Daily Headlines for December 2, 2011
Taking Over Lousy Schools
American Spectator, December 2, 2011
It would be an understatement to say that American families are dissatisfied with the nation’s traditional public school systems.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Our Struggling Schools Need A Long-term Fix
Sacramento Bee, CA, December 2, 2011
The nonprofit group Advancement Project plans to gather signatures for a November 2012 ballot initiative that would raise money for schools, The Bee reported Wednesday.
Pittsburg Charter High School Pilot Approved By State After Local Rejection
Contra Costa Times, CA, December 1, 2011
A new charter school program for Pittsburg won state approval in November despite having been turned down by both city and county education boards.
A Risky Choice — Lausd Shouldn’t Retreat From Reform
Long Beach Press Telegram, CA, December 1, 2011
For the past few years, Los Angeles schools have been a surprising model of education reform that has been closely observed across the nation.
Charter Schools Would Fix Education Because Bad Teachers Can Be Fired
Yahoo! Voices, December 1, 2011
One of the hot button issues on this November’s ballot in California is education reform. Each major party candidate talks of “fixing education.” I have my concerns for what this term means.
COLORADO
Denver Public Schools Rolls Out New Application For School-Choice Selections
Denver Post, CO, December 2, 2011
The new choice form — a four- page application — is available online and will be sent to students in transition grades next week through the U.S. mail and weekly school communications in children’s backpacks.
FLORIDA
Evaluation Snags Delay Contract Agreements for Pasco Teachers
St. Petersburg Times, FL, December 2, 2011
She’s far from alone. Dozens of Pasco County teachers without assigned students are in the same position: They have no clear criteria for how their bosses will review their work or determine their students’ academic results for future pay and employment.
Gov Proposes Parents ‘Union’ To Control Underperforming Schools
News Press, FL, December 1, 2011
Gov. Rick Scott’s draft legislative agenda includes a bill that would allow parents to close struggling schools and replace them with a charter school. The so-called parent trigger bill, which has yet to be filed in the Florida Legislature, creates a parents union that advocates say will provide powerful and needed counterweight to teachers unions and district bureaucracies.
GEORGIA
Fulton County Seeks More Flexibility For Local Schools
Sandy Springs Reporter, GA, December 1, 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
Charter Schools Under The Microscope
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 2, 2011
As with traditional public schools, those that don’t raise achievement should be reconstituted or closed.
Following Costly Misstep, Education Group Tries to Rebound
Chicago News Cooperative, IL, December 2, 2011
An Oregon-based education group, whose deep pockets and skillful maneuvering made it a surprising powerhouse player in Springfield earlier this year, is regrouping after an embarrassing outburst by its founder forced a leadership shuffle within the organization.
School Closings, Turnaround List Draw Protests
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 2, 2011
Community groups rallied Thursday in protest of proposed school closings and turnaround programs, vowing to fight those efforts targeting their neighborhood schools.
INDIANA
Vouchers Prove Worthy For Families, Taxpayers
Indianapolis Star, IN, December 1, 2011
When the new school voucher law took effect earlier this year, calls started rolling in from across the nation. Leaders from other states were interested in our education reform gains and many of them are now working to replicate our model of innovation.
LOUISIANA
Tulane University and KIPP Make a Smart Partnership
Times Picayune, LA, December 1, 2011
Tulane University’s new agreement with the Knowledge is Power Program is a win-win for students at the university and at the charter schools KIPP operates.
MARYLAND
No Public Money
Baltimore Sun, MD, December 1, 2011
When it comes to public money for private schools and oversight of charter schools, the Harford County Board of Education and the administration of Harford County Public Schools have it right by being opposed.
MASSACHUSETTS
Learning from the Charter School
Salem News, MA, December 2, 2011
It’s hardly surprising the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education this week approved the Salem Academy Charter School ‘s application to add 64 seats to its high school program.
Charter school group plans push for more schools in Mass. cities
Fall River Herald News, MA, December 1, 2011
Attempting to give families in urban communities more educational options, the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association is launching an effort to expand the number of charter schools in the state’s Gateway Cities.
MISSOURI
Act Today On KC Schools, But Study Mayor’s Bold Plan
Kansas City Star, MO, December 1, 2011
In a stunning last-minute move, Mayor Sly James offered Thursday to swoop in and take over leadership of the Kansas City Public Schools. It’s an intriguing idea never before seriously pursued here. It merits intense study and community discussion in the coming months.
Study Predicts 13,500 St. Louis Children Would Transfer To County Schools
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, December 2, 2011
If parents in St. Louis could send their children tuition-free to any public school in St. Louis County , suburban schools would have an additional 13,500 students in their classrooms, a study says.
NEW JERSEY
Head of New Jersey Charter School Office Steps Down
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 2, 2011
New Jersey’s charter school director, on the job for less than a dozen months, will be stepping down at the end of this year to take a new job in Chicago public schools.
Education Reform Limps Along in Lame Duck
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 2, 2011
The legislature’s lame duck session that was expected to be busy with education reform debate is looking sleepier by the day.
St. Joseph students rally in Trenton to support bill for students choosing private schools over failing urban schools
Press of Atlantic City, NJ, December 1, 2011
Thirty eighth-graders from St. Joseph Regional School in Somers Point were among the more than 1,000 people who rallied in Trenton Thursday in support of a bill that would provide scholarships for as many as 40,000 students in failing urbaN public schools to attend private schools.
2,500 Attend Trenton Rally Supporting School Voucher Program For N.J. Students In Failing Districts
Star Ledger, NJ, December 1, 2011
Supporters of a bill to give scholarships to tens of thousands of students in failing public schools to attend private and parochial schools rallied on the Statehouse steps today, urging legislators to take action.
NEW YORK
Schools Are Resigned to Robin Hood
New York Times, NY, December 2, 2011
The state’s practice of collecting portions of property tax revenue from wealthier districts and redistributing it to poorer ones, also known as “recapture,” was a rallying cry for districts challenging the school finance system in a lawsuit that made its way through the courts from 2001 to 2005.
OHIO
White Hat Employees Told Company Must Boost Enrollment, Profits
Akron Beacon Journal, OH, December 2, 2011
Akron businessman David Brennan told employees of White Hat Management last month that his family can no longer afford to subsidize the company he founded in 1998 and owns.
Charter Rules
Toledo Blade, OH, December 2, 2011
Expanding educational choice in Ohio by increasing state aid to charter schools and voucher programs — often at the expense of traditional public schools — is a priority of Gov. John Kasich’s administration and many state lawmakers. But if higher subsidies for such options, especially for-profit schools, are not accompanied by tougher standards for oversight and transparency, both students and taxpayers could be harmed rather than helped.
Educators Assail State Voucher Plan
New Philadelphia Times Reporter, OH, December 1, 2011
Area school districts have been speaking with a united voice to express opposition to House Bill 136, which would expand Ohio ’s school voucher program to the entire state.
MICHIGAN
Education ‘Reforms’ Aren’t About Making Schools Better
Morning Sun, MI, December 1, 2011
The same people who in the last month gave us pro-bullying legislation and compulsory loyalty oaths are back, and they’re out to prove that there is no bad idea they aren’t willing to run with. They’ve got a state full of schoolkids to act as their collective guinea pigs.
Playing Politics With Charter Schools
Michigan Public Radio, MI, December 1, 2011
It seems pretty clear that Republicans are intent on ramming through legislation that will result in a vast expansion of Michigan charter schools. Up to now, there has been a limit on how many could be authorized. Charter schools had to be sanctioned by universities, and no university could charter more than one hundred and fifty of them.
TENNESSEE
Charter School Denials Draw Criticism From State Education Commissioner
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 2, 2011
It’s “bad policy,” says the state commissioner of education, for school districts to systematically deny charter school applications, whether for financial reasons or because the community is in upheaval over a pending school merger.
The School Board’s Role On Charters
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 2, 2011
Last week, Memphis City Schools voted to deny all resubmitted charter applications on the basis that, despite their merit, they would cripple the district financially. I was struck by the argument that public charter schools are an unfunded mandate.
Teacher Evaluations
New York Times, NY, December 2, 2011
Many of us were disappointed to see Michael Winerip give voice only to those opposing Tennessee’s new teacher evaluation system (“In Tennessee, Following the Rules for Evaluations Off a Cliff,” On Education column, Nov. 7). It’s not particularly difficult to find excellent educators who support the change.
Don’t Roll Back Teaching Reforms
The Tennessean, TN, December 2, 2011
Tennessee is on the right track on education reform. From K-12 to college completion, Tennessee leads the nation in bold education reforms, which will produce long-lasting results for our students. Business leaders understand that these same steps will also lead to economic development in our state for years to come.
Schools Merger Is ‘Unique Opportunity’
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 2, 2011
The team charged with working out the details of how Memphis and Shelby County schools will merge spent time Thursday talking with the person who will judge the final plan.
WISCONSIN
District Explores Creating New Charter School
The Northwestern, WI, December 2, 2011
Science and the arts have emerged as the front-running ideas for a new Oshkosh school district charter school.
Low-income, Minority Students Shine In Madison Schools’ College Prep Program, Analysis Shows
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, December 1, 2011
Black and Hispanic students in a special Madison School District college preparatory program have higher grade point averages, attendance rates and test scores than their peers who aren’t in the program, according to a UW-Madison analysis.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Manatee School Officials Explain School Choices During Town Hall Meeting
Bradenton Herald, FL, December 2, 2011
Questions surrounding school choice, including charter and virtual schools, were answered during the Manatee school district’s third annual town hall meeting Thursday night at Manatee High School ’s Davis Theater. The meeting’s theme: the changing face of education.
Funding, Students Go To Virtual Academy: Bep Money Follows 13 Local Students To Web-based Program
Jackson Sun, TN, November 30, 2011
Concerns about whether the Tennessee Virtual Academy will affect local school districts’ enrollment have become a reality for Jackson-Madison County Schools this year.
Michigan Leads Nation In Digital Learning
Hillsdale Daily News, MI, December 1, 2011
The national Digital Learning Council says, Michigan is leading the nation in transforming education for the digital age.”
Virtual High School Offers Students Choice, Flexibility
Memorial Examiner, TX, December 1, 2011
Housed within Spring Branch ISD’s Academy of Choice are classrooms without walls, learning spaces where time management skills and analytical skills take on equal importance.