Daily Headlines for December 17, 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.
Teachers Unions Steer Clear of Race to the Top
Washington Times, DC, December 14, 2012
Teachers unions are infamous for pursuing money and power at children’s expense. It’s ironic when they try to turn down taxpayer money on principle but state and local officials won’t let them.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
LAUSD Board Seeks Control Over Grant Applications
Daily Breeze, CA, December 16, 2012
In a move that could stem the flow of tens of millions of dollars to cash-strapped Los Angeles Unified, the school board has empowered itself to endorse — or veto — applications for grants topping $1 million.
District Denies Charter School, Cites Lack Of Support For English Learners
Napa Valley Register, CA, December 17, 2012
A petition to start a new charter school in the Napa Valley Unified School District has been denied by the district’s board of trustees.
DELAWARE
Charter School Draws National Attention
The News Journal, DE, December 16, 2012
Like the rest of the juniors at Charter – recently named one of the country’s 165 most academically selective public high schools in a recent book by school reform expert Chester Finn – Ye and his project teammates, Naman Agrawal and Gary Aggarwal, presented their 11th-grade research project to their peers and a panel of faculty members last week.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
All D.C. Charter Schools Shouldn’t Have To Admit Neighborhood Kids First, Panel Says
Washington Post, DC, December 14, 2012
The District should consider allowing charter schools that move into closed D.C. public school buildings to give admissions preference to children who live nearby, according to a task force convened by the D.C. Council.
Report: DCPS Scores Have Not Improved With Reforms
Washington Examiner, DC, December 17, 2012
Third-graders in DC Public Schools have failed to show any gains in math or reading since aggressive school reforms began in 2007, according to an independent analysis of the city’s standardized test scores.
FLORIDA
Key West Collegiate Academy Offers Choices
Florida Keys Citizen, FL, December 17, 2012
The old adage about big things coming in small packages seems tailor-made to fit the Key West Collegiate Academy. This high school, tucked away in a series of rooms leased from the Florida Keys Community College, counts just 46 pupils among its student body, but they sure seem motivated — and happy to be there.
School Presents Best Practices At Conference
The News Herald, FL, December 16, 2012
The Chautauqua Learn and Serve School is setting the example for charter schools across the nation.
GEORGIA
School Accrediting Agency Set To Release Ruling On Dekalb County
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, December 16, 2012
Judgement day for the DeKalb County School District is Monday, when a regional accrediting agency plans to release the results of its investigation into alleged school board mismanagement.
ILLINOIS
Stop Misguided School Plans
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 16, 2012
Recently, before a Board hearing this week to expand charter schools, Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett said that they “had several other [charter] schools that were in the hopper and we’re going to move forward with our commitment there.”
INDIANA
It’s A New Day For Gary School System
Munster Times, IN, December 17, 2012
New Gary school Superintendent Cheryl Pruitt is building partnerships with local universities and businesses. This can only benefit the district and its students.
KANSAS
KC School Enrollment Grows, But Olathe Had Biggest Increase
Kansas City Star, KS, December 17, 2012
Kansas City’s good fortune — aided by charter school closures and the continued rise in Hispanic populations across the area — highlighted the newly official Kansas and Missouri enrollment figures for the 2012-13 school year.
LOUISIANA
Changes in New Orleans Charter School Landscape Beginning To Come Clear
Times-Picayune, LA, December 15, 2012
Changes in New Orleans’ Recovery School District are beginning to shake out for the 2013-14 school year. On Friday, Crocker Arts and Technology announced that New Orleans College Prep will take its reins come fall.
Teacher Raises Now Linked To Student Performance
St. Charles Herald Guide, LA, December 16, 2012
Teachers working for the St. Charles Parish public school system will undergo reconfigured pay raise scales after the School Board passed a rule change last week.
MARYLAND
Uncertainty For Students At City School Choice Fair
Baltimore Sun, MD, December 15, 2012
Terrell Carr and his mother, Niesha Carr, have loved his experience at William C. March Middle School. From the Arabic classes in which he’s excelled to the quality of the instruction, both have nothing but good things to say about the school. And they are disappointed that it might close at the end of the year.
MICHIGAN
Lawmaker, School District Share Views On Education Authority
News Herald, MI, December 17, 2012
That’s how state Rep. Patrick Somerville (R-Huron Twp.) characterized a bill before the state Legislature that would expand the reach of the existing Education Achievement Authority
MISSISSIPPI
A New Wave Of Reform? 30 Years After Historic Effort, State’s Schools Still Lag
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, MS, December 16, 2012
Thirty years ago this week, former Gov. William Winter helped usher the passage of the Education Reform Act, sweeping legislation designed to help a public school system that had lost much public support during a divisive integration battle. Today, however, the state’s education system still ranks at or near the bottom of the country, and state leaders have again vowed to make education issues the focus of the upcoming Legislative session.
NEVADA
Council Puts Finishing Touches On Revamped Teacher Evaluation System
Las Vegas Sun, NV, December 15, 2012
A state-level committee on Friday released its final recommendations for a new way to evaluate the state’s public school teachers.
NEW YORK
Fresh Start On Charter Schools Needed
Buffalo News, NY, December 16, 2012
Is it really possible to transform the city’s 44 low-performing schools into charter schools by September 2013? Simply as a logistical matter – forget the convoluted politics – it seems unlikely. But we know why frustrated parents and community members are reaching for that lever: It’s the one they’ve got.
Charter Schools Need Not Educate All Kids
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY, December 15, 2012
Mark Zupan, dean of the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business, proposed in a Nov. 25 op-ed that parents of Rochester School District students be given financial credits (vouchers) so that they can enroll in any private school that will accept them.
Only 3 Of 16 Schools In Region Have Approved Teacher, Principal Evaluation Plans As Deadline Looms
Daily Freeman, NY, December 17, 2012
As winter breaks approach, the Kingston, New Paltz, and Catskill school districts are the only three districts out of 16 in the region that have received approval from the state Education Department on controversial new teacher and principal evaluation systems.
NORTH CAROLINA
Compete And Cooperate: New Direction For Mecklenburg Schools
Charlotte Observer, NC, December 15, 2012
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and area charter and private schools are gearing up to compete and collaborate at the same time. The new year ushers in the season when families choose where their kids will go to school in August. The competition can be fierce – but leaders of all types of schools have launched talks about working together to benefit students and teachers.
OHIO
Charter Schools Pay Off For CEO’s Family
Dayton Daily News, OH, December 15, 2012
A Dayton Daily News investigation found that a company managing several taxpayer-funded charter schools in the area is a lucrative family business whose husband-and-wife management team makes more than $400,000 a year.
Cleveland Schools CEO Turns To Parents
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, December 16, 2012
Now that Cleveland has passed a 15-mill levy slated to bring in millions for the district, this is no time for Clevelanders to sit on their hands.
OKLAHOMA
Senator Files Bill To Change End-Of-Instruction Testing Requirement
Tulsa World, OK, December 17, 2012
A state senator has filed a bill that would essentially gut a controversial law requiring students to pass four of seven end-of-instruction exams to earn a diploma.
OREGON
Oregon Education Reform Creates Unnecessary Bureaucracy
The Oregonian, OR, December 15, 2012
Since the No Child Left Behind educational reform took effect, one of the main pushes from the states is to hold teachers and school districts accountable for educational improvement.
PENNSYLVANIA
Charter Schools Must Pay The Price
Towanda Daily Review, PA, December 15, 2012
Charter schools are public schools yet state lawmakers continue to allow them to evade the same funding restrictions and accountability standards that apply to conventional public schools.
Real Reason For Closing Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 17, 2012
THE SCHOOL closing proposal by the new schools chief (“Learning Curve,” editorial, Dec. 14) was predictable and predicted. The continued expansion of charter schools has caused a deliberate shrinkage in regular public-school enrollment. Anyone who does not see this as a gradual absorption of the public school system by private interests is not paying attention.
Closing Schools With Care
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 17, 2012
The School Reform Commission has taken on the unenviable task of closing nearly 40 of the city’s public schools. Bravo to the members for their courage. They are sure to be bombarded by upset parents, fearful students, anxious teachers, and frustrated communities as they grapple with an issue that their predecessors sidestepped for decades.
Hite’s Fortitude In For A Test
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 16, 2012
After announcing plans to close about one out of every six schools in the city, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. can expect an onslaught of opposition.
Allentown School Directors Question Charter School Applicant’s Ties To Gülen Movement
Morning Call, PA, December 16, 2012
Board members are concerned that engineering academy’s applicants have ties to Gülen Movement. Hearing set for Tuesday.
Three York County School Districts, One Charter Get State Grant Money
York Daily Record, PA, December 15, 2012
Three York County school districts and a charter school are among the 37 recipients of about $480,000 from the state’s Safe Schools Targeted Grant program, according to a news release.
TENNESSEE
Nashville Chamber Pushes Charter Schools
The Tennessean, TN, December 17, 2012
Capping a year in which the growth of charter schools dominated education discourse in Davidson County, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has made publicly financed, privately led charters its primary focus in its latest annual education report card.
TEXAS
Compromise On IDEA’s Contract With The Austin School District Provides A Temporary Balm
Austin American Statesman, TX, December 15, 2012
If the IDEA Allan charter school that opened in August is going to stay open, it will have to survive long enough to prove its worth. And it must be willing to revise its business model to fit a new political reality that has emerged since November, when four new school trustees were elected to the Austin Independent School Board.
AISD Speaking Slots Go Quickly
KXAN, TX, December 17, 2012
Don’t expect to show up at the Austin Independent School District’s headquarters on Monday morning and sign up for one of the 30 speaking slots available for Monday night’s board meeting.
Some Texas Districts Pursuing School Choice Locally
KUHF News, TX, December 16, 2012
State leaders are preparing to push for legislation to expand the choices available for Texas’ nearly 5 million public school students. Meanwhile, some local districts are already pursuing similar reforms within their own systems.
Schools Vie For Federal Funds
Longview News-Journal, TX, December 17, 2012
Gov. Rick Perry had called it “foolish and irresponsible” for Texas to apply for funds from the Obama administration’s signature education initiative. He feared Race to the Top funding would come with too many federal mandates on how to run classrooms in his state.
Cumberland Academy Plans Middle School Addition
Tyler Morning Telegraph, TX, December 17, 2012
Cumberland Academy, a Tyler charter school, is slated to open a middle school in fall 2013.
VIRGINIA
Charter School Proposal In Loudoun Ignites Opposition
Washington Post, DC, December 16, 2012
Lots of people in Loudoun County would love to see an innovative new school focusing on math and information technology, preparing teenagers for careers in high-demand, high-salary fields.
WASHINGTON
Teachers, Others Head To Tacoma To Learn About Charter Schools
Bellingham Herald, WA, December 15, 2012
If turnout at a charter school conference held Saturday in Tacoma is any measure, there’s definitely some interest in the independently managed, publicly financed schools that were approved by voters in November.
WEST VIRGINIA
Requirements For Schools Superintendent In Bull’s-Eye
Charleston Gazette, WV, December 15, 2012
Twenty years ago, the state’s teachers unions were outraged when the West Virginia Board of Education voted to lower the education experience requirements for county superintendents, fearing it would lead to “good old boys” hiring practices and a surge of superintendents with no background in public schools.
WISCONSIN
Walker Outlines Education Priorities For Next Year
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, December 15, 2012
Wisconsin’s education landscape shifted dramatically about two years ago, after a biennial state budget cut millions in school spending and limited collective bargaining, paving the way for changes affecting the size of teachers’ take-home pay to the scope of their performance evaluations.
ONLINE LEARNING
Is The State’s Only Online Virtual School Working?
Telegram & Gazette, MA, December 16, 2012
Students at a privately operated online school that is costing Massachusetts taxpayers almost $2.5 million a year are falling far behind other students in the state based on their assessment test scores, and half of them are quitting during the academic year or failing to return the next year.
Massachusetts Virtual Academy Sparks Disagreement in Greenfield
The Republican, MA, December 16, 2012
The School Department’s affiliation with the Massachusetts Virtual Academy has created a heated rift, with School Committee member Maryelen Calderwood among the program’s chief critics. Calderwood voted against contracting with K12, the company that runs the virtual academy, and she has been opposed to the venture ever since.
Easton Launching Cyber School Without District Teachers
The Morning Call, PA, December 17, 2012
Easton Area School District will launch a cyber school next month, but its classes won’t be taught by district teachers.
Online Public School Expands To Includes Grades 7-12
Times Republican, IA, December 15, 2012
First-grader Aiden Brezina doesn’t have to bother with crowded school buses. He doesn’t have to worry about forgetting his lunch box or being picked on in the classroom.
Education Superintendent Outlines Goals
Helena Independent Record, MT, December 16, 2012
Office of Public Instruction Superintendent Denise Juneau wants to raise the dropout age in Montana from 16 to 18 and increase funding for Montana Digital Academy so that more students can access online courses without having to pay.