Daily Headlines for November 4, 2011
New Grades On Charter Schools
TIME, November 3, 2011
In order to create some good ones, we’re going to have to live with some lemons: The two most common criticisms about charter schools are that A) many of them aren’t that good and B) the good ones can’t be replicated to serve enough kids to really make a difference.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Former School Board President Canter Heads Green Dot Charters
Los Angeles Times Blog, CA, November 3, 2011
Former Los Angeles school board President Marlene Canter will head the governing board for Green Dot Public Schools, one of the nation’s largest charter school groups, the organization announced Thursday.
COLORADO
Details Emerge On New Academies At Denver’s West High School
The Denver Post, CO, November 4, 2011
Details about how new academies serving sixth- through 12th-grade students will be phased in at West High School next fall are emerging in a process that aims to ensure performance improves at the worst high school in Denver.
Denver School Board Urged To Shutter Life Skills High
The Denver Post, CO, November 4, 2011
On Thursday evening, Denver Public Schools staff recommended closing the Life Skills Center High School — an alternative charter school the district tried to shut in 2007.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Brown Proposes Getting Top Teachers To Bottom Schools
Washington Times, DC, November 3, 2011
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown has proposed legislation that offers a $10,000 bonus and other incentives to top-rated city teachers who agree to work in public schools that need their expertise.
Charter Schools Are Ending the Minority Achievement Gap
Washington Examiner, DC, November 3, 2011
A poll commissioned earlier this year by Friends of Choice in Urban Schools found that District families who stand to benefit the most from public charter schools know the least about them.
FLORIDA
Recent Setbacks Equal Hope For Pasco Charter School Boosters
Tampa Bay Tribune, FL, November 4, 2011
School board members rejected a pair of charter school applications Tuesday, and all observers agreed: Their disappointment was thicker than a barrel of white paste.
ILLINOIS
Union To Announce Deal With CPS On Longer School Day
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 3, 2011
The Chicago Teachers Union has called a news conference at noon Friday to discuss details of an agreement reached with Chicago Public Schools over the longer school day issue.
INDIANA
Vouchers Start Out Strong In Indiana
Indianapolis Star, IN, November 3, 2011
Indiana created one of the nation’s most aggressive private school voucher programs — and Hoosier parents took advantage in record numbers.
MAINE
New Rules For Charter Schools Refine Funding Issues
Bangor Daily News, ME, November 3, 2011
The Department of Education on Wednesday released a new set of rules to govern charter schools in Maine. Mostly the rules surround finances and fill in holes left in the recently adopted charter school statute.
MISSOURI
Children Deserve Better Than Real-Estate Scams Disguised As Education
St. Louis Post Dispatch, MO, November 4, 2011
When it comes to slick property deals that use public money to enrich private investors in real estate trusts, Imagine Schools Inc. of Arlington, Va., has been clever and creative.
NEW YORK
School Has a Charter, Students and a Strong Opponent: Its District
New York Times, NY, November 4, 2011
Charter schools, publicly financed but independently operated, have encountered fierce resistance in many suburban communities, criticized by parents and traditional educators who view them as a drain on resources.
OKLAHOMA
Parents Drop Private-School Voucher Lawsuit
Tulsa World, OK, November 4, 2011
A federal lawsuit filed against the Broken Arrow, Jenks, Tulsa and Union school districts by a group of parents alleging that their special-needs children were denied private school scholarships was dismissed Wednesday at the parents’ request.
PENNSYLVANIA
Education-Focused PAC With Deep Pockets Backs N.J. Candidates In Both Parties
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 3, 2011
Now, Better Education for Kids (B4K), an organization bankrolled by two hedge-fund managers, is using its cash to help elect candidates who agree with its ideas on education, including tenure reform, voucher programs, and teacher merit pay.
School Choice Is A Social Justice Issue
Patriot News, PA, November 4, 2011
Social justice flows from human dignity. To establish justice, our society must provide the conditions that allow people to obtain what is their due, including an education that prepares them to be productive citizens. Education is a basic human right. Our secular system of laws supports this principle, as every Pennsylvania child is guaranteed an education.
Local Educators, Representatives Split On School Vouchers
Erie Times-Union, PA, November 4, 2011
School officials in the Erie School District have complained about losing money and students to charter schools for years.
Reform School: A Change Agent Makes Points Most Can Agree On
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 4, 2011
Michelle A. Rhee, a controversial figure in American education, came to Pittsburgh Wednesday and, regardless of what one thought of her work as head of the District of Columbia public schools system, she left her audience with much to think about.
Program Aims To Revamp How Teachers Are Rated
Pittsburgh Tribune Review, PA, November 4, 2011
Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher Allison McLean was skeptical at first about Arsenal PreK-5’s decision to try a new method of evaluating teachers last year. She and her fellow teachers worried it would be the same old process with a new name.
TENNESSEE
Business Leaders Oppose Changes To Teacher Evaluations
The Tennessean, TN, November 4, 2011
Tennessee’s Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman will ask the state Board of Education today to modify the new teacher evaluations, hoping to relieve time-pressured principals of some requirements and better ensure assessments are fair.
TEXAS
Austin ISD Negotiating Charter Plan
KXAN, TX, November 3, 2011
Negotiations are underway between the Austin Independent School District and a charter school program called IDEA Public Schools.
UTAH
Consider Merit Pay
Desert News, UT, November 4, 2011
The idea of granting school teachers raises based on merit is not new. In the 1980s, Utah ‘s Legislature instituted “career ladder” funding as part of a school reform effort. The money originally was supposed to be appropriated to reward merit, but instead it became extra pay for teachers who took on extra duties or worked overtime, and it funded teacher planning days and in-service programs.
VIRGINIA
Approval Sought for Charter School on Outer Banks
Virginia Pilot, VA, November 4, 2011
A new school on the Currituck Outer Banks could be open by 2012. After months of preparation, the Corolla Education Foundation plans to apply next week to the North Carolina Office of Charter Schools.
WASHINGTON
State May Chop $220M In Funds For School Buses
Seattle Time, WA, November 3, 2011
The yellow school bus could become another victim of the Great Recession in some parts of Washington.
Teacher Discipline Bill Passes Assembly
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, November 4, 2011
School officials could use standardized tests to help decide whether to discipline or fire teachers under a bill the Assembly sent to Gov. Scott Walker early Friday.
VIRTUAL LEARNING
‘Virtual School’ Lacks Real Touch
The Tennessean, TN, November 3, 2011
t is apparent that much of recent educational news has focused upon teaching students in the 21st century. There is little doubt that the technological revolution has had the greatest impact upon education since the invention of the printing press.
City Schools Showcase Virtual-Learning Tools
Greenville Sun, TN, November 3, 2011
Virtual-learning technology used daily by the Greeneville City School System was showcased Monday at a luncheon attended by an estimated 40 local business and community leaders.
Area Districts Not Plugged In With Online Schools
Eau Claire Leader Telegram, WI, November 4, 2011
An increasing number of online schools, known as virtual charter schools, is helping public school systems in Wisconsin pull in more students from outside their district boundaries, but Eau Claire and most other school districts in this part of the state haven’t joined in.
Board Approves Idaho Online Class Requirement
Associated Press, November 3, 2011
Education officials on Thursday gave final approval to a plan that makes Idaho the first state in the nation to require high school students to take at least two credits online to graduate, despite heavy criticism of the plan at public hearings this summer.
Teachers, Students React To Online Requirement
LocalNews8, ID, November 3, 2011
Starting with next fall’s freshman class, Idaho students have to take two online classes to get a diploma. The State Board of Education approved the rule on Thursday afternoon as part of the Students Come First legislation.