Daily Headlines for June 24, 2013
NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.
NATIONAL COVERAGE
How education schools can turn out better teachers
Editorial, Chicago Tribune, June 22, 2013
College students who aspire to be teachers often graduate from teacher prep programs unprepared to run a classroom effectively. That takes a toll on their health and happiness and on their students’ academic performance.
Time for a re-evaluation of teacher training
Editorial, Seattle Times, June 23, 2013
Teacher-training programs nationwide need to rethink the skills educators need for today and tomorrow’s classrooms.
No Child Left Behind brought strict standards, unattainable goals
Concord Monitor, June 24, 2013
When No Child Left Behind passed with bipartisan support from Congress in 2001, it promised a new system of accountability that would raise academic expectations and bring all students – rich, poor, black, white, mentally or physically disabled, limited English speakers – to the same level of achievement.
STATE COVERAGE
ALABAMA
School tax credit may have few takers
Editorial
Gadsden Times, June 23, 2013
Seventy-eight Alabama schools were branded last week as failing under the Alabama Accountability Act. One of them was Gadsden’s Litchfield Middle School.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
School reform in D.C. should stay the course
Editorial
Washington Post, June 22, 2013
MAYOR VINCENT C. GRAY’S (D) first speech dedicated to education, delivered last week, contained no dramatic proposals or revolutionary changes. That is a good thing.
Principal of Alexandria’s Jefferson-Houston School asks state for more time to improve
Washington Post, June 23, 2013
Principal Rosalyn Rice-Harris has been counting small victories since she took on the urgent task of reversing more than a decade of low achievement at Alexandria’s Jefferson-Houston School.
Maryland teachers prepare for tougher math curriculum under Common Core
Washington Post, June 23, 2013
A team of teachers and the principal of Piney Branch Elementary School hovered over two math questions designed to test fourth-grade students on their understanding of perimeter.
FLORIDA
Education challenges mean all options should be on the table
Opinion
Sun Sentinel, June 24, 2013
Last week we were pleased to see the City of Pembroke Pines and the Broward Teacher’s Union came to an agreement, albeit under enormous pressure, to keep the Pembroke Pines Charter Schools open.
With More Than 400 Students on a Waiting List, Lake Wales Needs Middle Schools
News Chief, June 23, 2013
With more than 400 students on a waiting list to attend Edward W. Bok Academy, it’s clear Lake Wales Charter Schools Inc. needs to expand to local middle schools.
Pinellas abruptly closes Ben Gamla charter school
Tampa Bay Times, June 23, 2013
Ben Gamla was closing, and it had nothing to do with the school’s performance or finances — but a seeming technicality.
Charting a new course for Rowlett Elementary School
Bradenton Herald, June 23, 2013
Manatee County could have its first charter school conversion in the fall of 2014 if Rowlett Elementary school successfully submits an application by Aug. 1 for school board approval — a complex challenge that has brought together a diverse group of planners.
Charter conversion is not common
Herald Tribune, June 22, 2013
Though state law has granted public schools the option to convert to a charter operation since 1996, only 20 operate in the state of Florida. If approved in August, Rowlett Elementary will be the first public school to convert to a charter operation in the past five years.
Charter school management companies flex political muscle as enrollment grows
Florida Times Union Blog, June 22, 2013
He was at an April meeting in support of a bill that would create a slate of accountability measures for charter schools. The former education commissioner and state senator from Clay County now lobbies for a host of charter school companies and organizations.
ILLINOIS
Teachers union blasts Emanuel’s school board choice
Chicago Sun Times, June 21, 2013
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has named an investment banker with ties to charter school organizations to serve on the Chicago Board of Education.
LOUISIANA
New Orleans Schools
Letter
New York Times, June 24, 2013
Sarah Carr is correct that in our efforts to improve education, New Orleans has unwittingly split schools and communities.
New city sought for school district
The Advocate, June 23, 2013
Residents of southeast Baton Rouge fighting for an independent school district are taking a page from the city of Central and mounting a campaign to form their own municipality.
MARYLAND
Companies back STEM efforts as Maryland seeks to revamp science education
Baltimore Sun, June 24, 2013
Students across Maryland would see revamped science classes under curriculum standards the state school board will consider Tuesday — part of a broader effort by educators, researchers and businesses to kindle innovation in children well before they enter the workforce.
Unleashing charter school innovation
Opinion
Frederick News Post, June 23, 2013
U.S. News magazine’s recently released Teacher Preparation Rankings report is one of the best and most important ever published, and has implications for our elected officials.
MASSACHUSETTS
Reshaping the debate on Mass. charter schools
Boston Globe, June 22, 2013
Not every graduate student who passes through Boston leaves a lasting influence on the city. But Chris Walters, a Virginia native who this month received his PhD in economics from MIT, may just be one of them.
Charter school bill stirring debate
Lowell Sun, June 22, 2013
Legislation aimed at closing achievement gaps in Massachusetts schools would make it easier to open charter schools, especially in the worst-performing districts, and give schools power to override unions on hiring without seniority or lengthening school days.
MICHIGAN
At schools, a new ‘white flight’
Battle Creek Enquirer, June 22, 2013
With a lot of angst, Barbour and his wife decided to withdraw their four kids from Albion and use the state’s Schools of Choice program to send them to Homer Community Schools.
NEVADA
Holding charter schools accountable
Opinion
Las Vegas Sun, June 22, 2013
The release of the Silver State’s first round of school star ratings under the Nevada School Performance Framework this month marks a new era for our state’s education system — one that is particularly focused on student achievement.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
End the pointless private school voucher program
Opinion
Portsmouth Herald, June 24, 2013
Last Monday, Strafford Superior Court Judge John Lewis ruled that paying religious schools with vouchers funded by New Hampshire tax credits would violate the New Hampshire Constitution. That’s an important victory for New Hampshire taxpayers and our public schools.
Hopes for charter school expansion receive boost
New Hampshire Union Leader, June 24, 2013
Advocates for public charter schools have renewed hope for expansion, now that lawmakers included $3.4 million to fund four new charters over the next two years, with $1.7 million in each year of the biennium.
NEW JERSEY
Milton Hinton: Charter schools’ allure wears off quickly
Opinion
Times of Trenton, June 23, 2013
Public school children and their parents in the City of Camden and other districts continue to be brainwashed by the allure of charter schools.
Camden Takeover to Proceed With Interim Super in Place
New Jersey Spotlight, June 24, 2013
Camden County executive superintendent will serve while state continues to search for right candidate
Booker brings education ideas to NJ Senate race
Associated Press, June 23, 2013
Cory Booker had just 53 days to convince New Jersey Democrats to nominate him to be the state’s next U.S. Senator, but the Newark mayor spent Friday afternoon speaking to hundreds of boys not yet old enough to vote.
NEW YORK
NY district recruits students from other schools
Associated Press, June 22, 2013
What it hasn’t always had in recent years is enough students. So to keep from laying off teachers and cutting back programs, the district is embarking on a plan to recruit from neighboring districts whose families are willing to pay tuition of more than $20,000 a year — to a public school.
De-zoning deprives children of the opportunity to attend schools near their homes
New York Daily News, June 23, 2013
With de-zoning, children would be forced to attend whatever school they are assigned to by the Department of Education. It would be harder for parents to attend school events and be active in parents’ associations
OHIO
Ensuring charter-school quality depends on responsible sponsors
Columbus Dispatch, June 22, 2013
Mayor Michael B. Coleman and key community stakeholders are to be commended for their recent efforts to improve K-12 public-education opportunities for students throughout Columbus.
Getting better value from Ohio’s value-added teacher ratings: editorial
Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 23, 2013
An illuminating series last week by The Plain Dealer and StateImpact Ohio, a collaboration of Ohio public radio stations, cast light on one aspect of the possible answer: an imperfect value-added grading system for fourth-to-eighth-grade reading and math teachers in Ohio that the state has begun using to evaluate teachers.
PENNSYLVANIA
Uncertainty as new teacher-evaluation systems near
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 24, 2013
Upper Darby High School Principal Christopher Dormer sat in the back of Joe Niagara’s humanities class, tapping out notes on his laptop. But if having the boss sit in and observe made the first-year teacher nervous, he wasn’t letting it show.
Grim day arrives for those facing school layoffs
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 24, 2013
Most of the 600 other teachers got pink slips based on seniority and will spend their last day on the job Monday. Their spots will be filled by instructors displaced from schools that cut staff or are closing.
Charter school gets OK from Pittsburgh district
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 23, 2013
The staff of Pittsburgh Public Schools has recommended granting a charter to the proposed Hill House Passport Academy Charter School in the Hill District.
Bethlehem Area School District doesn’t want charter school to receive TIF dollars
Lehigh Valley Express-Times, June 22, 2013
Bethlehem Area School District officials are disappointed that a city charter school is relocating into a special tax district aimed at boosting the economic redevelopment on former Bethlehem Steel land.
SOUTH CAROLINA
High Point Academy becomes the second public charter school in Spartanburg
Spartanburg Herald Journal, June 22, 2013
High Point Academy has been given the green light by the state charter school district, clearing the way for the school to become the second public charter school in Spartanburg County.
TENNESSEE
Educational reforms raise bar for Tennessee teachers
Times Free Press, June 23, 2013
Some teachers may think they’ve lived through a roller coaster of educational changes in recent years. But they haven’t seen anything yet.
VIRGINIA
Group proposes boys-only charter school for Richmond
Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 24, 2013
A group called the Richmond Urban Collective is proposing a boys-only charter school for the city of Richmond.
WISCONSIN
Private schools mull whether to join statewide voucher system
Lacrosse Tribune, June 24, 2013
The Legislature adopted a statewide expansion of private school vouchers last week, but that doesn’t mean there will be a voucher in every backpack anytime soon.
School choice records provision deserves veto
Editorial
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 23, 2013
Without debate or public dialogue, Republicans slipped into the state budget last week a measure that could curb the ability of the public to understand how choice schools perform. The limits don’t belong in the budget in the first place — they’re another in a long list of non-fiscal items in this budget — and at the very least they deserved the full public airing that introduction as a separate bill would have brought.
ONLINE LEARNING
Online charter school to open Augusta learning center
Augusta Chronicle, June 22, 2013
High school dropouts or students who aren’t comfortable in the typical classroom will have another way to work on a diploma this fall.
Pros and cons of iPads in schools
Letters
Los Angeles Times, June 24, 2013
The decision by the Los Angeles Unified School District to provide its 660,000 students with tablet computers is a step in the right direction. As the head of a nonprofit funder that provides computers and training to parents and teachers in three LAUSD schools, I have lessons to share: