Imagine a high school where students can take classes as early as 7 a.m. or as late as 9 p.m. Some of the courses are taught face-to-face in the school, with others delivered online and still others taught through a mix of classroom and computer-based instruction.

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1000 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators and members of the press via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

Chester Community Charter sues CUSD for $3.8 million

Published: Thursday, December 29, 2011

Delco Times By JOHN KOPP, jkopp@delcotimes.com

CHESTER – Chester Upland School District and the district’s school board are among the defendants being sued by Chester Community Charter School for more than $3.8 million in delinquent funding.

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/12/29/news/doc4efcaabc95e99803120681.txt?viewmode=default

 

Florida Bill would require transparency in charter school management

The measure, submitted by state Sen. Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami, would require the schools to be transparent about who manages them and how much they are paid.

Miami Herald on 12/22/11 BY KATHLEEN McGRORY and SCOTT HIAASEN kmcgrory@MiamiHerald.com

A Miami lawmaker wants public charter schools to be more transparent .State Senator Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami, filed a bill Wednesday that would require charter schools to post information about their management companies on their school websites.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/22/2558334/bill-seeks-transparency-in-charter.html#storylink=cpy

 

Hey Pennsylvania Legislators - How about something similar in a Pennsylvania Charter School Reform Bill?

Here’s a link to the one-page bill described above:

Senate Bill 1338 (2012) - The Florida Senate

www.flsenate.gov › Session › 2012 Bills

Dec 21, 2011 – GENERAL BILL by Bullard. Charter Schools; Requiring each charter school to maintain an Internet website with information about the school, 

 

MICEK - The Top 5 Political Stories of 2011:

No. 3 The Fight Over Education Funding.

Allentown Morning Call Capitol Ideas Blog by John Micek 12/29/11

The Kids May Have This Week Off for the holidays (Yes, holidays.), but the fight over funding for Pennsylvania's 500  school districts and whose vision for public education would win the rhetorical high ground rarely took a day off in 2011.

http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2011/12/the-top-5-political-stories-of-2011-no-3-the-fight-over-education-funding.html

 

SCHOOL CHOICE: Three school districts will merge teaching efforts

Penn Manor, Hempfield and Manheim Township plan to unveil an “open campus” project that is believed to be the first collaborative effort of its kind in Pennsylvania

Intelligencer Journal Lancaster New Era Dec 28, 2011 23:01, BRIAN WALLACE, Staff Writer

Imagine a high school where students can take classes as early as 7 a.m. or as late as 9 p.m.

Some of the courses are taught face-to-face in the school, with others delivered online and still others taught through a mix of classroom and computer-based instruction.

At this school, tuition is free and students can enroll in specialty courses such as Latin and business Spanish that their home schools don't offer.

http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/558484_Three-school-districts-here-will-merge-teaching-efforts.html

 

“In addition to shutting the Promise Academy office and cutting some of the schools' extra instructional time, there's also been cuts in enrichment programs, mentoring programs and the elimination of school-based instructional specialists, summer professional development, centrally-funded supplemental academic programs and centrally-funded library upgrades.”

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2011

Cuts to Philly's Promise Academies

Philadelphia Inquirer Philly School Files Blog by Kristen Graham

Tucked in today's story about "Occupy 440" - a group of school nurses' protest against the Philadelphia School District's latest round of budget cuts - was a line you may have missed:

District spokesman Fernando Gallard said the Promise Academies had had "significant cuts," including the elimination of the entire central office staff that supervised those schools, which was also axed as of Dec. 31.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/school_files/Cuts-to-Phillys-Promise-Academies.html

 

The School Lunch Barometer

New York Times EDITORIAL Published: December 29, 2011

The economic downturn is driving more and more families into the ranks of the poor and the “near poor” who barely make it from paycheck to paycheck. This pattern is chillingly clear from the rising numbers of formerly middle-class children now qualifying for free or low-cost meals under the federally financed school lunch program.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/opinion/the-school-lunch-barometer.html?src=rechp

 

EDUCATION WEEK’S 2011: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

The editors at Education Week have handpicked memorable articles from 2011. Below are collections of ten of the most significant stories from our coverage of education over the past year.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/2011-in-review/index.html

 

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 12/30/2011

10 education predictions for 2012

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Larry Ferlazzo, who teaches English at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. He writes a popular blog for teachers and is the author of three books. He is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network. A version of this excerpt appeared on his blog, “Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/10-education-predictions-for-2012/2011/12/29/gIQAB2PbPP_blog.html

 

Lopsided Debate Over Education Reform Reveals a Broken System

Education Week Living in Dialogue Blog By Anthony Cody on December 29, 2011 11:20 AM

Follow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCody

Donations flow from the Gates Foundation to the right wing American Legislative Exchange Council, whose conference attracts legislators from around the nation. The billionaire philanthropists' foundations help write the laws that tie teacher pay to test scores, destroy due process, erode pensions, and lower standards to enter the profession.

The Department of Education directs billions in taxpayer dollars to states, but only if they are willing to implement these very same terrible policies.

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2011/12/lopsided_debate_over_education.html

Judge expected to rule that a major Republican Party donor and charter school management company owner will be required to disclose how he spends the millions of public tax dollars he receives each year. This story is not about Vahan Gureghian.

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1000 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators and members of the press via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

"I've been with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association for more than 31 years and this was by far the toughest budget that districts have faced in that time," association executive director Tom Gentzel said. "

For public schools, the year brought big cuts

Thursday, December 29, 2011

By Mary Niederberger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In public education circles, 2011 was the year that officials quickly learned how to do more with less.  No relief was provided from the federal No Child Left Behind mandate that the state's 500 school districts continue to move students toward proficiency in math and reading.

Yet, the state budget provided nearly $900 million less in funding for public schools.

"I've been with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association for more than 31 years and this was by far the toughest budget that districts have faced in that time," association executive director Tom Gentzel said. "The big story is that because of the sea change in school funding, there were dramatic cuts."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11363/1199846-55.stm#ixzz1hw1MI4G8

 

Ohio’s White Hat charter management company is owned by Akron businessman and major Ohio Republican Party donor David L. Brennan, who pushed for state laws that expanded Ohio’s charter-school movement.  In Pennsylvania, major Republican Party donor Vahan Gureghian, who pushed for state laws that would expand Pennsylvania’s charter school movement, has not been required to disclose how his Charter School Management Company spends the millions of taxpayer dollars it receives each year to manage the state’s largest charter school, Chester Community Charter School.  That school operates in the Chester Upland School District which, until this year was under state control for several years and has been in the news lately due to severe financial difficulties.

Ohio Charter schools get win in White Hat suit

By  Charlie Boss

The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday December 28, 2011 4:46 AM

The 19-month fight over whether Ohio’s largest for-profit manager of charter schools must share detailed financial records could be coming to a close.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge John F. Bender has decided he can rule on the case, and he reiterated an order he made in August that White Hat Management release records showing how the charter-school operator spends the millions of tax dollars it gets each year.

“Public funds are allocated to the community school, not the management company,” he wrote. “A community school remains accountable for how public funds are spent, whether it contracts with a management company or not.”

In October, Bender ruled that White Hat is a “public official” when acting as an authorized agent of a charter school. The designation makes White Hat subject to Ohio public-record laws, requiring it to account for the public dollars it receives, information that the company has been unwilling to disclose for years.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/12/28/charter-schools-get-win-in-white-hat-suit.html

#1 public high school in Illinois fails to make AYP

http://www.newtrier.k12.il.us/media/files/content/New_Trier_Web_Site/Academics/Curriculum_and_Instruction/AYP_NTParents.pdf

Video: The Dangerous Nexus of Cyber Charter Schools & For-Profit Curriculum Companies

Published by Wesley Fryer on December 26th, 2011

On November 13, 2011, Ali Carr-Chellman (@aac3 on Twitter) shared an important and courageous message at TEDxPSU. Her 13.5 minute message was titled, “A Closer Look at Cyber Charter Schools.” Among other things, Ali challenges us to question the growing nexus between non-profit “cyber charter schools” and for-profit curriculum companies. As we continue hear different voices with different agendas champion both charter schools as well as online educational options, Ali’s message is vital.

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2011/12/26/the-dangerous-nexus-of-cyber-charter-schools-for-profit-curriculum-companies/

Commentary: Those Greedy Teachers

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1000 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators and members of the press via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

 

Commentary: Those Greedy Teachers

Just about everybody has a friend, neighbor or relative who decided to become a teacher.  Have you ever met anyone who went into the teaching profession to make money?  On the other hand, have you ever heard of a hedge fund manager or financier who decided to go into their profession to help kids?  Businesses exist to make a profit.  Public schools exist to make informed American citizens.  These are radically different missions, with different priorities, goals and objectives.

Private Funding of Public Schools

Education Week Reality Check Blog By Walt Gardner on December 28, 2011 7:24 AM

The Bridgeport Education Reform Fund in all likelihood will mean nothing to most people. But ignoring the fund is a mistake because it is a model that figures to play an increasingly prominent role in the funding of schools in the years ahead in this country. Although the present venue is the largest city in Connecticut, whose schools were taken over by the state in July after the superintendent was fired, the strategy has the potential to spread to other underperforming school districts.

What is troubling is that the $400,000 in the fund has come from wealthy donors who remain anonymous. According to The Wall Street Journal, the probable benefactors are officials from the ZOOM Foundation, which is backed by hedge fund manager Steve Mandel ("Schools Look to Donors," Dec. 23). Because no one knows for certain at this date who the principals are, their agenda remains hidden. In business, opaqueness is common, but it is anathema in education - at least in public schools - because there are almost always strings attached.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/walt_gardners_reality_check/2011/12/private_funding_of_public_schools.html

 

 “The NCLB mandate for standardized tests requires the nation’s public schools to administer some 50 million tests annually, costing some $700 million a year, most of that money going to corporations that create and publish the tests, score the results and provide “interpretive, descriptive, and diagnostic reports.” Since I was a school boy, testing costs have risen by 3,000 percent. And so too has the opportunity to make a buck.”

No Child Left Behind has turned schoolkids into commodities

Posted by EducationViews.org on December 26, 2011 in Daily, 

By Fred Grimm -

Compared to modern school kids, I was a downright worthless student.  I don’t mean worthless as a pejorative.  (My father would have used a more colorful term to characterize my scholarly pursuits.)  But worthless as a commodity.  Us kids at Montrose Elementary School weren’t making anyone rich.  Not like today’s pupils, particularly those in Florida, who’ve become valuable cogs in a burgeoning industry.

http://educationviews.org/2011/12/26/no-child-left-behind-has-turned-schoolkids-into-commodities-mcclatchy/

 

 

Despite their grip on state government, Republicans did not always get along in 2011

December 26, 2011|By Angela Couloumbis, Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau

HARRISBURG - The budget landed on schedule for the first time in eight years. Spending was slashed. But no one figured out how to resolve the $3.5 billion transportation funding crisis.

No new taxes were slapped on Pennsylvanians. But neither was a long-debated "impact fee" imposed on the lucrative extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale.

And though a new law extended the hours beer can be sold on Sundays, wine and hard liquor can still be bought only in those beloved state-owned stores.

Despite one party's grip on the reins of power in Harrisburg, 2011 delivered a mixed bag of success and failure to the Republicans, who control both legislative chambers and the Governor's Office.

http://articles.philly.com/2011-12-26/news/30559258_1_transportation-funding-natural-gas-marcellus-shale

 

In RTI Era, is Federal Special Education Law Out of Date?

Education Week  - On Special Education Blog By Nirvi Shah on December 27, 2011 9:27 AM

When districts first started adopting response-to-intervention, the approach quickly became the target of criticism from parents who believed school districts were trying to put off more costly special education services.  RTI, an approach that involves using an escalating set of techniques to address skills a student is struggling with, got a boost in 2004, when the federal law changed to require states to let districts use it if they chose.

The hope was that its use would help distinguish between children who truly have specific learning disabilities and students whose learning difficulties could be resolved with general education interventions. Sure enough, in the last few years, the number of students identified as having learning disabilities has dropped.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2011/12/when_districts_first_started_a.html

Testing

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1000 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators and members of the press via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

Testing Gone Wild

Education Week Reality Check Blog By Walt Gardner on December 26, 2011 6:59 AM

The news that New York State will lengthen its math and language arts tests for elementary and middle school students to three hours beginning this April is another reminder that common sense is woefully lacking in the accountability movement. According to John King Jr., the state's education commissioner, the change is part of the effort to "fine-tune tests of student performance" ("State Tests Extended to About Three Hours," The New York Times, Dec. 19).

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/walt_gardners_reality_check/

 

Posted at 08:00 AM ET, 12/26/2011

The Quiz: Test yourself on education in 2011

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss

The year 2011 was monumental in education — monumentally good or monumentally bad, depending on your view.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-quiz-test-yourself-on-education-in-2011/2011/12/25/gIQA9t2jHP_blog.html

 

Exit Exams Less Popular As States Shift To College- And Career-Readiness Tests

Huffington Post - First Posted: 12/ 9/11 01:51 PM ET 

Fewer states are requiring students to pass high school exit exams to graduate, but more states are increasing standardized testing in college- and career-readiness assessment efforts, according to a report released Thursday.

The report by the Center on Education Policy reveals that in the 2010-11 school year, 25 states have or plan to implement policies that require students to pass end-of-grade or end-of-course exams to earn a high school diploma -- a figure down from 28 the year before. Six more have or plan to implement exit exams that do not mandate a minimum passing standard for graduation. The change comes as Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee changed their exit exam requirements that instead factor student scores from those tests into the student's final grade in a course required for graduation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/09/exit-exams-less-popular-a_n_1139384.html

PUBLISHED: DECEMBER 24, 2011 12:01 AM EST
Erie Catholic school officials still hope for vouchers

BY SEAN MCCRACKEN, Erie Times-News  sean.mccracken@timesnews.com

The push for private school vouchers took a big hit last week, but local private school officials say the fight isn't over.  On Dec. 14, Republican leaders in the state House of Representatives declared there wasn't enough support for school vouchers and instead voted only on a scaled-back version of Gov. Tom Corbett's school-reform package.

Even that plan, which would have expanded the Education Improvement Tax Credit program and change the oversight and approval process for charter schools, was voted down 105-90.

http://www.goerie.com/article/20111224/NEWS02/312249962/Erie-Catholic-school-officials-still-hope-for-vouchers

 

Notebook: Top 10 Philly education stories of 2011

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1000 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators and members of the press via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

“I want to remind the board that in the past two years, we’ve made drastic cuts to teachers, administrators, books and building budgets,” Otto said. “We wouldn’t even know where to go for more.”

William Penn School District considering tax increase above Act 1 index

Published: Monday, December 26, 2011

By LAURA WISELEY, Delco Times Correspondent

LANSDOWNE — Saying they have to keep their options open, William Penn School District board members recently voted to approve a measure that lets them explore the possibility of raising real estate taxes higher than the 2.5 percent Act 1 index this June.
“No option is a good option,” board member Jennifer Hoff said as she cast one of five votes in favor of the measure. “We don’t want to raise taxes, but if our educational services degrade much more and we continue to cut teachers and programs, we’ll lose more students to charter schools, and then our charter school bill will go up much, much more.”

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/12/26/news/doc4ef7d221850ca494824710.txt

 

Bill levels field for cyberschool graduates who want to join armed forces

Published: Friday, December 23, 2011, 6:00 AM

By JAN MURPHY, The Patriot-News 

Cyberschools appear to have won a long-running battle with the Department of Defense.

The military has long viewed cyberschool students as being less desirable for careers in the armed forces, but that stigma could soon be history.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/12/bill_levels_field_for_cybersch.html

 

Montco districts' struggle with joint busing plan for private schools

By Dan Hardy Inquirer Staff Writer, Posted: Sat, Dec. 24, 2011, 3:01 AM

Facing tough economic times and cutbacks in state aid, six Montgomery County school districts are seeking to cut transportation costs by combining private school-bus routes.

It has been rough going so far, with major problems in the first days marring the effort, leading most of the districts to scale back.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20111224_Montco_districts__struggle_with_joint_busing_plan_for_private_schools.html

 

Notebook: Top 10 Philly education stories of 2011

Notebook by Dale Mezzacappa on Dec 24 2011 Posted in Latest news

Thank you for following the Notebook through an incredible year. The Notebook staff will be on break until January 3. But we leave you with a look back at the past year, and eagerly anticipate connecting with you in 2012.

http://www.thenotebook.org/blog/114378/top-ten-philadelphia-education-stories-2011

 

Delco's Movers & Shakers: From Chester to state Senate, Pileggi a man on the move

Delco Times Published: Monday, December 26, 2011

By DANIELLE LYNCH, dlynch@delcotimes.com

CONCORD — When state Sen. Majority Leader Dominic F. Pileggi was growing up, he looked up to his paternal grandfather, who immigrated to the United States from Italy.

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2011/12/26/news/doc4ef7be198ebb1040432758.txt?viewmode=fullstory

 

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 12/24/2011

The truth about school prayer

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Charles Haynes, director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum. He writes and speaks extensively on religious liberty and religion in American public life. This appeared on the The Amendment Center’s website.

By Charles Haynes

The latest attack on the “godless public schools” — a staple of Republican primaries past — is a new ad in Iowa by Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign proclaiming there’s “something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.”

Advocating for “school prayer” is, of course, a poll-tested winner for politicians seeking to stir voter outrage — and establish Christian conservative bona fides.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-truth-about-school-prayer/2011/12/23/gIQAHHJoEP_blog.html

 

THE BAY CITIZEN

The Haves’ Children Are Healthier Than the Have-Nots’

By KATHARINE MIESZKOWSKI

New York Times Published: December 24, 2011

Every Monday, Sycamore Valley Elementary in Danville challenges its students to run a “Smile Mile” together after school. Some parents even run with their children. Photos of the student joggers’ grinning faces are posted in the cafeteria. On a recent Monday afternoon, there were 41 smiling faces on the wall.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/us/affluent-children-are-more-physically-fit-than-poor-ones.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=education

 

Education Index  December 2011

The Education Law Center's monthly analysis of opportunities to learn in Pennsylvania public schools

http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=aaafb8bd8a0aeb3ef96dcef8e&id=707e55d99f

 

Letters to the Editor - Teaching Students Online, for Profit

New York Times Letters to the Editor Published: December 23, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/24/opinion/teaching-students-online-for-profit.html?_r=1

Delaware County's Chester Upland School District, deep in debt and about to run out of money, cannot expect any immediate help from the state, Pennsylvania's education secretary said in a letter to the school board Thursday.

Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1000 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators and members of the press via emails, website, Facebook and Twitter.

Visit us on Facebook at KeystoneStateEducationCoalition

Follow us on Twitter at @lfeinberg

 

Pennsylvania lands $41.3 million for education

Published: Friday, December 23, 2011, 2:00 AM

By JAN MURPHY, The Patriot-News 

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced that the Keystone State will receive $41.3 million from the third round of the federal government’s competitive grant program, Race to the Top.  The money is to be applied to school reform initiatives to raise student achievement.  State Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis said half of the grant must be doled out to schools. The rest will be used at the state level for training and technical support that will aid all districts and charter schools.

Some of the grant will be used to institute more rigorous academic standards, Tomalis said.

It will include the development of high-quality online courses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields that will available to all students.

Some also will be used to promote high-quality charter schools and provide oversight of these independent public schools.

The state also will break down school-level state test scores to the classroom level. The results will be shared with the public, allowing parents to judge individual teachers’ effectiveness.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/12/pennsylvania_lands_413_million.html

 

State refuses to advance Chester Upland $18.7 million

Published: Thursday, December 22, 2011

Delco Times By JOHN KOPP
jkopp@delcotimes.com

CHESTER – The Pennsylvania Department of Education has denied the Chester Upland School District’s request to advance an $18.7 million subsidy scheduled to be paid to the district in June.
District officials said in a public plea last week that the advance would enable the district to meet payroll beyond December. Without it, the worst-case scenario is schools would close, they said.

http://delcotimes.com/articles/2011/12/22/news/doc4ef3a7eac4407301896131.txt

 

State denies more aid to Chester Upland schools

By Dan Hardy Inquirer Staff Writer, Posted: Fri, Dec. 23, 2011, 3:01 AM

Delaware County's Chester Upland School District, deep in debt and about to run out of money, cannot expect any immediate help from the state, Pennsylvania's education secretary said in a letter to the school board Thursday.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20111223_State_denies_more_aid_to_Chester_Upland_schools.html

 

Philly schools laying off nurses and others

By Susan Snyder Inquirer Staff Writer, Posted: Fri, Dec. 23, 2011

Forty-seven nurses are being cut from the payroll, reducing the district's allotment to 189. Perloff, who has worked in the district for four years, was 13th from the bottom on the seniority list. Also being cut are library assistants, nonteaching assistants, secretaries, and others.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20111223_Philly_schools_laying_off_nurses_and_others.html?page=1&c=y

 

Parkland hears charter school proposal

Circle of Seasons would emphasize creativity and imagination.

By Tegan Hanlon, Special to The Morning Call

7:05 p.m. EST, December 21, 2011

Lehigh Valley parents may have another education option for their children come September, contingent upon Parkland School Board approval.

The board held a public hearing Tuesday night on the proposed Circle of Seasons Charter School, which focuses on an arts-based, Waldorf-methods curriculum.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/parkland/mc-parkland-charter-school-hearing-20111221,0,3856233.story

 

Education Policy and Leadership Center’s Weekly Policy Notebook

EPLC Education Notebook – Wednesday, December 21, 2011

 

Weekly Column: Reflecting on the Education Committee's Work from 2011

Senate Education Committee Chairman Jeff Piccola’s December 21, 2011 Weekly Column

http://piccola.org/press/2011/1211/122111-column.htm

 

Segregated Charter Schools Evoke Separate But Equal Era in U.S.

Bloomberg By John Hechinger - Dec 22, 2011 12:01 AM ET

At Dugsi Academy, a public school in St. Paul, Minnesota, girls wearing traditional Muslim headscarves and flowing ankle-length skirts study Arabic and Somali. The charter school educates “East African children in the Twin Cities,” its website says. Every student is black.

At Twin Cities German Immersion School, another St. Paul charter, children gather under a map of “Deutschland,” study with interns from Germany, Austria and Switzerland and learn to dance the waltz. Ninety percent of its students are white.

Six decades after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down “separate but equal” schools for blacks and whites, segregation is growing because of charter schools, privately run public schools that educate 1.8 million U.S. children.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-22/segregated-charter-schools-evoke-separate-but-equal-era-in-u-s-education.html

 

Posted at 04:00 AM ET, 12/23/2011

Is there a Christmas miracle in school reform debate?

Washington Post Answer Sheet Blog By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Paul Thomas, an associate professor of education at Furman University in South Carolina, and a version was published atDaily Uncensored.

By Paul Thomas

Something profound appears to have occurred — a cosmic shift in the education reform debate that reflects our larger social debates in the United States.

After Helen Ladd and Edward Fiske published a commentary in The New York Times , "Class Matters. Why Won't We Admit It?," and Diane Ravitch blogged "Scrooge and School Reform," several commentators quickly chimed in about the poverty debate in education.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/is-there-a-christmas-miracle-in-school-reform-debate/2011/12/21/gIQA4FocCP_blog.html