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.
Ray Fisman: Do Charter Schools Work?
Twin Falls Times News, ID, May 29, 2013
On June 4, 1991, Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson signed into law a bill that set in motion one of the most significant — and controversial — education reform movements in modern history. Minnesota’s charter school law allowed educators and other concerned individuals to apply to the state for permission to operate a government-funded school outside of the public education system.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Parent Trigger Group In Watts Votes For ‘Choice’ School
San Bernardino Sun, CA, May 28, 2013
The third group of parents to successfully use California’s parent trigger law has chosen to turn their Watts school into a “school of choice.”
COLORADO
What Lobato Lawsuit Did For Colorado Schools
Denver Post, CO, May 29, 2013
The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision declaring the state’s education funding system passes constitutional muster was the right call, but it should not be the last word on how Colorado pays for schools.
CONNECTICUT
No Local Charter School For Bridgeport
CT Post, CT, May 28, 2013
There will not be a local charter school in the city next year. By a rare unanimous vote, the nine-member school board on Wednesday rejected an application that would have allowed a plan to create a locally funded charter school, using a Montessori education model, in the former Whittier School on the city’s west side.
DELAWARE
Appeal Over Charter School Bus Funds Prompts Legislative Rule Tweak
Delaware News Journal, DE, May 29, 2013
A Democratic lawmaker urged the budget-drafting Joint Finance Committee on Tuesday to change the rules for funding transportation at Delaware charter schools, arguing the current system lacks transparency and is at odds with other education funding provisions.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Maya Angelou Charter School Wipes Out Zeros For Students
Washington Examiner, DC, May 28, 2013
A student at Maya Angelou Public Charter School can fail to complete any assignment or even not show up at school and still get a 40 percent for the quarter under a new grading policy.
IDAHO
Proposed Charter School Seeking State Approval
Idaho Mountain Express Guide, ID, May 29, 2013
Syringa Mountain School, a charter school proposed for Blaine County, has now filed its petition for approval with the Idaho Public Charter School Commission.
ILLINOIS
Embattled UNO Charter School Leader Steps Aside, Stops Short Of Resigning
WBEZ, IL, May 28, 2013
UNO announces it is shaking up its boards of directors and will adopt tougher oversight and procurement measures amid scandal.
CPS High School Graduation Rates Continue To Rise
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 29, 2013
A week after his hand-picked Board of Education approved the contentious closing of 49 elementary schools, Mayor Rahm Emanuel touted rising graduation rates as a sign that the district is on the right track.
MASSACHUSETTS
Message To Take From High Ratings? Teachers Can’t Do It All
Boston Globe, MA, May 29, 2013
I FIND it curious that the Globe reports as a problem that under the new state teacher evaluation system, 92 percent of Boston teachers are rated as proficient (“Ratings high for most Hub teachers,” Page A1, May 24).
Charter School Support Could Cost Connolly
Boston Herald, MA, May 29, 2013
City Councilor John R. Connolly’s support for charter schools — an issue that could boost his appeal to Boston parents as he runs for mayor — seems to have doomed his shot at netting the backing of the powerful Boston Teachers Union and its 3,500 Hub-voting teachers.
MICHIGAN
EAA Says Tests Show Student Academic Performance Improving
Detroit News, MI, May 29, 2013
The head of the beleaguered Education Achievement Authority touted test results released Tuesday as showing “phenomenal” progress in the state-run recovery district.
NEW YORK
The $20,000 Public School
Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2013
Admitting out-of-district students for a fee isn’t unusual in New York—the state sets the amount—but it typically goes on without public outreach by the school districts.
UFT, PBA Bosses Say Billions Owed In Back Pay For Union Members
New York Daily News, NY, May 29, 2013
The 94,000 members of his union have not had a raise in 4 1/2 years, he says, since the last teachers contract expired in 2009. A teacher earning $54,000 in 2009 might now be pulling down an additional $7,000 annually if the city had signed a new labor pact.
NORTH CAROLINA
White Flight Worries Durham School Leaders
Durham News, NC, May 28, 2013
The percentage of white students in the Durham Public Schools has dwindled to less than 20 percent, and school system leaders say it is a concern.
Vouchers Bill, Which Would Help Send Students To Private Schools, Passes Critical Test
News & Observer, NC, May 29, 2013
A plan to provide taxpayer money for low-income children to attend private schools cleared a significant hurdle Tuesday after hours of arguments about parental choice and the impact on public schools.
Voucher Plan A Bad Idea For North Carolina
Herald Sun, NC, May 28, 2013
The best argument supporters make about a voucher system proposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives is that it would improve public schools by creating competition.
Lawmakers’ Disastrous Path To An Inferior NC Education
News & Observer, NC, May 28, 2013
I am a proud North Carolinian – proud to be a product of public schools, proud to have spent a career in public education, proud to have served as state superintendent of Public Instruction for two terms and proud of the broad-based leadership that made our state’s public schools the envy of many others.
OHIO
Columbus School-Levy Bill Advances In Legislature
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 29, 2013
After hearing testimony from two Columbus school-board members and others, the Ohio House Education Committee voted 16-3 today to send a bill to the full House that would require a school district property-tax issue on the November ballot.
Fulfilling Its Obligation
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 29, 2013
Give the Reynoldsburg Board of Education credit for doing what a sponsor of a charter school is supposed to do: hold the school responsible for good academic performance and clean operation, and take action when it doesn’t measure up.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City School Board Votes To Close Charter School
The Oklahoman, OK, May 29, 2013
The Oklahoma City School Board voted 6-2 to close Marcus Garvey Leadership Charter School during a meeting that lasted into the night Tuesday.
PENNSYLVANIA
New Pa. Bills For City School Shortfall
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 29, 2013
As the Philadelphia School Reform Commission prepares to vote on a doomsday budget with massive cuts, a state senator Tuesday announced legislation that would funnel more funds to the schools by giving the city new powers to crack down on delinquent taxpayers.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Pickens County Youth Leadership Academy Prepares For Larger Class Next Year
Greenville News, SC, May 28, 2013
As the first year at the Youth Leadership Academy comes to a close, leaders are hard at work preparing for the charter school’s second year where they will welcome a larger sixth grade class in light of demand.
TENNESSEE
Study Highlights Chattanooga Region’s Education Gap
Times Free Press, TN, May 29, 2013
A child’s shot at success in Hamilton County Schools is largely based on where he gets on the bus each morning.
TEXAS
IDEA Public Schools Reach New Graduation Milestone
San Antonio Business Journal, TX, May 28, 2013
IDEA Public Schools celebrated the seventh-consecutive year whereby 100 percent of its senior class plan to attend college in the fall.
VIRGINIA
24 Virginia Schools Apply For Third-Grade Testing Waivers
Washington Post, DC, May 28, 2013
Two dozen Virginia elementary schools, including one in Alexandria, have applied for waivers from the state Board of Education to free schools from mandatory state testing requirements in science and social studies for third-graders so they have more time to develop reading skills.
WASHINGTON
Gates Foundation Funds Group To Help Charter Schools
Seattle Times, WA, May 29, 2013
In November, Washington became the 42nd state to allow the independent public schools. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has now pledged nearly $800,000 to start a charter-school incubator for help with planning.
WEST VIRGINIA
State Rolls Out Teacher Evaluation System
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, May 29, 2013
Educators across West Virginia are going to spend the summer preparing for a new method of evaluating teachers.
Failing Education Strategies Need To Be Abandoned
Journal News, WV, May 29, 2013
No Child Left Behind, the federal school reform law launched with much fanfare, proved to be an enormous flop. Now that West Virginia has been formally excused from complying with NCLB, the question is whether its state-engineered replacement will be any better.
WISCONSIN
School Voucher Talks ‘At An Impasse’ With Committee Set To Vote
Green Bay Press-Gazette, WI, May 28, 2013
Green Bay School District officials remain hopeful an expansion of the private school voucher program to Green Bay will be removed from state budget talks.
ONLINE LEARNING
Florida Virtual School: Terrorism Stems From ‘Low Self-Esteem’
Washington Times, DC, May 28, 2013
A Florida virtual school that offers classes on Christianity and Islam is under fire for claiming that one reason that terrorists attack is due to low self-esteem — and that fundamentalist Christians are akin to fundamentalist Muslims in that respect.
Blended Learning Academy To Start Next School Year At East Hall
Gainesville Times, GA, May 29, 2013
Around 60 students will be the introductory class to what is currently being described as a blended learning academy, beginning next school year at East Hall High School.
Purcell’s New Method Of Teaching Math
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, May 28, 2013
Purcell Marian High in East Walnut Hills plans to try it in a big way next year. It will be one of the few traditional high schools in Greater Cincinnati mandating that every math class – from algebra to calculus – become a blended-learning class.
Technology And The Classroom: Girls Face Greater Challenges Balancing Digital Learning With Social Lives
Mercury News, CA, May 28, 2013
It might be tolerable if online drama only played out after school. Now, the already complex dynamics of girls’ friendships are even more complicated by increased technology in the classroom.