A report today by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that more African-Americans than ever are finishing high school and earning college degrees, and they are also earning more money than ever. According to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, a panel authorized by Congress to oversee financial aid, low-income students who are otherwise qualified academically to get into college may soon be shut out nonetheless because of a financial aid system that favors middle class students. A black state legislator from the city led the voucher fight in Wisconsin's Legislature. New Orleans has been thorough in purging the names of slave owners from schools. The names of Mary McLeod Bethune, Langston Hughes, Barbara Jordan and Arthur Ashe have replaced those of Confederate generals, governors and even a president.
Similar efforts are underway in other southern cities and towns.
District officials have announced a plan to recruit 100 people from other careers to teach in D.C. public schools. Announcement of the program came a day after the city's new school board president, Peggy Cooper Cafritz, said that about half of the school system's 5,660 teachers are either unqualified or incompetent. Nine other schools reached goals needed to prove that they are making annual progress and considered on target to meet the standards by 2007, when accreditation will begin to depend on test results. Across Virginia, only 22 percent of public schools fully met the benchmarks. State officials say that the findings indicate a need for more money and programs for preschool children.