Daily Headlines: March 22, 2012
Teacher Evaluations, A Joke No More
USA Today, March 21, 2012
For too many years in too many school districts, teacher evaluations were a meaningless shambles. Principals conducted brief, “drive-by” observations. Student achievement on standardized tests was rarely used to rate teachers — an absurd omission.
Testing Isn’t Teaching
USA Today, March 21, 2012
First do no harm. In their impatience with a teacher evaluation system that needs improvement, proponents of a system based on student test scores ignore this simple moral imperative.
Evidence That Vouchers Work
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 22, 2012
School vouchers have stalled in the Pennsylvania legislature, and President Obama’s budget proposes to end the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which allows children from low-income families to attend private schools with government aid. This is despite a U.S. Department of Education evaluation led by one of us (Wolf) that found the Washington program boosted the high school graduation rate by 21 percent.
FROM THE STATES
No Decision On Charter Schools Bill
Times Daily, AL, March 22, 2012
Charter schools will rescue students trapped in perpetually failing public schools. Or they will siphon away money and good educators from existing schools. Both arguments were presented Wednesday during a two-hour public hearing on House Bill 541, called the Education Options Act. Supported by Gov. Robert Bentley, the nearly 60-page bill would, among other things, allow for the creation of publicly funded charter schools.
Charter School Bill Signals Start of Battle
St. Cloud Times, AL, March 22, 2012
Gov. Robert Bentley and Republican legislative leaders this week held a press conference announcing the introduction of a bill that would allow the creation of charter schools in the state and allow traditional public schools to apply for waivers exempting them from state laws and regulations and local system policies.
Fresno Charter School’s Finances Questioned
The Fresno Bee, CA, March 21, 2012
The financial health of one of Fresno’s charter schools came into question Wednesday night at the Fresno Unified School District board meeting.
DPS Might Have To Pay To Create Jobs For Pink-slipped Teachers
Denver Post, CO, March 22, 2012
Denver Public Schools last year set aside more than $7 million to create jobs for 110 teachers whom schools did not want to hire and will probably set aside a similar amount next year unless administrators and the union can reach an agreement about how long those teachers must remain on the payroll under a law passed in 2010.
Residents Support Education Reforms
Norwich Bulletin, CT, March 21, 2012
Jennifer Drury, an English teacher from New Haven, has attended five of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s seven town hall meetings on his education reform package, including this week’s meeting in New London .
Teacher Evaluations Not So Simple
Connecticut Post, CT, March 21, 2012
As I read article after article about value-added teacher evaluation, school turnaround proposals and the pros and cons of teacher tenure, I recall the annual ritual back in the 1970s in PS 95 in Queens when, each spring as test scores came out, the principal would come down to the morning lineup where 1,500 elementary students and their teachers waited expectantly. As he walked along the lines of children, he would stop and hand a rose to each teacher who had brought in the highest test scores for their grade.
All-Boys Charter School Sets Educational First
South Bend Tribune, IN, March 22, 2012
ISTEP passage rates at the Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School in Indianapolis are among the state’s highest, but the school’s leaders and supporters believe they can be higher still.
Trine Considers Granting Charters
The Journal Gazette, IN, March 22, 2012
Trine University is the latest local college to consider authorizing charter schools.
Officials Still Working Out Accountability of Charter School in Des Moines
Des Moines Register, IA, March 22, 2012
Fifteen months after the Des Moines Public Charter School opened its doors, its overseers have not decided how to track student performance and ensure accountability to the public.
Jindal’s Education Proposal Basics Expected To Pass The House
Times Picayune, LA, March 21, 2012
The anchor measures of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed restructuring of primary and secondary education are expected to pass the Louisiana House of Representatives on Thursday, but not without significant debate over how to structure a statewide program that uses taxpayer money for private-school tuition aid.
It’s D-Day For Education Reform
American Press, LA, March 22, 2012
Gov. Bobby Jindal will find out today who his legislative friends and foes are in his efforts to reshape Louisiana ’s public education system. The full House is scheduled to debate three key measures in the reform package dealing with teacher tenure and compensation, school vouchers, charter schools and scholarship tuition rebates
Teacher Effectiveness Bill Passes Early Hurdle
Lewiston Sun Journal, ME, March 21, 2012
The Legislature’s Education Committee on Wednesday unanimously endorsed a bill that will equip school districts with a new method to evaluate and fire teachers.
BVP Mayoral Academy, Its Success Measured, Is Proving Its Value
Valley Breeze, MA, March 21, 2012
Recently, real estate professionals working with two of Rhode Island’s Fortune 500 companies told me that new employees at those companies are typically advised to look for homes in Massachusetts , where the public schools are better.
Move Ahead With Teacher Evaluation Work
Detroit News, MI, March 22, 2012
Last June, when lawmakers passed sweeping changes to Michigan’s teacher tenure law — making it easier to fire ineffective teachers and more difficult for teachers to achieve protections of tenure — they made annual evaluations a crucial element to the law.
Competition Is Good For Schools
Hattiesburg American, MS, March 21, 2012
After reading various anti-charter school editorials and letters to the editor over the past couple of weeks, one could only assume that Mississippi must have an extraordinary system of public education with students achieving high levels of reading and math proficiency, along with near 100 percent graduation rates.
Charter Schools Could Drain Budget
Hattiesburg American, MS, March 21, 2012
If the Legislature enacts the charter school bill being proposed, there will be a new level of expensive bureaucracy composed of 13 appointed members with total salaries close to $500,000 to oversee this experiment, no matter how many or how few charter schools are started.
University Put In Squeeze Over Imagine Schools
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, March 22, 2012
Missouri’s state school board is considering a move that would in effect close four more Imagine charter schools in the city and leave about 3,800 students looking for alternatives by fall.
Tread Carefully In Assessing Teachers’ Value
Journal Star, NE, March 21, 2012
The state Board of Education and the Legislature’s Education Committee are considering different models for teacher evaluation. Several well-researched and potentially productive models of evaluation exist, but Nebraska should avoid the model used in several other states: “value-added” modeling based on large-scale test scores.
Governor Names Consultant To State Superintendent Post
Reno Gazette Journal, NV, March 21, 2012
Governor Brian Sandoval on Monday announced he had appointed James W. Guthrie as Nevada’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, effective April 2.
School Choice Bill Passes Senate Despite Constitutionality Concerns
New Hampshire Public Radio, NH, March 21, 2012
The New Hampshire Senate passed a bill sponsored by school choice advocates that would create a tax credit for businesses that donate to scholarship organizations.
Plans Under Review To Move Jersey City Charter School For The Gifted To ‘Unsafe’ School 41 Location Upsets Parents
Jersey Journal, NJ, March 22, 2012
Parents of students at Infinity Institute, a Jersey City public school for gifted middle- and high-school students, are angry the school district is considering moving the students from the former CREATE Charter School facility to School 41.
Education Panel To Vote On School Co-Locations
NY1 Blog, March 21, 2012
The Panel for Educational Policy is voting tonight on plans for schools to share space inside buildings in the coming school year. This latest round of co-locations is part of the Department of Education’s plan to close failing schools and open smaller ones in the same building with new staff.
Closing of Far Rockaway Charter School Will Go to Court
New York Times Schoolbook, NY, March 21, 2012
A charter school in Far Rockaway in Queens won a temporary restraining order on Wednesday, halting — for the moment — the city’s plans to close the school for poor performance.
Accountability Attacks
News & Observer, NC, March 22, 2012
In the last few years, accountability in our public schools has increased dramatically for teachers. It’s good to have teacher accountability, but where is it for the students? Teachers currently spend precious hours per week collecting evidence to justify the work they do every day. State testing is moving toward measuring teachers more than students. Expected student growth on state tests will be part of every teacher evaluation.
Cleveland Schools Plan Not Necessarily For Other District
Columbus Dispatch, OH, March 22, 2012
In a rare display of bipartisanship, Democratic and Republican legislators from both chambers of the General Assembly declared yesterday that they will work together to pass legislation to overhaul the long-troubled Cleveland school district.
Education Funding Tied To Audit Faces New Questions In Oklahoma
The Oklahoman, OK, March 22, 2012
An investigation by the state auditor and inspector’s office criticized former state schools Superintendent Sandy Garrett’s administration for keeping two bank accounts hidden from members of the nonprofit that held the accounts.
Achievement Compacts Foundation of Governor’s School Plan
The Register-Guard, OR, March 22, 2012
Beginning this year, school districts will have to sign agreements with the state that spell out how they plan to raise the educational achievement bar.
City Rules Against Career Connections Charter School
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, March 22, 2012
The board of Pittsburgh Public Schools Wednesday night voted unanimously against renewing the charter of Career Connections Charter High School in Lawrenceville, which opened in 1999 and has 245 students.
SC Senate Approves Bill That Could Increase Public Charter Schools Statewide
Spartanburg Herald-Journal, SC, March 21, 2012
The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill designed to boost the growth of charter schools statewide. The Senate voted 39-2 Wednesday on a bill that Superintendent Mick Zais calls his top legislative priority. The amended measure returns to the House, which approved its version last year.
Bill Advances, Keeps Teacher Evaluation Rankings Private
The Tennessean, TN, March 22, 2012
Tennessee lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would prevent teachers’ new evaluation rankings from being made public, the same week the state received a C grade from a national watchdog group for its access to public records.
Public Teacher Scores Help Everyone
The Tennessean, TN, March 22, 2012
However well-intentioned, it is not a good idea to hide teacher evaluation scores from the public; for our children’s sake, the legislature should drop the attempt to do so.
IDEA Still Hunting Enrollment
Austin Chronicle, TX, March 22, 2012
Whenever the Austin Independent School District talks about its alliance with IDEA Public Schools, the chatter is always about expanding the portfolio of options for parents and students. But preliminary numbers suggest that East Austin residents are looking elsewhere in that portfolio, as early enrollment numbers have missed the mark.
Lawmakers Advance Bill To Change Education Leadership
Vermont Public Radio, VT, March 21, 2012
Lawmakers have endorsed two bills that backers believe will help improve the quality of education in Vermont . As VPR’s Bob Kinzel reports, one bill affects the role of the commissioner of Education, and the other expands public school choice.
Seattle School Board Votes To Keep Teach For America Partnership
Seattle Times, WA, March 21, 2012
New School Board members had moved to cancel the Teach for America contract with Seattle Public Schools.
Seattle Public Schools Makes Good Investment In Ombudsman
Seattle Times, WA, March 21, 2012
The Seattle Public Schools’ ombudsman hire is a smart gamble to help parents feel heard and to help them navigate a large and complex system.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Haverford School District Gets Into The Cyberschool Business
Delco News Network, PA, March 21, 2012
School officials were briefed last week on the district’s “blended school program,” currently providing online learning opportunities for Haverford students.
St. John Schools Tech Plan Includes Allowing Students To Bring Own Devices To Class
Times-Picayune, LA, March 21, 2012
Students at St. John the Baptist Parish’s two high schools will become part of a pilot program next year that will allow them to bring their own technology devices to school to aid in learning. The Bring Your Own Device pilot is one of several strategies outlined in the district’s technology plan for 2012-14, which also includes goals for increased teacher training, use of virtual schools and videoconferencing.