Daily Headlines for July 31, 2012
Charter Schools
New York Times, NY, July 31, 2012
Re “Enrollment Off in Big Districts, Forcing Layoffs” (front page, July 24): The trend of declining enrollments in large urban school districts has existed for years. What’s new is the availability of charter public schools, which give families public educational choices they didn’t have a generation ago.
Milton Friedman, Father of School Choice
American Thinker, July 31, 2012
Louisiana’s 10,000 kids clamoring for vouchers may never know it, but they owe their school choice opportunity to a dead white guy whose birthday is this week. So do the approximately 700,000 mostly poor and minority kids now eligible to attend schools their families choose with public funds.
Report Finds Urban Schools Losing Talented Teachers Because Of Poor Conditions, Pay
The Record, NJ, July 31, 2012
Urban schools nationwide lose tens of thousands of their best teachers yearly because of poor working conditions and seniority-dominated salary systems that don’t pay the most talented teachers what they’re worth, said a report released Monday by a national non-profit.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Pulling the Trigger
Victorville Daily Press, CA, July 30, 2012
So now, having pulled the trigger. Adelanto residents are going to turn Desert Trails Elementary School into a charter. Good.
FLORIDA
Hillsborough County School Board Revokes A.T. Jones Math, Science & Technology Academy’s Charter
Tampa Tribune, FL, July 31, 2012
Bills from vendors went unpaid. Student records and personnel files weren’t properly maintained. Teachers had their health insurance canceled even though premiums were still being deducted from their paychecks.
HAWAII
Charter School Enrollment Topped 10,000 Students
Khon 2, HI, July 30, 2012
Hawaii’s public school students are back to school Monday, and more of them than ever are enrolled in a charter school.
ILLINOIS
Charter Group To Re-Open St. Scholastica As Co-Ed, Public School
WBEZ, IL, July 30, 2012
St. Scholastica Academy, one of the city’s oldest schools for girls, is set to re-open this fall as a public charter school.
Like Richard, Like Rahm
Chicago Tribune, IL, July 31, 2012
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s push for a longer day in the face of union opposition isn’t the first time the issue has raised the threat of a teachers strike.
INDIANA
Tully Should Admit Charters Are A Disaster
Indianapolis Star, IN, July 30, 2012
Matthew Tully once again refuses to see the writing on the wall when it comes to charter schools. (“ Project School debate offers painful lessons,” July 29). The Project School ’s closing is further proof that charter schools are, by and large, no better and generally worse than the public schools they are supposed to replace.
Project School’s Fate in Hands of Federal Judge
WISHTV 8, IN, July 30, 2012
The fate of a much-debated charter school is now in the hands of a federal court.
Department of Education Touts School Voucher Success
WIBC, IN, July 31, 2012
Spokesman Alex Damron says it’s the nation’s largest ever first year voucher program. Damron says more than 7500 students have signed up for the program this year.
IOWA
Des Moines Charter School Needs New Plan, State Says
Des Moines Register, IA, July 31, 2012
Solid leadership and a clear set of academic standards must be established for the Des Moines Public Charter School to continue, according to state officials.
LOUISIANA
BR Schools’ Scores Improve, Yet 35 Earn Fs
The Advocate, LA, July 31, 2012
Thirty-five schools in the greater Baton Rouge area failed to meet the tougher minimum academic standards for Louisiana and have consequently earned F grades.
Board To Discuss New Teacher Evaluation Plan
The Advertiser, LA, July 31, 2012
As new state education reform initiatives take effect for the 2012-13 school year, a new evaluation system will be in place to assess teachers’ performance.
MAINE
Charting Future At New Cornville School’s Open House
Kennebec Journal, ME, July 31, 2012
Kaleb Miller turns 5 on Sept. 13. The Cornville youngster comes in just under the Oct. 1 deadline to be eligible to enter kindergarten at the new Cornville Regional Charter School , which will be among the first charter schools opened in Maine .
MARYLAND
Parents Form PAC For School Board Race
Frederick News Post, MD, July 31, 2012
Some parents believe the Frederick County Teachers Association has too much influence in Board of Education elections, and they are looking to level the playing field.
MASSACHUSETTS
Closed Catholic Building Gets New Life
Eagle Tribune, MA, July 31, 2012
The city of Lawrence plans to enter a one-year lease with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston to use the closed Our Lady of Good Counsel school building as an alternative high school primarily for students who have dropped out and want to come back .
Charter Exchanges Spotlights Trustees’ Lack Of Accountability
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, July 31, 2012
On top of all the other issues now swirling around the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School , it was profoundly troubling to hear that Board of Trustees members Ira Yavner, during Saturday morning’s meeting, took it upon himself to admonish the only three members of the public in the audience.
Fall River Should Embrace Charter Schools
Herald News, MA, July 30, 2012
Competition is the taxpayers’ best friend. Fair and open competition is a proven tool for ensuring the delivery of high-quality government services at the lowest-possible price. But competition is often threatening, especially to entities — including private ones — that stand to lose market share.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Great Bay eLearning Charter School Is ‘Hidden Jewel’
Exeter News-Letter, NH, July 31, 2012
The Great Bay eLearning Charter School sees an array of students from the area who perform better in a small learning environment.
Educators, Students Reap the Benefits of Merrimack’s Pay for Performance Program
Nashua Telegraph, NH, July 31, 2012
As school districts search for effective merit pay systems for teachers, they may want to look toward Merrimack, which has a program that for more than a decade has financially rewarded the ingenuity and creativity of its educators.
NEW JERSEY
Cerf Confirmed As N.J. Education Chief
Asbury Park Press, NJ, July 30, 2012
Ending an 18-month wait, Christopher Cerf was confirmed as New Jersey’s education commissioner in a 28-0 vote by the state Senate Monday.
Cerf Goes His Own Way on Proposed Charter Regulations
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, July 31, 2012
With legislation to overhaul law going slow — for now — BOE will consider plan to expand state’s role with charter schools
Why the Performance Framework Is Good for New Jersey Families
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, July 30, 2012
Students attending these new charters — and all students across the state — deserve access to high-quality public school options of all types.
NEW YORK
NYC Warned: Top Teachers Getting Away
New York Post, NY, July 31, 2012
New York City and other public school districts are losing good and bad teachers in roughly equal numbers — largely because they’re not doing enough to hold on to and reward the best ones, a new study says.
Using Summer To Narrow Achievement Gap
New York Times Schoolbook, NY, July 31, 2012
It’s known as the “summer slide” and all students experience it. Forgetting certain academic skills and information is part of summer and usually is overcome quickly in the fall. But research has shown that for more vulnerable students, summer learning loss plays a significant role in falling behind, permanently, and has prompted the city to try to stem the slide.
Cuomo Plans to Veto Special-Education Bill
Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2012
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday will veto a bill requiring school officials to consider religion and other family beliefs when approving taxpayer-funded tuition for special-education students at private schools, an administration official said.
PENNSYLVANIA
Tax-Credit Program Offers New Opportunities To Families Living Near Low-Achieving Schools
Patriot-News, PA, July 31, 2012
Families who live near low-achieving public schools can take advantage of a new state program to help pay for a better education elsewhere.
TENNESSEE
School Measurement System Sees Progress
The Tennessean, TN, July 31, 2012
On Monday, the state Department of Education released our first list of Exemplary Districts under Tennessee’s new accountability system. The list of 21 districts included large and perennial high performing districts, like Rutherford County Schools, which exceeded the state average on every single tested subject.
New Ranking Puts Nashville Schools In Good Company
The Tennessean, TN, July 31, 2012
A new method of ranking Tennessee school systems allows Nashville schools to move from constant danger of a state takeover to middle ground with some of the educational elite like Williamson County schools.
2 Pro-Voucher Groups Spend Heavily in Support of DeBerry in Memphis Primary
Commercial Appeal, TN, July 30, 2012
Two national groups that lobby for school vouchers and charter schools spent $140,000 in July in support of state Rep. John DeBerry in his Democratic primary race against Rep. Jeanne Richardson in Memphis, new campaign financial disclosures show.
TEXAS
Auditors Say Funds Misspent For Harmony Campuses
San Antonio Express, TX, July 31, 2012
A months-long state audit of the Cosmos Foundation — which operates the Harmony network of charter schools — found $186,197 in misspent federal grant money intended to improve education for students with disabilities or those from low-income families.
VIRGINIA
County Keeps School Choice Option
News Leader, VA, July 30, 2012
A waiver from the U.S. Department of Education means that Augusta County will not have to offer a school choice program.
WASHINGTON
School-Rules Waiver Means Even More Reform
News Tribune, WA, July 31, 2012
People involved in public education likely were thrilled at the news this month that Washington state had been granted a waiver from the increasingly onerous rules of the federal No Child Left Behind law.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Our Virtual School
News & Observe , NC, July 31, 2012
In the July 23 letter “Another tool,” the writer says, “the education establishment has thus far prevented the opening of an online virtual school in the state.” However, the letter-writer may not be aware of the N.C. Virtual Public School (NCVPS), which has been operated by the State Board of Education for over five years and had over 49,000 enrollments in the 2011-2012 school year.
New Online High School to Start Classes for Georgia Students This Fall
WMGT-TV, GA, July 31, 2012
You’ve probably heard of online classes at the college level. Now there’s a new way for high school students to go to school on the web.
Osceola Students Gear Up For New Virtual School
Central Florida News 13, FL, July 30, 2012
It’s the first of its kind — a new virtual school for a virtual generation right in Central Florida .
The Florida Virtual Academy at Osceola County is a new option for kids as young as kindergarteners to learn online.
Virtual School Spots Available
The Daily Iberian, LA, July 30, 2012
Registration is still open for pilot virtual education programs in St. Martin and St. Mary parish school districts.