Daily Headlines for September 8, 2011
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Homeschool Co-ops Tap Pooled Resources
Wall Street Journal, September 8, 2011
Rebecca Dake didn’t like San Francisco’s public schools and thought private schools were too expensive. So the mother of three recently opted for another route for her 6-year-old daughter: a homeschool cooperative she helped start herself.
COLORADO
Next Steps Outlined For Berthoud Charter School
Reporter Herald, CO, September 8, 2011
The Thompson Board of Education has until Nov. 12 to vote on Red Rock Academy ‘s application to build a charter school in Berthoud.
Colorado Governor Pushes His Luck On Funding For Schools
Washington Times, DC, September 7, 2011
Now comes Lobato v. Colorado, a case filed in 2005 that threatens to wreak all manner of havoc on the state’s cash-strapped budget and the state’s struggling economy in the name of school funding fairness.
CONNECTICUT
New Education Leader Faces Big Challenges
The Day, CT, September 8, 2011
If nothing else, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s choice to lead Connecticut public schools is bold, but we suspect it is much more than that.
Education Reform Group Presents Proposals To State Board
CT Mirror, CT, September 7, 2011
A group of business and philanthropic leaders presented their education reform proposals to the state Board of Education Wednesday, pitching changes to teacher certification requirements, preparation programs and evaluations to help close Connecticut’s dramatic achievement gap.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Can D.C. Keep Middle Schoolers From ‘Teetering On The Ninth-Grade Cliff’?
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 8, 2011
“Dropout factories” is the term for high schools where less than 60 percent of freshmen complete their senior year. With the District’s graduation rate at 43 percent, according to an Education Week study, it means that the dropout industry in D.C. is robust.
Separate-But-Equal Schools Argument Reborn
Washington Times, DC, September 7, 2011
Separate but unequal. That was the legal theory the NAACP successfully used to bat down public school segregation.
FLORIDA
Panel OKs Early Race To The Top Application
Florida Courier, FL, September 7, 2011
In a win for Gov. Rick Scott, the joint House and Senate budget committee approved the federal grant despite some resistance from lawmakers who insisted the grant was intrusive, unhelpful and tainted by its association with the federal health care reform act that many Republican lawmakers oppose.
A Winning Formula for Schools
Miami Herald, FL, September 7, 2011
Strapped public schools need South Florida legislators to step up on a long-range plan
INDIANA
Finding the ‘Key’ to Exemplary Schools
South Bend Tribune, IN, September 8, 2011
Test scores are confirming the obvious: Raising standards does not by itself boost achievement. But when teachers continuously monitor students to see if they are mastering skills set forth in the standards, and adjust instruction accordingly, results follow.
IOWA
Interest In Filling School Board Seats Skyrockets
Des Moines Register, IA, September 8, 2011
The full effect of a 2008 election law will be felt for the first time next week as voters in a number of districts across Iowa come face-to-face with a relatively rare phenomenon: Packed school board ballots.
MICHIGAN
Legislation Gives Parents Power At Schools
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 8, 2011
Parents and teachers could vote to force their schools to be converted to charters; the cap on the number of charter schools allowed in the state would be eliminated, and districts could privatize teaching staffs under a package of sweeping legislative reforms introduced Wednesday.
Superintendents, Teachers Union Urge Caution On Bold Education Reform Package
Grand Rapids Press, MI, September 8, 2011
Students would have more educational choices, including charter schools, online opportunities and the district next door, under sweeping education reform bills offered Wednesday by state Senate Republicans.
Focus First On Results, Not Salary
Detroit News, MI, September 8, 2011
As John Covington heads a new system of failing schools, what matters most is his success as a fix-it man.
NEW JERSEY
Paterson to Bring ‘Innovation Zones’ to 17 Schools
The Record, NJ, September 7, 2011
Paterson’s underperforming schools would be the focus of an ambitious plan this year to bring “innovation zones” aimed at boosting student achievement scores by double digits.
NEW YORK
A Gentler Touch Atop the Schools, After Years of a Hard Push for Reform
New York Times, NY, September 8, 2011
As he begins his first full year leading the city’s public school system, Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott is trying to move away from the place that a predecessor, Joel I. Klein, so comfortably occupied: the spotlight.
Parents Fight to Keep Charter Out of Flatbush School with Lawsuit
New York Daily News, NY, September 8, 2011
Angry parents at a Flatbush middle school are hoping a lawsuit against the city will stop a charter school from squeezing into the school’s building for good.
A Scandal of Cheating, and a Fall From Grace
New York Times, NY, September 8, 2011
Sitting in the polished offices of a l
awyer who specializes in corporate criminal defense, Beverly L. Hall looked tired.
NORTH CAROLINA
Arts Have Ruled The Day For A Decade At Charter School
Winston Salem Journal, NC, September 8, 2011
Over a decade, Winston-Salem’s Arts-Based Elementary School has grown from an idea that faltered out of the gate to a 300-student downtown fixture.
OHIO
Akron Mom’s Felony Convictions For School Residency Lies Reduced To Misdemeanors
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, September 7, 2011
An Akron woman convicted of two felony charges for falsifying information to send her children to Copley-Fairlawn schools instead of Akron schools caught a break from Gov. John Kasich Wednesday.
PENNSYLVANIA
Taxpayers Pick Up Ackerman’s Buyout Tab
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, September 8, 2011
The school district shelled out the total cost of the agreement after public pressure to reveal the identities of anonymous donors who had pledged $405,000 led “almost all” to pull out, according to a statement from the School Reform Commission.
Board Members Have Questions About New Charter School
Reading Eagle, PA, September 8, 2011
The first students to attend a charter school in Berks County began classes Tuesday, but Reading School Board members still have some questions they’d like answered about the new school.
City Schools Draw Federal Praise
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 8, 2011
The cooperation between the Pittsburgh Public Schools administration and teachers union should stand as a model for public schools across the country, according to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who visited Pittsburgh’s King PreK-8 School on the North Side on Wednesday as the first stop on his second annual bus tour.
RHODE ISLAND
School Board Vote Leaves Possibility of New Charter in Providence
The Brown Daily Herald, RI, September 8, 2011
The Rhode Island Board of Regents sent education activists back to the drawing board last Thursday when it rejected a controversial application for a semi-public Cranston charter school.
TENNESSEE
Charter School Applicant Ready To Try Again Before Blount Board
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, September 8, 2011
Supporters of a proposed charter school in Blount County will see their plan go before the county school board tonight for approval.
Most School Boards Lack Evaluation Skill
The Tennessean, TN, September 8, 2011
A charter school is a public school funded by taxpayer dollars. It is a part of the local school system, just as any other school. This means it hires certified teachers, administers the TCAP end-of-year test, and provides special-education services, to name a few examples.
Local Boards Only Entities To Ensure Charter Quality
The Tennessean, TN, September 8, 2011
Education reform leaders have hailed charter schools as the solution to America’s education crisis. First envisioned in 1988 by American Federation of Teachers President Albert Shanker, charter schools were designed to serve as learning laboratories focused on the neediest students.
Charters Would Have New Overseer
The Tennessean, TN, September 8, 2011
In Tennessee, elected school boards are charged with governing the public schools and are held accountable not only by the voters but by a myriad of standards set by state and federal law.
WISCONSIN
Urban League Voices Concern About Meeting On Charter School
WISC, Madison , WI, September 7, 2011
The Urban League of Greater Madison said it’s concerned about a hastily scheduled meeting by the Madison Metropolitan School District’s Board of Education to discuss Madison Preparatory Academy , the charter school project the group is trying to launch.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Virtual School in Session This Year in Florida
News Press, FL, September 7, 2011
A new law mandates Florida high school students, starting with current ninth-graders, enroll in at least one virtual course before they graduate. The thinking is students, whether they head to college or into the workforce, will need to continue their education.
The Virtual Classroom
Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, LA, September 7, 2011
What if students could forgo khaki pants and polo shirts and head for school in their pajamas? What if they didn’t have to guess the identity of the brown stuff on their lunch tray and ate Mom’s home cooking for lunch every day?
South Idaho Superintendents Will Ask Legislature To Tweak Online Learning Law
Idaho Statesman, ID, September 7, 2011
Superintendents from nine Southern Idaho school districts have formed a coalition to take the initiative in charting Idaho education’s future after the state’s passage of Idaho education reforms.