Daily Headlines for April 19, 2011
FROM THE STATES
Alabama
Hearings on Charter Schools Set Wednesday
Times Daily, AL, April 19, 2011
Charter schools, the subject of heated debate and controversy during 2009 and 2010 sessions of the Legislature, are coming up again Wednesday in a public hearing on a bill that would allow them.
Area School Officials Support Proposed Changes To Tenure Law
Montgomery Advertiser, AL, April 18, 2011
Local school system leaders support proposed legislation that would alter the state’s teacher tenure law, even as the Alabama Education Association mounts a vigorous campaign against the proposal.
District of Columbia
For Leftists, Some Choices Are More Equal Than Others
Washington Examiner, DC, April 18, 2011
It’s peculiar how the Left embraces choice when it comes to aborting children, but opposes it for children languishing in failing public schools. These substandard schools virtually guarantee their students a life of poverty, teen pregnancy, near illiteracy and welfare dependence.
Georgia
Population Shifts Mean Big Changes For Schools
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, April 18, 2011
When Marcia and John Grimsley moved to Johns Creek from Buckhead ten years ago, they identified the schools they wanted their children to attend and built their lives around them.
Illinois
A New Team for CPS
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 19, 2011
Signs that Jean-Claude Brizard, soon to be CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, has the chops for the job: In three years as superintendent of the Rochester, N.Y., schools, he’s already posted improvements in graduation rates and test scores.
Missouri
KC’s Closed Schools Need A Brighter Future
Kansas City Star, MO, April 18, 2011
The Kansas City School District urgently needs to find new uses for 38 empty school buildings. Neighborhoods are understandably chafing about vacant structures in their midst and some of the buildings have been vandalized.
New Jersey
Meet the School Board Candidates: Vidya Gangadin and Carol Harrison-Arnold
Jersey City Independent, NJ, April 18, 2011
There are three open seats for three-year terms on the city’s Board of Education (BOE) up for grabs in this year’s election, which will take place on April 27 (polls are open from 7 am to 9 pm). JCI reached out to all 10 candidates with our questionnaire, which asks about their backgrounds, their ideas about specific issues and what they would do if elected to the BOE.
Duncan Drops In on Newark’s School Debate
Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2011
A visit to Newark by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Wednesday highlights the city’s emerging status as a focal point in struggle over how to improve public schools.
No Time For Politics
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 18, 2011
After months of tough talk about reform, Gov. Christie has finally delivered his proposal to drastically change New Jersey’s education system.
New York
Stakes Are High At Lottery For Bronx Charter School, Where 98% Of Families Go Home Unhappy
New York Daily News, NY, April 19, 2011
In the hushed gymnasium at Bronx Charter School for Excellence, Nelliette Colon was a bundle of nerves as she sat next to her 5-year-old son.
Future Foggy As Jean-Claude Brizard Departs
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY, April 19, 2011
He closed failing schools, overhauled the budget and pushed to tie teacher salaries to performance, but as Jean-Claude Brizard departs Rochester, some wonder if education officials will continue the controversial work he started.
Ohio
Voucher Applicants Surpass State Cap Again
Dayton Daily News, OH, April 18, 2011
For the second year in a row, more Ohio students have applied for private school tuition vouchers than are available.
Rhode Island
Teacher Seniority Loses Some of Its Clout
Providence Journal, RI, April 19, 2011
Scituate is one of the first school districts to abandon seniority as the sole criteria for filling vacant teaching positions.
South Carolina
Panel Hears Call For More Choice In Education
Anderson Independent Mail, SC, April 18, 2011
The state’s school superintendent called Monday for more choices for the school system, and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint called for less federal involvement.
Don’t Believe Education Fearmongers
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC, April 19, 2011
Leaders of the so-called education lobby are rallying their bureaucrats against the evils of parental choice in K-12 education.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Future of Education Looking A Bit Brighter
Foster’s Daily Democrat, ME, April 19, 2011
Maine is one state in which a variety of electronic learning methods are taking hold in different ways, including some which meld the traditional classroom and modern gadgetry.
A Virtual Education
St. George Daily Spectrum, UT, April 19, 2011
Utah Connections Academy, a virtual public school, conducted an information session Monday night in Cedar City , where students and parents could ask questions about the curriculum and other aspects of this new form of education.
Virtual Schools Are An Innovation Deserving Our Support
The Register-Guard, OR, April 19, 2011
The underprioritizing and underfunding of the American educational system is a national sin and endangers us stupendously. We’ve all heard, and too many have felt, the knifed-to-the-bone agony of closures and cutbacks of all kinds in our public schools – the “new normal.”