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Mississippi Should Give Charters A Chance

December 11, 2012 By

“Give charters a chance in Mississippi”
Editorial
Commercial Appeal
December 11, 2012

The battle over new legislation to make it easier to create charter schools in Mississippi may be rejoined when the Legislature reconvenes next year.

For the future of the state’s children, legislators should allow charters. Charters are not a panacea for improving student proficiency in core subjects, but when structured right they have helped children achieve academically. Charters generally are exempted from most provisions enforced on regular schools, allowing them to use innovative teaching methods.

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and legislators saw the impact charters can have on students during a recent tour of the KIPP school in Helena, Ark. They left impressed. KIPP: Memphis Collegiate Schools is among charter schools in Memphis that are helping students achieve academically.

Legislators on both sides of the political aisle have expressed the same reservations about charters that have been expressed elsewhere: They take financial resources from cash-strapped school districts. They cherry pick the best students. They diminish local control. They do not work any better than regular schools.

School districts like DeSoto County, where students are performing well, have a hard time seeing how charters can do better. We will give them that point. But about 30 percent of Mississippi’s school districts are failing or at risk of failing. Children at those schools deserve a chance for a better education.

Charter schools would provide those students with another tool to get that chance.

Filed Under: Opinions Tagged With:

Trashing Charters on Company Time

December 11, 2012 By

December 11, 2012

This is what the Superintendent of Brockton Massachusetts has time to do, when the students in this district, a very heavily minority district barely passing the state’s requirements for performance in any grade, and in most, are below 45% proficiency. SABIS, a proven leader in charter school management that has been praised by media and state officials, is trying to open a charter school for a group of community leaders.  Students at comparable SABIS schools outperform all of Brockton’s performance.  But I guess this guy is just about the money.

by Jeanne Allen

Filed Under: Commentary, Edspresso Tagged With:

School Cancelled So Teachers Can Protest

December 11, 2012 By

Students in two Michigan districts, the Taylor School District and Warren Consolidated Schools, are not in class today. The districts cancelled school, allowing teachers to go protest right-to-work legislation at the capital instead of educating kids.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder says schools shutting down so teachers can go prostest is inappropriate.

“Too often the educational system’s all about the adults,” he said. “To see schools shutting down because of an issue like this is not appropriate in my view.”

The legislation at hand would make Michigan the 24th right-to-work state, and would mean union dues could no longer automatically be deducted from teachers’ paychecks. Unions attempted to enshrine collective bargaining rights in the constitution, but the measure failed to win voter approval in November.

Filed Under: Unions & Establishment Tagged With:

Daily Headlines for December 11, 2012

December 11, 2012 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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.

U.S. Students Still Lag Globally in Math and Science, Tests Show
New York Times, NY, December 11, 2012
Fourth- and eighth-grade students in the United States continue to lag behind students in several East Asian countries and some European nations in math and science, although American fourth graders are closer to the top performers in reading, according to test results released on Tuesday.

The American Way of Learning
New York Times, NY, December 10, 2012
The Common Core State Standards, adopted by 48 states and supported by the Obama administration, have worried liberals who question their quality and conservatives who fear they erode states’ traditional responsibility for education.

Universal Pre-K Will Help Close The Gap
Albany Times Union, NY, December 11, 2012
This December, after four months and 11 public hearings, the Education Reform Commission — some of New York’s smartest education policy experts — will submit preliminary recommendations to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on how to improve student success. Those recommendations must include strategies for closing the “achievement gap.”

Most Important Goals For Teacher Unions
The Norman Transcript, OK, December 11, 2012
Why do 4,900 children in Louisiana matter to everyone in the U.S.? Because their fate reveals a universal truth about American public schools: They are rigged for the adults working at them.

FROM THE STATES

ALASKA

Union, District React To Recently Approved Teacher Evaluation Plan
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK, December 10, 2012
A move to factor student test scores into future teacher evaluations is getting a failing grade from the head of the Fairbanks teachers’ union

CALIFORNIA

Good Schools And Charters
Santa Maria Times, CA, December 11, 2012
If you look at Santa Maria and Orcutt’s population compared to Visalia, you will notice similar numbers, but the number of schools is different.

Charter Schools Continue To Grow
North County Times, CA, December 11, 2012
There is one tucked into a bustling Mission Valley mall, across from the food court. Another occupies portions of an old Navy boot camp. Many others operate in traditional neighborhood schools.

COLORADO

DPS Plans Triple Use Of New Building
EdNews Colorado, CO, December 10, 2012
A complicated real estate deal will allow Emily Griffith Technical College and its companion high school, a new elementary charter school and the district’s central offices to move into a refurbished building downtown.

CONNECTICUT

Small School Districts Like Brooklyn Struggle With New State Law
Norwich Bulletin, CT, December 10, 2012
The state’s effort to improve teacher evaluations may be debilitating for Brooklyn and other small school districts.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Brookings Ranks The District No. 3 In Nation For School Choice
Washington Post, DC, December 11, 2012
The District’s mix of schools — including traditional public, public charter and private — offers parents one of the widest varieties of educational choice in the country, according to rankings a Washington think tank plans to release Tuesday.

Secretive Islamist Roots Of American Schools
Washington Times, DC, December 10, 2012
It is a commonplace saying, but one that most of us ignore: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. This applies in spades to a proposal under active consideration by the school board in Virginia’s Loudoun County.

FLORIDA

Board of Education to Interview Commissioner Candidates
Sunshine State News, FL, December 11, 2012
The State Board of Education is likely to vote this week on a new education commissioner, hoping to bring some stability to an agency that has been roiled by missteps and controversy.

Charter Schools Provide One More Choice For Public Education
Florida Times Union, FL, December 10, 2012
Is there a need and a place for charter schools in our public school system? Of course there is.

Con: Charter Schools Mean Well, But Good Intentions Haven’t Worked
Florida Times Union, FL, December 10, 2012
I need more words than can fit into this space to describe how several lawmakers who support charters have profited from them.

Pinellas School Board To Consider Closing Troubled Imagine Charter School
Tampa Bay Times, FL, December 10, 2012
The Pinellas School Board is scheduled to vote on Tuesday about whether to shut down the troubled Imagine Charter School by the end of the year.

GEORGIA

Classical Academy Charter School Seeks To Bolser Inner-City Savannah Academics
Savannah Morning News, GA, December 10, 2012
Barbara Grimm believes education can transform lives in Savannah. But there are some things about local education that just don’t sit right with her.

KENTUCKY

Charter School Group Rallies For Improved Minority Achievement
WFPL, KY, December 10, 2012
A coalition supporting charter school legislation rallied before the Jefferson County Board of Education meeting Monday night and released a second report focusing on achievement gaps in the district.

ILLINOIS

Frustrated Parents Shop for New Schools
DNAInfo, IL, December 10, 2012
For Sarah Preston, the decision to explore moving her children to a charter school came down to the violence at some of the neighborhood high schools in Roseland where they live.

The Proportion Of Privately Run Chicago Public Schools To Increase
WBEZ, IL, December 11, 2012
At the same time Chicago Public Schools says it needs to close down schools, maybe as many as 100, it’s planning to open brand new ones.

MASSACHUSETTS

Death Knell for Charter?
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, December 10, 2012
Mitchell D. Chester, the state commissioner of education, has recommended that the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education revoke the charter of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School and close the school at the end of the spring term in June.

MICHIGAN

Some Schools Closing Today As Teachers Take A Stand In Lansing
Detroit Free Press, MI, December 11, 2012
Hundreds of teachers are expected to join the protest against right-to-work legislation in Lansing today, leading school districts to close some schools.

MISSISSIPPI

Give Charters A Chance In Mississippi
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 11, 2012
The battle over new legislation to make it easier to create charter schools in Mississippi may be rejoined when the Legislature reconvenes next year.

NEW JERSEY

New Tenure Reform Law Delivers First Verdict
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 11, 2012
TEACHNJ speeds and clarifies process for removing substandard teachers, starting with one charged with disorderly conduct

NEW YORK

Be Good Or Be Gone
New York Post, NY, December 11, 2012
A Harlem charter school shredded a boatload of taxpayer money this year by booting 33 substandard staffers and handing them substantial severance packages.

Group Drops Bid To Close, Turn 2 Buffalo Schools Into Charters
Buffalo News, NY, December 10, 2012
Plans to turn East High and Waterfront Elementary into charter schools have been withdrawn, authors of the plans said Monday.

OHIO

CPS Sponsors Charter School
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, December 10, 2012
Cincinnati Public Schools’ board of education gave the green light Monday night for the district to sponsor a high-performing charter school called Carpe Diem.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City School Board Hears From Two Would-Be Charter Schools
The Oklahoman, OK, December 11, 2012
The Oklahoma City School Board heard Monday night from two local applicants wishing to start charter schools in the district that would receive public funding, teach Oklahoma City students but be run privately.

Oklahoma Schools Superintentendent Fears Douglass Seniors Will Drop Out
The Oklahoman, OK, December 11, 2012
About three of four seniors at the troubled Oklahoma City school will have to take extra measures to graduate on time.

OREGON

Madrone Trail Parents Want New Board
Mail Tribune, OR, December 11, 2012
Madrone Trail Charter School parents are pleading with the Medford School Board for help in changing the governance of the Waldorf-inspired charter school.

PENNSYLVANIA

District’s Voluntary Transfer Process Leaves Parents Skeptical
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 11, 2012
Jennifer Blaine treasured her diverse, excellent urban public school education, and very much wanted the same sort of experience for her daughter.

Audit Lesson: Fix Charters
Scranton Times-Tribune, PA, December 11, 2012
Charter schools are public schools, yet state lawmakers and the Corbett administration continue to allow them to evade the same funding restrictions and accountability standards that apply to conventional public schools.

City School Board Hears New Application For Fitness-Themed Charter School
York Dispatch, PA, December 11, 2012
York City students need a chance to be healthy mentally and physically. That’s the rationale behind the proposed Championship Academy of Distinction, whose team gave a presentation to the York City School Board on Monday.

Erie Charter School Hearings Set For This Week
Erie Times-News, PA, December 11, 2012
Erie School Board members will weigh the fate of two schools that hope to open in 2013 this week.

Bethlehem School Board Accepts Vitalistic’s Voluntary Charter Surrender
Lehigh Valley Express Times, PA, December 10, 2012
Bethlehem Area School Board tonight accepted the voluntary surrender of the charter of a city-based charter school that the board spent months trying to shut down.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC Education Officials Present Evaluation Plans
Sumter Item, SC, December 10, 2012
Education officials tried to reassure teachers and principals Monday that a statewide system evaluating their performance is still years away and will involve much more than test scores.

WASHINGTON

Are Expelled Students More Likely To Drop Out?
Seattle Times, WA, December 10, 2012
After two years of research, two Washington social-justice groups failed to determine just how many students are expelled from school or suspended for more than 10 days. The lack of data, however, underscored their concern that there are tens of thousands of students who end up in educational limbo, with no clear path to finish their schooling.

Get The Jump On Charter Schools In The Tri-Cities
Bellingham Herald, WA, December 10, 2012
Washington voters have approved charter schools. There are rumblings of a constitutional challenge, but in the meantime, the light is green. Green means go.

ONLINE LEARNING

What Is The Flipped Classroom Model And Why Is It Amazing?
Forbes Blog, December 10, 2012
Via Benoit Anger and Thomas Roulet, comes this pretty useful infographic on the increasingly-famous “flipped classroom” model promoted by, among others, Khan Academy’s Sal Khan:

A New Law Expanding Virtual Schools?
Boston Globe Blog, MA, December 10, 2012
Back in January 2010, there was a lot of hope that the charter school expansions associated with the new law would work out well. The data on that is largely tremendous. The new charters are faring very well, thank you.

New Jersey School Administrators (Njasa) Favor Online Learning
New Jersey Newsroom, NJ, December 10, 2012
In an effort to ensure a superior statewide system of education, the New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA) is advocating for online and blended learning and the infrastructure to make it possible, according to testimony by Dr. Richard Bozza, Executive Director, NJASA, before the Joint Committee on the Public Schools in Trenton last week.

Lesson Learned
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 11, 2012
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is considering eight new cyber charter school applications, including four that would target Philadelphia-area students. It should not approve a single one.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Daily Headlines for December 10, 2012

December 10, 2012 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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.

How About a Bar Exam for Teachers?
Wall Street Journal, December 9, 2012
We must do away with the common rite of passage whereby new teachers are thrown into classrooms, expected to figure things out, and left to see if they (and their students) sink or swim.

School Choice And The Advancement Of Society
Forbes, December 9, 2012
As a society advances, the ability to provide a “safety net” for those who have suffered some type of misfortune increases. But, perhaps paradoxically, that very advancement should also reduce the perceived need for such a safety net.

School Choice And Competition For Students
Press Democrat, CA, December 7, 2012
The flaws of the No Child Left Behind law are well known, most notably the unrealistic expectation that every student in every school will be proficient in math and English by 2014.

FROM THE STATES

ARIZONA

Ariz. Lawmakers Support $60M Private School Tax Credit Program
East Valley Tribune, AZ, December 8, 2012
A legislative panel voted this week to continue giving generous tax credits to those who help students attend private and parochial schools.

ARKANSAS

Ark. Lawmakers Face Crowded Education Agenda
KTBS, AR, December 9, 2012
Public education issues are expected to be at the top of the agenda for Arkansas lawmakers during next year’s legislative session.

CALIFORNIA

The Role Of Merit Pay And Charter School In Improving Public Education
Orange County Breeze, CA, December 9, 2012
The Orange County Breeze Country is blessed by three excellent public school districts: Los Alamitos Unified; Cypress; and Anaheim Union High School District.

Los Angeles Teachers’ Evaluation Victory Bucks A Trend
Los Angeles Times, CA, December 9, 2012
Los Angeles teacher appraisals won’t be based on ‘value added,’ increasingly being used across the country. Now a key question is how test scores will figure in.

FLORIDA

Repair Defective Teacher Evaluation System
Bradenton Herald, FL, December 9, 2012
Florida’s new teacher evaluation system got off to a rocky start last week with the release of educator ratings. While those initial numbers appear remarkable, the deeper story looks dimmer — with trouble ahead unless modifications are adopted.

GEORGIA

Charters, but Under Local Control
Wall Street Journal, December 7, 2012
Georgia cannot afford to continue to withhold necessary funding from our public schools, while passing laws to increase funding to charter schools. I will continue to use every resource at my disposal to ensure our public-school system remains intact and ready to educate all our children for generations to come.

ILLINOIS

CPS Plans 4 More Charters
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 7, 2012
Chicago Public Schools said Friday it plans to add four more charter schools to the nine charters previously approved for the coming year, which quickly became fuel for critics of the district’s plans to close many neighborhood schools.

Charter Schools With Failing Grades Still Featured At Quality Schools Fair
WBEZ, IL, December 7, 2012
A high-profile Chicago schools fair today is supposed to show off quality new schools, many of them charters.

INDIANA

Superintendent Maps Future of Gary Schools
Munster Times, IN, December 9, 2012
Pruitt, whose district’s enrollment dwindles each year and has faced massive cuts at the state level, said she wants to give students as many choices as possible. She believes alternatives such as a laboratory school and a partnership with Apple to create a technical school will put students on the success track.

Chicago Teachers Victory On Incorporating Test Scores Into Evaluation May Help Students
Munster Times, IN, December 10, 2012
While the nation watched the Chicago Teachers Union, Chicago Public Schools and Mayor Rahm Emanuel clash over new teacher contracts this year, many teachers in Houston watched in awe.

IOWA

Iowa Schools Face Reform Hurdles
Quad City Times, IA, December 10, 2012
Gov. Terry Branstad’s call to replace the current method of setting per-pupil funding increases for school districts has upped the uncertainty for administrators and school boards already trying to keep tabs on expected sweeping reform proposals.

LOUISIANA

School Voucher Ruling Cuts 2 Ways, Leaving Louisiana Governor Room To Maneuver
Alexandria Town Talk, LA, December 10, 2012
A district judge’s ruling against Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s statewide school voucher program contained a critical caveat that, if the ruling is upheld, gave the governor a roadmap for maintaining one of his signature education achievements.

It’s Time To Let The Courts Decide About Vouchers
American Press, LA, December 8, 2012
Usually, the best leaders choose silence over provocative speech. John White, state superintendent of Louisiana’s schools, would have done better to say nothing at all rather than accuse the state’s two teacher unions of getting “in the way of student achievement.” That was insulting to the teachers that those unions represent.

Two RSD Schools Say They Want To Return To Local Control
Times-Picayune, LA, December 7, 2012
In what could be the first New Orleans schools to return to local control since a massive state takeover after Hurricane Katrina, two West Bank charters this week said they are in favor of moving from the state-run Recovery School District to the Orleans Parish School Board. Representatives of Martin Behrman Elementary and O. Perry Walker High told the Algiers Charter Schools Association that their faculty and staff had voted unanimously in favor of the change.

MASSACHUSETTS

Horace Mann’ Plan Is No Alternative To Current Charter
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, December 9, 2012
The idea of creating a Horace Mann Charter School may be a good fit within the Gloucester Public School District — someday.

Charter School Facing Bumpy Ride
The Lowell Sun, MA, December 10, 2012
THE BACKERS of the Lowell Collegiate Charter School are thrilled they found a potential home for the school in the Bradford Industries warehouse on Middlesex Street. But they found out at Monday night’s Planning Board meeting they have some roadblocks in their bid for site-plan approval.

Division Over Charter School
Boston Globe, MA, December 8, 2012
Opposition to a charter school proposed for this city of 94,000 is heating up as the date to gather public comment nears.

State Should Lift Cap On New Charter Schools
The Republican, MA, December 8, 2012
Once viewed as an experiment, the charter-school movement has demonstrated its success as an education model that, in most cases, works extremely well – especially in urban communities where many public schools are classified as “underperforming.”

MICHIGAN

Keep Education Reform Moving
Detroit News, MI, December 10, 2012
Reflecting on recent successful efforts by the Michigan Legislature and governor to provide students and parents more choice in education, I feel good about the progress but hope we can do more.

Education Authority Legislation Spells Trouble For School Districts
Detroit Free Press, MI, December 9, 2012
In Detroit, there has been much discussion about the Education Achievement Authority, which was created to operate 15 Detroit public schools that are among the lowest 5% achieving schools in Michigan.

MINNESOTA

Suburban Schools Take On Minority Students’ Achievement Gap
Journal Sentinel, MN, December 8, 2012
As Demond Means came to the end of a 45-minute presentation, he projected a generic photo of an attractive African-American family on the screen behind him: mom, dad, two school-age kids.

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi Charter School Advocates Continue Push For Approval
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 8, 2012
Despite support from some people in high places, Mississippi’s charter school advocates likely face a tough sell before making the brand of education they saw last week in Helena, Ark., a reality back home.

NEVADA

Schools Push To Change Rules On Charter Schools, Online Classes
Las Vegas Review Journal, NV, December 7, 2012
Clark County school officials want to change several rules regarding charter schools and online classes, according to a pair of bill draft requests the district is backing for the Nevada Legislature’s 2013 session.

State May Revoke School Charter Over Financial, Other Irregularities
Las Vegas Review Journal, NV, December 7, 2012
Everything seems tranquil on the surface of Quest Academy, where a shielded crest hangs over the front door and children scurry around in matching khaki shorts, skirts and polo shirts.

NEW JERSEY

Camden Schools’ Graduation Rate Declines
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, December 10, 2012
Camden’s school district was the outlier during three presentations to the state board of education last week.

NEW MEXICO

Keep Teacher Evaluation Reform on Smart Track
Albuquerque Journal, NM, December 10, 2012
News last week that New Mexico has one of the worst four-year high school graduation rates in the nation likely bolstered the argument for many — including state education chief Hanna Skandera — that education reform measures need to get out of the station faster.

NEW YORK

Test Personalized Math Program
Wall Street Journal, December 9, 2012
In elementary school, John Perez was left in the dust if he hadn’t mastered a concept by the teacher’s second or third explanation. The whole class would move onto something else.

Poor Schools Struggling to Meet State Standards, Years After Critical Ruling
New York Times, NY, December 10, 2012
Six years after a landmark court ruling required New York State to increase spending on public education, many schools in poor districts lack basic resources, and some do not even meet minimum state standards in certain areas, according to a report to be released on Monday by researchers affiliated with Teachers College at Columbia University.

That Evaluation Deadline
New York Post, NY, December 10, 2012
Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott stepped up pressure last week for a deal on a new teacher-rating system by setting a Dec. 21 deadline — weeks ahead of Gov. Cuomo’s Jan. 17 cutoff for extra state aid.

Lease ‘Fleece’
New York Post, NY, December 8, 2012
A for-profit management firm is charging a publicly funded Brooklyn charter school nearly $4 million above market rate for its current 5-year lease, a state audit found.

Charter’s Teachers $Core After Ax
New York Post, NY, December 10, 2012
A publicly funded Harlem charter school paid out thousands of dollars in severance pay to more than 30 staffers — despite letting them go for poor performance.

Cooperation With Utica District A Big Part Of Charter Goal
Utica Observer-Dispatch, NY, December 9, 2012
I wish to clarify some confusion that may exist among readers following a Nov. 27 article in the Observer-Dispatch, which suggested that the establishment of the Utica Academy of Science Charter School will mean a substantial loss of state aid for the education of children who reside within the Utica City School District.

OHIO

Making the Grade
Toledo Blade, OH, December 8, 2012
Charter schools promise to push traditional public schools to do better. They are designed to give parents a high-quality alternative to schools that are failing, or cannot provide needed classes or accommodate students with special needs or different learning styles.

Schools Ease Into New System
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, December 10, 2012
Junior-high math teacher Ken DeMann started doing something new this year for students at Roberts Paideia Academy. He sends home a folder each week updating parents on how well each student did on homework, behavior and participation that week.

PENNSYLVANIA

Chester-Upland School District Asks Judge To Reject State Takeover Plan
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 8, 2012
Saying the state’s recovery plan would be a setback for the troubled Chester Upland School District, the attorney for the district asked a judge Friday to reject a petition to put the schools in the hands of a state-appointed receiver.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter
WCBD, SC, December 10, 2012
They’re called CREECS, pronounced Creeks, Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School. It’s a unique school in Mcclellanville in Charleston county. We’re in Charleston county for our Cool School of the week.

TENNESSEE

Haslam Mulls School Vouchers for State
Memphis Daily News, TN, November 10, 2012
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam may or may not push directly for some kind of move to school vouchers next year on Capital Hill.

Nashville’s Charter School Fair Lifts Veil From Bevy Of Choices
The Tennessean, TN, December 9, 2012
When Camiqueka Fuller’s oldest daughter was ready for fifth grade, she had two choices: Attend a failing middle school or try out a charter school.

Report: Teacher Training Is Impossible To Judge
The Tennessean, TN, December 9, 2012
Researchers say a lack of data makes it impossible to know whether teacher training programs in Tennessee are having an impact on student learning.

WASHINGTON

Leaders Come Together To Discuss Charter Schools
Bellingham Herald, WA, December 10, 2012
Charter school leaders from five states will gather in Tacoma on Saturday to talk about their experiences launching the independent schools – experience that may be relevant in Washington with voters’ recent approval of a charter school law.

ONLINE LEARNING

Strapped District Plans to Add Online Classes
New York Times, NY, December 8 2012
Budget cuts have eliminated about 95 full-time teachers from the school district here over the past year, swelling class sizes and prompting parents to cry foul.

Cyber-Charter Challenge: How Does State Watch Over What It Can’t See?
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 10, 2012
As New Jersey’s Legislature grapples with how, or if, it will step up the state’s oversight of charter schools, a vexing issue remains as to what will happen with schools relying on online instruction.

Focus on Pa Cyber: Auditor General’s Report Reveals Pressing Problems
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, December 9, 2012
A lot of the negative attention focused on the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School is the result of its unique role that began as a pioneer and mushroomed into questionable, overlapping business ventures.

Schools Flip For Technology
Toledo Blade, OH, December 98, 2012
From chalkboards to smart boards, text books to e-books and worksheets to web applications, technology has fundamentally transformed the way teachers teach and students learn.

Lorain City Schools Wants To Absorb Lorain Digital Academy
Morning Journal, OH, December 8, 2012
Lorain City Schools wants to absorb its sponsored community school, Lorain Digital Academy, as a means to save $640,000 annually.

Going Digital A Task For Schools
News Press, FL, December 9, 2012
Add mass digital learning to the already overlong to-do list of local school districts.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

NV District Backs Charter, Online Changes

December 10, 2012 By

“Schools push to change rules on charter schools, online classes”
by Trevon Milliard
Las Vegas Review-Journal
December 7, 2012

Clark County school officials want to change several rules regarding charter schools and online classes, according to a pair of bill draft requests the district is backing for the Nevada Legislature’s 2013 session.

The first bill would help charter schools, which operate through a contract with the State Public Charter School Authority or a school district. These schools are autonomous and privately run but must still meet student performance standards. If not, the district or state authority could revoke their charter, shutting them down.

A common complaint from charter school operators is that they’re “funded to fail.” That is because they receive the same per pupil funding as the district they are in, but they do not have help with the cost of providing a facility and cannot seek a bond or tax increase, like districts, to pay for it.

And school districts are not allowed to let charter schools use their public facilities.

These rules often lead to “unsatisfactory” designations by national charter school organizations, said Joyce Haldeman, the district’s associate superintendent of community and government relations.

Clark County School District, which sponsors seven of Nevada’s 32 charter schools, would like charter schools to be allowed in public facilities, she said.

The second bill would make several changes to rules for online classes.

Currently, a student must go through an extensive process to attend an online course offered by a district other than their own.

Haldeman said many rural students are interested in Clark County’s online courses, which aren’t offered in their district, but must get approval of both the Clark County and their school board.

The district would like that requirement removed.

The other change would allow an unlicensed teacher to supervise a class taught online by a licensed teacher.

State law requires a licensed teacher in the room though they serve as a supervisor and do not instruct.

The new amendment would reduce the cost of online courses, Haldeman said.

Filed Under: Breaking News Tagged With: ,

More Flexibility for Charter Teachers in NJ?

December 7, 2012 By

“State May Ease Alternate-Route Rules for Charter-School Teachers”
by John Mooney
NJ Spotlight
December 7, 2012

The Christie administration has proposed easing some of the state’s teacher-certification rules for charter schools, saying the move would give the schools more flexibility in hiring.

The provision, which is tucked deep within the administration’s Professional Licensure and Standards Code for NJ Teachers proposed new administrative code for teacher licensure], would essentially give charter schools their own alternate route similar to the state’s long-established and popular “alternate route” process for hiring public-school teachers who did earn a traditional education degree in college.

The proposal, which is now before the state Board of Education, is facing some resistance from the state’s dominant teachers union, among others. But it nonetheless moved ahead with preliminary approval at the board’s meeting on Wednesday.

Under the proposal, the charter schools would no longer need to meet the existing requirements that their alternate route teachers have at least 30 hours of credits in their content area, nor would they need to have a set number of hours of classroom training before they are hired and once they are hired. They would also not be required to have a mentor teacher as rookie teachers do in the public schools.

State officials stressed that the charter-school alternate-route teachers would still need to pass a national exam in the content subject, and the charter schools would still need to provide in-school training and support for its teachers once they are on the job.

But the charter schools would have flexibility in how to do that, officials said, as long as they met the conditions of the state’s review.

“The rationale is increasing flexibility and autonomy in exchange for increased accountability,” said Amy Ruck, director of the state’s charter school office.

“Our belief is a lot of this (training) will be already be happening in the charter school,” she said. “Why require it in a prescribed way? This focuses more on the outcomes and less on the inputs.”

A number of other states have eased certification requirements for charter schools even more. Four states have no certification requirements at all for charter schools, and another 17 allow for some hiring of noncertified teachers, usually up to a certain percentage of staff.

The proposed certification rules for alternate-route teachers in charter schools would not be transferable to a public school.

“We believe this would be more the exception than the rule because it is not transferable,” Ruck added.

Not all are pleased with the move, with at least one board member and leaders of the New Jersey Education Association maintaining it sets up different standards for district school teachers than it does for charter schools. In a public hearing on the proposal last month, concerns were raised by the state’s principals association as well.

“With all the teacher evaluations now being required and the concerns about teacher effectiveness, you are now reducing the qualifications for teachers in charter schools?” said board member Edithe Fulton, a former president of the NJEA.

“I just don’t understand that. What’s the rationale?” she said yesterday, a day after she confronted the administration at the board meeting and cast the lone dissenting vote on the proposal’s preliminary approval.

The NJEA’s current vice president, Wendell Steinhauer, said the union has voiced its opposition as well and hopes to still meet with education department officials to iron out differences.

“I know charter schools are supposed to be laboratories of innovation, but I don’t think that should apply to certification,” he said yesterday. “They are still public school teachers.”

The proposed licensure code for public-school teachers has so far received little attention as it moves easily through the approval process, despite some significant changes in how teachers get credentials and are trained once on the job.

For instance, the administration would tweak the existing requirement that public-school teachers receive 100 hours of professional development over five years, instead moving to a 20-hours-per-year mandate but allowing for more flexibility in how that professional development is determined.

Board member Ronald Butcher said he’s not sure the 20 hours is any better than the previous 100 hours, saying it only further restricts teachers.

“The 100 hours was pretty arbitrary, and we have now moved to another pretty arbitrary number,” he said yesterday. “What if there was an opportunity to do 15 hours one year and 25 the next? Looking at the code, there is no flexibility for that.”

Butcher raised his concerns at the meeting, and state officials pledged they would revisit the measure in a year to see if it has some unintended consequences.

Filed Under: Breaking News

Daily Headlines for December 7, 2012

December 7, 2012 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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

NAACP Seeks To Mount Shakeup In US Education
Associated Press, December 6, 2012
The NAACP is going on the offensive on education, deploying volunteers across the country in its biggest push for a public education overhaul since the nation’s classrooms were ordered desegregated in 1954, the civil rights group said Thursday.

Raising The ‘Bar’ On Teacher Training And Performance
Seattle Times, WA, December 6, 2012
A call for something similar to a “bar exam” for teachers deserves serious consideration. That the suggestion comes from the nation’s second-largest teachers union is significant.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

LAUSD Wins Key Legal Battle With Charter Schools
Los Angeles Times, CA, December 7, 2012
A California appellate court panel strikes down a ruling that could have opened up many classrooms for charters and created potential hardships for traditional campuses.

Fact-Finders Review Orcutt Charter Schools Contract
Santa Maria Times, CA, December 7, 2012
For the first time, the Orcutt Educators Association (OEA) and Orcutt Union School District will try to resolve contract differences regarding rights for charter school teachers in a fact-finding process today.

FLORIDA

Converting Schools To Charters A Simmering Issue In Miami-Dade
Miami Herald, FL, December 7, 2012
Two parents in Key Biscayne have hired an attorney to negotiate the procedure for voting on converting their school into a charter.

Teacher Evaluation Data Revised
The Tampa Tribune, FL, December 7, 2012
A day after it had to backpedal on teacher evaluation results, the state Department of Education sent revised numbers Thursday for school districts to review before once again releasing them to the public.

Despite Good Teacher Evaluations, Criticism Grows
Herald Tribune, FL, December 6, 2012
Only two teachers out of almost 5,000 Sarasota and Manatee teachers were rated “unsatisfactory” under Florida ’s new teacher evaluation system.

Patton To State On Teacher Evals: ‘Get It Right’
Naples News, FL, December 7, 2012
Collier schools Superintendent Kamela Patton blasted state officials on Thursday for botching teacher evaluation data released a day earlier.

HAWAII

‘Gene’s Schemes’
Maui Weekly, HI, December 6, 2012
This is part two of a two-part series about the Kihei Charter School (KCS), the island of Maui’s only public charter school. KCS is open to any public school child on the island by application. If there are more applications than openings, selection is by lottery.

ILLINOIS

Greentek Opponents And Supporters Try To Sway State Education Commission
WREX, IL, December 7, 2012
An idea, shot down by Rockford ‘s Board of Education, gets another chance. A nine-member group known as the Illinois State Charter School Commission has the power to overturn the district’s rejection, but members need public input before making a call.

INDIANA

State Discounting Education Expertise
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, December 7, 2012
An overflow crowd of educators opposed to stripped-down teacher and school administrator licensing requirements couldn’t persuade the Indiana State Board of Education to delay a vote Wednesday on the weakened regulations.

LOUISIANA

Four New Orleans Schools Lose Their Charters; Five Other Groups Approved To Take Over Schools
Times Picayune, LA, December 6, 2012
In its continuing effort to ensure fledgling charter schools are providing quality instruction to New Orleans students, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted this week to revoke the charters of four elementaries: Benjamin Mays, Crocker, Intercultural Charter and Pride College Prep.

Louisiana Voucher Students Don’t Need To Be Kicked Off School Choice Lifeboat
CNN Blog, December 7, 2012
If you follow the logic of America’s teachers unions – and particularly those in Louisiana – it’s better for all children to get a lousy education than for some to get the chance to escape to a better school using a voucher.

MASSACHUSETTS

Proposal For New New Bedford Charter School Draws Both Praise And Criticism At Hearing
South Coast Today, MA, December 7, 2012
Public sentiment was divided at a public hearing Thursday on a proposal to create a new charter high school in New Bedford , with the application receiving praise and criticism in turn.

Charter Eyes ‘Horace Mann’ Alternative
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, December 6, 2012
The Gloucester Community Arts School , facing a potential revocation of its charter in less than two weeks, is entertaining the idea of joining the Gloucester Public School District as a Horace Mann school — an arrangement that would allow the school to maintain relative independence yet receive funding as part of the public school district.

MICHIGAN

Do Critics Of Education Reform Have Any Better Ideas?
Holland Sentinel, MI, December 7, 2012
Simply opposing legislation will not prepare our children for the hyper-competitive, disruptive, knowledge-driven world they will inherit, where ideas and jobs can and do move around the globe effortlessly.

Panel Advances New EM Bill
Detroit News, MI, December 7, 2012
Detroit and other financially troubled cities would have the option of electing to declare municipal bankruptcy instead of being run by state-appointed managers under a proposal to replace the emergency manager law voters repealed last month.

MINNESOTA

Achievement Gap Cures Have Their Own Gap
Star Tribune, MN, December 6, 2012
In “A promising focus on achievement gap” (Dec. 4) the Star Tribune Editorial Board was prudent in expressing both hope and caution regarding “Generation Next,” the Twin Cities’ newest and most encompassing attempt to narrow achievement gaps between white and nonwhite K-12 students. Led by a remarkable collection of business, foundation, educational and political leaders, Generation Next has been inspired by a similarly comprehensive approach in Cincinnati known as “Strive.”

NEW JERSEY

State May Ease Alternate-Route Rules for Charter-School Teachers
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 7, 2012
The Christie administration has proposed easing some of the state’s teacher-certification rules for charter schools, saying the move would give the schools more flexibility in hiring.

CREDO’s Study of Charter Schools in NJ Leaves Many Unanswered Questions
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 7, 2012
Last week, with much fanfare, a study comparing standardized test scores of New Jersey ’s charter school students to those of their public school peers was released by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO). As a professor of public policy, a supporter of public education, and a parent of a charter school student, I have four questions that I would like to ask the authors.

NEW YORK

School Choice vs. ‘Familiar Images’
Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2012
For Young Latino Readers, an Image Is Missing.” So goes the headline of a recent New York Times story that cites a lot of multiculturalist mumbo-jumbo to explain the learning gap between white and Hispanic students.

Locals Blast Charter School ‘s Proposed Co-Location in Williamsburg
DNAinfo, NY, December 6, 2012
Parents, teachers and politicians Wednesday fiercely contested a proposal to bring a charter elementary school into a building already containing two other schools across from McCarren Park .

Mulgrew vs. the Kids
New York Daily News, NY, December 6, 2012
Yet despite Gov. Cuomo’s overdue push for districts statewide to embrace professional methods of evaluating teachers — for the first time, factoring in student achievement along with principals’ assessments — the city has yet to come up with such a system.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Teachers Call Education Department Meeting ‘A Farce’
Morning News, SC, December 7, 2012
– Hundreds of teachers left Lucy T. Davis Elementary School on Thursday night frustrated and with many unanswered questions about how they will be graded in the future.

TENNESSEE

Metro Schools’ Reform Push Needs Support
The Tennessean, TN, December 7, 2012
The transformation continues for Metro Nashville Public Schools, and it may not be pretty.

Mayor to Speak at Charter Fair Saturday
Nashville Public Radio, TN, December 7, 2012
Charter schools in Nashville will try a new recruitment tactic this weekend – they’re hosting a charter fair for interested parents and students. Mayor Karl Dean will speak at the event for schools that run their own way, setting their own hours and methods, while getting public money.

School Vouchers Open Up School Choice But Critics Say They Create Issues
WREG, TN, December 6, 2012
School choice takes center stage in Nashville in the New Year in the form of school vouchers also known as Opportunity Scholarships.

TEXAS

Education Commissioner Removes EPISD School Board
El Paso Times, TX, December 7, 2012
Dissolving the authority of El Paso Independent School District trustees and installing a new board of managers provided Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams with a stern message Thursday for administrators and educators trying to game the federal accountability system: “We’re not going to allow cheating in this state.”

Parents Protest Irving School Admission Plan
CBS Local, TX, December 6, 2012
One of the top ranked schools in North Texas stepped back from a plan Thursday night to only accept new students from areas with primarily low income families. North Hills Preparatory, a charter school run by Uplift Education, admitted it was caught off guard by parents who felt the change could influence educational standards at the highly regarded school.

Charter School Waiting Lists In Amarillo
KFDA, TX, December 6, 2012
The school has had a waiting list for students wanting to attend almost since the very beginning.

Dallas-Area Conservatives In Texas Legislature Face Fight From School Districts Over Vouchers
Dallas Morning News, TX, December 6, 2012
The Legislature is bracing for a fight over school vouchers as Senate leaders push for school-choice options and district officials fight to keep every dollar in public education.

The Bottom Line For Good Schools
Odessa American, TX, December 6, 2012
With the Legislature convening on Jan. 8, there is a lot of talk about improving our public schools and our students’ achievement. These are worthy goals for assuring a strong future for our state, but much of this discussion is being generated by self-styled education “experts” who haven’t been inside a classroom since they were in college.

WASHINGTON

Chartering New Opportunities
The Columbian, WA, December 6, 2012
Headlines of recent stories: Charter school control dinged; Onward with charter schools; Washington becomes 42nd state to allow public charter schools; Charter school appeals contract revocation; Up next for charter schools: plans, panels and lawyers; Charter schools’ performance eyed.

New Parent Group To Continue To Fight Charter Schools
Seattle Times Blog, WA, December 7, 2012
About four dozen parents, mostly from the Puget Sound region, have started a new group that hopes to keep charter schools out of Washington state, even though Initiative 1240 has passed.

ONLINE LEARNING

NEW: Online Charter School Opening in RI
Go Local Prov , RI, December 6, 2012
The YWCA Rhode Island has received the go-ahead from the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) for a groundbreaking online charter school designed for at-risk high school students.

Auditor Criticizes Pa. Cyber Charter School
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, December 7, 2012
Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School follows state laws and other requirements, but state Auditor General Jack Wagner questioned some of the school’s practices, its hefty bank account and $2 million advertising budget in an audit released Thursday.

Auditor General Uses PA Cyber Finances To Illustrate Need For Change
Elwood City Ledger, PA, December 7, 2012
The Midland-based Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School finished the 2009-10 school year with a $13 million budget surplus and spent $4 million on advertising over a two-year period, state Auditor General Jack Wagner said.

New Year, New School? Online Learning Can Ease Transitions
Lake City Reporter, FL, December 7, 2012
A new trend in American public education finds many K-12 students transferring schools mid-year – even when the family doesn’t move. Many families are looking to give their child a fresh start for a variety of reasons, both academic and social.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Risky Business

December 7, 2012 By

December 7, 2012

Remember the board game Risk, where the goal was “world domination,” or “to occupy every territory on the board and in so doing, eliminate all other players“? Well unfortunately this scenario is playing out in real life in the charter school world in the form of increasing regulations. The problem is autonomy at flexibility are at the very heart of the charter school movement, and this regulatory creep puts these essential elements in danger.

But as Jeanne Allen notes while discussing these increasing rules on John Stossel: “Good Intentions Gone Wrong”, the name of the board game itself is an important piece of the puzzle as well:

“Even the charter movement is so afraid to make a mistake. It fears risk because they are so afraid that if they don’t show themselves to be the very, very best, then they will go out of business. But the reality is, risk is in every great innovative business. It’s what makes America tick. And so when you want high quality, you want to take a risk on someone who wants to start a school.”

Speaking of making America tick…

Tim Cook, the new CEO of Apple, was asked by Brian Williams what it would take for Apple to become a “Made in America” company and what that would do to the price of iphones. “It’s not so much about price, it’s about the skills, etc.,” Cook told Williams. “Over time, there are skills that are associated with manufacturing that have left the United States. Not necessarily people, but the education system has just stopped producing that. It’s a concerted effort to get them back.”

by Kara Kerwin & Michelle Tigani

Filed Under: Commentary, Edspresso Tagged With:

Daily Headlines for December 6, 2012

December 6, 2012 By

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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

Teachers Leaning Toward Tougher Standards
Washington Post, DC, December 5, 2012
Teachers appear to be changing their minds about how they should be hired, assessed, paid and dismissed. This merits attention because we cannot have good schools if teachers are not happy with their compensation and working conditions.

7 Districts Split $25M In Gates Education Grants
Associated Press, December 5, 2012
Seven school districts committed to working with charter schools to improve student achievement will split about $25 million in grants from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, officials announced Wednesday.

Teacher Exams: An Overdue Reform
Press Democrat, CA, December 6, 2012
Let’s applaud the best education reform policy proposed this year: A test — similar to a bar exam — for teachers.

Lengthening School Day Could Be A Stretch For Students
Kingston Daily Freeman, NY, December 6, 2012
Eleven years into the current educational reform spasm — begun by passage of No Child Left Behind — a new strategy is being pushed to the top of the agenda.

FROM THE STATES

ALASKA

Anchorage Mayor Announces A Non-Profit Group To Promote Education Reform Ideas
Anchorage Daily News, AK, December 5, 2012
Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan Wednesday announced formation of a non-profit corporation called Education Matters Inc. to follow-up on recommendations from local education reform conferences he sponsored in 2011 and 2012.

CALIFORNIA

Charter School Petition Denied: OUHSD Board Votes Down Kirshner Foundation’s Request To Form New School
Mercury Register, CA, December 6, 2012
A petition for a new charter school through the Barry Kirshner Wildlife Sanctuary and Educational Center was denied Wednesday night by the Oroville Union High School District board of trustees.

Chico Charter Schools Take Center Stage At Board Meet
Chico Enterprise-Record, CA, December 6, 2012
Charter schools were the focus of attention at Wednesday’s Chico school board meeting.
The Blue Oak Charter School came before the Chico Unified School District board of trustees for a mandated public hearing in the school’s effort to renew its charter, which is set to expire in June.

School Reform Took A Back Seat With Denial Of Discovery Charter School
Mercury News, CA, December 5, 2012
Is bureaucratic protocol more crucial than the fierce urgency of now for our children? Based on a vote taken by the Santa Clara County Board of Education Nov. 28, the answer is a disappointing yes.

Classroom Lessons for New Teachers
Wall Street Journal, December 5, 2012
Rather than pursue a conventional master’s degree in education, Ms. Wilson, now 57 years old, opted to enroll in San Francisco Teacher Residency. The program is one of several in the Bay Area that mesh the typical academic preparation for would-be teachers with months or longer of intensive mentoring or classroom time side-by-side with veteran teachers.

COLORADO

Charter Schools Underserve Special Ed Students – Charters
North Denver News, CO, December 6, 2012
Several recent reports, including one from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, have found that charter schools generally under-enroll special education students when compared to conventional public schools. A new report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education, however, asserts that charter schools’ special education rates are much closer to those of district public schools than is described by these other recent reports

Is More Learning Better Learning?
Denver Post, CO, December 6, 2012
The answer is yes, and we’re encouraged by a grant for Colorado schools to study how to make it work.

CONNECTICUT

Big Grant Will Promote Hartford School, Charter Ties
The Hartford Guardian, CT, December 6, 2012
A new multimillion-dollar grant to Hartford’s public schools not only will strengthen the city’s ties to charter schools, it could bolster a charter movement that some educators believe has never fulfilled its potential in Connecticut .

FLORIDA

State Botches Release Of New Data On Teacher Evaluations
Tampa Bay Times, FL, December 6, 2012
Florida’s Department of Education on Wednesday rolled out the results of a sweeping new teacher evaluation system that is designed to be a more accurate, helpful and data-driven measure of how well teachers actually get students to learn.

Rubio Touts Charter School Tax Credits To Help Middle Class
Orlando Sentinel Blog, FL, December 5, 2012
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, while positioning himself as a Republican voice for advancing the poor and middle class, is calling for tax credits to help parents pay for charter schools.

GEORGIA

Georgia Implementing System To Measure Teacher Effectiveness
Augusta Chronicle, GA, December 5, 2012
Effective teaching can be found in the paper trail of standardized test scores in addition to the inspirational stories told at graduation.

ILLINIOS

CPS Passed Over For Gates Grant, For Now
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 65, 2012
Chicago Public Schools was shut out in the latest round of grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which on Wednesday awarded nearly $25 million for educational efforts in seven cities.

LOUISIANA

5 Charter Schools Renewed; 4 Rejected
The Advocate, LA, December 6, 2012
The state Board of Secondary and Elementary Education voted Wednesday to continue charter school contracts for five New Orleans schools and to end operations for four others in the city.

BESE Oks BR Charter School For Dyslexics
The Advocate, LA, December 6, 2012
Overriding the recommendation of a national evaluation group, Louisiana’s top school board Wednesday gave conditional approval for a new charter school in Baton Rouge that would serve students with dyslexia.

‘Course Providers’ Approved To Educate Students
The Adviser, LA, December 6, 2012
Although there’s currently no way to pay them, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has granted final approval for 45 independent “course providers” to start educating students outside of Louisiana classrooms.

MAINE

Online Public School Would Be Good Fit For Some
Kennebec Journal, ME, December 6, 2012
Two applications before the Maine Charter School Commission would allow full-time, fully online public schools to open in our state.

MASSACHUSETTS

Brighton Public, Charter, Catholic Schools Sing Praises Of $3.25m Grant To Aid Year-Old Partnership
Boston Globe, MA, December 6, 2012
About 100 students from three schools in Brighton – the Edison K-8, Conservatory Lab Charter, and St. Columbkille – performed a series of instrumental and vocal pieces for classmates, teachers, parents, and local leaders Wednesday morning.

New Bedford Should Welcome City On A Hill Charter School
South Coast Today, MA, December 6, 2012
In February, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will decide whether a Boston-based charter public school can make its highly successful educational model available to families in New Bedford .

MICHIGAN

State Proposals Threaten Schools
The Commercial Record, MI, December 5, 2012
Saugatuck Public Schools has worked hard to become the outstanding school district that it is. When a district like ours is in danger, we must speak up. The state us now moving towards legislation that could dramatically harm the way SPS and all public schools do business. Here’s what’s at stake:

Gov. Rick Snyder’s Administration Drafts Bill To Address Shortcomings Of Current Emergency Manager Law
Detroit Free Press, MI, December 6, 2012
Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration has drafted a new emergency manager law it hopes will replace Public Act 4 of 2011, which was rejected by voters Nov. 6.

A Classroom For Teachers
Detroit News, MI, December 6, 2012
Great teachers are not born — they’re taught. That philosophy is the impetus behind a two-week teaching lab held annually at the University of Michigan’s School of Education, where the teacher and her methods are under study by educators, policymakers and others who hope to learn more about what makes a great educator.

MISSOURI

Missouri Needs ‘Parent Trigger’
St. Louis America, MO, December 5, 2012
Overcoming adversity is nothing new for me. As a child faced with many tough obstacles, and as a candidate that had to take my case to the Missouri Supreme Court just to get my name on the ballot, I do not shy away from a fight. As the newly elected Senator from Missouri’s 5th District, my determination and grit will carry on in our Senate chambers, especially for children in St. Louis.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Nashua Teachers Union Key Factor in Race to the Top
Nashua Telegraph, NH, December 6, 2012
Two years ago, we didn’t mince words when we called out the Nashua Teachers Union for helping to sabotage the state Department of Education’s bid for millions of dollars in federal Race to the Top education reform funding by refusing to sign off on its application.

NEW MEXICO

Teacher Colleges Not Good Enough
Albuquerque Journal, NM, December 6, 2012
New Mexico’s colleges of education are not doing enough to prepare future teachers for the classroom, according to a new legislative report.

NEW YORK

Schools Chief Sets Deadline
Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2012
In unusually forceful remarks, New York City’s schools chancellor warned Wednesday that principals across the city would be forced to make painful cuts in areas such as staff size, libraries and after-school programs if a deal on teacher evaluations isn’t reached soon.

Choice? Brownsville , Ocean Hill And East New York Parents Get To Choose Among Low-Performing Schools
New York Daily News, NY, December 5, 2012
A plan to let parents in Ocean Hill, Brownsville and East New York pick their own schools regardless of where they live could be no choice at all.

Schools Boss $$ Scold
New York Post, NY, December 6, 2012
Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott warned of deep cuts for teaching staff, music, art and sports programs and larger class sizes if an agreement isn’t reached with the union on a new teacher-evaluation system.

OHIO

Senate Will Redo Bill On Grading Districts
Columbus Dispatch, OH, December 6, 2012
Republican leaders in the Senate say the goal of a new A-to-F report-card system and tougher school-accountability system is to ensure that all students graduate from high school ready for college or groomed for a career.

Senate Looks At School Grades
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, December 5, 2012
Few people doubt that Ohio will change its school and district report card rating system to simple letter grades, from A to F, for each public and charter school and school district in the next two years.

PENNSYLVANIA

Gates Foundation Gives Philly $2.5 Million For Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 5, 2012
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Philadelphia $2.5 million Wednesday to promote collaboration between public and charter schools and fund projects aimed at boosting teacher training and principal leadership, among other things.

Two York Charter School Cases To Come Before State Board
York Dispatch, PA, December 6, 2012
Two York City charter schools will have their cases come before the state charter appeal board on Tuesday. New Hope Academy will face York City School District ‘s motion to quash the appeal hearing. The district has argued New Hope did not meet a 30-day deadline to file an appeal of the school board’s decision this summer not to renew New Hope ‘s charter.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Teachers To Question How They’ll Be Graded
Morning News, SC, December 5, 2012
State education superintendent Dr. Mick Zais could be facing a potentially angry mob of teachers Thursday night at a Florence meeting that is being held to inform the public of new educational standards, but more pressingly to get input on how educators should be evaluated.

TENNESSEE

Report Says Not Enough Data To Judge Tennessee Teacher Training Programs
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 5, 2012
Tennessee spends tens of millions of dollars on professional development for its 63,000 public school teachers but has little idea if it makes a difference or even exactly what it costs.

WISCONSIN

Poverty Less Damaging To Public Schools’ Scores Than Charters’, Report Finds
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, December 5, 2012
Poverty is strongly tied to schools’ rankings in a new state report card system, but among low-income schools, traditional public schools have higher achievement scores than charter schools, according to an analysis from a new nonprofit.

Mosinee Aims To Develop Charter School
Wausau Daily Herald, WI, December 6, 2012
Administrators in the Mosinee School District are beginning to develop a charter school that would serve struggling high-schoolers with a project-based curriculum.

ONLINE LEARNING

Pa. Considers 8 New Cyber Charters, While Critics Question Cost And Quality
The Notebook Blog, PA, December 5, 2012
Amid concerns about quality, cost, and corruption in Pennsylvania’s extensive system of cyber charters, state officials are considering eight new proposals for independently managed schools providing mostly online instruction.

NC School Board Sidesteps Virtual Charter Schools
News & Observer, NC, December 5, 2012
With a warning from budget-writing legislators in the background, the North Carolina school board on Wednesday delayed action on rules that would make it much more difficult to open a taxpayer-funded charter school offering online-only classes.

Online Learning Program Wows Kids, Parents
MyFox Tampa Bay, FL, December 5, 2012
When we first told you about Khan Academy in January, the online teaching program was just starting to make waves around the globe. Now it is actually being implemented in classrooms right here in the Bay Area. Gateway Christian Academy is among the schools that are catching on to the Khan phenomenon.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines
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