NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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
Unions Lambaste Proposal To Arm More Teachers
Washington Times, DC, December 21, 2012
The nation’s leading teachers unions Thursday slammed the idea of arming more teachers, a proposal floated in the wake of last week’s Sandy Hook school shooting by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and others and already in place in some Texas schools.
Do School ‘Reformers’ Need to Keep Two or Three Sets of Books?
Huffington Post Blog, December 20, 2012
My old joke about No Child Left Behind (NCLB) always prompted groans. The only way that NCLB could work was if districts kept two sets of books — one for accountability reports and a private, accurate and meaningful set of data for decision-making purposes. The worst case scenario, however, would occur when districts convinced themselves that their NCLB numbers weren’t meaningless.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Education Reform Needs To Be Grounded In Reality
Venture County Star, CA, December 20, 2012
Thirteen years ago, the California Legislature — spurred by then-Gov. Gray Davis — made one of its periodic forays into educational reform, or so we were told.
San Jose’s Franklin-McKinley School Board Approves New KIPP Middle School
Mercury News, CA, December 20, 2012
Another KIPP middle school, the high-achieving charter school, is coming to East San Jose.
County Rejects Portola Academy Bid
Livermore Independent, CA, December 21, 2012
The Alameda County Board of Education has voted down the Tri-Valley Learning Corporation’s request to start Portola Academy.
COLORADO
Firestone Charter School Has Its Own Marine Guard
The Longmont Times-Call, CO, December 20, 2012
As he stands by the Imagine Charter School flagpole, Jared Vejrostek collects a high-five from a student. A “thank you” from one parent. A smile from another.
FLORIDA
Don’t Force Counties To Subsidize Charter Schools
Palm Beach Post, FL, December 21, 2012
How much do tax-cutting Republicans in Tallahassee love charter schools? So much that they might be willing to raise property taxes to help charter schools.
Board Gets Earful On Eval System From Stellar Teacher
The Pasco Tribune, FL, December 21, 2012
Teacher Eric Johnson was honored at this week’s school board meeting for two teaching awards he recently received. But he did not earn the top rating under new evaluation guidelines.
GEORGIA
Judge Bars APS From Withholding Funding To Charter Schools
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, December 20, 2012
Atlanta Public Schools must stop withholding local property tax revenue from charter schools it had demanded help from in paying for the district’s pension program, a Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled.
ILLINOIS
The Reckoning for CPS
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 21, 2012
Chicago Public Schools officials won a four-month reprieve from state lawmakers recently so they won’t have to produce a list of proposed school closings until March 31. That brings to mind boxer Joe Louis’ famous taunt aimed at challenger Billy Conn: He can run, but he can’t hide.
INDIANA
Report Says Our Charter Schools Are Delivering
News Sentinel, IN, December 21, 2012
Because they can dispense with many of the rules and regulations regular public schools must cope with, charter schools offer the promise of a better education to our children, especially the ones who would otherwise be stuck in poorly performing schools.
LOUISIANA
RSD Announces Latest Management Changes; Moves Toward All-Charter System
Times-Picayune, LA, December 20, 2012
New Orleans’ Recovery School District will become a nearly 100 percent charter system in the 2013-2014 academic year, with the district running only five or six schools directly, down from 12 this year, superintendent Patrick Dobard announced Thursday.
Debating Vouchers In Louisiana, Where Public Schools Are Already Devalued:
Times-Picayune, LA, December 20, 2012
Whether Tim Kelley’s ruling will be upheld remains to be seen, but it’s already clear that having a debate about private school vouchers in Louisiana begins with a different set of assumptions. Here private schools are routinely viewed as the natural choice, public schools the place for those who lack the means to go anywhere else.
MASSACHUSETTS
Mayor’s School Plan Upsets Union
Boston Herald, MA, December 21, 2012
The Boston Teachers Union fired back last night over Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s plan to strip the union of some of its powers as he moves to promote more charter schools in the city and push for longer school days as part of a plan to boost student achievement.
Charter School Would Take Money From Woburn District
Woburn Advocate, MA, December 20, 2012
Supporters say it will offer students and parents more opportunities and choices when it comes to schools, but at what cost?
MICHIGAN
Power Struggle Between Detroit School Board, Roy Roberts At Issue In Court
Detroit News, MI, December 21, 201
The resolution of a power struggle between the Detroit Board of Education and Emergency Financial Manager Roy Roberts is to be the focus of a court hearing Friday morning.
NEW MEXICO
Accountability, Results Justify School Spending
Albuquerque Journal, NM, December 21, 2012
That’s why Gov. Susana Martinez’s plan to ask legislators for $4.74 million in targeted funding for programs that train principals and district leaders to make data-driven decisions, that encourage businesslike efficiency and that have principals at higher-performing schools mentor those at lower-performing schools, makes sense.
NEW YORK
Closing The Socio-Economic And Racial Gaps In NYC Schools
Amsterdam News, NY, December 20, 2012
Explore Schools hosted a panel discussion last Thursday to discuss closing the achievement gap in New York City schools.
Teacher Union Flap Still Nails On A Chalkboard
New York Daily News, NY, December 20, 2012
The deadline that schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott set to settle a contentious dispute with the teachers union was expected to come and go Friday without progress.
Yonkers Teacher-Evaluation Deal Hits Deadline Today
The Journal News, NY, December 21, 2012
Time is about up for the schools chief and the teachers union to agree on a new evaluation plan tied to millions of dollars in desperately needed state aid.
NORTH CAROLINA
Morrison: New State Tests Waste Tax Dollars
Charlotte Observer, NC, December 21, 2012
The barrage of new state tests being rolled out this year is “an egregious waste of taxpayer dollars” that won’t help kids, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Superintendent Heath Morrison said Thursday.
OHIO
Data Changes Raised Scores
Columbus Dispatch, OH, December 21, 2012
Columbus City Schools’ internal auditor confirmed yesterday that district officials changed student data and thereby improved the district’s state report-card results.
PENNSYLVANIA
Marchers Take Their Case To SRC
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 21, 2012
A shouting and chanting crowd of hundreds told officials Thursday night exactly what they thought of a Philadelphia School District plan to close 37 schools and change grades and shut programs at dozens more.
Bioscience School Presented To Millcreek School Board
Erie Times-News, PA, December 21, 2012
Supporters of the proposed Erie Biosciences Academy charter school made their case before the Millcreek School Board on Thursday night, saying the new school would provide students with a career pathway before finishing middle school.
Two Charter Schools Proposed In Chester
Delaware County Daily Times, PA, December 20, 2012
A county businessman is proposing to start two new charter schools within the Chester Upland School District, which already has lost more than half of its students to charter schools.
RHODE ISLAND
Unions Protesting New Teacher Evaluation System
Go Local Prov, RI, December 21, 2012
Thousands of Rhode Island teachers have signed an online petition calling for the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) to delay the implementation of the state’s new teacher evaluation system.
TENNESSEE
ASD Pay Plan Will Favor Best Teachers
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 21, 2012
The state’s Achievement School District is embarking on a teacher-pay schedule that has had teachers’ unions and their advocates at odds with school administrators for years.
TEXAS
With IDEA Resolved, Trustees Can Focus On Improving High School Graduation Rates
Austin American-Statesman, TX, December 20, 2012
Austin school district trustees opted for a quick divorce with IDEA Public Schools rather than a compromise that would have allowed mutual custody of the students.
Battle Brewing Over School Choice Option
KERA News, TX, December 20, 2012
The battle lines are already being drawn over proposed legislation that would help low-income Texas students pay for private schooling.
VIRGINIA
Virginia Delegate Wants Some School Personnel Armed
Washington Times, DC, December 20, 2012
A Virginia lawmaker who wants to arm teachers and school personnel in the wake of last week’s mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., is one of many officials throughout the country who are calling for new laws to keep such a tragedy from happening in their home states.
WASHINGTON
State Supreme Court: Legislature Failing At Funding Of Education
Seattle Times, WA, December 20, 2012
The Washington Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the state Legislature isn’t making enough progress toward finding more money for K-12 education in answer to the court’s decision in the McCleary school-funding lawsuit.
ONLINE LEARNING
Online Schooling Drawing Contentious Reviews Across State
South Coast Today, MA, December 21, 2012
Students at a privately operated online school that is costing Massachusetts taxpayers almost $2.5 million a year are falling far behind other students in the state based on their assessment-test scores, and half of them are quitting during the academic year or failing to return the next year.