Daily Headlines for October 25, 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
Vitter asks Holder to justify voucher challenge in N.O.
The Advocate, LA, October 24, 2013
U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., led a group of 30 GOP senators expressing outrage over the Department of Justice seeking to temporarily stall the state’s school voucher program because of existing desegregation orders.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Another fight brewing for parent trigger
Editorial, Los Angeles Daily News, CA, October 24, 2013
Opponents of a law that empowers parents with children in failing schools want to rewrite the rules — and they are on the hunt for an ally in Sacramento.
L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy may leave in coming months
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 25, 2013
Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy has told some district officials that he may leave but has not submitted his resignation.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. charter school teacher Kena Allison surprised with $25,000 award
Washington Post, DC, October 24, 2013
The students of Anacostia’s Thurgood Marshall Academy filed into the school gym Thursday morning for a pep rally to celebrate their academic accomplishments over the past year.
Why did some charters opt out of D.C.’s enrollment lottery?
Washington Post Blog, DC, October 24, 2013
All DCPS schools and most charter schools have agreed to a common enrollment lottery that will take effect for school year 2014-15. The new process will cut down on duplicate applications and student reshuffling at the beginning of the year. Why, then, have some charters opted not to participate?
FLORIDA
Pinellas schools look to close racial achievement gap
St. Petersburg Times, FL, October 24, 2013
For years, Pinellas County Schools officials have struggled with the black students’ low achievement numbers; but, for the first time, administrators are now looking to the students themselves for help in overcoming the racial divide.
GEORGIA
School choice advocates bring in cash to Atlanta school election
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, October 24, 2013
Wealthy backers of Atlanta charter schools and school choice are pouring money into the city’s Nov. 5 Board of Education elections in an effort to put their slate of candidates in power.
IDAHO
Fulcher, Otter offer similar views on education
Idaho Press Tribune, ID, October 25, 2013
State Sen. Russell Fulcher is positioning for a run for governor, and he has been outspoken about the state’s controversial health insurance exchange. He calls it Gov. Butch Otter’s “regrettable decision to voluntarily thrust Idaho into Obamacare.”
INDIANA
John Mutz sees challenges ahead for charter schools
Opinion, Indianapolis Star, IN, October 24, 2013
Chairman of Indianapolis’ charter school board, Mutz has watched the General Assembly expand charter school options, reduce the influence of teacher unions and approve vouchers for private schools for low-income families.
LOUISIANA
New Orleans schools see major gains in 2013 letter grades
Times-Picayune, LA, October 24, 2013
The New Orleans education establishment celebrated news Thursday that its schools are better than they’ve been since the state started keeping track. From next to last in the state in the months before Hurricane Katrina transformed the New Orleans school system, the city is now right in the middle of the state rankings.
MASSACHUSETTS
State Education Commissioner points to takeover at Parker
South Coast Today, October 24, 2013
Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester, saying he is “alarmed” by a lack of clear progress at the John Avery Parker School, said Thursday that Parker is a likely candidate for state takeover.
MICHIGAN
Lawmaker questions school chief’s move to resume Common Core
Detroit News, MI, October 24, 2013
State schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan ordered the Michigan Department of Education to resume implementation of the state’s Common Core State Standards after the Michigan Senate adopted a resolution Thursday to restart funding.
MISSISSIPPI
Justices: Leflore schools can’t obstruct takeover
Clarion Ledger, MS, October 25, 2013
In an order issued Thursday, the state Supreme Court said the school system has no legal right to appeal an emergency takeover order from the governor. The ruling sets a precedent to block future challenges from other districts.
MISSOURI
Normandy school board votes against paying bill for transfers
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, October 25, 2013
The Normandy School Board on Thursday night voted not to pay the bill for its students who have transferred into higher performing schools.
NEW MEXICO
Fliers criticize old teacher evaluation
Albuquerque Journal, NM, October 25, 2013
A nonprofit group has caused a stir by sending out mailers that criticize the old teacher evaluation system used by Albuquerque Public Schools, while touting a new model being enacted by the state’s Public Education Department.
NEW YORK
Charter March Missed Mark
Huffington Post, October 24, 2013
Locating charter schools in public buildings is a big issue in New York City’s mayoral election. While of little consequence compared to other challenges facing the new mayor, so-called charter co-location is a litmus test for many voters.
NORTH CAROLINA
Eliminating teacher tenure
Opinion, The Daily Reflector, NC, October 24, 2013
Berger has been the primary force behind an effort at the North Carolina General Assembly to get rid of teacher tenure in the state. After two years of talk, the Republican-led legislature approved a measure that drops tenure and its extensive job protections in favor of employment contracts.
OKLAHOMA
TPS’ Keith Ballard pulls no punches on A-F in letter to parents
Tulsa World, OK, October 25, 2013
Tulsa Superintendent Keith Ballard sent a letter home to parents Thursday blasting the Oklahoma State Department of Education for “dysfunction and ineptitude” in the calculation of school report cards due out next week.
OREGON
Hillsboro school district may consider charter proposals
Hillsboro Tribune, OR, October 25, 2013
Public awareness of charter schools is a subject the Hillsboro School Board has wrestled with since the beginning of the school year, with board members voicing philosophical differences on whether the school district should actively seek charter school proposals.
PENNSYLVANIA
Educators lukewarm over a new system
Pocono Record, PA, October 24, 2013
The Pocono Mountain Charter School is an example of a school where student demographics may have played a role in the grade, said Kenneth Koberlein, former superintendent of the East Stroudsburg School District, who now works as a part-time consultant for the charter school’s education program.
Horrible New Bill Will Somehow Make PA Charter School Policy Even Worse
Keystone Politics, PA, October 24, 2013
Cash-strapped school districts and tapped out home and business owners have been begging the PA legislature to reform its broken charter school funding law.
School rallies expected this morning to protest loss of teachers
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, October 25, 2013
TWO PHILADELPHIA schools, facing the loss of teachers and the possibility of combined grades in one classroom, are expected to protest the district’s decision at separate rallies this morning.
SOUTH CAROLINA
SC school-choice advocates share options with families
The State, SC, October 24, 2013
About 25,000 S.C. families soon will get a catalog in the mail with information about the various public and private-school choice options available to them.
VIRGINIA
Virginia gubernatorial candidates take different approaches to education
Washington Post, DC, October 24, 2013
Charter school advocates regularly spotlight Virginia as having one of the nation’s unfriendliest charter school laws, largely because local school districts have sole discretion to approve or deny charter applications.
WISCONSIN
Reject any move toward independent charter schools
Opinion, Sheboygan Press, WI, October 25, 2013
It’s legislation that might look fairly harmless, but it poses yet another threat to public education in Wisconsin.
ONLINE LEARNING
Catoosa County: Online academy pilot program tests for success
Walker Messenger, GA, October 24, 2013
Midterms tests are often cause to shudder. Yet students taking midterms with the Catoosa County school system’s new online academy were smiling Thursday afternoon, Oct. 17.
Hands-on outing connects kids from virtual school
U-T San Diego, CA, October 24, 2013
On Oct. 15, Bates Nut Farm hosted more than 25 students, ranging from kindergartners to fifth-graders, from Capistrano Connections Academy, a K-12 virtual public school. Students on the field trip included residents of San Marcos and Oceanside.
In The Best Interest Of Students: Blended Learning In Newark Charter Schools
Forbes, October 24, 2013
For a number of years, educators in both district and charter settings around the country have been leveraging advances in online-learning technologies to move toward blended-learning environments in their brick-and-mortar classrooms and schools to improve the educational opportunities for all children.
Parnell announces digital learning initiative aimed at rural students
Anchorage Daily News, AK, October 24, 2013
Gov. Sean Parnell on Thursday announced a digital learning initiative aimed at ensuring students have access to the best teachers available.
Should Michigan parents consider online charter schools?
Michigan Public Radio, MI, October 24, 2013
To parents who are seeking the best education for their children, it’s a whole new world out there and it can be a confusing one. No longer is it an automatic choice to send your child to the public school in your neighborhood.