Daily Headlines for January 13, 2014
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
Diane Ravitch’s ideas on school policy are worth listening to, even if you disagree
Column, Washington Post, DC, January 12, 2014
I’m a fan of school policy pundit Diane Ravitch. On the jacket of her latest book, “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools,” I say she is “our best living historian of education.” Her passion and intellect are a great national resource.
Maryland Bumped From Number One to Number 38
WBFF-TV, MD, January 9, 2014
Though Maryland schools once held the title for best schools in the nation, Education Week has revamped their scoring and instead of ranking, focuses on the quality of student achievements. As a result of the change, Maryland schools have dropped down the list to number 38.
School Choice Educates Kids—and Parents
Heartland Institute, January 13, 2014
One of the greatest challenges for school choice proponents is simply educating parents that they have a choice.
The Federal war on school discipline
Opinion, New York Post, NY, January 11, 2014
With much ballyhoo, the Obama administration announced this week that it will keep a close eye on school districts that discipline minority students at higher rates than whites.
STATE COVERAGE
ALABAMA
Scholarships could be biggest impact of Alabama Accountability Act: Almost $25 million given
The Huntsville Times Blog, AL, January 12, 2014
An afterthought in a controversial school choice law is likely to have a far greater impact than the legislation’s original design, according to a review of state tax data.
ARIZONA
Private school voucher expansion premature
Editorial, Arizona Daily Sun, AZ, January 13, 2014
As the Arizona Legislature prepares to reconvene, we are struck once again by the absence of any substantive proposals to increase this state’s woefully inadequate funding of K-12 public schools.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Autonomy considered as way to improve D.C.’s struggling Dunbar High School
Washington Post, DC, January 11, 2014
Dunbar High School, once renowned as an elite institution for African American students and now one of the District’s worst-performing schools, has been quietly working on a proposal to seek greater autonomy within the D.C. public school system, according to interviews and documents.
D.C. Prep uses Big Data to evaluate tablet-based education apps
Washington Post, DC, January 12, 2014
One Saturday in December, a group of 24 data scientists spent 24 hours in their Arlington office, racing to make sense of information about how students at a Northeast Washington charter school learn.
N.Y.-based Democracy Prep to take over struggling Imagine Southeast charter school
Washington Post, DC, January 10, 2014
New York-based charter school operator Democracy Prep has agreed to take over Imagine Southeast, a large public charter elementary school in Ward 8 that narrowly escaped being closed last year for poor academic performance.
Thousands of parents attend D.C. schools festival to shop for educational opportunities
Washington Post, DC, January 11, 2014
Thousands of parents descended on the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday for the D.C. Education Festival, a one-stop school shopping event meant to help families navigate the city’s growing — and sometimes overwhelming — number of school choices.
FLORIDA
Another School Choice In Florida: Single-Sex Classrooms
WLRN, FL, January 13, 2014
A handful of public schools in Florida have either all-girls or all-boys classrooms. More could be coming.
Charter school changes considered
Tampa Tribune, FL, January 12, 2014
Kid’s Community College knows how to get it done when it comes to starting up a charter school in Hillsborough County, submitting successful applications for learning centers that opened in 2005, 2010 and 2012.
State Education Commissioner grilled by lawmakers about new Florida standards and assessments
Bradenton Herald, FL, January 13, 2014
When Pam Stewart became state education commissioner in September, lawmakers said they would give her time to untangle the complicated issues facing the education department.
IDAHO
Renew Idaho teacher ‘bonus’ pay
Editorial, Idaho Press Tribune, ID, January 12, 2014
Probably the biggest question Idahoans had before Gov. Butch Otter’s State of the State address on Monday was what would the governor propose in the way of education funding — and how would that compare with the bold increase Superintendent Tom Luna was asking for.
ILLINOIS
CPS watchdog targets faked school attendance, grades
Chicago Tribune, IL, January 12, 2014
The wrongdoing laid out in the latest report from the inspector general for Chicago Public Schools includes cases of school administrators faking data, a problem the district watchdog said has been a particularly troubling development in recent years.
KENTUCKY
William E. Ellis: Equity in education still Kentucky’s challenge
Op-Ed, Lexington Herald-Leader, KY, January 13, 2014
Money is not the only measure of improving education, but it is and always will be one of the prime features of this process.
MASSACHUSETTS
Charter’s program is of value to tutors, students alike
Opinion, Boston Globe, MA, January 11, 2014
THE TUTORING program at Match Charter Schools, covered in Lawrence Harmon’s Jan. 4 column (“Define tutors as what they are: volunteers,” Op-ed), is a proven, powerful remedy for the achievement gap and key to Match’s decade-long success with low-income students in Boston. Every student at Match receives two hours of small-group tutoring a day, in addition to four hours of rigorous classroom instruction.
In support of Cape Cod’s charter schools
Cape Cod Today, MA, January 12, 2014
The charter haters – and yes we include Messrs. Turner and Wick – will twist logic to say that charter schools don’t include low-achieving students or low-income students. So what?
‘Unanimous’ opposition to charter school
North Andover Citizen, MA, January 11, 2014
The North Andover School Committee has formally voiced their opposition to the proposed STEAM Studio Charter School with a letter to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
MINNESOTA
Minnesota charter school monitors to face more scrutiny from education department
Pioneer Press, MN, January 12, 2014
Minnesota is preparing to step up oversight of the nonprofits, school districts and colleges that monitor the state’s charter schools.
MISSOURI
School reform group set to issue report
Columbia Daily Tribune, MO, January 12, 2014
A private education reform group is preparing to release its recommendations for turning around Missouri’s unaccredited school systems, even as debate swirls over whether the consultant was appropriately awarded the contract.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Charter funding: A small step forward
Editorial, Union Leader, NH, January 13, 2014
Incredibly, the average per-pupil cost to educate a child in a New Hampshire public school is about $13,700. For a 20-child class (which is the average class size in the state for grades 5-8), that comes to $274,000. That is for a regular public school. Charter schools manage to educate children for much less.
Finding funding next step for bill to increase charter school aid
Concord Monitor, NH, January 12, 2014
A bill to boost charter school aid that passed the House this week faces a tough road in the House Finance Committee, tasked with determining where to find the more than $2 million the bill would cost.
NEW JERSEY
Camden RFP for renaissance schools pulls in some big names
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, January 13, 2014
Camden‘s quest to build more renaissance schools under the Urban Hope Act has attracted some more big names from the charter movement.
NEW MEXICO
All charters don’t boost performance
Column, Albuquerque Journal, NM, January 12, 2014
For the school year 2013-2014, New Mexico is spending $157 million for charter schools. How is that money being spent, and what is the return on the investment? And is the student performance improving?
NEW YORK
Deep pockets feed push for education tax credit in N.Y.
The Journal News, NY, January 11, 2014
Some of America’s richest, tied to archdiocese, pour cash into bid that could shift $250M in N.Y. revenue to schools of choice
Denying parents standing in anti-charter case
Editorial, New York Post, NY, January 13, 2014
Recently, we commended the mayor for his wisdom in questioning a lawsuit that challenges the city’s plans to have 30 charter schools share space with traditional schools. The test now is whether he and his schools chancellor will speak up so charter parents get their day in court.
NORTH CAROLINA
Advisory panel recommends school close
Carteret County News-Times, NC, January 11, 2014
Despite new leadership and efforts to improve, it appears Coastal Academy for Technology and Science, a charter high school here, may be forced to close its doors at the end of June.
New NC charter schools have work to do to open this fall
News & Observer, NC, January 14, 2014
North Carolina’s newest charter schools have a long way to go before they can open this fall. The 26 charter schools approved Thursday by the State Board of Education now have to complete a lengthy checklist of items over the next several months, including hiring staff, recruiting enough students and securing a location.
School choice boom brings options, challenges for families
Lake Wylie Pilot, NC, January 10, 2014
An extraordinary season of school choice begins now, bringing new opportunities and challenges for parents around the Charlotte region.
Student-assignment plan leaves some schools overcrowded, others underutilized
Winston-Salem Journal, NC, January 11, 2014
Beginning the first of the year and continuing throughout the next several months, families will weigh their options and decide which school their students will attend in the fall. For some, it’s an easy choice.
OHIO
A third of Perrysburg teachers sign up for performance-based pay
Toledo Blade, OH, January 11, 2014
Nearly one-third of the Perrysburg teachers have chosen to be paid under the new performance-based pay scale instead of receiving a flat 1.25 percent raise in each of the next two years.
Columbus has 17 charter school failures in one year
Columbus Dispatch, OH, January 12, 2014
Schools closing at alarming rate, costing taxpayers and disrupting the lives of hundreds of students
Watchdogs can profit from charter school oversight
Columbus Dispatch, OH, January 12, 2014
“Sponsors” are responsible for overseeing the $780 million in state tax money that flows to Ohio charter schools each year.
OKLAHOMA
Some Oklahoma City school administrators face termination, superintendent says
The Oklahoman, OK, January 13, 2014
Oklahoma City’s interim public schools chief said he plans to fire several high-ranking administrators as early as this week, part of a plan to shake up district operations and improve academic performance.
PENNSYLVANIA
At Radnor High, a look at ‘what schools should be’
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 12, 2014
RADNOR Jillian Hughes attends a public school with 22 Advanced Placement courses, 96 percent of students going on to college or trade school, and a sense of community so strong that 300 students formed a club just to turn up and cheer at school sporting events.
Teacher evaluation fight may prove costly
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, January 13, 2014
After the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Pittsburgh Public Schools $40 million in 2009 to help improve teacher quality, the district and its teachers have received national attention for working together.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Haley’s education plan could help local poor schools
Morning News, SC, January 12, 2014
At Scranton Elementary School on Thursday Gov. Nikki Haley spoke to students about what it means to be a leader not a follower at an anti-bullying assembly. But with district officials before the event, and with the press afterward, the first-term Republican tried to show that she intends to be the former when it comes to tackling poverty’s vast implications on education, a topic talked about and proven time and again in South Carolina, but never acted upon at a statewide level.
Public schools outperform charter schools
The Herald, SC, January 11, 2014
On Oct. 29 a guest editorial in The Herald ended a report on public charter schools by concluding that “the innovation and out-of-the-box thinking that charter schools offer is a worthy state investment.”
TENNESSEE
Harwell: A ‘Mistake’ for MNPS to Waste Money On Charter Authorizer Legal Fight
Nashville Scene, TN, January 10, 2014
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill tend to pick and choose whether opinions by the state attorney general carry significant legislative weight or are simply the signed opinion of a single lawyer.
Packing public dollars off to private school
Editorial, The Tennessean, TN, January 12, 2014
Legislation to allow referendums on wine sales in grocery stores may be the toast of the General Assembly session that will convene this week, but education reform is most likely to be the main course.
School board group fights any vouchers
Opinion, Daily News Journal, TN, January 11, 2014
TSBA firmly believes in the success of Tennessee’s public schools and the opportunities they have provided and continue to provide to children.
Schools’ Marketing Intensifies as Choices Grow
Memphis Daily News, TN, January 11, 2014
January is a busy month on the school choice front in Shelby County. The state of Tennessee has an open-enrollment policy within school districts that allows students in low-performing schools to attend a different school.
Teachers seek lawmakers’ ears
The Daily News Journal, TN, January 12, 2014
Teachers hope the Tennessee General Assembly will find a better way to evaluate them.
TEXAS
New school guide helps Dallas parents through maze of school choice
Dallas Morning News, TX, January 11, 2014
Each year, Children at Risk ranks Texas public schools. And each year, the education nonprofit fields calls from parents who feel trapped at failing schools.
WASHINGTON
Charter-school applicants to pitch plans at public forums
Seattle Times, WA, January 12, 2014
Charter-school operators must prove they have both a strong educational vision and business savvy if they want a shot at opening one of the state’s first charter schools.
Dropouts flooding Kent’s second-chance iGrad school
Seattle Times, WA, January 12, 2014
Kent educators combed through transcripts and discovered 2,600 young people in their district without any kind of diploma or credential. Enter iGrad, an unusual program linking dropouts with college, that has been flooded with kids who want a second chance
WISCONSIN
Charter schools Myth v. Fact
Milwaukee Courier Weekly, WI, January 11, 2014
This Thursday, January 9th, the Urban Education Committee is holding a public hearing on Assembly Bill 549 in Madison.
Most of Madison’s largest private schools staying out of voucher program again
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, January 12, 2014
For the second year in a row, most of the Madison area’s largest private schools don’t plan to participate in the state’s new private-school voucher program.
Wisconsin teachers should consider organization choices
Letter, The Gazette, WI, January 12, 2014
As many local educators are aware, Wisconsin’s largest teachers’ union, WEAC, and the American Federation of Teachers are considering a merger. This merger is due to both unions’ declining membership.
ONLINE LEARNING
APS inks online course deal with charter
Albuquerque Journal, NM, January 13, 2014
Albuquerque students can once again enroll in online courses with Southwest Secondary Learning Center, but a new agreement will prevent them from using the classes as a graduation bailout.
Jefferson Parish public schools to split $1.2 million for blended learning
BayouBuzz, LA, January 10, 2014
Eleven struggling public schools in Jefferson Parish will split a $1.2 million state grant to buy computers and software and to integrate them into the classroom, the school system said Friday. Jacob Landry, the system’s chief strategy officer, said the grant will improve education through “blended learning.”
Space troubles for virtual school
The Recorder, MA, January 13, 2014
Greenfield Commonwealth Virtual School officials had hoped to start the year by moving into the top floor of the Arts Block in downtown Greenfield. But complications with the space have thwarted that move.
Students learn online at home during snow days
Daily Standard, OH, January 10, 2014
The brick-and-mortar school was closed three days this week due to snow but students continued learning via online instruction.
When Computers Are Co-Teachers
The Atlantic, January 10 2014
On a rainbow-colored rug in a predominantly Latino neighborhood six miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, 26 fidgety second graders are reading a phonics passage about helping wildlife. Some detect the main idea quickly, shooting their hands in the air. Others need more time and attention. The teacher, Mark Montero, asks questions trying to keep everyone on track.