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Show Thursday. October 17, IW. THE DAII.V Hf RU.i. I'n.u. I uh I I - Lackluster schools targeted with probation, closure i- By 0E3 RIECMMANN AP Education Writer Most previous takeovers have been much smaller. In January. New York state education officials seized control of a Long Island school district and fired its board for failing to correct instruction, discipline and other problems in the district. Schools in Jersey City, N.J., have been under state control since 1989. And two other districts. Newark and Paterson. also are run by the state, which stepped, in because seme schools had poor test scores or were poorly managed or maintained. Last November, the Milwaukee School Board voted to reconstitute 10 schools where students had earned poor test scores for years, says board director Mary Bills. The Milwaukee Teachers Education Association, how ever, has challenged the move in court. "There have to be consequences for failing to educate children," Bills says. WASHINGTON Public schools that fail to make the grade are being called to account. Increasingly, they are being overhauled, placed on probation even threatened with closure. This week, a new board put in place by h of the Chicago's mayor placed city's schools on probation because at least 85 percent of their students had scored below the national average on standardized tests. It's not a typical strategy, but it's one you're starting to see more and more. The pressure for accountability is having a real effect," said Michael D. Casserly, director of the Council of the Great City Schools, which represents the nation's 50 largest city school districts. "What's unique about Chicago is the scale of it," Casserly said. one-fift- Survey: violence declines TV r :y ' Marshall K. Smith, deputy secretary of the Education Department, says takeovers and other moves to push for higher accountability reflect an impatience for school reform. He says the trend toward mpre accountability began in the late 1 980s and has taken hold in mostly urban and poor, rural districts. "People are tired of the status quo. They're frustrated," he said. "This is taking extreme measures w hen things are so bad that you can't see another way out." In Chicago, the school district plans to send teams of educators to each of the 09 schools on probation to figure out why students are doing so poorly. The teams are authorized to replace principals or teachers. They also can the groups of decertify school councils parents, teachers and neighborhood residents who have guided the schools since the late 1980s. y And. the teams can close schools as a f Jackie Gallagher, a spokeswoman for threatens job security. However, the ess.. ar p- Texas may well get last word in Congress A, J V $ v ., until December. ' if- "V'M:, Elderly and poor from chronic dispeople suffering eases fare much worse under managed care than similar patients in insurtnltfitional ance plans, researchers say. ;jA study in a recent Journal of the American Medical Association found that twice as many poor and elderly patients in managed care said their health declined over a four-yeperiod. Only 20 percent of patients in managed care felt better after four years, compared with more than 50 percent of those in traditional plans. Managed care plans try to cut costs by discouraging unnecessary procedures. Patients pay a set fee for a doctor who serves as the gatekeeper and must authorize further treatment or referrals to a specialist. The study's author, John Ware Jr., theorized that elderly and poor patients treated in health mainteone of the nance organizations most popular forms of managed received less care. care The study illustrates that "not all HMOs are created equal" and that managed-car- e plans must address the fact that the elderly and poor tend to need more care, not less, he said. Ware, a research psychologist at the New England Medical Center, called the study "an indictment of the whole notion that we are going to implement cost containment and it's going to be just as good for everybody." The study asked 1,574 patients in Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston with any of four chronic ar .ApA -- . ' -- v. , a W j , V'. ft AP Photo Which pumpkin to pick? Zack Dotson searches for the perfect pumpkin Monday at the Southern Hills United Methodist Study: Elderly, poor fare Worse in managed care than in traditional settings CHICAGO $T' imp V; 6 By LINDSEY TANNER d court-ordere- "V-chip- Associated Press Writer help. Indeed, it was Republican' plaintiffs who argued th..t the' Democrat-controllestate Legislature unconstitutionally gerrymandered three Texas districts along racial lines after the 1990 census. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in their favor in June. Last month, a federal appeals court in Texas redrew the borders for those three districts and for 10 adjacent ones. The results surprised manv peo-pi- It control of the DALLAS U.S. House comes down to just a few seats, all eyes may be on Texas after Election Day. d Because of a redisricting plan that has plunged the Texas electoral process into disarray, final results in as many as 11 of the Lone Star state's congressional races may not be know n ar ; -- By MELISSA WILLIAMS Associated Press Writer By JENNIFER BOWLES AP Television Writer h teach- neglected too long." In June 1995. Mayor Richard Daley took over the Chicago school system, appointing a new management team. In its first two months, the new board contract, gave teachers a four-yequashed perks for administrators and discovered a w arehouse full of w asted equip in 1995 LOS ANGELES Violence went down on network television last season, in spite of series such as '"Walker, Texas Ranger" and "The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," according to a network-finance- d study issued today. The report by the University of California, Los Angeles, is the latest in a three-yestudy seeking ways to curb violence in TV programming and was expected to become an issue in the presidential campaign. Bob Dole has attacked Hollywood for gratuitous sex and violence, and President Clinton has pushed a ratings system for television programs and installing into television sets so parents can block show s they consider inappropriate for their children. While the handling of violence on primetime series and children's programming has improved, TV's bloodiest hours continue to come in movies transplanted from theaters, according to the UCLA Television Violence Report on the 1995-9season. "Clearly, the networks have made progress in reducing violence on television, and have responded to the recommendations from our report on the 1994-9- 5 season," said Jeff Cole, director of the UCLA center for Communication Policy and the study's author. he said, there However, "remains room for improvement." Cole said the study did not simply tally violent acts but tried to look at violence in context, such as whether scenes were particularly gory or whether viewers were made aware of the consequences of the v iolence depicted. -- ers recognize that some city schools are in trouble and are willing to work w ith new management in the central office. "The truth of the matter is that w e have some schools that do need help that are beiow standard." Gallagher said. "We don't see it as the fault of the teachers. We see it as the fault of a system that has been - J- In the Chicago teachers" union, says the union does not like to see any plan that 1 J . addition to the 109 schools put ou . probation. 31 schools were placed on"" remediation, a less stringent measure thai allows school staffs to come up with their own plans to improve student perfor-- ' ' ' mance. In New York, the Board of Education " took over the Roosevelt district on Long ' Island. The school board was ousted, and ' ' the slate Board of Regents is overseeing a new board. The regents have alwavs been able to, . close schools, but only under nebulous crir t teria. sas Bill Hirs.hen. a spokesman for the Board of Regents. Now. more specific ..' rules have been established, so tha' , schools that fail to meet minimum require- -' -ments al ter a certain period of lime can be ' closed. "There is a trend to hold schools more ." accountable." he said. I ment. last report. Church in Tulsa, Okla. The church was selling pumpkins for the upcoming Hallowen holiday. nrw ' Forty-nin- e candidates are jostling for 13 seats in redraw n districts. Most of those races are expected to be decided Nov. 5. But in races in w hich no one emerges w ith a majority, voters w ill go back to the polls for a runoff Dec. 10. Even House Speaker Newt Ginconcedes the possi-bilit- v grich. of a Democratic counterslam to the GOP landslide in 1994. so the Texas runoffs could be of keen interest outside the state. A swing of just 18 seats nationally would put House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri in line for Gingrich's job controlling the legislative agenda. "It's the election after the electhat makes the difference," tion says Stephen Hess, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "It will have incredible impact if. after Nov. 5. the number of seats in Texas that are contestable is than the difference greater between the two parties." Predicts Larry Sabato. a government professor at the University of Virginia: "You will break all spending records in Texas if the House division is close." With six Texas Democratic incumbents retiring this year. Republicans were already hoping to snag the four seats needed to gain the majority in the state's House delegation. 2 Democrats now hold an edge. Redisricting was supposed to . ""The bu was that these-judgewho were drawing the map were all Republican appointments" and would take the opportunity provided them and really fix it for' the Republicans, if vou will." Austin political consultant Bill Miller sas. "'But the map that' resulted from their effort reallv' didn't have that kind ol effect." If they didn't make major gains' -- -- 1 a v . high blood pressure, diabetes, a recent heart attack and congestive heart failure to fill out questionnaires about their health four years apart, in 1986 and 1990. Susan Pisano of the American Association of Health Plans, which represents 1,000 managed care plans, criticized the conditions noninsulin-depende- nt method and said medical evaluations should have been used instead. She also said managed-car- e plans have greatly improved their care of the poor and elderly since the study concluded in 1990. The study found that 54 percent of patients 65 and older who were treated in HMOs reported a decline in health, compared with 28 percent of those in plans. Onlv 22 percent of poor patients treated in HMOs reported improvement after four years, compared with 57 percent with traditional insurance. Among HMO patients who were both elderly and poor. 68 percent reported a decline in health, compared with 27 percent in The pattern was the same for all the conditions studied, in all three cities. The recent JAMA also includes a study that found rheumatoid arthritis patients in northern California did just as well in managed care as in a report showing no significant differences for critically ill patients in managed care and plans in Massachusetts; and California research suggesting that hospitals are used less in areas with lots of HMOs. . V ft ,im J Now Through November 3 Double Your K Get Monthly Minutes $ UUL i LSr i For 2 d Your $40 Activation FeelJ v Months! Available at these participating Dealers CAMERA DEN DETAILED INSTALLATIONS Provo Otvm 375-709- 9 Provo GRANITE FURNITURE RADIO SHACK 31 Locations 224-070- Orem 7 221-488- Orem 225-221- 1 Some liesi rk lions Apply i 'f V 375-221- 6 ALERT CELLULAR, L.C. Orem 4 229-130- 0 ULTIMATE ELECTRONICS Tin CELLULAR SOURCE 226-013- 7 SEARS 4 Locations See Dealer For Details 342-928- 9 s on paper, the Republicans still ' unleashed a flood of new candi-- , ' dates and deprived the Democrat's '. ' of straight-ticke- t voting in all I3 redrawn districts. And the judges" negation of the March primary results which led to the November primary-Decembi runoff scenario to benefit thought Republicans.. . vv ho tend to turn out more voters in runoffs. The one district where both , sides agree the GOP gained voters is Houston's 25th. represented by. Ken Bentsen. a nephew of former' Sen. Lloyd Bentsen. The redrawing cost him manv' faithfully Democratic precincts and replaced them with more,. Republican areas. That leaves the district open to, a GOP takeover, but with eight Republicans in the race, primary winner Brent Perry is no shoo-in- ., candidates in all --r There are Democrat and another including one Socialist Workers party 18-1- 7 e. 1 - |