Daily Headlines for October 4, 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
Obama’s pre-Kindergarten plan expensive, shows little results
Opinion, Albuquerque Journal, NM,, October 4, 2013
Throughout the spring and summer, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has traveled the country to build support for President Obama’s “Preschool for All” program. He has made stops in Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Wyoming, and several other states.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Gloria Romero Leaving One Ed Reform Group to Start Another
LA School Report, CA, October 3, 2013
Gloria Romero is stepping down from her position as Director of California Democrats for Education Reform (or DFER) to start a new organization, the Foundation for Parent Empowerment.
COLORADO
Colorado’s schools need Amendment 66
Editorial, Denver Post, CO, October 3, 2013
Colorado has been a leader in school reform for 20 years, ever since a charter school law passed in 1993 over the vociferous opposition of the teachers union and education insiders.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Ex-officials of Options Public Charter deny wrongdoing but cut financial ties to school
Washington Post, DC, October 4, 2013
Former managers of the District’s Options Public Charter School on Thursday denied accusations that they diverted millions of dollars from at-risk students to enrich themselves and their for-profit companies, but they agreed to sever their financial relationship with the Northeast Washington school.
FLORIDA
Under fire from Hollywood neighbors, school trims size of planned campus
Miami Herald, FL,, October 3, 2013
After hearing concerns from Hollywood residents who say traffic is already infuriatingly snarled, officials from Ben Gamla Charter School on Thursday said they plan on reducing the size of a proposed high school to hold 600 students instead of 1,050.
GEORGIA
BOE vote next for city schools charter application
Times-Georgian, GA, October 4, 2013
Following a year of community forums, internal conversations and countless hours of writing, Carrollton City Schools presented its charter system application to the Board of Education on Thursday for the first time in its entirety.
HAWAII
Hawai`i School Enrollment Up, Led by Charter Schools
Big Island Now, HI, October 3, 2013
The number of students enrolled in Hawai`i’s public schools was up by 1,818 over last year, an increase of 1.1%, the state Department of Education said Wednesday.
LOUISIANA
Ultimate hypocrisy at the Department of Education
Opinion, The Daily Advertiser, LA, October 3, 2013
So the DOJ is attacked for asking that White abide by desegregation orders, and is not denying choice to any parents. While White, on the other hand, is actually using a desegregation case to deny parents in St. Helena Parish any school choice. This is hypocrisy run amok.
Teachers to begin receiving merit pay based on 2013-14 evaluation scoresM
Times Picayune, LA, October 4, 2013
Now that Louisiana public school teachers have been given their first detailed job evaluation reports, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Educator Effectiveness initiative moves into full implementation: paying cash bonuses next year to the most effective instructors.
MARYLAND
Laurel charter school to build on successful math, science program
Maryland Gazette, MD, October 3, 2013
A Laurel charter school is expanding next school year, offering a math- and science-focused curriculum at a new school in northern Prince George’s for lower grade levels and at a new school in the southern part of the county.
MASSACHUSETTS
Applications to McAuliffe Charter School Up 185%
Framingham Patch, MA, October 4, 2013
Although the lottery will not be held until early 2014, applications for the Christa McAuliffe Regional Public Charter School are up 185 percent.
Boston Foundation launches prize competition for charter schools
Boston Globe, MA, October 4, 2013
The Boston Foundation has announced the launch of an annual prize competition to recognize excellence in a Greater Boston charter school.
MICHIGAN
3 Metro Detroit teachers finalists for Charter School Teacher of the Year
Detroit News, MI, October 3, 2013
Three Metro Detroit charter school teachers are among the finalists for this year’s Charter School Teacher of the Year announced Thursday by the Michigan Association of Public School Academies.
Trail to better education for son leads dad out of town
Detroit News, MI, October 4, 2013
Calvin McGhee’s son was in kindergarten when the Detroit native decided the city wasn’t the best place to raise a child.
MISSOURI
Lessons from Washington in Missouri’s school transfer crisis
Editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, October 4, 2013
The juxtaposition of two stories about major crises on the front page of the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday suggest why the state and national governments have become so inept at dealing with complicated topics.
NEVADA
A win for school choice, but not in the Silver State
Opinion, Nevada Appeal, NV, October 4, 2013
A gaggle of school voucher haters — led by the Arizona School Boards Association and the Arizona teachers union — filed a lawsuit challenging the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program. Among other things, the voucher haters maintained that the voucher program violated the state’s constitution because the vouchers could be used in religious schools.
NEW JERSEY
Jersey City will get charter school next year devoted to health sciences
Jersey Journal, NJ, October 4, 2013
Jersey City will be home next year to a new charter school intended to focus on education in the medical sciences.
Newark Teachers Say ‘No’ on Grant
Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2013
The Newark Teachers Union on Thursday declined to sign off on a $30 million federal grant application, an indication of how fractured labor relations have become in New Jersey’s largest school district a year after Gov. Chris Christie and union leaders celebrated a new labor contract.
NEW MEXICO
Union wants debate on teacher evaluations
Albuquerque Journal, NM, October 4, 2013
The Albuquerque Teachers Federation has thrown down the gauntlet in the form of an invitation to debate the new teacher evaluation system, but New Mexico Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera said Thursday she’ll not be picking up the glove.
NEW YORK
Forty percent of Syracuse teachers need improvement plans, early evaluation results show
Post-Standard, NY, October 4, 2013
Forty percent of teachers in the Syracuse school district will have to develop improvement plans because they scored below “effective” on their state-mandated performance evaluations, according to preliminary results released by the district.
Study: Charter schools actually cheaper than public schools
New York Post, NY, October 3, 2013
Charter schools offered free space in city educational facilities are actually a bargain for New York taxpayers, a new study shows.
NORTH CAROLINA
State Board of Education adopts tougher testing standards
News & Observer, NC, October 4, 2013
The State Board of Education adopted passing scores for standardized tests Thursday after toying with the idea of lowering the bar so more students would pass.
State tests scores drop significantly in face of tougher standards
Winston-Salem Journal, NC, October 4, 2013
The State Board of Education accepted test scores Thursday that show double-digit declines in reading and math proficiency in the face of new, more rigorous exams.
PENNSYLVANIA
Assessing Philadelphia Public Schools’ Real Problems
Letter, Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2013
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, scolds the Journal’s editors (Letters, Sept. 30) for blaming public-school “Failure in Philadelphia”(Review & Outlook, Sept. 25) on unions.
Hundreds of letters decry problems at underfunded city schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 4, 2013
These were among 260 separate complaints sent to the state by parents of city schoolchildren that education advocates described at a City Hall news conference Thursday. The documents depict deficiencies in the city’s cash-strapped schools that they say violate state or federal laws.
Money isn’t everything
Editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 3, 2013
One silver lining of the crisis that Philadelphia’s schools have been staggering through has to be the activism it has generated for the proper education of the city’s children.
State public school scores to be released
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 4, 2013
With the scheduled release of state test results today, Pennsylvania will usher in a new way to rate public schools.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Orangeburg getting S.C.’s first single-gender charter school
Times and Democrat, SC, October 4, 2013
Garden City Preparatory Academy for Boys, which will be located in Orangeburg, has been approved as a school in the S.C. Charter School District.
TENNESSEE
Haslam sets goal for TN to become fastest-improving in teacher pay
The Tennessean, TN, October 4, 2013
Gov. Bill Haslam wants Tennessee’s teacher salaries to become the fastest improving in the nation, a long-term and still-unfunded goal that complements a controversial new pay plan that rewards educators who perform the best.
Tennessee Charter School Center hires John Little for community outreach
The Tennessean, TN, October 4, 2013
A native Tennessean and former political campaign manager is the new director of community engagement for the Tennessee Charter School Center.
VIRGINIA
Bridge gaps on education
Opinion, Fairfax Times, VA, October 4, 2013
In a gubernatorial race that has centered on gifts from political supporters, FBI investigations, extremism and social issues, it’s odd there hasn’t been more talk about education. In Fairfax County, where SOL test scores and Advanced Placement courses are always hot topics, education is a subject that will determine how more than a few ballots are cast.
WASHINGTON
Charter school proposals could pave way for education ideas
Editorial, Yakima Herald-Republic, WA, October 4, 2013
Washington state, ahead of the national curve in so many areas of public policy, is a notable laggard on the issue of charter schools. Washington finally joined 41 other states and the District of Columbia in authorizing the schools last November, when voters narrowly approved Initiative 1240.
State-evaluation system for teachers a good thing
Opinion, Seattle Times, WA, October 4, 2013
I teach in a school that has embraced the new state evaluation system for teachers. And maybe that’s part of our success, writes guest columnist Janice Maxson.
ONLINE LEARNING
City library to provide online tutoring to Chicago students
Chicago Sun Times, IL, October 3, 2013
Help is just a keystroke away for Chicago students stumped on homework assignments or struggling to grasp difficult concepts before a school test or college entrance exam.