Daily Headlines for September 10, 2012
More Isn’t Better for Special Ed
Wall Street Journal, September 10, 2012
Does more spending lead to better outcomes for students with disabilities? According to a new study led by former school superintendent Nathan Levenson and sponsored by the Thomas Fordham Institute, the answer is no. The news that quality and money aren’t tightly linked should be welcome in cash-strapped school districts around the country.
U.S. Needs More Charter Schools — With Better Rules
Bloomberg, September 9, 2012
Of the 50 million U.S. students who returned to public elementary and secondary schools in recent days, more than 2 million did so at charter schools.
The Achievement Gap: By The Numbers
Washington Post, DC, September 10, 2012
There are few things education researchers say they know with certainty. But virtually nobody disputes that socioeconomic status and the educational level of parents, especially mothers, are linked to the stubborn achievement gap between students of different races and ethnicities.
Education Challenge For Next 50 Years Is The Achievement Gap
Seattle Times, WA, September 9, 2012
The biggest challenge facing education in the next 50 years is the achievement gap for minority and low-income children, writes guest columnist Tre’ Maxie.
How Michelle Rhee Is Taking Over the Democratic Party
The Atlantic, September 8, 2012
In a major shift, education reformers are now influential at the highest levels of the party once dominated by the teachers unions.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Charter Schools Call Proposed L.A. Moratorium Illegal
Los Angeles Times Blog, CA, September 7, 2012
Charter school advocates are mounting a campaign against a proposed moratorium on new charters in the Los Angeles Unified School District . The moratorium is one provision of a resolution, by school board member Steve Zimmer, that is scheduled for discussion on Tuesday.
COLORADO
Steamboat School Board To Consider $60K Loan For Charter School
Steamboat Today, CO, September 9, 2012
The Steamboat Springs School Board on Monday night will consider signing off on a $60,000 loan to the North Routt Community Charter School to eliminate the school’s budget deficit.
Schools for Radicals?
Denver Post, CO, September 9, 2012
Denver schools have made too much progress in recent years — and have too far still to go — to squander their image by injecting politics into teacher evaluations. The last thing the district needs, for example, are evaluations that judge teachers by how many little Ward Churchills they send out into the world.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Parents Struggle With ‘wait-list Shuffle’ In D.C. Schools
Washington Post, DC, September 9, 2012
For a long time, a walk to the nearest elementary school was all it took for D.C. parents to enroll their children for classes. Now, for a growing number of families, landing a seat in a classroom takes months of maneuvering and moxie in a process that continues long after school starts each fall.
FLORIDA
District Likes Charter School’s New Plan To Expand
Florida Today, FL, September 9, 2012
After failed attempts to open a new school, including an ongoing court battle, Odyssey Charter School proponents may win the approval they’re seeking to open a new Palm Bay charter.
Why Miami-Dade Superintendent Is Embracing School Choice
Sunshine State News, FL, September 10, 2012
Teacher tenure, performance pay and standardized tests often drive the Florida public education debate, but the quietest revolution may well be the growing legion of parents who now choose their children’s schools.
GEORGIA
Parent Raises Question Of Charter Funds
Cherokee Tribune, GA, September 9, 2012
The charter school debate was brought up once again during the public input portion of Thursday night’s Cherokee Board of Education meeting.
Oglethorpe Charter: Growing Pains
Savannah Morning News, GA, September 8, 2012
IT’S HARD to believe that Chatham County taxpayers would invest $21 million in a new public school, capable of serving 600 students, without a fairly clear picture of the number of students who would attend over the next five years.
Savannah-Chatham Students To Weigh In On Teacher Performance
Savannah Morning News, GA, September 9, 2012
This year, students in the Savannah-Chatham public school district will get to participate in teacher evaluations, and those evaluations will likely be used to determine whether they get salary increases.
Charter-School Amendment Adds Fire To The Fall Campaign
Rome News-Tribune, GA, September 10, 2012
Fear not, political junkies despairing over the lack of campaign activity in Georgia , because an issue is bringing life to your fall.
Richmond County PTA Opposes National Organization’s Charter School Stance
Augusta Chronicle, GA, September 8, 2012
Richmond County PTA officials say they will not change their opinion on a controversial piece of legislation going before voters in November, even if it means going against the National PTA’s stance for one of the first times in history.
WCPS Calls For Equal State Funding
Walton Tribune, GA, September 9, 2012
With a proposed amendment to the state constitution on the ballot in November, charter schools are drawing attention across Georgia , even as Walton County schools find common ground in opposing the possible measure.
Setting Charter School Record Straight
Macon Telegraph, GA, September 9, 2012
What is best for Georgia students? That is the question that should always be front and center when discussing education reform. One-third of Georgia students do not graduate high school, so our education system clearly needs to be improved — for the benefit of our children, our families, our communities and our economic future.
ILLINOIS
CPS, Teachers Fail To Reach Deal To Prevent Strike
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 9, 2012
Chicago’s teachers union said it will strike Monday for the first time in 25 years after talks with Chicago Public Schools ended late Sunday night without resolution.
Teacher Union’s Unwise ‘Strike Of Choice’
Chicago Sun Times, IL, September 10, 2012
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis has taken her members over the edge.
Charter School Leaders: Class Is In Session Here
Chicago Sun Times, IL, September 9, 2012
Illinois charter school leaders are urging parents of Chicago’s charter school students to send their children to class Monday, regardless of whether the Chicago Teachers Union goes on strike.
A Choice and a Chance
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 9, 2012
Chicago parents face massive disruption in their family routines if teachers go on strike Monday. Strike or not, the Chicago Public School system faces years of financial crisis — with the frightening prospect of a $338 million spike in pension costs in 2014.
Many Districts See Marginal Progress Closing Achievement Gaps
Northwest Herald, IL, September 9, 2012
Most larger school districts throughout McHenry County have seen marginal progress during the past three years in closing student achievement disparities between white and minority students, especially with blacks and Hispanics, a review of state data reveals.
IOWA
5 Iowa Schools to Apply for Race to the Top Grants
Des Moines Register, IA, September 10, 2012
Des Moines Public Schools is among five Iowa districts that intend to apply for federal money aimed at individualizing education for students.
KANSAS
School Reform Program Leaves Mixed Results in Wichita Schools
Wichita Eagle, KS, September 8, 2012
A banner outside Curtis Middle School still proclaims, “We are proud to be an America’s Choice school,” and signs of the program dot classrooms and hallways.
Teachers use the “workshop model” for instruction, a hallmark of the America’s Choice program.
MAINE
How Maine Is Reforming Education Through Collaboration
Bangor Daily News, ME, September 9, 2012
Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen merits praise for inclusively and thoroughly developing the state’s application for flexibility from certain elements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
MICHIGAN
Three-Year Moratorium On New Charter Schools Could Be Devastating
Ann Arbor, MI, September 9, 2012
Representative David Rutledge, D-Superior Township , is proposing a bill to put a moratorium on new charter schools in troubled districts engaging in consolidation.
Higher Attendance At DPS A Good Sign
Detroit News, MI, September 10, 2012
More Detroit students are in class the first week of school than past years, and that’s something to cheer
State Must Get Tougher If Charter Schools Fail
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 9, 2012
In theory, it’s great that Michigan will now be ground zero for charter schools, with a liberal charter authorization law and a flood of school operators descending on the state.
Michigan Has More Charter Schools Than Ever, But What’s The Smartest Choice?
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 9, 2012
More charter schools opened this school year than in any year since the late 1990s, a surge that’s due in large part to the state lifting restrictions on the number that can open. It’s giving parents unprecedented choices for their children’s education but also renewing quality concerns.
NEW JERSEY
Mercer County Students Using Expanded School Choice Program, But Local Districts Aren’t Biting
Times of Trenton, NJ, September 9, 2012
For the 2012-13 school year that began last week, a total of 114 Mercer County children — 76 of them from Trenton — are expected to be taking classes outside their home districts through the state’s Interdistrict Public School Choice program.
NJ Lawmakers Begin Study of Online Education in Charter Schools
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, September 10, 2012
Online education in charter schools — in all its different and controversial forms — will get the first of what could be several Statehouse hearings this week, as legislators start to sort out what is growing to be one of the state’s more contentious issues.
NEW MEXICO
Evals Would Lift, Not Punish, Teachers
ABQ Journal, NM, September 9, 2012
When it comes to the teachers of New Mexico , many are so much better than “meets competency.” Even though the hard work of New Mexicans created our current three-tiered licensure and teacher evaluation, it does not provide a way for those teachers who deserve to be recognized as the exemplary professionals they are.
NEW YORK
Ex-Con Was Hired By New York City Charter School
New York Daily News, NY, September 10, 2012
Convicted heroin dealer Carlos Tapia supervised kids in cafeteria at Innovate Charter School
Teacher Grading Off to Uneven Start
Wall Street Journal, September 10, 2012
Evaluation Systems Vary Widely by District, and Most Have Not Yet Reached Agreements With Unions on How to Do It
New State Education Panel Reminded: Money Matters
Newsday, NY, September 9, 2012
Whether it’s funding for state requirements, how schools get revenue or how teachers negotiate contracts, money will be the main theme of testimony at the MidHudson meeting of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New NY Education Reform Commission on Monday.
Troy Charter Schools Passing The Test So Far
Albany Times Union, NY, September 9, 2012
The school at 762 River St. is at capacity, with 210 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Across the city in Troy ‘s two other charter schools, Troy Preparatory Elementary and Middle schools, another 320 students are in class.
Will New NY Ratings For Teachers Make The Grade?
Times Herald-Record, NY, September 10, 2012
Call it a no-brainer. When there’s an issue that involves our children, we, as parents, generally want to know everything.
NORTH CAROLINA
Charter School Plans Met With Scrutiny From Officials
The Daily Tar Heel, NC, September 9, 2012
After missing its deadline to open this year, the Howard & Lillian Lee Scholars Charter School is once again taking steps toward state approval.
OHIO
Cleveland Schools Tackle Truancy, As State Probe Of Attendance Data Continues
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, September 10, 2012
State school board members will get an update Monday on the Ohio auditor’s investigation of student attendance data submitted by public school officials.
OKLAHOMA
Student Outcomes Offer Best Measure Of Schools’ Economic Impact
The Oklahoman, OK, September 10, 2012
DUE to the national recession, Oklahoma state funding for schools has been reduced since 2008 even as student numbers increased.
PENNSYLVANIA
As School Opens In Pennsylvania, Teacher Strikes Have Dropped Sharply
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 10, 2012
Not many years ago, along with the reappearance of school buses and brightly colored leaves, there was a predictable sign of fall: teacher strikes.
Charter Schools Keep Growing
Delaware County Daily Times, PA, September 9, 2012
Three years ago, parents of fourth-grade students attending Widener Partnership Charter School recognized they soon would need to find a new school for their children. At the time, Widener Partnership only planned to expand through fifth grade.
TENNESSEE
Tennessee Achievement School District Superintendent Aims For Fast But Enduring Turnaround
The Commercial Appeal, TN, September 9, 2012
As superintendent of the ASD, Barbic is the point person for turning around the state’s failing schools. Tennessee has 83 schools in the bottom 5 percent; 69 are in Memphis .
TEXAS
Chartering A New Education Course
Lufkin Daily News, TX, September 10, 2012
So … what is a charter school? I get asked this question a lot, and I’m always happy to answer. I understand the confusion, because for 30 years I had spent my career working in several Texas independent school districts, and had no clue what a charter school was.
Helping Families Find Good Schools
Houston Chronicle, TX, September 8, 2012
We’re proud that the Houston area has led the nation in giving families the power to choose the school that their kids attend. Here, the quality of a kid’s education isn’t strictly determined by the school the family is zoned to.
Official: Education Likely Divisive Issue
Amarillo Globe-News, TX, September 9, 2012
State Rep. Charles Perry expects public education to be one of the biggest issues the Texas Legislature will tackle when it is back in session Jan. 8.
WASHINGTON
Board Should Focus On Policy, Not TFA Decisions
Seattle Times, WA, September 9, 2012
The Seattle School Board must shift its focus from debates about Teach for America and focus on big-picture policies that encourage academic achievement. Save the debates for contract renewal talks with TFA.
What If Voters Say No To School Reforms?
Spokesman Review Blog, WA, September 9, 2012
There’s a what-if question being debated in Idaho politics that matters quite a bit: What if voters in November reject Propositions 1, 2 and 3, repealing state Superintendent Tom Luna’s Students Come First school reform laws? The laws, passed in 2011, already are being phased in.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Group Seeks To Provide Quality Virtual Education
Kennebec Journal, ME, September 8, 2012
The article in Sunday’s newspaper wrongly focuses on the for-profit status and lobbying ties of the virtual school educational service providers while failing to address the need for school choice for all of Maine ‘s students.
UDSD Super Decries Charter Costs
Delaware County Daily Times, PA, September 9, 2012
Since 2007, charter schools have cost Upper Darby School District $10 million. This year, 303 students are enrolled in charter schools, 208 in cyber charter schools and 122 in brick and mortar charter schools, all outside the district, costing the district $3.5 million.
TN Virtual School Draws Criticism
The Tennessean, TN, September 10, 2012
As state officials lambaste the Tennessee Virtual Academy for low achievement scores and discuss new oversight methods, the school’s management company is facing an investigation in Florida , overcoming a list of citations issued in Georgia and recovering from reports of poor results in many of its schools.
Virtual School In Hamilton County Gets Real Starting Today
Times Free Press, TN, September 10, 2012
In an effort to do things the right way, Hamilton County Schools will start small on its new virtual school, which opens today with about 20 students.
Education Firm’s Past Dealings Analyzed
The Advocate, LA, September 10, 2012
Three state education leaders said they are concerned about the background of a firm that wants to offer online classes to public school students through a new program to aid troubled schools.
State’s First Virtual Academy Opens Amid Questions
The New Mexican, NM, September 9, 2012
Although she is enrolled in a public school, Monica Jackson may not go any farther than her living room to take classes in history, science and math this school year. And she may decide to go to school on Thanksgiving — when most schools are closed — and take a weekday off instead.