Daily Headlines for February 26, 2013
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Report: Low Graduation Rates Mean Billions In Missed Income For Dropouts, State Budgets
Washington Post, DC, February 25, 2013
High school dropouts are costing some $1.8 billion in lost tax revenue every year, education advocates said in a report released Monday.
Teachers Not Gung-Ho On Guns At School
USA Today, February 26, 2013
The online survey of 10,661 teachers and administrators from all 50 states, due out Wednesday, was conducted in late January by the School Improvement Network.
FROM THE STATES
ALASKA
Three ‘Maybes’ And Two ‘Maybe Nots’
Juneau Empire, AK, February 26, 2013
The discussion on school choice or education vouchers has me wondering if, maybe, I should embrace this idea.
ARIZONA
Online Tool Shows How Proposed Performance Funding Affects AZ Schools
Capital Times, AZ, February 26, 2013
A new online tool is designed to help parents, students, teachers and school leaders around Arizona see how newly-proposed performance funding will benefit their local schools.
CALIFORNIA
Black Students’ Learning Gaps Start Early, Report Says
Los Angeles Times, CA, February 26, 2013
African American pupils are far less likely to take college prep classes and more likely to miss school because of suspensions, a group finds, calling for strong intervention.
Parents Claim Families Breaking Residency Rules To Enroll Kids In Popular Studio City School
CBS Los Angeles, CA, February 25, 2013
Some parents claim families are breaking residency rules in order to enroll their children in a popular Studio City charter school.
FLORIDA
Cape Charter Schools Asking For Lee Co. Money
NBC2 News, FL, February 25, 2013
Cape Coral Charter Schools’ top boss is asking for what he calls a “fair share” of district money. Monday night he took his case to city leaders in hopes they’ll back him.
IDAHO
Why Idaho May Be Headed For A Fight Between School Districts And Charter Schools
Boise State Public Radio, ID, February 25, 2013
Tuesday lawmakers in Idaho’s House Education Committee hear from the public and vote on a bill to give more money to charter schools.
ILLINOIS
Chicago Public Schools Under The Wire With Increasing Charter Schools
Examiner.com, February 25, 2013
During President Obama’s recent visit to Chicago he spent much time, publicly touting the ways, and even the possible means, to address the physical safety of the nation’s children, “When a child opens fire on another child, there is a hole in that child’s heart that government can’t fill.
INDIANA
FWCS Draws Line On New Charters
The Journal Gazette, IN, February 26, 2013
With one member objecting, the Fort Wayne Community Schools board Monday approved a resolution in opposition to any new charter schools planning to conduct classes within the district’s boundaries.
State’s Voucher Bill Devalues Sacrifice
The Journal Gazette, IN , February 26, 2013
The Indiana school voucher program is unfair to thousands of Hoosier parents who are getting hosed.
LOUISIANA
KIPP Leaders Track Recent 70-Student Loss
The Lens, LA, February 25, 2013
KIPP’s New Orleans enrollment has dropped by 70 students, with an estimated half of those moving out of the area and others moving to other local schools.
MAINE
LePage Voucher Plan For Low-Income Pupils Is Met With Concerns
Portland Press Herald, ME, February 26, 2013
Some lawmakers say Maine is already cutting school funding, so it doesn’t make sense to siphon off more money.
MARYLAND
Montgomery County Teachers Union Might Fight State About Evaluations
Maryland Gazette, MD, February 25, 2013
Montgomery County’s teachers union might be preparing to fight the Maryland State Department of Education regarding the department’s new requirements for teacher evaluations.
Board Members Seek Input, Expertise During Process To Open Carroll’s First Public Charter School
Carroll County Times, MD, February 26, 2013
Board members from the nonprofit Sustainable Futures, Inc. made a request for expertise at its first public meeting Monday night. The group is working on an application to open a Montessori public charter school in Carroll County, the first of its kind.
MASSACHUSETTS
Renaissance Charter School On Probation
Boston Globe, MA, February 26, 2013
State officials placed the Boston Renaissance Charter School on probation Monday, formally putting the school on notice that it must improve student academic performance or risk closure when its charter comes up for renewal in two years.
Committee Approves A Plan That Would Restrict Choice
Boston Globe, MA, February 25, 2013
After a year of deliberations, a special committee convened by the mayor proposed a new student-assignment system in Boston that would allow more children to attend school in their own neighborhoods while still allowing an element of choice.
NEBRASKA
Nebraska Education Chief Slams Charter School Bill
World-Herald, NE, February 26, 2013
Nebraska Education Commissioner Roger Breed came out swinging Monday against a bill that would allow limited charter schools to be created in Omaha.
NEW MEXICO
Dispelling Charter School Myths
Albuquerque Journal, NM, February 26, 2013
For the next couple of months in this column, I am going to focus on dispelling some of the myths about charter schools. Although charter schools have been in existence in many states for many years, and in New Mexico since 1999, they remain somewhat of a mystery to many people.
NEW YORK
City Revises Figures for Parent Involvement
Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2013
In September, it seemed that the Department of Education wasn’t living up to its promise to get parents more involved in schools: An annual statistical report from Mayor Michael Bloomberg showed steep drop-offs in the number of parents attending meetings and workshops, and administration critics said it reflected deep dissatisfaction among parents.
UFT’s Own Charter In Trouble
New York Post, NY, February 26, 2013
A charter school run solely by the city teachers union could be shut down after state education officials identified a slew of serious academic, financial and management failures.
Citing ‘Urgency,’ Georgia Governor Ousts 6 Members of DeKalb County School Board
New York Times, NY, February 26, 2013
Gov. Nathan Deal removed six members of the DeKalb County School Board on Monday, trying to save the state’s third-largest school system by exercising a relatively new power in Georgia that allows him to supersede the choice of voters.
OHIO
Panel Selects 4 State Superintendent Finalists
Columbus Dispatch, OH, February 26, 2013
A State Board of Education subcommittee yesterday named four finalists for state school superintendent.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Charter And City Schools To Meet
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, February 26, 2013
Pittsburgh Public Schools superintendent Linda Lane is trying to thaw the deep freeze in relations between the school district and charter schools.
Bear Creek Charter Fleshes Out Details Of Project
Times Leader, PA, February 25, 2013
It was another lengthy meeting for the Bear Creek Community Charter School board of trustees on Monday as it continued to drill down on the details of a $10 million new-school project.
Millcreek School Board Rejects Biosciences School
Erie Times-News, PA, February 26, 2013
The members of the Millcreek School Board turned down plans for a proposed new school in Millcreek Township, saying organizers did not have an adequate site and their curriculum was too similar to the Millcreek Township School District’s.
TENNESSEE
Herenton Says School Board Delaying On His Memphis Charter Requests
Commercial Appeal, TN, February 25, 2013
Former mayor Willie Herenton says the school board is purposefully dragging its feet on a decision to allow him to turn Northside High and Orleans Elementary into charter schools.
TEXAS
Not So Fast On More Charter Schools
Austin American-Statesman, TX, February 25, 2013
It was the “say what?” provision in the ambitious bill filed last week by state Sen. Dan Patrick to overhaul Texas’ charter school law: require public school districts to lease unused or underused buildings to charter operators for $1. By week’s end, Patrick, deflecting the backlash by blaming the provision on a clerical error, promised a rewrite.
Trustee: School Vouchers Hurting HCISD Funding
Valley Morning Star, TX, February 25, 2013
When the Harlingen School Board voted recently to oppose vouchers for private school attendance, they said they were trying to protect an already underfunded public school system.
School Districts Expanding Choices Of Students, Parents
Star-Telegram, TX, February 25, 2013
Public school districts are mobilizing to show that “school choice” is more than private-school vouchers and charter school startups.
Grand Prairie School-Choice Program’s Applications Double In Second Year
Dallas Morning News, TX, February 25, 2013
As Texas school funding is squeezed, districts like Grand Prairie ISD are using creative ways to address the problem by expanding educational choice.
WEST VIRGINIA
Teachers Unions Blast Tomblin School Reform Bill
Charleston Gazette, WV, February 25, 2013
West Virginia teachers union leaders swiftly denounced Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s sprawling education reform bill Monday, saying the legislation punishes teachers and does little to raise student achievement.
ONLINE LEARNING
Hill Recognized For Support Of Online Learning
Redmond Reporter, WA, February 25, 2013
Members of Washington state’s Digital Public Schools Alliance, who gathered at the state Capitol to lobby on behalf of online public schools, honored state Sen. Andy Hill with their “Pioneer Award” for his work on behalf of digital schools.
‘Flipped’ Classroom Boosts Achievement In St. Charles County Schools
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, February 25, 2013
Not many days will you find April Burton lecturing to her French classroom at Francis Howell Central High School. Instead, she gives students lessons at home, via videos posted online.