NEW NEWSWIRE 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.
Schools In 11 States Win Nearly $400M In Grants
Associated Press, December 11, 2012
Schools from 55 districts in 11 states plus the District of Columbia have won nearly $400 million in federal grants to promote school reform.
Virginia Teachers: Cuts Would Hurt Poor, Disabled
Washington Times, DC, December 12, 2012
Virginia teachers are joining a chorus of national educators who are imploring Congress to address the looming “fiscal cliff” and are warning that state school systems stand to lose big if nothing is done.
Jindal: Teachers Unions Have Mounted ‘Herculean’ Effort To Stop School Reform
Washington Times, DC, December 11, 2012
As a central piece of his controversial education-reform agenda heads to the state Supreme Court for review, rising Republican star and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Tuesday unloaded on teachers unions and cast them as the biggest reason American schools continue to wallow in mediocrity.
Rethink School Choice
Huffington Post, December 11, 2012
But in truth, favoring school choice means about the same thing as favoring computers — the statement means very little unless and until the ideas take on a specific form. After all, a choice plan intended to mitigate neighborhood segregation would be designed with very different rules than a choice plan envisioned as a way to increase competition.
My View: I Would Trade Tenure For Better Teaching
CNN Blog, December 12, 2012
I’ve been in the classroom for 11 years – that makes me a minority in the teaching profession, as more than half of all teachers have taught for a decade or less. But I’m still striving to be a better teacher.
FROM THE STATES
ARKANSAS
Partial Credit
Arkansas Times, AR, December 12, 2012
The thrust of the education-reform movement in Arkansas over the last decade has been to equalize opportunity for all students.
CALIFORNIA
Novato School District Staffers Criticize Charter Proposal
Marin Independent Journal, CA, December 11, 2012
A proposal for a new charter school in Novato is flawed in numerous areas including curriculum, budgeting and the likely makeup of the student body, school district staffers said Tuesday.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
KIPP DC Wins $10 Million In Race To The Top Education-Grant Competition
Washington Post, DC, December 11, 2012
Charter school operator KIPP DC is among 16 winners of the federal government’s Race to the Top District grant competition, U.S. Department of Education officials announced Tuesday.
FLORIDA
Pinellas School Board Plans To Shut Imagine Charter School In St. Petersburg
Tampa Bay Times, FL, December 12, 2012
In a unanimous vote, the Pinellas School Board on Tuesday said it intends to shut Imagine Charter School, a once-promising school in downtown St. Petersburg that has faltered academically since it opened.
Opening of Step Up Academy Charter Schools May Be Delayed
The Ledger, FL, December 11, 2012
Although school district staff says all is in order for a January opening of Step Up Academy charter schools for at-risk students on six high school campuses, some school board members and John Stewart, the new interim superintendent, aren’t ready to proceed.
Teachers Take Issue With Evaluation System At Lawmakers Forum
News Herald, FL, December 11, 2012
A few centuries earlier Bay County teachers would have grabbed their torches and pitchforks.
Finalists Interviewed, New Education Commissioner Likely Picked Today
Tallahassee Democrat, FL, December 12, 2012
Three finalists for the top position in Florida’s state education system faced questions about how they would sway critics and defend the credibility of state education polices in public job interviews held Tuesday.
Evaluations Earn An ‘F’
News Herald, FL, December 12, 2012
The children of fictional Lake Wobegon from Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” were said to be “above average.” The same can be said of Florida’s public school teachers — if the state’s new evaluation system is to be believed.
Gov. Scott Wants State Standardized Testing for Students Who Get Vouchers
News Chief, FL, December 11, 2012
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, parting ways with his fellow Republicans, asserted Tuesday that students who get financial help from the state to attend private schools should take the same standardized tests as public school students.
GEORGIA
City School Board Approves Joining Charter Foundation
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, December 12, 2012
The Marietta City School Board only approved a few things during their work session Tuesday night, including a recommendation from Marietta Superintendent Emily Lembeck to join the soon-to-be-formed Charter System Foundation.
Ga. Schools To Get Flexibility Based On Grades
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, December 12, 2012
Educators will get the freedom from state rules they’ve long desired if their schools earn top grades, the chairman of the House Education Committee told Georgia lawmakers Tuesday.
HAWAII
Hawaii Teacher Evaluation Concerns Keep State, Union From Agreement
Honolulu Civil Beat, HI, December 12, 2012
A new performance-based teacher evaluation system and reduced sick leave are the key issues preventing the Hawaii State Teachers Association from agreeing to a new contract with the state, union leaders and educators said.
IDAHO
Idaho Ed Campaign Tops Previous Record
Idaho Statesman, ID, December 12, 2012
Opponents of Propositions 1, 2 and 3 raised $3.6 million in their successful effort to repeal education reforms in the Nov. 6 election. Opponents raised $2.8 million. The great bulk of the money was spent on advertising.
KANSAS
Teacher Success
Lawrence Journal World, KS, December 12, 2012
Lawrence school officials seem to be taking a creative and productive approach to revamping the district’s teacher evaluation system.
LOUISIANA
Jindal Touts Vouchers As RSD Schools Get High Marks
The Advocate, LA, December 12, 2012
Gov. Bobby Jindal touted his embattled school voucher program Tuesday with a Washington, D.C.-based, pro-school choice think tank that had named the Louisiana Recovery School District as the nation’s best for educational “choice and competition.”
MASSACHUSETTS
Consider What Argosy Charter School Could Accomplish
Fall River Herald News, MA, December 11, 2012
Hundreds of families seeking a better education each year try to leave the Fall River district school system, but are denied their only option because of a state-mandated limit on public charter schools, including the popular Atlantis Charter School.
Making The Case For Another Charter School
Salem News, MA, December 12, 2012
Editor’s note: Pioneer Charter School of Science has requested state permission to open another charter school in Saugus that would accept students from Salem, Peabody, Danvers, Lynn and Saugus. If approved, the school would open in September 2013.
MICHIGAN
All DPS Employees To Get One-Time Bonus Thanks To Budget Surplus
Detroit News, MI, December 12, 2012
Employees of Detroit Public Schools will receive a bonus in their paycheck on Dec. 21 as part of the district’s budget surplus from last year.
Teacher Shortages Close 3 Districts
The Detroit News, MI, December 12, 2012
At least three school districts in Metro Detroit closed Tuesday after hundreds of teachers called in sick to join union rallies in Lansing against right-to-work legislation passed by lawmakers.
NEW YORK
Teachers Trump Kids
New York Daily News, NY, December 12, 2012
The grades are in, and they are being kept secret: 10,500 city teachers have found out how well they raised student achievement as measured by state math and English tests, but parents have no right to the information.
NY Approves Charter School For Newburgh
Times-Herald Record, NY, December 12, 2012
As expected, the Newburgh Preparatory Charter High School sailed through the process, since it won the approval of the State Education Department’s Charter School Office as well as Commissioner John King weeks earlier.
DOE Flubs In Race For Feds’ $40M
New York Post, NY, December 12, 2012
The city should have showed them the money. The Department of Education lost points on its application for $40 million in federal funds by refusing to make school-worker salaries public — and wound up with zilch.
NORTH CAROLINA
Wake School Board Approves 2013-14 Assignment Plan
Charlotte Observer, NC, December 12, 2012
CARY Wake County’s choice-based student assignment plan effectively died Tuesday with the school board’s 5-4 vote to adopt an approach that again ties each address to a specific school.
OHIO
Mayor Frank Jackson Names Members Of Schools’ Advice Panel, A 1st Step In Districtwide Overhaul
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, December 11, 2012
The new Cleveland schools’ Transformation Alliance will review charter school applications and make recommendations to the Ohio Department of Education about which sponsors should be able to open new schools in the city.
School-Grading System Incomplete
Columbus Dispatch, OH, December 12, 2012
Ohio lawmakers are expected to approve a new grading system today for determining how well schools and school districts are performing.
PENNSYLVANIA
York City School Board Loses In Bid To Block New Hope Charter Appeal
The York Dispatch, PA, December 12, 2012
The York City School District Tuesday lost its attempt to quash a charter appeal hearing for New Hope Charter School.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Local Educators Oppose State Superintendent’s Teacher Evaluation Plan
Anderson Independent Mail, SC, December 11, 2012
State Superintendent Mick Zais is having a hard sell on his proposal to change teacher evaluations.
TENNESSEE
Nashville School Board Backs Off Suing State Over Lost Funds
The Tennessean, TN, December 12, 2012
Despite one board member’s push to dig in and fight, the Metro school board on Tuesday backed off its threat to sue the state for withholding $3.4 million in funds to punish the district for rejecting a charter school application.
Franklin Special School District Opposes Vouchers
The Tennessean, TN, December 11, 2012
There seems to be more questions than answers when it comes to the use of vouchers and the authorization of charter schools in the Franklin Special School District.
Is Teacher Merit Pay On The Way In Tennessee?
The Chattanoogan, TN, December 11, 2012
In the immediate future, teacher compensation systems will likely be redirected from an input-driven system to an outcome-based system. Unlike the general labor force, where output is a key salary determinant, the field of education rewards experience and advanced degrees. That is not always bad.
TEXAS
Two Texas Charter Schools Named Race To The Top Winners
San Antonio Express, TX, December 12, 2012
A pair of Texas charter school networks with San Antonio campuses will get nearly $30 million apiece in federal Race to the Top grants, the U.S Department of Education announced Tuesday.
School Board Could Halt IDEA Allan Plan
KXAN, TX, December 11, 2012
The Austin school board could put the brakes on expansion plans for the first in-district charter school that opened this year in East Austin.
VIRGINIA
Proposed Loudoun Charter School Loses Supervisor’s Support
Washington Post Blog, DC, December 12, 2012
A member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has withdrawn his support from a proposed charter school — which would be the first in Loudoun if allowed to open — because of “controversy” and concerns over a number of key operational issues.
WASHINGTON
How To Get Washington’s Charter Schools Right
Seattle Times, WA, December 11, 2012
Two education professors who oppose charter-school Initiative 1240 make some suggestions for how to get Washington’s charter schools right.
Seattle, South End Schools Win Race For $40 Million
Seattle Times, WA, December 11, 2012
Seven school districts in King County, which banded together three years ago to raise the number of students who graduate from college, have won a four-year, $40 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help them achieve that goal.
Remove Education Duty From State Constitution
The Olympian, WA, December 12, 2012
While debating education funding after the Supreme Court ruled the state isn’t fulfilling it’s obligation, no politician has proposed the obvious: amend the constitution to eliminate the “paramount duty” language.
ONLINE LEARNING
Easton Area School District Cyber School to Launch in January
Lehigh Express Times, PA, December 12, 2012
Easton Area School District will join neighboring school districts by allowing students to take online courses next year.
Virtual School Enrollment Up
Fox News 4, FL, December 11, 2012
The Lee County School District is taking new steps to take its classrooms virtual.
The district says enrollment for its virtual school is reaching its highest level ever. Virtual school is used a lot by students who travel frequently for sports or other extracurricular activities.