Daily Headlines for September 4, 2013
Click here for Newswire, 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.
NATIONAL COVERAGE
Justice Department vouchers suit could threaten state’s school choice report card rank
Times Picayune, September 3, 2013
A national report continues to praise Louisiana’s school choice programs but warns the state’s fourth-in-the-nation ranking — and parents’ power in their children’s education — could be in jeopardy because of a federal lawsuit that could halt vouchers in districts under desegregation orders.
Holder in the schoolhouse door
Op-Ed, New York Post, September 4, 2013
Eric Holder is nothing if not creative. His Justice Department is asking a federal court to block a portion of a Louisiana voucher program that gives poor children a way out of failing public schools.
Michigan ranks 11th in education reform group’s list of ‘parent power’ state
Grand Rapids Press, September 3, 2013
Michigan placed just outside the top 10 on a national education reform group’s annual rankings of “parent power” for making educational choices.
School grading systems: a hot topic around the nation
Deseret News, September 4, 2013
Proponents say that giving public schools A to F grades makes them more accountable and gives parents clear choices. Detractors say the grades tell more about the prosperity of school neighborhoods than the quality of their instruction.
Using bad science to punish teachers
Opinion, Daily Progress, September 4, 2013
The new requirements for No Child Left Behind waivers from the Department of Education have some bad news for America’s teachers. The Obama administration wants states to use standardized tests to not only judge students and schools but now teachers as well lest we lose ground to China. Coincidentally, China this week banned standardized testing in early grades and reduced it thereafter. China, it seems, wants to be more like us.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
More school districts in L.A. County taking less punitive approach to truancy
Los Angeles Times, September 3, 2013
A growing number of school districts and public agencies in Los Angeles County have joined a campaign to take a less punitive and more holistic approach to truancy — and education officials insist it’s paying off.
FLORIDA
Gov. Scott Keeps Tripping Over Florida’s Teachers
Op-Ed, The Ledger, September 4, 2013
The last few weeks have been a debacle for Gov. Rick Scott, who has made winning over Florida’s teachers and parents an important component of his 2014 re-election strategy.
State tax credits helping more families pay for private schools
Daytona Beach News Journal, September 3, 2013
Private schools once were reserved mostly for the privileged few, but not anymore. About half of the students in Flagler County’s private schools use the state’s tax-credit scholarship to pay their tuition.
GEORGIA
Faison blasts DCSS officials over charter denial
Albany Herald, September 3, 2013
Late last month, the Dougherty County School Board voted 3-3 along racial lines to not support the creation of the proposed River School for Children STEM Academy (RSCSA).
School board fights against proposed charter school
WFXL FOX 31, September 3, 2013
A proposal for a locally-run charter school failed to get enough support in a 3-3 vote by the Dougherty County School Board in late August and those involved say they don’t feel like it was the right decision.
INDIANA
Catholic schools get boost from Indiana voucher, but critics remain
WBEZ, September 3, 2013
LOUISIANA
32 percent of teachers ‘highly effective’
The Advocate, September 4, 2013
Nearly one in three public school teachers got the top rating in the first year of Louisiana’s new job evaluations, while 4 percent were labeled as ineffective, officials said Tuesday.
Bossier tops state with 59 percent of its teachers ranking ‘highly effective’
Shreveport Times, September 4, 2014
Bossier Parish teachers are the highest performing in the state, according to data released Tuesday by the Louisiana Department of Education.
New questions raised about charter schools
The Advertiser, September 3, 2013
A Lafayette Parish School Board member is asking for more information about a state partnership involving charter schools.
Tie vote stops minority/majority schools transfers
Avoyelles Today, September 4, 2013
It was great news when the state announced no schools in the Avoyelles Parish system had earned an “F” School Performance Score based on the most recent test scores and none would have to offer the option of school choice.
MARYLAND
Charter school makes changes to lottery process
Maryland Gazette, September 4, 2013
Montgomery County’s only charter school began its second school year last week with new student lottery rules and continued efforts to close its funding gap.
MASSACHUSETTS
Same old charter wars
Editorial, Boston Herald, September 4, 2013
The good news? There are fewer children languishing on waiting lists for a spot at a charter public school in Massachusetts than previously believed.
NEW YORK
Bill de Blasio’s war on good schools
Op-Ed, New York Post, September 4, 2013
Bill de Blasio’s campaign theme is a “Tale of Two Cities.” Yet his pronouncements suggest that, as mayor, he’d create his own tale of two cities: one for families who made the same choice as he did for his child, a district-run public school, whom he’ll support; and another, for families who made a different choice, charter schools, whom he’ll undermine.
Cuomo signs alternative education school bill
The Register Star, September 4, 2013
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill approving the creation of the Columbia-Greene Leadership Academy, the alternative learning program also known as the Bridge.
Mayor Announces Opening Of Truancy Center In Harlem
NY1, September 3, 2013
Instead of focusing on punishing the students for skipping school, the new center will focus on getting kids back on track.
Success Academy attempts to move into IS 59 in southeast Queens
New York Daily News, September 3, 2013
Top-performing charter school chain founded by Eva Moskowitz wants to have 100 schools in the city; Success Academy accused of pushing out poor-performing and special needs students
PENNSYLVANIA
Shaler parents scramble to find child care
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 4, 2013
The Northern Area Boys and Girls Club in Millvale expects to be filled today with students who were displaced from their schools because of the Shaler Area teachers strike.
TENNESSEE
Education funds not being spent wisely
Opinion, The Tennessean, September 4, 2013
These days, virtually every discussion about public education in Tennessee fixates on issues of funding. Tennesseans are continuously told that their schools are among the worst funded in the country and that all that is necessary to fix failing schools is to pour more money into them.
UTAH
Will Utah’s school grading system erode support for public schools?
Salt Lake Tribune, September 4, 2013
Opponents of letter grades for public schools fear privatization; supporters hail new transparency.
VIRGINIA
Cuccinelli declines to defend failing schools law
Washington Times, September 3, 2013
Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II has declined to defend one of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s signature education reform laws in court, saying he agrees with critics that it is unconstitutional.
WASHINGTON
Seattle schools start Wednesday as teachers approve contract
Seattle Times, September 3, 2013
Seattle teachers approved a new two-year contract Tuesday, ending contentious contract negotiations that raised the possibility of the first teachers strike in the city in decades.
ONLINE LEARNING
70 Online offers learning options for all students
Pueblo Chieftain, September 4, 2013
Pueblo School District 70 students have another option for schooling if they’re looking for an alternative.
Indictment should be start of cyber school reform
Letter, Daily Review, September 4, 2013
When a federal grand jury issued an indictment last week against the founder of Pennsylvania’s largest publicly funded charter school, it also, in effect, indicted the Pennsylvania Legislature for ignoring charter school funding reform for years.
Pasco School Board targets cheating in online classes
Tampa Bay Times, September 3, 2013
Florida law now requires students to earn at least one credit online in order to receive a diploma. And Wiregrass Ranch, like most Pasco high schools, has set up a computer lab staffed with aides specifically for students to take virtual courses during the school day.