Get on With the Job

Since Dean Patricia A. Graham took over the helm of the Graduate School of Education two years ago, she had steered it towards a more practical--and difficult--approach to teaching and schools.

But right now the Ed School's biggest problem is not direction but within the faculty procedure--a difficulty surrounding its recent acquisition of a $7.7 million federal contract. An outside education school has filed an official protest, charging that the federal government used illegitimate procedures to choose Harvard. Harvard has not been drawn into the protest, but if Bank Street School of Education in New York wins its suit, one federal contract will be nullified.

While the official contract lasts for five years, Ed School officials are already thinking of ways to establish a permanent endowment for the institute and to raise additional funds. Most of these plans will prove moot, if the contract is withdrawn, and long-drawn-out wrangling, whatever the outcome, could force postponing the short-term programs a year.

It appears that a panel convened for the sole purpose of recommending which of the three finalists-Harvard, MIT, and Bank Street--should get the contract, chose Bank Street.

The President of the National Institute of Education (NIE) then decided that the review panel was superficial in its evaluation and decided in Harvard's favor. He claims that Harvard's proposal showed the most in-depth program for investigating technology education, therefore matching NIE's purpose for setting up the contract.

Bank Street has not yet decided how far to pursue its charges, but a third government party has already been called in to oversee the conflict and if necessary will hold a hearing to decide who should get the contract.

In the meantime, the Ed School's new center has already opened shop and will not be immediately affected by the ensuing dispute. The panel should expedite the hearings as much as possible, with neither Harvard nor Bank Street doing anything to impede a quick and clear decision. And regardless of skeletons in the selection process closet, both schools should return as quickly as possible to their and the new center's clear mission--finding ways to improve education in the country.