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
Federal takeover of school curriculum
Column, Manteca Bulletin, CA, February 27, 2014
Ever since Congress began pouring federal tax dollars into public schools, parents have been solicitous to have Congress write into law a prohibition against the federal government writing curriculum or lesson plans, or imposing a uniform national curriculum. Parents want those decisions made at the local level by local school boards, which are, or should be, subject to the watchful eyes of local citizens and parents.
STATE COVERAGE
ALABAMA
AL teacher pay raise replaced by 1-time bonus
WSFA, AL, February 26, 2014
A $5.9 million spending plan passed out of a Senate Committee Wednesday slashing the governor’s proposed 2 percent pay raise for teachers.
ALASKA
Charter Schools hit road bump in Alaska House
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK, February 27, 2014
Gov. Sean Parnell’s omnibus education bill was questioned Wednesday by members of a House committee who focused on a provision to provide transportation for students in charter schools.
CALIFORNIA
Teacher tenure is still needed to attract the best: Letter
Opinion, Los Angeles Daily News, CA, February 26, 2014
Re “Teacher tenure comes at expense of children’s education” (Richard Riordan and Tim Rutten, Feb. 21): Republicans like Richard Riordan would love to get rid of unions, and have a long history of voting against workers’ bargaining rights, minimum wage, equal salaries for women, health care, unemployment benefits, etc.
COLORADO
DeGrow: School boards push teacher accountability
Opinion, Greeley Tribune, CO, February 27, 2014
Union leaders are actively challenging school principals’ newfound authority to keep the worst teachers out of their classrooms. The state legislative majority has shrunk from the chance to reward the best teachers. But some local school boards have begun to take the reins of reform.
CONNECTICUT
Education Reform Hurts Local Students
Letter, Hartford Courant, CT, February 26, 2014
The rhetoric of politicians involved in the corporate education reform movement includes statements such as, “Strong schools are the surest path to our nation’s long-term economic success,” which was voiced by Delaware Gov. Jack Markell as the National Governors Association unveiled the Common Core standards in June 2010.
DELAWARE
State may ax private school transportation stipend
News Journal, DE, February 26, 2014
Private school parents are protesting a proposal to eliminate a stipend they get to help pay for transporting their kids to school, saying they pay taxes and deserve at least something from the state’s education budget.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. International charter school may lose $6 million in expected city funds
Washington Post, DC, February 26, 2014
The D.C. Council set aside $6 million last spring to help D.C International — a new language immersion charter school for students in grades six through 12 — renovate its home-to-be, a building on the site of the old Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest Washington.
FLORIDA
Accountability exists with private vouchers
Letter, Sun-Sentinel, FL, February 27, 2014
The Feb. 24 editorial, “Make testing a part of school vouchers,” starts out, “It’s an educational fix long overdue.” I have no words to express the depth of my gratitude as a parent of a child who is taking advantage of the school voucher program: Step Up For Students.
Florida School Evaluations: Get Grades Right
Editorial, The Ledger, FL, February 27, 2014
State Education Commissioner Pam Stewart presented her newly revamped school grading system Feb. 18 to the State Board of Education in Orlando.
GEORGIA
Fayette BoE: Charter school given until May 1 to make its case
The Citizen, GA, February 26, 2014
The Fayette County Board of Education on Monday amended its charter school acceptance policy, but exempted a current petitioner from retroactive deadlines. The vote on the amendment was followed by another unanimous vote to set a May 1 deadline for Liberty Tech Charter School to submit its petition for a charter school in Fayette County.
New charter school partnership lets students earn associates degrees
WALB-TV, GA, February 27, 2014
A charter school and technical college are working together to get more students to continue their education.
Several Atlanta principals to be removed from their schools
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, February 26, 2014
Principals at about seven Atlanta schools are being removed before next school year, said city school board Chairman Courtney English on Wednesday.
ILLINOIS
Do charters expel too many students?
Editorial, Chicago Tribune, IL, February 27, 2014
We’ve long heard complaints from Chicago Public Schools teachers that their counterparts in charter schools are too quick to expel students.
Why do charter schools expel more students?
Editorial, Chicago Sun-Times, IL, February 27, 2014
One pernicious, long-held suspicion about Chicago public charter schools turns out to be true.
LOUISIANA
Injunctions lifted that prevented Tangipahoa school voucher program
The Advocate, LA, February 26, 2014
A federal appeals court has vacated a virtually toothless injunction granted by a federal judge in 2012 that blocked Louisiana’s school voucher program in Tangipahoa Parish.
MISSOURI
The debate on Common Core rages even as teachers are moving ahead
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, February 27, 2014
Affton High School teacher Cathy Cartier wondered if any of the Missouri legislators who are debating bills that would abolish new learning goals had ever seen them in action.
NEW JERSEY
A winning NJ charter school awaits word on its fate
Editorial, Star Ledger, NJ, February 27, 2014
A charter school in Hoboken, “Hola,” is doing a terrific job educating kids with an innovate dual-language program, and parents are lining up to compete for scarce seats.
Gov. Christie’s new crisis: Protests grow over state control of Newark schools
Washington Post Blog, DC, February 27, 2014
Public protests in Newark are growing over an effort by Superintendent Cami Anderson, who was appointed to run the state-operated district by Gov. Chris Christie, to reshape the city’s school system.
Pequannock BOE president: State stabbed us in back with School Choice Program
The Record, NJ, February 27, 2014
After nearly 12 months of back-and-forth with the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE), the school district has learned that it will not receive a reimbursement for the hundreds of thousands of dollars it lost last year in aid as a result of its participation in the state’s School Choice Program.
NEW MEXICO
RR educators starting charter school in ABQ
Rio Racho Observer, NM, February 27, 2014
“We need to start our own school,” Rio Rancho High School teacher Justin Baiardo decided a couple of years ago, and that school, Explore Academy, is expected to open for the 2014-15 school year in Albuquerque.
NEW YORK
Charter School Supporters to Rally in Albany Tuesday
NY1, NY, February 27, 2014
Supporters of charter schools are taking their fight to the state capital. On Tuesday, a group of school leaders say they will shut down their schools so students and parents can join them in Albany.
Education tax credit would help all schools
Opinion, Olean Times Herald, NY, February 26, 2014
There’s a simple plan to increase investment in education in New York state without raising taxes. It’s called the Education Investment Tax Credit.
Eva Moskowitz: I’ll sue de Blasio for charter-school space
New York Post, NY, February 27, 2014
New York’s largest charter-schools operator is threatening to sue Mayor de Blasio if the city boots its students out of space promised in the fall.
NORTH CAROLINA
Durham children in running for state vouchers
Herald Sun, NC, February 26, 2014
Nearly 200 local children were among the 4,700 from across the state who applied for Opportunity Scholarships.
Good questions from both sides on private school vouchers
Opinion, Charlotte Observer, NC, February 26, 2014
For starters, why do we need vouchers? North Carolina’s Constitution mandates a sound basic education is to be made available to every child in our state at no cost. So why would a parent choose to pay for something already provided for free? The obvious answer is the parent doesn’t believe the free education being provided is best for their child. Why not?
PENNSYLVANIA
Attempt to sell Burgwin School in Hazelwood fails again
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, February 26, 2014
A second attempt to sell the closed Burgwin School in Hazelwood to the Hazelwood Initiative for use as a Propel charter school failed tonight.
District names four finalists in sale of six closed properties
Philadelphia Daily News, PA
February 27, 2014
FOUR FINALISTS have emerged in the potential sale of six recently closed school properties, district officials announced yesterday.
PIAA head: Charter sports may be illegal
Lewistown Sentinel, PA, February 27, 2014
The peace and calm that has marked the brief tenure of Dr. Robert Lombardi as executive director of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association might be coming to an end.
Pocono Mountain Charter School battle goes on
Pocono Record, PA, February 27, 2014
The Pocono Mountain Charter School has survived its latest legal test, but the marathon battle with the Pocono Mountain School District is far from over.
Why don’t teachers have role in Action Plan 2.0?
Opinion, Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 27, 2014
THE NEW Action Plan 2.0, presented by Superintendent William Hite at last week’s School Reform Commission meeting, contains some worthy goals. As the Daily News points out in its Feb. 18 editorial, no one can argue with the goal of having a great school for each and every child in Philadelphia to attend. The teachers and professional school staff in Philadelphia work to make this a reality every day.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Parents should first research charter schools
Editorial, Hilton Head Island Packet, SC, February 26, 2014
Charter schools are increasingly popular. But it takes parental homework to decide if one is a good fit for a student.
VIRGINIA
City groups oppose takeover of school system
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, February 27, 2014
Two groups representing parents and students in Petersburg made a clear, strong statement Wednesday in opposition to the idea of Chesterfield County taking over the city’s school system.
WASHINGTON
Democrats bet wrong in gamble on school funding
Column, The Olympian, WA, February 27, 2014
Of all the election-year gambles the state Senate might have taken this session, we didn’t expect a game of chicken with the U.S. Department of Education.
WEST VIRGINIA
Senate OKs teacher pay raise ‘on borrowed money’
Charleston Gazette, WV, February 26, 2014
Legislators are using more than $34 million in borrowed money to provide a pay raise for public school teachers and service personnel, Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, warned Wednesday.
ONLINE LEARNING
Find a fairer way to fix ‘cyber double dip’ in Pa.
Letter, Lehigh Valley Express-Times, PA, February 27, 2014
House Bill 618, summarized in the Feb. 15 column by Pennsylvania state Reps. Joe Emrick and Mike Reese, is a thoughtful and comprehensive piece of charter reform legislation. A majority of the elements in the bill are concepts we have supported for years and continue to do so. But the proposed treatment of cyber-school pension expenses runs counter to the logic, balance and fairness evident in the rest of the bill.
Give students more options, approve Maine Virtual Academy
Opinion, Bangor Daily News, ME, February 267, 2014
Creating a variety of learning options for all of Maine’s students is critically important to their success. I know this from firsthand experience, having recently retired as a Maine school superintendent with 17 years running school districts across Maine.
GEVS considering new virtual learning program
Hillsboro Times Gazette, OH, February 26, 2014
McClain staffers on Tuesday evening presented information to the Greenfield Exempted Village Schools Board of Education on a new virtual learning program that, while more expensive than the current program, would offer much more opportunity for all students.
John Carroll institutes ‘cyber days’ in place of snow days
Baltimore Sun, MD, February 27, 2014
The John Carroll School campus might be closed for snow days, but that doesn’t mean students aren’t in class, albeit safe at home in their pajamas and with their laptops.
Make snow days into virtual school days
Letter, The Record, NJ, February 27, 2014
We’ve read accounts about how during a recent snow day, students in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District still had their lessons by using school-issued laptops to log on to their teachers’ websites at precisely 8 a.m. to connect with the day’s activities and assignments. The teachers checked if their students participated in the online lessons and marked them “present” or “absent” accordingly.
Money questions remain with $200M school tech upgrade
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, February 26, 2014
A massive push to expand technology in Utah schools cleared its first serious hurdle Wednesday — despite persistent and unanswered questions about how sponsors plan to pay for the $200 million price tag.
Schooling in Cyberspace
Lodi News-Sentinel, CA, February 27, 2014
Loretta Hans was seeking a flexible education program that would allow her first-grader to learn at her own pace and from the comfort and safety of her own home.
Senate committee won’t vote on virtual charter sports bill
Statehouse File, IN, February 27, 2014
The Senate Education Committee won’t move legislation to let virtual charter school students participate in sports at traditional public schools, the chairman said Wednesday.