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
On standardized tests, 17-year-old students are doing no better than they did decades ago
Washington Post, June 27, 2013
Students preparing to leave high school are faring no better in reading or math than their peers four decades ago, the government said Thursday. Officials attributed the bleak finding on more lower-performing students staying in school rather than dropping out.
U.S. education gap narrows between whites and minorities: report
Reuters, June 27, 2013
The achievement gap between white and minority children has narrowed considerably in recent decades, as black and Hispanic students have posted strong gains on math and reading tests, according to a new report out Thursday.
Inequality and Education and the Need for Community
Opinion
Huffington Post, June 27, 2013
As we Race to the Top and offer states “flexibility” on NCLB, evidence continues to mount that our efforts to improve educational outcomes are focused on the wrong problem.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Popularity of charter schools keeps waitlists long
Long Beach Press-Telegram, June 27, 2013
There are 6,000 charter schools nationwide, more than 1,000 in California and upwards of 250 in Los Angeles. It turns out, that’s not enough.
Antonio Villaraigosa leaves his mark on L.A. schools
Los Angeles Times, June 27, 2013
The mayor vowed to turn the district into an incubator of education reform. In his two terms, during which his nonprofit took over more than a dozen campuses, he’s had mixed results.
COLORADO
Teacher turnover down from 2012
Our Colorado News, June 27, 2013
A total of 380 teachers, or about 11.7 percent, of Douglas County teachers are leaving the school district this year. That figure is down from the 2012 turnover rate of 13.26 percent recorded by the Colorado Department of Education.
CONNECTICUT
State Board of Education votes to increase available charter seats by 567
Connecticut Ed News, June 27, 2013
Almost 600 more seats in Connecticut charter schools have been made available for the next school year, after the State Board of Education granted charter operators requests during a Wednesday special meeting.
DELAWARE
Delaware’s low-income private school students get chance at scholarships
News Journal, June 28, 2013
A former charter school leader is raising money for scholarships to pay private school tuition for low-income students.
FLORIDA
Scott to teachers: Pressure is going to get worse
Florida Current, June 28, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott and Education Commissioner Tony Bennett engaged Florida’s teachers of the year Thursday in a roundtable discussion of education philosophies. Most of the talk focused on the transition to Common Core standards and the assessments that will be used to measure student and teacher performance.
‘Devastating’ dual enrollment change could cost $60M
Bradenton Herald, June 28, 2013
While the Manatee County school district struggles to reorganize its finances, new state legislation could cost the district as much as $500,000 to keep its popular dual enrollment program afloat.
IDAHO
Rely on insta-teachers? Idahoans say no thanks
Opinion
Coeur d’Alene Press, June 28, 2013
The Idaho State Board of Education continues to make decisions toward privatizing Idaho’s public schools. In a move by the board on June 20, the Teach For America (TFA) program was, according to their Facebook post, “approved as a state sanctioned vehicle for the preparation of teachers in Idaho.”
MASSACHUSETTS
Charters on edge of ed reform
Opinion
News Telegram, June 28, 2013
When Massachusetts’ landmark Education Reform Act was signed into law 20 years ago, attention was mainly focused on the massive commitment of state resources and the tough new accountability measures. The creation of charter public schools might have seemed almost an afterthought.
Boston’s education mayor?
Opinion
Boston Globe, June 28, 2013
Education may emerge as the central issue in the Boston mayor’s race, and not simply because the school system is one of a handful of big-city districts across the country under mayoral control.
MICHIGAN
More public-private partnerships are needed in Michigan schools
Opinion
Detroit News, June 27, 2013
The use of public-private partnerships for the cost-effective delivery of public goods and services is not new in Michigan. Michigan uses private entities to provide services for prisons, food service, road maintenance, health care and education. As government seeks to deliver services in a more efficient and cost-effective manner, we will see a growing use of private management with a public payer system.
MISSOURI
Missouri charter schools outperform national average
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 28, 2013
A national study of charter school performance shows that reading growth at Missouri’s charter schools has slid since 2009, but the schools’ academic performance overall is outpacing the national average.
NEVADA
Delta Academy’s charter school status renewed
Las Vegas Review- Journal, June 28, 2013
Delta Academy, a Las Vegas charter school for students with behavioral, emotional and social challenges, will remain open for at least six more years despite posting poor student performance.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NCLB waived Now about that innovation
Editorial
Union Leader, June 27, 2013
New Hampshire finally has a federal waiver that allows the state to wriggle out from under the regulations of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Now that state officials have seen how constricting and counter-productive inflexible, bureaucratic dictates can be, New Hampshire’s approach to education reform should be clear.
Board of Education debates salaries for school leaders
Nashua Telegraph, June 28, 2013
What started with a group of motions to hire new school administrators turned into a long debate among Board of Education members Wednesday over the rate of pay the district offers its school leaders.
NEW YORK
Pro-Charter Group Gets New Chief
Wall Street Journal, June 28, 2013
StudentsFirstNY, a pro-charter school organization that launched with a bang a year ago and then stalled, has signaled it is ready to jump back into New York City politics, hiring the top lieutenant of a polarizing charter chain.
Hyde Leadership Charter School
MYFOXNY, June 27, 2013
On Saturday, the school will graduate its first class and 94 percent of the seniors here will be getting their diplomas.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma Board of Education identifies bottom schools
The Oklahoman, June 28, 2013
Oklahoma education officials announced the worst schools in the state during a state Board of Education meeting Thursday. The schools are identified for a long-term partnership with the state Education Department to help turn things around.
PENNSYLVANIA
SRC prepares for new school year amid uncertainty
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 28, 2013
Still facing uncertainty about whether Harrisburg will help the Philadelphia School District fill a $304 million shortfall by July 1, the School Reform Commission took steps Thursday morning to get ready for the new fiscal year.
Pocono Mountain Charter School is coming around, says custodian
Pocono Record, June 28, 2013
Pocono Mountain Charter School students and teachers are thriving despite controversies, according to former East Stroudsburg Area School District Superintendent Kenneth Koberlein.
SOUTH CAROLINA
SC governor’s veto pen has hit education hardest
The State, June 28, 2013
Of the nearly 200 budget vetoes Gov. Nikki Haley has issued during her three years as governor, no government service has been struck more than public education.
TENNESSEE
TCAP scores rise once again, with poor students closing the gap
The Tennessean, June 28, 2013
More than half of Tennessee’s third- through eighth-grade students are performing on grade level for the first time since 2010, state officials said Thursday, and low-income students are closing the gap with their more affluent peers.
UTAH
Utah’s teachers do have a choice
Deseret News, June 28, 2013
This week has been dubbed National Employee Freedom Week, a critical national effort to inform employees of the freedom they have regarding opting out of union membership and making the decision about whether union membership is right for them.
VIRGINIA
Another charter
Editorial
Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 28, 2013
As the Patrick Henry School for Science and the Arts moves beyond its initial growing pains to its adolescence, another charter school has moved from conception to gestation. A group called the Richmond Urban Collective has proposed a college-prep academy, preferably for the city’s East End.
WISCONSIN
Veto hiding voucher school records
Opinion
Superior Telegram, June 28, 2013
So much bad was packed into the 2013-15 budget headed to Gov. Scott Walker’s desk that we should start over. From under-funding public schools to expanding the use of taxpayer dollars to fund unaccountable and underperforming private schools, the budget is just full of ideologically driven legislation that is, fiscally irresponsible and educationally unproven.
ONLINE LEARNING
Catching on at last
The Economist
June 28, 2013
The director of North Kenwood-Oakland school says this sort of teaching, blending software with human intervention, helps her pupils learn faster.
Cyber charter school expands into Schuylkill County
Republican Herald, June 28, 2013
A cyber charter school is expanding into eastern Schuylkill County with the purchase of a $1 million facility in West Penn Township.
Scott signs digital learning bill
Florida Current, June 27, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott Thursday signed into a law a bill opening the Florida market of on-line classes to out-of-state digital learning companies. Supporters brushed aside arguments in debate that HB 7029 would cost Florida teaching jobs and focused on the increased accountability provisions in the proposal.
Former Creswell returns as virtual high school in fall
The Advocate, June 27, 2013
Continual low test scores led to the closure of Creswell Elementary last month; however, the school will reopen in August as the site of a virtual high school and a second-chance program for over-aged fifth-graders.
Arizona Virtual Academy: Tuition-free, online public school serving K through 12
ABC15, June 27, 2013
When Amy Rodabaugh’s youngest son, Evan, was in kindergarten and started having severe allergy problems at school, Amy knew something needed to be done. His allergies were so severe, in fact, Evan would often experience nose bleeds and difficulty breathing. After extensive testing, doctors found Evan was allergic to a bacterium prevalent in most brick and mortar schools.