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Economic Inequality
Chicago Tribune, IL, October 6, 2011
America’s urban public schools are in trouble: Student test scores are low and dropout rates are high. Recent remedies proposed include everything from reducing the power of teachers unions and opening more charter schools to ending test-based accountability. But what if education critics are focused on the wrong problem?

It’s Time To Leave School Law Behind
Portland Tribune, OR, October 6, 2011
The notion that a child, a classroom or an entire school could be judged by the results of a standardized test finally seems to be discredited. From our point of view, this era in education will pass none too soon.

FROM THE STATES

Alumni Make Difference In Charter Schools
The Tufts Daily, MA,October 6, 2011
In the period leading up to graduation, many Tufts seniors think about applying to programs like Teach for America or the Peace Corps. Last year, three recent grads chose to pursue a similar option right across the river in Boston.

As School Layoffs Loom, City Points Finger at Union Chief, Who Points Right Back
New York Times, NY, October 6, 2011
With more than 700 school aides facing their last day at work on Friday barring a last-minute deal, the Bloomberg administration is blaming the school aides’ powerful labor union, District Council 37, for not doing enough to prevent the layoffs.

Charters Are No Panacea
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 6, 2011
The New Jersey Department of Education approved four new charter schools last week, one in Camden , boosting the total approved this year to 27, the most ever in a year.

Three Charter-School Firms In Philadelphia To Share $2.4 Million Grant
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 6, 2011
The Philadelphia School Partnership is celebrating its first anniversary by announcing $2.4 million in grants to three local charter-school operators that have taken over failing city schools.

New Philadelphia School Reform Commission Vows New Relationship With Public
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 6, 2011
Saying it was time to “turn the page” on city schools’ tumultuous recent past, a new-look School Reform Commission on Wednesday said it would forge “a new relationship” with the public.

Is Fairfax Charter School An Impossible Dream?
Washington Post, DC, October 5, 2011
Welcome to Fantasyland. Eric Welch just sent me a detailed plan for a public charter school in Fairfax County. He and several other people on the board of what they call the Fairfax Leadership Academy say they want to help low-income families with a school unlike any that local students have had before.

Why Are Maryland, Virginia Students in D.C. Schools?
Washington Times, DC, October 5, 2011
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown wants to find out why students from Maryland and Virginia are attending the District’s public schools illegally, forcing city taxpayers to subsidize their education and potentially robbing students of a “quality seat” in their own schools.

Howard School Board Voices Opposition To Hybrid Model
Baltimore Sun, MD, October 5, 2011
Howard County school board members agreed this week that they need to voice stronger opposition to a bill that would retool the seven-member, at-large, elected body to one with five members elected by district and two appointees.

Immigration Law’s Impact Unseen in Georgia Schools
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, October 6, 2011
After Georgia enacted its tough new immigration law this year, proponents expressed hope that it would sharply reduce the strain illegal immigrants put on the state’s public schools and other taxpayer-funded resources.

CEMCS Gets A Week To Prepare A One-Year Charter Extension
Savannah Morning News, GA, October 6, 2011
The Savannah-Chatham Public School Board offered Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School officials a whole lot of criticism and a little bit of time to get the school on stable footing Wednesday.

School Districts Should Work With Charter Schools To Benefit All Children
TC Palm, FL, October 6, 2011
On July 26 the you published an article written by Dave Weber of the Sun-Sentinel. The article, “State gives charter schools $55M for upkeep,” was full of inaccurate statements and written from a biased point of view.

Board Oks Charter Bid But Has Questions
The Tampa Tribune, FL, October 6, 2011
The Pasco County School Board is supporting what could become the county’s sixth charter school despite unanswered questions and trepidation that a for-profit company would manage the school.

Schools You Think Are Charters… But Aren’t
StateImpact NPR, FL, October 5, 2011
Here are a lot of Florida schools that look and function like charters, but really aren’t. And when we embarked on this series, we couldn’t always tell the difference between one public school with a focus on science and another public school with a focus on science. But it turns out there can be quite a bit distinguishing the two.

Teachers’ Union Seeks To Nullify The Public’s Will
The Tampa Tribune, FL, October 6, 2011
Florida voters are beginning to understand how badly many public schools perform, and how little many students are learning compared to their peers in other nations.

A First-Of-Its-Kind Charter School in Ohio
WKSU, OH, October 6, 2011
The Bio-Med Science Academy is the brainchild of an Akron teacher who built the science, technology, engineering and math school in one year

Debating the Cost of Parents’ Picking Schools
Michigan Capital Confidential, MI, October 5, 2011
Robert Burgess, former president of the Michigan School Business Officers Association, recently wrote an op-ed for The Herald Palladium claiming charter schools spend considerably more on administrative and maintenance costs than traditional public schools.

More Schools, Fewer Dollars For Each
The Journal Gazette Blog, IN, October 5, 2011
More Indiana schools might mean more choices for parents, but it also means less money for each school. That’s the cold, hard truth for public school officials struggling to put together 2012 budgets: Next year there will be more schools and less money.

St. Paul Schools Launch Marketing Campaign To Attract, Retain Students
Pioneer Press, MN, October 5, 2011
St. Paul Public Schools are enlisting students, parents and teachers to talk up the district at every turn. The state’s second largest district launched a $225,000 privately funded campaign Wednesday to attract and keep students – and with them the state aid needed to power a three-year effort to raise student achievement.

Scores For New Orleans Schools Climb, But Most Are Still Graded With A D Or Worse
Times Picayune, LA, October 5, 2011
The latest scores extend what proponents of the city’s turn toward independently managed charter schools see as a historic upswing, one that could finally break the cycle of poverty afflicting many of the city’s minority residents half a century after desegregation was supposed to begin erasing the disparity.

Prospects Exciting For Oklahoma City Downtown Charter School
The Oklahoman, OK, October 6, 2011
It’s an unprecedented collaboration: a charter school developed by a community group and the Oklahoma City School District . We’re excited about the prospects of the John W. Rex Elementary School in downtown providing a first-rate education for students.

Two KIPP Employees Returning To HISD
Houston Chronicle Blog, TX, October 5, 2011
The personnel swapping continues between Texas’ largest school district and one of the largest charter school chains. Two educators who left the Houston Independent School District to work for KIPP this school year are returning to HISD a few months after resigning, confirms KIPP Superintendent Mike Feinberg.

Making a School Choice
Brookings Register, SD, October 5, 2011
Thanks to South Dakota’s open enrollment law, the Hansons’ misunderstanding was easily fixed. They simply filled out a form, their application was approved by the Brookings School District and voila, their son was a Bobcat.

Santa Cruz’s PCS Approves Continuing Enrollment Preference
Santa Cruz Sentinel, CA, October 6, 2011
The Pacific Collegiate School board on Wednesday voted unanimously to continue an enrollment preference started last year for students living within the boundaries of Santa Cruz City Schools, a district that has sought for years to contain a drain on its attendance rolls.

VIRTUAL LEARNING

St. Charles Sees An Increase In Enrollment Because Of ‘Virtual Classroom’ Program
Saginaw News, MI, October 5, 2011
According to official reports from the district, enrollment increased this year in the St. Charles Community Schools.

Online Learning Tips For High School Students
Sign On San Diego , CA, October 6, 2011
High schools across the country are adding online education to their core curriculum to improve student access to advanced-placement classes, to stimulate more student-teacher interaction and to create new efficiencies in an era of severe budget constraints.

N.J. Democratic Leader George Norcross Calls For More Charter Schools, Change To Teacher Tenure
The Trenton Times, NJ, October 5, 2011
George Norcross, a south Jersey Democratic power broker and insurance executive, called for more charter schools, a change to the teacher tenure system and corporate sponsorship for public schools at a forum tonight.

Majority Against School Vouchers
Delaware County Times, PA, October 5, 2011
A new survey sponsored by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association slammed school vouchers, indicating most residents do not want to pay for them.

Corbett Gears Up To Tackle School Reform
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 6, 2011
Gov. Tom Corbett said on Wednesday that education reform will be his next major initiative in the fall session.

Some School Officials Oppose Voucher Expansion
Newark Advocate, OH, October 6, 2011
A bill that would allow wider access to vouchers covering private school tuition is closer to becoming law, although many questions still need to be addressed, officials said.

Lift The Charter School Cap
Detroit News, MI, October 6, 2011
A Senate bill would go far to attract the best charter operators to Michigan and hold charter schools accountable

Legislators Attempt To Block Voucher Schools
Badger Herald, WI, October 5, 2011
The private school voucher expansion passed earlier this year as part of Wisconsin’s budget is in the process of being amended to restrict voucher schools to only Milwaukee and Racine .

Sandoval Pledges To Copy Florida, Fix Schools
Las Vegas Review-Journal , NV, October 5, 2011
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval says he wants to copy Florida ‘s efforts to overhaul its failing public schools by promoting charter schools and ending social promotion.