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Path to a same-sex charter school…Schools sue Texas over funding…Choice, charters, vouchers pushed by Gov. Corbett…and more in Today’s Daily Headlines

‘No Child’ Overhaul Bill Introduced in Senate
Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2011
A top Senate Democrat introduced a draft bill Tuesday that would significantly alter the No Child Left Behind education law and drastically roll back the federal government’s role in public schools.

Education Bill Draws Fire From Rights Groups
Washington Post, DC, October 11, 2011
A top Senate Democrat rolled out his plan Tuesday to revamp the main federal education law, but it immediately drew fire from civil rights groups that argued it would ease pressure on schools to provide quality education to all children, regardless of race or income.

Groups Attack School Bill
The Tennessean, TN, October 12, 2011
The measure, which is being decried by civil rights groups as a step backward when it comes to accountability for the education of poor and minority children, would scrap the 10-year-old law’s signature yardstick, known as Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP. Instead, states would have to ensure that all students are making “continuous improvement.”

Parent Trigger Laws: Part of School Reform’s ‘Silly Season’
Washington Post Blog, DC, October 12, 2011
There is a new wave of legislation, called the parent trigger, which has been proposed in almost two dozen states, already adopted in some, and that is taking parental involvement in education to a whole new level.

FROM THE STATES

Portsmouth School Board: Change Rules on School Choice
Portsmouth Herald, NH, October 12, 2011
The School Board has drafted a letter to N.H. Commissioner of Education Virginia Barry urging her to change the state’s policy on school choice, a controversial provision of the No Child Left Behind law that disrupted city elementary schools this year.

Education Dept. Gives $200,000 Grant to

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Learning how to grade teachers…Charter school finds its way…Bill can help keep schools afloat…and more in Today’s Daily Headlines

Harkin Has Blueprint For Education Reform Ready
Washington Times, DC, October 10, 2011
After months of delay, Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, is expected to release his blueprint for education reform on Tuesday, following the White House, Senate Republicans and the House GOP, in laying his cards on the table in the debate over what should replace the decade-old No Child Left Behind law.

‘Teacher Evaluation’: Real Agenda Appears To Be School Privatization
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 11, 2011
In order to facilitate the gradual takeover of public education, Rhee and her cohort want to promote laws that would end tenure, outlaw seniority rules and set up methods of teacher evaluation, such as competitive “value-added assessments,” that are guaranteed to destroy professional collaboration and collegiality. This neatly fits the propaganda that public schools are a mess mainly because of entrenched, incompetent teachers, and that we have to provide alternatives before it’s too late.

FROM THE STATES

Teacher And Parent Voices Are Missing In Learning Accountability Debate
Bangor Daily News, ME, October 10, 2011
The debate about education is heating up again, with editorials from the Bangor Daily News (Sept. 13) and others suggesting ways to improve our public schools.

NH to Miss Date for NCLB Waiver
Nashua Telegraph, NH, October 11, 2011
New Hampshire education officials won’t meet next month’s deadline for applications to a program granting states relief from key provisions of No Child Left Behind.

Charter Budget Cuts Spotlight Other School Cost Issues
Gloucester Times, MA, October 11, 2011
But while some city school parents and perhaps even some city school officials might, sadly, be glad to hear of the charter school’s latest troubles, they would also well to

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Long-Overdue Relief From Meddlesome NCLB
The State, SC, October 9, 2011
THE OBAMA administration’s announcement that it will offer waivers to states from some of the most absurd requirements of the meddlesome No Child Left Behind Act is welcome — if long overdue — news.

G.O.P. Candidates Take an Anti-Federal Stance
New York Times, NY, October 8, 2011
For a generation, there has been loose bipartisan agreement in Washington that the federal government has a necessary role to play in the nation’s 13,600 school districts, primarily by using money to compel states to raise standards.

FROM THE STATES

End Debate Over Charter Schools, Learn What We Can From The Best
East Valley Tribune, AZ, October 9, 2011
From the start, Arizona’s charter schools were pitted against the state’s school districts as lawmakers created them to force competition and stimulate an education marketplace. So it was inevitable that an us-versus-them mentality would develop as traditional public schools suddenly found that their students — and the state dollars that accompany them — had other public schooling options.

‘Unions’ Empower Parents To Push For Reform
Wall Street Journal, October 9, 2011
Shoehorned into a small living room in a South Los Angeles apartment, a dozen parents discuss why their kids’ school ranks as one of the worst in the nation’s second-largest school district.

For Parents, School Choice Is Easier Than Ballot Initiatives
San Francisco Examiner, CA, October 10, 2011
There’s a grass-roots parent revolt surging in California. Parents statewide and at the local level are pushing ballot measures to overturn unpopular government education policies.

Jefferson County School-Board Election Could Dramatically Alter District, Bring Vouchers
Denver Post, CO, October 9, 2011
There’s a major power play happening in the Jefferson County school-board race that could mean big changes in the near future, including a possible move,

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Refocusing the teacher-quality debate…Frustrations with special-needs legislation…Proposed career tiers for teachers…and more in Today’s Daily Headlines.

Charter Performance: Conflicting Reports
Warren Times Observer, PA, October 7, 2011
The bottom line in education is student achievement. In that area, does it matter whether a child goes to a charter school or a public school?

Refocusing The Teacher-Quality Debate
Seattle Times, WA, October 6, 2011
The ability to teach well must be taught. Proposed changes to federal rules governing the colleges and university programs that prepare teachers get to the heart of the debate about teacher quality.

Catholic Schools Offer a Choice and a Good Education
Wall Street Journal, October 7, 2011
“Saving Catholic Education” (Houses of Worship, Sept. 30) by former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan is an excellent summary of the contribution of Catholic schools to education.

Excel Academy Charter School Buys St. Mary’s School Building
Boston Globe, MA, October 6, 2011
The Excel Academy Charter School announced this week its purchase of a shuttered East Boston school building from the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

Students to Protest Charter School in Providence
Boston Globe, MA, October 7, 2011
Students opposed to an Achievement First charter school in Providence are set to hold a rally at the state Department of Education.

Success Charter Is Planning a School for Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
New York Times, NY, October 6, 2011
Fresh from a bruising battle to open a charter school on the Upper West Side, Eva S. Moskowitz, the former city councilwoman who runs a network of charters in New York City, is gearing up to expand into middle-class areas by opening a school in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, next fall.

2 Proposed Charter Schools in Harrisburg Announce Enrollment Plan
Patriot News, PA, October 6, 2011
Half of all spots at two proposed charter schools in Harrisburg will

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Economic Inequality
Chicago Tribune, IL, October 6, 2011
America’s urban public schools are in trouble: Student test scores are low and dropout rates are high. Recent remedies proposed include everything from reducing the power of teachers unions and opening more charter schools to ending test-based accountability. But what if education critics are focused on the wrong problem?

It’s Time To Leave School Law Behind
Portland Tribune, OR, October 6, 2011
The notion that a child, a classroom or an entire school could be judged by the results of a standardized test finally seems to be discredited. From our point of view, this era in education will pass none too soon.

FROM THE STATES

Alumni Make Difference In Charter Schools
The Tufts Daily, MA,October 6, 2011
In the period leading up to graduation, many Tufts seniors think about applying to programs like Teach for America or the Peace Corps. Last year, three recent grads chose to pursue a similar option right across the river in Boston.

As School Layoffs Loom, City Points Finger at Union Chief, Who Points Right Back
New York Times, NY, October 6, 2011
With more than 700 school aides facing their last day at work on Friday barring a last-minute deal, the Bloomberg administration is blaming the school aides’ powerful labor union, District Council 37, for not doing enough to prevent the layoffs.

Charters Are No Panacea
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 6, 2011
The New Jersey Department of Education approved four new charter schools last week, one in Camden , boosting the total approved this year to 27, the most ever in a year.

Three Charter-School Firms In Philadelphia To Share $2.4 Million Grant
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 6, 2011
The Philadelphia School Partnership is celebrating its first anniversary by

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NATIONAL

Obama Right To Give Schools Flexibility
Orlando Sentinel, FL, October 5, 2011
In addition to cutting through the confusion and frustration that has reigned in the decade since Bush signed No Child Left Behind into law, the new flexibility will give districts and teachers more breathing room to do what they must: teach.

FROM THE STATES

Merit Pay For Teachers Is No Magic Bullet
Standard Times, MA, October 5, 2011
Combatants in the war to improve public education arrive at the front with two vastly differing arsenals. The battle currently raging is whether merit pay for teachers linked to high-stakes testing will narrow the achievement gap. One camp seeks the truth and supports it with data and common sense; the other camp seeks a profit margin from its distortion.

City Makes Moves To ‘Stabilize’ Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 5, 2011
IN THE LATEST example of expanding oversight of the Philadelphia School District by the city and state, Mayor Nutter yesterday announced two efforts to help “stabilize” district operations.

New Evaluations Run Off Tennessee Teachers
The Tennessean, TN, October 5, 2011
Sherrie Martin, former teacher of the year at a Metro school, is questioning whether she really belongs in the classroom after scoring low on the state’s new teacher evaluation.

Despite Impressive Gains, Hamilton High Gets No Promise For Future
Commercial Appeal, TN, October 5, 2011
It was dinnertime and a Tuesday and several hundred people were streaming into Hamilton High School , wanting to prove that if it’s support that’s needed, this South Memphis institution can pack a hall.

Fearing Full State Takeover, Community Rallies at Hamilton High School
WREG, TN, October 4, 2011
Fearing for the future of Hamilton High School, alumni, parents and school and community leaders rallied

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Does Signing a Petition Give Parents a Voice in Schools?
Berkley Daily Planet, CA, October 3, 2011
Many teachers believe parent trigger laws are a way for charter schools to gain a bigger share of the education system. For McGinity, that’s not a bad idea. The Broad Foundation promotes the proliferation of charter schools, which he says simply offer parents “a different way for a school to operate.” Teachers, however, are alarmed. They see the expansion of a privatized education system, and view parent trigger laws as a means for rushing the process forward.

An Apple For The Teachers’ Unions
Modesto Bee, CA, October 4, 2011
Some presidents will time major speeches on education to signal the start of the school year. Barack Obama did it to signal the start of his effort to polish the apples of the teachers unions in time for them to donate to his 2012 re-election campaign.

Middle School Improvements Credited For Big Gain In Denver Public Schools Enrollment
Denver Post, CO, October 4, 2011
Preliminary enrollment numbers for Denver Public Schools show that for the first time, the district is educating more than 80,000 students.

New School Flexibility Welcome In No Child Left Behind Reprieve
Sun Sentinel, FL, October 4, 2011
It has long confounded education officials struggling to meet proficiency benchmarks in this era of high-stakes testing: Schools that excel under Florida’s Sunshine State standards can very often fall dangerously short under the federal No Child Left Behind guidelines.

Miami-Dade Recognizes Top Teachers With Big Checks
Miami Herald, FL, October 3, 2011
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho handed out checks to teachers who ranked as top math and reading instructors, according to the district’s performance pay plan for the past school year. Federal money financed the program.

Most Charter Applicants Fail, but

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Fighting the Feds: 2012 Candidates Want States to Control Education
ABC News, September 29, 2011
So when it comes to education policy debates, whether it’s the Democratic incumbent or the array of Republican challengers, all eyes – and talking points – are on two things: the federal government’s role and the overall cost.

Obama Tells Students: Discover New Passions
Washington Post, DC, September 28, 2011
For an incumbent president facing a tough reelection campaign, no public appearance is completely free of political content. But President Obama’s annual back-to-school speech to the nation’s students, delivered Wednesday at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Northwest Washington , was about as close as it gets.

No Child Waivers Make Sense For Now
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 29, 2011
Members of Congress railing against the Obama administration’s decision to grant waivers from the sweeping No Child Left Behind education law have little ground to stand on.

Coming Together to Dismantle Education Reform
TIME, September 29, 2011
A new consensus is emerging in education politics. But can the center hold? And would reformers even want it to? Bipartisanship is supposed to be a good thing — except for when Republicans and Democrats come together to try to paper over our education problems.

Teachers Union Launches Ad Campaign Supporting Obama Jobs Bill
The Hill, DC, September 28, 2011
The National Education Association (NEA) launched a multistate television ad campaign Wednesday in support of President Obama’s American Jobs Act.

Romney’s Race From the Top
American Spectator, September 29, 2011
The GOP field would rather ignore education altogether, even to the point of dismissing sensible, conservative ideas that could get better bang for taxpayers’ buck. This was particularly clear when Texas Gov. Rick Perry took aim at Romney for praising President Barack Obama’s school reform agenda.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Whitman Returns to Her Valley Roots

Wall Street Journal, September 29,