Daily Headlines for June 18, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
Teacher Training’s Low Grade
Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2013
U.S. colleges of education are an “industry of mediocrity” that churns out teachers ill-prepared to work in elementary and high-school classrooms, according to a report by a nonprofit advocacy group that represents the first comprehensive review of such programs.
U.S. education slipping in world rankings: report
Washington Post, June 18, 2013
The U.S. education system is not as globally competitive as it used to be, a study by the Council on Foreign Relations revealed on Monday.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Horizon Charter School faces board vote amid complaints
Modesto Bee, June 18, 2013
The fate of Horizon Charter School and its 2,700 students is in the hands of Western Placer Unified’s school board after allegations of fiscal mismanagement and complaints from parents.
COLORADO
Child tutoring franchises expand in Denver, nationwide
Denver Post, June 18, 2013
Parents’ desire to see their children succeed in school and life is providing the opportunity for franchises in the supplemental education industry to rapidly expand.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The problem(s) with D.C. school reform bills
Washington Post Blog, June 18, 2013
David Catania, the chairman of the D.C. Council’s Education Committee, has introduced seven school reform bills that, according to this Post story, could reshape the city’s public education system. Among other things, it calls for increasing funding for poor students, giving principals more power, altering the school lottery system, and ending social promotion.
FLORIDA
Activist for Anti-Charter School Group Now Supporting Charter School for Her Kids
Sunshine State News, June 18, 2013
In a historic move last week, parents at Rowlett Elementary School in Bradenton overwhelmingly voted to turn their public magnet school into a charter, but one of the parents leading the effort is a longtime activist for an organization that opposes charter schools and “Parent Empowerment” legislation.
Private schools lack oversight, accountability
Sun Sentinel, June 18, 2013
I used to be a supporter of school vouchers because I believed that some of our public schools were failing our kids, and private schools would provide a better education.
Pines to vote to contract with Charter Schools USA to manage schools
Sun Sentinel, June 17, 2013
Parts of the city’s nationally recognized charter school system may be privatized as early as this week and more than 300 teachers could lose their jobs.
Big changes at two Escambia schools
Pensacola News Journal, June 18, 2013
One struggling Escambia County elementary school will be revamped as a primary school next fall, and another will try to make its own way as a private school.
Governor Signs “Partial Fix” For Teacher Evaluations But Union Still Suing
NPR StateImpact, June 18, 2013
Florida teachers will no longer be evaluated – and have their pay based on – the performance of students they don’t teach.
GEORGIA
Charter schools group makes pitch
Augusta Chronicle, June 18, 2013
Officials with the Georgia Charter Schools Association visited Augusta on Monday to give their pitch as to why residents should be open to the concept of charter schools and what they can do to help launch one here.
Georgia Supreme Court weighs charter-school funding
Rome News-Tribune, June 18, 2013
In a case that could impact all charter schools in Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on how local school districts divvy up their funds between charter schools and traditional campuses.
INDIANA
The case remains for Excel
Opinion, Palladium Item, June 18, 2013
When Palladium-Item education reporter Brian Zimmerman returned from Anderson in the fall of 2012 after spending time at an Excel school, a charter school designed to give high school dropouts a second chance to complete diploma requirements, there was a deserved air of excitement.
LOUISIANA
Bobby Jindal signs RSD ‘parent trigger’ bill into law
Times-Picayune, June 17, 2013
Parents will have more control over what entity has authority for their child’s school under a bill signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday. The legislation allows parents to petition to shift control from some failing Recovery School District schools back to the local system, if certain benchmarks are met.
MARYLAND
More spending on education doesn’t necessarily mean better schools
Letter, Baltimore Sun, June 17, 2013
Mr. Norris says he wants “greater funding” for public education in America — as if more money necessarily means better education. Does it? Perhaps he needs to do some “analysis and research” at the “institute” he directs. The facts might surprise him.
MINNESOTA
As Minneapolis district touts new school plan, protesters plead for ousted charter school
Star Tribune, June 17, 2013
Minnesota School of Science supporters accused the district of acting hastily against a school they say has educated children better than other programs that have been housed at Cityview in north Minneapolis.
MISSOURI
Teacher evaluations, budget concerns, school choice on forefront of education reform
Missouri Times, June 17, 2013
With a fresh push at re-examining how public school teachers are evaluated and a new state Supreme Court ruling on school choice, education reformers across the state are eying the upcoming year as a major turning point for public education.
Area schools prepare to accept students from failing districts
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 18, 2013
After turning away kids for years, school superintendents say they plan to begin accepting transfer requests this summer from the first of what could be hundreds — if not thousands — of students seeking to leave two unaccredited districts in north St. Louis County.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Judge rules portion of ed tax credit program unconstitutional
Nashua Telegraph, June 18, 2013
A New Hampshire judge ruled Monday that the state’s education tax credit program could not provide scholarships to students to attend religious schools, calling that portion of the program unconstitutional.
NEW JERSEY
Christie Administration Censures Another Batch of Charter Schools
New Jersey Spotlight, June 18, 2013
Without much — if any — fanfare, the Christie administration yesterday said it has put another three charter schools on probation and issued warning letters to 11 others as it seeks to further raise standards for the alternative schools.
NEW YORK
South Buffalo Charter School undeterred by ECIDA setback
Buffalo News, June 18, 2013
South Buffalo Charter School officials pledged Monday to go forward with a new building on South Ogden Street, despite failing to win tax breaks for the project from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.
Graduation Gains Begin Leveling Out
Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2013
New York City’s high-school graduation rate dipped slightly in 2012 for the second consecutive year to 60.4% as it became tougher to qualify for a diploma, according to state data released Monday.
Destroying good schools
Opinion, New York Post, June 18, 2013
None of the Democratic candidates for mayor has a plan for the city schools other than not being Mike Bloomberg. That’s it.
NORTH CAROLINA
Charter high school with arts focus opening in downtown Raleigh
Midtown Raleigh News, June 18, 2013
More than 200 students have enrolled in a new arts-focused high school that will open its doors in downtown Raleigh this fall.
OHIO
Teachers”value-added’ ratings and relationship to student income levels questioned
Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 18, 2013
Value-added was supposed to be the great equalizer — a measure of schools that would finally judge fairly how much poor students are learning compared with their wealthier peers.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City School Board votes to expand attendance boundaries for new charter school
The Oklahoman, June 18, 2013
The Oklahoma City School Board voted Monday night to expand the attendance boundaries for the new downtown charter school, John W. Rex Elementary Charter School.
OREGON
Progress made in local schools
Herald and News, June 18, 2013
Last year, Mills was one of three local schools identified as a “Focus school,” or rating in the bottom 15 percent of the state.
PENNSYLVANIA
Keep an eye on charter schools
Editorial, Pocono Record, June 18, 2013
Monroe County is zero for three when it comes to leadership at its charter schools. On June 13, Dennis Bloom of Mount Pocono pleaded guilty to federal tax fraud for failing to report $180,000 in income in 2006, when he was chief executive officer of the Pocono Mountain Charter School, and evading $57,813 in taxes.
Program at Kensington CAPA guides seniors toward college
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 18, 2013
Aside from providing encouragement, the program, which served more than 250 students this year, also provided help with the college-application process, which might be foreign to first-generation college attendees.
TENNESSEE
Charter school applications face tall task
Daily News Journal, June 18, 2013
If charter schools are to take hold in Rutherford County, they’ll have to make a better impression than The Tracey Darnell Montessori Academy did here last week.
WISCONSIN
Tax deductions for private-school tuition wrong
Editorial, Appleton Post Crescent, June 18, 2013
Most of the discussion about K-12 public education in the state budget has been about three issues: how much money K-12 schools will get from the state, how much money K-12 schools will be able to spend and whether the state’s voucher school program will be expanded. But another issue has come up recently — and it would have a major impact.
Wisconsin Democrats courting GOP moderates to change their voucher vote
Journal Sentinel, June 17, 2013
Democratic leaders publicly solicited the votes of moderate Republican state senators to switch sides on the budget debate during a news conference Monday aimed at defeating the expansion of school voucher programs
ONLINE LEARNING
Suburban districts spend $320,800 opposing online charter school plan
Daily Herald, June 17, 2013
The appeal process for a proposed suburban virtual charter school was cut short last week — but not before 18 suburban school districts spent more than $320,800 in legal fees on the issue.