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FROM THE STATES
ARKANSAS
6 Charter Schools Approved by ADE
KARK, AR, January 14, 2013
Arkansas Education is changing with the times and ready to integrate new ways of learning. The State Board of Education approved six charter school applications, including three that will be new technology schools.
CONNECTICUT
Budget Cuts Forcing Charter Schools To Take Hard Look At Their Future
Hartford Courant, CT, January 14, 2013
Less than a year ago, the future looked bright for charter schools in Connecticut, with a promise of support from the governor and the General Assembly’s commitment of additional funding for each of the next three years.
Charter School Push Fails Math Test
Stamford Advocate, CT, January 14, 2013
Even if charter schools did a measurably better job of educating students than traditional public schools (they don’t).
Writer Exaggerates Success Rate Of Charter Schools
Waterbury Republican-American, CT, January 14, 2013
This is in response to Jennifer Alexander’s Jan. 12 letter, “School choice is solving many of state’s problems,” which was written in response to The Sunday Republican’s Jan. 6 editorial “A solution to border-jumping.” Ms. Alexander’s opening statement described public schools quite well except for of the reference to the ZIP code!
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Businesses And Charter Schools Work Together
Washington Times, DC, January 14, 2013
Public education has changed dramatically in the District of Columbia since Congress temporarily awarded responsibility for it to a federal control board 16 years ago.
Report Says D.C. School Closures Unlikely To Save Much Money In 2013-14 School Year
Washington Post, DC, January 15, 2013
D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s proposal to close 20 underenrolled schools appears unlikely to produce substantial savings next year, according to a report scheduled for release Tuesday by the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization.
FLORIDA
Pines Parents Voice Concern Over Charter Schools’ Finances
Sun Sentinel, FL, January 14, 2013
Sun Sentinel — Pembroke Pines charter school parents showed up in full force Monday night to voice their concerns about the financial instability of the city-run charter system.
ILLINOIS
Patriots Charter Eager For Space At Jackson School In Rockford
Rockford Register Star, IL, January 15, 2013
Next year, she hopes to have her own classroom space. And she will if the charter school finalizes a deal with the Rockford School District to buy Jackson Elementary School, which closed after the 2010-11 school year.
IOWA
NCLB Requirements Costing Sioux City School District $300K Per Year
Sioux City Journal, IA, January 14, 2013
The Sioux City school district could free up more than $300,000 in funding if students can meet No Child Left Behind proficiency requirements for the second year in a row.
$187 Million Education Reform Plan Focuses On Teacher Career Paths
Des Moines Register, IA, January 15, 2013
Resistance to the use of student achievement data in teacher evaluations and concerns that new career pathways could mean higher numbers of students in classrooms are among the hurdles facing Gov. Terry Branstad’s education proposal, which will cost $187 million annually within five years.
KANSAS
Charter-School Prospect Advances
The Hutchinson News, KS, January 14, 2013
The odds the now-closed Mount Hope school building could reopen this fall as a K-though-12 charter school rose Monday, but officials made no commitment.
LOUISIANA
Lycée Français Parents Express Concerns Amid Continuing Reports Of Mismanagement
Times-Picayune, LA, January 14, 2013
State-appointed consultants to the French charter school Lycée Français listened to the concerns of parents and teachers Monday night out of the hearing of the charter school’s board, which has come under fire for micromanagement and mismanagement.
White Proposes Teacher Evaluation Changes
Monroe News Star, LA, January 14, 2013
Louisiana’s new teacher evaluation system is designed to be tough, says Superintendent of Education John White, but it needs a little tweaking so a few more teachers can make it into the “Highly Effective” category.
Panel: State Likely To Win Appeal
The Advocate, LA, January 15, 2013
The Louisiana Department of Education’s claim that a federal judge lacked authority to halt the state’s voucher program in Tangipahoa Parish is likely to succeed on appeal, a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
MAINE
Better No Charter Schools Than Poor Ones
Kennebec Journal, ME, January 15, 2013
Charter school proponents, including this newspaper, always make the point that charter schools are public schools. When they work best, they are places that can strike a spark with students who are not learning in a traditional environment.
MARYLAND
Teachers Get Bonuses In Some Schools With Lower Suspension Rates
Baltimore Sun. MD, January 14, 2013
The Baltimore school system is paying bonuses to teachers and administrators at struggling schools that reduce suspensions, drawing criticism from union leaders who say the program could provide a financial incentive to ignore problems and jeopardize school safety.
MASSACHUSETTS
New Bedford Mayor Urges State To Reject Charter School Application
South Coast Today, MA, January 15, 2013
Mayor Jon Mitchell is urging the state to turn down the application of a Roxbury-based charter school seeking to open a similar high school in New Bedford, arguing that the new school’s costs far outweigh its benefits.
MICHIGAN
Edge Given To Charter Students
Detroit News, MI, January 15, 2013
A report released Monday by an independent analyst of charter schools shows charter school students in Michigan and Detroit are out-learning their public school counterparts.
Jackson Community College Trustees Told Proposed Charter School Would Be Separatist And Divisive
Jackson City Patriot, MI, January 15, 2013
A majority of those who spoke to Jackson Community College trustees on Monday said a new charter school JCC is being asked to authorize would be separatist and divisive.
NEVADA
State Board Of Education Sworn In, Begins Work On Reforms
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, January 14, 2013
Nevada’s newly constituted State Board of Education, including Elaine Wynn, director of Wynn Resorts since 2000, was sworn into office Monday and immediately got down to work on Gov. Brian Sandoval’s ambitious education reform agenda.
NEW YORK
Catholic Schools Await More Closing Bells
New York Times, NY, January 15, 2013
But now, Holy Cross is one of 28 elementary schools being considered for closing this year by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.
Catholic Schools Await More Closing Bells
New York Times, NY, January 15, 2013
But now, Holy Cross is one of 28 elementary schools being considered for closing this year by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.
NORTH CAROLINA
Durham School Board Seeks Understanding With Charter Schools
Durham News, NC, January 15, 2013
With up to 11 new charter schools possibly coming to Durham County in the next two years, the school board wants to improve cooperation between charter schools and traditional public schools.
MCA High School Approved By State Board Of Education
Mount Airy News, NC, January 15, 2013
The North Carolina State Board of Education has approved Millennium Charter Academy’s application to expand its charter to include grades 9-12. A little more than three months ago, MCA’s Board of Directors approved the application to expand the academy to teach grades K-12.
OHIO
Teachers’ Pay Might Be Linked To Quality, Kasich Says
Columbus Dispatch, OH, January 15, 2013
Schools could tie teachers’ pay incentives to their performance as part of Gov. John Kasich’s yet-to-be-unveiled funding formula, the Republican governor said yesterday.
Law Allows Principals To Skip Being Teachers
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, January 14, 2013
When Gilbert A. Dater High School teacher Terri Wessel heard the school’s new assistant principal didn’t have a traditional license, she was nervous.
PENNSYLVANIA
Bethlehem Area School District Facing $8.19 Million Preliminary Budget Deficit In 2013-14
Lehigh Express Times, PA, January 14, 2013
Faccinetto emphasized that charter schools are offering services the district itself cannot afford, such as full-day kindergarten for all, and using tax dollars to advertise on televisions and billboards.
Pain For Gain In School Plan
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 15, 2013
After hearing from students, parents, teachers, and community leaders during an extensive listening tour, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. released a detailed plan for the future of Philadelphia’s schools last week. The plan sets out the goal of improving academic results for all students while emphasizing that making the district financially stable is a necessary step on the path to accomplishing that goal.
SOUTH CAROLINA
SC Charter School District Seeking More Money
The State, SC, January 15, 2013
The superintendent of the statewide charter school district says he needs at least $12 million just to keep up with the system’s growing student population.
TENNESSEE
Charter Schools Face Backlash In Inner Cities For Trying To Change Culture
Commercial Appeal, TN, January 14, 2013
Cornerstone Preparatory School, a startup charter school chosen to turn around low-performing Lester School, a semester later sits in an uneasy alliance with the Binghamton families it serves.
Gov. Haslam Will Push Education Vouchers For Tennessee
Chattanooga Times Free Press, TN, January 14, 2013
Gov. Bill Haslam said today he plans to push a limited education voucher bill this year that would apply to the state’s poorest children in Tennessee’s worst-performing schools.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush In Nashville To Push School Choice
The Tennessean, TN, January 15, 2013
Former Florida governor speaks at education forum in Nashville; Gov. Haslam promises change on teacher pay, voucher plan
VIRGINIA
Virginia Superintendents Want More Say In Education
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, January 15, 2013
Virginia’s school superintendents have issued a challenge to state politicians and educational leaders that they promise will lead to better-educated students: Ask them what works.
WEST VIRGINIA
School Reform Is a Necessity
The Intelligencer, WV, January 15, 2013
But on another pressing issue, education reform, money is not the challenge. We’re already spending plenty on public schools.
Tomblin Targets Education In Address
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, January 15, 2013
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin made public his thoughts on education reform during his Monday inaugural address. The address – otherwise thin on policy – hit several themes that could form the core of an education package the governor is expected to present to the Legislature next month.
WYOMING
Wyoming Senate Passes Education Reform Bill
WNCT, WY, January 14, 2013
The full Wyoming Senate on Monday gave preliminary approval to a sweeping education reform bill that would drastically reduce the administrative role of state’s top public schools official.
ONLINE LEARNING
DV Board Concerned With Cyber School
News Eagle, PA, January 14, 2013
The Delaware Valley School District held their board meeting on Thursday January 10th in the Administrative Offices. One of the topics discussed, funding the PA Cyber Charter School and other for-profit organizations, became well heated as Jack Fisher, along with a few other board members, shared their concerns.