Daily Headlines for August 19, 2011
Survey Suggests Americans Support Teachers, But Not Online Education
eSchool News, August 18, 2011
New poll results from Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup reveal that the American public has an overall positive outlook on its children’s schools, although poll respondents seem to oppose online learning.
Rhee And Ravitch, Leading Schools Figures, Square Off In Martha’s Vineyard
Washington Post, DC, August 18, 2011
It wasn’t quite the Smackdown in Edgartown, but two leading figures in the national education debate politely collided here Thursday over the causes of failing schools and the best ways to rescue them.
Poll: Nation’s Schools Stink, But Own OK
Washington Times, DC, August 18, 2011
The public may have serious doubts about the quality of the nation’s education system, but faith in American teachers remains high, according to a major new survey from Gallup and the professional education association Phi Delta Kappa International.
School Accountability Is Still A Good Idea
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, August 19, 2011
This basic reality – that people cannot accurately evaluate their own work – is key to understanding the recent battles over school accountability. No Child Left Behind revolutionized public education by emphasizing data and transparency. Public schools now measure and report student achievement by subgroup: ethnicity, disability, English-language proficiency, and income. Those failing to educate any group are labeled as “needing improvement” – which no school administrator wants on his resumé.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
California Loses $11.5 Million In Federal Funding For Charter Schools
Sacramento Bee, CA, August 19, 2011
The reduction came months after officials at the U.S. Department of Education warned that the state did not meet requirements of the Charter Schools Program, which funds two- and three-year grants for new charter schools, said Lupita Cortez Alcalá, a deputy superintendent with the California Department of Education.
Yucaipa School Raises Flag As Newest Charter School
Press-Enterprise, CA, August 18, 2011
The Yucaipa-Calimesa school district placed the charter school at the former Meadow Creek Elementary School . Administrators hope to attract new students and retain the ones they have with the addition of the charter school.
COLORADO
Lobato Case Is Crucial To Education
Denver Post, CO, August 19, 2011
The Colorado school budget landscape is not a pretty picture. To make ends meet, many districts offer fewer hours of instruction, switch to four-day weeks, or cut electives and foreign languages. Numerous districts can’t even offer coursework necessary for a student to enter a four-year college.
CONNECTICUT
Parent Groups, Magnet And Charter Schools Left Off School Finance Panel
Connecticut Mirror, CT, August 18, 2011
The task force named this week to propose reforms to the way the state finances local education includes a number of high-level members from the Malloy Administration, the legislature and the education world–but no representation from a parent organization or a magnet or charter school.
New Norwich Charter School Proposal Is In The Offing
The Connecticut Day, CT, August 19, 2011
Unfazed by a City Council committee’s renewed recommendation to tear down the former Greeneville School, resident Ron Ward said he will submit a new application to the state this fall for a Montessori-based charter school there or elsewhere in the city.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. Commissions a Schools Analysis
Washington Post, DC, August 18, 2011
The Gray administration has commissioned an Illinois firm with close ties to the charter school movement to study how D.C. neighborhoods are served by the public education system and help officials decide which schools should be closed and where new ones might be opened.
FLORIDA
Academy Controversy Now Is Academic
Marco Eagle, FL, August 18, 2011
Monday is the big day for one of the boldest moves in public education ever on Marco Island . Unless there’s been some delay after our column’s deadline, the Marco Island Academy will open its doors in leased space on Winterberry Drive . There are some remarkable facets to the story of this school.
A Challenging School Year Awaiting Students
Bradenton Herald, FL, August 19, 2011
Students, beware. Parents, too. Florida continues to tighten the screws on the public school system with new laws intended to improve student achievement even with deep cuts in education spending.
ILLINOIS
The Fourth Revolution
Chicago Tribune, IL, August 19, 2011
The Chicago Public Schools system has gone through three attempted revolutions in the 16 years since state lawmakers handed power over the schools to the mayor of Chicago . Three revolutions. Three impressive revolutionaries in charge: Paul Vallas,Arne Duncan, Ron Huberman.
Benefits of Merit Pay Unclear
Chicago News Cooperative, IL, August 19, 2011
As Chicago Public Schools officials begin to shape a new system of merit pay for principals, experts say there are important lessons to be learned from cities that have experimented with similar initiatives.
INDIANA
Trust Parents With School Choice
Indianapolis Star, IN, August 19, 2011
Can parents be trusted to make wise choices on behalf of their children’s education? That’s the real question at the heart of the ongoing debate about Indiana ‘s new school voucher program.
Voucher Students Relish Chance At Private School
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, August 19, 2011
St. Therese Catholic School Principal Chuck Grimm believes there are some problems that are good to have. And this year, he said, his Catholic school is blessed with several.
MISSOURI
Legislative Committee to Study Impact of School Transfer Rulings
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, August 18, 2011
Six state Senators have been named to a joint legislative committee that will examine the potential impact of court decisions involving parents in failing school districts who want to tra
nsfer their children to better schools.
NEW JERSEY
Transportation Costs Imperil School Choice
Asbury Park Press, NJ, August 18, 2011
Students opting for another public school need to know well in advance about transportation costs, which will be one of the main issues that limits participation in both the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program and, if it ever passes, the scholarship program for kids to leave failing public schools in New Jersey and attend better private schools.
NEW MEXICO
Two Charter School Options Should Get State Go-Ahead
Rio Grande Sun, NM, August 18, 2011
Española Valley parents have a great parent power in front of them. Two good charter school models were presented last week to the state’s Public Education Commission.
OKLAHOMA
Urban Teacher Academy Produces Teachers With Real-World Experience
The Oklahoman, OK, August 19, 2011
First-year teachers trained through the Urban Teacher Preparation Academy at the University of Central Oklahoma say the new school year has been challenging in a rewarding way.
OREGON
Oregon Teachers Union Hands Out Harsh Grades, Even To Longtime Legislative Allies
The Oregonian, OR, August 18, 2011
The Oregon Education Association scorecard for the 2011 legislative session looks something like the report card received by John Belushi’s wayward fraternity in “Animal House:” Senate President Peter Courtney: F.
PENNSYLVANIA
Former Pa. Education Secretary Suggests Lawmakers Consider Limited Voucher Plan
Patriot News, PA, August 18, 2011
A former state education chief who advocated school vouchers in the 1990s suggests state lawmakers first consider a more limited voucher plan targeted to kids in failing schools.
Tuition Vouchers Are Unconstitutional
Pottsville Mercury News, PA, August 19, 2011
The continuing battle over taxpayer-funded tuition vouchers, fueled by wealthy out-of-state billionaires, has become a distraction from more important political action items, including developing the commonwealth’s economy, creating new jobs, and continuing the underreported academic progress made by public schools in recent years.
RHODE ISLAND
Providence Mayor Taveras Supports RI Mayoral Academies
Providence Journal, RI, August 18, 2011
Mayor Angel Taveras Thursday said he fully supports the establishment of mayoral academies in Rhode Island.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Charter School Effort Behind Before It Starts
Beaufort Gazette, SC, August 18, 2011
The 1996 state law allowing charter schools was intended to infuse public education with new ideas and instructional methods, not to serve as a form of protest for the aggrieved.
TEXAS
IDEA Starts New Year Ready To Work Harder
The Monitor, TX, August 18, 2011
Since IDEA’s first school opened 10 years ago in a renovated church in Donna, the district has accepted more than 9,600 students and successfully matriculated every graduate into college. And more than 90 percent are in college today.
WASHINGTON
Charter School Loses Appeal
Spokesman Review, WA, August 19, 2011
A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of an Idaho charter school’s lawsuit against state officials who barred use of the Bible and other religious texts as a teaching tool in the classroom.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
The Growth of Virtual Learning
New Hampshire Public Radio, NH, August 19, 2011
The idea of virtual learning is growing in the American education system. More students from Kindergarten through 12th grade are learning in front of a screen rather than from a live teacher. While some say the format is cost efficient and tailored to each individual’s learning speed, others say essential components of the schooling system, such as development of social skills and hands on lessons, are being compromised in the process.
Cyber Schools Deserve Support
The Altoona Mirror, PA, August 19, 2011
As a parent of two children who attend a Pennsylvania public cyber charter school, I couldn’t agree more with Hollidaysburg Superintendent Paul Gallagher in the Mirror’s July 12 story when he said, “Public education is the backbone of our country, and we need to support it.”
Bedford County Begins Offering Online Classes For Students
WDBJ, VA, August 18, 2011
Through an effort called “blended learning,” students will be able to take certain classes on the internet, instead of in a traditional classroom
Highland Holding Off On Online Classroom Option
West Side Leader, OH, August 18, 2011
After announcing last month the possibility for students to make up excessive calamity days in online classrooms, Superintendent Catherine Aukerman recommended Highland Local Schools not pursue it this year at the Board of Education’s Aug. 15 meeting.
Enrollment Request Pulled By Online Charter School
The Advocate, LA, August 18, 2011
Faced with opposition, leaders of Louisiana’s first online charter school for most grades has dropped plans to immediately expand its enrollment by 67 percent.
Community Voices Concern Over Online Education Requirements
Idaho Press-Tribune , ID, August 19, 2011
Residents of Ada and Canyon counties had an opportunity to voice their opinions regarding a controversial proposal that would require Idaho high school students to take two online courses to graduate.