Daily Headlines: April 10, 2012
Look What’s Going On in Charter Schools
Town Hall, April 10, 2012
The charter school movement was presented to the American people as a way to have more parental control over public school education. Charter schools are public schools financed by local taxpayers and federal grants.
Picking Up the Pieces of No Child Left Behind
The Atlantic, April 9, 2012
The past decade has proven that teaching to the test doesn’t work. Here’s a look at what does.
FROM THE STATES
Museum Magnet School A Great Fit For Former Campus
Hartford Courant , CT, April 9, 2012
The $32 million project, a preschool-to-Grade 5 academy to be run by the Capitol Region Education Council, should be approved resoundingly, for at least three reasons.
District’s Charter Schools Graduated 80 Percent of 2011 Class
Washington Informer, DC, April 9, 2012
Four-year graduation rates released by the District’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) show that 80 percent of public charter high school students from the class of 2011 graduated on time. This percentage is in close alignment with the graduation rates of neighboring, affluent suburbs such as Fairfax and Montgomery County public schools.
Boynton Allows Charter School To Open In Industrial Park
The Palm Beach Post, FL, April 9, 2012
Boynton Beach commissioners have voted to exempt a proposed charter school from a moratorium on nonprofit groups in business areas. The vote allows Broward County-based Accelerated Learning Solutions to move forward with plans to build a school for 350 to 500 students at 1325 Gateway Blvd. in Quantum Park — plans that commissioners still would need to approve.
Palm Beach County School Choice Numbers: Only About 33 Percent Got A Seat
The Palm Beach Post, FL, April 9, 2012
If your child was accepted into a Palm Beach County public school choice program this week, count your blessings.
Analysis: Georgia State Rep. Jason Spencer Pays The Price For Voting His Conscience
Florida Times Union, FL, April 10, 2012
That’s the view of freshman Rep. Jason Spencer who sponsored legislation to install heart defibrillators in every public school at the cost of $1.5 million. He believes it was killed because he voted against the leadership on the charter-school amendment.
Students Begin First Day At $17 Million Kennesaw Charter School
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, April 10, 2012
On Monday, 630 students in kindergarten through sixth grade and 65 teachers and staff started their first day at a $17 million campus on Cobb Parkway in Kennesaw, just north of Mack Dobbs Road .
Opponents of CPS’ Longer School Day Join Forces Against Plan
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 10, 2012
For several months, the greatest resistance to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed 71/2-hour school day came from parents in middle-class and upper-middle-class communities who say their kids don’t need the extra class time.
Questions Abound As Districts Shift To Merit Pay For Teachers
Hechinger Report, April 9, 2012
Among teachers, questions abound. If teacher pay is to be partly based on student scores on standardized tests, how does one evaluate an art teacher? Or physical education? Or music? Will the law weaken union negotiators? Is it really just a ploy to help school districts cut costs? How does that improve student performance?
Senate Oks Education Reform
Des Moines Register, IA, April 10, 2012
The Iowa Senate passed its version of education reform Monday, a significant step in what is becoming a legislative melee to find agreement among proposals from the governor and both parties before lawmakers go home.
Jefferson Parish Teachers Go To Court Over Layoffs
Times Picayune, LA, April 9, 2012
Lawyers for a Jefferson Parish teachers union accused the School Board of violating state and district policies when it fired more than 50 teachers last summer. The school system’s attorneys defended the board’s authority to make that decision as a hearing over the layoff dispute began Monday.
Proposed Charter Schools Would Focus On Discipline
Houma Today, LA, April 9, 2012
A Lafourche Parish lawmaker has proposed legislation to create a series of charter schools where expelled students embroiled in legal troubles could be sent to continue their education.
Final Perspective On Louisiana’s New Education Reforms
Shreveport Times, LA, April 10, 2012
In a way, you have to feel sorry for the average citizen trying to understand just what the passage of the two major tenets of the governor’s education reform package really means. Supporters hailed it as a new day for public schools in Louisiana. Opponents countered with black “judgment day” T-shirts and suggested the destruction of public education is at hand.
Balto. Co. School Board Bill Fails In Final Hours of Assembly Session
Baltimore Sun, MD, April 10, 2012
Legislation to add elected members to the Baltimore County school board failed in the General Assembly late Monday, amid intense opposition from County Executive Kevin Kamenetz.
Most Detroit Parents ‘Shop’ For Schools
Detroit News, MI, April 10, 2012
Nearly three-quarters of parents in Detroit have “shopped” for a school for their child instead of sending them to their assigned public school, according to a survey of Detroit parents by an Ann Arbor think tank.
Teacher Pay Based On Everything But Performance
Las Vegas Review-Journal , NV, April 10, 2012
Brent Bandhauer’s lengthy letter in Sunday’s Review-Journal (“Teachers just want what they’ve earned”) reveals a great deal about what is wrong with our education establishment.
You Should Be Able To Vote On Charter Schools
Jersey Journal, NJ, April 10, 2012
What do schoolkids, gay brides and millionaires have in common? Some group or other wants to decide their future.
From the Rocky Mountains, Lessons on Teacher Tenure
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, April 10, 2012
Colorado is proving an interesting case study for New Jersey’s efforts to reform teacher tenure and evaluation.
Smart For Washington Township Education Association To End No-Volunteer Job Action
Gloucester County Times , NJ, April 10, 2012
Washington Township Education Association leaders said teachers could go back to volunteering for as many outside events as they want, even though the contract issue is not settled and is in fact-finding.
Evaluating Andrew
New York Post, NY, April 10, 2012
Of all the nutty notions floating around Albany, the idea of letting some parents — but not the general public — see teacher-evaluation ratings surely ranks among the most inane.
Release of City Teachers’ Rankings Prompts Lawmakers to Weigh Limiting Access
New York Times, NY, April 10, 2012
Ever since New York City’s Education Department released 18,000 public-school teachers’ performance rankings, generating news coverage about the lowest and highest scorers, there has been talk in Albany of preventing a repeat.
Closing School Would Only Hurt Kids
The Journal News, NY, April 9, 2012
While most public school families are enjoying spring break this week, hundreds of parents, students and teachers at Amani Public Charter School are wondering if they still have a school to return to.
A School Lottery That Favors Needy Children
New York Times Schoolbook, NY, April 9, 2012
Like other charter schools with more applicants than seats, College Prep will determine its admissions by lottery. More than 500 applied for the 60 spots in kindergarten and 60 in first grade.
Platitudes on Education
The Daily Reflector, NC, April 10, 2012
In this election year, some Republicans have been running on a platform that they will “end the monopoly that government holds over our education system.”
Cleveland City Council Supports Jackson’s School Plan
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, April 9, 2012
The Cleveland City Council approved Monday night a resolution in support of Mayor Frank Jackson’s plan to overhaul the city’s schools — while urging the Cleveland Teachers Union and state legislature to follow suit.
McLain One Of Six Oklahoma Schools Set For State ‘Partnership’
Tulsa World, OK, April 10, 2012
Tulsa’s McLain Junior High and High School for Science and Technology was one of six schools confirmed Monday for a “C3 Partnership” with the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
Oklahoma Board of Education Votes Six Schools Worst In State; Charter School Given Second Chance
The Oklahoman, OK, April 10, 2012
The state Education Department is having a special meeting April 9 to discuss Oklahoma’s highest and lowest performing schools.
Leaders Examine School System Options
Memphis Daily News, TN, April 10, 2012
The idea that the consolidation of Shelby County’s two school systems will involve a choice between what one of the existing school systems has over what the other has is an oversimplification.
Charter Growth Draws Concern
Commercial Appeal, TN, April 10, 2012
Officials should watch out for applicants who are more interested in making a profit than educating students.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Schools Becoming “Virtual” Classrooms
Cibola Beacon, NM, April 10, 2012
If you have ever questioned what a “futuristic virtual classroom” could be like, you need go no further than looking in your backyard at the Grants/Cibola County Schools (G/CCS) District.
Applications open for Tigard-Tualatin School District’s Digital Learning Collaborative
The Oregonian, OR, April 9, 2012
The district’s Digital Learning Collaborative starting taking applications from teams of teachers last month and will announce invitations in May for a sure-to-be coveted spot in the two-year program, which will start in the 2012-13 school year.
High School English Goes Online-Only in Torrance Teacher Mitzi Stover’s Class
Daily Breeze, CA, April 9, 2012
Students who take Mitzi Stover’s junior English class at North High in Torrance don’t have to worry about being tardy. That’s because it’s an online course, and her 78 students can log on until late at night to turn in a paper, join a virtual classroom discussion or take a graded quiz.
California Connections Academy Expands Into Santa Clara County
Marin Independent Journal, CA, April 9, 2012
It’s not the type of routine that makes getting an education easy. Fortunately, Vincent hasn’t had to trade academics for athletics. For the past year, he has attended an Orange County branch of California Connections Academy , an online school chartered through the Ripon Unified School District in San Joaquin County.