Daily Headlines for September 16, 2011
Stupid in America
Fox Business Blog, September 15, 2011
Why no improvement? Because K-12 education is a government monopoly and monopolies don’t improve.The government-school monopoly claims: Education is too important to leave to the free market. At a teachers’ union rally, even actor Matt Damon showed up to deride market competition as “MBA style thinking.”
Moving Beyond ‘Blame The Teacher’
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 16, 2011
Most of the current efforts to improve public education begin with the flawed assumption that the basic problem is teacher performance. This “blame the teacher” attitude has led to an emphasis on standardized tests, narrow teacher evaluation criteria, merit pay, erosion of tenure, privatization, vouchers and charter schools.
The Great Schools Revolution
The Economist, September 16, 2011
Education remains the trickiest part of attempts to reform the public sector. But as ever more countries embark on it, some vital lessons are beginning to be learned.
Identifying Cheaters
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, September 16, 2011
That’s nonsense. Testing is an invaluable tool in measuring results — and in determining where a system that requires billions of dollars of taxpayer support each year needs reform. Valid testing data are a vital part of that equation.
A Decade On, ‘No Child’ Law Faces Critics, Calls For Change
Miami Herald, FL, September 15, 2011
As head of one of the largest teachers unions in the country, Randi Weingarten had high hopes for the No Child Left Behind Act when Congress passed it with overwhelming bipartisan support 10 years ago.
FROM THE STATES
ARIZONA
State Approves 75 ‘Empowerment’ Accounts In Voucher-Like Program
Arizona Republic, AZ, September 15, 2011
The Arizona Department of Education approved 75 “empowerment savings accounts” for students with disabilities to attend private schools this fall. The accounts total just over $1 million.
CONNECTICUT
After Low Scores, 34 City Teachers Depart
Yale Daily News, CT, September 16, 2011
Thirty-four teachers left New Haven Public Schools after failing to earn satisfactory grades in the first year of the district’s teacher evaluation program.
FLORIDA
Teachers Union ‘Crying Wolf’ Over ‘Layoffs’ as Districts Eye New Salaries
Sunshine State News, FL, September 16, 2011
The state teachers’ union was “crying wolf” when it claimed that “thousands” of school workers would be laid off this year, says the head of the Florida School Boards Association.
GEORGIA
Bibb BOE Rejects 2 Charter Schools
Macon Telegraph, GA, September 16, 2011
The Bibb County school board voted against granting charters to two charter schools in Bibb County at a board meeting Thursday night.
INDIANA
Officials Call Voucher Program A Success As Enrollment Deadline Looms
FOX 59, IN, September 15, 2011
The deadline for the school voucher program is Friday, and state education officials have said the interest in the program already proves it has the ability to be a big success.
MARYLAND
Howard School Board Opposes Switch On Its Selection Process
Baltimore Sun, MD, September 15, 2011
The Howard County school system, widely regarded as among the best in the nation, could be in for two major, and perhaps unprecedented, changes regarding its elected board of education.
MASSACHUSETTS
Charter Critic Misrepresents Funding
Gloucester Times, MA, September 15, 2011
When trying to make a credible argument criticizing how charter public schools are funded, it’s important to get the facts right.
MICHIGAN
Education Reform Stimulates Lobbying Economy
Interlochen Public Radio, MI, September 15, 2011
Education reform is driving lots of spending on lobbying so far this year in Michigan. Well more than a million dollars has been spent advocating positions on new laws like changes to teacher tenure. Much of that is accounted for by a new player on the scene, a national education reform group call StudentsFirst.
House Oks Bill Against Some Union Deductions
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 16, 2011
The state House narrowly passed a bill Thursday that would prohibit school districts from automatically deducting union dues from employee paychecks.
NEW JERSEY
Newark Is Betting on a Wave of New Principals
New York Times, NY, September 16, 2011
There is Sonn Sam, a Rhode Island transplant who could be mistaken for one of the students at his alternative high school, with his shaven head, sneakers and tattooed left arm.
NEW YORK
City Hands Off Part of Teacher Evaluation Effort to the State
New York Times, NY, September 16, 2011
New York City education officials announced Thursday that they would end their effort to rank teachers based on their students’ standardized test scores, adding a surprise twist to one of the most contentious issues facing the city’s teaching force.
Parents File Lawsuit Against DOE Over Charter School Co-Locations
NY1, NY, September 15, 2011
The battle over charter schools and whether they should be allowed to use space in public school buildings free of charge is playing out in court.
State Charter Authorizers Turning Attention To Neediest Students
Gotham Schools Blog, NY, September 15, 2011
Amid mounting criticisms that charter schools do not serve the neediest students, the state’s charter school authorizers are making a push to approve more charter schools that make those children a priority.
Republicans for Education Reform
Huffington Post, NY, September 15, 2011
For months — no, years — the ESEA discussion has been nothing short of maddening. While many pundits decry the lack of a “clear route to reauthorization,” an obvious bipartisan solution has been sitting there, ready for the picking.
2 Schools Win National Recognition
Charlotte Observer, NC, September 16, 2011
Piedmont IB Middle School and Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy are among the eight N.C. winners of the award, presented to schools that demonstrate success in closing achievement gaps between groups of students.
Springfield Superintendent Spurns School Choice Requirement
Springfield News-Sun, OH, September 15, 2011
The Springfield City School District has complied with a federal law that requires the district to notify students at failing schools that they have other options, but Superintendent David Estrop refuses to endorse the options.
PENNSYLVANIA
Time For SRC Members To Make A Good Decision For Once & Step Down
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, September 16, 2011
If nothing else, not being able to arrange a quorum should be the last piece of evidence needed to show that it’s time for members of the Robert Archie-led gang to give it up.
Sto-Rox Residents Debate Charter School
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 15, 2011
Propel charter school’s application to open a K-12 school has caused mixed emotions in the Sto-Rox district encompassing McKees Rocks and Stowe
Tuition Owed To Charter School
Republican Herald, PA, September 16, 2011
The Gillingham Charter School Board of Trustees approved a loan for $125,000 and a line of credit for $150,000 from Meridian Bank at the monthly meeting Thursday.
TENNESSEE
A Unified Voice For The Schools
Commercial Appeal, TN, September 16, 2011
Districts prepare to merge: On the charter approval question and other matters, MCS and SCS should speak as one.
TEXAS
43 VISD Classes Have More Kids Than Allowed By State
Victoria Advocate, TX, September 15, 2011
The Victoria school district board of trustees voted at its regular meeting Thursday to request the state allow 43 classes on nine elementary campuses to operate with more students per teacher than allowed by law.
WASHINGTON
Wash. Teachers Maintain Strike Despite Judge Or
der
Associated Press, September 16, 2011
Students in Washington state’s third-largest school district are taking a fourth straight day off Friday as opposing sides in a teachers strike meet with a judge, after the instructors defied his order to return to the classroom.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
White House Details Plans For More Digital Learning
USA Today, September 16, 2011
The White House will unveil plans Friday for a research center that aims to infuse more digital learning into the nation’s classrooms.
Electronic Education
The Economist, September 16, 2011
This reversal of the traditional teaching methods-with lecturing done outside class time and tutoring (or “homework”) during it-is what Mr Khan calls “the flip”. A synonym for flip, of course, is revolution, and this experiment in Los Altos just might lead to one.
Expanded Online Education Plan Urged For Iowa Students
Des Moines Register, IA, September 16, 2011
Iowa students would have greater access to online courses under a proposal that significantly expands the state’s virtual class offerings.