Daily Headlines for June 21, 2011
Clinton Honored As Charter Schools Confab Gets Busy
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, June 20, 2011
Attendees at a national charter school conference in Atlanta will tour local charter school campuses today and honor former President Bill Clinton for his support of the concept.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Grading the Teachers
City Journal, June 20, 2011
Ignore the union gripes-value-added teacher evaluations are a useful accountability tool and should be available for public scrutiny.
COLORADO
State Has Millions To Share With 9 Of Colorado’s Worst Performing Schools
Denver Post, CO, June 20, 2011
The Colorado Department of Education is now looking to partner with nine of the state’s lowest performing schools to implement new interventions that will get students on track when they begin to fall behind.
FLORIDA
Teachers Union Sues Florida Over New Pension Law
Sun Sentinel, FL, June 20, 2011
The 140,000-member statewide teachers union sued Gov. Rick Scott and other state officials on Monday to block a new law that requires state employees to begin contributing to their retirement plans.
INDIANA
Revolutionizing Education, Hoosier-Style
Washington Times, DC, June 20, 2011
This year, Indiana lawmakers made dramatic improvements to the state’s K-12 education system to empower teachers and principals, put students on a path to success, use taxpayer money more effectively and provide families with new schooling options.
Blame Lawmakers For Voucher Scramble
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, June 21, 2011
Exact dates vary, but most Hoosier K-12 students will begin school in eight or nine weeks. Yet students and parents seriously considering private school vouchers as an option will have difficulty planning for the school year because rules on how the voucher system works are still being drafted.
KENTUCKY
Kentucky Seeks To Replace No Child Left Behind Standards
Louisville Courier-Journal, KY, June 20, 2011
Kentucky is seeking to become the first state in the nation to use its statewide accountability system to determine whether schools are meeting the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.
LOUISIANA
Senate Passes Bill Allowing Corporate Sponsorship Of Charter Schools In Exchange For Student Slots, Board Seats
Times Picayune, LA, June 20, 2011
Over the objections of some public school advocates, the Louisiana Senate voted 22-16 Monday to allow corporations to sponsor charter schools in exchange for controlling up to half of the enrollment slots and half of the governing board seats.
MARYLAND
State to Evaluate Teachers On Student Progress
Baltimore Sun, MD, June 20, 2011
Maryland moved Monday to begin evaluating teachers based in part on how well their students learn their lessons – a significant change that will be tried first in seven school districts, including Baltimore city and county, this fall.
MICHIGAN
Stronger Medicine For Sick Schools
Detroit Free Press, MI, June 21, 2011
Detroiters inevitably experience a sense of déjà vu whenever elected officials, business leaders, philanthropists and clergymen unveil yet another initiative to save the state’s largest school district — a sense, as state Schools Superintendant Mike Flanagan, a principal in the latest such initiative, acknowledged Monday, that “we have seen this movie before.”
Charter Schools Show Results: Lift The State Cap On Their Number
Flint Journal, MI, June 21, 2011
Recent student testing in Michigan showed something shocking: Fewer than 50 percent of students in grades 4, 7 and 11 are proficient in writing, and the proficiency rates in subjects like reading, mathematics and science aren’t what they should be, either.
NEW YORK
City Goes to Court Over Charter Schools
WNYC News, NY, June 21, 2011
The city, the teachers union and the NAACP will square off in court Tuesday over plans to let 19 charter schools take space in the same buildings as regular schools. And, like most things in New York City, the feud is largely about real estate.
NORTH CAROLINA
More School Options in Cleveland County? Lawmakers Lift Charter School Cap
Shelby Star, NC, June 20 2011
Cleveland County doesn’t have a charter school – at least not yet.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City Teacher Union Pushing For Reforms
The Oklahoman, OK, June 21, 2011
The Oklahoma City American Federation of Teachers has presented a district improvement plan that calls for changes to teacher evaluations, as well as asking for external help for struggling schools.
PENNSYLVANIA
Education Secretary To Council Prez: Remember, State’s In Charge
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, June 21, 2011
City Council is set to sit down with school-district officials and the School Reform Commission today to talk about how the district will use the additional $53 million in funding to which Council has given preliminary approval.
Democrats Target SRC’s Power Over Unions
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 20, 2011
Though it faces long odds in a Republican-controlled legislature, a group of Philadelphia Democrats hopes to help the city teachers’ union by stripping the School Reform Commission of its extraordinary powers.
School Choice Turns to ‘Tower of Babble’
Pottstown Mercury, PA, June 21, 2011
In January, at the dawn of the current legislative session, it appeared as if Pennsylvania was finally headed toward giving parents of c
hildren in failing schools the right of school choice. School choice had been designated as Senate Bill 1, an appellation that indicated its priority status.
Corbett Open To Voucher Compromise To Get Legislation Passed
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, June 21, 2011
Gov. Tom Corbett wants to see a school voucher program enacted by June 30 and would support a compromise to scale the program back to two years from the four years he wanted, his spokesman said Monday.
RHODE ISLAND
In Central Falls, Charter Schools Considered Great Learning Resources
Providence Journal, RI, June 20, 2011
In Cranston, people are fighting over whether to allow a new public charter school.
WISCONSIN
Free Market Will Make School Choice Work, Vos Says
Journal Times, WI, June 20, 2011
“Scholarships, that’s what I’ve always called them. A voucher makes it sound like people are on welfare. A scholarship means you have the opportunity to take something that you own, because you are given it, and you get to apply it to where you choose to go,” Vos said during a visit to The Journal Times Editorial Board.
VIRTUAL LEARNING
Future of Education Legislation Uncertain
Statesman Journal, OR, June 21, 2011
House Bill 2301 would let students attend online schools, called “virtual public schools,” with the consent of their home districts but the total would be capped. If consent was denied, appeals would be expedited to the state Board of Education.