School Choice Victories
Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2012
Election Day was a bad one for Mitt Romney but a good one for education reformers in Washington state and Georgia and for anyone who believes in the primacy of school choice.
FROM THE STATES
COLORADO
Proposed Charter Schools Detail Offerings For D-11
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, November 12, 2012
Organizers of three proposed charter schools are seeking to join Colorado Springs School District 11’s family of seven charter schools.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
A Much-Needed Pruning Of D.C.’s Overbuilt School System
Washington Post, DC, November 12, 2012
EVEN BEFORE DETAILS are released, critics are circling to attack the school-closing proposal that D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson will release Tuesday. The shuttering of a beloved school can be one of the hardest blows to a neighborhood. But some schools have to close, and facts ought to trump emotion or nostalgia in the process.
FLORIDA
Teachers’ Union Questions VAM Data
Highlands Today, FL, November 13, 2012
The state teachers union claims the data used to evaluate teachers is insufficient and possibly inaccurate and wants Gov. Rick Scott to put the new evaluation system on hold this year.
GEORGIA
How Tybee Island Got Its School Back
Savannah Morning News, GA, November 13, 2012
Tybee Maritime Academy Charter School is scheduled to open next year. The sleepy island community hasn’t had a school since tiny St. Michael’s closed three years ago. The determined residents who spent two years planning, petitioning and raising money for a charter school are working to make sure the facility is ready to welcome children back.
IDAHO
Luna Calls Election Defeat ‘Bump In The Road’
Idaho Statesman, ID, November 12, 2012
Teachers throughout Idaho will get bonuses to recognize last year’s work despite the defeat of Idaho’s merit pay law in the Nov. 6 election, Idaho schools Superintendent Tom Luna said Monday, but about $50 million set aside for other Students Come First programs this fiscal year could fall by the wayside.
ILLLINOIS
Quest Charter School Wants To Change Fees
Peoria Journal Star, IL, November 12, 2012
District 150 pays the charter school 85 percent of standard tuition costs to operate the school, according to Barton. “Now that’s got to be modified to reflect our occupancy costs.”
Teachers Union Marches Against School Closings
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 13, 2012
As it girds for a battle over school closings, the Chicago Teachers Union is adhering to the strategy it employed during the September strike by framing the fight as one pitting regular Joes from the neighborhood against elitist big-money interests.
A Challenge Unmet
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 12, 2012
Students with emotional or learning disabilities are entitled to an education. But in Chicago, they often miss weeks of school, more than other children
INDIANA
More Accountability For Charter Schools
The Journal Gazette, IN, November 13, 2012
Ball State University is on the right track in expanding the scope of its charter school reviews. In weighing renewal of its three Fort Wayne schools this year, the university shouldn’t hesitate to hold the schools to the promise on which the state’s charter law was built: Outperform traditional public schools or close.
Marshall Academy Chief Quits
The Journal Gazette, IN, November 13, 2012
After less than six months on the job, Thurgood Marshall Leadership Academy’s principal has resigned to take a job in Fort Wayne Community Schools.
LOUISIANA
Taylor Offers Choice
The Advocate, LA, November 13, 2012
East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent Bernard Taylor is suggesting creating two new magnet programs and expanding a third in the north Baton Rouge neighborhoods near Capitol High School.
Data Shows Louisiana Schools’ Hiring and Benefits – Not Vouchers – the Cause of Budget Woes
Pelican Post, LA, November 12, 2012
Scholarship critics ignoring the real culprits: more staff for fewer students and skyrocketing benefits
MASSACHUSETTS
Charter School Purchase In Works
Newburyport Daily News, MA, November 13, 2012
After looking around to purchase a permanent school site for several years, the River Valley Charter School Board of Trustees has decided there’s no place like home.
MICHIGAN
Judge: Charter Violated Rules
Detroit News, MI, November 13, 2012
A judge has ruled that the Highland Park charter schools system is in violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act for failing to notify a district board member about meetings and not releasing other information.
Jackson Community College Will Explore Authorization of ‘Early College’ Charter School At Urging of Parents
Jackson Citizen Patriot, MI, November 12, 2012
Jackson Community College officials are investigating the possibility of authorizing and overseeing an “early college” charter school that could possibly open as early as this fall.
MISSISSIPPI
House Panel Member’s Removal Could Sway Charter School Vote
Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS, November 12, 2012
State House Speaker Philip Gunn has removed Rep. Linda Whittington from the Education Committee, a move that could sway the committee’s vote next session to pass a charter schools expansion bill.
A Second Chance For Mississippi Charter Schools
The Hechinger Report Blog, November 12, 2012
Republicans in Mississippi intend to fight for charter schools during the 2013 legislative session, renewing a contentious battle from last year’s session.
NEW YORK
Charter Plans: Needed Rescue Or Hostile Takeover?
Buffalo News, NY, November 13, 2012
It’s either a much-needed rescue or a hostile takeover, depending on whom you talk to. There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground on the proposal to close East High School and Waterfront Elementary as district schools and reopen them as charter schools.
NY Group Pushes For Open Enrollment, School Choice
Elmira Star Gazette, NY, November 12, 2012
An Albany-area research group is calling for a statewide open enrollment program that gives parents a choice of public schools for their children.
OHIO
Groups Get Ready To Fight For Schools
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 13, 2012
There’s another big fight coming over school funding. More than 15 years after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the way the state funds public education is unconstitutional, state leaders continue to tinker with the school funding.
OREGON
Why Albany Is In Need Of A Charter School
Albany Democrat Herald, OR, November 12, 2012
As the paper recently stated, the Albany School Board is considering a proposal for a charter school in Albany . I hope the following comments, which I have shared with the school board members, will help readers understand the opportunity this charter school offers to all in our community.
PENNSYLVANIA
Philly Catholic Schools Start A Marketing Campaign
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 13, 2012
Choose My Future, a new archdiocesan marketing campaign, aims to boost enrollment in the 17 Catholic high schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia through online and radio advertisements. A newly retooled website also informs potential students.
Chester Upland School District Recovery Plan Hints At Returning Art And Music Classes
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 13, 2012
Children in the struggling Chester Upland School District could see art and music classes restored as soon as this school year, according to a financial and academic recovery plan that will be released Tuesday.
A+ Report Gives Pittsburgh Public Schools Mostly Bad Grades
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 13, 2012
Pittsburgh Public Schools superintendent Linda Lane knew she would get bad news in the annual report of A+ Schools, which Monday outlined declines in achievement, the graduation rate, number of students qualifying for Pittsburgh Promise scholarships and reduction in college readiness in her district.
Future Uncertain For Alternative High School In Suburbs East Of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 13, 2012
Then she heard from a friend about the Boyce Campus Middle College High School , an alternative school with a smaller enrollment and the opportunity to take college classes while still in high school, and she jumped at the chance to attend.
Area School Boards Move To Denounce State Education Chief
The Morning Call, PA, November 12, 2012
Bethlehem Area and Salisbury Township districts say Ron Tomalis’ policies favor charters at the expense of traditional public schools.
TENNESSEE
Great Hearts Still May Have Future In Nashville
The Tennessean, TN, November 13, 2012
The Metro Nashville school board is expected to vote tonight on whether to offer an olive branch to Great Hearts Academies, the controversial charter school it has denied three times.
Three Memphis Charter Schools In Jeopardy For Poor Grades
Commercial Appeal, TN, November 12, 2012
Three Memphis charter schools could be closed based on poor test scores, including Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering, once a flagship performer.
Bipartisan Work Helps Schools Improve
The Tennessean, TN, November 13, 2012
The 2012 election season has painted a picture of a deeply divided America , but as President Obama reminded us, “we are not as divided as our politics suggests.” And one effort where both sides of the political aisle have been increasingly aligned is the quest to transform our public schools.
VIRGINIA
Criticism Mounts Over Va. Plan To Close Achievement Gap
WVEC, VA, November 12, 2012
New math testing rates set by Virginia education officials are under fire by members of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and the president of the Norfolk Federation of Teachers, Thomas Calhoun.
Charter School Law Precludes Innovation
Free Lance-Star, VA, November 12, 2012
Today, there are more than 5,600 public charter schools in the U.S. , serving 2 million schoolchildren. In Virginia , there are exactly four, with a combined enrollment of 423 students.
WASHINGTON
Charter Schools Narrowly Win Approval In Washington
Seattle Times, WA, November 12, 2012
Initiative 1240, the measure that will allow 40 charter schools to open in Washington state, has passed.
Legal Challenges Ahead For Charter Schools?
KPLU, WA, November 12, 2012
Now that charter school backers have declared victory, opponents are readying possible legal challenges to the new law established by Initiative 1240.
ONLINE SCHOOLS
Virtual School Driving Enrollment Growth In Lawrence
Lawrence Journal World, KS, November 12, 2012
Enrollment in the Lawrence school district grew slightly more than budget officials had projected earlier this summer, which means they’ll have about $57,000 more to spend in the current school year than they had budgeted in August.
Hall County Board Of Education Looking Into Virtual Classes
Gainesville Times, GA, November 12, 2012
More Hall County students could take classes completely online — on their schedule and from anywhere — as early as next semester.