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 COVERAGE
Conservatives and the Common Core
Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2013
Although the two of us have disagreed about several school-reform issues, we strongly believe that the Common Core State Standards, voluntarily adopted by 45 states, is one of the most promising education initiatives of the past half century. If implemented properly, they can better prepare students for college-level work and to gain the civic knowledge that is essential for democracy to prosper.
Teaching ‘Diversity’
Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2013
Polls show that parents place a premium on having high-quality teachers in the classroom. But the champions of “diversity” who run public schools seem more interested in making sure that teachers and students share the same race and ethnicity , even if that results in hiring a less-capable instructor.
Indiana Hits ‘Pause Button’ On Common Core Education Push
Washington Times, DC, May 13, 2013
Indiana’s former Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels was one of the biggest supporters of the K-12 academic standards known as Common Core.
STATE COVERAGE
ARKANSAS
Weiner High Supporters Push For Agriculture Charter School Option
Kait 8, AR, May 13, 2013
Supporters of Weiner High School are trying yet another road to keep the school open. They’re hoping a conversion charter school for agriculture will work.
CALIFORNIA
Nine San Fernando Valley Schools Seeking Affiliated Charter Status
Pasadena Star, CA, May 13, 2013
Nine more San Fernando Valley campuses would open this fall as charter schools if their applications are approved today by the Los Angeles Unified school board.
Parent Trigger Law Invoked To Kick Out L.A. School’s Administrators
San Bernardino Sun, CA, May 13, 2013
A group of parents appear ready to force the Los Angeles Unified School District to enact sweeping changes at their elementary school.
CONNECTICUT
Funding Trouble For Education Reform
WTNH A, CT, May 13, 2013
re state lawmakers back-tracking on Education Reform? The landmark law passed one year ago may be headed for funding trouble because of the state’s looming red ink problem.
DELAWARE
Delaware Senate To Vote On Bill Aimed At Standardizing School Choice Process
Washington Post, DC, May 14, 2013
The state Senate is set to vote on a bill standardizing the school choice process in Delaware. The bill to be voted on Tuesday cleared a Senate committee last week, just one day after receiving unanimous approval in the House.
FLORIDA
Failing Flagler Charter School Seeking Turnaround
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL, May 13, 2013
Instructors at a Palm Coast charter school plagued by poor test scores and low enrollment have spent the year trying to help its students catch up with their peers in other area schools.
ILLINOIS
3 Days Of Marches Against School Closings Announced
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 14, 2013
With just over a week before the Chicago Board of Education votes on a proposal to close 54 schools, the Chicago Teachers Union and other activist groups said Monday they would hold marches over three days to protest the plan.
LOUISIANA
State Supreme Court Rules School Voucher Plan Unconstitutional
The Nonprofit Quarterly, May 13, 2013
Remember Louisiana’s plan to use public dollars to send students to private schools? Governor Bobby Jindal, a prospective Republican presidential candidate, made it a linchpin of his educational program.
MASSACHUSETTS
Teachers’ Contract With Brockton Ties Them To Student Test Scores In Return For 2 Percent Raise
Brockton Enterprise, MA, May 14, 2013
In exchange for one year of raises, the city’s teachers agreed to language training and a state requirement tying them to the academic performance of their students.
MICHIGAN
Students Left Looking For A School After Academy Of Flint Loses Charter
Flint Journal, MI, May 13, 2013
Nine months ago, officials at the Academy of Flint were told by Central Michigan University that the school’s charter would not be renewed.
A New WAY To Do Summer School
Detroit News, MI, May 13, 2013
Taking the summer off does not facilitate education. There is a new and better way of learning. In a few short weeks another school year will be coming to an end and the summer break will begin.
MISSISSIPPI
Lamar Co. Teachers To Receive Merit Pay Raises
Hattiesburg American, MS, May 14, 2013
Lamar County School District will give merit pay increases to teachers beginning in the fall 2014. The Lamar County School Board voted 5-0 to approve a plan for awarding the increases at its May 6 meeting.
MISSOURI
Heated Whipping Process On Display In Education Reform Vote
Missouri Times, MO, May 14, 2013
Senate Bill 125, backed by House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, and touted as a way to improve public schools, failed Wednesday by a vote of 76-82 after a long night in the chamber and an extremely contentious vote-whipping process.
NEVADA
One Move To Fund Education Meeting Opposition From School Boards, Teachers’ Union
Las Vegas Sun, NV, May 13, 2013
Gov. Brian Sandoval’s plan to give tax subsidies to help low-income students attend private schools ran into opposition Monday from school boards and a teachers’ union.
NEW YORK
Schools Chief Blasts Mayoral Candidates Over Remarks at Education Forum
New York Times, NY, May 14, 2013
Dennis M. Walcott, the New York City schools chancellor, lashed out at the Democratic candidates for mayor on Monday, saying that he did not believe any of them had a compelling vision to lead city schools and that they had been pandering to gain the support of the teachers’ union.
NORTH CAROLINA
Separate Public, Charter School Boards Will Hurt Education
News & Observer, NC, May 13, 2013
Republicans in the state legislature are in the process of making a multitude of bad decisions with regard to public education. And the antipathy they feel toward public school teachers, some of whom have criticized cuts to education, is leading GOP lawmakers down a path that will do much damage, from making it harder to get good teachers in the state to dividing public school governance between charter schools and conventional schools to providing vouchers of public money for parents to send kids to private schools.
OHIO
Yet Another Tale Of A Looted Charter School Shows That Better Fiscal Safeguards Are Needed
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, May 13, 2013
If the Cuyahoga County prosecutor has it right, for the last six years, an in-house den of thieves has stolen nearly $2 million from a Cleveland charter school for teen dropouts, ripping off the taxpayers and their students.
OKLAHOMA
Questions Linger Following Oklahoma City School District Transfer Flap
The Oklahoman, OK, May 14, 2013
PERHAPS Oklahoma City School Board members knew exactly what they were doing when unanimously denying transfers into Classen School of Advanced Studies, one of the state’s premier high schools.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Getting Swept Into National ‘Common Core’ Education Debate
Morning Call, PA, May 14, 2013
Senate Democrats call on Gov. Tom Corbett to halt start of Common Core standards; House and Senate to hold hearings on Common Core.
Pa. Official: Charter Schools Flout Public-Records Law
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 14, 2013
Pennsylvania’s 180 charter schools routinely ignore the state’s Right-To-Know Law even though as publicly funded institutions they are bound to comply with it, the chief of the state’s Office of Open Records told a Senate committee on Monday.
NPSD Using Delay Tactics, Charter School Says
The Reporter, PA, May 13, 2013
Souderton Charter School Collaborative’s appeal of their denied charter school application has hit an obstacle, with legal counsel for the North Penn School Board objecting to the petition form that was used in gathering signatures of those in support of the charter.
Pittsburgh Public Schools Exploring Options For Different Learning Models
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 13, 2013
With options such as charter, private and parochial schools as well as district-operated magnet schools, only 40 percent of K-12 students in the city are attending the feeder school assigned by where they live.
Let’s Fund-Raise For Philly Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 14, 2013
A recent gala headlined by John Legend celebrated the University of Pennsylvania’s exceeding its $3.5 billion fund-raising goal by $800 million. But only blocks away, University City High School students quietly emptied their lockers following the Philadelphia School Reform Commission decision to close their school and 22 others to cover a $300 million budget deficit.
TENNESSEE
Nashville Schools Cast Wider Net For Gifted Children
The Tennessean, TN, May 14, 2013
Black and Hispanic children are grossly underrepresented in the Encore program for academically gifted and talented students, which serves children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, according to statistics provided by the school system.
WISCONSIN
Lawmakers Tour Voucher Schools
Fox 11, WI, May 13, 2013
Some state lawmakers got a first-hand look at the state’s school voucher system Monday. Democrats and Republicans took a look around four voucher schools in Milwaukee Monday afternoon. This as Governor Walker is pushing to expand the school voucher program from two to nine districts including Green Bay, Fond du Lac and Sheboygan.
ONLINE LEARNING
Education Committee Votes Along Party Lines To Stall Virtual Charter Schools
Bangor Daily News, ME, May 13, 2013
Maine would impose a moratorium on virtual charter schools and require that all charter schools function as nonprofit organizations if three measures endorsed Monday by the Legislature’s Education Committee become law.
Online Charter School Hopes to Escape from Limbo
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, May 14, 2013
The nation’s largest online education company, K12 Inc., is once again registering kids and offering jobs to teachers for the debut of New Jersey’s first virtual charter school – all without knowing if the school will even open.
Virtual Schools Poised To Go Viral In Florida
Palm Beach Post, FL, May 13, 2013
Florida Virtual School grow 20 percent a year as legislature starts requirement for online class to graduate.
Dist. 300 Considers Second Online Charter School Plan
Daily Herald, IL, May 13, 2013
Community Unit District 300 board members have moved from one charter school proposal to another, holding a public hearing Monday night for the Illinois Online Charter School.
Moreno Valley: School Board To Consider Online School
Press Enterprise, CA, May 13, 2013
The Moreno Valley Unified School District board is scheduled to add another program to increase graduation rates, an online school.