Daily Headlines for May 20, 2011
No Child Left Behind Fix Lagging in Congress
Associated Press, May 20, 2011
The long-awaited overhaul of the 9-year-old No Child Left Behind law has begun in the House with the first in a series of targeted bills, but a bipartisan, comprehensive reform of the nation’s most important education law still appears far from the finish line.
FROM THE STATES
COLORADO
Denver Public Schools OKs Innovation Status For 3 Future Schools
Denver Post, CO, May 20, 2011
Over opposition from the teachers union, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education voted 4-3 Thursday night to approve innovation status for three more future schools in the far northeast.
CONNECTICUT
Private Firm May Run Public School In New Haven
The Hartford Courant, CT, May 19, 2011
The city’s school system plans to hire a private company to run one of the city’s most troubled public schools, taking an unusual step that has been tried with varying success in a handful of school systems in Connecticut.
GEORGIA
Charter Schools Ruling Puts Many In Legal Limbo
Columbus Ledger Enquirer, GA, May 20, 2011
Court has not outlawed or abolished charter schools. What the court did, in a 4-3 decision handed down Monday, was to say charter schools, like other public schools in Georgia , are the province of local school districts and not the state.
Cherokee Makes No Charter School Decision
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, May 19, 2011
The Cherokee County School Board took no action Thursday on a last-minute appeal to reconsider a previously denied charter school application.
ILLINOIS
What’s In A Name The Issue: Plaza Becomes Prep Academy.
Evansville Courier & Press, IL, May 20, 2011
The name of the Academy for Innovative Studies is relatively new, but the concept isn’t. The EVSC has offered innovative programs for children who do not function well in traditional classroom settings for years.
INDIANA
Cathedral Among Groups Receiving Grants To Study Creating Charters
Indianapolis Star, IN, May 20, 2011
Cathedral High School is among five community groups that received research grants Thursday from the mayor’s office to explore the creation of charter schools.
Parents Facing A Long Wait For Answers
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, May 20, 2011
Parents interested in taking advantage of Indiana’s new private school voucher program have little choice but to wait for details. How do parents enroll children? How do they know which schools will accept vouchers? Will the vouchers be on paper or electronic?
MICHIGAN
Lawmakers Say Firing Bad Teachers Too Costly; Tenure Reforms Sought
Detroit Free Press, MI, May 20, 2011
Removing an ineffective teacher is such a long, expensive process that many districts won’t bother trying. State lawmakers want a face-lift for tenure laws, making it easier to fire bad teachers and harder to gain tenure status.
NEW JERSEY
Charters Should Be Option for All N.J. Students
Star Ledger Blog, NJ, May 20, 2011
Challenging the same old, same old is always tough, no matter how beneficial change may be.
NEW YORK
The Teachers Union and the NAACP Make War on the kids When They Sue To Keep Failing Schools Open
New York Daily News, NY, May 20, 2011
The United Federation of Teachers has launched an all-out legal assault on the city’s attempt to serve kids who attend failing schools. This was predictable. The union serves the interests of its adult members.
Education Legislation Struggle Breaks Old Alliances, Builds New Ones
New York Times, NY, May 20, 2011
After failing on three separate occasions to pass his signature education bill for the session and running out of time on a fourth, the Republican from The Woodlands was describing his plan to attach the legislation as an amendment to other bills that are still working their way through the House.
TENNESSEE
Alcoa Cool To Charter School Plan
Maryville Daily Times, TN, May 20, 2011
A group of Blount County residents who hope to open the state’s first suburban charter school may be facing an uphill battle with little support from elected school officials.
TN House Approves Bill To Limit Teachers Unions
The Tennessean, TN, May 20, 2011
After a grueling, four-hour debate in the state House of Representatives, Tennessee lawmakers were on track to put an end to formal negotiations between school boards and the state’s teachers union Thursday night.
WISCONSIN
We Must Expand the Parental School Choice Program in Racine
Journal Times, WI, May 20, 2011
Open the doors of learning to families wherever they seek to find it, regardless of economic means, race or ethnicity. It is what we as the adults of this community must do out of respect for the human potential in every child. We must expand the Parental School Choice Program in Racine.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Virtual and Traditional Ed Mix Well
Amherst Bulletin, MA, May 20, 2011
In the coverage of the academic options being considered by area schools, many of the comments imply that full-time virtual schools and traditional brick and mortar schools are the only available choices.
First Online High School Coming to Georgia
WRDW-TV, GA, May 19, 2011
The first online high school is coming to Georgia in August. Unlike existing virtual programs in the state, this will be strictly for students in grades 9-12 being taught all courses.
Dip In Number Of Colorado Home-Schoolers May Be Linked To Surge In Online Enrollment
Denver Post, CO, May 20, 2011
That’s how JD, now a Colorado Connections Academy eighth-grader, joined one of the fastest-growing student categories: online scholar. As the number of online students grows, state data indicate the number of home-schooled students is dropping, and some parents and educators see a link between the two.