Daily Headlines for January 21, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
Time To Put Education Spotlight On Parents
San Angelo Times, TX, January 21, 2013
Turnabout is fair play, and in no arena as much as that of student academic achievement.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Teachers OK LAUSD Evaluation Standards
Daily Breeze, CA, January 19, 2013
After months of negotiations, the Los Angeles Unified School District and its teachers union have reached a compromise that will now use a controversial multifactor system to evaluate teacher performance.
COLORADO
Truancy Court As A Last Resort
Denver Post, CO, January 20, 2013
Commerce City should consider a system of community and school interventions before sending truant children to court.
GEORGIA
New Evaluations Might Be An Improvement, Teacher Says
Dalton Daily Citizen, GA, January 21, 2013
Sometimes, 20 minutes is all an employee has to impress a boss. That can be especially true for public school teachers.
Teacher Evaluations: Is There Really Enough Time For Reliable Classroom Observations?
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, January 19, 2013
A middle school teacher I admired for her innovation pulled me aside once to tell me she was leaving the district. Her tendency to stray from the script put her at odds with the new principal.
Legislation May Prompt Charter For Cobb School District
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, January 21, 2013
Cobb’s school board is eyeing a state bill that would require school districts to apply for charter system status or be deemed one of two performance-based systems.
Backed by State Money, Georgia Scholarships Go to Schools Barring Gays
New York Times, NY, January 21, 2013
As the nation works its way through the debate over vouchers and other alternatives to traditional public education funding, a quieter battle over homosexuality, religious education and school tax money is under way in Georgia.
HAWAII
Charities Help Guide Charters On Better School Leadership
Star Advertiser, HI, January 20, 2013
As Hawaii’s charter schools adjust to a new law demanding more accountability, they are getting a helping hand from a coalition of charities led by the Chamberlin Family Foundation, which was created by two Roosevelt High School alumni.
ILLINOIS
A Victory For Charter Freedom
Chicago Tribune, IL, January 21, 2013
In 2011 we told you about the high-profile legal fuss kicked up when some teachers at the Chicago Math and Science Academy, a North Side charter school, said they wanted to join a union.
INDIANA
Do Indiana Charter Schools Measure Up, Outperform?
South Bend Tribune, IN, January 21, 2013
Elijah Magruder attended three schools before he found one where he finally feels at home.
Branstad: Education Reform Must Precede More State Aid
Indianapolis Star, IN, January 19, 2013
Gov. Terry Branstad said Friday he’s willing to consider additional state aid for schools on top of what he has proposed for education reform. He’s still insisting, however, that legislators make decisions on reform first.
LOUISIANA
Teachers’ Groups Disagree On Changes
The Advocate, LA, January 21, 2013
While two unions are vehemently opposed to the new teacher evaluations, a third teachers’ group is embracing the overhaul and instructing educators on how it works.
MASSACHUSETTS
Gloucester Schools Welcome 98 Charter Students After GCACS Closes
Cape Ann Beacon, MA, January 20, 2013
While it’s not uncommon for a student or two to transfer to a new school during the middle of the school year, the closing of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School on Jan. 9 required the handling of this transition on a whole different level.
MARYLAND
No Single Way To Advance Student Achievement
Capital Gazette, MD, January 21, 2013
Recently released data that tracks student academic success at every school across the state has generated a considerable amount of discussion about the value of standardized testing and the methodology by which schools are held accountable.
MICHIGAN
Beating The Odds: Three Oaks Charter School Thriving After Closure Threat
Muskegon Chronicle, MI, January 20, 2013
On the verge of closure nearly three years ago, Three Oaks Public School Academy has turned itself around, winning a new eight-year charter school contract as well as special recognition from the state for its improved test scores.
Jackson Community College Board Should Say No To Proposed Charter School
Jackson Citizen Patriot, MI, January 20, 2013
The Jackson Preparatory and Early College charter school sounds like an excellent idea. But not now. Not in Jackson County.
Michigan’s Charters Make The Grade
Detroit News, MI, January 20, 2013
A study showcasing student growth at Michigan charter schools indicates state is on the right track
Group Gives Michigan ‘A’ For Support Of Charter Schools
Detroit News, MI, January 18, 2013
Michigan earned an “A” for its charter school laws, according to a report card issued this week by the Center for Education Reform.
MISSISSIPPI
If State Can’t Fund MAEP, How Will It Fund Charter Schools?
Hattiesburg American, MS, January 19, 2013
As a school board member in the Lumberton School District, I feel compelled to ask a question regarding charter schools.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Charter Schools Snared In N.H. Budget Process
Exeter News-Letter, NH, January 20, 2013
A proposed Exeter area regional charter school that aspired to open in September continues to find itself at mercy of the state.
NEW JERSEY
Some Newark Schools Succeed With Most Troubled Students, Data Shows
Star Ledger, NJ, January 20, 2013
Many of the children who attend Miller Street School in Newark’s South Ward walk to school through scarred and troubled neighborhoods. They pass rusted auto-body shops, people dealing drugs and transactions for sex before their school day even begins.
NEW MEXICO
End To Golden Parachutes One Of Many School Reform Bills This Year
Las Cruces Sun-News, NM, January 19, 2013
Golden parachutes are draining money from New Mexico’s classrooms, says a state legislator who wants to limit school superintendents to one-year contracts.
NEW YORK
Better Learning Costs Money
Albany Times Union, NY, January 21, 2013
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has endorsed a number of initiatives proposed by his education reform commission, on which I serve — including full-day prekindergarten, extended learning time, community schools for high-needs districts and more effective teacher recruitment.
Department Of Education Chancellor Dennis Walcott: I Blame UFT Boss For Teachers Evaluations Disaster
New York Daily News, NY, January 19, 2013
Teachers union and the department of Education have failed to reach an agreement of evaluations. The impasse cost the city at least $450 million in government funding.
King Flunks On Teacher Evaluations
New York Daily News, NY, January 20, 2013
New York City’s schoolchildren face dire consequences after Mayor Bloomberg and teachers union President Michael Mulgrew missed the deadline for negotiating a teacher evaluation system.
NORTH CAROLINA
Triangle Faces Wave Of New Charter Schools
News & Observer, NC, January 20, 2013
Nearly 30 new charter schools could open in the Triangle in 2014, shaking up the region’s public-education landscape and providing additional competition for local school districts.
Bill Would Make Forsyth County Schools State’s First ‘Charter School District’
Winston-Salem Journal, NC, January 19, 2013
State Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, said he plans to co-sponsor a bill in the N.C. House that would convert the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools to the state’s first charter-school district, aiming to reduce state regulatory control and allow more innovation by administrators and teachers.
OHIO
Cleveland Schools Go Back To Full Days With Extra Reading And Math Classes For Struggling Schools
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, January 20, 2013
Cleveland students will go back to full school days Tuesday, with most of the music, art, gym and library classes brought back after voters passed a new school tax in November.
School Rules Guide Whistle-Blowers
Columbus Dispatch, OH, January 21, 2013
Amid a statewide investigation into data manipulation in schools, districts are creating rules to guide employees if they want to report workers who violate laws or ethics.
PENNSYLVANIA
Parents Who Waited For Penn Alexander Kindergarten Spots Vow To Fight On
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 21, 2013
Parents who had prepared to camp out for four days to register their children for kindergarten in one of the city’s best neighborhood schools have packed up their tents and gone home.
Souderton Charter School Growing
The Intelligencer, PA, January 20, 2013
As the Souderton Area School District goes through the controversial process of shuttering one of its seven elementary schools due to a downward trend in enrollment, one small charter school in its borders is making plans to grow.
TENNESSEE
Haslam Addresses School Vouchers Issues
The Memphis Daily News, TN, January 21, 2013
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says the third year of significant education reform legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly will include vouchers but added that “ultimately our efforts in Tennessee are going to be around the vast majority of kids that are in public schools.”
UTAH
Utah Praised For Abundance Of Charter School Options
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, January 18, 2013
Utah ranks 11th in the nation when it comes to charter school programs, according to a new national study.
WISCONSIN
Three Ex-GOP Speakers Now Lobby For School Choice
Janesville Gazette, WI, January 21, 2013
Several former Assembly speakers looked on Jan. 7 as the 75th speaker, Republican Rep. Robin Vos, was elected to lead that half of the Legislature.
Democracy In The Way of Vouchers
The Oshkosh Northwestern, WI, January 20, 2013
Leave it to Sen. Mike Ellis to hit the nail on the head: The expansion of school vouchers is a non-starter in northeast Wisconsin. In our view, such is the case across Wisconsin. The Senate president, in typically blunt language, called last week for local referendum votes on any expansion of the state’s school voucher program outside of Milwaukee and Racine.
Deciding Voucher Issues Is Job of Legislators
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, January 20, 2013
When it comes to whether this or any other state should provide students with taxpayer-funded vouchers to attend private school, there is no shortage of opinion, study, vested interest, ideology and passion to help guide our elected officials.
ONLINE LEARNING
Views Differ On Virtual Education
Boston Globe, MA, January 19, 2013
A new state law opening the way for more virtual schools in Massachusetts is drawing mixed reactions from area school officials, with some welcoming it and others voicing concern.
Many Alle-Kiski School Districts Challenge Private Charter, Cyber Schools
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, January 20, 2013
Many Alle-Kiski school districts are tired of footing the bill for students who decide to go to private charter and cyber schools, so they‘re fighting back.
State Trend Of Cyberschools Opening Learning Centers Comes To Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley Express-Times, PA, January 19, 2013
Achievement House Cyber Charter School has opened a learning center in South Bethlehem that the school says is the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley.
New Trend In Classroom Instruction
Northwest Arkansas News, AR, January 19, 2013
Some teachers in Fayetteville and other districts are using a new model called flipped instruction. They said it helps students keep up with classroom work and provides more time for concentrated work exercises in the classroom.