The Evil Empire Strikes Back
Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2012
Education reformers had good news at the ballot box this month as voters in Washington and Georgia approved measures to create new charter schools. But as the reform movement gathers momentum, teachers unions are giving no quarter in their massive resistance against states trying to shake up failing public education.
What We Learned About School Reform
Press Democrat, CA, November 18, 2012
Teachers unions remain the Goliath to the school reformers’ David, even in red states. That was the lesson from votes this month in Idaho and Indiana , where unions successfully took on or took out Republican school superintendents.
FROM THE STATES
ARIZONA
Critics: Arizona Lax On Charter Purchasing Practices
Arizona Republic, AZ, November 17, 2012
Education experts and some legislators are critical of Arizona’s lack of oversight when it comes to how charter schools purchase goods and services.
Insiders Benefiting In Charter Deals
Arizona Republic, AZ, November 17, 2012
Board members and administrators from more than a dozen state-funded charter schools are profiting from their affiliations by doing business with schools they oversee.
CALIFORNIA
Charters Are A Strategy, Not A Solution
Press Democrat, CA, November 18, 2012
Almost one of every four K-12 students in Sonoma County attends a charter school. That figure has practically doubled in just two years, and it’s likely to keep growing for a couple of reasons.
COLORADO
Appellate Court To Hear School Voucher Case
Denver Post, CO, November 19, 2012
The Colorado Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the Douglas County School District ‘s voucher program.
CONNECTICUT
Voters Have Spoken: No Corporate School Reform
Stamford Advocate, CT, November 18, 2012
In this age of instantaneous global communication, it is incredible that a simple message sent by voters in Bridgeport has not reached leaders in Hartford, just 50 miles away.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Quality Controls Lacking For D.C. Schools Accepting Federal Vouchers
Washington Post, DC, November 17, 2012
Congress created the nation’s only federally funded school voucher program in the District to give the city’s poorest children a chance at a better education than their neighborhood schools offer.
Henderson Aims To Avoid Mistakes Of Prior D.C. School Closings
Washington Post, DC, November 18, 2012
D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson faces twin challenges as she prepares for the second public hearing Monday on her plan to close 20 of the city’s schools: Persuading skeptical parents and politicians that a smaller school system will be stronger, and that she will avoid mistakes her predecessor made during the most recent round of closures.
What Will Come Of The Buildings On D.C.’S Closed-School List?
Washington Post, DC, November 18, 2012
It prompted hours of D.C. Council testimony, public shouting matches at neighborhood meetings and street demonstrations where protesters called on the mayor to be jailed.
Looking At Charter Schools, Apples To Apples
Washington Examiner, DC, November 18, 2012
Not all charters are created equal. Some of them outperform the schools in Ward 3. Some of them — about 10 of the 57 in town — appear to be completely failing. But one reason the charter system works, and will continue to improve, is that its independent board can (and does) shut down worst laggards each year and replace them with new and better charter schools.
FLORIDA
St. Johns Schools Superintendent Votes Against Charters’ Public Money
Florida Times-Union, FL, November 18, 2012
A state-appointed group of public school and charter school officials and parents deadlocked Friday on a proposal that would have forced public school districts to raise taxes to pay for privately operated charter school construction, or take money out of public school operational funds to build charter schools.
Charter Schools Look To Raise Staff, Teacher Pay
News Chief, FL, November 18, 2012
In the wake of Polk County School District teachers getting a “step” raise this year, Lake Wales Charter Schools officials are looking at ways to compensate their teachers and support staff.
GEORGIA
Georgia Schools Lay Unequal Foundations For College
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, November 18, 2012
The paths of these top students illustrate the uneven preparation for college provided by Georgia schools.
Charter Evening School Proposed
Madison Journal GA, November 19, 2012
The charter high school would give students at risk of dropping out another classroom alternative, allowing them to work at their own pace to complete school. Likewise, students could maintain a day job while going to school at night.
Charter Schools, Dual Enrollment Concepts On The Rise
Rome News Tribune, GA, November 17, 2012
Local school officials went overtime in discussing the hows and whys of developing a charter school system and completely separate charter college and career academy during day two of the College and Career Academy Summit in Rome on Friday.
IDAHO
How To Help Our Teachers
Coeur d’Alene Press, ID, November 18, 2012
Tom Luna stepped in it again. At least, that’s what some critics claim after Idaho’s superintendent of schools called anew for stronger teacher evaluations and rewards before the dirt on education reform’s grave had properly hardened.
ILLINOIS
Chicago Public Schools: A Tale Of Two Schools Reflects Our Economic Woes
Washington Times, DC, November 18, 2012
Lincoln Elementary and Salazar Elementary schools are located about two miles away from each other on Chicago’s affluent near-north side. Both schools are part of the same district and have access to the same resources, and deal with the same bureaucracy, provided by the district.
IOWA
Iowa Teacher Unions Face New Challenges
KCRG, IA, November 19, 2012
The question reads like one featured on a standardized test: What is the solution to fixing America ’s education system? People on all sides of the debate favor various solutions — increased funding, smaller class sizes, longer school days — but increasingly one group of people is at the center of the debate: teachers.
LOUISIANA
Questions Raised About Nonpublic Schools’ Approval
Monroe News Star, LA, November 19, 2012
Louisiana’s Constitution and a court decision require that for any nonpublic school to receive state funds the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education must certify that it has “curriculum or specialized course of study of quality at least equal to that prescribed for similar public schools.”
Louisiana’s Educators Enter A New World With Evaluations And Their Consequences
Times Picayune, LA, November 17, 2012
Teachers in Louisiana have all but lost the tenure rules that once protected their jobs. Beginning this year, all 50,000 of them will be evaluated and ranked on an annual basis, often with test scores factoring in heavily. Soon, consistently “ineffective” teachers will no longer be welcome in the classroom.
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Schools Asking Parents For A Leap Of Faith
Boston Globe, MA, November 18, 2012
Central to the agita over remaking Boston’s byzantine school assignment system is a chicken-and-egg conundrum. The city wants more parents to choose schools close to home, believing that will help improve them. But many parents want to see those schools improve before they’ll send their kids to them.
MICHIGAN
Romulus Cheats Kids In Blocking Charter
Detroit News, MI, November 19, 2012
For the past month, a charter school company based in West Michigan has had its sights on a school building for sale in Romulus . PrepNet currently runs three high schools in the state and would like to expand.
Critics Say School Funding Overhaul Is ‘Cart Before Horse’
Detroit News, MI, November 19, 2012
State policymakers and educators will get their first look today at a massive overhaul of Michigan ‘s public education funding system that already is being labeled a vehicle for school vouchers.
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis School Election Has National Implications
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN, November 18, 2012
The campaign that put Josh Reimnitz on the Minneapolis school board this fall may go down as the one that brought money from national school-reform advocates to bear on a contest traditionally dominated by DFL endorsements and union money.
NEW JERSEY
Newark Contract Marks High Point of Christie Education Agenda
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 19, 2012
Gov. Chris Christie clearly placed education at the top of his priorities from the day he was elected three years ago, making his very first stop a Newark charter school and promising a host of reforms to come.
NEW MEXICO
Charter Objectivity Questioned
Albuquerque Journal, NM, November 19, 2012
School board members squared off Friday after one board member pressed another on whether her position as a charter school administrator creates a conflict of interest on charter issues.
NEW YORK
Private School Goes All In With Tech
Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2012
Educators have experimented with technology for decades, starting with dusty computer carts shoved into corners in the 1970s, but perhaps no school in the nation has integrated digital tools into the classroom on the scale of Avenues, which opened in September.
Charter Proposal Has To Win The Support Of Parents
Buffalo News, NY, November 18, 2012
By and large, we are in favor of any and all strategies that will improve the education that Buffalo school children are constitutionally entitled to receive.
As Deadline Nears, Contract Talks Hold Up Evaluations
Star Gazette, NY, November 18, 2012
Disagreements over school employees’ salary and benefits — not the new state-mandated teacher evaluations — are what’s stalling some New York districts and their union partners from submitting performance assessment plans by a January approval deadline.
Charters Upset Learning Balance
Albany Times Union , NY, November 17, 2012
Chris Bender of the Brighter Choice Foundation insults proponents of public school education in Albany when he writes in his commentary (“Charter accountability paying off,” Nov. 12), “Oh, by the way, the failure of all 15 schools in the City School District of Albany is obvious.”
NORTH CAROLINA
Charter Schools Board Makes Move Toward Careful Expansion
Winston Salem Journal, NC, November 18, 2012
In a little-noticed move, the State Board of Education has reinforced North Carolina’s charter schools expansion. With our political leaders firmly behind charters, the state is clearly headed towards a greater reliance on them. The 100-charters cap that stood for more than a decade is gone and there could be as many as 130 charters operating next year.
News 2 Investigates Whether Charter Schools Are Working In NC
WFMY News 2, NC, November 18, 2012
We’ve all heard criticism about our public schools over test scores, class sizes or staff. As an alternative, the state started dozens of charter schools.But are they working?
Fund, Reform Public Education
The Daily Reflector, NC, November 19, 2012
North Carolina Republicans’ historic success on Nov. 6 gave the party control of both the executive and legislative branches for the first time in more than a century, empowering GOP leaders to advance their agenda without interference. Reform of the state’s public education system has long been among those priorities and lawmakers have already signaled their willingness to tackle that issue when they convene in Raleigh .
OHIO
A School-Rating Revamp?
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 19, 2012
Changes over two years would include going to A-F system, raising academic standards
Charter School Is About ‘Choice,’ Say Staff at Believe to Achieve Academy
Canton Repository, OH, November 18, 2012
The gorgeous marble main floor of what was once the famed Stern & Mann department store now reverberates with the echo of school children.
PENNSLYVANIA
Camden’s Use Of State Funds To Help Charter Debated
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 18, 2012
As part of the $175 million state takeover fund given to Camden in 2002, $7 million was set aside for business lease grants to stimulate business growth throughout the city.
Three Charter Schools Could Open In Erie Area
Erie Times-News, PA, November 19, 2012
Three new charter schools are hoping to open in the Erie area for the 2013-14 school year, including one led by a former Erie School Board member.
New Charter Schools Hoping To Take Wing In City, County
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 19, 2012
As many as four new charter schools could open in Pittsburgh next fall, and others are in the works for elsewhere in Allegheny County.
Ambitious Plan Questioned As Chester Upland Looks To Rebuild School System
Delaware County Times, PA, November 18, 2012
There has not been a lack of proposals to rescue the Chester Upland School District during the last two decades as it has often wallowed in a pool of red ink — both financially and academically.
Failure To Reform Charter Funding Leaves Pa. Pension Bubble On The Table
Mercury News, PA, November 18, 2012
The legislative quagmire that is Pennsylvania’s charter school funding formula once again went unaddressed this legislative session.
TEXAS
School Vouchers No Bargain For Students
San Antonio Express, TX, November 19, 2012
I desperately wanted out of that Southern California high school, which was demanding when it came to safety but undemanding, it seemed to me, when it came to academics.
WASHINGTON
Up Next For Charter Schools: Plans, Panels And Lawyers
The Columbian, WA, November 18, 2012
Now that voters have spoken about charter schools, will the new, independent public schools be an option at the beginning of the next academic year? It seems unlikely.
It’s Time To Make Charter Schools Work For Washington State
Seattle Times, WA, November 17, 2012
Voters have spoken on charter schools. Gov.-elect Jay Inslee and other leaders should get started creating innovative, high-quality charter schools.
WISCONSIN
22% Of Potential MPS Students Now In Charter Schools
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, November 18, 2012
At many traditional public high schools, the last bell of the school day signals the imminent transition to extracurricular activities, from musical rehearsals to sports practices.
State Upgrades Principal Evaluations
Wausau Daily Herald, WI, November 19, 2012
Several Wausau School District principals are participating in a pilot program created to refine and standardize the way school leaders are evaluated.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Manchester Plan Would Put Students In ‘Virtual’ Courses, Could Stem Overcrowding
New Hampshire Union Leader, NH, November 18, 2012
Could technology help solve the problem of crowded classrooms? The district is poised to find out as soon as next semester, when it plans to offer “virtual” classes that students at the three high schools would be able to take without physically being in the same room as a teacher.
PA Cyber CEO’s Consulting Work Questioned
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 17, 2012
In May 2010, one of the top managers at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School wrote to his leadership team about what he called a “new and exciting program.”