Daily Headlines for February 4, 2013
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.
NATIONAL COVERAGE
Norton’s school-choice concerns driven by politics, not reality
Opinion, Washington Times, DC, February 3, 2014
There’s a tug of war taking place in the nation’s capital, and school-choice advocates should push forward with all deliberate speed.
Preschool Push Moving Ahead in Many States
New York Time, NY, February 4, 2014
Preschool is having its moment, as a favored cause for politicians and interest groups who ordinarily have trouble agreeing on the time of day. President Obama devoted part of his State of the Union address to it, while the deeply red states of Oklahoma and Georgia are being hailed as national models of preschool access and quality, with other states and cities also forging ahead on their own.
Vouchers and Charters and Magnets, Oh My!
National Journal, February 3, 2014
In case it escaped anyone’s notice, last week was National School Choice Week, as decreed by an organization of the same name and recognized by several governors and mayors.
STATE COVERAGE
ALABAMA
Judge to rule soon on private-school tax credits
Gadsden Times, AL, February 3, 2014
A federal judge said Monday that he will rule soon on whether to throw out a lawsuit challenging a new Alabama law that provides tax credits to families who move their children from failing public schools to private schools.
ARIZONA
New charter-school push in Phoenix core
Arizona Republic, AZ, February 3, 2014
A new group is investing $2.5 million toward an ambitious goal: Its leaders want to open 25 new A-rated charter schools in Phoenix’s urban core by 2020.
Judge blocks state’s bid to collect refunds from charter schools
Arizona Daily Star, AZ, February 3, 2014
State education officials have been blocked by a judge from taking nearly $5.9 million away from charter schools.
IDAHO
Top-down standards will hurt Idaho kids
Opinion, Idaho Statesman ID, February 4, 2014
The people of Idaho should determine how to best educate our children, rather than bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. Numerous federal programs have been sent out and become more onerous, such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and now Common Core, with the most extensive testing program yet.
ILLINOIS
Rauner’s charter school takeover
Chicago Sun-Ties, IL, February 3, 2014
Sarah Howard thought Bruce Rauner was an angel who would rescue her financially troubled, academically struggling charter school in East Garfield Park.
LOUISIANA
Looking for Common Core alternatives
The Advisor, LA, February 3, 2014
A group of state lawmakers is pursuing legislation that would take Louisiana out of the Common Core State Standards for public schools or at least put restraints on how those standards are implemented.
MARYLAND
Charter school savings
Letter, Baltimore Sun, MD, February 3, 2014
Commentator Bobbie MacDonald might also have mentioned that charter schools save a lot of money in the facilities solutions that they variously pursue, both in school system-owned buildings and elsewhere (“Don’t leave charter schools behind,” Jan. 28).
MASSACHUSETTS
State renews charter of Salem school
Salem News, MA, February 4, 2014
Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester has renewed the charter of Salem Academy Charter School for five more years.
MICHIGAN
Mich. lawmakers consider test options for Common Core assessments in schools
Detroit News, MI, February 4, 2014
State lawmakers don’t get to pick which test Michigan schoolchildren take when they transition into the world of online state assessments in 2015, but they do control the purse strings to pay for it.
NEBRASKA
OPS board members engage in spirited debate over charter schools
The Omaha World Herald, NE, February 4, 2014
A review of the Omaha Public Schools’ position on this year’s crop of education bills in the Legislature sparked a spirited debate on charter schools at Monday’s school board meeting.
NEW JERSEY
Teachers to see their grades under controversial evaluation system
The Record, NJ, February 3, 2014
The New Jersey department of education plans to give thousands of teachers statewide their first peek Tuesday at their scores under a new system that ties part of their evaluations to their students’ progress on annual state tests.
NEW YORK
City charter contingent heads to Albany
Capital New York, NY, February 3, 2014
About 1,400 New York City charter school parents and advocates will lobby state legislators in Albany on Tuesday as they prepare to do battle with the de Blasio administration.
De Blasio says he won’t allow co-locations for charter schools
New York Post, NY, February 4, 2014
Just days after Mayor de Blasio’s Department of Education proposed slashing $210 million from a charter-school construction fund, he said he also won’t allow charters to share space in public-school buildings going forward.
Helping to Build a School for the Poor, by Selling One in a Wealthier Area
New York Times, NY, February 4, 2014
Ife Lenard, a charter school principal in the South Bronx, could not help but smile as she ran her hand over an architectural model of the school that the Children’s Aid Society plans to build for her young students, and described its future pottery kiln, science labs and library.
Mayor de Blasio defends yanking $210M from charter schools
New York Daily News, NY, February 3, 2014
Even though the education capital plan expands funding for prekindergarten seats, the mayor didn’t specifically mention them when he defended his decision to cut charter school funding.
Save the Charter Schools
Editorial, National Review Online, February 4, 2014
Charter schools are a tiny crack in the Berlin Wall of the government-school monopoly, far short of the liberalized approach to education we would prefer. But they are a significant improvement that comes at very little cost, and Mayor de Blasio’s attack on them elevates the interests of his political cronies over those of the city’s children.
NORTH CAROLINA
Education group urges NC teachers to reject contracts
News & Observer, NC, February 3, 2014
A state education group is asking teachers to reject contracts that districts are offering them to replace tenure. Teacher tenure is being phased out under a new law, to be replaced with contracts of one- to four years. To start, school districts must offer 25 percent of their best teachers four-year contracts. Those teachers who sign give up their tenure, but receive pay increases of $500 a year for a total of $5,000 over the four years.
Nearly half of NC’s local school boards sign on as plaintiffs in school voucher case; several also reject teacher contracts
The Progressive Pulse, NC, February 3, 2014
Fifty-four school boards in North Carolina have now signed on to be plaintiffs in the NC School Board Association’s school voucher lawsuit, which calls into question the constitutionality of providing families with $4,200 annual taxpayer-funded scholarships to use at private schools.
Voucher system puts education focus where it belongs — on students
Opinion, Mt. Airy News, NC, February 3, 2014
In Today’s Mount Airy News, on this editorial and opinion page, we have a column called Tuesday Numbers, which is a periodic look at some of the numbers behind significant news stories and events that affect North Carolina residents. The information is supplied by NC Policy Watch, a decidedly liberal organization that often offers commentary on North Carolina politics.
OKLAHOMA
TPS charter school attitude evolves
Editorial, Tulsa World, OK, February 3, 2014
Tulsa Public Schools scored another coup this week, when it was announced the district will receive a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help implement its new district-charter school compact.
PENNSYLVANIA
City board urged to reject 3 charter schools
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, February 4, 2014
Pittsburgh Public Schools staff on Monday recommended that the school board reject three charter school applications.
Test scores show curriculum changes working at Hyndman charter school
Cumberland Times-News, PA, February 3, 2014
Pennsylvania schools have received new scores under an assessment measure called School Performance Profile.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Lowcountry Leadership Charter School overcomes opening obstacles with new building, happy in new home
Charleston Post Courier, SC, February 4, 2014
Creating this kind of student-centered learning environment is a point of emphasis for the new charter school that opened earlier this school year. Lowcountry Leadership Charter was the only new public school to open its doors in the Lowcountry this fall, and it had a less than ideal start.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Superintendents: Low pay hinders teacher hiring retention
Argus Leader, SD, February 4, 2014
Almost three-quarters of South Dakota school superintendents responding to a survey say they are convinced low pay is an important reason they are having trouble hiring and keeping teachers, according to a survey released Monday by groups representing school districts.
TENNESSEE
PACs spend big as TN legislators consider new school voucher system
The Tennessean, TN, February 4, 2014
As the Tennessee General Assembly considers adopting a new school voucher system, two out-of-state organizations in support of that cause are making a strong statement financially in the state legislature.
Nine charter school groups signal plans to apply to open in Nashville
The Tennessean, TN, February 3, 2014
Nine charter school operators have signaled interest in applying to open new schools in Nashville, including six that would locate in the south part of the city and another looking to take over a low-performing Metro school.
TEXAS
Charter school inequality?
Opinion, Houston Chronicle, TX, February 3, 2014
The topic of school finance is back in the pages of this paper with last month’s start of Round Two of the school finance trial after a yearlong delay.
ONLINE LEARNING
Fort Gibson school district pilots virtual school day; students completing assignments on snow days
KJRH-TV, OK, February 3, 2014
With so many snow days already this year, one local school district is coming up with a way to keep students learning outside the classroom.
NC lawmakers hear from company on virtual schools
WNTC, NC, February 4, 2014
One of the national companies vying to run a taxpayer-supported, online-only school in North Carolina is making a public pitch to state legislators.
Obama will speed up plan to connect public schools to the Internet
Los Angeles Times Blog, CA, February 4, 2014
President Obama is speeding up his pet project to connect American public schools to the Internet through an unusual combination of government investment and contributions from the private sector.