Daily Headlines for June 3, 2011
New Round of US Grants for Education Innovation
Associated Press, June 3, 2011
The federal government is trying to make it easier to apply for one of its grants for innovative ideas to improve education. But with budget cuts there’s a lot less money to give away this year.
Vouchers: They’re Baaaaaack!
The Nation, June 2011
For most of the half-century since economist Milton Friedman first advanced the idea of school vouchers, it’s been the ultimate weapon in our educational debates, always ticking just under the surface, never quite going off. But after last November’s Republican statehouse victories, the right, sometimes abetted by Democrats and liberals, has brought back vouchers and school privatization with a vengeance.
FROM THE STATES
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Charters Not Keen On Walk in the PARCC
Washington Post Blog, DC, June 2, 2011
As the District retools its standardized tests to align with the Common Core standards, the charter community is expressing concerns that the new testing regime will limit schools’ control over curriculum.
Juvenile Services Reform Bill Greeted With Mixed Reactions
Washington Times, DC, June 2, 2011
D.C. charter school and youth advocates voiced opposition Thursday to portions of a bill that would require teachers to screen students for behavioral health problems and more quickly refer truant students to the court system.
GEORGIA
Georgia Lawmakers Reviewing Charter School Law
WYFF, GA, June 3, 2011
State lawmakers are holding a special meeting to address the Georgia Supreme Court ruling that overturned part of the state’s charter school law.
Legislative Committee To Help Displaced Charter School Students
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, June 2, 2011
Khalil McIver used to sit quietly at his old school, too respectful to tell his teachers that he was bored. Now, the Atlanta Heights Charter School fifth grader is tackling ninth-grade reading and math and he doesn’t want politics to impede his progress.
ILLINOIS
Chicago Public Schools Boss Tying His Pay to ‘Student Achievement’
Chicago Sun Times, IL, June 3, 2011
Newly-appointed Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard disclosed Thursday that he is finalizing a “performance contract” that will tie his compensation to “student achievement.”
LOUISIANA
Bills to Roll Back New Orleans Education Changes Defeated in Legislature
Times Picayune, LA, June 2, 2011
Proponents of the state’s school reform drive, a movement that has profoundly reshaped New Orleans public schools, put up a slew of victories in the Louisiana Legislature on Thursday, killing a trio of bills that would have rolled back some of the most dramatic changes in education policy in the city and across Louisiana.
NEW YORK
The NAACP’s Mystifying Decision To Side With A Union Over Students
Washington Post, DC, June 2, 2011
IT’S CLEAR WHY the teachers union in New York has gone to court to stop the city’s planned shutdown of failing schools and to block charter schools from using the public space. Jobs are in play, and the main mission of the union is, after all, to protect its members. What’s not clear is why the NAACP would join an effort to keep open schools that have failed miserably.
NORTH CAROLINA
Education Judge
News & Record, NC, June 3, 2011
Creating that kind of crisis would be terrible for North Carolina, where the law must prevail. To avoid it, the state’s leaders must make sure they provide the right support for public schools. Manning is doing his job to remind everyone that education is a constitutional right, not a privilege granted only when the state can afford it.
OHIO
Ohio Senate Debates Teacher Merit Pay
Columbus Dispatch, OH, June 3, 2011
The debate over whether a merit-pay system for teachers will ultimately be part of the new two-year state budget is far from over, with some Senate Republicans saying they would like to see it reinserted in some form.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pa. School Choice Bill Tests Traditional Views, Definition
American Independent, June 2, 2011
Pennsylvania’s proposed school choice bill is being sold as an opportunity for the economically challenged to leave underperforming schools. The plan is innocuous enough: Progressive and labor groups have ramped up support for mobile benefits like health care and retirement plans that aren’t tied to any employer. Can’t needy students have the same privilege with tax dollars subsidizing enrollment at the school of their parents’ choice?
RHODE ISLAND
Charter School Opinions Aired
Providence Journal, RI, June 3, 2011
State education officials took up a controversial application Thursday to open five mayor-sponsored charter schools in Cranston.
Bill to Merge R.I. Education Boards Held For Study
Providence Journal, RI, June 3, 2011
Opponents of a proposal to merge the state’s two education governing boards said at a House Finance Committee hearing Thursday that combining K-12 and higher education would not lead to better coordination of the system but would, in fact, weaken it.
TENNESSEE
Charter Schools Ask for Clearer Auditions in Nashville
The Tennessean, TN, June 3, 2011
Drexel Preparatory Academy charter school’s founders don’t think they’d be opening in North Nashville this fall if the state had not intervened.
TEXAS
HISD’s Apollo Project Getting $6 Million Donation
Houston Chronicle, TX, June 2, 2011
Houston Endowment Inc. has pledged $6 million for the Houston school district’s Apollo reform program, doubling the donations made since the campaign launched la
st year, officials announced Thursday.
WISCONSIN
Panel Cuts Green Bay Out Of School Voucher Mix
Green Bay Press-Gazette, WI, June 3, 2011
The Legislature’s budget committee voted Thursday to approve expanding the voucher school program to Racine and all of Milwaukee County but not Green Bay.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Schools Try To Bring Kids Back With Cyber Classes
Patriot-News, PA, June 2, 2011
The tough economic time we’re in is having an interesting effect on local governments and school districts. They’re being forced to tighten their belts, and in doing so many are examining why they are or aren’t doing things.