Daily Headlines for June 14, 2012
Romney on Schools: Now We’re Talking
Washington Times, DC, June 13, 2012
Leave it to Mitt Romney, the nonconservative conservative running neck and neck with President Obama, to begin nudging Republicans and libertarians toward closing an ideological divide by proposing to grant federal vouchers to disabled and poor children and suggesting that school districts open their doors to children who don’t reside in certain ZIP codes.
Why Romney’s Big School Voucher Idea Is Really Pretty Puny
TIME Blog, June 14, 2012
Three reasons the candidate’s school-choice proposal is less provocative than it seems
Motivation: An Overlooked Key To Educational Success
Fond du Lac Reporter, WI, June 13, 2012
Education reform could benefit from a robust conversation about student motivation, according to a new report from the Center on Education Policy.
FROM THE STATES
ARIZONA
Cave Creek Unified Considers Move To Charter Schools
Foothills Focus, AZ, June 13, 2012
The Cave Creek Unified School District was set to vote on switching four of its five elementary schools to district-run charters at their June 12 meeting.
Cave Creek District Opts To Convert Four Schools To Charters
Arizona Republic, AZ, June 13, 2012
The Cave Creek Unified School District governing board voted Tuesday night to switch four of its five elementary schools to district-run charter schools.
CALIFORNIA
Oakland Schools’ Officials May Face Criminal Probe
San Francisco Chronicle, CA, June 14, 2012
The founder and governing board of three controversial Oakland charter schools could face a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud, misappropriation of funds and other illegal activities outlined in an official audit report released Wednesday.
Vallejo Board Approves Charter School Renewal
Times Herald, CA, June 14, 2012
The Vallejo school board unanimously approved the renewal of the Vallejo Charter School on Wednesday night after a lengthy discussion about the nature of the petition.
West Contra Costa Trustees Deny Charter High School’s Renewal Bid
Contra Costa Times, CA, June 13, 2012
The West Contra Costa school board voted unanimously Wednesday to deny renewing a local school’s charter.
Teachers Group Unveils Its Proposal For New Evaluations
Los Angeles Times Blog, CA, June 13, 2012
A group of Los Angeles teachers Wednesday unveiled their own proposal for a new performance review system that would use both state standardized test scores and assessments chosen by individual schools to measure how well instructors help their students learn.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Schoolhouse Hunting
Washington City Paper, DC, June 13, 2012
Almost immediately after she started Yu Ying public charter school in 2008,Mary Shaffner began looking for new space. Her Chinese immersion program had proven popular, and she wanted to add space to meet demand.
FLORIDA
MAST Academy About To Be Expanded For Key Biscayne Students
Miami Herald, FL, June 13, 2012
MAST Academy, the prestigious, waterfront magnet on Virginia Key, will chart a new course next year, but the school district, parents and village residents will have more time to navigate that course.
New Charters: District Still Awaits State Word on At-Risk Schools
The Ledger, FL, June 13, 2012
Seven charter schools that the Polk County School District wants to open this fall for at-risk students are on hold because the state Department of Education hasn’t completed its review process.
GEORGIA
Cobb School Board Extends Deadline For Charter Petition
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, June 14, 2012
The Cobb school board extended the deadline for a charter school start-up petition to allow organizers more time to address concerns raised by district staff.
State School Board To End Savannah Charter School
Rome News Tribune, GA, June 13, 2012
The State Board of Education will vote Thursday to formally withdraw the charter for the Savannah Gateway to College Academy , an innovative program at Savannah Technical College that aimed to help dropouts get a high-school and work toward a college diploma at the same time.
Parents Accuse Fulton School System of Privacy Violations
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, June 13, 2012
Parents who were angry at the Fulton County school system for killing their charter school are now raising another complaint.
Some Lawmakers Took Strong Stand For Charter School
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, June 13, 2012
An embattled charter school in Fulton County got some high-powered help in its unsuccessful quest to have its charter renewed by Fulton County Public Schools.
ILLINOIS
Solving Gap in Education
Northwest Herald, IL, June 14, 2012
With all of the criticism that’s surrounded the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, we forget the basic premise that most Americans agree with – all students deserve a chance to learn and accountability from our schools.
INDIANA
Thurgood Marshall Charter School Finds Home, New Leader
News Sentinel, IN, June 14, 2012
Thurgood Marshall Leadership Academy believes it has possibly found a new home and the kind of leader the school and the neighborhood need.
Dumbing Down Education
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette , IN, June 14, 2012
If Indiana school reformers are looking for a good model to follow in teacher preparation and licensing, Finland would be an excellent choice: The country routinely finishes at or near the top of all international measures of school quality.
LOUISIANA
Orleans Parish School Board Makes Move Toward Single Application For All Schools
Times Picayune, LA, June 13, 2012
This year, for the first time since the charter school movement began slicing the New Orleans public education system into a patchwork of independent, nonprofit school operators, parents could fill out a single application for any school in the city. Almost, anyway.
St. James Joins Challenge
The Advocate, LA, June 14, 2012
The St. James Parish School Board agreed to join at least 14 other parish school boards planning to challenge the constitutionality of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s signature expansion this year of a state school voucher program, school officials said.
Rules to Protect School Donations
The Advocate, LA, June 14, 2012
A new state law that expands student access to private and parochial schools includes ample safeguards to prevent abuses that have surfaced in some other states, backers said.
MAINE
5 Maine Charter School Applications Under Review
Portland Press Herald, ME, June 14, 2012
Maine Gov. Paul LePage says five applications to form charter schools have been submitted to a state review commission since May 1 when proposals were requested for the upcoming school year.
MARYLAND
City School Board Approves Two New Charters
The Baltimore Sun, MD, June 13, 2012
The Baltimore school board approved applications this week to open the Creative City Public Charter School, an arts integration elementary school, and the Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, a college preparatory program that starts in fourth grade.
MASSACHUSETTS
State School Panel Not Helping Charter Deal With Questions
Gloucester Times, MA, June 14, 2012
Officials with the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School and the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education may see it as a vote of confidence, so to speak.
Parents Support School Improvement Plan, Poll Shows
Eagle Tribune, MA, June 14, 2012
More than two-thirds of Lawrence public school parents support the school reform plan recently announced by a state-appointed receiver, and 80 percent support the “significant involvement” of charter public schools in helping to turnaround underperforming district schools, according to a new poll sponsored by the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (MCPSA) and conducted by The MassINC Polling Group.
MISSOURI
Kauffman School: A Year of Theory Put To Practice
Kansas City Star, MO, June 13, 2012
When the school year started, 103 children were enrolled in the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation’s attempt to run its own charter school — an endeavor being watched nationally as the well-known research foundation becomes the practitioner.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
School Choice Still A Sticking Point Of Discussions
Portsmouth Herald, NH, June 14, 2012
School choice continues to be a driving point of conflict for the Arundel Withdrawal Committee
NEW JERSEY
Renewing Newark’s Schools, An Overview
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, June 14, 2012
In this first part of a yearlong series, ‘A Promise to Renew’ goes into the classrooms at the Quitman Street school to learn more about the latest efforts at reform
NJ Assembly Committee Takes Up Teacher Tenure
New Jersey Herald, NJ, June 14, 2012
New Jersey lawmakers are making a push to change the state’s teacher-tenure laws.
NEW MEXICO
New Teacher Evaluation To Be Tested
Albuquerque Journal, NM, June 14, 2012
Starting in the fall, teachers at selected schools statewide will be evaluated based on a combination of student improvement on test scores, classroom observations and other measures. The evaluations will be part of a test program, which will not have any stakes for teachers — yet — and will be used to try out and improve the evaluation system.
NEW YORK
Deal Near on Release of NY Teacher Ratings
New York Post, NY, June 14, 2012
When it comes to teacher evaluations, parents will have it in writing.
Gov. Cuomo and state lawmakers are expected to reach a deal as soon as this weekend to require some form of written disclosure of teacher evaluations to parents, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said yesterday.
NORTH CAROLINA
Parents Upset Because Son Can’t Go To Nearby School
Abc11, NC, June 13, 2012
It’s just one of the issues critics raised with the new school choice plan — what happens to families who move in after the school selection process. For the Bender family who just moved to Apex, it means their son can’t go to Apex High School even though it’s literally right across the street.
Lawmakers, Educators Blast Private School Corporate Tax Break Bill
News & Observer, NC, June 13, 2012
A contingent of Democratic lawmakers and education officials held a news conference at the Legislative Building on Wednesday to decry a proposal to give corporations a tax break for contributing money to low-income students to move from public to private schools.
OHIO
Tougher Reading Standards Passed
Columbus Dispatch, OH, June 14, 2012
Schools must step up skills assessment in K-3; strict evaluation of core-subject teachers OK’d
A New Chapter
Columbus Dispatch, OH, June 14, 2012
When state lawmakers gave the green light Tuesday for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to go forward with a groundbreaking reform plan, they gave that troubled district its best chance yet to break out of decades of dysfunction and failure.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma Governor Must Pursue Consolidation Idea
The Oklahoman, OK, June 13, 2012
Gov. Mary Fallin wants to encourage schools to consolidate or share administrative services. Since Oklahoma has 522 districts, we’ve long thought too much money is wasted on duplication, and appreciate Fallin’s stance.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pass Voucher Bill Now — Or Else
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 14, 2012
When I decided in February to keep four financially distressed archdiocesan high schools open, I said that school vouchers and expanded tax credits for scholarships are urgently needed — and not just sometime in the future, but right now, during the current legislative session. If such legislation had been enacted a decade ago, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia would not have had to consider closing or consolidating elementary and high schools this year.
Teachers, Students Protest Proposed School Cuts At Pa. Capital
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 13, 2012
While legislative leaders met behind closed doors Wednesday to hash out the final elements of the state education budget, hundreds of parents, children, and laid-off teachers staged protests over proposed school cuts at several locations in the capital city
Phila. School District Blue-Collar Workers Offer Concessions
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 14, 2012
With the clock ticking toward either an agreement or layoffs, leaders of the Philadelphia School District ‘s blue collar workers’ union said Wednesday that they have offered $20 million in concessions but so far have been rebuffed.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Beaufort County School District Says Riverview Scores Fall Behind; Charter School Says It Outperforms
Hilton Head Island Packet, SC, June 13, 2012
Riverview Charter School students aren’t making gains on standardized tests at the same rate as students at other Beaufort schools, recent results indicate.
On this, everyone seems to agree.
TENNESSEE
Five Charter School Hopefuls Appeal For Second Chance
The Tennessean, TN, June 13, 2012
Five of eight groups looking to launch charter schools in Nashville whose applications were rejected by the Metro school board last month are appealing for another chance at starting their schools.
Study Outlines Improvements For Teacher Evaluations
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, June 14, 2012
Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system has been controversial since its implementation last year, and a new report issued by an education reform group offers suggestions for some needed changes.
UTAH
Charter Schools Test Church And State Boundary
Desert News, UT, June 14, 2012
Walk into any Waldorf-inspired charter school, and you enter a different world of public education where students sing songs, stamp out math with their feet, carve wood, play recorders and draw maps.
VIRGINIA
Fairfax Considers First Charter School
Washington Post Blog, DC, June 13, 2012
More than 100 parents, teachers and activists turned out Tuesday night for an informational meeting about the Fairfax Leadership Academy , which would be the first charter school in Northern Virginia if it’s approved by the county school board in October.
WISCONSIN
Voucher Programs Offer Parents More Choices
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, June 14, 2012
The recent letter “Resist the push to privatize our schools” stated the GOP “tries to switch public money into private schools” and that we must “support free public education or we’ll have private schools for the wealthy, and the dregs for the rest.”
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Unique Online School Being Offered in Niles
Fox 28, IN, June 13, 2012
Textbooks and classrooms are no longer the only way to get an education. Online courses are offered in Indiana and Michigan for students of all ages. Now Niles Community Schools is offering a program unlike any other in the area. They are serving as a pilot school for the Widening Advancements for Youth for middle schoolers.
Glenbrook High School District 225 Mulls Digital Learning Pilot Program
Chicago Tribune, IL, June 13, 2012
During the summer, Glenbrook High School District 225 will be busy conducting a digital learning pilot program.
Nevada Virtual Academy Graduates Biggest Class Yet
KOLOTV, NV, June 14, 2012
Nevada Virtual Academy celebrated the class of 2012 with a ceremony for graduates at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on Wednesday.