Kevin J. Sullivan, Alliance for Excellent Education, September 2001
A new non-profit called the Alliance for Excellent Education - which says its mission is turning every child's right to an excellent education into national policy - has released an inaugural report that calls for full funding of the federal Title I program. The Alliance notes that the program has never received appropriations commensurate with its authorized level of funding. That means school districts receive only a small fraction of the federal funds for which they are eligible, often forcing them to make a "Sophie's Choice between their elementary-age children and their adolescents" to which they respond by targeting limited funds at early education at the expense of middle and high schools. Noting that additional resources directed at those early grades have produced measurable gains, the Alliance argues that it's time to do the same for older students. This is mostly a plea for more money and one that leaves us skeptical. (It is probably also a sign of things to come from this new outfit.) Instead of a simplistic plea for added funds, it would be better to make the funds "portable" so that they support students instead of institutions - a concept that would likely be anathema to this fledgling nonprofit. To learn more about the Alliance's recommendations, download the report in either HTML or PDF format at http://www.all4ed.org/report.htm. (A limited number of hard copies are available from the Alliance for Excellent Education, 1101 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 411, Washington, DC 20005; phone 202-842-4888; fax 202-842-1613; email [email protected].) For the Fordham Foundation's thoughts on Title I reform, check out our December 2000 publication Education 2001: Getting the Job Done, available on our website at http://www.edexcellence.net/detail/news.cfm?news_id=37.
