Daily Headlines for October 20, 2011
NATIONAL
Can New No Child Left Behind Law Pass Before 2012 Elections?
Christian Science Monitor, MA, October 20, 2011
A new No Child Left Behind bill is finally getting a hearing in the Senate Wednesday – after three years of sitting in limbo. The bill has bipartisan support, and plenty of detractors.
Charter Schools — The Smart Answer To Public Education
The Hill, DC, October 19, 2011
Today we have a concept called “a charter school,” which uses private market forces and competition to improve our public school system — by breaking the traditional monopoly franchise of the public school district, run by local boards of education.
Report Documents Charter School Growth
Washington Post Blog, DC, October 19, 2011
Six school districts across the country now have at least 30 percent of their public school students enrolled in charter schools — with Washington D.C. at No. 2 on the list. And 18 systems have more than 20 percent of their students attending charters, according to a new report.
States Rights at Heart of New ‘No Child Left Behind’ Debate
US News & World Report, October 19, 2011
In a year of bitterly partisan battles over the budget, debt, and anything else with a deadline, the Senate hopes to break through congressional quagmire to replace the wildly unpopular No Child Left Behind education policy.
FROM THE STATES
Aim for Quality, not Quantity, on Michigan Charter Schools
Detroit News, MI, October 20, 2011
The Michigan Legislature is considering legislation to change the landscape of public education across the state. Among numerous changes, these nine bills promote the conversion of traditional schools to charter schools, require districts to enroll nonresident students and divert public money to services for private school students.
Charters Apply For More Suburban Schools
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, October 19, 2011
The state Department of Education this week received 42 new applications for charter schools, including eight in South Jersey. What’s new about this round is the growing number of applicants from the suburbs, including ones for schools that would open in Willingboro, Somerdale, Voorhees and Monroe Township.
District in Pilot Program for Teacher Evaluations
Standard Speaker, PA, October 19, 2011
Hazleton Area School District is taking part in a pilot program that could change the way public school teachers are evaluated statewide.
Tennessee Teachers Find It Hard To Make The Grade
NPR, October 20, 2011
Tennessee overhauled its teacher evaluation system last year to win a grant from the federal Race to the Top program. Now many teachers say they are struggling to shine, and that’s torpedoing morale.
Closing the Gap
Memphis Flyer, TN, October 20, 2011
Only 4 percent of Memphis City Schools seniors are ready for college, based on scoring at least 19 on the ACT, the college entrance exam taken by district seniors. In other words, of 6,774 seniors, only 271 are college ready.
Detroit Public Schools Exceeds Target Student Enrollment
The Detroit News, MI, October 20, 2011
District officials said they achieved their enrollment goals this school year and credit an intense campaign to get kids not only signed up for schools but in class on time.
Chicago Mayor Fighting City’s Teachers Union Over His Push For A Longer School Day
Chicago Tribune, IL, October 20, 2011
After lobbying in parking lots, allegations of vote manipulation and a shouting match that ended with a hug, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has persuaded just 13 out of hundreds of Chicago schools to break with their union and accept cash in exchange for lengthening the school day for the city’s students.
Board Opts To Keep Integration Schools Open Around The Metro
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN, October 19, 2011
Two voluntary integration schools will remain open but with less funding, the East Metro Integration District school board decided Wednesday.
Mixed Results In Turning Around Oklahoma City’s Three Worst Schools
The Oklahoman, OK, October 20, 2011
THE Oklahoma City School District has earned mixed grades in evaluating the reform process at its three worst schools. Moon Elementary has shown strong improvement, Douglass Middle School slight improvement and U.S. Grant High School little to none. The district is spending $12 million on the three schools over three years as part of its school improvement plan.
More Opposition to Berthoud’s Red Rock Academy
Reporter Herald, CO, October 20, 2011
Red Rock Academy got a resounding “no” during public comment Wednesday at the Thompson Board of Education meeting. Not one of the 26 speakers who addressed the school board on the charter school application showed his or her support.
NCLB Waiver
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, October 20, 2011
But NCLB has accomplished some good. It has forced schools in homogenous states like Utah to take a hard look at how they educate children from low-income or non-English-speaking families, children of minority ethnic and racial backgrounds, children with handicaps. Before NCLB, Utah schools looked at aggregated test scores, lumping the minority-group children in with the white, middle-class children and not fully considering how underserved those minority children were.
Mesa District Program Draws Homeschoolers
Arizona Republic, AZ, October 19, 2011
Faced with a declining number of schoolkids within its own boundaries, Mesa is finding ways to draw students from surrounding districts, area charter schools and other alternative places of learning.
Walgrove Avenue Elementary Neighbors Oppose Charter Land Lease Propsal, Feel Ignored By LAUSD
The Argonaut, CA, October 20, 2011
A group of homeowners who reside within blocks of Walgrove Avenue Elementary School in Mar Vista is asking the Los Angeles Unified School District to reconsider its land lease proposal to offer space at the school to a charter organization
Unions Shift Into Advocacy Mode
Wall Street Journal, October 20, 2011
Leading the way is New York State United Teachers, a labor federation with about 600,000 members. The union has channeled $2.6 million into a special committee that can spend unlimited amounts on campaign-style advocacy for candidates and issues, as it attempts to rebound from a tough year of budget cuts in Albany , according to election board filings.
Charters Threatened
Boston Herald, MA, October 20, 2011
The most rabid opponents of charter schools in Massachusetts want the Legislature to grant them sole power to decide whether new charter schools ever get to open here. That approach may make sense in the minds of those who feel threatened by the success of charter schools but we haven’t a clue how it helps children — particularly children in struggling school districts.
Lawmakers Say They’re Serious About Education Reform
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, October 19, 2011
State legislators and education experts will spend the next year reforming education funding in Georgia — and this time, they mean it.
David Thomas, Judy Stout Debate Merits of Charter Schools
Press-Register, AL, October 19, 2011
Alabama children could benefit from charter schools, if the law was properly written, David Thomas Jr., a former Mobile County school board member and current Bishop State Community College administrator, said during a debate today.
Lawmakers Consider Private School Tax Credits
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, October 19, 2011
A proposal to give tax credits to Utahns who help students attend private schools drew mixed reaction at the Capitol on Wednesday, with some lawmakers praising the idea as a way to help struggling students and others calling it a potential drain on public schools.
Proposition H Addresses San Francisco School Choice Policy
San Francisco Examiner, CA, October 19, 2011
Prop. H, which is nonbinding, would make it city policy to encourage the district to change its student assignment system so every student can attend school closest to their home. But school officials say it’s not as simple as it sounds.
VIRTUAL LEARNING
Hamilton County Set To Open Online Institution
Times Free Press, TN, October 20, 2011
An online-only Hamilton County Virtual School will likely throw open its virtual doors in the next few months, offering services to more students while also saving them thousands in tuition.
Manatee County Schools Virtual Class Launch Proves Successful
Bradenton Herald, FL, October 20, 2011
When teacher Aimee Booth awakes in the morning, she doesn’t have far to go to her office. She need only sit in front of her computer — a far cry from the brick and mortar classroom she taught in for 10 years in Manatee County.