Daily Headlines for August 26, 2011
Standardized Tests: Time For A National Opt-Out
The Baltimore Sun, MD, August 25, 2011
With every new testing mandate, combined with recent scandals chipping away at the once impossibly smooth veneer of test-based education reforms, many teachers, parents and administrators are getting frustrated. Where have market-driven and data-obsessed policies taken us over the last 10 years?
Ed Chief Duncan: Locals, Not Feds, Must Run Schools
Newsmax, August 26, 2011
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is downplaying the role of the federal government in the nation’s schools, pushing the responsibility to the local level.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
California Asks to Be Excused from No Child Left Behind Requirements
The Sacramento Bee, CA, August 26, 2011
State schools chief Tom Torlakson has asked for a reprieve from the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Schools Chief Seeks Relief From Law Labeling Schools As ‘Failing’
Los Angeles Times, CA, August 25, 2011
California’s top school official has requested immediate relief from federal guidelines that, if unaltered, would label nearly 80% of schools serving large numbers of low-income students as failing.
FLORIDA
Race to the Top: Florida to Seek Grant for Early-Childhood Education
The Orlando Sentinel, FL, August 25, 2011
Florida plans to compete for $100 million in the federal government’s latest Race to the Top program, assuming the Florida Legislature is willing to accept other federal money it had previously rejected.
Charter School Enrollment Climbs 56% in Hillsborough
WTSP, FL, August 25, 2011
State legislators and the governor have given families more school choice this school year and among the options are charter schools. These are publicly funded schools that are privately owned and operated. Hillsborough school district officials say charter school enrollment is up 56%.
ILLINOIS
Teachers Reject 2 Percent Pay Hike For 90 More Minutes In School Day
Chicago Sun-Times, IL, August 26, 2011
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis Thursday rejected an offer of a 2 percent raise for working a 90-minute-longer school day, saying teachers would not be “bullied” by public attempts to push through a slapdash plan.
INDIANA
IPS Board Votes To Sue Over Takeovers
The Indianapolis Star, IN, August 26, 2011
Next school year, four Indianapolis Public Schools will be among the first to be taken over by the state of Indiana, if the state Board of Education — as expected — approves that recommendation Monday.
Schools Work To Keep Pace With New Students
Daily Journal, IN, August 26, 2011
Greenwood Christian Academy’s 4-year-old building is too small. The private school has no classrooms to spare. Teachers have converted space in the school’s front lobby and a staff member’s office into classrooms, and next year three more will be built above the auditorium.
LOUISIANA
Ousted New Orleans Principals Sue the Recovery School District
The Times-Picayune, LA, August 25, 2011
State education officials will head to New Orleans civil district court Friday, facing a lawsuit from three public school principals they fired back in July.
Cao Wants To Be La. Education Chief
Associated Press, August 25, 2011
A former Republican congressman from New Orleans is pitching himself to be Louisiana’s next education superintendent.
MISSOURI
KC Schools Chief Says He’s Leaving
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, August 26, 2011
The possible departure of a popular Kansas City school superintendent has stirred concerns that the historically troubled district could fall back into a routine of uncertainty, one that has seen heavy turnover in the top leadership role for years.
Missouri Preparing To Apply for Millions of Dollars In Early Learning Grant
Southeast Missourian, MO, August 26, 2011
Improved access to early education in Missouri and other states could come soon in the form of federal grants, but only if the states can show efforts to improve on their own
NEW YORK
Teacher Rankings Ordered Released
Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2011
A state court on Thursday ordered New York City to release data that ranks thousands of schoolteachers based on student test scores, saying the public interest in disclosure overrides privacy concerns.
NY Appeals Court Rules That Teacher Ratings Can Be Made Public
Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2011
The New York City school system and its teachers union had been fighting in court over the ratings, which are based on a “value-added” analysis that links teachers to their students’ standardized test scores.
OREGON
Oregon Students Who Meet Common Core State Standards Will Be Ready For College, Study Says
The Oregonian, OR, August 25, 2011
High school students who meet new common state academic standards, as Oregon youth will be expected to do in three years, will be well prepared for college, according to results of a Eugene research center study released Wednesday.
PENNSYLVANIA
Hearing In Neshaminy Blasts Teacher Strikes
The Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, August 26, 2011
Pennsylvania must prohibit teacher strikes to ensure that children get the education they deserve and school districts are able to negotiate affordable contracts, lawmakers, school board officials, and parents told the state House Education Committee on Thursday.
Time For Ackerman To Get Specific With Her Accusations
The Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, August 26, 2011
Whatever else you can say about Arlene Ackerman’s $905,000 buyout, you can’t call it hush money. The former school-district superintendent has been on blast since she floated to a soft landing in her public/private parachute Wednesday.
Ackerman Blames Nutter, Union, And Politics For Her Ouster
The Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, August 25, 2011
In her first public comment since quitting as city school superintendent, Arlene C. Ackerman blamed Mayor Nutter, the teachers’ union, and other political forces for her removal, and said her troubles began when she refused to overrule parents in favor of a politically connected contractor.
Senate Considers Charter School Regs
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, August 26, 2011
A proposal to update the state’s rules for charter and cyber schools could bring more oversight to those institutions, but critics said Thursday that it still wouldn’t resolve issues with how those schools are funded.
RHODE ISLAND
Charter School Foes Speak Out
The Providence Journal, RI, August 26, 2011
Speakers at a packed rally Wednesday called Mayor Allan W. Fung’s plan for a new charter school a mistake and urged him to spend money on the city’s neglected public schools instead
City To Impose New Terms On Teachers
The Providence Journal, RI, August 25, 2011
After reaching an impasse in contract negotiations with the city’s teachers union, School Supt. Frances Gallo said late Wednesday afternoon that the district would unilaterally impose new terms on the district’s 330 teachers starting Sept. 1 — a move made only
once before by a school district in Rhode Island
UTAH
The Year of Choice?
Deseret News, UT, August 26, 2011
KSL-TV reported this week that school choice is gaining popularity in Utah, with some parents willing to drive many miles out of their way to deliver children to schools that best meet their needs.
VIRGINIA
Roanoke County School Board Considers Forgoing Federal Funds
Roanoke Times, VA, August 26, 2011
Roanoke County School Board members said they may forgo federal Title I funding to release some schools or even the entire division from the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
WASHINGTON
Everett School Board Meeting And Fighting Starts – Literally
Seattle Times, WA, August 25, 2011
Tuesday night, three Everett police cars showed up at that city’s school district offices after two 911 calls alleging Everett School Board members were assaulting each other.
VIRTUAL LEARNING
Metro’s Virtual School has 135-plus Openings
The Tennessean, TN, August 26, 2011
Metro Nashville Public Schools has openings for 135 full-time and several part-time students in its online high school.