Daily Headlines for May 23, 2011
The Battle for Education Freedom
National Review Online, May 23, 2011
Under the guise of voluntary measures, and obscured by nebulous terminology, the nationalization of what your children will learn has been proceeding apace. And Congress is working right now on reauthorizing No Child Left Behind, through which federal domination will be cemented. But an organized opposition has formed, and it’s time for conservatives to decide: Are you going to let the federal government dictate what your children learn, or will you fight?
Behind Grass-Roots School Advocacy, Bill Gates
New York Times, NY, May 21, 2011
A handful of outspoken teachers helped persuade state lawmakers this spring to eliminate seniority-based layoff policies. They testified before the legislature, wrote briefing papers and published an op-ed article in The Indianapolis Star.
FROM THE STATES
ALABAMA
Time to Cool the Rhetoric: Just Pass The Tenure Bill
The Anniston Star, AL, May 23, 2011
Republican leaders say reforming Alabama’s teacher-tenure law will be their top priority when they return Tuesday from their two-week recess.
ARIZONA
5 Vital Ways To Reform K-12 Education
Arizona Republic, AZ, May 21, 2011
To carry out any discussion of K-12 education reform, you have to focus on both the numbers and the history. The numbers are pretty simple – and pretty devastating. About 30 percent of Arizona kids do not graduate from high school, and of the 70 percent who do graduate, about half do not have an education of sufficient quality to succeed in college.
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles Teachers Union Seeks to Block Test of Evaluation Program
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 23, 2011
Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy appeared to have momentum in the effort to revise educator evaluations in the LAUSD, but the teachers union is digging in its heels
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. Board Keeps Struggling Charter School Alive
Washington Examiner, DC, May 22, 2011
A struggling charter school was given a second chance by the D.C. Public Charter School Board, making Ideal Academy the first school in the board’s 12-year history to survive the revocation process.
Carlyle and the Business of Charter Schools
Washington Post, DC, May 22, 2011
A Carlyle comer named Cedric Bobo has figured this out. He built a charter school board headhunting firm called Charter Board Partners to find business executives who will donate their time to help District charter schools.
FLORIDA
Charter School Movement Exploding in Florida
Miami Herald, FL, May 21, 2011
The charter school movement is exploding in Florida, creating new opportunities for parents, educators and entrepreneurs. But are the results any better than traditional schools?
GEORGIA
Education Officials Applaud Charter Decision
Walton Tribune, GA, May 21, 2011
With the recent decision by the Georgia Supreme Court, charter schools once again require local approval to use local school funds, and Walton County education officials are praising the move.
Supreme Court: A Loss for Education
Savannah Morning News, GA, May 21, 2011
PARENTS IN Georgia should have as much choice as reasonably possible in determining where their children attend school.
HAWAII
Institution Founded On Choice Produces Strong Test Scores
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, HI, May 22, 2011
The spartan campus of West Hawaii Explorations Academy, a public charter school next to Kona Airport, lives up to its motto, “No Child Left Indoors.” The most substantial structure is a hollow-tile concrete pavilion workshop. Students work mostly in open-air structures with fabric roofs.
Former Private School Finds Some Success In Transition To Public Waldorf Education
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, HI, May 23, 2011
Once a private Waldorf school, it shut down in 2006 because not enough students could afford to attend. It was resuscitated in 2008 with tax dollars as a public charter school, open to all, with no tuition charge. Enrollment shot up from 79 students in its first year to 157 this year, in kindergarten through sixth grade.
ILLINOIS
Protect School Reform
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 22, 2011
The impressive education reform bill passed recently by the Illinois Legislature hasn’t been signed yet by Gov. Pat Quinn, but there is already a furious campaign to weaken it. This can’t be allowed to happen.
MAINE
Parents Raise $335k To Save School But Archdiocese Says No
Eagle Tribune, MA, May 23, 2011
Parents of students at St. Mary of the Assumption School said they feel deceived by the Archdiocese of Boston who promised to side with them if they could come up with the money to save their school.
Charter Schools Boosted By Strong Support on Education Committee
Bangor Daily News, ME, May 22, 2011
Charter schools in Maine came closer than they ever have to reality Friday when the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee voted in favor of a bill that would allow creation of up to 10 of them in the next 10 years.
MARYLAND
School Officials, Charter Leaders At Odds Over Funding Disparity
Baltimore Sun, MD, May 22, 2011
Charter schools to receive more per-pupil funding than traditional schools in budget set to be adopted Tuesday
NEVADA
A Different Kind of School Reform
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, May 22,
2011
Gov. Brian Sandoval and former Washington, D.C., schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee would have us believe that education reform is based on ending teacher tenure. We get rid of seniority, then magically, education will be fixed. That is a smoke screen, and it’s not real education reform.
NEW JERSEY
Teachers’ Test
The Record, NJ, May 23, 2011
THE STATE Department of Education is moving forward with a new system to evaluate public school teachers. But rather than impose untested new rules on the state’s entire teaching force, officials will test-drive the ranking program in a handful of volunteer districts next year.
Half the Cost of Sending New Jersey Children To School Misses The Classroom
Press of Atlantic City, NJ, May 21, 2011
As much as half of the cost of education has nothing to do with what goes on in a classroom, the new Taxpayers’ Guide to Education Spending released Friday by the state Department of Education says.
Assembly Panel To Consider Charter School Measure
Asbury Park Press, NJ, May 22, 2011
New Jersey voters would decide whether charter schools could be opened in their towns under legislation making its way through the Assembly.
OHIO
School Choice Will Move Ohio Forward
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, May 22, 2011
Ohio has some really good schools – some public, some community or charter schools, and some private schools. There are plenty of lousy schools, too, of all stripes. The best way to get more of the former and fewer of the latter is to increase the choices available to parents.
OREGON
Oregon Charter School Debate Yields Little Progress
Ashland Daily Tidings, OR, May 23, 2011
Debate over charter schools has stirred ideological rancor and stalled other education issues not just for this year’s Legislature but for the past several years.
PENNSYLVANIA
Put Out Over City School’s Success
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 22, 2011
Roughly 50 slots were available, first come, first served. Ever since Penn Alexander opened in the troubled Philadelphia School District in 2001, parents have flocked to its doors.
Pennsylvania: Voucher Ground Zero
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, May 23, 2011
FOR WEEKS, deep-pocketed advocates for school vouchers – tax dollars to help students attend private or religious schools – in Pennsylvania sold their scheme as the only way for poor children to escape failing urban public schools.
Debate Rages Over Formula For Funding ‘Choice’
Delaware County Times, PA, May 23, 2011
Gov. Tom Corbett paid a visit to Chester Community Charter School late last month to tour a school he considers an embodiment of the school-choice education model he supports
Legislator Proposes End to SRC, Calling It A Bust
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 23, 2011
State Rep. Louise Williams Bishop (D., Phila.) has introduced legislation that would abolish the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, created by the state in 2001 as part of a takeover of the Philadelphia School District. The SRC consists of five members – three appointed by the governor and two by the mayor – and has certain “extraordinary” powers, including the ability to impose terms on the district’s unions to speed reform.
TENNESSEE
We Are for School Reforms If They Are Accountable
Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2011
Your editorial “Tennessee’s Chamber Maids” (May 13) mischaracterizes the letter the Chattanooga, Knoxville and Nashville chambers of commerce sent the Tennessee General Assembly regarding the Tennessee Equal Opportunity Scholarship Act.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Charter School Groups Not Sure What’s Next
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, May 23, 2011
An online charter school that planned to open its virtual doors this fall has an information session scheduled for Wednesday in Athens – but the meeting and the school itself are in limbo in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling.
Technology Can Revolutionize Teaching
San Diego Union Tribune, CA, May 22, 2011
The budget crisis looks to be the new norm in California for years to come, and public schools are looking at ways to leverage technology to both revolutionize K-12 instruction as well as help us weather the doomsday cuts.
The Learning Landscape Is Changing
San Diego Union Tribune, CA, May 22, 2011
The learning landscape is dramatically changing at schools throughout San Diego Unified School District . For students who come to class at one of our schools or who take some or all of their courses online, San Diego Unified has a different learning experience in store for them.
State’s Fastest-Growing Charter Maintains Individual Attention For Each of Its Students
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, HI, May 23, 2011
Launched in 2008, the public charter school has quadrupled its enrollment over two years, with 1,000 students at last count. On March 1 it opened up 250 more slots for this fall, triggering that line of parents. The school can grow so quickly despite its limited space – 10,000 square feet – because its students work mostly at home.