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NATIONAL COVERAGE
High School Graduation Rate Tops 78 Percent – Highest Since 1976
Christian Science Monitor, MA, January 22, 2013
Some 78.2 percent finished in four years, graduating in spring 2010, a new report found Tuesday. Grim economic conditions and the need to be competitive in a crowded job market played a role.
FROM THE STATES
ALABAMA
Lesson In Legislating
Anniston Star, AL, January 22, 2013
A year ago, Gov. Robert Bentley and many Republican leaders in the state Legislature were promoting passage of a bill to create charter schools.
CALIFORNIA
Triggering Reform
Victorville Daily Press, CA, January 22, 2013
The reasons for the fierce teachers union opposition to successful completion of California’s Parent Trigger law by parents of Desert Trails students were obvious, particularly to the unions themselves. They knew that if the Adelanto school was converted to charter status, unhappy parents all over the state would be encouraged to follow suit.
DELAWARE
State On Right Road To Beat Its Dropout Record
Delaware News Journal, DE, January 23, 2013
Not since 1974 has the U.S. experienced the level of high schools students graduating on time as it is witnessing now.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Will The Mayor Step Up For Charter School Children?
Washington Examiner, DC, January 22, 2013
Mayor Vincent Gray’s budget office is preparing the administration’s proposed fiscal year 2014 budget, which the mayor will send to the District of Columbia Council in late March. The budget will fund both the traditional public school system and public charter schools, which are run independently of the school system and educate 43 percent of District students enrolled in public schools.
FLORIDA
Florida Governor To Call For Teacher Pay Raises
Brevard Times, FL, January 23, 2013
January Florida Governor Rick Scott on Wednesday will unveil a proposal for an across-the-board teacher pay increase, a spokeswoman for the governor confirmed Tuesday.
Teacher Evaluation Report Needs To Be Meaningful
TC Palm, FL, January 23, 2013
Most Treasure Coast teachers rated “effective” or “highly effective” in their classrooms for the 2011-12 school year, according to data released recently by the Florida Department of Education.
ILLINOIS
Far Fewer Schools May Close This Year
Chicago Tribune, IL, January 23, 2013
The commission on school closings has told Chicago Public Schools officials that shutting a large number of schools would create too much upheaval, and that it is leaning toward a recommendation for closing far fewer schools than many have feared — possibly as few as 15, sources said.
Chicago Catholic Schools See Enrollment Increase
WNCT, IL, January 23, 2013
Enrollment in Chicago’s Catholic schools has grown over the past three years. The Archdiocese of Chicago announced Tuesday the school system has seen an increase of 675 students during that period.
Parents Raise Questions About UNO Charter Schools’ Use Of Millions From State Grant
Chicago Tribune, IL, January 22, 2013
Construction on a new charter high school in Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood reached a milestone Tuesday even as the school’s operators fended off criticism from one parents group about its finances.
INDIANA
BSU Revokes School Charters
Muncie Star Press, IN, January 23, 2013
Choice in public school education in Indiana took a blow Tuesday with the announcement that Ball State University is revoking seven charter schools in Gary, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Richmond.
Imagine Life Science Academy East’s Charter Won’t Be Renewed By Ball State
Indianapolis Star, IN, January 22, 2013
An Indianapolis charter school — the Imagine Life Science Academy East — could face closure after Ball State University made good on a promise to enforce higher standards at the charter schools it sponsors.
Gov. Pence Lobbies For Tax Cut, School Vouchers
Palladium-Item, IN, January 22, 2013
Gov. Mike Pence used his first State of the State address Tuesday night to lobby for a personal income tax cut, an expansion of Indiana’s school voucher system and improved vocational training.
IOWA
Iowa House Panel Begins Review Of Branstad’s School Reform Proposals
Des Moines Register, IA, January 23, 2013
Gov. Terry Branstad’s top-priority education reform package received its first official airing in the Iowa Legislature on Tuesday night, in a lengthy hearing before a panel of seven House members.
LOUISIANA
School Audits Uncover Issues At Lusher, Lagniappe, Miller-McCoy
Times-Picayune, LA, January 22, 2013
Audits released Monday by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office point to problems in 2011-12 at several New Orleans charter schools. A Lusher employee embezzled $25,000, Miller-McCoy has two potential ethics violations and Lagniappe Academies failed to conduct criminal background checks on some employees.
MAINE
Fifth High School Year A Solid Education Reform
Portland Press Herald, ME, January 23, 2013
A low-cost, smooth transition to college would help both students and the Maine economy.
MASSACHUSETTS
Let’s Talk ‘Legacy’
Boston Herald, MA, January 23, 2013
Gov. Deval Patrick last week said he wants to pour hundreds of millions of new dollars into the state’s education system via a massive tax increase, in part to narrow the achievement gap in the state’s needier communities. But there is a piece of legislation on Beacon Hill that wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime and, if enacted, could have darn near the same impact.
MICHIGAN
Michigan Public Schools Fare Poorly In Statewide Study
Detroit News, MI, January 22, 2013
Michiganians gave the state’s public school system mediocre grades in an extensive study released Tuesday by The Center for Michigan that also found residents are skeptical of proposed reforms to expand online learning, lengthen the school year and allow universal open enrollment.
MINNESOTA
North Mpls. Science Charter School Raising The Bar
CBS Minnesota, MN, January 22, 2013
In just its second year, the Minnesota School of Science charter school in north Minneapolis is raising the bar. With an air of confidence, science student Jailynn Gainous doesn’t skip a beat when asked to explain her experiment.
Lakes Area Charter School Celebrates Class Of 2013
Osaki Review, MN, January 23, 2013
Nine young people recently wrapped up their high school career and are now beginning the next chapter of their lives.
MISSISSIPPI
Charter Schools Bill Clears House Panel, But Questions Remain
Clarion Ledger, MS, January 23, 2013
Concerns about school funding, administrator qualifications and allowing for-profit companies to manage charter schools in Mississippi will likely dominate debate on a related House Education Bill this week.
Opposition to Charter Schools is Growing in Oxford School District
Mississippi Public Broadcasting, MS, January 22, 2013
The state Senate may vote this week on whether to allow charter schools in Mississippi — after the House already passed the bill. But, as MPB’s Sandra Knispel reports, resistance is growing in some school districts, among them Oxford.
Senate-Like Charter Bill Best Option
Clarion Ledger, MS, January 23, 2013
My views on charter schools have evolved over the past two years, and the tipping point for me was moderating a roundtable discussion on the issue and listening to two parents who are desperate for better opportunities for their children.
MISSOURI
South City Parish Schools Look For New Idea
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, January 23, 2013
Faced with declining enrollment and rising costs, pastors and principals at 10 south St. Louis parish schools are discussing changes to the landscape of Catholic education in that part of the city.
NEVADA
Quest Academy Audit Sparks Emergency Action
KTNV Las Vegas, NV, January 22, 2013
Charter schools get a treasure trove of tax dollars to provide alternatives for Nevada students. But the administration of one school has been acting like pirates… raiding the school’s stash of money for personal gain.
NEW JERSEY
Christie Gets Tougher With Charter School Teachers
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, January 23, 2013
According to the administration, making it more difficult for charter teachers to earn tenure gives the schools themselves “more flexibility”
NEW YORK
24 Catholic Schools to Close
Wall Street Journal, January 23, 2013
Two dozen Roman Catholic schools in New York learned Tuesday they would permanently shut their doors at the end of the school year, in what the church said it hopes is the last round of closings for the foreseeable future.
Two Dozen Catholic Schools In The New York Metropolitan Area Will Get The Axe, Including Two High Schools
New York Daily News, NY, January 23, 2013
The St. Agnes Boy High School in Manhattan and Blessed Sacrament/St. Gabriel High School in New Rochelle and 22 elementary schools are slated for closure, according to the New York Archdiocese.
The School Bus Mess
New York Times, NY, January 23, 2013
New York City mayors have long tolerated one of the most inefficient school transportation systems in the country — made so by a labor agreement that undermines competitive bidding and poorly designed bus routes.
Elmira Charter School Will Be Co-Ed, Offer Grades K-2 Initially
Elmira Star Gazette, NY, January 22, 2013
The group proposing to open a charter school in Elmira has decided to make it co-ed, initially offer kindergarten to second grade and name it Finn Academy — An Elmira Charter School.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg Slams UFT For Presenting Teacher Evaluations That Are A ‘Fraud And Hoax’ To Public
New York Daily News, NY, January 22, 2013
The city lost out on nearly half a billion dollars after failing to meet Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s deadline to create an effective system that would grade the performance of educators. UFT President Michael Mulgrew fired back that the mayor only wants it his way.
An Absentee Mayor
New York Post, NY, January 23, 2013
Transforming the city’s public-school system into a national model for quality and effectiveness was once right at the top of Mayor Mike’s personal legacy list.
NORTH CAROLINA
A School As Transformative Force
Herald, Sun, NC, January 22, 2013
It is a work in progress, but it is a work whose progress is heartening on many levels.
Maureen Joy Charter School is moving ahead on schedule with renovations that will put it into much larger quarters this fall, and quarters that will be more convenient for many of its students and their families.
Wake Commissioners Back County Funding For Charter Construction
News & Observer, NC, January 22, 2013
Wake commissioners agreed to seek deep changes to the county school system Tuesday, voting to ask the General Assembly to sign off on a wish list that could change who owns schools, how they get built and how the school board gets elected.
PENNSYLVANIA
More Charges Against Charter-School Officials
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 23, 2013
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced five additional charges Tuesday against charter school founder Dorothy June Brown and three former administrators for defrauding the schools.
Pa. Charter School Ratings Plummet Under New Calculations
Allentown Morning Call, PA, January 22, 2013
The number of charter schools hitting testing benchmarks plummeted after the federal government said the state Education Department graded them too leniently.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Racial Tensions Fuel The Fiery Debate Over A North Charleston Montessori Program
Charleston City Paper, SC, January 23, 2013
To hear the way parents raised their voices in a meeting last Tuesday night about the Montessori programs at Malcolm C. Hursey Elementary School, you might think that their neighborhood, their way of life, and their children’s futures were on the line. And maybe they were.
TENNESSEE
Charter Incubator Reports On Successes Of Two Nashville Schools
The Tennessean, TN, January 23, 2013
The two Nashville schools shepherded into business by the Tennessee Charter School Incubator are proving to be worth the investment of time and money, according to a report created by the organization and released today.
‘Nashville Commits’ Initiative Wants More Metro Kids College-Ready
The Tennessean, TN, January 23, 2013
A Nashville charter school founder has assembled more than 70 notable Nashvillians, including Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell, to tackle the ambitious goal of tripling the city’s number of low-income college-ready graduates by 2020.
Board Members Weigh Charter Schools And Wonder: What’s Their Secret?
The Tennessean, TN, January 23, 2013
After being told the six highest performing middle schools in Metro Nashville are charter schools, officials asked what charters have that district schools don’t.
Board To Make It Official: No More Memphis City Schools System
Commercial Appeal, TN, January 22, 2013
The unified Memphis and Shelby County school board gave tentative approval Tuesday to a proposed resolution that will put the Memphis City Schools district officially out of business as of July 1.
Voucher Debate: Harris Outnumbered In Knox School Board Discussion
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, January 23, 2013
A majority of Knox County school board members are against school vouchers, but on Tuesday one member tried to sway his colleagues to be open to them.
TEXAS
New Longview Charter School Takes ‘Student-Centered’ Focus
Longview News-Journal, TX, January 23, 2013
A new education option in Longview offers students in third through sixth grades the opportunity to experience project-based learning in a small school setting.
Vouchers Pushed During School Finance Hearing
San Antonio Express, TX, January 23, 2013
Introducing more school choice to parents could save Texas billions of dollars and result in higher pay for public school teachers, witness Joseph Bast testified Tuesday morning in the lawsuit trial of the state’s school finance system.
WASHINGTON
An Opportunity To Shape State’s Charter Schools
Yakima Herald-Republic, WA, January 23, 2013
Washington’s experiment in charter schools is moving forward as the state Board of Education takes public comment on rules that will govern what is essentially a pilot project. Washington voters started this process in November when they narrowly approved Initiative 1240, which allows the state to join most of the rest of the country in the charter school movement.
WEST VIRGINIA
RESA Important Part Of Public School Reform
Martinsburg Journal, WV, January 23, 2013
One of the key recommendations a consultant made for public school reform in West Virginia was to reduce the size of the bloated state Department of Education. In addition to the DOE’s cost, the current system is too centralized to perform effectively, the consultant wrote in an “audit” report.
WISCONSIN
Fitzgerald, Other Ex-Speakers Lobby For Vouchers
Appleton Post Crescent, WI, January 23, 2013
Advocates for expanding school vouchers in Wisconsin have hired three former Republican speakers of the state Assembly to help make their case, a sign of political firepower on a contentious issue that has renewed calls to ban the increasingly common practice of moving directly from the Legislature to lobbying.
ONLINE LEARNING
Virtual School Blames Poor Performance on Students
Nashville Public Radio, TN, January 22, 2013
Tennessee’s largest K-through-12 online school had to defend poor standardized test results to state lawmakers Tuesday. Tennessee Virtual Academy posted scores labeled “unacceptable” by the state.
Lancaster Schools Knock Down Digital Academy Contract
Lancaster Eagle Gazette, OH, January 22, 2013
The Lancaster Board of Education voted 5-0 to not renew the district’s sponsorship of the Lancaster Digital Academy on Tuesday.
Virtual Academy Leases Second Downtown Bldg.
Clarkston News, MI, January 23, 2013
The Oxford Virtual Academy (OVA) is expanding, not just in the number of students it serves, but in the actual physical space it occupies. OVA is in the process of moving some of its operations into 5 S. Washington St., which formerly housed the ArtCapsule.
Online Ed Expansion, School Choice Plan Murky In 2013
Michigan Live, MI, January 22, 2013
A proposal to revise the state’s School Aid Act to allow state funding to follow students to where they take individual classes will not be part of Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget proposal next month, but could make its way into legislative discussions over that budget.