Daily Headlines for June 5, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
Bill to Alter Bush-Era Education Law Gives States More Room
New York Times, June 5, 2013
Renewing the effort to revise No Child Left Behind, the signature Bush-era federal education law, Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, introduced a new version on Tuesday that he said would “replace the failed tenets” of the law.
Grading teachers on test scores: Column
USA Today, June 4, 2013
Signs exhorting students have been springing up at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., where I teach English. “Keep Calm and Crush the Test” is my favorite.
Ind. charter school group head takes US-wide post
WTHI, June 5, 2013
A leader among Indiana’s public charter schools is moving into a national advocacy post.
STATE COVERAGE
ARIZONA
Arizona court refuses to stop state’s voucher-like ’empowerment savings account’ program now
East Valley Tribune, June 5, 2013
The Court of Appeals won’t stop the state from continuing to fund a controversial voucher program, at least not now. In a brief order Tuesday, the judges rejected a request by foes of what are called “empowerment scholarship accounts” to block continued payments while the legality of the program is litigated.
CALIFORNIA
Kudos for Great Valley Academy described as ‘model charter school’
Manteca Bulletin, June 5, 2013
Great Valley Academy in Manteca was described as one of the “few (charter school) models that exist” by the Center for Educational Reform.
Charter money grab should end
Opinion, The Record, June 5, 2013
California slipped a notch in spending per public school pupil in 2011, falling to 35th among states in a year that marked the first overall drop across the nation in nearly four decades, the U.S. Census Bureau reported last month.
COLORADO
When the good guys in education reform prevailed
Column, Denver Post, June 5, 2013
Twenty years ago this week, Gov. Roy Romer signed the single most significant piece of school reform legislation of the past generation. As a result, 97,000 students will enroll this fall in charter schools, a number larger than the attendance in any single school district.
Dougco teacher plan innovative
Editorial, Denver Post, June 5, 2013
The school system’s ideas on teacher salaries may not be perfect, but they are on the right track.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Henderson not convinced that D.C. education plan will help schools
Washington Post, June 4, 2013
D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson said she is not convinced that a wide-ranging package of education legislation introduced Tuesday will improve educational outcomes for the city’s children.
Failing schools should be converted to charters
Editorial, Washington Examiner, June 4, 2013
David Catania, chairman of the D.C. Council’s Education Committee, wants to increase DC Public Schools’ accountability and academic results. Catania has the right idea but the wrong approach, one that is as doomed as other past attempts at school reform. But he’s not bold enough to propose the one thing that just might work.
FLORIDA
Teachers union not ‘dragging feet’
Tampa Tribune, June 5, 2013
The union that represents Pasco County school employees is as eager as anyone to start contract negotiations for the 2013-14 school year, but needs more information from the school district before that can happen, its leader said Tuesday.
Idaho college leaders back Common Core
Idaho Statesman, June 5, 2013
University presidents say the more rigorous standards will make for better students.
Teachers union worried about jobs with upcoming CPS budget
Chicago Tribune, June 5, 2013
As Chicago Public Schools prepares to issue budgets for individual schools to principals, the Chicago Teachers Union is predicting that hundreds of its members could be laid off because of the district’s ongoing budget woes.
LOUISIANA
John McDonogh High charter group will not manage Cohen in the fall
Times-Picayune, June 4,, 2013
The charter school group in charge of the John McDonogh High takeover that was chronicled in a recent Oprah Winfrey television series is relinquishing its limited management of another high school, citing budget problems.
Bills put religion in Louisiana schools
Letter, The Advocate, June 4, 2013
Regarding the letter to the editor May 25, “Evolution is its own religion,” by Larry Miller:
There is no doubt that the “Science Education Act” (House Bill 116) and the school voucher program are intended to introduce a religion (Christianity) into public schools.
MAINE
Commission considers moratorium on new charter school applications
Kennebec Journal, June 5, 2013
The Maine Charter School Commission is considering a one-year moratorium on new charter school applications after staff and several commissioners noted the time-consuming work of monitoring the five schools they’ve already approved and creating a raft of new rules to govern the two-year-old commission’s work.
MASSACHUSETTS
Barros proposes single application for city, charter schools
Boston Globe, June 5, 2013
Mayoral hopeful John Barros, in an effort to simplify the process of registering for school, is calling for a single application that can be used in Boston’s school system and at independently-run charter schools.
Lynn CFO says charter school costs ‘a killer’
The Daily Item, June 5, 2013
It has a hilltop view of Lynn from its perch in the Highlands, and the Knowledge Is Power Program academy is starting to figure prominently in city budget calculations as elected officials start the annual process of crafting a municipal budget.
Blackstone Valley Boasts a ‘Kick Butt’ School
Column, Go Local Worcester, June 5, 2013
Like many urban teens, Jessica Coello was obviously smart and capable, but totally turned off from school. When she was in grade school, thinking about high school, someone suggested she visit Blackstone Academy Charter School–recently recognized as 1 of 12 schools “Commended” by the state.
MICHIGAN
Grand Rapids schools’ statistical model for teacher evaluation pushes it ahead of the rest of the state
Grand Rapid Press, June 4, 2013
The old system of evaluating a teacher’s performance – a principal observing in a classroom – was not particularly effective, school administrators and teacher union leaders agree.
Financially troubled Michigan school districts may be forced to close
Detroit News, June 5, 2013
Insolvent school districts could be shut down and their students sent to neighboring districts within three weeks under bipartisan legislation proposed by two Michigan lawmakers.
MINNESOTA
Apple Valley charter school’s teacher terminations spark frustration
Star Tribune, June 4, 2013
At Apple Valley charter school Paideia Academy, tensions are running high among parents and students after the contracts of five teachers weren’t renewed for next school year.
MISSOURI
Reality of school funding in Missouri? It gets worse ever year.
Editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 5, 2013
When Missouri House budget chairman Rick Stream, a Kirkwood Republican, bragged last month that lawmakers approved K-12 education funding at the “highest level in the history of Missouri,” he was telling the truth.
NEW JERSEY
Creating successful charter schools for New Jersey
The Record, June 5, 2013
NEW JERSEYANS have sadly never had an opportunity to witness the benefit of a truly statewide charter school environment that helps children succeed, all schools improve and educators thrive. Unlike most other states, New Jersey law rests all authority to approve and vet charter school applications with the state Commissioner of Education.
NEW YORK
A win for NYC’s kids
Column, New York Post, June 4, 2013
This weekend, we made history. After months of uncertainty and years of grappling with special interests, state Education Commissioner John King announced a landmark teacher-evaluation system that continues us down the path toward ensuring all 1.1 million New York City school children have great teachers in their classrooms.
School district struggles over state ruling on students’ right to transfer
Buffalo News, June 4, 2013
Buffalo school administrators are struggling with a state Education Department ruling that says the district must find space for every student who wants to be transferred out of a failing school and into a better one.
NORTH CAROLINA
Charter school request heavily scrutinized
Daily Dispatch, June 4, 2013
A request from Henderson Collegiate to expand onto more county-owned property hit a snag Monday.
The Vance County board of commissioners, in its regular monthly meeting, asked the charter school for a detailed plan and opponents cited concerns with the proposed expansion.
New voices supporting vouchers emerge
Opinion, Elkin Tribune, June 5, 2013
There’s something exciting happening in North Carolina: Young, liberal African-American politicians are breaking away from teachers’ unions to support school choice.
OHIO
More students qualify for vouchers under Senate budget changes
Columbus Dispatch, June 4, 2013
The Ohio Senate would further expand who qualifies for Ohio’s voucher program, the tax-funded tuition for private schools, under its latest batch of major changes to the new two-year budget.
OREGON
Clackamas Web Academy’s Annie Sharpe builds up college credits during high school
The Oregonian, June 4, 2013
Though Annie Sharpe graduated from high school this week, she’s already intimately familiar with college life.
PENNSYLVANIA
Nutter, Butkovitz push Pa. for more school funding
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 5, 2013
Philadelphia leaders launched a full-court press Tuesday on the General Assembly, seeking support for funding to cover the projected $304 million school budget shortfall.
Charter school teachers will vote today on unionizing
Pocono Record, June 5, 2013
Teachers at the charter school fighting for its survival will vote today on whether to unionize.
The Pocono Mountain Charter School has warred for years with the Pocono Mountain School District over the status of its charter and seen scandal and contention among its leaders.
WISCONSIN
Deal announced on income tax cuts, school vouchers
Chippewa Herald, June 5, 2013
Republican legislative leaders announced an agreement shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday that would nearly double Gov. Scott Walker’s income tax cut over the next two years, expand private school vouchers statewide and allow public school funding to increase.
School choice must be expanded
Opinion, Appleton Post-Crescent, June 5, 2013
Nearly 25 years ago, business leaders in Milwaukee came to me, deeply concerned that they couldn’t find enough qualified workers among the students leaving the Milwaukee public schools. At the same time, African-American parents came to me, worried about their children’s future in a school system that wasn’t meeting their needs.
ONLINE LEARNING
Cerf Pulls Plug on Online Charter Schools
New Jersey Spotlight, June 5, 2013
Growing opposition to virtual charters, legal challenges and gray areas help inform commissioner’s decision
State wants to revoke charter of Philadelphia-based cyber school
Philadelphia Notebook Blog, June 4, 2013
Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis wants to close down the Solomon Charter School in Philadelphia, which opened just months ago.
Local to graduate from online public school
Elko Daily Free Press, June 5, 2013
The Nevada Connections Academy class of 2013 graduates Friday in Reno and Las Vegas. Hornback will be among the graduates in Reno.
California Virtual Academies graduates celebrate in Vacaville
The Reporter, June 5, 2013
The cliché image is that these students attend class in their pajamas. But one thing is clear about seniors enrolled in California Virtual Academies: They do not graduate in them.