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
Chavous: Congress Is Getting it Wrong on Parental School Choice
Roll Call, DC, April 5, 2013
If Congress and the administration are really serious about ensuring every child, regardless of ZIP code or family income, gets a quality education, the delivery system shouldn’t matter. Whether it is a public, charter, private, magnet, virtual or home school — parents should be able to choose the school that best fits their child’s needs.
Catholic Schools Failing To Keep Up Enrollment
USA Today, April 5, 2013
The nation’s Catholic schools, facing increasing competition, rising costs and a diminishing core of potential pupils, continue to struggle to keep students and find new ones. But there are some signs of growth in cities including Los Angeles and Indianapolis.
The Right Response To The Atlanta Cheating Scandal
New York Daily News, NY, April 4, 2013
For those of us who support academic standards, testing and accountability as strategies to improve public education, the Atlanta cheating indictments are sobering. Here was a system where dozens of employees, over the course of almost a decade, racketeered to rig results (or so it is alleged).
Atlanta Test Scores: Cheating Is Cheating
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 4, 2013
Standardized testing may be overstressed, but that’s no excuse for educators to tamper with scores.
FROM THE STATES
ALASKA
House Passes Measure To Postpone Tenure Availability For Teachers
Daily News Miner, AK, April 5, 2013
The House on Thursday approved a bill that would extend the probationary period for public school teachers from three years to five years, a move that unions say will hurt the state’s ability to recruit new educators.
CALIFORNIA
Rocketship Charter School Litigation Battles Highlight Community Tensions
Peninsula Press, CA, April 4, 2013
Lawsuits questioning the Santa Clara County Board of Education’s authority to exempt Rocketship Education from local land-use requirements for a new countywide charter school in San Jose’s Tamien neighborhood highlight deep community tensions over the proposed project.
Parents With Power Over L.A. School Weigh Their Options
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 4, 2013
About 50 parents on Thursday attended a presentation to help them decide who should run 24th Street Elementary School, a campus whose fate is in the hands of families who are trying to change the management of the school under the controversial parent trigger law.
CONNECTICUT
State Receives Proposals For New Charter Schools
CT Post, CT, April 4, 2013
The state received seven applications for new charter schools this week, including one for a Montessori school in Bridgeport that would be run in conjunction with the city school board.
FLORIDA
Florida House Bolsters Charter School Growth, Over Teacher, Union Objections
Palm Beach Post, FL, April 4, 2013
A “parent-trigger” bill pushed by former Gov. Jeb Bush was among several classroom measures Thursday that cleared the Florida House over opposition from Democrats who warned against the expanding role of for-profit schools and online companies.
Fla. House Passes ‘Parent Trigger’ Bill On Schools
Herald Tribune, FL, April 5, 2013
The Florida House on Thursday passed a bill to give parents a vote on turnaround options for failing public schools, despite a last-ditch effort to portray it as a backdoor measure to let for-profit companies take over public schools.
Misguided School-Choice Reform Will Backfire On Kids
Orlando Sentinel, FL, April 4, 2013
Supporters of the parent-trigger bill will argue that the plan is about nothing more than giving parents control over their child’s education. That it is about giving parents a choice. But there is much these advocates do not tell you.
GEORGIA
Georgia About To Roll Out New Grading System For Schools And Districts
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, April 4, 2013
Parents know their child’s grades. Later this month, they’ll learn whether that child’s school is making the grade.
ILLINOIS
The Tribune Backs Away From An Estimate Of The Charter Schools Waiting List
Chicago Reader Blog, IL, April 4, 2013
The Chicago Tribune is sticking to its guns—kind of. And kind of not.
Emanuel Fires Back At Critics Who Say CPS Closings Racist
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 4, 2013
Mayor Rahm Emanuel backed his public schools chief Thursday amid charges that the plan to close 54 schools is racist, and leveled criticism at the Chicago Teachers Union for what he said was its inability to articulate an alternative to continuing with a failed status quo.
MAINE
On-Campus Living May Not Stay Free For Charter School’s Students
Morning Sentinel, ME, April 4, 2013
Legislative bills that could potentially take funding away from charter schools and a bill that would end or reduce state funds for boarding at the Good Will-Hinckley campus played a role in the decision, said school spokeswoman Rebecca Pollard.
MASSACHUSETTS
Charter School Offers Ideal Home For City Preschool
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, April 5, 2013
Yes, the city of Gloucester is required to put out a formal “request for proposals” in its search to find a new home for its preschool, along with its Fuller School mates, the school administration offices and bus transportation operation.
MICHIGAN
Michigan Education Achievement Authority Still Has To Prove Itself
Detroit News, MI, April 5, 2013
When faced with bad news from our schools, whether it is academic or behavioral, we’ve grown accustomed to a common response from administrators.
MINNESOTA
Minnesota Bill Includes Teacher Evaluation Funding
Pioneer Press, MN, April 4, 2013
Minnesota lawmakers passed a law two years ago to better evaluate teachers, putting in place a system of more-rigorous reviews based on classroom observations and improved student performance.
MISSOURI
Mo. Charter Public School Association Receives $100,000 Grant
St. Louis Business Journal, MO, April 4, 2013
The Missouri Charter Public School Association (MCPSA) received a $100,000 grant from the St. Louis Social Venture Partners to assist charter schools in their business operations management.
NEW JERSEY
Four North Jersey Applicants Among 38 Applying To Open Charter Schools
The Record, NJ, April 4, 2013
A range of applicants hope to open 38 charter schools in New Jersey, including two in Bergen County and two in Passaic County.
NEW YORK
School Choice – For Some
New York Post, NY, April 5, 2013
Guess who sends her kids to private school when they reach highschool age? That’s right: longtime public school parent-activist Leonie Haimson.
Charges Over Charters Fly As Eva Enters Wash. Irving
The Villager, NY, April 4, 2013
A new 500-seat charter school is planned to open this August in the Washington Irving High School building, and — as has frequently happened elsewhere when charter schools come in — a battle is brewing to block it.
NORTH CAROLINA
Wright Wrong On Teacher Tenure
Daily Advance, NC, April 4, 2013
I am a frequent reader of your opinion page and appreciate reading both sides of the political spectrum. However, based on a column by Mr. Bud Wright in the March 29 edition regarding teacher tenure, I believe you do many other columnists a disservice by listing him as a columnist.
OHIO
Charter School Under Scrutiny
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, April 4, 2013
So many financial and student records are missing from the now shuttered International College Preparatory Academy in Bond Hill that Ohio State Auditor Dave Yost says he questions how nearly $1 million in federal funds was spent in the school’s final full year in 2008.
PENNSYLVANIA
Ex-Charter Official Testifies On School’s Shortcomings
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 5, 2013
During a hearing to determine whether Truebright deserves to have its charter renewed, Susan Farley-Ellison detailed the North Philadelphia school’s academic shortcomings.
TENNESSEE
For-Profit Charters Won’t Give Up
Nashville Public Radio, TN, April 4, 2013
An effort to lift the ban on for-profit companies running charter schools in Tennessee has been resurrected in a legislative Hail Mary. The change in law has been tacked onto a bill of minor tweaks to charter school regulations.
Tennessee School-Voucher Bill Failure Pinned On Germantown’s Kelsey
Commercial Appeal, TN, April 4, 2013
There was finger-pointing Thursday about who’s responsible for the likely death of Tennessee school voucher legislation for this year.
Campfield’s Bill Silent On Students Above Poverty Line
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, April 5, 2013
Take, for example, the proposal (SB132) by state Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, to reduce the welfare benefits of low-income families if their children do not perform well in school.
TEXAS
Vouchers Dealth Big Blow In Texas House Budget Vote
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, TX, April 5, 2013
A new Texas budget inched toward passage late Thursday in the House, where Republicans and Democrats during a marathon debate brokered deals to defuse volatile ideological battles and stifled tea party newcomers still craving influence.
WASHINGTON
GOP Irked As Gov. Inslee Shifts Stance On Grading Schools
Seattle Times, WA, April 4, 2013
Gov. Jay Inslee told Republican lawmakers this week he thinks their proposal to grade schools A-F needs further study, a blow to a concept Inslee fully embraced during the campaign.
WISCONSIN
Expand Charter Schools
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, April 4, 2013
The proposed expansion of independent charter schools in Assembly Bill 40 to communities such as Green Bay and Madison has the potential to throw open the doors of opportunity for children trapped in struggling schools.
ONLINE LEARNING
Penn. Family Group Warns Homeschooling Families May Be Subject to Investigation Under Proposed Bill
Christian News Network, April 4, 2013
A pro-family organization in Pennsylvania is expressing concern over a proposed bill that would require an investigation into homeschooling families in certain situations.
House Sends Digital Ed, Charter School Overhaul And Parent Trigger To Senate
WFSU, FL, April 4, 2013
The Florida House has signed off on proposals giving kids more access to online courses and charter schools, while cracking down on charter abuses and paving the way for parents to have a greater say in the fate of failing public schools.