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
Is the U.S. making the grade in education?
Opinion, Washington Post, DC, December 6, 2013
The latest international student evaluations, the PISA test results, are out, and one thing is clear: The United States has not done well.
US undeserving of dunce cap
Column, Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, PA, December 6, 2013
Even if you’re not an education news geek, you almost certainly heard at least a hint of the collective gnashing of teeth upon the release of the latest international school test results.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Aspire teachers at center of fierce national debate
San Francisco Chronicle, CA, December 5, 2013
When Eva Kellogg’s bosses evaluated her performance as a teacher, they observed her classes. They reviewed her lesson plans. They polled her students, their parents and other teachers. And then they took a look at her students’ standardized test scores.
Livermore Charter Schools Examine Ideas for Expansion
The Independent, CA, December 6, 2013
The Tri-Valley Learning Corporation (TVLC), which operates charter a K-8 and a high school in Livermore, has been discussing the merits of expanding the number of schools it administers, with an eye toward helping its Livermore programs gain more money.
FLORIDA
Both sides in teacher evaluation debate need dose of reality
Column, Tampa Bay Times, FL, December 5, 2013
They live in parallel universes, each one a creation of misguided hope. On one side are the politicians who seem convinced that every classroom is identical, and the only reason students fail is because their teachers are inept. On the other side are educators who see a world that’s out to get them, and reflexively protect their own whether they are deserving or not.
Failing schools with “highly effective” teachers
WEAR-TV, FL, December 6, 2013
Nearly 98 percent of Florida’s teachers are “effective” or “highly effective”, according to ratings recently released by the state. But some are asking how that’s possible when Florida has a record high number of F-rated schools statewide, including some in our area.
MacDill charter school gets preliminary ‘no’ from Hillsborough officials
Tampa Bay Times, FL, December 6, 2013
Hillsborough school officials are poised to deny the application for a new charter school at MacDill Air Force Base, citing concerns about the way it would be governed.
Reconsider notion of city-run charter school
Editorial, Palm Beach Post, FL, December 5, 2013
West Palm Beach is moving ahead with plans to open the area’s first city-run charter school, a proposal that sounds great in theory. After all, the school is intended to improve education for children in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, where Mayor Jeri Muoio has called students’ performance on reading tests “totally unacceptable.”
IDAHO
Idaho governor defends openness, goals of Common Core
Idaho Statesman, ID, December 6, 2013
In an online chat, Otterr and panelists say education reform will raise the bar for Idaho schools.
INDIANA
Parent, teacher fear for creativity
The Journal Gazette, IN, December 6, 2013
A local educator and parent have mixed opinions about whether Indiana should move forward with the adoption of the Common Core education standards.
Pence seeks pre-K vouchers, road money in 2nd year
Herald Bulletin, IN, December 5, 2013
Indiana’s school voucher program, already the broadest in the nation, would be expanded to preschool-aged children under a plan Gov. Mike Pence announced Thursday as part of his 2014 agenda.
ILLINOIS
CPS Delays Posting of Charter School Proposals
DNAinfo , IL, December 5, 2013
Those hoping to get a more detailed look at the proposals for new charter schools in the city will have to wait a bit longer.
LOUISIANA
Baton Rouge superintendent plans foreign language magnet at Polk, new middle school at Brookstown
Times-Picayune, LA, December 5, 2013
More shifting of school boundaries is likely on the way in Baton Rouge, as School Board members heard on Thursday night about plans to change the programs at Polk Elementary and Brookstown Elementary.
MICHIGAN
Critics rip school grading bill
Detroit News, MI, December 6, 2013
Legislation creating a letter grading system for Michigan public schools is coming under scrutiny because it contains a provision that may speed the transfer of failing schools into the troubled Education Achievement Authority.
MISSOURI
Support school’s faith-based education
Letter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, December 6, 2013
The letter “Can’t compare De La Salle to a public school” (Nov. 24) was disappointing but correct in one way. De La Salle Middle School in north St. Louis, with total enrollment capped at 65 students, can’t provide all the services of a vast public school system.
NEW JERSEY
East Brunswick charter school finally expands into long-denied building
Cranbury Road, NJ, December 5, 2013
The 272 kindergarten-to-fifth-grade students of Hatikvah International Academy Charter School appear to be thrilled to have more space and a larger gym in their new Lexington Avenue building, which they moved into on Monday.
NEW YORK
Icahn Charter Schools walks away from controversial colocation plan in Bronx
New York Daily News, NY, December 5, 2013
Educator won approval to open charter high school in Gunther Ave. middle school that already housed Pelham Gardens Middle School and Junior High School 144.
NORTH CAROLINA
Educators warn teacher turnover numbers to rise unless pay issue is addressed
Fayetteville Observer, NC, December 5, 2013
The state will continue to see an increase in the number of teachers leaving their jobs if the issue of teacher pay is not addressed, local educators say.
PENNSYLVANIA
A fortified future
Opinion, South Philly Review, PA, December 5, 2013
With the closures of many schools in the School District of Philadelphia, 186th District state Rep. Jordan Harris has proposed legislation that would add three new members to the School Reform Commission. These new members would include a parent representative from both charter and public schools and the president of the city-wide student government association.
Alternative education
Letter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, December 6, 2013
The Nov. 20 article addressing Clayton Academy and its attempt to extend the contract it has with the Pittsburgh Public Schools (“Alternative School Seeks Contract Extension With City”) quotes Kenneth Huston, an employee of the company that runs Clayton, as saying, “If they weren’t at Clayton Academy, where would those kids be?”
TEXAS
High dropout rate is everybody’s problem
Editorial, Beaumont Enterprise, TX, December 6, 2013
Anyone looking for a simple solution to the problem of high school dropouts won’t find it. The causes are many, ranging from pregnancy to homelessness. But one thing about this issue is clear: Every person, business, charity or governmental agency that can keep one kid in school is doing a great deed – and needs all the support others can muster.
Texas charter schools flexing their muscles
Column, Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX, December 5, 2013
Texas charter schools are getting more respect these days — look no further than the support they got from lawmakers who this year approved the most significant rewrite of charter legislation since they authorized the concept in 1995.
UTAH
U.S. education secretary praises school improvement efforts at Northwest Middle
Deseret News, UT, December 6, 2013
For the past three years, Northwest Middle School has been working to increase student achievement with the help of a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
ONLINE LEARNING
Online-only school is an effort worth pursuing
Editorial, York Daily Journal, NC, December 5, 2013
Sometimes we can’t help but feel the system is rigged against change. Change isn’t always a bad thing.
Schools line up for virtual classrooms
Marietta Times, OH, December 6, 2013
Area schools are attempting to provide more educational options and recapture some of the students – and money – they’ve lost to online community schools in recent years by offering their own virtual classrooms.