The Community Reinvestment Act: Past, Present and Future

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was passed in 1977 to combat the effects of discriminatory lending practices and disinvestment in low- and moderate income communities. It focuses on improving access for underserved communities, rather than underserved individuals. This spatial focus has drawn criticism since its passage, and changes in the lending industry and urban real estate markets call into question its relevance today. This paper will discuss the mechanics of the CRA, its effectiveness, and its relationship with two timely urban issues: gentrification and predatory lending.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/120325/1/Morris_TheCommunityReinvestmentAct.pd

Elmer E. Rasmuson Papers, 1898-2000

Processing Funded by the Rasmuson Foundation.Biographical Outline: Elmer E. Rasmuson -- Administrative History: National Bank of Alaska -- Scope and Contents -- Series Descriptions -- Processing Descriptions -- Container Lis

Keeper Of The Seal: The Art Of Henry Wood Elliott And The Salvation Of The Alaska Fur Seals

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2001This thesis examines the art of Henry Wood Elliott (1846--1930) and its role in Elliott's successful crusade to save the Pribilof Island fur seals from probable extinction, its importance as a visual record of the nineteenth-century Pribilof Aleut people during a time of societal transition, and how the art reveals the guiding aspirations of the artist. Elliott was one of the first American artists to work in Alaska. An experienced field artist who had served on two prior government expeditions before his assignment to the Pribilof Islands, Elliott used his watercolors of the fur seals in a successful nationwide campaign to reverse the depletion of the herds. Less well known are Elliott's ethnographic watercolors of the Pribilof Aleut people. Created only a few short years after the 1867 Alaska Purchase, these works show the Native people accommodating their Aleut-Russian culture to American societal expectations. These images, then, are a significant visual record for safeguarding the Aleut people's past. Nettled by scientific opponents, Elliott also turned his artistic talents to retaliation. Just as William Hogarth (1697--1764) and Honore Daumier (1808--1879) used caricature to comment on society, Elliott created hundreds of cartoons (ca. 1910--1926) to ridicule his opponents and promote his own point of view. It is in these previously unexamined works that Henry Elliott achieved a synthesis of art and documentation. Elliott's art also reveals his own thwarted aspirations to achieve recognition as a serious artist. His experiences as an expedition artist encouraged both his enthusiasm for science and talent for documentation. Elliott's desire to pair his watercolors with descriptive written details and snippets of government documents, however, transformed them into visual record. Elliott may not have realized his dream of winning respect as an artist, but his documentary images aroused more interest in the declining fur seal herds than the thousands of pages of dry testimony documenting the controversy. The attention generated by his artwork was a major contributor to the successful resolution of the Pribilof Island fur seal debate

Teacher Turnover in Maine: Analysis of Staffing Patterns 2005-06 to 2016-17

There have long been anecdotal reports that some Maine districts have difficulty filling vacancies and retaining teachers. This is a common lament for schools in rural areas, and for schools across the state in hiring teachers for certain subject areas-namely math, science, special education, and foreign languages. Current policy initiatives in Maine such as the push for proficiency-based high school diplomas are raising the stakes for schools to employ high-quality teachers in all content areas. There is a concern that schools facing persistent teacher shortages may struggle to provide a comprehensive educational program, resulting in inequitable learning opportunities for their students. To further investigate the empirical evidence behind these anecdotal reports, the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs commissioned this study of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute as part of its 2017-18 work plan. This report addresses the following questions: (1) Teacher profiles: what are the age, experience and education profiles of Maine\u27 teachers overall, and how do school-level teacher profiles vary by school size, poverty level, and rurality? (2) What are Maine\u27s state wide teacher retention and turnover rates? How has turnover changed overtime? (3) Do school retention and turnover rates vary by school characteristics (size, poverty level, locale, average salary and teacher demographic profile)? (4) Who stays and who leaves: what factors (individual, job-related, or school) are associated with teacher retention and turnover? (5) Who moves: what are the changes in salary and other work conditions (salary, school type, etc.) associated with job-to-job moves? Findings are summarized with respect to implications for Maine policy and practice, with a particular emphasis on current policy questions in the 128th Legislative Session. While Maine\u27s overall turnover rates were lower than the national average, they nonetheless present an ongoing challenge for schools. Several of the report conclusions lead to areas for potential policy interventions as well as questions for possible further exploration. Policy implications are categorized and provided in the report according to their area of challenge. [This report was published by the Maine Education Policy Research Institute in the Center for Education Policy, Applied Research, and Evaluation (CEPARE).

Feasibility Study of Assessing the Supply and Demand for Educators in Maine

In this report we focus on the supply of educators and assess the feasibility of using administrative data from the certification system to identify shortage areas. Specifically, we combine certification and staff data to quantify the number of certificate holders who are working in their endorsement area, working in education outside of their endorsement area, or not working in Maine’s education sector (i.e. potentially available for hire) to get a rough sense of demand and supply

Essential Programs and Services Report of Findings: Gifted and Talented Education

Report Overview This review of the Gifted and Talented (G&T) funding component within the Essential Programs and Services (EPS) education cost model begins with a summary of our most recent (2019) analyses of the G&T funding patterns and trends in Maine. Next we provide updated data (Part I) about G&T program implementation and enrollment in Maine public schools in FY2020 and FY2021 to confirm that trends from prior studies persist. We then provide a summary of the available research literature on the rationale and effectiveness of G&T programming in order to revisit the underlying tenets of this aspect of Maine’s funding model and evaluate whether it remains consistent with the EPS model’s overall goals of adequacy and equity

Feasibility Study of Assessing the Supply and Demand for Educators in Maine

Like most states, Maine is facing staffing shortages. Recent Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) studies have documented--both quantitatively and qualitatively--some of the challenges that schools face in filling teacher positions. In this report the authors focus on the supply of educators and assess the feasibility of using administrative data from the certification system to identify shortage areas. Specifically, they combine certification and staff data to quantify the number of certificate holders who are working in their endorsement area, working in education outside of their endorsement area, or not working in Maine\u27s education sector (i.e. potentially available for hire) to get a rough sense of demand and supply. They give special attention to teacher shortage areas including math, science, special education, world languages and English language acquisition