Sign up for our newsletter
Contact

Daily Headlines for August 9, 2013

August 9, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

COTTO: ‘School choice’ is child abuse
Opinion, Washington Times, August 8, 2013
It is impossible for mainly troubled youths in dangerous, let alone underperforming, schools to magically become star pupils once they are placed in a better environment.

Implementation could doom new standards
Opinion, Tulsa World, August 9, 2013
Even if you believe that the Common Core standards are high-quality, internationally benchmarked and would provide a solid foundation for the American education system, you should be worried about how they are being implemented.

Study: Louisiana among top states for charter school gains
The Advertiser, August 8, 2013
Gov. Bobby Jindal and state Superintendent John White announced Thursday that a recent 26-state study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that Louisiana is a national leader in student achievement at charter schools, ranking near the top in both reading and math gains.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Higley weighs value of chartering two new middle schools
Arizona Republic, August 8, 2013
Higley Unified School District’s governing board will decide Monday whether chartering the district’s two new middle schools will bring in the most state aid or if it should rescind the schools’ charter designation.

CALIFORNIA

Column missed real story on charters
Sacramento Bee, August 9, 2013
In his column on Oakland’s American Indian Model (Public Charter) Schools, Ben Boychuk shows his myopic bias in favor of charter schools regardless of the facts (“Education board can save these great schools,” July 27).

Private School Offer Alternate Path For Students
Gazette Newspapers, August 9, 2013
While Long Beach has award-winning public schools, it also is home to a variety of charter, private and parochial schools.

Trigger Tremors
City Journal, August 8, 2013
Last week, parents in the Southern California desert city of Adelanto celebrated the opening of the first school transformed under the state’s 2010 parent-empowerment law, also known as the parent trigger.

COLORADO

State, Re-1 forge agreement for future charter plans
Glenwood Springs Post Independent, August 8, 2013
The Roaring Fork School District Re-1 is finalizing an agreement with the Colorado Charter School Institute that will establish a formal working relationship whenever a new charter school is proposed within the district.

IDAHO

Idaho Charter School Network gets new president
KTVB, August 8, 2013
The Idaho Charter School Network announced Thursday that Terry Ryan will take over as president.

INDIANA

Indiana’s performance-based pay system for teachers needs review
Opinion, Indianapolis Star, August 8, 2013
The demands on teachers today have never been greater as they strive to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population, including English Language Learners, students with disabilities and a growing number of students disadvantaged by poverty.

KENTUCKY

Senate must finish House’s good start on education law
Opinion, Lexington Herald Leader, August 9, 2013
The Kentucky School Boards Association extends its gratitude for supporting this landmark legislation to Reps. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green, Ed Whitfield. R-Hopkinsville, Hal Rogers, R-Somerset, and Thomas Massie, R-Vanceburg.

LOUISIANA

Youngsville council endorses ‘Turnaround Plan’
The Advocate, August 8, 2013
The City Council on Thursday approved a resolution supporting School Superintendent Pat Cooper’s “Turnaround Plan,” which includes a potential charter school to improve the overcrowded population in Youngsville schools.

MASSACHUSETTS

Charter school future unclear
Barnstable Patriot, August 8, 2013
Members of the Barnstable Community Horace Mann Charter Public School community made an impassioned presentation regarding the renewal of the school’s charter, but questions pertaining to the true uniqueness of the school remain.

MICHIGAN

Detroit Public Schools tries to retain, gain students by marketing each school
Detroit News, August 9, 2013
Thousands of families have left the city in the last decade. Many still live in this borough in the shadow of the Marathon refinery but send their children to school elsewhere.

When schools close, look around the corner
Opinion, Detroit News, August 9, 2013
A year and a half ago, I toured the halls and classrooms of Baylor-Woodson Elementary School in Inkster. I came away impressed with the well-behaved young students and dedicated teachers and administrators who worked there.

MINNESOTA

St. Paul teachers union wants district to drop mandated tests
Minnesota Public Radio, August 9, 2013
When the St. Paul teachers union continues contract talks later this month, the usual items are expected to be on the negotiating table: salary, benefits and class sizes. But the union is adding something new, something no other teachers group in the state has done before. It is demanding that, by next spring, the district stop giving students an assessment test required by the state and federal government.

MISSISSIPPI

New charter schools goals outlined
Natchez Democrat, August 9, 2013
Failure may not be an option for the new Delta Charter School.

MISSOURI

Missouri’s promise to its children is empty an unfulfilled
Editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 9, 2013
Missouri’s method of financing public schools was inadequate and inequitable. It was true in 2004 and it’s still true today, and it’s one big reason for the student-transfer uproar today.

Mo. State Lawmakers Doubtful About School Reform
KMOX, August 8, 2013
As Normandy transfer students were attending their first day of classes in the Francis Howell School District on Thursday, local lawmakers were talking about changing the law that put them there.
NEW JERSEY

At first anniversary, NJs teacher-tenure law faces biggest tests
New Jersey Spotlight, August 9, 2013
The state senator who wrote and shepherded through New Jersey’s new teacher tenure law remembers well the day a year ago when it was signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie — including that it was an August scorcher.

NEW YORK

High School Regents Tests to Get Harder
Wall Street Journal, August 9, 2013
Now that New York state’s elementary- and middle-school students have received sobering new test scores showing few students are considered proficient, state officials are turning their attention to high schoolers.

In Mayoral Race, Looking for Substance in Schools Conversation
New York Times, August 9, 2013
Even before Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg walked into the Education Department’s headquarters to announce the results of state tests in reading and math this week, criticism was flying.

New York test scores hint at hard road ahead for Common Core
Christian Science Monitor, August 8, 2013
New York is among the first of 45 states to test students as it implements new standards for college- and career-readiness. The poor results mean the Common Core reforms will require patience.

NYC’s real schools power
New York Post, August 8, 2013
Who drives the education agenda in this town? Ask most New Yorkers, and the answer will probably be: either the mayor or the schools chancellor.

NORTH CAROLINA

Chapel Hill charter school loses request to delay opening
Chapel Hill News, August 8, 2013
An obstacle-plagued Chapel Hill-area charter school will have to start from scratch after the state Board of Education rejected Thursday its request to delay opening for another year.

NC may approve up to 32 new charter schools
News & Observer, August 8, 2013
The State Board of Education agreed Thursday to consider opening up to 32 new charter schools in 2014.

Reform or blunder? Education effects up for debate
Star News, August 8, 2013
The legislative session that recently ended made sweeping changes to education policy, but some local education leaders say they didn’t get a chance to chime in.

OHIO

Cleveland Transformation Alliance’s school choice campaign off to slow start
Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 8, 2013
The first big push by the new Cleveland Transformation Alliance to nudge parents into actively choosing schools for their children isn’t reaching as many families as organizers hoped.

Hundreds of sports remain in Cleveland’s top-rated public schools this fall
Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 8, 2013
Students have yet to fill Cleveland’s top- rated public schools less than two weeks before the start of the school year.

PENNSYLVANIA

Money woes could delay opening of city schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, August 9, 2013
Facing a still-massive deficit, the Philadelphia School District will not open on time unless it has assurance by Aug. 16 that it will receive $50 million from the city, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said Thursday.

Moves to unionize at Philly charter school blocked, teachers say
Newsworks, August 8, 2013
Claims that the company running the Olney Charter High School tried to intimidate teachers who sought to unionize may be heading for a hearing.

SOUTH CAROLINA

New charter school option needs board support
Editorial, Post and Courier, August 9, 2013
While we all learn in unique ways, children advance at different rates. Some children embrace reading but need more help with math. Some children are visual learners while others require hands-on activities. Some can type fast yet their handwriting is illegible.

TENNESSEE

MNPS’ new grading policy hits rift with teachers, parents
Nashville City Paper, August 9, 2013
As Metro schools adjust to an assortment of changes in how they teach, measure and evaluate education, the school district is taking on another controversial reform: how it grades students.

TEXAS

Rule on private school transfer raises concerns
Houston Chronicle, August 8, 2013
The only proposed rule for Alabama’s new private school tax credits that’s raising any concern is one saying the credits don’t apply for children already in private school.

ONLINE LEARNING

Allentown School District seeks vast expansion of cyber learning programs
Lehigh Express Times, August 9, 2013
Nearly 2,000 students left the Allentown School District in favor of charter and cyber schools last year, bringing millions of the district’s tuition dollars with them.

East TN’s newest cyber academy denied approval by state, for now
WBIR, August 8, 2013
Several hundred students hoped to start class on their home computer from East Tennessee’s newest virtual school in the next few days.

Locked out
Mountain View Voice, August 8, 2013
A group of Bullis Charter School parents, upset over what they are calling a Los Altos School District-imposed “lockout” of BCS teachers, protested earlier this morning, Aug. 8, in front of the LASD main office.

Online courses become more effective for students
Simi Valley Acorn, August 9, 2013
Due to advances in technology, online education has become an effective alternative for students who wish to earn a degree from the comfort of their own home.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Daily Headlines for August 8, 2013

August 8, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Gates pours millions in new grants to change teaching profession
Washington Post Blog, August 8, 2013
The Gates Foundation is spending millions of dollars in new grants that will further its already vast and controversial influence on public education.

Jeb Bush blasts Matt Damon as hypocrite on public education
Washington Times, August 7, 2013
Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, on Tuesday sent a blistering critique of Hollywood actor Matt Damon’s decision to school his three children at a private facility, not public: You’re such a hypocrite.

Success for the dumbest kid
Opinion
Washington Times, August 7, 2013
Currently in the United States, approximately 30 percent of the people who enter high school do not graduate

Charter public school progress encouraging, but view limited
Opinion
La Crosse Tribune, August 8, 2013
Families and educators may be interested in a new national report about charter and district public schools. Whether they have one or several of more than 39,000 Minnesota students attending a charter, or a district, private or parochial school, the report contains encouraging information. However, the study also has important limitations.

FROM THE STATES

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Can a Hebrew charter school teach the language but not the faith?
Opinion
Washington Post, August 7, 2013
What’s one way to ensure that a new Hebrew-immersion public charter school isn’t a Jewish school? Hire a priest to run it.

FLORIDA

3 F’s for elementary school force Sweetwater Academy to close
Gainesville Times, August 8, 2013
Sweetwater Branch Academy, a charter elementary and middle school in northeast Gainesville, has closed due to poor school grades and financial trouble.

ILLINOIS

Setting facts straight on charter schools
Opinion
Chicago Sun Times, August 7, 2013
Unfortunately, the opinion piece that ran in the Sun-Times on July 30, “CPS starving its schools to justify privatization,” continues to pit charters versus traditional schools, and seeks to push adult interests over student success.

Two D203 schools must offer option to transfer
Chicago Tribune, August 7, 2013
Students at two Naperville Unit District 203 elementary schools will have the option of transferring to another school this fall.

INDIANA

School Formula Adjustment to Lift One School Dragged Down Another
WIBC, August 8, 2013
The Indianapolis charter school jumped from a C to an A after the Department of Education changed the formula to exclude high school students from grade calculations for schools which didn’t run all the way through 12th grade. But a WIBC review of state accountability data shows the change cost at least one more school a passing grade. Wiping out the Hammond Academy of Science and Technology’s ninth and 10th-grade scores pushed it from a D to an F.

LOUISIANA

Jefferson Parish’s failing schools show improvement
Times-Picayune, August 7, 2013
The latest list of failing public schools in Louisiana includes the fewest in Jefferson Parish since the state Department of Education began grading them more than a decade ago, a result that some educators are pointing to as a sign of progress.

Choice available to parents of kids at failing schools
Alexandria Town Talk, August 8, 2013
Parents of students of failing schools will have more freedom in choosing where their students attend this year after the Rapides Parish School Board Tuesday approved a school choice plan, which state law requires to give those students the option to attend a higher performing school.

Lafayette board discusses charter schools
The Advocate, August 8, 2013
After two hours of discussion and questions about per pupil funding, the Lafayette Parish School Board on Wednesday left in limbo two charter school operators wanting to build two schools in time for the 2014-2015 school year.

Charter parents frustrated with MCSB politics
Monroe News Star, August 7, 2013
Parents of prospective Excellence Academy students say they’re tired of the politics of the Monroe City School Board preventing their students from attending the charter school.

MARYLAND

New school year brings new schools, programs
Maryland Gazette, August 8, 2013
Two schools moving into newly built buildings, a just-starting public charter school and new career academies in schools are samples of what’s to come in the 2013-2014 academic year for the Prince George’s County school system.

MASSACHUSETTS

Groups seek OK to open 3 charter schools in Andover, Lynn
Boston Globe, August 8, 2013
Two groups whose plans were previously rejected by the state are making renewed bids to open charter schools in Lynn, while another group is making its first attempt at opening a technology-oriented school in Andover.

Charter school proposal raises plenty of questions
Editorial
The Andover Townsman, August 8, 2013
A proposal for a charter high school in Andover caught many in town off guard this week — as much for who is proposing it as the fact that it’s being

Proposed charter school aims to innovate
Metro West Daily News, August 8, 2013
With many strong schools already in the region, MetroWest has not been fertile ground for new charter schools in recent years.

NORTH CAROLINA

Waiting for Wake County’s new graduation rate and new charter schools
News & Observer Blog, August 8, 2013
There are a couple of items at today’s State Board of Education meeting that could impact the Wake County school system and families in this area. The 2013 high school graduation figures will be released at the meeting. In addition to seeing whether the state has continued to increase its graduation rate, another thing to see is whether Wake is still above the state average. The gap between the two has shrunk sharply since 2006. Another question is how many charter schools in Wake County could still be in line to open in the 2014-15 school year.

Vouchers seen as winning ticket for NC private schools
WRAL, August 7, 2013
Although they won’t be issued until next March, vouchers that will allow hundreds of students from low-income families to attend private schools across North Carolina already have officials at many schools eagerly anticipating an influx of students.

NEW JERSEY

Latest push for teacher quality: better mentoring of classroom rookies
New Jersey Spotlight, August 8, 2013
Novice teachers need to be coached by colleagues judged to be ‘effective’ or ‘highly effective’ educators.

NEW YORK

Accepting ‘Hard Truth’
Wall Street Journal, August 8, 2013
The results posted by New York state students on tough new exams shined a spotlight Wednesday on what educators have been saying for years: Most students aren’t ready for college-level work by the time they graduate.

Charter schools and public schools equally showed poor testing performance
New York Daily News, August 8, 2013
Traditional public schools did not differ much from charter schools, as all reflected precipitous drop in performance after new standards introduced.

Mulgrew: Poor test results show Common Core curriculum was rushed
Opinion
New York Daily News, August 8, 2013
Michael Mulgrew, head of the city’s teachers union, claims Mayor Bloomberg’s rush to improve city education backfired after teachers and students were left unprepared when faced with tougher tests.

Punishing kids for adult failures
Opinion
New York Daily News, August 8, 2013
The massive score drop on tough new New York tests gives us an opportunity — and obligation — to change course

OHIO

High school sports: Public-school sports teams open to home-schoolers
Columbus Dispatch, August 8, 2013
As practices for fall sports get into full swing this week, public schools across Ohio are working out how to implement a new state law allowing home-schooled and some private-school students to join their teams.

PENNSYLVANIA

Agreement continues alternative high school in Monroeville
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 8, 2013
The alternative program was created nearly two decades ago after officials in Woodland Hills, Penn Hills, Gateway and Plum school districts became concerned about dropout rates, but it has been on the chopping block for the past four years as each of the districts dealt with budget cutbacks and increased payments to charter schools.

RHODE ISLAND

Only Half of Race to Top Funds Went to School Districts
Go Local Prov, August 8, 2013
Half of the $19.1 million of funds spent so far for the Race to the Top—the competitive federal grant program meant to spur innovative education reform and boost student achievement—has gone to local school districts in Rhode Island, according to U.S. Department of Education data.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Proponents Hope Middleton Can Right CCSMS Ship
Charleston Chronicle, August 8, 2013
The Charleston Charter School for Math & Science has struggled with adversity since its inception. Student racial demographics and facilities issues have dominated concerns in the past, but with last year’s departure of Principal Michael Stagliano, who was the school’s fifth, leadership is surfacing as another challenge.

School choice option to aid students with special needs
Morning News, August 7, 2013
School choice legislation has been pushed, but never passed, in the South Carolina Statehouse for more than a decade. But this summer, a very limited version passed in the form of a budget provison.

VERMONT

Schools improving, but slowly
Bennington Banner, August 8, 2013
The headline results of this week’s release from the Vermont Agency of Education regarding targets set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act were the same as last year — three-quarters of public schools in the state failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress, including most in the local Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union.

WISCONSIN

School voucher applications raise concerns
Leader Telegram, August 8, 2013
Catholic schools in Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls and elsewhere in Wisconsin report that some of the many voucher requests they have received are from families who already have children attending those schools, prompting concerns about the program.

ONLINE LEARNING

Virtual academy set to expand despite low test scores
WBIR-TV, August 8, 2013
Another Tennessee school district is jumping on the virtual school bandwagon, despite student test scores that ranked the state’s first publicly funded virtual school amongst the lowest in the state.

S.C. online charter high school holds information session in Conway
Myrtle Beach Sun News, August 7, 2013
Teachers and resource officers will be on hand to discuss Provost’s academic structure and provide potential students and their families with information about success in a state-authorized virtual charter school.

Virtual School Programs Popping Up Across the Midstate
41NBC/WMGT, August 7, 2013
Virtual schools are expanding their reach into Middle Georgia, teaming up with school systems to offer families additional online options.

Pasco school board reluctantly OK’s online charter school
Sun Coast News, August 7, 2013
A year ago, Pasco County School Board members had so many concerns about a proposed online charter school that they rejected the school’s application, citing a state investigation into the management firm that would run the school and academic troubles at other charters the company oversees.

Florida Virtual School lays off hundreds as enrollment plummets
Tampa Bay Times, August 7, 2013
It sounded as though she was reading from a script, Christopher Metzger thought, as the woman on the other end of the line told him he was losing his job.

New cyber-academy set to open in Grand Rapids
WWMT, August 7, 2013
Children across West Michigan will be back in school in a matter of weeks. But some won’t be learning in a typical classroom.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Daily Headlines for August 7, 2013

August 7, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

American education’s path back to greatness
Opinion, New York Daily News, August 7, 2013
This week, New Yorkers are likely to suffer a mix of disappointment and frustration when the state releases the results of the rigorous new testing regime that New York State has adopted as it joins the national Common Core movement to raise standards of American education.

Common Core is within America’s educational tradition
Opinion, Detroit News, August 7, 2013
Recently, politicians and educators have been making fools of themselves over Common Core curriculum standards. Everyone has a position. Common Core will save the American economy, some say. Common Core will destroy American democracy, others argue.

Outcry against Common Core standards unwarranted
Editorial, Spokesman Review, August 7, 2013
Common Core will need to be assessed. Implementation will be a struggle. And, yes, change can be upsetting. But the standards need to be given a fair chance to succeed before being dismissed.

Paul E. Peterson: The Obama Setback for Minority Education
Opinion, Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2013
Steady gains for black and Hispanic students under No Child Left Behind have come to a virtual standstill.

Why School Choice Is Failing
National Review Online, August 7, 2013
Milwaukee, Wis., is home to the nation’s oldest and largest school-voucher program, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. After starting with just over 300 students in 1990, the program enrolled almost 25,000 students last school year.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

L.A.’s is among districts exempt from No Child Left Behind rules
Los Angeles Times, August 7, 2013
LAUSD joins seven other school districts in California allowed to operate under rules favorably viewed by the Obama administration.

CONNECTICUT

Hybrid School Board Makes The Ballot
New Haven Independent, August 6, 2013
When New Haveners step into voting booths in November, they’ll get to vote not just for mayor and alderman, but on changes to the city charter, including shaking up the school board and whether to drop the “man” from “alderman.”

DELAWARE

The charter school craze is no taxpayer bargain
New Journal, August 7, 2013
It was reported that the conservatives in southern Delaware and also in Pennsylvania and Maryland are fighting mad about how the “government” is attacking these “for-profit” charter school programs. Well it’s time to let the citizens know that more than 75 percent of these educated pundits were schooled in a federally funded public school.

FLORIDA

Education choice is critical for governor
Editorial, News-Press, August 7, 2013
The rapid turnover of Florida education commissioners — three in just as many years — couldn’t come at a worse time for Gov. Rick Scott.

School district rolls out app, lottery system for Choice program
Sun Sentinel, August 7, 2013
Even though the new school year is just beginning it’s not too soon to start thinking about the next school year when it comes to choosing Choice or career programs for students.

Volusia gets 3 wide-ranging charter school plans
Daytona Beach News-Journal, August 6, 2013
Applicants for three charter schools — ranging from a military-style academy to an arts-focused curriculum — are seeking to open their doors in Volusia County a year from now.

GEORGIA

Barge to consider entering governor’s race
Marietta Daily Journal, August 7, 2013
State Schools Superintendent John Barge said Tuesday he’s considering a campaign to challenge Gov. Nathan Deal next year, raising the possibility of a heated Republican primary with a focus on the state of education and school funding in Georgia.

ILLINOIS

CPS cuts back on mandated assessment tests
Chicago Tribune, August 6, 2013
Responding to concerns from parents and teachers about over-testing, Chicago Public Schools officials say they will sharply reduce the number of district-required assessment tests students will take this year.

IOWA

Iowan selected as education chief
Des Moines Register, August 7, 2013
An Iowa native hailed as a pacesetter in development of teacher leadership programs will serve as the state’s next education chief.

LOUISIANA

EBR schools proposal calls for neighborhood schools, firing low-performing educators
The Advocate, August 7, 2013
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board plans next week to dust off and perhaps approve a long set of recommendations aimed at moving the school district from near the bottom to among the top 10 in Louisiana by 2020.

Jeff board OKs charter operator
Times-Picayune, August 6, 2013
The Jefferson Parish School Board has approved a new operator, Celerity Education Group, to charter an existing public school in the 2014-15 school year. Also on Tuesday, the board approved with little dispute a fairly balanced budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year.

Two charter schools on Lafayette agenda
The Advocate, August 7, 2013
Two newly constructed schools could open in time for the 2014-15 school year and two more could open in subsequent years — if the Lafayette Parish School Board approves requests from two charter school operators Wednesday.

MISSOURI

Some St. Louis COunty schools say it loud: ‘No blacks allowed’
Opinion, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 7, 2013
So, consider the most recent action of the Missouri Supreme Court, a decision that now has gained a plethora of attention on both a local and national level. A decision that sadly has unveiled again our country’s stereotypical conditioning, racial bias and xenophobia as exposed in the rhetoric of recent school board meetings.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Litchfield appeals high school’s “priority” status
Nashua Telegraph, August 7, 2013
When Campbell High School joined 23 other state schools on a list of those prioritized for improvement efforts, school officials weren’t exactly thrilled.

NEW MEXICO

State yanks Albuquerque school charter
KRQE, August, 6, 2013
The Learning Community Charter School in Albuquerque has had its charter revoked by the New Mexico Public Education Commission, but the school is planning to appeal the decision and can remain open during that process.

NEW YORK

A $147 Million Signal of Faith in Atlanta’s Public Schools
New York Times, August 7, 2013
The most expensive public high school ever built in Georgia opens Wednesday in an old I.B.M. office building.

‘Charter kid’ trick in new ad for Eliot
New York Post, August 7, 2013
Aspiring city comptroller Eliot Spitzer filmed a new ad in a Manhattan charter school yesterday — with friends and supporters supplying the “schoolkids” needed for the shoot.

National Test-Score Declines Are Likely
Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2013
New York state students’ math and reading scores on standardized exams plunged this year, which federal and state officials said could be a harbinger of results in dozens of states moving to tougher tests tied to new curriculum standards.

Mount vernon Charter School Moves Closer To Being Financially Stable
Mount Vernon Daily Voice, August 7, 2013
After two years of financial uncertainty and funding problems, the Amani Public Charter School in Mount Vernon finally looks to be on its way to stability.

The good news in lower test scores
Commentary, New York Post, August 7, 2013
This week is a watershed moment in the history of public schools in New York City and state. This morning, the state will release the results of the math and English exams administered to students this past spring.

NORTH CAROLINA

Charter boom shifts N.C. education landscape
Charlotte Observer, August 7, 2013
Seventy-five students filing into gray modular classrooms on the edge of uptown this week are previewing one of North Carolina’s biggest education trends.

Robeson County’s Southeastern Academy reopening enrollment, adding more students
Fayetteville Observer, August 7, 2013
The complaint alleged the school violated state enrollment policies and its own charter by opening enrollment for only one day March 8 – the day after receiving its charter from the the state – rather than the two months laid out in the school’s charter application. It also alleged the school gave preference to those who attended the school as a private institution.

OHIO

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson feels betrayed that his Transformation Alliance can’t review new schools this fall
Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 7, 2013
Mayor Frank Jackson says he feels betrayed that the Ohio Department of Education is allowing two new charter schools to open in Cleveland this fall without any review by a new panel he fought last summer to create.

It Could Be a While Before Churches Can Sponsor Charter Schools
NPRStateline, August 6, 2013
A Columbus church seeking to become a charter school sponsor lost another round in court last month.

PENNSYLVANIA

Student makes case for increased school funding
Philadelphia Inquirer, August 7, 2013
Tauheed Baukman couldn’t imagine what his high school would be like under the Philadelphia School District’s doomsday budget.

Teacher effectiveness gains support
New Pittsburgh Courier, August 7, 2013
This week, the Pittsburgh Public School District announced that 85 percent of their teachers demonstrated effective performance in the 2012-2013 school year, according to data from individualized Educator Effectiveness Reports. The reports are part of the district’s ongoing Empowering Effective Teachers Plan aimed at putting an effective teacher in front of every student.

TENNESSEE

In Tennessee, top school rating proves elusive
The Tennessean, August 7, 2013
No Nashville-area school district made the state’s newest list of “exemplary” systems, as educators struggled with how to help students with disabilities succeed on the same standardized tests taken by other children.

TEXAS

Dallas ISD to move forward with teacher pay for performance
Dallas Morning News, August 6, 2013
Dallas ISD trustees are expected Thursday to bring back a former school board member to help craft the district’s teacher pay-for-performance system.

WASHINGTON

Seattle Public Schools falling behind on special-ed reforms
Seattle Times, August 6, 2013
Facing an 18-month deadline to fix big problems in its special-education programs, Seattle Public Schools is already in trouble.

WEST VIRGINIA

Wayne Schools look to avert takeover
Herald Dispatch, August 6, 2013
The West Virginia superintendent of schools delivered a direct message to the Wayne County Board of Education Tuesday night that it has the characteristics of a school system nearing a state takeover.

WISCONSIN

District lands planning grant for new charter high school
La Crosse Tribune, August 7, 2013
La Crosse Design Institute, is so popular with students and parents that officials already added a sixth grade class for next year. A $175,000 grant announced this week will allow officials to consider the possibility of adding a high school.

ONLINE LEARNING

Florida Virtual School lays off hundreds professors
Tampa Bay Tribune Blog, August 6, 2013
Florida Virtual School laid off about 300 adjunct professors in July. On Friday, the online school let go another 325. On Monday, it laid off 177 full-time professors.

Online classes increasing for Gwinnett
WSB Radio, August 7, 2013
As students in the state’s largest school district, Gwinnett County, head back to class today, more may be taking advantage of the school system’s online program.

Pasco to get its first virtual charter school
Tampa Bay Times Blog, August 6, 2013
The Pasco County School Board didn’t like much about Florida Virtual Academy, an online charter school proposal from a local board that would hire K12 Inc. to run the show.

Virtual Academy at District 49 is a high tech jewel
KRDO, August 6, 2013
School District 49 has a hidden jewel in its school system. It’s the only one of its kind in Southern Colorado. It’s the Virtual Academy off Constitution near Powers on the east side. It’s what’s called a blended learning, K-12 Virtual Academy which mixes online and classroom learning to get the best out of its students.

Virtual Schools Are Spending Millions of Taxpayer Dollars On Advertising
FCIR, August 6, 2013
A new report from USA Today found that virtual school operators are dealing with low enrollment numbers by spending public funds on advertising.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines, Uncategorized

Daily Headlines for August 6, 2013

August 6, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

CER IN THE NEWS

McDonnell leads education summit in Fairfax
Washington Post, August 6, 2013
Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) met with state education leaders on Monday in Fairfax for a summit on public schools, discussing student loan debt, teacher compensation and low-performing schools.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Tax Dollars for Private School Tuition Gain in States
Stateline, August 6, 2013
Thirteen states created or expanded tuition tax credits, private school scholarships or traditional vouchers in 2013, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eight states did so in 2012 and seven states in 2011, according to the group.

Choice, change drive education in the 21st century
Opinion
Detroit News, August 6, 2013
Today and tomorrow, education will be defined by change and by choice. For many of us who came along at the end of the Baby Boomer generation it would have been impossible for us to imagine how technology and other innovations would shape our lives.

An Aha! Moment: Charters = Vouchers
Opinion
City Watch, August 6, 2013
“Charter Schools” is an emotional term that invokes a sort of shimmering gateway of hope. It sends a siren’s signal offering educational panacea and the false solution to every parent’s nightmare: uncertainty about the future.

School Grading Scandal Only Hurts Students
Opinion
US News & World Report, August 5, 2013
Florida State Education Commissioner Tony Bennett resigned from his post last week because back when he was superintendent of education in Indiana, he changed the grade of one of Indiana’s finest charter schools under Indiana’s accountability system from a C to an A.

Don’t try to fix ‘No Child Left Behind,’ just end it
Opinion
San Antonio Express, August 6, 2013
Children are taught the value of perseverance. It’s a virtue, they are told, to keep working until the job gets done. But sometimes the opposite is needed: The candor to reassess and recognize when it’s time to throw in the towel.

At the core of controversy
Opinion
Coeur d’Alene Press, August 6, 2013
Despite the fact that it’s a done deal, local angst persists over the Common Core Standards (CCS) to improve and clarify K-12 goals in math and English. An opt-in choice, Idaho and nearly all U.S. states and territories have adopted them. Six have yet to sign on: Texas, Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska, Virginia and Puerto Rico.

FROM THE STATES

ALABAMA

Montgomery Catholic, St. Jude to participate in Alabama Accountability Act program
Montgomery Advertiser, August 5, 2013
Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School and St. Jude Educational Institute will accept Montgomery students seeking transfers under the state’s Accountability Act, according to a list released by the Alabama Department of Revenue on Monday.

ARIZONA

Arizona’s school-labeling strategy threatens programs like Edge High
Column
Arizona Daily Star, August 6, 2013
Far too many students are either failing or not thriving in Arizona’s public school system. Unfortunately, that was also true in 1995 when Edge High School was founded. It was Pima County’s first charter school. Before that, it had been a grants-funded high school credit-recovery program.

COLORADO

Colorado school finance reformers deliver double required signatures
Denver Post, August 6, 2013
Proponents of a $950 million initiative to revamp the state’s school finance system, and raise the state income tax in the process, delivered more than 160,000 signatures Monday morning to the Secretary of State’s office in an effort to put the measure on the November ballot.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

The Courage to Lead
Column by Kevin P. Chavous
Huffington Post, August 5, 2013
I shared with those Black Caucus members the D.C. experience and how charter schools along with the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP) have given thousands of D.C. kids a quality education while D.C. Public Schools struggle with internal reform efforts.

HAWAII

DOE cuts HAAS bus service, three days before school
Big Island Video News, August 5, 2013
Its back to school time for Hawaii’s students… but if they plan to attend the Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science charter school in Puna, they wont have a bus ride.

INDIANA

Make sure A-F grading system doesn’t flunk
Editorial
NW Times, August 6, 2013
The Tony Bennett grade-changing scandal has the nation’s education community talking excitedly about how Indiana’s former superintendent of public instruction handled school accountability.

School choice helps Hoosier families
Opinion
Journal and Courier, August 5, 2013
As the start of the 2013-14 school year rapidly approaches, Hoosier families have more K-12 educational options available to them than at any other time in our state’s history.

Reforms focus on teachers’ results, not their credentials
Column
News Sentinel, August 6, 2013
Over the past two years, Indiana changed both licensing and compensation rules for public school teachers. The rules replaced a de facto requirement that teachers and principals get their degrees exclusively from teachers colleges.

IOWA

State launches new education jobs website
Des Moines, August 6, 2013
A new website launched Monday will make it easier for educators to find and apply for positions in Iowa, state officials said.

LOUISIANA

School board to vote on charter schools
The Daily Advertiser, August 5, 2013
The Lafayette Parish School Board will be asked to approve a total of four charter schools for the parish at its Wednesday meeting.

BESE member takes on new state-level responsibilities at Teach for America
Times Picayune, August 5, 2013
Kira Orange Jones’ job at Teach for America is expanding. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member will officially remain executive director for greater New Orleans.

Education head John White says diploma system needs re-evaluation
The Advocate, August 5, 2013
Louisiana needs to overhaul the way it prepares public high school students for careers since four out of five students opt not to pursue a four-year college degree, state Superintendent of Education John White said Monday.

MAINE

Education chief’s defense of friend imperils credibility
Editorial
Kennebec Journal, August 6, 2013
Bowen’s support for a colleague may be admirable, but Bennett’s credibility is in serious question and that reflects poorly on the credibility of his grading program that Maine has copied.

MASSACHUSETTS

Bottom Line
Patriot Ledger Blog, August 6, 2013
A week or so ago came the news that the Resiliency Foundation, the group behind the Fall River Innovation Academy, has applied to the DESE to go ahead with their plans for FRIA as a Charter School. In today’s Herald comes reaction from the Superintendent of Schools and some members of the School Committee. Lets have a look.

Support Innovation Academy Charter School
Editorial
Fall River Herald News, August 5, 2013
The new approach to getting the Fall River Innovation Academy off the ground in the form of the Innovation Academy Charter School is in the best interest of providing quality education to students without political interference.

Charter school pitched in Andover
Eagle Tribune, August 6, 2014
A group led by School Committee member David Birnbach is proposing opening a charter school focused on engineering, technology and the digital arts.

Daniel F. Conley, Martin J. Walsh clash in mini-debate
Boston Herald, August 6, 2013
Conley immediately ripped what he characterized as Walsh’s “squishy” support of lifting the charter school cap, adding that he’s more decisive than Walsh and, “with this issue either you’re for it or not.”

MISSISSIPPI

Gov. nominates 3 for charter schools panel
Clarion Ledger, August 6, 2013
Gov. Phil Bryant on Monday named his three appointments — one of his education policy advisers, a Clarksdale teacher, and a Laurel businessman — to a seven-member board that will approve and oversee charter schools in Mississippi.

MISSOURI

No shortage of legal advice for families denied school transfers
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 6, 2013
As student transfer assignments for children from two school districts continued Monday, civil rights and school choice groups began to flex their legal muscles — questioning how the process has unfolded and whether hundreds of students can be denied their choice of schools.

NEW JERSEY

Charter schools get lesson in patience and red tape
Cherry Hill Courier Post, August 6, 2013
Opening a charter school in New Jersey is not for the faint of heart. Robin Ruiz, founder of Hope Community Charter School in Camden, said its initial application to the state was more than 100 pages long. The teacher, along with a founding team of about six people, submitted the paperwork for approval in September of 2010.

NEW MEXICO

NM Teacher Evaluation System Under Fire
KRWG, August 5, 2013
The head of the New Mexico chapter of the National Education Association says the new system will take the responsibility off principals to be instructional leaders and put teachers in the position of having to evaluate each other.

PENNSYLVANIA

‘Common core’ will aid schools
Opinion
Philadelphia Inquirer, August 6, 2013
“Pretty good.” Those two words describe Pennsylvania’s public schools. Compared with most other states, our students excel in a broad body of subjects.

Panel explains why it revoked school’s charter
Pocono Record, August 6, 2013
Citing significant entanglement of funds between the Pocono Mountain Charter School and Shawnee Tabernacle Church, the state’s Charter Appeal Board released a 30-page report outlining why the school’s charter was being revoked.

New Pittsburgh teacher ratings tougher than ones now
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 6, 2013
If a new teacher evaluation system had been in effect this past school year, more Pittsburgh Public Schools teachers would have received unsatisfactory ratings than actually received them.

House Education Committee hears case for standards changes
Meadville Tribune, August 65, 2013
State education officials told a House panel Monday that fears about changes to state educational standards are largely based on misconceptions about what the changes mean. Most lawmakers on the Education Committee seemed to buy the argument, but critics remain unconvinced.

SOUTH CAROLINA

12 SC private schools OK’d for ‘choice’ program
The State, August 5, 2013
Twelve S.C. private schools have been cleared to enroll special-needs students paying with tuition grants made possible through the state’s first school-choice program.

TENNESSEE

Knox school board discusses adding student input to teacher evaluations, 2014-15 calendar
Knoxville News Sentinel, August 6, 2013
Knox County students could soon have some input on how they believe their teachers are performing in the classroom.

WISCONSIN

Milwaukee teacher prep program opens K5 charter school as training lab
Journal Sentinel, August 5, 2013
For 17 years, the Milwaukee Teacher Education Center has helped new teachers get certified to teach in Milwaukee Public Schools and retrained other professionals working in urban education.

ONLINE LEARNING

Local students go online for PHS summer school credits
Princeton Packet, August 5, 2013
For years, summer school has meant students trudging off to classes while their friends went to the pool or basketball court. But for the past few years, Princeton High School has used an online summer school program, with students taking the self-guided courses they need to make up credit because they failed a class.

Atlanta turns to online classes to boost graduation rates
Atlanta Journal Constitution, August 5, 2013
With nearly half of its students failing to graduate on time, Atlanta’s school system turned to online education as one way to help.

Registration now open for St. Tammany ‘virtual classroom’ program for junior high students
Times-Picayune, August 6, 2013
Registration for St. Tammany Parish’s new virtual classroom program for middle school students is currently underway. The online learning program for 6th, 7th and 8th graders has spots for 200 students.

L.A. teachers give their new iPads a test drive
Los Angeles Times, August 6, 2013
LAUSD instructors gather at six schools this week to train on iPads, which 31,000 students and 1,500 teachers in 47 schools will begin using this year.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines, Uncategorized

Daily Headlines for August 5, 2013

August 5, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Mainstreaming’ Special-Ed Students Needs Debate
Opinion
Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2013
What has been the law’s impact on students who are not disabled? The matter at least merits discussion.

Tony Bennett scandal sparks new discussion on validity of school grading
Tampa Bay Times, August 4, 2013
The national push to grade schools has slammed into an unexpected roadblock, causing even supporters to question the validity of the widely celebrated A-F system that Florida started 14 years ago.

No child, no chance?
Editorial
News & Observer, August 4, 2013
So House Republicans have approved a bill to dismantle the federal No Child Left Behind law that, ironically, was a product of the George W. Bush White House.

Christie Spars With GOP Again, This Time Over Education Standards
WSJ Blog, August 4, 2013
Mr. Christie, speaking at a charter-school conference, said Republicans who opposed education issues such as the Common Core State Standards were having a “knee-jerk” reaction to something the president supports.

FROM THE STATES

ARIZONA

Your choice: School options abound in East Valley
East Valley Tribune, August 4, 2013
Parents will find few states that offer families as many schooling options as Arizona. A longtime leader in the national school choice movement, Arizona has an education marketplace with a school for nearly any income, interest or situation.

Bowers: An equal educational opportunity for charter students
Commentary
East Valley Tribune, August 4, 2013
Becca Weinstock heard about the East Valley Institute of Technology from a friend while attending Heritage Academy, a charter middle and high school in Mesa. She had the elective space, was curious, and Heritage supported her decision to enroll in the aviation program at the EVIT East Campus (6625 S. Power Road, Mesa).

Current education policies are driving nation’s teachers away
Opinion
Arizona Republic, August 4, 2013
Although most teachers are a bit more polite and formal when submitting their letters of resignation, it appears more and more of them are choosing to do so due to dissatisfaction with the prevailing conditions of the education profession.

Not all charters make grade in Pima County
Arizona Daily Star, August 3, 2013
More than half of Pima County’s charter schools received an A or B. But that bit of good news is offset by more than 25 percent of charters receiving Ds.

CALIFORNIA

L.A. teachers union urged to improve training for bad teachers
Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2013
An L.A. school board member tells UTLA activists that the union must fight public perceptions that it protects bad teachers.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Federal, local officials probing special education services at DC charter school
Washington Post, August 4, 2013
Federal officials say the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights is investigating a complaint that a District of Columbia charter school discriminated against students with disabilities.

D.C. schools should give students more time to learn
Editorial
Washington Post, August 3, 2013
EIGHT SCHOOLS in the D.C. public school system last year started experimental programs built around a longer school day.

FLORIDA

Renaissance charter F grade imperils chain’s ‘high-performing’ label
Orlando Sentinel, August 4, 2013
The F grade of a new Orange County charter school means its parent chain will likely lose its designation as “high-performing.” Renaissance Charter School at Chickasaw Trail is part of a group of Florida charter schools run by management organization Charter Schools USA. Florida law designates charter systems as high performing if most of their schools earn grades above a D. The designation makes it easier for the chain to open new locations.

5 Apply to Start New Charter Schools in Polk
The Ledger, August 4, 2013
Five new charter schools are being proposed for Polk County — four of them in the Lakeland area and one in Mulberry.

GEORGIA

Tybee Island Maritme Academy Charter School ready to set sail
Savannah Morning News, August 4, 2013
Friday, Tybee Island Maritime Academy officials were busy unloading boxes of sports equipment, inventorying laptop computers and fielding phone calls from parents all over the county who are interested in enrolling their children in the remaining seats.

INDIANA

Common Core foes have lawmakers’ ears
Editorial
Journal Gazette, August 5, 2013
Indiana lawmakers will hear testimony today on the state’s adoption of national school standards. The Common Core State Standards are under fire from critics on both the left and right, with additional ammunition earned by Tony Bennett’s fall from grace.

KENTUCKY

Survey says: Vulnerable Kentuckians want charter schools
Opinion
News Democrat Leader, August 5, 2013
Herculean efforts by labor bosses at Kentucky’s teachers unions to convince lawmakers that charter schools are neither needed nor wanted in the commonwealth have succeeded.

LOUISIANA

School choices changing for Baton Rouge parents
The Advocate, August 4, 2013
On top of the usual craziness of shopping for supplies and new uniforms and pushing kids to finish summer reading, some parents are still shopping for something more fundamental: Their child’s school.

MAINE

Milestones for students, state celebrated at Maine’s first charter school commencement
Morning Sentinel, August 2, 2013
10 students graduate from Maine Academy of Natural Sciences tonight, marking first commencement for a Maine charter school

MASSACHUSETTS

Ten groups submit charter school proposals in Mass.
Boston Globe, August 3, 2013
The State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced Friday that 10 groups have submitted new charter school proposals, which, if approved, could open as early as fall 2014.

Resiliency Foundation aims to move forward with innovation academy charter school
Herald News, August 4, 2013
The Resiliency Foundation will move ahead with a proposal before the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to establish the Fall River Innovation Academy as a charter school.

School crisis spurs race
Salem News, August 5, 2013
Since the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education relegated the Salem public schools to Level 4 status nearly two years ago due to low scores on the statewide MCAS exam and gave Salem three years to turn the schools around, the level of concern among parents has spiked.

MICHIGAN

Pontiac schools will keep top programs; Charter high school put on hold
Oakland Press, August 5, 2013
Despite its financial problems, the Pontiac school district expects enrollment to be up and three top programs to continue when doors open in the fall.

Detroit reform district touts free home internet, free college credit in school enrollment effort
Grand Rapids Press, August 4, 2013
After adding some enticing new programming, the Education Achievement Authority, a reform district made up of Detroit’s lowest-performing schools, held an enrollment rally Saturday in an effort to retain and lure in more students.

Detroit school for pregnant, parenting teens to be independent charter
Detroit New, August 4, 2013
Catherine Ferguson Academy, Detroit’s only school for pregnant and parenting teens and their children, will open next month as an independent charter school.

NEW YORK

New School Test Scores to Be Released This Week Are Expected to Drop
Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2013
New York City and state schools officials have been warning publicly for more than a year that, thanks to harder state tests, scores for elementary- and middle-school students released this week will plummet.

Results of New Testing Standard Could Complicate Bloomberg’s Final Months
New York Times, August 5, 2013
Michael R. Bloomberg has staked much of his reputation as the mayor of New York City on improving students’ test scores, and has trumpeted gains in math and reading as validation of his 12-year effort to remake the city’s schools.

Teachers’ Union v. City Hall
Editorial
New York Times, August 5, 2013
Since taking office in 2002, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has pursued an aggressive policy of replacing large, failing schools with smaller, specialized ones and greatly expanding the number of charter schools, which receive public money but are exempt from some state rules.

New York City charter schools getting $4.5 million state grant to teach regular public schools
New York Daily News, August 4, 2013
Charters and district schools around the city will engage in partnerships under the ‘Charter School Dissemination Grant’ program.

OHIO

Prep school opens doors to first class
Columbus Dispatch, August 5, 2013
When 14-year-old Alexander Green explains why his dream is to become a neurosurgeon, he doesn’t talk about the salary or the prestige that comes with being a top-flight physician.

PENNSYLVANIA

Parents back charter school saying it fills a need
Pocono Record, August 4, 2013
Despite frustration with the past and uncertainty about the future, Pocono Mountain Charter School parents remain unified on doing whatever they can to keep the school open.

WISCONSIN

With wide-open school choice, marketing becomes name of the game
Column
Journal Sentinel, August 3, 2013
In a steady trickle, the come-on’s for schools arrive in our mail. Usually in large-postcard format, they offer a photo of cute kids, stylish designs, and upbeat messages about the great program our child needs. They come from individual Milwaukee Public Schools, religious schools, charter schools, even Headstart programs. Some of the schools are at hefty distances from our neighborhood.

ONLINE LEARNING

D.C. schools give blended learning a try in classrooms
Column
Washington Times, August 4, 2013
Smithsonian Magazine recently published an article on blended learning, and when the Smithsonian talks, we all should listen.

Virtual Reality School applies for charter
Cheraw Chronicle, August 4, 2013
Soon such a school might exist in South Carolina if the proposed NOBLE Virtual School, based upon interactive 3D virtual world technology, is successful with its charter application.

Online schools face scrutiny over scores, growth
Journal Gazette, August 3, 2013
Leaders of Indiana’s two largest online charter schools say low student test scores don’t tell the whole picture of how the schools are performing.

School transfer issue spawns logistical headaches and legal questions
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 4, 2013
When Angela Morgan learned about the opportunity to transfer her son out of Riverview Gardens High School, it was like finding a winning lottery ticket.

Virtual Learning: A Different Approach to Home Schooling
KOLO, August 2, 2013
While many students will be heading back to the classroom in ten days, some students are taking a different approach to learning. With just one click, students can gain all the benefits of a real classroom, from rigorous AP courses to active P.E. classes, without leaving the comforts of home.

Online schools, blended learning provide varied options for East Valley students
East Valley Tribune, August 4, 2013
With the school year approaching, many local school districts are flaunting success with online schooling for today’s busy, on-the-go, technology wielding student.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Test score increases in D.C. are ‘very good news’

August 2, 2013 By

Proficiency tops 51% in math and reading

by Meredith Somers
Washington Times
July 30, 2013

Standardized test scores for D.C. public and charter schools are the highest they have been in six years, an accomplishment officials on Tuesday said should be applauded but also serve as motivation to continue to raise the bar.

The D.C. office of the state superintendent of education released the 2013 Comprehensive Assessment System scores, showing that 48.4 percent of public school students were proficient in math and reading while 55.8 percent of charter school students were at a proficiency level.

“This is a day for all of us to be proud of the direction we’ve taken in the city,” said Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith, addressing a crowded auditorium at Kelly Miller Middle School in Northeast. “But we haven’t arrived. We are not where we need to be and none of us would suggest that we are.”

Results from the comprehensive testing show 51.3 percent of all students in the District are performing at proficient levels, a 4 percent rise from 2012 and a 17.8 percent rise since 2007. Math proficiency levels increased 3.9 percent to 53.0 percent, while reading scores rose 4.1 percent to a 49.5 percent proficiency level. In 2007, scores for both math and reading were below 37 percent proficiency.

“Statewide proficiency is far too low,” D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said. “This isn’t an easy path. It’s hard work every day. These results come at a turning point for education in the city.”

The District adopted the Common Core State Standards Initiative in 2010 and is in the midst of a five-year effort which includes an emphasis on reading and math. Forty-five states, the District and several U.S. territories use the Common Core standards as a way to measure education, although a number of states in recent months have expressed doubts about the curriculum.

There is no national assessment to compare the District’s Common Core standards to those of other states, but the National Assessment of Educational Progress report card provides a general view of where the District’s fourth- and eighth-grade students compare to comparable cities.

Information provided by the Council of the Great City Schools showed that from 2007 to 2011, the District saw a 9 percent and 7 percent increase in math proficiency for its fourth- and eighth-graders, respectively. Baltimore saw a 4 percent rise in its fourth-grade math scores, and a 3 percent bump for its eighth-grade math scores. Boston reported a 6 percent increase at the fourth-grade level for its math tests and a 7 percent increase for eighth-graders.

The District test results also showed between 4 percent and 5 percent improvements in math scores for economically disadvantaged groups, English language learners and special-education students. Reading proficiency for those same groups improved roughly 3 percent to 5 percent.

“There is no way to deny that the announcement today is indeed very good news,” said Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools. “Their gains are substantial and sharp in both reading and mathematics. The work that they have done to improve reading and literacy is clearly paying off. I think that’s the bottom line: Results like this do not happen by accident.”

The overall goal of the District is to have 75 percent proficiency in reading and math, and 5 percent overall growth each year.

“Education really is an endurance sport,” said Maria Ferguson, executive director of the Center for Education Policy. “Most people have an unrealistic timeline of how education happens.”

This year’s testing window was April 22 to May 3, and school officials said that of the 80,231 students enrolled in the District’s public and charter schools, 32,838 students — or 41 percent — took the test. Of those students, about 20,000 of them are in traditional public schools.

Students from third grade to 10th grade were tested, and results showed that every grade improved its math and reading scores from last year, except for seventh-grade math scores, which dropped by less than half of 1 percent.

“We still have a long way to go, but I’m excited about what’s ahead,” D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson said.

Tuesday’s announcement was optimistic, a far cry from the past two years, which were marred by a cheating scandal.

A USA Today report found that several teachers helped students choose the right answers or flouted security protocols in April 2011. The inspector general’s office ruled that the issue was not widespread, but at least one teacher was fired and the District was strongly encouraged to adopt new standards of security for test booklets and testing areas.

Filed Under: In The News Tagged With: , ,

Daily Headlines for August 2, 2013

August 2, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Florida Education Chief Resigns Amid Indiana Controversy
Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2013
Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett abruptly resigned Thursday amid a school-grading controversy tied to his tenure as Indiana’s top education chief, dealing a blow to Gov. Rick Scott’s efforts to transform Florida’s public schools.

Florida education chief Tony Bennett resigns over how a C became an A
Christian Science Monitor, August 1, 2013
Tony Bennett stepped down after reports that, while directing Indiana schools, he upped the grade of a charter school reportedly run by a major GOP donor. It’s a blow to attempts to grade schools.

Florida’s Education Chief Quits Amid Report That He Changed a School’s Rating
New York Times, August 2, 2013
Florida’s commissioner of education, a rising star in a national movement pushing for test-based accountability in public schools, resigned on Thursday after just seven months in office, after news reports surfaced that he had changed the grade of an Indiana charter school founded by a prominent campaign donor while he was the superintendent of schools there.

Jeb’s Education Racket
National Review Online, August 2, 2013
The resignation of Florida education commissioner Tony Bennett couldn’t have come at a better time. His disgraceful grade-fixing scandal is the perfect symbol of all that’s wrong with the federal education schemes peddled by Bennett and his mentor, former GOP governor Jeb Bush: phony academic standards, crony contracts, and big-government and big-business collusion masquerading as “reform.”

Are Charter Schools Public Schools?
Opinion
City Watch, August 2, 2013
It depends on what you mean by “public”.
The term doesn’t seem to have a well-nailed-down meaning. As befits an emotionally-freighted term, there are many components of its definition. Where you happen to invest your personal priorities, governs how this word — which is essentially an avatar, a placeholder for a whole host of ideas and representations — is defined.

FROM THE STATES

ARIZONA

4 Tucson-area schools earn enough D’s for ‘failing’ label
Arizona Daily Star, August 2, 2013
Four Tucson-area schools received their third successive D grades and are in danger of being labeled failing.

COLORADO

Colo. begins controversial teacher-grading system
Denver Post, August 1, 2013
Colorado adopted a statewide teacher-grading system three years ago, a rating that sorts educators from “highly effective” to “ineffective.” Teachers with too many consecutive low ratings could lose tenure, while new teachers and those on probationary status will need passing marks before achieving tenure, or non-probationary status.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Escaping the flaws of public schools
Letter
Washington Post, August 1, 2013
The Post’s July 29 front-page article “Of school choice and accountability,” on Virginia’s law allowing a religious exemption from public schooling, missed a fundamental aspect of the debate. The options for policymakers are not limited to allowing or preventing religious exemptions but rather include doing away with public school altogether.

FLORIDA

Turnover may make Florida’s education chief job a tough sell
Miami Herald, August 1, 2013
Despite its national reputation in school reform circles, Florida hasn’t found it easy to attract — or keep — a leader since Gov. Rick Scott took office. Three commissioners and two interim commissioners have gone through the state Department of Education in Scott’s 31 months.

Parents cheer as Florida schools chief resigns
Sun Sentinel, August 2, 2013
Parents and education activists across South Florida hailed the departure of Florida’s Education Commissioner Tony Bennett, saying they strongly disagreed with his emphasis on high-stakes testing and data driven reforms.

Rowlett, two other schools apply for charter status
Bradenton Herald, August 2, 2013
Manatee County could have three new charter schools by the 2014-15 school year. The school district received applications from Rowlett Elementary, iGeneration Empowerment Academy and the Manatee Y Technological High School by Thursday’s deadline. The school board has 60 days to review the applications and vote on whether to accept the charters.

IDAHO

Idaho schools improve in Star Rating
Idaho Press Tribune, ID
August 2, 2013
More than half of Idaho’s schools were rated as “top-performing” schools by the state’s Five-Star Rating System.

ILLINOIS

Parents rail at CPS cuts
Chicago Tribune, August 2, 2013
Parents and education advocates voiced anger and frustration over spending cuts affecting their children’s schools during one of two public hearings Thursday on the Chicago Public Schools’ $5.58 billion budget.

D-300 charter school clarifies fees after state intervenes
Northwest Herald, August 1, 2013
Officials from a District 300 charter school will remove language from an enrollment form that asked parents to pay corporate membership fees, after a state agency received complaints that the fees were mandatory.

INDIANA

Break given to Christel House could have spared two IPS schools from state takeover
Indianapolis Star, August 1, 2013
Two Indianapolis Public Schools might never have been taken over by the state if then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett had offered the district the same flexibility he granted a year later to the Christel House Academy charter school.

KANSAS

Georgia lawmaker urges Kansans to seek more school choice
The Wichita Eagle, August 1, 2013
Warning supporters that they would be “fighting a Goliath” if they push for charter schools or similar measures, a Georgia lawmaker urged people at a former Wichita elementary school Thursday to press ahead for legislation that would enable and encourage more school choice.

LOUISIANA

12 EBR schools improve performance
The Advocate, August 2, 2013
Twelve Baton Rouge public schools learned Thursday they have earned passing grades and no longer have Fs under Louisiana’s letter grade-based school accountability system.

There should be a Plan B
Editorial
Monroe News Star, August 2, 2013
We have high hopes that Excellence Academy will provide great opportunities for the students it enrolls.

$2 million coming for charter, low-performing schools in Jefferson Parish, New Orleans
Times-Picayune, August 1, 2013
The state is granting about $2 million to open new charter schools and improve low-performing conventional schools in Jefferson Parish and New Orleans, the Department of Education said Thursday. The money comes from a $5.8 million pool that the department is distributing to to 21 educators and organizations around Louisiana.

MAINE

Maine charter school helps turn a life around
Portland Press Herald, August 2, 2013
Among the 10 students in Friday’s first group of graduates is a young Maine man who had struggled at a traditional school.

Bowen defends Maine school grading system in wake of Florida colleague’s ouster
Bangor Daily News, August 2, 2013
The resignation in Florida of a close ally of Maine Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen and Gov. Paul LePage has prompted a new round of criticism of some of the administration’s initiatives, including a controversial A-through-F grading system for Maine’s public schools.

MASSACHUSETTS

Hundreds help reinvent Dorchester school
Boston Globe, August 2, 2013
Drew Gallagher said he was so excited to start at UP Academy Charter School of Dorchester that he could not fall asleep Wednesday night because of “the first-day jitters.”

MISSOURI

School transfer deadline leaves families waiting
St. Louis Post Dispatch, August 2, 2013
A deadline for participating in an unprecedented student transfer effort came and went Thursday, but not without leaving some parents in tears outside a Riverview Gardens School District community center.

NEW JERSEY

New look for old home in Clifton
Clifton Journal, August 2, 2013
One of North Jersey’s first charter schools, located in one of Clifton’s oldest buildings, will finally receive some much-needed renovations and updates to its worn down edifice.

Cory Booker Accused of Mismanaging $100 Million Zuckerberg School Donation
US News & World Report Blog, August 1, 2013
Newark Mayor and U.S. Senate candidate Cory Booker is accused of mismanaging a large grant to his New Jersey city’s school system in an ad released Thursday by a conservative political group. The charge is vigorously denied by Booker’s staff.

NEW YORK

More than 2,200 seek Buffalo school transfers
Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2013
The Buffalo School District says more than 2,200 students have asked to be transferred from low-performing schools for the fall.

NORTH CAROLINA

McCrory proposes stipends for master teachers, calls for reduction in testing
New & Observer, August 1, 2013
CHAPEL HILL Gov. Pat McCrory outlined his plans for education Thursday, including a proposed $30 million innovation fund that would reward 1,000 top teachers with $10,000 stipends.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma state schools superintendent challenger outraises incumbent
The Oklahoman, August 2,2 013
Joy Hofmeister, a Republican from Tulsa, reports raising $166,056 since late April. State schools Superintendent Janet Barresi reports raising $101,100 during the past quarter. That amount includes a $100,000 loan the GOP incumbent gave to her campaign.

PENNSYLVANIA

Appeals panel backs Coatesville in closing charter
Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2, 2013
The state Charter Appeals Board has upheld the Coatesville Area School District’s decision to close Graystone Academy – a 200-student charter school that has had an acrimonious relationship with the district.

Pocono Mountain Charter School students, teachers in limbo
Pocono Record, August 2, 2013
Pocono Mountain Charter School teachers were devastated by news that the embattled school could be shutting its doors, but remained hopeful at a staff meeting Thursday afternoon.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Superintendent’s remarks about S.C. school’s grades draw ire
The State, August 2, 2013
State superintendent of education Mick Zais says parents should get their children out of failing schools or get involved to make them better.

TENNESSEE

Kids should not be ‘monetized’
Letter
The Tennessean, August 2, 2013
After leading a recent “talk” about charter schools here in Nashville, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul enthused that, “As I listen to this conversation, you don’t really hear any downsides about charter schools. It seems to be all good.”

TEXAS

Dallas ISD seeks PR help with duties including selling new teacher pay-for-performance system
Dallas Morning News, August 2, 2013
The district recently opened a request for proposals for a communications consultant. It wants someone to help Superintendent Mike Miles and other administrators sell the upcoming and probably controversial teacher pay-for-performance system, manage crisis communication and develop a strategic communications plan.

ONLINE LEARNING

District hires digital learning chief
Greenwich Times, August 1, 2013
The Greenwich school district has hired Phillip Dunn, most recently the Stamford public school system’s chief information officer, as its first director of digital learning and technology — a move crucial to implementation of its new Digital Learning Plan.

Virtual, summer school graduates succeed despite struggles
Frederick News Post, August 2, 2013
The final graduates in the Class of 2013 celebrated their accomplishments Thursday at a commencement ceremony for Frederick County Public Schools’ virtual and summer programs.

College Park Academy’s first principal has blazed academic trails in Hawaii
Washington Post, August 1, 2013
The public charter school will begin its academic year Aug. 19. Ortiz-Brewster said the academy will have a rigorous curriculum, using on-site teachers as well as customized online courses. It also will have a Web portal, an online site that will promote collaboration among students, parents and faculty.

Online options for students
Times Daily, August 1, 2013
When school starts back in a couple of weeks, 100 Florence High School students will be the district’s first Florence Virtual School participants.

Summer school is still about learning, catching up
Bremerton Patriot, August 1, 2013
The online option allowed high school students to work ahead for more credits toward graduation. Students who want to take a class that isn’t normally available during the school year can do so for $160 throughout the summer. Students taking online classes had live one-on-one instruction 24 hours a day.

Online education doesn’t work for every student
Editorial
Daily Bulletin, August 1, 2013
Online education is a nominally good idea that is fast proving itself as problematic as … well, most other supposed revolutions in pedagogy.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Daily Headlines for August 1, 2013

August 1, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

New charter school opens at New Millennium site in Fresno
Fresno Bee, July 31, 2013
Just months after New Millennium Institute of Education was denied its charter renewal by both Fresno Unified School District trustees and county officials, a new education program called Charter Academy is moving into the old school’s building.

West Contra Costa teachers union head opposes charter school proposal
Contra Costa Times, July 31, 2013
The head of the West Contra Costa school district’s teachers union announced her opposition to a proposed campus of Silicon Valley-based Summit Public Schools at the district’s board meeting July 24.

Vouchers: My personal case
Manteca Bulletin, August 1, 2013
Each morning, she explained, a school bus would pick up the APEX students — by definition a group of supposedly “high-level, college-bound kids” — and bus them to their chosen school. We would attend two classes each morning at the APEX school, after which we would be bused back to Crenshaw.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

The Chosen Charter
Washington City Paper, August 1, 2013
At Sela Public Charter School, the newest idea in D.C. education—Hebrew—is three millennia old.

FLORIDA

A is for ABC: Charter school bucks state trend
Apalachicola Times, July 31, 2013
The Apalachicola Bay Charter School swam against the statewide current last week, as it posted its second consecutive A grade, and fourth in the last five years.

Lake Wales High School May Have Waiting List for Locals
The Ledger, July 31, 2013
Lake Wales High School may have to put some local students on a waiting list.

Flagler schools plan radio ads to reach families
Daytona Beach News-Journal, August 1, 2013
An increasingly competitive market is one reason school leaders are sharpening their pitch for potential customers.

Democrats Won’t Hear Tony Bennett’s Grade-Change Explanation, Call for Resignation
Sunshine State News, August 1, 2013
Despite Tony Bennett’s explanation and flat denial of wrongdoing, Democrats have jumped on an opportunity to bash the commissioner of education in the wake of recent reports of a grade change which took a GOP donor-created school from a “C” to an “A.”

Bennett’s troubling test score
Tampa Tribune, August 1, 2013
Democrats and teachers’ unions are gleeful about the revelation that Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett, while overseeing schools in Indiana, changed the grade of a charter school owned by a political supporter.

GEORGIA

$10M in limbo over teacher pay based on merit
Gainesville Times, August 1, 2013
Georgia could lose out on $9.9 million in Race to the Top grant money if it doesn’t implement merit-based pay for teachers by September 2015.

ILLINOIS

Hits to classroom exceed CPS estimates
Chicago Tribune, July 31, 2013
When Chicago Public Schools released its preliminary budget last week, district officials said funding to classrooms would be cut by $68 million.

State: Pingree Grove charter school must clarify fees
Chicago Daily Herald, July 31, 2013
State officials have told Pingree Grove charter school leaders to make clear the membership fees they outline in an agreement with parents are voluntary. If the fees were mandatory — like some parents have been led to believe — Cambridge Lakes Charter School would be violating state law.

Judge denies request to keep 10 Chicago schools open
Chicago Sun Times, July 31, 2013
Another legal hurdle to closing a historic number of schools fell Wednesday as a Cook County judge denied a request by parents to keep open 10 of the 50 shuttered Chicago public elementary schools.

INDIANA

Pence lends support for student evaluation tests
Journal Gazette, August 1, 2013
Gov. Mike Pence talked about doing things “the Indiana way” during his first town-hall meeting as the state’s chief executive.

LOUISIANA

Lafayette parents tout online tool
The Advocate, August 1, 2013
Parents have a little extra help staying abreast of the latest Lafayette Parish School Board issues and what’s happening in the district: other parents.

$3 million gift will aid New Orleans teaching ranks
The Advocate, August 1, 2013
Teach for America, which trains high-achieving college graduates to enter troubled public school classrooms, is getting a $3 million donation to add 510 teachers in the New Orleans area, officials announced Wednesday.

OHIO

Ohio legislators try to repeal Common Core school standards
Columbus Dispatch, August 1, 2013
Just weeks before Ohio children return to school, conservative lawmakers introduced a last-minute bill yesterday to block new and more-rigorous curriculum guidelines championed by governors and education leaders.

OKLAHOMA

Common core big picture becoming fuzzier as implementation nears
The Oklahoman, August 1, 2013
The closer Oklahoma and other states inch toward fully implementing the full vision of common core academic standards for public schools, the less clear the big picture becomes.

NEBRASKA

Charter School with Autism Focus Closer to Reality
KAALTV, July 31, 2013
It’s an idea that came from the parents of students with autism, a school specialized to meet the needs of their children. It’s called Rochester Beacon Academy, and it’s one step closer to becoming a reality. The group has already formed an 88 page charter and it’s been approved by their authorizer.

MASSACHUSETTS

Charter school reports progress
Salem News, August 1, 2013
After a bumpy start, the Salem Community Charter School, a public school for high school dropouts, is making steady progress, charter school officials said last night.

Lift the cap on charter schools
Bay State Banner, July 31, 2013
School bells will soon be ringing and parents will once again be concerned with the quality of education for their children. This is not a problem for the affluent, who can afford the expense of private schools, but for others the choice is limited.

MICHIGAN

Warren school district tries out year-round program
Detroit News, August 1, 2013
The fourth-grader is participating in a new year-round school program being implemented at three elementary schools in the Warren Consolidated Schools District. The district is the first in Macomb County to convert public schools to year-round classes.

MINNESOTA

Minnesota School of Science loses in court: Out of Cityview
Twin City Daily Planet, July 31, 2013
A Hennepin County Court today upheld Minneapolis Public Schools’ decision to evict Minnesota School of Science (MSS), denying the charter school a restraining order that would have allowed it to continue operating out of the North Minneapolis Cityview building.

MISSOURI

In Missouri, Race Complicates a Transfer to Better Schools
New York Times, August 1, 2013
When the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a law in June allowing students from failing school districts to transfer to good ones, Harriett Gladney saw a path to a better education for her 9-year-old daughter.

Heed lessons from the Gordon Parks case
Kansas City Star, July 31, 2013
The troubled saga of Gordon Parks Elementary, a small charter school in Kansas City, holds big lessons for improving public education.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Haley: Fixing schools means ‘tough conversation’ about rural-wealthy inequity
The State, July 31, 2013
Gov. Nikki Haley met privately with about a dozen business and legislative leaders Wednesday to discuss her forthcoming education reform proposal.

TENNESSEE

Common Core critics call for timeout on tougher standards
The Tennessean, August 1, 2013
As the one-year countdown to Common Core state education standards begins today with the first day of school for many systems, Tennessee educators are fending off pleas to stop the clock for a timeout.

VIRGINA

Middle school leaders diagnose education problems
Richmond Times-Dispatch, August 1, 2013
A summit held Wednesday sought to unite area middle school leaders in their efforts to improve early adolescent education.

WISCONSIN

Nearly 50 private schools seek to join Wisconsin’s voucher program
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 31, 2013
From Rhinelander to Green Bay to Beloit, almost 50 private and religious schools and school systems have registered to join a new statewide voucher program that would allow them to educate students on taxpayer dollars this fall.

ONLINE LEARNING

One computer plus one student equals FG schools’ new program
Muskogee Phoenix, August 1, 2013
Fort Gibson Public Schools is launching its One-to-One digital device program this year. Under the program, each student — from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade — will have access to a computer, either a student’s personal laptop or tablet or one from the district that the student can check out.

District will provide iPads for all K-8 students
KUSA-TV, July 31, 2013
We have all heard of stories of entire schools providing iPads for students to use in class. But, Englewood Public Schools has a bigger idea to give every student in every classroom in every school a digital edge.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines, Newswire

Callie Wendell: The DC Experience

August 1, 2013 By

After living and breathing in Washington D.C. for the past two months, I have come to my final week in this great city. This week has been a very sweet and sour week for me. As much as I am ready to go home and see friends and family again I am going to miss Washington D.C. and all of the things I have learned here. There have been probably three major aspects of growth while in the city. First, my work with CER along with my interactions with TFAS (The Fund for American Studies) has helped fully shape my beliefs in politics. Everything I have heard and learned I have questioned and analyzed; as a result, I have been able to gain a fuller understanding of the policy realm along with some specific polices such as education policy and what my beliefs are regarding both.

The second aspect of growth I attained while in D.C. was the ability to survive in the real world. Before coming to D.C. I never had to buy groceries and make meals because I still live on a college campus back home. CER was my first full time job/ internship. Often times in the beginning of the summer I questioned whether or not I could survive this real world experience. In the end, I not only survived it, but learned that it isn’t as bad and scary as I thought it would be. CER provided me with a nice transition to the real world. The working environment was fantastic and I was able to work with a great group of people who understood that this was a completely new experience for me.

Probably the biggest impact this summer has had on me was how these experiences have shaped what I want to do after college and my personal and professional growth in that area. I came into college as a History and Citizenship Education major and over the past three years that has grown to me graduating next spring with a B.A. in History, a B.A. in Political Science and a certification to teach Citizenship Education. With more degrees come more options, which, for me, meant I questioned what I wanted to do with after college because I now had so many options. After my experience in D.C. and specifically with CER I have learned that I am a hands-on person who enjoys interacting with people and educating. That does not necessarily mean teaching in the traditional manner but educating people about policy or about important issues. CER opened my eyes to the variety of ways you can educate people. One of the major ways CER does this is through the Media BullPen. Although I have loved working with this sector of CER and fully support what they are doing, I have learned that I am more the type of person who wants to be involved directly with a group of people and tell them important information.

Although this doesn’t necessarily give me a specific career goal it does help me narrow down my options. My passion for education and education policy has only grown at CER. I now know with certainty that education is my passion. Overall my experience in our nation’s capital has helped me grow professionally and personally and I could not be more grateful for all the opportunities I have been provided with here.

Filed Under: Commentary, Edspresso Tagged With: ,

Daily Headlines for July 31, 2013

July 31, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Alternatives to Teach for America
Twin City Daily Planet, July 31, 2013
Teach for America, a nonprofit that recruits teachers from elite colleges to spend two years teaching in under-resourced schools, has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months. Supporters claim that bringing the “best and brightest” into inner city schools is a way of increasing teacher quality.

Back to the blackboard
Editorial, Chicago Tribune, July 31, 2013
Even if you don’t follow education policy, you know these four words: No Child Left Behind. That’s the landmark 2002 law pushed by President George W. Bush to bring all students up to federal reading and math standards by 2014.

School districts invited to apply for Race to the Top funds
Los Angeles Times, July 30, 2013
The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday invited districts nationwide to begin applying for the latest batch of high-profile federal school-reform grants.

Teachers union touts skewed public school survey
One News Now, July 31, 2013
It’s all about phrasing the question. At its recent annual meeting, the American Federation of Teachers unveiled a poll showing most respondents oppose school choice. But that contradicts most other polls on the subject.

Cynthia Tucker: It’s time for a longer year
Opinion, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 2013
The design of the school year is left over from a bygone era, when children were expected to help with the tasks of maintaining home, hearth, and farm. Summer is a time for harvesting the spring yield and planting the fall crops, and children used to help with the plowing, the planting, and the picking.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

$20-million Walton donation will boost Teach for America in L.A.
Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2013
The Arkansas-based Walton Family Foundation announced Wednesday that it is donating $20 million to a nonprofit that recruits talented college graduates to teach in public schools for two years. The largest number of instructors, more than 700, is slated for Los Angeles.

Adelanto school at center of parent trigger controversy
Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2013
Parents used the state law to transform a public elementary school into a charter campus, Desert Trails Preparatory Academy. By June, the director says, students should be a year ahead of their peers.

DELAWARE


Conservative groups bemoan lack of local education oversight
The News Journal, July 31, 2013
A growing national debate over the use of Common Core State Standards in schools was on display Tuesday night during a panel discussion by conservative activists who said the standards are taking decisions about education out of the hands of parents and local school boards.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

DC CAS Test Scores Turn Failing School Around
WUSA9, July 30, 2013
The school test culture changed in the District. In one school, the standardized test highlights a complete transformation.

Test score increases in D.C. are ‘very good news’
Washington Times, July 2013
Standardized test scores for D.C. public and charter schools are the highest they have been in six years, an accomplishment officials on Tuesday said should be applauded but also serve as motivation to continue to raise the bar.

The District’s public education is on a healthy trajectory
Washington Post, July 30, 2013
THE ANNOUNCEMENT of historic achievement levels by D.C. public school students on annual math and reading tests was accompanied by reams of numbers, bar charts and graphs. But the best encapsulation of the accomplishment was the fist-pump-punctuated “Yes!” from D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D).

FLORIDA

Bennett defends change of grade
Florida Today, July 31, 2013
Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett defended himself Tuesday after reports that school grades in Indiana, where he previously worked, had been changed to benefit a political donor.

Gov. Scott silent regarding future of his education commissioner
Miami Herald, July 31, 2013
Nationally celebrated education reformer Tony Bennett was wooed to Florida in January to bring stability to the state education department.

Once-failing charter school turns around
Palm Coast Observer, July 31, 2013
A once-failing charter school has turned itself around, an analysis shows.

GEORGIA

$9.9 million in Race to the Top grant in jeopardy
WLTZ, July 30, 2013
U.S. Department of Education officials are warning that $9.9 million of Georgia’s Race to the Top grand funding is in jeopardy.

Peach BOE denies charter school petition
Macon Telegraph, July 30, 2013
The Peach County Board of Education denied Tuesday a petition to open a charter school in Byron. Now, the charter school members will await a vote from the state Board of Education, which can override the local school board and approve the charter high school.

INDIANA

Former schools’ chief gets an F for the effort
Editorial, Evansville Courier & Press, July 31, 2013
At one time or another in our academic careers, most of us wish we could have changed a grade.
But, whether it was for pride (feeling we unfairly were penalized) or angst (avoiding parental response to a bad report card), it never happened.


Making (up) the grade
Editorial, Journal Gazette, July 31, 2013
After Democrat Glenda Ritz defeated incumbent State Superintendent Tony Bennett last November, Gov. Mitch Daniels lashed out at public school teachers.

ILLINOIS

CPS starving its schools to justify privatization
Opinion, Chicago Sun Times, July 30, 2013
On Wednesday July 24, I was physically removed from a Chicago Board of Education meeting after I waited four hours to speak for two minutes. I timed it at two minutes and five seconds, but I was not allowed to finish. While board member Henry Bienen nodded off, I tried to say what I had to say:

LOUISIANA

Two Algiers schools see enrollment above projections
The Lens, July 31, 2013
The board of InspireNOLA approved a $1.5 billion budget for the 2013-2014 academic year, allocating $6.3 million for Alice M. Harte Charter School and $8.9 million for Edna Karr High School during the charter organization’s first year managing the schools under Orleans Parish School Board oversight.

MAINE

New Maine charter school forms have ‘substantive’ changes
Portland Press Herald, July 31, 2013
The next round of applications to open a charter school in Maine will be due Dec. 2. The Charter School Commission voted Tuesday to approve the deadline, the final language for applications for both regular charter schools and virtual charter schools, and a new scoring system for evaluating applications.

MARYLAND

Don’t link teacher pay with test scores
Baltimore Sun, July 30, 2013
Speaking as a retired educator with 35 years of service, I wish to say it was most disheartening to read the education article, “Amid test score drop, Lowery focuses on ushering in reforms” (July 26).

MINNESOTA

Kline’s education bill a throwback to the BAD old times
Twin City Daily Planet Blog, July 30, 2013
Federal involvement in educational policy began in 1965, under President Johnson, with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). PBS, in 2005, published a good historical snapshot of the federal government’s involvement in national education policy up to that time:

MISSISSIPPI

Bill pre-filed to end education nonprofit
Decatur Daily, July 31, 2013
An Alabama lawmaker said he aims to shut down a little-known education foundation that may have brought in less money than the state’s school system spent running it.

MISSOURI


News Leader, July 30, 2013
Given the chance to offer input, education officials from Christian County and the surrounding area told their state representatives not to override the veto of a tax cut bill that the Missouri General Assembly approved this spring.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Cold shoulder for charter school in Easthampton
The Gazette, July 31, 2013
For nearly all of the 18 years the Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School has been around, school leaders have been on the hunt for more suitable quarters.

NEW YORK

Partnership for Student Advocacy aims to help students at closing Christopher Columbus High School
New York Daily News, July 31, 2013
Group is already providing SAT test prep courses; seeks to raise $10,000 to help cover cost of test fees, college visits.

NORTH CAROLINA

Without pay bumb, teachers getting masters’ worry about debt
WRAL, July 30, 2013
The state budget signed by Gov. Pat McCrory last week eliminates salary increases for teachers who get advanced degrees, which means teachers currently enrolled in master’s programs won’t get the benefit.

OHIO

Overdue homework
Columbus Dispatch, July 31, 2013
Ohio’s effort to adopt a better system of high-school exit tests is jammed up in confusion and controversy. The blame for that can be placed with any number of parties, but what’s needed right now to move the effort forward is a simple legislative fix to the launch date for the new tests.

PENNSYLVANIA

Right decision on charter school
Editorial, Pocono Record, July 31, 2013
A state appeals board has sensibly revoked the charter of the controversial Pocono Mountain Charter School. Charter officials say they will seek a stay in order to appeal the ruling. But the appeals board’s unanimous, 6-0 decision confirms the host school district’s and this newspaper’s long-held view that the charter school’s financial operations were improperly entangled with its sponsoring organization and landlord, the Shawnee Tabernacle Church.

State board revokes Pocono Mountain Charter School’s charter
Pocono Record, July 31, 2013
A state appeals board Tuesday voted unanimously to revoke the charter for the Pocono Mountain Charter School. The ruling caps what has been a years-long, expensive fight between the school and Pocono Mountain School District that centered on the charter school’s leadership, financial affairs and church sponsorship.

WISCONSIN

Vouchers draw strong interest
Beloit Daily News, July 30, 2013
Wisconsin parents interested in their child attending a private school using a voucher must apply through the Department of Instruction between Thursday, Aug. 1 and Friday, Aug. 9.

Vouchers pay for private school cast offs
Superior Telegram, July 30, 2013
Gov. Scott Walker suggests he won’t pursue expansion of the private school voucher program in future years unless it proves to be successful.

WYOMING

Laramie charter school gets building money
Billings Gazette, July 30, 2013
The state Building Commission voted Tuesday to spend up to $4 million to purchase a building in Laramie for a charter school despite strong opposition from state Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill.

WASHINGTON

6 compete for 2 open seats on Seattle’s School Board
Seattle Times, July 30, 2013
In the two contested races for Seattle School Board, the candidates include a writer and activist, a government-relations and public-affairs consultant, an educational consultant, a tutor, an unemployed parent and a fundraiser.

ONLINE LEARNING

Boulder Valley’s online learning director accused of stealing $6,000 from district
Daily Camera, July 30, 2013
Boulder Valley’s online learning director was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of theft for allegedly using nearly $6,000 in school district money to fund his own online learning start-up company.

Oakwood High School may go digital
Marietta Daily Journal, July 31, 2013
The Cobb School District is exploring formal conversion of Oakwood High School from an alternative education school to a support program called the Oakwood Digital Academy.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines, Uncategorized
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »