Daily Headlines for August 7, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
American education’s path back to greatness
Opinion, New York Daily News, August 7, 2013
This week, New Yorkers are likely to suffer a mix of disappointment and frustration when the state releases the results of the rigorous new testing regime that New York State has adopted as it joins the national Common Core movement to raise standards of American education.
Common Core is within America’s educational tradition
Opinion, Detroit News, August 7, 2013
Recently, politicians and educators have been making fools of themselves over Common Core curriculum standards. Everyone has a position. Common Core will save the American economy, some say. Common Core will destroy American democracy, others argue.
Outcry against Common Core standards unwarranted
Editorial, Spokesman Review, August 7, 2013
Common Core will need to be assessed. Implementation will be a struggle. And, yes, change can be upsetting. But the standards need to be given a fair chance to succeed before being dismissed.
Paul E. Peterson: The Obama Setback for Minority Education
Opinion, Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2013
Steady gains for black and Hispanic students under No Child Left Behind have come to a virtual standstill.
Why School Choice Is Failing
National Review Online, August 7, 2013
Milwaukee, Wis., is home to the nation’s oldest and largest school-voucher program, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. After starting with just over 300 students in 1990, the program enrolled almost 25,000 students last school year.
STATE COVERAGE
CALIFORNIA
L.A.’s is among districts exempt from No Child Left Behind rules
Los Angeles Times, August 7, 2013
LAUSD joins seven other school districts in California allowed to operate under rules favorably viewed by the Obama administration.
CONNECTICUT
Hybrid School Board Makes The Ballot
New Haven Independent, August 6, 2013
When New Haveners step into voting booths in November, they’ll get to vote not just for mayor and alderman, but on changes to the city charter, including shaking up the school board and whether to drop the “man” from “alderman.”
DELAWARE
The charter school craze is no taxpayer bargain
New Journal, August 7, 2013
It was reported that the conservatives in southern Delaware and also in Pennsylvania and Maryland are fighting mad about how the “government” is attacking these “for-profit” charter school programs. Well it’s time to let the citizens know that more than 75 percent of these educated pundits were schooled in a federally funded public school.
FLORIDA
Education choice is critical for governor
Editorial, News-Press, August 7, 2013
The rapid turnover of Florida education commissioners — three in just as many years — couldn’t come at a worse time for Gov. Rick Scott.
School district rolls out app, lottery system for Choice program
Sun Sentinel, August 7, 2013
Even though the new school year is just beginning it’s not too soon to start thinking about the next school year when it comes to choosing Choice or career programs for students.
Volusia gets 3 wide-ranging charter school plans
Daytona Beach News-Journal, August 6, 2013
Applicants for three charter schools — ranging from a military-style academy to an arts-focused curriculum — are seeking to open their doors in Volusia County a year from now.
GEORGIA
Barge to consider entering governor’s race
Marietta Daily Journal, August 7, 2013
State Schools Superintendent John Barge said Tuesday he’s considering a campaign to challenge Gov. Nathan Deal next year, raising the possibility of a heated Republican primary with a focus on the state of education and school funding in Georgia.
ILLINOIS
CPS cuts back on mandated assessment tests
Chicago Tribune, August 6, 2013
Responding to concerns from parents and teachers about over-testing, Chicago Public Schools officials say they will sharply reduce the number of district-required assessment tests students will take this year.
IOWA
Iowan selected as education chief
Des Moines Register, August 7, 2013
An Iowa native hailed as a pacesetter in development of teacher leadership programs will serve as the state’s next education chief.
LOUISIANA
EBR schools proposal calls for neighborhood schools, firing low-performing educators
The Advocate, August 7, 2013
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board plans next week to dust off and perhaps approve a long set of recommendations aimed at moving the school district from near the bottom to among the top 10 in Louisiana by 2020.
Jeff board OKs charter operator
Times-Picayune, August 6, 2013
The Jefferson Parish School Board has approved a new operator, Celerity Education Group, to charter an existing public school in the 2014-15 school year. Also on Tuesday, the board approved with little dispute a fairly balanced budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Two charter schools on Lafayette agenda
The Advocate, August 7, 2013
Two newly constructed schools could open in time for the 2014-15 school year and two more could open in subsequent years — if the Lafayette Parish School Board approves requests from two charter school operators Wednesday.
MISSOURI
Some St. Louis COunty schools say it loud: ‘No blacks allowed’
Opinion, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 7, 2013
So, consider the most recent action of the Missouri Supreme Court, a decision that now has gained a plethora of attention on both a local and national level. A decision that sadly has unveiled again our country’s stereotypical conditioning, racial bias and xenophobia as exposed in the rhetoric of recent school board meetings.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Litchfield appeals high school’s “priority” status
Nashua Telegraph, August 7, 2013
When Campbell High School joined 23 other state schools on a list of those prioritized for improvement efforts, school officials weren’t exactly thrilled.
NEW MEXICO
State yanks Albuquerque school charter
KRQE, August, 6, 2013
The Learning Community Charter School in Albuquerque has had its charter revoked by the New Mexico Public Education Commission, but the school is planning to appeal the decision and can remain open during that process.
NEW YORK
A $147 Million Signal of Faith in Atlanta’s Public Schools
New York Times, August 7, 2013
The most expensive public high school ever built in Georgia opens Wednesday in an old I.B.M. office building.
‘Charter kid’ trick in new ad for Eliot
New York Post, August 7, 2013
Aspiring city comptroller Eliot Spitzer filmed a new ad in a Manhattan charter school yesterday — with friends and supporters supplying the “schoolkids” needed for the shoot.
National Test-Score Declines Are Likely
Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2013
New York state students’ math and reading scores on standardized exams plunged this year, which federal and state officials said could be a harbinger of results in dozens of states moving to tougher tests tied to new curriculum standards.
Mount vernon Charter School Moves Closer To Being Financially Stable
Mount Vernon Daily Voice, August 7, 2013
After two years of financial uncertainty and funding problems, the Amani Public Charter School in Mount Vernon finally looks to be on its way to stability.
The good news in lower test scores
Commentary, New York Post, August 7, 2013
This week is a watershed moment in the history of public schools in New York City and state. This morning, the state will release the results of the math and English exams administered to students this past spring.
NORTH CAROLINA
Charter boom shifts N.C. education landscape
Charlotte Observer, August 7, 2013
Seventy-five students filing into gray modular classrooms on the edge of uptown this week are previewing one of North Carolina’s biggest education trends.
Robeson County’s Southeastern Academy reopening enrollment, adding more students
Fayetteville Observer, August 7, 2013
The complaint alleged the school violated state enrollment policies and its own charter by opening enrollment for only one day March 8 – the day after receiving its charter from the the state – rather than the two months laid out in the school’s charter application. It also alleged the school gave preference to those who attended the school as a private institution.
OHIO
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson feels betrayed that his Transformation Alliance can’t review new schools this fall
Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 7, 2013
Mayor Frank Jackson says he feels betrayed that the Ohio Department of Education is allowing two new charter schools to open in Cleveland this fall without any review by a new panel he fought last summer to create.
It Could Be a While Before Churches Can Sponsor Charter Schools
NPRStateline, August 6, 2013
A Columbus church seeking to become a charter school sponsor lost another round in court last month.
PENNSYLVANIA
Student makes case for increased school funding
Philadelphia Inquirer, August 7, 2013
Tauheed Baukman couldn’t imagine what his high school would be like under the Philadelphia School District’s doomsday budget.
Teacher effectiveness gains support
New Pittsburgh Courier, August 7, 2013
This week, the Pittsburgh Public School District announced that 85 percent of their teachers demonstrated effective performance in the 2012-2013 school year, according to data from individualized Educator Effectiveness Reports. The reports are part of the district’s ongoing Empowering Effective Teachers Plan aimed at putting an effective teacher in front of every student.
TENNESSEE
In Tennessee, top school rating proves elusive
The Tennessean, August 7, 2013
No Nashville-area school district made the state’s newest list of “exemplary” systems, as educators struggled with how to help students with disabilities succeed on the same standardized tests taken by other children.
TEXAS
Dallas ISD to move forward with teacher pay for performance
Dallas Morning News, August 6, 2013
Dallas ISD trustees are expected Thursday to bring back a former school board member to help craft the district’s teacher pay-for-performance system.
WASHINGTON
Seattle Public Schools falling behind on special-ed reforms
Seattle Times, August 6, 2013
Facing an 18-month deadline to fix big problems in its special-education programs, Seattle Public Schools is already in trouble.
WEST VIRGINIA
Wayne Schools look to avert takeover
Herald Dispatch, August 6, 2013
The West Virginia superintendent of schools delivered a direct message to the Wayne County Board of Education Tuesday night that it has the characteristics of a school system nearing a state takeover.
WISCONSIN
District lands planning grant for new charter high school
La Crosse Tribune, August 7, 2013
La Crosse Design Institute, is so popular with students and parents that officials already added a sixth grade class for next year. A $175,000 grant announced this week will allow officials to consider the possibility of adding a high school.
ONLINE LEARNING
Florida Virtual School lays off hundreds professors
Tampa Bay Tribune Blog, August 6, 2013
Florida Virtual School laid off about 300 adjunct professors in July. On Friday, the online school let go another 325. On Monday, it laid off 177 full-time professors.
Online classes increasing for Gwinnett
WSB Radio, August 7, 2013
As students in the state’s largest school district, Gwinnett County, head back to class today, more may be taking advantage of the school system’s online program.
Pasco to get its first virtual charter school
Tampa Bay Times Blog, August 6, 2013
The Pasco County School Board didn’t like much about Florida Virtual Academy, an online charter school proposal from a local board that would hire K12 Inc. to run the show.
Virtual Academy at District 49 is a high tech jewel
KRDO, August 6, 2013
School District 49 has a hidden jewel in its school system. It’s the only one of its kind in Southern Colorado. It’s the Virtual Academy off Constitution near Powers on the east side. It’s what’s called a blended learning, K-12 Virtual Academy which mixes online and classroom learning to get the best out of its students.
Virtual Schools Are Spending Millions of Taxpayer Dollars On Advertising
FCIR, August 6, 2013
A new report from USA Today found that virtual school operators are dealing with low enrollment numbers by spending public funds on advertising.