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July 30, 2007
July 30, 2007
a 4-day school week, 72 failing DC schools, online education gains, NYC charters have the edge, NCLB shedding light on poor performing schools, ...
Grassroots Action in the news...
Vail Daily, CO: Asking the Right Questions - A Colorado news blog offers a template for the tough questions parents should ask when evaluating which school to choose for their student.
Dallas Morning News: Sounding Off: Who's Right on Schedule? - Parents and administrators clashed over a proposed four-day school week, which administrators say would save taxpayers' money. One parent notes, having a four-day workweek might save the taxpayers money; however, they will spend what they save, in additional childcare expenses.
Pioneer Press, MN: Minnesota Education/Online High Schools Are Niche Some Kids Need - Minnesota's online academies are growing, and news is spreading like wildfire over the tech-waves: text messaging, MySpace and blogs. Kids are wired like that, so online education is just a natural extension of the life they live outside schools. Advocates say online learning is a better fit for students who don't fit the mold at bricks-and-mortar schools. Students with physical handicaps that impair mobility, teen moms, professional athletes, gifted students and struggling students are among those who make up the student body.
Quad-Cities Online, IL: Readers Respond to Moline School's Restructuring Options - Parents and Citizens speak in the local paper about their opinions towards the district's restructuring.
The Tennessean: Teachers Speak Out on Upcoming Challenges - What are the challenges Midstate schools face when classes begin in August? Teachers offer their responses including: merit pay, teaching to prevent remedial college courses, parent involvement, community involvement...
School Choice in the news...
Education Week: Study Finds Edge for NYC Charters - Students in New York City charter schools are, on average, posting higher gains in reading and mathematics than they would have had they attended the city’s regular public schools, a federally financed study concludes.
Macon Telegraph, GA: New Law Gives Students With Disabilities Options - There are about 180,000 students with disabilities in Georgia, but Tofig estimates that only about 5 percent of them - or about 9,000 students - may use the vouchers. And, restrictions abound: only six weeks to apply, enrolled in public school last year, part of an individualized education program, has a special need from the list, the private school they apply to can meet their student's needs, etc.
Santa Cruz Sentinel, CA: Johnnie Wilson: Blinded By The Light - One CA teacher is grateful for the spotlight NCLB casts on the poor performance of schools serving poor and minority students. It is not acceptable that the teaching of poor and minority students should be hidden. It should be held up to the light, questioned, examined and made better.
Yahoo! Finance: Education Next: New National Survey Shows Majority of Americans Support Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind - The Education Next poll reveals that Americans are clearly open to a host of reforms to improve their schools, ranging from high-stakes student accountability to merit pay for teachers to school vouchers. The poll also shows that the public pulls no punches when grading the quality of its schools. Most give the nation's public schools only mediocre marks -- the majority give them no better than a C.
Education Reform Outrage in the news...
Examiner, DC: Reports Show DC Schools Failing Federal Education Standards - By law, any student in a failing school can transfer out to a successful school or receive publicly-funded tutoring. The article provides a spreadsheet of D.C.'s 72 failing schools, their label and the reasons they were put on the failing list.
Worchester Telegram & Gazette, MA: School Recruiting Race-Based - Parents might not realize at first that their race might dictate what options they are given.
Courier-Journal, KY: Judge Tosses Contempt Request Against JCPS - A federal judge yesterday abruptly dismissed a motion asking that an estimated 2,800 students be given the option to attend different schools because they had been denied their school choice because of race. Lawyers argued that failing to do so violated the Supreme Court ruling, and he asked that school board members and administrators be held in contempt.
Teachers' Unions in the news...
The Spectrum, UT: Will the NEA, parents or the state control public education? - Despite the unrelenting efforts of a generation of reformers, it is fair to say that we have gotten lost somewhere on the road to educational excellence. So we are faced with a choice: Keep driving around until the education-reform bandwagon runs out of gas, or swallow our pride, pull over, and look at a map."
WBBM780.com: Principals Inflating Teachers' Performance Ratings - 56 percent of CPS principals admitted inflating a teacher's rating at least once. Many blamed an ineffective evaluation form, while others said a union contract hinders their ability to lower a rating.
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