March 31, 2008
March 31, 2008
D.C. Parents Look Outside the Box for Public Education
Washington Post, D.C., March 30, 2008
Dozens of families choose yet another option: paying tuition for their children to attend schools in other counties or states under a little-known but nearly universal rule...
Reasonable Questions
Canton Repository, OH, March 30, 2008
The Ohio Federation of Teachers has crystallized years of public concerns about charter schools in the state into one large question for the IRS:
School May Help Students Graduate
The News-Press, FL, March 30, 2008
That school would be run by Advanced Learning Solutions of Tampa, an affiliate of Community Education Partners. CEP is a Nashville-based company that focuses on students who are at risk of not graduating.
'Fund The Child' Plan Would Be Bad For Education
Columbus Dispatch, OH, March 29, 2008
School choice is typically marketed as a vehicle to provide greater opportunities for some children and to spur traditional public schools to do better. Ohio's costly experiment with charters and vouchers...
School Vouchers Shouldn't Be Part Of Florida's Needed Tax And Budget Reform
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL, March 29, 2008
At a time when many Floridians are worried about burdensome property taxes and the reductions in government services due to shrinking sales tax revenue, the commission is pushing an ideologically driven proposal that has little to do with either taxes or budgets.
Charters Go to New Recruitment Lengths
New York Sun, NY, March 31, 2008
With charter schools expanding at a record pace in New York, recruitment efforts are also ramping up, and the clearest sign may be in the takeout deliveries.
Public Schools Shrug Off Private School Tax Break
New Orleans City Business, LA, March 31, 2008
Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a bill providing a tax deduction for private school tuition into law March 24, but lawmakers and school officials doubt it will have much effect on pubic or private school funding.
It's All About Homework at Virtual Charter School
Greenville News, SC, March 30, 2008
The new South Carolina Virtual Charter School touts itself as an individualized approach to education that leverages technology to draw students' interest…
Charter School Roulette
Providence Journal, RI, March 30, 2008
This spring marks the fourth in a row that Sara and Christopher Nerone will cross their fingers and apply to the Compass School, hoping that their daughter Sophie, 9, will finally be accepted to the free, public charter school in South Kingstown.
The Best, And Worst, Area High Schools
Houston Chronicle, TX, March 29, 2008
Prepping students for college - and helping them pay for it - is a cornerstone of this Houston-based charter school, which draws mostly low-income students whose parents didn't get a higher education.
March 28, 2008
March 28, 2008
School Choice 101
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, March 28, 2008
Education policy debates often result in very spirited arguments because change can be as difficult as pulling teeth. This is particularly true when a school choice option is on the table for discussion.
Charter Schools' Tax-Free Status Challenged
Columbus Dispatch, OH, March 28, 2008
More charter schools run by other for-profit operators probably shouldn't be considered nonprofit organizations, the Ohio Federation of Teachers contended yesterday in announcing that it had asked the IRS to examine whether White Hat Management schools should pay taxes.
Teachers Union Reconsidering Stance On Longer Day Or School Year
New York Daily News, NY, March 28, 2008
Now, the United Federation of Teachers' charter school has applied to participate in the pilot program, which will extend the academic year or day by blending nonprofit after-school programs with traditional schools.
School Choice: How to Spend
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, March 28, 2008
Since the state takeover in 2002, charter schools have grown rapidly; there are now 61 charters. The School Reform Commission believes now is an appropriate time to pause their rapid growth, and plans to approve only two of the 17 charter applications for the fall.
March 27, 2008
March 27, 2008
The Future Of Charter Schools
Belleville View, MI, March 27, 2008
According to a recent study by the Center for Educational Reform, a non-profit charter school advocacy group, charter schools have experienced "enormous annual growth."
Fixing No Child Left Behind
Charleston Post Courier, SC, March 27, 2008
In the six years since the No Child Left Behind Act was implemented, a loud consensus of educators across the nation - and our state - has found major elements of the landmark federal education legislation cumbersome, counterproductive...
Have the Presidential Candidates Forgotten Education?
NewsMax, FL, March 26, 2008
One of the issues the candidates have not discussed is education. What is the role of the federal government in education and what do they propose to do about the abysmal public schools in America?
Panels Adopt School-Choice Bills
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, March 27, 2008
Separate legislative committees each adopted a school-choice bill Wednesday, but only one emerged unchanged.
Cleveland's Promise Academy Offers Dropouts A Chance To Drop Back In
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, March 27, 2008
Promise Academy, a charter school for high school dropouts started by Cleveland schools CEO Eugene Sanders, stands as precisely the kind of smart, innovative idea that the district should support and expand.
Union Files Charge Against School
Chicago Daily Herald, IL, March 27, 2008
Illinois' largest teacher's union has filed a charge against the Cambridge Lakes Charter School for a Feb. 25 meeting at which the union claims the school violated teachers' right to organize.
March 26, 2008
March 26, 2007
Certifying Parents
Wall Street Journal, March 23, 2008
That so many families turn to home schooling is a market solution to a market failure -- namely the dismal performance of the local education monopoly.
Offering Teachers Incentives; and a Chance to Live Their Faith
New York Times, NY, March 22, 2008
...and primarily a program at Seton Hall University that combined both, offering a variety of incentives for recent graduates to commit to teaching for two years in a Catholic school in a low-income area.
GOP Moving Forward With School Choice Plan
Walker County Messenger, GA, March 22, 2008
When it comes to fixing Georgia schools, if the Republican leaders of the General Assembly had their choice, parents would have theirs.
Gender Matters In The Classroom
Minnesota Daily, MN, March 25, 2008
Single-sex education models have shown promising results. In coeducation classrooms, boys and girls are more likely to act in ways prescribed to their particular gender.
Support Growing For Single-Gender Education
Greenville News, SC, March 25, 2008
The Department of Education's Office of Public School Choice, created by state Superintendent of Education Jim Rex, is working with more than 90 schools that currently offer a single-gender option, and with 100 more that are interested in offering programs next year.
School Choice
Education Week, MD, March 25, 2008
Students who use vouchers to attend private schools tend to perform better on assessment tests and graduate from high school at higher rates, suggests a report...
School Choice Bills Face Political Squabble
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, March 26, 2008
The fight for control of primary education in Georgia faces important tests Wednesday as House and Senate committees consider a pair of school choice bills.
Put Charter School Decisions In State Hands
Allentown Morning Call, PA, March 26, 2008
A significant first step toward achieving that change will be for Pennsylvania to improve its charter school law. If a group has a high-quality charter school proposal, they should not be denied the right to open their school.
March 21, 2008
March 21, 2008
Climbing On School Innovation
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 21, 2008
This spring, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission is poised to decide the future of what has been called one of America's greatest public-education success stories.
Real Change Requires Real Competition And Real Choice
Nevada Appeal, NV, March 21, 2008
I mean, why don't these businesses just operate like our government schools: only one per neighborhood? Because competition works. It improves service.
Charter School Funding Vote Affirms State's Commitment
Portsmouth Herald News, NH, March 21, 2008
This vote confirms the clear message delivered by the House Education Committee by a 12-2 vote acknowledging the obligation of the state to support these state authorized charter schools.
Paterson Raises Hopes of School Choice Advocates
New York Sun, NY, March 21, 2008
But Mr. Paterson has also repeatedly taken positions that are at odds with the union. In 2003, as a Harlem state senator, he stood beside Mayor Bloomberg as the mayor announced a plan to house charter schools in public buildings.
Mayor Shows No Regrets, Signs Of Slowing Down
Rockford Register Star, IL, March 20, 2008
The mayor promised to increase his involvement in K-12 education by promoting charter schools within the public system.
Charter School Proposal Splits Residents
Palos Verdes Peninsula News, CA, March 20, 2008
Dozens voice opinions about TIP Academy. Supporters say it will challenge their children; opponents say it's a money drain and offers nothing new.
March 20, 2008
March 20, 2008
States' Data Obscure How Few Finish High School
New York Times, NY, March 20, 2008
Like Mississippi, many states use an inflated graduation rate for federal reporting requirements under the No Child Left Behind law and a different one at home.
Bandaging No Child Left Behind
Los Angeles Times, CA, March 20, 2008
Once again, Margaret Spellings is doing the right thing for schools by bending, if not actually breaking, the law.
Corporate 'Scholarships'
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL, March 20, 2008
If state lawmakers were truly concerned for students, this legislation would include more accountability for voucher-accepting schools and better safeguards for students who leave the public system.
New Slate Of School Reforms
Denver Post, CO, March 20, 2008
Flagging graduation rates, an over-reliance on remedial college courses and the face of education as Colorado knows it stand to change for the better, say the bipartisan authors of a long-anticipated K-12 reform plan unveiled Wednesday.
Charter School Backers Appeal LCSD1 Decision
Wyoming Tribune, WY, March 19, 2008
Charter school supporters filed the appeal Friday with the state board. The appeal criticizes the process LCSD1 trustees used when they denied the application.
Analyzing Autism Vouchers In Ohio
Policy Matters, OH, March 19, 2008
A new study by Policy Matters found that just 40 of the 127 approved private providers that filed claims for payment under Ohio's autism voucher program in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008 offered a school setting.
All-Boys Charter School Gets OK
The News Journal, DE, March 20, 2008
The state's first single-gender charter school now needs only the governor's signature to proceed with plans to open in Wilmington this fall.
Charter Replaces Old Catholic School
Detroit News, MI, March 20, 2008
A charter school management company plans to turn the former Catholic school into a public school for grades K-5.
Challenges Facing Charter High School Are Not Insurmountable
Grand Rapids Press, MI, March 19, 2008
Running a charter high school is not easy. So businessman J.C. Huizinga's decision to open one in Kentwood this fall is certain to keep him busy...
Charter School Foes Lobby PVP Board
Daily Breeze, CA, March 19, 2008
All it took was a glance for the Palos Verdes Peninsula school board to know which way the public viewed the proposal for a new charter school on The Hill.
Researchers Study KIPP's Impact On Students
Austin Weekly News, IL, March 19, 2008
KIPP charter schools, a national network of schools targeting low-income, minority areas, will be the focus of a research study to evaluate its impact on students.
March 19, 2008
Cheers and Jeers
Passing Eighth Grade Gets a Little Harder in New York City, where students will now be required to pass classes in a few core subject areas and achieve at a "basic level" in English and math. Such minimum requirements, apparently, are viewed by some as policies that "punished children for 'things they really don't have any control over.'" But surely wouldn't such children be punished even more by a system of social promotion that might push them through to graduation, but without sufficient education to turn that diploma into a living and a life?
Posted by Edspresso at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)March 19, 2008
U.S. Eases 'No Child' Law as Applied to Some States
New York Times, NY, March 19, 2008
The Bush administration, acknowledging that the federal No Child Left Behind law is diagnosing too many public schools as failing, said Tuesday that it would relax the law's provisions for some states...
Ohio Schools Need Reforms, Not Bickering
Columbus Dispatch, OH, March 19, 2008
Ohio needs to get more from what it spends, especially in its neediest schools. Any growth in spending should be contingent on doing things more efficiently and effectively.
Tax Credits For Private-School Grants A Win-Win
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, March 19, 2008
Fortunately, Gov. Sonny Perdue and the General Assembly have recognized the plight of these students and have championed legislation to give them hope through education choice.
Charter Schools Are Big Winners In Corzine Budget
The Star-Ledger, NJ, March 19, 2008
Long shortchanged in state and local funding, a majority of New Jersey's charter schools stand to see double-digit gains under Gov. Jon Corzine's new funding plan, according to state figures.
House OKs Charter School Aid Increase
Laconia Citizen, NH, March 19, 2008
The New Hampshire House has approved $1.5 million more in aid for charter schools struggling to stay open — this time making a distinction between those with local school district support and those without.
Voucher Backers File For State School Board
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, March 19, 2008
Less than a year after the Utah Board of Education refused to implement a school voucher program, a number of school-choice advocates are popping up as board candidates.
Living in a Post-National Math Panel World (Barry Garelick)
The British mathematician J. E. Littlewood once began a math class for freshmen with the following statement: "I've been giving this lecture to first-year classes for over twenty-five years. You'd think they would begin to understand it by now."
People involved in the debate about how math is best taught in grades K-12, must feel a bit like Littlewood in front of yet another first year class. Every year as objectionable math programs are introduced into schools, parents are alarmed at what isn't being taught. The new "first-year class" of parents is then indoctrinated into what has come to be known as the math wars as the veterans - mathematicians, frustrated teachers, experienced parents, and pundits - start the laborious process of explanation once more.
It was therefore a watershed event when the President's National Mathematics Advisory Panel (NMP) held its final meeting on March 13, 2008 and voted unanimously to approve its report: Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel.
Unlike Littlewood addressing his perpetual first-year students, the report assumes that the class has actually begun to understand it by now and moves on. It does so quickly and efficiently: "[T]he system that translates mathematical knowledge into value and ability for the next generation - is broken and must be fixed. This is not a conclusion about teachers or school administrators, or textbooks or universities or any other single element of the system. It is about how the many parts do not now work together to achieve a result worthy of this country's values and ambitions."
The report provides benchmarks for the critical foundations of algebra, setting out grade level expectations of mastery for fluency with whole numbers, fluency with fractions, and geometry and measurement. It also provides recommendations for the major topics of an algebra class.
It assumes that most readers have taken that first year class in "math wars", and can pick up on the nuances. For example, parents whose children have suffered through programs like Everyday Mathematics or Investigations in Number, Data and Space or other programs that grew out of grants from the Education and Human Resources Division of the National Science Foundation (NSF-EHR), know perfectly well what the following statement is about: "A focused, coherent progression of mathematics learning, with an emphasis on proficiency with key topics, should become the norm in elementary and middle school mathematics curricula. Any approach that continually revisits topics year after year without closure is to be avoided." Parents and others have heard the philosophy about "if they don't learn it now, they'll learn it later" - otherwise known as "spiraling". They've seen the results and they don't fall for the line. In a similar vein, parents (and teachers) who don't fall for alternative and "student-invented" algorithms will be glad that the report prescribed the "standard" arithmetic algorithms, a topic on which the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has looked the other way, even in the Focal Points, and something the NSF-EHR-engineered programs don't even mention, let alone require.
When the report talks about the paucity of valid research on instructional practices, those who have taken the first-year class nod knowingly, recalling the countless times they have heard that "research shows" what they know not to be true. The report offers this statement: "Instructional practice should be informed by high-quality research, when available, and by the best professional judgment and experience of accomplished classroom teachers. High-quality research does not support the contention that instruction should be either entirely 'student-centered' or 'teacher-directed.' Research indicates that some forms of particular instructional practices can have a positive impact under specified conditions." This statement will no doubt be read many ways. Teachers who have bought into many of the NSF-EHR-flavored math programs will say that they use a "balanced approach" to teaching, even though they may use programs that favor a "student-centered" approach. There are also teachers who maintain a truly balanced approach and who, while rejecting the discovery-oriented and textbook-less programs being foisted on schools across the country, are admonished by their administrators to do as they are told.
I attended the final meeting of the NMP. It was held at the Longfellow Middle School, where one of the panelists, Vern Williams, teaches math. Some statements of individual panelists stand out. Deborah Ball, Dean of the School of Education at University of Michigan stated she would be disappointed if the report were reduced to yet another math wars story, and people look for areas of disagreement, and reduce it to simplistic slogans. (I wonder then if she is disappointed in a statement by Steven Rasmussen, publisher of Key Curriculum Press, which publishes math textbooks in which he said "This report is biased in favor of teaching arithmetic and not [modern] mathematics...and it's biased in favor of procedures and not applied skill." The statement, while of the type Ms. Ball was deploring, was on the side of the quarrel she probably didn't have in mind.)
David Geary, a cognitive developmental psychologist at University of Missouri, said that the reason a panel such as NMP was formed was because of the failure of schools of education to do what the country wants: Train teachers using research-based techniques, rather than running a playground for untested methods. Schools of education should be held accountable for their work, he said.
Vern Williams noted the current state of affairs in math education in which correct answers have been deemed over-rated and algebra has been redefined to include statistics and pattern recognition. He expressed his hopes that as a result of the NMP report teachers will feel it is once again crucial to consider content - and correct answers.
During a break in the meeting, however, an event occurred which to my mind simultaneously underscored and transcended the importance of NMP's report. Williams' 8th grade algebra class which had assembled at the back of the gym gathered, in rock fan fashion, around Hung-Hsi Wu - a panelist and math professor from Berkeley - to get his autograph and take pictures.
"I guess this shows that kids can get excited about math without sitting in groups doing projects and using math textbooks that look like video games," Williams said.
I hope for the best in this post-NMP world.
Barry Garelick is an analyst for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. He is a national advisor to NYC HOLD, an education advocacy organization that addresses mathematics education in schools throughout the United States.
Posted by Featured Guest at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)March 18, 2008
March 18, 2007
In Our Schools: Two Educators' Groups Weigh In
New York Times, NY, March 18, 2008
Conservatives should not blame teachers' unions for wanting a voice in decision-making in our schools.
Archdiocese Says Parents, Teachers, Support Conversion Plan
D.C. Examiner, D.C., March 18, 2008
Archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Gibbs says 98 percent of teachers and 93 percent of parents have signed forms in support of the plan.
School District Cyber-Charter Is Innovative, But State Must Complete Reform Effort
Allentown Morning Call, PA, March 18, 2008
By making the cyber school a part of Pleasant Valley School District, funding that would have been lost because of a decrease in students can be kept on district books.
There's A Big Scramble In Charter School World
Houston Chronicle, TX, March 17, 2008
But with 39 applicants vying for Texas' final four charters, educators are on edge to see if the state hands out the last of the 215 charter contracts that it's authorized to issue for alternative, tuition-free public schools.
Don't Punish Charter Schools
Concord Monitor, NH, March 17, 2008
I am the mother of a kindergarten student attending Strong Foundations Charter School. Her father and I did a great deal of research in considering her placement.
March 17, 2008
Single-Minded Focus on Success
Jay Greene, now part the research arm at University of Arkansas, walks us through the accumulating research that illuminates the positive influence charters are having on student achievement and system improvement. Greene reminds us, it's all about giving families choices - choices to opt out, and choices to opt in: "Students learn more when they can choose a charter school. Competition from charter schools also spurs improvement in traditional public schools." Charter founder Jack L. Perry is working to have just impact on young men in Delaware that other charters are having in other states. Research has found that single-sex schools provide an excellent educational option particularly for at-risk boys and girls underserved by the traditional school system, and Perry is working to make that option - one that has been available to affluent families for decades - a reality for more at-risk boys in the First State.
Posted by Edspresso at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)March 17, 2008
Law Opens Opportunities for Disabled
Washington Post, D.C., March 17, 2008
With such success stories, many parents of disabled students offer compelling testimony for the landmark education law amid signs that Congress could soon revive stalled efforts to renew it.
Teachers' Unions Are Ruining Our Kids Schools
D.C. Examiner, D.C., March 17, 2008
While American businesses are shaping the twenty-first century, our public schools are stuck in the nineteenth.
Charter Schools Get Top Marks
Business Week, National, March 16, 2008
The bulk of research suggests that not only do students who choose to attend charter schools benefit academically but students who remain in traditional public schools also benefit when those schools have to compete with charters.
Is Separate ... More Equal?
The News Journal, DE, March 16, 2008
Boys and girls' charter and traditional public schools are doing well in high-need areas including New York, Houston and Chicago.
Decatur Board Rethinks Charter School Status
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, March 16, 2008
Decatur city school board members, upset by a proposal in the state Legislature that they say would force local education dollars into the hands of charter schools, have begun to talk about scuttling their request to become one of Georgia's first charter school systems.
Charter Schools Need More Oversight
Columbus Dispatch, OH, March 15, 2008
But the way they are created, promoted, funded and monitored in Ohio makes them open to questionable promises and practices. At stake are a lot of money and the education of thousands of students.
Growing Cheers for the Home-Schooled Team
New York Times, NY, March 16, 2008
Now, home-school players are tracked by scouts, and dozens of them have accepted scholarships to colleges as small as Blue Mountain in Mississippi and as well known as Iowa State.
Some Missed Gist Of School Choice Report
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, March 15, 2008
We released a set of five baseline reports on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program last month, the first new studies of the voucher program using individual student data since 1995.
March 14, 2008
March 14, 2008
Democrat's Plan Would Boost Charter Schools
Education Week, MD, March 13, 2008
A prominent Democrat in Congress is proposing an alternative to President Bush's $300 million private-school-choice plan that would instead supplement the budgets of the nation's charter schools.
A Product of Private Schools, Advocating for Public Education
New York Times, NY, March 14, 2008
Zeke M. Vanderhoek, the upstart behind the extravagant, much-debated idea that paying teachers at his fledgling charter school $125,000 a year will translate into a top-notch education for students…
Study Notes Economic Ills of Low Graduation Rates
Washington Post, D.C., March 14, 2008
The District would save $70 million a year in crime-related costs if the male graduation rate increased by 5 percent, a study by an independent policy and research organization concluded yesterday.
Georgia Charter School's Slow Growth Examined
WABE, GA, March 13, 2008
Former Governor Roy Barnes once said he hoped 500 Charter Schools would be established in Georgia before he left office. Today, less than one fifth that number are operating.
Board Puts Severe Limits To Online Charter Schools
The Oregonian, OR, March 14, 2008
Online charter schools can operate in Oregon only under severe restrictions, including limits on enrollment and securing permission from each local school district before enrolling students, the state Board of Education decided today.
It Looks Like A Duck
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX, March 14, 2008
An appointed state panel headed by Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott has adopted a plan to give public school dropouts "multiple pathways" for earning a diploma, some of which could look an awful lot like private school vouchers.
March 13, 2008
Whose Funeral?
Maureen Downey fancies herself a great observer of politics in Georgia. If only she'd looked at successful action beyond her state's borders before making ridiculous statements about how legislative efforts to give children more quality schools is somehow killing public education.
"A mausoleum for public education" is what she calls the move in the heretofore backwards state of Georgia to create scholarship opportunities for children who are stuck in failing schools. How about the mausoleum that these under-educated kids-turned-grown-ups really go to, especially those who drop out? Has she seen the statistics on the positive correlation between poor education and poverty, unemployment and incarceration?
Ms Downey clearly hasn't read the statistics about how many at-risk, low-income and minority children are being served better by charters in her own state than in traditional public school systems. Instead, she offers a knee-jerk objection to the new commission created to expedite the expansion of such opportunities, and would rather wait for school boards - who squander resources daily on bureaucracy rather than results to - to do something more about education.
She thinks it's all about money, not system change. Maybe she should ask one of the kids stuck in a system barely that graduates 50% of its students, whether they think the system needs to be changed - and if they want to continue to be stuck in it while the local school boards further contemplates rearranging the deck chairs?
Posted by Jeanne Allen at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)March 11, 2008
Shedding Some Heat to Shed Some Light
The Center for Union Facts has launched a new campaign "to jump-start a conversation" about why union rules make it so hard to oust poorly performing teachers. It reminds me of the Aesop's fable in which the sun and the wind bet who can force a man to take off his coat. The wind blows and blows, causing the man to pull his coat more tightly about him. The sun then takes a turn, beaming down on the man who soon takes off his coat voluntarily. The Center for Union Facts proposes to give the nation's "Top Ten Worst Union-Protected Teachers" $10,000 in 'severance pay' to leave the teaching profession voluntarily, given current union rules that protect their employment seemingly indefinitely, regardless of performance. There's a new spin on incentive pay! Please note, contest rules prohibit anyone from nominating him- or herself.
Posted by Edspresso at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)March 11, 2008
Critics Hope to Teach Unions a Lesson
New York Times, NY, March 11, 2008
Critics who say unions block education reforms and make it virtually impossible to fire bad teachers will offer 10 instructors it deems the nation's worst $10,000 to quit their careers.
Benched
Washington Post, D.C., March 11, 2008
And it should shame the District into finally creating a level playing field for all of its public school students, including the many who attend charter schools.
House Bill Offers Schools Valuable Trade-Off For Crutch
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, March 11, 2008
And yet, House Bill 1209 is a big deal. That's precisely because it takes away a crutch. It takes away the excuse that it's somebody else's fault if a system turns out junk.
Losses Bring Gains
Columbus Dispatch, OH, March 10, 2008
Critics of charter schools repeatedly claim that charter schools suck money out of conventional public school districts, leaving the latter with less money to educate the remaining students.
Voucher Foes Leery Of Statewide Plan To Cut Dropout Rate
Austin American-Statesman, TX, March 11, 2008
In a statewide plan to reduce the number of high school dropouts, school voucher opponents see a backdoor opening for using public money to pay for students enrolling in private or religious schools.
Lawmaker Says Deal Reached To Keep Virtual Schools Open
Journal Times, WI, March 10, 2008
An agreement to keep public virtual charter schools operating in Wisconsin has been worked out and should be approved by the end of the week, a lawmaker announced Monday night.
March 10, 2008
March 10, 2008
Teaching Change
New York Times, NY, March 10, 2008
While laws like No Child Left Behind take the rhetorical punches for being a straitjacket on schools, it is actually union contracts that have the greatest effect over what teachers can and cannot do.
Educators or Kingmakers?
New York Times, NY, March 10, 2008
Most prominent among these is the delegate and superdelegate bloc affiliated with the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions.
The Education of John McCain
CBS News, NY, March 8, 2008
Indeed, McCain has said very little about the subject on the campaign trail, and his website barely touches it.
Expansion Of School Vouchers Sought
Bradenton Herald, FL, March 10, 2008
In a year when money for public schools is likely to be cut, some Republican and Democratic lawmakers want to expand dramatically the number of children who get private-school vouchers.
The Achievement Gap Wins One
Boston Globe, MA, March 10, 2008
The one school that got shot down - the International Charter School of Southeastern Massachusetts - was the largest and boldest. Its rejection raises thorny questions about just how hard the Patrick administration is willing to push to achieve equity in education.
Charter School Expansions Hit Board Impasse
Las Vegas Review - Journal, NV, March 9, 2008
Three groups looking to open or expand charter schools in Nevada went down swinging before the state Board of Education on Friday and Saturday.
Charters Object To Granholm's Two-Tier Funding Plan
Grand Rapids Press, MI, March 9, 2008
Gov. Jennifer Granholm picking on charter schools? Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, says so. Granholm's school funding plan for next year pits charters against their traditional K-12 counterparts,
What The School Choice Study Means - So Far
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, March 8, 2008
If we are smart, we will end the battle over the MPCP and work together to take advantage of the best practices that exist in our various systems of learning in this community.
Bill On Home Schooling Rights Urged
Los Angeles Times, CA, March 8, 2008
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called Friday for the reversal of a recent appellate court decision banning parents from educating their children at home if they lack a teaching credential.
Fight Possible Over Tax Break For Private School Tuition
The Times-Picayune, LA, March 8, 2008
But during the narrow window of time for the session, Jindal is also proposing a surprise initiative that signals a significant shift in state policy by offering government support for private school tuition expenses.
Throw Me the Money
In today's New York Times, interesting articles on teachers unions' disproportional influence in politics and straight-jacketing effect on teachers in the classroom. And of course, that's just the way they want it. To wit: the Seattle Education Association, in its campaign against "vile elements" of NCLB, has recently ratified a motion to stonewall the superintendent's efforts to improve the district's educational system. The union objects to recommendations including "replacing the poorest performing schools with charter schools, creating a principal corps that gives principals power over curriculum, [and] firing 'under-performing' teachers" - all of which apparently run counter to the SEA's own member "teachers' increasing willingness to struggle for quality public education." The SEA members' counter attack for delivering said quality public education centers around contract negotiations aimed at "protecting teachers jobs and fighting for better funding of public schools."
Posted by Edspresso at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)March 07, 2008
March 7, 2008
At Charter School, Higher Teacher Pay
New York Times, NY, March 7, 2008
A New York City charter school set to open in 2009 in Washington Heights will test one of the most fundamental questions in education: Whether significantly higher pay for teachers is the key to improving schools.
Home-Schoolers Pushing Back Against New State Scrutiny
Education Week, MD, March 6, 2008
Home-schoolers across the country have put their organizational skills and political clout to heavy use in recent weeks as lawmakers in a number of states seek to more closely regulate the families who opt to teach their own children.
Education Is About Students, Not School Districts
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, March 7, 2008
Instead, we believe infusing a little competition into the equation - just as Honda and Toyota have done for Detroit - will improve public schools without costing taxpayers more money.
Board Hears Battle Rock
Cortez Journal, CO, March 6, 2008
About 30 supporters of Battle Rock Charter School crowded the Montezuma-Cortez School District Re-1 board meeting last night, offering their testimony favoring renewal of the small canyon school's charter.
Education Is Training For Life
Easton Journal, MA, March 7, 2008
Many charter schools in Massachusetts are successfully teaching students and producing well-rounded graduates with the basic skills and problem-solving ability to jump right into college work.
Rally Highlights Growing Support For School Choice
Bluegrass Institute, KY, March 6, 2008
Parents, pastors, legislators, community leaders and residents from throughout the commonwealth assembled today at a school-choice rally in the Capitol Rotunda to support more educational alternatives for Kentucky families.
