Daily Headlines for May 16, 2013

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

Schools Rethink Suspension
Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2013

Damien Valentine was suspended from school for the first time as a seventh-grader in South Central Los Angeles, after arguing with a math teacher who had asked him to change seats.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

La Tijera School May Be Converted To Charter Campus
Los Angeles Wave, CA, May 15, 2013

Interim state administrator La Tanya Kirk-Carter has approved a study that seeks to convert La Tijera School into a dependent charter like City Honors, the district’s top academic institution.

Charter School Needs To Open Up
Los Altos Town Crier, CA, May 15, 2013

When is a public school meeting open to the public and when is it not? That’s the question we’ve been asking since Doug Smith, Los Altos School District Board of Trustees president, found himself unwelcome at two recent Bullis Charter School parent meetings he wanted to attend.

Data Lacking From Teacher Prep Push
San Diego Union-Tribune, CA, May 16, 2013

For the rest of the semester, the students will gradually take over more responsibilities in local classrooms, many of which are in low-performing schools in high-poverty districts.

COLORADO

Denver School Shutdown Creates Tension In Stapleton, Park Hill
Denver Post, CO, May 16, 2013

A plan to shut down an underperforming middle school in Park Hill and replace it with a nearby Stapleton campus has tensions running high among neighborhood parents.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Judge Declines To Block D.C. School Closures
Washington Post, DC, May 16, 2013

Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson can move forward with plans to close 15 D.C. schools, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, rejecting activists’ claims that the closures violate the civil rights of city children.

FLORIDA

Education Bills To Change State Landscape
St. Augustine Record, FL, May 16, 2013

The biggest battles on the education front in the 2013 legislative sessions have already been fought and largely decided: Educators will get $480 million in pay raises, though not precisely how Gov. Rick Scott had asked, and the Senate killed a bill allowing parents more of a say in the future of failing schools.

ILLINOIS

CTU Files Lawsuits To Stop School Closings
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 16, 2013

The Chicago Teachers Union’s decision to go to court to try to stop the city from closing 53 elementary schools, while not unexpected, makes clear that the Board of Education’s vote on the proposal next week will not put an end to the controversy.

INDIANA

Charter Schools Should Reassess Before Seeking New Start
Journal Gazette, IN, May 16, 2013

School closings are painful and disruptive, but the decisions behind them are never made lightly. Ball State University President Jo Ann Gora’s decision this week to uphold the charter revocations for five Indiana schools, including two Imagine schools in Fort Wayne, appears to come with more deliberation than the initial decision to grant the charters.

BSU Ending Pacts With 3 City Charters, 7 In Indiana
The Journal Gazette, IN, May 16, 2013

Ball State University officials have officially pulled the plug on the sponsorship of seven charter schools across the state, including three in Fort Wayne.

LOUISIANA

LPSS Board Hears Pitch On Charter Schools
The Daily Advertiser, LA, May 16, 2013

Two organizations hope to build a total of four charter schools in Lafayette Parish.

Voucher Funding Formula Modified
The Daily Advertiser, LA, May 16, 2013

Education Superintendent John White says a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling and Senate committee action are forcing a reworking of the plan to fund public schools by taking vouchers out of the formula and funding them separately.

Shakeout From School Voucher Ruling By Louisiana Supreme Court Begins
Times-Picayune, LA, May 15, 2013

The ramifications of a state Supreme Court decision radically disrupting school funding in general and Gov. Bobby Jindal’s voucher program in particular began to become clear Wednesday.

MARYLAND

Baltimore Teachers Union Supports Call To Halt Common Core Consequences
Baltimore Sun Blog, MD, May 15, 2013

The Baltimore Teacher’s Union has called for the district hold off on attaching penalties to schools’ performance on the new Common Core assessments, citing insufficient professional development and resources to implement the new high-stakes curriculum.

MASSACHUSETTS

Probation Is Urged For Charter School
Telegram & Gazette, MA, May 16, 2013

State Commissioner of Education Mitchell D. Chester is recommending that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education place the Spirit of Knowledge Charter School on probation.

A Good-Hearted Undertaking At Norwell Charter School
Patriot Ledger, MA, May 16, 2013

South Shore Charter Public School is blanketed with paper hearts from all over the world as a result of a student project intended to prove that the world is filled with kindness.

MISSOURI

School District Takeover Bill Goes To Nixon
Kansas City Star, MO, May 15, 2013

Legislation allowing the state to more quickly take over the Kansas City school district is headed to the governor.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

In Education, Money Counts: NH’s Top Schools Often Have The Lowest Amounts Of Poverty
Nashua Telegraph, NH, May 16, 2013

It’s a question that has been tossed around for years, by lawmakers trying to create a balanced budget and by educators lobbying for more funding for schools.

NEW YORK

A Team Approach to Get Students College Ready
New York Times Blog, NY, May 15, 2013

Sheffy’s school is one of three New York City public schools working with an organization called Blue Engine, which recruits and places recent college graduates as full-time teaching assistants in high schools, helps teachers shift to a small-group classroom model with a ratio of one instructor for roughly every six students…

The Bronx Is Burning — With Charter School Applications
New York Daily News, NY, May 15, 2013

Borough not only has the most hopefuls but also dramatically fewer slots. Parents complain of, frankly, poor schools in the mainland borough.

Bensonhurst Public School Sees Major Success From Longer Class Days
New York Daily News, NY, May 15, 2013

Bensonhurst students who are enduring a three-hour longer school day are finally seeing the reward: double-digit increases in test scores.

Charter School Students All From Utica
Utica Observer-Dispatch, NY, May 15, 2013

A Marcy couple hugged each other, eyes filled with tears at the sight of their daughter’s name on the acceptance list.

Thompson Proposes Plan for Teacher Merit Wages
Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2013

Bill Thompson said Wednesday he would create a form of merit pay for some New York City teachers if elected mayor, giving the city’s best teachers incentives to work in struggling schools.

NORTH CAROLINA

Senate Backs Wake Commissioners Takeover Of School Construction
News Observer, NC, May 16, 2013

Wake County commissioners on Wednesday neared their goal of taking possession of more than $1.8 billion in Wake school property, as the state Senate passed a bill that would strip the school board of its authority to own and build schools.

OHIO

Cleveland School District Moves Towards Performance Pay
StateImpact, OH, May 15, 2013

Last night the Cleveland school board unanimously agreed to what city and union officials are hailing as a groundbreaking teacher contract for Ohio. Union members will vote later this month.

House Revises Reading Plan For Ohio Schools
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 16, 2013

Gov. John Kasich and state legislators last spring created a new reading guarantee designed to identify young students with reading problems, get them help and keep them in the third grade if they do meet certain standards.

PENNSYLVANIA

Corbett To Keep Tomalis In New Post, Same Pay
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 16, 2013

Gov. Corbett made it official Wednesday: Pennsylvania Education Secretary Ron Tomalis is leaving his cabinet post, to be replaced by a suburban Harrisburg school superintendent.

SRC Renews 5 Charters
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, May 16, 2013

THE SCHOOL REFORM Commission voted to approve charter renewals for five schools last night, but four of them were forced to improve their enrollment procedures.

Plan Stresses Attracting Charter-School Students Back To York City Schools
The York Dispatch, PA, May 15, 2013

The state-appointed chief recovery officer for the York City School District doesn’t want to lose any time attracting charter-school students back to the district.

Charters’ Double Dip
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 16, 2013

In response to the May 7 letter “Wrong Reform” by Robert Fayfich, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, an important clarification must be made.

School Websites The Latest Venue For Advertisements As Districts Seek Revenue Sources
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 16, 2013

With funding tight, expenses ever increasing and limits set on how high taxes can be raised, school leaders find themselves looking for new ways to raise revenues.

RHODE ISLAND

Flynn: Charter School Cost Unfair To Lincoln
Valley Breeze, RI, May 15, 2013

The taxpayers of the town of Lincoln are paying the tuition this year for 68 children enrolled in the Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy. This is costing the taxpayers $650,488 for this year. This amount will be increasing each year as the charter school expands, and in the next few years could exceed $1 million.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC High School Graduation Exit Exam Could Be History
The State, SC, May 15, 2013

There also is wide agreement among lawmakers, state education officials and educators that the state should eliminate the test because, they say, it does not adequately measure students’ preparation for college or for today’s work force.

TENNESSEE

Stax Records Left A Powerful Legacy With An Ongoing Impact On Students In Memphis’ Soulsville
Associated Press, May 16, 2013

The academy also is adjacent to the Soulsville Charter School, which sends most, if not all, of its graduates to college every year.

TEXAS

House To Consider Much-Watched Charter School Bill
Beaumont Enterprise, TX, May 16, 2013

The House is set to debate a plan to dramatically expand the number of charter schools allowed to operate in Texas — a sweeping proposal that’s cleared the Senate but could face a tougher road in the lower chamber.

Texas Charter School Bill Would Put End To Nepotism
Dallas Morning News, TX, May 16, 2013

Texas charter schools can hire relatives of board members and superintendents. It’s a unique perk that was meant to foster innovation but has led to abuses of taxpayer dollars.

ONLINE LEARNING

In Maine, Push For Virtual Schools Fades
Press Herald, ME, May 16, 2013

After negative publicity, a task force’s preliminary report omits key digital learning reforms championed by Gov. LePage and Jeb Bush.

State Panel Won’t Consolidate 18 Virtual School Appeals
Daily Herald, IL, May 15, 2013

Administrators, district attorneys, school board members, union representatives and community members packed the meeting Wednesday of the Illinois State Charter School Commission in Chicago to argue against the proposed appeal process for a virtual charter school — and won.

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