Daily Headlines: November 21, 2011
Charity 2.0? Silicon Valley Reinvents Philanthropy.
Christian Science Monitor, MA, November 19, 2011
Silicon Valley entrepreneurs bring a fresh eye to social problems. In some cases, their innovative solutions are changing the way charity is delivered.
Governors Are Responsible For Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer Blog, PA, November 20, 2011
Perhaps nowhere is this approach to governing more maddening than when elected officials whose responsibilities include educating children start talking like public schools are a bacterium they won’t touch. The schools are always their problem, and their means teachers.
STATE COVERAGE
Charter Schools Help Academics
Anniston Star, AL, November 21, 2011
The Star’s editorial beautifully outlined the positive options charter schools can offer a community and the guidelines for legislation necessary to keep those options positive. Beyond opportunities for parents and children that encourage all public schools to step up their game, research is increasingly demonstrating that charters boost students’ academic results directly.
Californians Support Making Teachers’ Reviews Public
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 20, 2011
A majority of California voters want teacher evaluations made public and want student test scores factored into the reviews, the USC Dornsife/L.A. Times poll finds.
A Too-Costly Waiver for No Child Left Behind
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 20, 2011
California is right not to follow requirements to opt out of the law’s provisions. The state has better methods of holding schools to account.
Charter Schools: Learn To Find What Works
The Coloradoan, CO, November 21, 2011
In a city full of educational options, charter schools provide yet another educational pathway for parents in Fort Collins to consider as they prepare their children for an ever-changing world of technology and changing career possibilities.
Repeal Secrecy, Then Tenure
Register Citizen, CT, November 20, 2011
With both the executive and legislative branches of state government in the hands of the Democratic Party and thus in the hands of the public-employee unions for the first time in 16 or 20 years, depending on whether one wants to pretend that third-party Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. governed as something other than a Democrat, the proposal of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents to weaken the state’s teacher tenure law isn’t likely to get far.
Raise Teacher Pay Without Raising Bar?
Washington Times, DC, November 20, 2011
District officials, responding to parents’ complaints about the lack of education options in Ward 5, have proposed a plan to create three middle schools with different specialties in the Northeast community.
Approach To Education Isn’t Working
Star-Banner, FL, November 20, 2011
The idea that a teacher’s pay should be tied to student scores is not only ludicrous but downright stupid. This is a business model, not an educational model. It is also a political model, in that politicians can solve any problem with one solution.
Teacher Evaluation System A Numbers Game
News Sun, FL, November 20, 2011
In its effort to evaluate teachers, and institute a policy of rewarding better teachers with higher pay, the state is phasing in a new evaluation system.
Peers Agonize Over Doing Teacher Reviews
The Ledger, FL, November 19, 2011
At 50, Goodland is on the front lines of education reform, Hillsborough County-style. He’s one of 132 teachers trained to evaluate other teachers in a system that’s radically changing the way school employees are treated, a model districts are watching around Tampa Bay and beyond.
$75,000 Grants Mean Longer Days At 36 CPS Charter Schools
Chicago Sun Times, IL, November 21, 2011
Chicago Public Schools announced Sunday it will give $75,000 grants to 36 charter schools so they can lengthen their school days in January and be studied before all traditional CPS schools switch to a longer day in the fall of 2012.
Public To Have Say On Grading Teachers, Principals
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 19, 2011
How well students perform academically would count for as little as one-quarter of a teacher’s evaluation next school year, if Chicago Public Schools becomes the first district in Illinois to implement new teacher assessments.
D-26 Administration Continues Talks With Prospective Charter School
Northwest Herald, IL, November 20, 2011
Members of a group who would like to buy one of the closed campuses in Cary School District 26 and start a charter school are optimistic that a partnership with the district can be worked out this winter.
Faulty Memo Adds To Voucher Confusion
Journal and Courier, IN, November 19, 2011
Like all Indiana school business officials, Tippecanoe School Corp. Chief Financial Officer Kim Fox finds receiving memos from the Indiana Department of Education fairly routine.
Real Story On Vouchers Waits A Year
Journal and Courier, IN, November 19, 2011
Numbers released earlier this month, saying that the parents of more than 3,900 Indiana students are taking part in the first year of the state’s school voucher program, didn’t tell a whole lot.
A Chance To Reform Education Reform
The Gazette, IA, November 19, 2011
Last week, Gov. Terry Branstad and his crew put the brakes on a proposal to overhaul teacher pay. That’s big — and welcome — news.
Jindal Wins Support on BESE with Runoff Election
Times-Picayune, LA, November 20, 2011
The charter school movement and state education overhaul plans sought by Gov. Bobby Jindal got a boost from the runoff elections for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. And the stalemate over Louisiana’s next education superintendent appears on track to end, with Jindal’s contender likely to get the post.
City Students Pack Camden Yards For School Choice Fair
Baltimore Sun, MD, November 19, 2011
Oriole Park at Camden Yards was the site Saturday of a contest waged not with bats, balls and gloves but test scores, curriculum overviews and student testimonials.It was the annual school choice fair for Baltimore City public schools. Students and staff from 64 middle schools and high schools set up shop to woo fifth- and eighth-graders who will soon choose where to attend next year.
Nationally, Mass. Schools Shine, But Achievement Gap Persists
Boston Globe, MA, November 21, 2011
MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATORS got some terrific news this month, but state Secretary of Education Paul Reville has ample reason not to be satisfied.
No Child Left Behind Law Changes Should Help All Levels Of Learners
The Republican, MA, November 19, 2011
It is with this in mind that we heartily cheer the Bay State’s decision to seek, along with 10 other states, a waiver from certain specifics of the No Child Left Behind law. If the feds grant this request – and there’s no reason whatsoever to believe that they will not – Massachusetts and its allies will be able to adjust the requirements of NCLB to better reflect reality. Educators will be helping those at the bottom as well as those at the top.
Lawrence Awaits Word From State On Schools
Boston Globe, MA, November 20, 2011
With a mix of relief, anger, and resignation, leaders in Lawrence are bracing for a potential state takeover of the city’s public schools, with many conceding that the radical step may be the only way to turn around the troubled system.
Review Gives No Clear Answer In Debate Over Charter Schools
Jackson Citizen Patriot, MI, November 19, 2011
A review of student achievement data in the Jackson County area provides no consistent answer to a key question in the debate over charter schools: Do students at the schools perform better than their peers at traditional public schools?
Education Lobbying Rises in Michigan Amid Changes
Detroit Free Press, MI, November 20, 2011
Teachers’ unions and some other education-related groups in Michigan have increased their spending to lobby state officials in 2011, largely in response to sweeping changes in school policy and budget cuts adopted by the Republican-led state Legislature.
Achievement Gap Exists For Kids Even Before Kindergarten
Minnesota Public Radio, MN, November 20, 2011
St. Paul, Minn. — State education officials have released new data showing an achievement gap exists for students in Minnesota, even before they begin elementary school.
New System Makes Missouri Graduation Statistics Look Worse
The Kansas City Star, MO, November 21, 2011
Missouri school officials knew the state’s new graduation rates would come as a jolt. By switching to a four-year graduation rate in 2011, the numbers released today knocked nearly every district and school down a notch, with several graduating fewer than 70 percent and Kansas City and a few charters graduating barely half of their classes.
Private School Options Considered For Unaccredited Districts’ Students
MissouriNet, MO, November 21, 2011
A joint interim committee considering the plight of students in unaccredited school districts has held its final hearing. Now, its members will consider how to use what they have learned.
OSA Continues to Be a Lightning Rod for Controversy
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 21, 2011
Advocacy groups for and against the proposed Opportunity Scholarship Act (OSA) have begun to mobilize as talk gets louder that the controversial school voucher bill could come for legislative vote soon.
Unity, Division On School Reform
The Record, NJ, November 20, 2011
IT IS something that both sides finally agree on: The education system in New Jersey needs to be reformed. How the sides propose to go about doing that is another matter indeed.
Applaud GC Charter As A Model
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, NY, November 20, 2011
This is an excellent school.” So said then-assistant commissioner of education, James Butterworth, at the December 2004 meeting of the state Board of Regents where he recommended the first five-year renewal of the Genesee Community Charter School in Rochester.
Discipline Process For Teachers Doesn’t Always Make The Grade
Times Herald Record, NY, November 21, 2011
A Liberty school librarian didn’t show up for work for more than two years because of her health. She fought for her job, but through the state’s teacher tenure disciplinary hearing process, an arbitrator ordered her termination.
Proposed Charter Schools Seek OK
Herald Sun, NC, November 20, 2011
In just a short nine months, Pamela Blizzard envisions a new place of learning nestled in the heart of Research Triangle Park – a place with a “porous wall” to encourage partnerships with surrounding companies and that packs students’ minds with more than four years of education during the four years of high school.
A Clearer Picture
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 19, 2011
Ohio’s slightly above-average performance on the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress isn’t good enough to declare victory in the state’s effort to improve schools, as State Superintendent Stan Heffner rightly points out. As long as Ohio students are outperformed by those in many other countries, they’ll struggle to compete in a global economy.
Representative Teresa Fedor: New Bill Could Devastate Public Schools
WTOL, OH, November 18, 2011
School leaders said a bill before Ohio lawmakers could be devastating for public education. The bill would expand the school voucher program, which would essentially let more students transfer out of public schools, taking state funding with them. Public school leaders want lawmakers to kill the bill.
Politics Mix With Education Reforms
Morning Call, PA, November 20, 2011
Pennsylvania’s Department of Education will try to win a share of $200 million that President Barack Obama’s administration is giving away in his controversial Race to the Top education grant initiative.
Teacher Evaluation Proposal Includes Charter Schools
Pottstown Mercury News, PA, November 20, 2011
Attempting to ensure Gov. Tom Corbett’s request that students receive the most efficient education, the House Education Committee recently voted to include cyber and charter schools in a new teacher rating system.
Cherry Hill Pastor Slammed Over Controversial Charter School
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 20, 2011
Neighbors in Cherry Hill have denounced him as a liar. The township school district is fighting him in court. Even the mayor has accused him of being out for self-gain.
Tennessee Hopes Charters’ Success Can Be Converted To Underperforming Memphis Schools
Commercial Appeal, TN, November 21, 2011
Time is of such essence at Cornerstone Prep, one of two Memphis nonprofit organizations approved to turn city schools into charter schools, that first-grade teacher Ali Hill wears a stopwatch to count seconds in the most mundane times.
Teacher Unions Take Out Ad Against HOPE Academy
WBIR, TN, November 18, 2011
The HOPE Academy is once again running into opposition in Blount County. The group wants to build Blount County’s first-ever charter school, but the Alcoa, Maryville, and Blount County Education Associations are against the plan.
More Educational Choice in Fort Worth
Star Telegram, TX, November 20, 2011
With a waiting list of thousands and a long list of academic success stories, an Irving-based charter school program has announced plans to expand into Fort Worth next year.
District Has Wrong IDEA For Fixing Schools
Austin Statesman, TX, November 20, 2011
As a parent, I am upset and deeply concerned about the latest proposals from Austin Superintendent Meria Carstarphen described in the Nov. 12 American-Statesman article “Up-close look at charter school being considered for Austin impresses, raises questions.”
Full Picture On Charters Needed
Austin Statesman, TX, November 19, 2011
We would hope that Austin school board members, as trustees of what essentially is a billion-dollar enterprise, would welcome all information that could help shed light on whether IDEA Public Schools is a good fit for the East Austin community.
Richmond Schools Spend Most In Region On Legal Costs
Richmond-Times Dispatch, VA, November 21, 2011
The Richmond school system spends significantly more per student on legal fees than the other three large school districts in central Virginia, and the cost is rising again this year, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch analysis.
It’s Time To Streamline Washington’s Public Schools
Seattle Times, WA, November 18, 2011
Washington state has neither the time nor the money to keep doing the same things over and over again with the same dismal result in K-12 education.
Take A Stand Against School Vouchers
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, November 19, 2011
If you care about democracy, believe in due process and free speech and support the constitutional right to a free and public education, then it’s time to take a stand against the private school voucher movement.
Quality Doesn’t Follow Rise In Voucher Schools
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, November 19, 2011
Keith Nelson says it has been a godsend for Wisconsin Academy to take part in Milwaukee’s school voucher program. Thirteen voucher students are enrolled this fall, which stands to bring the school more than $83,000 in public money this school year.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Online High Schools Attracting Elite Names
New York Times, NY, November 20, 2011
In June, about 30 seniors will graduate from a little-known online high school currently called the Education Program for Gifted Youth. But their diplomas will bear a different name: Stanford Online High School .
Virtual Schools, Real Problems
The Free Lance-Star, VA, November 20, 2011
Last year, Virginia legislators passed a law allowing private companies and school districts to run virtual school programs. But how to fund those virtual schools remains a thorny issue.
A Closer Look At Cyberschools
Commercial Appeal, TN, November 19, 2011
Legislators leaped into a new educational arena with a program that’s now being questioned.
Cyber Schools An Effective Option
Observer & Eccentric, MI, November 20, 2011
In response to David Larson’s opinion editorial Nov. 13 (“Legislation would erode our public schools”), we think it is important for local citizens to know the real truth about public cyber schools.