Daily Headlines for February 7, 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.
STATE COVERAGE
ALABAMA
More Alabama students enrolling in private schools
Montgomery Advertiser, AL, February 7, 2014
More students are moving from public to private schools with the help of scholarships provided by groups that were able to raise the maximum amount of money allowed by Alabama law.
COLORADO
Colorado Springs charter school in turmoil over leadership, contracts
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, February 6, 2014
A festering feud that some say boils down to differences of philosophy and others believe has turned nefarious is driving a wedge between board members of STAR Academy.
FLORIDA
Florida House speaker wants to use sales tax revenue for private school vouchers
Palm Beach Post, FL, February 6, 2014
Already calling for a “massive expansion” of school choice, House Speaker Will Weatherford shed more light Thursday on his plans for beefing up the state’s Tax Credit Scholarship program, a controversial voucher program begun under former Gov. Jeb Bush.
Leaders want to simplify school grades
Tallahassee Democrat, FL, February 7, 2014
Florida’s A-F grading system for schools should be simplified, but not suspended, House Speaker Will Weatherford said Thursday.
School district attempts to recoup charter funds
News- Press, FL, February 7, 2014
It’s been more than a year since a Richard Milburn School has operated in Lee County, yet the charter school corporation may still owe the school district a significant amount of money.
ILLINOIS
CPS continues to ease disciplinary policy
Chicago Tribune, IL, February 7, 2014
Chicago Public Schools officials said Thursday that they are starting to see success in efforts to dismantle a much-criticized zero-tolerance policy toward discipline and want to expand initiatives to reduce student suspensions to privately run charter schools.
Room for magnet and partnership school
Beacon News, IL, February 6, 2014
East Aurora’s magnet academy and Aurora University’s partnership school may serve similar academic purposes, but there are plenty of children to fill both schools’ slots, district officials say.
INDIANA
New state academic standards to be hashed out next week
Indianapolis Star, IN, February 7, 2014
A framework for Indiana’s new academic standards for K-12 students is expected to be hashed out next week.
Private school parents want to isolate their children
Letter, Indianapolis Star, IN, February 6, 2014
The state introduced vouchers a few years ago and it was suggested by a Star reader that we open vouchers to all, a suggestion that has been made before. What pro-voucher people don’t understand is that private schools don’t educate everybody.
MARYLAND
Maryland education needs fundamental reform
Commentary, Baltimore Sun, MD, February 6, 2014
“Maryland, No. 1 in education!” We’ve heard that boast ad nauseam over the last five years, every time Education Week releases its Quality Counts rankings. We hear it especially from the state’s political establishment, as it takes every chance it can to claim credit for this top ranking in the nation.
Test data ‘part of a story’ for teacher evaluations
Maryland Gazette, MD, February 6, 2014
State schools Superintendent Lillian M. Lowery said she thinks the “confusion and tension” in Maryland around the Common Core State Standards stems from how local school systems will use data from tests aligned with the standards.
MASSACHUSETTS
Building better schools requires concerted effort
Letter, South Coast Today, MA, February 7, 2014
The news of New Bedford’s newest under-performing school — a charter school — is bittersweet. Because, while it’s a shame that another school is not performing up to our rigorous standards, it also clearly shows that education solutions shouldn’t consist of sweeping problems under the proverbial rug by opening more schools and shifting kids around.
NEW YORK
Idea of Charging Rent for New York Charters Hits Wrinkle
Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2014
Mayor Bill de Blasio might want to think twice before he figures how much to charge charter schools for rent: If he charges too much, it could cost the city money.
Council Speaker Mark-Viverito coy on charter cuts
New York Post, NY, February 7, 2014
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito backed a city program last year that provided $32.5 million in city funds so a charter school in her East Harlem district could build a new home.
Fair Pay for City Teachers
Letter, New York Times, NY, February 7, 2014
Re “Teachers’ Push for Back Pay May Pinch City” (front page, Feb. 5): The question for New York City is not whether it can afford to pay competitive salaries to the teachers of the city’s more than one million schoolchildren, but whether it can afford not to.
NORTH CAROLINA
Cabarrus teachers torn over giving up tenure for $500 raise
Charlotte Observer, NC, February 7, 2014
On Feb. 10, the Cabarrus County school board will consider approving a set of standards that will determine which 25 percent of its teachers will get a pay raise under a new state law. But many teachers are grappling with whether they’ll take the state’s deal if it’s offered to them.
Charter school leaders vow to fight closing
WRAL, NC, February 6, 2014
Jane Miller has every intention to keep Pace Academy’s doors open, but the state Board of Education has other plans. The body unanimously voted Thursday not to renew the Carrboro public charter school’s charter.
School Board abandons public schools
Editorial, Winston-Salem Chronicle, NC, February 6, 2014
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education won’t be among the scores of North Carolina school boards adding their names to a legal challenge to the state’s controversial plan to allocate millions of public education dollars to a private school voucher program for “poor” students.
State board approves alternatives to Read to Achieve
Mooresville Tribune, NC, February 6, 2014
Members of the State Board of Education on Thursday approved multiple alternative assessment methods for determining third grade reading proficiency.
State Board of Education unanimously votes not to renew PACE
News & Observer, NC, February 6, 2014
The State Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday not to renew a struggling charter school based on the recommendation of the state’s charter school advisory board.
OHIO
Kasich floats ‘deregulation’ for schools
Columbus Dispatch, OH, February 7, 2014
Gov. John Kasich used the word deregulation yesterday to describe how he might bring about some of the changes he seeks for Ohio schools.
OKLAHOMA
Planned education rally angers lawmakers
The Oklahoman, OK, February 7, 2014
Two state lawmakers are chastising Oklahoma school districts that are planning to give teachers and students a day off so they can lobby for more education funding at the state Capitol.
OREGON
Portland Association of Teachers will alienate public by striking over minor disagreements
Editorial, The Oregonian, OR, February 7, 2014
If Portland teachers go on strike, they will send tens of thousands of families into turmoil. The community could live with that turmoil – even support it — if it were the only way to prevent intolerable conditions in the city’s classrooms.
PENNSYLVANIA
Charters to cost School District $25 million more than anticipated
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 7, 2014
The Philadelphia School District has seen its charter school costs soar at the same time it is grappling with a deep financial crisis.
Easton Area School Board charter school hearing gets heated
Lehigh Valley Express Times, PA, February 7, 2014
A charter school hearing in front of the Easton Area School Board on Thursday night was often emotional and occasionally contentious.
TENNESSEE
Can tests scores be trusted to evaluate charter schools?
Nashville Ledger, TN, February 6, 2014
As the Tennessee Legislature prepares to debate a host of proposed charter school bills, opponents are tapping into research that claims charters often use questionable tactics to skew test scores, among them “cherry-picking’’ high-performing students while “counseling out,’’ those who test poorly.
UTAH
Bill would give enrollment preference to grandchildren of charter school founders
Desert News, UT, February 6, 2014
Lawmakers Thursday gave their first nod of approval to a bill that would make it easier for the grandchildren of a charter school’s founder to attend that school.
VERMONT
Performance lackluster on state tests
Burlington Free Press, VT, February 6, 2014
Girls from higher income families are the top performers at Vermont schools and low-income boys are marooned at the bottom.
WISCONSIN
Charter schools continue to expand in Fox Cities
Appleton Post Crescent, WI, February 6, 2014
As lawmakers continue to debate a proposal that could greatly expand independent charter schools in Wisconsin, plans are in place to increase public school-based charter options in the Fox Cities.
New school voucher legislation would only further Wisconsin’s war on education
Editorial, Badger Herald, WI, February 6, 2014
Last year, Wisconsin essentially expanded the geographical scope of its already- existing school voucher program by creating a new statewide school voucher program alongside the older program. Even so, the new statewide program was the result of legislative negotiation and compromise.
ONLINE LEARNING
47 of 69 Louisiana public school systems are deemed technology-ready
Times Picayune, LA, February 6, 2014
Amid an initiative by President Barack Obama to improve Internet connectivity in public schools, the Louisiana Education Department on Wednesday said 47 out of the state’s 69 school system’s now meet minimum standards of technology readiness.
Florida Virtual School CEO to retire
Orlando Business Journal, FL, February 6, 2014
Julie Young, president and CEO of Florida Virtual School, has announced her retirement after 17 years at the helm.
Poor Performance Could End Tennessee’s Test Of First Online Public School
WREG, TN, February 6, 2014
Second-grader Casey Ubiarco iis one of the 300 West Tennessee students enrolled in Tennessee Virtual Academy, also known as TNVA. Casey logs into classes daily from home using a laptop, and the teachers go over lessons just like they would in a classroom.
Williamson County schools, public and private, boost use of technology in classroom
The Tennessean, TN, February 7, 2014
Randy Tucker, the interim head of school at Battle Ground Academy, recently informed parents that the iPad will be the primary tech tool in all grades at BGA beginning with the 2014-15 school year, and not just for students.