Daily Headlines for August 15, 2012
A High-Tech Fix for Broken Schools
Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2012
“Fixing Our Schools,” a documentary I am hosting for the Fox News Channel this Sunday, looks at how digital learning is being used by schools like those in Mooresville to help fix our broken education system.
FROM THE STATES
ARIZONA
Crane To Further Pursue Charter School Possibility
Yuma Sun, AZ, August 14, 2012
The governing board at the Crane Elementary School District unanimously agreed to have superintendent Bob Klee research further into the possibility of opening a Gowan Achievement Project (GAP) charter school at a meeting Tuesday.
CALIFORNIA
L.A. Teachers Union Urges Members To Ignore Performance Program
Los Angeles Times Blog, CA, August 14, 2012
As L.A. Unified reopened for the new school year Tuesday, the teachers’ union is urging its members not to participate in a voluntary performance review program that ties student test scores to teacher evaluations.
L.A. Formula: New Schools = Better Student Performance. But Why?
Los Angeles Times, CA, August 14, 2012
Twenty new schools are opening this week with the start of the school year. Now a study out of UC Berkeley finds that this massive effort is yielding (pardon the pun) concrete results, at least for children in elementary school.
COLORADO
Carroll: New Scores Vindicate Denver Reforms
Denver Post, CO, August 15, 2012
“In Denver , an innovative group of public school educators is proving that teachers can lead more than classrooms. They can lead an entire school. The Math and Science Leadership Academy is a new union-designed, teacher-led public school within the Denver public school system.”
Aspen Community School Scores Major Grant At Last
Aspen Times, CO, August 15, 2012
The Aspen Community School has won its longstanding battle to receive $4.2 million in state funding to replace its Woody Creek campus.
Teaching’s Transformation
The Coloradoan, CO, August 14, 2012
This dedication to innovation means that a teacher must always be able to act and react to what he or she sees in the classroom, said Mary Hasl, who is in her 12th year as director of the district’s teacher mentoring program.
GEORGIA
Georgia Schools Chief To Oppose Charter Amendment
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, August 14, 2012
Bucking his party on an issue dear to many conservatives, Georgia ‘s Republican education superintendent has come out against a constitutional amendment to guarantee the state’s authority to charter independent public schools.
Getting Schooled: PTA In Cherokee County Spearheads Benefit, Takes On Charters
Cherokee Tribune, GA, August 15, 20121
Cherokee County School District PTA leaders are taking on major challenges this year by spearheading the organization’s first ever district wide benefit and taking a stance on the charter school constitutional amendmet.
Tea Party To Host Meeting On School Choice
Douglas County Sentinel, GA, August 15, 2012
The Carroll County Tea Party Association is hosting an open meeting Thursday night with the hope of informing residents on an amendment to be voted on in November.
ILLINIOS
Educational Choice
Chicago Tribune, IL, August 14, 2012
At the Academy of St. Benedict the African, approximately 200 families gathered in the school gymnasium for a privately funded scholarship lottery draw.
Despite Choice, Most Naperville Students Stay Put
Chicago Daily Herald, IL, August 14, 2012
Just as officials at two Naperville-area school districts predicted, few families, when offered the choice to move from a “failing” school, took the districts up on the offer.
INDIANA
Legislators Question Effectiveness Of New Teacher Evaluation Law
NPR State Impact Indiana , IN, August 14, 2012
Indiana school corporations are required to submit new teacher evaluation programs to the state Department of Education by next month, but some legislators expressed their concerns about the law at an education study committee hearing Tuesday.
LOUISIANA
BESE Oks New Charter Rules
The Advocate, LA, August 15, 2012
A committee of Louisiana ’s top school board Tuesday approved new policies aimed at making it easier to open charter schools.
BESE Puts Brakes On 6 New Schools
Alexandria Town Talk, LA, August 15, 2012
Six new private schools will have to wait until October to find out if they can get state approval to participate in a voucher program, but 377 other previously approved private and parochial schools got one-year renewals.
Private Schools Looking At State’s Curriculum
The Advertiser, LA, August 14, 2012
While most of the 377 private and parochial schools approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are using their own curricula or that or a national organization, several — including some archdioceses around the state — are considering aligning with a new state curriculum.
Louisiana Teachers Hope To Recall Jindal
Daily Caller, DC, August 14, 2012
Foes of school choice and other conservative education reforms have lined up to recall Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. But unlike the intense campaign in Wisconsin , no one expects this effort to even qualify for the ballot.
MARYLAND
Baltimore Schools Chief Notes Areas For Improvement
Baltimore Sun, MD, August 14, 2012
Baltimore’s school system has been in transition over the past five years, and the next five will see more “stops, starts and uncertainties,” with a newfound focus on the classroom, schools CEO Andrés Alonso told principals Tuesday.
MICHIGAN
County’s Fourth Charter School To Open In Brighton Township
Livingston Daily, MI, August 15, 2012
The WSC Academy charter school will open this fall in Brighton Township, the Michigan Association of Public School Academies advocacy group reported Tuesday.
New Michigan Charter Schools Spelling ‘Innovation’ For Fall
Detroit News, MI, August 15, 2012
The academy is one of 31 new public charter schools that will open their doors across Michigan this fall, according to a list released Tuesday by the Michigan Association of Public School Academies.
With Cap Lifted, Advocates Say 31 New Charter Schools Are Opening In Michigan
Grand Rapids Press, MI, August 14, 2012
Thirty-one new charter schools – 10 of them in Detroit — will open this fall after lawmakers lifted the cap on university authorized programs.
MISSOURI
Charter Schools Get Mixed Report Card From State Performance Standards
KCTV 5, MO, August 14, 2012
Some parents see charter schools as an alternative to the Kansas City School District , but they are getting a mixed report card.
NEW JERSEY
Groups Pitch Plans For Hope Act Schools
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, August 15, 2012
Three groups hoping to open the first Hope Act schools in the state made presentations to the board and the public Tuesday night.
Governor Christie Thanks a Teachers’ Union
National Review Online, August 15, 2012
Did hell freeze over? Can pigs fly? Did Chris Christie really thank a teachers’ union in public? He did indeed, because the NJEA supported the Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey (TEACHNJ) Act, a small but significant step in the right direction.
Rockaway Township Teachers To Help Prep Evaluations
The Record, NJ, August 15, 2012
Rockaway Township has been chosen as the only Morris County school district to participate in the second year of the Christie Administration’s teacher evaluation program.
NEW MEXICO
Korte Against APS Pact
Albuquerque Journal, NM, August 15, 2012
Albuquerque Public Schools board member Kathy Korte, saying she has had many frustrations with a few “lousy” teachers over the years, plans to vote against the teachers’ union contract tonight because she says it’s too cumbersome for principals to fire bad teachers.
NEW YORK
Potential Liberty Charter School May Have Longer School Day, Year
Times Herald Record, NY, August 15, 2012
Several parents looking to send their children to a proposed charter school in Middletown say they like the idea that it would offer a longer school day and year.
State Education Reform Panel Collects Testimony in Syracuse
Syracuse Post Standard, NY, August 14, 2012
From parent to superintendent, 20 or so Central New Yorkers spoke this afternoon to a new state education commission that has the ear of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
NORTH CAROLINA
Research Triangle High School Opens Doors For First Classes
Herald Sun, NC, August 14, 2012
Research Triangle High School, a charter school just down the street from RTP headquarters, held its first classes on Tuesday morning.
Legislature Must Handle Charter-School Growth Carefully
Winston-Salem Journal, NC, August 15, 2012
When the 2013-14 academic year opens in 12 months, North Carolina could have one-third more charter schools than it had this past session. That expansion carries much promise and major challenges for state leaders.
OKLAHOMA
State High Court To Decide Fate Of Autism Scholarship
Edmond Sun, OK, August 14, 2012
The state high court will rule on the constitutionality of a scholarship for children with autism and other neurological disorders.
Funding Is Only Part Of Needed Education Discussion In Oklahoma
The Oklahoman, OK, August 15, 2012
The polarizing rhetoric in the last few years over the state of education is disheartening and unproductive. Lawsuits and elections haven’t even begun to bridge the gap between policy and reality.
OREGON
Military-Style Academy Deploys To Goshen School
Register-Guard, OR, August 15, 2012
The academy, which operated under a contract with the Fern Ridge School District , now has an agreement with the Springfield district. State law requires charter schools to affiliate with the district where they are located.
PENNSYLVANIA
Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School’s First Freshman Class Prepares For New Program
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, August 15, 2012
Students at Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School – a new private, Catholic school for low-income students – got a jump start on the academic year Monday.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Coaches Critical Of Legacy Charter’s Recruiting
Greenville News, SC, August 15, 2012
Greenville County high school basketball coaches are crying foul over what they called “unethical” recruiting of their players by Legacy Charter School , a fledgling elementary through high school program that targets disadvantaged students for a physical fitness-oriented, college-prep curriculum.
Charter School Begins Its Third Year of Classes
Spartanburg Herald-Journal, SC, August 14, 2012
The first day of school Tuesday marked three years since Spartanburg Charter School opened its doors.
TENNESSEE
Nashville School Board Defers Action On Great Hearts Academies
The Tennessean, TN, August 15, 2012
After nearly two hours of debate about how to avoid approving a controversial charter school on Nashville ’s tony west side, school board members finally decided to postpone a decision.
VIRGINIA
McDonnell Lands All-Star Lineup For Education Reform Summit
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, August 15, 2012
Richmond is going to be at the forefront of the education reform movement, at least for a day. A packed, bipartisan lineup of local, state and national education leaders has signed on to participate in Gov. Bob McDonnell’s first K-12 Education Reform Summit .
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Communication Problems At A Virtual School Cost One Public School District Money
Michigan Public Radio, MI, August 14, 2012
Officials at a southwest Michigan school district are asking the state’s superintendent to return close to half a million dollars. The state deducted the money from the Gull Lake Community Schools district last school year over mistakes the state says the district made with its new virtual school.