Daily Headlines for September 18, 2012
How Should Teachers Be Reviewed?
San Diego Union-Times, CA, September 17, 2012
School districts nationwide move toward including student performance on standardized tests in staff evaluations
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Franklin-McKinley Launches Middle-School Career Academy
Marin Independent-Journal, CA, September 17, 2012
If charter schools have thrown down the gauntlet over improving the education of poor and immigrant children, Franklin-McKinley School District in San Jose is taking up the challenge.
FLORIDA
Florida Parents Have The Power In Making Education Choices, Advocacy Group Says
Tampa Bay Times Blog, FL, September 17, 2012
With a controversial film about the “parent trigger” as a backdrop, the school choice advocacy group Center for Education Reform has issued a new Parent Power index assessing in which states parents have “access to quality educational options and are provided with good information to make smart decisions about their children’s education.”
Logical Arguments are Lacking Among School Reform Opponents
Sunshine State News, FL, September 18, 2012
Those seeking to maintain the status quo in Florida ‘s public schools seem to think they have come up with a winning argument against competition.
Teacher Evaluation Plans Moving Slowly
Albany Times Union, FL, September 17, 2012
Only seven local school districts have had their teacher evaluation plans approved by the state, despite a looming deadline that could eliminate some state aid.
GEORGIA
Carter: Charter School Amendment Is About Local Control
Savannah Morning Journal, GA, September 18, 2012
If approved, the Georgia Constitution will be amended to allow the General Assembly to create state charter schools that will operate under the terms of a charter between the State Board of Education and a charter petitioner. The amendment requires that all state charter schools be public schools and cannot include private, sectarian, religious or for-profit schools or private educational institutions.
League of Women Voters Rejects Charter-School Amendment
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, September 17, 2012
Opponents to a charter school amendment to the state constitution picked up an ally Monday when the League of Women Voters of Georgia announced its stance.
County BOE To Oppose Charter Schools Amendment
Douglas County Sentinel, GA, September 18, 2012
The superintendent of Carroll County Schools, with the approval of the Board of Education, intends to draft a resolution before Thursday’s meeting concerning the board’s stance against the charter schools amendment.
Trust Issue Now Part Of Charter School Campaign
Peach Pundit, September 17, 2012
Unlike the T-SPLOST, the Georgia charter schools amendment began with a generally high level of public and political support. The measure passed the legislature with more than 2/3 support from each body of the legislature, generating bi-partisan backing required for passage.
ILLINOIS
Judge Delays Chicago Strike Ruling
Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2012
A judge declined on Monday to immediately order Chicago public-school teachers back into their classrooms, rebuffing Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s efforts to end the six-day strike on the grounds that it is illegal.
Classrooms or Chaos
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 18, 2012
All eyes in the city will be on the nearly 800 delegates of the Chicago Teachers Union on Tuesday.
Some Parents Sending Kids To Charter Schools Due To Teachers’ Strike
CBS2 Chicago, IL, September 17, 2012
Public school parents frustrated by the length of the Chicago teachers’ strike are looking for other educational options, and the city’s charter schools have reported a record number of calls.
How to Fix the Schools
New York Times, NY, September 17, 2012
No matter how quickly the Chicago teachers’ strike ends, whether it is this afternoon or two months from now, it’s not going to end well for the city’s public school students. Yes, I know; that’s the hoariest of clichés. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Chicago’s Striking Teachers’ Narrow Interests
Washington Post, DC, September 17, 2012
“THEY WANT TO know if there is anything more they can get.” That astonishing statement by the head of the Chicago Teachers Union tells you all you need to know about the reason for the continued strike of the city’s public schools.
MAINE
Charter School Could Be Better, But We Don’t Know
Kennebec Journal, ME, September 17, 2012
I read the article about the Cornville Charter School in the Morning Sentinel on Sept. 6. A parent said, “It just sounds like a way better school than the public school. If a child is at a third-grade level, they do third-grade reading. They’re not held back with the other children. They’re always advancing forward.”
Maine School-choice Task Force Begins Work On Proposal By Identifying Goals
Kennebec Journal, ME, September 17, 2012
A work group formed by the Legislature met for the first time Monday to start developing a school choice proposal to send back to lawmakers in January.
MARYLAND
Group Files Charter School Application in Dorchester
Star Democrat, MD, September 18, 2012
An application to create the Dorchester Preparatory Public Charter School here was submitted Sept. 4 to the Dorchester County Board of Education by the Maryland Eastern Shore Charter School Alliance.
MASSACHUSETTS
Report Cards For Teachers? New Evaluations Aim To Increase Collaboration
SouthCoast Today, MA, September 18, 2012
School districts across SouthCoast and the state are in the midst of a sea change when it comes to figuring out how to identify and evaluate effective educators.
Charter Schools Suck Dry Our Education Budgets
Cape Cod Times, MA, September 18, 2012
The Cape ‘s school district enrollment challenges were clearly laid out in your well-researched Aug. 26 article.
Honors for Foxboro Charter School
Attleboro Sun Chronicle, MA, September 17, 2012
Boston Magazine has ranked Foxboro Regional Charter School near the top in the state among charter schools.
Deval Patrick Hails MCAS Results
Boston Herald, MA, September 18, 2012
MCAS scores for 10th graders have reached an all-time high since the test was created. According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in the 2012 testing, 88 percent of 10th graders scored proficient or higher on the English Language Arts portion and 78 percent were proficient or higher in the mathematics portion.
MICHIGAN
Charter Company Faces Challenges Running Public School District In First Weeks Of Class
Michigan Public Radio, MI, September 18, 2012
The first two weeks of class have presented some obstacles for Michigan ’s first fully privatized public school district.
NEVADA
Clark County Schools’ ‘No Child Left Behind’ Performance Hits Record Low
Las Vegas Review-Journal , NV, September 17, 2012
Less than a third of Clark County schools made the grade under No Child Left Behind in the 2011-12 academic year, marking a new low for the country’s fifth-largest district.
Clark County Schools Improve On No Child Left Behind Benchmarks
Las Vegas Sun, NV, September 18, 2012
For more than a decade, Nevada’s public schools were required to meet annual academic benchmarks set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
NEW MEXICO
Outsiders Pushing Charter Schools
Albuquerque Journal, NM, September 18, 2012
Among the nine proposed charter schools to be considered this week by the Public Education Commission, two applications come from an El Paso group, one would be fully online and use curriculum from a national, for-profit company, and one would be based on a model that began in Arizona.
NORTH CAROLINA
New Wake Plan Calls For Proximate School Assignments
News & Observer, NC, September 18, 2012
Wake County’s latest effort at a student assignment plan addresses some of the loudest complaints about the current choice plan while keeping some elements that people like about that system.
PENNSYLVANIA
Philly School District Seeks Testimony To Decide Truebright Charter School’s Fate
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 18, 2012
The Philadelphia School District is trying to compel a former administrator from the Truebright Science Academy Charter School to testify during a hearing on whether the school should remain open.
Pittsburgh School Board Wants Extension To Close Racial Achievement Gap
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 18, 2012
A 20-year quest for racial equality in Pittsburgh Public Schools likely will last at least two more years.
TENNESSEE
Nashville Schools To Lose $3M Over Rejection Of Great Hearts
The Tennessean, TN, September 18, 2012
The Tennessee Department of Education is expected to announce as early as today that it will withhold more than $3 million in education funds from Metro Nashville Public Schools in response to the board’s decision last week to reject the Great Hearts Academy charter school application.
VIRGINIA
Patrick Henry Charter School Concerns Aired
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, September 17, 2012
After listening to a list of concerns about their school’s curriculum and the way that curriculum is implemented, officials from the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts said they appreciate the feedback and are eager to go forward.
WASHINGTON
School Strikes of Choice – in Chicago and Tacoma
News Tribune, WA, September 18, 2012
Chicago’s teachers – now into the second week of a citywide strike – don’t need a new contract as much as they need a new union.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
‘Virtual School’ Has Benefited Many Tennessee Families
The Tennessean, TN, September 18, 2012
I read with interest the (Sept. 6) editorial “Kids can’t afford to be set back by ‘virtual school.’ ” As the parent of a very happy Tennessee Virtual Academy (TNVA) student, it is important your readers know the full story.
Virtual School Questioned
Albuquerque Journal, NM, September 18, 2012
Most of the students enrolled in Farmington’s newest charter school don’t live in Farmington. Last month, the New Mexico Virtual Academy began offering online classes to 500 students in grades six through 12, most of whom live in Bernalillo County.
Parent Praises Virtual Schools, Cites Benefits
Wisconsin Dells Events, WI, September 17, 2012
The pressure of dating schoolmates and coping with bullying is off, and children are in full learning mode attending an online, public school where students learn from home, said a Wisconsin Dells area parent whose children are enrolled in the Wisconsin Virtual Academy.
IA: State’s Virtual School Provider Under Fire
Iowa Watchdog, IA, September 17, 2012
Florida’s top education leaders are investigating allegations that a for-profit company that also contracts with an Iowa school district used improperly certified teachers and then had other staff cover it up, according to a new report.
Online School With 200-Plus Students Opens Cody Office
Cody Enterprise, WY, September 17, 2012
A new school in Cody has no classrooms filled with students. But the Wyoming Connections Academy has a goal of offering a public education online program to the entire state, principal Ben Kolb said. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Cody office was held in August.