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August 21, 2007
August 21, 2007
Dr. Smith goes to Albany, special-ed teachers twice-paid, FL dodges accountability, school choice works... so why not?, 72,000 Louisiana dropouts since Katrina ...
Grassroots Action in the news ...
New York Sun: ‘Parents Union' Founder Aims To Counter Albany Teachers - Dr. Smith's goal for School Choice New York is to gather together the parents of New York and then take them to Albany to demand a say in the way their schools are run. Among the policies he and his members say they'd like to see: vouchers that will use public money to pay for private schools, more charter schools, and a better Web site for the state Department of Education.
Orlando Sentinel, FL: Checking on Teachers - As promised, the state launched a new website today that allows anyone to go online and check on teachers who've been reprimanded.
Greenwich Time, CT: Merit Pay Case Could Set Precedent - The district wants to include a component that would put a pilot program in place to pay some nontenured teachers based on their performance on an evaluation.
Education Reform Outrage in the news ...
New Orleans City Business: Bookending Education - Statewide, 72,000 students have dropped out of high school since 2002. As a result, half of Louisiana employers can’t find employees with adequate reading skills and 75 percent can’t find employees with problem solving skills, according to information at www.blueprintlouisiana.org.
WUSA9.com, DC: DC schools payroll snafu being investigated - Getting paid twice for the same job? Apparently some employees in the Special Education Department were paid by the school system and also by private companies that were also paid by DC Schools.
The Heartland Institute: Florida Will Omit Vital NCLB Information Due to Scoring Error - Due to an inability to accurately determine the learning gains of fourth graders, Florida's Department of Education will exclude the data from its calculation in an effort to avoid penalizing teachers and students for a scoring mistake that caused inflated scores on the third-grade reading portion of the 2006 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).
Tribune Chronicle, OH: Few schools eligible for EdChoice - With the loss of higher achieving students through the EdChoice program contributing to the Warren district ‘‘academic watch" rating, a change for the better could be seen down the road thanks to the three buildings coming off the eligibility list.
School Choice in the news ...
Voice for School Choice: If it works, why aren't we doing it? - School choice works, and it will work right here in South Carolina as soon as parents can pry free of the educational chokehold that politicians and status quo educators are working overtime to maintain.
CNN Money: Liberating Kids From The Classroom -- But Not Exams - A sort of hybrid model has emerged called "virtual public schools." Like charter schools, these are funded by public monies as an alternative to the local district school, and follow a standard curriculum run by teachers. But they are conducted entirely online and by phone, so students can use them anywhere -- even at home. Thirty-eight states have authorized these virtual schools.
Earth Times, ID: Idaho Virtual Academy Begins 2007 School Year - All students are assigned to a state-certified teacher and receive an individualized learning program designed to meet their personal education needs.
Dallas Morning News: No strange bedfellow left behind here - NCLB has changed the way school systems must deal with students whose low achievement they could once ignore. This is particularly important for Latino and ELL (English-language learners) because too few have received education services that prepare them to leave high school ready to compete for seats at the nation's top colleges.
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