Daily Headlines for September 12, 2011
Middle-Class Schools Miss the Mark
Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2011
Middle-class public schools educate the majority of U.S. students but pay lower teacher salaries, have larger class sizes and spend less per pupil than low-income and wealthy schools, according to a report to be issued Monday.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Parents Hope Alum Rock Will Approve Middle-School Charter In San Jose
Mercury News, CA, September 11, 2011
In a typical Silicon Valley odyssey, Karen Martinez’s family moved four times to find better schools for her seven children. They started in Mount Pleasant, moved north to Berryessa, then south to Evergreen and west to San Jose Unified school districts. To try to get into a charter school, they moved east to Alum Rock.
Special Boards To Help Oversee Three Fillmore Schools
Ventura County Star, CA, September 11, 2011
Fresh eyes will study three Fillmore schools this year in an effort to improve their state test scores and raise student achievement.
COLORADO
DPS Reforms Riding On School Board Elections
Denver Post, CO, September 11, 2011
With reformers holding on to a tenuous majority on the board, Denver voters would do well to pay attention to this fall’s races.
Focus On the Facts in the Voucher Debate
Castle Rock News Press, CO, September 10, 2011
There are those who believe that our public education system is a government monopoly ultimately designed to pander to the interests of its employees.
DELAWARE
Choice Program Changes Title 1 Funding
Delmarva Daily Times, DE, September 12, 2011
Some 81 students have left Prince Street Elementary through a federally mandated “school choice” program.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Charter-School Bill Expected to Pass House
National Journal, DC, September 9, 2011
The House is expected to pass a bill next week that would expand the number and quality of charter schools nationwide.
Which D.C. Schools Are Most Advanced?
Washington Post, DC, September 11, 2011
Journalists like me get into ruts. We pick one way of describing data and stick with it. I tell myself that I would confuse readers if I made changes. That might be an excuse for laziness and lack of imagination.
FLORIDA
Polk Seeing Exodus of School Employees
The Ledger, FL, September 11, 2011
Charter schools and neighboring districts are seeing more applicants from the Polk County School District , the largest employer in the county, and union officials say frozen salaries, talk of furloughs and state mandates are causing an exodus of many of the district’s 12,000 employees.
Two New Charter Schools Up For Board Review
Orlando Sentinel, FL, September 11, 2011
At least two new charter schools are hoping to open their doors in Lake County , following a legislative session that heavily favored school-choice options.
Think of Money That Could Be Used To Boost Teachers Salaries if There Were No Unions Wasting Valuable Resources on Political Campaigns, Fighting for Equal Pay
TC Palms, FL, September 12, 2011
They’re right: Teachers unions have long stifled education reform and used political power to advance their own interests.
GEORGIA
High School In South Atlanta Sends All Its Grads To College
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, September 10, 2011
Less than a decade ago, Atlanta parents used their school system’s open enrollment policy to send their kids anywhere but Carver High School.
INDIANA
Reform Isn’t Just For Worst Schools
NW Times, IN, September 12, 2011
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan gave a stern lecture to the One Region, One Vision audience Thursday, but it was a message that needs to be heard. Education reform isn’t just about addressing the worst schools; even Indiana’s best schools need to become better to help graduates compete in the global workforce.
Public Meetings At Takeover Schools Get Under Way
Indianapolis Star, IN, September 11, 2011
Parents, students, teachers and community members at Indianapolis schools facing state takeover got their first shot Saturday at asking questions of the organizations anointed to run them next year.
LOUISIANA
Sophie Wright’s Chef Specializes In Food For Thought, New Orleans-Style
The Times-Picayune, LA, September 11, 2011
T he lunch program is a point of pride at Wright, meeting federal guidelines with healthy, New Orleans-flavored food. Neighbors of the Napoleon Avenue school chow down at the cafeteria’s annual food festival during Carnival parades.
In BESE Election, ‘Almost Everything Is At Stake’
The Times-Picayune, LA, September 10, 2011
The future of public schools in Louisiana — and particularly in New Orleans — will hinge in no small part on elections next month for an 11-member state board that many outside Louisiana’s education battles have probably never heard of, at least not until recently.
New Orleans Recovery School District’s Plan For The Future
The Times-Picayune, LA, September 10, 2011
As dramatic as the transformation of New Orleans public schools has been in the six years since Katrina, the fragmented system that now exists has its weak spots. Parents have complained, and rightly so, about the state-run Recovery School District’s lack of transparency and the difficulty of navigating the K-12 landscape.
MARYLAND
Maryland Schools Facing Financial Th
reat
Baltimore Sun, MD, September 11, 2011
While it’s important to continue the conversation of what innovations can improve teaching and learning in our schools over the long term (“Staying ahead of the game,” Sept. 7), we must make sure that this conversation includes the immediate school funding challenges that threaten our ability to maintain the quality of schools and school facilities that Marylanders have come to expect, let alone to implement ambitious new programs.
MICHIGAN
Jackson County Teacher Union Official Says Proposed Legislation Could Be Payback For Recall Efforts
Jackson City Patriot, MI, September 9, 2011
A Michigan Education Association leader in Jackson County said it’s possible that legislation that Michigan Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said will be introduced is a response to union efforts to recall state lawmakers.
MINNESOTA
At Cornerstone Montessori, Students Have Freedom To Explore
Pioneer Press, MN, September 12, 2011
The new St. Paul charter school opened to nearly 60 kids last week, joining a growing Montessori community. Cornerstone is one of almost a dozen schools that have Association Montessori Internationale affiliation. There are nearly 100 Montessori schools in the Twin Cities.
Schools Wait And See While Feds Ponder ‘No Child’ Rules
Pioneer Press, MN, September 12, 2011
School leaders across Minnesota cheered when the state asked the federal government for a respite from the increasingly stringent penalties of the No Child Left Behind law.
MISSOURI
Kauffman Foundation Rings The Bell At A New Charter School
Kansas City Star, MO, September 11, 2011
After years of studying and experimenting in education, the Kauffman Foundation is opening its own school with a hundred fifth-graders.
MAP Scores
Columbia Tribune, MO, September 11, 2011
Aggregate scores on the Missouri Assessment Program tests are poor indicators of any school’s relative performance and even less helpful measuring the quality and progress of any particular district.
NEBRASKA
Nelson Letter Presses for Ed Waiver
Omaha World-Herald, NE, September 11, 2011
A set of new federal education requirements won’t be released for a couple of weeks, but Nebraska officials already are making the case for giving the state more flexibility in meeting them. U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., recently wrote to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan asking him to give states such as Nebraska a break.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Charter Gains: Helping Struggling Kids
Union Leader, NH, September 12, 2011
A new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that charter schools established in urban settings greatly improve student performance. This is important news even for New Hampshire.
NEW JERSEY
Education Commissioner Refines the Rules for Charters
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, September 12, 2011
With the administration expected to announce a new class of charters in the coming weeks, acting education commissioner Chris Cerf has detailed steps that are intended to improve the oversight of new and existing schools.
NJ Voters Want Bipartisan Reform To Improve Failing Schools
Star-Ledger, NJ, September 12, 2011
The public schools in New Jersey, overall, are good. So it makes sense that most people are happy with the ones in their neighborhoods, as a recent Kean University poll found.
Voters Should Have A Say On Charter Schools
New Jersey Today, NJ, September 10, 2011
Many will agree that charter schools in the right place and at the right cost are a viable option for educating our children. But just as public schools are required to get voter approval for their annual spending, charter schools should have to prove their worth to the public before they open their doors.
NEW YORK
A New Method of Grading Teachers
Albany Times Union, NY, September 12, 2011
Not every teacher can be above average. Under the previous evaluation system, virtually every educator in New York was rated satisfactory, even though low student test scores didn’t back that up.
NORTH CAROLINA
Groups To Offer Charter School Start-Up Help
News & Record, NC, September 12, 2011
With the lifting of the state cap on public charter schools, two education groups want to help leaders in minority communities open charter schools to address the state’s achievement gap for low-income and mostly minority students.
OHIO
Rethinking High School
Columbus Dispatch, OH, September 11, 2011
Growing districts seek creative, effective ways to accommodate more students without dividing them and their communities.
School Counts On Longer Days
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, September 12, 2011
Dohn’s Let’s Move Academy for the ninth- and 10th-grade students mandates a 12-hour school day and incorporates 90 minutes of physical fitness, three healthy meals and tutoring.
OKLAHOMA
Teacher Union’s Blueprint Deserves Consideration by Oklahoma City School Board
The Oklahoman, OK, September 12, 2011
NEARLY three months after the Oklahoma City American Federation of Teachers unveiled a “blueprint for change” for Oklahoma City schools, union President Ed Allen says he has yet to receive a response from the district or school board offering to discuss the proposal. Many of the ideas offered by Allen merit discussion.
OREGON
Charter Schools Part of District
Mail Tribune, OR, September 11, 2011
Since charter schools have a school district as a sponsor, are they considered an official part of that district? When the Medford School District lists its enrollment, are the charter school students included in the numbers? – Larry S., Jacksonville “Yes, and yes,” said Joe VonDoloski, administrator at Logos Public Charter School in Medford.
PENNSYLVANIA
Catholic Sc
hools Tackle Plans For Low Enrollment
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 12, 2011
As 22,000 students in schools of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh begin a new year, behind-the-scenes plans are being laid for reorganization.
TENNESSEE
Blount County School Board Denies Hope Academy A Second Time
Blount Today, TN, September 12, 2011
The Blount County School Board on Thursday night denied the amended application to start a charter school STEM academy in Blount County.
Booker T. Washington High Provides A Lesson In Transparency
Commercial Appeal, TN, September 12, 2011
Honors are tainted: A school district that reveals its flaws as readily as its successes is more likely to gain the public’s trust.
VIRGINIA
Nonprofit To Apply To Open Charter School In Corolla
The Virginian-Pilot, VA, September 11, 2011
By next fall, Corolla could open the first school on the isolated Currituck Outer Banks in more than 50 years.
WISCONSIN
Transparency Plan For ‘Voucher Tax’ Fast-Tracked
Journal Sentinel, WI, September 10, 2011
A proposal that Milwaukee taxpayers be told on tax bills exactly how much of their money goes to private schools through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program is on the fast track for School Board consideration.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Increase Allowed In Virtual Class Limit For Students
Times Herald, GA, September 11, 2011
Thanks to some recent rule changes, Georgia students now possess greater choice and flexibility in how they choose to tailor their educational experience, according to top state education officials.
Florida Virtual-School Options Expand
Orlando Sentinel, FL, September 11, 2011
Florida, a pioneer in the field of virtual education, is extending its digital reach this year with a new law that will push even more students to log on to learn.
More Students Forgo Classrooms For Laptops
Chicago Daily Herald, IL, September 10, 2011
Since eighth grade, Dieffenbach has attended Wisconsin Virtual Learning, a public charter school of the Northern Ozaukee School District and one of the dozens of virtual schools in the state that educate students each year without desks, lunch periods, yellow buses or extracurricular sports.