Daily Headlines for August 9, 2012
The Friendly, Neighborhood Internet School
Wall Street Journal, August 9, 2012
Local Internet schools are a promising way to mobilize existing talent. Much infrastructure is required that doesn’t exist. But the parts are all spread out on the table. All we need is to fit them together properly.
F Is For Fewer Bucks
Economist Blog, August 8, 2012
HOW do you improve education? To economists the answer is simple. Pay teachers for performance: if the pupils get good test results, give the teacher a bonus. Attempts to incentivise US teachers to bump up grades have generally proven ineffective, however. The solution, according to a recent research paper finds, is to hand teachers a large sum in advance and dock their pay if students flunk their exams. This gets results.
Teachers Union Leaders To Lawmakers: Education Reform Should Happen With Us, Not To Us
Grand Rapids Press, MI, August 8, 2012
Education reform is something that should happen with teachers, not to them, leaders of the nation’s two largest teachers unions told a national gathering of state lawmakers, calling for a new era of collaboration to solve school problems.
New Jersey’s Fairer Way To Fire Teachers
Los Angeles Times, CA, August 8, 2012
Every time a proposal to reform the hiring and firing of teachers is put forward in California , it’s just as complicated and, in ways, as counterproductive as the current system.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Parent Group Files Legal Brief In Schools’ Case
Los Altos Town Crier, CA, August 8, 2012
A group of local parents and community members who last month formed an alliance to protect and promote their neighborhood public schools has entered the fray between the Los Altos School District and Bullis Charter School .
COLORADO
Test Scores Plummet At Denver School Marked By Cheating Scandal
Denver Post, CO, August 9, 2012
Test scores at Beach Court Elementary, the Denver school at the center of a cheating scandal, plummeted in all subjects and in all grades this year, results of standardized tests released Wednesday show.
DELAWARE
Program Prepares New Teachers
Worcester County Times, DE, August 9, 2012
Research reveals 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within the first five years of teaching. In contrast, more recent studies indicate that 90 percent of public school teachers who participated in a comprehensive, high-quality induction program during their first three years of teaching are still teaching today.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
IG Report: No Widespread School-Test Cheating In D.C.
Washington Times, DC, August 8, 2012
A long-awaited report by the D.C. office of the inspector general says investigators found no evidence of widespread cheating among city public school students from 2008 to 2010, despite alarming testimony that some teachers at Noyes Education Campus in Northeast pointed out incorrect responses on standardized tests until students filled in the right answers.
D.C. Investigates Just One School In Test-Cheating Scandal
USA Today , August 8, 2012
A 17-month investigation into possible cheating on standardized tests at Washington , D.C. , public schools focused on only one school and did not expand to any other school with rising test scores and suspiciously high rates of wrong answers changed to right ones.
FLORIDA
Richard Milburn Academy, Shuttered Tuesday, Still Had Crowd At Its Doorstep
News-Press, FL, August 9, 2012
The Lee County School Board’s late decision Tuesday to close Richard Milburn hadn’t trickled down to all students, some of whom were wearing their school T-shirts and toting backpacks Wednesday.
GEORGIA
Charter School Debate Ramps Up
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, August 8, 2012
Now that TSPLOST has gone splat, political attention has shifted to a new pitched battle: whether the Georgia constitution should be amended to guarantee the state’s power to authorize and fund charter schools.
ILLINOIS
CPS Needs To Fix Pay System
Chicago Sun Times, IL, August 8, 2012
A story in Wednesday’s Chicago Sun-Times confirmed what teachers across the region have long known anecdotally: Teacher pay in Chicago is competitive with the suburbs in the beginning but as teachers gain experience their salaries lag way behind.
IOWA
Parents A Key Piece In School Reform
Des Moines Register , IA, August 8, 2012
Branstad doesn’t suggest a “great doctor in every office” will improve the health of millions of Iowans. Yet his staff has repeatedly said a “great teacher in every classroom” is the way to significantly improve learning. That assumes teachers are doing something wrong now. And that assumption ignores the many variables affecting how well a student does in school.
LOUISIANA
La. School Changing Pregnancy Policy
The Advertiser, LA, August 9, 2012
A Louisiana charter school is changing a policy that kicked pregnant students out of class and required them to be home-schooled, the school’s board chairman said Wednesday.
Vouchers Sideline Athletes
Monroe News Star, LA, August 9, 2012
High school athletes participating in the new Louisiana Scholarship Program won’t be able to play varsity sports this year.
MASSACHUSETTS
Charter School Move Will Cost City
Boston Globe, MA, August 9, 2012
The move of the Academy for Science and Design from Merrimack will not be without cost to the city.
‘A’ for New Evaluation System
Worchester Telegram, MA, August 9, 2012
On the 20th anniversary of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, education reform continues. One of the newest additions to Massachusetts education reform is in development across the Bay State . It involves the complete reworking of the teacher and school administrator evaluation system.
College Hopes Renewed For Lawrence Dropouts
Eagle Tribune, MA, August 9, 2012
This month’s opening of Phoenix Academy-Lawrence, a new alternative high school, will revive college hopes and careers for hundreds of dropouts in the city.
MICHIGAN
School Boards Should Work With EMs
Detroit News, MI, August 9, 2012
The start of school is just a few short weeks away. But instead of focusing on the basics of education, two school districts in Metro Detroit will be locked in power struggles.
MISSOURI
Parents, Students Should Have Choices For School
Columbian Missourian, MO, August 9, 2012
August has arrived and that means many families will begin their back-to-school shopping. Typically, this means buying the right folders, the best backpack and the coolest clothes. But in many places, school shopping is taking on a whole new meaning.
MISSISSIPPI
Speaker Gunn Expects House To Pass Charter School Legislation
Madison County Journal, MS, August 8, 2012
With the Mississippi House now having its first GOP majority in 136 years, conservatives have been able to accomplish some of their goals, including passing a law that requires the Democratic attorney general to disclose more information about private attorneys who do contract work on behalf of the state, House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, told a Neshoba County Fair crowd.
Jeb Bush Pushes Education Reform in Mississippi
Commercial Appeal, TN, August 9, 2012
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is urging Mississippi leaders to follow his state’s example on education changes, and Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is signaling his support for many of Florida ‘s approaches.
With ‘No Child’ No Longer In Play, Nevada Looks To Its Own Strategies, Goals
Las Vegas Sun, NV, August 9, 2012
After months of reviews and revisions, U.S. Department of Education approved Nevada ’s waiver from the stringent requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Hassan: Education Will Drive N.H. Economy
Foster’s Daily Democrat, NH, August 9, 2012
Investments in public education should be an essential part of New Hampshire ‘s economic strategy during the next two years, Exeter Democrat Maggie Hassan said Wednesday during a meeting with the Editorial
NEW JERSEY
Secret Teacher Evals Part Of ‘Compromise’
Daily Record, NJ, August 8, 2012
Gov. Chris Christie, along with legislators and leaders of teacher unions, has lined up to keep the results of teacher evaluations secret from the public, though Christie said the issue was “among certain points of compromise” in a new education bill.
Bragging Rights
The Trentonian, NJ, August 8, 2012
An overhaul of New Jersey ’s 100-plus-year-old teacher tenure policy gives Gov. Chris Christie bragging rights. Being no shrinking violet, he moved without hesitation to exercise those rights.
In It To Win It, Says Founder Of Proposed Staten Island Green Charter School
Staten Island Advance, NY, August 8, 2012
Few people turned out to a public hearing about the Staten Island Green Charter School for Environmental Discovery Wednesday evening — but the school’s application process is well under way, its founder said.
Brentwood Charter School Proposal Stalled
Newsday, NY, August 8, 2012
An application to open a charter school in Brentwood in the fall of 2013 has been stalled by the state university panel that recommends such programs, officials said.
NORTH CAROLINA
Wake Parents Face Long Wait To Register Children For School
News Observer, NC, August 9, 2012
The reason for the change is the new choice-based student assignment plan. Instead of automatically being assigned to a specific school based on your address, families now go to the central office to register and choose from a list of school choices.
Need, Choice
News & Observer , NC, August 9, 2012
And then there’s choice. The former school board majority, created in 2009 and outnumbered after last year’s elections, made a crusade of “choice” and “neighborhood schools,” etc. The problem was, the Wake system’s noble and long-respected assignment plan factoring in economic diversity to assignments threw things into chaos.
PENNSYLVANIA
Newest Propel Charter School Set To Open This Month In Pitcairn
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, August 9, 2012
The newest Propel charter school will open its doors to students Aug. 20, and this time it happened without much controversy.
SOUTH CAROLINA
New School Accountability Grading Baffles Parents At Horry Charter School
The Sun News, SC, August 8, 2012
The state’s new federal accountability system yielded poor marks for several schools in Horry County last week, including Bridgewater Academy, prompting parents from that school to comment during a meeting Wednesday.
TENNESSEE
Nashville Charter Exceeds Expectations In First Year
NewsChannel5, TN, August 8, 2012
The first days of school are all about establishing expectations. At Nashville Prep Charter School , no detail is too small.
Charter School Shifts Part of Ongoing Changes
Memphis Daily News, TN, August 8, 2012
It was just a few months ago that Lakeview Elementary School in southwest Memphis was closed by the Memphis City Schools system – part of a shift of school-age students out of the western parts of the city to the eastern parts of the city and Shelby County .
TEXAS
About Half Of Texas Schools Fail Federal Standards
Austin Statesman, TX, August 8, 2012
About half of all campuses statewide failed to meet federal standards based on the No Child Left Behind Act, and more area schools than ever also missed the mark because of tougher passing standards, according to state data released Wednesday.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Opinion: Cutting the Clutter About Online Charter Schools
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, August 9, 2012
There’s a ruckus at the New Jersey Department of Education. New Jersey’s charter school legislation is 17 years old, dating back to the dawn of the Internet era. It’s showing its age. Commissioner of Education Chris Cerf believes he can use DOE-issued regulations to bring the law up to date. But others think he’s arrogantly bypassing the legislative process.
State Presses Chesco Cyber Charter For Improvements
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, August 9, 2012
Pennsylvania’s education secretary has told a cyber charter school based in Chester County that it must address deficiencies in its operations to obtain a new, five-year operating charter.
District Setting Up Cyber School
Times Leader, PA, August 9, 2012
Superintendent Charles Suppon announced Wednesday the district is in the process of setting up its own cyber school in conjunction with Seneca Valley School District .
Technology Will Generate Benefits And Challenges For Schools
Register-Herald Reporter, WV, August 9, 2012
With 20 percent of American school children attending rural schools, access to computers and high speed Internet at home is becoming a necessity for students out-of-reach of public libraries and public computer labs.
Virtual Learning Programs To Start
The Advocate, LA, August 9, 2012
Tangipahoa Parish schools will implement virtual learning programs for students throughout the parish this school year, but that doesn’t mean students will be sent home with a laptop and forgotten, district officials said.
Opportunities Expand Online
Omaha World-Herald, NE, August 8, 2012
In an online world full of ways to waste time, from meaningless games to some dreadfully bad videos, it might be easy to forget just how useful the Internet can be. State officials this week offered a good example of its value: the new Nebraska Virtual Learning Library.