[BHS etree] SUPT: New Report: Public and Private Schools Performing Equally

[bhs at idiom.com]

The information below comes from Mark Coplan, BUSD Public Information
Officer:

I think that you'll find this news story from NPR's "All Things
Considered" interesting, and the complete report on Private vs Public
Schools is even better. They have the actual report in PDF form
linked to the article at this URL (address):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5584516

I hope that you will find this information only confirms what you
already know about the Berkeley schools. Please share it with your
friends and neighbors.

Happy Summer,
Mark Coplan, BUSD Public Information Officer
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Education
Public vs. Private School Report Spurs Controversy

by Claudio Sanchez 
 
All Things Considered, July 26, 2006 . Public schools performing
favorably with private schools when students' income and
socio-economic status are taken into account, according to a new
report from the U.S. Education Department. The findings counter a
popularly held notion, that private schools outperform public
schools.

But the report has generated controversy due to what some call its
overly low-key release, on a Friday evening. That spurred critics to
charge that the Bush administration, long a supporter of private
alternatives to public schools, was playing politics by burying data
it doesn't like.

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings calls her critics' charges
ridiculous, saying the administration strongly supports public
education. But, she says, the administration also believes parents
should have choices.


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Mark A. Coplan
Public Information Officer, BUSD
510-644-6320
Mark_Coplan at berkeley.k12.ca.us
Berkeley Unified School District
2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, Ca 94704-1180