Daily Headlines: May 2, 2012
Teach Black And Hispanic Students Differently
USA Today, May 1, 2012
First one member on the review panel for the annual Broad Prize for Urban Education then another noticed the same thing: Plenty of large urban school districts nationwide were making solid progress with Hispanic students closing achievement gaps with white students. But African-American students continued to lag.
FROM THE STATES
Rethink Charters Next Year
Times-Journal, AL, May 1, 2012
A roundtable discussion about education provided a clear message about Gov. Robert Bentley’s push for charter schools legislation.
Bentley may in fact get charter schools for some Alabama districts, but he won’t have a unified Republican Party behind him.
Arizona Prods Schools To Focus On Struggling Students
Arizona Republic, AZ, May 1, 2012
An air of success surrounds Phoenix Union Bioscience High School.
Although more than two-thirds of its nearly 300 students are low-income, the school excels. More than 90 percent of the sophomores at the central Phoenix school passed Arizona’s standardized AIMS test last year. All its seniors received a diploma. The state labeled the 6-year-old school as excelling last year.
LAUSD Issues Notice of Violations To Birmingham Charter School, First Step In Revoking Charter
Los Angeles Daily News, CA, May 1, 2012
Birmingham Community Charter High School has until May 23 to respond to concerns that it mishandled admissions, expulsions and claims of racial bias as it fights to prevent Los Angeles Unified from retaking control of the campus.
24 San Fernando Valley Schools Seek Charter Status
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 2, 2012
The high-performing L.A. Unified campuses hope to gain funds and flexibility from the move while maintaining most ties with the district.
Charter School Model Not Permitted For ‘Turnaround’ Schools In Latest Version of Education Bill
Hartford Courant, CT, May 1, 2012
Charter school advocates were stunned — and now are angry — that the latest proposal for education reform does not include charter schools as an acceptable model to turn around low-performing schools.
Killing Hope in Conn.
New York Post, NY, May 2, 2012
Connecticut is in an education-reform fight with national implications — a battle that may tell us whether teachers unions are willing to be part of the solution or will block vital changes to preserve their privileges.
Debate Over Charter Schools Touches Nerves At Meeting
News Journal, DE, May 2, 2012
People on both sides of the ongoing debate about the role and governance of charter schools met Tuesday night to air their opinions before lawmakers eyeing reform.
D.C. Charters Shortchanged Again, With No End In Sight
Washington Examiner, DC, May 1, 2012
As the District of Columbia Council considered Mayor Vincent Gray’s $77 million supplemental spending package last week, rumors began flying. One was that D.C. public charter schools’ quarterly payment from the city might be stopped unless the council approved the mayor’s package.
Hartford Superintendent Proposes Charter Affiliation With Milner School
Hartford Courant, CT, May 1, 2012
Superintendent Christina Kishimoto on Tuesday night recommended that the board of education close Milner Core Knowledge Academy after the school year and reopen it in August as a community school affiliated with Jumoke Academy .
New Evaluation System Irks Teachers
The Tampa Tribune, FL, May 2, 2012
Don’t count school board member Stacy White as a fan of the teacher evaluation system in Hillsborough County public schools. “I am not saying that we should not hold teachers accountable,” White said Tuesday at a workshop on the topic. “But you can put me down as a critic of EET as it stands in its current form.”
A Bill Passes — But A Battle Still Rages In Cherokee Over Charter Schools
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, May 2, 2012
For ten months a battle has raged in Cherokee County over charter schools. A bill passed by the legislature putting a charter school amendment on the ballot November has done little to clear the smoke or diffuse the heat.
Let Parents Have A Say In What Public School Kids Attend
Bluffton Today, GA, May 2, 2012
School choice. It has a nice ring to it. Parents should not have to send their children to a particular school just because some imaginary line says so. That argument is not without merit, especially when multiple school choices exist within a particular school district.
May Vote Set On Des Moines Charter School
Des Moines Register, IA, May 2, 2012
The Des Moines school board will decide by the end of this month whether the district’s only charter school will remain open in the coming academic year.
Changes Coming To Louisiana’s Schools Are Rooted In Reform
Alexandria Town Talk, LA, May 2, 2012
Do you know who Wendy Kopp and Eli Broad are? If not, and if you are interested in the future of public education in Louisiana, it would be worth taking time to do a little research.
State Now Taking Charter School Applications
Kennebec Journal, ME, May 2, 2012
A state commission is accepting applications for Maine ‘s first charter schools.
The Maine Charter School Commission issued a request for proposals on Tuesday, setting up a busy summer for itself and the groups hoping to open schools in the coming year.
Judge Says ‘No’ To Student Transfers
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, May 2, 2012
The state law that could have triggered the exodus of thousands of children from failing St. Louis schools is unconstitutional and unenforceable, a St. Louis County Circuit Court judge ruled Tuesday.
Imagine Goes It Alone
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, May 2, 2012
Leaders of Imagine Schools are making a last-ditch bid to keep beleaguered campuses open — but without any involvement from the for-profit corporation that brought the network of charter schools to St. Louis.
NY Senate GOP Distributes $10M More To Schools
Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2012
The state Senate’s Republican majority provided almost $10 million more in school aid Tuesday night, but only to school districts represented by Republican senators this election year.
Choice For All Must Be The Promise
Fosters Daily Democrat, NH, May 2, 2012
Ideologically, it is easy to support legislative efforts by school choice advocates. In practice, the decision is not so clear cut.
School Board Opposes Renting Space To Charter Schools
The Record, NJ, May 2, 2012
The school board will likely oppose a controversial proposal that would rent sections of active public schools to charter schools, one piece of a sweeping reform package that members will take up in a vote tonight.
Reshuffle for Albany Charter Schools
Albany Times Union, NY, May 1, 2012
The city will lose one of its charter schools next year after Albany Preparatory Charter School merges with another school. Albany school district officials says it’s not a merger, but rather a closure of a weak school.
Johns Hopkins Cancels Offer of Turnaround Aid
Buffalo News, NY, May 2, 2012
A school-performance turnaround group Tuesday ended its plan to assist two troubled Buffalo high schools beginning in the fall because of the still-unresolved dispute over a teacher-evaluation system.
Magnet Schools, Filling New Schools Will Challenge Wake Board
News & Observer, NC, May 1, 2012
Discussions on magnet schools and filling of new schools point to the challenges Wake County faces in housing its 146,000 students over the next few years.
Realtors Go Public With Their Concerns in Front of Wake Co. School Board
NBC17, NC, May1, 2012
An NBC-17 report concerning the number of homebuyers avoiding Wake County because of the confusion created by the new school choice assignment plan is stirring action among realtors.
We Must Recruit Excellent Teachers
Winston-Salem Journal, NC, May 2, 2012
The legislative leadership cannot have it both ways when it comes to public schools and teaching. On the one hand, the Republican leaders say they want excellent public-school teachers. On the other, the hand with which they write budgets, they repeatedly act to make the teaching profession less desirable.
Should Teacher Tenure Be Abolished?
Beaufort Observe, NC, May 2, 2012
The Asheville Citizen-Times is reporting that Republican leaders in the General Assembly are planning a move to eliminate, or significantly change the system of employment of educators in North Carolina . You could say it is a “move to eliminate tenure.”
Lawmakers Near Cleveland Schools Overhaul
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 1, 2012
Lawmakers hoping to approve legislation by the end of May to overhaul Cleveland schools say they need to work out a final sticking point with charter school advocates who complain the plan would limit school choice options.
HealthCorps Program Is Headed To Charter School in Oklahoma City
The Oklahoman, OK, May 2, 2012
Continental Resources and television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz have announced they will sponsor HealthCorps at ASTEC, an Oklahoma City charter school.
Philadelphia School Official Says That Without More Cash, Classrooms Might Not Open In The Fall
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 2, 2012
The Philadelphia School District’s financial situation is so dire that without a $94 million cash infusion from a proposed city property-reassessment plan, schools might not be able to open in the fall, leaders said Tuesday night.
Philly School District Tells Bridesburg Charter School To End Administration Fee
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 2, 2012
The Philadelphia School District has told a charter school in Bridesburg that its pratice of charging students a $45 administration fee after they have been selected for admission may violate state law.
Overturning Teacher Seniority Would Hurt Students
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 2, 2012
The move to dismantle seniority rights in teacher union contracts is gaining momentum across the country. Now, this anti-union strategy has shown up in Pittsburgh . The claim that seniority keeps bad teachers in the classroom and harms children is absolutely false. The two objectives of this movement are to weaken unions and to pay teachers less.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Proposed Virtual Charter Tries To Force State School Board Review
WFAE, NC, May 1, 2012
The North Carolina State Board of Education approved nine new charter schools to open next year. A proposed online charter school isn’t among them. The group is now taking legal action against the board.
Bid To Reconsider Mich. Cyber School Growth Fails
Detroit News, MI, May 1, 2012
The Republican-led House has rejected an attempt to reconsider a narrowly approved bill allowing more online charter schools in Michigan.