Daily Headlines for March 14, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
Michelle Rhee: Not All Charters Created Equal
San Diego Union Tribune, CA, March 13, 2013
Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of schools in Washington, D.C., brought her controversial brand of reform to San Diego on Wednesday when she was featured as the keynote speaker at the California Charter Schools conference at the convention center.
Standard Tests Do Reveal Which Teachers Are Best
Allentown Morning Call, PA, March 13, 2013
Improving the quality of education delivered through our public schools can not only boost economic growth but also help to narrow income inequality in the U.S. And the best way to improve education is to identify and promote the most talented teachers.
FROM THE STATES
ALABAMA
Failure To Repeal Common Core Will Become Re-Election Issue For Republicans, Activists Say
Alabama News Blog, AL, March 13, 2013
Supporters of a failed bill to repeal Alabama’s common core curriculum standards vowed today their fight will become a re-election issue for Republicans who helped defeat the bill in committee.
ARKANSAS
Ark. House Takes Up Charter School Law Changes
Log Cabin Democrat, AR, March 13, 2013
The House on Thursday was scheduled to vote on a bill by Republican Rep. Mark Biviano of Searcy that would designate the state Education Department and not the Board of Education as the primary authorizer of charter schools.
Ark. Panel Considers School Choice Law Rewrite
Gurdon Times, AR, March 13, 2013
The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday is expected to consider Republican Sen. Johnny Key’s proposal to rewrite a 1989 school choice law that a federal judge struck down last year.
GEORGIA
Deal Appointees Join DeKalb School Board
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, March 13, 2013
The six new members of the DeKalb County school board have backgrounds in business, education and, maybe just as importantly, mediation. Now, they must use their skills to save the state’s third-largest system from losing accreditation.
ILLINOIS
Educational Experiment
Chicago Tribune, IL, March 14, 2013
The effort at Harlan is the first foray into a high school for the Clemente Course, which teaches the humanities to low-income adults nationwide. The format is as important as the content. Classes are Socratic seminars, with students sitting in a circle and discussing a text through a teacher’s questions.
Closing Time
Chicago Tribune, IL, March 14, 2013
In the next week or so, Chicago Public Schools officials will announce a list of underused schools to be closed or overhauled this year. A battalion of CPS officials has spent months whittling down the list and evaluating each of the 129 schools that could be closed. They’ve listened to more than 20,000 parents, students and community members in 29 community meetings.
INDIANA
Evidence On Voucher Success Scant As Lawmakers Move To Expand Program
The Statehouse File, IN, March 13, 2013
Welcome back to voucher wars. For the better part of 20 years, much of the educational energy in this nation and state have been consumed by an endless debate about whether giving parents choices as to where they send their children to school would improve education.
LOUISIANA
Department Of Education Announces $5 Million To Turn Around Failing Schools
Times-Picayune, LA, March 13, 2013
State Superintendent John White announced Wednesday that the state will use $5 million in federal professional development funds to train educators interested in turning around failing district-run schools.
State Asks 5th Circuit To Overturn Tangipahoa Voucher Ruling
The Advocate, LA, March 14, 2013
The Louisiana Department of Education filed its appellate brief to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, arguing for reversal of a lower court ruling that the state’s voucher program conflicts with court orders in Tangipahoa Parish’s decades-old desegregation case.
MAINE
School Choice Offers Incentives To Improve Public Education
Portland Press Herald, ME, March 14, 2013
Mainers in a survey show support for the freedom families would gain from a voucher program.
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston School Committee Approves New Student-Assignment System
Boston Globe, MA, March 14, 2013
The Boston School Committee, in a momentous vote Wednesday, scrapped a school assignment plan developed under court-ordered desegregation almost a quarter century ago and embraced a new system that seeks to allow more students to attend schools closer to home.
MICHIGAN
Statewide Teacher Evaluations Could Be In Place By Fall 2014
Detroit News, MI, March 14, 2013
Lawmakers by June should receive a report recommending a statewide teacher evaluation system that could be in place for the 2014-15 school year.
Authority Gives Kids At Worst-Performing Schools Chance To Grow
Detroit News, MI, March 14, 2013
As a mother of four with kids in public schools, and as chair of the House Education Committee, I have a great interest in public education and an immense passion for the kids in our schools.
MISSISSIPPI
Fate Of Charter Schools Bill Uncertain
Clarion Ledger, MS, March 14, 2013
The state Senate on Wednesday passed its version of a charter schools bill for the second day in a row, while the House appeared to send a message with inaction on the issue.
MONTANA
Cookie-Cutter Legislation
Missoula Independent, MT, March 14, 2013
How a corporate bill mill plays into Montana politics–and why you should care
NEW JERSEY
Teacher Evaluation Plan Gets Mixed Reviews in First Public Forum
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, March 14, 2013
The Christie administration took its new teacher-evaluation system on the road yesterday — and the maiden trip left few doubts there are going to be some bumps along the way.
NEW MEXICO
Charter Schools Four-Year Grad Rates Low, Data Reflects
Silver City Sun-News, NM, March 13, 2013
Monika Robinson got caught up in high school’s drama and social hierarchy. She fell behind in classes and took a year off to work and figure out what she wanted to do.
NEW YORK
Liberty Parents Suggest Charter School Option
WETM, NY, March 13, 2013
A group of Tioga County neighbors are making it clear they’re unhappy with the Southern Tioga School District.
NORTH CAROLINA
School Vouchers: A Threat To Our Very Foundation
News & Observer, NC, March 13, 2013
Superintendents, principals and teachers were invited recently to the General Assembly to share their ideas about improving and protecting public education in North Carolina.
Bill Proposes $3,000 Grant To Send Disabled Students To Private Schools
News Observer, NC, March 13, 2013
Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake County, is behind a bill introduced this week that would give students with special needs taxpayer-funded scholarships to attend private schools or be home-schooled.
Education Establishment Runs From Its Own Customers
Carolina Journal, NC, March 14, 2013
If only more policymakers and politicians understood that a willingness to compete can also transform the public sector. But instead of embracing the opportunity, some public officials fear competition and heap scorn on those who champion it.
OHIO
Charter School In Youngstown Continues Its Academic Success
Youngstown Vindicator, OH, March 14, 2013
Charter schools in Ohio are, by and large, a failure, with only two dozen out of the nearly 300 scoring above the state average on performance measures. Even so, there is no sign that the charter schools initiative, which was launched 15 years ago, has lost the support of Republican Gov. John Kasich and the GOP controlled General Assembly.
Charters Get Additional $34.8 Million In Kasich Plan
Columbus Dispatch, OH, March 14, 2013
Despite getting less base funding per student, Ohio charter schools would receive nearly $34.8 million more from the state under Gov. John Kasich’s proposed education-funding plan, according to an analysis from the Legislative Service Commission.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma Educators Wait To See How State Question 766 Will Affect Funding
The Oklahoman, OK, March 14, 2013
Educators throughout the state know tens of millions of dollars in school funding will disappear because of a new property tax law, but no one is exactly sure what the real impact will be.
PENNSYLVANIA
Phila. School Partnership To Announce $3.4 Million In Grants For 2 Charter Groups
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 14, 2013
The Philadelphia School Partnership will announce grants totaling $3.4 million Thursday to help two charter organizations with long waiting lists expand in the northern and western parts of the city.
McKeesport Area School Board Denies Charter School Application
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, March 14, 2013
Although the board of the McKeesport Area School District voted at a special meeting Tuesday to deny the application of the Young Scholars of McKeesport Charter School, the matter is far from closed.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Two New Charter Schools Hope To Open In Downtown Charleston In 2014-15
Post and Courier, SC, March 13, 2013
Community members hoping to open two new charter schools downtown will host informational meetings during the next two weekends.
Evaluation Plan Ignores Teachers’ Challenges
Greenville News, SC, March 13, 2013
As a citizen of this state, I cannot sit idly by while the state Superintendent Mick Zais appears to show little respect for the public school teachers of South Carolina. His plan to assign letter grades to teachers ignores the background of poverty, lack of parental support, conflicting social mores, and other issues that teachers must deal with daily.
SC Senate Panel OKs Students Attending School In Another District
Island Packet, SC, March 13, 2013
A bill that would allow children to attend the public school of their choice – regardless of where they live – passed a state Senate committee Wednesday.
TENNESSEE
Senator Offers School Voucher Plan To Rival Gov. Haslam’s
The Tennessean, TN, March 14, 2013
A senior Republican in the state Senate has filed a rival plan to Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to create a school voucher program — one that would raise income limits and the number of vouchers available at the outset.
State Charter School Authorizer Would Provide Education Options
The Tennessean, TN, March 13, 2013
FRANKLIN Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, believes a state authorizer panel would serve to usher in more charter schools that would ultimately give students more options.
WEST VIRGINIA
The Conversation Is About W.Va. Students
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, March 14, 2013
A legislative conversation that was supposed to center on what West Virginia students need – an education – has focused once again on what education unions demand instead.
Senate Could Approve Education Bill By Week’s End
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, March 13, 2013
The Senate could send Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s education reform bill to the House as early as Friday.
WISCONSIN
Proposed Charter School Changes Cause for Concern for Some
WUMN, WI, March 14, 2013
MCarrie Bonk is all in favor of the governor’s plan to create a state board that could approve more chartering entities. Bonk heads the Wisconsin Charter School Association.
State Schools Debate: Superintendent Candidates Clash Over Education
Leader Telegram, WI, March 14, 2013
State schools Superintendent Tony Evers and challenger Don Pridemore outlined their very different visions for Wisconsin’s schools during a debate Wednesday, disagreeing over the governor’s proposed expansion of the state’s voucher system and proposed freeze in public school spending.
Voucher Schools’ Finances Must Be Well Vetted
Journal Times, WI, March 13, 2013
Last year, in its very first year of operation, St. John Fisher Academy, a voucher school, was forced to close its doors from lack of funding. The Northwestern Avenue school had counted on various grants and other funding coming in. But they didn’t come through and, after months of teachers working without pay, the school announced its closing.
ONLINE LEARNING
Hearing Set On Charter School Plan
Naperville Sun, IL, March 13, 2013
If a Virginia-based company has its way, Naperville students will get a chance to attend a virtual charter school next fall.
Year-Round, Blended Learning Classroom Bill Fails In Utah House
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, March 13, 2013
A bill to create a pilot program for schools to blend online learning into year-round schedules got slapped down in the House on Wednesday, amid concerns that it didn’t get enough public discussion and that it would mainly fund a consultant.
Senate To Take Up Virtual School Measure
WSMV-TV, March 14, 2013
Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to tighten enrollment requirements at privately run online schools is scheduled to be heard on the Senate floor Thursday.
Virtual Charter Schools Are A Great Idea
Gaston Gazette, NC, March 14, 2013
I am writing in response to Mr. Fleming’s column supporting a virtual charter school option and I couldn’t agree more. Virtual charter schools are a more affordable alternative than traditional schools and would allow North Carolina parents to maximize the individual potential of their student.