Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Obama, Romney Have Different Views On Education
USA Today, October 17, 2012
Glance at the two presidential candidates’ education plans and you may not immediately see much of a difference. Both want greater scrutiny of teacher effectiveness. Both champion privately run, but publicly funded K-12 charter schools as well as higher academic standards. Both want more high school and college graduates and a more competitive workforce.

5 Myths about Education
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, October 18, 2012
MARK TWAIN observed that “it’s not what you don’t know that kills you, it’s what you know for sure that ain’t true.” After 15 years doing fieldwork in more than 100 public schools and interviewing more than 1,000 students, parents, and educators, we’re convinced that no area is more fraught with myths and misconceptions than education policy, especially during election seasons like this one.

State Must Reject Federal Takeover Of Schools
Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, IN, October 18, 2012
Imagine the power the federal government will wield when it controls the content and perspective that will be taught to every student nationwide K-12. With virtually no public debate, Obama has quietly engineered the federal takeover of the education system nationwide.

School Law Should Be Changed, Not Skirted
Poughkeepsie Journal, NY, October 18, 2012
President Obama hasn’t had any success pushing Congress to do something it was supposed to do years ago: Review a landmark national education law and make changes where necessary.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Families Try To Adjust As Horizon Charter School Closes In Rocklin
Modesto Bee, CA, October 18, 2012
Luke Chaussee and his mother, Loriann, are searching for a new school.
The third-grader and 390 classmates were shut out of their charter school after Placer County officials told school officials they were allowed only 75 students in the buildings they were leasing in a Rocklin industrial park.

LAUSD Says Talks With UTLA On Teacher Evaluations Are At Impasse
Los Angeles Daily News, CA, October 17, 2012
Los Angeles Unified has filed a declaration of impasse in its negotiations with UTLA over teacher evaluations, seeking mediation from the state Public Employee Relations Board, officials said Wednesday.

COLORADO

Cash Incentives For Colorado Students A Study In Progress
Denver Post, CO, October 18, 2012
There’s a reward waiting for Moises Banuelos if he passes the standardized tests in three Advanced Placement classes he’s taking this semester at Denver’s Abraham Lincoln High School : $100 for each qualifying score.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Council Halts Rental Fees For Parent-Run School Enrichment Programs
Washington Post Blog, DC, October 18, 2012
The District’s Department of General Services may no longer collect rent from parents who run enrichment programs in the city’s public schools, under emergency legislation passed unanimously Tuesday by the D.C. Council.

FLORIDA

Florida Officials Defend Racial and Ethnic Learning Goals
New York Times, NY, October 18, 2012
When the Florida Board of Education voted this month to set different goals for student achievement in reading and math by race and ethnicity, among other guidelines, the move was widely criticized as discriminatory and harmful to blacks and Hispanics.

Parents, Leaders Slam State Plan For Race-Based Student Goals
Pensacola News-Journal, FL, October 18, 2012
A newly adopted state Board of Education strategic plan setting race-based student achievement goals is drawing fire from parents, school districts, civil-rights activists and Gov. Rick Scott.

Race-Based School Plan No Big Deal, Local Educators Say
Naples Daily News, FL, October 18, 2012
Much ado is being made of a recent Florida State Board of Education plan that sets out different goals for different ethnic groups.

Charter School System ‘A Shining Light’ For Cape Coral
News-Press, FL, October 17, 2012
During that era of explosive growth a decade ago, when the future looked bright and nothing seemed impossible, Cape Coral was facing a crisis — too many children and not enough schools to send them to.

Pasco County School Board Oks The Charter’s Application; Next Step Is For District To Negotiate A Contract
The Tampa Tribune, FL, October 18, 2012
Plans are moving forward on a proposed charter school that will focus on classical education. The Pasco County School Board on Tuesday evening approved the application for Classical Preparatory School , which plans to open next year and serve 254 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Flagler School Board Takes a Hard Line on Corporate Charters as it Delays Latest Bid
Flagler Live, FL, October 17, 2012
Burned by a recent experience with a charter school that failed, the Flagler County School Board on Tuesday not only blocked—for now—the application of a new charter school in Flagler County , but used the occasion to send a strict message to all charter school applicants in the future.

GEORGIA

Guest Column: Say No To Charter School Amendment
Savannah Morning News, GA, October 18, 2012
I want to start off by saying that I am not against charter schools. As a matter of fact, the Effingham College and Career Academy is a charter school. I support locally approved charter schools.

Charter School Fight Makes A Jumble Of Georgia Politics
Atlanta Journal Constitution Blog, GA, October 17, 2012
Hyper-partisanship, the curse of Washington , is an infectious thing. Yet even here, in the reddest of red states, you and I are catching a strong whiff of something different. For the second time in 100 days, a statewide campaign has made a massive jumble of Georgia’s traditional political alliances.

ILLINOIS

Two Charter School Operators Get Grants — Even Though CPS Hasn’t Oked Any New Charters
Chicago Sun-Times, IL, October 18, 2012
Two new charter school operators received grant money to set up shop in Chicago in time for the next school year, though Chicago Public School has yet to approve any new school charters.

LOUISIANA

Neville Parents, Teachers To Vote
Monroe News Star, LA, October 18, 2012
Parents and teachers of students at Neville High School will soon get a chance to decide whether they would like Neville High School to become a charter school, but for now, charter association members are waiting for Department of Education guidance on conducting the election.

MARYLAND

Montgomery Schools Need To Limit Spending
Washington Post, DC, October 17, 2012
PRODDED BY teachers unions, Maryland lawmakers decided this year to penalize any local school system that would reduce per-pupil spending, no matter how generous its education funding. The effect is to render past funding increases irreversible — and to wave a large red flag at local officials who might consider going beyond state-mandated increases in the future.

MASSACHUSETTS

Schools Search For Ways To Expand ‘Advanced’ MCAS Ranks
Boston Globe, MA, October 18, 2012
Local high schools that participate in the Metco program are redoubling efforts to challenge and equip all students to achieve top MCAS scores, officials said, after recent test results showed African-American students in the regional collaboration persistently lagging behind their white classmates.

MICHIGAN

2 Detroit Charters Among 20 Michigan Schools Getting Health Programming
Detroit News, MI, October 18, 2012
Two Detroit charter schools are part of a program to help spur physical fitness and healthy eating.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Charter Schools Get Blanket ‘No’ From State Board
Union Leader, NH, October 18, 2012
Advocates for new charter schools urged the state Board of Education Wednesday to reconsider its blanket denial of all new applications, but the board did not budge.

Panel Digs In On Charters
Concord Monitor, NH, October 18, 2012
Members of the New Hampshire Board of Education defended their decision to deny all pending applications for charter schools until after the Nov. 6 election at a heated meeting yesterday in Concord.

NEW JERSEY

Quest Academy Charter to Get Its Day in Supreme Court
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 18, 2012
After being denied a charter for a record five times, Quest questions if the state is meeting its own ‘standard for review’

Newark Tries Merit Payouts For Teachers
Wall Street Journal, October 18, 2012
Newark and its teachers union on Thursday are expected to sign a tentative contract deal blessed by Gov. Chris Christie that would overhaul teacher pay, introducing lucrative merit bonuses and giving teachers a role in grading each other.

Newark Teachers Strike Historic Deal Including Bonuses For Top Educators
Star-Leger, NJ, October 17, 2012
The Newark Teachers Union has reached a historic deal with the state that will make the district the first in New Jersey to offer bonuses based on how teachers perform in the classroom, union officials said today.

NEW YORK

Anxious Brooklyn Parents See Proposed Redrawn School Boundaries
New York Times, NY, October 18, 2012
The New York City Education Department proposed new boundaries Wednesday night for some of Brooklyn ’s most-sought-after elementary school zones, drawing anxious parents to an auditorium to see the new map for the first time.

PENNSYLVANIA

SRC Renews Deal For One Charter School, Tells Another To Improve
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 18, 2012
The Philadelphia School Reform Commission renewed the operating agreement Wednesday for one charter school that agreed to overhaul its operations, and gave a troubled charter for students in foster care 12 months to improve.

Planned Cuts To Magnet School Busing Upset Parents
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 17, 2012
Getting accepted to extremely competitive GAMP, the acronym by which it is better known, is no easy task. Of the 1,000 students who applied to the 5th-through-12th grade school last year, 250 were invited to audition for 66 slots.

Districts Consider Creating A Charter School
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 17, 2012
Superintendents in three school districts in the east are looking at forming a charter school.
Plum Superintendent Timothy Glasspool said he has had discussions with officials in the Gateway and Penn Hills school districts about converting the Boyce Campus Middle College High School into a charter school that enable students to earn an associate’s degree while they receive their high school diploma.

Pay Charters Actual Costs
Scranton Times-Tribune, PA, October 18, 2012
Lawmakers have made some valuable changes to the law covering public charter schools but have punted on the most important issue.

Charter School Bill Falls Apart In Pa. House
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 18, 2012
An agreement to change charter school regulations this year fell apart Wednesday night when House leaders found themselves short on votes and declined to bring up the bill.

TEXAS

TISD Eyes College-Focused Charter School
Tyler Morning Telegraph, TX, October 18, 2012
A grant-funded charter school that would help students earn associate’s degrees in high school will be up for discussion in Tyler ISD.

Ideas For School Vouchers Are Up In The Air
San Angelo Standard Times, TX, October 17, 2012
The battle for the future for Texas public education is under way. Some despair. Some are ready for the challenge. On Tuesday, Steven Schafersman, the Democratic candidate for the State Board of Education for District 15, came into town to blow off some steam as part of a tour of cities in the North and West Texas district he hopes to represent.

WASHINGTON

10 Donors Funded 91 Percent of Charter Schools Campaign
KUOW NPR, WA, October 17, 2012
The campaign to bring charter schools to Washington state has now raised more cash than any other measure on the ballot. Donors have contributed more than $8.9 million to the Yes on 1240 campaign. Of that, 91 percent came from just ten people, according to the Public Disclosure Commission website.

Voters To Decide For Fourth Time On Charters
Moscow-Pullman Daily News, WA, October 18, 2012
Washington voters rejected charter school initiatives in 1996, 2000 and 2004. On Nov. 6, they may do so again or the trend may change with Initiative 1240, which would allow the creation of up to 40 nonprofit charter schools across Washington during the next five years. The state is currently one of nine that does not have a charter school system.

Whatcom Teachers Differ On Charter School Initiative
Bellingham Herald, WA, October 18, 2012
An initiative on November’s ballot will give voters the chance to change the landscape of public education in Washington by allowing charter schools in the state.

Fulfill Your Obligation To Fund Education, Lawyer Urges Legislators
Seattle Times, WA, October 17, 2012
The Legislature is still avoiding its constitutional duty to schoolchildren, according to a filing Wednesday with the state Supreme Court.

WYOMING

Committee Advising Legislature On School Accountability Presents ‘Cause And Effect’ Plan
Casper Star-Tribune, WY, October 18, 2012
As part of their job evaluations, Wyoming teachers may have to submit portfolios showing goals, student work, lesson plans and reflections on what worked and what didn’t.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

PA Cyber Makes Grade When It Comes To Success
Patriot News, PA, October 18, 2012
In his Oct. 9 op-ed, “Gov. Corbett must step up for charter reform,” Jonathan Cetel gave the governor an “incomplete” in the subject of education reform. Cetel is hardly qualified to dole out grades when he cannot get his facts straight. Cetel says the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School is “failing.”

KDKA Investigates: Cyber School Spinoffs Reap Spoils
KDKA, PA, October 17, 2012
What began as an on line school with a few hundred students has grown into an empire, developing curriculum and spawning cyber schools throughout the nation.

Online Classes A Hit At Holmes
Madison County Herald, MS, October 18, 2012
Through his virtual classroom, Holmes Community College instructor Matt Wasowski shows his students in Mississippi the Manhattan skyline outside his window.

Online Academy Takes Learning Beyond School Day
Hispanic Business, CA, October 17, 2012
An online school is expanding Hamilton students’ technology knowledge and helping teachers provide more specific remediation.

Cheating Shows Charters, Testing Failed, Author Says
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 17, 2012
School cheating scandals aimed at improving high-stakes student-proficiency test results are a symptom of a failed reform plan that is wasting billions of dollars, charter-school opponent Diane Ravitch told a group of about 300 educators and others yesterday.

Classroom Crime
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 17, 2012
A scandal that landed a former Texas school superintendent in prison — for arranging for test scores of low-performing students to disappear from his district’s records — shows the gravity of the alleged data rigging being investigated in Columbus City Schools and other districts around the state.

Should Caps On Charter School Growth Be Lifted?
Washington Post Blog, October 16, 2012
Charter school advocates commonly say that caps on the growth of these public schools in some states are preventing the opening of some high-quality schools. Is this actually true? Matthew Di Carlo, senior fellow at the Washington D.C.-based non-profit Albert Shanker Institute, looks into this. The following post originally appeared on the institute’s blog.

FROM THE STATES

ALABAMA

Forty Baldwin County Students Have Transferred To Better Schools Under NCLB
The Birmingham News Blog, AL, October 16, 2012
Forty Baldwin County students have transferred to better rated schools under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, officials said during a school board meeting here tonight.

CALIFORNIA

With Court Win, ‘Parent Trigger’ School Reform Moves To Crucial Vote
California Watch, CA, October 17, 2012
About nine months ago, at a small park playground a few hundred feet from their children’s struggling school, a group of parents chanted, cheered and delivered passionate speeches about their growing frustration with Desert Trails Elementary.

SCUSD Doesn’t Have an Achievement Gap: America Does
Santa Clara Weekly, CA, October 17, 2012
It’s a good news/bad news story. The good news is that the Santa Clara Unified School District doesn’t have an achievement gap compared to districts with similar demographic profiles. The bad news is that the United States has a worsening academic achievement gap that’s tracking the last half-century’s growing economic divide.

Horizon Charter School in Rocklin to Become Independent Study Program
KCRA Sacramento, CA, October 16, 2012
Parents, students and staff listened to school administrators announce Tuesday night that their charter school in Rocklin will transition into an independent study program.

Labor’s Big-Money Focus On Prop. 32 May Hurt Chances Of Prop. 30
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 17, 2012
Unions say their political survival hinges on defeating Proposition 32, leaving less financial backing for labor ally Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30.

FLORIDA

Scott Weighs In On Racially Charged Education Debate
St. Augustine Record, FL, October 16, 2012
Gov. Rick Scott called Tuesday for the State Board of Education to overhaul its strategic plan, inserting himself into the racially charged debate over how much should be expected of students from different groups.

New Charter School Approved In Sarasota
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL, October 17, 2012
A new academy has the green light to open its doors as early as August, becoming Sarasota County ‘s 10th charter school.

School Board Questions Leaders Of Troubled St. Petersburg Charter School
Tampa Bay Times, FL, October 17, 2012
Pinellas County School Board members grilled leaders of the troubled Imagine charter school on Tuesday, and now the district staff will determine whether the St. Petersburg-based school should be allowed to continue.

Flagler Stalls Decision On New Charter School
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL, October 16, 2012
The Flagler County School Board delayed a decision about whether to allow a fourth charter school, which would focus on nonnative English speakers, to open its doors.

Charter Schools: The Real, Mixed Truth
Orlando Sentinel, FL, October 16, 2012
There are those who argue that charter schools are among the biggest failures in Florida ‘s education system — botched ventures that waste taxpayer money and fail the children who attend them.

GEORGIA

Charter Passage Won’t ‘Move Needle’ For Most Students
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, October 17, 2012
This election cycle, Georgia voters will decide whether we amend our state Constitution to allow the state to authorize and fund “special schools” that are not approved by the elected school boards serving local communities.

Officials Improperly Lobbying Against Charter Amendment
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, October 16, 2012
In a Tuesday commentary in the Athens Banner-Herald, Georgia columnist Dick Yarbrough claimed that my clients and I were trying to muzzle and intimidate opponents of Amendment 1, the proposed constitutional amendment regarding authorization of charter schools.

Challenge Charter Offers An Option When Students Need One
Newton Citizen, GA, October 16, 2012
I recently examined a petition for charter renewal from a local administrative team. I have been involved with charter renewals before at the secondary and post-secondary levels. I like data. Data is useful. In this case qualitative data met quantitative data to convince me this charter needs a chance.

IDAHO

Teacher Merit Pay Does Work
Coeur d’Alene Press, ID, October 17, 2012
Until this year, Idaho teachers’ salaries were based solely on years of experience and the number of credits earned. Period. This system seemed to assume that all teachers and all schools provided equal, added value to student learning. No mention or attention was paid to the quality of instruction or to the measurable levels of student growth or performance.

ILLINOIS

Charter Schools Rebuffed by Scholar
Alton Daily News, IL, October 17, 2012
Gov. Pat Quinn isn’t buying everything charter schools are selling. The governor invited education scholar Diane Ravitch to speak to a civic group in Chicago. Ravitch told the audience that charter schools are no better than traditional public schools, except that they allow the private sector to make money off education.

INDIANA

How Rep. Truitt, A School Reform Advocate, Won A Teachers Union Endorsement Over An Ex-ISTA Re
Journal and Courier, IN, October 16, 2012
On paper, the challenge reads like a referendum on Indiana ’s education reform movement: a teachers union advocate with 29 years of service taking on a local state representative who was on the winning side of measures that still make public schoolteachers’ blood boil.

LOUISIANA

BESE Oks New Rules For Aid
The Baton Rouge Advocate, LA, October 17, 2012
With just two dissenting votes, Louisiana ’s top school board Tuesday approved new rules for voucher and other private and parochial schools to qualify for state tax dollars.

Teach For America Sparks Emotional Debate At State School Board
Times-Picayune, LA, October 16, 2012
The state’s roughly $1 million contract with Teach for America , a group that channels promising college graduates into high-poverty classrooms around the country, ignited an emotional and at times strikingly personal debate at Louisiana ‘s top governing body for education on Tuesday.

Educators Fear Proposed Accountability Rules Will Further Damage Public Schools
Monroe News Star, LA, October 16, 2012
Local educators, teachers’ groups and at least one area elected official are concerned that new accountability standards passed by a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education committee on Tuesday will be another step toward the dismantling public education in Louisiana .

Kenilworth Middle Adds Students During 2011-12
The Baton Rouge Advocate, LA, October 17, 2012
Unlike most of the Recovery School District Schools in the greater Baton Rouge area, Kenilworth Science and Technology School , a charter school, added students over the past year.

MICHIGAN

Charter School Bill Should Add Protections For Quality
Bridge Magazine, MI, October 16, 2012
The Oakland Academy in Portage has fulfilled much of the bold promise of the Michigan charter school movement. The elementary school, run by the nonprofit Foundation for Behavioral Resources, routinely exceeds state averages in math and reading.

MISSOURI

State Approve 2 New St. Louis Charter Schools
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, October 17, 2012
The Missouri State Board of Education approved two new charter schools for the St. Louis area Tuesday, even as it placed four existing charter schools on notice to improve their finances.

St. Louis Schools Re-Accredited
KBIA, MO, October 16, 2012
St. Louis schools are no longer unaccredited, following a unanimous vote today by the State Board of Education.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

City Charter School Remains On Track
Nashua Telegraph, NH, October 16, 2012
Charter schools are public schools that operate under a distinct mission. Gate City Charter School for the Arts proposes an arts-integrated curriculum that would produce students who are both proficient in the arts and academically successful.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

School Districts Comparison Shop for Teacher Evaluation Systems
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 17, 2012
His Virginia accent coming through, James Stronge told representatives of dozens of New Jersey school districts that his teacher evaluation model was the right tool for the task. He also graciously said that none of his main competitors would be a bad choice.

NEW JERSEY

Bergen Hebrew-Immersion Charter School Appeals Denial Of Added Planning Year
The Record, NJ, October 16, 2012
Shalom Academy, the Hebrew-immersion charter school that was to begin classes in September, is appealing the Department of Education’s decision to deny its request for a second planning year and allow it to open in fall 2013.

Camden School Official Expresses Concern Through Silence
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 17, 2012
Lamboy didn’t vote yes to allow four new, privately run ” Renaissance School ” complexes to drain students and resources from the failing district, but he didn’t vote no, either. Instead, the thoughtful Camden school board member’s refusal to say yea or nay late last month left a 4-4 tie that effectively tabled the Renaissance for another day.

NEW MEXICO

Creating ‘World-Class Schools’
Albuquerque Journal, NM, October 17, 2012
Three-quarters of the way into his 100-day “Entry and Learning Plan,” Santa Fe schools Superintendent Joel Boyd gave what he called a snapshot of the strategies being used to guide school reform to the school board Tuesday night.

NEW YORK

Fight Flares Over School Curriculum
Wall Street Journal, October 16, 2012
The head of the New York City teachers union said Tuesday that the city has failed to provide classrooms with broad new curricula needed to prepare elementary- and middle-school students for more rigorous exams coming this spring.

Common Council Supports Restarting Two Troubled Schools As Charters
Buffalo News, NY, October 16, 2012
The Common Council Tuesday went on record as supporting a plan to restart two of the city’s lowest performing schools as charters.

NORTH CAROLINA

Schools Settle With Charters For $464,000
Whiteville News Reporter, NC, October 16, 2012
The Columbus County and Whiteville City schools have written checks to Roger Bacon Academy and its two charter schools for $464,000 as part of a settlement in lawsuits filed by the state’s charter schools for funds they said were owed from 2007 through 2011.

OREGON

A Generation Of Accountability
Tribune News, OR, October 17, 2012
Laurel Elementary School is on the way to reaping the benefits of an amended education act that aims to consolidate state initiatives with federal requirements. Laurel ’s recent Focus School designation has opened the door to federal funding that targets increasing growth in learning.

PENNSYLVANIA

State Senate Passes Charter School Bill, But Without Controversial Provisions
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 17, 2012
A bill that would tighten ethics and reporting provisions for charter schools and overhaul special-education funding to favor districts with the most severely disabled special-needs students passed the Pennsylvania Senate by a sizable margin Tuesday.

Delco Supers Take Issue With Charter School Bill
Daily Times, PA, October 16, 2012
All 15 Delaware County school superintendents and Delaware County Intermediate Unit director Lawrence O’Shea have signed off on a letter to the Pennsylvania Legislature voicing concerns and requesting changes to proposed charter school legislation in Senate Bill 1115, under consideration by Pennsylvania legislators this week.

TENNESSEE

Charter School Flap Escalates
Wall Street Journal, October 16, 2012
Tennessee education officials withheld $3.4 million from Nashville’s school district after the city barred a charter school from opening in an affluent neighborhood, in a fight that highlights the growing tension over the expansion of such schools.

Academies Offer Greater Options To Metro Students
The Tennessean, TN, October 17, 2012
You may have heard the same things I have: negative comments about a Metro Nashville public school. Typically, the speakers do not have children at the school, but “have heard” about it. As a Metro Board of Education member and the mother of successful graduates, I cringe at the misinformation.

WASHINGTON

School Reform Ad Takes Quote Out Of Context
Spokesman Review, WA, October 17, 2012
A new ad promoting Idaho education overhaul recycles a 3-year-old speech from a retired union leader, using a portion of it out of context to bash those trying to repeal the changes on Nov. 6.

Charters Will Help Reverse Our Course
Everett Herald, WA, October 17, 2012
Regarding the letter, “Let’s first try fully funding education”: Doing the same thing repeatedly, expecting different results, is the definition of insanity. Or is that the definition of public education? It’s time to change things and charter schools will do just that!

Another Shot For Charter Schools
Spokesman Review, WA, October 17, 2012
Washington’s voters will in November again decide whether to allow charter schools in Washington , after having rejected similar proposals in 1995, 2000 and 2004.

More Donations Made To Pro-Charter-School Camp
Seattle Times Blog, WA, October 16, 2012
The money keeps rolling in for the pro-charter-school initiative, with another $700,000 in donations reported last week, following $3 million the week before.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

Wilson Area School District Could Continue Cyber School Option
Lehigh Valley Express-Times, PA, October 17, 2012
Wilson Area School District’s pilot cyber school program has brought eight students back to the district.

MEA Proposes Rebooting Schools By Expanding Preschool, Dual Enrollment, Blended Learning And Year-Round Programs
The Grand Rapids Press, MI, October 16, 2012
Teachers union leaders are calling for creating a preschool through community college system, expanded use of blended learning and year-round programs for at-risk students as part of a plan to reboot Michigan ’s school funding system.

District 6 Experiences Sharp Jump In Online Enrollment
Greeley Tribune, CO, October 16, 2012
Greeley-Evans School District 6’s first year of ENG@GE Online Academy didn’t end exactly the way district officials had hoped. About 22, full- and part-time students started the 2011-12 school year. Three finished.

Advocacy Group Offers a Prototype for Charter School Law
Education Week Blog, October 15, 2012
For the past few years, states have been busy writing and revising their laws on charter schools—in most cases, with an eye toward expansion. Today, a pro-charter advocacy group released a guide meant to give states some direction in this regard.

Seeking Aid, School Districts Change Teacher Evaluations
New York Times, NY, October 16, 2012
In an exercise evoking a corporate motivation seminar, a group of public school teachers and principals clustered around posters scrawled with the titles of Beatles songs. Their assignment: choose the one that captured their feelings about a new performance evaluation system being piloted in their district.

Charting a Future for Catholic Education
City Journal, October 15, 2012
Though they enrolled 5.2 million students at the height of the baby boom, Catholic schools in the United States have struggled with declining matriculation in the decades since and today have just under 2 million students.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Manzanita Boasts Big Growth In Scores
Lompoc Record, CA, October 16, 2012
Manzanita Public Charter School didn’t just meet some challenging federal benchmarks, but scored the highest of any school in the Lompoc Valley on recently released standardized testing scores.

Desert Trails Elementary School Parent Trigger Group To Announce Adelanto Charter School Decision
Contra Costa Times, CA, October 15, 2012
The charter school chosen by a group of parent activists to take over their failing High Desert school will be announced this week, just days after a judge ordered a High Desert school district to stop thwarting their efforts.

Rocklin Charter School Abruptly Shutting Its Doors
CBS 13, CA, October 15, 2012
Students at a Rocklin charter school are being kicked out of their own school, told that after Tuesday, they need to find a new place to learn.

COLORADO

Denver Is Fastest Growing Large Urban School District In The U.S.
Denver Post, CO, October 16, 2012
Enrollment in Denver Public Schools has grown 14 percent over the past five years, making it the fastest-growing large urban district in the country, the district reports.

FLORIDA

Hold Voucher Schools To Account
Tampa Bay Tribune, FL, October 16, 2012
Suppose you were told that a new automobile insurance company in town offered better rates and better service. All other things being equal, would you pursue the matter further?

GEORGIA

Charter Schools Give Kids A Chance
Albany Herald, GA, October 16, 2012
I am a mother of three, a wife of a farmer and a proud PTO parent in rural Southwest Georgia . When our family moved to Morgan to be closer to our family farm, I realized that the public school wasn’t an option for my kids. Some kids may go well in the system, but mine didn’t.

Pro-Charter Amendment Forces Are Trying To Bully Opponents
Macon Telegraph, GA, October 16, 2012
If the pro-charter amendment people are trying to win friends and influence voters to pass the measure in November, they have picked a bad way to do it.

Senate Candidates Disagree On Charter Amendment
Times-Georgian, GA, October 16, 2012
The five District 30 state Senate candidates took different approaches on charter schools during a Monday night public forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters Carrollton-Carroll County.

Cleary: Vote ‘No’ On Charter Amendment
Athens Banner-Herald , GA, October 15, 2012
What happened to the tea party in Georgia ? I thought those conservatives would be out in force against our lawmakers trying to enlarge state government by proposing a constitutional amendment to add a new department to state government to build a state charter school system.

IDAHO

Idaho Education Laws’ Foes Speak Up At Debate In Boise
Idaho Statesman, ID, October 16, 2012
Proponents of Idaho’s controversial Students Come First laws drew polite applause at Monday’s event at Centennial High School , but the near-capacity crowd of about 350 clearly leaned toward the opposition.

ILLINOIS

Ex-U.S Education Official Knocks School Closings As ‘Destabilizing’
Chicago Sun Times, IL, October 15, 2012
Shuttering public schools to reopen new ones won’t fix Chicago’s schools, but it will destroy communities, education historian and New York University professor Diane Ravitch said Monday during a post-strike visit to Chicago .

Teachers In North Shore District 112 Strike After Talks Fail
Chicago Tribune, IL, October 16, 2012
After a negotiating session that lasted until late Monday failed to reach an agreement, teachers in North Shore School District 112 said they would strike today, canceling classes for students in elementary and middle schools in Highland Park and Highwood.

IOWA

Ideas For Education Reform Short On Details
The Gazette, IA, October 15, 2012
The members of the state’s Instructional Time Task Force didn’t agree on everything, but their newly released recommendations share one thread: a commitment to local control.

LOUISIANA

Teachers: Reviews Threaten Their Jobs
The Advocate, LA, October 16, 2012
An increasing number of educators say Louisiana’s new evaluations make it more likely that teachers at high-achieving public schools will get poor reviews, which would threaten their job security.

MARYLAND

Outdoor School Seeks Approval
Frederick News Post, MD, October 16, 2012
Founders of the Frederick Outdoor Discovery Charter School are back for a second time seeking approval from the Board of Education to start a charter school based on environmental and outdoor education.

MASSACHUSETTS

Give Proven Providers A Fair Shot
Boston Herald, MA, October 16, 2012
February is the time when new charter schools are approved in Massachusetts. But too often of late, political considerations have taken precedence over the opportunity charters provide for the commonwealth’s urban families.

MICHIGAN

School Districts Value Best Teachers $1 More Than The Worst
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, MI, October 15, 2011
Some Michigan school districts think their best teachers are worth $1 more than their worst. That’s the amount the Davison Community Schools in Genessee County, and the Stephenson Area Public Schools in Menominee County , pay to be in compliance with the state’s merit pay law, which was put in place when Jennifer Granholm was governor.

MINNESOTA

Minneapolis School District Takes State To Court
Star Tribune, MN, October 16, 2012
The Minneapolis school district is taking the state to court in a $960,000 dispute over charter school rent.

Contested Mpls. School Board Seat May Sway Union Talks
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN, October 15, 2012
The district covers just one-sixth of the Minneapolis population, but the spillover from the city’s most hotly contested school board race could shape the board’s negotiating posture for the next teacher contract.

NEW JERSEY

Big Charter Network Looks South to Camden for Expansion
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 16, 2012
The Urban Hope Act has drawn a lot of attention to Camden and plans for its public schools. But another story line is the opportunity the new law is affording the TEAM network of charter schools that are at the center of the city’s most prominent proposal.

NJ Parents Petition State For Better Education For Children
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 16, 2012
The parents of three Camden public school students filed a petition Monday asking the state Department of Education to immediately transfer their children to higher-performing schools at state expense, arguing that Camden had failed to meet New Jersey ‘s constitutional requirement of providing a “thorough and efficient” education.

NEW MEXICO

Starting Reform At The Top
The New Mexican, NM, October 15, 2012
Superintendent Joel Boyd isn’t wasting time in his charge to help reform the Santa Fe Public Schools. First up is his discussion about how best to structure secondary education, with a focus on what is happening at the city’s two high schools — Santa Fe and Capital.

NEW YORK

Proposals to Redraw School Lines Raise Alarm
New York Times, NY, October 16, 2012
Few issues have the potential to make parents and real estate brokers sweat like the system called zoning, which determines where children attend school and can inflate property values on certain blocks.

Co-location in Harlem Schools: Crowded Hallways, Shared Classrooms
The Uptowner, NY, October 15, 2012
Students at Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing Arts in Harlem stampede out of their classrooms. A sea of blue and orange, gold and maroon, and white uniforms fill the halls as students from three different schools travel to their next classes. They share a gym, auditorium and cafeteria, but each school starts and ends at a slightly different time.

NORTH CAROLINA

Accrediting Group Concerned About Firing Of Tata
News & Observer, NC, October 16, 2012
Civil rights and liberal groups that once turned to an accreditation group in their fight against the Wake County school board are now finding that turnabout may be fair play.

OHIO

Grad Rates Tumble Under New Rule
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 16, 2012
Call it the ugly truth. Many Ohio schools saw their graduation rates plummet after the state required them to track whether every high-school senior earned a diploma within four years. About 85 percent of the state’s high schools have lower graduation rates for the Class of 2011 than they did for the Class of 2010 because of the new way to calculate those rates, which the state says is more accurate.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City Public Schools Outlines Race to the Top Grant Wish List
The Oklahoman, OK, October 16, 2012
Oklahoma City Public Schools will request more than $30 million in federal funding to create five programs designed to personalize student learning. The Race to the Top grant must be submitted this month.

PENNSYLVANIA

U.S. Says Pa. Was Not Authorized To Change Charter Progress Rules
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 16, 2012
The U.S. Department of Education says the Pennsylvania Education Department “acted prematurely” when it changed rules for how charter schools can meet academic-performance standards on the annual PSSA achievement test.

New Website To Help Parents Find ‘Great Philly Schools’
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 16, 2012
LUCIANA BOONE is a parent of a freshman at Philadelphia High School for Girls and an eighth-grader at KIPP West Philadelphia Charter School.

I-LEAD School Notes Latinos’ Role In U.S. History
Reading Eagle, PA, October 16, 2012
Reading’s I-LEAD Charter School celebrated the last day of National Hispanic Heritage Month with a discussion Monday afternoon of the role Latinos have played in American history.

Pa. Senate Approves Some Charter School Regulations
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 16, 2012
A state Senate panel Monday approved a set of changes to the regulation of charter schools that legislative leaders say is headed to the governor’s desk.

Latest Charter-Reform Bill Better, Still Needs More Work
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, October 16, 2012
It may be that the truth contains a little of each of these pictures. A charter reform bill being fast-tracked in Harrisburg that could be voted on as early as today may clarify some of these conflicting views. But for all its positives, the overall bill doesn’t go far enough.

TENNESSEE

Great Hearts Charter School Dispute Costs Nashville $3.4 Million
The Tennessean, TN, October 16, 2012
Despite the urging of Metro officials, the Tennessee Department of Education carried out its promise to withhold $3.4 million from Nashville’s public schools as a penalty for denying the controversial charter application of Great Hearts Academies.

Nashville Council Members, Parents Meet To Discuss School Trigger Law
The Tennessean, TN, October 15, 2012
Metro Nashville Councilwoman Emily Evans, the catalyst behind a discussion Monday about Tennessee ’s “parent trigger” law, said she has no idea who might want to use the information to turn a Metro public school into a charter school.

Knox County School Board Pleased With Evaluation Scores
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, October 16, 2012
Thirty-four percent of Knox County teachers received a 4 under the new evaluation system that requires that every teacher be evaluated every year. While 35 percent received a 5.

TEXAS

School Finance Reform Will Require Margins Tax Reform
San Antonio Express, TX, October 15, 2012
The state of Texas is headed back to court this month for the latest round in a never-ending battle over public school finance.

Charter Schools Can Work, But Be Careful How You Fund Them
Austin Statesman, TX, October 15, 2012
Before there were charter schools, there was Andrew J. Asch, Jr., prominent Jewish philanthropist and businessman of Richmond, Va. He resurrected decaying cotton warehouses, protected the historic slave market, made “The Bottom” and “The Slip” livable, and started a school.

VIRGINIA

Richmond School Board Talks About Future Of Patrick Henry Charter School
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, October 16, 2012
The future of the city’s charter elementary school was the subject of much discussion Monday, even though no one from the school was on hand to participate.

WASHINGTON

Why Initiative 1240 Won’t Work For Washington State : The Abbreviated Version
Capitol Hill Seattle, WA, October 15, 2012
The only part of a charter school that is a public school, according to this initiative, is the use of tax payer funds. Initiative 1240 circumvents our State Constitution because it would set up an alternative state school system not under the supervision or oversight of the Superintendent of Public Instruction or the local school board.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

PA Cyber Restructures Administrative Team
Beaver Valley Times, PA, October 15, 2012
After the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School adopted a new administrative structure, its first-year chief executive officer said the school’s evolution is not related to a federal investigation that visited the school in July or discouraging state test scores revealed in September.

New Cyber Charter School Could Be Based In West Easton
WFMZ, PA, October 15, 2012
Wilson Area School District is feeling the need to compete with cyber charter schools, a way for students to complete their education without even stepping foot inside a school.

More Wisconsin Kids Going To Virtual Schools
WHBL, WI, October 15, 2012
More Wisconsin youngsters are going to school on a computer instead of in the classroom. Just over 4,900 K to 12 students attended the state’s virtual schools a year ago.

Gap Family Invests In Fund To Launch 25 Local Schools
San Francisco Chronicle, CA, October 15, 2012
A San Francisco nonprofit plans to announce a $25 million fund Monday to create Bay Area schools focused on “blended learning,” the concept of coupling traditional teaching with online resources to improve student performance.