Daily Headlines for December 12, 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
How ‘Common Core’ helps teachers
Opinion, New York Post, NY, December 12, 2013
There’s a new punching bag in education policy. Known as the Common Core, the new standards adopted across the country and in New York City classrooms this year have become a platform for opponents of school reform to sound off on everything else they dislike about the current education landscape, from teacher evaluation to testing.
Parents say they don’t need state test results
Column, Washington Post, DC, December 11, 2013
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan had warned that California would be shortchanging students and their families if it held to its plan not to report school test averages next year. Almost everyone who responded to me said Duncan was wrong.
Secret policymaking on school reform is on the rise
Washington Post Blog, DC, December 12, 2013
Education reform policy around the country is increasingly being made in secret or without public input — and with a lot of private philanthropic money.
STATE COVERAGE
ARKANSAS
Beating The Odds: 100% of Delta charter school class accepted into college
KATV, AR, December 12, 2013
An Arkansas charter school is transforming an impoverished region of the state with one of the highest college acceptance rates in the state.
COLORADO
Lincoln Elementary School community optimistic about turnaround
Reporter-Herald, CO, December 11, 2013
Lincoln Elementary School students, parents and faculty members showed in force at Wednesday night’s Thompson School District Board of Education meeting to voice their support for the school, which is required by the Colorado Department of Education to submit a “turnaround plan” following years of declining test scores and a precipitous recent drop in enrollment after an attendance boundary change.
DELAWARE
Few show for Reach Academy parents’ meeting
WDDE, DE, December 11, 2013
Just three Reach Academy for Girls’ parents attended an informal meeting held for them in Wilmington Wednesday night.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Student turnover now part of D.C. schools report on data to assist comparisons
Washington Post, DC, December 12, 2013
The District’s Anacostia High School saw an enormous fluctuation in its student population in the 2012-13 school year, losing more than one in five students after the first month of school while gaining nearly twice as many during the school year. The enrollment swings left the school with a net student increase of 16 percent.
FLORIDA
A quality education for all public school students
Opinion, Miami Herald, FL, December 11, 2013
Educators, parents, students and community members in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are joining together to reclaim the promise of public education. This important effort is co-sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association and is a vital step forward for our schools in South Florida.
Hall leads country with fastest-growing charter system
Gainesville Times, FL, December 12, 2013
The Hall County School District is the fastest-growing in the country for public charter school students.
INDIANA
Governor lays out education agenda for state
Shelby News, IN, December 12, 2013
As he finds himself in the middle of a public rift with Indiana State Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, Indiana Governor Mike Pence unveiled his education policy during a speech Tuesday.
ILLINOIS
Mayor says ex-UNO chief was a ‘distraction’
Chicago Sun-Times, IL, December 12, 2013
Juan Rangel was a “distraction from the mission” of the United Neighborhood Organization and did the right thing by resigning as the clout-heavy organization’s chief executive, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday.
LOUISIANA
Charter school companies want to add Shreveport campuses
Shreveport Times, LA, December 11, 2013
A Michigan-based charter school company and a Baton Rouge nonprofit want to open a nine-school network around Louisiana that includes two campuses in Shreveport.
King charter won’t move to Orleans school board governance
The Lens, LA, December 11, 2013
Dr. King Charter School isn’t going to switch to Orleans Parish School Board governance – at least not right now.
Tangipahoa board reject charter school application
The Advocate, LA, December 11, 2013
The Tangipahoa Parish School board on Wednesday rejected an application for a charter school in the parish, its third such rejection in a week.
NEW JERSEY
Rowan to offer spots for students with Camden academy partnership
Courier-Post, NJ, December 12, 2013
Future students of the KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy already have a leg up on the competition, thanks to a new partnership with Rowan University.
NEW MEXICO
Governor proposes pay hike for beginning teachers
Santa Fe New Mexican, NM, December 12, 2013
Gov. Susana Martinez is proposing a 10 percent salary boost for starting teachers and bonuses for educators who receive the highest ratings through the state’s new evaluation system.
School model defies race/income stereotype
Editorial, Albuquerque Journal, NM, December 12, 2013
So much for not being able to educate poor minority kids who are two grade levels behind where they should be. Cristo Rey, a network of independent Catholic schools, not only gets most of those students through high school, but all of those who graduate are accepted into college and 90 percent attend.
NEW YORK
Will de Blasio Choke Charters?
Column, Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2013
Income inequality is the Democratic Party’s new bumper sticker. And the newest driver of the party’s income-inequality election bus is New York City’s mayor-elect, Bill de Blasio.
NORTH CAROLINA
Durham home to eight of state’s 71 proposed charters
Durham Sun, NC, December 11, 2013
Eight of the 71 charter school applications received by the state Department of Public Instruction have come from applicants who hope to open charter schools in Durham in August 2015.
Durham home to eight of state’s 71 proposed charters
Durham Sun, NC, December 11, 2013
Eight of the 71 charter school applications received by the state Department of Public Instruction have come from applicants who hope to open charter schools in Durham in August 2015.
N.C. teachers group sues over private-school grants
Winston Salem-Journal, NC, December 12, 2012
The fight over public education North Carolina came to a head Wednesday when a group of public school advocates — including parents and teachers — sued the state over a controversial voucher program that would give public dollars to private schools in the form of grants for poor students.
Suit against vouchers is crucial for NC public schools
Editorial, News & Observer, NC, December 11, 2013
Another day, another lawsuit over a law passed by the Republican-led General Assembly. On Wednesday, a legal challenge was filed in Wake County Superior Court against a school voucher law passed earlier this year.
OHIO
More Than 31,000 Ohio Students Receive Private-School Vouchers
NPR StateImpact, OH, December 11, 2013
More Ohioans are opting to use school vouchers to send their children to private K-12 schools.
PENNSYLVANIA
Contract reflects ed-reform group’s rise to power in Philly
Philadelphia City Paper, PA, December 12, 2013
When Mayor Michael Nutter appointed Sylvia Simms to the School Reform Commission (SRC) in January, he lauded her as a “community leader, parent, former School District employee and graduate” who “understands from a grass-roots level how important it is to educate our children.”
Scavello: I called judge in charter school case
Pocono Record, PA, December 12, 2013
The charter school is challenging a vote by the state’s Charter Appeal Board to revoke its charter, a decision that reversed an earlier vote by CAB. The court issued a stay in the summer, allowing the school to open and operate pending resolution of the case.
Teach For America contract faces skeptical Pittsburgh School Board members
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, December 12, 2013
A Teach for America representative faced some pointed questioning by Pittsburgh school board members following a presentation on the school district’s plan to bring in up to 30 new teachers from the federal program next year to take hard-to-fill jobs at some of the city’s most challenging schools.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Thomas: Charter schools not a smart investment for S.C.
Column, The State, SC, December 12, 2013
A new report calling for South Carolina to increase the state’s investment in charter schools comes as the state still is struggling to recover from the economic downturn and continues to invest heavily in education reform driven by new standards and high-stakes testing.
TEXAS
Abbott, Davis Spar Over Public School Support
WOAI, TX, December 12, 2013
Education is the current battleground between the candidates for governor, as Republican Greg Abbott unveiled his education proposals during a stop at a San Antonio charter school, 1200 WOAI’s Stephanie Narvaez reports.
WEST VIRGINIA
State board works to clarify school calendar policy
Charleston Gazette, WV, December 11, 2013
State school board members unanimously approved a policy Wednesday they say is intended to give districts more freedom when designing a school calendar, but they said they’re worried there are still misconceptions among educators and parents about the bill’s requirements.
ONLINE LEARNING
Eye On Education: ‘Virtual High School’ Opens Doors To Students
WBZ-TV, MA, December 11, 2013
As part of a new series “Eye On Education,” WBZ-TV will be focusing on both technology and innovation in the school systems across the state.
‘Flipped’ classroom story sparks debate on teaching style
PBS News, December 11, 2013
The conversation on Facebook reveals both positive and negative reactions, with fans chiming in on the the pros and cons at the heart of today’s education practices.
Top of Form
Tim King, banned for life from running schools in Oregon, operates online school in Washington
The Oregonian, OR, December 11, 2013
Charter school founder Tim King, who is banned for life from running taxpayer-funded schools in Oregon, is clear to continue running a state-funded online school in Washington, that state’s director of online schools confirmed.