By Bill Lucia, April 26, 2018 Close your eyes for a moment. Imagine if only one in six African-American students in an entire state could read at grade level. Imagine if fewer than one in five Latino students were performing at grade level in math. Imagine if less than one-third of students were proficient in…
Category: Accountability
A state takeover of JCPS and its ‘failing schools’ would show Matt Bevin is a hypocrite
(Photo: Michael Clevenger/Louisville Courier-Journal) Joseph Gerth, Published 10:37 a.m. ET April 25, 2018 | Updated 11:45 a.m. ET April 25, 2018 The mantra from the Republican Party has long been “local control.” The federal government shouldn’t dictate that states allow abortion, or tell our farmers what methods they should use, or tell us how to educate our…
Mass. high court rejects challenge to charter school cap
By Michael P. Norton STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BOSTON — The Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal of a case challenging the state’s cap on charter schools, delivering another blow to advocates for publicly funded alternatives to traditional public schools. In its ruling, the court said plaintiff students from Boston “failed to…
Two studies say Michigan is underfunding public education
By LOUISE WREGE – HP Staff Writer Mar 4, 2018 For the second time in two years, a statewide study shows that Michigan is underfunding its K-12 public schools. The second study was released in January by a bipartisan group of educators and business people who formed the School Finance Research Collaborative. It found that…
Report: Fund charter schools equally, boost funding for all Michigan schools
Lori Higgins, Detroit Free PressPublished 12:09 p.m. ET Jan. 17, 2018 | Updated 6:27 p.m. ET Jan. 17, 2018 Michigan’s charter schools should receive the same amount of funding as traditional public schools and the state must invest more overall in its schools, according to a report released Wednesday that examines school funding in the state. It’s…
New report highlights need to transform Michigan’s school funding system, educators argue
Updated Jan 17, 2018; Posted Jan 17, 2018 By Brian McVicar A new school finance study shows Michigan is underfunding its schools, and additional dollars should be invested in students with the greatest needs, including those who are low-income, have a limited grasp of English or require special education. The study was released Wednesday by the School Finance Research Collaborative, an…
EMPTY SCHOOLS, EMPTY PROMISES Behind sale of closed schools, a legacy of segregation
By Kalyn Belsha | January 13, 2017 Key Elementary School, a sandy-colored brick building on a tree-lined street on Chicago’s West Side, sits empty now. Several windows near its entrance are boarded up, giving the school’s façade the look of a smile that is missing front teeth. The school is in a busy, historic section of the Austin…
Private schools, poised to grow in Illinois, move into closed Chicago public schools
By Kalyn Belsha | 3 hours ago Photo by José Alejandro Córcoles The Field School, a small private Christian school currently housed at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, bought Key Elementary on the West Side for $125,000 as their new location. The district sold the shuttered school to them for $50,000 less than they originally bid since…
States are favoring school choice at a steep cost to public education
By The Associated Press April 24, 2018 6:52 am (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Derek W. Black, University of South Carolina (THE CONVERSATION) Teacher strikes are generating a healthy focus on how far public education funding has fallen over the past decade. The full explanation, however,…
Alabama schools hiring new superintendent: Who the board might select and why
By Trisha Powell Crain tcrain@al.com By the end of the day, members of the Alabama Board of Education will very likely have voted to hire the next person to lead the state’s K-12 schools. Selecting the next state schools’ superintendent has been labeled the “most important decision” the board will make this year by Gov. Kay Ivey and others who witnessed a…
Standing Strong for Public Education! 