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
A Plea for Catholic Schools to Ignore New Guidelines
New York Times, NY, November 5, 2013
A group of Roman Catholic scholars has called on Catholic schools to ignore the new educational standards known as the Common Core, a set of guidelines on what students should know and be able to do from kindergarten through 12th grade, opening a front with parallels to the fight over using the guidelines in public schools.
Cantor blasts Obama again over vouchers during visit
The Advocate, LA, November 4, 2013
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor used his second visit to New Orleans this year to criticize the Obama administration again for moving to temporarily halt Louisiana’s school voucher program in much of the state.
Education reform activist talks charter schools, voucher system during Princeton visit
Times of Trenton, NJ, November 4, 2013
New Jersey’s public schools are ranked among the top three in the nation when it comes to reading and math proficiency, but according to Diane Ravitch, nothing is being done to keep it that way.
Poverty and school reform
Opinion, Baltimore Sun, MD, November 4, 2013
But several recent studies suggest that what teachers have been saying is right. Poverty has a substantial impact on brain development and decision-making. The current issue of JAMA Pediatrics reports a study from the Harvard Medical School of brain scans of children growing up impoverished.
STATE COVERAGE
ALASKA
Board considers Star of the North charter school’s renewal
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK, November 5, 2013
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board met Monday to discuss renewal of the charter for Star of the North charter school.
Lawmakers See Early Effects of New School Choice Law
KARK, AR, November 4, 2013
School districts in Malvern, Conway, Paragould and Batesville lost the most students to other districts as part of the Public School Choice Act of 2013, lawmakers learned Monday.
CALIFORNIA
Monterey High academy seeks to become charter school
Monterey Herald, CA, November 4, 2013
Coming out to the beach, perhaps more often, is the type of experience MAOS students could get more of if the academy had more flexibility with scheduling and programming. It’s one of the reasons Von Saltza and other MAOS teachers would like to convert the academy into a dependent charter.
DELAWARE
“Reach Academy faces possible closure after panel votes not to recommend renewal of charter
News Journal, DE, November 4, 2013
A New Castle County charter school faces possible closure after the state Department of Education’s Charter School Accountability Committee on Monday voted not to recommend the state renew its charter.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. education agency pays Chicago firm nearly $90,000 for one day of work
Washington Post, DC, November 4, 2013
A D.C. government agency paid a Chicago consulting firm $89,995 for one day of work at a recent city education conference, a fee that included a half-hour keynote speech, three 45-minute parent workshops and hundreds of copies of parenting books.
FLORIDA
What is at stake in APS school board election? Just about everything.
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, November 4, 2013
Most of the APS school board could turn over as a result of tomorrow’s balloting. At the very least, nearly half the board will be new faces since four of the current nine members are not seeking re-election.
ILLINOIS
What our schools can’t do — but parents can
Commentary, Chicago Tribune, IL, November 5, 2013
Chicago schools by themselves can never close the academic gap between poor black and Latino students and their more affluent white and Asian counterparts.
IOWA
Charter school provides hope for students
Pilot Tribune, IA, November 4, 2013
Storm Lake was on the cutting edge in the state of Iowa in 2005 to offer a school within a school to its students.
LOUISIANA
Some charter schools aim to break old patterns
The Advocate, LA, November 4, 2013
When a group of Mid-City residents proposed four years ago to open a school that would be racially and economically diverse, they were greeted with doubt.
MAINE
Brunswick charter school proposal withdrawn
Portland Press Herald, ME, November 5, 2013
“I was surprised, but my sense is that it was not very well received,” said Stadler, who lives in Phippsburg. “There was a lot of opposition from the audience and just to charter schools in general.”
MASSACHUSETTS
Style, Emphasis Separate Mayoral Candidates On Education
WBUR, MA, November 4, 2013
City Councilor John Connolly and state Rep. Marty Walsh, finalists in the Boston mayoral race, do not differ sharply on the basic questions of education policy.
NEW JERSEY
Tally of teacher tenure cases shows new law had impact
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 5, 2013
The first year of New Jersey’s new tenure law has so far resulted in a much quicker process for deciding discipline charges against teachers, while established case law has still largely determined the outcomes.
NEW YORK
Best and brightest try to bridge education gap
The Record, NJ, November 4, 2013
Eli Grossman, a recent Cornell University graduate from Teaneck, wants his Paterson sixth-graders to know he presumes they can make it to college.
Brooklyn Diocese Sues One of Its High Schools in Queens
New York Times, NY, November 5, 2013
For more than 30 years, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and the nonprofit group running Christ the King High School in Queens have acted as one, managing the twin hurdles of declining enrollments and shrinking revenues with a joint aim of fostering parochial education.
Catholic schools work for kids
Opinion, New York Post, NY, November 5, 2013
For decades, Catholic schools have done a tremendous job of educating poor and minority kids — yet the church continues to close them left and right. But tonight Rev. Tim Scully is winning an award for his work in making Catholic schools a viable option for more kids.
NORTH CAROLINA
Teachers’ events protest education funds; McCrory says there are ‘legitimate gripes’
News & Observer, NC, November 4, 2013
North Carolina’s public schools became the latest battleground in the fight over public education Monday as teachers rallied across the state to protest actions of the General Assembly.
OHIO
One in three Cleveland area school districts have tax issues on the ballot
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 4, 2013
Twenty-one Greater Cleveland school districts are on Tuesday’s ballot seeking tax increases, and a dozen others are asking voters to renew existing taxes.
Teachers don’t show after charter fails to pay them
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 4, 2013
A new Columbus charter school failed to pay its employees last week, leading some educators to walk off the job, its founder said yesterday.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma school report cards to measure student growth, performance
Tulsa World, OK, November 5, 2013
Oklahoma’s second-ever report cards that grade public schools and school districts on a scale of A-F could be released at a special state board of education meeting on Wednesday. A new calculation method devised by state lawmakers was used this time around.
PENNSYLVANIA
Bethlehem Area School District introduces career pathways for students
Lehigh Valley Express-Times, PA, November 4, 2013
The Bethlehem Area School District plans to implement career pathways to allow students to focus on their interests and to produce stronger graduates.
Pa. Charter Reform Bill Advances, Draws Criticism
CBS Philly, PA, November 4, 2013
A bill to overhaul Pennsylvania’s charter school law would gut local control of the alternative schools by eliminating enrollment caps and giving universities the power to authorize new charters, opponents said Monday.
Pa. lawmakers to scrutinize charters’ cost to taxpayers
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, November 4, 2013
In North Hills School District, it costs taxpayers $10,336 a year to send a student to a charter school. A few miles south, Pittsburgh Public Schools would pay $12,871 a year — 25 percent more — to send a student to the same charter.
Parents, Teachers, Administrators Address Achievement Gap in Pittsburgh
WESA NPR, PA, November 4, 2013
“Where’s the moral outrage over the lack of equity in education,” asked Duquesne University Dean of Education Olga Welch who attended a recent community forum on the achievement gap held by 90.5 WESA.
TENNESSEE
Investor Townes Duncan accuses school board member of waging ‘vendetta’ against charters
The Tennessean Blog, TN, November 4, 2013
A prominent backer of charter schools has accused Metro school board member Will Pinkston of pursuing a “vendetta” against Nashville charters as he cries foul over what he calls baseless allegations.
WASHINGTON
Not many teachers can be evaluated using state test scores
Seattle Times Blog, WA, November 5, 2013
School districts across Washington state are starting to evaluate teachers and principals in new, more rigorous ways. Not surprisingly, that’s not easy.
WISCONSIN
Voucher plan needs changes
Editorial, Beloit Daily News, WI, November 4, 2013
THE IDEA TO provide taxpayer-financed vouchers to private schools gained traction in Wisconsin and around the country based on the premise beneficiaries would be kids from poor families in challenged urban areas for whom there was no other way to escape a failing public school.
ONLINE LEARNING
Appleton virtual school tops in state
WHBY, WI, November 4, 2013
An online school based in the Appleton school district is tops in the state, for virtual charter schools.
Classes minus the classroom: Students throughout Wisconsin say Grantsburg’s virtual charter school is making the grade
Eau Claire Country Today, WI, November 4, 2013
While most teens her age were seated behind a desk one recent Tuesday morning, Audree Marcis was finishing up the morning chores on her family’s dairy farm.
New virtual learning academy offered through Logan schools
News-Democrat & Leader, KY, November 4, 2013
The Logan County school district rolled out a new program just after fall break this year. The Logan Academy of Virtual Academics (LAVA)is an alternative method of working toward a high school diploma without actually having to attend Logan County High School.
School district staff review updated online education program
Williamsport Sun-Gazette, PA, November 4, 2013
A half dozen teachers and administrators from regional schools last week attended a rollout of the updated “BlendedSchools.net” online curriculum program, designed to make it more user friendly.
“School vs. School” – Who’s Making the Grade?
WTAJ, PA, November 4, 2013
Beyond the “bricks and mortar” public and private schools and home-schooling, there’s a growing number of charter and cyber charter schools. WTAJ News investigated how they compare and how they are competing with public schools for your child and the funding that follows them.