Daily Headlines for September 25, 2012
School Nurses’ New Role in Children’s Health
Wall Street Journal, September 24, 2012
Amid a steady rise in the number of children with complex health problems, a push is on to establish more full-fledged medical clinics within public schools and make the school nurse a more active participant in children’s medicine.
Seeking Allies, Teachers’ Unions Court G.O.P., Too
New York Times, NY, September 25, 2012
The strike by public school teachers in Chicago this month drew national attention to a fierce debate over the future of education and exposed the ruptured relationship between teachers’ unions and Democrats like Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Five-Year-Olds Put To The Test As Kindergarten Exams Gain Steam
Reuters, September 25, 2012
With school in full swing across the United States , the littlest students are getting used to the blocks table and the dress-up corner – and that staple of American public education, the standardized test.
To Separate Gifted Students, or Not?
New York Times, NY, September 25, 2012
Re “Young, Gifted and Neglected,” by Chester E. Finn Jr. (Op-Ed, Sept. 19): As principal of the Bronx High School of Science, I agree with the points made in the article.
BUSH: Schools’ Expectations Should Be Colorblind
Washington Times, DC, September 24, 2012
Closing the achievement gap in our schools is both a moral mandate and a national priority. We need all our children to meet high academic standards if we are to compete in the 21st Century global economy.
Grading Teachers Isn’t Enough; Teachers Deserve Useful Evaluation And Support.
Christian Science Monitor, MA, September 24, 2012
The Aug. 13 cover story, “The measure of a teacher,” reminds us that too often the dialogue on teacher evaluation focuses on its potential for harm, rather than the benefits that good systems, infused with teacher buy-in, can bring.
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Don’t Overemphasize SAT Report
Journal News, NY, September 25, 2012
Students’ SAT scores dipped to their lowest levels in 40 years for critical reading, and students also performed lower on the writing portion of the test that was added in 2005. The College Board, the nonprofit that owns the exam, also reported Monday that it considered just 43 percent of college-bound seniors “college ready.”
Top Down Reform Doesn’t Work
NBC News, September 24, 2012
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, talks about education reform and teachers unions.
‘Obama’s Money On Education Has Been Well-Spent’
NBC News, September 24, 2012
StudentsFirst’ Michelle Rhee discusses effectiveness of President Barack Obama’s education stimulus, importance of teacher evaluations, need to monitor No Child Left Behind waivers and the necessity to improve public education if U.S. is to compete in global marketplace.
FROM THE STATES
COLORADO
New Charter School Coming?
Cortez Journal, CO, September 24, 2012
The Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School District is officially considering adding a new charter school.
More Denver Public Schools Making The Grade, District Reports
Denver Post, CO, September 25, 2012
http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse Ten more Denver schools have earned A’s and B’s in the district’s 2012 annual school performance report card than did last year, the district announced Monday.
Last Empty School In D-11 Garnering Plenty Of Interest
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, September 25, 2012
When the board voted in early 2009 to shutter eight schools, there were no detailed plans on what would become of the properties. Two were sold, one was traded, three became charter schools, one remains empty and one was repurposed by the district.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. Officials Change Policy On Charter Schools’ Occupation Of Surplus Buildings
Washington Post, DC, September 24, 2012
District officials have tweaked the way they determine which charter schools should be allowed to move into surplus public school buildings, an effort to address long-standing complaints that previous decisions were neither transparent nor always fair.
Charter Schools Offer Brighter Futures To D.C. Children
Washington Times, DC, September 24, 2012
Twenty years ago this month, the nation’s first public charter school opened. Today, more than 1.6 million public school students are attending close to 5,000 public charter schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia .
That’s My Take: DC Charter Schools
MY Fox DC, September 24, 2012
If you are truly objective and you place the interests of the students of the District above all the politics surrounding public education, it would be hard to argue that charter schools haven’t been one of the most effective ways to elevate academic achievement.
FLORIDA
Miami-Based Charter Schools Withdraw
St. Augustine Record, FL, September 24, 2012
A Miami-based organization seeking to open two large charter schools in St. Johns County has withdrawn its applications on the eve of facing a possible turndown by the district School Board.
Charter School Group Pulls Bid for 2 St. Johns Schools
Florida Times Union, FL, September 25, 2012
A Miami-based organization seeking to open two large charter schools in St. Johns County has withdrawn its applications on the eve of facing a possible turndown by the School Board.
GEORGIA
School Superintendent Association Head Refutes Pro-Charter Claims
Macon Telegraph, GA, September 25, 2012
With the vote on the charter school amendment just over a month away, the heat is getting intense. I know. I have felt it. I wrote a column a few weeks ago giving the pro-charter folks an opportunity to make their case for the amendment.
IDAHO
Examining Claims Of Anti-education Reform Law Ad
KTVB, ID, September 24, 2012
Election day is six weeks away, and the controversial education plan Students Come First, is on the ballot. Voters get to decide if the laws stay or go in the form of three propositions.
ILLINOIS
What About Rockford ? Youthbuild Charter Has Success Elsewhere
Rockford Register Star, IL, September 25, 2012
The Rockford School Board will either approve a dropout recovery high school charter tonight or reject Kerry Knodle’s charter plan for a fourth time.
Jean-Claude Brizard, Chicago Schools CEO, Was Nearly Invisible During Teachers Strike
Huffington Post, September 24, 2012
When teachers on strike took to the Chicago streets for nine days this month, news cameras followed the union president, the head of the school board and the mayor. The Chicago Teachers Union and city representatives would meet for hours, negotiating technical contract details. A throng of reporters was always waiting outside for the latest update. But the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Jean-Claude Brizard, was nearly invisible.
IOWA
Charter Putting ‘First Generation’ Students Onto College Track
Storm Lake Pilot Tribune, IA, September 24, 2012
The Storm Lake Charter School program is achieving all of its original goals despite some state-imposed restrictions, according to a report heard by the Storm Lake Board of Education this week.
KENTUCKY
Flawed Law Hinders Charter School Administration
Louisville Courier-Journal, KY, September 25, 2012
Clear lines of authority are essential to the success of any business or government. Tennessee ’s law on appeals by charter-school applicants (TCA 49-13-108) seems contrary to good administration:
LOUISIANA
School Board Seeks To Keep Funding
The Advocate, LA, September 25, 2012
The Tangipahoa Parish School Board has asked a federal judge to stop the state from diverting district funds to schools that accept voucher students, but a plaintiffs’ attorney in the decades-old desegregation suit says the School Board’s effort doesn’t go far enough.
In Debate On Public Schools, New Orleans Stands Apart
Times-Picayune, LA, September 24, 2012
When it comes to debate on public education, at least as it plays out among those vying for a direct hand in how schools are governed, New Orleans can seem to be on a planet of its own.
MASSACHUSETTS
MCAS Top-Scoring Suburban Charter Schools
Boston Globe, MA, September 24, 2012
The Globe reviewed 7th, 8th, and 10th grade MCAS scores in English and math from 20 charter schools in cities and towns across Greater Boston. Almost every charter school did better overall than the community where it is based.
MICHIGAN
Truant Kids To Cost Families State Aid
Detroit News, MI, September 25, 2012
Michigan parents whose children don’t attend school will lose welfare cash benefits under a new state policy that takes effect Oct. 1.
MISSISSIPPI
Underfunding Schools Will Hurt State’s Future
Clarion Ledger, MS, September 24, 2012
First of all, the current proposal for charter schools is simply a way to fund private schools with public money and will drain much needed money from the already underfunded public schools.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Charter School Advocates Fight State Moratorium
Portsmouth Herald, NH, September 25, 2012
Outraged charter school advocates plan to pressure the New Hampshire Board of Education to reverse its recent decision to enact an indefinite moratorium on authorizing new schools.
Charter School Moratorium Perplexes Many
Union Leader, NH, September 24, 2012
Some New Hampshire lawmakers are concerned — and a little perplexed — about a state Board of Education decision to place an indefinite moratorium on approving additional charter schools in the Granite State.
NEW JERSEY
Evaluating Educators
Asbury Park Press, NJ, September 25, 2012
Principals and administrators will now be evaluated based on how well students are learning, under a pilot program being unveiled in a handful of the state’s districts this school year.
NEW MEXICO
Charters Promise High Quality
ABQ Journal, NM, September 25, 2012
A major difference between charter schools and traditional schools is the promise of a higher quality of education for students. Charter schools are held to a higher standard in student achievement, financial accountability and governing board performance than their traditional counterparts. That is the promise of charter schools: increased results for increased autonomy on how the schools are organized and operated.
NEW YORK
‘Risky’ Charter Partnership Helps Students Learn To Read
NBC News, September 24, 2012
Though the classroom at Veterans Memorial Elementary School may seem like any other, it has one key distinction: Chenard, like other kindergarten through second-grade teachers in the district, is part of a rare charter school-traditional school partnership that has led to strong improvements in literacy in this impoverished Rhode Island school district.
Parochial Schools Feel Pinch
Albany Times Union, NY, September 24, 2012
Charter schools, which were created as competition for traditional public schools, have been detrimental for parochial education, a new study contends.
Utica Board Of Education To Discuss Charter Schools
Utica Observer Dispatch, NY, September 24, 2012
The Utica City Board of Education will host a public hearing Tuesday to discuss two charter school proposals.
Optimism at Kingston High School
Daily Freeman, NY, September 25, 2012
The main reason for some optimism is a dramatic turnaround in the percentage of ninth-graders having to repeat the grade. After several years at 25 percent, the rate fell to only 8 percent of last year’s freshmen.
NORTH CAROLINA
McCrory Not Backing Down From Support Of Controversial Charter School
News & Observer, NC, September 24, 2012
The N.C. teachers association is hitting Republican Pat McCrory for his support of a charter school company being investigated in Florida for using uncertified teachers and asking school employees to hide the practice.
OHIO
Attendance Records Being Examined At 6 Schools
Dayton Daily News, OH, September 24, 2012
State auditors are examining student attendance records in six Miami Valley school districts as part of a statewide probe into possible data tampering to improve report card performance, a Dayton Daily News investigation has found.
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Schools Have Progressed Since State Takeover, Report Says
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 25, 2012
Even taking into account the possible effects of a cheating scandal that has rocked the city, the Philadelphia School District has made strides in the decade since a state takeover.
Cheating Only Part Of Problem
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 25, 2012
State education officials’ reaction to the first drop in test scores since Pennsylvania students began taking the standardized exams in 2002 conjures images from The Wizard of Oz.
Part of the Education Solution
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 25, 2012
In 2010, the School District of Philadelphia announced its Renaissance charter initiative, a bold plan to turn around persistently low-performing schools. The district empowered a number of parent groups to select charter providers for their failing neighborhood schools. Three of those parent groups chose Mastery. The student achievement results from those schools are now in.
BASD Board Symbolically Votes Against Vitalistic Charter School’s Move
The Morning Call, PA, September 24, 2012
The vote is the latest trouble for Vitalistic, which could lose its regional charter at a tentatively scheduled Oct. 29 public hearing over long-standing financial and managerial problems. The full extent of Vitalistic’s money problems were highlighted last week in a scathing state auditor general’s report that found improper payments to the families of employees and trustees, illegal loans, and improper lease reimbursements totaling more than $630,000.
Charter School Supporters Gather At The Capitol To Promote Reform Legislation
Patriot-News, PA, September 24, 2012
Several hundred charter school students and their advocates came to Harrisburg on Monday to give state lawmakers a homework assignment on their first day back from their summer recess.
State Rep: No Movement On Charter School Bills Over Summer
Pennsylvania Independent, PA, September 24, 2012
A major charter school reform package that would include funding changes and additional academic accountability is widely viewed as a top priority for Republicans in Harrisburg during the fall session, which began Monday.
TENNESSEE
Film On ‘Parent-Trigger’ For Schools Takeover Sparks Dialogue
The Tennessean, TN, September 25, 2012
Tennessee is ripe for a parent-trigger law like the one used in “Won’t Back Down,” a representative from education nonprofit Parent Revolution said after a special screening of the movie Monday.
House Dems To Speak Against Nashville Schools Fine
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, September 25, 2012
House Democrats are speaking out against a decision by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration to withhold $3.4 million in state funding from Nashville because of a dispute over a charter school application.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Plans in Works for New Cyber Charter School in York
York Daily Record, PA, September 24, 2012
Efforts are under way to start a new cyber charter school focused on urban youth, to be managed by the same company that manages New Hope Academy Charter School in York .
Erie SD Winning Back Cyber School Students
ErieTVNews, PA, September 24, 2012
$8500. That’s what the Erie School District has been losing from its budget each time a city student decides to attend an out-of-town cyber school. The money leaves Erie ‘s financially- strapped district, and goes to a cyber school someplace else.
District’s eLearn Program Off To A Good Start
Clay Center Dispatch, KS, September 24, 2012
USD-379 virtual school is reaching eight “completely virtual” students and 26 part-time students through its online program.