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Snap Schott: |
Another try set on school choice
By James Vaznis Boston school officials will present their vision tonight for a major overhaul of the city's more than two-decade-old system of assigning students to schools, nearly two years after they abandoned a proposal amid public uproar. The overhaul will attempt to simplify the process for parents to register their children for school and could also reduce the number of schools that parents can choose from — a measure the school district is exploring to save on busing costs.
Fall River and Holyoke schools may face takeover
By Akilah Johnson Massachusetts Commissioner of Education Mitchell D. Chester issued this warning yesterday to the Holyoke and Fall River school systems: Improve significantly over the next year or face a takeover by the state. "I'm not anxious to take over any district,'' Chester said after yesterday's meeting of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden. "My preference is that the districts institute the changes that will result in better outcomes for students. But, where the district is not instituting those changes for lack of will, lack of a sense of urgency, or lack of capacity, then the state has the obligation to change the outcome for the students.''
What Cathie Black's resignation means for school reform
By Valerie Strauss If the ridiculous 3 1/2-month tenure of New York City schools Chancellor Cathleen Black shows anything, it is that mayoral control of public schools and non-traditional school leaders are hardly the answer to the ills of urban education as modern reformers have portrayed them. Black resigned on Thursday after she was tapped last December by her friend New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to succeed the departing Joel Klein even though she had no professional experience in education, and had not attended public schools.
New Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott gets education waiver, tough questions on same day
By Matthew Nestel and Rachel Monahan Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott faced a host of angry parents armed with tough questions on the day the state granted his waiver allowing him to officially take the post. On the day he was officially approved as schools chancellor, Dennis Walcott got plenty of congratulations - but also tough questions. Thursday, hours before the state education commissioner granted Walcott a waiver to head the nation's largest school system, parents and teachers at Francis Lewis High School grilled him about overcrowding and budget cuts. "We're concerned that some kids don't have a table to sit at. I'm concerned that some children don't have a space to play athletics," said PTA President Leslie O'Grady, who also questioned how schools could be expected to perform in the face of devastating cuts.
by Timothy A. Hacsi Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who had hired Ms. Black without public discussion, quickly replaced her with a deputy mayor steeped in education policy. But the real issue is not the superintendent's or chancellor's background, but the excessive emphasis that politicians, educators and parents place on the notion of leadership rather than on empirical evidence about what improves education.
Ed Boss' Blast
by Carl Campanile Outgoing state Education Commissioner David Steiner unleashed a torrent of criticism of public schools across the state and nation, saying there is a "genuine crisis" in the system, and flunking a curriculum that he said denies kids a well-rounded education. "The social contract has broken down," Steiner said in a recent address at the New York State United Teachers convention that was posted on YouTube. "We have a genuine, genuine crisis." Steiner also predicted budget cuts that will trigger pink slips for teachers and loss of arts and music programs. He also lamented the funding gap between wealthy and poor students.
A change in admissions policy transforms HS prep program
by Chris Arp Responding to criticisms of a program created to diversify the city's elite high schools, school officials are highlighting a surprising fact: The program no longer gives special preference to the black and Hispanic students it was built to serve. The city launched the Specialized High School Institute in 1995 to help get more black and Hispanic students admitted to schools such as Stuyvesant and Bronx Science. Black and Hispanic specialized high school applicants who attended the institute have been more likely to get in than those who didn't attend. But fewer black and Hispanic students have gotten that chance since a 2007 lawsuit forced the city to give equal access to the program to all students. Department officials drew attention to the policy change after the Daily News reported last week that fewer black and Latino students who completed the program last year scored high enough on the city's high school exam to be admitted to elite schools.
Christie's budget cuts left N.J. schools unable to provide 'thorough and efficient' education, judge rules
By Jeanette Rundquist Gov. Chris Christie's deep cuts to state school aid last year left New Jersey's schools unable to provide a "thorough and efficient" education to the state's nearly 1.4 million school children, a Superior Court judge found today. Judge Peter Doyne, who was appointed as special master in the long-running Abbott vs. Burke school funding case, today issued an opinion that also found the reductions "fell more heavily upon our high risk districts and the children educated within those districts."
New Jersey Students, Shortchanged
Editorial The New Jersey Legislature acted in the best interest of the state's most vulnerable children in 2008 when it adopted a school financing formula that guaranteed districts enough money to give needy and disabled students a chance at a decent education. The state declared that it had found a way to quantify and subsidize the costs of the extra services — tutoring, counseling and after-school programs — that high-risk students needed to succeed at school. The plan won court approval. The state has changed its tune under Gov. Chris Christie. Mr. Christie first vetoed a bill that would have raised revenue by taxing some of the state's richest citizens. He used the economy as an excuse to savage the school budget, shortchanging the school financing formula by $1.6 billion, a cut of nearly 20 percent.
New Urban Playbook: Hand Over Schools to Charter Operators
By Mary Ann Zehr The financially embattled Detroit school system has announced a controversial plan to turn nearly a third of the district's 141 schools over to charter operators or education-management organizations by next school year. Officials say their only other option is to close dozens of low-performing schools. With its plan to hand 41 schools over to outside managers, the 73,000-student Detroit district is borrowing a page from the same playbook that a growing number of large urban districts seem to be using.
Report: Calif. budget cuts hit poor schools harder
By Christina Hoag Three years of state budget cuts have widened the gap between schools in poor and wealthy communities while diminishing the quality of education in California overall, according to a report released Monday by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles. "In 2011, California public schools struggle to provide all students with a quality education amidst economic crisis and deep cuts to education spending," said the report from UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access.
Schools Under Pressure to Spare the Rod Forever
By Dan Frosch When Tyler Anastopoulos got in trouble for skipping detention at his high school recently, he received the same punishment that students in parts of rural Texas have been getting for generations. Tyler, an 11th grader from Wichita Falls, was sent to the assistant principal and given three swift swats to the backside with a paddle, recalled Angie Herring, his mother. The blows were so severe that they caused deep bruises, and Tyler wound up in the hospital, Ms. Herring said.
Supreme Court Allows Tax Credit for Religious Tuition
By Adam Liptak WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday let stand an Arizona program that aids religious schools, saying in a 5-to-4 decision that the plaintiffs had no standing to challenge it. The program itself is novel and complicated, and allowing it to go forward may be of no particular moment. But by closing the courthouse door to some kinds of suits that claim violations of the First Amendment's ban on government establishment of religion, the court's ruling in the case may be quite consequential.
SCHOTT HIGHLIGHT All students deserve opportunity
By Susan Gobreski Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed an outrageous $1.1 billion in cuts to schools. Across Pennsylvania, communities are telling legislators to reject these cuts. Otherwise we will be faced with extraordinary choices about programs - shall we cut off our arm or our leg this year? Yet rather than focus on the big picture, the state Senate is exploring vouchers, in which taxpayers cut checks to some families to send their kid to private school. There are myriad problems with this: a lack of accountability for funds or academic achievement; no certainty of standards, educational quality; no guarantee of student access; legal and constitutional problems, and no research to support it as a way to improve outcomes. Only some would get vouchers, so upwards of 90 percent of kids would remain in the targeted schools. Experts project this could cost $800 million to $1 billion by the third year.
SCHOTT HIGHLIGHT Education: two important proposals
By Teacherken The Student Bill of Rights (SBOR) is something the Congressman has been pursuing for several Congresses. The current iteration is based on the Opportunity to Learn framework of the Schott Foundation, and is supported by among other the National Education Association. As a key adviser to the Congressman wrote me, it "addresses the centuries-old injustice of dramatic inadequacy and inequity of resources between school districts. While we have made significant strides in recent years in measuring the difference in educational outcomes between schools and districts, there has not been nearly as much attention paid towards the resources that encourage, allow, or promote student learning. We do not fully know to what extent all children have a meaningful opportunity to learn."
SCHOTT HIGHLIGHT Panel considers ways to combat Broward's black male dropout rate
By Cara Fitzpatrick To spot a future high school dropout, look no further than the third grade, Broward Schools Superintendent Jim Notter said Thursday at an education summit to address issues affecting black youth. Children who struggle academically at young ages are far more likely to drop out, though they typically wait until ninth grade to do so, he said. "Believe it or not, by third grade we're starting to lose them," said Notter.
SCHOTT HIGHLIGHT State education leader criticizes Pinellas school district
By Rebecca Catalanello ST. PETERSBURG — One of Florida's top education leaders painted a troubling picture of Pinellas County schools before a symposium of about 100 education, business and community leaders Tuesday.
SCHOTT HIGHLIGHT April Forum Aims To Provide Tools To Help Young Black Males Prosper
By Chandra R. Thomas "The mere fact that African-American males make up 89 percent of the inmate population in Fulton County but are only 20 percent of the total population speaks to the critical need," says fellow organizer Michael Langford. "The fact that 88 percent of them don't have a GED or a high school education speaks to how much more we need to be involved in the lives of our black kids." Only 41 percent of black men graduate from high school in the United States, according to a study by the Schott Foundation for Public Education. One report found that one in three black men between the ages of 20 and 29 years old is under correctional supervision or control.
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The Snap Schott is distributed by the Schott Foundation for Public Education. For more information, please visit www.schottfoundation.org. |
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