European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 23, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday january 23, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 it s open Market on Minn schools by Bob sector los Angeles times South St. Paul Minn. The lat est school Catalon to hit town is As Slick As a sales brochure and As boastful As a College recruiting pamphlet promising a Rich and stimulating blend of academic and extracurricular choices Day care International studies programs vocational training. The publisher the local Public schools kindergarten through High school. That is no misprint. Crammed with Crafty slogans and Eye catching snapshots of playful and Studi Ous youngsters South St. Paul officials see the Catalon As a vital sales tool in a Brave Uncertain new world of education Al Competition As Minnesota schools pre pare to vie for students under a unique statewide open enrolment scheme. I have absolutely no problem saying we Market our school District said Dave Metzen the school superintendent in this Blue-c9llar suburb just South of the state capital. We re in a  the Minnesota plan basically turns the neighbourhood school concept on its ear. Though some cities around the country have Long had open Transfer plans within their school districts the program Here will be the first to extend that Choice concept to a statewide level when it is fully implemented by the fall of 1990. The incoming Bush administration is preparing to encourage the program As a bold stroke that if copied elsewhere could Force lacklustre Public schools to innovate and improve or risk losing their two key assets children to teach and Money to teach them with because most state Aid programs Are linked to Atten dance. Legislatures or state education officials in at least 15 states Are considering variations of the Minnesota plan. But critics argue that the Rosy predictions Are sheer Guesswork since Only a handful of eligible school age students 435 in the 1988-89 school year have taken advantage of the open Transfer plan. Still they warn even Small scale movements could prove fatal to Rural school districts with declining enrol ments widening rather than closing the educational Gap Between schools in poor and affluent communities. One Rural District in the Northern Iron Range already is struggling to Cope with an anticipated loss next year of one third of its students and 25 percent of its Revenue base. South of Minneapolis officials in the adjoining districts of Jordan and prior Lake have been feuding Ever since a prior Lake neighbourhood was papered with promotional flyers for the Jordan schools. It May be that you end up creating problems for Large numbers of people be cause you re serving the concerns of a few individuals said Dick Anderson the executive director of the Minnesota school boards association which opposed the program when it first passed the state legislature in 1987. Gov. Rudy Perpich who championed open enrolment after his own children encountered problems in local schools said the program would cause headaches for bureaucrats but prove a Boon to students. This is probably the most dramatic thing that you can do to improve Educa Tion in this country said Perpich Democrat. In part participation in open enrol ment has been Low because Only 156 of the state s 434 school districts Are taking part in the program which has been voluntary for the last two years. The Manda tory phase begins next fall for Large school districts and in the 1990-91 school year for All other districts. There Are some loopholes however. Minneapolis St. Paul and Duluth can Stop children from leaving schools if court ordered desegregation guidelines Are upset. No other districts can Block an exodus but any District can close its doors to incoming students As Long As it gives a year s Advance notice to state officials. Only two districts have opted out of the program for next year including Edina a posh Minneapolis suburb. While some states rely largely on local taxes to bankroll elementary and secon Dary education schools in Minnesota on the average derive about 60 percent of their Revenue from the state Treasury. Each student lost or gained could mean anywhere from $2,500 to $4,000 in reve nue to a school District. To Avert such losses officials in South St. Paul have embarked on an ambitious program to expand course offerings and publicize the schools in order to lure out siders while also keeping local youngsters from leaving. The District has organized a marketing committee which produced the flashy school Catalon that is now widely distributed within the City to parents service groups fraternal organizations realtors doctors and just about anybody else who asks for it. Other promotional materials include place Mats which Are used in local restaurants. Is Lisa Rivard such efforts appear to be paying off. Based on Transfer notices filed by a state imposed Jan. 1 cutoff Date some 38 new students May be coming into the District next year while not a single local student has asked to leave. That should translate into an extra $128,000 for the District about 1 percent of its annual $13 million budget. A Little Competition does t Hurt said Metzen the South St. Paul superintendent. If you go to a doctor or get your car fixed you insist on Quality serv ice. Why should we be any different but doubters including the Minnesota association of Black school educators argue that the statewide plan could in crease already existing disparities be tween schools by draining the brightest students and Best athletes from Small or resource poor districts. Award winning teachers set pace9 in education by Kathleen Teltsch new York times to hear Sharon Darling and Jeanne he Berle Tell it their $100,000 prize winning literacy project was born on the Highway Between Louisville and Frankfort by. It was sheer serendipity Darling said. We happened to share a car  serendipity indeed said Heberle agreeing that without their daily 120-mile commuter drive there might have been no project no award and no trip to new York or Washington. The two educators were honoured recently in new York and Washington As the project they developed Parent and child Educa Tion or Pace was named a Winner of the 1988 innovations prizes Given by the Ford foundation and the John f. Kennedy school of government at Harvard univer sity in Cambridge mass. The Ford foundation said the Pace project was the first literacy venture using state funds to serve parents and children at the same time in a Public school. During their daily drives said Darling who was director of adult education in the Kentucky department of education there was ample time to talk about the sorry condition of adult literacy argue about the Mer its of preschool preparation which Heberle advocated or discuss providing remedial help for adults which Darling  d say if you let me do my Job right you would t have a Job " Heberle  she would answer wrong if i did my Job i d have All adults doing so Well they would take wonderful care of their children and there would be no need for your Job " the bickering a standing joke among other passengers in the car Pool led the educators to the conclusion that Early education and adult literacy could be blended into a single project. You could say the project was born in the Back seat of a Volvo he Berle said. The Opportunity to try out their ideas came in 1986 when Roger Noe the chair Man of the education committee of the Kentucky House of representatives successfully pushed for a $1.2 million appropriation for a program focused on Low in come Rural communities with Low literacy Levels. In essence the Pace Prog a which costs about $700 for each participant is designed for parents who Are not High school graduates and who can spend three Days a week for up to a year attending school to learn Scholastic and parenting skills. The parents most of them unemployed women and their children go to school and have breakfast together. Then they separate with the parents receiving instruction in Reading and mathematics in preparation for a general equivalency High school diploma. Seventy percent of the parents either pass the examinations or increase their Reading skills by two grades program officials said. The children who Are 3 to 4 years old take part in kindergarten activities and have  improved their developmental Don Britton 18, a senior at Bonn High school operates a television video camera in skills . The to Media class taught by John Tate. Britton is the son of Sarah Britton