Why Mitt Romney Is A Better Choice For Education Reform
CNN Blog, November 1, 2012
We can fix our schools because we don’t get the biggest share of our campaign donations from the teachers’ unions.” This short, simple statement from Gov. Mitt Romney in an October 24 speech in Nevada sums up the real distinction between education reformers and protectors of the status quo, and reveals why when it comes to education policy, Romney would be a superior president – because he promised to put children, parents and teachers first, and to “put the teachers’ unions behind.”
Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say
New York Times, NY, November 1, 2012
There is a widespread belief among teachers that students’ constant use of digital technology is hampering their attention spans and ability to persevere in the face of challenging tasks, according to two surveys of teachers being released on Thursday.
Obama, Romney Both Support Charter Schools
Dayton Daily News, OH, October 31, 2012
In bitterly partisan times, K-12 education policy has been one of the lesser-discussed issues and largely unattached to party labels in the presidential race between President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney.
STATE COVERAGE
ARIZONA
Delayed Grades Finally Reach 13 Districts, Including Gilbert’s ‘A’
Arizona Republic, AZ, October 31, 2012
Thirteen public-school districts and charter schools in Arizona finally have received their grades from the state Department of Education — two months after the state’s other 572 districts and charters got theirs.
CALIFORNIA
Fresno Teachers Union, District To Meet On Grant
Fresno Bee, CA, October 31, 2012
The Fresno Teachers Association has agreed to meet with school district officials this morning to discuss signing a $37.3 million federal education grant application.
PAC Money Floods Local School Board Races
Mercury News, CA, October 31, 2012
With an unprecedented surge of cash from charter schools and their high-tech backers, normally low-profile school board campaigns have morphed into big-bucks contests to elect charter-friendly candidates and defeat their challengers.
COLORADO
Five Failing Schools To Lose Money Supposed To Help Them Improve
Denver Post, CO, November 1, 2012
The Colorado Department of Education will cut off school-improvement money to five of the state’s poorest-performing schools because they haven’t gotten better despite the influx of cash.
DELAWARE
No Need To Build New Charter Schools
News Journal, DE, October 31, 2012
The state will support another charter school to be built when local high schools are operating on average at 60 percent capacity.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Why Not A Jefferson High For Poor Kids?
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 1, 2012
While we wonder what should be done about our region’s most demanding public high school— Thomas Jefferson— having only 3 percent of its students from poor families, let’s consider a different experiment in selective education. What if we created a school that gave as challenging an academic experience as Jefferson’s to a student body that was 100 percent low-income?
GEORGIA
45 Metro Schools Among State’s Top Title 1 Performing Schools
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, November 1, 2012
The Georgia Department of Education Wednesday named 79 of the state’s highest performing schools with a high population of low-income students and another 156 that have made the biggest academic strides with those students, who are often associated with troubled and unstable homes.
Charter School Amendment Still Being Questioned
Thompson Times, GA, November 1, 2012
While voters are being asked to determine whether the state Constitution should be amended with regard to the manner of establishment of charter schools, controversy reigns over whether the state should have this additional measure of authority to approve these new schools against the wishes of local officials.
Campaign Contributions For And Against Charter Amendment Differ Greatly
Times-Georgian, GA, November 1, 2012
Next week, Georgia voters will choose whether they want the state constitution to be amended to create a new state commission to approve charter school applications denied by local school boards.
Lawsuit Says Charter Amendment Language Purposely Deceives Voters
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, October 31, 2012
A lawsuit filed this week in Fulton County claims Gov. Nathan Deal and other state officials have deliberately misled voters with ballot language describing a proposed constitutional amendment.
Charter Schools, Yes — Appointed State Panel, No
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA, October 31, 2012
This newspaper has been on record for years as supporting charter schools. Three schools here in the Muscogee County School District have been converted to charters — by local decision.
Base Vote On Children, Not Money
Cherokee Tribune, GA, November 1, 2012
People everywhere are aggravated with Amendment 1. Those who are opposed are scared to lose their status quo way of life. Those in favor of Amendment 1 are frustrated with the opinions being blasted as facts.
Charters: The Other Side
Cherokee Tribune, GA, November 1, 2012
I was disappointed when I read the editorial in Sunday’s Cherokee Tribune. I have come to expect lies and half truths from those on the left that vehemently oppose the public charter school amendment, but I did not expect half truths in the Tribune.
ILLINOIS
CPS Discusses Guidelines For Closing And Consolidating Schools
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 1, 2012
Chicago Public Schools officials said Wednesday that half of the district’s schools are underused and nearly 140 are more than half-empty, so finding a way to make the best use of buildings will play a key role in deciding what schools to close or consolidate.
INDIANA
State School Super Should Support Public Schools, Not Undermine Them
Dearborn Country Register, IN, October 31, 2012
I feel betrayed! As a concerned parent, teacher, and taxpayer who voted for Tony Bennett in 2008, I want answers. In case you haven’t heard, Tony Bennett is the current Superintendent of Public Instruction who has been giving public tax dollars to out-of-state companies in order for them to run private charter schools.
LOUISIANA
Diane Ravitch Cuts Check For Local School Board Candidate
Times Picayune, LA, October 31, 2012
It would be hard to find a more obscure election, overshadowed as it is by city council races, not to mention a multi-billion dollar presidential contest. Yet some of the country’s biggest names in education are cutting checks to influence the outcome in the 3rd District of the Orleans Parish School Board.
MAINE
Five Groups File Charter School Requests With State Commission
Portland Press Herald, ME, November 1, 2012
If the Maine Charter School Commission approves all of the new charter schools proposed for next year, it will leave a slot for only one more until a cap is lifted in 2022.
MARYLAND
Evaluating School Board Candidates
Maryland Gazette, MD, November 1, 2012
Educators use a variety of assessment tools to evaluate student performance and promote further progress. Of late, there is a growing movement toward using similar tools to evaluate teachers and principals. It seems only fair to extend that practice to the evaluation of candidates for the Frederick County Board of Education.
Prince George’s Voters Have Chance To Set A New Course For School System
Washington Post, DC, October 31, 2012
While the referendum on expanded gambling has dominated the political scene in Prince George ’s County, another critical decision is looming for voters: choosing who should serve on the county Board of Education.
Roberts May Leave DPS If Prop 1 Fails
Detroit News, MI, November 1, 2012
The emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools says he may step down if Michigan voters reject Proposal 1 on Tuesday.
MISSOURI
Closing The Academic Achievement Gap
The St. Louis American, MO, November 1, 2012
African-American students at Webster Groves High School have accepted the Webster Challenge to reduce the academic achievement gap between themselves and their Caucasian peers by 50 percent. The initiative focuses on academics, attendance and increasing student involvement in extra-curricular activities and community service.
NEVADA
Teachers Share Concerns About New Evaluation System
Las Vegas Sun, NV, October 31, 2012
Las Vegas educators view Nevada’s proposed teacher evaluation system with some trepidation, but also say it represents an opportunity to improve the profession.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Committee OKs $85K Nashua School Transfer For Charter Transportation, Teacher, New Curriculum
Nashua Telegraph, NH, November 1, 2012
An aldermanic panel gave the green light to a Nashua School District request to transfer funds to cover busing Academy for Science and Design students from Nashua, among other needs, on Tuesday.
Derry’s First Charter School On Track
Derry News, NH, November 1, 2012
The town’s first charter school is on track to open in 2013. Proponents of the plan to open a charter high school next fall say everything is on schedule. A committee is working hard on details for the alternative classrooms planned for space at Gilbert H. Hood Middle School.
NEW YORK
Parents Need ‘Trigger Law’ To Help Kids Win
Buffalo News, NY, November 1, 2012
The game plan is set. The coaching staff of activists is fired up. The 32,000 fans – from kindergarten to 12th grade – deserve a winner.
NORTH CAROLINA
CMS Wish List: Higher Teacher Pay, Control Over Charters
Charlotte Observer, NC, October 31, 2012
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board members are considering a plan that would ask state lawmakers for a change in the state’s budgeting timetable, more pay for teachers, and control over charter school operations.
OHIO
Charter-School Embezzler Gets 2 Years
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 1, 2012
Former board members defended a man who embezzled from their charter schools before a federal judge sentenced him to prison yesterday.
Cleveland Schools Won’t Have Promised Details About School Improvement Plan Before Tuesday’s Levy Vote
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, October 31, 2012
Voters who want to know exactly how the Cleveland schools would spend money from the 15-mill tax increase on Tuesday’s ballot won’t have answers before they vote.
OREGON
Portland Public Schools Gives Up On Race To The Top Efforts
The Oregonian, OR, October 31, 2012
Portland Public Schools has given up its chance to compete for up to $40 million in federal funds after failing to reach an agreement with its union about using test scores in teacher evaluations, one of the grant’s requirements.
PENNSYLVANIA
District Seeks New Index To Rate School Performance
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 1, 2012
In an unexpected move, the Philadelphia School District announced Wednesday that it was seeking an outside firm to develop a model to replace its controversial school performance index after finding flaws in the system.
TENNESSEE
As TN Issues Schools Report Card, Commissioner Urges Parents To Act
The Tennessean, TN, November 1, 2012
As Tennessee releases a detailed report card this morning on the performance of its public schools, the state’s top educator is urging parents to use the information to push for change.
TEXAS
Austin School Board Race For 4 Seats Could Shift Balance Of Power
American-Statesman, TX, October 31, 2012
Tuesday’s races for four seats on the Austin school board could shift the balance of power on the sometimes divided nine-member board.
WASHINGTON
WA Charter Schools Advocates Raise $10.8M
Seattle Times, WA, October 31, 2012
The campaign to bring charter schools to Washington has now raised $10.8 million in cash contributions.
WISCONSIN
MPS Blames Voucher Program For Tax Levy Increase
Journal Sentinel, WI, October 31, 2012
But Milwaukee Public Schools officials and board members say that if the district didn’t have to levy a tax to support the city’s expanding private voucher school program, taxpayers would have seen a decrease in their school taxes.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Two Virtual Schools Reapply To Maine Commission
Portland Press Herald, ME, November 1, 2012
The panel that will review their controversial bids to open in September wants to be sure it can assess what students are learning.
Online Lessons Aid Teachers, Students In Classrooms
Boston Globe, MA, November 1, 2012
No one was standing in front of an eighth-grade math class at St. Mary of the Hills School, but fractions were slowly appearing in colored chalk, as if written by the invisible hand of a ghost. The voice of an unseen narrator emanated from speakers on both sides of the smartboard, explaining the equation step by step.
Oklahoma Legislation Authorizing Statewide Virtual Charter School Challenged
The Oklahoman, OK, November 1, 2012
The measure contains an amendment, which violates a constitutional prohibition on placing multiple subjects in a single bill, a lawsuit filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court contends. The amendment requires the state Education Department to spend $30 million on textbooks for public schools.