The Value of Teachers
New York Times, NY, January 12, 2012
Suppose your child is about to enter the fourth grade and has been assigned to an excellent teacher. Then the teacher decides to quit. What should you do?
“Let’s Not Weaken It”: An Exclusive Interview with George W. Bush on NCLB
TIME, January 12, 2012
On the 10th anniversary of No Child Left Behind, the former president spoke with TIME’s education columnist about the law’s successes and why it’s become a “convenient punching bag”
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
Parents Rebel Against School
Wall Street Journal, January 12, 2012
Fed-up parents of students attending a low-performing school in Southern California aim to use the power given to them by the state to take an unusual step: fire the school.
Parent Trigger’s Second Try
LA Weekly, CA, January 12, 2012
And to think — this week, this nowhere school in San Bernardino County could make history as the first in the nation to be seized by disgusted working-class parents under California ‘s much-debated Parent Trigger law.
COLORADO
Colorado Education Board Approves Charter-School Guidelines
Denver Post, CO, January 12, 2012
The State Board of Education on Wednesday unanimously approved a national set of recommendations for charter schools and the districts that authorize them.
DELAWARE
Officials Alleviate Teachers’ Concerns
Journal News, DE, January 12, 2012
At a hearing before the House and Senate education committees, education Secretary Lillian Lowery offered information meant to allay the concerns of many teachers and lawmakers who have said they think certain policies for grading teacher performance under the state’s Race to the Top plan are unfair.
FLORIDA
Parents Wrong On Charter School. County Should Follow Rules
Palm Beach Post, FL, January 11, 2012
The parents have every right to form a charter school. But their case is not sufficient for the county to make a policy change that could open up building on land that was to be preserved under a voter-approved, publicly financed plan.
GEORGIA
Deal Hands Out Round 2 of School Innovation Funds
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, January 11, 2012
Several schools, districts and education groups in metro Atlanta are among the winners of $7.1 million in education grant money designed to spur innovation and improve student achievement.
Time to Put Students First in FSA Debacle
North Fulton News, GA, January 11, 2012
Well it is a fine mess we have with the Fulton Science Academy, a charter middle school having won top academic accolades including that of a Blue Ribbon Charter School, but no longer possessing a Fulton County Schools System charter.
HAWAII
Experts Give Kudos To Proposed Charter School System Overhaul
Honolulu Civil Beat, HI, January 11, 2012
Hawaii’s recommendations to revamp the state charter school system would go a long way toward correcting accountability problems, four national experts told legislators at a briefing Wednesday.
ILLINOIS
New Reward For Smart Use of Longer School Day
Chicago Tribune, IL, January 11, 2012
Chicago Public Schools, which has handed out more than $7 million in incentives to teachers and schools willing to lengthen their school days this year, will distribute another $3 million in grants to schools showing ingenuity in how they use the extra 90 minutes.
INDIANA
Evaluations Not Test-Ready, But TSC Hopes To Pilot New System Soon
Journal and Courier, IN, January 12, 2012
No timeline has been set for the piloting of a teacher evaluation system being developed by the Tippecanoe School Corp. But the 14-member committee assigned to develop the new system continues to meet to finalize the process required by 2011 legislation.
KENTUCKY
Bill Would Give Indiana Parents Ability To Convert Schools To Charters
Louisville Courier Journal, KY, January 12, 2012
Parents could vote to convert traditional schools to charters under a bill an Indiana House committee passed Wednesday.
Hal Heiner Leads Effort To Open Kentucky To Charter Schools
Louisville Courier Journal, KY, January 12, 2012
Former Louisville mayoral candidate Hal Heiner is leading a campaign to allow charter schools to be established in Kentucky.
LOUISIANA
New Education Leaders Are Champions of Independent Charter Schools And Test-Based Accountability
Times Picayune, LA, January 11, 2012
Two of the top education posts in the state went through their second changing of the guard in the space of a year on Wednesday. Gov. Bobby Jindal’s pick, John White, won the job of state superintendent and then quickly named New Orleans native Patrick Dobard to succeed him as head of the state’s Recovery School District.
MASSACHUSETTS
Fairness Affirmed
Worcester Telegram & Gazette, MA, January 12, 2012
A Superior Court judge on Tuesday tossed out a lawsuit by 15 parents who had sought to shut down the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School . The decision is not only the right one on legal grounds, but reinforces principles of fairness in how public education operates throughout Massachusetts.
Martha’s Vineyard High School and Charter School Not on Same Team
Martha Vineyard Times, MA, January 11, 2012
Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School (MVPCS) director Bob Moore has begun a campaign urging a public debate aimed at reversing principal Steve Nixon’s denial of a request for a Charter School student to play on a Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) sports team.
MICHIGAN
District Refuses to Sell Unused Building to Public Charter School — Despite Receiving $250K Asking Price
Michigan Capital Confidential Blog, MI, January 12, 2012
Battle Creek Public Schools turned down an offer of $250,000 for a closed school building that came from a charter public school.
MISSISSIPPI
Charter Schools Are A Means To An End, Not Magic Fix
Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS, January 11, 2012
There’s no telling what the Legislature will fashion, but the core reality of a charter school is identical to secession.
MISSOURI
Charter School Bill Seeks Broad-Based Changes
St. Louis Beacon, MO, January 11, 2012
If a bill filed for the new session of the Missouri legislature passes, charter schools could spread to more areas of the state, be sponsored by more universities, have access to more buildings and have a new commission to add to the mix.
NEW JERSEY
Montclair Charter School Debate Goes Down To The Wire
Montclair Times, NJ, January 11, 2012
With a decision looming on whether the state should grant a new charter high school for Montclair, both sides in the long-standing debate over expanded school choice this week publicly traded barbs.
NEW MEXICO
Grading At-Risk Students
Albuquerque Journal, NM, January 12, 2012
The charter school, which primarily serves students in treatment for mental illness or drug addiction, is one of a handful of charters in the Albuquerque area that serves students with a high risk of failing in traditional schools.
NEW YORK
New York City Charter School Finds That a Grade of ‘C’ Means Closing
New York Times, NY, January 12, 2012
For the first time, New York City is closing a charter school for the offense of simply being mediocre.
Cuomo’s Slow Education
Wall Street Journal, January 12, 2012
Andrew Cuomo says he wants to be New York’s school reform Governor. That sounds great, but it’s going to require bolder leadership than setting up another education commission like the one he proposed last week.
Parents Fight Over Fort Greene Charter Expansion
Brooklyn Paper, NY, January 12, 2012
Parents at a Fort Greene elementary school are lashing out against the city’s proposal to move a new charter school into their building, claiming that their own expansion plans were denied to make room for a school with more political clout.
OHIO
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson Is Crafting A Plan For The Cleveland Schools And Gov. John Kasich Is Poised To Help Make It Happen
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, January 11, 2012
Mayor Frank Jackson is working on a plan to make the Cleveland schools academically successful and financially stable, a task that will require changes in state law and that Gov. John Kasich said “could set a standard for the whole state.”
Ohio Bill Would Divert Public Funds To Private Schools
Youngstown Vindicator, OH, January 12, 2012
Across the country, states are cutting budgets for public school funding and increasing funding for private schools and community schools in the form of vouchers. Ohio is no exception.
OKLAHOMA
TPS Inter-School Transfers To Be Limited
Tulsa World, OK, January 12, 2012
The recently approved changes to the Tulsa Public Schools student transfer policy and a related regulation could soon limit the number of approved parent requests for school-to-school moves.
OREGON
School Boards Need Better Leadership
Statesman Journal, OR, January 11, 2012
The Oregon School Boards Association hasn’t been a leader in reforming Oregon’s schools or its school boards. So the organization’s abrupt change in a leadership is a welcome sign.
RHODE ISLAND
Should Lincoln Establish Its Own Charter Schools?
Valley Breeze, RI, January 11, 2012
Members of the School Committee’s Charter School Subcommittee left last Thursday night’s meeting with much to ponder after Lincoln Teachers Association President Mary Ann McComiskey asked: What if the district established its own charter schools?
SOUTH DAKOTA
Educators Split Over Governor’s Anti-Tenure, Pro-Bonus Ideas
Daily Republic, SD, January 12, 2012
A pair of proposals from Gov. Dennis Daugaard is pitting educators against each other as they take sides over the issues of tenure and teacher bonuses.
TENNESSEE
Find A Way To Get Them Done
Commercial Appeal, TN, January 12, 2012
Because of their importance in teachers’ performance reviews, a way must be found to complete classroom observations.
VIRGINIA
McDonnell’s New Plan For Grading Teachers Coming Under Fire
WSLS, VA, January 11, 2012
As he makes the push for his new K-12 education plan, Governor Bob McDonnell says it’s time for an overhaul of the way Virginia grades it teachers — and decides if they should continue to be in classrooms. He’s asking state lawmakers to require teachers to go through yearly evaluations and receive yearly contracts.
WASHINGTON
Once-a-Year Teacher Evaluations
Seattle Times, WA, January 11, 2012
Donna Gordon Blankenship’s article, “Gates study finds scant evaluation of teachers,” did an excellent job explaining [the situation]. I absolutely agree that more effort needs to be put forward on evaluating teachers [NWSaturday, Jan. 7].
WEST VIRGINIA
Unions Concerned About Tomblin’s Plans For Teacher Evaluations, No Pay Raise
Charleston Gazette, WV, January 11, 2012
While education groups were pleased Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin called improving education one of his “highest priorities” in Wednesday’s State of the State address, teachers’ union leaders questioned how Tomblin planned to recruit and retain quality teachers without boosting teacher pay.
WISCONSIN
Waupun School District To Open Charter School
Fond do Lac Reporter, WI, January 11, 2012
Parents living in the Waupun School District and surrounding communities will have a new educational choice for their elementary school students beginning in the fall of this year.
School Board OKs New Charter School
Sheboygan Press, WI, January 11, 2012
Now that the Sheboygan School Board has approved a new charter school, the real work for the organizers can begin.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Saint Clair Schools Look Into Digital Learning
Republican Herald, MA, January 12, 2012
The Saint Clair Area School District is thinking about going digital in the classroom.
Cyberschools in Michigan Could Become Unlimited
Livingston Daily Press & Argus, MI, January 12, 2012
The prospect of an unlimited number of out-of-state companies educating Michigan students over the Internet has some educators and lawmakers nervous.
Online Schools To Face Same Standards As Traditional Ones
KKCO-TV, CO, January 11, 2012
The Colorado Department Of Education passed regulations Wednesday, holding online programs that teach kindergarten to high school students, to the same standards as regular schools.