ADOPTION WISDOM
(September 2000) Marlou Russell, Ph.D., Private Practice Psychologist, Santa Monica, California, 310-829-1438, announced the availability of her new book “Adoption Wisdom: A book for anyone who wants to know more about the realities of adoption.” Russell is an adoptee in reunion with her birth family.

STATISTICAL ABSTRACT 2000
(February 2001) The latest annual edition of the 1,000 page compendium from the Census Bureau finds the number of prisoners rose 5% from 1997 to 1998 to 1,300,000 prisoners, the teen-age birth rate declined again going from 62 births per 1,000 women in 1991 to 51 births per 1,000 women in 1998. Also, more that 14 million students in grades six through 12 (52% of all students) participated in community service in 1999, while 72% percent of the students in church-related private schools participated in community service.

PARENTAL CONTROL CURBS TEEN DRINKING
(February 21, 2001) A survey by the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse concludes that teen-agers with parents who enforce curfews and monitor their children’s TV and music habits are less likely to use drugs. In releasing the survey, Joseph Califano, President of the organization, said “Mothers and fathers who are parents rather than pals can greatly reduce the risk of their children smoking, drinking and using drugs.”

KIDS PEACE CALLS FOR EMPOWERING PARENTS
(February 21, 2001) Jim Feldman, spokesman for Kids Peace: The National Center for Kids Overcoming Crisis, Orefield, Pennsylvania, recently stated “Parents and caretakers have a tremendous amount of power [over children], and we need to empower that group of people with as many resources as we can. It’s a lot easier to point fingers than it is to empower.”

CHARACTER EDUCATION IS BASIS OF GOOD ACADEMICS
(February 21. 2001) Andrea Grenadier, director of communications at the Character Education Partnership, Washington D.C., in pointing to the favor character education is getting from the White House and Congress, recently said “Character education is the basis of good academic achievement, not something that is an add-on program or a curriculum thing. It must be infused throughout the entire school culture.”

FAITH BASED - CREDENTIALS & TRAINING
(March 2001) According to the March Issue of YOUTH TODAY, “Faith-Based Funding: Bush Plan Stirs Excitement, Anxiety” (p. 19), an important aspect of President Bush’s plan to expand federal funding for social services such as drug abuse counseling is to “exempt them from training and credential requirements.” In evaluating if a program will receive support, the President is advocating a “results-based” approach, asserting requirements for accreditation “impede effective faith- based agencies from getting government contracts.” Part of the opposition to his proposal comes from people asserting that requiring licensed therapists is an important part of creating the professionalization of social services.

ZERO TOLERANCE HAS LIMITS
(April 8, 2001) In an article “Zero tolerance has limits,” the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, reports “More than 87,000 students were expelled nationwide in the 1997-98 school year, according to the Office for Civil Rights…. There were more than 3.1 million children suspended that year, up from 1.7 million in the 1974-75 school year, and 2.4 million in 1991-92.”

WEB-ENHANCED COURSES PREFERRED
(April 16, 2001) Heller Reports reported a poll showing a strong faculty preference in higher education “for web- enhanced classroom instruction over either traditional classroom- only instruction or online-only ‘distance’ education.”

INTERIM YEAR
(April 17, 2001) The New York Times features educational consultant Cornelius Bull, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in an article entitled “Before College, Year Off Beckons to Well Off,” who is quoted as saying “I don’t think any 18-year-old, for any reason, should be in college. If you’re older, you do it better. You don’t fall down drunk and waste your time.”

QUIET CRISIS FROM HIGH-STAKES TESTS
(April 18, 2001) Education Week reports throughout the country demands for higher academic standards and tests are showing “a large proportion of students who are already in high school are not yet doing high-school-level work.”

IS VOTING AND SENDING TAX DOLLARS ENOUGH?
(April 18, 2001) In a poll sponsored by the Washington-based Public Education Network and Education Week, they found that 37% of the respondents choose education as the most important public-policy issue, 91% “said every American child should be guaranteed a high-quality public education,” and 8% “saw volunteering in schools as a citizen’s primary responsibility to the schools.” A spokesman concluded among other things, “Americans seem content to sit back and let the advocates, experts, and educators take over.” Michael K. Grady, with the Annenberg Institute for School Reform said “You’re beginning to see a heightened sense of collective responsibility” for schools.