Daily Headlines for January 13, 2012
No Child Left Behind, Ten Years Later
National Review Online, January 12, 2012
Ten years ago this week, Pres. George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law, marking a new era for elementary and secondary education in the United States.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Adelanto School Is Targeted In Second Test of ‘Parent Trigger’ Law
Los Angeles Times, CA, January 13, 2012
Parents file petitions seeking to convert Desert Trails Elementary to a charter school. They acted under a landmark state law that gives parents the power to force major change at low-performing schools.
CUSD Hires Consultant To Resolve Schools’ Conflicts
Orange County Register, CA, January 12, 2012
Loewenstein was hired this week by the Capistrano Unified School District to help staff and administrators at Barcelona Hills Elementary and Oxford Preparatory Academy work through rising tensions resulting from the schools sharing a campus.
What’s in a Charter?
Morgan Hill Times, CA, January 12, 2012
Charters are still public schools. It’s the phrase both Principal Paige Cisewski of Charter School of Morgan Hill and Head of School Jean Southland of the Silicon Valley Flex Academy have repeatedly said before and emphasized.
COLORADO
Denver Schools’ Improvement Due Largely To Charters, Report Says
Denver Post, CO, January 13, 2012
A handful of high-performing charter schools were what drove the bulk of the improved growth scores that Denver Public Schools logged this year, according to a report released Thursday.
CONNECTICUT
State Ed Chief Tries To Avoid Charter School Bias Questions
Westport News, CT, January 12, 2012
Gary Peluchette worries new state Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor’s extensive background as founder of an influential charter school organization gives those institutions an advantage as the state pursues education reforms.
FLORIDA
Maintain Clear Line Between Religion, State
St. Petersburg Times, FL, January 13, 2012
A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court appropriately clarified this week that government cannot tell religious institutions how to hire or fire employees who serve a religious function. Now in Florida, voters should be wary of another attack on that wall and reject an effort to amend Florida’s Constitution to allow taxpayer money to flow to religious groups.
Fla. Teachers Union Says It’s Being Shut Out Again
Local 10, FL, January 12, 2012
Leader says state again shutting Florida teachers union out of Race to the Top grant planning
Many Flaws Need Fixing In Merit Pay
Florida Times Union , FL, January 13, 2012
The Legislature’s plan for large fractions of teacher salaries to be based on such flawed measurements of accountability is absolutely alarming for people working to support themselves and their families. It’s like building your house on a sand dune.
New Bill Would Give Parents Power to Takeover Schools
First Coast News, FL, January 13, 2012
There’s been a new bill filed in Tallahassee. “It’s something that makes sense if you’re trying to make money off of schools, and that’s about the only thing it makes sense for,” said Save Duval Schools Executive Director Colleen Wood.
ILLINOIS
Charter Academy Gets Credit Line
Peoria Journal Star, IL, January 13, 2012
Quest Charter Academy will have the money it needs to make mandated health, life and safety improvements to the building it is in now as well as the one the charter school plans to expand into next year.
INDIANA
Speaker: Education Crisis Needs Leader Like Dr. King
Indianapolis Star, IN, January 12, 2012
Keynote speaker Kevin Chavous, the chairman of Black Alliance for Educational Options, took the opportunity to say the world needs a leader like Dr. King to change the state of education.
MASSACHUSETTS
Details of New Teacher-Evaluation System Still Being Hammered Out
Sentinel Enterprise, MA, January 13, 2012
School district officials recently got the details for the new statewide teacher evaluation process but the finer points must still be negotiated with the teachers union, Superintendent James Jolicoeur said Thursday.
MISSOURI
Pressure Grows For Action On School Transfers
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, January 13, 2012
Now that the state has stripped Kansas City Public Schools of accreditation, hundreds of parents are trying to transfer their children to better suburban districts only to find their requests denied.
Sound familiar?
NEW JERSEY
Christie Signs Urban Private School Bill
The Record, NJ, January 12, 2012
As many as 12 schools built by nonprofit groups and funded largely with tax dollars will be allowed to take root in three of New Jersey’s struggling cities under a new law Gov. Chris Christie signed Thursday, a move he says is a step toward bigger school reforms.
Scores of NJ School Board Members Deemed Ineligible
Daily Record, NJ, January 12, 2012
State education officials said Thursday that 187 school board members and charter school trustees have been told they must vacate their positions for failing to get a criminal history background check completed by the end of 2011.
NEW YORK
A ‘C’ Doesn’t Make the Grade in New York City
NPR StateImpact , January 12, 2012
New York City’s decision to close a C-rated charter school has sparked a national conversation about what kind of performance should be expected of charter schools.
Bloomberg Aims at Teachers Union
Wall Street Journal, January 13, 2012
Mayor Proposes Salary Increases for Educators Who Meet Standards, Prompting Immediate Resistance From the UFT
Mayor Takes On Teachers’ Union in School Plans
New York Times, NY, January 13, 2012
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, directly confronting leaders of the teachers’ union, proposed on Thursday a merit-pay system that would award top performers with $20,000 raises and threatened to remove as many as half of those working in dozens of struggling schools.
Your Move, Governor – Don’t Blow It
New York Post, NY, January 13, 2012
Mike Bloomberg didn’t precisely call Andrew Cuomo’s public-education bluff yesterday — but he sure did cover the governor’s bet. What happens next isn’t likely to be pretty.
NORTH CAROLINA
Proposed Durham, Chapel Hill Charters Move Forward
The Herald-Sun. NC, January 12, 2012
Two proposed charter schools are one step closer to opening in Durham and Chapel Hill , thanks to the N.C. Public Charter School Advisory Council’s recommendation this week that the state Board of Education approve their applications.
OKLAHOMA
Barresi, State School Board Erred In Teacher Evaluation Decision, Lawmaker Says
Tulsa World, OK, January 13, 2012
A lawmaker is seeking an official attorney general’s opinion about whether state Superintendent Janet Barresi and the state schools board circumvented Oklahoma law by selecting multiple models for a one-year pilot program of the new teacher evaluation system.
OREGON
School Board Approves Charter School Proposal
Keizer Times, OR, January 13, 2012
A charter school proposal for the Salem-Keizer School District won approval at Tuesday’s board of directors meeting.
PENNSYLVANIA
Some Districts And Charters Cleared Of Cheating On ’09 State Tests
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 13, 2012
More than half of the districts and charter schools identified by the Pennsylvania Department of Education for possible cheating on 2009 state exams have been cleared of wrongdoing, state officials said Thursday.
Corbett Suggests Possible Takeover of Chester Upland School District
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 13, 2012
Gov. Corbett blamed local officials Thursday for the Chester Upland School District’s financial woes and suggested the state was considering a takeover of the district.
Chaput’s Claims of Discrimination Are Wrong
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, January 13, 2012
The “D” word he uttered was not a profanity, but the word “discriminate.” Chaput urged parents upset with the blue-ribbon commission’s report not to be mad at the Archdiocese, but at public officials and others who “discriminate” against Catholic students by not having public monies support their education.
Pocono Mountain Charter School Again in Jeopardy
Pocono Record, PA, January 13, 2012
Pocono Mountain School District is trying to get its case against the Pocono Mountain Charter School reopened by state officials.
TENNESSEE
TEA Officials Express Concern Over Haslam Education Proposals
Kingsport Times News, TN, January 12, 2012
Tennessee Education Association officials have some strong concerns over Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to ease grades K-12 class size limits.
UTAH
Charting a New Course
St. George Daily Spectrum, UT, January 12, 2012
Asking parents to be more politically active, proponents of better funding for Utah ‘s charter schools were drumming up support Thursday for what will likely be more wrangling over funds during the upcoming general session of the state Legislature.
VIRGINIA
Virginia Seeks Flexibility in No Child Left Behind Law
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA, January 13, 2012
Virginia is moving forward with its plan to seek flexibility from certain requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Charter School: Open Doors
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA, January 13, 2012
Nothing about the launching of Richmond’s first charter school has been easy. The Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts has been beset by controversy — some of it self-inflicted, some of it inflicted by others — on nearly every step of its journey to Monday, when it reopened the doors of the old Patrick Henry school building on Semmes Avenue.
WASHINGTON
Try Charter Schools
The Columbian, WA, January 12, 2012
Would charter schools improve public education in Washington state? The answer that we provided in a 2004 editorial remains the same eight years later: We won’t know until we try.
New Teacher Evaluations, Charter Schools Proposed
Spokesman Review, WA, January 13, 2012
A bipartisan group of legislators, backed by business and education reform groups, announced a push Thursday for charter schools and new teacher evaluations.
WISCONSIN
Voucher School Fix Needed in Assembly
Appleton Post Crescent, WI, January 12, 2012
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers offered a timely reminder to Assembly representatives as they return to session.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
How Should We Fund ‘Students Without Borders?’
Fairfax Times, VA, January 13, 2012
But this system of geographically-based education is challenged by the onset of virtual education, in which a student may live anywhere in the state and receive an education from anywhere in the state.
Dallastown Board Says No To ‘Blended Learning’ Computer Idea
York Dispatch, PA, January 13, 2012
So, it’s back to the educational drawing board for Superintendent Stewart Weinberg.
He said he’ll try again in September to convince the Dallastown Area School Board to approve a “Blended Learning” pilot program that allows juniors and seniors to combine classroom and online learning.