Daily Headlines for July 10, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
American education works
Letter
Los Angeles Times, July 9, 2013
Eli Broad’s criticism of American schools of education, as well as the letters commenting on his Op-Ed article, missed an important but apparently little-known fact: Our educational system has been highly successful.
Common Core vs. great literature
Opinion
New York Daily News, July 10, 2013
Fresh reason to fear that works of fiction, poetry and theater may get short shrift when new standards arrive.
STATE COVERAGE
ALABAMA
Beyond No Child Left Behind: State Board of Education examines post-NCLB standards
Montgomery Advertiser, July 10, 2013
The State Board of Education got a look at the world beyond No Child Left Behind on Tuesday morning, and state education officials said they hoped it would be one where schools and school officials would be better equipped to improve student achievement.
ARIZONA
TUSD OKs $1M for teacher pay plan
Arizona Daily Star, July 10, 2013
The TUSD Governing Board unanimously voted to spend $1 million on salary adjustments to a targeted group of longtime teachers whose pay has stagnated.
ARKANSAS
Redfield group hopes for new charter school in 2014
Pine Bluff Commercial, July 9, 2013
A non-profit corporation supported by a group of residents from Redfield and surrounding communities hopes to open the Redfield Tri-County Charter School in time for the start of the 2014-2015 school year.
DELAWARE
Moyer Academy for at-risk students again fights to survive
News Journal, July 10, 2013
A Wilmington charter school that serves many at-risk students and has battled slim enrollment and low test scores is asking the state for permission to reduce its required student count and overhaul its curriculum.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Closed DCPS school to reopen as a charter
Washington Post, July 9, 2013
M.C. Terrell-McGogney Elementary, one of 13 traditional D.C. schools that closed in June for low enrollment, is slated to reopen in the fall as Somerset Preparatory Academy Public Charter School.
Progress for D.C.’s ninth-graders raises the question: Why wait so late?
Washington Post, July 9, 2013
When the District’s newly constructed Dunbar High opens next month, Principal Stephen Jackson will use the same hard-line student segregation policy that worked for him at the old school building.
D.C. parents, activists offer mixed reaction to Catania’s bills
Washington Post, July 9, 2013
D.C. Council Member David Catania (I-At Large) scheduled four hearings this month to give the public a chance to weigh in on legislation that aims to lift student achievement across the city.
GEORGIA
New Education Lobby Comes To Georgia
Opinion
Times-Herald, July 10, 2013
A new organization aims to change the dynamics of Georgia’s education politics, StudentsFirst, led by the charismatic former head of the District of Columbia schools.
ILLINOIS
Proof the charter school model is working
Opinion
Chicago Tribune, July 9, 2013
In Chicago, there has been a lot of public debate on the direction of our public education system and how best to improve education for all our students. While there are no quick fixes, one thing is clear: We need to do a better job of investing in and prioritizing high-quality educational options that work.
LOUISIANA
7 schools barred from Louisiana voucher program most reliant on public money
Times-Picayune, July 10, 2013
The seven private schools that Louisiana barred for academic reasons from accepting new voucher students were among the most dependent of all voucher schools on state money, according to newly released state data.
Former Boucher principal head to N.O. charter school
The Advertiser, July 10, 2013
Keith Bartlett, the former principal of Alice Boucher Elementary School, has been named CEO and principal of Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans charter school in New Orleans.
Charter school’s fate could rest with court
Monroe News Star, July 9, 2013
The only recourse a local church has after being denied approval by the Monroe Board of Adjustment is to appeal the decision to the 4th Judicial District Court.
Teachers retiring in high numbers
The Advocate, July 10, 2013
Teachers are continuing to retire at higher-than-usual numbers — more than 7,500 in the last two years.
MARYLAND
New charter school planned in Anne Arundel County
Capital Gazette, July 9, 2013
With more than 800 students on a waiting list for Monarch Academy Public Charter School in Glen Burnie, the school’s governing board has applied to open a second campus in Anne Arundel County.
MICHIGAN
A School of Their Own
Detroit Metro Times, July 9, 2013
Some seeds take longer than others to germinate. The ones that grew into the Jimmy & Grace Lee Boggs School, a charter school that will open its doors on Detroit’s east side in September, were planted more than 20 years ago.
MISSOURI
School transfer plan jolts legislators
Letter
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 10, 2013
It is interesting and important to note that when the unaccredited Wellston School District students were transferred to the Normandy public schools, there was no objection or outcry heard from the state Legislature.
NEW JERSEY
Alternative Grad School Raises Concerns About Who’s Teaching NJ’s Teachers
New Jersey Spotlight, July 10, 2013
Founded by three charter school networks, Relay stresses skills-based modules over academic theory.
NEW YORK
Farash Foundation offering $1 million for charter school sites
Democrat & Chronicle, July 9, 2013
A local foundation is awarding up to $1 million in seed money for new charter school sites in Monroe and Ontario counties.
District Forced to Accommodate Students Seeking Transfer from Failing Schools
WKBW, July 9, 2013
Parents have had the legal right to transfer their student out of a failing school and in to a successful one since 2002. It was part of the ‘No Child Left Behind’ initiative under President George W. Bush.
NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina school board weighs self-expanding charter
WTVD-TV, July 10, 2013
North Carolina’s state school board will decide whether a charter school can expand its student enrollment before it’s even opened for classes.
National group seeks N.C. teacher reform
Charlotte Observer, NC
July 9, 2013
Former presidential adviser and CNN political analyst David Gergen will lead a push for changes in teacher pay, evaluations and tenure in North Carolina.
OREGON
A fast track to college
Mail Tribune, July 9, 2013
A Logos Public Charter School dual-credit program allows high school students to get a head start on their higher-education goals
TENNESSEE
Career, technical magnet school deserves approval
Editorial
Knoxville News Sentinel, July 10, 2013
The Knox County Board of Education is scheduled to vote today on establishing a career and technical education magnet school in partnership with Pellissippi State Community College.
StudentsFirst wants new report card, teacher retention policy
The Tennessean, July 9, 2013
A nonprofit education reform group that’s focused its attention in Tennessee wants a school-by-school report card that makes sense to parents and more job security for teachers who perform well, not just those around a long time.
UTAH
New charter school
Opinion
Salt Lake Tribune, July 9, 2013
The primary purposes of public education are to provide students with the knowledge they need to understand and participate in their world, together with the skills they need to make a living.
VIRGINIA
Virginia’s only charter elementary school is expanding
WWBT, July 9, 2013
Virginia’s only charter elementary school is now expanding. Richmond School Board members approved a five-year renewal for Patrick Henry Charter School in Richmond’s Southside.
WASHINGTON
Lawsuit serves to limit students’ chances for success
Opinion
News Tribune, July 10, 2013
The education obstructionists are back. The establishment forces aligned against reform filed suit in King County Superior Court July 3 to block the charter school law approved by the voters last November. Losers litigating has become a staple of initiative battles here.
Spokane Public Schools step closer to charter schools
The Spokesman-Review, July 10, 2013
Spokane Public Schools is on its way to establishing the first charter school in Washington. That should come as no surprise: Superintendent Shelley Redinger announced the district’s desire for a charter school before final votes were tallied on the initiative in November.
WISCONSIN
Work to improve all schools in Milwaukee
Opinion
Journal Sentinel, July 9, 2013
Charter. Choice. Public. In recent weeks, these words became more politically charged than ever before. They are emblematic of the divisive debate surrounding school funding and policy changes included in the new state budget.
ONLINE LEARNING
SC education board being briefed on online program
WCIV, July 10, 2013
A new law allows seventh- through 12th-graders to take more courses through South Carolina’s virtual education program.
C3 Academy planned this school year
The Cherokee Ledger-News, July 10, 2013
Digital and virtual coursework options will become a regular part of Cherokee County School District offerings with the opening of the Cherokee Cyber Connection Academy (C3 Academy) for the 2013-2014 school year.