Daily Headlines for October 18, 2011
Bipartisan Group of Senators Announce Agreement on “No Child Left Behind”
Washington Post, DC, October 17, 2011
Signaling some unity in the Senate on overhauling the “No Child Left Behind” law, two senators announced Monday an agreement to move forward on bipartisan legislation to revamp it.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Once Again, A Focus On Disparities In L.A. Unified
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 18, 2011
That black, Latino and low-income students continue to lag behind their counterparts is shameful.
CONNECTICUT
Jumoke Charter School Shows Odds Can Be Beaten
Harford Courant, CT, October 17, 2011
The student populations seem much the same: Minority children from mostly working-class families attending schools in the city’s North End. The school buildings are separated by just a few blocks.
But the achievement levels are gaping.
From Lawmaker, A Flawed Argument On School Choice
Concord Monitor, CT, October 18, 2011
It is clear that Rep. JR Hoell knows little about public education. I wonder when he last spent more than five minutes in a classroom. He suggests that school choice would lower the population in our public schools allowing for better education.
FLORIDA
When Charter Schools Borrow, Repayment Isn’t A Burden On The District
TC Palm, FL, October 18, 2011
The Press Journal’s Oct. 9 editorial suggesting the Indian River School District should stop borrowing to finance construction of new buildings contained some misleading information. Borrowing to construct critically needed facilities is not out of line; but, over time, some districts have been spoiled by their ability to borrow and the lack of sacrifice to repay those loans.
In Florida, Changes Must Be Made To The State’s Board Of Education, Not The
TC Palm, FL, October 18, 2011
Sen. Joe Negron’s proposal to eliminate the Florida Board of Education and return to an elected education commissioner has some merit, but for the most part, it is yet another attempt to inject politics into our educational system. The changes need to occur to who appoints the board of education.
GEORGIA
Can We Address Teacher Quality If We Don’t Recognize Differences In It?
Atlanta Journal Constitution Blog, GA, October 18, 2011
Improving teachers and teacher education can’t happen unless we highlight both the successful and unsuccessful classrooms as both have something to teach us.
ILLINOIS
District 187 Asks For Charter School Bids
Chicago Sun Times, IL, October 17, 2011
North Chicago School District 187 is a step closer to opening a charter school.
The district Monday issued a formal request for proposal, hoping to attract bids from top charter operators,
LOUISIANA
New Money Vs. Old Muscle In La. Education Races
Times-Picayune, LA, October 17, 2011
Big money is being spent on some campaigns for this Saturday’s races for the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education — unsalaried posts that usually draw far less attention at election time.
MICHIGAN
Schools Ramp Up Marketing As Competition Intensifies
Detroit Free Press, MI, October 18, 2011
A new trend in public education — intense marketing to attract and retain students — has K-12 schools renting billboard space, knocking on doors, making pitches at church picnics and even offering free access to health care.
Readers Respond To Editorial On Charter School Cap
Muskegon Chronicle, MI, October 17, 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. Here’s what Chronicle readers had to say:
NEW JERSEY
Newark Charter and District Schools Share Space and Visions — But Not Technology
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 18, 2011
The fight was fierce this winter, just at the idea of Newark district schools sharing space with charters. At times, ugly hearings revealed the sense of have and have-not that often mars debates about charters across the state.
School Vouchers: Out of the Spotlight, Not Out of Mind
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 18, 2011
Tenure reform and charter schools have dominated education politics of late in New Jersey , but the proposed Opportunity Scholarship Act (OSA) is making a quiet resurgence in the halls of the Statehouse
NEW YORK
‘F’ Grade Shocks a School Whose Popularity Was Rising
New York Times, NY, October 18, 2011
The annual letter-grading ritual is characterized by the city as a public information tool. But it has left some parents mystified since its introduction in 2007. And every year there are a handful of cases in which the opinion of city data analysts varies wildly from that of school parents.
NORTH CAROLINA
School Plan: Not So Fast
News Observer, NC, October 18, 2011
Ideally, each school will be an attractive choice. But how long will that last? Will families quietly accept it when the inevitable happens and many of them do not get their first choice?
Teachers To Review Underperforming Peers
Shelby Star, NC, October 17, 2011
Cleveland County teachers who aren’t performing adequately will have one of their peers weigh in on whether they should continue their careers as educators.
OHIO
100,000-Plus Kids Eligible for EdChoice Scholarships
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 18, 2011
More than 100,000 students attending 226 schools in Ohio are eligible for EdChoice scholarships in the next school year, the state said yesterday.
PENNSYLVANIA
Who Rules City’s Schools?
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 18, 2011
If Ackerman’s assessment is correct, however, one has to wonder how there can be any hope of improvement without completely blowing up the current educational bureaucracy and starting from scratch with a new agency that is more directly responsible to the public for its decisions.
Charter School Proposal Debated in Upland
Delaware County Times, PA, October 18, 2011
Borough council has unanimously given its blessings to the charter school project, which is seeking better educational opportunities than the Chester Upland School District is currently offering.
Infinity Charter School in Penbrook Has A Perfect Record In Meeting The Yearly Academic Performance Targets
Patriot News, PA, October 18, 2011
Infinity Charter School in Penbrook has accomplished a goal that former President George W. Bush set out for all public schools.
RHODE ISLAND
Achievement First Applies to Open Academy in Providence
Providence Journal, RI, October 17, 2011
Mayor Angel Taveras, together with Achievement First and the Rhode Island Mayoral Academies, have applied to open a mayoral academy based in Providence.
TENNESSEE
Tennessee Gov. Haslam Says Administration Weighing Proposed School Voucher Bill
Commercial Appeal, TN, October 17, 2011
Gov. Bill Haslam said today that he’s weighing the pros and cons of a school voucher bill filed by a Germantown lawmaker before deciding whether his administration will take a position on the issue in the next legislative session.
UTAH
Utah to Apply for Relief from Parts of No Child Left Behind
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, October 17, 2011
Utah education officials will apply for a No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver in hopes of getting relief from some of the most hated provisions of the federal schools law.
VIRGINIA
Patrick Henry Charter School Principal On Leave
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA, October 18, 2011
Richmond’s first charter school is struggling again to account publicly for its performance in part because of a principal who doesn’t work directly for the school and once again is absent.
WEST VIRGINIA
Unions Say State Schools Would Benefit From Jobs Bill
Charleston Gazette, WV, October 18, 2011
A week after the Senate knocked down President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs bill, leaders from the West Virginia Federation of Teachers and the West Virginia AFL-CIO touted the education benefits of the president’s plan Monday, saying it would repair run-down schools, hire more educators and funnel resources to West Virginia’s neediest children.
WISCONSIN
Venture Academy Offers New Focus
Wausau Daily Herald, WI, October 17, 2011
Ask an educator about the new charter school that opened in September and took the place of the old Marathon Middle School, and he’ll likely talk about how students get more individualized attention under the new project-based curriculum.
VIRTUAL LEARNING
Rockford School District Officials Seek Bigger Role For Virtual Learning
Rockford Star, IL, October 17, 2011
More than 60 high school students in the Rockford School District are taking virtual learning courses this fall, at least half of them enrolled in Advanced Placement classes they would otherwise be without.