Daily Headlines: December 8, 2011
City Schools Gain in Reading , Math
Wall Street Journal, December 8, 2011
Large urban school districts have made steady gains on elementary-school math and reading exams in the past nine years but continue to score far below national averages, according to federal data released Wednesday.
Students In Big-City Schools Show Gains In Latest NAEP ‘Report Card’
Christian Science Monitor, MA, December 7, 2011
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) National Report Card shows clear and positive trend lines for big-city schools, though the progress has been slow.
Number Of Students Attending Charter Schools Soars
Associated Press, December 7, 2011
The number of students attending charter schools has soared to more than 2 million as states pass laws lifting caps and encouraging their expansion, according to figures released Wednesday.
For Stronger Teacher Reviews, Principals Must Lead The Way
Lodi News Sentinel, CA, December 8, 2011
While teachers should be held accountable for doing their job effectively, we need to be realistic about what the results of a standardized test truly reveal about student achievement.
STATE COVERAGE
Charter School Enrollment Shows More Competition To Educate Kids
KOLD-TV, AZ, December 8, 2011
She watches success at BASIS Tucson attract more students. A larger campus will open on Tucson’s north side next school year. Another campus will also open in the Phoenix area and a new one will open in D.C.
Charter School Offers Alternative Education Experience
Merced Sun-Star, CA, December 8, 2011
Merced Scholars Charter School does things differently.
The sixth- through 12th-grade charter school has more than 100 students and stresses independent study and personalized learning.
Charter Schools In Colorado Near Head Of The Class In Enrollment
Denver Post, CO, December 8, 2011
Nearly 20 years after the country’s first public charter school opened, charter schools in Colorado are enrolling more students than ever.
Superintendents Offer School Revolution
Register Citizen, CT, December 8, 2011
The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents has added its recommendations to the growing stack of school reform proposals.
DC. Schools’ Test-Score Gap By Race Largest in U.S.
Washington Times, DC, December 7, 2011
While students in other large urban school districts have made significant progress on standardized reading and math tests in recent years, achievement gaps between black and white students remain stubbornly high, with the most lopsided disparities of all coming in the nation’s capital.
Rise of D.C. Charter Schools
Washington Post Blog, DC, December 8, 2011
We don’t know whether public charter schools will raise American education to a new level. The independent, tax-supported schools just passed the 2 million student mark, but that’s only 4 percent of schoolchildren.
Charter Schools See Large Enrollment Jump, in Polk and Across Nation
The Ledger, FL, December 8, 2011
More than 2 million students in the nation are now attending more than 5,600 public charter schools, marking the largest single-year jump in enrollment, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
Charter School Task Force Recommends An Overhaul of the System
Honolulu Civil Beat, HI, December 7, 2011
A limit on the number of charter schools in Hawaii would be lifted if the recommendations of a task force are adopted.
Study Details Societal Ramifications For High School Dropouts
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 7, 2011
Teens who drop out of high school have a greater likelihood of ending up in jail, being unemployed, relying on food stamps and becoming a fiscal drain on society than those who graduate, according to a new study commissioned by the Chicago Alternative Schools Network.
Charter School Suit Heads To Appeals Court
Southtown Star, IL, December 7, 2011
The legal squabbles between Rich Township High School District 227 and Southland College Prep Charter School continue Thursday before the Illinois Court of Appeals.
Ball State Turns Down Indy Charter Schools
Indianapolis Star, IN, December 7, 2011
Two Indianapolis charter schools — Fall Creek Academy and Fountain Square Academy — are in danger of closing at the school year’s end after Ball State University turned down their applications seeking sponsorship.
‘B’ Average In Reform Plan Is Not Unreasonable
Des Moines Register , IA, December 7, 2011
I appreciate The Des Moines Register’s focus on education reform and the work we need to do in Iowa to build world-class schools. However, the recent editorial, “Reform Has Too Much Emphasis on GPA” (Dec. 7), misses the mark.
Jefferson Parish School Board Approves 2 Charter Schools
Times Picayune, LA, December 7, 2011
The Jefferson Parish School Board on Wednesday approved the applications of two charter school groups, but in the process turned down requests from several others, including those backed by Jefferson Parish business groups.
Louisiana Education Board Approves 9 New Charter School Operators For New Orleans
Times Picayune, LA, December 7, 2011
The state board of education has cleared the way for nine different groups to open charter schools in New Orleans during the next few years.
BESE Approves Teacher Evaluation Revamp; Begins Statewide In Fall
Times Picayune, LA, December 7, 2011
New scoring standards for public school teachers that will link evaluations partly to student performance scores have received final approval from the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. BESE gave passage to the plans Wednesday, a day after granting preliminary backing for the teacher evaluation grading scale.
For City Schools, Good News And Bad News
Baltimore Sun, MD, December 7, 2011
Our view: The city schools seem to be holding their own on a recent national achievement test, but they still have a long way to go to graduate students who are truly competitive in a global marketplace
Old-School Thinking
Boston Globe, MA, December 8, 2011
Talking to Boston Teachers Union chief Richard Stutman can feel like chatting with a United Auto Workers rep in the days before Toyota. He makes sense, as long as you ignore the fact that it’s 2011, and a new crop of more efficient carmakers – that would be charter schools – are sucking away customers at an alarming clip.
Educators Tell State Panel To Look Beyond Test Scores To Create Teacher Evaluations
Grand Rapids Press, MI, December 7, 2011
It’s going to take more than a look at test scores to tell if teachers are doing a good job, educators told the blue ribbon panel assembled to create a state-wide teacher evaluation system.
Montana Schools Won’t Seek Waiver From No Child Left Behind
The Missoulian, MT, December 7, 2011
Montana’s top school official said Wednesday the state won’t ask the Obama administration for new exemptions from the federal No Child Left Behind Act, because they’re too expensive and don’t make sense for Montana.
Local Educators Resist N.Y. Schools Chief’s Push To Merge Districts
The Journal News, NJ, December 7, 2011
The state education commissioner’s call for the possible large-scale merger of school districts — citing Westchester and Long Island , in particular, as worthy targets — is receiving little initial enthusiasm from local school officials.
Pilot Teacher Evaluation System Slow to Gain Traction in Newark
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 8, 2011
In New Jersey ‘s highest-profile school district, plans to test one of Gov. Chris Christie’s highest-profile reform initiatives have gotten off to a bumpy start with the teachers union.
Fine Print: Sen. Buono’s Teacher Quality Bill
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 8, 2011
Rather than relying heavily on test scores, this bill focuses on peer evaluations and student portfolios
Students Fight To Keep South Valley Charter School Open
KOB, NM, December 7, 2011
A South Valley charter school is in danger of closing its doors. That would effect more than 400 students. Students at the El Camino Real Academy have fought to bring their scores up and keep their doors open. But now they are hearing Albuquerque Public Schools does not want to approve them.
Group Funds Uneasy Rivals
Albany Times Union, NY, December 7, 2011
One of the city’s most generous supporters of parochial schools is the not-for-profit group that supports charter schools, even though the schools compete directly for students.
Parents Come to the Rescue of a Cherished Public School
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 8, 2011
For the small but high-achieving school, that would mean laying off support staff who keep students safe and on task. Parents and teachers wept. They fumed. And then they mobilized.
Turnout Is Light For 1st Hearing On Charter School Plan
Providence Journal, RI, December 7, 2011
About 75 people braved the rain Wednesday night for the first of two public hearings on a proposal to open two charter schools in Providence that would be run by Achievement First, a charter operator with 20 schools in 2 nearby states.
Lincoln Leaders Exploring Impact Of Charter Schools
Valley Breeze Newspaper, RI, December 7, 2011
With the possibility of the Blackstone Valley Prep mayoral academy expanding into Lincoln, school and town officials have begun talking about the impact charter schools would have on the town’s existing public school system.
Drayton Hall Still Pursuing Charter
Post and Courier, SC, December 8, 2011
Donloyn Gadson hasn’t given up hope that one day Drayton Hall Elementary will become a charter school.
Uncontrolled Experiments
Austin Chronicle, TX, December 8, 2011
AISD says charters and single-sex academies will lift all students’ boats – and attacks any research that says otherwise
Austin Education Labor Group Wants To Keep Its Exclusive Status
American Statesman, TX, December 7, 2011
Officials with labor group Education Austin have accused Superintendent Meria Carstarphen of threatening to dilute their role in salary negotiations and other matters in response to the group publicly criticizing her plans to establish district-supported charter schools in East Austin.
School Funding, Choice Discussed
Staunton News Leader, VA, December 8, 2011
During a panel discussion at the gathering, Del. Steve Landes, R-Weyers Cave , touted school choice through charter schools or tax credits as a way to improve educational opportunities for Virginia families.
New Seattle School Board Could Bring Significant Change To District
Seattle Times, WA, December 7, 2011
New members Sharon Peaslee and Marty McLaren appear to have shifted the balance of power of the old board, likely leading to more close votes. Priorities are expected to include finding technology-based solutions to budget cuts and giving more flexibility to schools.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Is Mandating Online Learning Good Policy?
Forbes, December 7, 2011
An increasing number of advocates for online learning have come out in favor of mandating that states require students take at least one college- or career-prep course online to earn a high school diploma.
Crowd Rallies Against Proposed Virtual Charter School in Teaneck
The Record, NJ, December 7, 2011
A boisterous crowd of students, parents and faculty packed the Teaneck High School gym Wednesday afternoon to protest a proposed virtual charter school they claim would wreck the district’s budget and force painful cuts.
K-12 Funding A Hot Topic At Richmond Meeting
The Virginian, VA, December 8, 2011
The lawmaker said there are relatively new initiatives such as charter schools and virtual schools, but he said it is important to determine “if that is what the community wants.
State Board Of Education Says Cap On Cyber Charters Should Be Lifted Only After Review Of Existing Schools, Conditions
Grand Rapids Press, MI, December 7, 2011
State Board of Education members say they don’t want the cap on so-called cyber charter schools lifted until the two existing schools can be studied and there are guarantees the schools follow the same rules as brick and mortar programs.
LASD Shares Best Practices Using Khan Academy And Blended Learning
Los Altos Town Crier, CA, December 7, 2011
The Los Altos School District last week hosted “Innovations in Education,” a demonstration of its use of Khan Academy tools to improve students’ math skills within the regular mathematics curriculum.