In the News: A Clipping Service – February 7, 2011

In this edition of In the News:

  • Taking Stock of Education Reform
  • Courts Weigh In
  • State and Local News
  • Announcements

Taking Stock of Education Reform

A Chance to Make History
Huntington News
– February 1, 2011
In her new book A Chance to Make History TFA founder Wendy Kopp goes beyond TFA to explore the chronic problem of underperforming schools that fail students. The book features inspirational success stories, highlights New Orleans’ groundbreaking school reform efforts, and offers realistic solutions that should help inform the national debate. Note: Educate Now! congratulates TFA on its 20th anniversary.

Pyrrhic Victories?
Education Next
– February 1, 2011
Education reformers have won some major battles over the past decade, and there is more public support for overhauling teacher pay and evaluation systems, charter schools and accountability. But reformers are their own worst enemy when they drive good ideas to extremes and oversell their promise.

ESEA Renewal May See New Momentum
Education Week
– January 28, 2011
Education leaders in Congress are signaling that they’re prepared to collaborate on the long-stalled reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the main federal law for K-12 education. Its current version, the No Child Left Behind Act, became law in 2002.

Harvard Report Questions Value of ‘College for All’
Education Week
– February 2, 2011
A new report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education says that by concentrating so much on classroom-based academics with four-year college as a goal, the nation’s education system has failed vast numbers of students.

View Harvard’s Pathways to Prosperity report.

To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test
New York Times
– January 21, 2011
According to new research, taking a test actually helps people learn and works better than a number of other studying techniques.

Courts Weigh In

Ohio Case: The ‘Rosa Parks Moment’ For Education?
NPR
– January 28, 2011
A mother in Ohio received a felony conviction for lying about her address so her two daughters could attend a better school in a neighboring district.

Los Angeles Judge Limits Seniority-Based Teacher Layoffs
Education Week
– January 21, 2011
In a landmark decision, a Los Angeles judge limited the number of teacher layoffs that could be based on seniority alone by restricting the number of teachers that could be fired from the districts lowest performing schools.

State and Local News

Census Finds Hurricane Katrina Left New Orleans Richer, Whiter, Emptier
Bloomberg
– February 4, 2011
Since the last census 10 years ago, New Orleans has lost 140,845 residents, a drop of 29% from 2000. Census figures also show the city is more affluent, more Latin and a little whiter than it was before Katrina.

Public School Take-Overs Debated
The Advocate
– January 26, 2011
At a meeting of the Senate Education Committee, legislators repeatedly grilled State Superintendent Pastorek and RSD Superintendent Vallas on how state-run schools are faring, and why they have failed to show greater gains. Sixty-nine of the RSD’s 104 state-run schools are in Orleans Parish.

Independent Schoolhouse Authority Proposed
The Lens
– January 27, 2011
RSD Superintendent Paul Vallas supports a plan to transfer all Orleans Parish school facilities to a new authority that would manage the city’s public school buildings and possibly oversee the $1.8 billion in new facility construction.

Charter School Movement Creates Business Opportunities
New Orleans CityBusiness
– January 26, 2011
The city’s education system has become decentralized since the storm. The result, entrepreneurs say, is a fertile environment for innovators to fill product and service gaps in education.

Enrollment Begins at Virtual Schools
Monroe News Star
– January 25, 2011
Louisiana’s first two virtual charter schools will begin accepting student enrollments in the next few months. Both the Baton Rouge based Connections Academy and the New Orleans based Virtual Academy may enroll any Louisiana student regardless of geographic location.

Announcements

Urban League Schools Expo – March 12
On Saturday, March 12, 2011, the Urban League of Greater New Orleans will host its fifth annual Schools Expo at the University of New Orleans Lindy Boggs Conference Center from 10am-2pm. In this one-stop shop, parents will be able to learn about all school options in New Orleans.

The Expo also provides families with information on resources available through community organizations. If your community organization is interested in participating in the Expo, download this Registration Form.

New Master Plan Website
A new website has been created for all key reports involved in the School Facilities Master Plan and the latest information on its implementation: www.rebuildingnolaschools.com

Education Entrepreneur Fellowship
The Mind Trust is seeking talented innovators to apply for its national Education Entrepreneur Fellowship. If you have a plan to transform public education and the entrepreneurial skills necessary to put this idea into practice, then this fellowship might be for you. For more information, visit the Fellowship page of the Mind Trust website.