Download or print your PDF copy of the 2012-2013 Annual Report
Annual Report 2012-2013
June 12, 2013 By
Daily Headlines for June 12, 2013
June 12, 2013 By
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
Myths fuel attacks on ‘Common Core’ standards
Editorial, USA Today, June 11, 2013
To understand why the embattled education standards known as “Common Core” are so necessary, let’s take a trip to Tennessee.
Include parents in standards debate: Opposing view
Opinion, USA Today, June 11, 2013
Across America, moms are rising up against the Common Core, national standards for English-language arts and mathematics adopted by 45 states. As Anne Gassel, of Ellisville, Mo., said, “Parents and their legislators were cut out of the loop. Even now we can’t get straight answers.”
Democrats reject GOP No Child Left Behind option
Associated Press, June 11, 2013
The good intentions of No Child Left Behind have not yielded good policy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate education panel said Tuesday as lawmakers began to rewrite the sweeping legislation that governs all schools that receive federal tax dollars.
STATE COVERAGE
ARIZONA
New middle schools could be charters in Higley
Arizona Republic, June 11, 2013
Plans are under way to possibly designate two new Higley Unified middle schools “charter schools.”
Vail aims to change more of its schools into charters
Tucson News Now, June 12, 2013
Vail Unified School District continues to do what more districts are either considering or doing: join the charter movement. The reason is simple: a charter student brings more state funding to a school district than a traditional student.
MUSD board could vote to move forward with charting schools
In Maricopa, June 11, 2013
The MUSD school board will consider applying for charter school sponsorships in five of its six elementary schools and one of its middle schools during its 6 p.m. meeting Wednesday.
CONNECTICUT
City must pursue Briggs turnaround plan reject by state
Editorial, The Hour, June 12, 2013
We have been supportive of the role of Briggs High School as an alternative school in the Norwalk school system and are taken aback by the state Department of Education in throwing cold water on the local board’s effort to turn around the school.
A teachers union embraces reform in New Haven, creating a model for others
Hechinger Report, June 11, 2013
In the spring of 2011, David Cicarella, the teachers union president here, sat down with a tenured teacher for a difficult discussion. After a warning from his principal the previous November, as well as months of extra support, the teacher had failed to show improvement.
DELAWARE
Law ignored, critics say
News Journal, June 11, 2013
A group tasked with finding improvements to the state’s charter school system may have violated open meetings laws, according to a report from the Attorney General’s Office.
School chiefs oppose charter legislation
News Journal, June 11, 2013
Superintendents of state public schools are opposing legislation that would send more state money to charter schools, while strengthening oversight.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Small percentage of displaced students enrolling in D.C. public schools
Washington Post, June 11, 2013
Only 13 percent of students from closing D.C. schools have signed up to stay in the traditional school system next year, Chancellor Kaya Henderson said Tuesday, raising questions about whether the school closures are driving families into charter schools.
A school for tomorrow being built in today’s Ward 8
Op-Ed, Washington Examiner, June 11, 2013
Last week, the board of trustees of Friendship Public Charter School and I broke ground at the site of what will become the campus of the Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy. Construction of the academy will be complete when the new school year begins in August 2014.
FLORIDA
Two correct charter school outcomes in Palm Beach Gardens
Editorial, Palm Beach Post, June 12, 2013
One charter school is coming to Palm Beach Gardens and another isn’t. Both outcomes were for the right reasons. And neither has anything to do with education — at least as far as the city’s decisions go.
Steele-Collins Charter School going all-boys
Tallahassee Democrat, June 12, 2013
Leon County’s oldest charter school is preparing to convert to an all-male institution, starting next school year.
IDAHO
North Star Charter School gets financial footing
Idaho Statesman, June 12, 2013
North Star Charter School, which faced heavy debt earlier this year, has enough resources to pay its bills for this year and run the school in 2013-14, school officials say.
ILLONOIS
Closures signal perfect storm for public schools
CNN School of Thought Blog, June 11, 2013
When Chicago students return to school after summer break, they will do so in 48 fewer elementary schools. The city is closing a record number of schools to deal with a $1 billion budget shortfall.
INDIANNA
Trine University grants charter to Timothy L. Johnson Academy
News-Sentinel, June 11, 2013
After months of uncertainty, Timothy L. Johnson Academy will indeed remain a chartered school.
More flexibility for Hoosier education
Editorial, News Sentinel, June 12, 2013
The next phase of the education reform movement came out of the Indiana General Assembly almost unnoticed earlier this year.
LOUISIANA
When will performance of Louisiana voucher students match parental satisfaction?
Opinion, Times-Picayune, June 11, 2013
In February, the Black Alliance for Educational Options released the results of a survey showing that 93 percent of parents who responded expressed satisfaction with the school their child was attending as part of the Louisiana Scholarship Program.
BR charter school group ran up debt at Crestworth
The Advocate, June 11, 2013
The charter school group that ran Crestworth Middle School owed almost $79,000 more than it had in assets when the group handed the school back to the state Department of Education a year ago, according to an audit made public this week.
Freedom Drives Success in New Orleans Charter School Revolution
Pelican Post, June 11, 2013
Of the 126 public schools in New Orleans only 16 escaped the storm relatively unaffected. Reforms made after the storm have transformed the New Orleans public education system, with the most notable of these changes dubbed the “charter school revolution.”
MAINE
Maine Senate agrees to allow more appeals in school-choice decisions
Portland Press Herald, June 11, 2013
The buck used to stop with the state education commissioner, but the bill would allow either the student or the district to appeal that decision.
MARYLAND
City school board approves three new charters
Baltimore Sun, June 11, 2013
The Baltimore City school board approved three new charter schools to open beginning in 2014, including two schools that will be subject to heightened scrutiny throughout their contracts.
MASSACHUSETTS
Majority of city students attend sub-par schools
South Coast Today, June 12, 2013
More than 70 percent of city students attend schools that rank in the bottom fifth statewide and could be subject to additional reform under a bill that also seeks to loosen restrictions on charter schools.
Law would further reduce ‘the achievement gap’
Opinion, South Coast Today, June 12, 2013
It’s a point of pride. Massachusetts is home to some of the very best public schools in the nation. But today, many of our urban schools continue to struggle, including too many schools in New Bedford.
MICHIGAN
Bills to dissolve Michigan schools in financial trouble are put on fast track
Detroit Free Press, June 12, 2013
Bills that would allow the state to dissolve financially insolvent school districts as a last resort are being fast-tracked through the Michigan Legislature. But the bills could come with a hefty price tag for the state.
MISSOURI
Student transfer ruling is reversed by Missouri Supreme Court
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 12, 2013
The Missouri Supreme Court has once again rejected legal arguments against a state statute that could allow thousands of students to leave failing school districts for better schools.
NEVADA
‘I am a reformer’: New schools chief Skorkowsky shares plans for district’s future
Las Vegas Sun, June 12, 2013
Pat Skorkowsky has big plans to move the Clark County School District forward.
NEW MEXICO
Mentors sought for charter students
Albuquerque Journal, June 12, 2013
Big Brothers Big Sisters wants you, for some volunteer work you can do mostly in your PJs. The nonprofit, with a long history of pairing young people with mentors, is branching into the world of education and partnering with two Albuquerque charter schools.
NEW YORK
Mayoral candidates Thompson, de Blasio skip forum with charter-school parents
New York Post, June 12, 2013
Two Democratic mayoral candidates battling for the endorsement of the city’s powerful teachers union were sudden no-shows last night at a forum sponsored by an organization that supports charter schools.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pa. charter school board’s inaction affects Pittsburgh schools
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 12, 2013
All three have been awaiting word from the state Charter Appeal Board, but, with 14 cases pending, the Charter Appeal Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday was cancelled.
The end of Philly’s public schools?
Philadelphia Inquirer Blog, June 10, 2013
Could all of Philadelphia’s school-aged kids soon be destined for charters? As the district struggles with a serious cash deficit, a top Democratic senator said Monday there has been talk in Capitol halls of turning all of Philadelphia’s schools into privately-run charters.
TENNESSEE
Officials must accept change
Opinion, The Tennessean, June 12, 2013
Metro Nashville Public Schools comprises two distinct parts. There is the old-world Metro Nashville Public Schools part, and there’s the new world Public Education Paradigm part. Director of Schools Jesse Register and others are clinging to the old-world model, which is too bad. Change here is not only necessary — it’s inevitable, it’s unavoidable, and it’s good.
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin’s Walker comfortable with slow expansion of school vouchers
Pioneer Press, June 11, 2013
Gov. Scott Walker said Tuesday he was comfortable with expanding Wisconsin’s school voucher program slowly, and he also stands by the agreement he and Republican lawmakers reached about the program’s future growth.
ONLINE LEARNING
Recent grads took untraditional route
St. Augustine Record, June 11, 2013
Loud rounds of applause, bouquets of flowers and flashing camera phones marked the last of the 2013 graduations for St. Johns County high schools on Tuesday.
Surry County Schools adds virtual classes
Mount Airy News, June 12, 2013
Education has changed, and continues to change, and Surry County Schools are staying ahead of the changes by offering students a Virtual Learning Academy this year
No suburban virtual charter school, for now
Daily Herald, June 11, 2013
There will be no multidistrict virtual charter school serving suburban students next year.
Sahuarita Online helping students finish school
Green Valley News, June 11, 2013
In less than one full year, 15 “get ahead” high school students who were taking full course loads in Sahuarita schools have taken online classes to get additional credit.
Daily Headlines for June 11, 2013
June 11, 2013 By
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
No Child Left Behind reforms hit the sweet spot
Editorial, Denver Post, June 11, 2013
The latest attempt to retool the outdated federal education accountability law known as No Child Left Behind is a balanced effort that retains some of the better ideas embodied in its landmark predecessor and improves on others.
STATE COVERAGE
ARKANSAS
State board gives charter 3 more years
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 11, 2013
The Imboden Area Charter School, the state’s third-oldest open-enrollment charter school and its smallest in terms of enrollment, received a green light from the state Monday to operate for another three years.
ARIZONA
Vail School District weighs charter status for 3 schools
KVOA, June 10, 2013
The governing board for the Vail School District will issue its first of two votes Tuesday regarding whether or not to give three existing schools charter status.
CALIFORNIA
Oblige charter schools to install basic safeguards
Editorial, Press-Enterprise, June 10, 2013
Freeing charter schools from bureaucracy should not also excuse them from good government practices. The state Senate should approve a bill that would require charter schools to follow the same basic public interest safeguards that other public agencies follow. Charter schools’ experimentation does not need to include misusing taxpayers’ money.
Parent-trigger handover approaches for Desert Trails Elementary School
San Bernardino Sun, June 10, 2013
The marquee outside Desert Trails Elementary School lists the events for the last two weeks of school: a talent show, kindergarten and sixth-grade promotion ceremonies and, on June 14, “school ends.”
Brown’s school funding reform merits support
Editorial, Fresno Bee, June 11, 2013
State legislators have five days to meet the constitutional deadline for passing a budget. It could be legacy time.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
With ‘reconstitution,’ D.C. officials hope for school turnaround
Washington Post, June 10, 2013
D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson called it a “fresh start” and a “momentum-shifter” for Cardozo Senior High last month when administrators removed nearly half the staff at the school.
FLORIDA
Rowlett votes to become Manatee’s first charter conversion
Bradenton Herald, June 11, 2013
In a historic vote Monday at Rowlett Magnet Elementary School, 94 percent of Rowlett teachers and 95 percent of Rowlett parents voted to convert to a public charter school for the 2014-2015 school year,
Broward schools working to boost success of black male students
Miami Herald, June 11, 2013
In the Broward school district’s quest to improve minority student achievement, Dillard High School’s graduation ceremony last week was more than just another annual event — it was a taste of what success feels like.
GEORGIA
State Charter School Commission in good hands
Opinion, Macon Telegraph, June 11, 2013
I have said it before, but let me repeat: I have no problem with charter schools. I did have a big problem with the ham-handed way last November’s charter school referendum was rammed through by proponents.
School board skeptical of charter school proposal
WALB, June 10, 2013
A private group in Albany is asking the school system to start a new charter school. The folks behind the Albany Charter Academy of Scholars say the K-5 school could be located in the recently closed Sylvester Road Elementary. Board members say, they really don’t have the money to do that.
ILLONOIS
Chicago Public Schools issues 5-year plan
Chicago Tribune, June 11, 2013
An annual scorecard on the district’s performance and greater accountability throughout the system are some of the promises outlined in the first long-term plan for Chicago Public Schools issued since Mayor Rahm Emanuel took office.
MAINE
Don’t let a temporary ban on charter schools in Bangor become permanent
Editorial, Bangor Daily News, June 10, 2013
The Bangor City Council went into protective mode recently when it moved closer to approving a six-month moratorium on charter schools in the city.
Maine Senate approves charter school bill
Kennebec Journal, June 10, 2013
Senate Democrats on Monday passed a bill designed to give communities more input and control over whether charter schools should be approved, but the measure still faces hurdles.
MASSACHUSETTS
Accelerate progress on education
Opinion, Boston Globe, June 10, 2013
In 2010, leaders on Beacon Hill crafted the Achievement Gap Act of 2010, the most ambitious school reform legislation since the historic Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993. In addition to this bill’s, path-breaking provisions on school turnarounds, the Act launched a bold new strategy for addressing the twin challenges of fostering greater school choice and stimulating more innovation.
State’s financial backing of charter schools continues to erode
Editorial, Daily Hampshire Gazette, June 10, 2013
Massachusetts lawmakers are poised to go back on a pledge made more than 20 years ago to properly fund reimbursements for charter school tuition to sending communities.
MICHIGAN
Legislature makes a mistake on Common Core
Opinion, Detroit News, June 11, 2013
As a teacher, I believe in the power of education. I believe that when policymakers, parents, and teachers understand the Common Core State Standards and how they will benefit Michigan students, they will embrace it.
MISSOURI
School choice works
Letter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 11, 2013
It is not too often that I find myself in agreement with the Post-Dispatch editorial board, but that is where I am after reading “Troubled Normandy School District has run out of excuses.”
Charter school should rehire principal
Letter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 10, 2013
I was reading with interest the column by Bill McClellan (June 9) about the ousted principal from Grand Center Arts Academy charter school when he wrote that Susan Uchitelle was on the board, and it all came together. She and Carolyn Losos, the mother of the newly hired principal Louise Losos, are longtime friends.
NEVADA
Nevada’s high school graduation rate third lowest in nation
Las Vegas Sun, June 11, 2013
Despite making some gains, Nevada has the third worst graduation rate in the nation, according to an Education Week report released last week.
NEW JERSEY
Legislation Would Create Board to Review Charter-School Bids
New Jersey Spotlight, June 11, 2013
A proposed change in the way New Jersey handles applications for new charter schools would set up a quasi-independent review board within the state Department of Education.
NEW YORK
NY1’s Pat Kiernan: when kids talk excitedly about school, their teachers succeeded
New York Daily News, June 11, 2013
In evaluating nominations for teachers, principals, deans and other educators for the Daily News Hometown Heroes in Education awards, I’ll be looking for personal stories about commitment to education and connection to students.
Harlem Children’s Zone new Promise Academy charter school
Amsterdam News, June 10, 2013
In a celebration ceremony last week, students and investors gathered to welcome Harlem Children’s Zone new Promise Academy charter school. Located in the middle of St. Nicholas houses, the community center will officially open to students on July 8 2013.
PENNSYLVANIA
York City School Board OKs recovery plan
York Dispatch, June 10, 2013
A 20-person committee helped chief recovery officer David Meckley craft the plan, which had come down to two options: converting to all charters, or letting the district transform itself with themed magnet schools, salary cuts, and expanded programs.
Nutter facing tough task in Harrisburg
Philadelphia Daily News, June 11, 2013
AT A PIVOTAL moment in the push to prevent drastic cuts for Philly schools, Mayor Nutter is traveling to Harrisburg today to build support for his plan to plug the district’s budget gap, state lawmakers said. It won’t be an easy task.
TEXAS
Perry Signs High School Curriculum, Testing Bill
Texas Tribune, June 10, 2013
When Gov. Rick Perry signed House Bill 5 on Monday, he ended weeks of speculation that he might veto the high-profile education legislation because of concerns that it would weaken high school graduation standards.
VIRGINIA
Richmond school board defers action on special needs charter school
Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 11, 2013
Richmond Public Schools is close to finalizing plans for a state-backed charter school for high school students with developmental needs, but the School Board declined to approve it Monday because there has been no formal public input.
WASHINGTON
Seattle School Board gives itself low marks
Seattle Times, June 10, 2013
Members of the Seattle School Board graded their own performance Monday night and found themselves in need of improvement.
ONLINE LEARNING
More questions about Illinois Policy Institute’s financial interest in Illinois Virtual Charter School
Chicago Now Blog, June 10, 2013
Capitol Fax reported late last week in its subscriber email blast that Illinois Policy Institute has flatly denied that its staff have any financial interest in the Illinois Virtual Charter School plan and the millions in local school district tax dollars at stake.
State commission poised to deny Fox Valley virtual charter appeals
Aurora Beacon News, June 10, 2013
The state commission that oversees charter school appeals is poised to deny a request to open an 18-district virtual charter school in the Fox Valley area later this year.
Virtual Academy out to hit higher student cap
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 9, 2013
Arkansas’ 10-year-old, publicly funded, online homeschool program for children in kindergarten through eighth grades is poised to grow to six times its current 500-pupil enrollment, making it the state’s largest independently run charter school.
Newswire: June 11, 2013
June 11, 2013 By
Vol. 15, No. 23
Special Graduation Edition
From coast to coast, scores of students who were once at-risk of falling through the cracks are graduating and finding success at charter schools. The pomp and circumstance of graduation ceremonies take on a whole new meaning and mark a major milestone for these students who otherwise would be unsuccessful. As Education Week pointed out last week, the national graduation rate is only 75 percent. That number decreases considerably for African Americans (62 percent) and Hispanics (68 percent), that is, if you actually trust those numbers, which many suspect are inflated by loose graduation requirements at many schools.
Throughout the charter school sector, graduation rates are robust, as is the percentage of students who go onto college. Contrary to claims that charter students enjoy this success because charters supposedly cream, the majority of charter school students are minority (52 percent), at-risk (50 percent), or low-income (54 percent). What’s more, 40 percent of the nation’s charters serve an at-risk population of at least 60 percent. In many larger urban centers like Washington, DC, Boston, MA and Detroit, MI, charters serve students that are nearly 100 percent at-risk, low-income and/or minority.
Perhaps it’s because charters typically offer smaller school sizes, have the operational autonomy to provide innovative and individualized instruction and are held accountable for results. Consider…
In Washington, DC, where the graduation rate is 57 percent, 42 seniors at the Washington Latin Public Charter School graduated this month, 100 percent of whom will be attending college. DC’s Hospitality High, which has focused on preparing students for career opportunities in the hospitality industry since 1999, has graduated more than 2,000 students over its tenure.
Frontier School of Excellence in Kansas City, MO boasted a 100 percent graduation rate. Prime Prep Charter School in Dallas, started by ex-NFL great Deion Sanders, celebrated its first graduating class in a city that graduates only 64 percent of its high school students.
“Open your eyes…you made it. Be proud,” high school graduate Jordin Whyland told her fellow classmates of SABIS International Charter School in Springfield, MA. Wyland is one of 96 graduating seniors, 100 percent will be attending college in the fall.
The 59 graduates at Silver State Charter High School proved themselves immune from Nevada’s third lowest graduation rate in the country. The graduation of seven students at Richard McKenna Charter High School in Idaho shows that charter achievement isn’t limited to large metropolitan areas.
At the highly regarded Boys Latin of Philadelphia Charter School, 84 students made up the school’s third graduating class. In California, parents celebrated as their children graduated from the small West Sacramento Early College Prep. Another 630 students graduated this year from California’s Virtual Academy, thanks to this innovative model.
Congratulations to the graduates and kudos to the lawmakers who understand why charters are a critical piece of the empowerment puzzle for students to attain success. When only ten states earn the equivalent of a “C” or higher for education reform, it’s clear that more needs to be done to ensure that parents have power and more students will be able to graduate – and make progress – without delay.
It’s a School Choice Week Summer!
June 10, 2013 By
School may be out for the summer, but that doesn’t mean that your support for school choice needs to take a vacation, too!
National School Choice Week has launched a campaign to demonstrate that support for school choice stretches far and wide, but it all depends on you.
Here’s how you can get involved:
– Still have a National School Choice Week scarf? Take it on vacation with you and pose for a picture while wearing it in front of a symbolic location, a monument…or even just on the beach or at your local park or campground. If you’re not going on a trip this summer, find a cool place in your hometown to pose for your photo. Then post it to that National School Choice Week Facebook page, Twitter, or Instagram using the hashtag #SCWSummer.
– Send a postcard from your vacation destination – or from your hometown – to National School Choice Week, 28 Paul Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903. On the back of your postcard, include your name and your mailing address, and tell us why you support school choice.
Wondering how your pictures or postcards will be used? National School Choice Week will create a huge banner collage of images that will be prominently displayed at events during National School Choice Week 2014. Some submissions will also be used on social media and National School Choice Week’s website, but don’t worry, mailing and email addresses will always be kept confidential.
How diverse the locations and submissions are is up to you. And you can send us as many photos and postcards as you’d like! So please start to think about how you get take part in this campaign based on your summer plans and contact National School Choice Week with any questions.
Daily Headlines for June 10, 2013
June 10, 2013 By
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
Exploring Charter Schools
WVTF, June 10, 2013
Not all minds learn the same way. However, when it comes to education, millions of children across the U.S. are swept into the same system of state and federal mandates—with expectations of positive academic results and developing a sense of individuality.
Teachers’ teachers face test as scrutiny of education rises
Hechinger Report, June 9, 2013
When Candice McQueen learned last fall that a controversial statistical analysis had declared her teacher-training program relatively weak in the area of social studies, she wasn’t surprised.
Under siege—and in bid to stay relevant—teacher unions evolve
Hechinger Report, June 9, 2013
he Hawaii State Teachers Association’s weekly briefing meeting had turned into a battle-planning session; the conference room became a war room. It was late November. Officials were digging in for a protracted fight with the state over teacher evaluations and compensation.
STATE COVERAGE
ARIZONA
Gilbert school board member accuses Arizona board of bias
Arizona Republic, June 8, 2013
A Gilbert Public Schools governing board member wants the district to pull out of the Arizona School Boards Association, claiming the organization is politically biased and at odds with her positions on key issues.
CALIFORNIA
West Sac Prep’s first graduating class has stellar goals
Modesto Bee, June 10, 2013
How many high schools can boast that its entire graduating class will go to college, a vocational school or the military after commencement?
Inglewood schools’ slide steepens despite state takeover
Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2012
Inglewood Unified’s finances worsen despite a state takeover and an infusion of cash; there is even talk of dissolution.
COLORADO
‘Providing choice for kids’: Any student can go to innovation schools
The Pueblo Chieftain, June 9, 2013
Pueblo City Schools’ (D60) decision to turn three academically struggling middle schools into innovation schools is bringing more choices in education.
New Denver Public Schools remedial classes aimed at college success
Denver Post, June 10, 2013
KayLynn McAbee is one of thousands of high school graduates across the state slated to take costly remedial courses that do not count toward her college degree.
CONNECTICUT
Dunbar to be run by charter school company
CT Post, June 8, 2013
Dunbar School was ushered into the state’s Commissioner’s Network last week, a designation that will mean a new approach to learning and quite possibly new teachers.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Backed by Marriott and Hilton, Hospitality High School moves to a permanent location
Washington Post, June 9, 2013
Since its opening in 1999, more than 2,000 students have graduated from Hospitality High School, the first industry-specific public charter school to open in the District.
FLORIDA
Large charter school businesses draw criticism
St. Augustine Record, June 9, 2013
He was at the April 1 meeting in support of a bill that would create a slate of accountability measures charter schools would have to follow. The former education commissioner and state senator from Clay County now lobbies for a host of charter school companies and organizations.
ILLINOIS
Suburban group takes aim at state charter school commission
Daily Herald, June 9, 2013
A suburban group wants to get rid of the Illinois State Charter School Commission, which they argue shouldn’t be able to overturn decisions made by local school districts.
INDIANA
What consequences?
Editorial, Fort Wayne Journal- Gazette, June 10, 2013
The ISTEP+ fiasco last month makes this year’s test scores unreliable. As a result, poor-performing charter and voucher schools are given a reprieve under the flawed system that was supposed to hold all schools accountable. In 2014, however, taxpayers and voters can hold accountable the elected officials who promised better schools and delivered only poor choices.
Merit pay doesn’t come easily, or soon
Journal and Courier, June 9, 2013
It is common knowledge that teachers are under scrutiny now more than ever, thanks to annual, more intensive evaluations required beginning this year
Cap on funds for dropout schools could slow growth
News Sentinel, June 9, 2013
Supporters of charter schools that have helped hundreds of Indiana high school dropouts earn their diplomas are questioning state lawmakers’ decision to cap funding for the ventures.
LOUISIANA
Education overhaul slows in 2013 session
The Advocate, June 9, 2013
With two notable exceptions, the 2013 Legislature was marked by the death of a wide range of public school bills, including a push to delay the key impact of Louisiana’s new teacher evaluations.
MAINE
Charter school commission wise to move slowly
Editorial, Portland Press Herald, June 7, 2013
Making hasty choices now could waste taxpayers’ money and students’ precious time.
MICHIGAN
Detroit finds new uses for old buildings
Associated Press, June 10, 2013
When it was a high school, the auditorium and gymnasium at the Burton International School thrummed with the sounds of students gathering for assemblies or bouncing balls. These days, film dialogue and soundtracks fill the nearly 100-year-old building, which has found new life as a movie theater.
MISSOURI
Flare-up raises questions about charter school governance
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 10, 2013
Dianne Gray and other parents felt powerless last week when the governing board of Grand Center Arts Academy fired their beloved principal and replaced her with an administrator with allegations of scandal in her past.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
House, Senate budgets differ on Medicaid, personnel, charter schools
Editorial, Nashua Telegraph, June 9, 2013
The budgets passed by the New Hampshire House and Senate have much in common: They both increase funding for higher education. They both support an increase in the cigarette tax. They both support more spending for the mentally ill. They both count on millions from moving Medicaid to a managed care system. They both increase overall state spending by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
NEW JERSEY
Charter Tech high school / Filling a need
Editorial, Press of Atlantic City, June 10, 2013
We have never been wholehearted supporters of charter schools. By design, they siphon funds from public schools and undermine an educational system that a democracy should want to nurture.
New Charter School Bill Previews Before Committee
New Jersey Spotlight, June 10, 2013
Almost two decades since New Jersey’s first charter school law was enacted, the Legislature’s latest stab at a law for the state’s growing charter movement will get its first public airing today. But it is far from a done deal and — and even if it’s embraced by the panel — skirts two of the most contentious charter school issues.
Hard-Fought Election Raises Hopes for Jersey City Public Schools
Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2013
A bitterly fought mayoral election has helped renew attention on the troubled public-school system here, an institution that has tempered this city’s surging growth over the past decade.
NEW YORK
Who’s Minding the Schools?
Opinion, New York Times, June 9, 2013
IN April, some 1.2 million New York students took their first Common Core State Standards tests, which are supposed to assess their knowledge and thinking on topics such as “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and a single matrix equation in a vector variable.
NORTH CAROLINA
Randolph County’s first charter to open in August
Winston Salem Journal, June 10, 2013
Randolph County’s first charter school will open in the fall under the guidance of two area high school teachers.
Blacks split on school choice
Commentary, Fayetteville Observer, June 10, 2013
School choice has become the new dirty word. In the minds of some, school choice will promote resegregation, race wars, ethnic cleansing and genocide.
OHIO
Charter aims to fill Mary Immaculate’s role
Toledo Blade, June 10, 2013
Public school in Toledo looks to serve special-needs students as Catholic K-8 closes
PENNSYLVANIA
Avon Grove Charter School graduates grateful for unique education
Avon Grove Sun, June 7, 2013
Members of Avon Grove Charter School’s Class of 2013 made their way through monsoon conditions into the International Cultural Center Auditorium at The Lincoln University on Friday night to celebrate their graduation.
School districts have more freedom to cut teachers
Morning Call, June 10, 2013
When Superintendent Susan McGinley was asked last spring to explain Easton Area School District’s plan for eliminating 49 teachers, she picked up a stack of paper and started reading.
More than 3,700 school employees are being laid off
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 7, 2013
Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. announced Friday that the School District had begun mailing layoff notices to 3,783 employees, informing them they will lose their jobs July 1 because of the district’s financial crisis.
Magnet schools in Pittsburgh lose their racial balance
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 9, 2013
While magnet schools in Pittsburgh Public Schools historically ensured racial balance, city magnet schools now operate as schools of choice without any guarantees or deliberate measures racially balancing them.
TENNESSEE
Charter school vote scheduled
The Daily News Journal, June 9, 2013
The Rutherford County Board of Education will vote on its first charter school application this week.
TEXAS
Transformative Charter Academy gives out 40 diplomas to students
Killeen Daily Herald, June 9, 2013
People told Jonathan Kitchens he would be in jail by the time he was a high school senior. Despite negative comments and criticism, Kitchens walked across the stage at Pershing Park Baptist Church on Saturday and graduated with about 40 other students from Transformative Charter Academy.
WASHINGTON
Senate proposes votes on budget, school policy shifts
Seattle Times, June 9, 2013
One proposal would give principals the option of rejecting teachers who are appointed to their schools. Another would place limits on the rate of growth for non-education spending in the state budget
WISCONSIN
Wauwatosa school officials protest budget measure on charter schools
Journal Sentinel, WI
June 9, 2013
They say new authority for UWM to operate independent public schools encroaches on their turf
Most charter schools escape DPI evaluation
Wausau Daily Herald, June 9, 2013
Most of north central Wisconsin’s charter schools are not evaluated under the state’s new accountability system, so people have to dig to find out how they are performing.
Vouchers, GOP share supporters
Herald Times Reporter, June 9, 2013
Gov. Scott Walker and Republican legislators are using research paid for by the same special interest groups that support many GOP candidates to push for a statewide expansion of the school voucher program, campaign finance reports show.
Voucher opposition all about the money
Letter, Capital Times, June 9, 2013
Dear Editor: I had heard for years that the resistance to the school voucher system was all about the money. The current spate of articles and letters condemning this plan proves it. Each student is seen as X amount of state dollars; therefore the voucher program is perceived as robbing the public school system of X dollars for each student who does not attend public schools.
ONLINE LEARNING
To grow online learning, reform the rules
Column, Daily Progress, June 9, 2013
In late April, the Carroll County School Board voted to close Virginia’s largest full-time statewide virtual school, leaving only a small school of 130 students in King and Queen County offering full-time online options to the state’s 1.2 million public school students.
Teacher, students come together in new ways in online program
Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 9, 2013
Bryce Lyle is the kind of high school teacher most kids will never see. A nine-year veteran of Chesterfield County Public Schools, he does his thing, the students do theirs and they come together only when assignments are due and exams are given.
New eAcademy in Redlands will offer online schooling
San Bernardino Sun, June 8, 2013
In a medium-sized classroom behind Orangewood High School, seven teachers were discussing how to promote the recently launched Redlands eAcademy.
Daily Headlines for June 7, 2013
June 7, 2013 By
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
The Corporate Takeover of Public Education
Huffington Post, June 6, 2013
Independent research in recent months has documented that the nation’s wealthiest philanthropic foundations are steering funding away from public school systems, attended by 90 percent of American students, and toward “challengers” to public education, especially charter schools.
Parties offer competing plans to overhaul ‘No Child’ education law
Washington Times, June 6, 2013
After years of failed attempts to replace the widely maligned No Child Left Behind education law, lawmakers are giving it one more try.
Common Core supporters back moratorium on new tests’ high stakes
Washington Post Blog, June 6, 2013
A coalition of education organizations and unions that support the Common Core State Standards issued an open letter on Thursday backing a moratorium of at least one year on the high stakes associated with new standardized tests being given to students that are aligned with the Core.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Troubled Oakland charter schools to stay open
San Francisco Chronicle, June 6, 2013
A trio of controversial Oakland charter schools slated for closure at the end of this month can continue to operate as they move through the appeal process, an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday.
CONNECTICUT
School suspension statistics skewed
Stamford Advocate, June 7, 2013
School suspensions are down statewide, but that is of little comfort if you are a boy, a minority student or attend a state charter school.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Prince George’s among counties unable to develop new teacher performance guidelines
Washington Post, June 6, 2013
Prince George’s and six other counties in Maryland have been unable to agree with the state department of education on the best way to use student test scores to measure teacher performance in time to meet Friday’s deadline for submitting revised evaluation plans.
FLORIDA
Rowlett prepares to count parent ballots in charter decision
Bradenton Herald, June 7, 2013
Whether Rowlett Elementary School will convert from a public school to a charter school is being decided this week as parents cast their ballots on the issue
GEORGIA
Classical Academy Charter School welcomes new director
Savannah Morning News, June 7, 2013
Savannah’s new charter schools have hired administrators and are preparing for opening day.
INDIANA
New Richmond charter school seeks 300-plus students
Palladium-Item, June 6, 2013
Richmond’s new charter school for high school diploma-seeking adults is building a staff and making plans to recruit more than 300 students for this fall while details of a contract with Richmond Community Schools is being considered this week.
ILLINOIS
CPS enrollment figures for closing schools reliable?
Chicago Tribune, June 7, 2013
Chicago Public Schools touted a smooth start to the school closing process this week by announcing that 78 percent of students at schools being shut down have been enrolled at another school, most at the one designated for them by the district.
Group to meet on charter school commission
Kane County Chronicle, June 7, 2013
The meeting is to consider a campaign to overturn Senate Bill 79, which transferred charter school authorization from the Illinois State Board of Education to the commission itself. Among other things, the law allows the commission to reverse a school board’s decision to deny a charter school proposal.
LOUISIANA
5 groups seek to open new Orleans Parish School Board charters
Times-Picayune, June 7, 2013
Five groups have filed letters of intent to open new charter schools under the auspices of the Orleans Parish School Board. If any are approved, it will mark a continuing and gradual expansion of charters in the small system. A sixth group was interested but was deemed ineligible.
Parent trigger bill passes
The Advocate, June 7, 2013
Lawmakers gave final, unanimous passage Thursday to the creation of a “parent trigger” law for poor-performing schools in the Recovery School District.
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Teachers Union Calls on Lawmakers: Keep Caps on Charter Schools
Open Media Boston, June 7, 2013
The Boston Teachers Union called on lawmakers Tuesday to keep limits on the number of charter schools in the Bay State.
MICHIGAN
Pontiac schools inch closer to state takeover
Michigan Public Radio, June 7, 2013
Pontiac schools are a step closer to a possible state takeover. A state board found Pontiac schools in “probable financial stress,” following a review led by the state schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan. The board’s finding triggers a more comprehensive review of the district’s finances.
Michigan students may get more flexibility
Detroit News, June 7, 2013
The state House passed a legislative package Thursday that proponents say would loosen Michigan’s Merit Curriculum requirements to allow some high school students more flexibility to pursue technical or arts careers.
MISSOURI
Kansas City Public Schools face possible state intervention, education reformers eye ballot initiative
Missouri Times, June 7, 2013
When a stripped-down version of an education reform bill, Senate Bill 125, passed through both chambers of the General Assembly near the end of the 2013 legislative session, everybody knew what part of the state would be most impacted.
NEW JERSEY
Two Tenure Law Sponsors Now Seek Delay in Tougher Teacher Evaluations
New Jersey Spotlight, June 7, 2013
Concerns about the upcoming launch of a new teacher evaluation system in New Jersey have caught the attention of some high-ranking legislators, with two Assembly leaders offering up a resolution to delay some key pieces of the new requirements.
NEW YORK
Harlem Children Zone’s Promise Academy charter school, built with $60M from city, opens
New York Daily News, NY
June 6, 2013
Some neighbors don’t see the benefit, as most slots are for students from outside the immediate area. Mayor Bloomberg hails public-private charter partnership.
Teachers irate: Students’ hours in lab could affect evaluations
Journal News, June 6, 2013
High school science teachers had better hope their students did their lab work this year, or teachers could see their own grades lowered.
Teacher evals a ‘gotcha’ program
Letter, Newsday, June 6, 2013
As a retired teacher, I have nothing to gain or lose with this new evaluation system [“Teacher evaluations will factor into mayoral race,” Editorial, June 4]. But as a former teacher, I know future generations have everything to lose and nothing to gain. There is nothing in this evaluation system that helps teachers improve. It is only a gotcha system.
NORTH CAROLINA
Year-old private school seeks charter approval
Herald Weekly, June 7, 2013
The next step in the evolution of the Pioneer Springs Community School happens June 18 when its board meets officials in Raleigh to receive final approval to become a charter school.
Charter school leader response to criticism from district
WECT, June 6, 2013
The man who founded and operates three charter schools in the Cape Fear region is responding to criticism from Brunswick County Schools.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City should overhaul bad public schools, allow successful charters to multiply
Editorial, The Oklahoman, June 7, 2013
A major selling point for charter schools is their accountability. In exchange for operational flexibility, charter schools face strong penalties for failure — including closure. This is why the Oklahoma City School Board’s recent decision to close the Marcus Garvey Leadership Charter School isn’t a defeat for charter schools, but a victory.
PENNSYLVANIA
Wissahickon Charter to get $1.5 million grant to expand
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 7, 2013
The Philadelphia School Partnership will announce Friday that it is awarding a $1.5 million grant to Wissahickon Charter School in Nicetown to help it expand.
City charter school backers are back
Lancaster New Era, June 6, 2013
A Manheim Township businessman apparently is again trying to get a publicly funded charter school started in Lancaster city.
RHODE ISLAND
Ma href=”http://www.golocalprov.com/news/reaction-to-gists-extension/”target=”_blank”>Reaction to Gist’s Extension
Go Local Prov, June 7, 2013
Following one of the most divisive debates on education in recent history in Rhode Island, the Board of Education yesterday voted to renew Education Commissioner Deborah Gist’s contract for two years.
TENNESSEE
The Achievement School District is helping the education reform effort here continue in high gear
Editorial, Memphis Commercial Appeal, June 7, 2013
The education reform effort in Memphis is continuing in high gear with the announcement Monday that the Achievement School District will authorize nine charter schools to take over more city schools in the fall of 2014.
UTAH
Davis ATC prepares to open charter school for career seekers
Standard-Examiner, June 6, 2013
Davis Applied Technology College this fall will open a charter school for high school students seeking not only a diploma, but technical training likely to lead directly to a job with a good paycheck.
WASHINGTON
State lawmakers need to keep focus on education
Editorial, Seattle Times, June 6, 2013
In the waning days of an overtime session, Washington lawmakers need to prioritize education in a sustainable, gimmick-free budget
WISCONSIN
Schultz worries about ‘opening the floodgates’ with vouchers
Dubuque Telegraph Herald, June 7, 2013
Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans who crafted a deal allowing the statewide expansion of private school vouchers stood by their plan, despite promises from a moderate GOP senator who said he and others would attempt to limit the program’s growth.
ONLINE LEARNING
New Hope-Solebury to add cyber charter school
Courier Times, June 6, 2013
Cyber charter schools, which educate students online, are growing in popularity and drawing ever more money away from school districts.
Reform rules in order to grow online learning
Opinion, Fairfax Times, June 7, 2013
In late April, the Carroll County School Board voted to close Virginia’s largest full-time statewide virtual school, leaving only a small school of 130 students in King and Queen County offering full-time online options to the state’s 1.2 million public school students.
Home-schoolers gather for training, graduation
Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 7, 2013
Barr was among many like-minded parents who flocked to Richmond on Thursday for the start of the 30th annual Virginia Homeschool Convention, which is expected to draw more than 14,000 people from Virginia and surrounding states to the Greater Richmond Convention Center through Saturday.
More virtual learning options
Opinion, The Herald, June 6, 2013
Classrooms of today have no blackboards, overhead projectors or pull-down maps of the world. Tomorrow’s classrooms might have no walls.
Tigard-Tualatin Online Academy offers summer school to Beaverton kids
The Oregonian, June 6, 2013
The Tigard-Tualatin Online Academy has opened its summer school program to middle and high school students from both inside and outside the Tigard-Tualatin School District.
Why I Chose a Charter School
June 6, 2013 By
Hello, I’m Briana McManus.
I am in the eleventh grade at the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School – Parkside Campus and interning at CER for three weeks as a part of my fellowship to obtain job experience and to prepare me for life after high school.
While reviewing different articles, statistics, and facts at my internship, I wondered what influences help parents decide what school is right for their child? I came up with two factors parents consider to see if it is a good school for their child. Does an extra-curricular activity influence their decision? Or is the school widely known in the area or recognized worldwide?
In reviewing articles, the idea of extra-curricular activities made me think if this is why parents choose a certain school for their child. Are parents sending their children to schools because they will receive scholarships in sports? Is this because they are focused on creating the next big sports icon instead of the next person to win the Nobel peace prize? Or is this school mentioned in mainstream media? Is it well-talked about or well-known in their community? Are the good or bad stories in the media influencing a parent’s decision?
I know some people want to know why I chose a charter school and I want to say it is not because of sports, or being recognized nationally. My family and I chose this school because of the mission and vision that they wanted to achieve. In the process of researching schools, we found that Cesar Chavez had a 100 percent college acceptance rate, a 90.2 percent graduation rate, and was going to give me the opportunity to work with public policy issues, to gain job experience through my Fellowship, and take a year long thesis class to prep me for writing essays in college. This made my decision very easy. If I asked my mother today why Cesar Chavez was her choice for me she would say, “It was a good school for education”.
The demographics of the school also made my choice an easy decision. I wanted to attend a school where I would be exposed to different races. In my research I found that 93.3 percent of students were African Americans, 6.4 percent were Hispanics, and 0.3 percent were Caucasian. Chavez was created to educate, empower, and prepare scholars to both succeed in college and serve as informed advocates for public policy issues. Cesar Chavez is known for changing students’ community, family, and life so my advice to you is to choose the school that wants to make a difference.
My experience being in a charter school rather than a public school is very different. In public school, I felt that I wasn’t learning what I should have been and was not doing what I was capable of because in public schools their main concern was not to make sure I went to college or guarantee me a successful career. In a public school what I was guaranteed was an easy pass out of school and a job, not a career but a job. Since enrolling in a charter school I can actually see the difference. Cesar Chavez Charter School will make sure that I am accepted into the college of my choice, that I will graduate with high SAT scores, that I will have a successful career, and that I can make a difference if I focus on what is important.
Sincerely, Briana McManus
Dieting Lessons and Common Core
June 6, 2013 By
CER President Jeanne Allen’s full response to a thoughtful piece by Michael McShane titled Dispatches from a nervous Common Core observer (part 3 of 10): Can’t anything be called ‘Common Core Aligned?’ is found below. Please see AEI’s blog for original commentary.
I’m still back on the diet analogy Mike. To me, reading your analysis and the other commentary since Monday, it’s sounding a little bit more like the Atkins diet, and you know what happened to him right? (He allegedly died of a heart attack, after doing what I’m doing right now at my desk as I type — eating only protein!)
Here’s the skinny, so to speak. The Atkins diet is apparently the worst thing you can do to yourself, according to traditional nutritionists who want us to eat major portions of grain and carb-rich veggies every day. They have attacked the Atkins followers, like me, through Doctors, and health plans, and in their pushing of nutra-this or that in a bottle, can or in an IV. They say if we follow this one approach to dieting we will lack valuable nutrients, increase our cholesterol and unhelpful fats and probably risk the fate of the diet’s author. Meanwhile, millions of us who follow the Atkins diet in whole or in part do very well in keeping our fats down and our tummies tucked.
Sadly, the same orthodox view we see toward dieting by traditionalists is the attitude I’m seeing from my friends and colleagues toward those who are challenging the conventional wisdom on Common Core State Standards. I’m not sure I know the answer, but what I am confident of is that many reformers and leaders are all too quick to dismiss as heresy, radicalism, libertarianism or stupidity anyone who questions Common Core.
So I welcome your delving deep into the issues, and presenting differing points of view, like the analysis today that reveals literally thousands of allegedly aligned common core curriculum and lessons and programs that – surprise – all cost money and have no validity per se in fact.
You know what it reminds me of? I can remember it like it was yesterday. When the “Reading Wars” finally appeared to be finished, those who believed phonemes are essential ingredients to be directly taught through true phonics-based instruction really won the day. Or so it seemed. When California woke up to scores right next to Mississippi, and then former CA Superintendent Bill Honig did a major mea culpa on what he had prescribed, the flood gates opened and suddenly the importance of ensuring reading be taught like the science it is broke through the whole language literacy crowd and took root. New charters cropped up “selling” a return to the basics, and entire states had phonics instruction at the core of their objectives. (What happened to those state standards is a lesson for Common Core, for another time). What’s more is that big districts starting boasting that they were doing phonics, too.
I’ll never forget the day these huge, 11×14 books arrived at my kids’ school, and the title of that famed publisher’s text was simply PHONICS. I was skeptical that this big, fat book really was filled with phonemes and exercises devoted to helping students learn to read phonetically, which requires more teacher led work than fancy, schmancy, colorful pictorials.
Sure enough, my skepticism revealed some of the nonsense the phonics movement sought to undo in American schools… pictures of Fishies and Factories and Fun with instructions to use the letter F in different ways in “constructed” sentences filled the book. If you used the letter F enough times, you were deemed, at least the teachers manual seemed to suggest, proficient in the letter and sounds of “F”.
If it was that easy to make stuff up on reading instruction, it seems it would be just as easy to make up that some book or program is “common core” aligned. And who’s to say it’s not? Who’s the judge and the jury? What’s the consequence for your book or program or technology not being common core when it says so? Who is going to look at the objectives and determine that a particular lesson doesn’t meet its essence. And who ensures that the arbiters are right?
It didn’t happen for Phonics and despite a temporary few clicks up in reading achievement initially, the nation’s report card began to fall flat again after the initial sense of urgency died down and everyone boasted that their reading instruction was Phonics-aligned! The same happened after Fuzzy math was supposedly killed. And frankly the same happened after the great states of Massachusetts and Virginia, and Colorado and finally California created remarkably high, rigorous evidence-based standards and after a few years the assessments created to determine progress were watered down and the standards themselves were avoided by districts who said they were too high.
History is a bit like dieting. If we could only remember what we ate that put all this weight on or created that double chin, we might actually not have to try so hard again.
First Fridays: Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School
Today CER staff had the opportunity to tour Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, the first adult education charter school in the nation, thanks to a monthly charter school tour event sponsored by CityBridge Foundation, FOCUS and Charter Board Partners called “First Fridays”. (We had the opportunity to visit Yu Ying public charter school in March through this same program.)
CER team members Stephanie and Patrick watched on as a teacher helped students with native languages ranging from Spanish to Ethiopian understand the word “grandparents”. Struck with admiration for this teacher’s talent, they came back to the office and excitedly shared this teacher’s story with their coworkers.
Despite this teacher’s clear ability to educate, it turns out teaching wasn’t always her life-long dream. A little over fifteen years ago, this teacher decided a career change was in order, so she took a few tests and ‘teaching’ was one of her suggested career paths. As she was watching the local news one night, she saw a segment about Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, and felt compelled. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember the name of the school, so she called up the news station. The reporter who reported on the Carlos Rosario piece called the aspiring teacher, and about two weeks later, the aspiring teacher had a job at that very school she felt so drawn to when that news segment aired.
Turns out following her instinct was dead on, as she has been at the school for fifteen years, and not only loves teaching, but credits her love of the job to the incredibly supportive administration and the collaborative environment the school fosters for its teachers.
And that, Edspresso readers, is the beauty of giving schools the freedom and flexibility they need to ensure teachers thrive, so that they, in turn, can help students thrive.