Daily Headlines for May 9, 2011
Wisc., Pa. Governors To Address Pro-School Voucher Nonprofit; Union Leaders Plan Protest
Washington Post, DC, May 9, 2011
Two Republican governors are scheduled to speak at a Washington conference hosted by a nonprofit that pushes for private school vouchers and charter schools.
Latest Liberal Assault On School Reform Involves Playing Race Card
Orlando Sentinel, FL, May 8, 2011
Last week we reported how charter schools are less racially diverse than traditional public schools.
Education Reform: Shorter Week, More Learning
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 8, 2011
More than 120 school districts across the U.S. are finding that less can be more – less being fewer days spent in school.
CALIFORNIA
Examining California’s Parent Trigger Law
National Public Radio, May 8, 2011
California’s new “parent trigger” law allows parents with children at a troubled public school to “trigger” one of four school intervention models simply by signing a petition. Parents in Compton have done that already.
Teachers Union Challenges L.A. Unified’s New Evaluation Process
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 8, 2011
UTLA says the district did not “engage in good faith negotiation” over a new teacher evaluation system that includes use of student test scores. L.A. Unified is seeking volunteers to test the system.
COLORADO
Advanced Placement Courses Test Colorado Schools’ Path To Success
Denver Post, CO, May 8, 2011
Students at Peak to Peak Charter School in Lafayette walk from class to class on cold, hard concrete rather than carpet – a subtle reminder that here, in the hallways of Colorado’s most saturated public Advanced Placement environment, substance supersedes style.
FLORIDA
Lawmakers Deepened Hole For Florida’s Schools, But Also Passed Major Reforms
St. Petersburg Times, FL, May 9, 2011
For schools, the annual legislative session left in its wake a $1.1 billion funding cut – and, unlike in years past, a slew of new policy reforms to go with it.
New Rules Shape Schools
Tampa Tribune, FL, May 9, 2011
Lawmakers passed a flurry of bills this session that are aimed at expanding what proponents call innovative school choice and what critics decry as a concerted attack on underfunded public schools.
INDIANA
How Will Education Reform Affect Schools?
Muncie Star Press, IN, May 9, 2011
Local educators react to education reform bills recently passed by the Indiana Legislature
Change in Education Certain, But Outcome Is Not
Terre Haute Tribune Star, IN, May 8, 2011
Let’s hope education reform does better than last Daniels reform
MAINE
Lots of Work Left
Morning Sentinel, ME, May 9, 2011
A mountain of work remains for lawmakers at the State House. With about six weeks left before it is scheduled to adjourn, the Legislature has yet to vote on nearly every major issue pending before it.
MASSACHUSETTS
Ed Reform Sparks Turnarounds, But Few Innovations In Year One
Boston Globe, MA, May 9, 2011
THE STATE’S new education reform law has been, by some measures, a highly utilized weapon. Turnaround efforts for the lowest-performing schools are proceeding apace, and the charter school community has responded eagerly to the challenge of expansion.
NEW JERSEY
In New Jersey, Per-Pupil Cost Proves Divisive
Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2011
Does Newark spend $24,500 or $17,000 per pupil to educate its students? Or is it closer to $10,000? Depends who’s counting.
Christie Administration Urges School Districts to Spend
NJ Spotlight, NJ, May 8, 2011
With deadline to spend ARRA funds fast approaching, school districts are being advised to use it or lose it
Parents, Schools In New Jersey Battle Against Autistic Student Segregation
Press of Atlantic City, NJ, May 8, 2011
The number of students in New Jersey public schools diagnosed with autism has almost doubled in the past five years, to more than 13,000 in 2010. More of these children are now being educated in their hometown schools.
NEW YORK
Lost in the School Choice Maze
New York Times, NY, May 8, 2011
ON the last day in March, when most eighth graders in New York City learned where they would be going to high school in the fall, Radcliffe Saddler watched the majority of his classmates rip open thin envelopes and celebrate.
NORTH CAROLINA
Who’s the Power Behind CMS?
Charlotte Observer, NC, May 8, 2011
If you follow the money, you’ll find the Broad Foundation. And skeptics are questioning its clout.
OHIO
Budget Contains Gift To Charter School Operator And GOP Benefactor David Brennan
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, May 7, 2011
Wealthy Akron businessman David Brennan seems to love running schools and owning politicians. Brennan does a dismal job at the former. He’s having great success with the latter.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pottsville Zoning Board To Hear Charter School Case
Republican Herald, PA, May 9, 2011
Representatives of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church will appear before the Pottsville Zoning Hearing Board this mo
nth to determine if a charter school could occupy a former elementary school on its property.
Charter Schools Likely Coming To Pottstown, But Not Right Away
Pottstown Mercury, PA, May 8, 2011
When Schools Superintendent Reed Lindley told the school board last month that it might be difficult to prevent a charter school from taking over all of Pottstown’s elementary schools, it was an impression he gained as the result of a recently disclosed meeting he attended in Harrisburg.
Charter’s Board Ousts Its Founder
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 8, 2011
Vuong Thuy, the founding chief executive of an academically successful North Philadelphia charter school, was toppled by his handpicked board after a monthlong campaign by parents and staff.
The Case for School Vouchers: Equal Opportunity
Patriot News, PA, May 9, 2011
They say that two things in life are certain: death and taxes. Every Pennsylvanian must pay taxes, a sizable portion of which goes toward public-funded education. But almost 20 percent of students in the commonwealth do not receive this funding. These students are those that opt for a private education.
In Pennsylvania, Activists Pour Millions Into The Fight For School Vouchers
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 8, 2011
Buoyed by what they see as their best opportunity in a decade, education activists are spending millions of dollars and countless hours trying to persuade or pressure Pennsylvania lawmakers to approve school tuition vouchers.
TEXAS
IDEA Schools Drawing Students, Funding From Other Districts
The Monitor, TX, May 8, 2011
In 11 short years, IDEA Public Schools has grown from one hastily arranged campus in an old Donna church house to filling nearly 20 state-rated “exemplary” schools with more than 6,800 students.
WISCONSIN
Choice Plan Isn’t About The Wealthy
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, May 7, 2011
Millionaires do screw up everything, don’t they? They’re hovering even now, ghostlike, haunting the working class amid the talk of expanding Milwaukee’s school choice program.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Cyber-School Students: Pentagon Snubs Our Service
Associated Press, May 9, 2011
Students graduating from the growing ranks of online high schools are running into a hurdle if their goal is to join the military: The Pentagon doesn’t want many recruits with non-traditional diplomas.
Greater Latrobe to Open eCat Online Academy This Fall
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, May 9, 2011
Hoping to win back students who have left the district to attend cyber schools, Greater Latrobe School District will open its own online academy this fall.
I ZUMI: Lesson from Wisconsin
Washington Times, DC, May 6, 2011
As Wisconsin government-employee unions protested against Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-balancing proposals, teachers union members walked out of class, depriving thousands of children of their right to an education. The teachers’ callous, selfish actions demonstrate the need to give parents the ability to bypass the unionized government-monopoly school system.