Daily Headlines for February 18, 2014
Click here for Newswire, 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
A Conservative Cure for Sick Schools
American Thinker, February 18, 2014
While most Republicans have no problem dismissing Democratic claims that misidentify perceived problems and ignore the reality of proposed solutions, our party continues to tout school vouchers as the cure for our sick education system based on political expediency and anecdotal evidence.
The American Public School Under Siege
Opinion, Huffington Post, February 17, 2014
A feature of the Obama presidency has been his campaign against the American public school system, eating way at the foundations of elementary education.
STATE COVERAGE
ALASKA
Parnell has it backwards; proponents of school choice constitutional amendment must detail costs
Opinion, Alaska Dispatch, AK, February 17, 2014
Those who want to change the Alaska Constitution and allow public money to be spent on private schools still say it’s not about money. They continue to say they can’t attach a dollar figure to the proposed amendment because, as Sen. Mike Dunleavy puts it, “It is a language change only.”
ARIZONA
Bills would expand program for private schools
Arizona Daily Star, AZ, February 18, 2014
A House committee on Monday approved one of two small expansions of a voucher-like program that allows students to use public funds for a private education.
CALIFORNIA
Gloria Romero: Charter schools surging in U.S., California
Opinion, Orange County Register, CA, February 17, 2014
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools just announced a milestone achievement for the operation of public charter schools in the United States: There now are more than 2.5 million students, attending nearly 6,500 charter schools.
DELAWARE
Eric Cantor could learn a thing or two from Delaware’s charter school success
Opinion, Daily Caller, DC, February 17, 2014
Currently, Delaware has 22 operating charter schools with more on the way. This is impressive for a little state that has twice as many U.S. Senators than Congressmen (do the math) and one area code (302).
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Middle schools present vexing problem for D.C. leaders as parents choose other options
Washington Post, DC, February 17, 2014
Dupont Circle’s Ross Elementary has undergone a transformation in recent years, morphing from a school that neighbors dismissed into one so highly sought-after that there is a near-hopeless waiting list for pre-kindergarten classes.
FLORIDA
Another school grading folly
Editorial, Ocala Star Banner, FL, February 18, 2014
State Education Commissioner Pam Stewart will present her newly revamped school grading system to the Florida Board of Education today in Orlando. The board should summarily reject it.
Private School Scholarships Could Come With New State Testing Requirement
StateImpact NPR, FL, February 17, 2014
The debate over whether to require students using one of the state’s private school scholarship programs take state standardized tests is flaring up again.
Remedial College Courses Face a New Test
Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2014
A new state law here is trying a novel approach to determine whether incoming students are prepared to move on to college-level coursework: let them decide for themselves.
ILLINOIS
Officials differ over need for second charter school in Springfield
State Journal Register, IL, February 17, 2014
Charter School isn’t what Bob Hill expected when he backed the controversial effort to create the school in 1998. Hill said last week he would not support the creation of a second charter school in Springfield based on results at the first.
LOUISIANA
New Orleans’ two school systems close to agreement to transfer shared services
Time-Picayune, LA, February 17, 2014
The Orleans Parish School Board and state Recovery School District are close to completing a cooperative agreement spelling out which of the two public systems handles various citywide education services — and potentially shifting a number of those functions to the local board.
MARYLAND
Bill for elected school board in Anne Arundel fails
The Baltimore Sun, MD, February 17, 2014
Efforts to create an elected school board for Anne Arundel County are likely dead for 2014.
Gregory Thornton to be named new city schools CEO
Baltimore Sun, MD, February 18, 2014
The Baltimore school board will announce Tuesday that Gregory E. Thornton, the superintendent of Milwaukee’s public schools, will be the next CEO of the city school system, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
MINNESOTA
Catholic leaders, public school supporters disagree on tax credit proposal
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, February 18, 2014
Roman Catholic leaders and Missouri public school officials are butting heads over a potential constitutional amendment that would allow tax credit scholarships to benefit private education.
Showdown looms for St. Paul schools, teachers
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN, February 17, 2014
St. Paul’s teachers enter a pivotal week of contract talks with a possible strike-authorization vote looming and with growing support from parents and others in their push to take their next labor agreement beyond traditional wage-and-benefit issues.
MISSISSIPPI
New charter schools crunch public efforts
Editorial, Natchez Democrat, MS, February 18, 2014
If a charter school is approved for Adams County, the financial impact on the existing public school district could be profound.
NEW YORK
New city charters lead district exodus
Democrat & Chronicle, NY, February 17, 2014
Four new charter schools will open in Rochester in the fall, creating a new set of opportunities for children in the city and a further setback for the City School District in its quest to retain students and the state dollars that come with them.
NEW JERSEY
Newark mayoral candidate Ras Baraka outlines education plan
Star-Ledger, NJ, February 18, 2014
Positioning himself as the Education Mayor, Newark councilman and mayoral candidate Ras Baraka today detailed a broad plan for the city’s schools, including keeping neighborhood schools open, strengthening pre-school programs and fighting for the return of local control.
NORTH CAROLINA
Constitution likely to sink voucher plan
Editorial, Fayetteville Observer, NC, February 17, 2014
It’s no surprise that a Superior Court judge in Raleigh refused Monday to dismiss a lawsuit against the state’s new school-voucher program.
New charter schools bring excitement, tension
Asheville Citizen-Times, NC, February 17, 2014
Two charter schools will open their doors in Buncombe County come August, opening with them greater tension over whether they will help or detract from public education.
OKLAHOMA
New bills would boost pay for Oklahoma’s public school teachers
The Oklahoman, OK, February 18, 2014
Oklahoma’s average annual salary for teachers in the 2011-12 school year was $44,156, while the regional average was $48,222, said state Rep. Mike Brown, D-Tahlequah.
PENNSYLVANIA
Charter networks to discuss new Camden schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 18, 2014
CAMDEN Two charter school networks looking to open “Renaissance” schools in the city will present their plans and answer questions at a series of community meetings this week.
TENNESSEE
Basing part of teacher evaluations on student test scores is reasonable
Editorial, Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, February 17, 2014
The effort by Tennessee education officials to get the best teachers in the state’s public school classrooms continues to be fraught with controversy and angst among teachers.
Bill would automatically close low-performing charter schools
Opinion, The Tennessean, TN, February 18, 2014
Innovation is an important component of the way that businesses and organizations operate to remain competitive. In Tennessee, our state has embraced innovation in how we deliver public education to ensure that we are preparing our students for their lives after high school.
Hamilton County’s newest charter school finds early success — here’s why
Times Free Press, TN, February 18, 2014
Three years ago, Marcia Griffin went door to door in the inner city, meeting with dozens of parents to pitch her idea for a new charter school in Chattanooga. She quibbled with the Hamilton County Board of Education for approval and finally opened her elementary school in the Eastgate Town Center, between a call center and a nightclub.
Common Core testing costs strain rural Tennessee schools
The Tennessean, TN, February 18, 2014
Curtains make do as doors and lockers form walls of makeshift classrooms inside cramped, cash-strapped DeKalb Middle School in the wooded hills of the Upper Cumberland region.
VIRGINIA
Williams: Proposal for Chesterfield to take over Petersburg schools lacks buy-in, research
Column, Richmond Time-Dispatch, VA, February 18, 2014
The Virginia Senate, dangling a dowry as bait, is proposing an arranged marriage between the school districts of Chesterfield County and the city of Petersburg.
WISCONSIN
Milwaukee Schools Use Assets Well
Letter, Wall Street Journal, February 17, 2014
Regarding C.J. Szafir’s “The Vacant School Buildings That Made Milwaukee Infamous”(Cross Country, Jan. 25): Milwaukee Public Schools are using facilities strategically to grow successful neighborhood, specialty and charter schools as we work to accelerate achievement.
ONLINE LEARNING
4 Ways Digital Technology has Changed K-12 Learning
Huffington Post, February 17, 2014
Digital technology has taken the world by storm – particularly in the past decade. It makes sense that this trend would have an impact on K-12 learning because there is nothing in modern American society that digital technology has not touched.
Cyber days are better than make-up days
Editorial, South Jersey Times, NJ, February 18, 2014
Just as online higher learning hasn’t made much of a dent in demand for seats at brick-and-mortar colleges, it’ll be a long time before K-12 school buildings are rendered obsolete by laptops and tablets at home.
Delco high school holds cyber classes to avoid snow day
Main Line Times, PA, February 18, 2014
The doors at Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School were closed Thursday, just like the rest of the schools in Delaware County due to the latest snow storm to slam the area.
Seven reasons the ‘digital classrooms’ concept may not take off
Letter, Baltimore Sun, MD, February 17, 2014
Your recent editorial highlighted some serious concerns raised by Baltimore County’s plan to “revolutionize classroom instruction” (“Digital classrooms,” Feb. 11).
‘Virtual school day’ gets high marks from Pascack Valley Regional superintendent
The Record, NJ, February 17, 2014
The initial results are in and according to P. Erik Gundersen, the superintendent of the Pascack Valley Regional High School District, the first “virtual school day” last Thursday was a success. Students and teachers interacted virtually from their respective homes on what for the rest of the schools in the Pascack Valley was a snow day.