Archive for the ‘School Advisory’ Category
Breaking news: State will kick in extra bucks to support charter schools stranded by Supreme Court ruling
July 14th, 2011
UPDATE at 4:55. The governors office says now Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Erin Hames will call me about this. I will post her comments shortly after we talk. (I wrote up a separate post on her comments. See them here.)
UPDATED at 4:39 p.m. with info from governors office and release from one of the affected schools:
After all the angst, the state now plans to make up the difference in costs for the charter schools affected by the state Supreme Court ruling that the state Charter Schools Commission was illegal.
A rescue line has been thrown to Odyssey School in Newnan, Atlanta Heights Charter in Atlanta, Charter Conservatory for Liberal Arts and Technology in Statesboro, Cherokee Charter Academy in Canton, Coweta Charter Academy in Senoia, Fulton Leadership Academy in south Fulton County, Heritage Preparatory Academy in Atlanta and Pataula Charter Academy in Edison. (Not getting state funding are the two commission schools that already won local approval, Museum School of Avondale and Ivy Prep of Gwinnett.)
The state intends to fund these bricks-and-mortar state-chartered special schools for an amount equal to the average local share in their attendance zones.This will bring state-chartered special school revenues to the same amount they would have received as Commission schools. I have now talked to DOE they know no details of this bailout plan and the governors office, which told me a few extraordinary things about the source of this money.
Namely, the governor is still looking for sources of the funding, which was estimated at a Senate hearing to be around $10 million for the 2011-12 year for the schools.
The governors office told me it doesnt have a pot of money to specifically point out as the source of this bailout. We are working to identify funds within state government and those funds will be in the supplemental budget, said spokeswoman Jen Talaber.
So, I asked: Is it correct to say that Gov. Deal has committed the money but has no idea where he is going to find it?
Her response: I wouldnt say that.
She also told me that the governor did not consider the academic performance of the schools in his decision to fund them. Not all the charters already in operation posted strong scores this year, and at least one is performing well below its district average. (I plan to write about the schools performance in the next few days.)
Of the 15,644 students in the charters affected by the Supreme Court ruling, 10,000 of them would be taking classes virtually through online schools. One virtual school is operating, the Georgia Cyber Academy, and two were due to open this fall.
So, in terms of brick and mortar schools, their enrollments represented only a third of the affected students. Two-thirds of the impacted students are online students.
Charter schools receive public funds to operate under a board-approved charter, or contract, that spells out a plan for improving student achievement and provides benchmarks for measuring this improvement on a five-year time line. Up until two years ago, school boards in Georgia had primary power to veto or promote charter schools, but lawmakers felt that the school boards were hostile to charter schools and turned down strong applicants.
So, the General Assembly created a commission that not only could approve charters, but redirect monies so that the schools receive their share of local dollars. In its brief tenure, the commission approved 16 schools, eight of which are due to open this year. The commission was disbanded after the Supreme Court decision, leaving the commission-created schools in both legal and financial limbo.
The state Board of Education can approve charter schools that were rejected by local boards, but those schools get only state money, no local funding. Consider that local systems provide on average about 45 percent of what it now costs to educate a child. So, its a dramatic drop if a charter school loses its local dollars. Without that local funding, commission charter schools either had to find other sources of money or dramatically cut services.
The states bailout has considerably brightened their prospects and their bottom lines.
Here is an official release from one of the schools:
Georgia Charter Education Foundation received official notice today that the state will provide the money needed to bridge the funding gap for its two schools along with nine other schools that were originally approved by the Georgia Charter Commission. The Commission’s approval was later found by the Supreme Court to be unconstitutional. After receiving subsequent approval to open by the Department of Education (DOE), the schools’ futures remained uncertain since the funding provided by the DOE fell short of that which was needed to move forward. Today’s announcement allows all eleven schools to open this fall.
“This is amazing news,” said Lyn Carden of the GCEF. “Through the collaborative efforts of Governor Deal’s office, Chip Rogers’ office and the office of State Superintendent, John Barge, we are now able to offer education choice to students in Cherokee and Coweta. We couldn’t be happier to announce this wonderful news.”
The GCEF governs two schools in Georgia, Coweta Charter Academy and Cherokee Charter Academy. Coweta has been open for a year. Parents are urged now to complete and mail-in registration packets and to check the schools’ web sites often for updates.
“One of our challenges now is to keep everyone informed with accurate information,” added Carden. “We will continually update the websites and send emails to registered parents as well as inform the media of significant news.”
Posted in School Advisory | No Comments »
Commissioner Applauds Teachers and School Leaders for MAP Test Administration
July 14th, 2011
Commissioner of Education Chris L. Nicastro expressed her appreciation today to school testing coordinators who oversee administration of the Missouri Assessment Program throughout the state. Commonly known as “MAP tests,” the annual assessment program involves nearly 602,000 students in grades 3-12 and thousands of teachers and school administrators.
“We are very pleased that this year’s administration of the MAP was again conducted smoothly and professionally across the state,” Nicastro said. “It is no small feat to administer statewide exams with such a high level of security and fairness.”
The MAP tests are designed to see how well students have learned in core subjects such as mathematics, communication arts and science. Academic benchmarks are based on statewide learning expectations for each course and grade level.
Nicastro credited the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s new online training program for test coordinators and examiners for the high level of consistency in test administration. She also noted the success of a new quality-assurance system enacted this year to make sure random classroom observation visits and interviews take place.
The tests are considered high-stakes for schools since results weigh heavily in meeting state and federal accountability requirements. Test results also help parents and communities see how well their students are learning compared to state standards.
Testing irregularities occasionally occur that could provide an unfair advantage to students, according to state education officials. Suspected testing irregularities can be reported to the Department by anyone but are typically reported by school administrators, teachers and parents. Students and concerned citizens also have reported possible infractions. In most cases, the incidents are deemed accidental, such as a forgotten poster on the wall. If an unfair advantage is determined, the test scores are not counted and the teacher could be subject to additional training or disciplinary measures.
Although rare, willful teacher misconduct could result in the loss of employment and jeopardize the offender’s teaching certificate. The willful attempt to influence test scores at the district level is even rarer in Missouri. In 2004, an independent audit of the amplified test scores from the unaccredited Wellston School District contributed to the results being thrown out and the district’s eventual closure.
“The Department and the State Board of Education are grateful to the many professional educators and administrators, as well as parents, students and others, who help ensure the integrity of the Missouri Assessment Program,” Nicastro said. “We work hard to ensure our assessment and accountability system follows all established protocols.”
Preliminary MAP test results will be released to the public on Aug. 3.
Tags: Map Test, Test
Posted in School Advisory | No Comments »
New Vancouver Community Library’s grandeur a product of good timing
July 13th, 2011
The view from the ground floor plaza of the new Vancouver Community Library offers a quick guide to navigating the collection.Vancouver is bringing out the pomp for its new library’s grand opening Sunday, with some 45 minutes set aside for ceremony and speeches and a downtown block of C Street closed for the occasion. And with good reason. The new, 83,000-square-foot library will be the second-largest in the Portland-Vancouver area, bested only by the Multnomah County Central Library. It includes features not found elsewhere, including a fifth-floor outdoor terrace with a view of the Columbia River and a children’s museum-like Early Learning Center. It’s also marks an end of two decades of expansion, not just in Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, but in Oregon’s Multnomah and Washington counties, too. The respective library systems say they’re built out, and just in time. The slumped economy has put a squeeze on libraries that depend on property levies for their operating budgets, and asking voters for more money — especially for new construction — is a risky venture when belts are tightened. “We couldn’t have done this today,” said Fort Vancouver district Director Bruce Ziegman. “We wouldn’t have even tried.”
If you goWhat: Vancouver Community Library grand opening
Where: C Street between East 8th Street and East Evergreen Boulevard, Vancouver. The library is at 901 C St.
When: 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 17 The district went to Vancouver voters three times to pass a bond measure to build the new library and replace another, the 24,175-square-foot Cascade Park Community Library that reopened in 2009. The first two fell short of the 60 percent needed by just half a percent in 2006. But before a third vote in 2006, the Vancouver-based Killian Pacific development company donated a downtown site for the new building and an anonymous donor put up $5 million for the project. A $43 million bond measure to build the new libraries passed with 63 percent of the vote. “We’re really in many ways blessed by the timing,” Ziegman said. “We were persistent. As a result, people have got two new libraries, one in downtown Vancouver that will serve them for decades. Thank goodness we tried this when we did and didn’t wait.” 
The new Vancouver Community Library, located at 901 C St. in downtown Vancouver.The economy did leave behind a $165 million development Killian Pacific had planned alongside the new library. The project, put on hold indefinitely in 2008, envisioned offices, apartments, retail space and a boutique hotel, centered by a public plaza and anchored by the new library. Elsewhere in the metro area, libraries have also suspended their building cycles. Multnomah County passed its last levy in 2006 with funding for new libraries in Portland’s Kenton neighborhood and Troutdale. That levy is up for another vote next year, and includes no money for new facilities. In Washington County, every public library has been rebuilt, remodeled or expanded since 2000 except the Cornelius Public Library, said Eva Calcagno, manager of the Washington County Cooperative Library Services. For now, no new projects are on the table, though Cornelius is preparing plans for a new building. Libraries in Clackamas County, however, do have a number of projects in the planning stages. Voters there formed a library district with a permanent tax in 2008, and each library received a one-time infusion of funding for capital improvements. The Clackamas Corner Library in Happy Valley plans to move into a 17,000-square-foot building formerly occupied by the county government this fall, and projects are also in the works in Gladstone, Canby, Sandy and Oregon City. North of the state border, meanwhile, Ziegman said the Fort Vancouver district will shift its focus from expansion to growing its collections, including more digital offerings. “I think we’re going to stand pat for a while,” he said. “We really need to focus on the operation side now.” — ; Twitter, @ClarkCoReporter; phone, 503-294-5034
Tags: Community, New Vancouver, New Vancouver Community, Vancouver Community
Posted in School Advisory | No Comments »
Michigan State, Wayne State could lose $31M in state funding due to tuition hikes
July 13th, 2011
A government report says Michigan State University and Wayne State University have exceeded a 7 percent tuition increase cap.
The Detroit News reports Wednesday that both schools say their increases are below the cap. Michigan State could lose $18.3 million in funding and Wayne State could lose up to $12.8 million if state budget director John Nixon rules against the schools.
The schools recently voted to raise tuition 6.9 percent in September. But a report by the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency says tuition will increase at Michigan State by 9.4 percent and at Wayne State by 8.8 percent when comparing fall semester rates to 2010.
Gov. Rick Snyder has threated to impose bigger budget cuts if Michigan universities raise tuition by more than 7 percent.
Tags: Michigan State, Tuition, Wayne State
Posted in School Advisory | No Comments »
Florida Board of Education member resigns to take job in Minnesota
July 13th, 2011
State Board of Education member Mark Kaplan has announced that he is resigning effective July 20, opening another opportunity for Gov. Rick Scott to make an appointment to the seven-member board.
Kaplan, who joined the board in 2010, sent in his letter of resignation Tuesday. The letter said he is leaving to take a new position in Minnesota with his employer, The Mosaic Co.
Serving on the board has been an honor, and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the broader effort that has transformed Florida’s schools over the past 12 years, Kaplan said in his letter. Student achievement is rising, dropout rates are falling, and the achievement gap is closing. The progress has been great, but our potential is much greater and there is still much to be done.
Kaplan’s resignation follows that of former board chairman T. Willard Fair, who resigned in March over Scott’s handling of the resignation of Education Commissioner Eric Smith. Scott appointed Gary R. Chartrand, executive chairman of marketing agency Acosta, to fill Fair’s position, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Education said.
Scott also re-appointed A.K. Desai – who was added to the board by former Gov. Jeb Bush – to another four-year term that ends at the end of 2014, the spokeswoman said.
Besides Kaplan, there is another vacancy on the board still waiting to be filled by the resignation of Susan Story in November, the spokeswoman said.
The education board’s job is to create the blueprint for the state’s education standards, including high school graduation requirements and school grades. The seven members are appointed to staggered four-year terms by the governor.
Kaplan had been appointed to the board by former Gov. Charlie Crist in 2010. He was chief of staff under Gov. Jeb Bush.
Mark’s unwavering commitment to student success has been truly inspiring and his leadership, knowledge and dedication will be greatly missed as Florida continues its pursuit of educational excellence for all children, Board of Education Chair Kathleen Shanahan said in a statement. On behalf of the Florida State Board of Education, I would like to thank Mark for his devoted service to the students of Florida and wish him much success in wherever his future endeavors may take him.
Tags: Education Member, Member
Posted in School Advisory | No Comments »