Daily Headlines for February 9, 2012
Schools Law Earns One Credit
Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2012
The Obama administration is expected to announce Friday it is granting 10 states waivers from the No Child Left Behind law, according to people familiar with the decision, in what would be the strongest move yet to undermine the decade-old education initiative.
FROM THE STATES
Union Targets Charter Schools With Bill
Appeal-Democrat, CA, February 8, 2012
Charter schools are spreading throughout America. Charters are public schools that are allowed wide latitude to work outside the traditional public-school model. Commonly they’re not unionized.
DPS Loses Two State Appeals On School Programs
Denver Post, CO, February 9, 2012
Denver Public Schools lost two appeals before the state board of education Wednesday and must prepare to open a new elementary by August.
Successful Day For Education Bills
Education News Colorado, CO, February 8, 2012
Half a dozen education measures, including bills that would exempt back-to-school purchases from state sales taxes and that would encourage wider use of students’ life experience for college credit, advanced Wednesday in the legislatur
Malloy: Teacher Tenure Will Have To Be Earned, And Re-Earned
Connecticut Mirror, CT, February 8, 2012
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is calling on legislators to completely change how the state’s 45,000 teachers earn tenure. The change — linking tenure to student performance and teacher evaluations — will apply to new teachers and those who already have tenure.
Funding Plan Cause For Concern
CT Post, CT, February 8, 2012
There are many things to like in Gov. Dannel Malloy’s school reform package.But if the governor gets all he wants, local school districts for the first time would have to take from their own budgets and help fund charter schools, which serve a very small portion of the state’s student population.
Brown: Keep Charter Facilities Allowance At $3000 Per Student
Washington Post Blog, DC, February 8, 2012
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown has called on Mayor Vincent C. Gray to maintain a “floor” of $3,000 per student for charter school facilities. Public charter schools, which must secure their own buildings, use the allotment to cover rent, mortgage, debt service and renovations.
Pepin Academies Expands Its Student Workforce Network In Downtown Tampa
Tampa Bay Times, FL, February 9, 2012
Pepin Academies charter school hopes to make downtown Tampa feel like a college campus for its transitional students with learning disabilities.
Paranoia Is Justified On Charter-School Bill
Miami Herald, FL, February 8, 2012
In their despair, people who care deeply about public education in Florida sometimes get a little carried away.
Don’t Let Charter Schools Take Away Money From Public Schools
St. Augustine Record, FL, February 9, 2012
Charter schools continue to have an edge in the Florida Legislature over public schools.
House Rejects Amendment On Charter Schools
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, February 9, 2012
After intense lobbying and lively floor debate, state House members on Wednesday narrowly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would restore the state’s power to approve charter schools.
Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School Gets Boost From School Board
Savannah Morning News, GA, February 9, 2012
After more than four years of complaints and criticism, the Savannah-Chatham public school board and Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School officials appear to be taking baby steps toward a better working relationship.
Progress Seen At City ‘Turnaround’ Schools
Chicago Tribune, IL, February 9, 2012
A study of Chicago’s most aggressive efforts to reform failing schools, including replacing school leadership and staff in “turnaround” efforts, finds that targeted schools did improve even though students continued to score below district standards.
Chicago Teachers Union Accuses CPS of Discriminating Against African-American Teachers
Chicago Tribune, IL, February 8, 2012
The Chicago Teachers Union filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday alleging that layoffs last summer targeted tenured African-American teachers who represent a third of the CPS teachers.
Lawsuit Cost SD 227, Charter School Nearly $300K
Southtown Star, IL, February 8, 2012
During a lengthy legal battle pitting Rich Township High School District 227 against Southland College Prep Charter High School , the two sides spent nearly $300,000 in attorney fees, records show.
The Many Problems Of Charter Schools
Louisville Courier Journal, KY, February 9, 2012
Recently, proponents of charter schools have been spending remarkable sums of money on advertisements designed to make our public schools look worse and charter schools look better than they really are. Before jumping on the charter school bandwagon, Kentuckians should consider these points:
One-Stop Enrollment for New Orleans ‘ RSD Schools, Finally
Times Picayune, LA, February 8, 2012
Ever since independent charter schools began dominating the New Orleans public education landscape after Hurricane Katrina, parents have complained about the disparate processes to enroll children in the city.
Orleans Parish School Board Seeks New Operator for 2 West Bank Charter Schools
Times Picayune, LA, February 8, 2012
The Orleans Parish School Board is looking for a new charter organization to take over management of two West Bank schools, Alice Harte Elementary and Edna Karr High School ,when the academic year ends on June 30.
Neville Alumni Move Toward Charter Filing
Monroe News Star, LA, February 8, 2012
Education is the chief mission of the Neville Alumni and Friends Association as it moves toward filing a charter school application and in the future as it strives to continue educating the children of the Neville community.
Sweeping Changes Set Out For Education
Portland Press Herald, ME, February 9, 2012
The governor says his four proposals expand opportunities; critics worry about the effects on schools, teachers and kids.
Board Approves Charter School Opening
Frederick News Post, MD, February 9, 2012
The Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the facility plan for Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter School, putting the school on track to open Aug. 27.
In Worcester, More Schools Seek ‘Innovation’ Approval
Worcester Telegram & Gazette, MA, February 9, 2012
The city already has a handful of innovation schools, and three more are working their way toward approval.
Michigan Students Keep Falling Behind
Detroit News, MI, February 9, 2012
A new report sheds light on how poorly the state’s schools are doing when compared with national leaders
DPS to Close 16 Schools, Offer 4 Others for Charters
Detroit News, MI, February 9, 2012
Closing 16 Detroit Public Schools and offering four more to charter operators is part of the latest strategy by Emergency Manager Roy Roberts to transform the battered school district into an educational leader while cutting its deficit.
Open Enrollment Bill May Include Financial Incentive For Districts Opposed To Mandate
Detroit Free Press, MI, February 9, 2012
A bill to mandate open enrollment in Michigan’s public schools has yet to make it out of the state Senate Education Committee, but Gov. Rick Snyder may provide school districts opposed to the bill with an incentive to allow out-of-district students.
In St. Paul Schools, Small Steps In the Right Direction
Pioneer Press, MN, February 8, 2012
Some details about the tentative contract settlement between the St. Paul school district and its teachers were made public Tuesday with evidence of fiscal restraint and reform that could serve students.
State Creating Teacher Evaluation System
Omaha World Herald, NE, February 9, 2012
On the same day U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan called the nation’s teacher evaluation systems “largely broken and dysfunctional,” Nebraska set about to draw up a new one for its teachers.
Scholarship Bill Benefits The Few
Foster’s Daily Democrat, NH, February 9, 2012
On Jan. 23 the New Hampshire House Committee on Ways and Means met to hear testimony about House Bill 1607, New Hampshire s education tax credit bill that will benefit parents of nonpublic school children.
Charter Schools / Let Residents Vote
Press of Atlantic City, NJ, February 9, 2012
A measure approved by the Assembly and Senate education committees could help bring some much-needed sanity to New Jersey’s charter school policies.
Education Department Extends Teacher Evaluation Pilot to as Many as 30 More Districts
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, February 9, 2012
New Jersey’s teacher evaluation pilot has gotten off to a mixed start, by most accounts. Now the Christie administration is tweaking its plans for next year and extending the pilot to a limited number of districts — rather than statewide as originally planned.
Two Schools Slated for Ax Get Reprieve
Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2012
New York City gave a last-minute reprieve Wednesday to two schools slated for closure, on the eve of what is usually one of the most raucous Department of Education meetings of the year.
Successes of Small Schools
New York Times, NY, February 9, 2012
School reform advocates are rightly encouraged by new data showing that New York City students at small, specialized high schools are more likely to graduate than students in large, traditional high schools
A New Bronx Charter School Seeks Tough Cases
New York Times, NY, February 8, 2012
A new Bronx charter school is looking for the children who challenge most other schools: those who are homeless, from low-income single-parent households, English language learners, or suffering from disabilities that put them at a disadvantage to succeed in school.
Help Kids: Close Bad Schools
New York Post, NY, February 9, 2012
As the father of five children, no issue concerns me more right now than the quality of their education. That’s why I’ll attend tonight’s Panel for Educational Policy meeting and support its members’ voting to replace 25 long-struggling schools with better options.
School Choice Is Often Less Filling
Portland Tribune, OR, February 9, 2012
Last year, 3,518 students (7 percent of the district’s enrollment) took advantage of the lottery and applied for a transfer. That’s all about to change.
Medford Schools Register Largest State Increase
Mail Tribune, OR, February 9, 2012
The Medford School District’s gain of about 250 students this fall was the greatest percentage increase among the 13 largest districts in Oregon , an increase largely attributed to a growing charter school.
Christie Urges NJEA Leader’s Resignation After Remark
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 9, 2012,
Gov. Christie called for the resignation Wednesday of a top official of the state’s largest teachers’ union for making a seemingly dismissive remark about poor children in failing school districts.
Salisbury Board Approves Arts-Based Charter School
Allentown Morning Call, PA, February 8, 2012
Despite reservations about an arts-based charter school in Salisbury Township , school directors approved the proposal Wednesday.
A Luxury We Can’t Afford
Brown Daily Herald, RI, February 9, 2012
Last Thursday, the state Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education voted to establish two Achievement First charter schools in Providence.
More Than 600 Apply For Up To 114 Spots at Riverview Charter School
Beaufort Gazette, SC, February 8, 2012
Riverview Charter School is reporting its largest and most diverse pool of applicants yet for the coming school year. In addition to its current 342 students, the Beaufort school says 671 have applied for next school year. That’s about 300 more than applied last year.
Memphis, Shelby County Schools Plead Case Why State Should Decline Charter Plans
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, February 9, 2012
City and county school leaders filed a response to the state Wednesday explaining how the districts will suffer if forced to approve 17 new charter schools.
Haslam Hears Teachers’ Fears
The Tennessean, TN, February 9, 2012
If there’s one notion Gov. Bill Haslam can take away from his discussion with Scales Elementary School teachers Wednesday, it’s their concerns about Senate Bill 2210.
Residents Sound Off On DISD Vs. Charter Schools
CBS Local, TX, February 8, 2012
It could have been a routine discussion at Dallas City Hall, but it wasn’t. The topic — whether to create a non-profit corporation so a public charter school could issue bonds.
Home-Schoolers Are Hoping to Don Varsity Jackets in Virginia
New York Times, NY, February 9, 2012
Patrick Foss is a top teenage soccer player who plans to graduate a semester early and enter the University of Virginia next January. His neighbor is a point guard on the local public high school basketball team in northern Virginia .
Teacher Contract Bill Headed To Full House
Richmond Times-Union, VA, February 9, 2012
A proposed overhaul of the contract and evaluation system for the state’s public school teachers and principals is headed to the full House of Delegates despite lingering questions from lawmakers.
The Evaluation Of Teachers In Public Schools
Seattle Times, WA, February 8, 2012
As a former teacher, I would have loved to have my professional evaluations derived from the standardized test scores of my students, if my school existed in a glass bubble [“Bills would reshape how state teachers evaluated,” NWMonday, Feb. 6].
A Public School Accountability Bill? Still A Chance
News Tribune, WA, February 9, 2012
Education reform – serious education reform – remains alive in the Legislature. No thanks to the Legislature’s education chairwomen.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Michigan Bill Allowing More Cyber Charter Schools Advances
Associated Press, February 8, 2012
A Republican-led state House committee narrowly approved a bill Wednesday that would allow more online charter schools in Michigan , a proposal sought by supporters of more educational choice but criticized by Democrats who question the schools’ track records.
Virtual Spike In NB District Enrollment
Coos Bay World, OR, February 8, 2012
The largest portion of North Bend’s increase is from Oregon Virtual Academy enrollment, which more than doubled to 1,333 students, North Bend Superintendent B.J. Hollensteiner said.