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June 29, 2007

Education News for Friday, June 29

Court rejects race as factor in school programs - A bitterly divided Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that race cannot be used to decide where students go to school, one of the most important civil rights rulings in years that could affect millions of students nationwide.

2 charter schools get one-year reprieve - Two popular charter schools that faced immediate closure because of low test scores won a one-year reprieve Thursday from the Los Angeles Board of Education. Discovery Preparatory high school in Pacoima and Pacifica Community Charter, a kindergarten through eighth grade school in West Los Angeles, will use the time to make the case to local and state officials that their schools are getting better and are worthy of keeping open.

Backlash on Voucher Funding Portends Battle Ahead - A Republican congressman from Virginia has backed off a bid to increase funding for the school voucher program in the District of Columbia. Aides to Rep. Tom Davis who represents northern Virginia, had initially proposed diverting about $333,000 in a financial services appropriations bill to the D.C. school choice program, but the congressman dropped the short-lived plan amid a storm of opposition from critics of federally funded vouchers for private schools.

Port dumps charter school - The Lorain Port Authority will not finance a controversial project -- the expansion of a charter school in Lorain -- the port director announced yesterday.  Executive Director Rick Novak said the recent teacher and staff cuts in the Lorain City Schools influenced the port's decision. Earlier this month, the schools laid-off almost 250 teachers and 26 administrative and support staff members.

Charter school recycles old campus into new home - After six years spent operating out of a local church and a nearby storefront, Lawndale's Environmental Charter High School will start the fall school season in a home of its own.

Arts school audit shows worsening financial situation - The financial problems faced by the Performing Arts School of Metropolitan Toledo got worse from year to year, according to an independent audit released yesterday. The charter school, at 2740 West Central Ave. and likely to stay closed this fall, had accumulated a deficit of more than $356,000 by June, 2005, the audit said.

Across U.S., a New Look at School Integration Efforts - The Supreme Court ruling striking down voluntary programs to integrate schools in Seattle and Louisville, Ky., left hundreds of school districts struggling yesterday to assess whether they must change policies that use race as a factor in school assignments.

How the Programs Linked to Race Worked in 2 Cities - The Louisville schools, once segregated by law, operated under a federal court’s desegregation order from 1975 until 2000, when the court found that the district had eliminated the vestiges of official segregation “to the greatest extent possible.” The next year, to keep the schools from resegregating, Jefferson County adopted the plan the Supreme Court struck down yesterday.

County mulls charter school - Albemarle County School Board members voiced support for an arts-infused charter middle school Thursday night that would be housed within Burley Middle starting in the fall of 2008.

Vote on vouchers coming - County election clerks will run the Nov. 6 special election on whether to approve school vouchers, and cities and counties will help pick up the tab under directives issued Thursday by Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert.  Herbert said it doesn't happen often where there are normally scheduled municipal elections at the same time as a special statewide election, and it complicates the process, but hopes a series of 13 directives from his office will settle any confusion.

Schools to find out their letter grades - After weeks of uncertainty, letter grades for Florida schools will finally be released Friday. Though the annual rating of public schools is typically released in mid-June, the process was delayed because of errors in scoring the third-grade reading portion of the 2006 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

Clarke seeks grant to start charter school - A group of business leaders and civic organizations working with Athens Technical College and the Clarke school district want to land a "career academy" here - a special charter school designed to offer advanced career and vocational training for high school students. The state has set aside $15 million to start five such academies, and the Clarke school district voted 7-0 Thursday to place Clarke County in line for a grant.

Park Slope catches charter school fever - A group of Park Slope parents that is concerned about the dearth of good middle schools in the neighborhood is starting a charter school that will draw fifth graders from the Slope, Sunset Park and Gowanus.

'No Child' fails the test of reality - Editorial: Not to worry, you're in good company. The popular Fox TV show routinely stumps the average Joe and the educated elite with questions gleaned from elementary school texts that are, well . . . a little embarrassing to admit you can't answer. 

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