Daily Headlines for May 21, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
State Education Chiefs Oppose Delay In High-Stakes Test Repercussions
Washington Post, DC, May 21, 2013
A small group of state education officials is pushing back against a call by teachers unions for a moratorium on using standardized tests for evaluating students or teachers until states have completely implemented Common Core standards, a new way of teaching math and reading in grades kindergarten through 12th.
Cul-de-Sac Poverty
New York Times, NY, May 21, 2013
In 2011, the suburban poor outnumbered the urban poor by three million; from 2000 to 2011, the number of poor people soared by 64 percent in the suburbs, compared with 29 percent in cities.
Should We Let Wunderkinds Drop Out Of High School?
Associated Press, May 21, 2013
Examples of tech geniuses who lack college degrees are well-known — Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg among them. But Karp left high school after his freshman year, with his mother’s blessing, at the tender age of 14.
GOP Fear of Common Core Education Standards Unfounded
Washington Post, DC, May 21, 2013
Modern conservatism comes in two distinct architectural styles. The first seeks to build from scratch, using accurate ideological levels and plumb lines, so every wall is straight and every corner squared.
STATE COVERAGE
ALABAMA
Lawmakers Approve Tax Credits For Students In Failing Schools
WIAT, AL, May 21, 2013
State lawmakers finalized big changes in the way parents in Alabama can decide where their children go to school. In the final hours of the 2013 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature, state lawmakers rejected an executive amendment to the Alabama Accountability Act which impacts students who are enrolled in failing schools.
CALIFORNIA
Ask The L.A. Mayor Candidates: Would You Try To Take Control Of L.A. Schools?
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 20, 2013
During separate video interviews with the Los Angeles Times last month, candidates for L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel responded to questions from individual voters.
Charter School Proposal Drawing Criticism
San Diego Union-Tribune, CA, May 20, 2013
The former site of Escondido’s East Valley library branch would become a charter school campus under a proposal the City Council is scheduled to consider Wednesday.
COLORADO
ABCs of the New School Finance Act
Colorado Statesman, CO, May 20, 2013
On Tuesday, May 21, Gov. John Hickenlooper is scheduled to sign Senate Bill 13-213, the new public school finance act passed by the General Assembly earlier this month. And then the real work begins: getting Colorado voters to approve a $1 billion income tax hike that will restore much of the funding cut over the last few years.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Gray Releases 16 D.C. Public School Buildings For Reuse By Charters
Washington Post, DC, May 20, 2013
The District plans to allow public charter schools to enter into long-term leases for a dozen old public school buildings, some of which are traditional public schools that are slated to close by next year, Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Monday.
ILLINOIS
Source: Fewer Than 5 Schools To Be Spared
Chicago Tribune, IL , May 21, 2013
Pressured for months by teachers, community leaders and aldermen, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s hand-picked school board is nonetheless expected on Wednesday to approve closing all but a few of the 53 elementary schools the administration wants to shut down.
IOWA
Branstad Wants Education Accountability
Quad City Times, IA, May 20, 2013
Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he thinks lawmakers are “close, very close” on an education reform package but warned he needs to see changes in teacher accountability provisions to sign off on the bill.
LOUISIANA
State Monitoring Of Charter Schools Falls Short, Report Finds
Times-Picayune, LA, May 20, 2013
The promise to the public for New Orleans’ many independent charter schools is that although they have broad freedom to operate and educate as their leaders see fit, the state is keeping its eyes open for fraud and abuse.
MAINE
Innovative Schools Turning Lives Around In New England
Kennebec Journal, ME, May 21, 2013
Among them is a school in Deer Isle, Maine, which has developed a marine studies program.
MASSACHUSETTS
Expansion Rejection Is Unfair, Charter School Says
Boston Globe, MA, May 21, 2013
The highly ranked Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden is vigorously objecting to the denial of its request to expand by 400 students, contending that it has been singled out by the state for issues that are ignored at other charter schools.
MICHIGAN
Grand Rapids Schools Adopts Teacher Evaluation Policy
Grand Rapid Press, MI, May 20, 2013
Like public school districts across the state, Grand Rapids schools is improving its teacher evaluation system.
NEW JERSEY
Charter Schools Chart Course for Teacher Evaluations
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, May 21, 2013
Following a parallel but very different path from their district school brethren, New Jersey’s charter schools are finalizing plans for how they will evaluate their teachers and principals.
Charter School Critics Keep Coming Up Short
Star-Ledger, NJ, May 21, 2013
We were reminded of this cartoon when a new charter school study was released by Mathematica, showing that over a three-year period, KIPP charter students gained an average of 11 months’ learning in math and eight months in reading than district school peers.
NEW MEXICO
APS To Manage Charter’s Budget
Albuquerque Journal, NM, May 21, 2013
The Albuquerque Public Schools board is taking over the finances of 21st Century Public Academy charter school, after a unanimous vote Monday morning.
NEW YORK
Recognizing ‘Master Teachers’
Albany Times Union, NY, May 21, 2013
Top teachers in New York have long been eligible for their share of awards and plaudits, including Teacher of the Year honors and a national certification that brings higher pay.
Quinn’s School Folly
New York Post, NY, May 21, 2013
New York City is a regular Lake Wobegon, where all the kids are above average — at least according to Christine Quinn. The mayoral hopeful has announced that she wants to expand by 8,900 the number of seats in New York’s gifted and talented programs. Why stop there? Why not just put all the students into a gifted and talented program and pretend they’re all geniuses?
NORTH CAROLINA
Revamped Voucher Plan Debuts In House Committee Tuesday
News & Observer, NC, May 20, 2013
House lawmakers will consider a revamped plan to provide taxpayer dollars to help send public school students to private schools.
Proposed Board Splits Charter Advocates
WUNC, NC, May 21, 2013
Charter schools have been around in North Carolina for about a decade and a half, and for most of that time, the relationship between charters and traditional public schools has alternated between frosty and hostile.
OHIO
Legislature May Ditch Takeover Proposal For Columbus Schools
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 21, 2013
As hearings start this week on a Columbus school-district reform bill, an earlier proposal allowing for a state takeover of the state’s largest district is likely to vanish.
Added Scrutiny Of Charter Schools In City And State Is Overdue, But Finally Coming
Youngstown Vindicator, OH, May 21, 2013
State and local education leaders are committing themselves to beefed-up monitoring of Ohio’s ballooning network of charter schools.
PENNSYLVANIA
Wanting Public Money, But Not The Accountability
Observer-Reporter, PA, May 21, 2013
More and more, it appears that Pennsylvania’s charter schools want to have it both ways. They want generous servings of public dollars while, at the same time, avoiding the accountability that comes with being the recipients of taxpayer beneficence.
A New Kind Of College ‘Signing Day’
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 21, 2013
With cheerleaders, mascots, and thunderous applause, thousands of students from Mastery Charter Schools gathered for a giant pep rally Monday, but the event had nothing to do with sports.
Don’t Lay Off By Seniority: If We Want First-Rate Schools, We Must Keep The Best Teachers
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 21, 2013
In the fall of 2010, Dominique, known by her students as “Ms. D,” voluntarily transferred to teach in one of Philadelphia’s most challenging high schools. She wasn’t alone. The principal had articulated a vision of building an excellent school by recruiting a dream team of passionate, hard-working teachers.
Corbett Asks For ‘Modifications’ To Pa.’S Proposed Regulations On School Standards
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 21, 2013
Gov. Tom Corbett is recommending changes to a set of education regulations that have been criticized by both Democrats and conservatives.
RHODE ISLAND
Teachers Blast Gist At Public Forum
WPRI, RI, May 20, 2013
Hundreds of teachers from all over Rhode Island on Monday packed the Cranston West High School auditorium to criticize the policies and initiatives of state Education Commissioner Deborah Gist.
TENNESSEE
Achievement School District Adds High School
Memphis Daily News, TN, May 21, 2013
The state-run Achievement School District ventures into high school territory in August with the start of its second school year.
WISCONSIN
School Board Members Tell Charter School To Show More Diversity
Leader Telegram, WI, May 21, 2013
The Eau Claire school board continued to mull a contract extension for the district’s only charter school, with some board members saying Chippewa Valley Montessori Charter School should do more to diversify its enrollment.
Legislators To Decide Reach Of School Voucher Programs
Wisconsin Public Radio, WI, May 20, 2013
Legislators may soon decide the fate of Governor Scott Walker’s controversial plan to expand taxpayer-funded school vouchers. The expansion has been a divisive issue, especially in the communities that would be directly impacted.
ONLINE LEARNING
Akron Schools Trim Staff, Set Digital Academy Loose Featured
AkronNewsNow, OH, May 21, 2013
Smaller enrollment means the Akron Public Schools will do without 32 staff positions. And ending a sometimes contentious relationship, the Akron district moved to do without sponsorship of the Akron Digital Academy charter school.
BHS Offers Students Broader Range Of Courses Via Online
The Union-Recorder, GA, May 20, 2013
Baldwin High School senior Taylor Martin has enjoyed taking online courses for the last two years to further her knowledge in content areas not offered in the regular high school curriculum. With Georgia Virtual School (GaVS), students are provided that option of online learning.