Daily Headlines for December 20, 2012
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FROM THE STATES
COLORADO
3 New Charter Schools OK’d Within D-11 Boundaries
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, December 19, 2012
The board of the state Charter School Institute gave the green light to three new schools in Colorado Springs.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. Charter Schools Band Together To Form New High School With Focus On Foreign Language
Washington Post Blog, DC, December 19, 2012
The D.C. Public Charter School Board offered support this week for a plan to open a new middle/high school that would offer International Baccalaureate programs and intensive foreign-language instruction.
D.C. Charter Schools Eye City’s First Pre-K-12 Language Immersion
Washington Examiner, DC, December 19, 2012
D.C. charter schools are set to offer students language immersion from prekindergarten through graduation for the first time, as four schools join forces to create an international secondary school.
School, In
Washington City Paper, DC, December 19, 2012
In late October, D.C. officials proudly announced that enrollment in nonprivate schools had ticked up 5 percent over the course of a year, putting the overall number of students in public schools at a level not seen in more than a decade.
ILLINOIS
A Charter Gut Check
Chicago Sun-Times, IL, December 19, 2012
The Chicago Board of Education earned some credibility points on Wednesday. At the request of Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the board approved only three of five recommended charter school proposals for fall 2013. The other two were deferred to an unknown date.
CPS Insists There Is No School-Closings List
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 20, 2012
Chicago Public Schools officials on Wednesday again said they don’t have a list of schools slated for closing, but board President David Vitale acknowledged the district has completed significant analysis of the issue.
LOUISIANA
Board Makes Charters Participate
The Advocate, LA, December 20, 2012
At the year’s final meeting for the sitting New Orleans Parish School Board, the board approved multiple amendments, including items requiring charter schools to participate in the universal enrollment process and adding stricter policies on bullying.
Neville Turns Again to BESE
The News Star, LA, December 20, 2012
Neville High School will apply to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for its charter after the Monroe City School Board failed to approve its application Tuesday night.
MASSACHUSETTS
Surgis Ranks 3rd In National Charter School List
Cape Cod Times, MA, December 20, 2012
Sturgis Charter Public School was ranked third in a U.S. News & World Report list of best charter schools in America.
MICHIGAN
Flint School Board Launches Committee To Explore Charter School Approval
Flint Journal, MI, December 19, 2012
The Flint school board Wednesday approved launching a committee to further explore the possibility of the district authorizing a charter school to open.
MISSISSIPPI
Charter Schools Will Help Mississippi Students
Hattiesburg American, MS, December 20, 2012
It’s good for Mississippi kids that lawmakers are gearing up to consider allowing charter schools in the state.
MISSOURI
KC Lawmakers, Educators Hope To Break Out Of Divisive Reform Issues
Kansas City Star, MO, December 19, 2012
Inevitably, Kansas City teachers and principals turn to anxious talk of a state takeover.
It’s an understandable phenomenon when the state’s regional education supervisor is in the room.
NEVADA
New Electronic-Based Teacher Observation Program Unveiled
Reno Gazette Journal, NV, December 19, 2012
With legislation from the 2011 Nevada Legislature requiring a new formal evaluation component, the Lyon County School District has been working toward compliance, and a recent report by Deputy Superintendent Wayne Workman focused on the electronic-based tool the district has chosen to use for its evaluation model, “iObservation.”
NEW JERSEY
Newark Teacher Wins First Contested Case Under Tenure Law
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 20, 2012
State arbitrator cites glaring contradictions between ratings by school’s principal and written comments
NORTH DAKOTA
More In-Depth Evaluations for Grand Forks Teachers
Grand Forks Herald, ND, December 19, 2012
Grand Forks teachers will now be assessed under a more rigorous evaluation system, marking its first significant change to the approach in at least 20 years.
PENNSYLVANIA
Western Pennsylvania Charter School Commemorates Diverse Traditions
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, December 20, 2012
Although the school opened only 15 months ago, students at Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania Charter School have found time to establish a holiday tradition — one that honors other holiday traditions.
School Lane Wants to Merge Bensalem and Neshaminy Charters
Courier Times, PA, December 20, 2012
School Lane Charter School and School Lane Charter School-Neshaminy are looking to create a regional charter school.
TENNESSEE
Honoring Christina McDonald and Adam Taylor — A Charter-School Teacher And A District-School Teacher Who Represent The Best Of Both Worlds
Nashville Scene, TN, December 20, 2012
Nashville already has 14 charter schools in operation, and the role of charters in the public school system deserves careful consideration and measured implementation.
TEXAS
Report: Irving Charter School Funds Benefited Superintendent, Family
Dallas Morning News, TX, December 19, 2012
At an Irving-based charter school, taxpayer dollars flowed freely to benefit the superintendent and her family while needy students received a subpar education, a state investigation alleges.
Powerful Push in Austin for More Charter Schools
MyFox Houston, TX, December 19, 2012
Close to half of Texas’ ninth graders could not pass the state’s end of course exam for basic writing. It’s a fact worthy of alarm and a figure certain to draw legislative action in the months to come.
Choice Key in Senate School Plan
San Antonio Express Times, TX, December 19, 2012
Texas Senate leaders outlined a public education reform plan Wednesday that emphasizes school choice and more competition but stops short of pushing controversial private school vouchers.
WASHINGTON
Planning for Washington State Charter Schools
Seattle Times, WA, December 19, 2012
I read, with mounting frustration, the sanctimonious and often misinformed op-ed “Getting charter schools right” [Opinion, Dec. 12].
District Won’t Expand K-5 Charter Enrollment
Ripon Commonwealth Press, WI, December 19, 2012
After several discussions over the past few months — and 45 minutes of closing arguments to boot Monday — the Ripon Area School Board opted not to allow K-5 charter schools to grow according to demand.
ONLINE LEARNING
Board Amends Virtual School Contract
The Record, MA, December 19, 2012
The Greenfield School Committee voted Tuesday night to clarify its agreement and amend its three-year contract with K12 — a Virginia-based online company that provides teachers, curriculum, online learning tools and physical course materials for Greenfield’s Massachusetts Virtual Academy.
Board Backs Online Tutoring
The Advocate, LA, December 19, 2012
The West Feliciana Parish School Board approved a one-year contract Tuesday with a company that provides online tutoring and other services designed to keep students from dropping out of school.