[Press Release] URBAN SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS FORM COALITION TO SHARE INNOVATIONS AND TACKLE OBSTACLES

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Title : URBAN SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS FORM COALITION TO SHARE INNOVATIONS AND
TACKLE OBSTACLES
Type : Press Release
NSF Org: OD / LPA
Date : April 24, 1997
File : pr9730

Embargoed Until 1 P.M.
Media contact: April 24, 1997
Peter West NSF PR 97-30
(703) 306-1070/pw...@nsf.gov

URBAN SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS FORM COALITION
TO SHARE INNOVATIONS AND TACKLE OBSTACLES

The superintendents of some of the nation's largest urban
school districts, which collectively enroll millions of students,
have formed a national coalition to share strategies for
improving mathematics and science education under the aegis of
the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The coalition's formation was announced in Washington D.C.
at a meeting of officials in whose districts NSF supports reform.
It exists to allow districts to "share notes" about reform,
according to Luther S. Williams, who heads NSF's education and
human resources directorate.

"I want to help create a mechanism by which Detroit, for
example, can benefit from what is going on in more than 20
similar cities across the country," he said.

Williams noted that such cooperation among urban districts
is rare. But he stressed that revitalizing urban schooling is
key to successfully modernizing the nation's educational system
because urban districts enroll roughly half of all U.S. public
school students.

The coalition members have agreed on a common four-point
agenda. With support from NSF and other districts, each will:

develop and implement curriculums based on national
standards for math and science education;
strive to make examinations a more accurate gauge of
learning and more compatible with standards-based teaching;
infuse computers and other technologies into classroom
teaching;
increase accountability to the public for achieving reform
goals.

Each of the coalition superintendents heads a district that
has received NSF funding, either as part of NSF's Urban Systemic
Initiatives (USI) program or its Comprehensive Partnerships for
Mathematics and Science Achievement (CPMSA) program.

Eligibility for the USI program is limited to the cities
with the largest number of school-age children (ages 5 to 17)
living in poverty, as determined by the 1990 census. USI is
designed to spur local officials and the public to undertake a
comprehensive and sustained reform of their entire approach to
education -- from curriculum to class scheduling to teacher
professional development -- by first overhauling math and science
teaching. CPMSA has similar goals for smaller school districts.

The 37 districts in the USI and CPMSA programs collectively
enroll more than 5 million students and employ roughly 160,000
teachers.

As a condition of NSF funding, each of the districts has
signed a "cooperative agreement" that commits them to meeting
specific reform goals over the period of several years. Failing
to meet those goals can mean the loss of NSF funding. Williams
noted that although many districts in both programs have made
significant improvements in math and science teaching, the
results have not been uniform because urban districts
historically have operated in isolation from one another.

The coalition is a grassroots effort of the districts
themselves and Williams said NSF will not set an agenda for the
group. But he added that NSF hopes to encourage the coalition to
adopt such conventions as a shared, compatible computer platform
so that school administrators can use a national
telecommunications network to exchange innovations and discuss
common problems.

-NSF-

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