Daily Headlines for October 11, 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
Vouchers validated by most studies
Editorial, Orange County Register, CA, October 11, 2013
Though U.S. taxpayers spend billions of dollars to help families pay tuition to private colleges, hardly anyone questions whether the “investment” yields academic gains. Yet the public education establishment continues to question the efficacy of school vouchers for K-12 students. And some, if not most, of the news reporting we read on vouchers raise the same question.
STATE COVERAGE
ALABAMA
Parents defend private school tax credits
Tuscaloosa News, AL, October 11, 2013
A Mobile mom trying to protect Alabama’s private school tax credits said the money is allowing her sixth-grade son to avoid a failing public school and allowing her to make a choice that would have been unaffordable.
CALIFORNIA
Fixing Public Schools for Everyone
National Journal, October 10, 2013
Learning Without Limits would become a partner charter school, maintaining its ties to the district but gaining more autonomy over staffing. “You don’t just get to make a decision on my child’s future without my consent,” Cash says of the school district.
COLORADO
Colorado’s biggest teachers’ union on the defensive after breaking agreement not to sue the state
Daily Caller, DC, October 10, 2013
Colorado’s largest teachers’ union is on the defensive after being accused of violating an agreement not to sue to block the state’s nascent tenure reform law.
Vote to continue reforms in DPS
Editorial, Denver Post, CO, October 10,2013
For the third straight school board election in Denver, the stakes could not be clearer: Should the district continue on its current reform path or choose another direction?
FLORIDA
County’s magnet schools may have more freedom
Hernado Today, FL, October 10,2 013
Hernando County’s three magnet schools may soon have the ability to remove students with poor attendance, grades or behavior to their regularly zoned schools.
IOWA
Overton: School choice isn’t effective
Opinion, The Daily Iowan, IA, October 11, 2013
School choice is an insidiously popular option for trying to reform the education system. People like to think they’re in control, especially parents.
MINNESOTA
Diversity’s delicate mix in Minnesota charter schools
Editorial, Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN, October 10, 2013
There’s no disputing that many of Minnesota’s public charter schools lack racial diversity. Because some of them were started specifically for underserved, disadvantaged students, they enroll a majority of low-income kids of color.
NEW JERSEY
Accolades for Clifton charter school
Clifton Journal, NJ, October 11, 2013
No stranger to accolades, the Classical Academy has another reason to celebrate its excellence in achievement at the middle school level.
NEW YORK
Charter plan slammed at Roy H. Mann
Brooklyn Daily, NY, October 11, 2013
Hundreds of residents blasted a plan to shoehorn a charter school into Roy H. Mann middle school during a crowded hearing at the Mill Basin school on Tuesday night.
De Blasio vs. School Choice
Opinion, Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2013
Charter school advocates are up in arms about Democrat Bill de Blasio’s plans to make opening such schools more difficult if he’s elected mayor of New York next month. They are right to be upset, given that these schools have proven to be viable alternatives to traditional public schools, especially when it comes to serving low-income black and Hispanic kids.
Fed Up With Fund-Raising for My Kids’ School
Opinion, New York Times, NY, October 11, 2013
AMID the flurry of school notices coming home in my kids’ backpacks, the PTA donation envelope carries a nostalgic pang. I remember thinking, only four years ago as my first child entered school, that a modest contribution to the PTA was my only cash obligation to New York City’s public schools — beyond being a dutiful taxpayer, of course.
Parents, educators fed up with special treatment of charter schools
Column, New York Daily News, NY, October 11, 2013
The endless number of co-locations has exceeded the capacity of public school buildings and straining quality of life for city students. Some feel it will only end if Bill de Blasio becomes mayor.
Parents Navigate Polarized Charter Waters
WNYC, NY, October 11, 2013
Tuesday’s march included families from dozens of charters schools that delayed or cancelled the school day so that the event would be heavily attended. No expense was spared. Chartered buses, printed shirts and rally organizers helped create a political show of force.
Speaker Silver backs Bill de Blasio’s plan to reform elite public school admissions
New York Daily News, NY, October 11, 2013
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he believes we should ‘use other criteria in addition to testing’ to diversify the public school system and give everyone an equal opportunity.
NORTH CAROLINA
Students needed for Buncombe charter school
Black Mountain News, NC, October 11, 2013
Buncombe County’s first charter high school is poised to be up and running by this time next year — now all it needs is about 400 students to attend it.
OKLAHOMA
OKC charter school’s ills outlined by frustrated parents, teachers
The Oklahoman, OK, October 10, 2013
Enrollment at an Oklahoma City charter school being investigated for possible misconduct has plummeted from about 110 students to 30 since a popular principal was terminated last month, people close to the school said Thursday.
PENNSYLVANIA
Dues deduction exploits Pa. teachers, taxpayers
Commentary, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 11, 2013
Teachers from across the commonwealth, including from the Pittsburgh area, have joined together to protest being forced to finance a political organization that works against their own views and values.
N.J. rejects Luongo’s bid for arts charter
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 11, 2013
WASHINGTON TWP. The New Jersey Department of Education has rejected former Washington Township Mayor Gerald J. Luongo’s application for a performing-arts charter school in Gloucester County.
TENNESSEE
Hunt: Nashville at center of education reform
Nashville Ledger, TN, October 10, 2013
Shannon Hunt, who attended John Trotwood Moore Middle School, Hillsboro High School and the University of Tennessee, is a longtime public education supporter and comes from a family of public school advocates.
More TN teachers now approve of evaluation process
The Tennessean, TN, October 11, 2013
While more Tennessee teachers approve of a complex evaluation process — put in place with Race to the Top funding — a slim majority of teachers and administrators says part of the evaluation requires more effort than it’s worth.
TEXAS
Valley becomes proving ground for innovation in educational programming
The Monitor, TX, October 11, 2013
Data from last year showed an achievement South Texas had never before reached in education, but there was little, if any, news about it, said Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Superintendent Daniel King.
ONLINE LEARNING
Board president steps down at scandal-ridden PA Cyber school
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 11, 2013
The man who guided the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School’s board through a year of probes and staff turmoil resigned late Thursday, and the board accepted the resignation against the backdrop of an apparent state review of educational benefits provided to his daughter.
Campbell County pulls plug on virtual school
WBIR, TN, October 11, 2013
Director of Campbell County Schools, Donnie Poston, told WBIR 10News that the school board voted unanimously Tuesday night to withdraw the virtual school contract. The move by the school board comes after officials said they submitted all of the documentation to the state to get approval for the virtual school.
Charter school reform needed in Pa.
Editorial, York Daily Record, PA, October 10, 2013
The state House recently passed a package of changes to charter school regulations — which would be great and overdue news, save for the fact that the reform bill only makes temporary changes while a statewide commission continues to review the rules.
Defense spending: A cyber school should not cover lawbreakers
Editorial, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 11, 2013
Due to an ongoing investigation and criminal charges filed against its founder, the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School spent nearly half a million dollars on legal fees in the past year. That’s bad news for the taxpayers, all across Pennsylvania, who fund the public school.
Kan. school blends normal classroom, e-learning
Kansas Eagle, KS, October 11, 2013
The number of students enrolled at Andover eCademy at least part time has increased by more than 1,000 percent in the past year. And that’s not a typo: Last school year, 520 students took at least one class through the eCademy’s K-12 program; this year, that number is 5,030 – 381 full time and 4,649 who plug in to at least a class or two.
Setting record straight about Idaho Virtual Academy, K12
Opinion, Idaho Press-Tribune, ID, October 11, 2013
The Press-Tribune published an op-ed by Travis Manning recently criticizing the school I lead, the Idaho Virtual Academy, and its curriculum and education services provider, K12 Inc.
Virtual School enrollment shifts to local districts
Tallahassee Democrat, FL October 11, 2013
Changes made last legislative session are fueling a drop in projected enrollment at Florida’s award-winning virtual education program — and faster growth in the local franchises run by school districts.