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NATIONAL COVERAGE
Deferring Six Figures on Wall Street for Teacher’s Salary
New York Times, NY, January 2, 2013
Four years after the financial crisis, Wall Street hiring has remained weak, and many college graduates have searched for jobs and even careers in other fields. In the last several years, hundreds of such would-be finance professionals and management consultants have taken their high-powered ambitions and spreadsheet modeling skills to the classroom.
More Educational Choice Needed in 2013
Huffington Post Blog by Kevin P. Chavous, January 2, 2013
Over the next several days, millions of children will return from their holiday vacation and walk through the doors of a school that does not serve their needs. Before the month ends, thousands will drop out and by the end of 2013 more than a million of these children will leave school never to return again.
FROM THE STATES
ARIZONA
School Vouchers Off-Base
Arizona Republic, AZ, January 3, 2013
I have yet to be convinced that the tax credit for private schools, and now the expansion of the school-voucher system, is the answer for educating children. The reasoning of legislators I’ve spoken with doesn’t hold water, either.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Judges Look At Whether Charter Schools Are Public
Washington Post Blog, DC, January 3, 2013
Charter schools are publicly funded but increasingly people are asking whether many of them more resemble private schools. Here’s a different look at this notion from Julian Vasquez Heilig, an award-winning researcher and Associate Professor of Educational Policy and Planning at the University of Texas at Austin. A version of this appeared on his Education and Public Policy blog.
FLORIDA
Charter School Hopes New Year Means Fresh Start
Jacksonville Daily News, FL, January 2, 2013
A Carteret County charter school is hoping the New Year will bring a close to a first semester that was full of challenges to keep the school open.
GEORGIA
Atlanta School Facing Loss Of Charter
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, January 2, 2013
The Atlanta school board will hear arguments in January whether to renew the charter of Atlanta Preparatory Academy or follow a staff recommendation to terminate it in June.
ILLINOIS
Chicago Charter School Subject To Private-Sector Labor Laws
WBEZ, IL, January 2, 2013
Teachers at a Chicago charter school are now subject to private-sector labor laws, rather than state laws governing public workers. The move could impact how public schools are run down the road.
INDIANA
Evaluations Bring Stress At Indiana Schools
Courier & Journal, IN, January 3, 2013
One by one the squares on the board in principal Brett Gruetzmacher’s office are being filled, each one marking another step in the long march of teacher evaluations.
LOUISIANA
Better Schools Equal Better Scores
Times Picayune, LA, January 2, 2013
After Katrina and the levee breaches, New Orleans’ failing school system was broken up. The Orleans Parish School Board kept the small number of schools that were thriving, and the state-run Recovery School District took over the rest.
Natchitoches Parish School Board Denies Charter School Application
Alexandria Town Talk, LA, January 3, 2013
The Natchitoches Parish School Board has denied an application for a new charter school.
MAINE
More Than 30 Apply To New Portland Charter School
Portland Press Herald, ME, January 3, 2013
More than 30 students applied in the first 24 hours for admission to Portland’s new charter school, the Baxter Academy of Technology and Science.
MASSACHUSETTS
Departures at South Boston Charter School Raise Concerns
Boston Globe, MA, January 3, 2013
Since UP Academy took over the Gavin Middle School in South Boston in 2011, some critics of charter schools have questioned whether the academy has been pushing out disruptive or academically struggling pupils in order to boost its test scores.
Charter To Close Next Week
Gloucester Times, MA, January 3, 2013
After a tumultuous journey over the past two months, Gloucester Community Arts Charter School officials last night voted unanimously to close the school Jan. 11.
MICHIGAN
DPS Project Helps Math Skills Sprout
Detroit News, MI, January 3, 2013
Look inside one Detroit elementary school classroom and see the unexpected: kids excited about math. It’s a squirm-in-your-seat kind of enthusiasm with students eager to raise their hands, stand at the chalkboard and solve problems with each other as they tackle equations.
MISSISSIPPI
Reeves Pushing For Charter Schools
Hattiesburg American, MS, January 3, 2013,
With the 2013 Mississippi legislative session starting next week, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves says he believes there’s bipartisan support for charter schools and for efforts to improve children’s reading skills in early elementary grades.
NEW YORK
Cuomo Panel Recommends School Goals
Wall Street Journal, January 2, 2013
A commission tapped by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to assess education in New York state delivered a wish list on Wednesday that included widely praised items such as prekindergarten for all students, better teacher preparation and longer school days and years.
Local School Officials Sound Off On Cuomo’s Reform Report
Niagara Gazette, NY, January 3, 2013
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Education Reform Commission released a 92-page report Wednesday, highlighting eight changes the state could investigate to change the way education is provided state-wide.
NY Awaiting 9 Districts’ Teacher Evaluation Plans
Wall Street Journal, January 2, 2013
Time is running out for school districts in New York state that haven’t yet adopted a new teacher evaluation plan.
TENNESSEE
Radio Ads Start In School Voucher Campaign
WREG, TN, January 2, 2013
There is a push to show Memphis parents all their choices when it comes to educating their children. One choice is a private school education for some families who might not be able to afford it.
Charters That Fail Must Pay The Price
The Tennessean, TN, January 3, 2013
When the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools Board voted in mid-November to close Smithson-Craighead Middle School at the end of the current academic year, the decision angered parents and generated pleas for patience.
WASHINGTON
Teachers Union Wants To Help Challenge Charter School Law
Seattle Times, WA, January 2, 2013
The state’s largest teachers union is exploring how it might help challenge the charter-school law that narrowly passed last November. The union’s board of directors has committed to help fund a lawsuit, although it is not yet clear who would file it, when it would be filed, or exactly what form the challenge would take.
ONLINE LEARNING
Making Excellence The Norm
Henderson Daily Dispatch, NC, January 2, 2013
Bill Harrison, chairman of the state board of education, formally presented the 2012 N.C. Innovator in Digital Learning Award to Granville County school officials in a ceremony at the Granville County Expo & Convention Center in Oxford on Wednesday.
Sen. Goedde: The Best Way To Equalize Idaho Schools Is Through Digital Learning
NPR StateImpact, ID, January 2, 2013
State Sen. John Goedde is a Republican from Coeur d’Alene. He’s chairman of the Senate’s Education Committee. It’s a panel that will be closely watched during the upcoming legislative session as lawmakers figure out what to do now that voters rejected three sweeping education laws.