Daily Headlines for September 7, 2011
US Education System Needs An Update
The Daily Cougar, TX, September 6, 2011
Education in America is in a state of decay. With damaging policies like No Child Left Behind, (NCLB) we continue to fall lower in the global rankings of math, science and reasoning. America continues to voice its concerns, and promises continue to be delivered. However, the budget for education continues to be cut.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Will The Real A.J. Duffy Please Speak Up?
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 7, 2011
September Then again, Duffy recently switched teams, so why not uniforms? In fact, he pulled off a flip so incredible the could have joined Cirque du Soleil. The brash, charter school-bashing union boss has become director of – can you believe it? – a charter school company.
LAUSD’s ‘Unjust’ Approach to Charter Schools in South L.A
Los Angeles Wave, CA, September 6, 2011
Public education within the Los Angeles Unified School District is in a state of distress. As a parent, grandparent and community member, it is a painful process to watch; akin to watching a patient’s condition deteriorate, while the patient’s suggestions for his own condition are being ignored.
COLORADO
DPS Charter Schools Fare Better Than Other Urban Programs Nationwide
9News, CO, September 6, 2011
If you compare charter schools in the Mile High City, to charter schools in other urban areas, you’ll find an interesting trend. According to test scores, Denver outperforms everyone that keeps track of charter school growth.
CONNECTICUT
Conn. Schools Turn to Newark
Wall Street Journal, September 7, 2011
Following a promise to take drastic action to reform Connecticut’s struggling public school system, Gov. Dannel Malloy has chosen a new education chief whose career has been steeped more in urban development than in lesson plans.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. Parents Choosing To Home-School Their Children
Washington Post, DC, September 7, 2011
This summer, the online parenting forums for some D.C. neighborhoods lighted up with queries about a topic normally considered the domain of suburban and rural parents. In Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Brookland and along U Street, parents are contemplating educating their children at home.
DCPS Eases IMPACT for Highly Effective Teachers
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 6, 2011
D.C. schools officials have made their most significant modification yet to the IMPACT teacher evaluation system, one that allows educators who score consistently in the highly-effective range to skip the final three of their five annual classroom observations.
FLORIDA
Three Proposed Charter Schools Seek Approval
St. Augustine Record, FL, September 6, 2011
Finance, facilities and curriculum for three proposed charter schools all came under scrutiny by the St. Johns County School Board during a workshop Tuesday.
Charter Schools: Numbers Show Education Is Excellent
Sun Sentinel, FL, September 6, 2011
On behalf of the many thousands of public charter school teachers, parents and students in Florida , I would like to rebut an opinion column published in the Sun Sentinel (“Failing charter schools offer empty promise of education”) on Aug. 26. The points below will provide clarity and truth about Florida ‘s charter schools.
Scott Names GOP Operative to Fla. Education Board
Miami Herald, FL, September 6, 2011
Gov. Rick Scott bolstered his own influence as well as that of former Gov. Jeb Bush on Florida ‘s school system Tuesday when he appointed another Bush insider to the State Board of Education.
IDAHO
New Jerome Charter School Opens for First Day of Classes
Magic Valley Times-News, ID, September 7, 2011
The Magic Valley’s newest, and Jerome’s first, charter school opened its doors to students for the first time Tuesday.
ILLINOIS
Teachers Union Accuses CPS of Emotional Blackmail Over Longer School Day
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 7, 2011
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard raised the stakes Tuesday in their effort to add 90 minutes to Chicago’s school day by offering financial incentives to all elementary schools that adopt the plan even as negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union have stalled.
INDIANA
Study Vouchers’ Effects
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, September 7, 2011
Beginning this fall, Indiana has undertaken what most believe is the largest experiment in school choice in the country, allowing even middle-class families to spend state tuition dollars at private and parochial schools. A lawsuit is pending, but proponents point to a constitutional charge to encourage, “by all suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific and agricultural improvement.
Bennett Touts School Voucher Success
WISHtv 8, IN, September 6, 2011
The state’s top education official reported Tuesday that the new school choice voucher program is off to a positive start.
IOWA
Education Reform Plan Will Call For Exit Exams, Teacher Pay Tier
Des Moines Register, IA, September 7, 2011
Iowa education leaders Tuesday unveiled a framework for overhauling the state’s education system that includes implementing high school exit exams, doing away with a century-old teacher pay system and expanding charter schools.
LOUISIANA
Recovery School District Chief Plans Central Enrollment System, Technical Training, More
Times Picayune, LA, September 6, 2011
The head of the state-run Recovery School District , which governs most of the city’s public
schools, issued a wide-ranging strategic plan Tuesday aimed at tackling the district’s most chronic shortcomings.
MAINE
New Magnet School Welcomes First Students
Bangor Daily News, ME, September 6, 2011
MeANS is likely to be near the top of the list of institutions in Maine that will apply for charter school status next year when the new law takes effect. Cummings said the advantage of doing that is to ensure that tuition money follows students from their traditional high schools to the charter schools.
MARYLAND
Staying Ahead of the Game
Baltimore Sun, MD, September 6, 2011
Our view: Reforming schools statewide is the key to maintaining Maryland’s No. 1 education ranking nationally
MASSACHUSETTS
A Wretched Move For Latin Academy
Boston Globe, MA, September 7, 2011
BOSTON NEEDS to attract and retain stable families that are committed to raising and educating their children in the the city. So why is school superintendent Carol Johnson hellbent on destabilizing Boston Latin Academy, one of the city’s best high schools?
MICHIGAN
Choose Local School Choice
Detroit News, MI, September 7, 2011
The Michigan Legislature is toying with the idea of allowing all state students to enroll in schools outside of the districts where they live. It is a utopian concept rife with the possibility of unintended consequences
NEW JERSEY
‘Choice’ School Districts Welcome Nonlocals
Press of Atlantic City, NJ, September 7, 2011
Fifty-eight students arrived for the first day of school Tuesday at the tiny West Cape May Elementary School. But only 42 actually live in West Cape May. The remaining 16 were “choice” students whose parents had enrolled their children in the K-6 school as part of the state Department of Education’s expanded Public School Choice program.
New Jersey’s Disposable Children
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, September 6, 2011
What is unfortunate is that so many in New Jersey find the destruction of children of color in failing schools a mere rounding error in our education calculus.
NEW YORK
New Yorkers Say Mayor Has Not Improved Schools
New York Times, NY, September 7, 2011
New Yorkers are broadly dissatisfied with the quality of their public schools, and most say the city’s school system has stagnated or declined since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took control of it nine years ago, according to a New York Times poll.
NORTH CAROLINA
Cape Fear Region Well Positioned to Shape Rules for Charter Schools
Star News, NC, September 6, 2011
The Cape Fear region is well represented on the new council that will help oversee the state’s expanded charter school program. Among the 15 members of the N.C. Charter School Advisory Council are Tim Markley, superintendent of the New Hanover County Schools, and Baker Mitchell Jr., co-founder of the Roger Bacon Academy, which operates charter schools in Brunswick and Columbus counties.
OHIO
Columbus Puts School Buildings On Sale As Law Requires
Columbus Dispatch, OH, September 7, 2011
Charter schools will have a shot at buying any of three vacant elementary school buildings from Columbus City Schools, provided they can pay the asking price of $1.3 million to $1.9 million, and spend plenty in needed repairs.
Area Charter Schools See Big Gains On State Report Cards
Dayton Daily News, OH, September 6, 2011
Local charter schools saw significant gains on the latest round of state report cards, with about 40 percent improving their ratings.
State School Board Developing Teacher Evaluation Plan, But Still Weighing How To Use Student Performance In The Rating
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, September 6, 2011
The state school board is fine-tuning parts of a model plan for evaluating teachers across Ohio, but has barely started on what promises to be the most controversial half — measuring and using student academic performance in a teacher’s rating.
OREGON
Governor Seeking Cooperation Over School Reform
Register Guard, OR, September 7, 2011
Gov. John Kitzhaber thinks Oregon needs to change the way it pays for education and other public services. But during visits to Eugene and Springfield on Tuesday, Kitzhaber said changing the state’s finance system won’t succeed unless conservatives and liberals – who have previously clashed on tax proposals – can agree on the need and manner of the reforms.
PENNSYLVANIA
Keeping ‘An Open Mind’ At New Audenried Charter High
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, September 7, 2011
AVA REEVES, a senior at the new Universal Audenried Charter High School, bantered with Principal Robert Rouse yesterday after he chided her about her school uniform.
Philadelphia Catholic High School Teachers Go On Strike
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 7, 2011
More than 16,000 students who attend high schools operated by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia begin returning to school Wednesday, but their teachers will be on picket lines instead of in class.
Gillingham Charter School Holds First Day of Classes Tuesday
Republican Herald, PA, September 7, 2011
Schuylkill County’s first charter school held its first classes Tuesday with 190 students enrolled.
Philadelphia-Based Nonprofit Looks To Open 3 Charter Schools In Harrisburg For 2012-13 School Year
Patriot News, PA, September 6, 2011
A Philadelphia-based nonprofit company is looking at opening three charter schools in Harrisburg in time for the 2012-13 school year.
WEST VIRGINIA
Grading Public School Teachers
The Intelligencer, WV, September 7, 2011
Finding ways to reward excellent teachers while keeping bad ones out of the classroom is a high priority for school reformers. But agreement on the subject seems to end there. Just how to evaluate teachers accurately and fairly is a matter of enormous controversy.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Four Students Enroll In Hampton’s Cyber School
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 7, 2011
Four high school students have signed up to be the first to take part in Hampton’s cyber school. At its work session Tuesday night, the school board discussed the new Hampton Online Academy, with Laurie Heinricher, curriculum director for the district.
Online Schools Clicks With Detroit Family
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 7, 2011
On his first day of school in cyberspace, 16-year-old Perry Baker didn’t even bother to change his clothes or put on shoes. He woke up around 9 a.m., came downstairs wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, and sat in front of a computer in his living room on the east side of Detroit.
Virtual Classroom Attracts Thousands of Utah Students
ABC4, UT, September 6, 2011
Some Utah kids went back to school this year without every stepping out their front door. More than 9-thousand students in the state earned school credit through cyberspace in the past year.
Could Virtual Academy Compete With Home School?
Wyoming Tribune Eagle, WY, September 6, 2011
While some think virtual education programs are drawing students away from traditional schools, the programs also are reaching into the home-school community.