Daily Headlines for September 4, 2012
Teachers Unions Face Fight Within Party
Washington Times, DC, September 3, 2012
The overwhelming power of teachers unions, Democrats’ most loyal foot soldiers for decades, has sparked tensions within the party as some question whether the labor groups have made public school reform — a key policy goal of President Obama — more difficult.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/sep/3/teachers-unions-face-fight-within-party/
NJ Education Reform To Take Prominent Spot at Democratic National Convention
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, September 4, 2012
It’s not exactly the keynote speech, but when it comes to education reform New Jersey will still be well represented as the Democratic National Convention kicks off today in Charlotte , NC .
Teachers Unions’ Alliance With Democratic Party Frays
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 3, 2012
Public efforts toward school reform have some Democrats questioning the party’s support of guarantees that school districts have made to teachers for decades.
Lifelong Democrat Ready For Fight In Charlotte Over School Reform
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 4, 2012
The Democrats are opening their political convention on Tuesday with hopes of rallying the troops for the fall campaign ahead — but on one issue they are getting pushback from activists within the party: school reform.
Five Questions for Michelle Rhee
New York Times Blog, NY, September 3, 2012
Michelle A. Rhee, the former schools chancellor in Washington, D.C., is now pushing education reform through her organization Students First — and continuing to annoy the teachers’ unions along the way.
Labor Day: Teachers And Teacher Unions Are The Solution To Better Schools
Washington Times, DC, September 3, 2012
Teachers and their unions get bashed by the Left, Right, and center. Everyone blames teacher unions for what is wrong with our schools. It is easier to do that than fix what is really wrong with our schools: our American way of life.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Demise of AB5 is Good News For Students
San Francisco Chronicle, CA, September 3, 2012
It was wise of state Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, D-Sylmar, to pull his controversial teacher evaluations bill, AB5, from the legislative docket Thursday. The bill would have established a statewide teacher evaluations process that was subject to negotiated agreement with the teachers’ union.
Arts-Focused Public School Applying For Charter In Upland
Contra Costa Times, CA, September 3, 2012
Marcus Coleman wants kids in the Inland Empire to have the same opportunity he had gaining an arts-centered education.
High Performing Charter Schools: Beating The Odds, Or Beating The Test?
Beyond Chron, CA, September 4, 2012
“Odds-beating charter school.” Those words are like an impenetrable shield for those who operate such places.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Rethinking Education With Charter Schools
Washington Times, DC, September 3, 2012
District parents and students are getting ready to return to school this week, which means my colleagues at Two Rivers Public Charter School are preparing for our ninth school year. Founded in 2004 by a group of Capitol Hill parents, our free public charter school is run independently of the city’s traditional public school system.
GEORGIA
Gwinnett to Change Teacher Evaluations for Race to the Top
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, September 4, 2012
Georgia’s largest school district will participate in a trial run of a new system evaluating teachers and principals on students’ progress.
ILLINOIS
Dynamiting the Status Quo
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 4, 2012
In July, leaders of the cash-starved Chicago Public Schools reluctantly returned $34 million in federal grant money targeted to develop a merit pay system for public school teachers.
INDIANA
In Chicago, Lifeline Schools Brace For Strike
Associated Press, September 3, 2012
But students across the city, most of whom return to school Tuesday, could find themselves out of the classroom again Sept. 10.
Teacher Evaluations: New Paradigm Beginning To Unfold
Journal and Courier, IN, September 3, 2012
It was a Friday, the first day for teachers to return before Lafayette School Corp. classes started on Aug. 27, and all 73 of Tecumseh’s teachers assembled to hear Gruetzmacher outline the yearlong teacher evaluation process.
MAINE
Finding A New Way To Grade Schools
Portland Press Herald, ME, September 4, 2012
Educators are helping the state develop a better system to gauge a school’s adequate yearly progress than the one applied under No Child Left Behind.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/finding-new-way-to-grade-schools_2012-09-04.html
MASSACHUSSETTS
Boston Teachers’ Contract: Beware Of Toxic ‘Cure’
Boston Globe, MA, September 4, 2012
Even as the Boston Teachers Union offered late last week to make much-needed concessions in one key way, it muddied the waters in another.
Teachers Under Scrutiny With New Rules
Sun Chronicle, MA, September 4, 2012
Attleboro-area school districts have or will be adopting a new teacher evaluation system over the upcoming year.
While some didn’t meet a Sept. 1 deadline, others still have a year to get the requirement down.
Salem Charter School Launches Today
Eagle Tribune, MA, September 4, 2012
The former Furniture World building on South Broadway has been transformed into the town’s first charter school.
MICHIGAN
Student-Teacher Nexus Is Still Key To Achievement
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 4, 2012
Michigan is logging a lot of firsts this week: the first two school districts converted to charter systems; the Detroit debut of the soon-to-be-statewide Educational Achievement Authority to buoy underperforming schools; increased opportunities for high school students to take community college classes; more charter schools; and the possibility of more cyber schools.
For DPS, No More ‘One Size Fits All’
Detroit News, MI, September 4, 2012
The educational landscape in Detroit has been one of constant change in the last decade. And this new school year is no different.
Gov. Snyder To Sign Legislation Impacting Teachers
CBS Local, MI, September 4, 2012
On the same day that the kids head back to school — the governor is signing legislation that impacts teachers.
MINNESOTA
Assessing Schools With Nuance
Star Tribune, MN, September 3, 2012
When Minnesota students return to class today, many of their schools will have different state designations than they had last year. Hundreds of schools that were called failing under federal No Child Left Behind rules will no longer bear that negative title.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
State’s 17 Charter Schools Start Year With Fresh Visions
Union Leader, NH, September 3, 2012
Seventeen charter schools are beginning new years across the state.
We Have Reached Out To School Districts
Conway Daily Sun, NH, September 3, 2012
The recent coverage of the Robert Frost Charter School in The Conway Daily Sun has accurately described this new public elementary schooling opportunity for our community. However, I did want to address the concern expressed by Conway School Board members that the Robert Frost Charter School Board of Trustees has not been forthcoming with information regarding the students who have enrolled in the charter school.
NEW YORK
New York City Fair Student Funding Reform? Not So Fair: Exclusive Analysis
New York Daily News, NY, September 4, 2012
The analysis shows that schools opening in the last 3 years — Bloomberg’s ‘pets’ — get more dough than those getting shut down by city.
NORTH CAROLINA
Shift To Charter Schools May Cost Taxpayers More
Winston Salem Journal, NC, September 4, 2012
Just as state Republicans are celebrating their long-pursued dream of adding charter schools, a libertarian research group that often influences their thinking has issued a cautionary study on the growth.
PENNSYLVANIA
School Begins With Challenge
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 4, 2012
Another school year, another big test for the Philadelphia School District – will that ever change?
TENNESSEE
Judge Will Rule On Shelby County Vote About Schools
The Tennessean, TN, September 4, 2012
A vote that changes the landscape of public education in Tennessee ’s largest county is being challenged in federal court, and the trial will begin today.
WASHINGTON
Seattle Catholic School Pins Hopes On Charter-Style Changes
Seattle Times, WA, September 3, 2012
Once among the ranks of ailing urban Catholic schools across the nation, St. Therese Catholic Academy in Seattle started this school year in much better shape, the result of big changes that have helped bolster its enrollment. Supporters hope the school will become a model to help other Catholic schools survive.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Hudson County Schools Increasingly Use Electronic Media For Classroom Instruction
Jersey Journal, NJ, September 4, 2012
The Jersey Journal spent some time at the end of last school year with students, who are headed back to class this week, as they learned to use the devices and incorporate them into their daily routines.
Pa. School Districts, Cyber Charters Vie For Students
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 4, 2012
No matter whether he turns left or right driving home from his Homestead office, Paul Cindric, curriculum coordinator for the new STREAM Academy Cyber Charter School , is bound to pass a huge billboard advertising a competitor.
Online School’s Performance ‘Unacceptable’
Times Free Press, TN, September 4, 2012
Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman is calling last year’s student performance at Union County public schools’ new, privately run Tennessee Virtual Academy “unacceptable.”
Virtual School Students Learn At Own Pace
The Oshkosh Northwestern, WI, September 3, 2012
A recent article (Aug. 26) stated this and concluded that therefore virtual schools are not meeting the needs of students. Unfortunately, the article ignores a primary advantage of virtual public schools; that a student can comfortably work at their own pace. This is a fundamental part of the online public charter school model, and the series of articles misses this point entirely