Daily Headlines for October 11, 2011
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 recognize the positive steps the school is taking to tackle the issues posed by the newest numbers.
Learning How To Grade Teachers
The Record, NJ, October 11, 2011
Bergenfield is on the cutting edge of a statewide effort pushed by the Christie administration to come up with more precise, uniform teacher evaluations.
Reform for Everyone
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 11, 2011
The economic challenges facing our Pittsburgh community have forced us all to make difficult decisions, given the limited resources at our disposal. However, any disrupted funding from public education is the worst short-term decision and will be detrimental to our long-term recovery.
Mayor Nutter Tabs Novelist Lorene Cary for Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 11, 2011
Mayor Nutter on Monday named Lorene Cary to the five-member governing body of the Philadelphia School District – a group dogged by controversy in recent months for backroom deals and a $629 million budget gap.
Is Tutoring Effective?
Baltimore Sun, MD, October 10, 2011
Our view: Maryland could do a lot better making sure the millions spent on private tutoring groups that help students at Baltimore’s worst-performing schools are held accountable for results
State Mistake Means Change in Partnership Zone Schools
Delaware News Journal, DE, October 10, 2011
Secretary of Education Lillian Lowery today told the state’s superintendents that the department made a mistake in its list of worst-achieving schools.
Riding Out The Ups And Downs Of School Enrollment
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, October 10, 2011
According to a state-mandated annual head count, about 30,000 students have disappeared from Greater Cleveland’s schools over the last five years.
Good Step
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 11, 2011
As part of the federal government’s Race to the Top program, thousands of Ohio teachers recently received report cards unlike any before: a rating of how effective they were last school year, based on how much academic progress their students made.
Charters Schools Part II: Disappointed with Local Schools, Urban Parents Start Their Own
StateImpact NPR, OH, October 11, 2011
Urban districts are often among Ohio’s lowest rated schools. So many parents who can afford to, head for the suburbs once their children reach school age. But one group of parents in Cleveland decided instead to open their own school.
Hundreds of Students Use Vouchers in Northwest Indiana
North West Times, IN, October 10, 2011
Nearly 3,800 students across Indiana have taken advantage of the school vouchers as of September, state officials said.
A Success in Detroit : Charter Reaches Out, And So Do Its Students
Detroit Free Press, MI, October 11, 2001
At the Detroit Service Learning Academy, education isn’t just about mastering reading and math — students visit homeless shelters and clean and prepare meals.
Charter School Finds Its Way
Wausau Daily Herald, WI, October 10, 2011
The first thing a visitor notices about the new Idea Charter School is how much it looks like a business office.
Three Suburban Catholic Parishes Plan To Merge
St. Louis Post –Dispatch, MO, October 11, 2011
Pastors at three suburban Catholic parishes said Monday they are ready to combine their schools and create one system that will open in 2012-13.
Jonesboro School District Exploring Becoming A Charter School
KAIT8, AR, October 10, 2011
The Jonesboro School District is looking for public input about the possibility of the high school becoming a Conversion Charter School.
State Education Board Race Highlights School Reform Battles
Times Picayune, LA, October 11, 2011
There’s perhaps no better place to view the yawning ideological gap that has opened over school reform than this year’s race for the 1st District seat on the state board of education, which takes in all of St. Tammany Parish, most of Jefferson and parts of Orleans.
Oklahoma City District Trying New Ways To Raise Student Performance
The Oklahoman, OK, October 11, 2011
OKLAHOMA City School District officials face an unenviable task of improving education standards in one of the nation’s poorest school districts. We give them credit for thinking out of the box and trying new ideas, even if some seem extreme.
E. Idaho Schools Change Policies For Homeschoolers
Idaho Statesman, ID, October 10, 2011
Students in eastern Idaho who learn online from home can no longer take one or two classes at public schools without being enrolled at least part-time.
Charter School Appeal Passed On To State
Chico Enterprise-Record, CA, October 11, 2011
Representatives of Chico Green School will have to appeal the recent revocation of its charter to the state Board of Education.
Staff Recommend Berkeley School District Reject Charter Proposal
Daily Californian, CA, October 10, 2011
As the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education convenes for the first time this month, the board is planning on doling out an all too familiar verdict.
Bill Can Help Keep Schools Afloat
Daily Record, NJ, October 10, 2011
Bill A2806, approved 25-13 in the state Senate last week, would permit the conversion of nonpublic schools in failing school districts into charter schools.
A New Ruler For Schoolteachers
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 11, 2011
Pennsylvania’s General Assembly is back in session, and Gov. Corbett and legislative leaders have given it a major assignment: redesigning the state’s teacher evaluation system.
Teachers’ New Evaluation System To Get Close Look From Legislators
The Tennessean, TN, October 11, 2011
The state House Education Committee is set to hold early November hearings on Tennessee’s new teacher evaluation process amid concerns it’s a time-consuming, bureaucratic nightmare.
Proposal Stirs Charter School Debate: Choice Vs. Quality?
Detroit Free Press, MI, October 11, 2011
A legislative proposal to lift the state cap on charter schools would provide parents unprecedented options for K-12 education, but some critics fear it would litter the state with ineffective, profit-minded operators.
A Window Into The Governor’s Mind On Education
San Diego Union-Tribune, CA, October 10, 2011
How to fairly and accurately judge school performance has been an ongoing debate practically from the day California settled on the API 12 years ago. Its successes and failures have been chronicled, with much of the criticism zeroed in how, in some cases, the pressure to produce high scores has led educators to “teach to the test” rather that develop a well-rounded curriculum.
VIRTUAL LEARNING
Digital Learning For All Is A Must
St. Petersburg Times, FL, October 11, 2011
The law requiring students to complete one online course in order to graduate from high school is just one attempt to prepare Florida students for an increasingly digital world.
Online Learning Pilot, Tech Dominate Tigard-Tualatin Schools Board Meeting
The Oregonian, OR, October 11, 2011
The district’s director of alternative learning Karen Twain pushed for a green light for a pilot online learning program to start by next semester. The board stopped short of approving it and instead asked for a more comprehensive proposal with cost analysis and implementation plans.
Online Class Funding Would Vary Sharply Among Idaho School Districts, Under New Laws
Spokesman Review Blog, WA, October 10, 2011
A quirk of the “Students Come First” school reform law’s complicated formula for shifting funds from school districts to online course providers means that the providers will get far more money for providing classes to students in some school districts than in others.