Daily Headlines for August 17, 2012
NATIONAL COVERAGE
To Train Teachers, a New Lesson Plan
Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2012
Ms. Filippini is part of an experimental and controversial program to improve the results of classroom teaching—a major hurdle for U.S. schools. Morton is run by the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL), a Chicago-based nonprofit group. Modeled after medical residencies, the program places prospective teachers like Ms. Filippini with seasoned educators who shadow them for an entire year.
Report Finds Crisis In Teacher Retentions
Washington Post, DC, August 16, 2012
A COMPREHENSIVE study three years ago by the New Teacher Project showed how U.S. schools generally fail to recognize teacher quality, instead treating all teachers the same. Now comes an even more devastating finding from the group: Even when schools know the difference between good and bad teachers, they make no special effort to retain the good ones.
Tone Is Part Of The Conspiracy Of Learning
Christian Science Monitor, MA, August 16, 2012
Grading teachers is less about what is taught than how it’s taught. Parents should grade teachers on their tone and how they make kids feel cared for and appreciated in the conspiracy of learning.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Charters And State At Odds Over Transitional Kindergarten
EdSource Today, CA, August 17, 2012
The first lesson that the state’s youngest students may learn is about the meaning of words –specifically, words in the state education code that may or may not give these children access to Transitional Kindergarten in charter schools.
Sorry, Teachers, Test Scores Should Count
Los Angeles Times, CA, August 16, 2012
They should never become a dominant factor in evaluating teachers, but improving scores is one part of a teacher’s job and thus has a place in the review.
Bill To Create Statewide Teacher Evaluation System Clears Key Hurdle
Los Angeles Times, CA, August 17, 2012
Measure would effectively eliminate state requirements to use student test scores in evaluating teachers. L.A. district says that would mean ‘less accountability.’
COLORADO
New Denver Charter School Brings Big Aspirations To Students
Denver Post, CO, August 17, 2012
It’s an almost unbelievable sight: about a dozen 4- and 5-year-olds, in what must be the tiniest navy-polo-and-khaki uniforms on Earth, sitting around tables nibbling on peaches and yogurt, not saying a word.
Stone Creek Test Scores Above State Average
Vail Daily News, CO, August 16, 2012
The local independent charter school’s test scores soared above the state average, the school’s administrators say.
FLORIDA
Jacqueline Harris Preparatory Academy Denies Teaching Religion
Pensacola News Journal, FL, August 16, 2012
Four days before the school year begins, Celestine Lewis found herself standing in front of nearly 40 parents, defending the teachers and administrators of Jacqueline Harris Preparatory Academy , where she is director.
GEORGIA
Superintendent Tells It Like It Is In Opposing Charter School Amendment
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, August 17, 2012
State schools Superintendent John Barge goes to the head of the class for his decision to oppose the proposed constitutional amendment empowering the state to override local school boards’ rejection of charter school applications.
Money At The Heart Of The Charter Debate
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, August 17, 2012
State spending on charter schools has emerged as a central element in the debate over whether the constitution should be amended to allow the state to authorize and pay for more charters.
Advocates Push Charter School Amendment
Times-Georgian, GA, August 17, 2012
The founder of 100Dads said Thursday night that academics and fiscal responsibility are among the reasons he supports the establishment of charter schools.
Gwinnett School Board Votes To Oppose Charter School Amendment
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, August 17, 2012
Gwinnett County school officials formally stepped back into the fight Thursday night over state-approved charter schools.
ILLINOIS
CPS Launches School-Locator Website
Chicago Tribune, IL, August 16, 2012
Chicago’s complex public school system, which offers students numerous options for which school to attend and varying entrance procedures, often leaves parents frustrated as they search for the best place for their children.
INDIANA
Real Alternatives In Charter Schools
News Sentinel, IN, August 17, 2012
The point of Indiana’s great charter schools experiment is just that – experimentation. Though they are public schools, charters don’t have to follow all the usual rules and regulations imposed on the rest of those institutions. That leaves them freer to innovate and explore different and possibly better ways to educate.
Vouchers Just One More Option For Indiana Families
News Sentinel, IN, August 17, 2012
ndiana’s statewide voucher program, one of only two in the country, will be in its second year, opening the door for up to 15,000 students to receive a voucher to attend a private school. In the program’s first year, the number of vouchers available was capped at 7,500, but about 4,000 students requested vouchers last school year.
LOUISIANA
Justices Nix Voucher Injunction
Monroe News Star, LA, August 17, 2012
The Louisiana Supreme Court refused to stop the launch of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s statewide voucher program while a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the program winds through the courts.
MASSACHUSSETTS
Menino Demands State Fact-Finding On Boston Teacher Talks
Boston Globe, MA, August 17, 2012
In a rare move, a frustrated Mayor Thomas M. Menino asked state labor ¬officials Thursday to investigate the more than two-year stalemate over a new teacher contract and to recommend a resolution, as he accused union officials of unleashing new delay tactics that could thwart any possibility of wrapping up the talks soon.
MICHIGAN
DPS School Board Plans To Sue The State, Reinstate Teachers
Detroit Free Press, MI, August 17, 2012
In its first meeting since regaining some authority, the Detroit Board of Education voted Thursday evening to sue the state, shake up the district’s organizational chart and ensure that teachers get school assignments soon.
MISSOURI
Judge Rules In Favor Of LS R-7, Two Other Cities
Lee’s Summit Journal, MO, August 16, 2012
In a ruling handed down Aug. 16, Circuit Judge W. Brent Powell ruled the law is an unfunded mandate that violates the Hancock Amendment of the Missouri Constitution for three of the five school districts that had sued the state to block the law.
MONTANA
Gazette Opinion: NCLB Reveals Little About Student Progress
Billings Gazette, MT, August 17, 2012
Over the past decade, U.S. public schools have refocused their time, staff members and students on meeting federal testing standards set in the No Child Left Behind law.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Impact Of Charter School On Conway School District Enrollment Not Yet Known
Conway Daily Sun, NH, August 16, 2012
It’s not yet known what impact the new Robert Frost Charter School will have on Conway School District enrollment, but the Conway School Board would like to find out.
NEW JERSEY
City Schools Enlist Private Firm To Supply Substitute Teachers
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, August 17, 2012
The city school board has contracted a private firm to supply substitute teachers, a change that’s drawn criticism from a union leader.
NEW YORK
16% Of State Educators Failing The Tests: Report
New York Post, NY, August 17, 2012
Roughly 16 percent of New York teachers in grades four to eight are not effective instructors when judged by their students’ scores on state math or reading tests, preliminary data show.
Seeking Real Diversity In New Schools
New York Times Schoolbook, August 16, 2012
Last year, after founding seven charter schools in low-income neighborhoods, Success Academy Charter Schools opened on Manhattan ’s Upper West Side . Soon, we’ll be opening schools in Williamsburg , Cobble Hill and Hell’s Kitchen.
NORTH CAROLINA
Millennium Charter Academy Begins Another School Year
Mount Airy News, NC, August 17, 2012
Millennium Charter Academy opened its school year with many parents and students taking advantage of a cool North Carolina morning to walk their children in rather that the usual car line that often forms at the school.
OHIO
Grading Teachers No Easy Task
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, August 16, 2012
Thomas, the outgoing head of CPS’ Office of Innovation, had the task Monday of presenting the administration’s proposal for a new evaluation policy that judges teachers in part on their students’ academic growth. The meeting didn’t go well. The teachers union is on board with the idea but hated the details.
OKLAHOMA
School Boards Official: It’s Time To Support Excellence In Public Education
The Oklahoman, OK, August 17, 2012
All Oklahoma schoolchildren deserve the best education their local districts can provide. Jenks is a good example of a local district with above-average test scores and community support that provides all that they can for their students.
PENNSYLVANIA
New Coalition Plans To Offer Own Philly Schools Overhaul Vision
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, August 17, 2012
Citing frustration with the Boston Consulting Group’s recommendations for overhauling the troubled Philadelphia School District, a coalition of students, teachers, and community members said Thursday it would develop its own grassroots plan for transforming city schools.
Pottsgrove Won’t Accept Students In New State Voucher Program
The Mercury, PA, August 17, 2012
Students looking to escape “low-performing schools” won’t be able to look to Pottsgrove School District as a place to get their education any time soon.
Spin The Wheel, Win An Education
Reading Eagle, PA, August 17, 2012
With the ultra-positive sounding name “Opportunity Scholarship,” Pennsylvania ‘s new voucher program is being billed as a way for kids whose schools have failed them to escape to greener pastures.
TENNESSEE
Nashville School Board To Revisit Charter Decision
The Tennessean, TN, August 17, 2012
Nashville school officials will reconsider a controversial charter school application in September when a new group of board members takes office.
VIRGINIA
Black Caucus Criticizes New School Testing Targets
The Virginian-Pilot, VA, August 17, 2012
A group of black legislators is taking issue with new testing targets the state has set for public schools that for some races and other demographic groups are much lower than for others.
Hundreds Applaud McDonnell’s Education Reform Agenda
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, August 17, 2012
Through six panel discussions and three keynote speeches, one theme emerged clearly and consistently during Gov. Bob McDonnell’s first K-12 Education Reform Summit .
VERMONT
South Burlington Forced To Offer School Choice Under No Child Left Behind
Burlington Free Press, VT, August 16, 2012
Students at two of South Burlington’s three public elementary schools have a new right to exercise school choice, but they must do so in a hurry.
WASHINGTON
Democrat Legislators: An Honor From The Right
Seattle Times Blog, WA, August 16, 2012
Democratic State Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Bellevue and State Rep. Eric Pettigrew, D-Seattle will be honored as prime sponsors of legislation to legalize charter schools in Washington . They will be joined by the bill’s chief Republican sponsors, State Sen. Steve Litzow, R-Mercer Island and Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City .
WISCONSIN
Schools Get Creative To Attract Milwaukee Students
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, August 16, 2012
The last-minute enrollment thrust before the start of the traditional academic year is under way in Milwaukee, and as more public and private institutions jostle for attention, school leaders are being forced to get savvier about how to attract parents and kids.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Boyertown Ready To Debut Cyberschool
Reading Eagle, PA, August 17, 2012
When the Boyertown School District’s newest school opens Aug. 29, there will be no ribbon-cutting, locker doors slamming or students clamoring in the halls. Instead, it will open to the tune of mice clicking and the silence of students logging into the new Boyertown School District Cyber School .
Virtual Reality
Martinsburg Journal, WV, August 17, 2012
A variety of types of children fall into the “at-risk students” description used by educators for youngsters who may not remain in school long enough to earn their diplomas. Students with behavior problems, those with learning disabilities and children whose home lives are not conducive to education are included.
Iowa’s Virtual Public School Starts their First School Year
KMTV, IA, August 16, 2012
As kids head back to school, technology is taking over some classrooms. This is the first day for a virtual school in Iowa ; known as Iowa Connections Academy . The new public school is free and has a teaching center in Anita.