Daily Headlines for August 20, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
Toward a Better Education System
National Review Online, August 19, 2013
The United States has become a global leader in education spending, while also becoming a global laggard in student achievement. Our students have fallen behind their international peers in math and science. The result is that only one quarter of the students who do earn a high-school diploma are prepared for college. Despite high unemployment, there are 3 million skilled jobs going unfilled because companies cannot find qualified applicants.
STATE COVERAGE
ALABAMA
School tax credits prompt lawsuit
Montgomery Advertiser, August 20, 2013
On the first day of school for many Alabama children, the Southern Poverty Law Center took aim at one of the most controversial measures to come out of the Alabama Legislature’s 2013 regular session.
CONNECTICUT
Persistence Key To Education Reform Effort
Opinion, Hartford Courant, August 19, 2013
Connecticut needs to do much more to help low-income children succeed in school.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. traditional public school teacher pay is higher than charters
Washington Post, August 19, 2013
Teachers in the District’s traditional public schools earn more than their counterparts at nearly every D.C. charter school, according to a Washington Post review of teacher salaries across the city, with many city teachers earning salaries that are thousands of dollars higher.
FLORIDA
Hillcrest charter school starts year in temporary location
Miami Herald, August 19, 2013
Florida Intercultural Academy’s new school building in Hollywood’s Hillcrest community was not ready for students Monday.
GEORGIA
State school superintendent weighing run for governor
Column, Macon Telegraph, August 20, 2013
If public education in Georgia doesn’t have enough problems, there is now a high-profile ruckus between Gov. Nathan Deal and State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge. It has gotten so peevish that there is talk the school superintendent may challenge Deal in the Republican gubernatorial primary next spring.
HAWAII
DOE releases first round of Strive HI test scores
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, August 19, 2013
Fourteen public schools racked up the most points on the Department of Education’s new performance scale that goes beyond standardized test scores and looks at, for example, a school’s attendance, graduation and college-going rates, and the achievement gap between a school’s high-needs students and their peers.
INDIANA
Proposed charter schools ays it wants to cooperate with D.205
NW Times, August 19, 2013
The operators of several Chicago charter schools wanting to expand to the south suburbs said Monday they see themselves as being in cooperation — rather than competition — with existing public schools.
ILLINOIS
335 schools lost teachers in CTU layoffs
Chicago Sun Times, August 20, 2013
About 400 Chicago Public Schools — a vast majority of the district — laid off teachers in July in the wake of budget cuts, even some schools projected to gain students from shuttered schools or neighborhood growth, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis has found.
Chicago Public School holds welcome events at schools like Haley
Chicago Tribune, August 19, 2013
The low turnout of children from West Pullman at Haley’s party late last week is an indication of the challenges CPS faces across the city as it attempts to shift students from 47 schools closed in June to new schools, often in different neighborhoods controlled by rival gangs.
LOUISIANA
Charter group’s application to take over failing school turned down
WAFB, August 19, 2013
J. K. Haynes Charter Elementary was one of the first to charter a school in the state 16 years ago. In that time, the school has been awarded by the state for being exemplary and increasing student performance. But when the group turned in an application to charter another school, they were surprised the state told them they did not have the experience.
Opponents, supporters speak up on proposal to allow up to 4 charter schools in Lafayette
The Advertiser, August 19, 2013
Local citizens and education stakeholders heard different views about what charter schools can mean for a school district during a Monday forum.
MASSACHUSETTS
Education Reform Group Backs Connolly For Mayor
WBUR, August 20, 2013
Stand for Children, a national education reform group known for its aggressive brand of politics, is poised to spend more than $500,000 backing City Councilor John Connolly in his campaign for mayor.
MICHIGAN
Even high-performing Michigan schools score poorly in new color-based ratings
Detroit Free Press, August 20, 2013
A new accountability system being launched today for Michigan schools shows many have a long way to go to meet ambitious goals set by the state — with most schools and districts earning a mark that indicates they’re in need of improvement. Few schools earned the best rating.
NEW JERSEY
Jersey City adding “ninth grade academies” at three more high schools
Jersey Journal, August 20, 2013
Jersey City’s public schools yesterday launched “ninth grade academies” at three high schools, a program officials say is an effort to create more of a “community atmosphere” among freshman students and boost the district’s graduation rate.
NEW MEXICO
Community voices opinion of proposed charter school
The Daily Times, August 19, 2013
Members of the Shiprock community came out Monday to voice their support for and opposition to a proposed charter school that would infuse its curriculum with the Diné heritage.
NORTH CAROLINA
Onslow’s first charter school opens its doors
The Daily News, August 19, 2013
Destinee Farrior and JaiKei Taylor were already competing for class president two hours into their first day of school at Onslow County’s first charter school.
OREGON
Measuring good teaching
Editorial, Register Guard, August 20, 2013
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education told Oregon to find a way to evaluate public school teachers’ performance, or the state will become subject to the federal No Child Left Behind law. But even crude tools can be useful. If the threat spurs Oregon to devise an evaluation system that actually helps students, the warning will have served a good purpose.
PENNSYLVANIA
PFT ready to file grievance for members recalled in violation of contract’s seniority rules
Philadelphia Daily News, August 20, 2013
THE TEACHERS’ union will file a grievance for each member recalled by the district in violation of seniority rules in the current contract, Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, announced last night during a phone call with thousands of members, sources said.
RHODE ISLAND
Contested Charter School to Open in Providence
Rhode Island Public Radio, August 19, 2013
Achievement First, a big box charter operator from Connecticut, opens its first school in Rhode Island this month. Plans for Achievement First in Rhode Island originally called for a network of public charter schools serving students in Kindergarten through the end of high school, but the proposal almost immediately ran into opposition from parents and teachers.
R.I. spends $44 million of Race to the TOp grant
Providence Journal, August 19, 2013
Three years ago, amid great fanfare, Rhode Island announced that it was one of 12 states to win a $75-million federal education grant called Race to the Top.
TENNESSEE
Fewer low-income TN schools on reward list
The Tennessean, August 20, 2013
Low-income schools tumbled from the top of Tennessee’s “reward schools” list this year as the state struggled with a widening performance gap between poor students and their wealthier peers.
VERMONT
Achievement Gap Holds Back Lower Income Students
Vermont Public Radio, August 19, 2013
The latest Adequate Yearly Progress Report for Vermont schools has been released and it shows that the majority of schools are still working on improvement.
ONLINE LEARNING
Alternative high school will mix online, in-person interaction
Duluth News Tribune, August 20, 2013
Students who enroll in the Duluth school district’s alternative high school are moving to a four-day, part online, part face-to-face instruction this fall.
Baldwin County school system gets green light for virtual high school; cap set at 30 students
Huntsville Times, August 19, 2013
The Baldwin County Board of Education has received approval from the State Board of Education to launch its Digital Renaissance Virtual High School, and has begun registering students for classes.
Online school growing in popularity with Arizona students, parents
Arizona Family, August 19, 2013
There are all kinds of schooling options in Arizona from traditional public and private schools to charter schools and even an online school.
H-H to incorporate ‘hybrid’ learning model
The Intelligencer, August 20, 2013
The Hatboro-Horsham School District will be incorporating a $238,000 “hybrid” learning model into its curriculum this year that utilizes computers more and blends digital instructions with face-to-face teaching.
Pioneer Valley collaboratives join to apply for virtual school certificate
The Republican, August 19, 2013
The Collaboration for Educational Services and the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative are teaming up to apply for one of the two newly created certificates to become a virtual school in Massachusetts.
SCA signs with charter school alternative
The News Item, August 20, 2013
Southern Columbia Area School Board approved a contract Monday night with Behavioral Health Associates to provide online education services as an alternative to charter and cyber-charter schools.
Virtual schooling offers new options
Opinion, Lansing State Journal, August 20, 2013
Have you ever stopped to think about how many of life’s daily activities have changed in the past 10 to 20 years, and how technology has impacted those changes?