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
To Transform the U.S. Education System, Focus on Teacher Effectiveness
Forbes, April 9, 2013
Never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned, when I was Director of Education at University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), that one day I’d be known as a social entrepreneur, a founder and CEO of a nonprofit organization that supports 20,000 new teachers each year with plans to triple that impact over the next four years.
Common Core Is the Next Bandwagon
National Review Online, April 8, 2013
If money talks, then Bill Gates’s money talks louder. This is one way to explain why the best and brightest in the educational-policy arena would rush to endorse a harmful program like Common Core Standards (CCS), which aspires to be a nationwide set of educational guidelines. Common Core is heavily promoted and subsidized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and its proponents often cite Gates-funded academic organizations.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Parent Group Picks LAUSD To Take Over Failing School
San Bernardino Sun, CA, April 8, 2013
A Los Angeles-based parent group that has won the right to remake their failing Los Angeles Unified school wants the district to run the school after it reopens its doors.
Firing The Worst Teachers
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 7, 2013
A bill in the California legislature would help streamline the tortuous procedure for getting rid of the states worst teachers.
COLORADO
District Cuts 80 Teachers For 2013-14; Cites Charter Expansion And Federal Budget Cuts
Greely Tribune, CO, April 9, 2013
“While these are tough and difficult decisions in any year, the recent impact of charter school expansions and federal sequestration have the potential to produce a significant negative impact on our budget,” wrote Superintendent Ranelle Lang in a brief to the board of education concerning the issue.
FLORIDA
Maxwell: All-Black School, All Going To College
Tampa Bay Times, FL, April 6, 2013
No, this is not a column about black history. It’s about history repeating itself and about what education can be for black schoolchildren today when caring, wise, dedicated adults are in charge.
ILLINOIS
Racist? No.
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 9, 2013
The debate over Chicago school closings has taken an ugly turn in recent weeks with the charge that city and school leaders are motivated not by economics, not by education needs, but by racism.
INDIANA
Fighting School Voucher Program
Northwest Times, IN, April 9, 2013
The Lake Central School Board unanimously approved a resolution against House Bill 1003 on Monday, noting that the new voucher program will put an unfair economic burden on the school system.
IOWA
Education Reform Package May Stall School Budget Process
Sioux City Journal, IA, April 8, 2013
Gov. Terry Branstad said school administrators should lobby lawmakers to speed up passage of his education reform package if they’re worried about completing their budgets soon.
LOUISIANA
Despite Legal Issues, Voucher Program’s Popularity Growing
American Press, LA, April 9, 2013
While the constitutionality of the state’s voucher program for public school students remains to be determined, statistics show that it is gaining in popularity.
MAINE
Embattled Baxter Academy Wins Approval, Praise From Charter School Commission
Maine Sun Journal, ME, April 8, 2013
But the final member of the commission voted the same as all the others, giving the Baxter Academy the unanimous go-ahead to open this September for some 160 students from as many as 48 towns in southern and central Maine.
Lawmakers Reject LePage Plan For $1M Charter School Defense Fund
Portland Press Herald, ME, April 8, 2013
The Education Committee votes 10-2 against the proposal, which would have taken $1 million from public schools
MARYLAND
Montgomery County Council Wants More Counselors, Other Support Staff In Schools
Washington Post, DC, April 8, 2013
Members of the Montgomery County Council , concerned about the student achievement gap, focused Monday on how to ensure that the number of non-teaching public school staff keeps pace with rising student enrollment during budget talks with the Board of Education.
MICHIGAN
Who Grades The Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager?
Detroit News, MI, April 9, 2013
If we were to construct a report card for the emergency management of the Detroit Public Schools since it began in 2009, what would it include?
School District Planning Marketing Campaign To Attract School-Of-Choice Students
Milan News-Leader, MI, April 9, 2013
Milan Area Schools will launch a marketing campaign to try to draw more students to the district and combat declining enrollment.
NEW JERSEY
New Charter School Applications Include Three In Cumberland County
Press of Atlantic City, NJ, April 8, 2013
Three applications from Cumberland County are among 38 proposals for new public charter schools submitted to the state Department of Education by the March 31 deadline in the first round of 2013 applications.
Be Careful With School Application’s ‘Unchartered’ Waters
South Jersey Times, NJ, April 9, 2013
Put a new spin on the old saw “Those who can’t do … teach.” These days, it’s “Those who can’t teach … apply to open charter schools.”
The DOE’s Teacher Evaluation System Has Obvious Flaws That Ought to Be Corrected Before Initial Implementation
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, April 8, 2013
The Department of Education states that the goal of its proposed teacher evaluation system, dubbed “AchieveNJ,” is to move “from a compliance-based, low-impact, and mostly perfunctory [evaluation system] to focus on educators as career professionals who receive meaningful feedback and opportunities for growth.”
Camden School Takeover Brings With It a City’s Worth of Problems
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, April 8, 2013
A state assumption of local school districts is no longer uncharted territory, but the decision by the Christie Administration to take control of the chronically underperforming Camden school district presents challenges that extend beyond the classroom and the quality of teachers and administrators.
NEW YORK
Gifted, Talented—Squeezed
Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2013
One of New York City’s most elite institutions became more exclusive this year.
Fewer children scored high enough for a shot at a coveted seat in a citywide gifted-and-talented program this year after the Department of Education changed the main test it uses.
NORTH CAROLINA
Uncertainty on 2014 Charter Schools Continues
Charlotte Observer, NC, April 8, 2013
RALEIGH A charter school advisory council Monday added a Mecklenburg County charter-school application to a long list of proposals that could be sidelined by flawed paperwork.
NC Senate Bill Could End Tenure For K-12 Teachers
Daily Tar Heel, NC, April 8, 2013
The N.C. General Assembly will debate a bill this week that could affect every public school educator in the state.
OHIO
Cleveland School District Avoids State Control Based On Cleveland Plan Already In Place
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, April 8, 2013
The Cleveland schools will not fall under the control of a state academic distress commission.
PENNSYLVANIA
Parents Plead To Keep 2 Schools Open
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 9, 2013
PARENTS, STUDENTS and staff from two schools slated for closure pleaded their cases Monday night to the School Reform Commission in an effort to keep the schools open.
TENNESSEE
Former Mayor, Several Others Seek To Open Charters In Memphis
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, April 8, 2013
More than 20 groups have applied to run charter schools here in 2014, including former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton, who sees Memphis as the nucleus of a push for a national charter network.
Charter School Stakeholders Rally Around Authorizer Reform Bill
The Chattanoogan, TN, April 8, 2013
Stakeholders in the quest for education reform in Tennessee have closely followed House Bill 702/Senate Bill 830, the charter school authorizer reform bill, while it travels through House and Senate committees. Recent amendments have altered the scope, though not the intent, of the bill as a floor vote draws near.
A Visit to Tennessee’s Education Bill Graveyard
Nashville Public Radio, TN, April 8, 2013
Tennessee lawmakers bit off more than they could chew this session when it comes to classroom reform.
TEXAS
State Senate Panel Hears School Choice Bill
CBS Dallas, TX, April 9, 2013
A Texas Senate education panel is set to discuss a high-profile voucher bill — even though the House has already said it opposes using public money to fund private schools.
UTAH
Charter Vs. Public Schools: New Models Or More Money?
Deseret News, UT, April 8, 2013
Bring up the topic of charter schools and you are usually asking for a fight. This is a sensitive topic, with critics on both sides of the aisle who all have the education of our children on the forefront of their minds.
VIRGINIA
Fairfax County Teachers Say New Evaluations Are Excessive
Washington Examiner, DC, April 8, 2013
Fairfax County school leaders are taking a second look at a new teacher evaluation system after teachers said it is overly burdensome.
WASHINGTON
State’s New Math Test May Keep Many Seniors From Graduating
Seattle Times, WA, April 8, 2013
With graduation approaching, many high-school students have fewer and fewer chances to meet the state’s new graduation requirement in math. This is the first year that seniors must pass a state math exam, or one of a few alternatives, to earn a diploma.
WISCONSIN
Impact Of Private-School Vouchers
Tomah Journal, WI, April 9, 2013
My last article focused on the complexities of school finance and the potential impact of the proposed biennial budget on the Tomah Area School District. As a follow-up, I think it is important to share information on a controversial aspect of the 2013-15 biennial budget — increased taxpayer funding for private school voucher program expansion in Wisconsin.
School Voucher Backers, Foes Argue Their Cases To Lawmakers
Green Bay Press Gazette, WI, April 9, 2013
Those on both sides of a proposed expansion of a school voucher program to Green Bay took center stage Monday during a state budget hearing at the Lambeau Field Atrium.
ONLINE LEARNING
Cyber Charter Schools A Pox On Public Education
Chambersburg Public Opinion, PA, April 8, 2013
With the stroke of a pen, our area legislators could save Franklin County school districts millions of dollars each year by fixing a broken funding formula and eliminating wasteful spending on cyber charter schools.
Florida Virtual Learning Bills Gain Momentum In Legislature
Examiner, FL, April 8, 2013
Florida schoolchildren and college students will soon have greater access to online learning programs, if Republican lawmakers have their way.
Districts U-46, 300 Deny Virtual Charter School Proposal
Chicago Daily Herald, IL, April 8, 2013
The school boards in Elgin Area School District U-46 and Community Unit District 300 unanimously denied a charter proposal during their meetings Monday night that would have allowed a virtual charter school to open in the coming school year.