P age A5
T he P ortland O bserver • S eptember 18, 1996
Ed lie a tie n
Schools find enrollment solutions
A lthough recent coverage has
prim arily focused on a crisis situ ­
ation o f rising enrollm ents and lack
o f funds, many school districts
have found solutions by literally
red esig ning the problem .
A rchitect-experts are available
to d iscu ss design and funding strat­
egies th e y ’ve developed in helping
school districts stretch I im ited b ud­
gets and im prove the learning en v i­
ronm ent for kids.
W hile school adm inistrators may
have strong backgrounds in ed u ca­
tion, they are less know ledgeable
about building issues, and so rely
on the recom m endations o f archi­
tects.
Key issues include: w hich design
features have the greatest im pact on
students’ ability to learn; how schools
districts structure and pass bond ref­
erendum s; and w hat tax p ay ers and
com m unities dem and o f schools.
For sources and ad d itio n al back ­
ground, call the Public A ffairs D e­
partm ent o f the AI A, 202/626-7463.
Examples of innovative solutions
• A d e c a y in g N o rth C a ro lin a h ig h
school w as renovated as a 700-
student m iddle school for $2 m il­
lion, saving $4 - 5 m illion in new
construction costs. T h e solution in­
cludes sta te-o f-th e art classro o m
com puter capability for students.
A m othballed Salt L ake City em-
ploym ent office w as retrofitted as a
high tech alternative high school with
adult ed u cation, jo b co u nseling and
E nglish as a Second L anguage C e n ­
ters.
T his solution saved the school
system $2.5 - 3 m illion and serves
1,200 high school students and an
additional 3,800 d istan ce learning
students.
• A s c h o o l d is tr ic t an d p a rk s
d e p a r tm e n t a llia n c e in N e w b e rg ,
r e ., b u i l t an e l e m e n t a r y a n d
m id d le s c h o o l, a s e n io r c e n te r,
an d r e c re a tio n c o m p le x on the
sa m e s ite .
A k itc h e n s h a re d by the e l ­
e m e n ta ry sc h o o l an d s e n io r c e n ­
What Matters Most:
Teaching for
America’s Future
ter e n c o u ra g e s s tu d e n ts an d s e ­
n io rs to m ix. T a x p a y e rs w ill save
$ 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 in sh a re d u tilitie s an d
o p e ra tin g c o s ts.
B a c k g ro u n d : S p e n d in g n ee d s
fo r s c h o o ls o fte n o u tw e ig h a
c o m m u n ity ’s a b ility to a b s o rb
the h ig h e r ta x e s it r e q u ire s .
T a x p a y e rs are le ss r e lu c ta n t to
s u p p o rt b o n d re fe re n d u m s for
sc h o o l u p g ra d e s an d r e n o v a ­
tio n s. In 1995, sc h o o l c o n s tr u c ­
tio n sp e n d in g w as $ 1 0 .4 b illio n ,
a c c o rd in g to A m e ric a n S c h o o l
& U n iv e rs ity , w ell b elo w the
$ 1 1 2 b illio n th e G e n e ra l A c ­
c o u n tin g O f f ic e e s tim a te s is
needed.
Americans score a ’D+ in Education planning
U .S. adults scored a “D + ” in a
national exam used to assess their
know ledge o f the sp iraling costs o f a
c o lle g e e d u c a tio n , a c c o rd in g to
A m erican E xpress F inancial A dvi­
sors (A E F A ), (N Y SE : A X P) w hich
sponsored the survey.
A nd as a result o f the findings o f
the E ducation I.Q. E xam , conducted
by N FO R esearch Inc. during July,
A m erican E xpress is launching sev­
era l h ig h -p ro file in itia tiv e s th is
m onth designed to help A m ericans
prepare them selves — and their ch il­
dren — for the rising costs o f co l­
lege.
A national “S cholar Bi Ils" sw eep-
stakes — w hich will be advertised
on C h arles O sg o o d ’s C B S Radio
program “The O sgood F iles” now
through O ctober 27 — will aw ard
$1 ,0 0 0 scholarships to 43 college-
bo u n d students from aro u n d the
country. An industry-unique K ids,
P arents and M oney program will
provide parents w ith a viable co l­
lege investm ent plan and special tools
to help educate th eir 7- to 14-year-
old children about investing, not ju st
spending, their m oney. A E F A ’s
8,000 financial ad v iso rs will fan out
across the country to provide ed u c a­
tion planning sem inars in w orkplaces
and schools and to PTA o rg an iz a­
tions. A nd a new p u blication titled
“W hat Y ou N eed to K now A bout
F inancing Y our C h ild re n ’s E d u ca­
tio n ” w ill be av ailab le to Internet
users by checking A E F A 's w eb page
at http://w w w .am ericanexpress.com /
advisors.
A ll o f th is is in r e s p o n s e to th e
A E F A s u rv e y th a t in d ic a te d th a t:
• 85 p e r c e n t o f th e 3 ,0 0 0 r e ­
s p o n d e n ts v a s tly u n d e r e s tim a te
th e a m o u n t o f s tu d e n t lo a n d o l­
la rs the a v e ra g e c o lle g e s tu d e n t
r e c e iv e s .
• 74 percent o f the respondents
w ere unable to correctly gauge the
cost o f a b a c h e lo r's degree at a pub-
lie institution.
• 71 p ercent underestim ated the
salary differen tial betw een a high
school g raduate and a college g rad u ­
ate o ver the course o f a 30-year
career.
“ O u r s u rv e y c le a rly sh o w s a
g ap b e tw e e n w h a t m o st A m e ri­
c a n s th in k th e y k n o w a b o u t th e
h ig h c o s t o f a c o lle g e e d u c a tio n ,
an d w h a t th e r e a lity i s , ” sa id
B eck y R o lo ff, v ic e p re s id e n t o f
fin a n c ia l p la n n in g fo r A E F A
“T h a t is w h y w e g av e th e resp o n
d e n ts a D + . By la u n c h in g th e se
new p ro g ra m s w e h o p e to h e lp
p e o p le m a k e in fo rm e d d e c is io n s
w h en it c o m e s to p la n n in g for
th e ir k id s ’ e d u c a tio n ."
Ja n e L e e , d ir e c to r o f th e K id s,
P a r e n ts a n d M o n e y p r o g r a m ,
a d d e d : “ W e b e lie v e th e a n s w e r is
in g e ttin g re le v a n t in fo rm a tio n
Io p a re n ts in a tim e ly a n d c o n v e -
n ien t w ay , p ro v id in g o n e -o n -o n e
ad v ic e for e a c h f a m ily ’s u n iq u e
situ a tio n , an d g e ttin g c lie n ts to
sta rt p u ttin g in p la c e a fin a n c ia l
plan to d ay th a t m a k es in v e s tin g
easy , s y s te m a tic , an d p o ssib le for
p aren ts w ith c o lle g e -b o u n d k id s .”
A m e ric a n E x p re s s F in a n c ia l
A d v iso rs ( fo rm e rly ID S ) o w n s or
m a n a g e s m o re th a n $ 1 3 8 b illio n
in a s se ts by o ffe rin g a w id e ra n g e
o f fin a n c ia l s e rv ic e s an d p r o d ­
u cts th ro u g h a n a tio n w id e n e t­
w o rk o f 8 ,0 0 0 a d v is o rs . T h o se
p ro d u c ts an d s e rv ic e s in c lu d e f i ­
n a n c ia l p la n n in g , in s u ra n c e an d
a n n u itie s , m u tu a l fu n d s, c e r tif i­
c a te s, lim ite d p a r tn e rs h ip s , co n
su m e r b a n k in g , s e c u r itie s s e r ­
vices an d e m p lo y e e b e n e fit p la n s.
A m eric an E x p re s s F in a n c ia l D i­
rec t, la u n c h e d in M ay , p ro v id e s
in v e sto rs w ith a n o th e r c h a n n e l
for a c c e s s in g fin a n c ia l p ro d u c ts
and s e rv ic e s d ir e c tly .
Score Builder for the ACT
The Learning Com pany (Nasdaq:
LRNG), asubsidiary o f SoftKey Inter­
national Inc. (Nasdaq: SKEY), today
an n o u n ced the re le a se o f S co re
Builder(TM ) for the ACT, a new CD-
ROM software program designed to
help college-bound students increase
their A CT scores and test-taking con­
fidence. The program is based on the
proven skills and strategies taught by
Barbara Budinger, the nation’s lead­
ing expert on the ACT, who provides
personalized one-on-one tutoring along
with her team of dynamic instructors in
an engaging and motivating format.
Modeled after the very successful Score
Builder for the SAT, thislatestentry in
The Learn ing Company ’ s Col lege Prep
Series is available now for an esti­
mated retail price o f $60.00 with street
prices ranging from $47.00 to $53.(KJ.
Score Builder for the A CT incorpo­
rates the same highly effective features
and instructional tools found in Score
Builder for the SAT, yet contains con­
tent specially designed for the A CT
exam. Accepted by nearly every col­
lege and university in the United States,
the A CT exam is taken by about one
million college-bound students each
year. Score Builder for the A C T as­
sesses students’ strengths and w eak­
nesses and uses their past scores and
score goals to design a highly custom ­
ized and com prehensive study plan to
help them make the most o f their study
time. Following each student's per­
sonalized plan, the program reviews
basic skills in each o f the four A CT
subject areas: math, reading, English
and science reasoning, and teaches
proven strategies for tackling the ques-
tions on the test. The program also
analyzes, tracks and graphs practice
test results to provide feedback on
students’ progress and to motivate them
to achieve their score goals.
“The response to Score Builder for the
SAThasbeenoverwhelming,’’said Diana
James-Caims, senior vice president of
marketing for SoltKey Intematkmal. ' 'Stu­
dents and their parents are lœ king for
highly engaging, personalized methods
for preparing for standardized tests. Our
SAT program meets that need, and we
anticipate that this new ACT program
will do the same.”
ACT expert Barbara Budinger greets
students as they enter the program, anti
guides them through the development of
their customized study plan, including
four specially designed diagnostic tests
— math, reading, English and science
reasoning— to identify the areasin which
they need instruction to raise their test
scores.
NEW Y O R K
TR U N K SH OW
WHERE
report takes a bold step by reco m ­
m ending that the profession aim to
Board C ertify 105,000 teachers —
to m irror the num ber o f schools in
the country — by 2 0 0 6 . The N a­
tional Board is the linchpin in that
am bitious call to action and, with
the dedication and inspiration o f
teachers nationw ide, we are already
w orking tow ard that goal.
“Ten years ago, another report by
Carnegie Corporation, A Nation Pre­
pared: Teachers for the 21 st Century,
called for the establishment o f the
N ational B oard for P rofessional
Teaching Standards and National
Board Certification, so that high stan­
dards for accom plished teaching and
an objective, voluntary assessment
would be created. In response, we
have forged the first national consen­
sus on standards for what teachers
should know and be able to do. We
have hundreds of National Board
Certified Teachers with projections
for tens o f thousands o f candidates in
the years immediately ahead. W e
have developed National Board C er­
tification, a professional development
experience of such strength that ev­
ery teacher who participates, whether
they achievecertificationornot, walks
away strongerfortheexperience. And
perhaps most importantly, real im ­
pact is being felt in the most critical
area in the classroom in the form o f
improved student learning. In short,
we have met the challenges in A
Nation Prepared, accept the newchal-
lenges laid out in W hat Matters Most,
and intend to fulfill our responsibili­
tie s in leading the standards-setting
movement for the teaching profes­
sion.
“The report’s call for a national
crusade, behind the proposition that
all students have the right to quality
teaching, is long overdue. It ad­
dresses important, fundamental ide­
als toward which we should con­
stantly be striving.
Are You Tired of the Way Youth of Today are Being Portrayed?
Do You Believe That Our Youth Are Our Future?
Do You Want To Support Our Youth ?
If you answered VES!
World Village Q ift Emporium/Boutique
5132 NE MLK. JR
WHEN
Join the Urban League of Portland and its 115 sister affiliates
September 19, 1996; *4:00 pm - 8:00 pni
September 20, 1996; 10:00 pm - 6:00 pm
in a March on
R S V P 2*9-3790
Saturday, September 21,1996
* Refreshments served
to
Celebrate Youth Who Are
We Would Love To See You At
Our New York Trunk Show
In September
World Village is having itsfirst trunk show featuring merchan­
dise fro m our N Y buying trip.
We would love fo r you to be our guest during this time.
Listen to soft ja z z and enjoy refreshments while you make
fashion selections fro m Indonesia. Africa, France and other parts
o f the world at unbeatable prices.
PCC Brings Classes To C en tral P o rtla n d !
Starting Sept. 23, classes will begin at the new
Central Portland Workforce Training Center
1626 S.E. Water Ave. (near OMSI)
Now a wide variety of day and evening classes will be available at this
convenient Central Portland location. Just take a look!
Adult Basic Education * CEU Classes for Real Estate Agents and Insurance/Tax Professionals *
Computer Education * Continuing Education for Health Professionals • Customized Training •
Emergency Medical Technician • English As A Second Language ’ GED * Literacy
Training • Management and Professional Development * Teleconferences • Senior
Studies Institute * Workplace Basics Competency Training
“DOING THE RIGHT THING”
Free T-Shirt for the First 1000 registered people.
The March Begins At The Urban League of Portland 10 N. Russell St.
at 8:30 am. and then to Jefferson High School for Fun and Games.
Call 503/280-2611 for more information.
Tentative Schedule
Jefferson
8:30 a.m.
March Registration
9 a m
ivlaicli B egins
10:30 a m
Opening Ceremonies
11 am
Talent Showcase
3 pm
Event ends
Portland
Community
C o ||e w
Killingsworth
Russell
Urban
League
For more Information, See your PCC fall schedule
O r call 731-6600
u ,.
.
http://www.pcc.edu
"W hat M atters Most: T eaching
for A m erica’s Future, the recently
released report by the N ational
C o m m issio n on T e a c h in g an d
A m erica’s Future, is one o f the m ost
significant and meaningful investi­
gations into the state of A m erican
education in many years. It has
clarified and identified issues that
speak to the heart o f what ails ed u ­
cation reform . It has pulled no
punches in its criticism o f a system
that produces untrained and inef­
fective teachers and has set am bi­
tious, substantive and realistic goals
for education, from the national
perspective dow n to the sm allest
local school district.
“T hroughout the report, the N a­
tional Board for Professional T each­
ing S tandards is applauded as a
model for quality teacher assess­
ment, preparation and development.
The C om m ission calls for an o rga­
nization o f teacher professionalism
built around high standards and it
acknow ledges the historic break­
throughs the National Board has
made in developing rigorous stan­
dards for accom plished practice.
W hat M atters Most is the first-ever
com prehensive national ex am ina­
tion o f the way the nation recruits,
prepares and rew ards teachers and
it cites the N BPTS time and again
as a crucial catalyst in helping
achieve its recom m endations. The
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