NATIONAL COVERAGE

Teacher Training’s Low Grade
Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2013
U.S. colleges of education are an “industry of mediocrity” that churns out teachers ill-prepared to work in elementary and high-school classrooms, according to a report by a nonprofit advocacy group that represents the first comprehensive review of such programs.

U.S. education slipping in world rankings: report
Washington Post, June 18, 2013
The U.S. education system is not as globally competitive as it used to be, a study by the Council on Foreign Relations revealed on Monday.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Horizon Charter School faces board vote amid complaints
Modesto Bee, June 18, 2013
The fate of Horizon Charter School and its 2,700 students is in the hands of Western Placer Unified’s school board after allegations of fiscal mismanagement and complaints from parents.

COLORADO

Child tutoring franchises expand in Denver, nationwide
Denver Post, June 18, 2013
Parents’ desire to see their children succeed in school and life is providing the opportunity for franchises in the supplemental education industry to rapidly expand.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

The problem(s) with D.C. school reform bills
Washington Post Blog, June 18, 2013
David Catania, the chairman of the D.C. Council’s Education Committee, has introduced seven school reform bills that, according to this Post story, could reshape the city’s public education system. Among other things, it calls for increasing funding for poor students, giving principals more power, altering the school lottery system, and ending social promotion.

FLORIDA

Activist for Anti-Charter School Group Now Supporting Charter School for Her Kids
Sunshine State News, June 18, 2013
In a historic move last week, parents at Rowlett Elementary School in Bradenton overwhelmingly voted to turn their public magnet school into a charter, but one of the parents leading the effort is a longtime activist for an organization that opposes charter schools and “Parent Empowerment” legislation.

Private schools lack oversight, accountability
Sun Sentinel, June 18, 2013
I used to be a supporter of school vouchers because I believed that some of our public schools were failing our kids, and private schools would provide a better education.

Pines to vote to contract with Charter Schools USA to manage schools
Sun Sentinel, June 17, 2013
Parts of the city’s nationally recognized charter school system may be privatized as early as this week and more than 300 teachers could lose their jobs.

Big changes at two Escambia schools
Pensacola News Journal, June 18, 2013
One struggling Escambia County elementary school will be revamped as a primary school next fall, and another will try to make its own way as a private school.

Governor Signs “Partial Fix” For Teacher Evaluations But Union Still Suing
NPR StateImpact, June 18, 2013
Florida teachers will no longer be evaluated – and have their pay based on – the performance of students they don’t teach.

GEORGIA

Charter schools group makes pitch
Augusta Chronicle, June 18, 2013
Officials with the Georgia Charter Schools Association visited Augusta on Monday to give their pitch as to why residents should be open to the concept of charter schools and what they can do to help launch one here.

Georgia Supreme Court weighs charter-school funding
Rome News-Tribune, June 18, 2013
In a case that could impact all charter schools in Georgia, the Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on how local school districts divvy up their funds between charter schools and traditional campuses.

INDIANA

The case remains for Excel
Opinion, Palladium Item, June 18, 2013
When Palladium-Item education reporter Brian Zimmerman returned from Anderson in the fall of 2012 after spending time at an Excel school, a charter school designed to give high school dropouts a second chance to complete diploma requirements, there was a deserved air of excitement.

LOUISIANA

Bobby Jindal signs RSD ‘parent trigger’ bill into law
Times-Picayune, June 17, 2013
Parents will have more control over what entity has authority for their child’s school under a bill signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday. The legislation allows parents to petition to shift control from some failing Recovery School District schools back to the local system, if certain benchmarks are met.

MARYLAND

More spending on education doesn’t necessarily mean better schools
Letter, Baltimore Sun, June 17, 2013
Mr. Norris says he wants “greater funding” for public education in America — as if more money necessarily means better education. Does it? Perhaps he needs to do some “analysis and research” at the “institute” he directs. The facts might surprise him.

MINNESOTA

As Minneapolis district touts new school plan, protesters plead for ousted charter school
Star Tribune, June 17, 2013
Minnesota School of Science supporters accused the district of acting hastily against a school they say has educated children better than other programs that have been housed at Cityview in north Minneapolis.

MISSOURI

Teacher evaluations, budget concerns, school choice on forefront of education reform
Missouri Times, June 17, 2013
With a fresh push at re-examining how public school teachers are evaluated and a new state Supreme Court ruling on school choice, education reformers across the state are eying the upcoming year as a major turning point for public education.

Area schools prepare to accept students from failing districts
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 18, 2013
After turning away kids for years, school superintendents say they plan to begin accepting transfer requests this summer from the first of what could be hundreds — if not thousands — of students seeking to leave two unaccredited districts in north St. Louis County.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Judge rules portion of ed tax credit program unconstitutional
Nashua Telegraph, June 18, 2013
A New Hampshire judge ruled Monday that the state’s education tax credit program could not provide scholarships to students to attend religious schools, calling that portion of the program unconstitutional.

NEW JERSEY

Christie Administration Censures Another Batch of Charter Schools
New Jersey Spotlight, June 18, 2013
Without much — if any — fanfare, the Christie administration yesterday said it has put another three charter schools on probation and issued warning letters to 11 others as it seeks to further raise standards for the alternative schools.

NEW YORK

South Buffalo Charter School undeterred by ECIDA setback
Buffalo News, June 18, 2013
South Buffalo Charter School officials pledged Monday to go forward with a new building on South Ogden Street, despite failing to win tax breaks for the project from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.

Graduation Gains Begin Leveling Out
Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2013
New York City’s high-school graduation rate dipped slightly in 2012 for the second consecutive year to 60.4% as it became tougher to qualify for a diploma, according to state data released Monday.

Destroying good schools
Opinion, New York Post, June 18, 2013
None of the Democratic candidates for mayor has a plan for the city schools other than not being Mike Bloomberg. That’s it.

NORTH CAROLINA

Charter high school with arts focus opening in downtown Raleigh
Midtown Raleigh News, June 18, 2013
More than 200 students have enrolled in a new arts-focused high school that will open its doors in downtown Raleigh this fall.

OHIO

Teachers”value-added’ ratings and relationship to student income levels questioned
Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 18, 2013
Value-added was supposed to be the great equalizer — a measure of schools that would finally judge fairly how much poor students are learning compared with their wealthier peers.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City School Board votes to expand attendance boundaries for new charter school
The Oklahoman, June 18, 2013
The Oklahoma City School Board voted Monday night to expand the attendance boundaries for the new downtown charter school, John W. Rex Elementary Charter School.

OREGON

Progress made in local schools
Herald and News, June 18, 2013
Last year, Mills was one of three local schools identified as a “Focus school,” or rating in the bottom 15 percent of the state.

PENNSYLVANIA

Keep an eye on charter schools
Editorial, Pocono Record, June 18, 2013
Monroe County is zero for three when it comes to leadership at its charter schools. On June 13, Dennis Bloom of Mount Pocono pleaded guilty to federal tax fraud for failing to report $180,000 in income in 2006, when he was chief executive officer of the Pocono Mountain Charter School, and evading $57,813 in taxes.

Program at Kensington CAPA guides seniors toward college
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 18, 2013
Aside from providing encouragement, the program, which served more than 250 students this year, also provided help with the college-application process, which might be foreign to first-generation college attendees.

TENNESSEE

Charter school applications face tall task
Daily News Journal, June 18, 2013
If charter schools are to take hold in Rutherford County, they’ll have to make a better impression than The Tracey Darnell Montessori Academy did here last week.

WISCONSIN

Tax deductions for private-school tuition wrong
Editorial, Appleton Post Crescent, June 18, 2013
Most of the discussion about K-12 public education in the state budget has been about three issues: how much money K-12 schools will get from the state, how much money K-12 schools will be able to spend and whether the state’s voucher school program will be expanded. But another issue has come up recently — and it would have a major impact.

Wisconsin Democrats courting GOP moderates to change their voucher vote
Journal Sentinel, June 17, 2013
Democratic leaders publicly solicited the votes of moderate Republican state senators to switch sides on the budget debate during a news conference Monday aimed at defeating the expansion of school voucher programs

ONLINE LEARNING

Suburban districts spend $320,800 opposing online charter school plan
Daily Herald, June 17, 2013
The appeal process for a proposed suburban virtual charter school was cut short last week — but not before 18 suburban school districts spent more than $320,800 in legal fees on the issue.

POORLY PREPARED. Only 11 percent of our nation’s elementary school teacher prep programs are providing “adequate content preparation for teachers in the subjects they will teach,” according to a report released today by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). Of the over 2,400 teacher prep programs across the country evaluated, only 23 percent are doing enough to provide teacher candidates with concrete classroom management strategies to improve classroom behavior problems. None of the 1,130 higher ed institutions in the 50 states and DC earned top billing. As the Washington Post pointed out, only Furman, Lipscomb, Ohio State and Vanderbilt received a ‘four-star’ rating. The report has surely sent shockwaves through the majority of America’s education schools. Take the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education, earning only 1.5 stars in this detailed analysis, but considered 7th best in elementary teacher education in U.S. News & World Report’s rankings.

NCTQ uncovered that three out of four elementary teacher programs are not teaching research-based, proven reading instruction. So it’s no wonder that less than 40 percent of our nation’s elementary school students can read at grade level!

POOR STATE POLICY. Maryland’s teacher preparation policy earned a D+, with only the University of Maryland earning a “three-star” rating for both of its undergraduate programs for elementary and secondary education. Coupled with the 7th weakest charter school law in the country, it’s hard to believe anyone would be crazy enough to try and start a school in the Old Line State. The founders of Frederick Classical Charter School (FCCS) have found that out the hard way. Under Maryland law, charter schools can’t make their own personnel decisions. Teachers and principals are typically placed by school districts and must remain covered by the district’s collective bargaining agreement. For Frederick Classical Charter, this has become a major problem. In an open letter, Tom Neumark, president of FCCS and longtime advocate for teacher reform, told the Maryland House of Delegates, “A lot of what is taught in education schools is trendy pedagogy that tends to not work very well… Anything you could do to improve our law to allow Maryland’s charters to function more like real charter schools do would be greatly appreciated. Charter schools will be a part of the solution in this area, if you will let us…”

POOR PERFORMANCE. June is busting out all over apparently, with bad news, that is. On top of ominous news regarding teacher prep and bad state policies comes news of another bad international ranking. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, we are the fourth biggest spenders with little to show for it. US college grad rates are declining and the impact on our national productivity as well as international standing is huge. How we spend money the Council says, is part of the problem, but so is the quality of our programs. All the more reason to hasten the pace of reforms that can solve the problems….

GREAT SOLUTIONS. Across the country states and communities are doing things to arrest the decline of poor programs, policies and performance:

Indiana. Imagine a K-12 issue where equity wasn’t the problem and all traditional students were equal to the same amount of money for education purposes. Such “back pack” funding would go a long way to ensure that money be spent to educate, and not to prop up buildings and fixed contracts that don’t work for kids. The Council on Foreign Relations report suggests inequity is part of the problem, a problem that is solved for some kids in states like Indiana, which takes its role seriously in providing equitable choices for kids, just not enough to cover the entire state – yet. According to School Choice Indiana, 9,000 Hoosiers last year “participated in [the opportunity scholarship] program statewide, allowing those children to experience an educational environment that is best suited to them. A list of qualifying private schools will be available at the meeting.” “We are thrilled that now more low- and middle-income families have the opportunity to choose a school that meets their child’s unique learning needs,” said Lindsey Brown, Executive Director of School Choice Indiana. “We expect more local families to take advantage of these programs in the 2013-2014 school year and we look forward to providing them with more information on their options.”

Louisiana. And if Diane Ravitch’s week wasn’t bad enough (Parent Revolution launched its http://truthinedreform.org/ to rebut the big hairy ones that are coming from her troops daily), out comes news from Governor Bobby Jindal, who just signed into law a parent trigger bill that would allow parents to shift control from the state’s Recovery School District to the local district if a school has received a “D” or “F” grade for five consecutive years and has a petition signed by a majority of parents in the school from the past two years.

Tennessee. The VOICE for Public Charter Choice campaign is on in the Volunteer State. The Tennessee Charter Schools Association has launched this public information effort to help inform woefully under-informed lawmakers about how charter schools do indeed make a difference for kids in and out of those schools, and to raise visibility among parents, who according to polls say they support them but are still relatively unaware of the finer details. Join the effort, and learn more here.

NOT-SO-SUNNY SESAME STREET. Just when you thought it was safe… meet Alex, the first Muppet to have a dad in jail. The Today Show reported yesterday that Sesame Street introduced this new character since the show is known for “helping kids open up about all sorts of serious subjects, from hunger and divorce to military deployment.” Today reported that one out of 28 children in the US has a parent in jail. (In fact, thoughtful reflection on having a parent in jail helped a MN second grader win first place in an essay contest.) There is such a strong correlation between schools and prisons that prison management companies are looking at fourth grade test scores to plan for future growth. Incarceration rates are a real problem in the US, but it’s not surprising given the dire state of our schools. It’s time to focus on the “great solutions” rather then letting “Alex” become a household name. No offense Alex – you’re cute and all, and represent a huge population of US kids – but if our lawmakers got their priorities straight, we wouldn’t have you hanging out on Sesame Street.

June 18, 2013

Delegates,

In case you hadn’t seen this, this report on teacher preparation is one of the best and most important ever released, and has implications for you as elected officials. Having read more than my share of education reports, I can tell you that this one is worth your time. Most teachers in this country are not selected or trained very well, which is a big reason why our schools trail other countries.

The bottom line is that schools aren’t screening out candidates who lack academic skills and aren’t training them in the practical skills of what works in the classroom. Our teachers are drawn disproportionately from the bottom third of college graduates, and we fail to train them in scientifically-based reading instruction, solid math content, history (we teach “social studies” instead)–and the other subject-matter preparation lacks content as well. A lot of what is taught in education schools is trendy pedagogy that tends to not work very well.

The training we are providing at the Frederick Classical Charter School is exactly what this report is calling for. If Frederick had allowed us to create an alternative certification program as we had requested, ours would have met or exceeded all the criteria in this report. Because Frederick County was unwilling to let us use the existing Resident Teacher Certificate program to do this (as other Maryland counties allow), we had to go to the legislature to try to get a law passed to allow us to stop being blocked by our local district. Unfortunately, it didn’t make it out of the Ways and Means Committee this year.

I hope you will change the law to let charter schools innovate in this area. The entire point of charter schools is to allow them to bring innovative practices to the state and not be blocked by the local district from doing so. Right now we are being blocked by our local district and Maryland’s weak law from innovating. The fact that local districts can block innovation is one reason why Maryland’s charter law has been ranked as the second worst in the nation.

Most other states give charters much greater freedom to innovate. Maryland’s charter schools don’t really function like real charter schools do, which means we don’t qualify for both public and private grants that require applicants to be within the mainstream of charter laws. This puts our charters at a disadvantage both financially and operationally. Anything you could do to improve our law to allow Maryland’s charters to function more like real charter schools do would be greatly appreciated. Charter schools will be a part of the solution in this area, if you will let us.

I’d like us to aim to have the best law in the nation. Is this something you would be interested in considering?

Tom Neumark
President
Frederick Classical Charter School

As the school year comes to a close, something remarkable is taking place in state legislative chambers across the country. In a span of two weeks, two legislative bodies have passed laws expanding school choice, and possible action in five other states could result in more than 33,800 new scholarship opportunities. That’s 33,800 children who will be lifted up through school choice.

Practically, this is the result of parents demanding the right to put their child in a school that best fits their child’s needs. Politically, it is because—like few issues these days—school choice transcends political parties.

Danahe, a refugee who struggled in her public school, received a scholarship in Iowa in the fall of 2012. She chose to attend a Catholic high school in West Des Moines thanks to the state’s scholarship tax credit program. When she first enrolled as a sophomore, she could not read, write or speak English. The program made it possible for her to attend a school where she is now flourishing through their Pathway to Success program. It is likely that Danahe has no clue that Iowa’s program expanded a few weeks ago, and received unanimous support from the Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate.

Who cares about the bipartisan impact? Special interests who oppose empowering parents who wish to make the best educational choices for their children.

Prominent liberal talk show host Rachel Maddow used her blog on May 30 to discredit school choice as a policy initiative only supported by conservative Republicans.

But only nine days prior to this article on The Maddow Blog, former Clinton White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry spoke at the American Federation for Children’s National Policy Summit. He urged Republicans and Democrats to come together. “There’s an agenda here and it’s about our children and we’ve got to work together to make life better for them and to give them the kinds of schools, the education and the opportunities that they deserve in a country that’s as great as this one…” McCurry said.

In the coming days, the North Carolina legislature will debate legislation that would provide educational choice to low-income families. The Wisconsin, Ohio, and Arizona legislatures are considering expanding their existing school choice programs. And, in Louisiana, the legislature just fully funded the highly popular Louisiana Scholarship Program.

Torriana Treaudo, a mother in Louisiana, doesn’t think about the politics, and she doesn’t consider Maddow’s blog part of the dialogue. What she cares about is ensuring her children receive the best education possible. And, she’ll proudly tell you that both of her kids are thriving as a result of educational choice.

Danahe has hope, Torriana Treaudo has optimism, and thousands of additional children across the country have educational options because of the strong bipartisan support school choice is receiving nationwide.

The message is painfully clear to the opponents of expanding educational options: Educational choice is not a partisan issue because the education of a child is not a partisan issue.

School Choice Indiana will hold an informational meeting for Decatur County parents interested in learning more about the tuition voucher program.

Supporters of the voucher program argue that all schools are not created equal. Whether it be due to the class quality, funding, or some other reason, every school is not the perfect fit for every child, they argue. Private schools are usually smaller institutions that can offer more individual attention to each child, compared to larger public schools that must accommodate many more students. According to the Center for Education Reform, the average tuition for a private elementary school is $6,733 and private secondary school tuition averages $10,549 per year. For many families in Decatur County, that tuition would be so expensive as to prevent low income families from sending children there and perhaps denying children the level of education and attention they require.

One Hoosier organization seeks to change that by informing parents of the educational options available. School Choice Indiana is a non-partisan, statewide non-for-profit organization dedicated to expanding quality education options for Hoosier families. They have several programs Indiana families can use to send their child to a school that best meets the child’s individual educational needs.

The voucher program information meeting will be held at the Greensburg Public Library in the conference room on June 18. The meeting is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Local parents that are interested in exploring the available educational options for their children may want to attend. The state’s school voucher program, tax credit scholarships, tax deductions and other forms of school choice will be discussed during the meeting.

For the 2012-2013 school year, more than 9,000 students participated in the program statewide, allowing those children to experience an educational environment that is best suited to them. A list of qualifying private schools will be available at the meeting. In addition, School Choice Indiana representatives will have information about participating charter and public schools in the area.

“We are thrilled that now more low- and middle-income families have the opportunity to choose a school that meets their child’s unique learning needs,” said Lindsey Brown, Executive Director of School Choice Indiana. “We expect more local families to take advantage of these programs in the 2013-2014 school year and we look forward to providing them with more information on their options.”

The voucher program allows parents to use some or all of the funds set aside by the government for their child’s education to pay for tuition at a private educational institution. Essentially, this separates government funding of schools from government operation of schools. Generally, parents are able to choose from religious or non-religious private schools. There are also options for parents with special needs children who attend a public school with no special accommodations or insufficient special education programs.

Also discussed at the meeting will be the eligibility requirements. Students assigned to a failing school may qualify for vouchers. Students who qualify for the state’s free or reduced lunch program are eligible for a voucher that will cover up to 90 percent of the state allocated amount for tuition. That number rises with income level.

Parents unhappy with their child’s current school or simply looking for a better fit are encouraged to attend the informational meeting to learn more about school-choice options. School Choice Indiana representatives will be available to answer questions and help parents make an educational plan for their child.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Education crisis not limited to poor school district
Commentary, San Diego Union-Tribune, June 12, 2013
Much of the debate about American education reform centers on the inner city. It’s widely understood that astonishingly few students from low-income urban schools are graduating equipped with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century economy.

Senate committee approves bill updating federal education law
Washington Post, June 12, 2013
On a party line vote, a Senate committee approved a bill Wednesday to update the country’s main federal education law by erasing some of its most punitive aspects.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Deasy and new board member Ratliff laud teacher report
Los Angeles Times, June 13, 2013
Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy on Thursday broadly endorsed proposals from an outside group for attracting and retaining teachers, including more money for those who take on difficult assignments and deliver measurable academic gains.

Schools eye smaller classes, teacher raises after California budget deal
Modesto Bee, June 13, 2013
Woodland school leaders want to shrink kindergarten class rosters now jammed with 30 students. Natomas Superintendent Chris Evans wants to add a week of school. And Washington Unified leaders will give raises to teachers in West Sacramento.

COLORADO

Boulder Valley discontinuing academic sanctions for poor attendance
Daily Camera, June 13, 2013
The Boulder Valley School District is planning to officially discontinue academic sanctions for poor attendance, relying instead on disciplinary actions for students who don’t come to class.

St. Vrain Valley’s STEM education filters down to youngest thinkers
Denver Post, June 13, 2013
He’s one of 75 students from kindergarten through second grade attending the St. Vrain Valley School District’s Innovation Academy for a Smarter Planet — a starting point for STEM emphasis (science, technology, engineering and math) that runs all the way through high school.

DELAWARE

Governor Markell signs bill to improve teacher preparation
Dover Post, June 13, 2013
Governor Jack Markell signed legislation June 12 that raises the bar for entering the teaching profession.

FLORIDA

Despite poor scores and closure, Pinellas charter school still outperforms some district schools
Tampa Bay Times, June 12, 2013
Two separate school superintendents in Pinellas County fought to close Imagine Charter School in St. Petersburg, citing chronic poor academic performance. This year, the district won.

Zephyrhills planners support charter school for autistic children
Tampa Bay Times, June 12, 2013
A planned charter school for autistic children brought elderly neighbors out in force at a planning commission meeting Tuesday night — in the name of safety.

State considers turnaround plans for two Manatee elementary schools
Bradenton Herald, June 13, 2013
The State Board if Education is considering turnaround plans for two struggling Manatee County elementary schools.

GEORGIA

Charter Schools Deadline Is Friday
GPB, June 12, 2013
Backers of would-be charter schools have until Friday to get in their petitions to a new state commission.

ILLINOIS

Parents have to be involved in their kids education
Chicago Tribune, June 13, 2013
Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett sought to swivel the spotlight this week away from the 49 underused Chicago schools that will close soon and back on the 632 that will not. Byrd-Bennett unveiled a five-year “action plan” to help kids graduate, to ready them for college, career, life.

LOUISIANA

Study: Louisiana’s teacher training redesign works
The Advertiser, June 13, 2013
Changes in the way Louisiana trains new teachers are winning praise after a study showed the students of new teachers are doing better academically.

MARYLAND

Charter school double standard
Opinion, Frederick News Post, June 12, 2013
Let’s say you were demoted at work for poor management of a project under someone else’s purview. Is that fair?
Most people would say “no,” under the premise that each person should be held accountable for the work under his or her control.

MASSACHUSETTS

Marlborough charter school faces transitions
Boston Globe, June 12, 2013
The Advanced Math & Science Academy has earned a reputation as one of the state’s most successful charter schools with soaring test scores, a waiting list of 600 students, and a nod from a national magazine as one of the best high schools in Massachusetts.

Springfield’s underperforming schools receive $4 million in state funds to accelerate improvements
The Republican, June 12, 2013
State education officials have awarded nearly $4 million for the final phase of a three-year initiative to boost performance at 10 underperforming city schools.

MICHIGAN

Long-term solutions needed for schools
Editorial, Detroit News, June 13, 2013
What is happening to Michigan schools? Why do so many seem to be imploding financially? Those questions are racing around the state, and while there are no easy answers, policymakers must address the matter before more students are locked out of their buildings.

MINNESOTA

Parents plead to keep charter school open at Minneapolis school board meeting
Twin City Daily Planet, June 23, 2013
Parents of students who attend the soon-to-be evicted Minnesota School of Science begged district school board members at Tuesday’s board meeting to allow the charter school to stay in its North Minneapolis building.

MISSOURI

Principals are unfortunate victims in charter school fiasco
Letter, St. Louis Post Dispatch, June 13, 2013
Regarding “Controversy at charter school raises questions about their governance” (June 10)

NEW YORK

The charter house rules
Editorial, New York Post, June 13, 2013
In a normal universe, snubbing nine out of 10 voters wouldn’t be a path to victory. But New York is no normal universe. It’s a place where an endorsement from the teachers union trumps the popular will — which explains why three of the five top Democratic candidates for mayor are running away from charter schools.

NORTH CAROLINA

Private school vouchers at center of budget debate
News & Observer, June 12, 2013
House lawmakers pushed forward their $20.6 billion budget after more than seven hours of debate Wednesday that was punctuated by a back-and-forth on private-school vouchers where the House speaker took the unusual step of participating.

OHIO

Coleman asks legislators for tweaks on charters
Columbus Dispatch, June 13, 2013
Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman has asked the state legislature to change a bill that would advance the recommendations of his education commission to make sure that charter schools do not automatically reap windfalls of local property-tax dollars.

PENNSYLVANIA

New Pennsylvania rules streamline teacher cuts
Morning Call, June 13, 2013
Laying off teachers just to save money is a violation of Pennsylvania School Code, but laying them off because the district is eliminating its middle school team-teaching model, for example, is fair.

Millcreek charter organizers reapply
Erie Times-News, June 13, 2013
The planned site of a proposed Millcreek Township charter school is not zoned for schools. But the organizers of the Erie Biosciences Academy have another plan: leasing or buying either Ridgefield Elementary School or Vernondale Elementary School.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Proposed charter school clears first hurdle
Island Packet, June 12, 2013
Parents and educators hoping to open a new charter school in Beaufort County received preliminary approval Tuesday from the S.C. Charter School Advisory Committee. Lowcountry Montessori School in Beaufort is one of 19 applicants for the 2014-2015 school year and would be sponsored by the S.C. Public Charter School District, not the Beaufort County School District.

TENNESSEE

Charter tenants give Memphis school surer future
Memphis Commercial Appeal, June 13, 2013
Few places in Memphis signify the change in public education as clearly as South Side Middle School. When the school year ended this spring, the post-World War II structure built for 2,000 students had fewer than 300.

TEXAS

Truancy Laws in Texas Challenged by Students
Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2013
A complaint filed Wednesday with the U.S. Justice Department on behalf of students in school districts here and in surrounding suburbs alleges that Texas laws impose “cruel and unusual punishment” for truancy, in violation of students’ constitutional rights.

No school house, no tuition: new pilot A+ middle school offers choices
The Leader, June 12, 2013
Families of sixth-graders have a new, tuition-free middle school option that offers customized learning in a Museum District setting – if they’re willing to be part of an experiment.

‘Fighting For, Not Against’ Eastside
Austin Chronicle, June 13, 2013
On June 5, Williams unexpectedly joined Eastside’s graduating class onstage at the Frank Erwin Center with the good news. After years of upheaval and disruption, and a failed attempt to hand the entire Eastside vertical team over to the IDEA Public Schools charter group, he approved the five-year partnership between AISD and Johns Hopkins.

WISCONSIN

Vouchers will be top political issue
Commentary, Herald Times Reporter, June 13, 2013
Vouchers to help pay for private, often parochial, education – financed by state tax dollars – seems headed toward being the top political issue next year in Wisconsin.

ONLINE LEARNING

School board members learn more about virtual school
Basehor Sentinel, June 12, 2013
Basehor-Linwood school board members learned a little bit more about the district’s virtual school at its meeting Monday night.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Private Preschools See More Public Funds as Classes Grow
New York Times, June 14, 2013
According to the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, about one-third of students enrolled in state-financed preschool programs attend classes conducted outside the public schools.

Raising the bar
The Economist, June 13, 2013
HERE’S a multiple-choice question: if the federal government penalises states where pupils do badly in school, but lets the states themselves set the pass mark, will the states a) make the tests harder; or b) dumb them down?

Assumptions of education reformers falling apart
Opinion, Connecticut Post June 13,2013
It has been five years since Bill Gates wrote to the Washington Post concerning his beliefs regarding education reform in this country. At that time, he cited how high schools needed to be improved by the utilization of standardized test scores as his version of accountability and progress.

Homeschooling and Charter Schools Growing, Give Families Options
Christian Post, June 13, 2013
Our education system is broiling with two major, conflicting trends: Centralization and school choice. The most rapidly growing trend is the explosion of growth over the past decade of enrollment in charter schools and homeschooling.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Deasy and new board member Ratliff laud teacher report
Los Angeles Times, June 13, 2013
Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy on Thursday broadly endorsed proposals from an outside group for attracting and retaining teachers, including more money for those who take on difficult assignments and deliver measurable academic gains.

State committee gives Chino charter another chance
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, June 13, 2013
A charter school that was previously denied three times may get the green light to serve students in the 2014-15 school year.

COLORADO

St. Vrain Valley School District toughens charter contracts
Longmont Weekly, June 14, 2013
The St. Vrain Valley School District is cracking down on charter schools’ financial reports.

DELAWARE

G.A. should pass H.B. 165 to reform charter school law
Letter, Delaware News Journal, June 14, 2013
As a parent of two children attending two of Delaware’s 22 charter schools, I implore our legislators to pass the charter school reform bill, House Bill 165, on Tuesday when it moves to the floor of the Delaware House of Representatives for consideration.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. teachers union president faces challenge in runoff election
Washington Post, June 13, 2013
Washington Teachers Union President Nathan Saunders will face challenger Elizabeth Davis in a runoff election for his seat, union officials said.

FLORIDA

Steele-Collins Charter academy seeks to solve ‘crisis’ among young men
Tallahassee Democrat, June 14, 2013
One of Florida’s longest-running charter schools took steps toward becoming an all-boys school on Thursday, in what its leaders described as an effort to stem a mounting “crisis” among young men.

Pasco charter school may get 15-year extension
Tampa Tribune, June 14, 2013
A charter school that has earned an A rating from the state seven years in a row could be getting a 15-year contract extension with the Pasco County School Board.

Don’t let failing schools off the hook
Editorial, Tampa Bay Times June 13, 2013
The argument that Imagine Charter School in St. Petersburg should not be closed for poor student performance because other failing public schools are doing even worse is not persuasive.

Bill to pay private school fees resurfaces
Times Union, June 14, 2013
A bill that would reimburse parents who send their special-needs children to private schools is surfacing in the Legislature, almost a year after a similar measure was vetoed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

ILLINOIS

Teachers union, charter schools rail at CPS budget cuts
Chicago Tribune, June 13, 2013
As principals got a better sense this week of their school’s budget for the coming year, officials with the Chicago Teachers Union and privately run charter schools — which rarely agree on anything — both sounded an alarm over the effects of potential funding cuts.

LOUISIANA

Supporters of breakaway school still hopeful
The Advocate, June 13, 2013
Days after falling short for the second time, supporters of creating a breakaway school district in southeast Baton Rouge asked the nearly 150 people gathered Thursday night whether to try a third time in the Legislature or work to create a new city in the area.

MARYLAND

Teacher Group Calls For End To Pay-For-Performance
WYPR, June 13, 2013
Only 11 percent of Baltimore city teachers would vote for their current contract again, according to a survey released today.

MASSACHUSETTS

Charter school’s absence at Marlborough meeting criticized
Metro West Daily News, June 14, 2013
Some city councilors on Wednesday night criticized officials from the Advanced Math and Science Academy after no one from the school showed up at an Urban Affairs Committee meeting to discuss the school’s plan to move its Marlborough facility.

MICHIGAN

House approves legislation to allow dissolving Buena Vista, Inkster school districts
Grand Rapids Press, June 14, 2013
The future of Buena Vista Schools and Inkster Public Schools became clearer minutes before midnight Thursday when the Michigan House voted largely along party lines to give the state superintendent and state treasurer the authority to dissolve the districts.

MISSOURI

Supreme Court provides hope for children in failing schools
Editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch June 13, 2013
In 1812, the writers of Missouri’s territorial charter, a document that would later guide statehood, wrote this: “Knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of public education shall be encouraged and provided for.”

NEVADA

New regulations for evaluating Nevada teachers win approval
Las Vegas Sun, June 14, 2013
The Nevada Board of Education unanimously adopted legislative changes to a new teacher evaluation system rolling out this fall.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Chamber honors Great Bay Charter School
Portsmouth Herald, June 14, 2013
Great Bay Charter School was awarded this year’s Chamber of Commerce’s Business of the Year Award for education/non-profit, a great achievement for the small school who only recently became involved with the chamber.

NEW JERSEY

Newark Proposes New Charter Admissions Policy
Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2013
Charter-school operators often have to defend themselves against accusations that they find ways to admit only the best students who apply, leading to higher test scores.

Atlantic City charter school needs to register 135 pupils
Press of Atlantic City, June 14, 2013
The new Atlantic City Community Charter School, or ACCCS, has until the end of the month to register at least 135 students in grades kindergarten through 5 for the 2013-14 school year.

NEW YORK

Charter director retires after creating ‘what a school should be’
Buffalo News, June 14, 2013
King Center Charter School on Thursday paid homage to its founding director, Claity P. Massey, by giving her a very spirited, heartfelt send-off into retirement.

Dezoning plan, blasted by upper Manhattan parents, is working great in the Bronx, officials say
New York Daily News, June 13, 2013
District 7 in the neighboring borough has had positive experiences with ‘choice’ plan. Upper Manhattan lawmakers and residents oppose it.

NORTH CAROLINA

School voucher bill included in N.C. House budget
Winston-Salem Journal, June 13, 2013
The budget proposal passed by the North Carolina House Thursday included more than some legislators bargained for. House Republicans included a controversial private school voucher proposal in what was otherwise the most public education-friendly of the state’s budget proposals.

PENNSYLVANIA

Teachers union, education official spar over funding
Reading Eagle, June 14, 2013
Public schools in Pennsylvania are facing a funding crisis, and the impact will be felt statewide, according to a report by the state teachers union.

SOUTH CAROLINA

School-choice debate looms in SC budget talks
The State, June 13, 2013
A debate over how much private school “choice” S.C. taxpayers should subsidize looms as lawmakers work to adopt a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin schools chief blasts voucher expansion
Journal Sentinel, June 13, 2013
State Superintendent Tony Evers and public school district leaders spoke out Thursday against the state budget proposal to expand the voucher school system statewide in the next budget, saying the expansion is costly for children and public schools across the state.

ONLINE LEARNING

Study Gauges Value of Technology in Schools
New York Times, June 14, 2013
With school districts rushing to buy computers, tablets, digital white boards and other technology, a new report questions whether the investment is worth it.

Teachers learn to integrate technology
The Ledger, June 14, 2013
“One thing that’s happening (is) it’s not a traditional classroom anymore,” Moyer said. “It’s a hybrid. Online (resources) extend the classroom.”

New blended learning charter high school graduates first senior class
Grand Rapids Press, June 13, 2013
Nexus Academy of Grand Rapids, the new blended learning charter high school launched this school year, graduated its first class of three seniors Thursday, June 19.

Nevada Virtual Academy offers an alternative, graduates 148
Reno Gazette-Journal, June 14, 2013
For the fourteen virtual students — some of which had never met their classmates before — gathered at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center with family, friends and guests to celebrate their accomplishment, the reasons for choosing a nontraditional high school education varied.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Can School Reform Hurt Communities?
New York Times, June 16, 2013
New Orleans may be the extreme test case, but reforms like these are reshaping public education across the country. The movement is rooted in the notion that “fixing” schools is the strongest lever for lifting communities out of poverty.

More U.S. Schools Go International
Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2013
An educational curriculum that originally catered to the children of globe-trotting diplomats is making rapid inroads in K-12 public schools across the U.S., boosting test results and academic readiness even at inner-city schools.

Honest report on teacher prep got a bad rap
Journal Sentinel, June 15, 2013
As a former teacher, school administrator and a current member of the National Council on Teacher Quality advisory board, I was not surprised to see criticism arise over a new NCTQ report, rating the effectiveness of teacher preparation schools and programs across the country.

School prayer: 50 years after the ban, God and faith more present than ever
Christian Science Monitor, June 16, 2013
School prayer was banned by the US Supreme Court 50 years ago, but there is probably more presence of religion in public school environments – through club ministries, classes, after-school and interfaith programs, and faith-based services – than ever.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Modesto charter school to offer 2nd chance at diploma
Modesto Bee, June 17, 2013
A second-chance charter school will open this fall to serve young adults who dropped out and regretted it. The Come Back Kids charter got the go-ahead last week to open on the former Mildred Perkins Elementary School campus in north Modesto.

COLORADO

Growing excellent public charter schools in Colorado depends on policy
Opinion, The Coloradoan, June 16, 2013
In Colorado and across the country, students, families and communities demand excellent schools. Parents want their children to attend schools where they can learn, grow and develop skills that will help them succeed in college and the workforce. Unfortunately, the supply of high-quality public schools has not kept up with demand.

Keep big stick in Colorado’s education tool kit
Editorial, Denver Post, June 16, 2013
Those who once backed Senate Bill 163′s school interventions should not give up on its goals.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Graduates from low-performing D.C. schools face tough college road
Washington Post, June 16, 2013
Johnathon Carrington grew up on the sixth floor of a low-income D.C. apartment complex, a building most recently in the news for a drive-by shooting that injured 13.

FLORIDA

New Pinellas charter recruits students from struggling neighborhood schools
Tampa Bay Times, June 15, 2013
As the director of a new charter school aimed at low-income minority children, Cheri Shannon has made all the right moves. She lined up local leaders to recruit families.

Byron Dobson: New Steele-Collins focus will need support
Opinion, Tallahassee Democrat, June 16, 2013
When news broke that Leon County’s first charter school was changing its focus and transforming into an all-boys enrollment, I took notice, but I was not surprised.

Rowlett Elementary embarks on risky move to charter status
Brandenton Herald, June 15, 2013
Amid all the major developments in the Manatee County school district of late in the wake of a year of turmoil, one stands out if only for the fact this involves teachers and parents united in pursuit of independence and excellence.

GEORGIA

11 Charter School Petitions Filed
GPB, June 17, 2013
At least 11 petitions have been filed by charter school operators seeking to run independent public schools authorized by the state.

ILLINOIS

CPS to lay off hundreds of teachers from closing schools
Chicago Tribune, June 15, 2013
Chicago Public Schools said Friday that 663 employees at schools the district is closing, including teachers, teaching assistants and bus aides, don’t qualify to follow students to their new schools and will be laid off.

KENTUCKY

JCPS seeks to turn around academic performance through innovation
Courier Journal, June 15, 2013
The initiatives were approved earlier this month by the Kentucky Board of Education, which chose JCPS as one of four “Districts of Innovation” — through a program the General Assembly created last year to give schools flexibility to experiment.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana needs to better prepare high school graduates for college and work: John White Op-Ed
Opinion, Times-Picayune, June 16, 2013
Over the past decade alone, graduation rates in Louisiana high schools have increased by more than 11 percentage points. Today nearly three quarters of Louisiana students graduate high school in four years, an all-time high. We’re not yet where we want to be, but we should be proud of that progress.

School choices limited for children in second OneApp round
Times-Picayune, June 16, 2013
For families entering the New Orleans public school system this fall or wanting to change their child’s school, it paid to get in early.

MARYLAND

Montgomery’s public Montessori school seeks financial stability
Washington Post, June 16, 2013
Montgomery County is home to a nationally renowned education system, yet parents have been clamoring for a spot at Crossway, the county’s first and only charter school. It also is the county’s only school that provides a public Montessori education, which encourages students to learn independently in a flexible teaching environment while emphasizing development of practical skills.

Washington County teachers being held accountable for student achievement
Herald-Mail, June 16, 2013
While debate continues over whether local or state education officials should determine how teachers are evaluated, teachers in Washington County Public Schools will have a new evaluation model for the coming school year that will hold them accountable for student achievement.

MICHIGAN

Ross-led charter management group aims to improve Jalen Rose academy
Crain Detroit Business, June 16, 2013
Doug Ross, who departed as Detroit Public Schools’ chief innovation officer in February, gets back into the education restructuring business July 1, when hisAmerican Promise Schools organization assumes the management of Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in Detroit.

Fortress Grosse Pointe: In world of school choice, community says ‘stay out’
Column, The Bridge, June 16, 2013
More than 80 percent of Michigan schools have opted to become school-of-choice districts since 1996, when they were first allowed under state law. Districts may open themselves to non-resident students, who arrive with backpacks full of cash – the per-pupil allotment from the state.

A Democrat for charter schools
Detroit News Blog, June 14, 2013
“You want to create a charter school? What are you, some kind of right-wing nut?” As a Democrat who helped create Michigan’s first charter school, I’ve had to answer that question (and meaner versions) often during the past six years.

Teacher of the Year: The merit pay disconnect
Detroit News, June 16, 2013
The Michigan legislature is considering merit pay for public teachers and conservatives are attempting to convince voters that this free market idea is essential to improving educational outcomes. Unfortunately these articles tend to be heavy on opinion and light on data showing that merit pay actually improves educational outcomes.

MISSOURI

Missouri should require that parents be represented on charter school boards
Letter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 2013
This letter is in reference to the well-done article “Controversy at charter school raises questions about their governance” (June 10) that referred to the recent firing of Grand Center Arts Academy Principal Lynne Glickert and the uproar from parents.

NEW JERSEY

Lawsuit: Newark charter school founder fired employees who threatened to expose illegal acts
Star-Ledger, June 16, 2013
Newark charter school founder Fredrica Bey favored employees who helped her raid the organization’s coffers and fired others who threatened to expose her wrongdoing, a former administrator and longtime friend alleges in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court.

State raises minimum GPA to 3.0 for teacher candidates
Press of Atlantic City, June 16, 2013
New regulations proposed by the state Department of Education could raise the academic bar for college students interested in becoming teachers.

NEW MEXICO

APS seeks 1-year delay on evals
Albuquerque Journal, June 15, 2013
The Albuquerque Public Schools board unanimously passed a resolution Friday, voicing concerns with the state’s new teacher evaluation system and asking for at least a one-year delay in rolling it out.

NEW YORK

Glimpse of New Teacher Ratings Is Offered
Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2013
New York City’s new system for rating teachers could be dramatically tougher on educators than the previous one, according to new data released by the city last week.

Maritime Charter School students dress — and drill, and study — for success
Buffalo News, June 16, 2013
The students are taking these diverse paths after spending their high school years in the uniform of the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps at the Western New York Maritime Charter School in Buffalo.

A Team Approach to Get Students College Ready
Opinion, New York Times, June 15, 2013
Sheffy’s school is one of three New York City public schools working with an organization called Blue Engine, which recruits and places recent college graduates as full-time teaching assistants in high schools, helps teachers shift to a small-group classroom model with a ratio of one instructor for roughly every six students…

Group plots to sway mayor’s race
Crain NY Blog, June 17, 2013
Education reformers and their financial-sector supporters are hatching a plan to dilute the power of the teachers’ union in this year’s mayoral race, according to a confidential memo obtained by Crain’s.

NORTH CAROLINA

State GOP rolls back era of Democratic laws
News & Observer, June 16, 2013
Since the 1940s, public school teachers who earn a master’s degree have earned more money as an incentive to teachers to become more expert in their fields. That is now on the legislature’s chopping block.

OHIO

White Hat Management to open new dropout recovery school in Middletown
Journal News, June 16, 2013
Following a messy divorce with its board of education, White Hat Management, the former operator of Life Skills Center of Middletown, will be opening a new charter school in the city this year at a familiar location.

Teacher pay and ‘value-added’ ratings largely unrelated
Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 17, 2013
There is little connection between how much money Ohio teachers make and how much knowledge they impart to students over the course of a single year, according to a StateImpact Ohio/Plain Dealer analysis of a new measure of teacher performance.

PENNSYLVANIA

Budget Cuts Reach Bone for Philadelphia Schools
New York Times, June 17, 2013
Under a draconian budget passed by the Philadelphia School District last month, none of these supporting players — aide, counselor, secretary, security monitor — will remain at the school by September, nor will there be money for books, paper, a nurse or the school’s locally celebrated rock band.

Karen Heller: An Academic Turnaround
Column, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 16, 2013
Seeking a respite from the relentless drumbeat of dire city school news, I headed to far South Philadelphia, in the shadow of the stadiums.

Teachers must do more than talk the talk
Editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 16, 2013
Philadelphia’s teachers’ union has been a diligent participant in efforts to increase state and local funding to the city’s financially struggling public schools, but it has yet to say what it will do to help.

Teachers union president calls for state funding formula
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 17, 2013
For the second year in a row, the president of the state’s largest teachers union is calling for the Legislature to increase funding to public schools and to create alternative revenue sources to fund them.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Felton hoping STEAM ahead as charter school
Times & Democrat, June 17, 2013
Felton Laboratory School is on course to become a public charter school as early as fall 2014. Administrators say the changed status would let the school increase its enrollment, add high school grades and collect more state money while maintaining the distinctive traits that set it apart from other public schools.

TENNESSEE

Todd Dickson’s Nashville charter school plan has diversity at heart
The Tennessean, June 17, 2013
When Phoenix-based Great Hearts Academies pitched a charter school in West Nashville after a push by affluent parents, it sparked a raging debate last summer.

WASHINGTON

Seattle School Board must do better for kids
Editorial, Seattle Times June 15, 2013
The Seattle School Board is rife with infighting and mutual distrust, says an outside consultant hired by the board.

WISCONSIN

Parent demand for options drives school choice movement
Oshkosh Northwestern, June 17, 2013
A record 44,106 students attended public schools outside their home district through the state’s choice program during the school year that just ended, data from the state Department of Public Instruction shows. More than 180 students opted out of Oshkosh schools.

GOP Wisconsin Wimpout
Review & Outlook, June 15, 2013
School choice ought to be a winner for Republicans who want to appeal to minorities and speak about upward mobility, but too many suburban Republicans are still afraid to challenge the teachers unions. That includes in Wisconsin, where reform Governor Scott Walker has been forced by his own party to accept only token statewide expansion of a voucher program.

ONLINE LEARNING

Girl defends her cyber school
Lebanon Daily News, June 16, 2013
The Senate Education Committee, which I chair, recently held a public hearing on cyber charter school funding. Many of the usual parties testified, including elected officials, school leaders and education associations. A parent also offered testimony on the issue.

Changes coming for online schooling
Daily News, June 14, 2013
Online opportunities for local students are increasing as school districts adjust to yet another law changing the rules of education.

Utah students make education work with the click of a mouse
Deseret News, June 16, 2013
Each with unique needs, these three students left their traditional public schools and logged on instead, enrolling in an online charter school. They left their computers and met in downtown Salt Lake City for a graduation ceremony last week, marching as part of Utah Connections Academy’s 10-member class of 2013.

Online students meet each other at graduation
Seattle Times, June 15, 2013
Insight High graduates got their degrees on Saturday and met for the first time many of their classmates at the online school.