Daily Headlines for November 22, 2011
Teachers Union Leader Says Battle’s Just Begun
Washington Times, DC, November 21, 2011
The head of the nation’s largest labor union says Republican efforts to restrain the power of unions has produced a middle-class backlash across the country that could cost Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and other GOP politicians their jobs.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Chula Vista School’s Turnaround Turns Heads
San Diego Union-Tribune, CA, November 21, 2011
A charter school in Chula Vista was performing so poorly on state assessments that it made the federal watch list for three years. Now it has staged a dramatic turnaround that is attracting international attention.
No Outside Groups Apply To Run Area LAUSD Schools Up For Bid
Daily Breeze, CA, November 21, 2011
Once again, no outside groups have applied to run Los Angeles Unified campuses in the South Bay and Harbor Area that are up for bid by nonprofit and charter management groups.
COLORADO
Douglas County Not Giving Up On Teacher Pay-For-Performance Plan
Denver Post, CO, November 21, 2011
The Douglas County School District plans to go ahead with its updated pay-for-performance plan, even if it means doing it with a lot less money after its bond measure to support the proposal failed at the polls.
DELAWARE
Evaluating Teachers Must Include Measure of Student Growth
News Journal, DE, November 21, 2011
Two years ago, Delaware’s teachers, school leaders, and other stakeholders came together with the common purpose of developing a plan to improve our schools.
GEORGIA
Savannah-Chatham Public Schools Students To Participate In Teacher Evaluations
Savannah Morning News, GA, November 22, 2011
If teachers thought they had it rough before, just wait until students start participating in their annual evaluations.
INDIANA
Full Disclosure On School Chief Pay
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, November 22, 2011
In a period when private-sector pay and benefits are shrinking, public employees should expect their benefit packages to be fully transparent. Taxpayers understand that maintaining quality institutions requires fair compensation, but it must come with full disclosure.
New Legislative Session May Bring Changes For Indiana School Superintendents
Courier Press, IN, November 21, 2011
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, a member of the Senate Education Committee, is considering what to include in a bill that he says will be part of a larger push to direct more education spending into classroom instruction and less on administration.
LOUISIANA
Jindal Gets New Conservative BESE
News Star, LA, November 21, 2011
Gov. Bobby Jindal says he is happy with the new “conservative” Board of Elementary and Secondary Education after this fall’s elections, and he’s confident it will elect his favorite, Recovery School District Superintendent John White, as the next superintendent of education.
Move Ahead On School Reforms
Opelousas Daily World, LA, November 22, 2011
One of the least satisfying aspects of Saturday’s miserable 15 percent turnout for local and state runoff elections was that it makes it impossible to claim any sort of mandate while keeping a straight face. That hurts especially when it comes to what may turn out to be the most important elections in this state cycle, those for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
MICHIGAN
Michigan Charter And Cyber School Bills Lack Quality Controls
Huffington Post, November 21, 2011
Among the bundle of Republican education bills snaking its way through Lansing is a pair of measures that, at first glance, appears to capitalize on national bipartisan trends in education reform: two bills that would dramatically expand both charter schools and cyber schools in Michigan.
Detroit School District Shoring Up its Finances
Wall Street Journal, November 22, 2011
After more than two years under state control, Detroit’s public school district appears to be getting its basic finances in order by privatizing services, cutting wages, restructuring debt and aggressively seeking out students to fill its classrooms.
Reject Status Quo in Minneapolis Schools
Star Tribune, MN, November 21, 2011
Some Minneapolis parents and school administrators have worked hard to build and support strong teaching staffs at city schools, only to see the teams broken up when senior teachers bump younger educators, or ineffective teachers are moved into their schools because of tenure rules.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Ask Tougher Questions About School Choice Issue
Portsmouth Herald, NH, November 22, 2011
I was very disappointed in your article last week about state Commissioner of Education Virginia Barry’s visit to our elementary schools and her support to remove school choice for Portsmouth parents.
NEW JERSEY
Suburban Schools vs. Charter: First Round Goes to the Suburbs
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 22, 2011
An administrative law decision in favor of three suburban districts fighting a charter school in their midst could embolden districts facing similar battles.
New Jersey Teachers Union Offers A Lame Substitute For Long, Expensive Termination Process
Duluth Weekly, NJ, November 21, 2011
The reason? New Jersey’s teacher tenure law requires school districts to follow a series of complicated, expensive and time-consuming steps before they are allowed to fire veteran teachers.
NEW YORK
NYSUT Tries To Stack The Deck
Albany Times Union, NY, November 21, 2011
A “model” teacher evaluation process proposed by New York State United Teachers, after collaborating with several school districts, seems more like a scheme for protecting teachers from being fired regardless of their performance.
NORTH CAROLINA
Good Ideas Flow From Applicants For Charter-Schools
Winston-Salem Journal, NC, November 22, 2011
The General Assembly’s decision to lift the cap on charter schools is having an immediate impact on public education. The Office of Charter Schools has reported that it already has 27 applicants wanting to open new charters this summer.
PENNSYLVANIA
Districts Will Try Ads To Win Students
Murrysville Star, PA, November 22, 2011
Public school districts in Western Pennsylvania could start advertising to bring students back after more than a decade of losing them — and millions of state tax dollars — to charter schools.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Charter School Committee Plans K-12 School
Beaufort Gazette, SC, November 22, 2011
It began with a group of parents who hoped to replace Shell Point Elementary School after it closes next year. But as the group grew — and members talked more about what they wanted — the proposed charter school became something different.
TENNESSEE
Tennessee’s New Teacher Evaluation System Takes Shape
Chattanooga Times Free Press, TN, November 22, 2011
Changes to the state’s teacher evaluation system were some of the most significant — and controversial — in a package of school reform laws the Tennessee General Assembly passed last spring.
School Boards Oppose Slate of Bills; Want More Local Control
The Tennessean, TN, November 21, 2011
Tennessee’s school board members are opposing a slate of bills they say erode the authority voters gave them.
TEXAS
Charter Schools Hot Topic at AISD
KXAN, TX, November 21, 2011
Dozens of parents and teachers showed up to the Austin Independent School District’s board meeting Monday night with concerns over an in-district charter school program.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Teaneck Virtual Charter School Will Delay Opening If Funding Law Stays Same
The Record, NJ, November 21, 2011
The lead founder of the Garden State Virtual Charter School said Monday that the school would delay opening if the state charter school law is not amended to address funding for virtual charter schools.
Virtual School Is $3 Million Short
News Observer, NC, November 22, 2011
High school students from Wake County and across the state are being blocked, at least temporarily, from attending the N.C. Virtual Public School in the spring because of a likely $3 million funding shortfall.
Report: Many Grand Rapids Students Failing When Taking Combination Of Online And Traditional Classes
Grand Rapids Press, MI, November 22, 2011
A year-old program aimed at exposing students to a more rigorous curriculum and helping them learn at their own pace is getting mixed reviews from students and teachers, according to a report issued Monday to the Grand Rapids Public Schools board.
Cyberschools’ May Gain Jolt; Livingston Educators Warn Of Dangers
Livingston Daily Press & Argus, MI, November 22, 2011
A proposal in Lansing would remove most restrictions on the ability of students to attend school over the Internet, in their pajamas, without setting foot inside a classroom.