Daily Headlines for August 27, 2013
Click here for Newswire, 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
Biggest Changes in a Decade Greet Students
Wall Street Journal, August 27, 2013
Millions of students heading back to school are finding significant changes in the curriculum and battles over how teachers are evaluated, as the biggest revamps of U.S. public education in a decade work their way into classrooms.
Federal lawsuit over voucher program perplexing
Editorial, American Press, August 27, 2013
The federal government’s decision to sue the state of Louisiana over its implementation of its school voucher program befuddles.
Holder vs. Martin Luther King Jr.
Review and Outlook, Wall Street Journal, August 27, 2013
Give Eric Holder credit for cognitive racial dissonance. On nearly the same day the Attorney General spoke in Washington to honor the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, his Justice Department sued to block the educational dreams of minority children in Louisiana.
Study: waivers leave behind at-risk students
Associated Press, August 27, 2013
Millions of at-risk students could fall through the cracks as the Education Department gives states permission to ignore parts of No Child Left Behind, according to a study education advocates released Tuesday.
U.S. Dept. of Justice Moves to Halt Vouchers in Some La. Districts
Education Week Blog, August 26, 2013
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed papers in the U.S. District Court in New Orleans to prevent the state of Louisiana from providing school vouchers in districts operating under desegregation orders.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Millenium Charter opens after much anticipation
Monterey County Herald, August 26, 2013
Among the crowd of students who looked ill at ease as they waited for the new school to open, a small group stood out. They chatted like old friends, cracking jokes and hugging late arrivals.
COLORADO
James Irwin among 15 new charter schools statewide
Colorado Springs Gazette, August 26, 2013
Demand was high enough – with some 200 on the waiting list at one point at James Irwin Charter Elementary School at 5525 Astrozon Blvd. – for organizers to form a second K-5 school.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
At Cardozo school, high hopes for a cultural transformation to match physical one
Washington Post, DC, August 26, 2013
Headlines have carried bad news about the District’s Cardozo Senior High for decades, directing attention to its low graduation rates, fistfights and shootings. But this year, as it opened Monday as the renamed Cardozo Education Campus, school officials are determined to reinvent the school.
Gray, chancellor help ring in school year
Washington Times, August 26, 2013
More than 80,000 students headed back to school in the District on Monday, but it was a bumpy start for a few of them after two early morning school bus accidents.
FLORIDA
Duval school district looking to meet class size across schools
Florida Times Union, August 27, 2013
After paying the highest penalty in Florida for not meeting class-size requirements last year, Duval County Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says his new plan means the school district won’t pay nearly as much this year.
LOUISIANA
2 EBR schools may face state takeover
The Advocate, August 26, 2013
Two Baton Rouge public schools are moving closer to possible state takeover this fall, and the East Baton Rouge Parish school system may go to court to stop that from happening.
For some New Orleans students, school choice means pre-dawn bus pickups
Times-Picayune, August 26, 2013
When Jenny Joseph brings her two boys to their bus stop in eastern New Orleans at 5:50 a.m., it is still dark outside — but she says the hour-and-a-half bus ride to school is well worth it.
Volunteers drive charter schools’ success
Letter, Times-Picayune, August 26, 2013
Re: “State cites New Beginnings for violating open-meetings law, ” Metro, Aug. 21. As a community, we should applaud those who volunteer to serve on public charter school boards. These individuals give time away from their professions and families in an effort to improve our education system.
MAINE
Maine schools putting their heads together to improve
Portland Press Herald, August 27, 2013
State education experts are highlighting promising practices to use as models for other schools.
MASSACHUSETTS
Chicago opens new school year: Will it be less testy than the last?
Christian Science Monitor, August 26, 2013
With 48 schools closed (and two more set to close), some 12,000 students had to find their way to new schools, sometimes through dangerous neighborhoods. Budget cuts and controversy over teacher evaluations loom, but the top concern is safety of students in transit.
MICHIGAN
Inkster students shop for new schools after district’s demise
Detroit News, August 27, 2013
That’s because more than 900 Inkster children were displaced after state education officials dissolved the insolvent Inkster Public Schools in July.
NEVADA
Silver State Charter School back with renewed focus on academics
Nevada Appeal, August 26, 2013
Superintendent Steve Knight said students come to the school for an array of reasons, from failing out of traditional schools to excelling beyond the typical pace.
NEW JERSEY
Legislation revived to ban fees for school extracurriculars
Press of Atlantic City, August 26, 2013
A state assemblyman plans to reintroduce a bill that would prohibit school districts from charging students to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities.
NEW MEXICO
Charter schools a good option
Opinion, Albuquerque Journal, August 27, 2013
With a new school year beginning, it is a good time to review information about public charter schools in New Mexico.
NEW YORK
At Charter Schools, Short Careers by Choice
New York Times, August 27, 2013
Tyler Dowdy just started his third year of teaching at YES Prep West, a charter school here. He figures now is a good time to explore his next step, including applying for a supervisory position at the school.
Days before classes start is too late for state to close Pinnacle Charter
Opinion, August 27, 2013
It seems the State Education Department could learn a little about careful management, too. Acting swiftly after court decisions in its favor, the state is moving to close Pinnacle Charter School in Buffalo. Classes were to begin a week from Wednesday. School officials got their notice only last Friday.
Test Scores Hit Home for Parents, Kids
Wall Street Journal, August 27, 2013
Michael Reilly would tell parents who cornered him on the streets of Staten Island, on the YMCA ball field or at the local Costco not to worry, to take their children’s latest state test scores with a grain of salt. The bar was raised, and students wouldn’t do as well this year by design, he told them.
NORTH CAROLINA
Charter school enrollment up as school year begins
WECT, August 26, 2013
It’s back to school for thousands of children in our area. This is the first year we’re starting to see the results of the state’s move to allow more charter schools. There are dozens of new charters across the state, including 5 in our area.
OHIO
New charter school targets dropouts
WKBN, August 26, 2013
The latest charter school looking to open in Youngstown is taking a different approach by focusing on young people who have dropped out and now want to go back and get their diploma.
Some local charter schools are among state’s best charters, according to state report cards
Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 26, 2013
Northeast Ohio has some of the state’s charter school stars, according to the new state report cards.
OKLAHOMA
School execs frown on Barresi’s call for pay raises
Muskogee Phoenix, August 27, 2013
Area school administrators say they would have to pay the bill for State Superintendent Janet Barresi’s call for a $2,000 teacher pay raise.
PENNSYLVANIA
2 school plans, 2 gambles
Philadelphia Daily News, August 27, 2013
TWO WEEKS ago, Mayor Nutter and City Council President Darrell Clarke promised to get the school district $50 million in new money – the bare minimum to ensure schools will open on Sept. 9.
A ‘D’ in civics
Philadelphia Daily News, August 27, 2013
AMERICAN Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten has entered the Philadelphia fray over the school budget crisis.
Fickle funding formula
Editorial, The Intelligencer, August 27, 2013
Charter schools are playing an increasingly critical role in the education of Pennsylvania students K-12. In fact, some 6 percent of students statewide — about 119,000 overall — now attend publicly funded charter schools. And another 44,000 are on waiting lists.
Pa. education secretary ousted over allegation
Philadelphia Inquirer, August 27, 2013
Acting Pennsylvania Education Secretary William Harner resigned Monday at the request of Gov. Corbett, after a background check unearthed a past allegation of “inappropriate conduct.” In a terse statement, Corbett said he asked for and received Harner’s resignation. The governor did not give a reason.
TENNESSEE
Harwell seeks AG opinion on charter school law funding issue
The Tennessean, August 27, 2013
Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell says she’s seeking the opinion of the state’s attorney general on questions posed by a Metro Nashville Public Schools attorney on the constitutionality of the state’s charter school law.
TEXAS
AISD’s first homegrown charter school promises real life lessons
KVUE, August 26, 2013
The students and staff are the same at Travis Heights elementary this year, but the first homegrown in-district charter school has undergone several changes before welcoming students back to class.
Charter schools need right niche, better to oversight
Editorial, Beaumont Enterprise, August 27, 2013
State investigators said that a Houston charter school spent money on Broadway shows, cruises and other questionable items. The Texas Education Agency investigated the Varnett School in 2011, but didn’t release the results until last week. The school’s founder also employs family members who sit on its board too.
WASHINGTON
Helping school dropouts find way back to diploma
Editorial, August 27, 2013
A high school diploma means a lot, but most students don’t realize that until after they’ve dropped out of school.
Test scores flatline as Common Core looms
News Tribune August 27, 2013
Test scores for Washington students may have reached a plateau, state education officials said Monday. And pushing through to the next level — as well as helping students meet higher standards coming soon — will require a greater public investment, according to state Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn.
WISCONSIN
Wausau Will Stop Using Seniority, Education As Basis For Teacher Raises
Wisconsin Public Radio, August 26, 2013
The Wausau School District is moving away from using seniority and education as the basis for salary increases for its teachers.
ONLINE LEARNING
Miami-Dade Online Academy Lets Students Take Classes on Their Own Time
NBC 6 South Florida, August 26, 2013
The online academy allows students to literally be at school wherever they can take their laptops. It also lets them go at their own pace, which is often accelerated.
Virtual indictment: How Pa. regulates charter schools is on trial, too
Editorial, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 27, 2013
But it is not too early to see that the policies governing charter schools in Pennsylvania created a climate where it became too difficult to figure out who was paying whom, and for what.