Daily Headlines: January 4, 2012
NATIONAL
All Talk, No Action on Education Reform
Courier Times, PA, January 4, 2012
Public education is a major business; it is a fully unionized bureaucracy politicized by the Democratic Party. It is subject to all the schemes and exploitations intended to serve their self-interest. Student academic development is secondary to union concerns: increased salaries, expanded benefits, and any additional prerequisites they can extort from a legally coerced tax-paying public.
Huntsman Says Nobody Cares About Iowa Results
Associated Press, January 3, 2012
Huntsman gave students at the Strong Foundations charter school in Pembroke a lesson in politics when he helped distribute iPads the school recently purchased at a discount from a Utah company called iSchool Campus.
STATE COVERAGE
Movement Empowers Parents To Reform Failing Schools
East Valley Tribune, AZ, January 3, 2012
Imagine if your child’s assigned elementary school had puddles of urine in the bathroom, mouse droppings in the cafeteria, and clogged water fountains. Now imagine if your complaints were rejected by the principal.
DPS Continues Progress On School Choice Reform
Denver Post, CO, January 4, 2012
Though Denver’s new enrollment process will require some getting used to, it is a step in the right direction for the district.
Teachers’ Union Recommends Changes In Tenure System
Connecticut Day, CT, January 4, 2012
Connecticut’s largest teachers’ union on Tuesday issued a report recommending improvements for the state’s public schools system, including a “streamlined” process for purging tenured and underperforming teachers.
D.C. Bill Mandates College Application For High School Diploma
Washington Times, DC, January 3, 2012
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown will introduce a bill Wednesday that would require all city high school students to apply to at least one college before graduating.
Traditional Schools Blurring District Lines
Washington Post, DC, January 3, 2012
As school choice becomes a mantra of 21st century education reform, especially for the growing charter school movement, traditional public schools also are embracing free-market competition.
Georgia Charter Schools Frequently Renewed
GPB News, GA, January 3, 2012
In recent months, several charter schools around the state have been involved in high-profile fights with their school boards over whether or not their charters should be renewed.
Charter Schools Make Great Strides In Student Achievement
Star Advertiser, HI, January 4, 2012
As members of the local school board for three Public Conversion Charter Schools, we have had the privilege of seeing firsthand how the promise of the charter school movement can be fulfilled through visionary and courageous leadership and an engaged school and parent community.
Time For School District To Give Up Legal Fight
Southtown Star, IL, January 4, 2012
The Rich Township High School District 227 school board has scheduled a Jan. 17 meeting to discuss a further appeal of its lawsuit seeking to close the charter school that opened in the district in 2010.
Residents Outside of IPS Want Big Changes, Too
Indianapolis Star, IN, January 3, 2012
The survey revealed that 78 percent of respondents in IPS would prefer “major changes” or a “whole new approach” when it comes to their public schools. In other parts of Marion County served by township districts, however, 74 percent of respondents said the same thing — a difference that was within the survey’s margin of error.
Pro Charter School TV Ads Air As General Assembly Convenes
WAVE 3, KY, January 3, 2012
A group of Kentuckians is trying to put education in the spotlight the same day the General Assembly opens its session. The group is pushing for charter schools and taking to the airwaves to get out its message with a television ads that started airing Tuesday.
School Voucher Expansion Expected To Be Part Of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Legislative Agenda
Times Picayune, LA, January 3, 2012
Gov. Bobby Jindal and his allies on education reform are considering an unprecedented, statewide expansion of private school vouchers and steps to more closely link teachers’ job security with performance, according to two officials who have consulted with the governor’s office on proposals for this year’s session at the Louisiana Legislature.
Ashland Crafting Teacher Evaluation Tools – With Local Input
Metro West Daily News, MA, January 4, 2012
Residents Wednesday night can help decide how local teachers should be evaluated. Ashland this year is aiding state officials as they develop a new system to evaluate Massachusetts teachers. As part of the process, Ashland is customizing its own new evaluation system, to be implemented next year.
Charter Schools Would Receive An Extra $36 To $52 Million Statewide If Per-Pupil Spending Matched Local Districts
Saline Reporter, MI, January 3, 2012
More than 84,000 Michigan students attend charter schools, or public school academies, which receive smaller per-pupil foundation allowances than those of their local school districts.
Financial Woes Force West St. Paul’s Vessey Leadership Academy To Close
Pioneer Press, MN, January 3, 2012
Students from General John Vessey Jr. Leadership Academy are hunting for new schools after their 8-year-old charter high school abruptly closed over Christmas break after running out of money.
Governor-Elect Bryant Pushing For Charter Schools
WLOX, MS, January 3, 2012
It’s a phrase you can expect to hear this legislative session — charter schools. Governor elect-Phil Bryant is pushing for charter schools in Mississippi , saying it’s time to stop accepting failing schools that don’t give students the opportunity they deserve.
Fast-Tracked and Rewritten Bill Could Put Some Public Schools Under Private Management
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, January 4, 2012
First proposed by Gov. Chris Christie and since taken up by South Jersey Democrats, a plan that would open up select public schools to nonprofit or even for-profit management appears poised for passage in the final days of the legislature’s lame duck session.
NY Suspends Funding For 10 School Districts
Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2012
The state is suspending millions of dollars in grants to 10 school districts, including New York City that failed to agree with unions on an evaluation system for teachers and principals.
Parent Group’s Vote Favors Up to 3 Charters if BTF Sues
Buffalo News, NY, January 4, 2012
The parent group in the Buffalo Public Schools voted Tuesday to take steps to convert up to three low-performing schools into charters if the teachers union sues to block involuntary teacher transfers in those buildings.
Governor Expected to Set Up Panel on Education Reform
New York Times, NY, January 4, 2012
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to announce Wednesday in his State of the State address that he will convene a statewide commission to address a wide range of education issues, including improving student performance and school accountability, according to people familiar with the plan.
Cuomo’s Leadership Needed To Strengthen Teacher Evaluation
New York Daily News, NY, January 4, 2012
All the more power to Gov. Cuomo for signaling that he intends to become New York’s education reform governor.
Charters Don’t Have to Pay Rent, for Now
New York Times Blog , NY, January 3, 2012A state Supreme Court judge has rejected a request from public school parents and advocacy organizations for a preliminary injunction to require New York City to charge charter schools rent for the space they occupy inside public school buildings.
Nutter Taking Aim At Low-Performing Philadelphia Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 4, 2012
The city and the Philadelphia School District will move aggressively on a pledge to eliminate 50,000 seats in the lowest-performing city schools, Mayor Nutter promised Tuesday.
Harrisburg School Board Rejects Charter School Again
Patriot News, PA, January 3, 2012
School organizer Michelle Archie said she would appeal the decision, and it’s not too late for a proposed opening date of next year. The school would have opened for grades kindergarten to second grade but eventually expanded to all grades.
Principals’ Teacher Ratings Vary Widely By District
The Tennessean, TN, January 4, 2012
he first glimpse of how educators fared under the system, which ultimately will affect whether they earn and keep tenure, demonstrated how subjective the process can be.
State Teacher Evaluations To Face Tough Exams
Shelbyville Times-Gazette, TN, January 3, 2012
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced Dec. 21 that there will be both an external and internal review of the new teacher evaluation system.
Willingness To Accept Education Innovation Is Key To Change
Jackson Sun, TN, January 3, 2012
A Jackson-Madison County school system parent, teacher and community workshop held Monday offered an inspiring view of what public education could be.
School Officials Cheer Patrick Henry’s Imminent Move
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, January 4, 2012
Setting aside its ongoing concerns, Richmond school officials on Tuesday applauded the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts for its imminent move to a permanent home.
Santorno Takes Over School Reins
News Tribune, WA, January 4, 2012
For the next six months, Santorno will serve in tandem with current Superintendent Art Jarvis, who retires at the end of June after leading the South Sound’s largest school district since 2007.
Sharing, Merging
Daily News, WY, January 3, 2012
As a new year begins, several school districts are considering big changes. Cuts in government aid and limits to what taxpayers can afford are forcing schools to find new ways of delivering the educational services so essential to young people’s futures.
A New Chapter for the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association
Third Coast Digest, WI, January 4, 2012
The president of the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association says even if Gov. Scott Walker is recalled, it’s not likely collective bargaining will be revived anytime soon.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Teachers Resist High-Tech Push in Idaho Schools
New York Times, NY, January 4, 2012
Her latest conflict is quite different: she is now a high school teacher, and she and many of her peers in Idaho are resisting a statewide plan that dictates how computers should be used in classrooms.