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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

Bill to Offer an Option to Give Vouchers
New York Times, NY, January 28, 2014
Senator Lamar Alexander, who served as secretary of education under President George Bush in the early 1990s, plans to introduce a bill on Tuesday that would give 11 million children from low-income families federal money to spend on any kind of schooling their parents choose, as long as it is in an accredited institution.

GOP measure would promote ‘school choice’ with federal funding
Washington Post, DC, January 27, 2014
Republicans are positioning “school choice” — sending public dollars to charter schools, vouchers, virtual schools and other alternatives to traditional public schools — as a way to address income inequality in this election year and connect with low-income, minority voters.

Is Common Core in trouble?
MSNBC, January 27, 2014
The rollout of the new Common Core academic standards has hit a major roadblock, as one of the most powerful state teachers unions in the country rebuked its “failed implementation.”

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Tenure lawsuit could create better California schools
Editorial, Los Angeles Daily News, CA, January 27, 2014
There’s still a good reason for academic tenure in this country — at the collegiate level, where it was created, to ensure academic freedom of thought and speech.

Trial over California teacher protection laws opens
Los Angeles Times, CA, January 28, 2014
Suit contends the laws violate the state’s equal protection guarantee by subjecting some students to ‘grossly ineffective’ instruction.

COLORADO

Backlash against Common Core education standards surfaces in Colorado
Denver Post, CO, January 28, 2014
Backlash to implementation of new education standards known as the Common Core has begun to surface in Colorado, following about two dozen other states that have raised concerns about both the content and the high-stakes testing that comes with it.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. school boundary overhaul on track; parents uneasy but meetings are promised
Washington Post, DC, January 27, 2014
The District is on track to overhaul school boundaries and feeder patterns for the 2015-16 school year, city officials told the D.C. Council on Monday, but there are far more questions than answers about what the changes will be and how they will affect city families.

FLORIDA

Gov. Rick Scott proposes $542 million boost to education spending
Miami Herald, FL, January 27, 2014
Facing one of the best state budget outlooks in recent memory, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday made a pitch to increase public school spending by $542 million.

Lee school board to vote on South Lee charter school plan
News-Press, FL, January 28, 2014
One charter school company in Lee is getting a second chance at opening a school this fall.

IDAHO

Idaho Arts Charter looks to separate from school district
Idaho Press-Tribune, ID, January 28, 2014
If the details work out as planned, Idaho Arts Charter School may be its own local education agency by this time next year.

INDIANA

20,000 students on voucher plan
Journal Gazette, IN, January 28, 2014
More than half the local nonpublic schools doubled the number of students enrolled this academic year with vouchers, filling up private and charter school classrooms and pulling revenue from the public districts.

LOUISIANA

John McDonogh charter group audit has $1 million discrepancy with budget
Times-Picayune, LA, January 27, 2014
New audits of Future Is Now-New Orleans, the charter group that runs John McDonogh High School, found $1 million in revenue that was not in the group’s budget. Simultaneously, however, they show no sign that administrators filled a $1.5 million budget gap.

MAINE

Charter school debate continues as Maine commission turns attention to online offerings
Bangor Daily News, ME, January 27, 2014
For years, 14-year-old Riley Deraps of South Portland felt like the public school system had him stuck on a track to somewhere he didn’t want to go. After he signed up for required classes, there were only one or two slots left in his daily schedule to pursue his interests.

MICHIGAN

Some Michigan schools districts not ready for shift to online tests
Detroit News, MI, January 28, 2014
Seven students at a Grosse Pointe elementary school were midway through a 45-minute online math test when their computers crashed.

MISSOURI

Lawmakers question Normandy School District’s hiring of lobbyists
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, January 28, 2014
The Normandy School District has agreed to spend up to $130,000 on Jefferson City lobbying services in an effort to stave off bankruptcy before the end of the school year.

NEVADA

Give school choice a chance
Editorial, Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, January 27, 2014
Much of what ails our K-12 education system can be solved by choice. If every parent had options beyond an underperforming neighborhood school, or had the ability to move children from an average school to a great one, improved outcomes would follow.

School choice, not higher taxes, will improve educational outcomes
Opinion, Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, January 27, 2014
Liberals have already begun to tout the margins tax proposal that will appear on the ballot in November. Because implementing a modified gross receipts tax that would increase taxes on businesses already losing money isn’t a winning sound bite, liberals are trying to spin it differently. Proponents of the margins tax are instead deceptively billing it as the Education Initiative, saying the money raised would go into Nevada’s Distributive School Account.

NEW JERSEY

N.J. investing in Camden schools
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, January 28, 2014
Camden Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard rolled out his first concrete plan to save the city’s ailing school district Monday night. His pledge is safer and better schools.

Jersey Shore charter school proposal criticized
Williamsport Sun-Gazette, PA, January 28, 2014
Residents voiced their opposition to the proposal to open a charter school in Nippenose Valley at Monday night’s Jersey Shore Area School Board meeting.

NORTH CAROLINA

Why NC public schools still best choice for parents, students
Opinion, News & Observer, NC, January 27, 2014
Public schools, charter schools and private schools give North Carolina parents many choices for their child’s education. Along with these choices comes a whole lot of marketing, most of it not supported by facts.

OKLAHOMA

Tulsa Republican slams Barresi’s “reign of terror” in campaign announcement
Tulsa World, OK, January 28, 2014
Hofmeister, the owner of a local franchise of Kumon after-school math and reading programs and former public schoolteacher, called Barresi’s “one-size-fits-all” and “cookie-cutter” approach to education reform harmful to kids and likened her centralization of power over the state’s public schools to socialism.

OREGON

Portland teachers union supporters pack meeting, blast Superintendent Carole Smith and school board
The Oregonian, OR, January 27, 2014
Supporters of the Portland Association of Teachers loudly criticized Superintendent Carole Smith and the school board during a Monday night meeting, with some yelling the district had no leadership amid a protracted labor dispute.

PENNSYLVANIA

Auditor general to give Pittsburgh schools another look
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, January 27, 2014
A year after then-state Auditor General Jack Wagner released an audit of Pittsburgh Public Schools, his replacement, Eugene DePasquale, stood beside new Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto on Monday to announce the auditor general will review the school district again.

Education bill seeks to avoid conflicts of interest
Beaver County Times, PA, January 28, 2014
State Rep. Rob Matzie introduced legislation Friday to prohibit General Assembly members from having financial stakes in charter and private schools, among other changes.

RHODE ISLAND

Bill seeks to reduce frequency of R.I. teacher evaluations
Brown Daily Herald, RI, January 28, 2014
Legislation could save administrative time by eliminating unnecessary reports on top teachers

TENNESSEE

Bill Frist-led group continues support of Common Core
The Tennessean, TN, January 28, 2014
Topping the priorities of a Bill Frist-led education advocacy group in its latest report is the item it has trumpeted for months in Tennessee: stay the course on Common Core.

TEXAS

Why one school-choice group is praising Austin as a national benchmark
Austin Statesman, TX, January 27, 2014
When it comes to school choice, Austin is a smorgasbord, says a group doing a U.S. tour to mark National School Choice week.

WASHINGTON

6 charter contenders emerge from expert study
The News Tribune, WA, January 28, 2014
The state Charter School Commission released a series of reports Monday indicating that only six of 19 charter school applications statewide — including two in Tacoma — were deemed ready to roll in the next year or two.

WISCONSIN

Charter schools continue to expand in Fox Cities
Appleton Post Crescent, WI, January 27, 2014
As lawmakers continue to debate a proposal that could greatly expand independent charter schools in Wisconsin, plans are in place to increase public school-based charter options in the Fox Cities.

Major changes to school report card proposed, including closing poorly performing schools
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, January 28, 2014
Wisconsin’s lowest-performing public schools would be forced to close or reopen as charter schools and the state’s 2-year-old accountability report card would be revamped under a bill unveiled Monday.

ONLINE LEARNING

Leominster High School contemplating virtual learning
Sentinel & Enterprise, MA, January 28, 2014
From improving student achievement to providing services to 185 unexpected students, the Leominster Public School District is keeping a lot of balls in the air.

More parents choosing alternatives to the classroom for students
KOBI-TV, OR, January 27, 2014
16-year-old Myka Kelsey is a sophomore at the D9 Online School in Eagle Point. She said why she likes online “doing my classes online, I can catch up on my junior and senior classes so that I can take more college classes.”

Public gets chance tomorrow to hear about virtual charter school proposals
Progressive Pulse, NC, January 27, 2014
Two virtual education companies will explain how they would offer a full-time schooling options to North Carolina children, in a meeting tomorrow at the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

Virtual charter athletics bill fails in House
The Statehouse File, IN, January 27, 2014
A bill that would allow virtual charter school students to participate in high school athletics at traditional public schools failed for lack of constitutional majority, 47-45, in the House of Representatives on Monday.

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

Are charter schools really better?
Opinion, The Daily Advertiser, LA, January 24, 2014
The debate continues over charter schools, which are privately owned schools funded with taxpayer money.

Could Common Core kill school choice?
Daily Caller, DC, January 26, 2014
While choice supporters should rightfully cheer their accomplishments this week, they should not ignore the looming cloud Common Core has cast on the school choice movement. With the new national standards kicking into effect for many states this year, soon no American child will be out of Common Core’s reach.

National Catholic Schools Week celebration emphasizes school choice
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, January 27, 2014
For 40 years, Catholic schools have been celebrating National Catholic Schools Week, for many years starting the last Sunday in January.

We Need School Choice Now
Opinion, National Review Online, January 27, 2014
How is it that parents have a say over every aspect of their children’s lives, yet often must delegate the critical decision of where they go to school to political boards and government bureaucracies? This has created an education monopoly that spurns accountability, views innovation as a threat, and prioritizes the job security of employees over the learning of children.

CALIFORNIA

Lawsuit takes on California teachers’ job protections
Los Angeles Times, CA, January 26, 2014
It contends that California laws on the tenure, seniority and dismissal of teachers violate the Constitution because they don’t ensure all students have access to an adequate education.

Protect good teachers, fire bad ones
Editorial, Los Angeles Times, CA, January 27, 2014
State laws that make it nearly impossible to fire even the worst teachers make for poor educational policy. The same is true of laws that require teacher layoffs to be decided on the basis of seniority, and that give principals only a year and a half to decide whether a new teacher deserves the extraordinary protections of tenure.

COLORADO

School choices abound for parents
Pueblo Chieftan, CO, January 27, 2014
When it comes to choices in kindergarten through 12th-grade education, local parents have a selection of programs.

CONNECTICUT

Connecticut study aims to track ‘invisible’ alternative schools
New Haven Register, CT, January 25, 2014
Valle is one of an unknown number of alternative education students in the state. The state Department of Education doesn’t have hard numbers on how many alternative education schools and programs exist across Connecticut, or how many students they serve, something recent legislation seeks to correct.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

How D.C. schools can ward off the ‘Big Flip’
Opinion, Washington Post, DC, January 24, 2014
If you believe that the overall value of a community is enhanced when it can support high-quality, integrated schools, these shifts mark a significant development for the city.

Students won’t learn? Go visit their parents.
Column, Washington Post, DC, January 26, 2014
Caleb Rossiter once told his math students at H.D. Woodson High School in the District that they would not be allowed into his classroom without their homework. It didn’t work.

FLORIDA

Florida teacher certification exams getting tougher
Miami Herald, FL, January 24, 2014
A push to improve the quality of rookie teachers in Florida’s classrooms may benefit students but leave thousands of prospective educators with a far tougher path into the profession.

Rep with charter school ties oversees school bill
Herald Tribune, FL, January 26, 2014
A Florida state representative with ties to the charter school industry has been tapped to oversee a bill revising charter school contracts across the state.

GEORGIA

School choice week kicks off, public school choices may be limited
WRDW, GA, January 27, 2014
Private schools, homeschooling and magnet schools–they’re all options parents have both in Georgia and South Carolina when it comes to school choice.

INDIANA

Lawmakers’ funding concerns could hamper dropout recovery schools for adults
Indianapolis Star, IN, January 26, 2014
That commercial was for the Excel Center, a new breed of charter schools for high school dropouts to earn the diploma they gave up on. Since 2010, 11 of these schools have been established in the state with more than 3,100 students enrolled currently.

MASSACHUSETTS

Frustrating, in any language
Column, Boston Globe, MA, January 27, 2014
Well, not fired, exactly, but likely to lose their current jobs. Because their “turnaround school” has not turned around quickly enough to satisfy state regulators, the staff has been informed that they will have to reapply for their jobs, or for other jobs in the system.

MICHIGAN

Grade Michigan teachers with care
Editorial, Detroit News, MI, January 26, 2014
Lawmakers should act on legislation that would create a model teacher evaluation, but they must be fair.

Charting charter schools
Herald Palladium, MI, January 26, 2014
Twenty years ago this month, education in Michigan underwent a massive change as legislation went into effect allowing the establishment of charter schools.

MINNESOTA

Investing in preschool narrows achievement gap
Editorial, Post-Bulletin, MN, January 25, 2014
Hardly anyone disputes that poor kids often are so far behind academically when they enter kindergarten that they rarely catch up.

MISSOURI

School districts step up efforts to track last year’s graduates
St. Louis Post-Dispatch. MO, January 27, 2014
Tracking down graduates to find this information has become more important to schools in recent years. That’s because Missouri’s rating system for public schools requires districts to find out and verify where their graduates are six months after they leave high school.

NEW JERSEY

Montague school plan goes before voters Tuesday
New Jersey Herald, NJ, January 25, 2014
If supporters of Tuesday’s $13 million school expansion referendum are right about the projected savings on out-of-district tuition payments that will accrue from no longer having to pay for Montague students to attend other schools, the annual cost of servicing the debt will likely come to about $173 for the owner of a Montague home assessed at $100,000.

NEW MEXICO

NM lawmakers should expand school choices
Opinion, Albuquerque Journal, NM, January 26, 2014
As the New Mexico Legislature meets in Santa Fe to discuss the state’s struggling education system, we encourage parents, students and education leaders from throughout the Land of Enchantment to celebrate School Choice Week today through Saturday.

NEW YORK

Charter-school board members donating to Cuomo’s re-election
New York Post, NY, January 27, 2014
Supporters of a charter-school network in Mayor de Blasio’s cross hairs are pouring big bucks into the campaign coffers of Gov. Cuomo, a friend of charter schools.

Getting an Accurate Fix on Schools
Editorial, New York Times, NY, January 27, 2014
New York state test data to be released later this spring will include sobering news for Mayor Bill de Blasio and his new schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña. The data show that only one in four New York City students who started high school in 2009 and graduated in 2013 performed well enough on the Regents exams to meet the state definition of college readiness.

Educational alternatives to the public school system
Editorial, New York Post, NY, January 26, 2014
This morning, visitors from Newark Prep Charter School will travel to the New York Stock Exchange. But this isn’t a class trip to learn about the market. These students and teachers will ring the opening bell in honor of National School Choice Week.

Stick with Core values
Editorial, New York Daily News, NY, January 27, 2014
Teachers are upset at changing how they do what they do, parents are upset at learning truths about their children’s school performance and kids are said to be getting upset stomachs.

Teachers’ union bails on King and Common Core
Capital New York, NY, January 26, 2014
The board of the state’s largest teachers’ union voted unanimously Saturday to denounce the controversial Common Core standards and call for the removal of New York education commissioner John King.

Union dues violate First Amendment rights
Editorial, New York Post, NY, January 26, 2014
The other day, these pages called for New York to stand up for teachers by letting them decide for themselves whether they are going to pay their union dues.

NORTH CAROLINA

Ads lure NC teachers to Virginia
WRAL, NC, January 26, 2014
Low morale and no pay increases within the past five years have contributed to an increase in teachers leaving North Carolina schools. But Virginia wants them.

Common Core
Editorial, Daily Reflector, NC, January 26, 2014
Some conservatives see the Common Core State Standards Initiative as a conspiracy to install a one-size-fits-all standard for language and math testing that will somehow change the face of American education and remove all flexibility.

Marc Whichard: Vouchers, opportunism
Opinion, Greenville Daily Reflector, NC, January 25, 2014
Section 8.29 of Senate Bill 402 established a school voucher program in North Carolina, referred to by its supporters as the Opportunity Scholarship Program. The Bill sets as the starting point the 2014-15 academic year. However, I believe this program is more about other types of opportunities, or shall we say, opportunists.

Stam shows rocky road ahead on teacher pay
Opinion, The Charlotte Observer, NC, January 26, 2014
Only days after Gov. Pat McCrory’s pledge to get N.C. teachers a needed pay increase, one Republican legislative leader was showing how difficult that might be to get through the state legislature.

Teachers group rallies against new tenure law
Fayetteville Observer, NC, January 27, 2014
A state teacher advocacy organization has launched a campaign to rally teachers against a new state law that phases out tenure.

Vouchers for private schools a devil’s bargain for the state
Opinion, Asheville Citizen-Times, NC, January 26, 2014
For 23 years of my 30-year professional career, I worked as a teacher educator. Teacher training, recruitment and retention were part of my job. I worked with young men and women who were not just interested in their subject and the children they taught, they were passionate about it.

Wake’s magnet and ‘choice’ schools bring opportunities, challenges
News & Observer, NC, January 26, 2014
Wake County families can begin applying Tuesday for seats next fall at more than 40 schools that offer a variety of courses and approaches that might not be available at their assigned schools.

PENNSYLVANIA

Dems spar on school vouchers, Social Security and abortion in 13th
Congressional District, Philadelphia Daily News, PA, January 27, 2014
THREE OF THE four Democrats seeking the 13th Congressional District seat in the May 20 primary mostly agreed on a wide range of political topics in their first candidate forum yesterday.

Union to hit Olney Charter with unfair labor practice charge
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 27, 2014
PHILADELPHIA A union that has been involved in organizing teachers at Olney Charter High School is set to file an unfair labor practice charge Monday over a new social-media policy the union said was an attempt to silence staff.

SOUTH CAROLINA

S.C. Bill Could Allow Parents To Take Control of School Board
WSAV-TV, SC, January 26, 2014
A bill in the state legislature could enable parents to take control of an entire school board, if the school district is deemed ‘at risk’ by the state.

TENNESSEE

Current path harms TN schools
Opinion, The Tennessean, TN, January 25, 2014
Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman continues a series of victory laps that began in the fall, when results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed improvement in reading and math scores for Tennessee’s fourth- and eighth-graders.

Gov. Bill Haslam’s limited approach to starting a school voucher plan is the best option.
Editorial, Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, January 27, 2014
In the push to give low-income families increased opportunities and choices to get their children into a good school, we have supported a state-funded school voucher program.

Talking about race remains a minefield
Column, The Tennessean, TN, January 26, 2014
This year is the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, enacted in response to the protests and marches during the previous year that forced America to reconcile its unequal treatment of African-Americans.

TEXAS

Thousands rally for school choice in Houston
Houston Chronicle, TX, January 25, 2014
Party lines intersected at Minute Maid Park Saturday as two top Texas politicians came together to promote school choice.

VIRGINIA

College-level tests show disparities in high schools
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, January 27, 2014
Local public high school students saved more than $9 million in college tuition last year by passing Advanced Placement exams before graduating, but the results were heavily influenced by students in a regional school for the academically gifted and in five largely affluent suburban schools.

The changing landscape in K-12 education
Column, Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, January 26, 2014
This week parents and students across the country gather for a whistle-stop tour dedicated to parental school choice in K-12 education. The tour is part of the annual National School Choice Week, which reminds Americans that parents, rather than a ZIP code, should have the primary role in choosing their children’s education venue.

WISCONSIN

Latest MPS school reform plan reveals deep needs, discontent
Journal Sentinel, WI, January 26, 2014
Class size: 49 students. Number of principals in six years: five. Percentage of student turnover in a school year: 55%. To the people who teach in them, those are some of the characteristics of “failing” public schools in Milwaukee, 48 in all. To the superintendent who oversees them, the latest potential solution is to turn some into charter schools.

MPS, Legislature on collision course over lowest performing schools
Opinion, Journal Sentinel, WI, January 25, 2014
For one, at Thursday night’s meeting of a Milwaukee School Board committee, Superintendent Gregory Thornton put forth a plan for dealing with 25 or so of the lowest performing schools in the Milwaukee Public Schools system. One of the few details that was given was that this group of schools now would be known as “commitment schools.”

ONLINE LEARNING

‘Teachers ‘Flipping’ Classrooms With Homework at School and Lessons at Home
DNAinfo, NY, January 27, 2014
When Elinor Krichmar misses something during her algebra lesson, she can just hit “rewind” and play it again.

No more snow days in future? Pilot program = ‘Maybe’
Arkansas Catholic, AR, January 27, 2014
Catholic schools in Arkansas have been piloting a program that, if endorsed by its accrediting body, will dramatically change the way inclement weather days are handled in the future.

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

New GED test fails to measure skills that matter most
Commentary, Seattle Times, WA, January 24, 2014
America’s largest high school is not a building but a test. The General Educational Development test is a seven-hour exam that allows high school dropouts to show they are equivalent to high school graduates.

Telling the truth on achievement gaps improves education
Opinion, Washington Post, DC, January 23, 2014
In education, it sometimes takes courage to do what ought to be common sense.

STATE COVERAGE

ALASKA

Parnell says funding increase linked to reforms, not vouchers
Anchorage Daily News, AK, January 23, 2014
Gov. Sean Parnell said Thursday that legislative passage of a school voucher constitutional amendment wasn’t a precondition for his support of the first increase in the per-pupil school funding formula since 2011.

‘School Choice Week’ a great time to reflect on opportunities within public schools
Opinion, Alaska Dispatch, AK, January 23, 2014
The week of Jan. 26 through Feb. 1 is promoted as School Choice Week by organizations that advocate for the privatization of public education under the guise of giving every parent the opportunity to choose the right school for his/her child no matter social economic status.

CALIFORNIA

California should give all kids the pre-K advantage
Opinion, Los Angeles Times, CA, January 24, 2014
New research buttresses the argument for educating kids early. And the state’s better financial situation makes the idea more politically attractive.

COLORADO

State’s high school drop out rate lowest since 2003
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, January 23, 2014
Colorado’s high school drop out rate is at its lowest point since 2003, and the El Paso county rate is also declining.

DELAWARE

Markell again pushes for reworking teacher compensation
The News Journal, DE, January 24, 2014
Educators say they like the broad strokes of Gov. Jack Markell’s school agenda outlined in Thursday’s State of the State speech.

FLORIDA

Auditors say 5 charter schools in the red
Sun Sentinel, FL, January 23, 2014
Five charter schools in Broward County ended last school year in “deteriorating financial condition,” spending more money than they took in, district auditors said Thursday.

GEORGIA

On school choice, Georgia is a model
Column, The Augusta Chronicle, GA, January 23, 2014
As Americans prepare to observe National School Choice Week next week, Georgia’s families have a lot to celebrate.

ILLINOIS

Panel: Charter schools don’t make the grade
Courier News, IL, January 24, 2014
Charter schools are not outperforming public schools as much as is touted. That is the message Northern Illinois Jobs with Justice was putting out to the public at a panel discussion the activist coalition hosted Thursday night at the Batavia Public Library.

INDIANA

IPS chief Lewis Ferebee seeks charter powers but faces pushback
Indianapolis Star, IN, January 23, 2014
Indianapolis’ new school chief wants to have the flexibility of charter schools, while also better utilizing school resources.

KANSAS

Teachers from fifth school district decertify from KNEA
Topeka Capital Journal, KS, January 23, 2014
Teachers in a small, southwest Kansas school district have decertified from the state’s main teachers union, the fifth group of teachers to do so in the past year.

LOUISIANA

Two new charter schools in Baker increase competition for students in East Baton Rouge Parish
Times-Picayune, LA, January 24, 2014
The small community of Baker is preparing for two new charter schools to open within its borders this fall, nearly doubling the number of public elementary school seats in the city and potentially pulling students from Baton Rouge.

NEW MEXICO

Minnesota’s teacher basic skills test would be scrapped under proposal
Pioneer Press, NM, January 23, 2014
Minnesota is considering making it easier to become a teacher by eliminating what educators say is an overly demanding test of their academic skills.

NEW YORK

Auditors critical of two Buffalo charter schools
Buffalo News, NY, January 23, 2014
Auditors were critical of two Buffalo charter schools in reports issued Thursday by the office of State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

State Ed leader John King Jr. grilled over Common Core
Albany Times Union, NY, January 24, 2014
If state Education Commissioner John King doesn’t slow or delay the state’s rollout of Common Core standard tests, lawmakers will do it for him, members of the Senate Education Committee said Thursday at a hearing that suggested a showdown and power struggle between the commissioner, who reports to the appointed Board of Regents, and the Legislature.

NORTH CAROLINA

McCrory vows to hold charter schools to high standards
Charlotte Observer, NC, January 24, 2014
As North Carolina rapidly expands its charter school roster, Gov. Pat McCrory pledged Thursday to crack down on any that don’t meet quality standards.

Charter school would focus on vocations
Charlotte Observer, NC, January 24, 2014
As North Carolina A group of south Charlotte residents has applied to open a new charter school that would focus on careers such as carpentry and masonry.

PENNSYLVANIA

Report: Philly’s school ‘Renaissance’ a mixed bag
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, January 23, 2014
THE SCHOOL District of Philadelphia’s latest attempt to turn around “underperforming” schools has yielded dramatic improvements in some cases, while many schools are still struggling, according to a recent report by the district.

TENNESSEE

Black Caucus seeks clarity on official’s charter diversity remarks
The Tennessean, TN, January 24, 2014
The Tennessee General Assembly’s Black Caucus plans to invite Tennessee Achievement School District superintendent Chris Barbic to speak to its members to explain recent comments he made on diversity at charter schools.

Educators largely against eval changes
The Dickson Herald, TN, January 23, 2014
The head of the state teachers union will be in Dickson County next month to talk to local educators about a new ruling that ties teacher license renewal with student performance.

Senate’s school voucher proposal doesn’t sway Haslam
The Tennessean, TN, January 24, 2014
Three influential state senators have put together a new plan to create Tennessee’s first school voucher program, but Gov. Bill Haslam says he intends to hold firm to his proposal to limit vouchers to needy students in the state’s worst schools.

Springfield One Step Closer To Getting Charter School
WTVF-TV, TN, January 23, 2014
Charter schools have become more popular in the Mid-State recently. Now, school districts in Springfield have grown closer to getting its first charter school.

Voucher plan will garner passionate pleas from both sides
Editorial, Mountain Press, TN, January 24, 2014
While just the mention of school voucher programs can start a shouting match between even the closest of friends, it’s likely coming to a water cooler, living room or office near you.

VIRGINIA

Peninsula school systems oppose law allowing state takeover of failing schools
Daily Press, VA, January 23, 2014
Several local school districts are opposing a new law that allows the state to take over failing schools, saying the law is unconstitutional and would allow a state commission to take control of local, state and federal money earmarked for those schools.

WASHINGTON

School board smart to reject AAS charter
Column, The Spokesman-Review, WA, January 24, 2014
If you’re concerned about charter schools coming to Spokane, take heart from the story of the charter schools that won’t be coming to Spokane.

WISCONSIN

When schools choose, students with disabilities lose
Opinion, Journal Sentinel, WI, January 23, 2014
LifeSkills Academy, as a promoter of “school choice,” made some jaw-dropping choices. One such choice was to close without warning in the middle of the night in December, disrupting the education of 66 students as their families scrambled to find alternatives, while keeping the full $200,000 it had received in taxpayer funds for a semester left unfinished.

ONLINE LEARNING

District 200 moving ahead with online courses
Daily Herald, IL, January 23, 2014
Students in Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 will have an opportunity next school year to take online classes through a virtual learning consortium that district officials will form with at least two other area districts.

Garden City schools “flip” for technology
Garden City News, NY, January 24, 2014
For the first half of this school year some Garden City students have been part of a fundamental flip to learning through the integration of technology.

Going ‘Virtual’: River Falls school board throws the switch
River Falls Journal, WI, January 23, 2014
Call it a technological leap. Monday night, Jan. 20, the school board approved the school district’s virtual charter school application to the state Department of Public Instruction.

Kodiak will use robots to enhance virtual learning
Kodiak Daily Mirror, AK, January 23, 2014
The Kodiak Island Borough School District has purchased 12 telepresence robots to expand the district’s virtual learning program. Instead of being tied to a webcam attached to a computer, teachers can use the robots to move around a classroom and communicate through an attached iPad.

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

Latest voucher bill draws opposition
Beloit Daily News, WI, January 22, 2014
Republican state lawmakers are making another push to extend taxpayer subsidies to help students with special needs attend private schools, unveiling a bill Tuesday that they said would help families trapped in public schools that can’t meet their children’s needs.

Teacher’s Column On Education Reform Goes Viral
Hartford Courant, CT, January 22, 2014
When Elizabeth Natale wrote an opinion piece for the Courant last Sunday venting her frustrations with education reform, she didn’t expect it to go viral, resulting in emails of support from teachers and parents across Connecticut and the country.

STATE COVERAGE

ALASKA

Parnell State of the State calls for ‘education session’ of Alaska Legislature
Alaska Dispatch, AK, January 22, 2014
Saying he wants lawmakers to come together to make 2014 the “education session,” Gov. Sean Parnell, delivering his 2014 State of the State Address in Juneau on Wednesday night, proposed raising the base student allocation for the first time in three years, an idea that would increase the main source of funding for schools.

COLORADO

House Republicans Introduce Three Education Reform Bills
KREX-TV, CO, January 22, 2014
House Republicans have introduced three education bills they hope will spur the discussion of education reform in the state. The Charter School Capital Construction Funding Bill would provide equity for charter schools from the capital construction fund.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. officials in talks to operate Options public charter
Washington Post, DC, January 22, 2014
The District’s traditional public school system is in negotiations to run Options Public Charter, a school for at-risk youth that faces possible closure in the wake of allegations that its former managers diverted millions of tax dollars meant for students.

FLORIDA

Pasco school board considers new policy for charter school application review
Tampa Bay Times Blog, FL, January 22, 2014
The Pasco County School Board is considering a change to the way district staff reviews charter school proposals.

Southwest Ranches, Pembroke Pines in legal battle over charter school
Sun Sentinel, FL, January 23, 2014
Plans for a 2,600-student charter school in Pembroke Pines could be put on hold, thanks to a brewing legal battle between the city and neighboring Southwest Ranches.

GEORGIA

It’s time to sign up for Georgia’s private school tax credit
Savannah Morning News, GA, January 22, 2014
The Georgia qualified education expense tax credit — sometimes referred to as the private school tax credit law — allows individuals, trusts, C corporations and owners of pass-through entities such as S corps and partnerships to receive tax credits for donations to student scholarship organizations that provide scholarships to eligible students to attend private schools.

ILLINOIS

Charter critics still not pleased
Chicago Tribune, IL, January 23, 2014
The Chicago Board of Education’s decision Wednesday to scale back the number of new charter school approvals may have tempered the tone of some of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s school policy critics, but the political dynamic of the issue remains the same.

CPS right to keep lid on charter-school expansion
Editorial, Chicago Sun-Times, IL, January 22, 2014
One month ago we urged the Chicago Board of Education to tread lightly with charter schools.

MAINE

Portland mayor calls for citywide minimum wage, moratorium on charter schools during annual address
Bangor Daily News, ME, January 23, 2014
Portland Mayor Michael Brennan said Monday night he plans to pursue a citywide minimum wage as part of a wide-ranging slate of initiatives aimed at growing the economy, increasing educational opportunities, driving down substance abuse and creating more housing.

MICHIGAN

Teacher evaluation changes could cost Michigan school districts up to $42 million
The Ann Arbor News, MI, January 22, 2014
Proposed changes to Michigan’s teacher evaluation system could cost local school districts and intermediate school districts as much as $42 million, but the sponsors of the proposed changes say most of the expenses are one-time costs the state could reimburse through the budget surplus.

MISSISSIPPI

30 hopefuls file papers to operate charter schools
Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS, January 23, 2014
Just days before the Wednesday deadline, only two educational organizations had filed letters of intent to open the state’s first public charter schools. But by the final bell, the number stood at 30, including plans for eight in the Jackson school district and others scattered statewide.

Raising teacher pay just one part of improving education
Column, Clarion Leger, MS, January 23, 2014
The topic was Mississippi’s largest (and perhaps only) multi-year package of increases in compensation for the state’s public school teachers.

MISSOURI

Fix, don’t abandon, our neighborhood public schools
Column, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, January 23, 2014
Every child deserves a great, well-resourced, safe neighborhood public school. That’s what parents say they want, and that’s what experience tells us works to prepare all children, not just some, for the next grade and for college, career and life.

Local education leaders say transfer debate could affect Springfield area in future
New-Leader, MO, January 23, 2014
Changing Missouri’s school transfer law — one of the top priorities for lawmakers this year — will not immediately affect Springfield, but local educational leaders say the law has the potential to have a future impact.

NEW JERSEY

N.J. lawmakers discuss school choice bills during education summit
Star-Ledger, NJ, January 22, 2014
Discussing school choice options at the New Jersey School Choice Summit this morning, Democratic state Sen. Raymond Lesniak and Republican colleagues Sen. Tom Kean and Steven Oroho found common ground on several fronts, including the need to revise the current charter school law.

No time for nostalgia: Cami Anderson’s Newark school reforms should go foward
Editorial, Star-Ledger, NJ, January 22, 2014
Newark’s student population is only a fraction of its former self — shrinking from 80,000 in 1970 to fewer than 40,000 in public schools today. Yet the number of schools in the city has hardly changed, meaning many buildings sit half-empty.

NEW YORK

Explaining New Roots Graduation Rates
Opinion, Ithaca Times, NY, January 22, 2014
According to recent articles in the Ithaca Journal, a few members of the Ithaca City Schools Board of Education say they have serious concerns about the integrity of New Roots Charter School’s graduation data and the ethical standards of our board and administration. They suggest that we are purposefully inflating our graduation rates and percentages of students who have passed required Regents exams.

NORTH CAROLINA

Charter school moves forward
Lexington Dispatch, NC, January 22, 2104
What would be Davidson County’s first charter school progressed through an initial review and will now be scrutinized by a new state board comprised of charter school proponents.

SOUTH DAKOTA

SD lawmakers approve more Common Core bills
Capital Journal, SD, January 22, 2014
South Dakota lawmakers took another step Wednesday to prevent further expansion of Common Core standards while a study is done to determine whether the state’s schools should continue using the academic benchmarks that establish what students should know in each grade level.

TENNESSEE

Education Committee Chairs Carrying For-Profit Charter Bill
Nashville Scene, TN, January 22, 2014
The chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee is sponsoring bill allowing charter schools to hire for-profit operators.

Parents camp out to save spot in optional program
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, January 22, 2014
Despite bitter cold temperatures expected through Friday, parents began setting up camp at the Shelby County Board of Education to insure their place at the front of the queue for cherished places in some of the county’s top optional school programs.

Tennessee senators Gresham, Kelsey offer alternative voucher bill
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, January 22, 2014
Senate Education Committee Chairman Dolores Gresham and Sen. Brian Kelsey Thursday will introduce a compromise to Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan for vouchers that would allow income-eligible students from the bottom 10 percent of schools to get taxpayer help to attend private schools.

TEXAS

Strange bedfellows to unite at school choice event
Houston Chronicle Blog, TX, January 22, 2014
Who said Republicans and Democrats can’t come together? Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, of Houston, both are scheduled to speak Saturday at a rally for school
choice at Minute Maid Park.

VIRGINIA

Homeschool sports bill moves forward in Va. House
The Virginian-Pilot, VA, January 23, 2014
Maybe the sixth time’s the charm. Del. Rob Bell, an Albemarle Republican, is trying once more for legislation allowing homeschooled students to participate in interscholastic sports and activities. The bill cleared its first hurdle Wednesday, making it out of a House subcommittee.

WASHINGTON

Officials hear pros, cons of charter schools in Tacoma
News Tribune, WA, January 22, 2014
Supporters and opponents of charter schools spoke to members of the state Charter School Commission in Tacoma on Wednesday night, offering their visions for what the independently operated public schools could mean in Washington state.

Spokane school board approves first charter application
Spokesman Review, WA, January 23, 2014
Spokane will be home to Washington’s first charter school. The state’s second-largest school district made the leap Wednesday in a historic school board vote to unanimously approve one of three charter school applicants: Pride Prep, a grass-roots effort led by former Garry Middle School Principal Brenda McDonald.

WISCONSIN

School voucher program has outlived its promises and potential
Opinion, On Milwaukee, WI, January 23, 2014
The latest disclosure of what looks like a rip-off of Wisconsin taxpayer money used for the school voucher system has got to be another nail in the coffin of the entire system.

ONLINE LEARNING

Adequate technology lacking in schools as online tests loom
Chillicothe Gazette, OH, January 23, 2014
With impending new state tests planned for the next school year, some Ohio districts are concerned their students — and their classrooms — won’t be ready for the technology-centered exams.

Arkansas Virtual Academy offers students, parents more control over education
Log Cabin Democrat, AR, January 22, 2014
Seven-year-old William Boucher enjoys reading from his big book of Dr. Seuss at his Nana’s house. He can sound out the words and read the stories, which is a change from how things were going a year ago.

Former NC Gov. Bev Perdue launches digital learning nonprofit
Charlotte Observer, NC, January 22, 2014
Former Democrat Gov. Bev Perdue had a few kind words for the GOP-led state legislature and her successor Wednesday as she launched DigiLEARN, a nonprofit that wants to enhance education through digital learning.

Franklin Regional, union agree to start online learning academy
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, January 23, 2014
Starting this fall, students can earn a Franklin Regional diploma online. On Monday, officials of the district and its teachers union reached an agreement to form the Franklin Regional Online Learning Academy.

GUHSD’s online learning academy near going up
Glendale Star, AZ, January 23, 2014
Glendale Union High School District has begun construction on the expansion of its online learning academy at Apollo High School.

Online charter school continues fight for release of A-F report Card
Tulsa World, OK, January 23, 2014
Epic One on One, an online charter school, is still fighting to get the Oklahoma State Department of Education to release its A-F report card.