Daily Headlines for December 30, 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
Urban schools are still segregated
Op-Ed, Baltimore Sun, MD, December 30, 2013
“Why do no white kids go to school here?” A 14-year-old ninth-grader asked me this question earlier this semester about the school she attends and where I teach. Smart and genuinely curious, she asked the question without any of that world-weary irony and moral casuistry that often attends questions from teenagers and, more generally, questions about school segregation in present day America.
Teachers find home visits help in the classroom
Associated Press, December 30, 2013
In days gone by, a knock on the door by a teacher or school official used to mean a child was in trouble. Not anymore, at least for parents and students at Clay Elementary School.
Top-down approach won’t work in education reform
Editorial, Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, December 29, 2013
The drive to raise classroom standards is, for the most part, well intentioned and useful. More than a quarter of American students tested below the basic proficiency level for mathematics, for example, on the most recent Program for International Student Assessment.
STATE COVERAGE
ARIZONA
Foundation: Charter school plan needs more support
Yuma Sun, AZ, December 28, 2013
A Phoenix-area organization warns it may drop plans to build a charter high school here unless residents show more support for the project.
CALIFORNIA
School spotlighted in new reform documentary
Victorville Daily Press, CA, December 28, 2013
A documentary film that campaigns for more school options for students and their parents nationwide will highlight California’s controversial Parent Trigger law and its execution at the former Desert Trails Elementary School.
CONNECTICUT
Charter schools aren’t always the answer
Letter, The Day, CT, December 29, 2013
One would hope that the opinion piece by the CEO of ConnCAN, “New London students deserve tools for success,” (Dec. 22), also paid the fees associated with other Day advertisements.
FLORIDA
Grade divide baffles Florida parents
Miami Herald, FL, December 28, 2013
The year 2013 was a record-setting time for Florida schools — but in a way that may leave confused parents scratching their heads.
GEORGIA
Race to the top: Expensive strings
Editorial, Savannah Morning News, GA, December 28, 2013
BEWARE OF federal dollars that come with strings attached. They can get expensive. And bind.
ILLINOIS
Illinois unions’ strength will be put to test in year ahead
Column, Chicago Sun Times, IL, December 29, 2013
Over the last year, public unions in Illinois saw some miserable times: massive public school closings in Chicago, teacher layoffs and a pension reform package that’s certain to see a court challenge.
INDIANA
An ‘F’ for Bennett
Editorial, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, December 30, 2013
Indiana lawmakers placed great faith in Tony Bennett’s education agenda. The confidence the former basketball coach exuded in espousing his school reform expertise was convincing enough to push the most expansive package of education bills in the state’s history: Charter school expansion? Check. Taxpayer-funded vouchers? Check. Performance-based teacher evaluations? Check. Lower standards for teacher education? Check. A-F letter grades for schools and districts? Check.
LOUISIANA
Deslatte: La. school voucher program does not ensure a quality education
Opinion, Opelousas Daily World, LA, December 30, 2013
Louisiana’s voucher program that provides taxpayer-financed private school tuition for thousands of students is reshaping how the state spends its education dollars and which options are available to parents.
Voucher program not living up to promises
Column, The Advocate, LA, December 29, 2013
Imagine if the law required voucher schools to be “academically acceptable,” as the legislative auditor has recommended.
MASSACHUSETTS
Fitchburg’s would-be charter school to present its case
Worcester Telegram, MA, December 29, 2013
Academy for the Whole Child Charter School co-founders are holding their last scheduled meeting on the proposed elementary-level school and are hoping those in opposition also attend to ask questions.
Some chafe at charter school’s low pay for tutors
Boston Globe, MA, December 30, 2013
Now a dispute over the minimal pay for long hours of public service offers a rare glimpse into labor unrest at a charter school, where workers usually make less than their peers in traditional public schools and rarely belong to a union.
MICHIGAN
Michigan’s school recovery district at crossroads
Detroit News, MI, December 30, 2013
The Education Achievement Authority — battling sliding enrollment and political controversy amid an uncertain future with its university partner — should rethink its strategy in educating students as it intervenes to reform failing schools, education experts say.
NEW YORK
Brooklyn schools narrowing achievement gap
Norwich Bulletin, NY, December 29, 2013
According to the state’s latest method of quantifying school and district performance, Brooklyn schools are exceeding expectations and have closed an achievement gap.
De Blasio to Tap Fariña as Schools Chancellor
Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2013
New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio on Monday will choose a veteran New York City educator Carmen Fariña to lead the nation’s largest school district, said a person familiar with the matter.
Mark-Viverito leads charter-halt suit
New York Post, NY, December 30, 2013
A group of public-school parents and politicians — led by council speaker front-runner Melissa Mark-Viverito — is suing to block Mayor Bloomberg’s last-minute approval of dozens of charter-school locations.
NORTH CAROLINA
Race to the Top spending hasn’t translated to most classrooms
News Observer, NC, December 29, 2013
The state has used most of the $400 million federal Race to the Top education grant it won three years ago to upgrade technology, revamp teacher training, and change teacher and principal evaluations.
Republicans give teacher pay a second look
Opinion, Fayetteville Observer, NC, December 30, 2013
Dan Forest says he has a plan to boost North Carolina teacher pay to the highest in the country.
We don’t really need to challenge New York’s nearly $75,000-a-year average to establish an excellent statewide K-12 system. And Forest, North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, says we won’t: The pay plan will be indexed to cost of living, and New Yorkers pay a lot more than we do for just about everything.
Unhappy teachers
Editorial, Greenville Daily Reflector, NC, December 29, 2013
South Carolina educators already are unhappy with a new teacher performance evaluation system started by state Superintendent of Education Mick Zais. Now lawmakers are considering a competing plan.
OKLAHOMA
Tulsa Public Schools considering options to alleviate crowding
Tulsa World, OK, December 30, 2013
Tulsa Public Schools is eyeing solutions to persistent crowding in eastside elementary schools.
PENNSYLVANIA
Charter school reform needs due diligence
Editorial, The Mercury, PA, December 30, 2013
There’s a certain irony that while Edward Grisillo was collecting honors recently as the Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year in Harrisburg, not far away the state Senate was debating the merits of a controversial overhaul of charter schools in the state.
Duquesne charter school plan considered
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, December 29, 2013
Duquesne Charter School is unprepared to take on the education of city children, according to the district’s chief recovery officer, Paul Rach.
Look for restructuring, charters in Erie education
Erie Times-News, PA, December 29, 2013
All of that and more will happen against the backdrop of the new Common Core academic standards and continuing competition from charter schools.
Where’s charter accountability?
Letter, Philadelphia Daily News, PA, December 30, 2013
ACCORDING to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ” accountable” means “required to be responsible for something.” Let’s apply this definition to state Senator Williams’ fervent support for SB 1085, which seeks to hold charter schools accountable.
TENNESSEE
Year in education sees new faces, controversies
The Tennessean, TN, December 29, 2013
School news this past year foreshadowed continued growth but also resulted in significant conflict over textbooks, testing and new models of education. Here are some of the top Williamson County education stories from 2013:
WISCONSIN
As new teacher evaluation mandate nears, sticky questions remain
Journal Sentinel, WI.=, December 30, 2013
In 2009 when the federal government announced the requirements for states to compete for billions of dollars of school reform grants, Wisconsin’s name came up — but not in the context state leaders wanted.
ONLINE LEARNING
Copy-and-paste: S.C. digital learning
Opinion, Savannah Morning News, GA, December 28, 2013
Gov. Haley, you (and we) owe it to our children to prepare them via digital learning — and to not hit “delete” on their future.
Florida Virtual School Offers Flexibility for Students Who Need It
Sunshine State News, FL, December 30, 2013
Her parents pulled her from the school and enrolled her in Florida Virtual School, an online public school that allows for more flexibility — so she can pursue what she loves.
Stories of the Year: Virtual schools on hold
Kane County Chronicle, IL, December 28, 2013
This year, Virtual Learning Solutions applied to open an online-only charter school in the Fox Valley that would have spanned 18 districts.