NEWSWIRE IS BACK
Okay, stop the calls and emails. We’ve heard you! You like our insightful and relevant commentary and news vignettes better than anyone’s, and you’ve told us loud and clear that we need to step it up. We’ve loved hearing that we write what you’re thinking and provide useful information that helps you do your job better. As we shared when we stopped a few months back, we took a pause and began providing you daily news clips instead, available on our website, and stepped up our News & Analysis section so that you’d have ready access to MORE news and MORE information. But, websites are so passé, and you apparently like getting millions of emails more than you like going to check out what you’ve missed online, so because you are the reason we exist to fight and to create more choice and accountability for all children, Newswire is back. Enjoy — and keep in touch. Click here to read NEWSWIRE.
NATIONAL
Colleges Agree To Recruit KIPP Alumni
Washington Post, DC, November 26, 2012
Twenty colleges and universities, including some of the nation’s most prestigious, have pledged in the past year to recruit more students from a prominent charter school network that focuses on educating the rural and urban poor.
Leaders Speak at Summit on Education Reform
C-Span, November 27, 2012
The Foundation for Excellence in Education will begin its annual National Summit on Education Reform on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Teacher’s Union: We Must End This “Fixation” On Testing Students
Washington Examiner, DC, November 26, 2012
The American Federation of Teachers announced today it is expanding on their campaign “against excessive testing” called “Learning Is More Than a Test Score.”
FROM THE STATES
ARIZONA
Phoenix, Mesa Mayors Push To Reform Education
Arizona Republic, AZ, November 26, 2012
Hoping to spur dialogue where others have failed, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and Mesa Mayor Scott Smith announced on Monday a new forum to tackle education reform in the state through a bipartisan group of Arizona mayors.
CALIFORNIA
Green Dot Charter Schools Founder Steve Barr Resigns From Board Of Directors
Daily Breeze, CA, November 26, 2012
The founder of Green Dot Public Schools – a nationally renowned cluster of charter schools in Los Angeles County that includes two in the South Bay – has stepped down from the organization’s board of directors.
Civil Rights Groups Raise Concerns About Novato Charter School Plan
Marin Independent Journal, CA, November 26, 2012
In the latest twist in a contentious debate over a proposed Novato charter school, two San Francisco civil rights groups have entered the fray, arguing the school could isolate minorities and poor students.
Inglewood Superintendent Returns To Turn Schools Around
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 26, 2012
Kent Taylor hopes to stabilize the insolvent district that he says set him on his course through life. But not everyone is rooting for him.
COLORADO
Charter School Group To Proceed With Re-1
Post Independent, CO, November 27, 2012
A group of parents who want to start a new public charter school in Glenwood Springs will withdraw their application from the state chartering authority, but hope to proceed in making their case to the Roaring Fork School District.
DELAWARE
Odyssey Charter School’s Plan for Del. 48 Campus Raises Concerns
News Journal, DE, November 26, 2012
Westgate Farms resident James Kennedy was happy when he learned Odyssey Charter School officials chose the historic Mundy Farm on Del. 48 in Mill Creek as the site for a new location.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
KIPP DC a Finalist in Race to the Top Competition
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 26, 2012
Charter school operator KIPP DC is one of 61 finalists in the federal government’s $400 million Race to the Top-District grant competition, U.S. Department of Education officials announced Monday.
FLORIDA
Matt Reed: Why Brevard’s Opening Schools, Closing Others
Florida Today, FL, November 27, 2012
Sunday, I pointed to the absurdity for taxpayers in having to close four public schools in Brevard while paying to launch new charter schools, including one in Viera.
Researcher Says State Charter School Study Was ‘Poorly Done’ And ‘Biased’
State Impact NPR, FL, November 26, 2012
A University of Central Florida business professor and the Florida Department of Education have been swapping research the past week in a debate about whether charter schools perform better than district schools.
ILLINOIS
CPS Offer Escalates School Closing Fears
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 27, 2012
Chicago Public Schools leadership offered a trade Monday as it tries to win state lawmakers’ support for a key school reform measure: Agree to push back the announcement of what schools will close until spring, and the district will put a five-year moratorium on shutting more buildings.
The Painful Conversation
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 27, 2012
Closing a school, no matter how poorly it performs, is emotionally wrenching for students, parents and teachers. Now imagine that you had to close not one school, but dozens. That’s the painful reality facing leaders at Chicago Public Schools this year.
INDIANA
County School Voucher Use Low
Princeton Daily Clarion, IN, November 26, 2012
While enrollment in the state’s voucher program has more than doubled since implemented last year, only a small portion of Gibson County students are enrolled, according to the Indiana Department of Education.
IOWA
Des Moines School Board Considers Hiring Own Lobbyist
Altoona Herald, IA, November 26, 2012
Some Des Moines school officials want the district to hire its own lobbyist for the upcoming legislative session, a move that could lead to more decision-making authority at the local level.
LOUISIANA
School Voucher Desegregation Ruling Comes Ahead Of Teacher Union Lawsuit
Times Picayune, LA, November 26, 2012
Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education overhaul conflicts with a desegregation agreement in place in Tangipahoa Parish, a federal judge ruled Monday.
Teachers Group To Push Repeal Of Jindal’s Laws
The Advocate, LA, November 27, 2012
Steve Monaghan, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, acknowledged that repealing Gov. Bobby Jindal’s public school overhaul laws next year would require a political tsunami.
MARYLAND
Charter School Renewals, Contract Schools Debated
Baltimore Sun Blog, MD, November 26, 2012
Today, The Sun published a story about a slew of Baltimore city charter schools are up for renewal this school year, and all agree that it was fine time for the popular schools to have a uniformed, reliable and rigorous evaluation process that will improve their trajectory in the district. You can read more about that renewal process, here.
MICHIGAN
Public Education’s Big Challenge: Innovate Or Die
Detroit News, MI, November 27, 2012
Education should be about TLC: Teaching, learning and children. Yet when it comes to providing the education our children need and deserve, to not merely survive — but to thrive in a fast-paced, hyper-competitive, disruptive, knowledge economy where ideas and jobs move around the globe effortlessly — the focus quickly deteriorates into power, control, politics and adults.
MISSISSIPPI
Charlie Mitchell Was Wrong About Public Charter Schools
Sun Herald, MS, November 26, 2012
Unfortunately, Mr. Mitchell’s Nov. 20 column is a far cry from the type of serious public discourse the charter school debate deserves. Not only is Mr. Mitchell apparently unfamiliar with key provisions in the recent charter school legislation, his rhetoric is offensive as he resorts to images of garbage collection and segregation in an effort to inflame, not enlighten.
NEW MEXICO
Gov. Shows Support For Charters
Albuquerque Journal, NM, November 27, 2012
I want to give Gov. Susana Martinez a big ‘thank you” for attending the New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools ’ 12th Annual Conference and addressing the attendees
NEW YORK
School Closures Target Widens
Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2012
The New York City Department of Education on Monday named 23 high schools that could be closed due to poor performance, up from 17 targeted at this time last year.
Syracuse Students Will Have A Say In Their Teacher’s Job Evaluation
Syracuse Post-Standard, NY, November 27, 2012
This year, Syracuse students, even the kindergartners, will have a voice in their teacher’s formal job evaluation.
Teacher Eval Hitch Could Cost Yonkers
Journal News, NY, November 27, 2012
The state is threatening to withhold millions of dollars in aid from the cash-strapped city schools next year if the district can’t iron out a deal with the teachers union on new performance appraisals by week’s end.
Teacher Evaluations Usually Not ‘Unfunded’
Newsday, NY, November 26, 2012
School districts throughout New York are complaining that the new evaluation system for teachers and principals is creating a fiscal burden they can’t handle. They’re calling it another of the “unfunded state mandates” administrators complain about so often. It is a mandate, but it’s not unfunded, or expensive, and the whining says more about the education establishment than the costs.
Archdiocese Of New York Releases List Of 26 Elementary Schools And One High School ‘At Risk’ Of Closure
New York Daily News, NY, November 27, 2012
The selections were made through an arduous, months-long evaluation process that involved school boards and an archdiocesan committee, officials said.
Schools Head Finds a Formula
Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2012
Five years ago, students in the public-school system here were almost as likely to drop out as earn a diploma. School-board meetings routinely devolved into shouting matches, with a board member once pouring a pitcher of ice water over an administrator’s head.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma Strikes Out Again In Quest For Race To The Top Education Funds
The Oklahoman, OK, November 27, 2012
The U.S. Education Department announced Monday that 61 finalists were named from about 370 applications nationwide. Six applications came from Oklahoma ; none were finalists.
OREGON
Albany School Board Turns Down Charter School
Albany Democrat Herald, OR, November 27, 2012
The Albany School Board agreed unanimously Monday to deny an application to open a charter school next fall, citing financial stability as the biggest problem.
Charter Schools Withdraw Applications From Portland Public Schools
The Oregonian, OR, November 26, 2012
Organizers from two charter schools that had hoped to open their doors this fall in Portland Public Schools have withdrawn their applications.
Executive Director To Be Evaluated By Homesource
The Register-Guard, OR, November 27, 2012
Paula Praus-Williamson, HomeSource Family Charter School’s executive director, is under fire from her own board and from the Bethel School District as the embattled charter school faces another round of allegations that it violated its contract with the Bethel district.
PENNSYLVANIA
Charter School Funding Reform Must Address Pension Flaw
Pottstown Mercury, PA, November 27, 2012
We can think of several reasons why laws regulating charter schools should be examined and addressed by Pennsylvania lawmakers after they failed to accomplish that task this legislative session.
Chester Upland School Board Rejects Recovery Plan
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 27, 2012
The Chester Upland school board voted, 5-4, Monday night to reject a recently released financial and academic recovery plan, causing the state to seek to have the troubled district placed in control of a receiver.
Council Ponders Philadelphia District’s Future
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, November 27, 2012
That’s what City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell wanted to know just three months after the release of the Boston Consulting Group’s controversial report and its recommendations for the distressed school district.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Lowcountry Teachers Quiz State Schools Chief On Evaluation System
Post & Courier, SC, November 27, 2012
About 200 Lowcountry public school teachers packed a high school auditorium Monday to learn more about what they need to do to make the grade.
TENNESSEE
Six Memphis City Schools Recommended For Closure
Commercial Appeal, TN, November 26, 2012
The 23-member unified school board will address a proposal to close six schools in the northwest and southwest regions of the Memphis City Schools district when it convenes for the third of three meetings this week.
TEXAS
Two Charter Schools Here Are Race To The Top Finalists
San Antonio Express, TX, November 26, 2012
Two charter school districts with campuses here were named national finalists for the federal Race to the Top competition — bringing the Harmony and IDEA Public Schools a step closer to the possibility of millions of dollars in grants previously unavailable to Texas schools.
WASHINGTON
No Charter Schools In Offing On North Olympic Peninsula
Peninsula Daily News, WA, November 27, 2012
Voters statewide approved allowing charter schools, but so far no one has contacted any of the nine North Olympic Peninsula school districts with an interest in starting one.
WEST VIRGINIA
The State School Board Is Serious About Reform
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, November 27, 2012
At last, West Virginia has a starting point for public education reform. On Wednesday, the state Board of Education approved its long-awaited response to the independent audit of our public school system.
WYOMING
Pilot Program To Evaluate Wyoming Teachers Could Begin In 2014
Casper Star-Tribune , WY, November 26, 2012
Measures to hold individual educators in Wyoming accountable for student learning may begin during the 2014-15 school year. That work, known as the second phase of the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act, originally was planned to start about a year earlier.
ONLINE LEARNING
State Examines Application For York-Based Cyber Charter School
York Dispatch, PA, November 27, 2012
Urban Cyber School , the first cyber charter school that would be based in York County , had its first big test on Monday.
Insurance Provider Files Suit Against PA Cyber
Beaver County Times, PA, November 26, 2012
In response to a federal class-action lawsuit filed by West Allegheny and three other school districts against the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School earlier this year, an insurance provider is asking federal court to determine the extent of the provider’s liability.
Georgia Threatens To Close K12-run Online Charter School
State Impact NPR, FL, November 26, 2012
The Georgia Department of Education is threatening to close an online charter school run by K12, the nation’s largest online education company, over issues with special education students.
NCAA Nixes Southwest Secondary, Local Online School
Albuquerque Journal, MN, November 27, 2012
High school student athletes, take note: You may want to make sure that online class you’re taking is accepted by the NCAA. As of October, the NCAA is no longer accepting any classes from Southwest Secondary, a popular Albuquerque charter school.