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
Federal analysis of school grants shows mixed results
Washington Post, DC, November 21, 2013
A federal program that pumped a record $5 billion into failing schools is showing mixed results, with students at more than one-third of the targeted schools doing the same or worse after the schools received the funding, according to government data released Thursday.
The impact of high-achieving charter schools on non-test score outcomes
Journalist’s Resource, November 21, 2013
Are charter schools better for children? The answer depends on context. And it’s not an unequivocal “yes,” at least based on evidence from test scores:
STATE COVERAGE
CONNECTICUT
State Must Smooth Path To School Reform
Column, Hartford Courant, CT, November 22, 2013
Connecticut’s conundrum in dealing with its tops-in-the-nation academic achievement gap is summed up by the saga of Bridgeport School Superintendent Paul Vallas.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Is DCPS ready to outsource middle schools to charters?
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 21, 2013
Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson told a D.C. Council committee last week that DCPS hasn’t succeeded in attracting families to its middle schools and suggested that the District should just funnel middle school students to charter schools. What was she thinking?
FLORIDA
Hillsborough superintendent pushes back on MacDill charter school plan
Tampa Bay Times, FL, November 21, 2013
Responding to a charter group’s pitch for a new school at MacDill Air Force Base, Hillsborough superintendent MaryEllen Elia said Thursday that she has reservations about the for-profit company that would run the school.
Pinellas schools bolstering magnet programs
Sun Coast News, FL, November 21, 2013
Parents in Pinellas County often scramble each year to enroll their students in the few desired magnet and fundamental programs, coming to School Board members, district staff and public meetings to voice their frustrations when things don’t go their way.
Vitti asks state lawmakers to push his education agenda
Florida Times-Union, FL, November 21, 2013
For the second straight year, top decision-makers for Duval County Public Schools corralled state lawmakers to a local high school Thursday and sought changes in state education laws. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti and School Board Chairwoman Becki Couch discussed six items during the one-hour meeting at Lee High School.
LOUISIANA
Hoffmann: Data in evaluating Louisiana teachers is flawed
Monroe News Star, LA, November 21, 2013
The Louisiana Department of Education will delay the punitive effects of accountability as the state ramps up to more rigorous standards, but one area representative believes some labels connected to this year’s testing and evaluations should also be thrown out.
MASSACHUSETTS
BTU blames the test
Editorial, Boston Herald, MA, November 22, 2012
When all else fails hurl accusations of discrimination. That seems to be the strategy of the Boston Teachers Union, which fought the launch of a new teacher evaluation system hammer and tongs — and now that the results are in is deeming it a failure and an example of discrimination against minority teachers.
Crowd packs library for charter discussion
Eagle Tribune, MA, November 21, 2013
It was a sharply divided crowd that testified on a proposed charter high school in Andover yesterday, with such a large turnout that the hearing was paused at one point to clear aisles for fire safety reasons.
Expert wary of teacher evaluations
Boston Herald, MA, November 22, 2012
A school reform expert is questioning the state’s new teacher evaluation system after most Bay State teachers got glowing performance reviews in results released yesterday — much as Boston teachers got high marks from their administrators in a report released a day earlier.
MICHIGAN
Michigan’s Education Achievement Authority sees 24 percent drop in students
Detroit News, MI, November 22, 2013
Michigan’s Education Achievement Authority has lost nearly a quarter of its students in the past year, a dramatic dip in its second year of operating 15 low-performing schools in Detroit.
MINNESOTA
New state funding could push teacher raises
Minnesota Public Radio, MN, November 22, 2013
A nearly $500 million increase in state education funding approved by lawmakers this spring seems to be clearing the way for teacher pay raises, at least in some parts of the state.
NEW JERSEY
State releases first results from pilot trials of teacher evaluation systems
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 22, 2013
Initial report correlates data collected from 25 districts participating in pilot for at least a year.
NORTH CAROLINA
Push those raises through, governor
Editorial, Winston-Salem Journal, NC, November 21, 2013
Teachers aren’t happy with their salaries and they’re protesting statewide. It’s good to note that Gov. Pat McCrory hears them.
OREGON
City View Charter School’s poverty data on state report cards is misleading
The Oregonian, OR, November 21, 2013
In its school report card data, the Oregon Department of Education said City View Charter School had, by a significant margin, the lowest poverty rate in the Hillsboro School District. Only 6 percent of students there are economically disadvantaged, the state said. The next-lowest poverty rate in the district is Jackson Elementary School’s 16 percent.
PENNSYLVANIA
Charter school funding leaves Allentown School District ‘bleeding,’ board member says
Express-Times, PA, November 21, 2013
Facing the loss of thousands of students and millions of tuition dollars to charter schools, the Allentown School District is asking the state to give it a break.
Kids Pay The Price In Fight Over Fixing Philadelphia Schools
NPR, November 21, 2013
But has there really been a lack of investment in Philadelphia’s public schools? Private foundations, after all, have poured millions of dollars into schools here; much of that money has gone to the city’s 86 privately run charter schools. But in terms of public funds, the district says it’s broke.
SRC doesn’t renew 2 charters founded by Dorothy June Brown
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 22, 2013
Two schools founded by Dorothy June Brown failed to have their charters renewed Thursday, as Philadelphia School District officials voiced concerns about both.
RHODE ISLAND
Changes coming for struggling school reform org in Providence
WPRI-TV, RI, November 21, 2013
The future of the taxpayer-supported nonprofit created to oversee three low-performing Providence public schools is uncertain as district and union officials scramble to restructure an organization that has been mired in turmoil for the better part of a year.
TENNESSEE
Memphis voters turn down sales-tax referendum
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, November 21, 2013
The Memphis sales-tax referendum failed Thursday by an overwhelming margin of 60 percent to 40 percent, or 17,636 votes to 11,659, in the evening’s final unofficial tally.
VIRGINIA
State board puts off vote on all-boys charter school in Richmond
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, November 22, 2013
The Virginia Board of Education deferred action on an application for an all-boys charter school in the city of Richmond during its meeting Thursday, sending the idea back to committee after serious questions were raised about the financial soundness of the plan.
ONLINE LEARNING
Academic success of virtual charter schools largely unknown
WITI-TV, WI, November 21, 213
There’s no doubt education in Wisconsin isn’t what it used to be. As technology has changed, so have our classrooms. And for about 7,000 Wisconsin students — they never step foot in one.
Ann Arbor schools to launch virtual academy
The Ann Arbor News, MI, November 21, 2013
As the state of Michigan expands online learning opportunities to younger students, Ann Arbor Public Schools is preparing to launch its own virtual academy.
Nonprofit calls for moratorium on charters
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 22, 2013
The Education Law Center on Thursday urged the Pennsylvania Department of Education to deny applications for six new cyber charter schools, saying the cyber charter model doesn’t work.