CER Daily Media Clips

Your Daily News Clips for February, 22 2021

CER Daily Media Clips for February 22, 2021

‘Let’s do it’: Union president insists teachers want to return, need more aid

Feb 22, 2021 | Washington Times | teachers unions | National

The head of the American Federation of Teachers dismissed as a “myth” the idea that teachers don’t want to reopen schools, but she warned that reopening will take more taxpayer money — putting an awkward confrontation with unions at the forefront of the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

Column: With no elections, successful charter school leaders have long tenures

Feb 22, 2021 | Washington Post | charter schools | National

I have been checking on how some of the nation’s best public charter school networks have done during the pandemic. Their stability of leadership has made a difference.

Column: Educational Innovation Isn’t Just the Technology, It’s the Teaching.

Feb 22, 2021 | The 74 | innovation | National

Education requires innovation. During a pandemic, that innovation is all the more urgent. But much of that innovation does not get written about in Wired. It doesn’t involve technology at all. Rather, it involves educators doing one of the hardest jobs in the world during a stunningly difficult time. They are continuing to teach using high-quality curriculum, pushing academic rigor, addressing learning loss from last spring and summer, and supporting students emotionally. Put simply, they are innovators.

Opinion: Can We Stop Fighting About Charter Schools?

Feb 22, 2021 | New York Times | charter schools | National

I know people want a cut-and-dried answer. Unfortunately, the discourse about charter schools has become more of an ideological debate, split neatly into opposing factions, than it is a policy discussion informed by facts. As long as Democrats play by those rules, they miss an important chance to reframe the debate altogether.

More teachers are asked to double up, instructing kids at school and at home simultaneously

Feb 22, 2021 | Washington Post | general teacher issues | National

Simultaneous teaching — also called simulcast or concurrent — is what many districts across the country have settled on in an attempt to solve the logistical jigsaw puzzle involved in bringing back some students for in-person instruction while others continue learning from home.

Equitable learning pod in Minneapolis at risk of closing without funding help

Feb 22, 2021 | KARE11 | learning pods | Towns, States, Midwest, Minnesota

An equitable learning pod in south Minneapolis is helping students who are distance learning get the support they need. But organizers say without more funding, they risk closing at the end of the month.

No quick path to reopening L.A. Unified is emerging as school year slips away

Feb 22, 2021 | Los Angeles Times | teachers unions | Towns, States, West, California

The union’s posture — similar to that of school employee unions in San Francisco and of the California Teachers Assn. — comes as union leaders in the nation’s second-largest school district continue protracted negotiations with officials over what a return to school will look like and as parents in diverse areas of the city express passionate and opposing views over reopening.

Editorial: Politics, not science, drives school reopening demands

Feb 22, 2021 | The Mercury News | teachers unions | States, West, California

California public school parents have become understandably exasperated with the months of squabbling between teacher unions, county officials, the state Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom over school reopenings.

‘Beyond incredulous’: Manhattan judge green lights COVID testing for charter schools

Feb 22, 2021 | New York Daily News | charter schools | Towns, States, Northeast, New York

A Manhattan judge, in a sharp rebuke of city school officials, ruled that charter school students are entitled to the same weekly COVID-19 testing program employed in New York’s public schools.

In-person classes. Old buildings. Almost no COVID. Are Philly Catholic schools a blueprint?

Feb 22, 2021 | WHYY | catholic schools | Towns, States, Northeast, Pennsylvania

Each room at St. Pio’s has a window cracked and a door open. There’s a system for when students can use bathrooms between regular cleanings. And each desk has a three-panel barrier that students raise whenever they need to lower their masks. Behind the barriers sit roughly 230 students, from pre-K through eighth grade, about the same number who occupied this building last year. They’ve been learning in a decades-old Catholic school five days a week since the school year began.

Editorial: Don’t let school vouchers come to Idaho. Properly fund our public schools first

Feb 22, 2021 | Idaho Statesman | school choice | States, West, Idaho

Idaho legislators are beginning to bring bills forward that would provide taxpayer dollars to individuals who choose private schools.

How some private schools have been keeping kids safe in class for months

Feb 22, 2021 | WNCT9 | private schools | Towns, States, South, North Carolina

One private school in Huntersville has been back inside the classroom for almost six months working to keep students safe in the middle of a pandemic.

Bill to give parents school vouchers hits roadblock in House panel

Feb 22, 2021 | Union Leader | school choice | States, Northeast, New Hampshire

In a surprise move, a House committee voted Thursday to put off until early 2022 acting on a signature Republican initiative to award parents with “freedom scholarships” if they send their children to private, religious, home schools or public schools outside their hometowns.

Opinion: Think voucher expansion helps poor kids in bad schools? Then convince their advocates

Feb 22, 2021 | Arizona Republic | school choice | States, West, Arizona

If Arizona Republicans believe private school vouchers will help fix our education problems, they should work to get others on board with an expansion.

Indiana Senate Backs Yearly Hurdle on Teacher Union Dues

Feb 22, 2021 | NBC Chicago | teachers unions | States, Midwest, Indiana

Indiana teachers would have to renew requests every year for automatic paycheck deduction of union dues under a bill that’s been approved by the state Senate.

‘They really do care’ — This charter school offers Forsyth County students another

Feb 22, 2021 | The Forsyth County News | charter schools | Towns, States, South, Georgia

The night school, open Monday-Thursday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., offers students like Alesca the chance to earn a diploma by taking classes at their own pace, finishing courses within as much or as little time as they need. It also offers another option to students who may not thrive in or be able to attend a traditional school.

Don’t be fooled: School voucher bill has a dark side | Opinion

Feb 22, 2021 | Tallahassee Democrat | school choice | States, South, Florida

As a distinguished FSU math professor, he has undoubtedly made wise choices for spending these funds, which by current standards amounts to about $8,500 per child. But who knows whether other parents are making wise decisions? The voucher program for private, online and home-schooling has no accountability.

Editorial: Failing grades for Indiana voucher expansion bills

Feb 22, 2021 | South Bend Tribune | school choice | States, Midwest, Indiana

With public schools grappling with the challenge of educating students during a pandemic, with uncertainty about funding, Republican lawmakers in the Indiana General Assembly have chosen to go all-in on growing the state’s voucher program.

Revamped voucher bill still facing headwind

Feb 22, 2021 | Northwest Arkansas Gazette | school choice | States, South, Arkansas

School choice proponents filed a bill this month that would allow public funds to be used to pay for private school tuition, with an added provision that would give financial help to certain public schools. But even with that provision—which wasn't in similar school choice legislation filed in the past two legislative sessions—the 2021 bill still faces much of the same opposition as past legislation.

Time to lead on learning loss | Editorial

Feb 22, 2021 | The Star-Ledger | accountability | States, Northeast, New Jersey

Nearly a year into this pandemic, thousands of students across the state are still not back in the classroom, and based on some alarming initial research, their learning loss will be unprecedented.

Editorial: Akron Public Schools should avoid further delays, open buildings

Feb 22, 2021 | Akron Baacon Journal | school districts | Towns, States, Midwest, Ohio

Seats have been empty at Akron public school buildings for almost a year. Now, after a public scolding by Gov. Mike DeWine, the district is in the spotlight for lagging behind other districts in offering in-person learning to everyone. Although his initial public statements were unexpected, DeWine — let’s be honest — just said what every Akron parent was thinking.

Opinion: How should Arizona erase pandemic learning losses? Probably not how you’d think

Feb 22, 2021 | Arizona Republic | accountability | States, West, Arizona

If we want to stem pandemic learning losses – and, thankfully, many Arizona education advocates agree on this – our best bet lies in doing two far more fundamental things simultaneously: Ensure that every school has effective teachers and a dynamic principal. Empower these education experts – who know their students’ needs best – to experiment with the best ways to fill those gaps.

In search of in-person learning, parents pull kids from public school

Feb 22, 2021 | KCRA | private schools | Towns, States, West, California

Growing increasingly frustrated with the challenges of distance learning, some parents are pulling their children from public schools and enrolling them in private schools.

Parent-Led Rally to Open South Orange, Maplewood Schools Planned for Feb. 22

Feb 22, 2021 | TAPinto.net | parent power | Towns, States, Northeast, New Jersey

“It’s been almost 350 days since most kids in South Orange and Maplewood have set foot in a classroom or met their teachers in person,” said Kate Walker, co-leader, in the statement. “The needs of the youngest and most vulnerable children in this district are being pushed aside in the reopening conversation.

Indiana voucher plan could take 1/3 of school funding boost

Feb 22, 2021 | Post Tribune | school choice | States, Midwest, Indiana

More than one-third of the proposed state funding hike for Indiana schools could go toward the state’s private school voucher program under a Republican-backed plan that could boost the program’s cost by nearly 50% over the next two years.

COVID drives home schooling surge; public school enrollment drops

Feb 22, 2021 | MPR News | enrollment | States, Midwest, Minnesota

The COVID-19 crisis is driving dramatic changes in Minnesota public school enrollments, including a drop of some 17,000 students in the past year, with families delaying kindergarten and choosing options outside the public system.

SC capital region schools ready to offer more virtual classes even as COVID outbreak slows

Feb 22, 2021 | Post & Courier | online learning | Towns, States, South, South Carolina

Even if the coronavirus pandemic tapers off with more people getting vaccinated, school administrators around the state’s capital region said they plan to keep in place virtual learning options after discovering demand for the curriculum among parents, students and staff.

For some parents, remote learning is an imperfect but welcome alternative

Feb 22, 2021 | The Herald News | remote learning | Towns, States, Northeast, Massachusetts

While some parents are clamoring for schools to offer more in-person learning time, others have chosen to keep their children in fully remote classes, either because of health concerns or because it simply seemed less stressful than hybrid learning.

Commentary: Understand the costs associated with proposed school choice bill in Kansas Legislature

Feb 22, 2021 | Topeka Capital-Journal | school choice | States, Midwest, Kansas

The Kansas House of Representatives is considering a bill (HB 2119) that would transfer tax dollars from public schools to individual accounts for eligible students to fund private education. These proposed student transaction accounts would be managed by the State Treasurer's Office.

Editorial: Maryland bill seeks to use the pandemic to gut public school funding

Feb 22, 2021 | Baltimore Sun | school choice | States, South, Maryland

When it comes to public education, it sometimes seems as if there are two distinct camps: those who are generally supportive of public schools, recognize that they are vital to the collective well-being of the country, and help reduce inequalities and prepare individuals to be productive members of society; and those who believe that they are an enormous tax burden, despite the racism and classism that suggests.

Daily Headlines

To view this email in your browser, CLICK HERE.