Daily Headlines for September 21, 2011
‘No Child’ Should Help Inspire, Not Demoralize
The Connecticut Day, CT, September 21, 2011
Until the well-intentioned, but broken, No Child Left Behind Act is overhauled, students will continue to be branded as failures.
Central Falls Partners With Charter Schools
Providence Business Journal, RI, September 20, 2011
City schools will exchange best practices with five local charter schools under an agreement announced Tuesday.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
Whitman Gives $2.5M to Summit Schools
KGO-TV, CA, September 20, 2011
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman has given $2.5 million to Summit Public Schools — a very small group of charter schools in the Silicon Valley. Along with her donation, Whitman is pushing other high power executives to join her cause.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Barge Presents New Schools Accountability Plan In D.C.
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, September 20, 2011
State Schools Superintendent John Barge on Tuesday presented a plan to measure school performance on a broader basis to the Secretary of Education, attempting to procure an exemption for Georgia from test-focused federal requirements.
FLORIDA
Pinellas School Board To Approve Controversial New Teacher Evaluations
St. Petersburg Times, FL, September 21, 2011
Frustrated Pinellas County School Board members appear poised to approve a complicated and controversial new way of sorting out good teachers from bad – but to hold their noses while doing so.
South Florida Public Schools Losing Students As Charter Enrollment Increases
Miami Herald, FL, September 20, 2011
The growing number of students attending charter schools is amounting to an increase in empty seats at Miami-Dade and Broward traditional schools.
Low-Income Students Gaining With Tax Credit Scholarships, Study Finds
Sunshine State News, FL, September 21, 2011
Growing participation in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program is being accompanied by modest academic improvement among the state’s lowest-performing students, according to a new study. And education reformers point to deeper long-term benefits.
A.A. Dixon Charter School Gets Reprieve From School Board
Pensacola News Journal, FL, September 21, 2011
Instead of closing down after this semester, A.A. Dixon Charter School of Excellence has the rest of the school year to bounce back from a rough few months.
Jeb Bush Leads Lively Education Debate In Orlando
Orlando Sentinel, FL, September 20, 2011
All the hot-button education issues – from merit pay to charter schools to virtual education – were on the menu today at a luncheon where former Gov. Jeb Bush and other education leaders debated the future of public schools in Florida.
Seminole Charter Turndown in Works
Orlando Sentinel Blog, FL, September 20, 2011
Bill Vogel, superintendent of Seminole County schools, has recommended that the School Board deny all three applications for charter schools that it is considering.
GEORGIA
Schools To Seek Charter Status
Gainesville Times, GA, September 20, 2011
If Flowery Branch High and Chestnut Mountain Elementary schools have their way, there might be two more Hall County charter schools added to the mix as early as next year.
ILLINOIS
A Tale Of Two Schools — One South Side Elementary Thrives While A Similar School Nearby Struggles
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 20, 2011
Brizard went on to ask how the school could be doing so well when there is another school “only about half a mile down the road, same kind of school, same kids, same neighborhood, (but) at the bottom of the pile in achievement.
Schools Gearing Up For Longer Days
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 21, 2011
As they prepare for longer school days starting Monday, teachers and administrators at six Chicago schools are busy settling the final details of teaching schedules, pickup procedures and extra enrichment activities.
INDIANA
Where Students Count
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, September 21, 2011
Enrollment numbers announced this week emphasized not only the effect of vouchers on Indiana’s public schools but also the unmet goal of tying funding to students.
Company Says Schools Will Have Activities
Indianapolis Star, IN, September 20, 2011
The new managers of three Indianapolis Public Schools this week are trying to reassure nervous parents and students that next year sports teams will continue to play, choirs will continue to sing and popular programs will continue wherever possible.
LOUISIANA
Shreveport Charter School’s Audit Unresolved
Shreveport Times, LA, September 21, 2011
Until EdisonLearning Inc., the former manager of the Linear Learning Academy in Shreveport, and the charter school’s board release their grasps on financial records, there’s no way to tell just how bad a condition the school is in, says an auditor contracted by the state to untangle a suspected mess.
MARYLAND
Keep A Partially Elected School Board On Track
Baltimore Sun, MD, September 21, 2011
This is a tale of two counties, Baltimore and Howard, and their respective school boards.
Here in Baltimore County, not a single school board member is elected. Each is appointed by the governor.
MICHIGAN
Detroit to Get 3 New High Schools
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 21, 2011
Three new high schools are opening in Detroit in 2012,
part of an effort to expand the number of options Detroit parents have to choose a quality school for their children, organizers said Tuesday.
MISSOURI
Kansas City, Mo. , School District Loses Its Accreditation
New York Times, NY, September 21, 2011
The struggling Kansas City , Missouri School District was stripped of its accreditation on Tuesday, raising the possibility of student departures and a state takeover. The action follows weeks of tumult that included another round of turnover of top leadership.
NEW JERSEY
New Focus on Middle Schools
Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2011
Soon after he gained control of the city’s public schools, Mayor Michael Bloomberg pushed to shut down enormous high schools and replace them with smaller schools. Now, his administration is pledging to do the same with middle schools, aiming to open at least 50 more in the next two years.
Facebook Funds Go to Teachers
Wall Street Journal, September 21, 2011
Some of Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift to the Newark school system will be given directly to public schoolteachers, one year after the Facebook founder announced the donation, said three people familiar with the plans.
New Jersey Can No Longer Afford to Have A Weak Charter School Law
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, September 20, 2011
New Jersey has a dismal record when it comes to getting extra education money from Washington. Most people remember the state’s lost bid for up to $400 million in “Race to the Top” funds last year. But that’s not the only rejection notice the Department of Education has received from Washington.
NEW MEXICO
At APS, Mediocrity For All Trumps Innovation
Albuquerque Journal, NM, September 21, 2011
At least that was the message from the APS Board of Education, which was overwhelmingly negative toward a proposal from Sandia High School principal Katy Harvey to start a challenging college preparatory program known as International Baccalaureate.
NORTH CAROLINA
How One School District Won Prestigious Prize For Narrowing Achievement Gap
Christian Science Monitor, MA, September 20, 2011
The 2011 Broad Prize for Urban Education went to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina, which has narrowed the achievement gap for both African-American and Hispanic students.
Private School Looks To Become A Charter
Charlotte Observer, NC, September 21, 2011
To make itself more accessible to area families, a Huntersville private school will seek charter-school status this fall.
Rutherford District Owes Local Charter School
Charlotte Observer, NC, September 21, 2011
A North Carolina school district must distribute money to local charter schools using a formula based on all the money in a specific account, even if some of those funds are restricted for a special purpose, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
OREGON
Oregon Congressional Candidates Differ On Federal Education Policies
Oregonian, Blog, OR, September 20, 2011
The four leading candidates in Oregon’s special congressional election have major differences about the future of two major federal education programs: the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind law and the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top.”
PENNSYLVANIA
Newest SRC Member Wendell Pritchett Vows To Focus On Finances, Superintendent
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 21, 2011
When university chancellor Wendell E. Pritchett Jr. takes his seat on the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, his priorities will be two areas: The district’s “fiduciary responsibilities” and the supervision of the superintendent.
Charter Schools Proposed In Harrisburg
ABC27, PA, September 20, 2011
The Harrisburg School District closed four schools this summer, but now there’s a plan to open charter schools.
RHODE ISLAND
New Providence Charter School Will Fill A Gap In Nursing Education
Providence Journal, RI, September 20, 2011
Supporters say that’s why the state will benefit from a charter school that offers graduates a high school diploma, college credits and the possibility of nursing assistant certification.
TENNESSEE
Power Academy Model Of Success, Earns State Honor For Progress
Commercial Appeal, TN, September 21, 2011
Power Center Academy, a Memphis public charter school in the Hickory Hill area, was named the middle school winner Tuesday night in the first SCORE Prizes, a statewide public school competition by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education.
Education Evaluations
Chattanooga, TN, September 20, 2011
Professional Educators of Tennessee understands that research clearly and consistently demonstrates that the quality of the classroom teacher is the number one school based factor in student learning. Our teachers continually point out significant issues and problems they face in the classroom like too little planning time, too much paperwork, unreliable assistance from the school district, and a general lack of support. But the new evaluation model has garnered much concern across the state.
Former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee Touts Education Reform Here
Times Free Press, TN, September 21, 2011
Michelle Rhee envisions public education as the nation’s great equalizer, an institution that bridges gaps created by race, income and geography.
WASHINGTON
Tacoma Classes Canceled For 7th Day Due To Strike
Seattle Times, WA, September 20, 2011
The Tacoma, Wash., School District has canceled Wednesday’s classes. That will make the seventh day without school due to a teachers’ strike.
WISCONSIN
Racine Voucher Expansion A ‘Gut Punch’
Capital Times, WI, September 21, 2011
Jim Bender, president of the advocacy group School Choice Wisconsin, has a ready answer for those who charge that using tax dollars for students to attend private schools is taking away money from public schools: “It’s not their money. It’s taxpayers’ money. It’s parents’ money.”
Future Dubious For Charter School Bill
Badger Herald, WI, September 21, 2011
A Republican bill introduced last spring that would work to expand charter schools in the state has been received cautiously by several members of the party concerned about its effect on local school districts.
School Choice Big Winner In State
Wisconsin Watch, WI, September 21, 2011
Sondy Pope-Roberts and Howard Marklein rarely talk to each other.
That’s not surprising, given the political climate. She’s a Democratic member of the state Assembly from Middleton; he’s a Republican from Spring Green. But there’s something she’s sort of dying to know, about his relationship with supporters of school choice.
VIRTUAL EDUCATION
Penn Manor Adds Virtual School
Intelligencer Journal, PA, September 20, 2011
Penn Manor School District is promoting an online learning opportunity as an option to spending $758,779 to educate students at cyber charter schools.
Metro’s New Full-Time Virtual School Reality
News Channel 5, TN, September 20, 2011
Some call it the future of education: virtual schools. For the first time, Metro Schools is now offering the option on a full-time basis.
Alternative Academy
Port Huron Times Herald, MI, September 21, 2011
Christina Stone’s high school graduation lacked ceremony with only her parents and a few school staff members present.
Online Education Vital To Improvement
Idaho Press-Tribune, ID, September 21, 2011
According to the leaders of the Idaho Education Association, Idaho’s education labor union, online education is wrong for Idaho students. If you have followed the testimony offered at the public hearings recently held around the state, you might have come away with the same belief.