Daily Headlines for October 3, 2011
The Latest Crime Wave: Sending Your Child to a Better School
Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2011
School districts hire special investigators to follow kids home in order to verify their true residences.
Improving No Child Left Behind
New York Times, NY, October 1, 2011
The 2002 No Child Left Behind Act focused the country’s attention on school reform as never before, but the law is far from perfect. The Obama administration is wise to address its flaws, since Congress is four years overdue in updating the law.
A Federal Takeover of Education
Washington Post, DC, October 1, 2011
A president “gives” states a “voice” in education policy concerning kindergarten through 12th grade? How did this quintessential state and local responsibility become tethered to presidential discretion? Here is how federal power expands, even in the guise of decentralization…
No Quick Fix for No Child Left Behind
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, October 2, 2011
resident Barack Obama correctly overturned a hopelessly optimistic provision in No Child Left Behind, the bipartisan school reform law signed by President George W. Bush in 2002, that could penalize districts for failing to have 100 percent of students proficient in math and reading by 2014.
Just Rewards for Teachers
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 2, 2011
A compensation system based on additional academic credit and experience makes sense only if those factors are actually related to classroom effectiveness. They aren’t.
A Push to Improve Teachers’ Colleges
Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2011
The Obama administration announced a new $185 million competition Friday that would reward colleges for producing teachers whose students perform well on standardized tests.
FROM THE STATES
ARIZONA
Arizona Scholarship Program Faces Lawsuit
Arizona Republic, AZ, October 2, 2011
A lawsuit filed last week is challenging the nation’s first publicly funded education savings-account program, and families who use the scholarship are concerned their children will have to find new schools.
CALIFORNIA
Give California a No Child Left Behind Waiver
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 3, 2011
The Education Department should back off from its mandate that the state use test scores for teacher evaluations.
Rocketship Plans Charter School Expansion in Santa Clara County
San Jose Mercury News, CA, October 2, 2011
Aptly having chosen its name, Rocketship Education is rapidly ascending. With solid test scores, deep pockets of donors and the high-tech cachet of its hybrid-model school, the Palo Alto-based charter operator has captured attention nationwide with its simple mission: Educate poor, English-learners whom other schools have failed.
Deasy Asks LAUSD Board Members To Stay Impartial On School Control
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 1, 2011
Supt. John Deasy was responding to complaints that school board member Bennett Kayser is openly backing plans by three groups of teachers for academies at South Region High School No. 8, set to open next year in Maywood.
COLORADO
School Board Candidates Split On Merits Of Vouchers
Greeley Tribune, CO, October 2, 2011
While it’s too early to tell what role, if any, the question of school vouchers will play in the 14-person race for four open seats on the Greeley-Evans School District 6 Board of Education, a pilot program launched this summer by the Douglas County school board to allow students to attend private schools with public money illustrates the power a school board can have to champion the cause.
These Schools Do Their Homework
Denver Post, CO, October 2, 2011
Though it’s just one piece of the education puzzle, West Denver Prep’s strict focus on homework is a lesson for other schools.
CONNECTICUT
Competition In Education Eludes Hartford’s Model
Harford Business Journal, CT, October 2, 2011
October The chaotic, restrictive educational marketplace (albeit, a somewhat opaque, imperfect marketplace) that greeted the Hartford kids offered up the “local” school, a different “local” school, a magnet school, a charter school, private schools, and, in small dollops, seats in suburban public schools.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Passions On Charter Schools Surface Quickly At Ed Finance Commission
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 30, 2011
There was certainly nothing energizing about the venue–a windowless, stifling basement room beneath the MLK Library. But this was where the 13 members of the new D.C. Public Education Finance Reform Commission met Tuesday evening to begin their complex and politically fraught mission: sorting out questions of equity and fairness around the $1 billion that taxpayers spend annually on schools.
FLORIDA
Polk School Board Turns Down Charter Request
The Ledger, FL, October 2, 2011
The Polk County School Board turned down a request from a proposed charter school in the county, with district officials saying it doesn’t meet the state’s new law for duplicating the programs of other high-¬performing charter schools.
Are Evaluations a Teaching Tool or Trouble Brewing?
Florida Today, FL, October 1, 2011
Brevard’s teachers union is pushing for parts of a newly revamped evaluation plan to be included in its union contract — a request teachers say will protect them. But district leaders warn that could quickly turn the new teacher evaluation process into a “nightmare.”
GEORGIA
Cobb Schools: Imagine Can’t Appeal Denial
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, October 1, 2011
Members of Imagine International Academy of Mableton planned on appealing a denial for renewal, but the school district is saying that the charter school can’t.
ILLINOIS
Illinois Board of Education Approves 9 Members of Newly Created Charter School Commission
Chicago Tribune, IL, October 1, 2011
The Illinois State Board of Education has approved nine members of the newly created State Charter School Commission.
IOWA
Leaders Hope 7th Time’s A Charm For Education Reform Plan
Des Moines Register, IA, October 1, 2011
Six times in the past three decades, education reform proposals aimed at ratcheting up teachers’ classroom performance and students’ academic skills have been rolled out in Iowa.
LOUISIANA
New Measures To Monitor Charter Schools Are Welcome
Times Picayune, LA, September 30, 2011
Independent charter schools will be more rigorously monitored from now on, according to a plan that the state Department of Education presented to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education this week.
MASSACHUSETTS
Classes In Session; Thousands In Limbo
Boston Globe, MA, October 3, 2011
Angela Mayes thought she was ahead of the game. Months before moving from North Carolina, she preregistered her son online for the Boston public schools, choosing the school closest to the South End apartment where they’d be living.
Charters’ Record Is Notable for Narrowing Divide
Boston Globe, MA, October 2, 2011
LAST SUNDAY’S article about low-income children academically treading water neglected to include one of the bright spots in urban education (‘‘MCAS scores appear stuck in stubborn income gap,’’ Page A1). In the latest round of MCAS scores, charter public schools in some of the state’s poorest communities outscored schools from some of the state’s richest communities.
MICHIGAN
Lawmakers Hope To Lure Successful Charter School Companies To Michigan By Waiving Property Taxes, Lifting Cap
Grand Rapids Press, MI, September 30, 2011
Companies managing charter schools would no longer pay property taxes as part of reforms aimed at luring successful out-of-state operators to Michigan .
MINNESOTA
Edison Didn’t Use Public Money To Build School
Duluth News-Tribune, MN, October 2, 2011
It is an exciting new school year for thousands of students across Duluth. Many students are attending new or substantially renovated schools. This also is the case for students enrolled at the Duluth Edison Charter School’s new North Star Academy and its updated Raleigh Academy.
MISSOURI
Alta Vista Charter School Thrives Amid Looming Crisis
Kansas City Star, MO, October 1, 2011
Alta Vista’s leaders have been trying for several years to persuade Kansas City School District officials to sell or rent them one of its unoccupied schools. They know that Alta Vista’s current building casts a depressing image to prospective students, parents and teachers.
NEW JERSEY
Administration’s New Message to Charter Schools: Quality Not Quantity
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 3, 2011
With only four of 60 charter applicants approved, Christie and Cerf signal that the rules are changing for charter schools — as are the politics
NEW YORK
Incentives for Advanced Work Let Pupils and Teachers Cash In
New York Times, NY, October 3, 2011
Joe Nystrom, who teaches math at a low-income high school here, used to think that only a tiny group of students — the “smart kids” — were capable of advanced coursework.
Pushing for More Independent Charters
New York Times, NY, September 30, 2011
A few years back, before every September brought with it several new charter schools opened by management organizations, there were independent schools with dreams of copying themselves many times over
A State Grooms Its Best Students to Be Good Teachers
New York Times, NY, October 3, 2011
In 1993, when Mr. Williams graduated from high school in Goldsboro, N.C., with an A average and a 1,320 on his SATs, he had many options, but he chose the North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program. The idea is simple: the state pays top academic students to attend a public college, and in return they spend at least four years teaching in a public school.
OHIO
Democrats Ought To Like School Choice
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 2, 2011
At the Statehouse, it never fails: Some of the same officeholders who demand that Ohioans have “choice” about pregnancy denounce “choice” if an Ohioan does have a child — then wants state help to make possible another crucial parental “ choice”:
Bill Would Expand Voucher System
Marion Star, OH, October 3, 2011
A bill that would allow wider access to vouchers covering private school tuition is closer to becoming law, though many questions still need to be addressed, officials said.
Ratings Start to ID Effective Teachers
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 3, 2011
New ratings of thousands of Ohio educators show which ones made a big difference in the classroom last year.
PENNSYLVANIA
New Jersey Approves Two New Charter Schools in Camden County
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 1, 2011
The New Jersey Department of Education announced Friday the approval of four charter schools, including two in Camden County .
Schools OK Test-Based Evaluation of Teachers
Times Leader, PA, October 1, 2011
The pilot program for the area involves going beyond observation of teachers to gauge effectiveness.
RHODE ISLAND
Providence Superintendent Says New Teacher Hiring Process Is Intact
Providence Journal, RI, October 2, 2011
Supt. Susan Lusi says the new teachers’ contract does not dismantle the district’s new hiring process nor does it allow seniority to once again be the dominant factor in assigning teachers to classrooms.
TENNESSEE
Herenton Submits Applications To Start Charter Schools
Commercial Appeal, TN, October 3, 2011
By next fall, former mayor Willie Herenton intends to be running Orleans Elementary, Manassas High and a significant hunk of Booker T. Washington as charter schools, based on seven applications he submitted Friday.
Teachers: New Evaluation System Time Consuming: Some Question Whether Extensive Lesson Plans, Increased Observations Are Necessary
Jackson Sun, TN, October 1, 2011
Jackson-Madison County principals and teachers say a new teacher evaluation system is time consuming and stressful, but they are adjusting.
TEXAS
Federal Grant Spurs Charter School Expansion in Austin Area
American-Statesman, TX, October 1, 2011
Some of Texas ‘ most in-demand charter schools will open new Austin campuses in coming years with the help of a federal grant aimed at extending the reach of high-performing charter schools.
VIRGINIA
Virginia Teachers Union Presses for K-12 ‘Funding Priority”
Washington Times, DC, October 2, 2011
The president of the Virginia Education Association is pressing Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell to make K-12 education a funding priority and to increase teacher salaries as part of the states next biennial budget.
WASHINGTON
Education Superintendent Dorn Right to Defend K-12 Budget
Seattle Times, WA, October 2, 2011
Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn often takes a rebel’s stance on education issues. In this case he is a rebel with a cause, protecting public education from more damaging budget cuts.
WISCONSIN
Prep School Agrees To Employ Union Staff
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, October 1, 2011
On the eve of a public hearing for Madison Preparatory Academy — a proposed charter school with single-sex classrooms focused on raising the academic performance of minority students — backers of the school agreed to employ union staff, eliminating a potential hurdle to approval of the school.
Advocates: Racine School Vouchers Are Step Forward
Green Bay Press Gazette, WI, October 3, 2011
Jim Bender, president of the advocacy group School Choice Wisconsin, has a ready answer for those who charge giving tax dollars so students can attend private schools is taking away money from public schools: “It’s not their money. It’s taxpayers’ money. It’s parents’ money.”
VIRTUAL LEARNING
School District Embraces Alternative Learning Program
Saline Reporter, MI, September 30, 2011
Fountain said the program is “project-based” and could be described as a “cyber-school,” with many students checking in a few times a week at a lab located at Cheney Academy in Ypsilanti .
New Tech Tools In Classroom Can Be Game Changer
Miami Herald, FL, October 2, 2011
In an age when we use technology to customize every other form of information delivery — from Netflix to news feeds — experts around the country believe we’re at a tipping point that could transform education
Online Textbooks Moving Into Washington Area Schools
Washington Post, DC, October 2, 2011
Electronic books, having changed the way many people read for pleasure, are now seeping into schools. Starting this fall, almost all Fairfax middle and high school students began using online books in social studies, jettisoning the tomes that have weighed down backpacks for decades.
EVSC’s Virtual Academy Attracts Students for a Variety of Reasons
Evansville Courier & Press, IN, October 1, 2011
In his recent “State of Education” address, Indiana Superintendent for Public Instruction Tony Bennett made clear he wants high school students to have expanded access to online learning opportunities.
Oversight Yet to Catch up with Colorado’s Burgeoning Online Schools
Denver Post, CO, October 2, 2011
In the beginning, there was Monte Vista On-Line Academy. Its state-assigned “pilot project” status signaled its daring, and its 13 students, wired up and logged on, were spared hours of bumping along rugged San Luis Valley roads to and from brick-and-mortar schools.
Shortage of Credentialed Online Teachers Prompts Discussions on Training
Denver Post, CO, October 2, 2011
As online education has rocketed ahead, teacher education programs have lagged in efforts to produce instructors well-equipped to tackle the virtual environment, some experts contend.
More Than $10 Million Followed Local Students to Online Schools
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, October 2, 2011
More than 1,600 students living in El Paso County’s seven largest school districts enrolled in online programs scattered across Colorado last school year, costing the districts at least $10.1 million in state funding.
Despite Higher Dropout Rate, PSD’s Global Academy Says Online Program Is Successful
The Coloradan, CO, October 1, 2011
The online academy has about quadrupled enrollment in the past two years and accommodates 175 students who participate in the school’s hybrid learning system, partnering online education with optional in-class instruction.
SB65 Complicates Online Learning
Dessert News, UT, October 1, 2011
By passing SB65, lawmakers have focused attention on the timely need to renew our state’s capacity to prepare all students to succeed in the information age. And that should be the bottom line rather than simply promoting private providers and creating needless and costly regulations.
Time for Better Teacher Preparation
Contra Costa Times, CA, October 1, 2011
Charter schools and online learning could help turn around underperforming campuses such as Clayton Valley High School in Concord, an education reform advocate said Friday.