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Daily Headlines for December 10, 2012

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

How About a Bar Exam for Teachers?
Wall Street Journal, December 9, 2012
We must do away with the common rite of passage whereby new teachers are thrown into classrooms, expected to figure things out, and left to see if they (and their students) sink or swim.

School Choice And The Advancement Of Society
Forbes, December 9, 2012
As a society advances, the ability to provide a “safety net” for those who have suffered some type of misfortune increases. But, perhaps paradoxically, that very advancement should also reduce the perceived need for such a safety net.

School Choice And Competition For Students
Press Democrat, CA, December 7, 2012
The flaws of the No Child Left Behind law are well known, most notably the unrealistic expectation that every student in every school will be proficient in math and English by 2014.

FROM THE STATES

ARIZONA

Ariz. Lawmakers Support $60M Private School Tax Credit Program
East Valley Tribune, AZ, December 8, 2012
A legislative panel voted this week to continue giving generous tax credits to those who help students attend private and parochial schools.

ARKANSAS

Ark. Lawmakers Face Crowded Education Agenda
KTBS, AR, December 9, 2012
Public education issues are expected to be at the top of the agenda for Arkansas lawmakers during next year’s legislative session.

CALIFORNIA

The Role Of Merit Pay And Charter School In Improving Public Education
Orange County Breeze, CA, December 9, 2012
The Orange County Breeze Country is blessed by three excellent public school districts: Los Alamitos Unified; Cypress; and Anaheim Union High School District.

Los Angeles Teachers’ Evaluation Victory Bucks A Trend
Los Angeles Times, CA, December 9, 2012
Los Angeles teacher appraisals won’t be based on ‘value added,’ increasingly being used across the country. Now a key question is how test scores will figure in.

FLORIDA

Repair Defective Teacher Evaluation System
Bradenton Herald, FL, December 9, 2012
Florida’s new teacher evaluation system got off to a rocky start last week with the release of educator ratings. While those initial numbers appear remarkable, the deeper story looks dimmer — with trouble ahead unless modifications are adopted.

GEORGIA

Charters, but Under Local Control
Wall Street Journal, December 7, 2012
Georgia cannot afford to continue to withhold necessary funding from our public schools, while passing laws to increase funding to charter schools. I will continue to use every resource at my disposal to ensure our public-school system remains intact and ready to educate all our children for generations to come.

ILLINOIS

CPS Plans 4 More Charters
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 7, 2012
Chicago Public Schools said Friday it plans to add four more charter schools to the nine charters previously approved for the coming year, which quickly became fuel for critics of the district’s plans to close many neighborhood schools.

Charter Schools With Failing Grades Still Featured At Quality Schools Fair
WBEZ, IL, December 7, 2012
A high-profile Chicago schools fair today is supposed to show off quality new schools, many of them charters.

INDIANA

Superintendent Maps Future of Gary Schools
Munster Times, IN, December 9, 2012
Pruitt, whose district’s enrollment dwindles each year and has faced massive cuts at the state level, said she wants to give students as many choices as possible. She believes alternatives such as a laboratory school and a partnership with Apple to create a technical school will put students on the success track.

Chicago Teachers Victory On Incorporating Test Scores Into Evaluation May Help Students
Munster Times, IN, December 10, 2012
While the nation watched the Chicago Teachers Union, Chicago Public Schools and Mayor Rahm Emanuel clash over new teacher contracts this year, many teachers in Houston watched in awe.

IOWA

Iowa Schools Face Reform Hurdles
Quad City Times, IA, December 10, 2012
Gov. Terry Branstad’s call to replace the current method of setting per-pupil funding increases for school districts has upped the uncertainty for administrators and school boards already trying to keep tabs on expected sweeping reform proposals.

LOUISIANA

School Voucher Ruling Cuts 2 Ways, Leaving Louisiana Governor Room To Maneuver
Alexandria Town Talk, LA, December 10, 2012
A district judge’s ruling against Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s statewide school voucher program contained a critical caveat that, if the ruling is upheld, gave the governor a roadmap for maintaining one of his signature education achievements.

It’s Time To Let The Courts Decide About Vouchers
American Press, LA, December 8, 2012
Usually, the best leaders choose silence over provocative speech. John White, state superintendent of Louisiana’s schools, would have done better to say nothing at all rather than accuse the state’s two teacher unions of getting “in the way of student achievement.” That was insulting to the teachers that those unions represent.

Two RSD Schools Say They Want To Return To Local Control
Times-Picayune, LA, December 7, 2012
In what could be the first New Orleans schools to return to local control since a massive state takeover after Hurricane Katrina, two West Bank charters this week said they are in favor of moving from the state-run Recovery School District to the Orleans Parish School Board. Representatives of Martin Behrman Elementary and O. Perry Walker High told the Algiers Charter Schools Association that their faculty and staff had voted unanimously in favor of the change.

MASSACHUSETTS

Horace Mann’ Plan Is No Alternative To Current Charter
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, December 9, 2012
The idea of creating a Horace Mann Charter School may be a good fit within the Gloucester Public School District — someday.

Charter School Facing Bumpy Ride
The Lowell Sun, MA, December 10, 2012
THE BACKERS of the Lowell Collegiate Charter School are thrilled they found a potential home for the school in the Bradford Industries warehouse on Middlesex Street. But they found out at Monday night’s Planning Board meeting they have some roadblocks in their bid for site-plan approval.

Division Over Charter School
Boston Globe, MA, December 8, 2012
Opposition to a charter school proposed for this city of 94,000 is heating up as the date to gather public comment nears.

State Should Lift Cap On New Charter Schools
The Republican, MA, December 8, 2012
Once viewed as an experiment, the charter-school movement has demonstrated its success as an education model that, in most cases, works extremely well – especially in urban communities where many public schools are classified as “underperforming.”

MICHIGAN

Keep Education Reform Moving
Detroit News, MI, December 10, 2012
Reflecting on recent successful efforts by the Michigan Legislature and governor to provide students and parents more choice in education, I feel good about the progress but hope we can do more.

Education Authority Legislation Spells Trouble For School Districts
Detroit Free Press, MI, December 9, 2012
In Detroit, there has been much discussion about the Education Achievement Authority, which was created to operate 15 Detroit public schools that are among the lowest 5% achieving schools in Michigan.

MINNESOTA

Suburban Schools Take On Minority Students’ Achievement Gap
Journal Sentinel, MN, December 8, 2012
As Demond Means came to the end of a 45-minute presentation, he projected a generic photo of an attractive African-American family on the screen behind him: mom, dad, two school-age kids.

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi Charter School Advocates Continue Push For Approval
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 8, 2012
Despite support from some people in high places, Mississippi’s charter school advocates likely face a tough sell before making the brand of education they saw last week in Helena, Ark., a reality back home.

NEVADA

Schools Push To Change Rules On Charter Schools, Online Classes
Las Vegas Review Journal, NV, December 7, 2012
Clark County school officials want to change several rules regarding charter schools and online classes, according to a pair of bill draft requests the district is backing for the Nevada Legislature’s 2013 session.

State May Revoke School Charter Over Financial, Other Irregularities
Las Vegas Review Journal, NV, December 7, 2012
Everything seems tranquil on the surface of Quest Academy, where a shielded crest hangs over the front door and children scurry around in matching khaki shorts, skirts and polo shirts.

NEW JERSEY

Camden Schools’ Graduation Rate Declines
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, December 10, 2012
Camden’s school district was the outlier during three presentations to the state board of education last week.

NEW MEXICO

Keep Teacher Evaluation Reform on Smart Track
Albuquerque Journal, NM, December 10, 2012
News last week that New Mexico has one of the worst four-year high school graduation rates in the nation likely bolstered the argument for many — including state education chief Hanna Skandera — that education reform measures need to get out of the station faster.

NEW YORK

Test Personalized Math Program
Wall Street Journal, December 9, 2012
In elementary school, John Perez was left in the dust if he hadn’t mastered a concept by the teacher’s second or third explanation. The whole class would move onto something else.

Poor Schools Struggling to Meet State Standards, Years After Critical Ruling
New York Times, NY, December 10, 2012
Six years after a landmark court ruling required New York State to increase spending on public education, many schools in poor districts lack basic resources, and some do not even meet minimum state standards in certain areas, according to a report to be released on Monday by researchers affiliated with Teachers College at Columbia University.

That Evaluation Deadline
New York Post, NY, December 10, 2012
Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott stepped up pressure last week for a deal on a new teacher-rating system by setting a Dec. 21 deadline — weeks ahead of Gov. Cuomo’s Jan. 17 cutoff for extra state aid.

Lease ‘Fleece’
New York Post, NY, December 8, 2012
A for-profit management firm is charging a publicly funded Brooklyn charter school nearly $4 million above market rate for its current 5-year lease, a state audit found.

Charter’s Teachers $Core After Ax
New York Post, NY, December 10, 2012
A publicly funded Harlem charter school paid out thousands of dollars in severance pay to more than 30 staffers — despite letting them go for poor performance.

Cooperation With Utica District A Big Part Of Charter Goal
Utica Observer-Dispatch, NY, December 9, 2012
I wish to clarify some confusion that may exist among readers following a Nov. 27 article in the Observer-Dispatch, which suggested that the establishment of the Utica Academy of Science Charter School will mean a substantial loss of state aid for the education of children who reside within the Utica City School District.

OHIO

Making the Grade
Toledo Blade, OH, December 8, 2012
Charter schools promise to push traditional public schools to do better. They are designed to give parents a high-quality alternative to schools that are failing, or cannot provide needed classes or accommodate students with special needs or different learning styles.

Schools Ease Into New System
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, December 10, 2012
Junior-high math teacher Ken DeMann started doing something new this year for students at Roberts Paideia Academy. He sends home a folder each week updating parents on how well each student did on homework, behavior and participation that week.

PENNSYLVANIA

Chester-Upland School District Asks Judge To Reject State Takeover Plan
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 8, 2012
Saying the state’s recovery plan would be a setback for the troubled Chester Upland School District, the attorney for the district asked a judge Friday to reject a petition to put the schools in the hands of a state-appointed receiver.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter
WCBD, SC, December 10, 2012
They’re called CREECS, pronounced Creeks, Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School. It’s a unique school in Mcclellanville in Charleston county. We’re in Charleston county for our Cool School of the week.

TENNESSEE

Haslam Mulls School Vouchers for State
Memphis Daily News, TN, November 10, 2012
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam may or may not push directly for some kind of move to school vouchers next year on Capital Hill.

Nashville’s Charter School Fair Lifts Veil From Bevy Of Choices
The Tennessean, TN, December 9, 2012
When Camiqueka Fuller’s oldest daughter was ready for fifth grade, she had two choices: Attend a failing middle school or try out a charter school.

Report: Teacher Training Is Impossible To Judge
The Tennessean, TN, December 9, 2012
Researchers say a lack of data makes it impossible to know whether teacher training programs in Tennessee are having an impact on student learning.

WASHINGTON

Leaders Come Together To Discuss Charter Schools
Bellingham Herald, WA, December 10, 2012
Charter school leaders from five states will gather in Tacoma on Saturday to talk about their experiences launching the independent schools – experience that may be relevant in Washington with voters’ recent approval of a charter school law.

ONLINE LEARNING

Strapped District Plans to Add Online Classes
New York Times, NY, December 8 2012
Budget cuts have eliminated about 95 full-time teachers from the school district here over the past year, swelling class sizes and prompting parents to cry foul.