Va. is for virtual, not charter, schools
Charter school advocates like me are going to make a big deal out of Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell's plan to expand those publicly funded, independently run educational alternatives. But I predict the most important part of his Wednesday education announcement will not turn out to be about charter schools. It will be what he said about virtual schools, the growing segment of programs in which students learn online.
McDonnell's virtual education proposals are in sync with a new report from the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. Brookings, often described as liberal-leaning, might seem an odd fit with Virginia's new conservative Republican governor. But the report reveals that some school choice advocates on McDonnell's side of the issue are ready to accept the reality that some of their favorite reforms don't have as much potential for growth as they would like.
That is certainly true of charters in Virginia. As McDonnell pointed out, his state has only three of the independent public schools (a fourth is scheduled to open this year) while the nation has more than 4,600. He wants to stimulate their growth in Virginia, as President Obama is trying to do nationally, by giving the state Board of Education the power to approve charters denied by local school boards that are reluctant to create independent schools that would compete with their own.
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Private schools to make up some snow days
There is a joke among families who spend $30,000 or so send their kids to private schools that the more they pay in tuition, the fewer days their kids are in class.
There is no ratio of dollars to school days, but at least some private schools don’t have to stay open as long as public schools do each year.
State legislatures mandate how many days public schools must be open, and state officials have to grant permission for a reduction in that number if an emergency has forced schools to close for an extended period.
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Washington Teachers' Union president George Parker, responding toMonday's story about corporal punishment allegations, said the actual number of substantiated cases is much lower than the 220 incidents reported to D.C. police by Hawk One security.
How much lower? Like other key players in this issue, Parker doesn't say. Here's his statement:
The Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) takes the well-being of D.C.'s students very seriously. To that end, we have worked closely with the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) to establish clearly defined procedures for the investigation of corporal punishment and other teacher misconduct. Our procedures outline the process for bringing official charges, conducting investigations and--if the charges are substantiated--swiftly removing the guilty party from the classroom.
To be clear: Allegationsof corporal punishment are not official charges. Still, because the safety of our children is involved, we must be
