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Daily Headlines for December 28, 2011

States Hit Turbulence in School Overhauls
Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2011

The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on states to make good on their commitments under its Race to the Top competition, after all 12 winners either scaled down plans or pushed back timelines to overhaul their public-education systems.

Battling Anew Over the Place of Religion in Public Schools
New York Times, NY, December 28, 2011

It has been nearly 50 years since the Supreme Court ruled that officially sponsored prayer in public schools violated the separation of church and state.

Teacher Quality Matters
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 27, 2011

Excellence in teaching is a continuum, and campus-based training programs are only the beginning of the journey to master teacher.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

Legislature Must Make Wise Decisions About Education
The Anniston Star, AL, December 28, 2011

For the Alabama Legislature newly under Republican control, 2011 was split between a winter and spring of triumph only to be followed by a summer and fall of turmoil.

CALIFORNIA

Gov. Jerry Brown Says He Will Increase Education Funding
Los Angeles Times, CA, December 28, 2011

The governor’s 2012-13 spending plan, to be released in January, assumes billions in additional revenue from his tax increase initiative. If the measure fails, Brown says, more drastic cuts would be needed.

FLORIDA

Public Schools Take All
Miami Herald, FL, December 27, 2011

The Dec. 22 letter Charter-school family says that Gibson Charter School offers sailing with Shake-a-Leg. Public schools can also offer this activity, as the sailing is funded by a grant and not the school. The grant is available to public and charter schools.

Hebrew Charter School to Open on Temple Beth El Campus
Sun Sentinel, FL, December 28, 2011

Former Congressman Peter Deutsch is opening one of his Ben Gamla Hebrew language charter schools on the Temple Beth El campus in East Boca. The school will start as a kindergarten through fifth grade for 200 students.

ILLINOIS

Three Vie For District 187 Charter School
Chicago Sun Times, IL, December 28, 2011

The Illinois State Board of Education and North Chicago Community Unit School District 187 announced Tuesday they have received three applications to run a charter school on the Naval Station Great Lakes.

Race To Top Tough, But Strong Schools Worth It
Rockford Register Star, IL, December 28, 2011

There’s good news and bad news for state residents as 2011 winds to a close. Good news first: Illinois discovered it was one of seven states to share a $200 million prize in the federal government’s Race to the Top competition.

MAINE

Steuben Exploring New Public School Options
Bangor Daily News, ME, December 27, 2011

Try, try again. Steuben Selectman David Glass is eager to form a committee to explore new options for providing quality public education for the Washington County community’s elementary and high school students.

MARYLAND

Grading Teachers Takes More Than Test Scores
Baltimore Sun, MD, December 27, 2011

Speaking as a retired independent middle school principal with 32 years of service, it was most disturbing to read The Sun’s editorial that appeared to search for satisfactory criteria that would “tie a teacher’s pay to performance rather than seniority” (“Baltimore schools’ uncharted waters,” Dec. 21).

MISSOURI

Study Finds Many Would Leave St. Louis District
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, December 27, 2011

Nearly one-third of St. Louis students would change schools if they were allowed to take advantage of a contested state law that allows them to transfer to better-performing districts, according to a study conducted as part of a lawsuit. If that happened, the district would have to pay millions in tuition and transportation costs.

NEW YORK

City Schools Risk Losing Federal Funds
Wall Street Journal, December 28, 2011

New York state warned city officials Tuesday that they are just days away from losing nearly $60 million in federal funds that hinge on an agreement with the teachers union to use test scores in evaluations.

King Draws a Line
New York Post, NY, December 28, 2011

Teachers unions are playing chicken with State Education Commissioner John King over some $105 million in federal funds — about $58 million for New York City alone — and King’s not blinking.
Good for him. He shouldn’t.

OHIO

Charter Schools Get Win in White Hat Suit
Columbus Dispatch, OH, December 28, 2011

The 19-month fight over whether Ohio’s largest for-profit manager of charter schools must share detailed financial records could be coming to a close.

Private Schools See Enrollment Swell
Middletown Journal, OH, December 27, 2011

Middletown Christian Schools is experiencing explosive growth with 530 students at the school and one strong reason is the state-supported voucher program.

School Reform Takes Time
Steubenville Herald-Star, OH, December 28, 2011

It may well be that Kasich and his advisers — after emphasizing they wanted to improve public schools, not just change how they are funded — are concerned about how the state can use its power better to reform failing schools. That and the funding issue go hand in hand.

PENNSYLVANIA

In Education, Doing The Same Thing Over And Over Again
Courier Times, PA, December 28, 2011

It is simple math to see how Opportunity Scholarships will not only allow students in under-performing schools to escape the monopoly of public education but will allow those same under-performing schools to spend more money on the students who remain in those schools.

Nathan Benefield | Santa Has Misplaced Corbett’s Wish List
Tribune Democrat, PA, December 28, 2011

For Christmas this year, Gov. Tom Corbett hoped the Legislature would gift wrap three things he could tie a bow on: An education reform package that included school vouchers, state liquor store privatization and legislation addressing gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

RHODE ISLAND

Gist Approves City-Union Plan For Providence School Reform
Providence Journal, RI, December 27, 2011

State Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist has approved a ground-breaking collaboration between the Providence schools and the teachers’ union to implement wide-ranging reforms in three of the district’s struggling schools.

Charter School Critics Blast Graduation Claims
Go Local Prov , RI, December 28, 2011

An anti-charter school group is questioning the attrition rates at the Connecticut high school run by Achievement First, the nonprofit charter management organization that hopes to open schools in Providence beginning in 2013.

TENNESSEE

Governor Orders Review of Teacher Evaluations
The Tennessean, TN, December 28, 2011

Gov. Bill Haslam is calling for a five-month study of Tennessee’s new process for evaluating teachers, in a move to head off legislative action spurred by recent complaints over the system’s fairness and practicality.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

The Choice On How To Educate Our Children Belongs To Parents, Not The State
Heritage Newspapers, MI, December 26, 2011

As a mother with three children enrolled in a full-time virtual public school, I am constantly explaining to folks that we are not home-schoolers. My children are “anywhere schoolers.”

GOP Lawmakers Want More Cyber Schools In Michigan
Michigan Public Radio, MI, December 27, 2011

There may soon be more online schools allowed to operate in Michigan . Republican leaders in the Legislature say they want to allow more so-called cyber schools for K-through-12.

Cyber School Cap Could Go
Port Huron Times Herald, MI, December 28, 2011

Another education-altering bill could go before the house in the next few weeks.