Stimulus Bill Misses the Mark for Education
PR Newswire, NY, January 29, 2009
While a broad base of national educators, leaders and policymakers have agreed that the nation’s education system requires fundamental operational changes, the federal government is poised to subsidize the systems that have failed American students, allowed them to fall behind their international counterparts and left a yawning achievement gap that sees barely 50 percent of African-American males graduating from high school.

Education Chief: Schools Crucial to Recovery
New York Times, NY, January 30, 2009
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the economy won’t improve without the billions of dollars for schools in President Barack Obama’s recovery plan.

Duncan: Stimulus Aid Could Give Schools Help
USA Today, January 29, 2009
The one-time, multibillion-dollar congressional stimulus offers public schools “an extraordinary opportunity,” not just to plug gaping state and local budget holes, but to improve education in ways that have eluded the USA for decades, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Thursday

Will The Recession Kill School Reform?
Forbes, NY, January 29, 2009
Let us now add another marker. This time of economic hardship may also represent the beginning of the end of the modern school reform movement. That’s because of what turns out, in retrospect, to be a tragic flaw in the strategy of many reformers in recent decades: to offer the education establishment a lot more money in return for a little reform.

Prairie Crossing Charter School Seeks Renewal From State
Chicago Tribune, IL, January 30, 2009
The state’s only charter school focused on environmental education hopes to win approval next month to keep open its doors for another five years.

Teachers Union Launches Charter School Website
PR Newswire, NY, January 29, 2009
The Alliance of Charter School Employees, an affiliate of AFT Pennsylvania, launched a new website to support charter school teachers and staff in the Philadelphia area.

RI Gets “F” in Teacher Quality Study
Providence Eyewitness News, RI , January 29, 2009
Rhode Island is one of only 5 states to receive a failing grade, in a nationwide review of teacher quality.

Fla. Gets C-Minus in Keeping Good Teachers, Removing Bad Ones
The Ledger, FL , January 29, 2009
Most states, including Florida, are not doing what it takes to keep good teachers and remove bad ones, a national study found.

Ohio Voucher Students Must Do Better on Tests
News-Herald, OH, January 29, 2009
Not all public schools measure up to high standards. That’s one of the reasons why the state distributes an annual report card, informing parents of how their child’s school is performing.

Online School Bashed, Praised
Wyoming Tribune, WY, January 29, 2009
The founder of a failed attempt to start a charter school here criticized Wednesday’s public hearing about an online charter school

The Sinking Deck of DPS
Denver Post, CO, January 30, 2009
Former Superintendent Bennet proved beyond a doubt that, as a person without any background in K-12 education, he was unable to understand the effect of his decisions on the families and cultures in this community and, above all, on its students - especially those struggling due to lives of hardship - who deserve a real chance to reach their potential.

Debate on Mayoral Control of Schools Is Renewed
New York Times, NY, January 30, 2009
More than 200 people packed a room in Queens Borough Hall on Thursday for the State Assembly’s first public hearing on the impact of the mayor’s control of the schools, including dozens of critics of the Bloomberg administration who waved signs reading “Parents + Student Voices = Better Schools.”

First Of Its Kind Charter School for Albany
WRGB, NY, January 29, 2009
With chants, cheers and dancing, several hundred charter school girls gathered in the gym at the Brighter Choice School for Girls to welcome the news that a new charter high school for girls had been approved by the state university system.

Patrick’s Blessing On Charter Schools
Boston Globe, MA, January 30, 2009
This week, the state’s CEO acknowledged the obvious: some charter schools are delivering impressive results - and the state needs more of that kind of school.

Concerns Raised on Charter Changes
Berkshire Eagle, MA, January 29, 2009
Gov. Deval Patrick’s proposals to raise the cap on charter schools in underperforming districts, impose quotas on student demographics and move a key portion of charter school funding into a budget line item was met with mixed reviews by both advocates and proponents on Wednesday.

Well-Connected Parents Take On School Boards
Washington Post, D.C., January 30, 2009
In recent weeks, parent-led campaigns helped bring down a long-established grading policy in Fairfax County and scale back the unpopular practice of charging fees for courses in Montgomery County. They have also stoked debates over math education in Frederick and Prince William counties.

Are Private Schools No Longer Affordable?
WSAW, WI, January 29, 2009
The recession is forcing some parents to make tough decisions about private schooling. An estimated six million students attend private schools in the United States, but the Department of Education reports during the current school year private enrollment has dropped by 120,000 students.

Teachers Shouldn’t Skip Giving Standardized Exams
Los Angeles Times, CA, January 30, 2009
The threat is a test not just for Supt. Ramon C. Cortines but for the heavily pro-union school board. Teachers who fail to carry out such a basic duty as a required exam should be written up. Student progress is simply not negotiable.

Charter Tough But Inspiring
Indianapolis Star, IN, January 30, 2009
When it comes to the Tindley School, the wall says it all. The lofty goal at the 5-year-old school, which sits in a former grocery store in one of the city’s most troubled areas, is to make sure every graduate leaves with one of those acceptance letters.

Hood Backs Charter Schools
Detroit News, MI, January 26, 2009Mayoral candidate Nicholas Hood III is holding back no punches in his support for charter schools. Hood said an initiative introduced in Lansing last week that would allow more charter schools “needs to be passed”, the City Hall Insider has learned.

Charter Schools: The Debate Continues
Clarksdale Press Register, MS, January 29, 2009
Now that the Mississippi State Senate has passed their version of a new charter school law –– SB 2664 –– only time will tell what fate the bill meets in the House in coming weeks.

I hate to be the skunk at the garden party but will all the education reformers out there please stop asking how to get their pet programs included in the stimulus package?? Not only should real reformers stay far away from this massive, one-time spending bill, they should understand that this stimulus is likely to result in less reform, not more, no matter what happens.

By its very nature, a stimulus is a boost, a kick. Several stimulus – stimuli – should produce many boosts. Boosts take energy – stimulus suggests forward movement, activity. It’s got positive connotations. Lots of good things happen when you stimulate them, right? That is, of course, unless the stimulus is an artificial substance, like a drug, which does something unnatural and temporary, and potentially addictive, to the user.

The stimulus package proposed by the President and being negotiated now in Congress is sort of like a bad drug, at least when it comes to education spending.  After achieving much success in finally convincing the American people of the destructive effects of the status quo - a reliance of inputs over results for kids - the stimulus package promises to return us to the oh so yesterday 80s, where money and government grew for education with little impact on student achievement.

There is much to say about this, and Edspresso will provide live, in person testimony about what occurs when federal spending, in particular, blows out through the Education Department, allegedly headed for schools. Here’s just one fact of life when it comes to federal education spending, than transcends political party or ideology:

Every dollar spent at the federal level will grow the federal bureaucracy first, state government second, local district personnel third, and will only then, reach the schools, where funds will be disbursed not to those who do the best or need it the most, but who have been around the longest.

The process by which the spending is determined will not be specified in the stimulus package. Those decisions will be made amidst the maze of programs, divisions, and branches in the Education Department, with little influence from new political parties (no, Secretary Arne Duncan won’t be able to reach down and change this). The rules and regulations for processing funds will result in increased power for those who distribute the funds, from feds, to states, and incorporate very little innovate thinking, as innovation is not a natural state of the traditional education agency.

Just like the famous story of the Annenberg grant, which spread out millions amongst the worst school districts with no impact, the stimulus bill’s education chapter will have the same impact. But like those drugs we warn our children to stay away from, the initial euphoria will be great when those dollars start flowing. And after it all wears off, we’ll be looking for more money to feed our habit. Will we ask ourselves if we really need it? Is that what addicts do? No, didn’t think so.

Don’t believe it? The Washington Post seems to agree.

Charter School To Open
The Ithacan, NY, January 29, 2009
The school, which will open in fall 2009, will provide an alternative to the Ithaca City School District and will emphasize sustainability. A charter school is a public school which is only accountable to the state, not the school district in which it is located.

An Education Stimulus?
Washington Post, D.C., January 29, 2009
EDUCATION is poised to win big under the economic stimulus plan hurtling through Congress. But it remains to be seen whether America’s schoolchildren really will be helped by the huge investment of public funds that is being planned.

States get D-Plus On Teacher Reviews
Associated Press, January 29, 2009
States are not doing what it takes to keep good teachers and remove bad ones, a national study found.

Local Educators Have Mixed Reactions to Strickland Plan
Dayton Daily New, OH, January 29, 2009
Strickland said charter schools have a place in his plan, too, as long as they "are not run by for-profit management services." Charter school advocate and Strickland critic Ron Adler, executive director of the Ohio Coalition For Quality Education, expected as much.

Governor Ted Strickland’s School Plan Earns Praise
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, January 29, 2009
Husted also didn’t like the governor’s criticism of for-profit companies that manage charter schools, saying they lead "some of the best-run, most academically successful, financially responsible schools."

Selection of Huberman Just A Bad Choice
Chicago Defender, IL, January 28, 2009
Make no mistake; Ron Huberman is a terrible choice to head the Chicago Public Schools. He not only has no educational experience, but he brings precious little managerial success with him. His tenure with the Chicago Transit Authority has not earned him kudos.

Officials Decry ‘Dropout Factory’
Times Picayune, LA, January 29, 2009
Designed for students who are not working on a diploma, the Options program has become the program for students with behavior problems, who are low-achievers or who are over-age, Pastorek said.

OEA Calls For Better Testing, Pay Raises
Tulsa World, OK, January 29, 2009
Other items include a survey of teachers to learn more about their working conditions and morale. The association supports allowing teachers and groups that represent teachers to sponsor charter schools.

School Choice Up To Parents
Columbia Missourian, MO, January 28, 2009
Public, private or parochial schools can potentially provide equally excellent outcomes, as can home schooling, apprenticeships, or other forms, as parents might determine fit their children’s needs. I am glad parents have choices, so I don’t understand how this has to be framed as an antagonistic contest.

Real World Ramifications
Las Vegas Review, NV, January 29, 2009
In the third installment of a series reporting results of a poll of nearly 70 Southern Nevada business owners and managers, published in Tuesday’s Review-Journal, 43 percent of respondents said local schools and colleges are "not at all effective" in preparing students for the workplace.

Backers of Mayoral School Control Face Resistance
New York Times, NY, January 29, 2009
When close allies of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg banded together last summer to create a political organization to push for the renewal of a 2002 state law that gave New York City’s mayor control over its public schools, the initial buzz was that it would become a powerhouse lobbying group, raising as much as $20 million and helping shape the debate over the year.

FY’10 Budget Could Mean More Charters
The Daily Item of Lynn, MA, January 29, 2009
Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed raising the charter school cap in some communities in an effort to target high-risk students and improve state standardized test scores.

Week 3: Schools, Dialysis and Unions
Jackson Free Press, MS, January 28, 2009
With Mississippi’s current charter school law set to expire in July, the Senate moved Monday to authorize more charter schools in the state. The current law allows only six charter schools, but SB 2664, which passed by a vote of 37 to 11, increases that number to 20, or five in each of the state’s four congressional districts.

MEMO

TO: Readers
FROM: Ed M. Onitor
DATE: January 28, 2009
RE: Did you think it was all about the kids?

I wanted to flag for you Sam Dillon’s piece on the education portion of the federal stimulus package from today’s New York Times.

Some lines worth highlighting:

“The economic stimulus plan that Congress has scheduled for a vote on Wednesday would shower the nation’s school districts, child care centers and university campuses with $150 billion in new federal spending…”

“Critics and supporters alike said that by its sheer scope, the measure could profoundly change the federal government’s role in education…”

“Obama administration officials, teachers unions and associations representing school boards, colleges and other institutions in American education said the aid would bring crucial financial relief to the nation’s 15,000 school districts and to thousands of campuses otherwise threatened with severe cutbacks.”

“This is going to avert literally hundreds of thousands of teacher layoffs,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Tuesday.”

“This really marks a new era in federal spending…”

And perhaps the most on-target statement comes from AEI’s Rick Hess (it almost made me spill my coffee):

“It’s like an alcoholic at the end of the night when the bars close, and the solution is to open the bar for another hour…”

Instead of throwing money at our crisis, why don’t we throw some innovation at our failing education system?

Got Mandate?

Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education
New York Times, NY, January 28, 2009
The economic stimulus plan that Congress has scheduled for a vote on Wednesday would shower the nation’s school districts, child care centers and university campuses with $150 billion in new federal spending, a vast two-year investment that would more than double the Department of Education’s current budget.

School Reform That Works
Washington Post, D.C., January 28, 2009
But even within the United States, there is a big gap between people who get the chance to make the most of their talents and those who don’t. Melinda and I believe that providing everyone with a great education is the key to closing this gap.

Is Michelle Rhee the New Face Of Education reform?
Christian Science Monitor, MA, January 27, 2009
Her tough approach and willingness to take on “untouchable” issues in education have earned her a reputation as a nonideological crusader who might be carving out a new model for school reform. But critics, including many teachers, see her tactics as heavy handed and capricious. Is she education’s new White Knight or just a Michelle the Knife?

Recessions and Private School Enrollment
Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2009
The Wall Street Journal reports that private schools are feeling pinched by the recession, as strapped families opt to pull their children out, or at least apply for financial aid.

The Value of National Board Teachers
Washington Post, D.C., January 28, 2009
I hope that support for this important tool for professionalizing teaching will be restored to the budget. Just as in other professions, talented teachers need opportunities to advance their skills and gain recognition.

Should Congress Continue To Fund The D.C. School Voucher Program? PRO
Should Congress Continue To Fund The D.C. School Voucher Program? CON
Kansas City Star, MO, January 28, 2009
The program that provides scholarships of up to $7,500 per year for low-income students to attend private schools is funded only through the 2009-10 school year.

Germantown Charter School Parents Demand Action
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, January 28, 2009
Several parents of special education students from Germantown Settlement Charter School are demanding action because they say an exodus of qualified staff and a lack of services for their children has created an educational emergency.

Reforms We Can Believe In
Daily Pennsylvanian, PA, January 28, 2009
So what does Duncan’s appointment mean for the School District of Philadelphia? Ideally, only good things. Having an advocate for urban education reform at the federal level should help out struggling urban school districts like ours.

Teachers Union Still Remains Biggest Roadblock of Reform
The News Journal, DE, January 28, 2009
In her Jan. 23 column “Changing the view on Del. education,” Sondra Shippen, head of one of Wilmington’s charter schools, points to the positive attributes she witnessed visiting the Edmonton, Canada, schools.

Learning to Cooperate
Times Picayune, LA, January 28, 2009
Woody Koppel, the new president of the Orleans Parish School Board, says he wants to improve relations with the district’s independently run charter schools as well as the other players in the city’s complex public education landscape, and that’s a positive direction for the board to take.

New Federal Blood Can’t Hurt Nevada
Las Vegas Sun, NV, January 28, 2009
A fresh slate with a new education secretary can only help Nevada. Education officials and lawmakers have had little luck convincing the feds that the Silver State needs more money for its growing population of at-risk students and greater flexibility in how their progress is measured.

Charter Schools Score in Budget
Boston Globe, MA, January 28, 2009
Governor Deval Patrick, who has consistently opposed raising the cap on the number of charter schools, will dramatically change course in the budget he releases today, allowing for more charters in low-performing districts as long as these new schools try to help the most vulnerable students.

Charter Schools Continue to Open
Ball State Daily News, IN, January 28, 2009
In 2002, Ball State University sponsored its first charter school. Since that time, the university has added 28 additional schools to its ranks.

Miss. NAACP Questions Some Education Legislation
WREG, TN, January 27, 2009
The Mississippi NAACP held its annual legislative day on Tuesday, urging lawmakers to oppose the “Children’s First Act” and any proposals for charter schools and voter identification.

Legislative Bill Aims For Smaller School Sizes
Carlsbad Current Argus, NM, January 28, 2009
East Mountain High School, a six-year-old public charter school located in Sandia Park, east of Albuquerque, is a model for small-school success. Most of the 330 students meet federal benchmarks for academic achievement; the school has a 96.2 percent graduation rate; and nearly all of its graduates go on to higher education.