Daily Headlines for January 10, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
Schools Get Taste of Own Medicine
Wall Street Journal, January 10, 2013
Schools long have graded students. Now they are being graded themselves, as a growing number of states assign them A-to-F scores to evaluate their performance.
FROM THE STATES
ARIZONA
Charter Schools Want Purchasing Policies To Stand
Arizona Republic, AZ, January 10, 2013
The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools will not change its school procurement policies after school officials told the board Wednesday that they like having more flexibility than district schools when making purchases.
CALIFORNIA
Charter School Advocacy Group Endorse LAUSD School Board Candidates
KPCC, CA, January 9, 2013
The Coalition for School Reform –an advocate for charter schools– has picked its horses in the three Los Angeles Unified school board races. It’s placing its bets on Monica Garcia in District 2, Kate Anderson in District 4, and Antonio Sanchez in District 6.
CONNECTICUT
Schools Sought in Bridgeport, Stamford, Danbury
CT Post, CT, January 9, 2013
Two Bridgeport ministers, including one who serves on the city’s school board, are among two dozen people interested in running state-funded charter schools.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. Charter Board Proposes Closing Imagine Southeast For Poor Performance
Washington Post Blog, DC, January 9, 2013
The D.C. Public Charter School Board is proposing to shutter a Ward 8 school for poor performance and will vote on the measure Thursday night.
GEORGIA
Gainesville School Board Mulls Proposal To Join Charter Systems Group
Gainesville Times, GA, January 10, 2013
A group headed by a former state lawmaker is attempting to rally charter school systems throughout the state to band together under one flag to share ideas and petition legislators.
INDIANA
Bill Would Expand School Vouchers
Post Tribune, IN, January 9, 2013
A bill proposed in the state Senate would make it easier for the siblings of a student attending private school through a voucher system to be approved for a voucher as well.
Might Let The Courts Finish First On Gay Marriage, School Vouchers
Journal and Courier, IN, January 10, 2013
Some legislators seem determined to press forward on two controversial issues — a gay marriage ban and Indiana’s school voucher program — even as the high courts weigh matters that could change the landscape on both.
KANSAS
Education Deans, KSDE To Meet On Teacher Prep Programs
Kansas City Kansan, KS, January 10, 2013
Officials at the Kansas State Department of Education will meet in March with deans from various schools of education to discuss a recent report calling for big changes in the way colleges prepare new teachers for entering the profession.
KENTUCKY
Kentucky Charter School Bill Returns To Legislature, Unlikely To Pass In 2013
Louisville Courier-Journal, KY, January 10, 2013
A scaled-down version of a controversial bill to allow charter schools in Kentucky is returning to the General Assembly this year, but supporters and opponents say it has little chance of winning approval in the House.
LOUISIANA
School Choice Offers Quality Education To Poor
Opelousas Daily World, LA, January 10, 2013
Politicians are quick to talk about equal opportunity — especially when it comes to our children.
MAINE
LePage To Charter School Commission Members: ‘Please Go Away’
Bangor Daily News, ME, January 10, 2013
Gov. Paul LePage on Wednesday called on the members of Maine’s charter school commission to resign, a day after the seven-member panel rejected four out of five applications for new charter schools.
Paths Forward Tough For Both Winners And Losers In Charter School Decisions
Bangor Daily News, ME, January 10, 2013
Concerns that a state commission’s rejection of four out of five charter school applications Tuesday would have a chilling effect on future applications already has proven true for at least one would-be charter school.
MARYLAND
Maryland Schools Rank No. 1 For Fifth Year In A Row
The Baltimore Sun, MD, January 10, 2013
For the fifth year in a row, Maryland has the best public school system in America, according to rankings published Thursday by a leading education publication that gave the state high marks for post-graduation outcomes, state funding levels and overall student achievement.
St. Mary’s, Calvert School Unions Push Legislators For Answers
Southern Maryland Newspaper, MD, January 9, 2013
Top on the list of concerns from the St. Mary’s and Calvert education unions was adequate funding for schools, addressing whether to require teachers to join unions, and the impact of shifting a part of the state’s share of teacher pensions to county governments.
MASSACHUSETTS
Charter Kids, Parents Deserved Better Than Sudden Shutdown
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, January 10, 2013
Wednesday’s final collapse — and that’s just what it was — of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School rings down a painful and shameful final curtain on a three-year venture aimed at helping many students and their families find educational success where many had not in the past.
MICHIGAN
Michigan AG Wants Detroit School Board Ouster Today
Detroit News, MI, January 10, 2013
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is continuing his quest to unseat seven members of the Detroit Board of Education and plans to persuade a judge to order their removal today.
Jackson’s daVinci Institute Charter School Rated an Academic State Champion by Bridge Magazine
Jackson Citizen Patriot, MI, January 10, 2013
A Jackson charter school with its fair share of economically struggling students is an “Academic State Champ,” according to a study done by Bridge Magazine.
MISSISSIPPI
Fast Push Eyed For Charter Schools
Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS, January 10, 2013
The House Education Committee is ground zero for charter schools and other key legislation this year, and dozens of education advocates, lobbyists and lawmakers anxiously packed like sardines into a small committee room for the panel’s first meeting of 2013.
Advocate: Focus On Teacher Training
Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS, January 10, 2013
Despite the heavy focus on charter schools this legislative session, the head of one of the state’s largest education advocacy groups is pushing for more focused reforms that would reach more students.
NEVADA
Nevada Democrats Announce Education Agenda
Mohave Daily News, NV, January 10, 2013
Nevada Democrats unveiled their education priorities for the upcoming legislative session Wednesday, calling for early development programs for at-risk students and expansion of all-day kindergarten.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Suit Challenges School Tax Credit
Nashua Telegraph, NH, January 10, 2013
Calling it a “backdoor voucher,” three civil liberties groups claim a new education tax credit violates the state constitution and should be struck down.
NORTH CAROLINA
State Sees 154 Proposals For New Charter Schools
Huntersville Herald, NC, January 13, 2013
Mecklenburg County received more charter school requests for the 2014-15 school year than any other county in the state.
OHIO
Teacher Education Programs At Public, Private State Colleges Can Now Be Compared
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, January 9, 2013
Prospective teachers, school superintendents and parents can now judge the quality of teacher education programs in Ohio’s public and private colleges.
Some Charter Schools Dodge State’s Closure Law
Columbus Dispatch Blog, OH, January 9, 2013
A report released today found that 7 of the 20 tax-funded charter schools ordered by the state to close because their students are failing are still operating in the same location under new names and with many of the same teachers and staff.
Report: Charter Schools Evade Closure Laws
Cincinnati CityBeat, OH, January 9, 2013
When an Ohio charter school consistently fails to meet academic standards, the state automatically shuts it down. It’s an aspect of Ohio law that’s touted as one of the toughest standards for charter schools in the nation, but a report from Policy Matters Ohio found some charter schools may be evading the rule altogether.
OKLAHOMA
Education Reforms Require Adequate Funding, Activist Says In Tulsa
Tulsa World, OK, January 10, 2013
A national education activist speaking in Tulsa on Wednesday said his organization is coming to Oklahoma to lobby for adequate funding immediately for existing, research-based reforms and to systematically engage parents over the long term.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Is Deliver-Ology Coming to South Dakota Schools?
Capital Journal, SD, January 9, 2013
What is “deliver-ology”? This is the “new focus” state Education Secretary Melody Schopp said she and her staff are taking for K-12 public schools, as South Dakota moves away from No Child Left Behind. The secretary spent two hours Wednesday with the House Education Committee explaining the changes under way.
TENNESSEE
Like It Or Not, Students First Has Merit
The Tennessean, TN, January 10, 2013
“We don’t grade on a curve,” Michele Rhee said of the C-minus grade that her organization, Students First, gave Tennessee on its first State Policy Report Card.
UTAH
Charter Schools Have Some Of The Lowest, Highest Graduation Rates
The Salt Lake Tribune, UT, January 9, 2013
The high school graduation rate in charter schools improved slightly from last year, but several schools posted some of the worst rates in Utah, state officials said on Wednesday.
ONLINE LEARNING
State To Vote On Proposal For Online Charter Schools
News & Observer, NC, January 10, 2013
North Carolina children as young as 5 may soon be able to receive their public school education online from for-profit companies.
Coweta Schools To Explore Virtual Learning
Times-Herald, GA, January 10, 2013
Coweta County high-schoolers may have the option of completing some coursework online as early as next year.