Super Teachers Alone Can’t Save Our Schools
Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2011
Extraordinary educators are rare and often burn out. To save our schools, says Steven Brill, we have to demand more from ordinary teachers and their unions.
State Challenges Seen as Whittling Away Federal Education Law
New York Times, NY, August 15, 2011
As hundreds of schools here and across the nation faced being labeled failures under the federal No Child Left Behind law, Montana education officials defiantly informed Washington this spring that they would stop raising testing targets as the law requires, despite warnings that doing so could cost the state millions of dollars in federal aid.
No Child Revisited
Chicago Tribune, IL, August 15, 2011
Last year, some of the state’s powerhouse high schools got a jolt: They flunked.
They fell short of federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards even though some, like North Shore standout New Trier, sent most of their students to college. Many schools that had strong gains in reading and math scores nonetheless failed under NCLB.
Fixing No Child Left Behind
Los Angeles Times, CA, August 13, 2011
The Education secretary’s plan sacrifices some of the best features of the law to fix the worst.
FROM THE STATES
ALABAMA
Former Gov. Riley Can Help Improve Public Schools
Press Register, AL, August 15, 2011
The governor did, however, talk at length to the Press-Register editorial board about his dream to improve education in Alabama.
Bridge To Somewhere: Families In This Arkansas Town Are Offered Another Option For Their Children’s Education
Anniston Star, AL, August 15, 2011
The Knowledge Is Power Program, or KIPP, opened the KIPP Delta College Preparatory School in Helena, Ark., in 2002. KIPP is the largest chain of charter schools in the country.
CALIFORNIA
Charter Facility Backers Appeal To State After Rejection by San Francisco
San Francisco Examiner, CA, August 14, 2011
A well-regarded charter school chain has been denied permission to open a school for low-income students, clearing the way for appeal to a state board often more favorable to such institutions.
Los Angeles Teachers Test A Pilot Evaluation Program
Los Angeles Times, CA, August 15, 2011
Los Angeles Unified teachers are participating in an evaluation project that gives more feedback on their methods.
COLORADO
Judge Halts Douglas County School Voucher Program
Denver Post, CO, August 13, 2011
A judge on Friday put a stop to Douglas County School District’s voucher program – at least for now – leaving hundreds of students who had enrolled in private schools scrambling for alternatives as the new school year is about to begin.
CONNECTICUT
What Are The Right Ingredients For A Productive School Board?
Connecticut Post, CT, August 13, 2011
State Rep. Jack Hennessey was disappointed more city residents weren’t on the school board appointed by Acting Commissioner of Education George Coleman.
DELAWARE
At Newark Charter, It’s All About Making People Feel Valued
News Journal, DE, August 14, 2011
From the smiling front-office staff to the kind notes sent to custodians, Newark Charter School’s leader aims to make the workplace an atmosphere where everyone feels valued.
FLORIDA
Application for Charter Schools Way Up, Despite Lukewarm Results
Bradenton Times, FL, August 15, 2011
Rick Scott made it clear while campaigning that he favored charter schools as an alternative to the traditional public education model.
Disputes Myths About Charter Schools
St. Augustine Record, FL, August 13, 2011
Recently, The Record published a front-page article about the difficulties our schools are having in obtaining state and local funding due to budget cuts and property-price devaluations.
GEORGIA
Cherokee GOP Wants A New Litmus Test: Charter Schools
Atlanta Journal Constitution Blog, GA, August 13, 2011
Pay attention to this. This clash between the philosophical and the practical could be headed the way of your school board very soon. And it will have many of you wondering whether you truly are the conservative you think you are.
Charter Status vs. IE2: Which Way for Coweta?
Times Herald, GA, August 14, 2011
After months wrangling over whether to move into the IE2 (Investing in Educational Excellence) or charter school system direction — both of which are supposed to allow for greater flexibility when it comes to local decision-making — a number of policy changes at the federal and state government levels have convinced the Coweta County Board of Education that it might be best to adopt a “wait and see” approach.
KIPP Schools’ Get-Tough Rules, Lessons Get Results
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, August 13, 2011
The academic boot camp approach at KIPP schools nationwide is known for reforming thousands of wayward middle school students since 1995 with grueling 10-hour days, mandatory Saturday and summer classes and overwhelming loads of homework.
Schools Transition To Performance-Based Pay
Cherokee Tribune, GA, August 13, 2011
This “teacher effectiveness measure” is part of President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top initiative, a national education reform program that aims to help schools prepare students for the workplace, employ effective educators, measure student success, and turn around low-performing schools.
ILLINOIS
Taping A Sticky Issue For Some School Boards — School Boards Caught On Tape
Chicago Tribune, IL, August 15, 2011
Fed up with what they feel is a lack of transparency, parents in one northwest suburban school district began taping school board meetings last week to post online.
INDIANA
Evansville’s Signature School Continues To Pile Up Accolades
Evansville Courier & Press, IN, August 14, 2011
Established in the early 1990s as a half-day program run by the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp., Signature went out on its own in 2002 as Indiana’s first charter high school.
Indiana School Voucher Total Likely Won’t Reach Cap This Year
Evansville Courier & Press, IN, August 14, 2011
As vouchers are approved and the school year begins, the cap that state legislative Democrats fought to place on the new program in its first two years looks like it won’t be reached.
LOUISIANA
Virtually the Best in Louisiana
Daily Iberian, LA, August 14, 2011
Ever-changing technology is having a profound influence on the American education system, and veteran educator and New Iberia native John Sorrel is willing to advance it every step of the way.
MARYLAND
Maryland’s Only Public Boarding School Tries For New Start In Its Fourth Year
Baltimore Sun, MD, August 14, 2011
When Khalek Kirkland and one of his college buddies imagined their dream jobs, they wanted to be in charge of schools where they had students for enough hours in the day to change the course of their lives.
MASSACHUSETTS
Decision Due In Sept. On Charter School Bids In Somerville, Lowell
Boston Globe, MA, August 14, 2011
A proposal to create a charter school in Somerville targeting students from the city’s immigrant community is starting to generate debate as the founding group works to finalize its plan.
MINNESOTA
State Takes A Step Toward Providing The Evaluations Teachers Want And Need
Minnesota Public Radio, MN, August 15, 2011
Minnesotans would probably be surprised to learn many of our public school teachers go years without an evaluation. That’s a disservice to students and the teachers themselves, and it’s about to change.
NEW JERSEY
Stymied Charter Files Suit Against Three School Districts
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, August 15, 2011
As New Jersey ‘s battles over charter schools have increasingly gone suburban, one charter school is fighting back in a legal counteroffensive that could have statewide implications.
Newark School Board’s Dysfunction Might Endanger Reform
Star-Ledger, NJ, August 13, 2011
We’re finally getting moving on school reform in Newark. The money is there, thanks to the $100 million Facebook gift. So is the political will, thanks to a rare bipartisan coalition for change.
NEW YORK
Regents Pay a Political Price for Their Free Advisers, Dissenters Warn
New York Times, NY, August 15, 2011
In December, the chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, Merryl H. Tisch, announced a new program: 13 research fellows would be selected to advise the education commissioner and the 17-member board.
New School Sets Agenda
Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2011
Grace Church School has embarked on one of the most dramatic expansions of an established Manhattan private school in recent memory, starting construction on a new high school with a new, out-of-the-box curriculum.
Charter School Clears Hurdle
Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2011
An embattled charter elementary school proposed by former City Council member Eva Moskowitz has cleared another legal hurdle to open on the Upper West side.
Recent Test Results Show Real Winners In Charter Debate
New York Daily News, NY, August 15, 2011
The important fight that Mayor Bloomberg has waged against the United Federation of Teachers, the city teachers union, and its ally, the NAACP, over charter schools was resoundingly won by the champions of reform in court.
NORTH CAROLINA
Neuse Charter Makes Grade
The Herald, NC, August 14, 2011
For the second year in a row, Neuse Charter School has been named an Honor School of Excellence by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. This past year, 90.1 percent of Neuse Charter students performed at or above grade level on year-end tests given by the state.
Charter Schools Backers Are Wary of Perdue
Charlotte News Observer, NC, August 14, 2011
Charter schools approved under the new law eliminating the 100-charter cap won’t open until 2013 if the State Board of Education keeps its policy requiring a planning year.
OHIO
Teacher-Rating System Flawed
Columbus Dispatch, OH, August 14, 2011
Only 3 percent of Columbus teachers received any negative mark on their job evaluations last school year.
Pickerington School Offers A Fresh Chance
Columbus Dispatch, OH, August 15, 2011
With an expected 25 to 50 students, the Pickerington Community School will be small when it opens. Nonetheless, educators are hoping for big results.
PENNSYLVANIA
Report Cites Philadelphia’s Lead Role In Fixing Underperforming High Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, August 15, 2011
Arne Duncan, U.S. secretary of education, has encouraged school districts to adopt bold strategies to improve the nation’s worst-performing high schools, including converting them into charter schools.
VIRGINIA
Fairfax County School Board Races Could Overshadow Other Campaigns This Year
Washington Post, DC, August 14, 2011
Like many Fairfax County parents, Steven Stuban and his wife entrusted their child to the nationally regarded public school system, believing that the people who ran the district would do what’s best for its students.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Online Schooling Seeing Explosive Growth in Oklahoma
Tulsa World, OK, August 15, 2011
A Tulsa World analysis of state records shows that the number of Oklahoma public school students doing schoolwork through computer-based programs has increased nearly 400 percent over the last three years.
Free ‘Virtual School’ Casts Statewide Web
The Tennessean, TN, August 15, 2011
They are part of Tennessee’s newest education experiment, a school run entirely online and open to students statewide.
Virtual High School Created
Omaha World, NE, August 12, 2011
Gov. Dave Heineman and Nebraska education leaders announced plans Friday to build a virtual state high school by combining and expanding existing efforts.