NEWSWIRE IS BACK! 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.
NATIONAL COVERAGE
Rotten to the Core
Journal Gazette, IN, March 7, 2013
As soon as someone tells you something will save education, hide your children, hide your wife and check your back pocket. Because education deals with children and the American dream, it’s a land of magical thinking. The latest unproven fad is called Common Core.
FROM THE STATES
ALABAMA
Judge Delays Decision On Private School Tax Credit Bill
Montgomery Advertiser, AL, March 6, 2013
A Montgomery County Circuit judge Wednesday morning delayed a ruling on a bill extending tax credits to students who transfer from designated failing public schools to non-failing ones or private schools after attorneys representing Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey filed a motion to dismiss.
More Questions Raised About Tax Credit Bill
Daily Home, AL, March 6, 2013
More questions than answers have been raised by the Alabama legislature’s passage last week of a bill originally written to allow flexibility and innovation in the state’s K-12 public schools through the Alabama Accountability Act of 2013.
CALIFORNIA
Big Money Doesn’t Buy Much In L.A. School Races
Los Angeles Times, CA, March 6, 2013
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s PAC raised nearly $4 million, much of it from outside interests, on behalf of three school board candidates. But it secured only one seat.
Local Fixes For ‘Failing’ Schools
Los Angeles Times, CA, March 7, 2013
Nine California school districts are drawing up a more comprehensive way of measuring student progress.
COLORADO
Douglas County Schools Signs Unique Charter School Deal
9NEWS, CO, March 6, 2013
Over the past few years, strong emotions have surrounded the changes taking place within the Douglas County School District — from school vouchers to eliminating the contract with the teachers’ union. Now, there’s a project underway that may also be reflective of the new direction of the district.
FLORIDA
Charter School Plan Discussed
Tampa Tribune, FL, March 7, 2013
A meeting on potential environmental impacts of building a charter high school off Sunset Lane drew an overflow crowd of residents, many characterizing it as a bad fit that would adversely impact natural resources.
Charter School Lunacy
Orlando Sentinel, FL, March 7, 2013
Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” A shuttered Orlando charter school that bore his name again proves the point.
Daniel Shoer Roth: Deadly Trigger For Public Schools
Miami Herald, FL, March 6, 2013
Florida legislators plan to exploit once again the good intentions of parents and their desire for a fine education for their children to advance lawmakers’ privatization crusade.
GEORGIA
400 Seek Dekalb School Board Seat; 1 Gives Hers Up
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, March 7, 2013
More than 400 people applied for the six openings on the DeKalb County school board by Wednesday’s deadline, and the governor’s office, under pressure to get the vacant positions filled fast, promised the process won’t be “weeks-long.”
Parent Trigger Law On Charter Schools Closer To Reality
Augusta Chronicle, GA, March 6, 2013
Parents and teachers in Georgia are a step closer to having more authority over who runs their children’s low-performing schools and how those campuses are structured.
IDAHO
Ed Alternatives: Idaho House Signs Off on Second Charter Schools Bill
Magic Valley Times News, ID, March 6, 2013
A measure giving organizations including Idaho public universities and non-profits power to open charter schools has passed the House.
ILLINOIS
CPS Panel: Up To 80 Schools Could Close
Chicago Tribune, IL, March 7, 2013
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration could safely close or overhaul as many as 80 schools this year, according to the final report of a commission that just two months ago voiced misgivings about the district’s ability to close a large number of schools without major upheaval.
Minorities Doing Better In District 87
Chicago Tribune, IL, March 6, 2013
Officials at Glenbard High School District 87 in Glen Ellyn expect it will take another three to five years before significant gains are made in reducing minority achievement gaps.
IOWA
Senate’s Education Bill Flexible On Teacher Mentorship
Des Moines Register, IA, March 7, 2013
The Iowa Senate is advancing a statewide education reform initiative for Iowa’s public schools, although it’s not an identical blueprint of the proposal unveiled earlier this session by Gov. Terry Branstad.
KANSAS
Kansas Casts Eye On Teachers Unions
Kansas City Star, KS, March 6, 2013
The visceral battle over teachers’ unions has marched its way across the country. Ohio. Idaho. Wisconsin. Michigan. And now it advances into Kansas, greeted by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and his conservative allies in the Legislature.
LOUISIANA
Grading The Evaluation
Monroe News Star, LA, March 7, 2013
Many Louisiana teacher evaluations include an observation tool that some believe presents an incomplete view of job performance and could ultimately result in an inaccurate assessment.
Parents Get Second Shot At Applying For Jefferson Parish Magnet Schools
Times-Picayune, LA, March 6, 2013
In an effort to try to fill more than 500 vacant spots in the district’s eight magnet schools, Jefferson Parish school officials are opening a second application period from April 1-17.
MICHIGAN
Michigan School Districts Feel Pinch As Deficits Grow
Detroit News, MI, March 7, 2013
Only 11 of the 49 Michigan school districts in deficit expect to end the budget year in the black, while 13 have seen their deficits grow during the year, according to a report by State Superintendent Mike Flanagan.
MINNESOTA
Henderson Charter School Gets Approval To Include K-5 Grades
Mankato Free Press, MN, March 7, 2013
The third try was the charm for Minnesota New Country School, which will expand with a long-sought elementary curriculum next fall.
MISSISSIPPI
Charter Schools Part Of Omnibus Bill
Desoto Times Tribune, MS, March 7, 2013
Charter schools in Mississippi will be discussed as part of an omnibus bill in the Mississippi Senate on Thursday which will be a compilation of Gov. Phil Bryant’s education reform initiatives and charter school proposals.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Charter School Funding Bill Heads To House, Among Continued Uncertainty For Charter Futures
The Nashua Telegraph, NH, March 7, 2013
A few months back, Karin Cevasco and other founders of the Gate City Charter School for the Arts had March 1 in their sights as the target for state approval if they wanted to open their school next fall.
NEW JERSEY
Vote Tabled On School Closing
Courier Post, NJ, March 7, 2013
A Winslow charter school tabled a vote Wednesday to appeal a recent decision by the state Department of Education to close the school due to poor performance.
Christie Administration Unveils Details Of Teacher Evaluation Proposal
The Record, NJ, March 6, 2013
The Christie administration released the nitty-gritty details of its proposals for evaluating educators Wednesday, raising concerns from some critics that it was pushing its agenda too fast.
NEW MEXICO
Public Education Commission Appeals Skandera Decision On Charter Approvals
New Mexican, NM, February 6, 2013
The state Public Education Commission is appealing two decisions by Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera in which she went over commissioners’ heads and approved new charter schools.
NEW YORK
Buffalo School Board Renews Enterprise Charter School For 2 Years
Buffalo News, NY, March 7, 2013
The Buffalo School Board voted Wednesday to renew Enterprise Charter School for two years after its January vote approving three years was shot down by the state Board of Education.
NORTH CAROLINA
Bacon Academy Is Region’s Only Charter School Applicant
Star News, NC, March 6, 2013
Come 2014, there won’t be four new charter schools in Southeastern North Carolina.
Charter Schools Have Higher Risk For Fraud
The Reflector, NC, March 6, 2013
Jeb Bush, governor of Florida, was cited as a model for charter schools. But Florida’s charter school record is not pretty.
NC School Board Weighs Charter School’s Plagiarism
Charlotte Observer, NC, March 7, 2013
RALEIGH, N.C. North Carolina school officials are deciding whether to reject a Charlotte charter school set to open in August because it copied big chunks of its plan from another school’s application.
OHIO
Coleman’s Panel Asks: Is Elected School Board Best?
Columbus Dispatch, OH, March 7, 2013
Mayor Michael B. Coleman’s Education Commission will bring in experts later this month to explore whether an elected school board is the best governance model for Columbus City Schools, the commission’s director said yesterday.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma Senate Passes ‘Parent Trigger’ Bill On Low-Performing Schools
Tulsa World, OK, March 7, 2013
The Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday passed an Oklahoma version of what has been described as the “parent trigger.”
Oklahoma Legislator’s Bill Upbraids Districts Suing Parents Over School Vouchers
Tulsa World, OK, March 7, 2013
Jenks and Union school districts were taken to the woodshed on Wednesday by Rep. Jason Nelson, whose House Bill 2160 is a very thinly disguised jab at those two districts for their legal action against a voucher program Nelson championed.
PENNSYLVANIA
Judgment Day Thursday On 27 School Closings
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, March 7, 2013
EXPECT some fireworks Thursday night when the School Reform Commission is scheduled to vote on a plan to close 27 district schools.
Help With Scholarships
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 7, 2013
However, there is hope. There is an opportunity to help Philadelphia public school students attend OSTC-registered private schools or non-failing public schools through the use of state tax dollars. We just need businesses to take advantage of this opportunity.
TEXAS
Charter Or Public School? Laredoans Sound Off
Laredo Morning Times, TX, March 6, 2013
Charter or public school? This was the question Adriana Paredes and her husband considered before deciding to enroll their son at Alexander High School prior to the 2012-13 school year.
WASHINGTON
Washington State Senate Passes K-12 Principal Hiring Power Bill
KNDU, WA, March 7, 2013
Washington State principals could be able to kick teachers they don’t want out of their schools.
The Washington state Senate has passed a measure Wednesday giving veto power to principals over teachers assigned to their schools.
Strong Appointees Power State’s Charter-School Commission
Seattle Times, WA, March 6, 2013
The nine appointed to Washington’s new charter-school commission could offer a powerful vision on non-traditional public schools.
9 Named To Charter Schools Commission
Everett Daily Herald, WA, March 6, 2013
A former lawmaker, a school superintendent and a university expert on curriculum are among the nine people named today to the state commission that will help launch new charter schools in Washington.
WEST VIRGINIA
W.Va. Schools Are Failing Too Many Kids
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, March 7, 2013
It’s understandable that teachers unions, who helped write much of West Virginia’s education law, would react with alarm to the dismantling of some of that strangling overregulation.
WISCONSIN
Vouchers Plan May Change, GOP Says
Green Bay Press-Gazette, WI, March 6, 2013
Green Bay school officials say they are pleased that several Republican state senators want to take expansion of the school voucher program out of a proposed two-year budget.
Bishops Come Out In Favor Of School Vouchers
La Crosse Tribune, WI, March 7, 2013
The bishop of the La Crosse Diocese has joined other Catholic leaders in support of Gov. Scott Walker’s plans to expand school vouchers.
ONLINE LEARNING
Haverford Reviews Benefits Of ‘Blended School’
Delaware County Daily Times, PA, March 6, 2013
The school district’s blended school program appears to be curtailing cyber charter school enrollment and saving taxpayer money, officials said in a recent update to the school board.
District Discusses Developing Cyberschool
Reading Eagle, PA, March 7, 2013
The Exeter School Board Curriculum Committee is talking about revisions to the gifted program and cyberschool options.
TN Bill Sets Standards To Shut Down Failing Online Schools
The Tennessean, TN, March 7, 2013
A bill that would let education officials shut down failing online schools advanced in the Senate, but a plan to give parents vouchers for use in private schools was delayed Wednesday.
OCHS Flipped Classroom Engages Students
Ocean City Gazette, MD, March 7, 2013
In the traditional approach to teaching mathematics, students come to class and sit in rows, spending most of their time listening to a teacher’s lecture and taking notes. Then they go home and try to make sense of the material through homework assignments, including problem sets and other solo activities.
Barnes’ Bill Would Fund Online Education At Expense Of Schools
News Tribune, MO, March 7, 2013
Missouri students would have much better access to an online education, if a bill proposed by Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, is approved by the General Assembly. Under the terms of the bill, funding that goes to Missouri’s public school districts would become portable to the virtual school of a family’s choice.