Daily Headlines: May 24, 2012
Romney on Vouchers
Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2012
President Obama has done better on education than on any other domestic issue, especially in supporting charter schools. But campaigns are about contrasts, and on Wednesday Mitt Romney drew a welcome one by supporting school vouchers.
Mitt Romney Promotes School Vouchers in Attack on Obama’s Education Policy
Washington Post, DC, May 24, 2012
Calling it a “national education emergency,” Mitt Romney said Wednesday that poor and disabled children should be allowed to escape failing public schools by using federal money to attend private schools and other alternative settings.
Romney Calls Education ‘Civil Rights Issue of Our Era’ and Urges Shift
New York Times, NY, May 24, 2012
Lamenting that millions of American children receive “a third world education,” Mitt Romney on Wednesday called for poor and disabled students to be able to use federal funds to attend any public, private or online school they choose.
The War on Teachers Unions
Washington Times, DC, May 23, 2012
Parents would like to choose where their kids go to school, if they could. In a speech to the Latino Coalition’s Annual Economic Summit in Washington D.C., Mitt Romney laid out his case for choice-based education reform. “Here we are in the most prosperous nation, but millions of kids are getting a Third World education,” he said. “And America’s minority children suffer the most. This is the civil rights issue of our era.”
Romney’s Education Agenda: With a Few Edits, It Could Be Great
National Review Online, May 23, 2012
Mitt Romney today released his plan to reform America’s ailing education system. It goes big on school choice and parental empowerment and calls for increased transparency of results. Along the way, it admonishes education unions — and rightly so — for standing in the way of reform.
FROM THE STATES
LAUSD Seeks Applicants for Public School Choice 4.0
San Fernando Sun, CA, May 24, 2012
The Request for Proposal to turn around 13 low-performing schools is being released this week by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to launch the fourth round of the Public School Choice process. Teams of educators are invited to develop a plan for a highly-effective educational program that will also accelerate student performance at each existing school.
Pasadena Middle School May Soon Get Charter Students
Pasadena Star-News, CA, May 23, 2012
A new charter school could soon open on the Washington Middle School campus, intended to serve at-risk children and boost academics.
LASD Parents Weigh In On Proposed District-Charter Agreement
Los Altos Town Crier, CA, May 23, 2012
Based on public input at last week’s board meeting, Los Altos School District parents are unhappy with the tentative agreement the district recently struck with Bullis Charter School .
Teacher Evaluations: January’s Dream Agreement Now On The Rocks
Hartford Courant , CT, May 23, 2012
In what appeared to be a diplomatic feat back in January, the state’s Performance Evaluation Advisory Council heralded an agreement on a new teacher evaluation system.
In Florida, Tutoring Works
Miami Herald, FL, May 23, 2012
For far too long, education in America has ignored the students it is supposed to serve and pandered to the adults who are supposed to help the students. The fights are usually cast as “unions vs. reformers,” or “school choice vs. public schools.”
Group Takes ‘Initiative’ to Bring Charter School to Elgin
Courier News, IL, May 23, 2012
That’s why Schock and several other Elgin residents have started the Elgin Charter School Initiative to research bringing a charter school to the City in the Suburbs.
CPS Teachers Fill Union Rally With Anger Toward Mayor
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 24, 2012
Mayor Rahm Emanuel bore the brunt of criticism from angry teachers who filled the Auditorium Theatre on Wednesday to make clear their unhappiness with the administration’s efforts to overhaul public education in Chicago.
Strike talk? Now?
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 24, 2012
On a recent visit to the Tribune editorial board, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis passed out a glossy 46-page booklet with many ideas about how to boost Chicago school performance, advance teachers’ skills, and bring more parents into the mix to help their children excel. There was a lot to like. But Chicagoans aren’t hearing about education ideas these days.
School Reform Groups Urge No Strike for Chicago
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 23, 2012
Stand for Children, an Oregon-based education reform group that helped pass legislation last year that makes it harder for the Chicago Teachers Union to strike, today joined another reform-driven organization from out of town to urge the union and Chicago Public Schools to continue negotiating and put aside talk of a strike.
Help Wanted On Boards
The Advocate, LA, May 23, 2012
One of the U.S. Senate’s leading promoters of public charter schools is Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.
Maryland Schools Test New Teacher Evaluations
Washington Post, DC, May 23, 2012
All Maryland public school teachers and principals are scheduled to be judged by a new evaluation system, based partly on student test scores, in a little more than one year.
What If The Answer To Urban Education Comes From Outside The Establishment?
Michigan Live, MI, May 24, 2012
If someone found the answer to how to improve inner-city schools, would they be applauded or scorned?
Time To Examine What Public Gets For Tax Dollars That Go To Charter Schools
Kalamazoo Gazette, MI, May 24, 2012
Your recent articles celebrating the opening of the John Engler Center for Charter Schools highlighted the panels comment, “Time to break children free from monopoly of unions, public schools,” maybe its time your newspapers did some investigative reporting of the business of “for-profit” charter schools.
Imagine Process Turns School Superintendent Into Recruiter
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, May 24, 2012
The superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools is facing a humongous task. He has to find space for 3,800 children left behind by the failure of charter schools run by for-profit Imagine Schools.
Emerson Donates $500,000 To Dropout Recovery Charter School
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO,May 23, 2012
A dropout recovery charter school in St. Louis is the recipient of a $500,000 donation from Emerson.
Mission: Recruit, Train, Deploy Best Teachers
Omaha World Herald, NE, May 24, 2012
Teachers are at the forefront of school improvement efforts as urban districts try to turn around the low achievement of poor and minority students. While the districts take different approaches, their efforts to improve staffing of inner-city schools reflect a common theme: It takes coordinated, systematic moves to foster good teachers and spread them to more schools.
State Educational Officials Place Jersey City Charter School On Probation
Jersey Journal, NJ, May 23, 2012
Another Jersey City charter school is in trouble today, less than a week after state education officials shuttered Schomburg Charter School for failing to meet academic standards.
Bx. Families Run For Classroom Exits
New York Post, NY, May 24, 2012
It was like a Bronx stampede. Two South Bronx charter schools in the Success Academy network attracted a stunning 5,900 applications last month from families seeking to avoid the local public schools — even though there were only 190 open charter slots available.
Diversity for Charter Schools
Albany Times Union, NY, May 23, 2012
The state will force charter schools to enroll greater numbers of high-needs students or face closure.
N.C. Education Plans Spur Dissent
News & Observer, NC, May 24, 2012
People can’t say enough good things about making sure students can read by the time they reach fourth grade, one proposal among the sweeping changes Republican senate leaders want in public education. The rest of their plan, however, has not drawn the same praise.
NC Bill Diverts Taxes To Private School Tuition
Citizen-Times, NC, May 23, 2012
Tens of thousands of North Carolina public school students would leave for private classrooms if they got tuition help of up to $4,000 a year funded by corporations able to donate their money instead of paying state taxes, an analysis showed for legislation introduced Wednesday.
Instead of Subsidizing Private Schools, Focus On Public Schools’ Needs
Star News, NC, May 23, 2012
While the Honorables in Raleigh debate how much money the public schools must return to the state treasury next budget year, they’re also busy proposing tax breaks to encourage corporations to give money to groups that provide scholarships to private schools.
DPS Board Calls For Restored State Funding
Herald Sun, NC, May 24, 2012
Durham school board members and about 30 allies of the school system joined Wednesday in calling on the state Legislature to increase public education funding, bolster support for teachers and modify charter school legislation.
Vote On Cleveland Schools In Doubt
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 24, 2012
With his plan to overhaul the Cleveland school district stalled in the state legislature, Mayor Frank Jackson will return to Columbus today to urge lawmakers to approve the legislation this week before they leave for summer recess.
CPS Lauded For Collaboration
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, May 23, 2012
Cincinnati Public Schools leadership and union were held up as examples of collaboration and innovation at a national meeting of educators and leaders in downtown Cincinnati Wednesday.
A Silent Majority for Philadelphia School Choice
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 24, 2012
There’s a myth circulating in Philadelphia these days that families and neighborhoods don’t want more public-school choices. A handful of activists with specific agendas use demonstrations, community forums, and City Council and School Reform Commission meetings to spread this myth.
Penn Partners With KIPP Schools To Expand College Access
Daily Pennsylvanian, PA, May 23, 2012
In an effort to raise college graduation rates for underserved students, Penn has established a partnership with the Knowledge is Power Program, a nationwide public charter school program.
Breaking Up the Economic Segregation in Our Schools
Go Local Prov, RI, May 24, 2012
The highly-regarded school system in toney Barrington has empty seats they’d like to fill. So, they’re inviting non-resident families to pay $12,800 in tuition for up to 10 kids, spread through the grades.
Greg Mathis Charter High Settles Lawsuit Against Charleston County School District
Charleston Post Courier, SC, May 24, 2012
A charter school for at-risk high school students has reached a settlement with Charleston County School District , ending a nearly two-year legal battle about whether the school should remain open.
Bill Would Allow Home-Schoolers In Public School Sports And Clubs
Aiken Standard, SC, May 23, 2012
A home-school measure – which has passed the S.C. Senate and could reach the House floor today, would allow all home-schooled students in the state to participate on the athletic teams and clubs of a public school within the attendance zone in which they live.
Study Says Teacher Pay Is Adequate, But Is It Fair?
News Tribune, WA, May 24, 2012
An important issue at the heart of the debate on public education in Washington is in the hands of a rather obscure group. The Compensation Technical Working Group is made up of some school administrators, school board members, policy experts and a teachers union lobbyist. They are charged with making recommendations on how and how much teachers will be paid.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Shenandoah Valley Aims To Start Its Own Cyber-Charter School
Republican & Herald, PA, May 24, 2012
The Shenandoah Valley School District could become home to its own cyber-charter school, according to the district’s superintendent.
Gov. Snyder: Teachers Should Be Empowered To Expand ‘Blended’ Learning
Michigan Live, MI, May 23, 2012
Gov. Rick Snyder says he wants to expand the use of blended learning in Michigan classrooms, and empower teachers to come up with new ways to work technology into individualized lessons plans.
Virtual School Not An Option For All
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, May 24, 2012
In a Sunday story, State Journal reporter Matthew DeFour wrote “business is booming” at Wisconsin Virtual Academy, an online charter school based in the McFarland School District .