Advocacy Group Offers a Prototype for Charter School Law
Education Week Blog, October 15, 2012
For the past few years, states have been busy writing and revising their laws on charter schools—in most cases, with an eye toward expansion. Today, a pro-charter advocacy group released a guide meant to give states some direction in this regard.
Seeking Aid, School Districts Change Teacher Evaluations
New York Times, NY, October 16, 2012
In an exercise evoking a corporate motivation seminar, a group of public school teachers and principals clustered around posters scrawled with the titles of Beatles songs. Their assignment: choose the one that captured their feelings about a new performance evaluation system being piloted in their district.
Charting a Future for Catholic Education
City Journal, October 15, 2012
Though they enrolled 5.2 million students at the height of the baby boom, Catholic schools in the United States have struggled with declining matriculation in the decades since and today have just under 2 million students.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Manzanita Boasts Big Growth In Scores
Lompoc Record, CA, October 16, 2012
Manzanita Public Charter School didn’t just meet some challenging federal benchmarks, but scored the highest of any school in the Lompoc Valley on recently released standardized testing scores.
Desert Trails Elementary School Parent Trigger Group To Announce Adelanto Charter School Decision
Contra Costa Times, CA, October 15, 2012
The charter school chosen by a group of parent activists to take over their failing High Desert school will be announced this week, just days after a judge ordered a High Desert school district to stop thwarting their efforts.
Rocklin Charter School Abruptly Shutting Its Doors
CBS 13, CA, October 15, 2012
Students at a Rocklin charter school are being kicked out of their own school, told that after Tuesday, they need to find a new place to learn.
COLORADO
Denver Is Fastest Growing Large Urban School District In The U.S.
Denver Post, CO, October 16, 2012
Enrollment in Denver Public Schools has grown 14 percent over the past five years, making it the fastest-growing large urban district in the country, the district reports.
FLORIDA
Hold Voucher Schools To Account
Tampa Bay Tribune, FL, October 16, 2012
Suppose you were told that a new automobile insurance company in town offered better rates and better service. All other things being equal, would you pursue the matter further?
GEORGIA
Charter Schools Give Kids A Chance
Albany Herald, GA, October 16, 2012
I am a mother of three, a wife of a farmer and a proud PTO parent in rural Southwest Georgia . When our family moved to Morgan to be closer to our family farm, I realized that the public school wasn’t an option for my kids. Some kids may go well in the system, but mine didn’t.
Pro-Charter Amendment Forces Are Trying To Bully Opponents
Macon Telegraph, GA, October 16, 2012
If the pro-charter amendment people are trying to win friends and influence voters to pass the measure in November, they have picked a bad way to do it.
Senate Candidates Disagree On Charter Amendment
Times-Georgian, GA, October 16, 2012
The five District 30 state Senate candidates took different approaches on charter schools during a Monday night public forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters Carrollton-Carroll County.
Cleary: Vote ‘No’ On Charter Amendment
Athens Banner-Herald , GA, October 15, 2012
What happened to the tea party in Georgia ? I thought those conservatives would be out in force against our lawmakers trying to enlarge state government by proposing a constitutional amendment to add a new department to state government to build a state charter school system.
IDAHO
Idaho Education Laws’ Foes Speak Up At Debate In Boise
Idaho Statesman, ID, October 16, 2012
Proponents of Idaho’s controversial Students Come First laws drew polite applause at Monday’s event at Centennial High School , but the near-capacity crowd of about 350 clearly leaned toward the opposition.
ILLINOIS
Ex-U.S Education Official Knocks School Closings As ‘Destabilizing’
Chicago Sun Times, IL, October 15, 2012
Shuttering public schools to reopen new ones won’t fix Chicago’s schools, but it will destroy communities, education historian and New York University professor Diane Ravitch said Monday during a post-strike visit to Chicago .
Teachers In North Shore District 112 Strike After Talks Fail
Chicago Tribune, IL, October 16, 2012
After a negotiating session that lasted until late Monday failed to reach an agreement, teachers in North Shore School District 112 said they would strike today, canceling classes for students in elementary and middle schools in Highland Park and Highwood.
IOWA
Ideas For Education Reform Short On Details
The Gazette, IA, October 15, 2012
The members of the state’s Instructional Time Task Force didn’t agree on everything, but their newly released recommendations share one thread: a commitment to local control.
LOUISIANA
Teachers: Reviews Threaten Their Jobs
The Advocate, LA, October 16, 2012
An increasing number of educators say Louisiana’s new evaluations make it more likely that teachers at high-achieving public schools will get poor reviews, which would threaten their job security.
MARYLAND
Outdoor School Seeks Approval
Frederick News Post, MD, October 16, 2012
Founders of the Frederick Outdoor Discovery Charter School are back for a second time seeking approval from the Board of Education to start a charter school based on environmental and outdoor education.
MASSACHUSETTS
Give Proven Providers A Fair Shot
Boston Herald, MA, October 16, 2012
February is the time when new charter schools are approved in Massachusetts. But too often of late, political considerations have taken precedence over the opportunity charters provide for the commonwealth’s urban families.
MICHIGAN
School Districts Value Best Teachers $1 More Than The Worst
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, MI, October 15, 2011
Some Michigan school districts think their best teachers are worth $1 more than their worst. That’s the amount the Davison Community Schools in Genessee County, and the Stephenson Area Public Schools in Menominee County , pay to be in compliance with the state’s merit pay law, which was put in place when Jennifer Granholm was governor.
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis School District Takes State To Court
Star Tribune, MN, October 16, 2012
The Minneapolis school district is taking the state to court in a $960,000 dispute over charter school rent.
Contested Mpls. School Board Seat May Sway Union Talks
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN, October 15, 2012
The district covers just one-sixth of the Minneapolis population, but the spillover from the city’s most hotly contested school board race could shape the board’s negotiating posture for the next teacher contract.
NEW JERSEY
Big Charter Network Looks South to Camden for Expansion
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 16, 2012
The Urban Hope Act has drawn a lot of attention to Camden and plans for its public schools. But another story line is the opportunity the new law is affording the TEAM network of charter schools that are at the center of the city’s most prominent proposal.
NJ Parents Petition State For Better Education For Children
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 16, 2012
The parents of three Camden public school students filed a petition Monday asking the state Department of Education to immediately transfer their children to higher-performing schools at state expense, arguing that Camden had failed to meet New Jersey ‘s constitutional requirement of providing a “thorough and efficient” education.
NEW MEXICO
Starting Reform At The Top
The New Mexican, NM, October 15, 2012
Superintendent Joel Boyd isn’t wasting time in his charge to help reform the Santa Fe Public Schools. First up is his discussion about how best to structure secondary education, with a focus on what is happening at the city’s two high schools — Santa Fe and Capital.
NEW YORK
Proposals to Redraw School Lines Raise Alarm
New York Times, NY, October 16, 2012
Few issues have the potential to make parents and real estate brokers sweat like the system called zoning, which determines where children attend school and can inflate property values on certain blocks.
Co-location in Harlem Schools: Crowded Hallways, Shared Classrooms
The Uptowner, NY, October 15, 2012
Students at Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing Arts in Harlem stampede out of their classrooms. A sea of blue and orange, gold and maroon, and white uniforms fill the halls as students from three different schools travel to their next classes. They share a gym, auditorium and cafeteria, but each school starts and ends at a slightly different time.
NORTH CAROLINA
Accrediting Group Concerned About Firing Of Tata
News & Observer, NC, October 16, 2012
Civil rights and liberal groups that once turned to an accreditation group in their fight against the Wake County school board are now finding that turnabout may be fair play.
OHIO
Grad Rates Tumble Under New Rule
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 16, 2012
Call it the ugly truth. Many Ohio schools saw their graduation rates plummet after the state required them to track whether every high-school senior earned a diploma within four years. About 85 percent of the state’s high schools have lower graduation rates for the Class of 2011 than they did for the Class of 2010 because of the new way to calculate those rates, which the state says is more accurate.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City Public Schools Outlines Race to the Top Grant Wish List
The Oklahoman, OK, October 16, 2012
Oklahoma City Public Schools will request more than $30 million in federal funding to create five programs designed to personalize student learning. The Race to the Top grant must be submitted this month.
PENNSYLVANIA
U.S. Says Pa. Was Not Authorized To Change Charter Progress Rules
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 16, 2012
The U.S. Department of Education says the Pennsylvania Education Department “acted prematurely” when it changed rules for how charter schools can meet academic-performance standards on the annual PSSA achievement test.
New Website To Help Parents Find ‘Great Philly Schools’
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 16, 2012
LUCIANA BOONE is a parent of a freshman at Philadelphia High School for Girls and an eighth-grader at KIPP West Philadelphia Charter School.
I-LEAD School Notes Latinos’ Role In U.S. History
Reading Eagle, PA, October 16, 2012
Reading’s I-LEAD Charter School celebrated the last day of National Hispanic Heritage Month with a discussion Monday afternoon of the role Latinos have played in American history.
Pa. Senate Approves Some Charter School Regulations
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 16, 2012
A state Senate panel Monday approved a set of changes to the regulation of charter schools that legislative leaders say is headed to the governor’s desk.
Latest Charter-Reform Bill Better, Still Needs More Work
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, October 16, 2012
It may be that the truth contains a little of each of these pictures. A charter reform bill being fast-tracked in Harrisburg that could be voted on as early as today may clarify some of these conflicting views. But for all its positives, the overall bill doesn’t go far enough.
TENNESSEE
Great Hearts Charter School Dispute Costs Nashville $3.4 Million
The Tennessean, TN, October 16, 2012
Despite the urging of Metro officials, the Tennessee Department of Education carried out its promise to withhold $3.4 million from Nashville’s public schools as a penalty for denying the controversial charter application of Great Hearts Academies.
Nashville Council Members, Parents Meet To Discuss School Trigger Law
The Tennessean, TN, October 15, 2012
Metro Nashville Councilwoman Emily Evans, the catalyst behind a discussion Monday about Tennessee ’s “parent trigger” law, said she has no idea who might want to use the information to turn a Metro public school into a charter school.
Knox County School Board Pleased With Evaluation Scores
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, October 16, 2012
Thirty-four percent of Knox County teachers received a 4 under the new evaluation system that requires that every teacher be evaluated every year. While 35 percent received a 5.
TEXAS
School Finance Reform Will Require Margins Tax Reform
San Antonio Express, TX, October 15, 2012
The state of Texas is headed back to court this month for the latest round in a never-ending battle over public school finance.
Charter Schools Can Work, But Be Careful How You Fund Them
Austin Statesman, TX, October 15, 2012
Before there were charter schools, there was Andrew J. Asch, Jr., prominent Jewish philanthropist and businessman of Richmond, Va. He resurrected decaying cotton warehouses, protected the historic slave market, made “The Bottom” and “The Slip” livable, and started a school.
VIRGINIA
Richmond School Board Talks About Future Of Patrick Henry Charter School
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, October 16, 2012
The future of the city’s charter elementary school was the subject of much discussion Monday, even though no one from the school was on hand to participate.
WASHINGTON
Why Initiative 1240 Won’t Work For Washington State : The Abbreviated Version
Capitol Hill Seattle, WA, October 15, 2012
The only part of a charter school that is a public school, according to this initiative, is the use of tax payer funds. Initiative 1240 circumvents our State Constitution because it would set up an alternative state school system not under the supervision or oversight of the Superintendent of Public Instruction or the local school board.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
PA Cyber Restructures Administrative Team
Beaver Valley Times, PA, October 15, 2012
After the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School adopted a new administrative structure, its first-year chief executive officer said the school’s evolution is not related to a federal investigation that visited the school in July or discouraging state test scores revealed in September.
New Cyber Charter School Could Be Based In West Easton
WFMZ, PA, October 15, 2012
Wilson Area School District is feeling the need to compete with cyber charter schools, a way for students to complete their education without even stepping foot inside a school.
More Wisconsin Kids Going To Virtual Schools
WHBL, WI, October 15, 2012
More Wisconsin youngsters are going to school on a computer instead of in the classroom. Just over 4,900 K to 12 students attended the state’s virtual schools a year ago.
Gap Family Invests In Fund To Launch 25 Local Schools
San Francisco Chronicle, CA, October 15, 2012
A San Francisco nonprofit plans to announce a $25 million fund Monday to create Bay Area schools focused on “blended learning,” the concept of coupling traditional teaching with online resources to improve student performance.