Daily Headlines for November 29, 2011
Why Are We Following The US Into A Schools Policy Disaster?
The Guardian, UK, November 28, 2011
Academies and free schools will do as much harm to our education system as charter schools are doing in the US , says Melissa Benn.
No Child Left Behind, Or Else
The Harvard Crimson, MA, November 29, 2011
The rash of reforms over the past two decades, from initiatives during the Clinton administration to Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act to Obama’s Race to the Top program, have sought to improve test scores by focusing almost entirely on school accountability with little or no attempt to hold students to a higher standard.
STATE COVERAGE
ARIZONA
Charter Schools In The Northwest Valley Continue To Grow
Arizona Republic, AZ, November 28, 2011
Charter schools in the northwest Valley, particularly in the Surprise area, continue to grow. Nearly 20 percent of students in Surprise attend a charter school, one of the highest percentages among Valley cities.
CALIFORNIA
LAUSD Reform From The Inside Out
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 29, 2011
Our school system is fracturing. While the Los Angeles Unified School District and its bargaining partners, the unions, endlessly debate how best to fix the system, parents and students are walking away from LAUSD.
Millions for Education Bounce off With Brown’s Dropped Ball
Modesto Bee, CA, November 28, 2011
At a time when California has cut funding for K-12 education — and is about to cut more — the state just left $49 million in federal education dollars on the table.
COLORADO
Denver Public Schools Discovers Value of Marketing
Denver Post, CO, November 29, 2011
In the growing Denver Public Schools district, the need for marketing is intensified by a new districtwide enrollment process that requires parents to choose a school rather than automatically being assigned to one.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
New College-Prep IB Program Could Be Offered To Technical Students
Washington Post, DC, November 28, 2011
Education reform over the past three decades has centered on undoing such tracking and strengthening the academic foundation for everyone, thanks to an economy that demands ever higher education for almost any job.
GEORGIA
Sick of Anti-Public-School Baloney
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, November 28, 2011
Public education is in the midst of a perceptual crisis. The “public-school-as-smorgasbord” proponents, the privatization faction, the voucher believers, the private school crowd and the transformers — those small but vocal minorities who insist that every public school is mediocre at best, that their students do not stand a chance in today’s competitive market — all proclaim loudly their way is better and will lead to the miraculous and marvelous reinvention of our failed system of public education.
School Board vs. CEMCS: the Battle Continues
Savannah Morning News, GA, November 29, 2011
It appeared problems between the fiscally conservative, standardized-test conscious public school board and the learn-at-your-own-pace Montessori purists at the Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School had been resolved.
State Missing Mark On Teacher Evaluation
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, November 29, 2011
Just as with the way the state of Georgia chooses to evaluate student performance in its K-12 public schools, it seems clear the upcoming effort to evaluate teacher performance will leave much to be desired.
Fulton County Seeks More Flexibility for Local Schools
Reporter Newspaper, GA, November 28, 2011
Fulton County wants to give more schools a chance to adopt an education model that’s already being embraced by local Sandy Springs schools.
ILLINOIS
A Record 10 CPS Schools Recommended For Turnaround
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 29, 2011
The new leadership team at Chicago Public Schools is recommending a record 10 schools for “turnaround” next year, reflecting how poorly many city schools are preparing students for college and the workforce, officials said.
LOUISIANA
Tulane and KIPP Form Partnership To Help Boost Graduation Rates
Times Picayune, LA, November 28, 2011
Tulane University and one of the country’s most prominent public charter school operators plan to sign a new agreement Tuesday with the dual aim of boosting college graduation rates among at-risk students and producing more qualified teachers.
4 Jefferson Parish Turnaround Schools Celebrate Small Victories
Times Picayune, LA, November 28, 2011
Well into a school year defined by the pressure to improve academically or face severe changes, educators at West Jefferson High in Harvey are finding a small sign of encouragement coming from the football team.
Charter Schools Can Add Costs
News Star, LA, November 28, 2011
As education conversations in Louisiana move toward the implementation of more charter schools — an absolute certainty given the outcome of recent elections for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education — it’s important to note that even charter schools require some close supervision.
MASSACHUSETTS
Rejuvenated School Helps Kids Reach New Heights
Boston Herald, MA, November 29, 2011
This is Unlocking Potential’s first school. Gardner said UP Academy’s ability to hire its own staff and choose curriculum — as well as the longer school day and year — are major factors for success.
Charter Suit Parties Aim To Speed Decision
Gloucester Times, MA, November 28, 2011
Both sides in an ongoing lawsuit by 15 Gloucester School District parents aimed at shutting down the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School will be pushing for a quick decision when they head back to court next week.
MICHIGAN
House Education Committee Tuesday Begins Discussing Lifting Charter School Cap
Grand Rapids Press, MI, November 28, 2011
he House Education Committee Tuesday will discuss the bill the Senate recently passed that would remove the cap on charter schools and allow the outsourcing and privatization teachers.
MINNESOTA
Five Steps Toward Better Minneapolis Schools
Star Tribune, MN, November 28, 2011
Yet our schools are hamstrung by contract rules that blindly reward teacher seniority over quality, that limit our hiring pool, that force school leaders to accept hundreds of ineffective teachers they don’t want and that make it very hard to remove the most dismal performers.
NEW JERSEY
Four Jersey City Charter Schools Petition Education Commissioner For Added Funding
Jersey Journal, NJ, November 29, 2011
Four Jersey City charter schools have filed a petition with the state education commissioner that claims the schools are not properly funded and should receive more tax dollars.
OHIO
Public Schools Oppose Bill Expanding Voucher Program
Pomeroy Daily Sentinel, OH, November 29, 2011
The Boards of Education of Meigs County’s three public school districts have joined 145 other school boards in the State of Ohio in passing resolutions of opposition to House Bill 136 School Choice currently under consideration in the Ohio Legislature.
Don’t Delay
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 29, 2011
If a charter school has failed for enough years in a row that state law says it must close, it shouldn’t linger another futile year, just because official ‘report cards’ take a long time to be processed.
PENNSYLVANIA
Gov. Corbett Has Been Good For Pa. Students and Budget
Patriot News, PA, November 29, 2011
It’s been a good year for education in many states, and fortunately, governors such as Indiana’s Mitch Daniels, Pennsylvania’s Tom Corbett and Wisconsin ’s Scott Walker have moved to expand school choice and increase accountability for teachers and schools.
Diocese ‘Corrects’ Tuition Letter
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 29, 2011
Principals in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh were told last month that parents who received tuition assistance had to lobby state legislators to pass a school voucher bill — and document it — or lose their funding.
RHODE ISLAND
Protesters Decry Proposed School
Brown Daily Herald, RI, November 28, 2011
Roughly 30 members of various neighborhood and education groups gathered at the State House Monday morning to protest the proposed Providence mayoral academy. The charter school would be operated by Achievement First, a nonprofit organization that runs 20 academies in New York and Connecticut.
TENNESSEE
Daffy Reason for Denying Charters
Commercial Appeal, TN, November 29, 2011
Reference is made to the Nov. 24 article “Rejected charters in limbo — State may overturn unified board’s ruling.” The unified school board’s vote to deny 17 charter school applications is unbelievable to me. The reason for this denial is even more ridiculous.
State Board Set To Hold Charter School Hearing Today
Blount County Daily Times, TN, November 29, 2011
The state Board of Education will hold a public hearing today to review the Blount County Board of Education’s decision to deny HOPE Academy’s application.
TEXAS
Public Questions AISD Overcrowding Plan
KXAN, TX, November 28, 2011
Austin Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, an administrator, and two school board members showed up to listen Monday night as parents, teachers and students shared thoughts on several recommendations the school board will be voting on in two weeks. The controversial proposal for an in-district charter school took center stage.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
District Counters Cyber School Trend
News Eagle, PA, November 28, 2011
Wallenpaupack Area School District has in place an option for virtual, on-line curriculums a student can take at home. The School Board was told Nov. 14 that this service is meant as an alternative to losing students to commercial cyber schools.
Many Cyber Schools Fail To Meet State Standards
York Dispatch, PA, November 28, 2011
Fewer of the most popular cyber charter schools in York County met state standards on the PSSAs last year than the year before, even as they collectively fared better on their reading and math scores.
In Tennessee’s Virtual Schools, Everything Is Homework
The Tennessean, TN, November 29, 2011
Dockery is Tennessee’s newest kind of educator — the virtual teacher. From his living room, with Persian cats Duchess and Biscuit at this side, he teaches Advanced Placement government to eight Metro Nashville Public Schools students and U.S. history to four others.
School Cuts Move From Silly To Unacceptable
Winston-Salem Journal, NC, November 29, 2011
In one of the more ludicrous situations to confront the schools since the legislature began to seriously underfund them several years back, the Department of Public Instruction says it must turn away students from the N.C. Virtual Public School this spring because it is $3 million short
Alachua County eSchool Coming to a Screen Near You
Ocala Star-Banner, FL, November 28, 2011
Alachua County middle and high school students will be able to take classes with local teachers from their computer screen as part of the Alachua eSchool, a partnership between the school district and Florida Virtual School.