Daily Headlines for June 4, 2012
NATIONAL COVERAGE
In Lists of Best High Schools, Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story
New York Times, NY, June 4, 2012
This is the time of year when the lists of best high schools in the United States are published. For anxious consumers, the number of lists can be daunting, whether national in scope (U.S. News & World Report; The Washington Post; Newsweek and The Daily Beast) or local (Boston magazine; New Jersey Monthly; The Chicago Sun-Times).
Class Size Does Make Difference
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 3, 2012
It was no surprise that educators at a West Philadelphia charter school challenged Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s statement that class size has no impact on student achievement.
A Bold Education-Fairness Proposal
News & Observer , NC, June 3, 2012
A recent speech by Mitt Romney, in which he presented his education reform plan to a group of Latino leaders in Washington , drew attention mainly because he criticized teachers’ unions and endorsed private school vouchers. But those points were perfectly predictable for a Republican candidate and not especially newsworthy.
Poor Elijah’s Almanack: Pinning The Accountability
The Register Citizen, CT, June 4, 2012
Shortly after taking office, President Obama linked public schools to economic recovery. Echoing A Nation at Risk’s 1983 warning, he characterized the “decline of American education” as “untenable for our economy” and “unsustainable for our democracy,” describing what’s “at stake” as “nothing less than the American dream.”
FROM THE STATES
COLORADO
Colorado Getting Serious About Remedial Education
Denver Post, CO, June 3, 2012
Though remediation cost the state $46.5 million in a recent year, Coloradans can take heart in major efforts to address the issue.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Local School Boards Pay Salary Raises Before Tackling Class Size
Washington Post, DC, June3, 2012
School boards across the Washington region have responded to plunging revenue in recent years by freezing wages, imposing furloughs or cutting summer school, pre-kindergarten or arts programs.
Level D.C.’s Playing Field
Washington Post, DC, June 2, 2012
SO GOOD IS the football team fielded by Friendship Collegiate Academy in the District that it was ranked among the Washington area’s best high school teams in The Post’s influential rankings last year. Despite that, the Knights didn’t get to play for the city championship; as a charter school, Friendship was ineligible. That cruel inequity is coming to an end with the long-overdue decision by city officials to create an equal playing field for the growing numbers of charter school student-athletes.
FLORIDA
Intensive Schooling Can Help Autistic Students Overcome Grim Employment Numbers
Tampa Bay Tribune, FL, June 4, 2012
The other day in a classroom at Pepin Academies, a charter school on Hillsborough Avenue for students with learning-related disabilities, senior Adam Riddley of Brandon stared at a form on his desk called the Transition Information Survey.
Bunnell Teachers Take The Initiative On Reform
Daytona Beach News-Journal , FL, June 4, 2012
Teachers in Bunnell are developing an excellent resource for professional development: their colleagues.
GEORGIA
Drew Charter Expansion Faces Opposition
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, June 4, 2012
Drew wants to create a new high school; APS chief Erroll Davis cites surplus of empty seats now.
Amendment Would Resurrect State Charter School Authority
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, June 3, 2012
Depending on whom you ask, a proposed Georgia constitutional amendment either will give parents more options for their children’s education, or will shift control of education away from local voters to the state government.
IDAHO
Public School In Rural Idaho Touts Patriotic Focus
Associated Press, June 1, 2012
At North Valley Academy in the heart of Idaho’s dairy country, a typical school day might seem like an over-the-top Fourth of July celebration elsewhere.
Charter Schools Need Strong Scrutiny
Idaho Press Tribune, ID, June 3, 2012
A Canyon County charter school is in trouble with the Idaho Public Charter Schools Commission and is in jeopardy of being shut down. It has allegedly hired improperly certified administrators and mismanaged its finances.
ILLINOIS
Catholic Schools At A Crossroads
Chicago Tribune, IL, June 3, 2012
Experts on parochial schools believe Catholic education may be at a turning point after decades of declining enrollment. The Chicago Archdiocese has seen its second straight increase in elementary enrollment.
INDIANA
Vouchers Produce ‘Savings’ For Local Schools
Muncie Star Press, IN, June 2, 2012
Indiana’s much-criticized school voucher program is nearing the conclusion of its first year.
LOUISIANA
ALEC And School Reform: La. Plan Mirrors Think Tank’s Blueprint
Shreveport Times, LA, June 4, 2012
The sweeping changes aimed at improving Louisiana’s failing public schools are new to the state, but they are not new.
Debate Heated Over MFP Funding
Monroe News Star, LA, June 4, 2012
The words tempest and teapot come to mind after the dispute Friday that brought state lawmakers almost to blows over stripping some language that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education inserted into a funding formula for — well it used to be for — public schools.
MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts Ballot Question Takes On Teacher Seniority
The Herald News, MA, June 4, 2012
As voters head to the polls in November they’ll be asked to weigh in on question that will affect the future of education in the commonwealth.
O’Maley’s ‘Innovation’ An Exciting Step For Gloucester School
Gloucester Times, MA, June 3, 2012
The steering of Gloucester’s O’Maley Middle School toward becoming one of the state’s recognized new “innovation” schools looms as an exciting step for the Gloucester School District.
MINNESOTA
20 Years On, Have Charter Schools Met Their Goals?
Pioneer Press, MN, June 3, 2012
Two decades after the first charter school opened in St. Paul , the popularity of school choice continues to grow. But student achievement and success at the these nontraditional schools varies widely.
Growth Stalling For Charter Schools In Minneapolis, St. Paul
Star Tribune, MN, June 3, 2012
After years of steady to spectacular growth, charter school enrollment has stalled in Minneapolis and St. Paul even as it continues to rise statewide.
NEVADA
Move Education Forward
Las Vegas Sun, NV, June 3, 2012
Education will be a key issue in this election, and we are concerned about how the campaign for the Clark County School Board is shaping up.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Voucher Bill Would Hurt Public Schools
Nashua Telegraph, NH, June 3, 2012
I am outraged that all of my state representatives voted for the school “voucher” bills, rationalizing they would promote school “choice” and that the increased competition would improve public school performance.
NEW JERSEY
Charter Schools Progress In NJ Under Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf
Star-Ledger NJ, June 3, 2012
When Gov. Chris Christie trumpeted the approval of a record 23 new charters last year, it was a loud declaration of support for school choice.
NEW YORK
Fix NYC Schools!
New York Post, NY, June 2, 2012
When Deborah Kenny heard about the more than 50,000 families citywide placed on charter-school waiting lists for the 2010-11 school year, she was “furious.” The thought that many politicians still want to cap the number of charter schools (which are public but operate independently from the New York City Department of Education), she says, is “immoral.”
Charter Challenges Suburban District
Albany Times Union, NY, June 1, 2012
The Shenendehowa school district may be the site of the first suburban charter school in the state.
A group has begun the application process for establishing a charter middle school that intends to educate 150 students in the residential enclave.
NORTH CAROLINA
NCLB Waiver A Relief For DPS
Herald Sun, NC, June 3, 2012
Durham Public Schools officials are breathing a sigh of relief, thanks to the news last week that North Carolina has earned a waiver from what one official describes as the “sanction-heavy” No Child Left Behind law.
Standout Class Puts Stanly County Charter On The Map
Charlotte Observer, NC, June 3, 2012
With all but one Gray Stone Day School senior college-bound – several as scholars – tiny town beams
Few In Eastern Wake Made School Choice
News & Observer, NC, June 4, 2012
Data released last week on eastern Wake County’s participation in the school district’s new student “choice” assignment plan left school officials pleased and local advocates calling for more resources. Wake County Schools adopted a new student assignment plan this year which allows students to rank their preferred schools for the upcoming school year. Previously, a school’s socioeconomics – rather than student’s preference – played a heavier role in student assignment. School officials hope the process improves parents’ satisfaction.
OHIO
Schools’ Exemption From Law Questioned
Columbus Dispatch, OH, June 4, 2012
Failing dropout-recovery schools aren’t shut down like other charter schools, which close after two bad years
Ohio Teachers Worried About Evaluations
Marion Star, OH, June 3, 2012
The education community in Ohio has known teacher evaluations were coming for quite some time.
OKLAHOMA
First MAPS For Kids Meeting For Downtown Oklahoma City Elementary School Set For Tuesday
The Oklahoman, OK, June 4, 2012
The first public MAPS for Kids meeting for the new downtown Oklahoma City elementary school is set for Tuesday. Officials hope it can be a cornerstone of education reform and progress in Oklahoma City Public Schools.
PENNYSLVANIA
Schools Budget Meltdown
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, June 4, 2012
SCREAMING and yelling is not unknown at School Reform Commission meetings, but last week’s meeting was loud by any standard.
New Uses Sought For Closed Pittsburgh Public School Buildings
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, June 4, 2012
Long faced with declining enrollment and financial problems, the school district has 15 vacant school buildings now. Another seven will be empty after another round of school closings this year.
SRC Votes For Universal To Run Creighton Elementary As A Charter
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 3, 2012
The School Reform Commission voted Friday to turn Creighton Elementary into a charter school run by Universal Cos. Inc.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Merit Pay For Teachers
The Herald, SC, June 3, 2012
South Carolina teachers deserve a raise after years of cutbacks and budget shortfalls. But it also is appropriate that the state will take a serious look at making the transition to a merit-pay system for teachers.
TENNESSEE
School Board To Discuss Historic Knoxville High Campus, Charter School
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, June 4, 2012
The Knox County school board will begin talking this week about what to do with the Historic Knoxville High School.
Great Hearts Must Soon Decide On Charter Appeal
Nashville Public Radio, TN, June 4, 2012
A controversial charter-school operator could soon announce whether it will try again for permission to launch in Nashville. Last week the Metro school board rejected an application from Phoenix-based Great Hearts, prompting calls for an appeal, and criticism from the mayor.
VIRGINIA
Teacher Tenure: A Fairfax Schools Firing Case
Washington Post, DC, June 2, 2012
Twenty-one witnesses testified in the case to decide whether Violet Nichols should be allowed to continue teaching in the Fairfax County Public Schools. The last sworn in was Nichols herself.
WASHINGTON
Rural Teachers Deserve Equal Pay In Washington State
Seattle Times, WA, June 3, 2012
The Washington Legislature commissioned the Compensation Technical Working Group to make recommendations on teacher pay. A rural elementary principal and former legislator suggests that city teachers do not need to make more money than those in rural areas.
Time To Try Charter Schools
The Columbian, WA, June 3, 2012
Efforts are under way to place an initiative on the Nov. 6 ballot that would ask voters to allow 40 public charter schools around the state in five years. Supporters have until July 6 to gather almost 250,000 signatures. It’s a worthwhile effort and a modest proposal, a mere foot in the door in Washington, one of just eight states that do not have charter schools.
WYOMING
Work Progresses On Cheyenne’s First Charter School
Wyoming Tribune, WY, June 3, 2012
The newly rechristened PODER Academy charter school is set to open this August. The school will be Laramie County School District 1’s first charter school and will be open to students in kindergarten through third grade.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
The Flip: Turning A Classroom Upside Down
Washington Post, DC, June 3, 2012
For her entire school career, 11th-grader Brooke Gutschick attended classes run in pretty much the same way. Teachers would teach during the day and assign homework for students to do at night. But when the 16-year-old walked into Stacey Roshan’s class last fall, she found that everything was upside down.
Virtual Charter School On Burke’s Radar
Morganton News Herald, NC, June 3, 2012
Burke County school officials are against a Cabarrus County group’s plans for a virtual charter school and the Burke County Board of Education is expected to sign a resolution saying so at its regular meeting Monday.
Not So Fast On Virtual School
Concord Independent Tribune, NC, June 2, 2012
A judge’s decision earlier this month has put the North Carolina Virtual Academy on a fast track— and put the Cabarrus County Board of Education in the crosshairs of a growing effort to stop it.
Rush To Online Classes Ill-Advised
Tampa Bay Tribune, FL, June 4, 2012
As a public school teacher for 10 years at a large high school in Hillsborough County , I speak from experience when I say the expansion of online classes being made available to students via the Florida Virtual School program is not serving our children in ways conservative lawmakers have argued.
Blended Learning: Gahanna-Lincoln Ahead of the Digital Curve
NBC4, OH, June 4, 2012
Laptops and DVDs are replacing textbooks and backpacks in many of America’s classrooms, including a few in Central Ohio. In Gahanna, Lincoln-Jefferson is one of the districts striving to become a mecca for blended learning.