Mary Metz of the University of Wisconsin, who spoke on the possible effects of NCLB on public education and the possibilities of increased privatization; and James Nevels, Chair of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission and Chairman of the Swarthmore Group, whose keynote address was titled “Urban school reform and the reduction of the achievement gap: Federal involvement, NCLB and their place in Philadelphia school reform.” The conference was part of the Section’s continuing efforts to highlight the role of sociology of education in analyzing federal educational policy and the importance of a sociological perspective for analyzing the limits and possibilities of schools in ameliorating educational and social inequality.
Related Links:
American Sociological Association, Sociology of Education Section
James Nevels Biography
Mary Metz Biography
STUDENTS DISPLACED BY HURRICANE KATRINA TO RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS (9/28/05)
Recently, President Bush announced that the federal government would cover a majority of the costs related to educating students displaced by the recent hurricane in the Gulf Coast region, including private school tuition costs. Democrats and others have expressed concern that this promotes a Bush agenda item of providing vouchers for private schools. The National Education Association is opposed to the plan, calling it “opportunistic and inappropriate.” Supporters include Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who said, “Katrina did not discriminate among children and neither should we.”
Related Links:
“Relief Plans Spurring Debate Over Vouchers” – Education Week, 9/28/05
"Bush Proposes Vouchers for all Displaced Students” – Washington Post, 9/20/05
Response Statement by NEA President Reg Weaver – 9/16/05
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