Mexican-American studies program nixed by Ariz. education chief (The Lookout)

Arizona's top education official told Tucson educators they must stop teaching or significantly alter a Mexican-American studies program that is ostensibly in violation of a state law, or else lose millions of dollars in funding from the state. There's just one problem--Arizona's own investigation of the program found that there's nothing illegal about it.

Education?Superintendent?John Huppenthal says the program, which is taught to about 650 high school juniors, violates last year's controversial state law that bans K-12 programs that "promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, promote resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed primarily for pupils of one ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity," according to The Arizona Republic's Emily Gersema.

The Tucson district can lose about $15 million--or 10 percent of all state aid--if they don't come in compliance within 60 days, the paper reports. However auditors hired by Huppenthal found no issues with the Tucson program. And students support the program. "I get really emotional because this class helped me a lot," Olivia Payne, an African-American student told CNN. "We're a family. We're one, and it's teaching us we can make a difference in this country. I don't want this class to be taken away."

Huppenthal's auditors report that students participating in the program graduated at a higher rate than their counterparts who don't enroll in the program. "No observable evidence was present to indicate that any classroom within TUSD is in direct violation of the law," the auditors said, according to The Arizona Daily Star. They observed 40 percent of the classrooms participating in the program for 30 minutes each.

In concluding the program broke the law, Huppenthal said some course materials referenced white people as "oppressors" and stressed Hispanic unity. More than 90 percent of students enrolled in the courses are Hispanic, which Huppenthal argues advocates "ethnic solidarity" in violation of the law.

Huppenthal also criticized the course's website for language he said indicated?it was originally designed for a particular ethnic group: "formed specifically to enhance the?academic success of Latino students." But the?full sentence says: "While the Mexican American Studies Department was formed specifically to enhance the academic success of Latino students, the?educational model and?curriculum developed by the Mexican American Studies Department help all students." Auditors said they did not find evidence that the program was exclusionary, but raised concerns that the course did not provide enough guidance to teachers to ensure all the materials were appropriate at a high school level.

Tucson officials say the program has helped to lower the city's high school dropout rate and improve attendance, since the kids who take the courses feel more connected to the material. Tucson administrators also say the curriculum is designed to make students examine their assumptions about race and think critically about traditional historical narratives.

Students in the program have told reporters they love the classes.

"Ethnic studies allow me to read and view and analyze different forms of literature and learning from another perspective," student Krysta Diaz, 17, told EdWeek reporter Mary Ann Zehr.

Eleven teachers and the director of the Mexican American Studies Department are suing the state over the law in federal court, arguing it violates the First?Amendment. The former schools superintendent, Tom Horne, had already decided the program was not in compliance with the law before he left office, but Huppenthal commissioned his own investigation before deciding.

(Huppenthal: Ross D. Franklin/AP)

View the original article here

Sad chart of the day: College tuition v. median wages (The Lookout)

CNN Money has a chart, above, showing the stark rise in average college costs at four-year public universities compared to wages since 1988.

The gap is even more steep if we go back a few more years--college costs have nearly tripled since 1980, even as wages for the middle class have stagnated.

The article accompanying the chart concludes that college is now out of reach for many middle class families, as federal aid hasn't kept pace with the ballooning costs. Financial assistance from federal and state sources, and colleges and universities themselves, is up 140 percent since 1991, according to a report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. But students are still taking out more loans to make up the difference.

Economists told The Lookout that the college?affordability?crisis is primarily affecting those in the bottom 20 percent of American's income distribution. As society's income distribution has become radically more unequal, the economic value of a college degree has gone up, allowing both public and private colleges to hike prices.

A recent Pew study found that 60 percent of Americans don't think colleges are providing their students with a good value, and 75 percent say college is financially out of reach for most people.

(Chart: CNNMoney.com)

View the original article here

University of Washington to hike tuition following steep budget cuts (The Lookout)

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire approved huge budget cuts today that will hike tuition at the state's premier public university by 16 percent, the Associated Press reports. Tuition at the University of Washington will cost twice as much when Gregoire leaves office than it did in 2005.

A report on Stateline.org explains that higher education budgest are also on the cutting board across the country, after facing years of smaller cuts since the recession began. Nevada is cutting public higher education funding by 15 percent, and Arizona state budget cuts have resulted in a 20 percent tuition increase at Arizona State University.

In Texas, college tuition has risen by more than 70 percent since it was deregulated during a budget crisis in 2003. Those increases have?prompted Gov. Rick Perry to ask college administrators to figure out a way to provide a college education--including books--for $10,000.

Higher education lobbyist Terry Hartle told The Lookout public colleges are the first to get hit in a budget crunch because college students "look very much like paying customers," and it's more politically palatable to cut higher ed funding that K-12 spending. In-state tuition has?jumped 7.9 percent just this year, according to a recent study, and?the average college student's debt is now a record $23,000. Pennsylvania State University has the most expensive in-state tuition and fees of any public college, at more than $15,000 per year, according to the U.S. News and Report.

According to data from the National Association of Budget Officers, 18 states cut K-12 and higher education spending in fiscal 2011, by $1.8 billion and $1.2 billion respectively. But proposed cuts for the next fiscal year are much steeper: They total $2.5 billion for K-12 schools and more than $5 billion for higher education.

(Gregoire unveils her budget plan: Ted Warren/AP)

View the original article here

Homeless mom who became education touchstone busted for selling crack, cops say (The Lookout)

Tanya McDowell, the homeless mom in Connecticut who started a national debate when she was arrested for enrolling her son in a neighboring school district, has been arrested for allegedly selling crack and marijuana and offering prostitutes to undercover cops.

According to the Stamford Advocate, the sales happened three times between May 27 and June?3, one of them during her son's birthday party. Police claim she offered them two women she was pimping out at her aunt's house.

McDowell's attorney, Darnell Crosland, says the sting was "retaliatory," a result of city officials' embarrassment at the national attention her arrest in April brought. "The whole thing stinks," Crosland told the paper.

In April, McDowell faced 20 years in prison for charges of first-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny for signing up her 5-year-old son to attend nearby Norwalk schools under the address of a friend. She told local reporters she sent her child to Norwalk schools, instead of Bridgeport, where she was living at the time, because the Norwalk school was better. Her arrest ignited debate on inequalities in the public education system, and drew the support of civil rights figures such as Al Sharpton.

Parents rarely become targets of criminal prosecution in false address cases.

(McDowell: Alex von Kleydorff/AP)

View the original article here