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Daily Headlines for August 14, 2013

August 14, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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

National teachers union leader points to St. Louis as model
St Louis Post-Dispatch, August 14, 2013
The head of the nation’s second-largest teachers union said Tuesday that school districts and unions should aim to solve problems rather than win arguments, and she pointed to St. Louis as a model.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

FHUSD, Charter School get ‘A’ grades
Fountain Hills Times, August 14, 2013
The Department of Education released annual grades for individual sites and districts last week, giving Arizona schools and families a gauge by which to determine what kind of progress is being made.

CALIFORNIA

BCS lockout: This mess needs our help
Editorial, Los Altos Town Crier, August 14, 2013
What a mess. How else can you describe the terrible situation with the boards of Bullis Charter School and the Los Altos School District?

Charter partnership gives L.A. Unified school new name and outlook
Los Angeles Times, August 14, 2013
Parents, under 2010 trigger law, force change at 24th Street Elementary, which suffered from persistently low test scores.

Los Angeles ‘Parent Trigger’ School Sets Precedent With Public-Charter Hyrbid
US News & World Report, August 13, 2013
When students arrived for the first day of classes on Tuesday at 24th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles, they returned to a school almost nothing like the one they left last year. The school was transformed with amenities that would be considered standard at many other schools: water fountains and bathrooms that work, a clean campus and teachers and staff eager to advance their education.

Place for both traditional & charter schools?
Manteca Bulletin, August 14, 2013
Even as students attending traditional public schools are moving in droves to public charter schools, some education leaders are not convinced this is the wave of the future.

FLORIDA

Applicants Pitch Charter Proposals to Polk County School Board
The Ledger, August 13, 2013
Applicants from four proposed charter schools seeking to open in Polk County made presentations to the School Board on Tuesday and faced tough ques­tions.

Florida school districts pass on Scott’s teacher debit cards
Miami Herald, August 13, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott pitched the idea from the Panhandle to Miami: a state-funded debit card worth $250 for every teacher to spend on classroom supplies.

GEORGIA

Druid Hills Charter Cluster gets an overwhelming approval vote
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 14, 2013
The petition for a charter school cluster centered on Druid Hills High School passed by a huge margin Tuesday.

ILLINOIS

Despite closing and budget cuts, CPS calls for new charter schools
Chicago Sun Times, August 13, 2013
As Chicago Public Schools officials finish shuttering a record number of schools and leave many neighborhood schools to open their doors in two weeks with diminished budgets, the district has quietly issued a call for new charter schools.

LOUISIANA

EBR charter schools win approval
The Advocate, August 14, 2013
A committee of Louisiana’s top school board Tuesday authorized up to 10 new charter schools for East Baton Rouge Parish during the next two years amid continuing debate about their value.

National charter school group challenges Louisiana education department
Times-Picayune, August 13, 2013
The organization that helped turn New Orleans into the country’s most charter-school-saturated city is challenging the state Department of Education’s characterization of its work and says education department staff occasionally pressured the group to change its recommendations. The National Association of Charter School Authorizers screened applicants from 2005 to 2012.

MARYLAND

School system, county raise questions charter school’s fundraising
Maryland Gazette, August 14, 2013
As Community Montessori Charter School heads into its second school year, some county and school system officials are concerned about fundraising efforts to complement Montgomery County Public School funds in the school’s budget.

MICHIGAN

DPS’s door-to-door campaign aims to tout individual schools to win back students
Detroit Free Press, August 14, 2013
As Detroit Public Schools pushes a new back-to-school marketing plan to try to reverse its enrollment and budget decline, the district must try to draw back kids from dozens of districts and nearly every charter school in the tri-county region.

Michigan House panel hold third hearing on Common Core standards blocked by Republicans
The Oakland Press, August 14, 2013
Michigan lawmakers are continuing to take a closer look at whether the state should implement stricter benchmarks in reading and math.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Education tax credit will aid few public school students
Concord Monitor, August 14, 2013
In the quickly approaching school year, about 100 students statewide will receive scholarships under the state’s new education tax credit law. But the majority of those scholarships will go to home-schoolers or students already attending private schools rather than to public school students seeking alternative options.

NEW YORK

Mount Vernon Charter School Winds Unprecedented Court Battle
Mount Vernon Daily Voice, August 14, 2013
After years of battling in the courtroom, the Amani Public Charter School received its first settlement payment from the Mount Vernon Board of Education.

New York Issuing Scorecards on Teacher Colleges
New York Times, August 14, 2013
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has used data to rate restaurants, track the repair of potholes and close lackluster schools in New York City. Now he is bringing his results-oriented approach to an area far outside his usual purview: teacher colleges.

NORTH CAROLINA

Atkinson stands up for public schools
Opinion, News & Observer, August 13, 2013
June Atkinson, the state’s superintendent of public instruction, told a group of editors and reporters Monday that if vouchers are to promote competition between private and public schools, then private and public schools should be subject to the same testing so parents can make a fair comparison.

OHIO

Legislators say the Cleveland Transformation Alliance should have had more say on new charter schools
Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 13, 2013
Mayor Frank Jackson’s not alone in feeling like his new Transformation Alliance was unfairly shut out this summer from reviewing new charter schools in the city.

PENNSYLVANIA

Foundation to assess city schools’ summer academy
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 14, 2013
As part of a $50 million investment in summer K-12 programs including one in Pittsburgh, the Wallace Foundation is taking a close look at whether those programs work.

No solution yet as Philly schools deadline looms
Philadelphia Inquirer, August 14, 2013
ANOTHER DAY, another news conference, and still no solution in sight for finding the $50 million the school district says it needs to open schools Sept. 9.

Stay granted; classes go on at Pocono Mountain Charter School
Pocono Record, August 14, 2013
The Pocono Mountain Charter School will be able to open its doors for the first day school Sept. 5. A Commonwealth Court judge granted a stay of the revocation of the school’s charter Tuesday afternoon after hearing arguments from attorneys for the charter school and Pocono Mountain School District Monday.

Teachers shouldn’t get lifetime appointments
Editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer, August 14, 2013
New Jersey public school teachers may face the biggest test of their careers this year. A new law that takes effect next month changes an antiquated tenure system that has hampered education reform and made it nearly impossible to fire bad teachers.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Improve SC school accountability
Opinion, Greenville News, August 13, 2013
If one thing is clear about the way that South Carolina holds public schools accountable it is that nothing is clear about it at all. Having two separate grading scales for public schools that parse the same data but sometime come to different conclusions is confusing for parents and could hinder efforts to make this state’s public schools even better.

New charter school to open in Charleston County this fall, two more coming August 2014
Charleston Post Courier, August 14, 2013
Low country parents who are dissatisfied with existing public school options are fueling the growth of local charter schools.

TENNESSEE

Metro school officials fear ‘tipping point’ coming with charter costs
The Tennessean, August 14, 2013
Just one month into the current fiscal year, Metro officials are already looking ahead to 2014-15 as they forecast strains that would require more than $38 million in additional funding, with the cost of charter schools topping concerns.

UTAH

Sleep patterns
Opinion, Salt Lake Tribune, August 13, 2013
That expectation has been borne out in some of the more successful charter schools, and one of the best innovations has been restructured school-day schedules that take into account the biological differences in sleep needs of adolescents.

VIRGINIA

Virginia candidates for governor try to turn campaign tide
Washington Times, August 13, 2013
Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II on Tuesday rolled out a proposal that would overhaul Virginia’s K-12 education system as he and Democrat Terry McAuliffe try to debunk charges that the year’s marquee political race has devolved into little more than a mudslinging fusillade of negative attacks.

ONLINE LEARNING

District 97 considers $1 million iPad purchase
Chicago Tribune, August 13, 2013
Every student in Oak Park School District 97 may have an iPad to use in the classroom within three years, according to district officials.

Online Charter Case Back In Court
WUNC, August 14, 2013
The North Carolina Court of Appeals will hear arguments today in a case that pits a for-profit education company against the State Board of Education. At issue is how the board considered an online charter school application.

Parents complain Course Choice killed virtual schoolThe Advertiser, August 14, 2013
Parents whose children successfully completed courses under the Louisiana Virtual School, a state-run program in effect for more than a decade, complained Tuesday that Superintendent of Education John White killed it in favor of privatization.

Virtual schools gaining in popularity
WMBF, August 13, 2013
We aren’t at the point where teaching inside traditional brick and mortar classrooms are a thing of the past, but the future in learning is certainly changing.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines, Uncategorized

Newswire: August 13, 2013

August 13, 2013 By

Vol. 15, No. 31

WAIVERING ON PROGRESS. Last week eight school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, became the first districts in the country to receive waivers on NCLB provisions from the US Department of Education. Under NCLB, states were expected to ensure student proficiency across the board by 2014. California had the past thirteen years to improve yet today, only 24% of the Golden State’s 8th graders can read at proficiency. As one Alameda, CA teacher pointed out in his letter to the Wall Street Journal yesterday, “Just in time, too—the deadline for meeting NCLB goals is 2014. In the absence of real progress in public education, we are eager to mistake change for progress.” Meanwhile, Congress deliberates, five years overdue, on what the next generation of NCLB (or ESEA) will look like. It’s time for A Reformer’s Course of Action to ensure students can achieve. Our nation can no longer afford to procrastinate and waiver on real progress.

PESISTENCE PAYS. For you dedicated Newswire readers out there, you might recall the long fought battle reformer Tom Nuemark and his team waged to bring a classical education to Frederick, MD. “Words matter,” Nuemark told over 200 parents, students and community leaders at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sunday officially opening the doors of the Frederick Classical Charter School. “After four years of struggle, our founding families gave the Frederick Classical Charter School a motto reflecting our founding—Nil Sine Magno Labore—nothing without great labor. Those words mean a lot to us.” And while the school celebrated, its leaders know there’s much more labor ahead. “Are you the kind of parents, elected officials, and community members, who will tirelessly advocate for our school and for school choice?… Are you willing to assure the survival and success of this school and of educational liberty?” We hope so. Maryland’s charter school law is very restrictive but rest assured, Frederick Classical will not stop fighting for substantive reform just because they have their school.

CITY OF NOT SO BROTHERLY LOVE. David Hardy, CEO of the prestigious Boys’ Latin Charter School hit the nail on the head when he said, “brinkmanship is the latest strategy” in Philadelphia. Superintendent of Philly schools William R. Hite says the district will require an additional $50 million to open schools on time, a statement Mayor Michael Nutter called, “one of the most chilling statements that I’ve ever heard a school leader…make.” Facing a budget deficit of $270 million, Philly schools are desperate to get money together just to get schools open and operational. As if this wasn’t enough, the school district is currently in contentious negotiations with the Philly Federation of Teachers, whose contract expires August 31. If schools are going to open on time, the BLOB will have to make some concessions while the district figures out how to best get money from the city and state governments. Mayor Nutter said a failure to obtain funds to open schools on time would be “irresponsible.” With all of these converging proposals out there on how best to raise the money, it seems no one has gotten the message.

ATLANTA DEFIANT. Erroll Davis, Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools recently advised that the city stop approvals of charter school applications pending a court decision that may determine whether charter schools have to contribute to an old pension liability. The connection Davis makes is questionable, and the Atlanta school board realized this after approving the Atlanta Classical Academy’s application on Monday. Lauren Erste, Head of Georgia’s Charter School Division, said charter schools must be approved under state law if they meet necessary legal requirements and are in the public interest. It’s a good thing Atlanta’s School Board chose to follow the law rather than hinder Parent Power and opportunities for students and families.

THIS SUMMER AT CER. In case you missed it, be sure to check out our most recent Letter to Friends of the Center for Education Reform. as we recap on the past few months, prepare for the back to school buzz and look forward to celebrating our 20th Anniversary on October 9, 2013 in Washington, DC.

Filed Under: Newswire Weekly

OCCASIONAL Letter to Friends of The Center for Education Reform No. 105

August 13, 2013 By

The OCCASIONAL Letter to Friends of The Center for Education Reform
No. 105
AUGUST 2013

National Exposure

All Good News Isn’t Good News. Thanks to the ever-thoughtful Claudio Sanchez at National Public Radio, the public was treated to both sides of the debate over how research should be considered in evaluating the effectiveness of school reform. With CREDO’s study on 26 states having been released for the National Charter School Conference, many rushed to applaud the findings, which suggested, in part, that charters had made progress over time in selected states. The complex and rather lengthy report – which few, it seems, bothered to read – revealed a number of contradictions including who was included in the study and how students were evaluated (not specific students over time but a hodge-podge of state aggregated data, individual data, and comparisons with composite students). That elicited concern from many researchers including Stanford-based Economist Caroline Hoxby who said: “the difficulty is that [CREDO] simply refuses to use the reliable and scientific method of comparing students who apply to attend the charter school and are ‘lotteried-in’ and those who apply but are ‘lotteried-out.’ This is the only scientific method of assessing charter schools, and it is exactly akin to any other randomized controlled trial. What CREDO does is make very crude comparisons across charter and non-charter students. Researchers have been telling CREDO for years that its comparisons are not apples-to-apples and are unscientific, but the organization is pretty much deaf to the research community.” NPR reports here.

Capitol Cocktails. A great assembly of practitioners, thinkers, school network, government and foundation leaders convened in Washington for CER’s 20th Anniversary kick-off reception. Countless substantive conversations between enthused colleagues and friends filled the room as those in attendance were treated to an unbeatable view of the Capitol. President Jeanne Allen made the formal announcement that the baton for leading the organization will soon be passed to veteran staffers Kara Kerwin and Alison Consoletti Zgainer, while “assuring” those in attendance, “…I’m not going anywhere. I have many books to write, and I have every email you’ve ever sent me.” Not to mention that Allen will continue advising the team and be pursuing new and additional ways to ensure the proliferation of sound education reform. Read more about the very bright future of CER at https://edreform.com/2013/07/kara-kerwin-named-president-the-center-for-education-reform-effective-november-1/

Introducing Education Reform “U”: Ever wondered how school choice came to Milwaukee and just couldn’t figure out where to start without flipping through complete books? How about the dialogue that led to final negotiations on Ohio’s charter school law? Maybe you’re curious about how to build a grassroots group. Looking at the strategic planning documents and even logo development of a state group would help you. Or you might just want to understand who was there before you were born, doing the work that gave charters the ability to start, schools the right to hire people outside of contracts and standards the chance to be accepted as education vernacular. These are just but a handful of the resources you’ll find when you enroll in Education Reform University, an unprecedented effort by CER to catalogue the informal and unofficial foundation of the US Education reform movement since 1990. Phase 1 is nearing completion as thousands of resources are meticulously loaded and catalogued in the massive EdReform U database. Phase II will involve MOOC-like training modules for reformers. Phase III? Well let’s just say it will be possible someday for you to have a real education school degree with reform at its core! Check it out, and let us know what you think!

State Focus

NC – A Tale of Two Issues. “…it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” This second line from Dickens sums up the this summer in the North Carolina state house, where we can celebrate the passage of an opportunity scholarship program while also mourning the tragedy of the dismantling of the charter school law.

After the election of 2012 put an outspoken edreformer in the Governor’s mansion, CER’s team testified, wrote issue briefs and worked with lawmakers to advise and develop a bold agenda to finally bring opportunity scholarships to the Tarheel State. We also counseled charter leaders that changes to the existing charter law should take a back seat to this arguably more important effort that had yet to win favor there. Afterall, while the charter law needs the kind of improvement that can ensure the proliferation of more great charter choices for kids, no legislative action was needed at this time, particularly since one small provision in the state’s charter law permitting universities to authorize charters had never been realized under previous, anti-charter leaders. Most agreed that a new state board was poised to be able to fix overregulation and burdensome processes not codified in law but set in place by the old anti-reform guard on the state board — without new legislation. Or so we thought.

But with a disjointed charter sector vying for relevancy in the eyes of their state movement, some proceeded (off the radar) to shore up control of chartering process within the state. A few powerful, well-intentioned charter leaders, thinking they were safeguarding the chartering process against future challenges, dealt a huge blow to the future of charters, despite our 11th hour counsel to save the debate until another time, when they could learn more about the important role multiple authorizers. Instead, they stripped NC of a future of multiple authorizing which in other states has been the most successful avenue for creating plentiful, high quality choices.

At the same time, critical deliberations on school vouchers were on fire following months of deliberation, and major negotiations were under way to keep the majority focused on ensuring great new opportunities for kids. With nearly 100,000 parents and students rallying behind it, opportunity scholarships, which will provide for nearly 2,000 poor children to attend the school of their choice initially and growing year by year, are now part of the state’s education fabric — a big win for NC’s families.

Like we said, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Out and About

Truly Excellent Schools. When EdReform pioneer Linda Brown called Jeanne Allen to keynote the annual teacher/leader summit of this 10 year-old initiative to build excellent schools, it didn’t take very long to say yes. After all, there are few initiatives that are actually running today with such success that were started by the same people who were there at the proverbial Independence Hall-like creation of the modern reform movement!

Accelerating Leadership. Allen also flew to Chicago to address the Ryan fellows at Accelerate Institute, which is another step in building excellent leaders. Born out of the Alain Locke Charter school network and now devoted to helping both charter and catholic school principals succeed, Accelerate’s annual program immerses the fellows them in leadership modules essential for success, helps place them in internships and prepares them to be principals of existing schools, all while giving them valuable lessons in school reform. The gray matter in the room was thick and robust. There is no question that Accelerate and Building Excellent Schools are among those who understand that cultivating people will ensure good policy in the long run.

Virginia Should Be For Charters, not just lovers. The Governor’s summit in Virginia gave CER EVP and incoming president Kara Kerwin an opportunity to shoot straight with the assembled lawmakers and citizens, who have been unable to grasp the importance, it would seem, of having a truly robust charter school law that removes the exclusive franchise of delivering public education from school districts and empowers families with real choice, while improving all schools. Without mincing words, Kerwin shot holes in the conventional wisdom that Virginia’s constitution prohibits the adoption of multiple authorizers and implored people to seek better ways and input to get the charter party going in the Commonwealth.

Want CER’s leaders to address your gatherings? Write Patrick Burke, Communications Associate— Patrick@edreform.com

Notes & Asides

People are policy…And so we were sad to bid farewell to our Digital Communications guru Michelle Tigani this summer, whose rise at CER is emblematic of how we grow the reform movement. Michelle came to us fresh out of education school, and we quickly worked to dispel all the things she learned by introducing her to writing for the Media Bullpen. Her understanding and appreciation of CER’s mission and the issues we embrace quickly helped her rise in the ranks and after two years, she was managing our whole digital and social media portfolio. But love is stronger than work, and she’s off to NC to be with a significant other. All is not lost however; our colleagues at Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina snatched her up to do their communications work. And that makes us happy.

Wanted. We still need to replace Michelle, and have other openings too. Visit our site for more information.

We’re Spreading the News. The Chairman of the Board will be with us in spirit as his Ratpack’s one of a kind, little town blues takes over the Washington Hilton on October 9th and gives reformers a space to entertain, celebrate and converse with one another over how our past 20 years have gone and what’s next on the Horizon. CER at 20: Don’t miss it. Sign up now to get your spot.

Filed Under: Opinions

Daily Headlines for August 13, 2013

August 13, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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

Education Policy and The Marathon Ahead
Letter
Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2013
As we approach an educational standards deadline, we waiver the goals and gallop off in a new direction. It works; most of the population is not paying attention.

In South Florida, AFT President Weingarten targets Bush, Bennett
Miami Herald, August 12, 2013
With the architects of Florida’s education system on the defensive, the fiery leader of the country’s second-largest teachers union launched another round of attacks on former governor Jeb Bush and the state’s recently resigned education chief during a Monday visit to South Florida.

Parent trigger laws divide communities
Opinion
USA Today, August 12, 2013
Parental involvement plays a critical role in student success. Teachers know that students whose parents take an active part in their education are far more likely to succeed.

‘Parent trigger’ laws worth trying: Our view
Editorial
USA Today, August 12, 2013
It’s an extraordinary step reserved for extraordinary situations in which persistently failing schools need to change.

FROM THE STATES

ARKANSAS

School choice appeals denied by State Board of Education
KATV, August 12, 2013
A dozen school choice appeals were submitted at Monday’s State Board of Education meeting. All 12 were denied. Board chairman Brenda Gullett called the flood of appeals frustrating.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Struggling St. Louis County district seeks stability, improvement as new school year begins
Washington Post, August 12, 2013
When the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in June that students from unaccredited districts could transfer to better-performing schools, Cornell and Shonte Young were among thousands of St. Louis County parents who entered a lottery to determine where their children would attend class.

FLORIDA

Charter school deficits grow in Florida, audit reports
Tampa Bay Times Blog, August 12, 2013
A growing number of Florida charter schools had operating deficits at the end of fiscal 2012, compared to a year earlier, according to a newly released report from the Florida Auditor General.

Steele-Collins received an ‘F’ but groundwork for a turnaround has already begun
Tallahassee Democrat, August 13, 2013
Speaking to a room full of incoming students and their parents, the new headmaster of the revamped Steele-Collins All Male Charter Academy helped set the tone for the coming school year.

Pitbull opens sports education charter school in Miami
New York Daily News, August 12, 2013
The ‘Feel This Moment’ rapper helps launch the Sports Leadership and Management school in the same neighborhood where he grew up.

GEORGIA

Atlanta school board approves new charter school
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 12, 2013
Atlanta’s school board unanimously approved a new charter school Monday, overriding the superintendent’s recommendation against starting new charters.

Druid Hills Cluster Vote Tuesday
Druid Hills Patch, August 12, 2013
If you’ve got a child who is attending or will eventually attend Druid Hills High School, you’ve got an opportunity this month to vote on whether the high school and all its feeder schools can become a state-approved charter cluster.

INDIANA

Accountability of charter schools at risk
Opinion
Indianapolis Star, August 12, 2013
The strong accountability at the heart of the public charter school movement has helped to make charters successful at achieving great outcomes for students.

LOUISIANA

State school board debates public input
The Advocate, August 12, 2013
Louisiana’s top school board Monday wrestled with how much input taxpayers should have on public school issues.

A preview of Tuesday’s BESE charter school debate
Times-Picayune, August 13, 2013
Procedural changes for 2013 might result in less tumult Tuesday when the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Educationmeets in committee to decide which organizations may open charters in the Recovery School District.

MAINE

Maine gets waiver on some ‘No Child Left Behind’ requirements
Portland Press Herald, August 13, 2013
The state will get flexibility, for example, on a rule that all students be proficient in math and reading by 2014, but must continue publishing A-F report cards for all schools.

MASSACHUSETTS

New state standard means Lenox teachers get report cards, too
Berkshire Eagle, August 13, 2013
As a result of the state’s new teacher evaluation requirements, all 91 educators in town will receive “report cards” during the upcoming academic year. But it won’t be a first for the school district.

MICHIGAN

City kids: High-quality charter schools await Detroit families
Model D, August 13, 2013
It’s known as The Schools Question, because all of us who don’t beat a path north of Eight Mile the minute the pregnancy test turns blue hear it: “But where will your kids go to school?”

MINNESOTA

Education a priority for Minneapolis mayoral candidates
Minnesota Public Radio, August 13, 2013
The leading candidates for mayor of Minneapolis all say the city needs to make education a priority. Although they offer differing visions for achieving that goal, they all face a common challenge: The mayor of Minneapolis has no direct control over the city’s schools.

MISSISSIPPI

Education alternative begins in Concordia Parish
Natchez Democrat, August 13, 2013
Ashley McIntosh now has a choice for her children’s education.
Abigail and Barton, McIntosh’s children, were among the 300 new students that started their first day of class Monday at the Delta Charter School in Ferriday.

MISSOURI

A real choice for students in unaccredited districts
Commentary
St. Louis Beacon, August 12, 2013
Suburban districts do not want to be overrun with students fleeing the failing school districts. The unaccredited districts are worried that high tuition rates for departing students will bankrupt their districts. Meanwhile, many parents with children trapped in failing schools are dismayed at the prospect of having them bused to new schools more than 20 miles from home.

NEW MEXICO

SFPS teacher eval plan approved
Albuquerque Journal, August 13, 2013
The state Public Education Department has approved Santa Fe Public Schools’ new teacher evaluation plan, which will take effect this year.

NORTH CAROLINA

NC schools chief June Atkinson says test scores will drop this year
News & Observer, August 12, 2013
Public schools’ standardized test scores will drop this year, June Atkinson, state superintendent of public instruction, said Monday.

PENNSYLVANIA

District to charter school: Take out a loan to stay afloat
Pocono Record, August 13, 2013
If the Pocono Mountain Charter School wants to stay open, it should take out a loan, Pocono Mountain School District officials argued during a Commonwealth Court hearing Monday about whether the judge should stay a decision to shut down the charter school.

Bethlehem Area School District blocks charter school expansion
The Morning Call, August 12, 2013
Bethlehem Area School District is blocking the Lehigh Valley Dual Language Charter School from expanding to a second location.

New evaluation process set to begin in Pittsburgh schools
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 13, 2013
Teacher evaluation systems can determine who keeps a job and who goes, but what can such systems do to improve all teachers in the classroom?

SOUTH CAROLINA

School choice plan not enough lasting reform
Opinion
Florence Morning News, August 12, 2013
Most would be in agreement South Carolina needs educational improvements and better achievement for our tax dollars. Those are basic and uncontroversial concepts, but the road to making those ideas a reality are anything but.

TENNESSEE

Name recognition is not enough to compete for students in the world of charter schools
Memphis Commercial Appeal, August 13, 2013
Former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton’s short-circuited plan to launch nine charter schools in four locations across Shelby County leads to two observations.

VIRGINIA

Cuccinelli says he has answers for students in need
The Virginian-Pilot, August 13, 2013
In proposing law changes to ease charter school creation and legalize public aid for religious schools, Ken Cuccinelli is laying out a robust education overhaul plan with the potential to reopen some contentious education policy debates.

ONLINE LEARNING

Virtual school
Editorial
The Recorder, August 13, 2013
The relationship between Greenfield School Department and K-12 Inc., the for-profit company that provides curriculum services for the virtual school, remains in many ways a grand experiment.

Harrisburg schools to furlough more employees yet hires cyber school director
The Patriot-News, August 13, 2013
The Harrisburg School District announced 15, and possibly more, furloughs for non-teaching staff to help save up to $687,000 as part of its recovery plan — if the union contract isn’t approved.

District enrolling for new virtual school scheduled to open in September
Philadelphia Notebook, August 12, 2013
The District is rolling out the Philadelphia Virtual Academy (PVA), a new online initiative that it hopes will stem the loss of students and tuition to cyber charter schools.

Harper Creek schools green-lights virtual program
Battle Creek Enquirer, August 12, 2013
Harper Creek Community Schools on Monday approved a new virtual program meant to capture kids who “disappear” and miss out on a high school diploma.

RCAS adds online learning opportunity
The Alpena News, August 12, 2013
Students at Rogers City Area Schools will have new online learning opportunities now that school board members have approved a contract with Great Lakes Virtual Learning.

Concern about Lawrence charter virtual schools
El Dorado Times, August 12, 2013
Lawrence school district officials say they are concerned about the educational success of students enrolled in the city’s two virtual schools.

Virtual schools
Editorial
Lawrence Journal-World, August 13, 2013
Virtual schools provide a valuable service, but local school officials are right to be taking a closer look at how those schools are working in the Lawrence district.

Florence-Penrose School Board excited about Focus Academy
Canon City Daily Record, August 12, 2013
During Monday’s school board meeting, Florence-Penrose School District Superintendent Rhonda Vendetti updated the board on the Focus Academy, which is the district’s online school.

New offerings
Albuquerque Journal, August 13, 2013
Many students might be reluctant to switch to a new school for their senior year of high school. But twin 16-year-olds Arris and Ceznary Walker were the first to sign up for Albuquerque Public Schools’ new College and Career High School, and they are excited to get a head start on college at the new school.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Daily Headlines for August 12, 2013

August 12, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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

Charter grade scandal could slow growing movement
Associated Press, August 9, 2013
For charter school supporters, there were few better champions than Tony Bennett.

Giving school schoice the Milton Friedman test
Commentary, Washington Times, August 12, 2013
Last month marked the 101st anniversary of Milton Friedman’s birth. The date was celebrated across the nation, particularly — and rightly — by school-choice advocates. Although Friedman launched the modern school-choice movement and lived to see it rise to national prominence, there is still more that those of us who support educational freedom can learn from his example.

Not vacation: summer learning programs crucial
Associated Press, August 12, 2013
Some studies suggest students lose as much as two months of knowledge over the summer. Advocates say educators can’t expect their students to succeed if they, too, spend the summer months poolside.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

New private school rules spur debate
Montgomery Advertiser, August 11, 2013
A local state senator and state school board member are sparring with the Alabama Department of Education over a proposal they say constitutes unnecessary regulations and fees for private schools.

CALIFORNIA

600+ on charter waiting lists
Manteca Bulletin, August 12, 2013
On Wednesday, Aug. 14, the history-making River Islands Technology Academy will have its first day of school in an area where there are no houses around it. The first houses at River Islands at Lathrop master-planned community has yet to break ground, but the school, which held a dedication ceremony on Aug. 7, will be opening with 400 K-6 students.

STAR test results showcase top Napa schools
Napa Valley Register, August 10, 2013
Several schools in the Napa Valley Unified School District received high scores on the most recent standardized tests. Some of the best-performing schools included Vichy Elementary, River Charter School and New Technology High.

DELAWARE

New Moyer Academy under scrutiny
News Journal, August 10, 2013
State education officials say they’ll closely watch the New Moyer Academy charter school’s first few months of the academic year and how it handles new deadlines to decide what action to take with the school, which currently is in violation of its charter.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Fundraising at D.C. charter schools varies widely
Washington Post, August 11, 2013
Many traditional D.C. public schools supplement their budgets with private fundraising, often giving those in affluent neighborhoods a financial edge over their counterparts in poorer areas.

FLORIDA

Do we need the A-F grading model?
St. Augustine Record, August 11, 2013
The abrupt resignation two weeks ago of Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett opens a conversation that needs to happen: Is the A-F grading model for schools necessary any more?

Education choice crucial for governor
Opinion, Florida Today, August 11, 2013
The public school system is facing a perfect storm due to the combination of new, harder national student testing standards coming to Florida and a controversial merit pay system that has demoralized teachers.

Elected or appointed? An education dilemma
Opinion, Tallahassee Democrat, August 12, 2013
The resignation of Education Commissioner Tony Bennett has revived discussion of whether Florida’s top schools boss should be elected or appointed.

GEORGIA

Atlanta school board considers new charter schools
Macon Telegraph, August 12, 2013
Atlanta’s school board is set to vote on applications for two new charter schools, which could touch off a fight between supporters of the new schools and the school system’s leader.

Superintendent urges board to turn down new charter schools
WSBTV, August 12, 2013
Just a week into the new school year some Atlanta parents are gearing up for a fight over charter schools.

HAWAII

Hawaii suffers massive shortage of teachers
Associated Press, August 10, 2013
Jonathan Sager was an idealistic 22-year-old recent college graduate when he arrived in Hawaii in 2006, yearning to make a difference in the lives of children in hardscrabble neighborhoods like those on the Waianae Coast.

INDIANA

Bennett’s downfall is no reason to scrap state reforms
Editorial, August 11, 2013
Before school reform champion Tony Bennett fell from grace for his alleged manipulation of school accountability scores in Indiana, he was well on his way to establishing himself as an outspoken leader in modernizing academic programs in elementary and secondary schools.

Traditional public schools given more financial advantages than charters
Indianapolis Star, August 11, 2013
Indianapolis City-County Council member Brian Mahern’s Aug. 6letter reflects a deep misunderstanding of school finance, tax policy and our education system. Mahern asserts that “mayoral charter schools such as Christel House also receive a local-taxpayer-funded subsidy not enjoyed by IPS schools.” This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Trine oversees its 2nd charter
The Journal Gazette, August 12, 2013
Up until a couple of years ago, Trine University officials couldn’t do as much as they wanted for charter schools that called them asking for assistance.

LOUISIANA

Young Audiences Charter School opens in Gretna with arts-integrated curriculum
Times-Picayune, August 10, 2013
Classes started with a bang Friday at Jefferson Parish’s newest public school. The Young Audiences Charter School in Gretna welcomed its first students and parents with the vibrant sounds of an African drum performance.

MARYLAND

Montgomery schools look for dropout indicators early on
Washington Post, August 11, 2013
Students could show signs of becoming high school dropouts as early as first grade, according to a Montgomery County schools study that officials hope will provide a road map for shrinking dropout rates and improving academic achievement.

New school’s curriculum looks to classics
Frederick News Post, August 12, 2013
Giant scissors cut through the ribbon at the Frederick Classical Charter School and symbolically started it on a course set by ancient Greeks.

MISSOURI

School transfers are mired in thorny school choice debate
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 10, 2013
Kurema Williams is grateful to be transferring her children out of the failing Riverview Gardens school district — even if it means driving them to and from an elementary school in Ferguson-Florissant.

NEW JERSEY

New grad school in education cleared to start training teachers
New Jersey Spotlight, August 12, 2013
Unconventional program born out of charter schools focuses more on practical teaching and classroom skills.

NEW YORK

Mayoral Candidates See Cincinnati as a Model for New York Schools
New York Times, August 12, 2013
In search of a cure for ailing schools, educators and politicians from around the world have descended on this city’s poorest neighborhoods, hearing of a renaissance.

Parents’ group threatens lawsuit if Buffalo school transfer plan wins approval
Buffalo News, August 12, 2013
If the Buffalo Board of Education and the New York State Education Department both approve the district’s latest plan to deal with students who request transfers, school officials can expect disappointed students and outraged parents.

Quinn wants to raise legal dropout age to 18
New York Post, August 12, 2013
You should have to be an adult to throw away your education, says Democratic mayoral hopeful and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Schooling the critics
Column, New York Post, August 11, 2013
Eva Moskowitz isn’t satisfied. The poor, black and Hispanic students in her 14 charter schools just knocked the new state tests out of the park, but she had wanted even more. Those are the same tests that most city students failed, leading many educrats to argue the tests were too hard.

NORTH CAROLINA

The dropout rate is mostly a numbers game
Beaufort Observer, August 11, 2013
Politicians who run for office always look for issues they thin will get them votes. I suspect if you could accurately assess it, the high school “dropout” rate might well be one of the top issues non-incumbents have chosen to run “against” over the last half century or so.

OHIO

Ohio flooded with applications for vouchers for private schools
Youngstown Vindicator, August 11, 2013
The Ohio Department of Education says it has received 1,700 applications for an expansion of a program meant to help students from underperforming public schools attend private schools.

PENNSYLVANIA

District’s lowest-performing seats
Opinion, Philadelphia Inquirer, August 12, 2013
Contrary to popular opinion, the lowest-performing “seats” in the School District of Philadelphia are not located at Pastorius or Alcorn or any of the city’s many recently shuttered schools.

Rochester reaching out to students who left district
Beaver Times, August 10, 2013
A year ago, Rochester had 116 students — more than 12 percent of resident students — attend schools outside the district, according to Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit statistics.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC school choice plan not enough on the (long) road to reform
Editorial, SC Now, August 11, 2013
Most would be in agreement the state needs educational improvements and better achievement for our tax dollars. Those are basic and uncontroversial concepts, but the road to making those ideas a reality are anything but.

TENNESSEE

Former Memphis mayor finds charter competition
Memphis Commercial Appeal, August 11, 2013
Former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton has had to scale back his plans to launch his Du Bois Charter Consortium this week, a result he says of competing charters with “deep pockets” who are “very aggressive” in their marketing.

TEXAS

Charter Schools in Churches a Focus of Praise, Concerns
Texas Tribune, August 11, 2013
Three years, 5,000 door hangers and several garage sales after its opening, Beta Academy has a long waiting list but an empty bank account.

KIPP Destiny Elementary charter in Red Bird welcomes its first students Monday
Dallas Morning News, August 11, 2013
Miriam Morato never graduated from high school or attended college. But she hopes she set her 4-year-old daughter on track to a college education when she enrolled her in the pre-kindergarten program at KIPP Destiny Elementary.

New Frontiers Charter School is about community
La Prensa, August 12, 2013
An outstanding educational tool in San Antoniothat parents may not know about is New Frontiers Charter School. Currently they have about 630 students in grade levels that span from kinder to 8th grade. Apart from current aspects upcoming plans and a new principal make it noteworthy.

WASHINGTON

Teachers, districts should focus on new reforms
Editorial, Seattle Times, August 11, 2013
School districts and teachers negotiating over pay and working conditions should work together to implement important school-accountability measures.

WEST VIRGINIA

Education Reform An Ongoing Process
The Intelligencer, August 11, 2013
With the new school year already underway in some West Virginia communities, many Mountain State residents may have a new sense of confidence in public education. A major school reform law was enacted earlier this year, after all.

ONLINE LEARNING

Allentown schools want to revamp online offerings
Morning Call, August 9, 2013
Allentown School District hopes to expand its online course offerings by the middle of the upcoming school year and eventually allow students to take a mix of traditional and online classes while still earning a district diploma.

Back-to-school time, virtually, for Indiana Connections Academy
Post Tribune, August 11, 2013
Going back to school on Monday for these Merrillville boys means opening up a laptop at their kitchen table or reading in a beanbag chair in the living room, or on a blanket on the front lawn.

Digital Media Academy offers technology enrichment
Franklin News Post, August 12, 2013
The technology department of Franklin County public schools sponsored technology camps for students this summer.

Greenfield virutal academy enrolling students for the 2013-2014 school year
The Republican, August 11, 2013
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education awaits applications for online schools that want to open their virtual doors in the 2014-2015 school year, the Massachusetts Virtual Academy at Greenfield is enrolling students for the upcoming school year.

Mesa introduces virtual math class for advanced sixth graders
East Vally Tribune, August 11, 2013
Mesa sixth graders who demonstrate a high ability in math can take an advance course when the school year begins Wednesday – one with a teacher on the other side of a computer screen.

St. Paul school district’s big tech vision starts small – by design
Pioneer Press, August 11, 2013
St. Paul Public Schools is starting modestly on its ambitious plan to overhaul learning through technology.

Virtual School Operator K-12 Hits Snag In Tennessee Expansion
Nashville Public Radio, August 12, 2013
A private, for-profit company that started the first statewide cyber school in Tennessee is having trouble getting approval for a second.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines, Uncategorized

Austin White: Meeting With Congresswoman Capps

August 9, 2013 By

This week I had the pleasure of sitting down with my home district’s Congresswoman, Lois Capps, in my first ever encounter with a federal politician. I was prepared to be rushed in and out of her office just to shake her hand and get a quick picture taken, knowing the endless demand and limited supply of time that members of Congress face. Even if I could speak with her I assumed, since she made it to Congress, that she would meet every question with a calculated political response devoid of real substance to successfully eliminate any chance of deterring my future vote. I still cannot speak for the rest of our leaders on Capitol Hill, but Congresswoman Capps was an incredible surprise. Voted the nicest person in Congress, she distanced herself from the stereotypical conception of a ‘politician’ as she instead came across as a gentile, confident, and relatable woman.

I had arranged the meeting after finding myself lucky enough to have won the Capps Intern Scholarship—an award and grant provided each year to a UC Santa Barbara student interning in DC. Supporting UCSB students comes from a connection between the Congresswoman and the University that is stronger than a typical constituent base. The former nurse came to represent the district through a special election when her husband, Walter H. Capps, a thirty year Professor of Religious Studies at UCSB, suddenly and tragically passed away nine months after his entry to the House of Representatives. Having received a Masters Degree in Education at UCSB herself, and representing Santa Barbara County for an impressive 15 years and counting, the connection to the community of students has never faltered. Also, it certainly does not hurt that after her intense grassroots movement to register voters, UCSB became a college known for having the highest voter turnout of any school in the country.

As one of those college students, up to my neck in tuition payments, I wanted to go in person to extend my deepest gratitude for the gesture of support. But getting the chance to actually have a one-on-one meeting to candidly talk and get to know the Congresswoman was a treat that I will remember forever. She was unafraid to joke about her frustration over spending so much of her career in the minority party, the ridiculous gerrymandering she had been subject to, and the general ineptitude of the institution that employs her. The Congresswoman’s ability to take issues seriously while retaining a light attitude was remarkable, and an important reminder that the common projection of evil onto all politicians may be slightly shortsighted. It was a refreshing reminder that the people working for the government are people just the same, and that everything that frustrates me about the system also frustrates its members. It is easy to forget but vital to remember that it is the system which is intentionally designed to produce gridlock and monitored vehemently by the media that produces the childish game of American politics—not always the players.

Ultimately it was truly a great experience getting to connect with Mrs. Capps. Not everyone gets the opportunity to sit down and have coffee with their representative, and I just feel fortunate to have had that chance.

Filed Under: Commentary, Edspresso

Daily Headlines for August 9, 2013

August 9, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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

COTTO: ‘School choice’ is child abuse
Opinion, Washington Times, August 8, 2013
It is impossible for mainly troubled youths in dangerous, let alone underperforming, schools to magically become star pupils once they are placed in a better environment.

Implementation could doom new standards
Opinion, Tulsa World, August 9, 2013
Even if you believe that the Common Core standards are high-quality, internationally benchmarked and would provide a solid foundation for the American education system, you should be worried about how they are being implemented.

Study: Louisiana among top states for charter school gains
The Advertiser, August 8, 2013
Gov. Bobby Jindal and state Superintendent John White announced Thursday that a recent 26-state study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that Louisiana is a national leader in student achievement at charter schools, ranking near the top in both reading and math gains.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Higley weighs value of chartering two new middle schools
Arizona Republic, August 8, 2013
Higley Unified School District’s governing board will decide Monday whether chartering the district’s two new middle schools will bring in the most state aid or if it should rescind the schools’ charter designation.

CALIFORNIA

Column missed real story on charters
Sacramento Bee, August 9, 2013
In his column on Oakland’s American Indian Model (Public Charter) Schools, Ben Boychuk shows his myopic bias in favor of charter schools regardless of the facts (“Education board can save these great schools,” July 27).

Private School Offer Alternate Path For Students
Gazette Newspapers, August 9, 2013
While Long Beach has award-winning public schools, it also is home to a variety of charter, private and parochial schools.

Trigger Tremors
City Journal, August 8, 2013
Last week, parents in the Southern California desert city of Adelanto celebrated the opening of the first school transformed under the state’s 2010 parent-empowerment law, also known as the parent trigger.

COLORADO

State, Re-1 forge agreement for future charter plans
Glenwood Springs Post Independent, August 8, 2013
The Roaring Fork School District Re-1 is finalizing an agreement with the Colorado Charter School Institute that will establish a formal working relationship whenever a new charter school is proposed within the district.

IDAHO

Idaho Charter School Network gets new president
KTVB, August 8, 2013
The Idaho Charter School Network announced Thursday that Terry Ryan will take over as president.

INDIANA

Indiana’s performance-based pay system for teachers needs review
Opinion, Indianapolis Star, August 8, 2013
The demands on teachers today have never been greater as they strive to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population, including English Language Learners, students with disabilities and a growing number of students disadvantaged by poverty.

KENTUCKY

Senate must finish House’s good start on education law
Opinion, Lexington Herald Leader, August 9, 2013
The Kentucky School Boards Association extends its gratitude for supporting this landmark legislation to Reps. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green, Ed Whitfield. R-Hopkinsville, Hal Rogers, R-Somerset, and Thomas Massie, R-Vanceburg.

LOUISIANA

Youngsville council endorses ‘Turnaround Plan’
The Advocate, August 8, 2013
The City Council on Thursday approved a resolution supporting School Superintendent Pat Cooper’s “Turnaround Plan,” which includes a potential charter school to improve the overcrowded population in Youngsville schools.

MASSACHUSETTS

Charter school future unclear
Barnstable Patriot, August 8, 2013
Members of the Barnstable Community Horace Mann Charter Public School community made an impassioned presentation regarding the renewal of the school’s charter, but questions pertaining to the true uniqueness of the school remain.

MICHIGAN

Detroit Public Schools tries to retain, gain students by marketing each school
Detroit News, August 9, 2013
Thousands of families have left the city in the last decade. Many still live in this borough in the shadow of the Marathon refinery but send their children to school elsewhere.

When schools close, look around the corner
Opinion, Detroit News, August 9, 2013
A year and a half ago, I toured the halls and classrooms of Baylor-Woodson Elementary School in Inkster. I came away impressed with the well-behaved young students and dedicated teachers and administrators who worked there.

MINNESOTA

St. Paul teachers union wants district to drop mandated tests
Minnesota Public Radio, August 9, 2013
When the St. Paul teachers union continues contract talks later this month, the usual items are expected to be on the negotiating table: salary, benefits and class sizes. But the union is adding something new, something no other teachers group in the state has done before. It is demanding that, by next spring, the district stop giving students an assessment test required by the state and federal government.

MISSISSIPPI

New charter schools goals outlined
Natchez Democrat, August 9, 2013
Failure may not be an option for the new Delta Charter School.

MISSOURI

Missouri’s promise to its children is empty an unfulfilled
Editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 9, 2013
Missouri’s method of financing public schools was inadequate and inequitable. It was true in 2004 and it’s still true today, and it’s one big reason for the student-transfer uproar today.

Mo. State Lawmakers Doubtful About School Reform
KMOX, August 8, 2013
As Normandy transfer students were attending their first day of classes in the Francis Howell School District on Thursday, local lawmakers were talking about changing the law that put them there.
NEW JERSEY

At first anniversary, NJs teacher-tenure law faces biggest tests
New Jersey Spotlight, August 9, 2013
The state senator who wrote and shepherded through New Jersey’s new teacher tenure law remembers well the day a year ago when it was signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie — including that it was an August scorcher.

NEW YORK

High School Regents Tests to Get Harder
Wall Street Journal, August 9, 2013
Now that New York state’s elementary- and middle-school students have received sobering new test scores showing few students are considered proficient, state officials are turning their attention to high schoolers.

In Mayoral Race, Looking for Substance in Schools Conversation
New York Times, August 9, 2013
Even before Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg walked into the Education Department’s headquarters to announce the results of state tests in reading and math this week, criticism was flying.

New York test scores hint at hard road ahead for Common Core
Christian Science Monitor, August 8, 2013
New York is among the first of 45 states to test students as it implements new standards for college- and career-readiness. The poor results mean the Common Core reforms will require patience.

NYC’s real schools power
New York Post, August 8, 2013
Who drives the education agenda in this town? Ask most New Yorkers, and the answer will probably be: either the mayor or the schools chancellor.

NORTH CAROLINA

Chapel Hill charter school loses request to delay opening
Chapel Hill News, August 8, 2013
An obstacle-plagued Chapel Hill-area charter school will have to start from scratch after the state Board of Education rejected Thursday its request to delay opening for another year.

NC may approve up to 32 new charter schools
News & Observer, August 8, 2013
The State Board of Education agreed Thursday to consider opening up to 32 new charter schools in 2014.

Reform or blunder? Education effects up for debate
Star News, August 8, 2013
The legislative session that recently ended made sweeping changes to education policy, but some local education leaders say they didn’t get a chance to chime in.

OHIO

Cleveland Transformation Alliance’s school choice campaign off to slow start
Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 8, 2013
The first big push by the new Cleveland Transformation Alliance to nudge parents into actively choosing schools for their children isn’t reaching as many families as organizers hoped.

Hundreds of sports remain in Cleveland’s top-rated public schools this fall
Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 8, 2013
Students have yet to fill Cleveland’s top- rated public schools less than two weeks before the start of the school year.

PENNSYLVANIA

Money woes could delay opening of city schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, August 9, 2013
Facing a still-massive deficit, the Philadelphia School District will not open on time unless it has assurance by Aug. 16 that it will receive $50 million from the city, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said Thursday.

Moves to unionize at Philly charter school blocked, teachers say
Newsworks, August 8, 2013
Claims that the company running the Olney Charter High School tried to intimidate teachers who sought to unionize may be heading for a hearing.

SOUTH CAROLINA

New charter school option needs board support
Editorial, Post and Courier, August 9, 2013
While we all learn in unique ways, children advance at different rates. Some children embrace reading but need more help with math. Some children are visual learners while others require hands-on activities. Some can type fast yet their handwriting is illegible.

TENNESSEE

MNPS’ new grading policy hits rift with teachers, parents
Nashville City Paper, August 9, 2013
As Metro schools adjust to an assortment of changes in how they teach, measure and evaluate education, the school district is taking on another controversial reform: how it grades students.

TEXAS

Rule on private school transfer raises concerns
Houston Chronicle, August 8, 2013
The only proposed rule for Alabama’s new private school tax credits that’s raising any concern is one saying the credits don’t apply for children already in private school.

ONLINE LEARNING

Allentown School District seeks vast expansion of cyber learning programs
Lehigh Express Times, August 9, 2013
Nearly 2,000 students left the Allentown School District in favor of charter and cyber schools last year, bringing millions of the district’s tuition dollars with them.

East TN’s newest cyber academy denied approval by state, for now
WBIR, August 8, 2013
Several hundred students hoped to start class on their home computer from East Tennessee’s newest virtual school in the next few days.

Locked out
Mountain View Voice, August 8, 2013
A group of Bullis Charter School parents, upset over what they are calling a Los Altos School District-imposed “lockout” of BCS teachers, protested earlier this morning, Aug. 8, in front of the LASD main office.

Online courses become more effective for students
Simi Valley Acorn, August 9, 2013
Due to advances in technology, online education has become an effective alternative for students who wish to earn a degree from the comfort of their own home.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Louisiana Charter School Achievement: CREDO Report

August 8, 2013 By

In its latest installment of state-level charter school achievement research, CREDO found charter school students in Louisiana acquire on average 50 more days of learning in reading and 65 more in math than their traditional school counterparts.

The study separately analyzed New Orleans students – where the majority of Louisiana’s charter students are located– concluding that over a six-year period, charter students gained four months more learning in reading and five more in math.

Findings also suggest that charter school students displayed learning gains regardless of whether or not they attended a school under the auspices of a Charter Management Organization, or CMO.

Similar to other CREDO studies, these results were based on using a VCR, or “virtual twin,” for each charter school student as a way to compare the academic performances of students in charter and traditional public schools.

For more information on CER’s long history of analyzing CREDO’s research, including our continued concerns with their methodology, which they use in this report, please go here https://edreform.com/2013/01/all-about-credo/ .

Filed Under: Choice & Charter Schools

Charter School Expansion Motivates Districts to Make Positive Changes

August 8, 2013 By

A recent study published in Education Next explores whether or not districts are responding to the competition of the school choice movement. This pressure of choice on districts to change or evolve is known as a “ripple” effect and prior research has also shown this effect is real. This particular study reviewed over 8,000 media sources in 12 urban locations where charter schools make up at least 6% of the market, and then reviewed board meeting minutes, district websites and other district sources to verify action was taken. The results show that school districts are responding positively and negatively towards the impact of the expansion of charter schools on their conventional public schools.

The study found school districts took significant constructive, or positive responses to charter schools through a variety of ways. The most common constructive response was collaboration with charter schools, which occurred in 8 of 12 cities studied. Other common constructive responses were marketing to students (7 cities), partnering with CMOs or EMOs (7) and replicating charter practices (7). Districts sought to make changes through reform that would use resources more efficiently, improve overall quality of education and increase responsiveness to student needs in order to stay competitive. School administrators acknowledge competition from charter schools and have responded by taking steps to improve the quality of traditional public schools. For example, in Indianapolis where former Superintendent Eugene White, after calling for a moratorium on charters, said, “Charter schools have been a pain and now they are motivated… We will no longer feel sorry for our situation or make excuses for being urban and poor. We will now find new ways to create better educational options and opportunities.”

The study also found a smaller number of obstructive or negative responses that were covered in the media. The most common negative response was blocking access to facilities, which occurred in 3 cities including Washington, DC, a city where nearly 45% of its public school students now attend charter schools.

The study concludes that, despite initial negativity towards charter schools, opponents have realized that indifference or even hostility is a less effective response than embracing competition and responding positively through collaboration with charter schools and improving the quality of traditional public schools.

Filed Under: Choice & Charter Schools

Daily Headlines for August 8, 2013

August 8, 2013 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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

Gates pours millions in new grants to change teaching profession
Washington Post Blog, August 8, 2013
The Gates Foundation is spending millions of dollars in new grants that will further its already vast and controversial influence on public education.

Jeb Bush blasts Matt Damon as hypocrite on public education
Washington Times, August 7, 2013
Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, on Tuesday sent a blistering critique of Hollywood actor Matt Damon’s decision to school his three children at a private facility, not public: You’re such a hypocrite.

Success for the dumbest kid
Opinion
Washington Times, August 7, 2013
Currently in the United States, approximately 30 percent of the people who enter high school do not graduate

Charter public school progress encouraging, but view limited
Opinion
La Crosse Tribune, August 8, 2013
Families and educators may be interested in a new national report about charter and district public schools. Whether they have one or several of more than 39,000 Minnesota students attending a charter, or a district, private or parochial school, the report contains encouraging information. However, the study also has important limitations.

FROM THE STATES

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Can a Hebrew charter school teach the language but not the faith?
Opinion
Washington Post, August 7, 2013
What’s one way to ensure that a new Hebrew-immersion public charter school isn’t a Jewish school? Hire a priest to run it.

FLORIDA

3 F’s for elementary school force Sweetwater Academy to close
Gainesville Times, August 8, 2013
Sweetwater Branch Academy, a charter elementary and middle school in northeast Gainesville, has closed due to poor school grades and financial trouble.

ILLINOIS

Setting facts straight on charter schools
Opinion
Chicago Sun Times, August 7, 2013
Unfortunately, the opinion piece that ran in the Sun-Times on July 30, “CPS starving its schools to justify privatization,” continues to pit charters versus traditional schools, and seeks to push adult interests over student success.

Two D203 schools must offer option to transfer
Chicago Tribune, August 7, 2013
Students at two Naperville Unit District 203 elementary schools will have the option of transferring to another school this fall.

INDIANA

School Formula Adjustment to Lift One School Dragged Down Another
WIBC, August 8, 2013
The Indianapolis charter school jumped from a C to an A after the Department of Education changed the formula to exclude high school students from grade calculations for schools which didn’t run all the way through 12th grade. But a WIBC review of state accountability data shows the change cost at least one more school a passing grade. Wiping out the Hammond Academy of Science and Technology’s ninth and 10th-grade scores pushed it from a D to an F.

LOUISIANA

Jefferson Parish’s failing schools show improvement
Times-Picayune, August 7, 2013
The latest list of failing public schools in Louisiana includes the fewest in Jefferson Parish since the state Department of Education began grading them more than a decade ago, a result that some educators are pointing to as a sign of progress.

Choice available to parents of kids at failing schools
Alexandria Town Talk, August 8, 2013
Parents of students of failing schools will have more freedom in choosing where their students attend this year after the Rapides Parish School Board Tuesday approved a school choice plan, which state law requires to give those students the option to attend a higher performing school.

Lafayette board discusses charter schools
The Advocate, August 8, 2013
After two hours of discussion and questions about per pupil funding, the Lafayette Parish School Board on Wednesday left in limbo two charter school operators wanting to build two schools in time for the 2014-2015 school year.

Charter parents frustrated with MCSB politics
Monroe News Star, August 7, 2013
Parents of prospective Excellence Academy students say they’re tired of the politics of the Monroe City School Board preventing their students from attending the charter school.

MARYLAND

New school year brings new schools, programs
Maryland Gazette, August 8, 2013
Two schools moving into newly built buildings, a just-starting public charter school and new career academies in schools are samples of what’s to come in the 2013-2014 academic year for the Prince George’s County school system.

MASSACHUSETTS

Groups seek OK to open 3 charter schools in Andover, Lynn
Boston Globe, August 8, 2013
Two groups whose plans were previously rejected by the state are making renewed bids to open charter schools in Lynn, while another group is making its first attempt at opening a technology-oriented school in Andover.

Charter school proposal raises plenty of questions
Editorial
The Andover Townsman, August 8, 2013
A proposal for a charter high school in Andover caught many in town off guard this week — as much for who is proposing it as the fact that it’s being

Proposed charter school aims to innovate
Metro West Daily News, August 8, 2013
With many strong schools already in the region, MetroWest has not been fertile ground for new charter schools in recent years.

NORTH CAROLINA

Waiting for Wake County’s new graduation rate and new charter schools
News & Observer Blog, August 8, 2013
There are a couple of items at today’s State Board of Education meeting that could impact the Wake County school system and families in this area. The 2013 high school graduation figures will be released at the meeting. In addition to seeing whether the state has continued to increase its graduation rate, another thing to see is whether Wake is still above the state average. The gap between the two has shrunk sharply since 2006. Another question is how many charter schools in Wake County could still be in line to open in the 2014-15 school year.

Vouchers seen as winning ticket for NC private schools
WRAL, August 7, 2013
Although they won’t be issued until next March, vouchers that will allow hundreds of students from low-income families to attend private schools across North Carolina already have officials at many schools eagerly anticipating an influx of students.

NEW JERSEY

Latest push for teacher quality: better mentoring of classroom rookies
New Jersey Spotlight, August 8, 2013
Novice teachers need to be coached by colleagues judged to be ‘effective’ or ‘highly effective’ educators.

NEW YORK

Accepting ‘Hard Truth’
Wall Street Journal, August 8, 2013
The results posted by New York state students on tough new exams shined a spotlight Wednesday on what educators have been saying for years: Most students aren’t ready for college-level work by the time they graduate.

Charter schools and public schools equally showed poor testing performance
New York Daily News, August 8, 2013
Traditional public schools did not differ much from charter schools, as all reflected precipitous drop in performance after new standards introduced.

Mulgrew: Poor test results show Common Core curriculum was rushed
Opinion
New York Daily News, August 8, 2013
Michael Mulgrew, head of the city’s teachers union, claims Mayor Bloomberg’s rush to improve city education backfired after teachers and students were left unprepared when faced with tougher tests.

Punishing kids for adult failures
Opinion
New York Daily News, August 8, 2013
The massive score drop on tough new New York tests gives us an opportunity — and obligation — to change course

OHIO

High school sports: Public-school sports teams open to home-schoolers
Columbus Dispatch, August 8, 2013
As practices for fall sports get into full swing this week, public schools across Ohio are working out how to implement a new state law allowing home-schooled and some private-school students to join their teams.

PENNSYLVANIA

Agreement continues alternative high school in Monroeville
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 8, 2013
The alternative program was created nearly two decades ago after officials in Woodland Hills, Penn Hills, Gateway and Plum school districts became concerned about dropout rates, but it has been on the chopping block for the past four years as each of the districts dealt with budget cutbacks and increased payments to charter schools.

RHODE ISLAND

Only Half of Race to Top Funds Went to School Districts
Go Local Prov, August 8, 2013
Half of the $19.1 million of funds spent so far for the Race to the Top—the competitive federal grant program meant to spur innovative education reform and boost student achievement—has gone to local school districts in Rhode Island, according to U.S. Department of Education data.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Proponents Hope Middleton Can Right CCSMS Ship
Charleston Chronicle, August 8, 2013
The Charleston Charter School for Math & Science has struggled with adversity since its inception. Student racial demographics and facilities issues have dominated concerns in the past, but with last year’s departure of Principal Michael Stagliano, who was the school’s fifth, leadership is surfacing as another challenge.

School choice option to aid students with special needs
Morning News, August 7, 2013
School choice legislation has been pushed, but never passed, in the South Carolina Statehouse for more than a decade. But this summer, a very limited version passed in the form of a budget provison.

VERMONT

Schools improving, but slowly
Bennington Banner, August 8, 2013
The headline results of this week’s release from the Vermont Agency of Education regarding targets set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act were the same as last year — three-quarters of public schools in the state failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress, including most in the local Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union.

WISCONSIN

School voucher applications raise concerns
Leader Telegram, August 8, 2013
Catholic schools in Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls and elsewhere in Wisconsin report that some of the many voucher requests they have received are from families who already have children attending those schools, prompting concerns about the program.

ONLINE LEARNING

Virtual academy set to expand despite low test scores
WBIR-TV, August 8, 2013
Another Tennessee school district is jumping on the virtual school bandwagon, despite student test scores that ranked the state’s first publicly funded virtual school amongst the lowest in the state.

S.C. online charter high school holds information session in Conway
Myrtle Beach Sun News, August 7, 2013
Teachers and resource officers will be on hand to discuss Provost’s academic structure and provide potential students and their families with information about success in a state-authorized virtual charter school.

Virtual School Programs Popping Up Across the Midstate
41NBC/WMGT, August 7, 2013
Virtual schools are expanding their reach into Middle Georgia, teaming up with school systems to offer families additional online options.

Pasco school board reluctantly OK’s online charter school
Sun Coast News, August 7, 2013
A year ago, Pasco County School Board members had so many concerns about a proposed online charter school that they rejected the school’s application, citing a state investigation into the management firm that would run the school and academic troubles at other charters the company oversees.

Florida Virtual School lays off hundreds as enrollment plummets
Tampa Bay Times, August 7, 2013
It sounded as though she was reading from a script, Christopher Metzger thought, as the woman on the other end of the line told him he was losing his job.

New cyber-academy set to open in Grand Rapids
WWMT, August 7, 2013
Children across West Michigan will be back in school in a matter of weeks. But some won’t be learning in a typical classroom.

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