Daily Headlines for May 18, 2012
Teachers Need To Know Classroom Observations Will Be Used To Help Them, Not As A ‘Gotcha’ – Panel
The Flint Journal, MI, May 17, 2012
Teachers need to know that the move toward increased observation and evaluation is intended to help, not be used as a ‘gotcha,’ experts said at the Education Writers Association conference today.
FROM THE STATES
The Teachers Union That’s Failing California
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 18, 2012
California’s education tailspin has been blamed on class sizes, on the property tax restrictions enforced by Proposition 13, on an influx of Spanish-speaking students. But no portrait of the schools’ downfall would be complete without mention of the California Teachers Assn., or CTA, arguably the state’s most powerful union and a political behemoth that has blocked meaningful education reform, protected failing and even criminal educators, and pushed for pay raises and benefits that have reached unsustainable levels.
Kids’ High CSAP Scores Didn’t Stick After Leaving Denver School
Denver Post, CO, May 18, 2012
An analysis of standardized test scores from a Denver elementary school under investigation for cheating found most students’ scores plummeted after they graduated from Beach Court Elementary.
New London Schools Need To Avoid State Takeover At All Costs
The Day, CT, May 18, 2012
It was amusing, in a pathetic sort of way, the recent state audit that characterized the New London school board as “incoherent.” But it was a line later in Day reporter Julianne Hanckel’s story that was far more sobering:
Hispanic, STEM Charters Approved
News Journal, DE, May 17, 2012
The state board of education voted Thursday to approve charter schools in Wilmington and Dover , but a proposal to start a new Montessori school under the charter system failed to gain approval.
D.C. School Serves As Community’s Anchor
Washington Post, DC, May 17, 2012
The D.C. Council has decided that the city needs more schools like it. Council members this week gave preliminary approval to spending $1 million in the 2013 budget for a pilot program to establish five yet-to-be chosen community schools.
NCLB Waiver Bid Stalled By Ed Dept. Concerns
Washington Post Blog, DC, May 18, 2012
It turns out that the U.S. Department of Education has quite a few issues with the District’s application for relief from No Child Left Behind. The problems start with two chronic concerns: The city’s poor record of handling and accounting for federal grants, and its difficulties staying in compliance with special education laws. Both were inherited by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education when it was formed in 2007, but they remain obstacles.
Low FCAT Scores Could Effect Teacher Pay
ActionNewsJax, FL, May 17, 2012
It was signed into law right here in Jacksonville . Last years, this years and next years FCAT scores will help determine if a teacher gets a raise or gets fired.
U.S. Education Secretary Urges Florida Teacher Raises, Newer Books
News-Press, FL, May 17, 2012
The progress Florida has made bringing technology to the classroom is being handicapped by outdated textbooks, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Thursday.
Fulton School Board Celebrates Freedom, Looks To Future
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, May 18, 2012
Fulton Superintendent Robert Avossa on Thursday shared a strategic plan that will set new long-term goals for the district and make it more competitive nationally as it becomes the state’s largest charter system.
Panel To Oversee District’s Spending
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 18, 2012
After the state schools chief described the North Chicago school district’s budgetary condition as a “train wreck,” the State Board of Education gave unanimous approval Thursday to establishing a financial oversight panel to control the district’s spending.
No Support For Gary Charter Applicants; Decision Monday
Post Tribune, IN, May 17, 2012
Three state lawmakers from Gary and two Gary Community School Corp. officials on Thursday opposed charter school applications from Indianapolis and Texas-based operators who want to run dropout recovery schools.
Jefferson Parish Charter School To Admit Variety of Troubled Students
Times Picayune, LA, May 17, 2012
Jefferson Community School, the oldest charter school in Louisiana, will be reinvented to serve all types of at-risk students under a charter amendment approved by the Jefferson Parish School Board. The amendment, which the board approved Wednesday, marks the end of an almost year-long battle between Jefferson public school officials and the Jefferson Coalition for Alternative Schools over admission policies.
More Charters Won’t Solve What Ails Our Schools
Boston Globe, MA, May 18, 2012
The article “Charter school cap lifted by state” (Page A1, May 8th) tells only part of the truth about why the number of charter schools in Massachusetts is about to increase.
If Imagine Schools Vacate St. Louis, What Will Happen To Its Land?
St. Louis Post Dispatch Blog, MO, May 17, 2012
The national charter school chain Imagine Schools amassed more than enrollment in its five years in Missouri . It bought land.
N.J. Department Of Education To Shut Down Jersey City Charter School
Star Ledger, NJ, May 17, 2012
The state Department of Education will shut down Schomburg Charter School in Jersey City at the end of this school year — a move that signifies the Christie administration’s increasingly firm stance against low-performing charters.
City Moving To Strengthen Teacher Pool
Wall Street Journal, May 17, 2012
After years of trying to oust ineffective teachers by reforming the system, the Bloomberg administration is turning to options it already has available to try to prune the weakest educators from its ranks.
City Plans to Offer Buyouts to Idled Teachers
New York Times, NY, May 18, 2012
The city is proposing to offer buyouts to a pool of teachers who draw full salaries but have no permanent jobs, abandoning efforts to have them laid off but potentially solving one of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s most intractable education issues.
Mount Vernon Charter School Faces Decision On Its Future
Journal News, NY, May 18, 2012
One after the other, students at the Amani Public Charter School in Mount Vernon pleaded with a pair of state Department of Education officials to keep their school open.
Charter School ‘Snaps’ At UFT ‘Spy’
New York Post, NY, May 18, 2012
There’s a new weapon in the ugly battle between the teachers union and charter schools over space: Spies! A teachers-union photographer was detained after he snuck into a Manhattan charter school and took photographs of students, bulletin boards and hallways without permission, officials said.
New Coalition to Challenge Bloomberg’s Education Policies
New York Times, NY, May 18, 2012
A coalition of labor unions and liberal advocacy groups is planning an ambitious effort to support mayoral candidates who pledge to reverse some of the Bloomberg administration’s more-contentious public education policies.
House GOP Eyes Merit Pay Money For Schools
New & Observer, NC, May 18, 2012
House Republicans voted in a private meeting this week to use some of the $121.1 million currently set aside in next year’s budget for employee merit raises instead to fortify K-12 schools.
House Panel Raises Bar On Third-Grade Reading Test Standards
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 18, 2012
Last week, the Senate weakened Gov. John Kasich’s so-called third-grade reading guarantee by lowering the bar students need to hit on a state reading test to move on to the fourth grade. This week, the House Education Committee bumped it back up.
Ohio Charter School Treasurer, Carl Shye Jr., Is Charged With Embezzling Federal Funds
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, May 18, 2012
Carl Shye Jr., who handled taxpayer money for charter schools in Northeast Ohio and other parts of the state, was charged Thursday with embezzling more than $470,000 in federal funds.
School District Votes To Sponsor Charter School
Bandon Western World, OR, May 17, 2012
On a 4-2 turn-around vote, the Bandon School Board agreed to sponsor a Montessori charter school in the district. The vote at Monday’s regular meeting reversed a decision by the board in December to deny the charter school proposal.
RI Regents Renew High-Performing South Kingstown Charter School’s Charter
Providence Journal, RI, May 17, 2012
The Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education voted unanimously Thursday to renew the charter of the Compass School in South Kingstown for five years, despite questions about the school’s compliance with state laws.
Law Makes Charter Schools Stronger
Greenville News, SC, May 18, 2012
A key to ensuring that students have the best opportunities for a sound public education is ensuring that parents have as many options as possible for finding the type of education that best fits their children. As has been shown by the successes right here in Greenville County , charter schools are an essential part of the public education portfolio.