Daily Headlines for August 5, 2011
Do We Really Need to Spend More on Schools?
Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2011
Even as the president was signing the debt-limit bill designed to cut spending this week, he insisted on continuing “to keep making key investments in things like education.” Don’t be surprised if the president and his allies reiterate this call for more spending in the nation’s schools, which they argue is necessary if our students are to remain competitive.
A Secret Primer from the Teachers Union on How to Thwart Parents and Stop Charter Schools
New York Daily News, NY, August 5, 2011
Almost without fail, teachers unions respond to school reform drives by declaring their commitment to improving education collaboratively with parents and community leaders.
Public Charter Schools Engage Students and Empower Teachers
Huffington Post, NY, August 4, 2011
Anyone who is serious about improving the quality of public education should support the incredible contributions of public charter schools, which are proving in community after community that all kids can learn and achieve.
Testing, Cheating, Learning And Failing
Charlotte Observer, NC, August 5, 2011
Proponents of high-stakes testing prefer to deny it, but this teacher-aided kind of cheating has grown exponentially with the advent of the No Child Left Behind law.
What’s Good for Students: It’s Time to Reform No Child Left Behind Act
Anniston Star, AL, August 5, 2011
The No Child Left Behind Act, which Congress passed in 2001, was designed to answer the problems students, teachers, schools and systems faced in the increasingly competitive, complicated and demanding world.
What’s Involved In Reinventing Education?
Forbes Blog, August 4, 2011
The US education system is in crisis, putting the long-term future of the economy in question. The evidence is well-known. A root cause of the crisis is the application of the factory model of management to education, where everything is arranged for the scalability and efficiency of “the system”, to which the students, the teachers and the parents have to adjust.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
California Loses Federal Funds for Teacher Database
Los Angeles Times, CA, August 5, 2011
The $6-million grant must be returned because the governor cut funding from the state budget for the program to track teacher and administrator information.
Calaveras Changing Face of Homeschooling
Stockton Record, CA, August 5, 2011
The line between homeschool and school is vanishing in the Calaveras Unified School District.
School Board Hears Debate about New Charter School
Sacramento Bee, CA, August 4, 2011
Supporters of St. Hope Public Schools flooded the Sacramento City Unified School District board meeting Thursday evening in support of a new charter petition, but the large group was met with resistance during the first public hearing for the Oak Park middle school.
Charter School Focuses On Arts, Enrichment
The Press-Enterprise, CA, August 4, 2011
The band Something About Abelia gave its debut performance Thursday morning at Temecula Valley Charter School in French Valley, playing tunes by The Clash, Green Day and The Monkees for about 100 students, parents and teachers.
COLORADO
County Ups the Ante in Voucher War
Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2011
In a bold bid to revamp public education, a suburban district south of Denver has begun handing out vouchers that use public money to help its largely affluent residents send their children to private and church-based schools.
On Last Day of Testimony, Parent of Special-Needs Student Makes Plea for Douglas County School Vouchers
Denver Post, CO, August 5, 2011
Three days of testimony on the Douglas County School District ‘s voucher program ended late Thursday with parent Diana Oakley telling a judge that stopping the program now would force her to home- school her oldest child.
CONNECTICUT
Donors Urged School Ouster
Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2011
A billionaire hedge-fund manager’s charitable foundation urged Connecticut state officials to dissolve the Bridgeport city school board and offered help with “education reform” if a new regime took over, according to emails reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Test Scores Show Momentum For Charters
Washington Post blog, DC, August 4, 2011
The school-by-school 2011 DC CAS data released Tuesday tell a more revealing story than the aggregate numbers reported last month. Those figures showed DCPS elementary scores remaining essentially flat, with public charter schools producing modest but notable gains.
FLORIDA
Pinellas’ Teacher Training Overhaul Struggles to Gain Traction
St. Petersburg Times, FL, August 5, 2011
One of Pinellas superintendent Julie Janssen’s leading initiatives – creating a national model for teacher training – continued to come under fire Thursday, put in the crosshairs because of budget woes, tensions with School Board members and some of Janssen’s own missteps.
GEORGIA
300 Rally to Support Atlanta Public Schools
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, August 4, 2011
The message was clear from signs, T-shirts and posters all around Centennial Olympic Park: It’s been a tough summer for Atlanta Public Schools, but as the school year approaches there’s a need for parents, educators and community members to “Support the Good.”
ILLINOIS
Parents See Big Gap in School Fees Among Districts
Chicago Tribune, IL, August 5, 2011
On top of hefty charges for textbooks, technology, bus rides, sports and clubs, school districts a
re hitting up parents to pay fees for hundreds of individual courses, from French I to American literature, history, foods and furniture-making.
INDIANA
Fort Wayne Flavor to Charter Board
Fort Wayne Gazette Blog, IN, August 4, 2011
Fort Wayne, with three of the state’s 50-plus charter schools, ends up with two appointments to the new seven-member state charter board.
Vouchers Spark 40% Enrollment Increase at Our Lady
WNDU16, IN, August 4, 2011
There’s one Catholic grade school in South Bend that stands to see its enrollment increase a whopping 40 percent this year, due to vouchers-and vouchers alone.
Kennedy Unveils Education Initiative
Indianapolis Star, IN, August 5, 2011
Democratic mayoral candidate Melina Kennedy said Thursday she would appoint a chief education officer, provide grants for early childhood education and expand literacy programs as part of her education platform.
LOUISIANA
Charter Schools Look for Alternate Funding Sources
New Orleans Business Journal, LA, August 4, 2011
A state takeover of failing public schools following the far-reaching damage of Hurricane Katrina and levee breaches spawned the charter school movement in New Orleans. Six years later, half of the city’s charter schools are entering outgrowing the early sources of money that allowed them to open their doors.
MARYLAND
To Build a Better School Board in Baltimore County
Baltimore Sun, MD, August 4, 2011
Our view: Governance by gubernatorial appointees has led to a body that isn’t open and accountable to parents, and it needs to change
MASSACHUSETTS
Proposed Somerville Charter School to Focus on ESL
Boston Globe, MA, August 4, 2011
Drawing on the needs of a deeply multicultural student population, a proposal to bring a 425-seat charter school to Somerville will focus largely on teaching youngsters who grapple with learning English as a second language, according to documentation submitted to the state.
MICHIGAN
Unions Sue to Block ‘Unprecedented’ DPS Pay Cut, Challenge New EM Law
The Detroit News, MI, August 5, 2011
Three unions have filed a lawsuit to stop what members call “an unprecedented power grab” by Detroit Public Schools’ emergency manager, who used the state’s tough new law to impose wage cuts and higher health care costs on employees.
NEVADA
Test Scores Missing Mark
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, August 5, 2011
However, Davis has more to contend with than just returning students. Yet again, Snyder fell short of meeting No Child Left Behind requirements. Yet again, the school, located east of Lamb Boulevard and south of Charleston Boulevard, is on the dreaded “needs improvement” list despite making impressive gains.
NORTH CAROLINA
Care with Charters
News & Observer, NC, August 5, 2011
Charter schools were established in North Carolina law 15 years ago, free of many rules applying to conventional public schools. The idea was that they could experiment with methods and approaches that might one day be applied in mainstream schools. Incubators and laboratories were a couple of the images called to mind.
OHIO
Judge Tells Charter-School Company to Open Books
Columbus Dispatch, OH, August 5, 2011
A Franklin County judge ordered major GOP donor and charter-school operator David L. Brennan to turn over a detailed accounting of how his for-profit management company spends the millions of tax dollars it receives each year.
PENNSYLVANIA
$25 Million Hit May Shut 7 Schools in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, August 5, 2011
This fall, Snowly Brooks’ 8-year-old daughter, Aliyah, will walk across the street to her school in Northview Heights . But if the Pittsburgh school board approves Superintendent Linda Lane’s plan to save an estimated $8 million annually by closing seven of the district’s 64 schools, Aliyah would be bused about 3 miles away to the Central North Side in fall 2012.
TENNESSEE
Huffman’s Visit to Haywood County Focused on Kids
Jackson Sun, TN, August 4, 2011
We were please to see Tennessee Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman in West Tennessee this week when he spoke to Haywood County educators. Huffman brings a lot of public education experience to the job and a keen eye for doing things that matter most to students when it comes to education reform.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Board May Revamp Alternative Ed Program
Pottstown Mercury, PA, August 5, 2011
The Perkiomen Valley School Board recently took a look at proposed changes to the New Beginnings alternative education program at the high school.
Digital Learning Earning Respect
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, August 4, 2011
What makes for a successful education system is a complex issue, and while there are no silver bullets, there are measures that can improve the quality of education. One such measure is the development of digital learning.
Yuma Hybrid School Plans More Valley Centers
Tucson Citizen, AZ, August 5, 2011
A Yuma charter school that has garnered state and national attention for its high test scores and hybrid online/classroom model is expanding into the Phoenix area.