Daily Headlines for April 11, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
Lawsuits Start To Pile Up On Plans To Close Schools
Washington Post, DC, April 11, 2013
There’s a list of them in Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Milwaukee, New York and the District, and major cities on the eastern and western ends of Pennsylvania have lists, too, as do other cities.
The Public Must Save Public Schools
St. Louis American, MO, April 11, 2013
There is a continued assault on the institution of education from within and without and from sea to shining sea. The public school experiment over the last couple of generations has not been without consequence to the individual student, our communities and ultimately the nation.
Obama Budget’s Big Education Items: Preschool For All, College Race To The Top
Christian Science Monitor, MA, April 10, 2013
President Obama’s budget proposal gives the Education Department $71.2 billion in discretionary spending for fiscal year 2014. Preschool for All would be funded by a tax hike on cigarettes.
Students Get 2nd Chances To Learn, Graduate
Deseret News, UT, April 10, 2013
Educational software that meets learners where they are, then guides them through school subjects at their chosen pace, is proving especially valuable to non-traditional high school students. Sixty-two percent of U.S. students taking makeup classes for courses they failed took them online, according to 2012 figures from the National Center for Education Statistics.
STATE COVERAGE
ARIZONA
Arizona’s Public Schools Getting Creative To Compete For Students
Cronkite News, AZ, April 10, 2013
Conducting exit interviews with students and parents who choose charter or private schools over public schools.
CALIFORNIA
Parents Choose Unique School Takeover Model In ‘Trigger’ Vote
The Hechinger Report, April 10, 2013
In the latest test of California’s controversial “parent trigger” law, South Los Angeles parents have voted to transform their struggling neighborhood school into a charter school hybrid beginning this fall, organizers announced Wednesday.
San Carlos District To Consider Adding Two Charter Schools
San Jose Mercury News, CA, April 11, 2013
Since six of San Carlos’ seven public elementary and middle schools are charters, Superintendent Craig Baker tonight is expected to seek similar status for two new schools the district plans to build.
COME BACK KIDS: Charter School To Offer Dropout Recovery
Press-Enterprise, CA, April 10, 2013
The Riverside County Board of Education approved a Come Back Kids charter school Wednesday, April 10.
Parents Make Case For YES Charter School Before Yuba Board
Yuba Appeal-Democrat, CA, April 11, 2013
Attorneys and supporters of YES Charter Academy challenged Marysville Joint Unified School District findings on Wednesday while pleading their case for a charter renewal during a public hearing at the
Yuba County Board of Education meeting.
Parents Choose LAUSD, Charter School To Run Jefferson Park Campus
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 10, 2013
Parents at 24th Street Elementary School have overwhelmingly chosen a partnership between the Los Angeles Unified School District and a charter school to run the persistently low-performing Jefferson Park campus.
CONNECTICUT
State Receives Proposals For New Charter Schools
CT Post, CT, April 10, 2013
The state received seven applications for new charter schools this week, including one for a Montessori school in Bridgeport that would be run in conjunction with the city school board.
DELAWARE
Christina May Turn Back On $2.3 Million
The News Journal, DE, April 11, 2013
The board also made clear Tuesday night that it would rather walk away from its share of Delaware’s Race to the Top money — $2.3 million — than accept a new state evaluation system for teachers.
FLORIDA
The Dark Side Of Parent Trigger
Miami Herald, FL, April 10, 2013
The crusade to privatize public education continues gaining ground in the Florida Legislature, where the controversial bill to have a traditional neighborhood school transformed into a charter school, among other options, sails at full speed under the premise of empowering parents to turn around a school that’s failing their children.
Education Bills Address Class Choices
Tallahassee Democrat, FL, April 10, 2013
Florida lawmakers for years have supported school choice policies like vouchers and charter schools. State Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, says he wants to create “choice within choice” — allowing students to pick individual courses from outside the existing offerings of the state’s education system.
GEORGIA
Savannah-Chatham Public Schools Rightsizing Goes Wrong
Savannah Morning News, GA, April 11, 2013
Wednesday Savannah-Chatham Public School officials presented plans for shifting around students from the highly successful Early College and Woodville-Tompkins programs in order to fill up woefully underutilized Savannah High and make space for new and growing programs.
IDAHO
Idaho Charter Schools Eye New State Dollars
Idaho State Journal, ID, April 10, 2013
While Idaho charter schools may be months away from getting their split in about $1.4 million in funding promised by lawmakers, some school administrators say they are having no problem figuring out how they’ll spend the extra cash.
ILLINOIS
Charter School Wars Hurting All Children
Chicago Sun Times, IL, April 10, 2013
Charter schools have become a flash point in this city’s school wars, praised by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, demonized by the Chicago Teachers Union, and targeted for a moratorium by a faction of the City Council.
INDIANA
Senate Narrowly OKs Expanding Vouchers
The Journal Gazette, IN, April 11, 2013
More Hoosier children will be eligible for state-paid vouchers under a bill narrowly approved by the Senate on Wednesday.
IOWA
House GOP Offers Education Concession
Des Moines Register, IA, April 11, 2013
There’s no deal yet on education reform, one of Gov. Terry Branstad’s top priorities, but House Republicans have offered a major concession aimed at compromising with Senate Democrats.
KANSAS
Mount Hope Fails To Obtain Charter
The Hutchinson News, KS, April 10, 2013
A bid to establish a rural-life charter school at Mount Hope failed.
MAINE
Proposal Would Make All Maine Districts, Not Just Local Ones, Responsible For Charter School Funding
Bangor Daily News, ME, April 10, 2013
Lawmakers reacted warmly Tuesday to a concept presented by Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen that would drastically change how charter schools in Maine are funded, spreading the financial responsibility to every school district in the state.
MASSACHUSETTS
Holyoke Parents Set To Lobby Lawmakers For Additional Charter Schools
The Republican, MA, April 10, 2013
Between 100 and 200 parents are scheduled to travel to Beacon Hill Thursday to urge legislators to allow more charter schools here, a spokesman for the group said Wednesday.
Dismantling Of Ed Reform
Worcester Telegram, MA, April 11, 2013
The Gov. Deval Patrick administration has finally come clean, admitting that MCAS will soon be a thing of the past.
Flunking The Test
Boston Globe, MA, April 11, 2013
Starting this spring, Rhode Island high school seniors will have to pass the New England Common Assessment Program to get their diploma. The new requirement is the latest effort by the Rhode Island Department of Education to improve low-performing high schools. But does high-stakes testing ensure the state’s students are properly prepared to succeed in a 21st century workforce? A group of local high school students is raising the question.
MICHIGAN
Muskegon Heights Schools Emergency Manager, Charter Company Detail Steps To Address ‘Academic Tragedy’
The Muskegon Chronicle, MI, April 10, 2013
With most high school students’ learning three grades behind, teachers in Muskegon Heights’ new charter school are “pre-teaching” students and providing extra before- and after-school instruction to help students catch up.
MONTANA
SB 374 Aims To Establish Public Charter Schools
Beartooth NBC, MT, April 10, 2013
The House Board of Education heard public comment on a bill today that aims to establish public charter schools in the state of Montana.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Gov. Hassan Touts Casino’s Potential Impact On Education Funding During Tour Of Manchester Charter School
New Hampshire Union Leader, NH, April 11, 2013
Gov. Maggie Hassan visited a Manchester charter school on Wednesday and said her plan for a casino represents a way to pay for an expansion of charter schools in the state.
NEW JERSEY
N.J. Teacher Evaluation On The Wrong Track
Star-Ledger, NJ, April 10, 2013
The New Jersey Department of Education has proposed major changes in the rules governing how public school teachers are evaluated. The idea is to use students’ standardized test scores to measure how well teachers are doing their jobs.
New N.J. School Reports Released By State Education Department; Bring New Rankings, Data
Star-Ledger, NJ, April 10, 2013
New school performance reports released today by the state Department of Education place each school in a new “peer group” with 30 other schools with similar demographics.
NEW YORK
10,000 Students Cheer State Tax Credit Bill To Help Private Schools
Buffalo News, NY, April 11, 2013
The cheers Wednesday morning in First Niagara Center were louder and heartier than the Buffalo Sabres have been able to elicit from fans this season.
NORTH CAROLINA
Superintendent Says Charter School Recruitment Violated Policy
Shelby Star, NC, April 10, 2013
Cleveland County Schools officials say supporters of a new charter school have been recruiting students from one of their campuses. But organizers at Pinnacle Classical Academy say they don’t need to recruit and supporters were acting without the approval of Pinnacle board members.
Senate, House Leaders Differ On Teacher Tenure
News & Observer, NC, April 10, 2013
A major fissure opened Wednesday between House and Senate leaders on how to evaluate the state’s 93,000 teachers and grade schools.
OHIO
Local Schools Take Big Hits In House GOP Budget Plan
Columbus Dispatch, OH, April 11, 2013
Ohio schools would get $121 million less next year under a House Republican funding plan unveiled on Tuesday compared with an earlier proposal from Gov. John Kasich, a state Department of Education analysis shows.
PENNSYLVANIA
Education Advocates Push Changes In Phila.
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 10, 2013
Stop filling any Philadelphia School District vacancy on the basis of teacher seniority. Overhaul recruitment policies. Get rid of ineffective principals. Tie school safety to administrators’ ratings.
Group Wants Philly Teacher, Principal Reforms
Philadelphia Inquirer Blog, PA, April 10, 2013
A newly-formed umbrella group of many of the city’s leading education nonprofits hopes to affect the upcoming Philadelphia teachers’ contract.
Finances Detailed For York School Options
York Daily Record, PA, April 10, 2013
Both options proposed to reform the York City School District could balance the budget in future years, according to financial projections presented Wednesday night. But either way, the district would need to draw students back from existing charter schools.
TENNESSEE
Charter Authorizer Plan Sent To House Floor After Senate Bill Slowdown
The Tennessean, TN, April 11, 2013
Lawmakers in the Tennessee House of Representatives pushed on with a bill that would set up a new panel to review charter school applications, a day after major questions delayed the measure in the Senate.
Reducing Welfare Payments For Parents Of Failing Students Is Not A Solution Toward Better Grades
Commercial Appeal, TN, April 10, 2013
If Campfield and Dennis really want to do something to encourage students to perform better in school, maybe they could sponsor bills that create an incentive program to award monetary stipends to poverty-challenged students who earn good grades. That makes more sense than fiscally punishing parents who are already living in poverty — and the children who depend on them.
TEXAS
Charter School’s Entry Fee Is Illegal
Houston Chronicle, TX, April 10, 2013
Houston Gateway Academy, a public charter school that serves mostly low-income families, was charging parents fees to enroll their children in violation of state law, according to the Texas Education Agency.
IDEA Finds New Home After AISD Breakup
American-Statesman, TX, April 10, 2013
Leaders of IDEA Public Schools, whose partnership with the Austin school district divided the community, announced Tuesday afternoon they found a new location.
WISCONSIN
Local Control Lost Under Charter School Proposal
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, April 10, 2013
When reading Monday’s letter “Support charter schools in Wisconsin” from the state director of Democrats for Education Reform, Wisconsin Chapter, it’s easy to think charter schools provide tangible benefits to students. He has the right idea, but charter schools are not the only or best answer.
ONLINE LEARNING
Charter Reform Sought By Seneca Valley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, April 11, 2013
Seneca Valley school board members want to reform Pennsylvania’s cyber charter school law, and they want the public to join their quest.
Senate Seeking Compromise On Funding For Online Classes
StateImpact NPR, FL, April 10, 2013
A Senate committee is attempting to defuse a funding dispute between the state-sponsored Florida Virtual School and private online providers.
Schools Exploring Online Learning
Tiffin Advertiser Tribune, OH, April 11, 2013
Columbian High School students, administrators and teachers discussed the benefits of online learning at their Virtual High School Collaborative Open House Wednesday.
Dist. 303 Charter School Rejection May Be Template For Battle
Chicago Daily Herald, IL, April 10, 2013
In denying the application for a virtual charter school this week, St. Charles Unit District 303 may have revealed the cornerstone of the argument up to 18 school districts involved in the decision will soon bring to a state commission.
House Bill Would Ban New Virtual Charter Schools In Illinois For 3 Years
Quad Cities Dispatch, IL, April 10, 2013
An Illinois House committee on Wednesday passed a controversial bill that would put a three-year freeze on the creation of new virtual charter schools in Illinois.