Daily Headlines for October 29, 2012
Some States Will Soon Call The Roll On School Reform
Reuters, October 29, 2012
Voters in several states will weigh in next month on some of the most contentious issues in public education, including teacher tenure, charter schools and merit pay for teachers, as a national fight over education reform hits the ballot box.
Urban Middle Class Boosts School Diversity
USA Today, October 28, 2012
At the moment, researchers say, the phenomenon seems limited to a handful of mostly East Coast cities: New York , Boston , Philadelphia and Washington . But it’s also happening in New Orleans , Chicago , Denver and San Francisco .
Do Universities Need To Do A Better Job Preparing Teachers?
Grand Rapids Press, MI, October 28, 2012
How Henchey and other young educators are prepared for their first jobs by universities and other programs has come under fire as school reformers look to improve the quality of teaching.
FROM THE STATES
ALABAMA
Common Core Must Be Stopped
Birmingham News, AL, October 28, 2012
Alabama’s education standards are now 95% of the new “Common Core.” Why change? Alabama can improve standards by simply adopting the highest-ranked standards of other states, like Massachusetts (English Language Arts) and California (Mathematics).
CALIFORNIA
O.C.’S 13 Charter Schools Growing, Filling Niches
Orange County Register, CA, October 27, 2012
The O.C. School of the Arts in Santa Ana is consistently ranked as one of Orange County ‘s top 10 public high schools, and regularly clinches state and national recognitions.
Teachers Union Refuses To Sign Off On LAUSD Plan For Race To The Top Grant
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, CA, October 27, 2012
The Los Angeles teachers union has refused to sign off on Los Angeles Unified’s bid for a prestigious Race to the Top grant, costing the district a shot at winning $40 million in federal money, sources said Saturday.
Measuring The Worth Of A Teacher?
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 28, 2012
L.A. Unified School District’s Academic Growth Over Time measurement system, based on students’ progress on standardized tests, spurs debate over fairness, accuracy
State Strips 23 Schools Of API Rankings For Cheating
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 28, 2012
Teachers helped students correct mistakes on standardized tests, prepared them with actual test questions or left instructional posters displayed in the classroom during testing, according to school district reports.
COLORADO
Denver Public Schools Online Tool Helps Parents Pick Right School
Denver Post, CO, October 29, 2012
Denver Public Schools has launched a new online tool to help parents select the right school for their children.
CONNECTICUT
Conn. Schools Deal With Race Imbalance
Wall Street Journal, October 28, 2012
The emotionally charged issues of race and education are on the agendas of several Connecticut school boards as officials struggle to seek state-mandated racial balance at elementary schools.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Students Flood Into D.C.-Area Schools
Washington Examiner, DC, October 27, 2012
The top-performing public school systems in Montgomery and Fairfax counties have been ballooning with students in the last several years, sending school officials scrambling to find more space and beg for larger budgets to accommodate the influx of new faces. True to form, both school systems grew by more than 2,500 students this year, according to preliminary counts.
FLORIDA
Teachers, Palm Beach County School District Can’t Agree, Quash Race To The Top Grant Application
Palm Beach Post, FL, October 28, 2012
The Palm Beach County School District’s goal to win a federal grant worth up to $40 million is over before the application was even submitted.
Principal’s Golden Parachute Infuriates Lawmakers
The Ledger, FL, October 28, 2012
A failed Florida charter school’s principal is getting a $519,000 departure payment, and that has some state lawmakers outraged.
Lawmakers Need To Tighten Loopholes For Charter Schools
Tampa Bay Times, FL, October 27, 2012
If Florida Department of Education officials and lawmakers fail to slow expansion and tighten loopholes in charter school regulations, they should all be dismissed as hypocrites or fools.
GEORGIA
Issue Is Not About Charters, But Who Controls Them
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, October 28, 2012
This year, Georgia voters will be confronted with two proposed amendments to the state constitution. Regardless of their substance, the system for approving amendments is broken, and this threatens the principle that our Constitution draws its power directly from the people.
Georgia’s Amendment 1 Reforming Enemies of Change
Augusta Chronicle, GA, October 27, 2012
One of the more irrational arguments against Amendment 1 – the charter school amendment and the re-establishment of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission – is the argument that the Charter Commission is a duplication of what the Georgia State Board of Education already can do.
Campaign For Charter Amendment Draws More Out-Of-State Cash
Newnan Times-Herald, GA, October 27, 2012
The campaign to pass the charter-school amendment on this fall’s Georgia ballot pulled in $1.28 million in the last 30 days, with more than 70 percent coming from six out-of-state donors, according figures it released Friday.
INDIANA
Charter Building Lawsuit To Be Heard
The Journal Gazette, IN, October 28, 2012
Since June 2010, Fort Wayne Community Schools has been spending $1,200 to $3,200 a month on utilities at Pleasant Center Elementary School.
Indiana Teacher Colleges See Drop In Applications; Legislature Blamed
Post Tribune, IN, October 27, 2012
Applications to teacher colleges across Indiana have hit their lowest levels in at least five years as new laws and increased pressure on educators have deterred many from entering the field.
On Heels Of Strike, Teachers Union Braces For School Closure Fight
Munster Times, IN, October 28, 2012
More than a month after Chicago’s first teachers strike in 25 years, union members are gearing up for what they say is their next big fight: possible school closures.
Tony Bennett, Glenda Ritz vie for Indiana School Superintendent
Courier Journal, IN, October 29, 2012
Now seeking re-election, Bennett, 51, is nationally renowned within the school reform movement for a long list of changes he spurred in Hoosier schools. In particular, he’s among the highest-profile champions for market-based solutions in education.
LOUISIANA
Possible ‘Loopholes’ In Voucher School Regs Stir Debate
Opelousas Daily World, LA, October 29, 2012
Proposed regulations for approving nonpublic schools’ participation in a state-funded voucher program are too loose because they allow the superintendent of education to waive any requirements that a school can’t meet, proponents of stronger standards argued at an afternoon hearing on the rules.
Voucher Program Provides Vital Option: Letter
Times Picayune, LA, October 28, 2012
Re: “Public money should go to public schools,” Your Opinions, Oct.16. The letter omitted some key points as it relates to the Louisiana scholarship program. As an advocacy organization for parental choice and a child’s right to a high-quality education, the Louisiana Black Alliance Educational Options
J.S. Clark Enjoying Early Success
Opelousas Daily World, LA, October 29, 2012
J.S. Clark Leadership Academy may not look special from the outside. But those who go inside will tell you otherwise.
MICHIGAN
Opening Of New Charters Criticized
Detroit News, MI, October 29, 2012
Some of the state’s newest charter schools are being run by operators with poor academic records, critics say, and some question whether they should be allowed to open new schools when they’re not performing at the schools they have.
DPS Helping Students See Their Way To College
Detroit News, MI, October 29, 2012
That’s the approach under way in nine high schools at Detroit Public Schools, where leaders are using local control and a college-going culture as part of a transformation within the nation’s poorest big-city school district.
MISSOURI
Special School District Seeks Tax Increase
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, October 29, 2012
When St. Louis County voters head to the polls on Election Day, they’ll be asked to approve a 19-cent tax increase for the Special School District , which provides special education services and technical education to more than 25,000 students in 22 school districts in the county.
NEW JERSEY
Groundbreaking Newark Teacher Contract Good For Teachers, Kids
Star-Ledger, NJ, October 28, 2012
The long fight to improve public schools in Newark faces a crucial crossroads tomorrow, when teachers will vote on a breakthrough contract that could finally bring fundamental change.
Reform Group’s Study Finds Garden State Teachers Unions Among Most Influential
The Record, NJ, October 29, 2012
New Jersey teacher unions are among the strongest nationwide, a report due for release today by a conservative research group says.
Sandy Delays Vote on Newark Teacher Contract
Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2012
Newark Public Schools will be closed Monday because of Hurricane Sandy, pushing back a crucial vote on a new contract, officials said.
Contract With Merit Pay, Backed by Union Chiefs, Is Tough Sell for Newark Teachers
New York Times, NY, October 29, 2012
On one side of the table was the union firebrand Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. On the other was the state education commissioner handpicked by Gov. Chris Christie, who became a star among fellow Republicans for aggressively taking on public employee unions.
NEW MEXICO
Objectivity Key in Teacher Evaluation
Albuquerque Journal, NM, October 27, 2012
Rick Miera and Ellen Bernstein’s “Test Scores No Panacea for Teacher Evaluation” published on Monday is a covertly politicized view really representing opposition to both standardized testing as well as teacher evaluation of any sort.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Teacher Evaluations Will Be Tied To Schools’ Test Scores
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 29, 2012
When the new statewide teacher evaluation system takes effect next fall, teachers will be judged not only on how they do in their own classrooms but on how their school does as a whole.
Vitalistic Therapeutic Charter School To Close
The Morning Call, PA, October 28, 2012
The troubled small charter school’s financial crunch is forcing it to shut down, said Joyce Thompson, president of the board of trustees. She also said the negative publicity surrounding the money problems has hampered Vitalistic’s ability to secure grants and loans.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Yes-No Vote Sought On Education Bill
Aberdeen News, SD, October 29, 2012
South Dakota voters must try to answer a highly complicated set of questions with a single yes or no as they decide whether to approve or disallow Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s education reforms that make up Referred Law 16.
TENNESSEE
School Board Is In Place For The Greater Good
The Tennessean, TN, October 28, 2012
The Tennessean and the powers that be have come together to chastise the Metro School Board for trying to set standards for charter schools operating in the district for which they are responsible.
TEXAS
Well-Heeled S.A. Effort Aims For More Charter Schools — Lots More
San Antonio Express, TX, October 29, 2012
A coalition of San Antonio philanthropists is throwing its support — including a lot of money — behind an elite group of charter school operators that could someday educate nearly one in four area students.
West Dallas Partnership Investing In Families To Help Students Succeed
Dallas Morning News, TX, October 27, 2012
But while some people target investment returns in West Dallas, a new partnership involving schools and social-service agencies is taking a new approach to investing in people’s lives there, starting with children.
Senate Public Ed Chair Patrick Focuses on School Choice
Texas Tribune, TX, October 28, 2012
State Sen. Dan Patrick has a talk radio host’s comfort with publicly aired complaints.
WASHINGTON
I-1240 A Thoughtful Option
Spokesman Review, WA, October 28, 2012
I’m voting yes on Initiative 1240 because it’s a well-written initiative that brings to Washington the best that public charter schools have to offer. I-1240 was created based on the states with the top-performing charter schools and includes strict performance and accountability measures. I taught at a public charter school in another state and believe this initiative will benefit Washington ’s students.
WEST VIRGINIA
Report Ranks State Teachers Unions 13th Strongest
Charleston Gazette, WV, October 28, 2012
Leaders with West Virginia’s teachers unions are grateful to be recognized in a study that ranks the state as having the 13th strongest union presence in the country, but say that not all the report’s claims stand up.
WISCONSIN
Analysis Finds Limitations Of New Public School Report Cards
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, October 28, 2012
Wisconsin’s new public school report cards offer parents a trove of previously unpublished information about their children’s educational options, but they also come with some noteworthy quirks and limitations.
Consequences For Failing Schools Still Undecided
Fond du Lac Reporter, WI, October 29, 2012
But the state hasn’t said what supports or penalties those 266 struggling schools might face — will they get extra funding to make changes, will they add fuel to the push for a statewide voucher program allowing students to leave for private schools, or will they face some other type of sanctions?
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Students ‘Flip’ for Digital Learning
Huffington Post, October 26, 2012
Students today live in a wired world. Educators strive to assure high school and post-secondary success for each student. We think it’s a pretty good idea to recognize where students live outside the classroom and provide learning experiences that are real, relevant and engaging during the school day and beyond.
Bucyrus BOE Looks at Grade Card, Virtual Learning Academy
WBCO, OH, October 26, 2012
The Bucyrus City School District received the same grade from the state for last year as the previous one, but that doesn’t mean significant improvement didn’t take place. That’s what Superintendent Kevin Kimmel told the district’s Board of Education at Thursday’s meeting.
Iowa View: You Can Get a Good Education without Hollywood’s Approach
Des Moines Register, IA, October 29, 2012
For a growing number of parents in Iowa and across the nation, virtual schools are providing a better educational fit for their children than traditional brick-and-mortar schools.