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Major Report on Digital Learning to be Released

February 2, 2014 By

Media analysis to serve as roadmap for “digiformers”

Media Advisory
Washington, DC
February 2, 2014

The Center for Education Reform (CER) will release The Media and the Digital Learning Revolution on Monday, February 3, 2014, authored by CER founder, Senior Fellow and president emeritus Jeanne Allen.

Illuminating key trends, the report offers eight conclusions and strategies to improve and increase coverage of digital and blended learning modalities and grow public understanding of these important innovations transforming student learning.

The analysis looked at a 1,600 article data set published in print or online news nationwide in the first nine months of 2013.

Allen is available for comment on The Media and the Digital Learning Revolution. Members of the media should contact CER Communications Director Michelle Tigani at 301-986-8088 or michelle@staging.edreform.com to set up interviews.

About the Author: Jeanne Allen is the founder of The Center for Education Reform and served as its president from 1993-2013. Today, Jeanne is a Senior Fellow and president emeritus, and serves on CER’s Board of Directors. Jeanne Allen is Vice President of Business Development for HotChalk, Inc., an education technology company.

 

Filed Under: Press Releases

DC Put Kids First Rally: The Hands-on Advocacy of School Choice Week

January 31, 2014 By

After my first day of interning at CER learning about the behind the scenes work and research that the organization does on a daily basis, I got to spend my second day experiencing the hands on advocacy that occurs in DC to push education policy to the forefront of the media and national attention. The DC Put Kids First Rally, held at Friendship Chamberlain Elementary School due to the bitterly cold weather, was a gathering of passionate individuals and organizations that are strong advocates for school choice and better education options for students around the country. Attending this event allowed me to interact with individuals from other education policy groups in the District, as well as see firsthand some of the students who are directly impacted by the changes that are made in education today.

The event was part of National School Choice Week, a political awareness effort taking place across the country during the week of January 26th, and featured numerous impressive speakers including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), and Leslie Williams, former WNBA player and school choice advocate. All of the speakers expressed their strong support for the improvement of school choice throughout the United States, and emphasized the main message of the event, which was the need to “put kids first.” In addition to the main speakers, there were student speakers and performers that made the event extremely enjoyable and demonstrated the many benefits that private and charter schools can have on a student’s education.

As a junior at American University studying International Relations with minors in Public Affairs and German, I never thought that my studies would lead me to an interest in education policy, but after researching CER I began to realize the importance of education reform in the U.S. My knowledge on education up to this point has been more on the abstract side, always knowing that I support quality education for all students but never fully understanding the practice behind achieving reform, but even after only two days here I have developed a better understanding of the big issues that exist in education today. I’m excited to be starting this semester as a spring intern at CER, and I can’t wait to continue learning about the world of education reform!

Bethany Tietjen, CER Intern

Filed Under: Commentary, Edspresso Tagged With:

Black Alliance for Educational Options Applauds the Center for Education Reform for Insightful Report on Charter Schools

January 31, 2014 By

WASHINGTON, DC–(Marketwired – January 30, 2014) – The Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) applauds the Center for Education Reform (CER) for the release of their Survey of America’s Charter Schools. The 23-page report provides an in-depth analysis of charter school students, operations, and teachers, and discusses trends over time in the Size and Scope, Demographics, Finance and Operations, and Academic Program of charter schools and insights into why demand for these independent schools has grown.

The survey found that when compared to traditional public schools, charter schools serve a more disadvantaged student population, including more low-income and minority students. It also found 61 percent of charter schools serve a student population where over 60 percent qualify for the federal Free or Reduced Lunch Program due to their family’s low income.

Click here to read the survey report.

“BAEO is particularly pleased to see that this study finds that charter schools are not shying away from serving children from challenging backgrounds,” said BAEO President Ken Campbell. “Low-income children are often at the greatest educational disadvantage, and this study confirms that educators and community leaders who start high-quality charter schools are working with children who have the greatest need. The fact that charter schools serve large populations of children from low-income families also once again provides clear evidence that parents of all income levels want and need the ability to choose the best possible learning environment for their children.”

“We applaud the Center for Education Reform for their diligence in releasing this report and encourage policy makers and education reform advocates to review its contents and use it to continue to make the case for expanded parental choice in their cities and states,” said Campbell.

BAEO is an advocacy organization whose mission is to increase access to high-quality educational options for Black children by actively supporting transformational education reform initiatives and parental choice policies that empower low-income and working-class Black families. BAEO was founded in 2000 and champions parental choice policies and programs that serve low-income and working-class Black families, but is equally focused on promoting quality to ensure that Black students have access to high-performing schools. BAEO envisions a future where low-income and working-class Black families are empowered to choose a high-quality primary and secondary education for their children that enable them to pursue the college or career path of their choice, become economically independent adults, and engage in the practice of freedom.

Filed Under: CER in the News

Louisiana Moves up to Third in National Charter Ranking

January 31, 2014 By

Danielle Drellinger, The Times-Picayune

It’s National School Choice Week, and several organizations have released reports examining the state of the country’s charter schools. Louisiana remains a leader in the charter school movement, placing third in the National Association of Public Charter Schools’ annual charter law ranking. About 9 percent of Louisiana’s public schools are charters, which is above the national average. In all, almost 60,000 of Louisiana’s approximately 713,000 public school students attend 121 charter schools this year, according to state data.

Over the past decade, an average of 340 charters have opened per year in the U.S., according to a report released Thursday by the Center for Education Reform. But waiting lists have also grown, from an average of 233 students in 2009 to 277 students in 2012, showing unmet demand.

Nationally, charters remain much smaller than conventional schools and serve a poorer population the report says. Both types of schools have about the same share of special education students.

The percentage of disadvantaged students in charters could increase with a federal rule change announced Wednesday. The Education Department will now let charters prioritize disadvantaged students in their lotteries, if their state allows it, without losing federal charter school startup funds.

Michael Petrilli of the conservative Fordham Institute lauded the move. “Charter schools that want to be socioeconomically diverse sometimes struggle to maintain a healthy balance if they are forced to use a single random lottery,” he wrote in a blog post. “That’s because the best charters often become so popular with middle-class parents that they flood the lotteries and end up taking most of the available seats.”

The Education Department encouraged schools that change their lottery priorities to emphasize outreach and recruitment, so more disadvantaged families apply in the first place.

According to the Center for Education Reform, charters grew the most in states with strong charter laws.

That would seem to promise further growth in Louisiana, which moved from sixth to third in the National Association of Public Charter Schools’ charter law rankings, out of 43 places. Only Minnesota and Indiana placed higher. Neighboring Mississippi overhauled its laws in 2013 and jumped from 43rd in the rankings to 14th.

The rankings measure each state against the organization’s ideal charter law. According to the national association, strong charter laws set performance standards for schools, require states to collect data to monitor charters, exempt charters from collective bargaining agreements and allow for virtual charter schools, among other factors.

Louisiana received 167 points out of a possible 228 and led the country in ensuring a transparent application and review process for charter schools. The state law also scored high on allowing autonomy, exempting charters from many local school system regulations, not capping the number of charters and providing money to authorize and monitor schools.

Louisiana’s law does not ensure that charter schools have equal access to buildings, the report says, nor that charter students have access to extracurricular and interscholastic activities.

Christopher Lubienski, director of the University of Illinois Forum on the Future of Public Education, said the the national association’s report measured the wrong things. “These rankings reflect ideological desire, not empirical evidence, and simply are not linked to school outcomes,” he said. “In fact, experience and research show that many of the attributes NAPCS promotes are actually associated with school under-performance and failure.”

In a recent study, his team found schools with more autonomy had lower academic results, and virtual charter schools performed badly.

Lubienski suggested “ranking states by outcomes, rather than by how much they reflect NAPCS’s policy agenda.”

Filed Under: CER in the News

Daily Headlines for January 31, 2014

January 31, 2014 By

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 way to get more kids into better schools
Editorial, Orange County Register, CA, January 31, 2014
Against that backdrop, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., introduced legislation that would allow states to use federal education dollars to create $2,100 tuition vouchers to follow some 11 million low-income children to any accredited school, public or private, that their parents choose.

Louisiana moves up to third in national charter ranking
Times-Picayune, LA, January 30, 2014
It’s National School Choice Week, and several organizations have released reports examining the state of the country’s charter schools. Louisiana remains a leader in the charter school movement, placing third in the National Association of Public Charter Schools’ annual charter law ranking.

Obama touts Tenn. education
Columbia Daily Herald, TN, January 30, 2014
President Barack Obama visited Nashville Thursday and touted Tennessee’s educational advancements while praising McGavock High School’s teaching methods.

School Choice Defies Fed Ed
National Review Online, January 31, 2014
Every family in America deserves maximized, customized choices in education. It is the ultimate key to closing that “income inequality” gap the politicos are always gabbling about. Yet, the White House and Democrats beholden to public-school unions and their money are the ones blocking the school-choice door.

Some state rebrand controversial Common Core education standards
Washington Post, DC, January 30, 2014
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) used an executive order to strip the name “Common Core” from the state’s new math and reading standards for public schools. In the Hawkeye State, the same standards are now called “The Iowa Core.”

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Franklin-McKinley agreement with charters an example for Silicon Valley and the nation
Editorial, San Jose Mercury News, CA, January 30, 2014
San Jose’s Franklin-McKinley School District already has uncommonly healthy relationships with its charter schools. Now the district and charters have agreed to share campuses, data and training programs for teachers and administrators.

CONNECTICUT

Blazing a new attitude, a new path at Dunbar
CT Post, CT, January 31, 2014
Being part of the state network means extra funding and state support in exchange for implementing changes meant to bring about a quick turnaround in school culture and test scores; Dunbar’s scores have been among the lowest in the city.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

NYC school cuts popular gifted program over lack of diversity: report
Washington Times, DC, January 30, 2014
A popular gifted-student program at a New York City elementary school is getting the ax after school officials decided it lacked diversity.

FLORIDA

Scott smart to increase school funding
Editorial, News-Press, FL, January 31, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott, who last year hoped to silence critics of his previous stand about bloated education spending by requesting an extra $1.2 billion in last year’s budget, returned Monday with an ambitious request seeking an additional $542 million in spending tied directly to students.

INDIANA

Apples to apples, tests and voucher schools
Editorial, Journal and Courier, IN, January 30, 2014
It was good to see an Indiana Senate committee see through an effort to scrap ISTEP test requirements for private schools that accept state voucher money in this era of school choice.

Voucher system creating two education classes
Editorial, Star-Press, IN, January 31, 2014
School vouchers, heralded by proponents as a way to give parents more flexibility in how and where their children are educated — using public dollars — are slowly creating two education classes.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

‘School choice’ in New Hampshire a label that barely scrapes surface
Opinion, Nashua Telegraph, NH, January 31, 2014
As the country recognizes School Choice Week, Nashua school officials are discussing what to do with students whose parents chose to send them to a different school in the district.

NEW JERSEY

Senate Committee passes bill giving schools boards a say in school closings
Star-Ledger, NJ, January 30, 2014
Parents and community activists from Newark, Montclair and Camden testified before a state senate committee this morning in favor of a bill that requires local school boards to approve the closing of schools.

Two renaissance projects advance in Camden
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, January 31, 2014
A renaissance is coming to Camden, literally. School Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard announced his support Thursday for two new renaissance schools, charter-type facilities that would be run by nonprofits in communities with high numbers of at-risk youth.

NEW MEXICO

Bill that gives school districts more spending power advances
Santa Fe New Mexican, NM, January 30, 2014
School superintendents and educational leaders want lawmakers to give them more freedom in how they spend millions of dollars in public school funding.

NEW YORK

Parents vs. Progressives
Editorial, New York Post, NY, January 31, 2014
As New York parents increasingly demand better — or at least, different — schools for their kids, the city’s “progressive” mayor is digging in his heels in favor of the same old failing model of the past.

Thousands of students may lose charter school seats if Mayor de Blasio kills plans
New York Daily News, NY, January 30, 2014
Families for Excellent Schools says the students would be at a loss if the plans to open or expand 30 charter schools do not go ahead.

OREGON

Portland Public Schools vs. charters, the sequel:
Editorial, The Oregonian, OR, January 30, 2014
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales has used the brevity of this year’s soon-to-begin legislative session as an excuse not to pursue a sidewalk-civility bill, but the folks at Portland Public Schools are made of sterner stuff.

PENNSYLVANIA

Democrats unveil proposals for more money for schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 30, 2014
Democrats from Philadelphia’s state Senate delegation unveiled a plan Thursday to provide $300 million more for education across the state.

WASHINGTON

Charter schools in Yakima Valley officially denied
Yakima Herald-Republic, WA, January 31, 2014
Following recommendations from education experts, charter school proposals in Yakima and Sunnyside were denied by the state Charter School Commission at a meeting Thursday in Seattle.

State’s first charter school to open next fall in Seattle
Seattle Times, WA, January 31, 2014
The State Charter School Commission has approved seven new charter schools to open in the Seattle-Tacoma area. Most will open in 2015, but one in Seattle will open in the fall.

Tacoma will have three charter schools by fall 2015
Tacoma News Tribune, WA, January 30, 2014
It appears that Tacoma is poised to become the charter school capital of Washington state, following action Thursday by the state Charter School Commission.

WISCONSIN

MPS board stalls decision on converting struggling schools to charters
Journal Sentinel, WI, January 30, 2014
A proposal to convert some persistently low-performing schools in Milwaukee to charter schools while targeting others for different reforms was sent back to committee for further discussion Thursday by the Milwaukee School Board amid opposition from teachers and parallel efforts by Republican state legislators.

ONLINE LEARNING

Charters Make Case To Group Devising Rules To Evaluate Them
WFAE, NC, January 30, 2014
Two virtual charter schools run by for-profit companies are trying to open schools in North Carolina. In the past, the state board of education has refused to consider these schools. But this year the board appointed a group to figure out how to evaluate virtual charters.

Cultivate learning through school choice
Letter, Augusta Chronicle, GA, January 30, 2014
Several years ago, an eager fourth-grade student named James and his parents walked into my office and inquired about enrolling in South Carolina Connections Academy. I listened intently as James and his sister described the life-threatening food allergies that forced them to seek a school other than the one they were zoned for.

Despite snow days, GAC students learn in cyber school
Gwinnett Daily Post, GA, January 30, 2014
For some Greater Atlanta Christian students, this week’s snow days didn’t mean an unscheduled vacation. Thanks to the school’s web-based communication portal, they continued with assignments.

First two Maine virtual schools get initial approval
Portland Press Herald, ME, January 30, 2014
The schools, whose previous proposals were rejected, will take the next step forward, as will a school operated by followers of a Turkish imam. A Montessori school is rejected.

How Florida Lawmakers Want To Help Schools Get Ready For Digital Lessons
StateImpact NPR, FL, January 31, 2014
Florida schools could get more money to upgrade classrooms, purchase new computers, tablets and other technology and train teachers and staff how to use them.

Online program enables Baldwin students to learn at their own pace
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, January 30, 2014
An online game of “Escapade through British Literature” has allowed high school seniors in Daniel Harrold’s college-preparatory English class at Baldwin High School to take charge.

Maine’s charter school process needs chance to work — not be shut down for virtual schools
Editorial, Bangor Daily News, ME, January 30, 2014
Virtual charter schools have proven an especially contentious flashpoint in Maine’s charter school debate over the past three years. The controversy has erupted even though none of the five charter schools currently open in Maine is a virtual school providing most of its instruction online.

Online charter school denied in Banning
Record Gazette, CA, January 31, 2014
The initial online charter school petition for Web-Based Academy for California was turned down by the Banning school board last week, based on several technicalities that were deemed unmet by a committee.

Pittsburgh principals share $114,979 in bonuses
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, January 31, 2014
All eligible Pittsburgh Public Schools principals except one who retired have been awarded performance-based bonuses for 2012-13, totaling $114,979.

Study: Missouri Has ‘Fallen Behind’ In Providing Digital Learning To K-12 Students
KRCU, MO, January 30, 2014
A study released Thursday by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry states that Missouri is “falling behind” when it comes to providing digital learning for K-12 students.

Suburban Cyber-Charter Students Attend ‘Virtual’ Rally For School Choice
CBS Philly, PA, January 30, 2014
Students at a Pennsylvania cyber-charter school logged onto a “virtual rally” yesterday to celebrate School Choice Week.Students at a Pennsylvania cyber-charter school logged onto a “virtual rally” yesterday to celebrate School Choice Week.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Daily Headlines for January 30, 2014

January 30, 2014 By

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

Children are at the forefront of civil rights fights, including school choice
Opinion by Kevin Chavous, Daily Caller, DC, January 29, 2014
This week is National School Choice Week, an opportunity to celebrate educational choice in all forms and the positive impact choice has had on so many children. Throughout this week, thousands of kids who benefit from a variety of choice programs will be attending rallies all over America.

Education Dept. allows public charter schools to hold weighted lottery
Washington Post, DC, January 29, 2014
The Education Department on Wednesday reversed a long-standing policy and will now allow public charter schools that receive federal grants to give admissions preference to low-income children, minorities and other disadvantaged students.

President’s visit is nod to TN education
Editorial, The Tennessean, TN, January 30, 2014
Today, President Barack Obama makes his first visit to Nashville since 2008, when he was presidential nominee Obama debating Republican contender John McCain on the campus of Belmont University.

STATE COVERAGE

ALASKA

Backers of private ‘school choice’ are pushing hard
Anchorage Daily News, AK, January 29, 2014
Conservative leaders pushing a constitutional amendment to restructure public education in Alaska told a crowd at a South Anchorage Catholic church on Tuesday night that the time is right.

ARIZONA

Arizona charter schools want bigger share of state funds
Arizona Star, AZ, January 30, 2014
Attorneys for the state schools chief are defending the decision by lawmakers to provide more per-pupil aid to traditional public schools than to charter schools.

CALIFORNIA

Few L.A. teachers get bad ratings, trial documents show
Los Angeles Times, CA, January 29, 2014
More instructors than ever are being evaluated in detail in the Los Angeles Unified School District and only a small percentage are being rated as substandard, according to testimony Wednesday in litigation aimed at reducing teacher job protections.

Salinas charter school impresses California schools chief
Monterey County Herald, CA, January 29, 2014
A week after announcing a fund to help support career education, California Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson praised Millennium Charter High School in Salinas for exemplifying what he means.

COLORADO

Colorado Education Association’s lawsuit is bad for education
Editorial, Denver Post, CO, January 29, 2014
No one who witnessed the Colorado Education Association’s no-holds-barred effort to stop the passage of a tenure reform bill in 2010 will be surprised by the lawsuit filed Wednesday by the CEA.

Denver teachers challenge law over forced placement of teachers
Denver Post, CO, January 29, 2014
A class-action lawsuit filed by the Colorado Education Association on Wednesday challenges the state’s teacher effectiveness law, citing concerns with a provision that it says has allowed Denver Public Schools to edge out qualified teachers.

CONNECTICUT

Malloy Calls For Slowdown Of Teacher Evaluation Program
The Hartford Courant, CT, January 29, 2013
Faced with growing criticism of the roll-out of new academic standards and other school reforms this year, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Tuesday called for a significant slowdown of a new teacher evaluation program, a major component of his education strategy.

DELAWARE

More charter growth coming, applications show
News Journal, DE, January 29, 2014
With five charters schools set to open this fall and five more seeking approval, Delaware is set to add thousands of students to a rapidly growing charter network.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

A push for D.C. Public Schools to share space with charter schools, nonprofits
Washington Post, DC, January 29, 2014
Many of the District’s traditional schools have fewer children than they were originally designed to hold, driving up the cost of maintenance. Meanwhile, the city’s fast-growing charter schools often struggle to find suitable real estate.

DCPS gets to clean up a charter school mess
Opinion, Washington Post, DC, January 29, 2014
It’s enough that they face enormous educational challenges, including blindness, dyslexia and severe emotional disorders. Now, the more than 350 special-needs children at Options Public Charter School must suffer cavalier charter officials who apparently have little regard for their academic futures.

FLORIDA

Manatee school choice piques parent, student interests
Bradenton Herald, FL, January 30, 2014
More than 3,000 parents and prospective students crowded into the Bradenton Area Convention Center for Manatee County School District’s first school choice fair Monday.

School choice gives Florida a leg up on quality
Column, Orlando Sentinel, FL, January 30, 2014
Battles over public education often remind me of those once-popular “less filling” versus “tastes great” Miller Lite commercials. Because in education debates, we are often given a false choice between “higher quality” and “affordable costs.”

ILLINOIS

Teachers union vows to fight pension cuts
Chicago Tribune, IL, January 29, 2014
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said Wednesday that negotiations over a pension overhaul with the school district are at a stalemate, and her members are ready to aggressively fight proposed cuts to their retirement benefits.

INDIANA

Bill would let voucher schools opt out of ISTEP testing
Indianapolis Star, IN, January 29, 2014
An Indianapolis lawmaker today is touting legislation that would allow private schools accepting vouchers to use standardized tests other than Indiana’s ISTEP to assess students.

MICHIGAN

Choosing school of choice
Letter, Detroit News, MI,
January 30, 2014
Education and learning styles of students has evolved over the past 10 years. The students of this generation and the generations we are raising up do not learn as the students of my, or possibly your generation.

EAA alternative? Struggling public schools would be overseen by ISDs in legislative proposal
The Ann Arbor News, MI, January 29, 2014
With a proposal to expand the Education Achievement Authority languishing in the Michigan House, one lawmaker has introduced an alternative that would give intermediate school districts more control over reforming struggling schools.

MISSOURI

Parents sound off to state board about the future of KC schools
The Kansas City Star, MO, January 30, 2014
Kansas City parent Patrick Bustos took his turn at the microphone, facing out at the more than 500 people who came to see Wednesday night’s passionate debate on the future of the Kansas City Public Schools.

NEBRASKA

Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh: Omaha fertile ground for charter schools
The Omaha World Herald, NE, January 30, 2014
Omaha’s poorest neighborhoods would be a good place to open charter schools, an Omaha lawmaker said.

NEW JERSEY

Bill would restore some control to school districts run by state
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, January 30, 2014
As tensions mount over the state’s control of its largest school systems, a bill gaining attention in Trenton would return at least some local say to major decisions in those districts.

NEW YORK

Brooklyn school cutting gifted program to boost diversity
New York Daily News, NY, January 30, 2014
Ditmas Park’s P.S. 139 Principal Mary McDonald told parents the elementary school would no longer accept kindergartners applications for the SOAR program. Future classes will be ‘heterogeneously grouped.’

Charter schools swamped with applications despite criticism
New York Post, NY, January 30, 2014
Parents are swamping charter schools with applications — even as the de Blasio administration casts a critical eye at the charters and is looking to slow their growth.

OHIO

No delays on the Common Core
Editorial, Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, January 29, 2014
The Ohio Senate has to reject House Bill 193, an ill-conceived measure that would delay Common Core testing for a year, likely derailing this promising and long-planned effort to prepare Ohio’s students more effectively for jobs and careers.

OKLAHOMA

Tulsa Public Schools gets Gates grant to improve charter collaboration
Tulsa World, OK, January 30, 2014
Tulsa Public Schools is among five districts nationwide selected for a partnership that officials say should help improve collaboration with charter schools.

PENNSYLVANIA

Education, economics fueled Delta Program decision Education, economics fueled Delta Program decision
Editorial, Centre Daily Times, PA, January 30, 2014
We take no issue with the State College Area School District’s move to expand its Delta Program to include fifth- and sixth-grade students. And we were pleasantly surprised that the district acknowledged that the move was motivated by both educational and economic opportunities

TENNESSEE

County Schools Weighs Charter Rent Waiver
Memphis Daily News, TN, January 30, 2014
Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson is considering waiving rent payments by charter schools that lease the school system’s old buildings in return for them taking all children in an area and coordinating their location with Shelby County Schools.

WASHINGTON

S’side charter school likely won’t be OK’d
Daily Sun News, WA, January 29, 2014
The news is looking bleak for Charter Schools of Sunnyside, but the grassroots effort is encouraged, according to Brittany Weaver, a founding member of the organization.

WISCONSIN

Increase accountability for voucher schools
Opinion, La Crosse Tribune, WI, January 30, 2014
At least one private voucher school won’t be touting its record as part of this year’s National Voucher School Week.

Scott Walker wants to salvage school accountability bill
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, January 30, 2014
Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday he is working to salvage a school accountability bill that has been pulled from a scheduled vote after encountering resistance from both public and private school advocates.

ONLINE LEARNING

Mom lets teen try Florida Virtual School after all
Column, Tampa Bay Times, FL, January 29, 2014
For the past two years, Kourtnie, my now 16-year-old daughter, has been begging me to enroll her in the Florida Virtual School Program. I repeatedly responded with a decisive no. Until now.

Ohio Blended Learning Network an innovative approach in classroom
The Morning Journal, OH, January 29, 2014
Thirteen Ohio school districts created a statewide network to help teachers use technology to increase productivity in the classroom.

Tennessee Virtual Academy Facing Tough Questions about Student Achievement
WZTV, TN, January 29, 2014
There are big questions about your money being spent on the Tennessee Virtual Academy. Students have scored below average the last two years on standardized testing. But millions of taxpayer dollars are still funding the program.

York students log on to cyber school
Fox43, PA, January 29, 2014
Hundreds of students logged onto their computers for a web chat Wednesday. It was part of a virtual rally in schools across the state.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

CER Releases Survey of America’s Charter Schools

January 29, 2014 By

 Survey Reveals Growth has Not Kept Pace to Meet Demand

CER Press Release
Washington, DC
January 30, 2014

On Thursday January 30, 2014, The Center for Education Reform (CER) released its Survey of America’s Charter Schools, a study performed since 1996 that has become the most reliable and detailed view of the environment and conditions in which public charter schools operate.

“While the number of new charter options continues to climb at a moderate pace, this incremental growth is not keeping pace with expanding demand for access to schools that meet each student’s individual needs,” said Theodor Rebarber, co-author of the 2014 Survey of America’s Charter Schools.

“As parent- and educator-driven reform, charter schools could be playing a larger, more central role in addressing the national education crisis,” said Alison Consoletti Zgainer, co-author of the 2014 survey and CER Executive Vice President.

This most recent analysis offers trends over time and insight as to why these independent schools are in such high demand. A preview of key findings from the 2014 Annual Survey of America’s Charter Schools:

  • Charter sector growth is proportionately higher in states with stronger laws. 335 charter schools opened in states rated “A” and “B,” while only 13 campuses opened in states rated “D” or “F.”
  • The average number of students on charter school wait lists has increased by 44 students since 2009. Put into context, districts like New York City calculate upwards of 50,000 students on charter school waiting lists.
  • Over half of America’s charter schools (61%) serve a student population where over 60% are considered low-income or disadvantaged.

Authors of the study, Theodor Rebarber, CEO of AccountabilityWorks, and Alison Consoletti Zgainer, CER’s Executive Vice President, are available for comment as well as CER president Kara Kerwin. Members of the media should contact CER Communications Director Michelle Tigani at 301-986-8088 or michelle@staging.edreform.com to set up interviews.

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For a copy of the Survey of America’s Charter Schools click here.

Filed Under: Press Releases

Daily Headlines for January 29, 2013

January 29, 2014 By

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

Minnesota Clings Onto Top Spot in NAPCS Charter Law Rankings; Ind., Miss. Rise
Education Week, January 28, 2014
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has released its rankings and evaluations of state charter-school laws for 2014, and the top-10 list looks very much like the rankings the group released last year—only one jurisdiction on that list, the District of Columbia, is new (D.C. moved up from 17 to 10 this year).

Stop the feds’ Common Core for schools
Letter, Washington Times, DC, January 28, 2014
If the central planners and progressive bureaucrats get their way, teaching the Constitution to American schoolchildren will be a thing of the past.

The hype and reality of ‘school choice’
Washington Post Blog, DC, January 28, 2014
In case you missed any of the endless streams of announcements, it’s National School Choice Week, and advocates are staging thousands of events across the country to talk it up. There is even a school choice train making a whistle-stop tour across the country for rallies and other such goings-on to draw attention to a movement that has been hailed as “the” or “an” answer to what ails public education today. The only problem is this: It isn’t. Not by a long shot.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

California Kids Go to Court to Demand a Good Education
Opinion, Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2014
The trial began this week in a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court aimed at bringing meaningful and badly needed change to California’s public schools. The suit could have far-reaching effects in American education—in particular on teacher-tenure policies that too often work to the detriment of students.

LASD: Talks over charter school facilities hit a snag
Los Altos Town Crier, CA, January 29, 2014
After meeting twice in the past seven weeks with a professional mediator behind closed doors, Los Altos School District officials said their negotiations with Bullis Charter School have hit an impasse.

Vergara v. California: Do state laws protect teacher jobs over students?
Christian Science Monitor, MA, January 28, 2014
The case of Vergara v. California takes up whether five state laws make it too hard to fire poor teachers. Students say their education is suffering. Teachers unions say the need is more resources.

COLORADO

Bill seeks to bridge data gap in district, school ratings
Denver Post Blog, CO, January 28, 2014
A bill expected to be introduced this week would allow school and district performance ratings earned in the 2014-15 school year to be carried over into the following year.

Colorado Education Association lawsuit seeks to undo reforms
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, January 28, 2014
The Colorado Education Association is announcing a highly anticipated lawsuit Wednesday that will challenge parts of education reforms put into place by lawmakers in 2010.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

What happens to Options’s students when the school shuts down?
Editorial, Washington Post, DC, January 28, 2014
THE STUDENTS who ended up at the Options Public Charter School are the ones no other school wanted. That probably explains why the shortcomings of the school, the city’s oldest public charter, were so long overlooked.

IDAHO

School choice growin in relevance
Idaho Press Tribune, ID, January 29, 2014
School choice has become a given for an increasing number of Idaho families and children. This is good. It means families in the Gem State have the freedom to choose the best educational environments and options for their children.

ILLINOIS

Emanuel defends new charter schools
Chicago Tribune, IL, January 28, 2014
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday dismissed criticism aimed at his hand-picked school board’s decision to approve seven new charter schools after it shuttered 47 neighborhood schools last year, saying they’re two separate issues.

INDIANA

Voucher schools invite public scrutiny in accepting public dollars
Editorial, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, January 29, 2014
What does school choice mean in Indiana? It means taxpayer-supported schools that can choose:

MARYLAND

Don’t leave charter schools behind
Op-Ed, Baltimore Sun, MD, January 29, 2014
The people of Baltimore care about inequity. We think about what is fair and right, and together, we have come up with some great solutions to some of the disparities we see in our city.

MICHIGAN

Charting success
Grand Haven Tribune, MI, January 28, 2014
The Michigan charter school law celebrates its 20th anniversary this month, and local charter schools are thriving under it.

Melody Manwell: Charters provoke competition
Opinion, Battle Creek Enquirer, MI, January 29, 2014
Education should be about one thing only: what’s best for the kids. Every child, no matter their income level, language, or race should not have an inferior education that may hinder their options for life.

Some Unintended Effects For Indiana’s School Voucher Program.
WIBQ, MI, January 29, 2014
In an Indiana Department of Education report released this week; four in 10 students using vouchers never attended an Indiana public school, even though the original 2011 law that authorized the program required it.

West Michigan charter school ranked worst in state in new report
Grand Rapids Press, MI, January 29, 2014
Grattan Academy, a West Michigan K-12 charter school, is the state’s worst school in raising student achievement above expected scores for its student body’s income level, according to a new report released today.

MINNESOTA

Duluth charter schools now enroll 14% of district’s students
Duluth News Tribune, MN, January 29, 2014
The share of Duluth school district students attending charter schools in the city has grown from 9 percent to 14 percent in seven years, according to a recent report.

MISSISSIPPI

Committee OKs teacher pay bill
Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS, January 29, 2014
The Senate Education Committee has approved a House bill to ensure teachers get a full pay check for August.

MISSOURI

Parents should have say in where kids go to school in Missouri, expert says
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, January 28, 2014
Rich or poor, parents should have a choice in where their child goes to school. At least, that’s what James Shuls, the Show-Me Institute’s Education Policy director, believes.

NEVADA

Home schooling ultimate education choice
Editorial, Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, January 29, 2014
It’s National School Choice Week, and while magnet and charter schools and vouchers get a lot of attention from proponents of expanded educational opportunities, another popular option gets fewer headlines: home schooling. The ability to remove a child from public schooling altogether is the ultimate choice for parents — and it’s under attack, despite its strong record of success.

NEW JERSEY

Camden protesters oppose superintendent’s plan
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 29, 2014
About 60 teachers, parents, and community members protested proposed changes in the Camden School District in freezing temperatures before a school board meeting Tuesday night.

National teachers union leader joins protest of Newark school makeover
Star-Ledger, NJ, January 28, 2014
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten returns to Newark tonight to join community members, parents and teachers to protest Superintendent Cami Anderson’s reorganization plan for the city’s schools.

NJ School Reports feature arts enrollment, advanced course work
Star-Ledger, NJ, January 29, 2014
The latest version of the state’s annual school report card continues efforts begun last year to measure student performance by looking beyond test scores.

NEW YORK

No reason for de Blasio to give more cash into failing schools
New York Post, NY, January 29, 2014
It also happens to be Mayor de Blasio’s formula for city education: It’s not very good, so let’s pay more for it.

What now for Eva Moskowitz?
Capital New York, NY, January 29, 2014
In his short time as mayor, Bill de Blasio made it abundantly clear that he thinks charter-school operators like Eva Moskowitz got a sweetheart deal under Michael Bloomberg.

NORTH CAROLINA

PACE expects ‘tough fight’ for charter renewal
Herald Sun, NC, January 29, 2014
PACE Academy officials are acknowledging that the troubled charter school faces a “tough fight” to keep its doors open.

OHIO

Columbus, Ohio, School District Hit By Cheating Allegations
Wall Street Journal, January 29, 2014
A state investigation of Columbus, Ohio, public schools found a “top-down culture of data manipulation and employee intimidation” in connection with changes to test scores and student grades, officials said Tuesday, in the latest testing scandal to engulf a school district.

OKLAHOMA

Statewide online school testing system tryout mostly successful
Tulsa World, OK, January 29, 2014
The statewide test of public schools’ online testing capabilities Tuesday saw a few hiccups but generally went smoothly, according to state officials and area school districts.

PENNSYLVANIA

Gillingham students celebrate their choice of school
Republican Herald, PA, January 29, 2014
Students at Gillingham Charter School celebrated their choice to attend the county’s first brick-and-mortar charter school during a pep rally Tuesday in honor of National School Choice Week.

Phila. parents make deal over enrollment in suburban school
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 29, 2014
A case that became a national cause célèbre for public school choice ended Tuesday in Montgomery County Court with lesser charges, dismissed charges, and a restitution agreement. But there was no jail time for the mother and father of a child who attended a Lower Moreland school even though they lived in Philadelphia.

Senate Bill Would Give Colleges Authority To Approve Charter Schools In Pennsylvania
KYW-TV, PA, January 29, 2014
Part of a bill pending in the Pennsylvania senate would give universities the authority to approve new charter schools. But one non-profit says there’s no evidence that would improvestudent performance.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Teachers raise concerns about pay-for-performance at Charleston school board meeting
Post & Courier, SC, January 28, 2014
Lindsay Egloff was one of a handful of teachers who cautioned the Charleston County School Board Monday against adopting a pay-for-performance system, which would tie teachers’ evaluations and pay to how well their students perform on standardized tests.

TENNESSEE

Haslam, Ramsey strike different chord on vouchers at ‘school choice’ event
The Tennessean, TN, January 29, 2014
Gov. Bill Haslam took the podium in front of Tennessee’s most ardent “school choice” supporters but barely alluded to the item they covet most — a state voucher system that would allow public dollars to go toward private schooling.

On charters, Shelby Schools board looks at tighter rules
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, January 29, 2014
It’s possible the Shelby County Schools board will be bearing down on low-performing charter schools, including closing them or imposing sanctions. It’s also possible that by next year all board-authorized charters will no longer pay rent to the school board but instead would pay an administrative fee to cover overhead of services such as school buses, lunch, even special education services.

TEXAS

Studying school choice
Letters, Houston Chronicle, TX, January 29, 2014
As I read Robert Enslow’s essay “Better education options can help stem income inequality,” (Page B7, Saturday), I could not help wondering how he proposed to pay for “tax credit scholarships” or vouchers.

ONLINE LEARNING

Arbitrary cuts to cyber charters will undermine school choice
Letter, Patriot News, PA, January 28, 2014
As a teacher for a virtual public school, Commonwealth Connections Academy, I see firsthand every day the benefits of choice and technology in learning.

Area students thrive in online school environment
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, January 28, 2014
Each of the fourth- and fifth-graders attending the virtual charter school’s annual fair also seemed more than happy to explain — at length, without prompting — how pink dolphins get their hue or how planes disappear in the Bermuda Triangle.

Arkansas Virtual Academy Gives Kids New Way to Learn
KARK, AR, January 28, 2014
There is a new way for students to get an education by way of virtual learning. The Arkansas Virtual Academy or ARVA gives kids in grades K – 8 a chance to learn in a way that’s convenient for them.

Baton Rouge school brings classes to the kitchen table
The Advocate, LA, January 29, 2014
The classrooms at St. Joseph Academy in Baton Rouge were empty Tuesday morning, but a mile west in the dining room of a home in Capital Heights, sisters Elizabeth and Lauren Foshee were still in school, virtually speaking.

Cyber Day Test a Success for Students on Snow Day
WTRF, WV, January 28, 2014
With students out of school for such a long period of time, one local high school has successfully found a way to get school work to their students on a snow day.

Hilliard Schools To Use ‘Blizzard Bag’ Method To Make Up Calamity Days
WBNS-TV, OH, January 28, 2014
Hilliard City Schools will use the “blizzard bag” method for making up calamity days if necessary. That means lessons will be posted online and students will have up to two weeks to complete the work.

Pa. denies all applications for cyber-charter schools in 2014
Philadelphia Notebook Blog, PA, January 29, 2014
There will be no new cyber-charter schools opening this year in Pennsylvania.
The state Department of Education rejected proposals from each of the six operators that applied last November.

Stamford High Students Join Others Worldwide In Virtual School
Stamford Daily Voice, CT, January 29, 2014
Students at the high school’s computer lab are taking courses online together with kids in other parts of the world on Jan. 29 as part of a partnership with The Virtual High School.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Minnesota Clings Onto Top Spot in NAPCS Charter Law Rankings; Ind., Miss. Rise

January 29, 2014 By

Andrew Ujifusa, Education Week

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has released its rankings and evaluations of state charter-school laws for 2014, and the top-10 list looks very much like the rankings the group released last year—only one jurisdiction on that list, the District of Columbia, is new (D.C. moved up from 17 to 10 this year). However, there’s been plenty of movement overall on the rankings, and well-ranked states’ raw scores improved over the last year, as you can see below.

Who were the big movers and shakers? Indiana jumped seven spots all the way up to number two, thanks to what NACPS deemed a “major piece” of legislation last year. “This legislation strengthened charter renewal processes, created statutory guidelines for relationships between charter schools and education service providers, and created statutory guidelines to govern the expansion of high-quality charter schools through multi-school charter contracts and/or multi-charter contract boards,” NAPCS states in discussing Indiana’s charter-school environment.

The “most improved” award, however, goes to Mississippi, which rocketed up 29 spots from 43 to 14 on the rankings. The Magnolia State has typically done very badly on these charter-law reports from both NAPCS and the Center for Education Reform, with both groups stating that Mississippi’s previous charter-school law all but asphyxiated them. (Both organizations are strong supporters of charter schools—I haven’t yet seen a year-over-year report card that punishes states for embracing the kinds of laws NAPCS praises.)

But under Mississippi’s new charter-school law passed in 2013, according to NAPCS, more charter schools can open, there is better funding and accountability, and the state becomes the sole authorizer of charters.

Minnesota, meanwhile, the state with the nation’s oldest charter-school law, kept its top spot in the rankings “just barely,” while Idaho and Nevada were big improvers. Decliners included Missouri, Hawaii, and Georgia, although NAPCS states that in many such cases they were simply passed by other states and didn’t make their charter laws substantively worse.

NAPCS scores state laws for charter schools based on 20 categories. States are rewarded if they don’t place caps on the number of charter schools; allow for multiple authorizers of charter schools; and allow charters the same kind of access to capital funding as traditional public schools.

“Despite significant improvements in several states in 2013, our highest-scoring state received only 75 percent of the total points,” NAPCS states in the report’s introduction, “meaning there is still much work to do to improve policies for charters, especially in the areas of operational and capital funding equity.” (Even top-ranked Minnesota only gets a 2 on a scale from 0-4 in the area of equitable capital funding access.)

Filed Under: CER in the News

SOTU Wish List – What’s old is new

January 28, 2014 By

Last year, we made a list of things we hoped we would hear in President Obama’s State of the Union Address.  This year, not much has changed, and our wish list remains in tact:

State of the Union Wish List

Tonight, President Obama will give the first second State of the Union address of his second term in office, an opportunity for the president to raise issues critical to improving our nation’s schools, one of the most important domestic policy opportunities of our time. No other investment available can simultaneously enhance the workforce of the future, help rebuild the infrastructure of the present, and wipe out the civil rights injustices of the recent past. And while the president has a lot to cover during his speech, we hope he takes time to address education, because if we fail to fix our failing schools, if we fail to replace our public education system, We the People may soon find that we are fundamentally unequipped to govern ourselves let alone to provide governance to others we thought in greater need.

With that in mind, here’s what we hope to hear in tonight’s SOTU:

1) Work Across All Education Sectors: We hope that the president will announce plans by his administration to hear from a range of voices and ideas from cities and communities, including those who represent the grassroots in the school choice and charter school communities. In the first term, the Obama Administration talked a lot about others “collaborating” and “getting along” with unions. We urge President Obama to send a signal to all the people advocating critical school choices for children — be they digital, in private schools or public schools — that this second term will be more about good ideas, no matter where they come from, than about special interests, even if they did help fund his reelection. Likewise, it’s time for the president to firmly tell the teachers unions that protecting mediocrity month after month is unacceptable, not understandable but unacceptable. For a crash course on the issues, we offer a Mandate for Change.

2) Encourage Parent Power:  The president has often said that parents must be more responsible for their children’s education. That’s true, but difficult to do when they have no say in how or where their children are educated. Some states, like Indiana and Florida, are providing the most expansive options to parents, though even the best have a long way to go. In his speech, we urge the president to encourage parents to learn about their power, or if they have little, to take action to get it at the local level. Moreover, it’s time for the Obama Administration to reward states which offer children in failing schools quality alternatives among both public and private schools. President Obama’s administration should reward not just the talk, but the walk, as the first Race to the Top grants failed to do. More federal incentives to encourage states to adopt meaningful charter laws that provide for multiple authorizers while resisting the temptation to micromanage state processes is one way. A very bold move would be to finally advocate portability of all Title 1 funds, so that no matter where a child attends school, they are treated equally for the purposes of federal funds, and not discriminated against simply because their parents had the opportunity to send them to a better school. Parent Power is vital. Learn more here, at The Parent Power Index.

3) Restore Sound Federal Policy: A final area for refocusing federal effort is where waivers and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) are concerned. NCLB, while imperfect, is an example of how federal funds can influence local behavior. Before NCLB was enacted, officials masked data showing schools failing despite billions of dollars in funding. The legislation was a response to state and local leaders abdicating their responsibility. But in implementing the law, states encouraged test obsession over what the legislation intended: quality teaching and monitoring of results. Rather than continuing to give waivers, as the Obama Administration did in the first term, the president should focus on reforming NCLB to ensure more flexibility in approach, so that Washington, while not the arbiter of best practice, ensures adherence to high standards and accountability for precious tax dollars spent. We urge the president to stop the waivers for good faith promises of effort, and instead, start rewarding success. For states still sitting on funds from the first rounds with no mark of success in implementing fully promised reforms or scaling student achievement, it’s time to ask for the taxpayers money back.

 

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