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
Rand Paul wants more school choice for poor, minority students
Washington Post, July 29, 2013
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wants children — especially minority and poor children — to have more choices in education.
Senators’ fact-finding mission on charter schools zeroes in on pros not cons
Nashville City Paper, July 29, 2013
U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Rand Paul’s fact-finding mission to Nashville to learn about the progress of Tennessee charters focused on the pros of the school movement and left out some of the cons.
Charter schools are rebuilding the walls of segregation
Opinion
Patriot News, July 30, 2013
Charter schools are seen by many parents, policymakers and educators as the panacea in public education. Each year, these campuses are increasing in number nationwide.
Common Core supporters say defections are no big deal
Washington Post, July 29, 2013
As lawmakers in Florida and Michigan debate whether to pull out from the new Common Core academic standards, states that have been writing the standards and related exams downplayed the defections as no big deal.
Turning public schools into forts
Commentary
Washington Times, July 29, 2013
Even so, promises of profit, safety and efficiency aside, it doesn’t bode well for our nation’s youth, who are being raised in quasi-prisonlike school environments, where they are treated as if they have no rights and are taught even less about the Constitution.
Hold states accountable on schools
Opinion
Politico, July 29, 2013
While I respect Thomas B. Fordham Institute President Chester Finn and Executive Vice President Michael Petrilli for their decades of work in education reform, in their recent article, “Education Reform a Test for GOP,” they grade the Republican Party on an overly generous curve. In neglecting the crucial role of the federal government as a disruptive force for school improvement, the authors aren’t just reciting conservative talking points – they’re ignoring extensive evidence to the contrary.
FROM THE STATES
ARIZONA
In Arizona, testing costs jump 50 percent under Common Core
Daily Caller, July 30, 2013
The standardized tests required under Common Core, the new federal education guidelines, will increase the state of Arizona’s test-related costs by 50 percent, according to a new report.
CALIFORNIA
Parent-trigger school in High Desert opens its doors
San Bernardino Sun, July 29, 2013
Two weeks ago, Desert Trails was a public elementary school “” Desert Trails Elementary School, as the sign outside still reads. But on Monday, when the school reopened as a charter school, it was more than just the first day of the 2013-14 school year: It was an historic moment; the first time California’s 2010 parent-trigger law has been successfully used to change the direction of a failing public school.
L.A. County literacy initiative reaches juvenile offenders
Los Angeles Times, July 30, 2013
The feel-good assembly was Los Angeles County’s latest initiative to improve the literacy skills of its juvenile offenders — in this case, teenagers convicted of robbery, assault, rape and other crimes who are serving time at Camp Afflerbaugh probation camp.
COLORADO
Charter group recognizes school district
Our Colorado News, July 29, 2013
The Colorado League of Charter Schools recently recognized the Douglas County School District for its support of charter schools, awarding it the organization’s Pioneer Award.
CONNECTICUT
School district to consider possibility of new magnet programs
CT Post, July 29, 2013
School officials will present at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting a preliminary proposal to open new magnet programs at Parkway School and North Street School to address the racial imbalance and building capacity issues facing the town’s 11 elementary schools.
IDAHO
Terry Ryan is Idaho Charter School Network president
Idaho Business Review, July 29, 2013
The Idaho Charter School Network has named Terry Ryan president. Ryan previously worked as vice president for Ohio Programs and Policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
INDIANA
GOP donor’s school grade changed
Journal Gazette, July 30, 2013
Former Indiana and current Florida schools chief Tony Bennett built his national star by promising to hold “failing” schools accountable. But when it appeared an Indianapolis charter school run by a prominent Republican donor might receive a poor grade, Bennett’s education team frantically overhauled his signature “A-F” school grading system to improve the school’s marks.
Why Tony Bennett rigged school accountability
Editorial
Journal Gazette, July 30, 2013
Everyone wondered what took the Indiana Department of Education so long to report its A-to-F grades — a cornerstone of the state’s school accountability push during former Superintendent Tony Bennett’s term.
LOUISIANA
Course Choice online voucher program’s waiting list continues to grow
Times Picayune, July 30, 2013
The waitlist for Louisiana’s Course Choice mini-school voucher program continues to grow, with more than 1,000 students in line to take online classes at public expense.
MAINE
Baxter school criticized for luncheon with political group
Portland Press Herald, July 30, 2013
But charter school officials deny seeking funds from the conservative Maine Heritage Policy Center
MASSACHUSETTS
Arroyo releases plan to close achievement gap in Boston Public Schools
Boston Globe Blog, July 29, 2013
City Councilor Felix G. Arroyo, one of twelve candidates running to become the next mayor of Boston, today released a plan aimed at working to close the academic achievement gap between students of different races and different economic backgrounds in the city’s public schools.
MISSOURI
Mehlville’s shortage of space for school transfers is questioned
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 30, 2013
Mehlville schools have room for about 150 students wishing to transfer from the troubled Riverview Gardens School District — and no more, Superintendent Eric Knost has said time and again.
Judge chastises MO education agency, keeps charter school open
KCTV, July 29, 2013
Cole County Judge Daniel Green said the Missouri Board of Education had violated the state’s open-meetings law and abused its power in rejecting the school’s efforts to renew its charter.
NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina Ends Teacher Tenure
Stateline, July 29, 2013
North Carolina has become the latest state to overhaul its teacher tenure rules, directing school administrators to offer four-year contracts to top performers but one- or two-year contracts to everybody else.
Frustration brings teachers to Raleigh by the thousands
Greensboro News & Record, July 29, 2013
Thousands of North Carolina teachers marched on the state capitol Monday, saying they’ve had enough of the frozen salaries, budget cuts and Republican policy shifts that are wrecking public education.
OHIO
Suiting up kids learning at home
Chillicothe Gazette, July 30, 2013
School districts such as Coshocton City Schools will immediately have to comply with new policies regarding home-schooled children who want to participate in public school activities.
OKLAHOMA
School testing settlement shows issue was taken seriously
Editorial
The Oklahoman, July 30, 2013
STATE schools Superintendent Janet Barresi and Department of Education staff have negotiated a $1.2 million settlement with CTB/McGraw-Hill in response to that vendor’s failures, which disrupted standardized testing at schools this spring.
PENNSYLVANIA
Parents push back on new school report card
Philadelphia Daily News, July 30, 2013
District officials got more than they bargained for during a meeting about a proposed new school report card last night when parents and teachers unleashed their frustrations about the district’s status.
Career Connections school appeal to be heard today
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 30, 2013
An appeal by Career Connections Charter School in Lawrenceville to the State Charter Appeal Board will be heard today in Harrisburg, but appeals filed by two other local charter organizations are not on the agenda.
TENNESSEE
Tennessee schools struggle to close TCAP gaps
The Tennessean, July 30, 2013
Middle Tennessee school districts, like their peers across the state, are still struggling to close academic achievement gaps between groups of children, especially the gap between students with disabilities and those without, according to state test results.
More autonomy could help broken schools improve
Editorial
Commercial Appeal, July 28, 2013
The Achievement School District, created by the state of Tennessee to turn around its worst public schools in five years, recently got its first-year grades.
TEXAS
New charter school to focus on health sciences
Midland Reporter-Telegram, July 30, 2013
A new charter high school meant to prepare students for careers in the health science field will open in Midland for the 2014-15 school year.
Texas faces long odds in getting test exemption for top achievers
Dallas Morning News, July 29, 2013
A plan to reduce testing for higher-performing elementary and middle school students was one of the feel-good bills of the 2013 legislative session. But several experts believe it will never see the light of day in Texas schools.
VERMONT
New law allows high schoolers to take one free college course
Bennington Banner, July 30, 2013
Students in the Green Mountain State are being afforded added opportunities for a postsecondary education courtesy of new legislation known as the “flexible pathways” bill.
VIRGINIA
Norfolk officials will offer charter school details
The Virginian-Pilot, July 30, 2013
Officials will be stopping by schools in early August to answer questions and offer details on Superintendent Samuel King’s proposal to convert them into charters.
WISCONSIN
Local schools scramble to meet voucher application deadline
Sheboygan Press, July 29, 2013
Starting Thursday, parents can apply for the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program and local schools are scrambling to meet the deadline.
Look closely at school reform initiative
Opinion
Journal Sentinel, July 30, 2013
There’s talk of a new education “reform” initiative directed at Milwaukee Public Schools, based on the experience of what’s been done in New Orleans. We are being told it’s a miracle — a claim we should take with a large dose of skepticism.
ONLINE LEARNING
Metro Nashville’s virtual school becomes first of its kind in TN
The Tennessean, July 30, 2013
As the first Tennessee school district to offer public virtual school, Metro Nashville is going a step further by having the first virtual school to adopt the academy model, officials said Monday.
Flexibility brings success in WCSD online school
Daily Sparks Tribune, July 28, 2013
Ashlyn and Jessa Wright enjoy cramming their schedules full of activities, lessons and vacations throughout the year, partly because they can take their education with them. Missing school days is no longer a worry for the two Sparks residents.
Online K-12 Classes Grow in Nevada
KTVN, July 29, 2013
With back-to-school coming up, you may want to consider a free virtual K through 12 education. It’s been working for 10th grader Nicholas Hansen in Sparks.