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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

Education Department Loosens NCLB Waiver Requirements
US News & World Report, November 14, 2013
Not long after it said states would have to increase their accountability measures to renew No Child Left Behind waivers, the Education Department is scaling back that process.

Education Losers Now Recovering
Huffington Post, November 14, 2013
How often does Tennessee get cited nationally for producing great academic gains for its children? Almost never, about the same number of times Washington, D.C., gets touted for its superior academic results.

Obama vs. Black Kids
Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2013
When the Justice Department sued to stop Louisiana’s school voucher program earlier this year, it claimed that school choice “frustrates and impedes the desegregation process.” But what does the evidence show?

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

iPad use out of sync with L.A. charter school’s philosophy
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 14, 2013
Ocean Charter, a school based on the Waldorf educational approach that strictly limits technology, is among the L.A. Unified schools to be provided iPads for student use.

CONNECTICUT

Connecticut maintains nations widest achievement gap
Yale Daily News, CT, November 15, 2013
Despite Connecticut students’ above average-performance on math and reading, the state continues to face the widest achievement gap in the nation, according to National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) data released by the U.S. Department of Education last week.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Golden Hammer: Cost of pre-K school has Texas officials seeing red
Washington Times, DC, November 14, 2013
Forty-thousand dollars per student sounds like the annual price tag for tuition at a prestigious college. But it’s actually the projected cost to build a pre-kindergarten school in Austin, Texas, that has state officials sparring with the local school board.

DELAWARE

Why Reach needed to close and how we move on
Opinion
News Journal, DE
November 15, 2013
In The News Journal’s Nov. 13 article on the closing of Reach Academy, there is a sidebar with a list of every charter school that has closed since 2002. I can imagine the reaction of readers. What’s going on with Delaware’s charter schools?

GEORGIA

Druid Hills Charter Cluster and DeKalb School Board: Any hope for a redo?
Atlanta Journal Constitution Blog, GA, November 14, 2013
In urging the rejection of the Druid Hills Charter Cluster, DeKalb Superintendent Michael Thurmond said his concern was not only for the 5,000 students who would attend the seven schools in the proposed cluster, but for the 100,000 in the entire system.

FLORIDA

Detert not budging on parent trigger bill, despite attack ads
Herald Tribune, FL, November 14, 2013
State Sen. Nancy Detert is not backing down on the so-called parent trigger bill. Although Americans for Prosperity is running ads attacking her partly on the issue, Detert said she has no regrets about twice helping kill the parent trigger bill and considers it one of her biggest successes in 2013.

Pinellas could get first Montessori charter, at beach
Tampa Bay Times, FL, November 14, 2013
Four years after the last public school closed on Pinellas County’s barrier islands, residents are a step closer to getting a new school for their children.

Progress on achievement, but not enough
Editorial, Tampa Bay Times, FL, November 14, 2013
The Hillsborough County School District has some success to show for the millions it has spent to close the achievement gap between white and minority students. Graduation rates and disciplinary cases are moving in the right direction. But there is still a way to go, and educators and community leaders need to continue exploring how to reach at-risk students.

INDIANA

Firm in the face of takeover
Opinion, Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, IN, November 15, 2013
I very rarely write a response to an opinion article. However, I feel compelled to clear the air after a column appeared in another Indiana newspaper under the headline, “While Ritz, board spar, children get hurt.”

Time to deal with reality of charter schools as 2nd in size to IPS
Column, Indianapolis Recorder, IN, November 14, 2013
Last week, this column revealed the real facts about white families fleeing Indianapolis’ quality township schools and the depths of racial diversity in Indy’s major school districts.

ILLINOIS

Proposed State Legislation Looks To Abolish Illinois Charter School Commission
Progress Illinois, November 14, 2013
State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia (D-Aurora) wants to take away the Illinois State Charter School Commission’s power to overrule local school boards if they reject proposals from charter firms trying to set up new schools in their districts.

KANSAS

Charter school experiencing enrollment spike after multi-million dollar expansion
Fox4KC, KS, November 14, 2013
DeLaSalle Charter School is seeing a jump in enrollment this year, thanks to an $8 million expansion and renovation. More parents are interested in what the school offers.

Expert warns against labeling good teachers bad
Topeka Capital Journal, KS, November 14, 2013
Evaluating teachers based on the test scores of their students poses great risks, a leading testing expert warned Thursday.

KENTUCKY

The Key to JCPS’ Elementary School Choice? Parent Involvement in the Process.
WFPL, KY, November 14, 2013
The application process for Jefferson County public elementary schools begins Monday, bringing another batch of incoming kindergartners’ parents to confront the choice of schools.

LOUISIANA

Ascension parents looking to turn around struggling schools

The Advocate, LA, November 14, 2013
More than two dozen concerned parents of students enrolled in low-performing schools in Ascension Parish met with school administrators Thursday to discuss what can be done to turn around those schools.

Charter association director advocates for Caddo school choice
Shreveport Times, LA, November 14, 2013
Education is fast changing in Louisiana; however, school districts are often slow to progress, said Caroline Roemer Shirley, executive director of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools.

MASSACHUSETTS

Fitchburg charter school proposal stirs money fears
Telegram & Gazette, MA, November 14, 2013
he auditorium in Fitchburg Public Library was packed Thursday night for a public hearing held by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on a proposed elementary-level, arts-focused charter school in the city.

MICHIGAN

In Pontiac, school choice in action

Editorial, Detroit News, MI, November 15, 2013
When a visitor walks into Walton Charter Academy in Pontiac, the staff notices immediately. Safety is clearly a priority for this elementary and middle school. But the friendly, family atmosphere is just as evident.

Union protests layoffs, staff changes at Detroit’s Cesar Chavez Academy
Detroit News, MI, November 15, 2013
Dozens of unionized school employees, parents and students gathered in the cafeteria of Cesar Chavez Academy Middle School for a scheduled school board meeting that was to include discussion of the budget for the four-campus Cesar Chavez Academy.

MISSISSIPPI

Lumumba, Barbour: Strong capital city helps Mississippi
Sun Herald, MS, November 14, 2013
During the gathering Thursday at the Jackson Convention Complex, the two politicians agreed on many points about how to improve the capital city, including the idea that schools are more successful when parents and community members are deeply involved. But Lumumba and Barbour politely disagreed about whether charter schools will help or hurt.

NEW JERSEY

Education officials don’t know what’s been spent on School Choice no-shows

Hunterdon County Democrat, NJ, November 14, 2013
It’s “common” for the state to pay tuition aid to School Choice districts for students who commit to a Choice school but fail to enroll, according to a state Department of Education spokesman.

N.J. test results mostly static amid tougher standards
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 15, 2013
New Jersey asked tougher questions in annual tests for elementary and middle school students, but the results remained nearly the same as last year – something state officials consider a positive outcome.

Senate panel lends support to ‘innovation fund’ for NJ schools
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 15, 2013
A proposal to revive the Christie administration’s plans for a state “Innovation Fund” for schools won a boost from a Senate committee yesterday, but not without questions about whether it was the best way to spend the money — a relatively small sum.

NEW MEXICO

PED full speed ahead on new evaluations
Albuquerque Journal, NM, November 15, 2013
Despite numerous entreaties from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to postpone some of the educational reforms affecting teacher evaluations, a top official of the state’s Public Education Department on Thursday said the agency has no intention of changing course.

NEW YORK

Brooklyn Councilman Steve Levin Calls For Moratorium On New NYC Charter Schools
New York Daily News Blog, NY, November 14, 2013
With the next mayoral administration poised to be less friendly to charter schools, one City Councilman is going even further — proposing an outright moratorium on the opening of new ones.

NY, unions agree: Stop standardized tests for pre-K through 2nd grade
Democrat & Chronicle, NY, November 14, 2013
Teachers’ unions on Thursday called for a ban on standardized tests for students in pre-kindergarten through second grade, saying school districts are turning to more testing to evaluate teachers. And the state Education Commissioner John King agreed.

School de Blasio saved is back on fail list
New York Post, NY, November 15, 2013
A Brooklyn elementary school that Bill de Blasio crowed about saving from the chopping block as public advocate in 2011 has landed once again on the city’s list of worst schools.

NORTH CAROLINA

Achievement gap widened among low-income students, but reason for hope
Editorial, Winston Salem Journal, NC, November 14, 2013
Two developments are encouraging in an otherwise discouraging report last week on the results of the new end-of-year exams.

Halifax County reading scores remain low despite NC intervention
News & Observer, NC, November 14, 2013
A Superior Court hearing Thursday on the quality of education in North Carolina focused on the continuing struggles of low-performing schools, with special attention on Halifax County.

OHIO

New charter school to close doors
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 15, 2013
A charter school on Columbus’ East Side will close its doors today. Barnett Academy of Columbus-East, at 4300 Kimberly Parkway N., had financial problems, recently failing to meet a payroll.

PENNSYLVANIA

Appeals board: New Hope can stay open until end of school year
York Dispatch, PA, November 14, 2013
The fight to save New Hope Academy goes on. A state-level decision Thursday means the York City charter school will not have to close by Jan. 15, as New Hope had been previously ordered to do. Instead, the school can stay open until the end of its academic year.

Homewood group plans school
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, November 15, 2013
A Homewood nonprofit wants to open an arts, science and technology charter school that would lease classroom space in the Greater Pittsburgh Coliseum and use community support systems to help prepare students for college, an official said.

PA’s Black Democrats Love Charter Schools
Keystone Politics, PA, November 14, 2013
Reading only the progressive PA politics Internet, you might get the idea that Anthony Hardy Williams is going to be in bad shape for the Philadelphia Mayoral race in 2015, since he’s made school reform his signature issue for years, but recently *everyone* in the Democratic base has become radicalized in opposition to Corporate School Reform™ policies like vouchers and charter schools.

VIRGINIA

A new path for failing schools
Editorial, Roanoke Times, VA, November 15, 2013
Gov. Bob McDonnell’s plan to have the state take over chronically failing schools provided one of those rare issues on which the three gubernatorial candidates agreed. They all hated it.

WASHINGTON

Seattle’s universal preschool plans hit union meeting snag
Seattle Times, WA, November 14, 2013
Day-care providers who get city money were surprised by a proposal by Mayor Mike McGinn to compel them to sign agreements with unions. McGinn says it’s to improve teacher quality and prevent disruptions because of strikes, but day-care operators question whether the move is legal.

WEST VIRGINIA

State names new school innovation zones
Charleston Gazette, WV, November 15, 2013
The state Board of Education awarded Kanawha County Schools $300,000 in “innovation zone” funding on Thursday to help implement a new program that aims to decrease the high school dropout rate among students from Charleston’s West Side.

WISCONSIN

Voucher enrollment more than doubles in Racine
Journal Sentinel, WI, November 14, 2013
In its first year operating free of a state-imposed enrollment cap, Racine’s private school voucher program saw enrollment more than double to 1,245 students, according to fall enrollment figures released by the state Department of Public Instruction.

ONLINE LEARNING

Charter, Cyber Charter supporters criticize proposed cuts
WHTM-TV, PA, November 14, 2013
Charter schools and Cyber Charter schools are an important piece of the educational quilt in Pennsylvania. Forty thousand students are enrolled in them.

LP’s Virtual Learning Academy gets national award
The Herald Argus, IN, November 14, 2013
Some are missing high school credits, others can’t attend a traditional classroom environment, and still others want to enrich themselves with courses not offered locally.

New Virtual School Coming to Washington County
WHAG, MD, November 14, 2013
Its education gone virtual! “We are very excited. We’re creating the Washington County Virtual Works combining gaming technology with common core curriculum and creating new courses,” said Dr. Clayton Wilcox, of Washington County Public Schools.

What exactly does ‘blended learning,’ look like? This video explains
Hechinger Report, November 14, 2013
The term “blended learning,’’ is fast-becoming one of the education buzzwords that you will hear at conferences and in news articles.

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

Better ways to grade public schools
Commentary, Los Angeles Times, CA, November 14, 2013
To measure how schools are doing, we need more sophisticated methods that gather more meaningful information. It’s doable.

STATE COVERAGE

ARKANSAS

One charter-school plan clears panel; 2 fall short
Northwest Arkansas Times, AR, November 14, 2013
An Arkansas Department of Education panel approved on Wednesday the Exalt Academy of Southwest Little Rock charter school for opening next year but denied two other school plans proposed for North Little Rock and Springdale.

CALIFORNIA

Aveson Charter Schools Opens State-of-the-Art Campus in Altadena
Fort Mill Times, C, November 14, 2013
The new AGLA campus culminates a long journey for the school to find a permanent home for their middle and high school students, but it is just the beginning. Bean said that with AGLA firmly planted, Aveson will turn toward fulfilling its commitment to support public education and the communities that benefit from it.

‘Linked learning’ seems to work for high school students
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 14, 2013
California is making a laudable commitment to vocational programs that provide relevance to students’ studies and set them on a career path.

COLORADO

Denver Urban Scholars seeks more volunteers to mentor at-risk student
Denver Post, CO, November 14, 2013
Mentoring students for Denver Urban Scholars is nothing new to John Craig. He has been through this four times now. Craig, a retired U.S. Air Force and commercial pilot, is a volunteer for the organization, which pairs mentors with middle school or high school students who are at risk of dropping out of school.

PSD can make greater strides for Hispanic students
The Coloradoan, CO, November 13, 2013
PSD must focus on outreach, helping minority students perform at the level of their white peers, the district’s new superintendent says.

DELAWARE

Common Core may or may not be best approach, but none is perfect
Editorial, Delmarva Now, DE, November 13, 2013
The phrase “Common Core” is tantamount to a curse word in some circles. Some parents and experts see it as an invasive approach by larger governments to controlling education at the local level. Others wonder why we don’t simply take a “back to basics” approach to learning.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Council, mayor spar over $100,000 scholarships for public school students
Washington Post, DC, November 13, 2013
Students, teachers and school administrators showered praise Wednesday on a D.C. lawmaker’s plan to give high school graduates as much as $100,000 each in taxpayer money for college as a powerful incentive to keep at-risk kids in class.

FLORIDA

Florida’s education standards fill vital need
Opinion, Miami Herald, FL, November 13, 2013
Florida Standards truly belong to our state. They were developed at the request of governors and state school officials. Florida’s Legislature, education leaders, and Gov. Scott are strong voices in the effort to develop the standards outside of any national or federal input or pressure. That kind of leadership is good for students and good for business.

Teacher Evaluations Going Public
WCTV, FL, November 13, 2013
The evaluations of tens of thousands of Florida Teachers are about to become public. The largest teachers’ union is urging parents to be cautious when they look at the data.

INDIANA

Ritz storms out of State Board of Education meeting in dispute over control of Indiana’s education policy
Journal Gazette, IN, November 14, 2013
A mini-meltdown and continued frustration among members marred the State Board of Education meeting Wednesday as the ongoing dispute over who controls education policy in the state hit crisis mode.

KANSAS

Red flags aplenty in charter school debacle
Opinion, Kansas City Star, KS, November 13, 2013
In 2010, Hope Academy reported an attendance rate of 46.3 percent, according to state figures. That’s understandable, given that the charter school concentrates on serving students who have dropped out elsewhere, or are at risk of quitting school. Yet by the following year, attendance had leaped to 88.9 percent. Then it jumped to 96 percent.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana school voucher program improved integration last year, state report finds
Times-Picayune, LA, November 13, 2013
The U.S. Justice Department sued Louisiana in August, asserting that the state’s voucher program worsened public school segregation. But a new analysis for the state finds racial balance hardly changed at all.

Local school control benefits families, Orleans superintendent says
Times-Picayune, LA, November 13, 2013
Orleans Parish School Board interim Superintendent Stan Smith skated a thin line Wednesday in an attempt to convince state takeover schools to return to local control.

More charter schools now eligible to join Orleans Parish School Board, but will any take the leap?
The Lens, LA, November 13, 2013
One of the key obstacles to convincing Recovery School District charter schools to switch to the Orleans Parish School Board — a loss of some money and some autonomy — was resolved during this year’s legislative session.

MAINE

Maine School System Tries New Merit Pay Strategy
MPBN News, ME, November 13, 2013
The politically challenging work of drawing up rules to guide new teacher and principal evaluations in Maine continued today, with a hearing in Augusta at the Department of Education.

MARYLAND

Teachers struggling to implement changes, survey shows
Baltimore Sun, MD, November 13, 2013
Schools from Ocean City to Garrett County are struggling to put in place two major shifts in education policy this year, with teachers working longer hours and sometimes feeling overwhelmed, according to a survey released Wednesday by the state teachers union.

MASSACHUSETTS

Charter school faces foes
Andover Townsman, MA, November 14, 2013
The School Committee has taken a formal stand against the proposed STEAM Studio charter high school in advance of next week’s public hearing on the project.

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey pays School Choice tuition aid for no-show students
Hunterdon County Democrat, NJ, November 13, 2013
New Jersey’s three-year-old School Choice program, which provides tuition aid to participating schools for out-of-district students who chose to attend the school, is also paying the school for students who actually never attend.

NEW YORK

Bloomberg Issues Final Letter Grades for New York Schools
New York Times, NY, November 14, 2013
Nothing came to epitomize the era of education reform under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg like the A-through-F letter grades he gave New York’s schools.

Brooklyn Hebrew charter school gets F in N.Y. evaluation
St. Louis Jewish Light, November 13, 2013
A Brooklyn academy touted as the model for a national movement of Hebrew charter schools received an F on its New York City Department of Education Progress Report.

De Blasio faces a test on school reform
Editorial, Washington Post, DC, November 13, 2013
BILL DE BLASIO had a lot going on last week after his resounding victory to become the next mayor of New York.

Failing schools have less to fear under de Blasio
New York Post, NY, November 14, 2013
Nearly 150 public schools — or 9 percent of all elementary, middle and high schools — were hit with D or F letter grades by the city Wednesday.

Lawmakers grill state education officials on Common Core rules
Poughkeepsie Journal, NY, November 14, 2013
State senators ripped the new testing standards for students and teachers in New York at a hearing Wednesday, calling on the state Education Department to slow down the implementation of the controversial program.

Un-Chartered Territory
CU Columbia Spectator, NY, November 14, 2013
Fear-mongering graphics aside, this attack ad against the mayor-elect of New York, aired in mid-October by his then-competitor Joseph J. Lhota, addresses the polarizing issue of whether or not the rapidly growing community of charter schools in New York should be allowed to use rent-free district-school space.

NORTH CAROLINA

Judge questions NC final exams, but not expected to issue an order
News & Observer, NC, November 13, 2013
North Carolina public school students struggle with math from elementary school well into high school, according to test results discussed in a Wake County courtroom Tuesday.

No GOP consensus on N.C. teacher pay yet
News & Record, NC, November 14, 2013
Proposals to increase teacher salaries, and to continue the GOP push on state education reform, are bouncing around Raleigh’s corridors of power.

PENNSYLVANIA

Lawmakers need to pass charter school reform bill now
Opinion, Patriot News, PA, November 13, 2013
As the Pennsylvania General Assembly takes a hard look at our public charter school system, it’s important to take a step back and remember what this is all about: ensuring our students have schools that prepare them to be successful in life.

New Hope supporters rally at York City schools meeting
York Dispatch, PA, November 14, 2013
There was the sound of chanting in the distance almost as soon as the Community Education Council called its meeting to order Wednesday.

The broken promise of William Penn High School
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 14, 2013
It was a moment of high drama – the threatened closure of a neighborhood institution, an emotional plea from concerned citizens, an eleventh-hour decision to spare William Penn High School from shutting forever.

VIRGINIA

Emporia principal to lead McDonnell’s school takeover division
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, November 13, 2013
A middle school principal in Emporia will lead the statewide school division championed by Gov. Bob McDonnell to rehab failing schools.

ONLINE LEARNING

Cyber school advocates: Don’t punish us for one school’s scandal
Beaver County Times, PA, November 13, 2013
A charter school reform proposal in the state Senate would punish all of Pennsylvania’s cyber schools based on the alleged fiscal mismanagement of a single school, cyber school advocates argued Wednesday.

Dade delays tech rollout as other districts struggle
Miami Herald, FL, November 13, 2013
Tens of thousands of high school freshman and seventh graders were slated to get brand new, high tech hardware this fall as the Miami-Dade school district prepared to launch a massive rollout of digital devices.

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

Longer school days in store for some in 5 states
Associated Press, November 13, 2013
Thousands of students in five states will be spending more time at school. More than 9,000 students are attending select, high-poverty schools in Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts and New York that have developed expanded school schedules as part of the TIME Collaborative, or Time for Innovation Matters in Education.

Rethinking Parent-Teacher Conferences
Debate, New York Times, NY, November 13, 2013
Teachers have set aside time. Families have rearranged their schedules. Everyone is ready for parent-teacher conferences. This can play out in one of two ways. If there is something crucial to discuss, you might wonder: Shouldn’t the parents and teachers have been communicating about this already? If there is nothing crucial to discuss, is it a waste of everyone’s time?

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

A hostile work environment, but ‘these are not bad kids’
Column, Los Angeles Times, CA, November 13, 2013
Todd Irving took over as Spurgeon Intermediate principal after teachers filed a complaint over student behavior. With attention and enforcement, things are starting to turn around.

L.A. Unified schools to move forward with trimmed-down iPad plan
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 13, 2013
A tense vote by sharply divided board allows the $1-billion initiative to continue and imposes additional oversight, including evaluation of impact on student achievement.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Harmony charter school seeks to expand to D.C.; business practices raised questions
Washington Post, DC, November 12, 2013
The largest charter-school operator in Texas, an organization with a solid academic record but lingering allegations of connections to a controversial Muslim cleric, is seeking to expand to the District next year.

GEORGIA

3 schools in Richmond, Columbia counties rate high academically
Augusta Chronicle, GA, November 12, 2013
Two schools in Richmond County and one in Columbia County on Tuesday received the highest academic designation by the Georgia Department of Education given to schools serving children from low-income families.

DeKalb BOE Denies Druid Hills Charter Cluster Petition
WABE NPR, GA, November 12, 2013
The DeKalb County Board of Education has denied a petition to form a charter school cluster in the Druid Hills area.

FLORIDA

Fla. court rules teacher data is a public record
WWSB, FL, November 13, 2013
Florida appeals court says that data used to prepare teacher evaluations is a public record.

Most Central Florida teachers make the grade on evaluations
Orlando Sentinel, FL, November 12, 2013
Nearly 68 percent of Seminole County teachers earned top-notch, “highly effective” evaluations last year. In neighboring Orange County, fewer than 7 percent earned the same ranking.

INDIANA

State schools chief Glenda Ritz accuses Gov. Mike Pence of trying a ‘complete takeover of education’
Indianapolis Star, IN, November 12, 2013
State schools chief Glenda Ritz escalated her feud with Gov. Mike Pence’s administration on Tuesday, directly accusing him of “not seeking a power-grab, but rather a complete takeover” of Indiana’s education policy.

ILLINOIS

Vallas says he’s OK playing ‘second banana’ to Quinn
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 12, 2013
When he was Chicago Public Schools CEO, Paul Vallas developed a reputation as a control freak who thought he was the smartest guy in the room while he sometimes upstaged his boss, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley.

LOUISIANA

Few Orleans schools seem eager to return to School Board control
The Advocate, LA, November 12, 2013
The public school system in New Orleans has a new status quo: The Orleans Parish School Board governs a few schools, the state’s Recovery School District looks after most of them, and the arrangement seems unlikely to change anytime soon.

Urgent call for reforms
Editorial, The Advocate, LA, November 12, 2013
If the debates over education reform in Louisiana have been intense, and maybe sometimes generating more heat than light, it is too easy to say policy changes have generated the gains we hope to see.

MASSACHUSETTS

State House panel pushes ed. priorities
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, November 12, 2013
Despite new test scores showing Massachusetts students atop the nation in reading and math for the fifth straight time, some education experts say the consistently high grades have masked a less flattering trend of stagnant growth — and, in some cases, declining achievement.

Robert V. Antonucci: Fitchburg doesn’t need this charter school
Opinion, Sentinel and Enterprise, MA, November 12, 2013
I believe in innovative approaches to the challenges facing our public schools. Fitchburg State University enjoys a robust collaborative partnership with the Fitchburg Public Schools, and we are proud to host the McKay Arts Academy

NEW JERSEY

Charter school expansion opposed in East Brunswick
East Brunswick Sentinel, NJ, November 12, 2013
Citing a heavy burden that the Hatikvah International Academy Charter School would place on the public school district’s budget, the East Brunswick Board of Education passed a resolution opposing the charter school’s proposed expansion from a K-5 to a K-8 school.

School Choice aid, once a blessing, could become a headache
Hunterdon County Democrat, NJ, November 13, 2013
School Choice districts that used state tuition aid to fund new programs or reduce the tax levy could end up regretting that decision.

Superintendent urges state to deny bilingual charter’s expansion, renewal
The Jersey Journal, NJ, November 12, 2013
Amid requests to add middle-level grades to a Hoboken charter school, the district’s superintendent is urging state officials to temporarily block the school’s renewal.

NEW MEXICO

Skandera defends evaluation system
Albuquerque Journal, NM, November 13, 2013
Mexico’s education czar addressed a largely hostile crowd of nearly 200 people Tuesday evening and conceded that while the teacher evaluation program she initiated earlier this year is not perfect, it is an improvement over the past.

NEW YORK

Angry Parents Meet With NY Education Commissioner on Common Core
NBC New York, NY, November 13, 2013
Hundreds of frustrated parents, teachers and administrators gathered at a community forum on Long Island Tuesday to complain about the new controversial curriculum called Common Core.

OHIO

State officials must assure that Ohio schools have the computers needed for Common Core standards
Editorial, Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 12, 2013
The new Common Core standards aren’t perfect — and Ohio education officials in particular seem tone-deaf about the need to make sure that every Ohio school district has the resources needed to carry out this major change in how students are taught and tested.

PENNSYLVANIA

The city’s public schools could do a better PR job
Letter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 13, 2013
The Nov. 1 editorial “Shrinking Schools: Pittsburgh Must Study Why Enrollment Is Slipping” encouraged the Pittsburgh Public Schools to “figure out what charters are doing to attract families and replicate their success.” However, who said charters are doing everything right?

SOUTH CAROLINA

Lottery to fill choice slots at schools
Greenville News, SC, November 13, 2013
There will be no more camping out in front of schools, no more huddling in the cold and rain for days to improve your child’s chances of getting into the school of your choice in Greenville County.

Orange Grove Elementary Charter will have to wait to find out whether expansion is a go
Post and Courier, SC, November 12, 2013
The Orange Grove Elementary Charter School community had hoped to know this month whether they would be able to expand to middle grades, but that might not happen.

TENNESSEE

Good Intentions Are Not Enough In Education
Letter, The Chattanoogan, TN, November 12, 2013
Given the importance of creating a positive and collaborative environment for learning and success, it is puzzling and disheartening to see some of the education reform policies currently emanating from many state capitals, including Nashville.

Metro school board limits ’14 charter expansion to certain areas
The Tennessean, TN, November 12, 2013
The Metro school board approved a plan Tuesday night effectively restricting the authorization of new charter schools next year to South Nashville or to schools tagged for three straight years of poor performance.

WASHINGTON

Solutions Summit think tank in Pasco addresses charter school issues
Tri City Herald, WA, November 12, 2013
The Tri-Cities could be missing out on improved educational opportunities by not having any charter schools, officials said at a policy conference Tuesday.

Starting Seattle teachers learn alongside kids in new apprentice program
Seattle Times, WA, November 12, 2013
The Seattle Teacher Residency is one of the first programs in the country to include the teachers union as an equal partner, which makes it both a national model and something of a local miracle in a city often roiled by debates about education reform.

WISCONSIN

Bill would add more math, science credits
Badger Herald, WI, November 12, 2012
Although Wisconsin currently requires the fewest number of math and science credits in the Midwest for high school students to graduate, recently proposed legislation would increase the number of necessary credits in those subjects.

ONLINE LEARNING

3 groups want to open online charter schools in 2015
Lake Wylie Pilot, NC, November 12, 2013
Dozens of new charter schools have opened in North Carolina since the cap on them was lifted a couple years ago. But the state still does not have an online charter. This year, three groups hope to get approval to open virtual charters.

LPHS Virtual Learning Academy Reaches Rock Star Status
LaPorte County Life, IN, November 12, 2013
Education no longer is the cookie cutter representation of a teacher droning on for 70 minutes while students copy down the lecture word for word. Education, like us, has evolved, and the Virtual Learning Academy (VLA) at La Porte High School is a shining example of where it could be headed.

Virtual High School courses offer extras for students, insight into demand
Valley Breeze, RI, November 12, 2013
Students and teachers are seeing the benefits of boosting the existing curriculum with online courses, which have, in turn, even prompted changes within the school walls.

Virtual high school in the works for Washington County
Herald Mail, MD, November 12, 2013
Washington County Public Schools are surveying some eighth- and ninth-grade students about what technology and Internet access they have at home, as the school system works on a virtual high school that those students could test this spring, according to the project’s leader.

Virtual school trustees ready to move on
The Recorder, MA, November 13, 2013
Trustees from the Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School do not plan on contracting with Greenfield School Department for administrative services next academic year.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

N.J., Va. Governors May Face Legislative Hurdles
Education Week, November 12, 2013
The two gubernatorial contests this year produced the re-election of a staunch foe of teachers’ unions in New Jersey and the election of a solid friend of public school funding in Virginia. Both winners, though, must deal with legislatures controlled by the opposite party as they consider new K-12 policy pushes.

Report card shows us on the right education path
Editorial, News Sentinel, IN, November 11, 2013
If Indiana education officials needed any encouragement to stay on the reform course embarked upon under Gov. Mitch Daniels and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett, they just got it in a big way from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress, more commonly referred to as the Nation’s Report Card.

Where do Catholics stand on Common Core?
Daily Caller, DC, November 11, 2013
Common Core backers are eager to keep the Catholic Church — a dominating presence in American K-12 education — on their side. But many Catholic scholars and organizations have voiced skepticism about the national curriculum standards, and they are increasingly speaking out.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

District charters give Dysart financial assist
Arizona Republic, AZ, November 11, 2013
Dysart Unified School District has turned four of its schools into district-sponsored charter schools, beginning with this school year.

CALIFORNIA

In pursuit of excellent teachers
Letter, Los Angeles Times, CA, November 9, 2013
Thank you for your balanced editorial on the use of test scores in evaluating schools and teachers. The “all or none” attitude of No Child Left Behind in using test scores to demonize struggling schools and teachers is counterproductive.

It’s all about choice at El Capitan High School in Merced
Modesto Bee, CA, November 11, 2013
Getting students involved in campus organizations is a key objective at Merced’s El Capitan High School, where 655 of the 765 freshmen and sophomores belong to a group, Principal Anthony Johnson said.

COLORADO

Back to the drawing board for education reform
Editorial, Steamboat Today, CO, November 9, 2013
There are important lessons to be learned from the resounding defeat of Amendment 66. Despite pollsters predicting passage, the measure was rejected by 65 percent of Colorado voters.

Education’s uphill battle begins with hiring great teachers
Opinion, Denver Post, CO, November 11, 2013
“Incremental” is probably the best way to describe the recent progress of Colorado schoolchildren on national achievement tests.

DELAWARE

Standardized tests at the root of teaching problems
Opinion, News Journal, DE, November 11, 2013
The disconnect between Delaware’s excellent teacher evaluation ratings and student performance is not the teachers’ fault. The elephant in every classroom is standardized test-driven projects our elected and appointed decision-makers are imposing on school staff, students and parents.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

DC Charter School Board releases new school rankings for 68 schools; about a third in Tier 1
Washington Post, DC, November 10, 2013
New rankings show a third of the District of Columbia’s charter schools that are subject to annual rankings are high-performing “Tier 1” schools.

Montgomery schools chief: Close achievement gaps, expand innovation
Washington Post, DC, November 11, 2013
Montgomery County Superintendent Joshua P. Starr delivered his yearly “State of the Schools” address Monday, sounding a familiar theme of student hope as he called for collaboration and “embracing the new” in Maryland’s largest school system

GEORGIA

Atlanta calls off vote on K-8 school
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, November 11, 2013
The Atlanta school board scuttled a planned vote Monday that would have launched an experiment to expand an elementary school to include middle school grades 6-8, a model that could be replicated in other city schools.

First Bibb County charter school session draws 200
Macon Telegraph, GA, November 11, 2013
Two hundred or so parents turned out Saturday to learn more about a Bibb County charter school set to open next fall.

Hundreds Register for ‘ACE’ Charter School in Macon
WMGT-TV, GA, November 10, 2013
Frustrated with the local school system, some families are turning to a new educational choice in Bibb County—charter schools. This weekend, hundreds of parents registered for the ‘Academy for Classical Education’, in hopes to get their kids in the classroom, when the school opens its doors.

School board rejects Druid Hills Charter
Cross Roads News, GA, November 12, 2013
After a marathon four-hour meeting Nov. 11 the DeKalb School Board voted 5-4 to reject a petition to create a seven school Druid Hills charter cluster. The arrangement would have taken five elementary schools, a middle school and one high school in Central DeKalb out of county control and put them under a private board of directors.

FLORIDA

Charter school rule changes raise local control issues, money concerns for public school officials
St. Augustine Record, FL, November 10, 2013
Less local control and potentially more work and expenses for Florida school districts will be the result of charter school revisions, say school officials.

Current School Choice system evolves from school desegregation laws expiring
News Press, FL, November 10, 2013
The seeds of Lee County’s current School Choice system were planted in 2003. Ten years ago, the 1964 court order to desegregate and maintain racial diversity in equal numbers in the Lee County School District expired.

New charter school to be part of PB ‘learning cluster’
Sun Sentinel, FL, November 11, 2013
A new charter school planned near Scripps and Max Planck Institute would help grow a “learning cluster” in northern Palm Beach County, according to officials involved in the project.

Study: Struggling Miami-Dade schools benefited from teacher transfers
Miami Herald, FL, November 11, 2013
Dozens of struggling Miami-Dade schools benefited in recent years from the forced transfers of hundreds of teachers, according to newly published research.

IDAHO

Reading Levels Focus of Idaho Education Efforts
Twin Falls Times-News, ID, November 11, 2013
Fifteen years after Idaho laid the groundwork for all students to be good readers by third grade, results have been tepid.

ILLINOIS

Time to dump the standardized tests
Opinion, Chicago Tribune, IL, November 12, 2013
Here’s a way to dramatically increase classroom teaching time in Chicago and elsewhere while saving a ton of money: Get rid of most or all standardized testing.

Who saw this coming? Quinn taps Vallas as running mate.
Column, Chicago Tribune, IL, November 10, 2013
Like just about everyone else, I expected Gov. Pat Quinn to choose an up-and-coming Illinois Democrat to be his running mate — an ethnic minority, a woman or both. The party needs to deepen its bench and reach out to emerging communities if it’s going to maintain its hold on power.

INDIANA

Gary Roosevelt making comeback after state takeover
Journal Gazette, IN, November 10, 2013
An unsettling initial year found the state-appointed takeover operator, EdisonLearning Inc., grappling with a lack of student records, a failing heating and air-conditioning system and a principal jumping ship midyear.

KENTUCKY

Failed Education Tax Vote Puts Spotlight on Kentucky School Funding
WFPL, KY, November 11, 2013
Joe Burgan is a coordinator with the Kentucky Charter Schools Association. He says local taxpayers are fed up with consistent hikes in the face of lagging test scores and failing schools, and simply want to make sure their money is being spent wisely.

LOUISIANA

KIPP board gets advice on school governance
The Lens, LA, November 11, 2013
The KIPP New Orleans board of directors, which oversees nine schools on eight campuses, participated in a two-day board retreat and training Nov. 1-2 at the Iberia Bank conference room on St. Charles Avenue.

MINNESOTA

Minneapolis schools to double down on grade gap
Star Tribune, MN, November 11, 2013
Failure to meet most targets means district is likely to put two teachers in early-grade classrooms at schools that are struggling.

NEW JERSEY

N.J. public schools can learn from the success at charters
Opinion, Times of Trenton, NJ, November 12, 2013
I read with interest the article “Ravitch: America’s public schools are in danger — During talk in Princeton, she blames the erosion of public education on promoting charter schools, voucher system” (Nov. 6).

NEW MEXICO

Find common ground on evaluations
Editorial, Carlsbad Current-Argus, NM, November 10, 2013
We agree with Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera that there needs to be an evaluation of teachers that allows us to reward excellence and identify those who are not performing up to expectations.

NEW YORK

Bill de Blasio faces big test in picking next schools chancellor
New York Daily News, NY, November 10, 2013
The mayor-elect’s appointment to lead New York City’s schools will be highly scrutinized and risky, as it will signal his direction for the education of the city’s 1.1 million students.

De Blasio plan will keep 16,000 students out of charters
Editorial, New York Post, DC, November 9, 2013
Bill de Blasio won election as mayor with 74% of the vote — an impressive achievement by any measure.

De Blasio wants charters to pay rent, but what about cultural institutions?
New York Post, NY, November 11, 2013
The mayor-elect plans to charge rent to well-funded charter schools that serve kids in poor neighborhoods, while 34 top cultural institutions — including museums and music venues with huge endowments and million-dollar CEOs — continue to use city space without paying rent.

NORTH CAROLINA

9 Investigates: Questions surround state’s largest teacher advocacy group
WSOC Charlotte, NC, November 11, 2013
The North Carolina Association of Educators has 50,000 members but some teachers, who haven’t seen a raise in years, are asking how effective the organization is.

NC needs to make it easier for charter schools to replicate
Opinion, News & Observer, NC, November 8, 2013
There is one issue that every elected official – whether Democrat or Republican – every policymaker, every educator, every business leader and every parent agrees on: We must provide a quality education to all of our children. Our economic future, even our democratic system, depends on it.

School choice plays growing role in Charlotte’s education scene, panel says
Charlotte Observer, NC, November 11, 2013
School choice plays a growing role in the quest to educate all students in the Charlotte region, speakers told more than 100 people gathered Saturday for a forum on the future of public education.

OHIO

The Cleveland Catholic diocese should be more cautious in leasing to charter schools: editorial
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 9, 2013
Roman Catholic pastors are understandably eager to lease now-closed school buildings to charter schools.

PENNSYLVANIA

Another day, another fishy charter school
KDKA, PA, November 10, 2013
Now the feds are investigating spending practices at the Pittsburgh Urban Pathways Charter Schools. Some of the initial reports looks pretty fishy:

Catholic education on downward spiral as enrollment drops, schools close
Herald Standard, PA, November 10, 2013
After a recommendation was made to close All Saints Regional Catholic School in Masontown in 2005, the community and Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg worked together to keep the facility open.

Pittsburgh schools may hire from Teach for America
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 9, 2013
Pittsburgh Public Schools superintendent Linda Lane wants Teach for America — which has deployed 32,000 college graduates without education degrees to classrooms nationwide for more than two decades — to help the district fill 15 to 30 teaching vacancies next fall.

School district must pay shuttered charter’s bill
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 11, 2013
The cash-strapped Philadelphia School District has been stuck with a $305,000 bill from a controversial cyber charter school that shut down last month.

State Senate Charter School Proposal Faces Criticism
WESA NPR, PA, November 11, 2013
Some education advocates are criticizing a state Senate proposal to revamp how public charter schools start, expand and receive funding because it would remove a check on the growth of the alternative schools.

TENNESSEE

Goodwill plans to open charter school in Memphis for adult dropouts
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, November 12, 2013
Goodwill Industries is preparing to get in the education business in Memphis with a charter school for adults who quit high school.

Large School Districts Interested in Challenging BEP to Get At Charters
Nashville Scene, TN, November 11, 2013
As the Tennessee School Boards Association met at the Opryland Convention Center this weekend, school board members from the state’s four largest districts broke off to talk strategy on Sunday, finding themselves with joint appetites to coalesce against the state.

School attendance shouldn’t be used to punish families
Letter, The Tennessean, TN, November 11, 2013
The state Senate is searching for a solution to the growing problem of truancy within Nashville’s poorest communities. Sen. Brian Kelsey’s answer to the growing issue is to cut welfare benefits of families whose children do not meet satisfactory school attendance.

TEXAS

New charter school caters to creatives
Cross Timbers Gazette, TX, November 11, 2013
In the center of Flower Mound’s Parker Square, a new charter school has opened its doors to help prepare high school students from across North Texas for careers in digital arts, business marketing, and fashion merchandising in a college-like campus setting.

UTAH

Utah’s schools educating 11,566 more students this year
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, November 9, 2013
Utah’s charter schools continue to add students at a faster clip than do traditional schools, contributing to an overall increase of nearly 2 percent — 11,566 students — in public-school enrollment this year.

VIRGINIA

Petersburg to try year-round programs at two failing schools
Richmond Post-Dispatch, VA, November 9, 2013
Petersburg will begin year-round programs at two chronically underperforming schools that are slated for state takeover under Gov. Bob McDonnell’s contentious Opportunity Education Institution.

ONLINE LEARNING

Regional Collaborative submits virtual school plan
Dedham Transcript, MA, November 11, 2013
The Education Cooperative was the only organization to submit a proposal to the state Monday, Nov. 4, to start an online school.

State targets Merrill charter school
Wausau Daily Herald, WI, November 9, 2013
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has notified the Merrill school district that a charter school it operates doesn’t meet legal requirements to exist as a school.

Technology at work in Arkansas’ Catholic classrooms
Arkansas Catholic, AR, November 12, 2013
More parochial schools integrating students’ iPads, tablets to enhance learning

Virtual schools are changing education
Opinion, Orlando Sentinel, FL, November 10, 2013
Recently, under the headline “Cyber schools flunk, but the money keeps flowing,” Politico — a Washington-based political news outlet — reported on the poor performance of students taking online courses from various providers in a variety of states.

York City schools propose in-house cyber option
York Dispatch, PA, November 11, 2013
The York City School District is gearing up to launch its own cyber school.
District officials are touting the program as a quality education for students who prefer to learn online without the loss of extracurricular activities, social events and a traditional diploma.