Daily Headlines for September 13, 2012
Mayors Stand Up To Striking Teachers
Washington Times, DC, September 12, 2012
As the Chicago teachers strike drags on, clear battle lines are emerging, with big-city mayors — including prominent Democrats — rallying to the side of Rahm Emanuel in his bitter showdown with organized labor.
In Defense of Teacher Strikes
The Atlantic, September 12, 2012
Maybe you believe that we should use standardized tests to evaluate teachers, or maybe you don’t. Maybe you think Rahm Emanuel is the new hero of America ‘s school reform movement, or maybe you think he’s a foul-mouthed Napoleon bullying a bunch of lowly educators.
School Choice Should Be Option In Chicago, Elsewhere
Omaha World-Herald , NE, September 13, 2012
There are few matters of public interest greater than educating the next generation. Chicago public school teachers who went on strike Monday have struck against the public interest, placing self-interest in difficult economic times ahead of children.
Say No to Parent Trigger Laws
GoLocal Prov, RI, September 13, 2012
Apparently, both the Republicans and the Democrats believe that giving parents more political clout will somehow bolster the very different interests of their parties. Pundits, both left and right, yammer on about trigger laws serving the best interests of the kids. But the truth is that these laws are bludgeons.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Chicago Teachers’ Strike Matters To California
Sacramento Bee, CA, September 13, 2012
Californians have an unlikely stake in the Chicago teachers’ strike. If the implacable foes of reform and fiscal sanity are vulnerable in union-dominated Illinois, it’s only a matter of time before they falter here.
FLORIDA
Charter School In South Brooksville Inches Closer To Reality
Tampa Bay Times, FL, September 13, 2012
Brooksville is one step closer to getting its first charter school. A school district review committee has recommended that the Hernando County School Board approve plans for the Brooksville Engineering, Science & Technology Academy .
Cape Coral Charter Schools Eye Funding
News Press, FL, September 13, 2012
After a meeting with state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto on Wednesday cast a bleak outlook on finding extra state funds, Cape Coral ’s charter school system could soon broach the sensitive subject of seeking a larger slice of local taxes from the Lee County School Board.
ABC School Opens Talk Of Charter High School
Apalachicola Times, FL, September 12, 2012
At a Monday night parent meeting at the Apalachicola Bay Charter School, called to review options for a possible charter high school, Franklin County School District officials and ABC School leaders sat alongside one other to answer questions about the county’s high school options.
GEORGIA
Is Charter Schools Amendment Wording Biased?
WXIA-TV, GA, September 12, 2012
Here we go again, apparently another ballot issue with questions about whether it’s worded fairly.First, it was the July 31st transportation sales tax issue, known as T-SPLOST, which Georgia voters rejected overwhelmingly.
APS Board Urges Voters To Vote Against Charter Amendment
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, September 12, 2012
Atlanta Public Schools’ school board issued a decree at their board meeting Monday urging Georgians to vote against the constitutional amendment on this November’s ballot that will create a seperate state panel to approve charter schools.
ILLINOIS
Chicago Teachers Strike: Illegal Under Illinois Law?
Christian Science Monitor, MA, September 12, 2012
Illinois state law could bar teachers from striking on anything except pay and benefits, but the Chicago teachers strike is also about class size, job security, and teacher evaluations. Mayor Rahm Emanuel can take the union to court – but at a risk.
Emanuel Talks Up School Choice On Day 3 Of Teachers Strike
WLS, IL, September 12, 2012
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s message of the day at City Hall is that there’s nothing that can’t be worked out while the kids are in the classroom, but the union isn’t about to give up its leverage and send the teachers back to work.
School Districts Starting To Move Away From Step Increases
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 13, 2012
For decades, public school teachers in the Chicago area and across the country have counted on that increase as money in the bank. It usually has been on top of other raises folded into complicated, multiyear salary packages that determine teacher pay hikes.
The Arc of History
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 13, 2012
Chicago Teachers Union officials aren’t merely fighting City Hall. They’re fighting the inevitability of education reform. They are denying the arc of history.
Standardized Test Scores Are Worst Way To Evaluate Teachers
Chicago Sun Times, IL, September 12, 2012
Standardized testing has become monstrous, which brings us to the proposed changes to teacher evaluation: the latest and worst use of testing so far. The Chicago Public Schools are planning to implement evaluations based in part on student test scores this school year.
Striking Teachers, Divided Antipathies
Wall Street Journal, September 13, 2012
Whichever way the Chicago teachers strike ends, one may be fairly certain that the children of Chicago will not win. This may seem an odd prediction, since both sides in the strike, the 29,000-member Chicago Teachers Union vs. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago School Board, contend that this dispute is at bottom about the children, with each, of course, having only the interest of the children at heart.
Push to Add Charter Schools Hangs Over Strike
New York Times, NY, September 13, 2012
Of the issues that remain to be settled in the contract dispute here between the teachers’ union and the city, expanding charter schools is not officially on the table.
Students Over Unions
New York Times, NY, September 12, 2012
The most important civil rights battleground today is education, and, likewise, the most crucial struggle against poverty is the one fought in schools.
Teachers Test Mayor’s Mettle
Wall Street Journal, September 13, 2012
For Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the teachers strike that has thrown his city into turmoil is proving a test of the two identities that have defined his career: the pugilist and the dealmaker.
MASSACHUSSETTS
Hub’s So-So Deal Is Done
Boston Herald, MA, September 13, 2012
The drama over a new teacher contract in Boston appears to be nearing a close without the kind of strife we’re seeing in Chicago and that is of course good news. Perhaps someone at the Boston Teachers Union noticed that public opinion trends against unreasonable demands that put union interests before student needs.
MICHIGAN
Moving A Detroit Neighborhood Forward
Detroit News, MI, September 13, 2012
On a sunny Friday in early August, parents, children and teachers mingle outside Escuela Avancemos. Enrique Iglesias booms from speakers as families talk and kids play during the open house. It’s a festive atmosphere and reflects the enthusiasm the community feels about this new elementary charter school.
MISSISSIPPI
Cooperative Effort Sought In Miss. Education Reforms
Clarion Ledger, MS, September 12, 2012
Leaders of Mississippi’s chief teacher union and an education advocacy group say they’ve got a vision for school improvements impacting both students and educators.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Nashua Community College President Becomes Newest Member Of Academy For Science And Design Board
Nashua Telegraph, NH, September 13, 2012
The partnership between the Academy for Science and Design and Nashua Community College got a lot stronger Wednesday night, as the charter school’s governing board named NCC President Lucille Jordan as its newest member.
NEW MEXICO
Majority Backs Linking Teacher Salaries to Scores
Albuquerque Journal, NM, September 13, 2012
New Mexico voters generally support tying teacher evaluations and salaries to student test-score improvement, a Journal Poll found.
State To Vote On Taos Charter School Proposals
The Taos News, NM, September 13, 2012
The Public Education Commission (PEC) will decide next week whether to approve the applications of 14 proposed charter schools, including two in Taos .
OREGON
Teachers Face New Evaluations
Register Guard, OR, September 13, 2012
Some Eugene School District teachers will get a whole new level of scrutiny this year as the district rolls out a pilot project for evaluating them, using criteria that include student achievement.
PENNSYLVANIA
Two Teachers Launching Charter School in North Penn
The Reporter, PA, September 12, 2012
Naomi Rodriguez and Kim Siar became friends while both taught in the Norristown Area School District . The two found they had much in common in their approach to teaching, and Siar informally mentored Rodriguez. Now the teachers, who also worked together in an online master’s degree program in brain science, plan to start a new charter school in the North Penn School District based on the latest research into how children learn.
Parents Have An Option
Centre Daily Times, PA, September 13, 2012
Superintendent Dan Fisher asked Wingate families to consider changing to the district’s other smaller elementary schools, under the district’s long-standing School Choice option. That permits children, regardless of their addresses, to attend any of the four elementary schools within the district.
Pittsburgh Diocese: Decline In Enrollment Leveling Off
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 13, 2012
About 21,000 students began a new year in Catholic schools across the Diocese of Pittsburgh, a total that includes steady enrollment figures in grades 9-12 and a decrease of 1 to 1.5 percent in grades K-8, an official said Wednesday.
TENNESSEE
Great Hearts School Ends Charter Bid in Nashville
The Tennessean, TN, September 13, 2012
Great Hearts Academies’ decision to pull out of Tennessee until state law creates an impartial charter school approval process is setting the stage for a legislative battle over who will grant approvals in the future.
TEXAS
No-Child Waiver Makes Sense
Dallas Morning News, TX, September 12, 2012
Texas’ new education commissioner is doing the practical thing by seeking a broad waiver from federal No Child Left Behind strictures for public schools.
WASHINGTON
Support Schools Of Choice
Spokesman Review, WA, September 13, 2012
The Coeur d’Alene School District has implemented a cutting-edge approach to education that is recognized nationwide as preferred by parents and students. We have schools of choice:
Teachers Unions Cut Spending On Charter Fight
Everett Herald, WA, September 13, 2012
Eight years ago, teachers statewide went all out to keep Washington’s ban on charter schools in place.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
For NJ Legislators, A Crash Course on e-Learning
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, September 13, 2012
With online schools approved for New Jersey, a special session is held for lawmakers to learn more about the virtual learning models
Easton Area School District In Talks To Launch Cyber Academy
Lehigh Valley Express Times, PA, September 13, 2012
Easton Area School District students may soon be able to obtain diplomas without leaving their homes if the district approves a proposed cyber academy.
Barnes Cites Poor For-Profit Scores In Call For Better School Funding
Leaf-Chronicle, TN, September 12, 2012
The Tennessee Virtual Academy is owned and operated by K12 Inc., an out-of-state corporation, and its test scores are among the lowest in the state, the release said. School districts receive state funding based on enrollment. When a student transfers to the virtual academy, state funding for that student leaves the local district and goes to K12.
Volusia Joins Probe Of Private Online Education Company
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL, September 13, 2012
Volusia County school officials launched an investigation Wednesday into the nation’s largest online education company, which has been accused in another Florida district of using uncertified teachers in violation of state law and trying to cover up the practice.
Some Detroit High Schoolers Can Add Michigan Virtual University Online Classes
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 12, 2012
Students at six Detroit high schools will be able to take online courses thanks to a new partnership between Michigan Virtual University and the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan (EAA).
More Stevens Point Students Use Virtual Learning in School
WSAW, WI, September 12, 2012
The days of sitting in a classroom with a chalkboard and teacher are becoming a thing of the past.
Online High School Marks 10 Years
Forest Lakes Times, MN, September 12, 2012
This summer Wolf Creek Online High School celebrated 10 years as a charter school at their 2nd annual Back to School Howl Festival on Aug. 16.