Daily Headlines for October 17, 2011
‘No Excuses:’ Can Charter Principles Work In Traditional Schools?
Washington Post Blog, DC, October 16, 2011
As independent charter schools continue to grow, they continue to be dogged by problems of scale, questions of whether one site’s educational gains can be replicated elsewhere.
Student Progress Can Be Tied To Teacher’s School
Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA, October 15, 2011
The academic progress of public school students can be traced, in part, to where their teachers went to college, according to new research by the University of Washington Center for Education Data & Research.
FROM THE STATES
ARIZONA
Basis Charter Schools To Add North Phoenix Campus
Arizona Republic, AZ, October 16, 2011
The elite network of Basis charter schools is adding a campus in north Phoenix , while making its first foray into another state.
CALIFORNIA
L.A. Unified Principals To See Teachers’ Effectiveness Ratings
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 16, 2011
The previously confidential ratings estimate teachers’ effectiveness in raising students’ standardized test scores. The district is in negotiations to use the ratings as part of a new teacher evaluation system.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Michelle Rhee’s D.C. Schools Legacy Is In Sharper Focus One Year Later
Washington Post, DC, October 15, 2011
A year ago this month, Michelle A. Rhee resigned as D.C. schools chancellor, ending a tenure as contentious and turbulent as that of any urban school leader in memory. “The best way to keep the reforms going is for this reformer to step aside,” she declared.
FLORIDA
School Boards Getting Tough on Charter Applications
StateImpact NPR, FL, October 14, 2011
Seminole County school board chairwoman Dede Schaffner admits it — her county is tough on people wanting to open new charter schools.
School Board Needs to Wake Up and Opt Out of No Child Left Behind
The Ledger, FL, October 17, 2011
I see that “No Child Left Behind” is in full swing in Polk County. By full swing, I mean the charter school business.
Method To Determine Teacher Pay Will Change
News Herald, FL, October 16, 2011
Public school teachers will have their pay tied to individual professional development plans and eventually students’ performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
GEORGIA
Fulton Explores Charter System
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, October 17, 2011
The Fulton County school board is preparing parents for an academic overhaul that could make the district the largest in the state to go charter.
ILLINOIS
Grants, Incubator To Fuel Indy Charter School Boom
Chicago Tribune, IL, October 16, 201
An Indianapolis supporter of charter schools is offering a big carrot to education entrepreneurs looking to start their own schools: $1 million grants. The Mind Trust plans to hand out three to five grants in June 2012 and one or two a year for a few years after that.
Charter School Endangers SD 227 Future
Southtown Star, IL, October 16, 2011
This school year, our district is paying $3.8 million toward the education of 250 students at Southland College Prep Charter High School. The state of Illinois established this school by taking away funds that normally would be spent on educating students in our district. Money was taken away from a larger group and given to a few in a select group.
INDIANA
For Charters, Quality First
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette , IN, October 16, 2011
As a new state panel comes on board to authorize more charter schools, guidelines proposed by a national charter- authorizing group offer the best blueprint for ensuring new schools bring quality – not just quantity– to Indiana’s selection of public schools.
Schools Must Be More Competitive
Munster Times, IN, October 17, 2011
The first year of school vouchers in Indiana is seeing some major shifts in certain school districts. The loss of students means the loss of funds.
Charter School Landscape Becoming Vast In Short Time
Munster Times, IN, October 16, 2011
A dozen charter schools are operating in Northwest Indiana, with seven in Gary and one in Porter County. Two more are scheduled to open next year — Heritage Institute of Arts and Technology, which wants to locate in Merrillville, and Gary Middle College.
LOUISIANA
Lessons From New Orleans
New York Times, NY, October 16, 2011
Before Hurricane Katrina, more than 60 percent of children in New Orleans attended a failing school. Now, only about 18 percent do.
MICHIGAN
Quality Vs. Quantity: Education Debate Focused On The Wrong Thing
Muskegon Chronicle, MI, October 16, 2011
Lawmakers should put the brakes on a sweeping package of charter school reforms making its way through the Michigan legislature and change the focus of the debate from creating more schools to creating quality schools.
NEVADA
Nevada Has Made Strides on Education, But Plenty of Work Remains
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, October 16, 2011
In the last legislative session, Nevadans approved bold changes to the state’s public education system to ensure schools work better for the people they are built to serve: children. Now it’s time to put those reforms into place in ways that not only make the laws passed worth the paper they’re printed on, but also lead to solid learning gains.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Charter Schools Among Union’s Questions For BOE Hopefuls
Nashua Telegraph, NH, October 16, 2011
Board of Education candidates were asked to weigh in on whether forming unions in charter schools should be allowed in a questionnaire distributed by the Nashua Teachers Union’s Committee on Political Education.
NEW JERSEY
Proposed Bill Would Require N.J. Voter Approval of New Charter Schools
Star-Ledger, NJ, October 17, 2011
New Jersey Assemblywoman wants her Senate colleagues to pass two charter school oversight bills she’s sponsoring.
OHIO
Cleveland Teachers Must Agree To Concessions
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, October 16, 2011
A dangerous game of chicken is being played out in the Cleveland public schools that could hurt both the city and its schoolchildren. Schools CEO Eric Gordon wants to keep almost 300 recalled teachers on the payroll so important school reform efforts can stay on track. To do that, he needs modest concessions from the Cleveland Teachers Union.
A School Reform Experiment That Went On Too Long
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, October 16, 2011
In 2000, the East End Community Heritage School, a charter school, opened with 186 students and a promise to better educate children with Appalachian roots and keep them in school to graduation.
Bill Offers More Students A Bright Future
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 15, 2011
At a time when many Ohio families are celebrating the approval of House Bill 136 by the Ohio House’s Education Committee, school boards and other opponents are speaking out against the bill. Critics of expanding Ohio’s school-voucher programs have adopted a sky-is-falling mentality.
School Choice Needs Accountability
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 15, 2011
There is talk around Capitol Square of a coming war in Ohio around school choice. The potential trigger is House Bill 136. It would create the Parental Choice and Taxpayer Saving Scholarship (PACT) Program.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City Schools Report Mixed Results Year Into Improvement Effort
The Oklahoman, OK, October 17, 2011
Three schools in Oklahoma City received millions in federal grants to turn around their failing academic records, but only one school met its goals.
Special-Needs Scholarships to Top $700,000
Tulsa World, OK, October 17, 2011
At least $700,000 in state public school funds will be paid this year to send special-education students to private schools in Oklahoma, according to state Education Department estimates.
PENNSYLVANIA
Successful Districts Make A Point On Charters
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 16, 2011
What a surprise that the latest battle over charter schools in New Jersey is in the relatively affluent and highly regarded Cherry Hill School District.
School Change Must Come From Outside
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 17, 2011
Meaningful education reform must be forced upon the system from outside by giving parents of all income levels real choices about where their children go to school.
Youthbuild Seeks Renewal Of Academic Charter
York Dispatch, PA, October 16, 2011
Crispus Attucks YouthBuild Academy holds the distinction of meeting state standards on PSSAs last year, something no other charter school in York City can claim.
Vouchers A Fundraising Opportunity For Pols
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, October 17, 2011
THE POLITICS OF vouchers or, as Gov. Corbett insists on calling them, “opportunity scholarships,” is a mess. It’s a tug-of-war among ideological and regional teams. Its issues are tied to unions, the Catholic Church, race, geography and, above all, money.
Do Vouchers Help Students?
The Morning Call, PA, October 16, 2011
Both supporters and critics say evidence backs their position on measure Gov. Corbett wants to allow in Pennsylvania.
TENNESSEE
Educators Work To Reach Kids During ‘Pivotal Years’
The Tennessean, TN, October 17, 2011
Reforming high schools was Tennessee ’s last big effort. State lawmakers revamped credit and testing requirements while local districts opened special wings for freshmen, grouped sophomores by career interest and touted online classes to pull more seniors across the finish line.
Teacher Evaluations Slow Race to the Top
The Tennessean, TN, October 16, 2011
Can it be that the fast-moving Race to the Top is getting its first gut check? Since the drive for federal funds to improve public education in Tennessee kicked into gear about 21 months ago, the developments have been dizzying:
Lawmakers Must Listen To Teachers, Revise Evals
Daily News Journal, TN, October 15, 2011
With Tennessee’s House Education Committee set to hold hearings in early November on the state’s new teacher evaluation process, we’re glad to see legislators are listening to the concerns of our educators.
VIRGINIA
Charter Schools Favored Over Merging
Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald, VA, October 16, 2011
Before we get bogged down in a larger system, we should consider creating charter schools, which are also free public schools. One advantage of charter schools is that each charter school is controlled by its own board.
WASHINGTON
Social Promotion Puts Students On Rough Path
Spokesman Review, WA, October 16, 2011
Idaho education officials hope to eventually end social promotion with a new middle school credit system. The statewide practice that began last year directs school districts to require seventh- and eighth-graders to pass 80 percent of their classes before promoting them to high school.
VIRTUAL LEARNING
Enrollment in Cyberschools Soars in NEPA
Scranton Times Tribune, PA, October 16, 2011
As enrollment in the schools grows faster than many education officials ever expected, districts are feeling the financial pinch of paying the tuition for students within their districts to attend cyberschools. Many districts are now offering their own virtual programs and are trying to recruit students back.
Reducing the Cost of Logging In to Learn
New York Times, NY, October 16, 2011
As public schools in Chicago have shifted their focus to online learning, the benefits have been blunted by the fact that home access to the Internet costs too much for some students, leading districts to look for different approaches to bring Internet access to the city’s poorest families.
Balancing Innovation, Accountability in Cyberschools
Denver Post, CO, October 17, 2011
Technological advances are continually creating new opportunities to effectively educate Colorado’s K-12 students through online learning. Colorado needs to look forward in protecting an environment for innovation, while balancing needed accountability for cyberschool operators.