Daily Headlines for September 25, 2013
Click here for Newswire, 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
Charter school figures down in Kansas
The Hutchinson News, KS, September 23, 2013
Since 2010, the number of charter schools in Kansas has declined by two-thirds, according to new figures from the state Department of Education.
Feds, Louisiana remain at odds over vouchers
Associated Press, September 24, 2013
The Justice Department touted what it called a “breakthrough” Tuesday in a dispute with Louisiana over its private school tuition voucher program, but Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal said no resolution has been reached, calling the department’s announcement a “PR stunt.”
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
MPUSD doubts seriousness of petition for new charter school
The Herald, CA, September 24, 2013
Another charter petition bites the dust. Monterey Peninsula Unified School District trustees have denied a request to approve the California Classical Language Academy Charter School, one of three charter petitions the district is scheduled to consider this year.
CONNECTICUT
Closing the achievement gap
Opinion, Journal Inquirer, CT, September 24, 2013
The Connecticut Council for Education Reform recently released its 2013 Policy Progress Report, which introduces a new rubric to measure Connecticut’s progress in passing and implementing education reforms at the state level. These reforms are designed to close Connecticut’s widest-in-the-nation achievement gap.
COLORADO
The real debate in Denver Public Schools election
Editorial, Denver Post, CO, September 24, 2013
Barbara O’Brien has spent many years working on behalf of Colorado children, so it’s a bit jarring to hear someone claim that she is “too extreme” to serve on the Denver Public Schools board.
FLORIDA
Common chaos
Editorial, News-Herald, FL, September 25, 2013
The one certainty about Florida public education is the ongoing uncertainty about its accountability standards.
Edgewater charter school rejected
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL, September 24, 2013
Last minute changes to plans for an Edgewater charter school weren’t enough to keep the Volusia County School Board from rejecting the proposal Tuesday.
Proposed Polk Maritime Charter School Gets Panel’s OK
The Ledger, FL, September 24, 2013
The proposed Polk Maritime Academy was the only one of four charter applicants received favorably by the Polk County School District’s Charter Review Committee, School Board members were told Tuesday.
Standard contract for charter schools on schedule
Florida Current, FL, September 24, 2013
Leaders of a Florida House education committee said Tuesday they expect to finalize a standard contract for school districts and charter schools during the 2014 legislative session. This spring, lawmakers passed HB 7009, which among other things required the Department of Education to proposed guidelines and language for such contracts by Nov. 1.
GEORGIA
Charter School Approvals On The Rise in GA.
GPB News, GA, September 24, 2013
Local boards of education across Georgia have approved about 30 percent of the charter school applications they’ve received so far this school year. That’s about 5 percent higher than last year.
IDAHO
Ohio ed reform advocate new charter network head
Idaho Press-Tribune, ID, September 25, 2013
Terry Ryan owns clear opinions on education and he’s not afraid to share them. He regularly wrote guest opinions and was frequently quoted in national newspapers, and in papers in his former home state of Ohio.
ILLINOIS
CPS figures show enrollment down
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 25, 2013
Enrollment figures released by Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday show an overall decline from last year despite growth in the number of students at charter schools.
IOWA
Many Iowa schools not meeting federal standards
Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, IA, September 24, 2013
More than half of Iowa’s schools did not meet educational targets set by the No Child Left Behind Law during the latest academic year, according to a report released Tuesday.
LOUISIANA
Meeting on future of failing schools draws lackluster crowd
Shreveport Times, LA, September 25, 2013
Even amid the threat of school closures, consolidations or even a possible state takeover, a community meeting designed to let residents have a say in what happens to five Caddo schools drew a disappointing crowd of less than 100.
MARYLAND
State school board won’t back off MSAs
Baltimore Sun Blog, MD, September 24, 2013
Maryland’s state Board of Education said Tuesday that state testing will go forward as planned, despite calls from school district superintendents and the teachers union for a one-year moratorium.
Success of Obama’s education initiative in Maryland unclear
Maryland Independent, MD, September 25, 2013
The verdict on whether or not the federal government’s unprecedented $250 million grant to Maryland for education reform is working depends on whom you ask.
MICHIGAN
Michigan Democrats’ school reform proposal draws strong response from Republican spokesmen
Lansing Journal, MI, September 24, 2013
proposal that Democrats in the Michigan House say would improve transparency in charter and virtual school operations, determine the exact cost of public education and create new “action teams” to address issues in struggling schools has drawn a pointed response from spokesmen for Republican leaders.
MISSOURI
Student transfers brought new focus on quality in schools, Nicastro says
St. Louis Beacon, MO, September 24, 2013
The transfer of students from Normandy and Riverview Gardens to accredited school districts has forced a lot of dislocation and financial stress, but panelists at an education forum said Tuesday it has also prompted people to look at students in a new way.
NEVADA
Despite facility needs, teachers get $27.4 million in raises
Editorial, Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, September 25, 2013
Labor peace won’t come cheap for the Clark County School District. On Thursday, the School Board will vote on a one-year contract for teachers that provides a variety of pay raises at a net cost to the public of $27.4 million for the 2013-14 school year.
NEW YORK
De Blasio vs. the 99 Percent
Editorial, New York Post, NY, September 24, 2013
In just a few days, the “other” New York that Bill de Blasio says he represents — the poor and powerless — will march across the Brooklyn Bridge to raise their voices for a better future for their children. When they do, they will find de Blasio standing among the powers working against them.
OHIO
State report cards show: Charter schools received many more Ds and Fs than good grades
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, September 24, 2013
Charter schools in Ohio performed far worse than traditional districts on the most recent state report cards.
Teachers union can’t back Columbus school-board incumbents without pact
Columbus Dispatch, OH, September 25, 2013
The Columbus teachers union has put its stamp of approval on two school-board candidates in a three-seat race. Neither one is an incumbent.
PENNSYLVANIA
Corbett budget czar’s hint that SRC could tax
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 25, 2013
Charles Zogby said what?! Zogby, Gov. Corbett’s budget secretary, said he wasn’t really expecting to make news when he told a reporter this week that there was talk in Harrisburg of giving taxing authority to the unelected members of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission.
Education Failure in Philadelphia
Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal, September 25, 2013
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has extended a lifeline to Philadelphia’s hemorrhaging schools attached to a requirement for modest education and fiscal reforms. No thanks, says the teachers union. Herewith a parable of education decline.
New Hope, York City make arguments
York Daily Record, PA, September 24, 2013
Attorneys for the York City School District and New Hope Academy Charter School argued their cases for and against the charter school’s renewal Tuesday before the state charter appeal board.
Souderton Charter School Collaborative named a 2013 Blue Ribbon School
Lansdale Reporter, PA, September 24, 2013
Souderton Charter School Collaborative, a public school established in 2000 as part of the Souderton Area School District, has been named a 2013 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of academic excellence.
State upholds revoking charter of Career Connections Charter High School
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, September 25, 2013
State education officials on Tuesday voted to uphold a decision by the Pittsburgh school board to revoke the charter for the Career Connections Charter High School in Lawrenceville.
RHODE ISLAND
Cumberland schools ‘vastly better’ than before
Opinion, Valley Breeze, RI, September 24, 2013
In his weekly editorial in The Valley Breeze (“Charter schools’ successes bolstered by caring parents,” 9/17/13) Tom Ward guessed that he might anger some people in our community by suggesting that the “better parents” in town would exclusively send their children to Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy (BVP) at some point in the near future.
WASHINGTON
North End school plan draws a crowd
Seattle Times, WA, September 24, 2013
More than 100 parents and community members packed the commons area of Nathan Hale High School Tuesday evening to share concerns about the Seattle school district’s proposal to ease overcrowding north of the Ship Cana.
Rigorous process ahead for charter schools
Editorial, Seattle Times, WA, September 25, 2013
Washington’s Charter School Commission is taking applications to open charter schools statewide. Applicants should be prepared for a rigorous process.
WEST VIRGINIA
Teachers union launches “competitive pay” campaign
Martinsburg Journal, WV, September 25, 2013
A Martinsburg native and first-year teacher, Dutko knows she could earn more teaching in a neighboring state but isn’t willing to do that – at least not yet.
Teacher union officials need to do the math
Editorial, Charleston Daily Mail, WV, September 25, 2012
OFFICIALS at the West Virginia Education Association, one of two competing teacher unions in the state, launched their annual drive for pay raises.
ONLINE LEARNING
Lakewood launches virtual school
Sentinel Standard, MI, September 24, 2013
2013-2014 school year is the inaugural year for the Lakewood Virtual High School, which is run through Lakewood Public Schools using provided content through Apex Learning.