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March 01, 2007
Education News for Thursday, March 1
Proposal would allow vouchers for students with autism - Advocates hailed a proposal Wednesday to offer Texas children with autism taxpayer dollars to attend specialized schools, but critics called the legislation a voucher scheme that would siphon money out of public schools.
Fed's school budget cuts toss burden on all of us - Editorial: You have to wonder how President Bush's budget proposal squares with the lofty goals of his No Child Left Behind law.
Educators working hard to ensure every student a quality education - Opinion: As the Jackson-Madison County School superintendent, I work in the midst of the ongoing discussion about whether a federal judge will be asked to determine if this school district has attained partial unitary status. I have listened to and read the various opinions with great interest.
Commentary: Families The Key For School Children - Opinion: No child left behind? Dream on. Policymakers are debating just what should be included in the reauthorization of President Bush's ambitious education law, No Child Left Behind. Teachers in the trenches, meanwhile, will tell you that the critical ingredient has always been missing: stable families.
Special Report: No Child Left Behind Report Card - The government's "No Child Left Behind" program is making sure of student proficiency in English and math, but strengthening the basics could come at the expense of the extras, so-called electives that teach kids how to live.
Charter School Stakes - Opinion: A recent study of Tennessee charter schools conducted by a University of Memphis professor (and principal investigator for the statewide evaluation program) reveals that these public schools operated independently of local school boards and their educational philosophies are working in Tennessee.
Quitting Public School - Opinion: I am through. After this semester, I am pulling my daughter from public school. I won’t be enrolling her in private school either.
Report: NC high school graduation rate is 68 percent - Slightly more than two-thirds of North Carolina ninth-graders earn a high-school diploma within four years, according to new data released Wednesday that state education officials said offers a more accurate, if not sobering, view of the state's graduation rate.
Prospects dim for bill giving schools say in charter openings - A bill that would restore public school districts' authority over most charter schools in their boundaries suffered a major blow Tuesday in the Colorado Senate when four Democrats sided Republicans to derail it.
Nasty Battle for Classroom Control - As diverting as it is to speculate on whether Hollywood will go for Hillary or Obama, the Los Angeles Unified School Board races on March 6 have the potential to more directly affect Angelenos, from families with children to taxpayers who foot the bill for the sprawling district’s more than 600 schools.
STAR not shining for Collier teacher‘s union - Despite overwhelming opposition from teachers and their representatives, a state-mandated performance pay plan likely will take root in Florida's Collier County.
School Board OKs bonus plan - Outstanding Okeechobee, Florida teachers will now receive a bonus under a recently approved controversial program.
Hard recovery for failed US schools - The last phase of the reform timeline outlined by No Child Left Behind poses challenges for underperformers.
State school board praises Deasy for his reform efforts - The Maryland State Board of Education gave good reviews to county Schools Superintendent John Deasy for his report on the progress Prince George’s public schools are making to improve student achievement and turn around a troubled system.
Ohio, Pa. leave students unprepared, report says - Ohio and Pennsylvania both got low marks for the "rigor of their standards" in the first-ever U.S. Chamber of Commerce Report Card on Education.
Vouchers Are Not The Solution For Families Of Children With Special Needs - Press release: Taking money from neighborhood public schools to pay for a private school voucher program is not the solution to helping families of children with special needs, the president of the Texas Freedom Network said today.
Educators hope banner year for schools becomes a habit - Let's go for a trend. That's the message public education advocates are sending lawmakers who this session approved a record $500 million in new spending for Utah schools.
Lincoln Elementary’s solution overlooks the problem - Opinion: The problem with schools is a sense of entitlement over parental choice, whereas ensuring special-needs children are fed, all children in these schools seem to be lumped into the same category; and, once again, parental choice gets thrown out the window.
The challenges of disparity: Unified administrator shows School Board the obstacles ahead - When Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard started her new position as Racine Unified, Wisconsin’s chief academic officer, she knew what she was getting into.
No Child Left Behind Falls Short, Study Says - A new study by the Center on Education Policy in Washington, DC, shows many more California schools are not succeeding.
A debate over numbers - Letters to the editor over proposed curriculum changes in Arizona to increase math and science instruction.
Graduation rates disappoint - Nearly one-third of all North Carolina students entering high school in 2002 failed to graduate within four years, according to a state report released Wednesday.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Grades States On Education (Edweek.org registration required) - With a new and highly critical report card offering a business perspective on the effectiveness of state education systems, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today weighed in with a prescription for more innovative, efficient, and better-performing schools.
Union to teachers: Do you feel safe? - After last Friday's attack on a Germantown High School teacher who suffered broken bones in his neck, the Philadelphia teachers' union wants to know how safe its members feel on the job.
Legislators OK state school voucher bill - A bill amending the new Utah voucher program requires teachers at schools where voucher students are enrolled to have background checks and requires the state to perform an audit of the program in five years instead of seven. That bill received final passage Wednesday.
Schools had a year for the books - Utah educators will remember 2007 as the year lawmakers approved a record $500 million funding increase and created the nation's most expansive school-voucher program.
Connecticut Governor Rell Cites U.S. Chamber of Commerce 'Report Card' to Support Education Budget Plan - Press release: Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today pointed to a national “report card” on education in the states released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as further evidence her budget proposals are essential to the future success of Connecticut.
Bush to visit New Orleans' charter school - President Bush's decision to speak today at one of the city's 31 charter schools amounts to a political endorsement of the alternative schools that have proliferated in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, a teachers' union official said.
Educators: Address charter school funding - Beaver County, Pennsylvania school districts are paying nearly $6.3 million in charter school tuition this school year. That represents about 75 mills of property taxes, and the state needs to address the financial strain, educators wrote recently to House and Senate education leaders.
Teachers Write No Child Left Behind Testimonials - A California teachers union leader is trying to rally a letter-writing campaign to make federal lawmakers aware of problems with the No Child Left Behind Act.
A response on 'No Child' - Letter to the editor from USDOE deputy secretary Raymond Simon: The late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan used to say that "everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." And the facts simply contradict Jeanne McCarthy's recent op-ed on the No Child Left Behind Act.
Principal charged as meth dealer - A Pennsylvania middle-school principal has been charged with dealing crystal methamphetamine after police found the drug in his school office.
Hoping to Quiet Critics, Bloomberg Picks a Parent in Chief for the City’s Schools - Faced with mounting criticism from parents over recent changes in school bus routes and plans to reorganize the city school system, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg named a veteran education advocate yesterday to represent them at the Department of Education.
State Superintendent Supports Rule Despite Delay for Some - Maryland School Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick told the State Board of Education yesterday that she is committed to having students pass high school exit exams starting with the Class of 2009, despite plans that would delay when students in special education and limited English proficiency programs must pass them.
UPDATE:
BUDGET PRIORITIES: Bill offers school choice - Parents could send their children to the public school of their choice under a bill proposed Wednesday, but lawmakers would have to come up with the bus fare.
A Puny Step Forward - Opinion: The Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind recently released Beyond NCLB: Fulfilling the Promise to Our Nation's Children, a report it touts as offering gutsy proposals to solve the nation's educational problems...So what sort of revolutionary changes to the status quo does the report propose? None, really.
Denver's rising kid count has DPS studying up on retention - Denver is projected to have more than 100,000 school-age kids within city boundaries by 2016 - up by more than 10,000 students from today, officials said Wednesday.
Vouchers' benefits - Letter to the Editor: In following some of the arguments against the school voucher bill I find most are extremely shallow and reflect a lack of understanding of school finance and basic benefits to all taxpayers through use of the voucher.
Charter schools dodge bullet . . . for now - Editorial: We warned at the beginning of this session that Democrats would use their enhanced political muscle to launch a full-scale assault on school choice and educational progress in Colorado, at the behest of hidebound and change-resistant teachers unions.
Seattle schools get a taste of Mandarin - Two whirlwind weeks after her arrival in Seattle, Zhu Dan's students can count to 10 in Mandarin, pronounce the Chinese names she gave them and sing a song about Chinese New Year to the tune of "My Darling Clementine."
Advocates Hail Voucher Plan For Autistic Children, Critics Balk - Advocates hailed a proposal Wednesday to offer Texas children with autism taxpayer dollars to attend specialized schools, but critics quickly attacked the legislation, calling it a voucher scheme that would take money out of public schools.
Parents of autistic children applaud proposed vouchers - Monty and Macy Humble of Dallas have struggled – like the parents of many autistic children in Texas – to find the right educational environment for their 8-year-old son, Crawford. That environment was not found in Dallas public schools.
Clear way for voucher information - Editorial: Cincinnati Public Schools should not be an obstruction when it comes to letting parents know whether their children are eligible for a voucher to attend a private school if they now go to failing schools.
Baldacci backs off on parts of school reform - The Baldacci administration is withdrawing its proposal to increase the state's student-teacher ratio -- and to eliminate funding for 650 teachers -- as part of his school reform package designed to slash costs.
City schools are as good as suburban, private - Opinion: A Rochester Teen Council member talks about their experience in the city's public schools.
Mayor's School Reorganization Plan Faces Strong Opposition - The mayor's school reorganization plan faced vocal opposition from an overflow crowd of elected officials, parents, activists and even students gathered at a Murray Hill church Wednesday night for a town hall-style meeting with Schools Chancellor Joel Klein.
Truthiness in Education - (Edweek.org subscription required) Opinion: At a time when America’s education policymakers have nominally embraced the idea of tying school reform to “scientifically based research,” many of the nation’s most influential reports are little more than junk science.
Region lags state in high school graduation - Getting students across the graduation stage in four years is a difficult challenge for school districts in Southeastern North Carolina, according to data released Wednesday by the state Department of Public Instruction.
Maps, numbers show DPS reform hurdles - The data isn't getting any easier to digest for the board members of Denver Public Schools, and time is getting shorter for major reforms to begin taking shape.
Special education is bigger priority at Capitol - Minnesota education groups say their top priority is a bill that would boost special education funding. That bill got its first hearing at the Capitol Wed. night.
Pons making significant changes to schools - Pons outlines five major priorities in a new brochure: school safety, school reform, staff effectiveness, magnet and choice options, and parent/community involvement.
Lawmakers propose plan to improve city schools - State Sen. Jeff Smith and State Rep. T.D. El-Amin, both St. Louis Democrats, offered a six-point plan to improve teaching and learning during an afternoon press conference at the St. Louis City Jail.
Nurture learning at home - Opinion: All the presidential candidates this year will talk about education. The conventional ones will talk about improving the schools. The creative ones will talk about improving the lives of students.
10 Questions For Ted Kennedy - TIME's Massimo Calabresi interviews Sen. Kennedy on political issues, including No Child Left Behind.
Experts: Expand teaching methods - National education experts are urging school districts to drop what they call a "one-size-fits-all" approach to teaching and replace it with a student-by-student plan developed by educators.
New state funding will enable charter schools to grow - The new law funds 5,000 additional students in charter schools for the 2008-2009 school year, which would allow the system to expand by about seven to 10 schools, a 20 percent increase.
First Autistic Charter School Thriving in North Salt Lake - New research says that one out of every 133 children in Utah has a form of Autism. And now Utah has its first-ever public school specifically for children with autism spectrum disorders.
AEA, lawmakers upset that some teachers did not get pay raises - The state’s largest teacher’s union and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers decried reports that some school districts used money intended for teacher raises for other purposes, including covering budget deficits.
New Doors Open for Students In District - After more than three years of planning with the city's leading developers and construction businesses, school and city leaders officially opened the doors yesterday of the Cardozo Academy of Construction and Design, a $2 million public-private partnership that represents the first construction of new classrooms for those disciplines in 40 years.
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