Shapiro Consulting, Author at The Center for Education Reform

Help Elect Education Reform!

November 5, 2012 By Shapiro Consulting

No doubt you’re as tired of all the ads as we are, but in this great nation, having the opportunity to vote for one’s precious ideals is such a gift that we all tend grin and bear it! Another thing we tend to grin and bear is the condition of our schools, which remain in trouble, and despite tremendous progress over time, are not delivering the kind of education our children need and deserve.

But you can do something about that this Election Day. The time is now to help elect Education Reform on Tuesday, November 6! The resources on the right will help you figure out if candidates are reform-minded or not.

While education is up for a vote in every state through the candidates you will select, if you are in Georgia, Idaho, or in Washington state, you have major initiatives that need your attention:

• Georgia – YES vote on Georgia’s Amendment 1 ensures continued parental options through charter schools.

• Idaho – YES on all 3 education questions means reform, and the unions want you to vote no so that they have more control over your child’s education.

• Washington – YES on charter schools in will introduce this reform to parents and educators in the Evergreen State for the first time be far more well-equipped to get out the vote against charters in the past.

Filed Under: Additional Election Analysis

Daily Headlines for November 5, 2012

November 5, 2012 By Shapiro Consulting

In Florida And Tennessee , Teachers Unions Face Rhee-venge
Washington Times, DC, November 4, 2012
Merit pay for teachers, school choice, in-state tuition rates for veterans and undocumented immigrants.

A Better Way To Grade Teachers
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 5, 2012
Effective evaluation requires rigorous, ongoing assessment by experts who review teachers’ instruction, looking at classroom practice and evidence of student learning.

Mitt Romney Makes Education Pitch In Final Days Before Election
Huffington Post
November 4, 2012
For the last year, education advocates have been trying to get the subject of America’s beleaguered public schools onto the agenda of the presidential election.

Unions Recruit New Allies for Obama in Battleground States
New York Times, NY, November 5, 2012
Dressed in a ski jacket to protect her from the morning chill, Sandy Jacobs, an occupational therapist, arrived at a fading, nearly century-old two-family home and knocked on one of the doors.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Charter Schools Growing In Sonoma County
Press-Democrat, CA, November 4, 2012
Sonoma County is at the forefront of the charter school movement in California with 11 new schools opening this year, second only to massive Los Angeles County Unified with its nearly 660,000 students.

Fresno Teachers Union Lets District Apply For Federal Grant
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 5, 2012
Many unions have opposed the grant program, which requires using student test scores in teacher evaluations. L.A. Unified is among the school districts that couldn’t get union support by the deadline.

COLORADO

Metro School Districts Get Into Race For Federal Grants
Denver Post, CO, November 5, 2012
A handful of metro-area school districts just submitted applications for the most recent round of Race to the Top, where school districts instead of states vie for a chunk of the federal education money.

CONNECTICUT

Ed Board Charter Change Divides Voters
CT Post, CT, November 4, 2012
A contentious bid to convert the city school board from an elected one to one appointed by the mayor — blasted by critics as a vote-robbing power grab but hailed by others as the best chance to rescue a failing district — will likely have no effect on student performance, according to a national expert on education policy.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Special Education Battles With No End
Washington Post, DC, November 4, 2012
Seth turns 9 on Saturday. He is a radiant child who often looks better than he feels. He was born nearly four months prematurely and weighed 15 ounces at birth.

FLORIDA

Schools Funding Should Return To 2006-07 Levels
News-Press, FL, November 4, 2012
At The News-Press Second annual Education Summit, Gov. Rick Scott laid out his education platform for the 2013 Legislative Session. The governor touched on a few areas, but I wanted to focus in on two of the larger issues.

Duval County School Board To Decide On Another 6 Charter Schools
Florida Times Union, FL, November 3, 2012
The Duval County School Board will consider whether to approve another six charter schools on Monday.

GEORGIA

Ballot Amendment Might Be Turning Point For Education
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, November 3, 2012
The most hotly contested state race this year doesn’t include candidates for office. The race concerns a constitutional amendment and, perhaps, the future of public education in Georgia .

Amendment One: A Chance At A Choice For Students Who Today Have Neither
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, November 5, 2012
No one among us, if faced with a persistent disease and a physician who’d failed to cure it, would be content to continue consulting only that doctor — and, especially, to be told we could not seek a second opinion.

Charter School Battle Involves Big Money
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, November 4, 2012
The question facing Georgia voters Tuesday is fairly simple: Do they want to create an additional pathway to approve charter schools in the state?

Price vs. Heard, Amendment 1 Top Local Items On Dougherty Ballot
Albany Herald, GA, November 4, 2012
When Dougherty County voters head to the polls on Tuesday, two of the most hotly contested items on the ballot are the School Board at-large seat and the controversial proposed constitutional Amendment 1.

Data Show Relatively Fewer Students In Poverty Served By Charter Schools
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, November 3, 2012
Charter schools educate a smaller proportion of metro Atlanta’s impoverished students than the public school systems in which those charters are located, a new analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows.

HAWAII

Parents Say High School Is Needed In Kihei
Maui News, HI, November 4, 2012
Dozens of Kihei residents, including parents and children, stood on the shoulder of Piilani Highway on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to wave signs and draw attention to the need for a Kihei high school.

ILLINOIS

Giving A Grade To No Child Left Behind: Controversial Program ‘Tarnished’ Good Schools
Belleville News Democrat, IL, November 3, 2012
Robert Green coached track before he was superintendent of Collinsville schools — and he compares trying to help schools satisfy No Child Left Behind to facing the high jump.

CPS Wants To Delay Decision On School Closings
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 3, 2012
With community concern growing over school closings, Chicago Public Schools officials on Friday said they are asking for a four-month extension for producing a list of targeted schools.

Involving Parents
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 5, 2012
Chicago’s teachers often tell us that they alone can’t educate kids. They need help from parents. The teachers are disappointed that some parents don’t, or can’t, get to school to pick up their children’s report cards.

INDIANA

GSU Hosts Alternative Teacher Certification Information Session
Munster Times, IN, November 5, 2012
Learn how to earn elementary or secondary (biology, chemistry, or mathematics) teacher certification and secure a teaching position through Governors State University’s Alternative Certification Program.

Charter Group Tells Judge It Opposes Sale By EACS To Diocese
The Journal Gazette, IN, November 3, 2012
The Indiana Public Charter Schools Association told an Allen Superior Court judge Friday morning it would support changes to the state law it feels requires school buildings to sit unused for up to four years

KANSAS

First Bell : A Peek Into Next Year’s Legislative Agenda For Education
Lawrence Journal World, KS, November 5, 2012
If you want a peek into what Kansas lawmakers have in mind for education bills next session, I suggest checking out the agenda for the next Legislative Educational Planning Committee meeting.

MAINE

Political Mailer Makes Inaccurate Claims About Charter Schools
Bangor Daily News, ME, November 4, 2012
It’s the height of the silly season when politicians and others with points of view and axes to grind say and write things that make little sense in order to get the people they want elected or not elected. So I probably should not be so surprised.

MICHIGAN

High School Students Take Sides On EM Law
Detroit News, MI, November 5, 2012
Detroit high school students added their voices to the emergency manager law ballot issue during a lively debate Sunday.

MISSISSIPPI

Reeves Describes Content Of A Charter School Push
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, MS, November 3, 2012
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves stood by his personal preference of allowing all 145 Mississippi school districts the freedom to establish public charter schools in an early morning Tupelo address Friday but indicated he could again support a more restrictive bill as passed in 2012 by the Senate.

NEVADA

Deal Reached On Grant Application
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, November 5, 2012
With only hours to go before an extended deadline, the Clark County teachers union Friday morning signed off on the school district’s application for $40 million in federal grant money.

NEW MEXICO

Called ‘Pioneers’ in Reform
ABQ Journal, NM, November 3, 2012
Gov. Susana Martinez addressed a coalition of charter schools Friday as part of the coalition’s annual conference, reassuring the group that she would work to secure funding for charter schools.

Teacher Union Head Lashes Out
ABQ Journal, NM, November 4, 2012
Santa Fe Public Schools’ new superintendent Joel Boyd ruffled some feathers among teachers last week with the release of data suggesting teachers and other staff may be absent at rates nearly twice the national average.

NEW YORK

Pauline Liu: Give Charter School Plans A Chance To Make The Grade
Times Herald-Record, NY, November 5, 2012
Polarizing. That’s the word frequently used in reference to charter schools, the independently-run, alternative public schools than began opening in the wake of the state’s 1998 charter school law. It is no wonder why.

Utica Fears Cost Of Charter Schools
Utica Observer-Dispatch, NY, November 4, 2012
The question of whether Utica will have its own charter schools will be decided next month.
How the Utica City School District will pay for them, however, isn’t as easy to answer.

Analysis: City School District Often Faces Tug of War
Albany Democrat and Chronicle, NY, November 3, 2012
School closing plans are becoming a new reality in an urban district that has lost more than 5,000 students in the past decade, driven largely by declining enrollment and the continued exodus of middle-class families to the suburbs.

NORTH CAROLINA

Voters Decide Who Makes Education Decision For N.C. Children
Herald-Sun, NC, November 3, 2012
Parents care more about the education of their children than anyone else. Those parents who choose to vote the first Tuesday in November could therefore determine who runs North Carolina ’s K-12 public schools for their kids over the next decade. Let’s look at the positions and players at stake Nov. 6.

OHIO

Charter Schools Fail To Make Top Ratings
Lima News, OH, November 4, 2012
While 92 percent of the state’s public school districts scored effective or higher on this year’s report cards, only 26 percent of charter schools did. Locally, no charter school fell in the top three ratings.

OKLAHOMA

Conflict Over Special-Needs Scholarship Law On Hold For Now
Tulsa World, OK, November 5, 2012
Controversy over a law that allows the use of public funds to send special-needs students to private schools may have died down for now.

OREGON

Charter School Appeals Termination
Register Guard, OR, November 5, 2012
HomeSource family charter school, which had its contract revoked by the Bethel School District earlier this year, will appeal a second school board decision to terminate the contract, this time over the academic performance of its students.

TENNESSEE

Pro-School Choice PACs Spend Freely In Tennessee
The Tennessean, TN, November 4, 2012
With education issues high on the agenda for the upcoming legislative session, two new groups that favor charter schools and vouchers have spent lavishly on Tennessee House and Senate races.

Funding Dispute Surfaces Between Memphis City Schools, Charter Schools
Commercial Appeal, TN, November 4, 2012
Memphis City Schools Supt. Kriner Cash met with local charter school operators last week after prompting by state Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman to resolve a lingering dispute over charter school funds.

VIRGINIA

Big Change, Big Challenges Ahead For Richmond School Board
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, November 5, 2012
That the Richmond School Board will be dramatically changed after Tuesday’s election is a certainty.

WASHINGTON

Seattle Must Do More To Improve Special Education
Seattle Times, WA, November 4, 2012
A damning assessment from the state shows Seattle Public Schools needs to do more for its special-education students.

School Reform Propositions In Idaho Will Be ‘Catalyst For Turnout’
Spokesman Review, WA, November 4, 2012
Idaho voters are riled up and ready to vote, with a contentious school-reform debate reverberating in the state’s airwaves and decisions looming on every seat in the Legislature, key local races, two constitutional amendments and seats in Congress.

Vote No On I-1240
Spokesman Review, WA, November 3, 2012
Washington voters, the ballots are in the mail. Please vote no on Initiative 1240. Simply put, it steals money from the tax-supported public schools. Yes, a charter school is a private school funded with our hard-earned tax dollars.

No More Waiting For Charter Schools
Seattle Times, WA, November 2, 2012
Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Jose Banda is a thoughtful man with a personal narrative indicative of the ways educational inequalities challenge American dreams of careers and economic stability.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

Lake Appoints First Virtual Principal For Growing Program
Orlando Sentinel, FL, November 4, 2012
The Lake County school district’s first virtual principal assumed his post last week after the growing virtual franchise program became too large for a single district staffer to handle.

Alternative Broward Diploma Program Raises Concerns
Orlando Sentinel, FL, November 5, 2012
Many of Broward County’s struggling high school seniors have been called into their guidance counselors in recent weeks and strongly encouraged — some even say forced — to withdraw and finish their education through an online program.

Duval County School District Settles Court Case Over K12-Run Online Charter School
NPR StateImpact , FL, November 2, 2012
Duval County schools have settled a lawsuit over an online charter school to be run by K12, the nation’s largest online education company, according to the News Service of Florida.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

Figuring Out Where Candidates Stand On Reform

November 5, 2012 By Shapiro Consulting

It’s important that you assess the positions and potential effectiveness of those seeking your vote — be it President, Congress, governor, state legislature, local school board or any other locally elected office that influences education reform. Knowing how much you care about these issues, here is a quick and easy guide — a Meter! — to measuring the real reform pedigree of the candidates.

Click here for the Candidate Education Meter Guide

Filed Under: Additional Election Analysis

Urgent: Georgia EdReform Election Update

November 2, 2012 By Shapiro Consulting

Dear Concerned Georgian:

The fate of many current and future charter school opportunities are at stake in Georgia come Tuesday’s election. Your local leaders have been working hard to engage voters to ensure that charter schools continue to thrive after Election Day. But there’s still so much more to do and YOU hold the key to igniting literally millions of “YES” votes for your schools, your students, your movement and your state.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO IN FIVE MINUTES TO REACH 5,000 PEOPLE:

• Forward this email to ALL of your lists — your parents, your teachers, your community members — EVERYONE you know. It’s your right as a professional, as a voter, and as a citizen to share the information people provide to you. We all get tons of things every day from friends and we choose to read it or choose to toss it. It’s all about choice and freedom.

• Information is power! Check out CER’s CANDIDATE METER which is ready for your use in measuring the multitude of positions and opinions offered by your candidates for local, state and even national office. Make all your VOTES count FOR EDUCATION REFORM.

• To get involved and stay informed through next week, visit https://www.facebook.com/SaveOurPublicCharterSchools and The Brighter Georgia Education Coalition.

Now open that address book and send them this link! You can make a difference.

Good luck to you!

Jeanne Allen
President

Filed Under: Activism

Urgent: Idaho EdReform Election Update

November 2, 2012 By Shapiro Consulting

Dear Concerned Idahoan:

The national teachers union is spending millions to confuse Idaho voters on the three initiatives that will, if passed, make education better for all schools, all students and parents. That’s why they are scared. And every charter school in Idaho will be affected indirectly by these votes, and if these efforts all fail, the unions will be forever emboldened to challenge your freedom and flexibility. You can make a difference, however, and you hold the key to thousands of critical votes.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO IN FIVE MINUTES TO REACH 5,000 PEOPLE:

• To get involved and stay informed through next week, visit www.studentscomefirst.org.

Now open that address book and send them this link! You can make a difference.

Good luck to you!

Jeanne Allen
President

Filed Under: Activism

Daily Headlines for November 2, 2012

November 2, 2012 By Shapiro Consulting

Obama’s Second-Term Promises In Education
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 1, 2012
Here’s what a brochure put out by President Obama’s campaign says he will focus on in education during his next term, assuming he has one:

First, Teach The Teachers
Denver Post, CO, November 2, 2012
Every time I read an article about our failing public schools, I think of this very sophisticated, well-educated, well-read woman standing hopelessly before that class wondering what in the world these soon-to-be teachers were going to teach their students. And then I think that most of them might still be teaching.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

New Data Shows Enterprise Schools Closing Achievement Gap
The Southeast Sun, AL, November 1, 2012
Enterprise City Schools is making giants leaps toward closing the achievement gap between various sub-groups of students.

State Should Control Schools
Prattville Progress, AL, November 2, 2012
Liberals have tried since the 1960s to get government control over what children learn, from kindergarten through 12th grade.

ARKANSAS

With New Rule, State Gains School-Takeover Leeway
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, AR, November 2, 2012
The Arkansas Board of Education approved on Thursday a new rule that will broaden the state’s ability to take control of school districts with large numbers of students who aren’t scoring at grade level on state mandated tests.

State Board Approves 3 New Charter Schools
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, AR, November 2, 2012
The Arkansas Board of Education on Thursday approved the establishment of a charter high school on the Arkansas Baptist College campus in Little Rock, a classical liberal arts charter school in Bentonville and a middle/high school in Pine Bluff – all sponsored by the same Texas charter-school organization.

State Board Rejects PB Charter Over Competition Concerns
KARK, AR, November 1, 2012
Exalt founder Ben Lindquist went before the state board of education Thursday morning, asking permission to build another charter in Pine Bluff.

CALIFORNIA

L.A. Unified Competes For U.S. Funds Without Key Element
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 2, 2012
The district lacks the union cooperation that the program requires but is applying for the money anyway.

FTA, FUSD Close In On $37.3m Federal Grant
The Fresno Bee, CA, November 2, 2012
Fresno Teachers Association leaders met late into the night Thursday discussing revisions that Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson hoped could lead to their endorsement of a multimillion-dollar federal grant application.

Oakland Teachers Failed Kids Over Grant
San Francisco Chronicle, CA, November 1, 2012
The Oakland Education Association might want to consider changing its name. The teachers union was one of six unions in California that refused last week to support their school district application for millions of dollars worth of federal funding offered by the Race to the Top program.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Council Puts Hold On Charter School Board Member’s Reappointment Over Articles On Multiculturalism
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 1, 2012
The D.C. Council has temporarily halted the reappointment of a member of the D.C. Charter School Board after council members became aware of articles he wrote in which he appeared to challenge how multiculturalism is taught in school.

D.C., Flush With Money, Sends Millions To DCPS And Charter Schools
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 1, 2012
The D.C. Council on Thursday grudgingly approved a proposal from Mayor Vincent Gray to send a pile of unspent cash to D.C. public schools and charter schools.

KIPP DC To Open New Campus At Old Webb Elementary School
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 1, 2012
D.C. officials are recommending that charter school operator KIPP DC be allowed to take over the old Webb Elementary School building under a long-term lease.

FLORIDA

Autism Charter School To Clear Key Hurdle
The Tampa Tribune, FL, November 2, 2012
A charter school that would serve autistic children could be about to take a step toward approval by the Pasco County School Board.

Management Firm Gives Edge To Charter School
South Florida Times, FL, November 1, 2012
The Renaissance School at West Palm Beach is taking a different approach to the charter schools movement.

GEORGIA

Amendment 1 Means Choice
Augusta Chronicle, GA, November 2, 2012
You may have made the same mistake I did this past weekend. I answered an unknown number from Atlanta. It warned me that Amendment 1 would take hundreds of thousands of dollars from education. That is not what Amendment 1 would do.

Charter Vote Lights Up Social Media
Cherokee Tribune, GA, November 2, 2012
With only days left before voters decide on the controversial Amendment 1, both sides of the argument aren’t waiting until Election Day to rally support but rather turning to social media to make their voices heard.

Charter Schools And Weasel-Wording
Macon Telegraph, GA, November 2, 2012
Aside from the presidential contest (which is kind of a moot point for us since Romney is virtually assured of getting all of Georgia’s electoral votes) the hottest topic in our state this election season seems to be the proposed amendment to our state’s constitution which would allow it to establish charter schools.

Success of Georgia ‘Rewards Schools’ Underscores Charter Debate
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, November 1, 2012
Three cheers for the seven schools in Cobb and Marietta recognized as “highest performing” or for “high progress” in graduation rates and state assessment tests.

Charter School Amendment Bad For State, Devastating For Rural Ga.
North Fulton Revue & News , GA, November 1, 2012
Voters living outside metro Atlanta or larger Georgia school districts might mistakenly believe that the proposed constitutional Amendment 1 on the November ballot has little relevance to the their own children’s education. After all, charter schools are virtually non-existent in rural and small-town Georgia , largely because charter operators find it economically impractical to open charter schools in areas without sufficient numbers of “consumers” (that is, students).

HAWAII

Hawaii’s Public Schools Leave Best and Brightest Behind
Hawaii Business Journal, HI
November 2012
Hawaii Business Editor Steve Petranik says state should create elite public schools for top students

IDAHO

Campaign On Idaho Education Laws Sets Fundraising Record
Idaho Statesman, ID, November 2, 2012
Campaigns for and against Propositions 1, 2 and 3 have broken the Idaho record for spending on ballot measures, with opponents having raised $3.6 million and proponents $2.6 million.

LOUISIANA

Officials Should Also Be Held Accountable
The Advertiser, LA, November 2, 2012
Louisiana schools, as a whole, have not performed well, according to the state’s accountability standards. Charter schools and vouchers are the focus of controversy, as some view them as the salvation of education in Louisiana and others, its demise.

St. Tammany School Board Refuses To Take Seniority Out Of The Teacher Layoff Equation
Times-Picayune, LA, November 1, 2012
Despite being publicly called out by state education officials, St. Tammany school board leaders said this week that they will refuse to remove seniority from their policy on teacher layoffs as called for earlier this year under Gov. Bobby Jindal’s sweeping education reforms.

The Louisiana Teacher Union Paradox
The Pelican Post, LA, November 1, 2012
How the LAE and LFT Remain a Barrier to Educational Progress in Spite of Electoral and Legislative Defeats

NEVADA

Union Vendetta Hurts Students
Las Vegas Review- Journal , NV, November 2, 2012
A sure sign that a messy divorce is slipping toward mutually assured destruction: One party, motivated by irrational vindictiveness, blows up the other’s ability to earn money that would benefit both.

State Authority: Much Work Needed To Improve Incline Charter School Application
North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, NV, November 1, 2012
A small group of Incline Village parents and residents spearheading an effort to create a public charter school in Incline Village has some major challenges to overcome should its goal of holding classes for roughly 60 students by next summer be realized, state officials have concluded.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

School Choice Numbers Down Slightly In Nashua
Nashua Telegraph, NH, November 2, 2012
A total of 140 Gate City students took advantage of a school choice provision this year, a number down slightly from last year but still nearly double the rate of just three years ago.

NEW YORK

Reform Group: Senate GOP Likes Charters, Assembly Dems, Not So Much
Albany Time Union Blog, NY, November 1, 2012
The Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability is out with a legislators scorecard where they note, perhaps not surprisingly, that Senate Republicans are more supportive of charter schools than their Democratic counterparts in the Assembly.

NORTH CAROLINA

CMS Wants The Power To Approve Charter Schools
WBTV, NC, November 1, 2012
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school (CMS) board wants more power and control. It is recommending in its legislative agenda to give all NC local school districts the authority to approve charter schools. That idea is already getting a failing grade from some educators who represent charter schools.

OHIO

State Board Of Education: Voters To Fill 7 Seats On Tuesday
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 2, 2012
Like a game of musical chairs, two members of the Ohio Board of Education are running for a seat representing Franklin, Delaware and Knox counties after new boundaries tossed them into the same district.

Cleveland School District Payroll Shows Range Of Salaries
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 2, 2012
They’re paid too much already. That’s one objection you’ll hear from some Cleveland residents who say they plan to vote against the school district’s 15-mill levy on Tuesday.

Technical Problems Ironic At Meeting
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 2, 2012
Charter schools were the other theme of the briefing, and Bill Sims, executive director of the Ohio Charter Schools Association, gave an in-person presentation.

PENNSYLVANIA

Class Acts At Home: More Parents Opt Out, Tackle Teaching On Their Own
Pocono Record, PA, November 2, 2012
As neighborhood schools grapple with pared budgets and pressure-cooker tests, not every family shares the strain. For a hardy few, the living room doubles as classroom, and kids drive the curriculum.

TENNESSEE

Metro Schools’ Achievement Gap Is Tough To Close
The Tennessean, TN, November 2, 2012
The size of traditionally poor-performing subgroups in Metro Nashville schools creates a tougher hurdle than most systems face in closing the achievement gap between those students and their peers, a Metro official said Thursday.

TEXAS

Equity Center: Some Schools Get $65,000 More Per Classroom
San Antonio Express, TX, November 2, 2012
Property-wealthy school districts spend about $65,000 more per classroom than poor districts, Equity Center Executive Director Wayne Pierce testified Thursday in an ongoing school funding lawsuit.

Teachers Union Fails To Endorse School Bonds
My Fox Houston, TX, November 1, 2012
The Houston Independent School District will have to win its $1.9 billion bond issue without the endorsement of the influential union which represents most of the city’s teachers.

WASHINGTON

State Of The District: Seattle Public Schools Falling Short Of Five-Year Targets
Seattle Times, WA, November 1, 2012
With just one year left on its ambitious five-year plan, Seattle Public Schools continues to fall short of its academic targets, but it has made some progress.

Meridian’s Renaissance High School Isn’t For Everyone, And That’s The Point
The Olympian, WA, November 2, 2012
Meridian School District started the four-year college-prep high school four years ago. About 670 kids are enrolled. At the start of their junior year, students choose one of two tracks: an International Baccalaureate diploma or an associate degree in liberal arts.

Otter Appears In Pro-Reform Ad
Spokesman Review, WA, November 2, 2012
The latest campaign ad in Idaho’s school reform fight features Gov. Butch Otter endorsing Propositions 1, 2 and 3 in a positive, feel-good message.

Banda, School Board Say Charters Would Hamper Efforts To Improve Seattle Public Schools
Seattle Times, WA, November 1, 2012
School leaders, educators and parents from 260 of Washington’s 295 school districts have signed a letter opposing I-1240, warning that charter schools would siphon off millions of dollars from other publicly funded schools with no guarantee they’d be any better.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines

We Need More Than Charm

November 1, 2012 By Shapiro Consulting

What Has Arne Done For Us?
by Fawn Johnson
National Journal
October 29, 2012

If nothing else, Education Secretary Arne Duncan has made waves. In the last four years, he has brought about incredible changes in education policy, no thanks to Congress. That’s a point that education writer Richard Colvin (a contributor to this blog) makes in a recent column in Kappan magazine. “The breakdown of the legislative process hasn’t prevented the U.S. Department of Education from pursuing what may well be one of the most far-reaching education reform agendas ever,” Colvin writes. Duncan shepherded $4 billion for Race to the Top competitive grants and created No Child Left Behind waiver program for states. Let’s not forget also that the Common Core State standards are now…well…common.

This has not made everyone happy, particularly conservatives who don’t want to see new education policies put in place by fiat. Fordham Institute Executive Vice President Mike Petrilli (whose boss Chester Finn is also a contributor on this blog) argued in reaction to Colvin’s article that the White House could have pushed for legislation instead of the NCLB waivers, even if it didn’t like where Congress was going. “Both the Senate and House passed reauthorization bills out of their respective committees, and had the administration wanted to get them across the finish line, it could have pushed for it, and I think achieved it,” Petrelli said in an e-mail. Had that happened, NCLB would have been more or less dead. But it would have been a sound legislative process.

It is debatable whether Congress would have been able to pass any bill reauthorizing the complex elementary and secondary education system. It is also worth asking whether the administration did the responsible thing in responding to the gridlock, which had real consequences for states, with its “We Can’t Wait” waiver program. But it is beyond question that everyone involved in the debate has been shocked at how difficult it is to accomplish anything. Everyone involved in the talks agrees with 90 percent of the changes that are on the table. Colvin quotes one Capitol Hill aide who quit out of frustration. I have met staffers who say that Congress has regressed more than 10 years in its thinking on education.

In spite of all this, Duncan broke through these barriers and instituted programs that education researchers will be studying for the next decade. If President Obama wins reelection, Duncan will stick around, but his impact probably won’t be as large as he continues the programs he started. He won’t have $48.6 billion in economic stimulus money to play with, and he will instead have to focus on where he can cut to meet budget constraints.

It doesn’t matter because Duncan has already made his mark.

What lessons can we learn from the Education Department under Arne Duncan? What is his legacy? How important is the waiver program in considering next steps for NCLB–i.e., assessments, testing, disaggregation? How important is Race to the Top in encouraging state innovations? Are there other, better ways that an agency can deal with an intransigent Congress? What did Arne do for us in Obama’s first term?

Response: We Need More Than Charm
by Jeanne Allen
National Journal
November 1, 2012

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is engaging personally and professionally. As a superintendent, he honed his communication skills, so whether he was talking to a teacher, the union president or a parent, they all equally think he’s on their side and committed to doing the right thing. He can shoot hoops with anyone, on or off the court. And he’s received praise far and wide for being so, well, so good and so reform-minded. But having listened and watched him carefully now for four years, I’m seeing a pattern. It’s the pattern of a disciplined player that knows how to get in the game, stay competitive, and never look like he’s going to miss.

Duncan’s basic formula is this: Speak to a group and mention all the things you know they are interested in; quality, charters, collaboration, we have to fix our schools, we can make them better, investment, accountability, choice, parents, engagement…. And in the process, we confuse activity with action, and policymaking with reform.

Duncan scores lots of points for reminding the nation that we have a problem and that there are many ways to solve the problem. A+ on that. And he’s tenacious in going places, meeting with people, speaking to people — keeping the issue alive. Great moves, all of it. But when it comes to his efforts resulting in substantive change that impacts student achievement, I’m not seeing any. In fact, Duncan has created a perverse incentive system where states and districts now know that in order to get money, all they have to do is promise to play ball for whatever policy prescription is on the table. Common core, teacher evaluation, turn-arounds/turn-overs/collaborative-reinvestment-engagement schemes, charter schools (though it need not matter what kind of policy one is recommending and whether it works)… The average state or local grant writer knows that once the money comes, they can have the meetings, convene stakeholders, make plans and try to do what they said they’d do, and whether or how quickly new processes and plans and goals and outcomes are sketched, they’ll keep getting paid for students based on archaic formulas that have little to do with whether children are learning.

Meanwhile, the states that have accomplished the most with reform are those where teacher tenure was significantly reformed or removed, where educators have more flexibility, where schools are turned over without account for union collaboration and where schools are scored and parents have choices. Our top ten states for Parent Power provide a key to why some states are doing better than others, if you need more context. It’s no secret why Indiana comes out number 1.

To be fair, Education Secretary Duncan’s positive, affable rhetoric and embrace of change has helped keep education hot amidst a sea of other important issues, and has allowed more Democrats to embrace changes they may have never have endorsed if it were only the Rs who were in power. He’s used the Bully Pulpit well, and that’s a clear score. But inside and outside the Ed Department, Duncan has indeed confused caused many to think they’ve already achieved significant gains because of the policies they’ve embraced. It all sounds the same, and whether or not one did performance evaluations right doesn’t matter as long as they did them, period. That means they’ll probably not push more on that, or closing failing schools, or taking on the unions, or charters or tenure, or adopt new innovations like widespread online learning or real school choice! They can claim credit and move on to another issue, which tends to be the attitude of a lawmaker not particularly engaged in education reform once they’ve done something, anything others praise. And that, I’m afraid, may be the extent of the legacy Arne Duncan leaves.

Filed Under: Opinions Tagged With: Arne Duncan, NCLB, federal policy

Edreform Election Tools

November 1, 2012 By Shapiro Consulting

Dear Voter,

You can do something about that this Election Day.

The Center for Education Reform’s CANDIDATE METER has evergreen advice for your use in measuring the multitude of positions and opinions offered by your candidates for local, state and even national office. We know that despite our best efforts, it’s easy to end up voting for people without regard for their education reform views because we just don’t know them or they sound pretty good.

The reality is that if a candidate doesn’t have a strong point of view one way or the other about school choice, charter schools accountability and teacher quality, he or she is very unlikely to get reform minded after elected. So now’s the time to make sure you can measure your candidate’s pedigree on education reform to spread the word among your family, friends and colleagues so as to ensure exceptional results for education reform across the country.

We know the status quo has been out in droves to fight candidates and initiatives that are pro-edreform and has millions of dollars invested to help them do so. We know voters who typically need school choice or access to better and brighter teachers are often disenfranchised by the process and union propaganda.

The time is now to help elect Education Reform! CER, for the past 20 years has been tracking campaigns, candidate platforms, ballot initiatives and has developed an arsenal of data and analysis on how education reform can win on Election Day.

So please use these tools, forward this to 10 of your friends and get ready to VOTE for EDREFORM!

-Your Friends at the Center for Education Reform

Filed Under: Activism

Daily Headlines for November 1, 2012

November 1, 2012 By Shapiro Consulting

Why Mitt Romney Is A Better Choice For Education Reform
CNN Blog, November 1, 2012
We can fix our schools because we don’t get the biggest share of our campaign donations from the teachers’ unions.” This short, simple statement from Gov. Mitt Romney in an October 24 speech in Nevada sums up the real distinction between education reformers and protectors of the status quo, and reveals why when it comes to education policy, Romney would be a superior president – because he promised to put children, parents and teachers first, and to “put the teachers’ unions behind.”

Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say
New York Times, NY, November 1, 2012
There is a widespread belief among teachers that students’ constant use of digital technology is hampering their attention spans and ability to persevere in the face of challenging tasks, according to two surveys of teachers being released on Thursday.

Obama, Romney Both Support Charter Schools
Dayton Daily News, OH, October 31, 2012
In bitterly partisan times, K-12 education policy has been one of the lesser-discussed issues and largely unattached to party labels in the presidential race between President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Delayed Grades Finally Reach 13 Districts, Including Gilbert’s ‘A’
Arizona Republic, AZ, October 31, 2012
Thirteen public-school districts and charter schools in Arizona finally have received their grades from the state Department of Education — two months after the state’s other 572 districts and charters got theirs.

CALIFORNIA

Fresno Teachers Union, District To Meet On Grant
Fresno Bee, CA, October 31, 2012
The Fresno Teachers Association has agreed to meet with school district officials this morning to discuss signing a $37.3 million federal education grant application.

PAC Money Floods Local School Board Races
Mercury News, CA, October 31, 2012
With an unprecedented surge of cash from charter schools and their high-tech backers, normally low-profile school board campaigns have morphed into big-bucks contests to elect charter-friendly candidates and defeat their challengers.

COLORADO

Five Failing Schools To Lose Money Supposed To Help Them Improve
Denver Post, CO, November 1, 2012
The Colorado Department of Education will cut off school-improvement money to five of the state’s poorest-performing schools because they haven’t gotten better despite the influx of cash.

DELAWARE

No Need To Build New Charter Schools
News Journal, DE, October 31, 2012
The state will support another charter school to be built when local high schools are operating on average at 60 percent capacity.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Why Not A Jefferson High For Poor Kids?
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 1, 2012
While we wonder what should be done about our region’s most demanding public high school— Thomas Jefferson— having only 3 percent of its students from poor families, let’s consider a different experiment in selective education. What if we created a school that gave as challenging an academic experience as Jefferson’s to a student body that was 100 percent low-income?

GEORGIA

45 Metro Schools Among State’s Top Title 1 Performing Schools
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, November 1, 2012
The Georgia Department of Education Wednesday named 79 of the state’s highest performing schools with a high population of low-income students and another 156 that have made the biggest academic strides with those students, who are often associated with troubled and unstable homes.

Charter School Amendment Still Being Questioned
Thompson Times, GA, November 1, 2012
While voters are being asked to determine whether the state Constitution should be amended with regard to the manner of establishment of charter schools, controversy reigns over whether the state should have this additional measure of authority to approve these new schools against the wishes of local officials.

Campaign Contributions For And Against Charter Amendment Differ Greatly
Times-Georgian, GA, November 1, 2012
Next week, Georgia voters will choose whether they want the state constitution to be amended to create a new state commission to approve charter school applications denied by local school boards.

Lawsuit Says Charter Amendment Language Purposely Deceives Voters
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, October 31, 2012
A lawsuit filed this week in Fulton County claims Gov. Nathan Deal and other state officials have deliberately misled voters with ballot language describing a proposed constitutional amendment.

Charter Schools, Yes — Appointed State Panel, No
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA, October 31, 2012
This newspaper has been on record for years as supporting charter schools. Three schools here in the Muscogee County School District have been converted to charters — by local decision.

Base Vote On Children, Not Money
Cherokee Tribune, GA, November 1, 2012
People everywhere are aggravated with Amendment 1. Those who are opposed are scared to lose their status quo way of life. Those in favor of Amendment 1 are frustrated with the opinions being blasted as facts.

Charters: The Other Side
Cherokee Tribune, GA, November 1, 2012
I was disappointed when I read the editorial in Sunday’s Cherokee Tribune. I have come to expect lies and half truths from those on the left that vehemently oppose the public charter school amendment, but I did not expect half truths in the Tribune.

ILLINOIS

CPS Discusses Guidelines For Closing And Consolidating Schools
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 1, 2012
Chicago Public Schools officials said Wednesday that half of the district’s schools are underused and nearly 140 are more than half-empty, so finding a way to make the best use of buildings will play a key role in deciding what schools to close or consolidate.

INDIANA

State School Super Should Support Public Schools, Not Undermine Them
Dearborn Country Register, IN, October 31, 2012
I feel betrayed! As a concerned parent, teacher, and taxpayer who voted for Tony Bennett in 2008, I want answers. In case you haven’t heard, Tony Bennett is the current Superintendent of Public Instruction who has been giving public tax dollars to out-of-state companies in order for them to run private charter schools.

LOUISIANA

Diane Ravitch Cuts Check For Local School Board Candidate
Times Picayune, LA, October 31, 2012
It would be hard to find a more obscure election, overshadowed as it is by city council races, not to mention a multi-billion dollar presidential contest. Yet some of the country’s biggest names in education are cutting checks to influence the outcome in the 3rd District of the Orleans Parish School Board.

MAINE

Five Groups File Charter School Requests With State Commission
Portland Press Herald, ME, November 1, 2012
If the Maine Charter School Commission approves all of the new charter schools proposed for next year, it will leave a slot for only one more until a cap is lifted in 2022.

MARYLAND

Evaluating School Board Candidates
Maryland Gazette, MD, November 1, 2012
Educators use a variety of assessment tools to evaluate student performance and promote further progress. Of late, there is a growing movement toward using similar tools to evaluate teachers and principals. It seems only fair to extend that practice to the evaluation of candidates for the Frederick County Board of Education.

Prince George’s Voters Have Chance To Set A New Course For School System
Washington Post, DC, October 31, 2012
While the referendum on expanded gambling has dominated the political scene in Prince George ’s County, another critical decision is looming for voters: choosing who should serve on the county Board of Education.

Roberts May Leave DPS If Prop 1 Fails
Detroit News, MI, November 1, 2012
The emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools says he may step down if Michigan voters reject Proposal 1 on Tuesday.

MISSOURI

Closing The Academic Achievement Gap
The St. Louis American, MO, November 1, 2012
African-American students at Webster Groves High School have accepted the Webster Challenge to reduce the academic achievement gap between themselves and their Caucasian peers by 50 percent. The initiative focuses on academics, attendance and increasing student involvement in extra-curricular activities and community service.

NEVADA

Teachers Share Concerns About New Evaluation System
Las Vegas Sun, NV, October 31, 2012
Las Vegas educators view Nevada’s proposed teacher evaluation system with some trepidation, but also say it represents an opportunity to improve the profession.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Committee OKs $85K Nashua School Transfer For Charter Transportation, Teacher, New Curriculum
Nashua Telegraph, NH, November 1, 2012
An aldermanic panel gave the green light to a Nashua School District request to transfer funds to cover busing Academy for Science and Design students from Nashua, among other needs, on Tuesday.

Derry’s First Charter School On Track
Derry News, NH, November 1, 2012
The town’s first charter school is on track to open in 2013. Proponents of the plan to open a charter high school next fall say everything is on schedule. A committee is working hard on details for the alternative classrooms planned for space at Gilbert H. Hood Middle School.

NEW YORK

Parents Need ‘Trigger Law’ To Help Kids Win
Buffalo News, NY, November 1, 2012
The game plan is set. The coaching staff of activists is fired up. The 32,000 fans – from kindergarten to 12th grade – deserve a winner.

NORTH CAROLINA

CMS Wish List: Higher Teacher Pay, Control Over Charters
Charlotte Observer, NC, October 31, 2012
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board members are considering a plan that would ask state lawmakers for a change in the state’s budgeting timetable, more pay for teachers, and control over charter school operations.

OHIO

Charter-School Embezzler Gets 2 Years
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 1, 2012
Former board members defended a man who embezzled from their charter schools before a federal judge sentenced him to prison yesterday.

Cleveland Schools Won’t Have Promised Details About School Improvement Plan Before Tuesday’s Levy Vote
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, October 31, 2012
Voters who want to know exactly how the Cleveland schools would spend money from the 15-mill tax increase on Tuesday’s ballot won’t have answers before they vote.

OREGON

Portland Public Schools Gives Up On Race To The Top Efforts
The Oregonian, OR, October 31, 2012
Portland Public Schools has given up its chance to compete for up to $40 million in federal funds after failing to reach an agreement with its union about using test scores in teacher evaluations, one of the grant’s requirements.

PENNSYLVANIA

District Seeks New Index To Rate School Performance
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 1, 2012
In an unexpected move, the Philadelphia School District announced Wednesday that it was seeking an outside firm to develop a model to replace its controversial school performance index after finding flaws in the system.

TENNESSEE

As TN Issues Schools Report Card, Commissioner Urges Parents To Act
The Tennessean, TN, November 1, 2012
As Tennessee releases a detailed report card this morning on the performance of its public schools, the state’s top educator is urging parents to use the information to push for change.

TEXAS

Austin School Board Race For 4 Seats Could Shift Balance Of Power
American-Statesman, TX, October 31, 2012
Tuesday’s races for four seats on the Austin school board could shift the balance of power on the sometimes divided nine-member board.

WASHINGTON

WA Charter Schools Advocates Raise $10.8M
Seattle Times, WA, October 31, 2012
The campaign to bring charter schools to Washington has now raised $10.8 million in cash contributions.

WISCONSIN

MPS Blames Voucher Program For Tax Levy Increase
Journal Sentinel, WI, October 31, 2012
But Milwaukee Public Schools officials and board members say that if the district didn’t have to levy a tax to support the city’s expanding private voucher school program, taxpayers would have seen a decrease in their school taxes.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

Two Virtual Schools Reapply To Maine Commission
Portland Press Herald, ME, November 1, 2012
The panel that will review their controversial bids to open in September wants to be sure it can assess what students are learning.

Online Lessons Aid Teachers, Students In Classrooms
Boston Globe, MA, November 1, 2012
No one was standing in front of an eighth-grade math class at St. Mary of the Hills School, but fractions were slowly appearing in colored chalk, as if written by the invisible hand of a ghost. The voice of an unseen narrator emanated from speakers on both sides of the smartboard, explaining the equation step by step.

Oklahoma Legislation Authorizing Statewide Virtual Charter School Challenged
The Oklahoman, OK, November 1, 2012
The measure contains an amendment, which violates a constitutional prohibition on placing multiple subjects in a single bill, a lawsuit filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court contends. The amendment requires the state Education Department to spend $30 million on textbooks for public schools.

Filed Under: Daily Headlines, Uncategorized

My View: Why Mitt Romney is a better choice for education reform

November 1, 2012 By Shapiro Consulting

by Jeanne Allen
CNN
November 1, 2012

Editor’s note: Jeanne Allen is the founder and president of The Center for Education Reform (CER). The center was founded in 1993 to bridge the gap between policy and practice and restore excellence to education.

Schools of Thought has published and will continue to publish other views on this topic in the days up to the election.

“We can fix our schools because we don’t get the biggest share of our campaign donations from the teachers’ unions.”

This short, simple statement from Gov. Mitt Romney in an October 24 speech in Nevada sums up the real distinction between education reformers and protectors of the status quo, and reveals why when it comes to education policy, Romney would be a superior president – because he promised to put children, parents and teachers first, and to “put the teachers’ unions behind.”

The day has passed when that could be considered a partisan statement. We’ve heard stronger words, for example, from many Democrats, from former NYC Chancellor Joel Klein (also of the Clinton administration) to former New York City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz (now of Success Charter Network) who pressed the unions to explain why their contracts were protecting mediocrity instead of boosting high-performing teachers. Pennsylvania Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams helped then-Republican Gov. Tom Ridge push through a charter school law in 1997. And in 2010, Williams ran for governor on a platform of school choice. His core message was that parents and teachers should come ahead of unions. Sound familiar?

Education reform is not, by any stretch, a “Republican” issue. The national Democratic Party has always viewed the education establishment as its bedrock constituency – from unions to school districts. But it’s different at the state and local level, where Democrats often reject the status quo, joining in a diverse coalition of voices pressing for significant reforms at every level.

While individually most of those Democrats will vote with their party, they are nevertheless closer to Romney’s view of education than they are to Barack Obama’s. Many have confided to me that their hope is to change the Democratic Party’s culture from one that favors teachers unions to one that favors parents.

But we cannot wait another generation or more for that to happen. Our children only get one chance at a decent education, and the clock is ticking. As former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice put it, “Educational failure puts the United States’ future economic prosperity, global position, and physical safety at risk.”

We are falling behind the rest of the world, and millions of students are stuck in failing schools to which they are relegated solely by virtue of their zip code.

So how, exactly, would a Romney education regime handle education differently from the Obama administration? A number of ways:

Unions — It’s time to stop conflating “teachers” with “teachers unions.” They are not the same. Unions and bureaucrats stand in the way of real education reform. President Obama could have spent the past four years calling the unions on the carpet, but all we hear from his administration are platitudes about “getting along” and “collaborating.” Romney has no such allegiance.

School Choice — Organizations like the Black Alliance for Education Options have rightly made school choice a civil rights issue. But President Obama has resisted some programs that would provide such equal educational opportunities. His antipathy to a popular school choice program in Washington, D.C., which enjoyed prominent Democratic support (including then-Sen. Joe Biden) separates him from Gov. Romney, who has proposed that federal funds follow students to schools of choice if they happen to live in a state that offers it.

Charter Schools — President Obama and his administration emphasize their support for quality charter schools, but in the same breath say they are for “any school that performs well.” Performance contracts result in bad charter schools closing, but failing public schools get more and more funding under Obama administration programs. Such programs have favored the status quo while federal incentives for strong charter school laws have been ignored. An authentic advocate in the White House could make an impact on how those laws are molded, resulting in more quality charter schools.

Federal Role – Gov. Romney recognizes that the purview of these vital issues belongs in the states, closest to the parents and students most affected. In the Obama administration, a state can get additional funds just by promising to create new rules and processes favoring union-district collaborations (as if that, in and of itself, leads to achievement). Romney’s approach would be different: show progress using any tool, and money will follow success.

No Child Left Behind Act – Before it was enacted, officials were able to mask the data that proved schools were failing despite billions of dollars spent. A federal solution was no one’s cup of tea, but it was a response to state and local leaders abdicating their responsibility to make funding work for kids. But in implementing NCLB, rather than encouraging quality teaching and monitoring the results, school officials took the easy way, forcing teachers to obsess over tests. The Obama administration, responding to the outrage that resulted (“Someone actually wants accountability for results? The nerve!”), has issued multiple waivers to the program. But it wasn’t the law itself, but rather its poor implementation in the states, that caused the backlash. That will no doubt be on the list of fixes for a Romney agenda, whereas Obama will continue to defer to the unions. And if he wins reelection, the unions will further emboldened for having helped him to do so!

In the end, either side can enable or thwart the will and actions of local leaders and educators and parents. But no one can stop the tide of reform that has ignited a new generation of picky parents, choosy children and tenacious educators who find mediocrity unacceptable and know that no matter what their background or zip code, something better is out there waiting.

Whoever our country salutes on Inauguration Day, one thing is certain — reforms that center on choice and accountability must continue to rule the day. Washington needs to back off and let the people closest to the children make the real decisions about their kids.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeanne Allen.

Filed Under: Opinions

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