Daily Headlines for September 21, 2012
Rethinking the Classroom: Obama’s Overhaul of Public Education
Washington Post, DC, September 21, 2012
In 31 / 2 years in office, President Obama has set in motion a broad overhaul of public education from kindergarten through high school, largely bypassing Congress and inducing states to adopt landmark changes that none of his predecessors attempted.
Focusing on Education, With an Eye on the Voters
New York Times, NY, September 21, 2012
The boilerplate for conservatives talking about education usually includes getting more school money into classrooms and out of administration. It usually does not edge into the dangerous ground of teachers’ salaries.
We Will Respect Our Teachers
Star Tribune, MN, September 20, 2012
Write that 100 times — and then act accordingly, because that’s how schools really get better.
Chicago Teachers Strike Shows Teacher Accountability At Charters Differs From Union-Contract Schools
Huffington Post, September 20, 2012
At the heart of the Chicago teachers strike, a historic rift that left 350,000 students in limbo for more than a week, was a question that school systems across the nation are confronting: How much should teachers be accountable for the performance of their students?
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
VISTA Students Scramble To Find New Schools
Stockton Record, CA, September 21, 2012
Huang, 17, was one of the roughly 70 students at Velocity International Science and Technology Academy who learned Wednesday that the new, troubled charter school would be shutting down.
School District Tosses Judge In ‘Parent Trigger’ Battle
San Bernardino Sun, CA, September 20, 2012
A group of parents seeking to take control of their kids’ failing school will have to wait a little longer, as the case moves from one superior court judge to another.
DELAWARE
State Seeks To Clarify Guidelines
The News Journal, DE, September 21, 2012
After two years of work, the state’s education leadership Thursday unveiled new regulations for monitoring and supporting the state’s growing charter-school system.
State to Study Pencader
The News Journal, DE, September 21, 2012
The state Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to place Pencader Charter Business and Finance High School on formal review.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DCPS To Propose School Closures As Resistance Simmers
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 20, 2012
A long-anticipated round of proposed school closures will be announced in the next few weeks, Chancellor Kaya Henderson said Wednesday.
Some D.C. Charters Kick Out A High Percent Of Students
Washington Examiner, DC, September 20, 2012
The Capitol View middle school kicked out 70 percent of its students last school year either temporarily or permanently, according to data released Thursday by the DC Public Charter School Board. At Maya Angelou’s high school campus, 41 percent of students were suspended or expelled last year.
GEORGIA
Savannah’s Oglethorpe Charter School to Increase Enrollment
Savannah Morning News, GA, September 21, 2012
Oglethorpe Charter School officials have agreed to raise enrollment in exchange for a renewed charter and the Savannah-Chatham public school system’s large new building.
Charter Schools: County BOE Resolution Opposes Amendment
Times-Georgian, GA, September 21, 2012
The Carroll County Board of Education signed a resolution Thursday night urging Gov. Nathan Deal and state legislators to “cease efforts to erode local control of public schools.”
BOE Opposes Charter Amendment
The Toccoa Record, GA, September 20, 2012
Georgia voters will choose on Nov. 6 whether to allow the state to participate in allowing charter schools in local communities — a move the Stephens County School System opposes.
ILLINOIS
Did the Chicago Teachers Union Win?
Choice Media, September 20, 2012
The great Chicago teacher strike of 2012 has ended, and it’s time for Ed Reformers to look back and decide what really happened. We know kids didn’t go to school for 7 days. We know the union extracted a 17.6% raise from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and succeeded in getting merit pay dropped from consideration.
Paying For The New Teacher Contract
Chicago Sun-Times, IL, September 21, 2012
Mayor Rahm Emanuel could go a long way toward paying for the new teachers contract — without closing schools, raising class size or laying off teachers — by reversing financial maneuvers he ordered last year to prop up the city budget.
INDIANA
Teachers To Move To Merit Pay
Pharos-Tribune, IN, September 21, 2012
Area school administrators are watching Caston School Corporation this year to see how the corporation carries out the recent state mandate to base teachers’ pay on performance evaluations.
School Vouchers Lawsuit: Indiana Supreme Court To Hear Arguments
Indianapolis Star, IN, September 20, 2012
The Indiana Supreme Court will decide whether the nation’s largest school voucher program violates the state constitution.
LOUISIANA
New Foundation To Benefit Ebr Schools
The Advocate, LA, September 21, 2012
With little discussion, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on Thursday unanimously agreed to form a partnership with a newly created nonprofit foundation that plans to help raise money for the parish school system.
Public School Teachers Fall Short In Efforts To Recall Jindal, Kleckley
Times Picayune, LA, September 20, 2012
Public school teachers seeking to recall Gov. Bobby Jindal and House Speaker Chuck Kleckley said Thursday that they failed in their efforts to oust the Republican leaders.
MARYLAND
Charter Good for Frederick County
Maryland Gazette, MD, September 21, 2012
Frederick citizens will be faced with a number of decisions this November. While many issues are complicated, one question is simple: “Do you approve the adoption of the charter of Frederick County ?” When you learn the facts, it’s clear that charter (government) brings many benefits to our community.
MASSACHUSETTS
Search For Lowell Charter School Site Narrows
Lowell Sun, MA, September 21, 2012
Since the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell received approval to open next fall, school officials have been busily working to find a site for the school in the city.
Area Schools Roll Out New Teacher Evaluation Plans
Daily Hampshire Gazette, MA, September 21, 2012
Teacher evaluations, long a hot-button topic in education circles, are front and center in Massachusetts this year as the state’s “Race to the Top” school districts prepare to implement required new standards for such evaluations.
MICHIGAN
In Michigan’s Reform District, Students Set Their Own Pace For Learning
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 21, 2012
The chancellor of the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan plans to improve the state’s lowest performing schools by dumping traditional teaching methods and giving students a learning plan that will allow them to progress at their own pace.
NEBRASKA
Lawmaker To Propose Smaller OPS Board, Limits On Administrative Compensation
Omaha World-Herald, NE, September 20, 2012
The string of controversies within the Omaha Public Schools is spurring legislative interest in capping administrative salaries, shrinking the board and making other reforms.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Charter School Funding Dries Up
New Hampshire Union Leader, NH, September 21, 2012
State education officials will approve no more charter schools for the indefinite future, after the state Board of Education on Wednesday quickly read and adopted a moratorium that affects schools even in the pipeline.
Principals Get Greater Role In Teacher Reviews
Eagle Tribune, NH, September 21, 2012
Teachers will see the principal in their classrooms more often under a new evaluation process at city schools, Superintendent James Scully said.
NEW MEXICO
PEC Rejects 8 of 9 Charter School Plans
Albuquerque Journal, NM, September 21, 2012
Just one new state-chartered school will open in New Mexico next year, after the Public Education Commission this week denied eight of the nine applications seeking approval.
Parochial Approach Won’t Reform Schools
Albuquerque Journal, NM, September 21, 2012
The community-oriented, community-driven label has an appeal, and a value — for everything from infrastructure improvements to neighborhood policing. People from, and in, an area often have special insight into what that area needs. But when it comes to identifying and implementing best practices in education reform, New Mexico needs to keep all its options open.
NEW YORK
Parents Seen Less Involved In Schools
Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2012
New city statistics are showing a steep decline in parent involvement in New York public schools, giving potential ammunition to critics who say the Department of Education under Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been unresponsive to families.
The ‘Walk For Choice’
The Chronicle, NY, September 20, 2012
In a show of solidarity for having a three school choice option, close to 400 people walked in a silent “walk for choice” to the Greenwood Lake Board of Education’s meeting on Wednesday night, presenting the board with a petition with 647 signatures requesting George F. Baker High School in Tuxedo be part of the choice option for its high schoolers.
PENNSYLVANIA
Gillingham Charter School Athletics Denied Entry Into Schuylkill League
Republican & Herald, PA, September 21, 2012
Varsity sports teams at Gillingham Charter School will not be participating in the Schuylkill League for two years.
Propel School Plan Rejected in Sto-Rox
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 21, 2012
For the second time, the Sto-Rox school board has voted unanimously to reject a charter application from Propel schools to open a K-12 school within the district, an action that ends a two-month discussion between the two sides about possible cooperation.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Hayes, Thompson At Odds On School Choice
The Herald, SC, September 21, 2012
Education reform emerged as a key issue at a candidates forum in Rock Hill Thursday – one state Sen. Wes Hayes’ first challenger since 1992 used to challenge his opponent.
TENNESSEE
Huffman to Talk Money With Metro on Friday
The Tennessean, TN, September 20, 2012
School board Chairman Cheryl Mayes asked for the meeting in a letter on Wednesday after Huffman announced earlier in the week that he would withhold $3.4 million from the school system because board members refused to approve a charter school as it had been directed to do.
Metro Council Calls Special Meeting Over Charter Trigger Law
Nashville Public Radio, TN, September 20, 2012
The chair of the Metro Council’s education committee has called a special meeting to discuss a state law allowing parents to essentially take over school. The never-before-used trigger law permits petitioners to convert a public school into a charter.
TEXAS
Bush Touts Role Of Principals During Visit to KIPP
Houston Chronicle, TX, September 20, 2012
A new student turned up in an East End second-grade classroom Thursday. He wore a suit and tie and stood about twice as tall as the youngsters around him.
VIRGINIA
State Superintendent Proposes Revamped Math Objectives
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, September 21, 2012
Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia I. Wright is proposing to revamp Virginia ‘s annual math objectives with more aggressive standards aimed at closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing schools and students.
Charter Proposal Deserves A Fair Shake
Fairfax Times, VA, September 21, 2012
The efforts of a group hoping to create Northern Virginia’s first public charter school took a hit last week when Fairfax County school officials said much work remains to be done before the school’s application passes muster.
WASHINGTON
Teachers Will Get Earned Merit Pay
Spokesman Review, WA, September 21, 2012
It turns out both sides were wrong: Idaho teachers who earned merit-pay bonuses last year under a controversial school-reform law will get those payments this fall, regardless of the outcome of a Nov. 6 vote on whether to repeal the law.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Virtual Learning Stories Miscast Role Of Nonprofit Foundation
Portland Press Herald, ME, September 21, 2012
“Special Report: The profit motive behind virtual schools in Maine ,” Sept. 2, mischaracterizes the relationship of those championing digital learning as for-profit and essentially conspiratorial.
Charter And Virtual Schools Need More Oversight
Sun Sentinel Blog, FL, September 20, 2012
For my Broward print column today, I wrote about the dark side to the explosion of charter and virtual schools that’s been encouraged by our choice-happy Legislature.
State Panel Turns Down Virtual Charter School Bid
The New Mexican, NM, September 20, 2012
The Public Education Commission on Thursday turned down two Santa Fe-based charter school applicants.