Daily Headlines for February 25, 2014
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
A ‘Common Core’ firestorm
Pilot-Tribune, IA, February 25, 2014
The “Common Core” is the red-hot controversy in education today, with some states fighting to dump the standards and the National Education Association, which represents teachers, claiming the implementation of the standards has been “completely botched.”
Low Standards Upstream Cause Problems Downstream
Letter, Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2014
“Remedial Courses’ New Test” (U.S. News, Feb. 18) discusses a disheartening trend of weakening academic standards to raise graduation rates.
NC school vouchers on hold
Watchdog.org, February 25, 2014
About 4,000 North Carolina families must wait for the courts to untangle a legal challenge involving the state’s voucher program before they’ll know what schools their children can attend next year.
School Choice is the Only Choice for a Better Education
Column, Town Hall, February 25, 2014
The idea that parents have no control over where their children go to school is unthinkable. The public school education system currently in America is exactly that. Children must go to a school based not on choice, but on five numbers-their zip code.
STATE COVERAGE
ALABAMA
AEA blasts bill by Sen. Del Marsh limiting role of seniority in determining teacher layoffs
The Huntsville Times Blog, AL, February 25, 2014
The Alabama Education Association has blasted proposed legislation that would limit how much local school systems can consider seniority when deciding which teachers to lay off when they are forced to make cutbacks.
ALASKA
State should build on success of public charter schools
Column, Anchorage Daily News, AK, February 25, 2014
This is, officially, the Education Session in Juneau. You have our attention. Actually, you had our attention at the State of the State address. It was during this speech that Gov. Sean Parnell acknowledged public charter school success.
CALIFORNIA
Charters on New Prop. Z Rules: ‘Absolutely a Slap in the Face’
Voice of San Diego, CA, February 25, 2014
When the San Diego Unified school board voted to raise the bar on charter schools seeking Prop. Z funding, nobody talked about Old Town Academy.
FLORIDA
FCAT merit-based teacher pay: an unfair indicator
The Independent Florida Alligator, FL, February 25, 2014
Luckily, our FCAT days are behind us. After all, the snacks used as bribery tactics and all of the time out of class in the world couldn’t make up for the fact that state standardized testing is a waste of schools’ time and an unfair indicator of teacher and student success.
Florida Dept. of Education Releases Teachers’ Grades After Losing Lawsuit
The Ledger, FL, February 24, 2014
Polk County’s teachers performed slightly better than the state average in a controversial grading system the Florida Department of Education made public Monday after losing a lawsuit that forced its release.
Make testing a part of school vouchers
Editorial, Sun Sentinel, FL, February 24, 2014
It’s an educational fix long overdue. So give Florida Senate President Don Gaetz credit for insisting that private schools that receive state-supported vouchers administer the same accountability tests as their public-school counterparts.
Questions abound as state releases teacher evaluation scores
Tampa Bay Times, FL, February 25, 2014
Pasco County language arts teacher Valerie Smith learned early Monday that part of her 2013 job evaluation was being made public.
ILLINOIS
Parent groups push ISAT boycott in CPS
Chicago Tribune, IL, February 25, 2014
A coalition of Chicago Public Schools parent groups is calling for students to skip the Illinois Standards Achievement Test, which is being replaced this year by another test as a key element for promotions and eligibility for elite schools.
MARYLAND
Signs of trouble in county schools?
Editorial, Baltimore Sun, MD, February 24, 2014
Last week’s decision by Baltimore County’s PTA Council to ask Superintendent Dallas Dance to delay plans to convert all county high schools to an eight-period schedule is noteworthy for a number of reasons.
MASSACHUSETTS
New charter school still looking for location
South Coast Today, MA, February 25, 2014
City on a Hill Charter School, scheduled to open for 110 ninth-graders in August, will conduct its first admissions lottery next month without telling students or parents where the school will be located.
State eyes two charter schools
Boston Globe, MA, February 25, 2014
Massachusetts education officials are preparing to impose several conditions Tuesday on the operating licenses of two high-performing charter schools in Boston to ddress concerns about possible conflict of interest and to clear up any confusion over who is running the schools.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Nashua Teachers Union criticizes Common Core standards test
Nashua Telegraph, NH, February 25, 2014
Nashua teachers are criticizing a new test being rolled out across the state next year as part of the transition to Common Core education standards.
NEW MEXICO
Charter schools a great option
Opinion, Albuquerque Journal, NM, February 25, 2014
On Feb. 3, the New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools hosted the annual School Choice Fair, which included 35 independent, magnet and charter schools that provided information to over 700 families. The intent was not just to display the array of options the New Mexico educational system has to offer, but also to educate parents and students on the available possibilities.
NEW YORK
Charter co-location: A phantom threat
Opinion, New York Daily News, NY, February 25, 2014
A new study reveals that district schools sharing space with charters do no worse on achievement tests
City charter operators shifting advocacy efforts to Albany
Capital News York, NY, February 25, 2014
Operators of charter schools in New York City are looking to Albany for support after failing to gain traction on a series of core issues with local elected officials or the de Blasio administration.
‘Fail factory’ teachers & parents rip school’s principal
New York Post, NY, February 24, 2014
Teachers at troubled Murry Bergtraum HS on Sunday blasted its principal and p.r. guy for bungling a student letter-writing campaign to The Post — and one parent group said the school should be shut down.
NORTH CAROLINA
Mooneyham: Look at school choice
Opinion, Daily Reflector, NC, February 24, 2014
A decision by a Superior Court judge last week to block a new school voucher law was met with howls of disapproval from school choice advocates.
OHIO
State needs to focus on keeping students from dropping out, says Gov. John Kasich
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, February 24, 2014
Ohio has never had a clear focus on preventing kids from dropping out of high school, Gov. John Kasich said Monday, but it needs to now.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma bills to limit third-grade retention pass committee and head to full House
The Oklahoman, OK, February 25, 2014
Parents of students who fail a third-grade reading test would be given additional options to having their children held back under two bills approved Monday by the state House Education Committee.
PENNSYLVANIA
Rules at last
Editorial, Philadelphia Daily News, PA, February 25, 2014
REVIEWING the set of proposed policy changes from the School District that establish new ground rules for authorizing and overseeing charter schools in the city, we were struck with the troubling picture that emerges of the current situation.
Unions didn’t create school-funding mess
Opinion, Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 25, 2014
THE PHILADELPHIA School District is out of money. This is a fact. Now ask yourselves why. It is not because of teachers’ salaries and benefits. Philadelphia teachers do not have comparable compensation equal to their peers across the state.
Would-be charter school founder plans appeal of York City district’s denial
York Dispatch, PA, February 24, 2014
The would-be founder of a proposed York City charter school has decided to take her case to the next level.
TENNESSEE
Multiple charter school proposals clash with new MNPS guidelines
Tennessean, TN, February 24, 214
Metro school officials didn’t back down from a controversial new policy that defines where new charter schools in Davidson County can locate as talks opened on Monday.
VIRGINIA
Middleburg: County’s first charter school?
Loudoun Times, VA, February 24, 2014
For the last six months, three members of the Loudoun County School Board have been extensively sifting through the Middleburg Charter School’s application.
More time needed to decide how to grade Va. schools
Progress Index, VA, February 25, 2014
The House Education Committee approved a bill delaying the implementation of a new grading system for schools this past week, but some delegates are questioning if the new system meets the needs of Virginia schools, parents and communities.
WASHINGTON
Common ground on teacher evaluations needs common facts
News Tribune, WA, February 25, 2014
If the Legislature refuses, the federal government will definitely conclude that nearly every district in the state isn’t meeting annual yearly progress and will be labeled “failing.” That’s current federal law. After that, it is very likely that the Education Department will redirect $44 million in federal Title I money for high-poverty schools.
Senate’s schools funding disappoints Inslee
Seattle Times, WA, February 24, 2014
The state Senate on Monday released a proposed budget that would add money for public schools — but nowhere close to what Gov. Jay Inslee has requested.
WEST VIRGINIA
Teacher pay raise measure up for vote
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, February 25, 2014
Senate is expected to vote on legislation today that would increase pay for teachers and school service personnel.
WISCONSIN
Scrap Senate bill, not Common Core
Editorial, Green Bay Gazette, WI, February 24, 2014
A proposal in the state Senate would establish a board to set state academic standards, effectively ending the Common Core.
ONLINE LEARNING
Bill would alter payments for virtual Maine charter schools
Portland Press Herald, ME, February 25, 2014
A legislator says the state shouldn’t pay as much for online students because the true cost is likely lower.
Detroit’s EAA offers high school students flexible summer schedule
Detroit News, MI, February 24, 2014
Six high schools operated by the Education Achievement Authority will allow students to perform school work online at home and earn credit for internships during the summer as part of the district’s new trimester schedule.
Teachers use technology to ‘flip’ classrooms
LaGrange News, CA, February 24, 2014
Two teachers at Callaway High School have started using a teaching method that flips the classroom model of in-class lectures and homework by using lessons students can watch online, reserving class time to work problems.