Daily Headlines for December 13, 2012
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States Faulted Over Teacher Pension Shortfall
Wall Street Journal, December 13, 2012
U.S. states carry a total of about $325 billion in unfunded teacher pension liabilities, according to a report that says efforts by lawmakers to tinker with vesting periods or shave benefits are falling far short of the overhaul that is needed.
Should Potential Teachers Be Tested as Lawyers Are?
Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2012
I wholeheartedly agree with Randi Weingarten’s “How About a Bar Exam for Teachers?” (op-ed, Dec. 10), with one caveat: that with the additional instruction, educational reviews and qualifications also come better teacher salaries.
Stephanie Lowden: Don’t Blame Teachers For Achievement Gap
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, December 13, 2012
With all due respect to John Legend and Geoff Canada, firing teachers is not the solution to the achievement gap in Madison schools. The two spoke in Madison last week, prompting Friday’s article “Reformers: City schools need institutional change.”
A Lesson In Teacher Quality From My Twin Girls
New York Daily News, NY, December 13, 2012
Yet under the system we have for evaluating teachers, the two get treated the same. They’re paid the same, based only on the number of years they’ve worked and the number of advanced degrees they have. The quality of the work they do every day is irrelevant.
FROM THE STATES
FLORIDA
State Board Selects Bush Policies Backer As Florida Education Commissioner
Florida Times-Union, FL, December 12, 2012
State Board of Education members voted unanimously Wednesday to select Indiana’s recently ousted school superintendent as Florida’s new education commissioner.
New Education Chief Needs To Listen, Learn
Tampa Bay Times, FL, December 13, 2012
First the Florida Board of Education complained that the backlash against high-stakes testing and a new teacher evaluation system is the result of poor communication rather than flawed public policy.
Florida’s New Formula For Rating Teachers Makes Einstein Look Simple
Sun Sentinel, FL, December 12, 2012
How can teacher greatness be measured? In Florida, by a formula that makes Einstein’s Theory of Relativity look like child’s play.
Gov. Rick Scott: All Schools Should Face the Same Standards
Sunshine State News, FL, December 13, 2012
Gov. Rick Scott signaled that he supports holding all schools that receive taxpayer funding to similar standards — a stance that could open the door to administering state tests to some private school students.
GEORGIA
Schools To Get Flexibility Based On Grades
Newnan Times-Herald, GA, December 13, 2012
Educators will get the freedom from state rules they’ve long desired if their schools earn top grades, the chairman of the House Education Committee told Georgia legislators Tuesday.
ILLINOIS
Rein in Charter Schools
Chicago Sun Times, IL, December 12, 2012
At the same time the Chicago Public Schools is moving forward with plans to close schools in a district that has 100,000 extra seats, it wants to open 13 new public charter schools.
INDIANA
City-County Council Committee Signs Off On 3 New Charter Schools
Indianapolis Star, IN, December 12, 2012
A City-County Council committee approved a charter school operator’s proposal for three new schools Wednesday night while delaying action on proposals for four other charters sponsored by Mayor Greg Ballard.
MARYLAND
Virginia’s Soft Bigotry
Free Lance Star, MD, December 13, 2012
VIRGINIA’s new educational standards vary according to students’ race. You heard that right. Is this a shocking example of latter-day bigotry? A necessary accommodation? Or what? Let’s consider.
MASSACHUSETTS
Brockton School Leaders Debate Pros And Cons Of Charter School’s Effect On Funding
Brockton Enterprise, MA, December 13, 2012
Local educators disagree with charter school supporters on the impact a proposed charter school in Brockton would have on public school students.
Charter Should Show City School Leaders The Need For Change
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, December 12, 2012
The word that state Commissioner of Education Mitchell D. Chester will call for revoking Gloucester Community Arts Charter School’s charter at a state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting next week may signal the end for the public, independent school — a school that just completed its K-8 grade profile with the start of its third year in September.
MICHIGAN
Bill To Expand State’s Reform School District Is Up Against The Clock
Detroit Free Press, MI, December 13, 2012
Lawmakers and interest groups were still revising a bill Wednesday to formalize and expand the Education Achievement Authority for poorly performing schools as the Legislature approached the end of its lame duck session.
Don’t Bully the EAA
Detroit News, MI, December 13, 2012
We get it. Members of the Michigan public school establishment are up in arms over various education reforms rolling through the Legislature. But that’s no excuse for the petty politics they are playing with the state’s newest reform school district.
MISSISSIPPI
Gov. Bryant Tackles Charter Schools
Desoto Times Tribune, MS, December 13, 2012
Gov. Phil Bryant tackled the thorny charter school issue in the very county that led opposition to last year’s charter school effort due to concerns charter schools in high-performing counties like DeSoto might siphon away funds from public schools.
Mississippi Lawmakers Brush Up On Education Proposals
Sun Herald, MS, December 12, 2012
Mississippi lawmakers were doing homework Wednesday before the 2013 session.
The House and Senate education committees met together at the Capitol to discuss elementary-school reading skills, teacher evaluations and charter schools.
NEVADA
Zappos Charter School Planning Builds ‘Excitement Around Education’
Las Vegas Sun, NV, December 13, 2012
This is how you make a school. At least, it’s how you make a school when Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and the Downtown Project are involved.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Charter Administrator Joins School Board
New Haven Independent, NH, December 13, 2012
Mayor John DeStefano has tapped Che Dawson, a longtime youth worker now serving as an assistant principal at Amistad Academy Elementary School, to fill the latest vacancy on the city’s Board of Education.
NEW JERSEY
Report: Nearly All Of Newark’s Most Disadvantaged Students Attend Failing Schools
Star-Ledger, NJ, December 12, 2012
Nearly all of Newark’s most disadvantaged elementary and middle school students attend failing district and charter schools, a report released today has found.
NEW MEXICO
Computer Outlays Must Have Students at Core
Albuquerque Journal, NM, December 13, 2012
Who knew that adopting Common Core academic standards for public schools would, at the core, cost so darn much?
NEW YORK
Buffalo’s Plan For Eight Low-Performing Schools Calls For Transfers
Buffalo News, NY, December 12, 2012
At least four principals will have to be moved out of low-performing schools next year as a result of the school reform model the School Board approved Wednesday night for several schools.
NORTH CAROLINA
Local Leaders Contribute To Talk Of Statewide Education Reform
Stanford Herald, NC, December 13, 2012
While the battle over education reform is set to start up once more in Raleigh next month, several Lee County leaders have been engaging in behind-the-scenes talk with legislative leaders.
OHIO
State Officials Auditing Troubled Charter School
Columbus Dispatch, OH, December 13, 2012
A Columbus charter school already strained because of poor fiscal management now is under state scrutiny for its work with special-needs children.
Newfound Urgency
Columbus Dispatch, OH, December 13, 2012
Ohio’s new “third-grade reading guarantee” is causing big headaches, especially in big-city school districts. While they aren’t anything to celebrate, those headaches are necessary and overdue.
High-Performing Charter Schools Get Wooed Hardcore
NPR StateImpact, OH, December 12, 2012
Like the prettiest girl in a room full of ugly ducklings, charter schools that get a reputation for being high-performing get wooed hardcore. Districts and states looking for schools that have solved the puzzle of educating low-income, non-white students want these high-performing charter schools bad.
Ohio Senate OKs New School Evaluation System
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, December 12, 2012
The Ohio Senate on Wednesday passed a Republican-backed education bill that calls for a more demanding evaluation system for schools, along with other significant changes.
PENNSYLVANIA
Hite To Announce Plans To Close 37 School Buildings
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 13, 2012
On Thursday, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. will announce the proposed closures of 37 school buildings, plus multiple other changes coming to the cash-poor Philadelphia School District.
TEXAS
Community-Backed Charter in Travis Heights Goes to the Board
Austin Chronicle, TX, December 13, 2012
As the Austin Independent School Dis¬trict considers showing one Eastside in-district charter school the door, trustees are considering opening a new charter in South Austin. But unlike IDEA Allan, which many feel was forced on the Allan neighborhood, the plan for a new charter at Travis Heights Elementary has been formulated and presented by the local community.
Schools Spell Out Money Plans
San Antonio Express-News, TX, December 12, 2012
Two Texas charter school networks with campuses in San Antonio outlined their plans Wednesday for spending nearly $60 million in federal grant funds.
WASHINGTON
School Officials Discuss Student Transfer Policy
Spokesman Review, WA, December 13, 2012
Spokane Public Schools’ administration and board members have spent weeks trying to make changes to its intradistrict transfer policy to make sure neighborhood kids can go to their neighborhood school and students transferring into a school outside their neighborhood won’t have to leave.
Race To The Top Grant In King County Is A Win For Innovation In Education
Seattle Times, WA, December 12, 2012
Seven South King County school districts garnered a whopping $40 million federal grant with a holistic educational approach: “Start Strong,” be “STEM Strong” and “Stay Strong.”
WISCONSIN
Achievement Gap In Madison School District Under Scrutiny
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, December 13, 2012
Closing the achievement gap in the Madison School District will require a strong core curriculum in school and more support from outside of school, leaders of the district, city and county said Wednesday.
WYOMING
Panel Recommends Stripping Ed Dept. Of Some Duties
Laramie Boomerang, WY, December 13, 2012
State public schools Superintendent Cindy Hill said her agency has done its job and is fully behind education reform efforts, but members of a legislative committee weren’t convinced as they recommended stripping the Wyoming Department of Education of a host of education accountability duties on Wednesday.
ONLINE LEARNING
‘The School Of Tomorrow’ Arrives In Henderson County
Times-News, NC, December 13, 2012
Since the Henderson County school district went wireless this year, teachers and students are settling into using the newfound technology.
Jail Graduates Detention Officers Through Online Academy
Eastern Arizona Courier, AZ, December 12, 2012
After three weeks of online instruction and three weeks of classroom and practical instruction, 11 new detention officers from the Arizona Detention Association Basic Detention Class 85 were sworn in at the General Services Building on Friday.