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March 27, 2007
Education News for Tuesday, March 27
Mayor pursuing more charter, private schools - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said Monday that he has been in private conversations for months with educators and community leaders about establishing more charter and private schools across the city.
No time to stall - Editorial: We're partial to DFL Rep. Mindy Greiling's assessment of a proposal in the Minnesota Senate to slap a cap on the number of Minnesota charter schools. "It's a loopy idea that came out of left field," she said. "I don't know why we'd want to go backward," she added.
Charter Lottery - Editorial: Anyone wondering what is at stake in the fight between New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg, who want at least 150 more charter schools in the state, and Assembly Speaker Silver and his allies in the teachers unions, who want to limit the number to 50 while essentially mandating that they be unionized, can stop by the auditorium of the Harlem Success Academy Charter School tomorrow night and see firsthand.
Young Voices: Too much rides on poorly implemented WASL - Opinion from high school sophomore: How can one test during a student's sophomore year of high school carry so much weight that not passing it could drastically change the person's life, while passing it will affect virtually nothing beyond high school?
Virtual schools need equitable funding - Opinion: Providing parents and students the school options they need only strengthens our public education system and helps kids succeed. It is why I volunteered to lead the Indiana Virtual Charter School’s governing board, and why so many Hoosier students are excited and already enrolling.
Funding schools: Governor's plan not enough - Editorial: Gov. Strickland should be applauded for coming up with a clear proposal, but the one he released seems to lack the necessary ambition to fix the problem.
States Again Weighing Proper Enrollment Age for Kindergartners (Edweek.org registration required) - Lawmakers in at least three states are debating whether to move the cutoff deadline for kindergarten eligibility to an earlier date so children will be at least 5 years old when they start school.
Many teachers see failure in students' future - In a wide-ranging survey being released Tuesday, nearly one in four teachers in urban schools paint a sobering picture of students there. They say most children "would not be successful at a community college or university."
Teachers union to keep N.J. billboards - The head of the Newark teachers union said it won‘t take down "Stop the killings" billboards despite complaints from business owners and the new mayor that they‘re driving away business.
Highlights of school empowerment plans - Here are key elements of Nevada's rival school empowerment plans:
Join class: Lansing students, parents need to bolster advanced classes - Editorial: Lansing School District students and their parents have an important opportunity to boost enrollment in their Advanced Placement classes.
Voucher supporters launch commercials today - Parents for Choice in Education will debut two commercials Tuesday to promote Utah's contentious school voucher law. The ads have been in the works for a couple of months and are unrelated to a referendum effort to overturn the law, spokeswoman Nancy Pomeroy said.
Opponents of School Vouchers on Target for a Referendum - With two weeks until the deadline, opponents of school vouchers in Utah say they're confident they'll exceed the number needed to put the issue on the ballot.
Portland Regional Chamber Weighs in on Education Reform Debate - The Portland [Maine] Regional Chamber held a news conference to announce its position on one of the legislative session’s hottest debates – K-12 education reform.
Study: Education Dept. Fails To Answer Calls - The New York City Department of Education fails to respond to about half of the phone queries it receives from parents of special education students, according to a report to be released today by the city's public advocate, Betsy Gotbaum.
Teachers love their MESSA health plans - Nothing stirs passions over teachers' health care like MESSA, the largest school health care insurer in Michigan and an arm of the largest teachers union, the Michigan Education Association
Superintending Without a License (Edweek.org registration required) - Forget being a “highly qualified” teacher—in North Dakota, the state superintendent soon may not need to be a teacher at all.
Some schools want to change 'No Child Left Behind' standards - No Child Left Behind, which President Bush signed in 2002, is up for reauthorization this year, and powerful groups that include teachers unions and state officials are pressing for a major overhaul.
Education Commissioner Seagren presents No Child Left Behind recommendations - Officials from the Minnesota Department of Education, school associations and lawmakers crafted the series of recommendations on modifying the federal education law, scheduled for reauthorization next year.
Democrats offer plan for school spending - The Democratic majority in the Minnesota House unveiled a plan Monday to increase spending on kindergarten through 12th-grade education by $919 million over the next two years, with most of that new money funneled into general funding for school districts and for all-day, every-day kindergarten.
School/City Budget Math: Huh? - Editorial: At school reform meetings, City Council committee hearings, and in interviews, Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street has voiced outrage over how the School Reform Commission, under the watch of Chairman James Nevels and schools Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas, has let its budget go out of control. The mayor's criticisms would be more compelling if the city itself was holding up its financial responsibility to the district. But the district says it's not.
Brewer pushes parental literacy plan - Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent David Brewer III brought his plans for a major new parental literacy program to Washington, D.C., on Monday and received high marks from Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson.
Choice & control - Editorial: School choice and competition remain the antidote to public school mediocrity. Yet for those who cling to the status quo, any manifestation of either is pure poison.
Education study defended - Letter to the editor: Conservatives must be ready to open their wallets and invest more if needed changes are made. And liberals must take on their own entrenched political interests - especially the unions - if they get the money they need.
Many readers back changes to No Child Left Behind Act - Most readers responded that Congress should change the controversial No Child Left Behind education law, according to an online poll on azcentral.com. Dozens of readers also posted comments, opinions and suggestions.
Charter out-scoring public schools - Some charter schools in Utah County are out-scoring their regular public school counterparts, according to utahschools.org.
WASL: critical thinking - Letters to the editor on Washington state's achievement test.
Tax dollars taken from public education deserves vote - Opinion: Those of us who are opposed to using public money for private education have no problem with private schools. But when something affects how our tax dollars are spent and the future of our neighborhood schools, we just want to cast our ballot.
Paul Vallas responds - Letter to the editor from Philadelphia superintendent: The dramatic increase in charter schools and the number of children attending them underlines the district's support of school choice and community empowerment.
District Toughens Graduation Policy - Earning a D.C. high school diploma is going to become more challenging.
UPDATE:
South Carolina Considers School Choice Plans (School Reform News) - More than 4,000 people gathered at the South Carolina State Capitol in Columbia on February 13 to show their support for a unique school choice bill pending in the legislature.
Vouchers Eyed for Students With Disabilities (Edweek.org subscription required) - More than half a dozen states are considering legislation to offer private school vouchers for students with disabilities.
Group Launches Campaign in Support of School Vouchers - Today the group Parents for Choice in Education will launch a campaign in support of private school vouchers. Readers comment here.
Low-Income Parents Make Informed Education Decisions for Their Kids (School Reform News) - In January, the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington released a report showing low-income parents prefer to choose their children's schools rather than allow the government to do it for them.
Lawmakers Clash Over Gov. Gibbons' School Plan - A partisan showdown is going on in Carson City, and your child's education is stuck in the middle.
A choice for now - On the heels of the governor's hope to largely rid the state of the voucher program, three area schools have been approved to benefit from school vouchers.
Legal opinions cast cloud over referendum against vouchers - Even if a referendum intended to repeal the school vouchers is successful, it won't entirely eliminate the new state program, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said today.
Both houses OK bills on selection of school board - A change in how the school board is selected in Anne Arundel County is another step closer to reality with bills now approved by both the Senate and the House.
Studies divided on effects of school uniform - When a Napa seventh-grader was cited for wearing Winnie the Pooh-themed socks in class and struck back with a lawsuit, it marked an odd but not unprecedented clash in the decadelong spread of dress codes and uniform policies at public schools.
Recent Research: The Merit of Merit Pay Programs (School Reform News) - Merit pay programs are slowly inching toward the mainstream, a fact even the National Education Association (NEA) teachers union now concedes.
College Credit Plan for Connecticut High School Students Proposed (School Reform News) - Should a new proposal from Connecticut's Yankee Institute for Public Policy ever become law, the Nutmeg State might have a lot of high school seniors sitting in college classes.
Finding the Best High Schools, Part Three: High-Income Blahs - Jay Mathews: Every year many schools like Shawnee Mission East fail to make that list. The reason is an odd, dysfunctional attitude about college preparation affecting even our wealthiest neighborhoods.
STAR testing season kicks off in schools - California's students are sharpening their No. 2 pencils for the spring testing season that kicks into high gear today. That's when the state Department of Education will release school rankings from last year's STAR tests and goals for this year's round.
Reject plan to throw money at private schools - Editorial: It’s time for the voucher showdown in the House. That might seem odd, since there have been no committee votes, no subcommittee hearings on the bill to subsidize private schools by providing vouchers to poor kids who attend “failing schools” and largely illusory tax credits to everyone else.
Savings From School Consolidation Plans Uncertain (Edweek.org subscription required) Maine Gov. John E. Baldacci’s bold promise to save state and local taxpayers $241 million over the next three years by consolidating roughly 290 school administrative units into 26 “regional centers” is drawing questions about whether such savings estimates are realistic.
D.C. school system targets graduation rate - D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Clifford B. Janey said yesterday that the school system is making several changes to increase the high-school graduation rate and improve college readiness.
Senate Democrats preparing income tax hike for school aid - An education funding bill Minnesota senators passed Monday may soon grow when Senate Democrats propose increasing state income taxes.
No Child Left Behind tests firms - Experts say volume is straining testers.
High schools may push college-prep courses - Massachusetts would prod high school students to take a set of rigorous classes to graduate, under a new proposal that is less aggressive than in other states that mandate college preparatory courses.
There are no winners in NCLB law - Opinion: The No Child Left Behind education law celebrated its fifth birthday last January. And like any other youngster that age, it has a lot of growing up to do.
Tennessee Lawmakers Push to Restore Civics Education to School Curriculums - Since the federal No Child Left Behind law was passed in 2002, schools have focused on reading and math, and that has squeezed out other subjects like arts, music and civics, educators say. So lawmakers in Tennessee and other states have proposed bills this year to save civics.
California Launches New ELL Assessment (Edweek.org subscription required) - California schools began this month to administer a new assessment in Spanish for English-language learners, but the test will not be used for accountability purposes under the No Child Left Behind Act.
School charters new course - Fort Wayne’s newest charter school has already enrolled 136 students, and officials are optimistic nearly 400 more will follow.
Senate directs almost $500 million to special ed - The Senate slates almost $500 million toward special education — puts no new dollars on the funding formula — in the education finance bill it passed Monday.
Charter Schools: Missing the Grade - Escambia Charter near Pensacola made about $200,000 by hiring out students to clean roadsides -- and the school falsified attendance records, course schedules and grade reports. Even though the school pleaded no contest to grand theft, it remains open.
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