Daily Headlines for December 16, 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
How much teachers get paid — state by state
Washington Post Blog, DC, December 15, 2013
Here is data, state by state, collected from the National Center for Education Statistics by Jon Boeckenstedt, associate vice president at DePaul University in Chicago.
High-risk school reform
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, December 15, 2013
Not until reformers ask why teachers leave the profession in droves will we accurately diagnose the problem
Address the achievement gap
Houston Chronicle, TX, December 13, 2013
The latest international and national results show the United States is stagnating in educational growth – when our education system isn’t strong enough, low-income students and students of color suffer the most. We need to see change.
STATE COVERAGE
ARIZONA
How to get more quality teachers in Arizona classrooms
Arizona Republic, AZ, December 15, 2013
Those who passionately argue over education policy find one point on which they agree: After parents, the most important factor in a child’s education is the teacher.
CALIFORNIA
LCPS urges local control as state education changes raise concerns
Las Cruces Sun-News, CA, December 14, 2013
Districts across the state have raised concerns about the quick implementation of the new policies and the shift in education decision-making from local school boards to the state.
DC
D.C. teacher at Friendship Tech Prep charter quits, says he was pressured to inflate grades
Washington Post, DC, December 14, 2013
Caleb Rossiter recently quit his job as a ninth-grade algebra teacher at the Friendship Tech Prep public charter school in Southeast Washington because, he says, his supervisors pressured him to artificially inflate failing grades and ignored his safety concerns by sending two disruptive students back into his class.
Capital Partners for Education helps low-income teens graduate from high school
Washington Post, DC, December 14, 2013
The two were paired by Capital Partners for Education (CPE), a nonprofit that helps low-income teens in the Washington area graduate from high school.
D.C. teachers offer wide range of views on city policies
Washington Post, DC, December 14, 2013
A D.C. Council hearing meant to solicit teachers’ views on improving city schools drew dozens of witnesses Saturday and offered a glimpse of the wide range of educators’ perspectives, particularly on the District’s controversial and politically charged teacher evaluations.
FLORIDA
Common Core education standards quietly embraced by Catholic schools
Tampa Tribune, FL, December 15, 2013
School districts across the country are getting closer to fully ushering in a tougher set of academic standards that are designed to challenge students to think deeper and more critically.
GEORGIA
Bibb charter schools ramping up preparation
Macon Telegraph, GA,
December 13, 2013
Representatives of Bibb County’s first charter schools say they’re working hard to open next fall. They’re negotiating to secure sites for the schools, the Academy for Classical Education and the Macon Charter Academy, and those deals could close in the next two weeks.
IDAHO
Idaho Arts Charter students perform well on stage and on tests
Idaho Press-Tribune, ID, December 16, 2013
About 900 children apply to get into the school each year, but only 60 are accepted per grade by a lottery drawing. Students attend the school tuition-free.
ILLINOIS
CPS releases detailed proposals for 21 charter campuses
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 13, 2013
Chicago Public Schools on Friday released details of proposals from nine charter school operators seeking approval for 21 new campuses over the next two years.
MASSACHUSETTS
Charter school would hurt more than help Fitchburg
Sentinel & Enterprise, MA, December 15, 2013
I felt compelled to write after reading the letter written by the founding members of the Academy for the Whole Child printed Wednesday. It is very disturbing to be a resident in a city where providing your child a good public elementary education will be based upon a lottery pick.
Hundreds turn out to meet with Walsh team
Boston Globe, MA, December 14, 2013
Mayor-elect Martin J. Walsh called the community to come and share ideas on education and economic development, and come they did.
MONTANA
Teach for America uses local ties to increase impact
St, Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, December 16, 2013
Brittany Packnett knows the fire and spark that can result when enthusiastic college grads or professionals sign up to work in the nation’s most troubled urban schools.
NEW JERSEY
Administration promotes charter school applicants to next round
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 15, 2013
Of nine hopefuls that applied to Department of Education, four are advanced to final round
Newark makes strides on new teachers’ contract
Star-Ledger, NJ, December 15, 2013
It was a little more than a year ago that Newark teachers overwhelmingly approved a ground-breaking new contract after months of negotiations. But now we see the local teachers’ union out on the street, carrying placards and protesting it.
NEW YORK
NY parents, districts worry about database privacy
New York Post, NY, December 16, 2013
Even as their students’ grades, attendance and other personal information are about to be fed into a new statewide database, district administrators and parents around New York say they remain unconvinced the information won’t creep out over time or hurt students later when they apply for college or work.
NORTH CAROLINA
Three new charter schools planned in Iredell
Statesville Record & Landmark, NC, December 14, 2013
The charter school movement appears to officially be grabbing hold locally, as three organizations submitted applications this week with the state to open non-traditional public schools in Iredell County in August 2015.
OHIO
Columbus schools’ levy loss puts panel on charters in limbo
Columbus Dispatch, OH, December 16, 2013
A citizens committee that was to set standards for expanding successful Columbus schools and charter schools serving Columbus students hasn’t met since voters rejected a proposed Columbus City Schools levy in early November, and it’s not clear whether it will resume its work.
OREGON
Montessori needed as an option for some children
Statesman Journal, OR, December 15, 2013
In parenting my two young children and in my work with children in the Salem community, I have seen a real area of need that an alternative educational program like the Sequoia Montessori Charter School can meet for children who cannot meet their potential in traditional settings.
PENNSYLVANIA
Hold that call, Rep. Scavello
Pocono Record, PA, December 15, 2013
State Rep. Mario Scavello, R-176, should go back to high school for a civics lesson. He appears to have missed the part about the three separate branches of government and the importance of an independent judiciary.
Propel profile scores vary
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, December 16, 2013
State School Performance Profiles vary widely for the nine Propel charter schools, including seven that draw Mon-Yough area students.
Pittsburgh schools satisfying most parents, but not teachers or central workers
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, December 15, 2013
What do people think of Pittsburgh Public Schools? If you ask teachers, an increasing number think class sizes aren’t reasonable since the district increased them
Philadelphia school district threatens charters
Watchdog, org, December 16, 2013
After Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission gave itself expansive new authority over charter schools in August, the deadline has arrived for it to follow through on an attempt to curb the growth of alternative public schools in the district.
TENNESSEE
Nashville Chamber finds ‘mixed results’ in schools in 2013, criticizes charters debate
The Tennessean, TN, December 16, 2013
As the Metro school board continues to raise alarm over the influx of charter schools in Davidson County, leaders of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce believe its time could have been better spent.
Memphis is epicenter of bold experiment in education
The Tennessean, TN, December 15, 2013
Hanley, a school of nearly 628 students, almost all African-American and poor in a city with vast poverty, is among the latest schools at the center of perhaps Tennessee’s boldest education experiment — an organization called the Achievement School District, which is directly operating six low-performing schools and has handed the keys of 10 others to charter school operators such as Aspire.
Does anyone care that the municipal school boards are all white?
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 15, 2013
Did advocates for municipal schools, which will be overwhelmingly white, consider how this looks in a county that’s 53 percent black? Did anyone care?
TEXAS
When Private Firms Run Schools, Financial Secrecy Is Allowed
Texas Tribune, TX, December 16, 2013
On a recently approved Texas charter school application, blacked-out paragraphs appear on almost 100 of its 393 pages.
VIRGINIA
OEI board will function much like a local school board
The Virginian-Pilot, VA, December 16, 2013
A statewide agency, proposed by Gov. Bob McDonnell and established this year by the General Assembly, to supervise and improve schools denied accreditation by the Virginia Department of Education.
WASHINGTON
A charter schools victory at the state Supreme Court
Seattle Times, WA
, December 14, 2013
A King County Superior Court rejects nearly every constitutional challenge to charter schools.
ONLINE LEARNING
Parnell proposes $5 million digital learning initiative
Daily News-Miner, AK, December 16, 2013
Gov. Sean Parnell announced $5 million for a digital teaching initiative as part of his 2015 fiscal year budget proposal Thursday.
Cyber student achievement has proved to be dismal
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, December 16, 2013
The Dec. 4 Perspectives piece “Treat Cyber Schools Fairly” requires a factual response. Cyber schools do offer positives for students who are homebound, are self-motivated and have parental support. They are not a “wave the magic wand and all is well” solution.
Math tutor helps create low-cost online program
Peninsula Daily News, FL, December 16, 2013
A math tutor from Port Angeles is celebrating the release of a low-cost online math tutoring program that he had a hand in creating.
Lakeville high schools to offer mix of online, traditional classes to all students
Pioneer Press, MN, December 15, 2013
Next fall, students at Lakeville’s two high schools won’t necessarily have to be at school to attend class.
Online charter school in Oklahoma files lawsuit over A-F report card
The Oklahoman, OK, December 16, 2013
Epic One on One, a primarily online school with thousands of students enrolled across Oklahoma, filed the lawsuit Nov. 7 after Oklahoma Education Department officials refused to release its report card, said Brad Clark, an attorney representing the school.
POLITICAL / LEGISLATIVE COVERAGE
White: No vouchers, no good news for schools
Fayetteville Observer, NC, December 15, 2013
Every North Carolinian’s education – whether you were born here or dropped in later in life – should include occasional readings of our state constitution.
S.C. House pre-files 82 bills and many impact local education
Fort Mills Times, SC, December 16, 2013
Members of the South Carolina House of Representatives pre-filed 82 bills for the legislative session beginning Jan. 14. Many of them have direct impact, should the bills become laws, on education from the local district level to colleges and universities. All of the pre-filed bills would require several votes and the governor’s signature for ratification.
Senate Bill 229 improves Ohio’s teacher evaluation system
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, December 15, 2013
Ohio’s intensive teacher evaluation system just started this school year, so at first it seemed that Senate Bill 229, which offers a different way of evaluating teachers, would be a recipe for confusion. The bill recently rolled through the Senate and it’s now awaiting action in the Ohio House.
Pence draws a bead on public education
NW Times, IN, December 15, 2013
Gov. Mike Pence’s assault on the state’s public school system apparently is headed for the fast track.
ALEC legislators aim to diminish public education by removing teacher tenure
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, December 16, 2013
It’s sad that Missouri has 10 senators and 30 representatives serving as lackeys for the American Legislative Exchange Council. The head of ALEC’s servants in Missouri, Sen. Ed Emery, like other ALEC disciples, do not have the capability or willingness to draft legislation in keeping with constituent wishes.
Strengthen teacher-principal evaluation law
Seattle Times, WA, December 14, 2013
An effective teacher and principal evaluation system starts with changing a single word in state law.