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Vol. 17, No. 17 CHOICE IS POWER. This editor of Newswire had the pleasure to sit down with a mom yesterday to talk about her son’s education and the impact making a choice has had on his life. Barbara left D.C. in the mid-90s to escape the violence and chose to move to suburban Virginia to […] Read more »

Vol. 17, No. 16 NECESSARY VETO. Just last week, the Maryland General Assembly rammed through the last of 2015 legislation, including a badly maimed charter school bill that will only harm Maryland’s already suppressed charter sector. Maryland’s political obstacles are no secret to even the most casual observer, but that’s no reason to sign legislation for the […] Read more »

Vol. 17, No. 15 KILL THE BILL. “Appalled. MD just became 1st state 2 roll back on #charterschools w/ F grade and celebrates it on floor. Time 4 @LarryHogan to Veto.” That’s the takeaway CER President @CERKaraKerwin tweeted late last night after the Maryland General Assembly passed a dramatically revised charter school bill that makes it less […] Read more »

Vol. 17, No. 14 MARYLAND’S WRONG PATH. The Maryland Senate approved a completely amended version of Gov. Larry Hogan’s original charter school reform, taking the teeth out of a bill intended to create more opportunities for kids in the Old Line State. Evidently, the Senate had other ideas, and through the amendment process gutted the operational […] Read more »

Vol. 17, No. 13 CHANGE MARYLAND. As regular Newswire readers know, efforts to strengthen Maryland’s F-graded charter school law are facing major headwinds, and time is running out before the legislative session ends on April 13. Just today, the Maryland Senate Education Committee voted in favor of charter school legislation that would set back charter schools in […] Read more »

Vol. 17, No. 12 COMPROMISING NEGOTIATIONS. Lawmakers in the Maryland Senate want to strike key provisions of legislation that would strengthen Maryland’s F-graded charter law. One provision of vital importance would give charter schools the freedom to make personnel decisions based on what’s best for their school and teachers, something school districts are now responsible […] Read more »

Vol. 17, No. 11 STATE OF CHARTER LAWS. The Center for Education Reform released the Charter School Laws Across the States 2015: Rankings & Scorecard, revealing a remarkable lack of progress in statehouses nationwide when it comes to implementing policies that could allow charter schools to play an even bigger role in addressing the needs of […] Read more »

Vol. 17, No. 10 A GEM OF AN IDEA. An exciting initiative is underway in Idaho, as the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation announced the launch of a new charter school network aimed at growing the blended learning model. Gem Innovative Schools will oversee three blended learning charter campuses and one fully online school. The three […] Read more »

Vol. 17, No. 9 POLICIES MATTER. Even after seemingly doing his bidding by only approving five – yes, just five – out of 39 charter school applications, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf removed the School Reform Commission (SRC) Chairman in Philadelphia. Clearly that was five too many in Wolf’s eyes, but to the nearly 30,000 Philly students on […] Read more »

Vol. 17, No. 8 EXPANDING ELIGIBILITY. Since 2011, Arizona’s incredibly popular Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program has grown to cover more student populations, from students with special needs to those stuck in failing schools. Using ESAs, parents have the power to put education dollars towards tuition and resources that best meet their child’s learning needs. Lawmakers […] Read more »