Daily Headlines for September 30, 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
Diane Ravitch Rebukes Education Activists’ ‘Reign Of Error’
NPR, September 27, 2013
Diane Ravitch, a former assistant secretary of education, spent years advocating for an overhaul of the American education system. She supported the No Child Left Behind Act, the charter school movement and standardized testing.
Inside the Nation’s Biggest Experiment in School Choice
Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2013
There is broad acknowledgment that local schools are performing better since Hurricane Katrina washed away New Orleans’ failing public education system and state authorities took control of many campuses here.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
California truancy is at ‘crisis’ level, says attorney general
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 30, 2013
One out of every four California elementary school students — nearly 1 million total — are truant each year, an “attendance crisis” that is jeopardizing their academic futures and depriving schools of needed dollars, the state attorney general said in a report to be released Monday.
Pasadena area home-schools see themselves as one of several options for parents
Pasadena Star-News, CA, September 28, 2013
Pasadena has plenty of options when it comes to schools. The choices range from public to private to charter. But for some parents, none of those options are viable and a growing number have turned to home schooling.
COLORADO
Fees pile up for parents in Colorado public schools
Denver Post, CO, September 29, 2013
Gone are the days when parents could send their children to public school with a few classroom supplies and some lunch money.
CONNECTICUT
State pushing forward on new teacher evaluation process
News Times, CT, September 30, 2013
By the end of October, all 1,600 teachers in New Haven will know what their students need to learn to help them get a good job performance review.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Under new evaluations, more than half of DC principals rated below ‘effective’
Washington Post, DC, September 29, 2013
More than half of the District of Columbia’s public school principals have been rated below “effective” on new evaluations.
The forgotten promise of charter schools
Opinion, Washington Post, DC, September 27, 2013
With the school year underway, I recently found myself in a discussion with my landlord about where his two daughters attend elementary school. He told me they both commute about 45 minutes each way to attend a KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) charter school in Southeast Washington.
FLORIDA
Pinellas schools renew effort to reduce achievement gap
Tampa Bay Tribune, FL, September 29, 2013
Pinellas Schools superintendent Mike Grego’s rollout earlier this month of the district’s latest effort to close the achievement gap for black students was not flashy.
GEORGIA
New regional charter high school gives students a second chance
Madison Journal, GA, September 30, 2013
Some of the hallways of the old Bowman Elementary School in Elbert County are alive with students again, though the students that grace the halls these days are not beginning their education, instead they’re getting a second chance to finish up their public school careers with a high school diploma – something many of them had given up on, until now.
IDAHO
Democrats rally for education in Caldwell
Idaho Press Tribune, ID, September 29, 2013
On Saturday, Brian Cronin couched the education debate in terms of the recent past — and the immediate future.
ILLINOIS
New GED test will test resolve
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 30, 2013
For decades, the creators of the GED program have promoted it as a second chance for high school dropouts. “One decision shouldn’t define a lifetime — transform your life with the GED test,” the GED Testing Service website urges.
LOUISIANA
Inspector general’s audit of school spending is important protection for public: Editorial
Times-Picayune, LA, September 28, 2013
The Sept. 19 ruling by Civil District Court Judge Christopher Bruno was clear: the city’s inspector general has the authority to audit the Orleans Parish School Board. State law gave the inspector general broad oversight that includes the School Board, the judge said. In addition, he said, New Orleans’ home rule charter allows the IG to audit any agency that receives money through the city, even if it is not directly part of city government.
MAINE
For LePage’s departed education chief, reform was a rocky road
Portland Press Herald, ME, September 30, 2013
Stephen Bowen, who has quit, had similar ideology, but memos show inner turmoil over slow progress.
MASSACHUSETTS
Bill has power to equalize Bay State’s schools
Opinion, The Republican, MA, September 29, 2013
In many places, the gap between the suburban “haves” and the urban “have nots” is widening – a fact that should trouble us all, if we believe as public education founder Horace Mann did, that education is “the great equalizer.”
Lifting the charter school cap in Mass.
Opinion, Taunton Gazette, MA, September 29, 2013
But something is upside down when our legislators won’t find the time to debate and pass a law that would ensure that families in 29 troubled school districts can send their kids to good schools.
Lowell charter school on an MCAS mission
Lowell Sun, MA, September 29, 2013
In music classes at Lowell Community Charter Public School, the tune of “Feliz Navidad” becomes “The MCAS Song.”
Sea Star K-5 Charter School turned down by state
Cape Cod Today, MA, September 29, 2013
Mid Cape school administrators breathe a sigh of relief – School organizers are “deeply disappointed” and “do not know the reasons”
NEW JERSEY
State evaluations begin determining future of New Jersey’s teachers
Press of Atlantic City, NJ, September 29, 2013
Public school teachers in New Jersey have begun the first year of state-required evaluations that could affect their tenure or job status.
NEW MEXICO
Ambitious school reform ready to launch
Editorialm The New Mexican, NM, September 28, 2013
An ambitious plan, focusing both on students who are not doing well in traditional schools as well as providing options for exceptional students, is being unveiled by Superintendent Joel Boyd and his team.
Charter School Blues
Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2013
Charter schools have enjoyed a privileged position in New York City under the Bloomberg administration, which has given the schools free space in city buildings to help the fledgling sector grow.
Teacher incentives divisive
Opinion, Albuquerque Journal, NM, September 29, 2013
In the beginning, our New Mexico Public Education Department, without educator input, decided to label our schools A to F. How was A-F determined? A formula relying heavily on test performance was borrowed from Florida.
NEW YORK
Principal and Teacher, a Complex Duet
New York Times, NY, September 29, 2013
Dedicated principals tend to work endless, exhausting hours. Along the way, they struggle with budgets, staffing problems, disengaged parents, gang violence, holes in the roof and finding clean clothing for impoverished children who arrive disheveled and unwashed.
OKLAHOMA
Honor for Harding Charter Prep a reminder that charter schools helping many students who need it
Editorial, The Oklahoman, OK, September 30, 2013
TAKEN at face value, Harding Charter Preparatory High School doesn’t seem much different from any other high school in Oklahoma City. It has a diverse student population, and its beautiful but undoubtedly aged structure is a reminder that the school has a permanent place in Oklahoma City’s history.
PENNSYLVANIA
Charter school reform bill heads to Pa. Senate
Courier Post, PA, September 29, 2013
Legislation that would overhaul the 16-year-old law that brought charter schools to Pennsylvania is headed to the state Senate.
Former school buildings a hard sell?
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, September 30, 2013
PENNSPORT resident Anthony Robinson has seen his neighborhood grow, thanks to what he calls an influx of young couples.
Owners donate CNA building in Reading to I-LEAD Charter School
Reading Eagle, PA, September 30, 2013
A major piece of the downtown Reading puzzle has a new owner. The five-story, 260,000-square-foot CNA Insurance building at Fourth and Penn streets has been donated to the I-LEAD Charter School, company and school officials said.
Two-pronged attack on teachers’ seniority planned
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 30, 2013
Seniority for public school teachers is in the crosshairs in Philadelphia and soon will be a target across Pennsylvania.
Wealthy donors move schools decision-making behind closed doors
Philadelphia City Paper, PA, September 29, 2013
On Monday, wealthy donors interested in the future of public education will gather for a two-day conference at the Union League: “All of the Above: How Donors can Expand a City’s Great Schools.”
TENNESSEE
Memphis middle school shows gains in new iZone
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, September 29, 2013
The iZone is the Shelby County Schools district corollary to the Achievement School District, the state-run experiment in transforming failing schools. ASD schools are run by the state, but iZone schools remain under the local school board’s control.
TEXAS
Texas education commissioner clears 4 charter schools to open next year, including 1 in Dallas
Dallas Morning News, TX, September 27, 2013
Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams on Friday approved the opening of four new charter schools in Texas next year, including one in Dallas.
WASHINGTON
Alternative proposed to Seattle school-boundary plan
Seattle Times, WA, September 29, 2013
A volunteer advisory group is recommending a different way to organize schools north of the Ship Canal that would require fewer boundary shifts and lower parent anxiety.
Educators aim to bring area charter schools
News Tribune, WA, September 30, 2013
Interest in charter schools has re-emerged in the South Sound. Two new potential charter school operators say they’re exploring the idea of locating charter schools here — one in Tacoma and one in South King County.
ONLINE LEARNING
Cyber quality
Letter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 30, 2013
New York University professor Diane Ravitch makes several bizarre claims in the Sept. 17 article “Education Expert: Tide Is Turning,” the most absurd of which is calling cyber charter schools “scams.”
Legislature needs to change cyber school funding formula
Editorial, Beaver Times, PA, September 29, 2013
When state House Majority Leader Mike Turzai outlined the agenda of issues he wants to see the Legislature tackle this fall, among them was the question of revamping the funding formula for cyber charter schools.
Online school option given a reboot
Mail Tribune, OR, September 30, 2013
Eagle Point students have more options for learning with the launch of a revamped online school. Featuring a learning center and at home visits, the district’s updated online school replaces one started in 2010, said Allen Barber, the district’s human resources director.
The Virtual School Experience
KOBI, OR, September 27, 2013
Last January, her daughter traded in school days inside a traditional classroom at Parrish Middle School for a virtual learning environment in front of a computer.