Monday, December 26, 2011

Now is not the right time for more charter schools in Michigan

Now is not the right time for more charter schools in Michigan:

OPINION: Now is not the right time for more charter schools in Michigan

On Dec. 14, our state legislators passed Senate Bill 618 to allow more charter schools in Michigan. Wasting no time, Gov. Rick Snyder signed it into law on Dec. 20. The leaders in Lansing like the idea of choice and competition, and when the population in Michigan is growing, that way of thinking would be just fine.

But the population in Michigan is shrinking, which means that every year schools have to work with less and less money even if the per-pupil funding stays the same. Adding charters now makes the situation worse.

Janice Loomis

For example, an average Michigan school gets almost $8,000 per student to run the district. That money pays for everything, lighting bills, buses, teachers, books, computers, etc. (Some districts have additional money due to bonds or categorical money which must be spent on specific areas.) In general, the main funding for schools is the per-student allotment.

So, with the passing of this law, perhaps a new charter will open in

Charter schools are not the solution: The widow of famed UFT leader Albert Shanker blasts ‘reformers’ - NY Daily News

Charter schools are not the solution: The widow of famed UFT leader Albert Shanker blasts ‘reformers’ - NY Daily News:

Charter schools are not the solution: The widow of famed UFT leader Albert Shanker blasts ‘reformers’

They are unwilling to work within the system

BY EADIE SHANKER
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Monday, December 26 2011, 3:50 AM

Legendary teachers union leader Al Shanker would not have supported the current charter school movement.

Are charter schools the answer for public education? If what you know about charters comes from last year’s ballyhooed film “Waiting for Superman,” you probably think so. But the answer is, in fact, much more complex.

My late husband, Albert Shanker, was one of the first education leaders to advocate for the concept in 1988, as president of the American Federation of Teachers. Al envisioned charter schools as teacher-led laboratories for reform within public schooling, tasked with developing innovative strategies to “produce more learning for more students.” He saw them operating with a high level of autonomy from bureaucracy, yet remaining an integral part of our public education system.

Although most charter schools get their basic funding from the same education allotments as regular public schools, they tout their independence as a major source of their superiority. But Al believed that even the best charter schools couldn’t generate sweeping change if they were disconnected from regular public schools. As he wrote in 1994, “Charter schools must have autonomy to get where they want to go, but they must also be part of a system that has a central purpose — and that means a system that has decided what kids need to know and be able to do. Otherwise, they will end up like all those alternative schools of the 1960s — relevant only to themselves and useless to the system as a whole.”

Al became increasingly critical of charter schools as they moved further from their original intent. He warned that without well-crafted legislation and public oversight, business

SIMMONS: Keep a watchful eye on high cost of school reform - Washington Times

SIMMONS: Keep a watchful eye on high cost of school reform - Washington Times:

SIMMONS: Keep a watchful eye on high cost of school reform

By Deborah Simmons

The Washington Times

Sunday, December 25, 2011

**FILE** D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (Associated Press)

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

Did you spend less this Christmas because of the economy?

ANALYSIS/OPINION

There’s a nasty little trend coursing throughout America, and while I hardly want to toss a bucket of cold water on your warm holiday spirits, a warning is in order as federal, state and local governments broach the inevitable passionate debates about education funding in 2012.

The next few months portend a reality show based on school reform going very, very badly.

Here in the nation’s capital, tempers could start as early as mid-January, when the D.C. Public Education Finance Reform Commission begins drafting a per-pupil funding strategy that will guide the hands of lawmakers and the mayor in developing education budgets for many years to come.

And if you look at Texas, Colorado and other states, such deliberations are already messy political processes that put government budgets and

Education Inspector General Kathleen Tighe Selected to Lead Recovery Board -- WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Education Inspector General Kathleen Tighe Selected to Lead Recovery Board -- WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --:

Education Inspector General Kathleen Tighe Selected to Lead Recovery Board

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kathleen S. Tighe, the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Education and a strong proponent of transparency and accountability in government, has been selected by President Obama to serve as the new Chair of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100702/RECOVERYLOGO)

Ms. Tighe, a member of the Recovery Board since April 2010, replaces Earl E. Devaney, who is retiring on December 31 after nearly three years in the post.

"Under Earl Devaney's leadership, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board became a model for government oversight—ensuring that Recovery Act dollars were distributed efficiently and effectively across the country. He will be greatly missed,'' said Vice President Joe Biden. "I'm confident that Kathleen Tighe will continue to hold the Board to the high standards set by Earl as the Recovery Act's top watchdog.''

In a statement, Ms. Tighe said: "I am honored to have been appointed by the President to serve our nation's taxpayers in an

The Quiz: Test yourself on education in 2011 - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

The Quiz: Test yourself on education in 2011 - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

The Quiz: Test yourself on education in 2011

by Valerie Strauss

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

School reformers who believe in using business principles to run public schools had a banner year. More states expanded the number of charter schools, promoted vouchers and moved toward using student test scores to evaluate teachers.

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