Daily Headlines for May 13, 2011
Teacher Tenure Under Fire From Statehouses
Huffington Post, NY, May 12, 2011
State lawmakers from Illinois to Tennessee are considering laws that could change what it means to be a teacher, as labor policy has become the heart of a pitched education debate — one in which each side claims that the other doesn’t put students’ interests first.
Senator Hagan Introduces Bill To Turn Around Worst Schools: Can It Work?
Christian Science Monitor, MA, May 12, 2011
Sen. Kay Hagan (D) announced the School Turnaround and Rewards (STAR) Act on Thursday. She hopes it will be incorporated into a more comprehensive overhaul of No Child Left Behind.
CALIFORNIA
Planned Merger of Charter School Organizations Dissolves
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 13, 2011
Financially troubled ICEF Public Schools, backed by Richard Riordan, was to be acquired by Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, but the deal has been scrapped, and ICEF’s leadership is in flux.
GEORGIA
Metro Districts Put Race To The Top Funds To Use
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, May 12, 2011
Georgia is only one quarter of the way into its four-year, $400 million federal Race to the Top grant, but school districts are already seeing changes.
ILLINOIS
Education Reform Comes to Illinois
Chicago Sun Times, IL, May 13, 2011
There’s always talk of change. There’s always hope for change. And then change almost never happens. Except this time.
KANSAS
Group Seeks Support For School Choice
The Wichita Eagle, KS, May 13, 2011
A group that favors vouchers, tax credits and other forms of school choice launched a campaign Thursday aimed at garnering public support for those reforms in Kansas.
LOUISIANA
New Orleans School Officials Must Fulfill Promise To All Students
Times Picayune, LA, May 12, 2011
Many New Orleans children have benefited greatly from the variety of choices afforded by the Recovery School District and the charter schools overseen by the RSD and the Orleans Parish School Board.
Recovery School District Will Use Teacher Evaluations In Deciding Layoffs
Times Picayune, LA, May 12, 2011
Almost 250 teachers will lose their jobs this summer at New Orleans schools run by the state’s Recovery School District in what’s become an annual occurrence as officials close down underperforming schools and convert others into charters.
MAINE
Charter School Friends, Foes Testify in Augusta
Kennebec Journal, ME, May 13, 2011
Supporters of public charter schools told lawmakers Thursday that the schools would improve the quality of education in Maine by giving students and parents options.
MASSACHUSETTS
Charter School Teachers Unionize
Cape Cod Times, MA, May 13, 2011
Teachers and support staff at the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School in Orleans have formed a union, becoming only the second charter school in the state to organize, a spokesman for the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts said Thursday.
NEW YORK
Nine City High Schools to Stay Open, With Private Management
New York Times, NY, May 13, 2011
There was a sense of relief at nine low-performing city high schools on Thursday as the city’s Department of Education announced they would not be closed next year. The decisions came after months of uncertainty about the schools’ future.
As School Boycott Nears, United Spirit Is Not Yet In Sight
Buffalo News, NY, May 13, 2011
Many Buffalo parents will keep their children out of school Monday as part of a boycott that has been called by a parent organization in the district.
OHIO
Campaign Donations Did Not Affect Charter School Legislation, Says Speaker
Dayton Daily News, OH, May 13, 2011
Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder angrily denied mounting allegations from conservatives and liberals alike that campaign donations from large, for-profit charter school operators influenced House Republicans ?to pass legislation last week that would water down regulations designed to stamp out poorly performing charters and hold operators accountable for how they spend taxpayer money.
OKLAHOMA
Firing Bad Teachers Less An Issue Than Keeping Good Ones
The Oklahoman, OK, May 13, 2011
There is a consensus among researchers and educators that the single most important factor in determining student performance is the quality of the teacher. Therefore, our most critical efforts must be focused on attracting, supporting and retaining high-quality teachers in every community – not making it easier to fire all teachers
SOUTH CAROLINA
Confusion on Charter School Getting Tiresome for the Public
Hilton Head Island Packet, SC, May 13, 2011
Once again, confusion reigns between the Riverview Charter School in Beaufort and the Beaufort County School District. This time, it’s about the school district’s role in governing the charter school’s lottery for enrollment.
TENNESSEE
Tennessee’s Chamber Maids
Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2011
Nothing is worse for freedom and opportunity than when big business conspires with big labor. Behold the spectacle in Tennessee, where the Chambers of Commerce in Chattanooga , Knoxville and Nashville have joined with the teachers unions to kill education vouchers.
TEXAS
Texas House Kills Teacher Furloughs, Pay Cuts Bill
The Monitor, TX, May 12, 2011
The Texas House of Representatives killed a controversial “mandate relief bill” Thursday night, depriving school boards of unprecedented powers to balance state budget cuts.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Speaking Up in Class, Silently, Using the Tools of Social Media
New York Times, NY, May 13, 2011
Now, Erin Olson, an English teacher in Sioux Rapids, Iowa , is among a small but growing cadre of educators trying to exploit Twitter-like technology to enhance classroom discussion.
Online Schools Poor Performers, Study Says
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 12, 2011
With five of the state’s seven largest e-schools posting graduation rates lower than that of the state’s worst traditional public school district, and six of seven rated less than “effective,” a liberal policy group said today that the state is wasting money on the poorly performing online schools.
TiZA Suing In Effort To Secure Charter School Oversight
Pioneer Press, MN, May 12, 2011
A metro-area charter school embroiled in a two-year legal standoff with the American Civil Liberties Union in turn sued two former fellow defendants Thursday.