Daily Headlines for September 6, 2012
Learning as Freedom
New York Times, NY, September 6, 2012
IN March, a task force organized by the Council on Foreign Relations tried to reframe the problems of the nation’s public schools as a threat to national security. “Large, undereducated swaths of the population damage the ability of the United States to physically defend itself, protect its secure information, conduct diplomacy, and grow its economy,” it warned, while also referring to students as “human capital.”
The Sad, Sad School District Michelle Obama Mentioned
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 5, 2012
Students who live in the district can also go to one of the several charter schools, which include on-line charters. About 45 percent of the district’s students go to charter schools, including the state’s largest. Some of the charter schools perform better than the traditional public schools in the district, and some worse — so they are no panacea.
FROM THE STATES
ARKANSAS
9 New Charter Schools Proposed, Including 1 in Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff Commercial, AR, September 5, 2012
The state Department of Education’s public charter school office received nine applications for new open-enrollment charter schools, including one in Pine Bluff , officials said Wednesday.
CALIFORNIA
Judge Must Rein In Defiant School Board
Press-Telegram, CA, September 5, 2012
Parent empowerment? No, more like parent roadblock. That’s the role assumed by trustees of the Adelanto School District up in the high desert of San Bernardino County in response to parents’ attempt to exercise the state’s Parent Empowerment Act.
COLORADO
Dougco Schools Pass On Ballot Issue; Vote To End Talks With Union
Denver Post, CO, September 6, 2012
The Douglas County School Board voted Wednesday night to end discussions with the union over the collective-bargaining agreement and to no longer pay union leaders’ salaries with public funds.
DELAWARE
Classroom Spending Gets Better Grades
The News Journal, DE, September 6, 2012
If all public Delaware schools followed the example of the districts with the highest classroom spending, there would be about $21 million more available for teaching the state’s schoolchildren, according to a report released today by the lieutenant governor.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
At Options Charter, Football Offers Alternative To Troubled Youth
Washington Post, DC, September 5, 2012
The boys gathered on the bleachers, their sweat still glistening under the scorching sun. The afternoon’s football practice had been an especially difficult one. But no one complained.
Teachers Union Chief: No More Recall Efforts
Washington Times, DC, September 5, 2012
The resounding victory of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, in a recall election earlier this year has caused the head of the nation’s largest labor union to change his game plan.
GEORGIA
Georgia Charter Schools Amendment Gets Boost From RNC
Atlanta Journal Constitution Blog, GA, September 6, 20123
In a state as red as Georgia, local suspense concerning the presidential race died with March’s GOP primary. Nor will any coattails worn by Mitt Romney sweep across our red clay: The only contested statewide races for November are the oft-neglected ones for the Public Service Commission.
Savannah’s Oglethorpe Charter School Won’t Be Renewed Until Enrollment Demands Met
Savannah Morning News, GA, September 6, 2012
Now that Oglethorpe Charter School is all moved into its beautiful new $21 million, 600-student-capacity building, the Savannah-Chatham public school board is threatening to put them out unless enrollment is increased.
ILLINOIS
Chicago Parents Prepare For Possible Teachers Strike
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 6, 2012
Second-grader David Nesbitt can’t debate the pros and cons of a longer school day or explain exactly why his teachers are demanding more pay. But he does know what it means to go on strike.
LOUISIANA
Report Backs Evaluating Teachers On Test Scores
The Advocate, LA, September 6, 2012
Linking public school teacher job evaluations to student achievement, which Louisiana is starting this year, is a solid indicator of how effective teachers will be in the future, according to a report issued Wednesday.
MAINE
School Reform Grant Program Draws Little Interest in Maine
Portland Press Herald, ME, September 6, 2012
Most state districts are too small to qualify and conditions can be difficult to follow.
Winners Drawn In Cornville Charter School Lottery
Kennebec Journal, ME, September 6, 2012
Parents in the bingo-style lottery determining which children could attend the new Cornville Regional Charter School fist-pumped the air Wednesday night, but nobody yelled “bingo.”
MASSACHUSETTS
Orchard Gardens Basks In Spotlight At Democratic Convention, But Work Remains
Boston Globe, MA, September 6, 2012
As an art teacher walked down a quiet hallway at the Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School on Wednesday, she smiled at the sight of three eighth-graders helping to move chairs. “You can’t get enough of this place, huh?” she asked.
Mixed Reviews For Gov On Stage
Boston Herald, MA, September 6, 2012
The Orchard Gardens Pilot School (funny how he left out the “pilot” part) is indeed a success story. Although relatively new (built in 2003) its students had among the lowest test scores in the city. The fact that it had six principals in seven years didn’t help.
Is Top-Ranked Massachusetts Messing With Education Success?
Christian Science Monitor, MA, September 5, 2012
Massachusetts public schools produce students who are top in the nation in reading and math. Here’s what the state did to get there, and here’s why its shift to the new Common Core standards worries some experts.
NEW JERSEY
Group Calls For School Changes
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, September 6, 2012
Gov. Chris Christie’s education task force on Wednesday called for hundreds of changes intended to ease “over-regulation” in the state’s schools.
Too Early to Guess TEACHNJ Impact on South Bergen
The Record, NJ, September 6, 2012
The governor signed legislation which will reform teacher evaluations and the tenure system. Proponents and opponents alike in the education community have expressed strong opinions about the changes to the tenure system, but how new evaluation systems will impact districts remains largely speculative at this point.
NEW YORK
Teachers Union President Michael Mulgrew Sandbags Kids By Stalling on Evaluation System
New York Daily News, NY, September 6, 2012
The school year is only beginning, and already the score is: United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, 1, Students, 0.
Tough Truths About Charters
New York Daily News, NY, September 6, 2012
Is it possible for charter schools to increase educational options and diversity in the public school system but decrease diversity overall; to spend less money than regular public schools but cost taxpayers more overall, and to outperform regular public schools but decrease achievement overall?
Pushing for Class Size of One
Wall Street Journal, September 5, 2012
Private schools have always praised the value of intimate classes, where teachers and students have a chance to connect.
Buffalo Schools To Go Ahead With Teacher Transfers
Buffalo News, NY, September 5, 2012
The Buffalo Public Schools will move forward with plans to involuntarily transfer 54 teachers out of three low-performing schools, district officials said Wednesday.
NORTH CAROLINA
State Board to Vote on 25 New Charter Schools
News & Observer, NC, September 5, 2012
The State Board of Education is expected to give preliminary approval to 25 new charter schools Thursday, putting them on track to accept students in fall 2013.
PENNSYLVANIA
Number Of ‘Persistently Dangerous’ Phila. Schools Drops
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 6, 2012
The number of schools deemed so unsafe that parents have the choice of sending their children elsewhere has dropped 50 percent citywide.
Corbett’s Aggressive Charter Push Could Cost PA Money — And Oversight
Philadelphia City Paper, PA, September 6, 2012
Gov. Tom Corbett has cut $860 million from the state’s public schools; now, he seeks to remake them. Into what is increasingly evident: an ever-growing number of charter schools.
Appeal Filed for Charter School in Wilkinsburg
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 6, 2012
A former Wilkinsburg student trying to start a charter school in the borough is filing an appeal after being denied a charter by the school board for the fourth time.
SOUTH CAROLINA
School ‘Choice’ Isn’t The Path To Enrollment Diversity
Post and Courier, SC, September 6, 2012
Philosopher and essayist George Santayana wisely said, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” I thought of his words when I read Monday’s Commentary page column by Leroy Connors, Park Dougherty and Arthur Lawrence.
TENNESSEE
Charter School in Nashville’s Affluent West Side Still Serves Mostly Poor
The Tennessean, TN, September 6, 2012
Parents pushing a new charter school for Nashville’s affluent west side say their children need a more rigorous curriculum with higher student expectations than traditional public schools can provide.
VIRGINIA
Wise Retreat
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, September 6, 2012
State education officials wisely have decided to revisit and revise new testing standards that treat students differently based on race.
VA: ‘At-Risk’ Fairfax Charter Puts State’s Largest School District to the Test
VA Watchdog, September 5, 2012
As Fairfax County considers launching Virginia’s fifth charter school, the exercise is proving to be a steep learning curve.
WASHINGTON
State Schools Chief Critical Of Charter School Measure
Everett Daily Herald, WA, September 6, 2012
When it comes to charter schools, there are right ways and wrong ways of nurturing them to success.
WISCONSIN
Marquette to Sponsor Cristo Rey Charter School
Marquette Tribune, WI, September 6, 2012
This year, Marquette will sponsor a new charter school coming to Milwaukee through the Jesuit Catholic Cristo Rey network. Students attending these schools go to class four days a week and work with participating businesses in the community on the fifth day in order to afford tuition and learn work-readiness skills.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Kutztown School District Names Leader of Cyberschool
Reading Eagle, PA, September 6, 2012
The Kutztown School Board named a veteran educator to spearhead the reorganization of the district’s cyberschool.
Kids Can’t Afford To Be Set Back By ‘Virtual School’
The Tennessean, TN, September 6, 2012
“Virtual schooling” has had a rough first year in Tennessee, with its students performing poorly on standardized tests.
Virtual Academy: Trust, But Verify
Commercial Appeal, TN, September 6, 2012
Tennessee has a lot of irons in the fire as it puts into effect tactical programs to boost student test scores.
Back to School at Home: 3,000 Attend Online Academy in Oregon
KVAL, OR, September 5, 2012
For 5th grader Shelby Kurien, school is waiting downstairs. Shelby is one of a growing number of kids that go to Oregon Connections Academy, a virtual charter public school.