Daily Headlines for July 1, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
At Retooled Summer Schools, Creativity, Not Just Catch-Up
New York Times, July 1, 2013
According to the National Summer Learning Association, a nonprofit group, 25 of the country’s largest school districts — including Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati; Oakland, Calif.; Pittsburgh; and Providence, R.I. — have developed summer school programs that move beyond the traditional remedial model.
City to appeal Vallas bombshell
CT Post, June 30, 2013
The city attorney’s office confirmed Saturday that there will be a swift appeal to Friday’s decision by state Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis to remove School Superintendent Paul Vallas because he is not qualified for the job.
Wendy Lecker: The hidden costs of charter schools
Opinion
Stamford Advocate, June 28, 3013
The verdict is in, and it is the same as four years ago. In updating its 2009 national study on charter schools, Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) reaches the same conclusion it did in its previous study: The vast majority of charter schools in the United States are no better than public schools.
Parents Revolt Against Failing Schools
Stateline, July 1, 2013
Versions of parent trigger laws have been proposed in at least 25 states and adopted by seven, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In real life, parent triggers have been attempted only a handful of times.
Stop the rush to the Common Core
Opinion
New York Daily News, July 1, 2013
The Common Core — effectively national math and English curriculum standards coming soon to a school near you — is supposed to be a new, higher bar that will take the United States from the academic doldrums to international dominance.
Future of Catholic Schools
Letter
New York Times, June 30, 2013
“Concern for Minorities as Catholic Schools Close” (news article, June 21) misses the mark in one important regard. Many of us who work in Catholic schools have more hope than despair, and we have reason to believe that the future of Catholic schools in urban communities looks less like hospice or retrenchment and more like transformation and urban renewal.
STATE COVERAGE
ARIZONA
Districts convert schools to charters for more money
Arizona Republic, June 30, 2013
Amid run-of-the-mill agenda items recognizing volunteers and approving playground renovations, the Paradise Valley Unified School District governing board last month quietly made a significant change: It converted one-third of its elementary schools to charter schools.
CALIFORNIA
At Crenshaw High, those left behind are skeptical of changes
Los Angeles Times, July 1, 2013
An overhaul meant to address poor achievement required teachers to reapply for their jobs. Opponents say officials wanted to create a more compliant faculty.
Charter schools, district failing at communications
Daily Democrat, June 30, 2013
An improved need for communication between Yolo County’s charter schools and those school boards that authorize them is needed, according to a study by the grand jury.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. to overhaul ninth grade, separating out students who failed
Washington Post, June 30, 2013
D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson plans to overhaul the city’s approach to ninth-grade education, separating out students who have already failed the first year of high school from impressionable incoming freshmen.
D.C. charter school leader wins national recognition
Washington Post, July 1, 2013
Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School opened in 1998 with 35 students in a D.C. church basement. Fifteen years later, it has become one of the city’s most sought-after and diverse charter schools, offering French- and Spanish-language immersion programs to 350 students in preschool through sixth grade.
Prince George’s approves charter school contract
Washington Post, June 28, 2013
The Prince George’s County Board of Education approved a contract Thursday night with a new charter school in Hyattsville after several members raised concerns about how students were selected for the program.
FLORIDA
New standards don’t make the grade
Editorial
Miami Herald, June 30, 2013
Too many students are being set up to think they are failures by the very people who say they are pushing students to excel. Their teachers will see their hard work in front of the class undercut. And parents will think, wrongly, that their children are attending substandard schools.
Lakeland’s Achievement Academy Expansion Could Double Enrollment
The Ledger, June 30, 2013
The Lakeland-based charter school serves youngsters ages 6 and younger who have a variety of learning and developmental disabilities, and it came close to expansion with the purchase in 2007 of 16 acres adjoining County Road 540A in the vicinity of George Jenkins High School.
GEORGIA
Cheating Case is Set to Proceed in Atlanta
Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2013
The conspiracy case stemming from one of the largest school-cheating scandals in U.S. history can go forward, a Georgia judge has ruled, dismissing defense efforts to get charges against 35 former educators thrown out or reduced.
INDIANA
Ball State defends spending on charter school oversight
NW Times, June 29, 2013
A state legislator from Gary questions whether Ball State University has fully used the money it receives to support charter schools for the funds’ intended purpose.
School voucher supporters praise program expansion that starts Monday
Evansville Courier & Press, June 29, 2013
Indiana’s school voucher program has taken a turn in the right direction, according to Lindsey Brown, executive director of School Choice Indiana.
LOUISIANA
Problems could have been caught
Editorial
Monroe News Star, July 1, 2013
When the state established the school voucher program that pays for students in failing schools to transfer to schools their parents choose, the state agreed to pay the same tuition at the new schools that nonvoucher students pay.
MAINE
Portland Adult Ed merits permanent home
Editorial
Portland Press Herald, July 1, 2013
This important link in our public education system should have the central facility it needs.
MASSACHUSETTS
20 years later — Charter public schools closing the achievement gap and effecting reform at district level
Opinion
South Coast Today, July 1, 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.
High school student decline a strain for Boston
Boston Globe, July 1, 2013
Boston public high school enrollment is on the slide, leaving nearly 3,000 seats empty and raising questions about possible school closures.
MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi leaders must name charter board members
Sun Herald, June 29, 2013
With the Monday effective date for Mississippi’s expanded charter school law, the next step is to nominate seven members of the Charter School Authorizing Board.
MISSOURI
In St. Louis, teachers union plays role in getting rid of bad teachers
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 30, 2013
Critics of tenure say it creates an untouchable class of teachers who can become an impediment to improving public schools.
NEW JERSEY
Amended Urban Hope Act Likely to Clear Way for Renaissance Schools in Camden
New Jersey Spotlight, July 1, 2013
Trimmed down to win needed votes, the bill to amend the controversial Urban Hope Act and open the way for a new breed of charter schools ended up passing with little drama in the state Legislature last week.
NEW MEXICO
PS misses chance to lead on teacher evals
Editorial
Albuquerque Journal, July 1, 2013
Albuquerque Public Schools is not only the largest district in the state; it is one of the largest districts in the nation. As such, it should be a leader in education reform, setting a standard for others to follow.
NEW YORK
New Charter High School Will Be Closed to Transfer Students
City Limits, July 1, 2013
The DOE is planting seeds for charters to expand in city schools even after Mayor Bloomberg leaves office. But some of the new resources will only be open to those who won charter lotteries in the early grades.
Waiting Lists for NYC Charter Schools Largest in Nation
Epoch Times, June 30, 2013
New York City has the longest wait list for charter schools in the nation, according to a new survey. In their annual assessment of wait lists for charter schools in the United States, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) found that there are far more kids trying to get access to a specialized school in New York City than any other city.
Only fraction of city schools producing bulk of students ready for college: report
New York Daily News, June 30, 2013
A report by the United Federation of Teachers shows that only 10% of city schools produce nearly half of the graduates considered ready for college.
NORTH CAROLINA
One charter board
Opinion
News & Observer, July 1, 2013
Sure, it’s hard to believe. In this no-holds-barred session of the General Assembly, with Republicans laying waste to Democratic programs and barreling on with curbs to regulation and cuts in education, compromise has seemed to be a word wiped from the GOP dictionary.
OHIO
Urban students flourish in Closing the Achievement Gap program
Akron Beacon Journal, June 28, 2013
Just inside the eastern edge of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a group of Akron students study the biotic integrity of Haskell Run, which flows west into the Cuyahoga River.
Ohio budget rewards low-performing charter schools
Akron Beacon Journal, June 29, 2013
The trend in Ohio has been to change school funding and teacher work rules to reward improved academic performance. That’s not the case for privately run charter schools in the $62 billion, two-year state budget passed last week.
Criticism abounds in Ohio charter school funding
Cincinnati Enquirer, June 29, 2013
Ohio’s charter schools are, in many ways, big winners in Ohio’s proposed biennial budget: The state’s charter schools will receive more money per-student than most traditional schools – in many cases, thousands of dollars more.
PENNSYLVANIA
Rescue plan for Phila. schools: Many ifs, but…
Philadelphia Inquirer, July 1, 2013
The $140 million package Gov. Corbett presented Sunday to rescue Philadelphia’s cash-strapped public schools has tentative written all over it.
KIPP school suppporters wonder about charter proposal
Philadelphia Daily News, June 30, 2013
With the school year over and Alexander Wilson Elementary officially closed, the question now is how long the building will sit empty.
RHODE ISLAND
4 new R.I. charter schools proposed for fall 2014
Providence Journal, July 1, 2013
Four new charter schools are in the pipeline, including two schools proposed by Providence school leaders, a Chinese immersion program, and a science and engineering-themed school in Newport.
TENNESSEE
Creating a world-class school system still is possible if the will is there
Editorial
Commercial Appeal, June 30, 2013
The face of public education in Memphis and Shelby County officially changes Monday when Memphis City Schools goes out of business and the new Shelby County unified school district takes over.
VIRGINIA
Plan for Norfolk charter schools at full throttle
The Virginian-Pilot, June 30, 2013
The School Board in two weeks is planning to vote on an ambitious plan to convert more than a fifth of its schools into charter schools.
WASHINGTON
Districts split over charter schools
Seattle Times, June 30, 2013
The three largest school districts in the state are taking different approaches on whether or not to authorize charter schools, approved by state voters in November.
ONLINE LEARNING
Decision to halt state’s first online charter schools draws criticism from parents, praise from polls
Star-Ledger, June 30, 2013
Lorna Bryant hoped to lead one of the only public schools in the state where elite young athletes, students with severe medical disabilities and victims of bullying could learn together in a nontraditional classroom — one where all the instruction takes place online.
Virtual school board treading lightly with K12
The Recorder, June 29, 2013
With Greenfield’s virtual school under new leadership come Monday, a five-member board of trustees will call the shots instead of the Greenfield School Committee. So, what does that mean for its future with for-profit education provider K12?
District to launch new virtual course options
Cherokee Tribune, June 28, 2013
Middle and high school students in Cherokee County schools will soon have more online credit options.