Daily Headlines for October 16, 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
Charter schools could hurt U.S. city school districts
Reuters, October 16, 2013
The widening reach of charter schools across the United States is raising red flags for credit rating agencies about the financial support of urban public school districts.
Race to the Top: Good for Mass, but a mismatch overall
Opinion, Boston Globe, MA, October 15, 2013
President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have promoted Race to the Top as a key to fixing our nation’s education woes. Opponents of the flagship federal initiative depict it as bad education policy “on steroids.”
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Getting rid of bad teachers
Editorial, Los Angeles Times, CA, October 15, 2013
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a teacher firing bill. Fine. But now he should take the lead on this thorny issue.
COLORADO
School Board Supports Private School Choice
Gold River Messenger, CO, October 16, 2013
Some may be surprised to learn that in one community, the public school district offers students and their parents a variety of educational options to choose from—including private schools. In 2011, Colorado’s Douglas County school board became the only school board nationwide to approve school voucher.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Fewer expulsions in D.C. public charter schools in 2012-13 year
Washington Post, DC, October 15, 2013
The District’s charter schools expelled far fewer students in the 2012-13 school year than the school year before, but individual charters’ expulsion rates continued to vary widely, according to D.C. Public Charter School Board data released Tuesday.
FLORIDA
Ally of Jeb Bush exits Fla. education board
The South Florida Times, FL, October 16, 2013
Amid an ongoing dispute over the future of Florida’s public schools, an ally of former Gov. Jeb Bush has abruptly resigned from the State Board of Education.
Hernando board considers allowing problem students to stay in schools outside zone
Tampa Bay Times, FL, October 15, 2013
Hernando School Board members on Tuesday signaled a desire to see problem students stick out the year at the choice or magnet school instead of being told to return to the home school.
Broward Schools’ facilities department faces criticism over outsourcing deal
Miami Herald, FL, October 15, 2013
The Broward school district’s attempt to outsource much of its facilities department — a move designed to restore credibility — has instead raised new questions.
Scott Urges Approval Of Teacher Pay Raises
The Ledger, FL, October 15, 2013
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, concerned that one of his main initiatives on education has gotten stalled, wrote school superintendents across the state Tuesday and asked them to move quickly to approve pay raises for teachers.
HAWAII
BOE Gives Charter School Commission Discretion Over Teacher Evaluations
Honolulu Civil Beat Blog, HI, October 15, 2013
In response to recent confusion over charter schools’ teacher evaluation obligations, the state Board of Education’s human resources committee decided today that the onus is on the charter school commission — not the school board — to establish its own evaluation guidelines.
ILLINOIS
Needy students bring in money for schools
Chicago Tribune, IL, October 15, 2013
A higher number of low-income students will mean more state and federal money for 280 public schools in Chicago, while 233 schools that have fewer students in that category will see reduced funding, district officials said Tuesday.
LOUISIANA
BESE approves Lafayette charter schools
The Daily Advertiser, LA, October 15, 2013
During a Tuesday committee meeting, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved applications for a total of five charter schools in the district. The full board meets again Wednesday, but the vote then is widely expected to be only a formality.
Common Core concerns flood BESE meeting
Times-Picayune, LA, October 15, 2013
Frustration over a statewide shift to the tougher educational standards of the Common Core spilled into view Tuesday before Louisiana’s top school board, which has found itself at the center of a maelstrom of criticism for approving the standards three years ago.
MICHIGAN
Debt-ridden Detroit charter school closes amid confusion, fights
Detroit Free Press, MI, October 15, 2013
A Detroit charter school has closed its doors six weeks into the school year after receiving notice that its charter will be revoked due to financial and academic problems.
Keep kids in school and out of trouble
Editorial, Detroit News, MI, October 16, 2013
There is little doubt that students who are expelled from school for bad behavior are at risk of going down a path of crime and ending up in state prisons.
MEA and AFT-Michigan announce formal partnership
Michigan Public Radio, MI, October 15, 2013
The Michigan Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers in Michigan are developing a formal partnership. Union officials say this is not a merger, but rather a collaboration between the two organizations.
MINNESOTA
After a decade, Arcadia Charter School still has a passion for projects
Star Tribune, MN, October 15, 2013
Arcadia Charter School, which just celebrated its 10-year anniversary, has evolved into a creative incubator that encourages students to pursue their interests.
MISSISSIPPI
Columbus group hopes to open charter school
Columbus Dispatch, MS, October 15, 2013
A group of citizens is hoping to bring a charter school to Columbus as early as the upcoming school year.
State needs to reward good teachers with merit pay
Editorial, Sun Herald, MS, October 15, 2013
There are more than 32,000 teachers in Mississippi’s public schools. To say each and every one of them should be paid the same would be counter-productive. And to suggest that each and every one of them should be given an equal pay raise would continue to reward low performers at the expense of our best teachers.
MISSOURI
Parents, officials with private schools welcome tax credit proposal for ballot
Joplin Globe, MO, October 15, 2013
Officials and parents with private and parochial schools in Southwest Missouri say they welcome a ballot initiative authorizing state tax credits that would benefit their children, and at the same time would also help public schools around the state.
NEW JERSEY
Rutgers aims to improve graduation rates through KIPP partnership
Star-Ledger, NJ, October 15, 20134
A handful of charter school students may now have a better chance at graduating from college, thanks to a new partnership between the KIPP charter school network and Rutgers-Camden.
NEW MEXICO
SFPS unveils broad reform plan
Albuquerque Journal, NM, October 16, 2013
Faced with declining proficiency in reading and math after elementary school and stagnant graduation rates that have hovered around 60 percent the past several years, Santa Fe Public Schools rolled out a preliminary plan for implementing secondary school reform at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.
NEW YORK
Harlem Children Zone’s Promise Academy in new early college partnership with Bard College
New York Daily News, NY, October 15, 2013
A Bronx charter school is now offering up to a year’s worth of college credit without making parents pay a dime in tuition.
More Charters, Please
Editorial, New York Observer, NY, October 15, 2013
Charter schools have revolutionized public education in New York City over the last dozen years. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has presided over the creation of scores of the new-era schools, which receive city funds but are operated by private organizations.
N.Y.’s teacher evaluations faulted in study
Journal News, NY, October 15, 2013
New York’s first attempt to grade teachers on their students’ progress was flawed in several key ways, a new study commissioned by the region’s superintendents says.
Outrage in Brooklyn over proposed charter school
WPIX-TV, NY, October 15, 2013
They marched in anger from P.S.161 to a vote several blocks away on Charter Schools and co-location schools. On the table for the panel for educational policy ? The approval of 17 new school co-locations across the city including five brand new charter schools.
Thinking Sensibly About Charter Schools
Editorial, New York Times, NY, October 16, 2013
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been a full-throated supporter of charter schools, of which there are about 180 in New York City. The debate over how the next mayor should handle charters has been part of the campaign from the very beginning.
NORTH CAROLINA
Court considers whether NC obligated to provide preschool program
New & Observer, NC, October 15, 2013
North Carolina’s highest court heard arguments Tuesday about the state’s promise of prekindergarten for tens of thousands of children living in poverty.
Tenured teachers face contract choice
Burlington Times New, NC, October 15, 2013
Some long-serving teachers in the Alamance-Burlington School System will get an offer they might refuse.
OHIO
GreatSchools website may become main location for Cleveland school choice information
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, October 15, 2013
Mayor Frank Jackson’s new school accountability panel is considering partnering with the GreatSchools websites to provide school rankings and information about school choices for Cleveland families.
PENNSYLVANIA
Former students of shuttered charter school return for last time
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, October 16, 2013
MANY STUDENTS of the shuttered Solomon Charter School returned to its Center City building yesterday, four days after the school’s board of directors voted unanimously to close it down.
North Penn charter school case hits another bump in the road
The Reporter, PA, October 15, 2013
Wendy Ormsby and Jennifer Arevalo, directors of the Souderton Charter School Collaborative, hoped their that a replicated version of their school in the North Penn School District would be open by now.
Parents seek communication with SRC
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 16, 2013
Five weeks into the school year and under a cloud of fiscal uncertainty, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission on Tuesday night got an earful about the need to improve interaction with parents.
Students, parents shaken by decision to close York’s New Hope Academy
York Dispatch, PA, October 16, 2013
Shock, upset and unfair were the words used most by New Hope Academy students discussing the state’s decision Tuesday to close their charter school in January.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Common Core retains local control, parents told amid criticism of education plan
Argus Leader, SD, October 16, 2013
New instructional standards for math and English are fully at work in South Dakota schools, but opinions about Common Core State Standards vary wildly and have some parents upset.
VIRGINIA
McDonnell appoints five to school takeover board
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, October 16, 2013
Gov. Bob McDonnell has made his five appointments to the board of the statewide school division created to take over struggling public schools, including one of his top lobbyists.
WISCONSIN
MPS forwards unusual deal to sell coveted empty school building
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, October 15, 2013
A large vacant school building on the near-north side would be sold for $2.1 million to a new development group, and then leased back to Milwaukee Public Schools for about twice that amount over four years, according to an eyebrow-raising deal approved by the Milwaukee School Board.
ONLINE LEARNING
Florida Virtual School heads to state Supreme Court over name lawsuit
Tampa Bay Times Blog, FL, October 15, 2013
Florida Virtual School has used its name and initials, FLVS, as part of its marketing and branding since 2002. It got trademarks a year later.
Online school provides safe haven for bullied students
AZ Family, AZ, October 15, 2013
Life has come full circle for one valley teen who is marking National Bullying Prevention Month by speaking out about the experience of being bulled after coming out.
Virtual Learning Lab is a change of pace for students
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, FL, October 16, 2013
Imagine coming to class with just a flash drive and earbuds – no heavy textbooks to lug around, no notebooks, pens or pencils.