NEWSWIRE IS OUT TODAY! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.
NATIONAL
Union Calls For Teacher Certification Exam
Associated Press, December 3, 2012
Schoolteachers should have to pass a stringent exam – much like the bar exam for lawyers – before being allowed to enter the profession, one of the nation’s largest teachers unions said Monday.
Teachers Union Idea Makes The Grade
Venture County Star , CA, December 3, 2012
Finally, there is a union that seems to be paying attention to more than just the next pay and benefits contract and personal well being of its members.
A Valid Way To Use ‘Value Added’ In Teacher Evaluation
Washington Post Bog, DC, December 4, 2012
Value-added measures have played a valuable role in sparking this important debate, but they need not do all the heavy lifting for our reformed teacher evaluation systems. We need more than a number, but a process for identifying low-performing teachers and helping them get better.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Charter School Chosen To Remake Failing Adelanto School Has History Of Fast Turnarounds
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, CA, December 3, 2012
Once its charter application is approved, the charter school tapped to take over Adelanto’s failing Desert Trails Elementary School will have only months to hire a staff and set up a new school before the start of the 2013-14 school year.
For Dropouts, A Way To Drop Back In
Los Angeles Times, CA, December 3, 2012
An increasing number of young people neither attend school nor work, a study finds. A new partnership between the city of Los Angeles and L.A. Unified aims to halt that ‘unacceptable’ trend.
Planned Novato ‘Core Curriculum’ Charter School Raises Questions
Marin Independent Journal, CA, December 3, 2012
THE PROPOSAL to open another charter school in Novato has stirred controversy.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
District Probes Residency of 80 Public School Students
Washington Post, DC, December 4, 2012
The District is investigating the residency of 80 students who attended school at D.C. taxpayers’ expense in 2011-12 but have not been able to prove that they live in Washington , according to city officials.
GU Teams With Charter School Group
The Hoya, DC, December 4, 2012
Georgetown formally partnered Nov. 26 with the Knowledge Is Power Program, a national charter school system aimed at boosting college attendance among students from low-income, minority backgrounds.
FLORIDA
A ‘Value-Added’ Travesty For An Award-Winning Teacher
Washington Post Blog, DC, December 3, 2012
Here’s the crazy story of Kim Cook, a teacher at Irby Elementary, a K-2 school which feeds into Alachua Elementary, for grades 3-5, just down the road in Alachua, Fla. She was recently chosen by the teachers at her school as their Teacher of the Year.
Evaluations of Teachers Need Reset
News Press, FL, December 4, 2012
There is time for the state to return to the blackboard and develop a merit pay program for teachers that is easier for everyone to understand and places more of an emphasis on the proven value of an educator rather than on predictions.
Salary Increases For Pines Charter Teachers Could Throw System Into Financial Urgency
Sun Sentinel, FL, December 3, 2012
A salary increase for 329 teachers could throw the A-rated Pembroke Pines Charter School System into financial urgency.
Closed Orange County Charter School Faces More Financial Accusations
WFTV, FL, December 3, 2012
More troubling questions surround a charter school that’s already under fire for a huge payout to the principal.
GEORGIA
Fulton Science Academy High School Could Lose Charter, Close in June
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, December 3, 2012
Fulton Science Academy High School in Alpharetta could lose its public school charter and be forced to close at the end of the school year, in part, for illegally making students pay for mandatory classes.
ILLINOIS
Build On Successes of Charter Schools
Chicago Sun Times, IL, December 3, 2012
It is easy to dismiss the Chicago Teachers Union’s latest assault against charter schools in Chicago.
School Closing Meeting Sparsely Attended
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 3, 2012
About 100 people came to a cavernous South Side church Monday for a meeting of a Chicago Public Schools commission charged with gathering community input on school closings.
INDIANA
Indiana School Chief Tony Bennett Applies For Florida Post
Courier-Journal, IN, December 3, 2012
Less than a month after losing his re-election bid to Washington Township teacher Glenda Ritz, Indiana State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett is seeking the same job in Florida .
LOUISIANA
Judge Deals a Setback to Louisiana’s Voucher Program
New York Times, NY, December 4, 2012
Last January, Gov. Bobby Jindal took the oath of office for his second term, declaring in his inauguration speech that anyone who stood in the way of his education reform efforts “must stand down.” On Friday, a judge in Baton Rouge said, in effect: not so fast.
MARYLAND
Baltimore’s Bold — And Necessary — School Plan
Baltimore Sun, MD, December 3, 2012
Alonso’s massive school repair, renovation and construction plan is exactly what the city needs to improve educational opportunities for students and attract new families to Baltimore
MASSACHUSETTS
Don’t Blame Critics For Charter’s Plight
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, December 3, 2012
Speaking about the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School last week, Secretary of Education Paul Reville stated, “We’ll never know, in the absence of that kind of implacable opposition to the school, if they would have succeeded.”
MICHIGAN
Mich. Educators Form Coalition To Oppose School-Reform Bill Giving EAA Power
Detroit News, MI, December 4, 2012
A coalition of Michigan public school officials is mounting stiff resistance to legislation that would strengthen the Educational Achievement Authority’s power to take over the state’s lowest achieving schools.
Charter Schools Are Not A Solution
Detroit News, MI, December 4, 2012
Most people would agree that every child should have the opportunity at a high quality education. Unfortunately Republicans have become obsessed with making changes that don’t actually improve educational outcomes.
MISSISSIPPI
Charters Could Affect Public Schools
WHLT22, MS, December 3, 2012
Governor Phil Bryant is pushing for charters schools throughout the state. So what does that mean for your child’s school here in the Pine Belt?
NEW JERSEY
Mount Olive ‘Choice’ Costs District $2 Million In Added Aid
New Jersey Hills, NJ, December 3, 2012
The school district was approved as a “state choice district” in August meaning that for the 2013-14 school year it could enroll students from other districts and gain as much as $2 million in additional state aid to educate the new students.
NEW MEXICO
N.M.’s Small Districts Show How It’s Done
Albuquerque Journal, NM, December 4, 2012
Like “The Little Engine That Could,” a coalition of small school districts pulled together to make it into the last leg of the federal Race to the Top.
NEW YORK
NYC Kids Greet PM
New York Post, NY, December 4, 2012
When the prime minister of South Korea wanted to see a great city public school in action, he chose a Harlem charter.
Readers Respond on Teacher Evaluations
Newsday, NY, December 3, 2012
How can New York State United Teachers president Richard Iannuzzi say that we are rushing into teacher evaluations and it will “cost” the taxpayers and students [“Teachers union: State rushed evaluations,” Letters, Nov. 26]?
OKLAHOMA
Douglass High School Mess Reflects A Systemwide Failure
The Oklahoman, OK, December 4, 2012
ON the first day Douglass High School students walked the halls of their new building, the Oklahoma City School Board chairman at the time stood before students with a message of hope.
PENNSYLVANIA
Two Groups Present Charter School Plans In North Penn School District
The Reporter, PA, December 4, 2012
Two groups that want to launch charter schools within the North Penn School District presented their plans to the school board, administration and the community Monday night.
State Nominates Receiver for Chester-Upland School District
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 4, 2012
Pennsylvania’s education secretary asked Delaware County Court on Monday to name the Chester Upland School District’s state-appointed chief recovery officer as receiver of the struggling district.
RHODE ISLAND
Providence Elementary School Files For Charter
Brown Daily Herald, RI, December 3, 2012
Frank D. Spaziano Elementary School recently became the only school in the Providence Public School District to vote in favor of becoming a district charter school.
TENNESSEE
Expert Training, Longer Day May Boost Nashville’s Lowest-Performing Schools
The Tennessean, TN, December 4, 2012
National education experts will descend on five of Nashville’s lowest-performing public schools in the coming months, seeking ways to improve their performance.
School Voucher Proposal Must Be Carefully Crafted
Knoxville News-Sentinel, TN, December 4, 2012
Gov. Bill Haslam’s Task Force on Opportunity Scholarships — otherwise known as school vouchers — has given him a range of options for inclusion in a bill should he move forward.
Pros And Cons Of School Vouchers
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 4, 2012
When it comes to giving children from low-income families a chance to attend a quality private school, tuition vouchers could be a great idea.
TEXAS
Austin School Board May Revamp Contract With IDEA, Keep Charter From Expanding Into Eastside Memorial
Austin American-Statesman, TX, December 4, 2012
Shortly after midnight Tuesday, Austin district trustees directed Superintendent Meria Carstarphen to bring up for review at its Dec. 17 board meeting the contract with charter operator IDEA Public Schools.
WASHINGTON
7 Apply To Be Seattle District’s First Creative Approach Schools
Seattle Times, WA, December 3, 2012
Throughout the campaign over this year’s charter-school initiative, a number of Seattle’s school leaders argued that Seattle didn’t need charters to build and nurture innovative teaching. By giving a number of schools new flexibility next fall, they hope to prove it.
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin: GOP Lawmaker Pridemore Launches Run For State School Superintendent
Pioneer Press, WI, December 3, 2012
Republican state Rep. Don Pridemore launched his campaign to become Wisconsin ‘s top education leader on Monday, saying he would bring a conservative approach to the job while refusing to talk specifically about what policies he would push.
ONLINE LEARNING
Discover Learning
Albuquerque Journal, NM, December 4, 2012
Parents got their first chance recently to take a look at Discovery Education, a classroom service that provides web-based resources like videos, interactive lessons, games and other digital learning tools.