Press Releases 2004

Rod Paige and I do not agree on everything.  But he has brought to his office enormous integrity, deep insights into what it takes to turn around urban districts, and a passionate commitment to helping American schools work more effectively for all students.  Through thick and thin, he has been a tireless advocate for poor and minority children.

Despite what the armchair critics say, he did not simply “defend the President’s education agenda.”  He did something vastly more important: He helped the American people understand that low-income and minority c

(Washington, DC) – Most states continue to shortchange poor and minority students by failing to fairly fund the schools they attend, according to a new report released today by The Education Trust.  

In 36 states, the highest-poverty school districts receive less money than the lowest-poverty districts when we account for what school funding experts say is the extra cost of educating low-income students.

(Washington, D.C.) – As states begin to release their 2003-04 student achievement data, there is still significant confusion about the accountability provisions in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and doubt about whether states can actually meet the requirements and the goals.  To address this confusion, the Education Trust today released two brief documents explaining the accountability and public reporting provisions of NCLB, in addition to a data presentation analyzing some recently released student achievement results. 

The first report updates last year’

(Washington, D.C.) --   Today, the Education Trust extends its commitment to reach out to the largest and fastest growing minority group in the country – the nation’s 40 million Latinos – to provide better and more accurate information on student achievement and educational opportunities.  To launch this new initiative, the Education Trust is unveiling a website for the Latino community in both Spanish and English which features reports and resources for Latino parents, community leaders and advocates.

(Washington, D.C.) - As families and friends gather at colleges across the country to celebrate graduation, a new report released today by the Education Trust documents the fact that nationally, these same colleges will have failed to graduate nearly half of their degree-seeking first-time full-time freshmen within six years, and the picture is even worse for low-income and minority students.  These young people leave our higher education system burdened with large student loans that must be repaid, but without the benefit of the wages that a college degree provides.

As all of you know, we are coming up on the 50^th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board decision, which ended legalized segregation in our schools. But where are we – really – in terms of providing an equal education to all children, 50 years later?

Quite frankly, the picture isn’t pretty.

Let me share just a couple of illustrations:

(Washington, DC) – “While the celebration of Black history month has ended, let us not forget about the work that still remains. We must ensure that our children’s academic achievement and success remains at the top of the nation’s agenda. There are still huge inequities within America’s schools that need to be addressed. We must address these inequities now; our children can’t afford to wait.

“According to a recent Public Agenda Poll, more than half of Black parents call underachievement among Blacks a “crisis.” Their concerns are not misplaced.

(Washington, DC) -- Today, schools, districts and states are under increasing pressure both to raise overall student achievement and to close historic gaps separating poor and minority students from others.