Over at the US News & World Report blog, a rather benign post on the occasion of National Charter Schools Week drew the ire of one "Caroline, San Francisco public school parent, advocate, volunteer and blogger, and charter-school skeptic," who dismissed charter schools as all 'hype' and 'hooey'. Well, Caroline, we believe in charter schools. And here's why.
Twenty-five years after a Nation at Risk, our schools and students are still dragged down by "dumbed-down, boring textbooks; thin courses; inexperienced teachers." But school like Friendship Collegiate Academy give cause for celebration, and for hope that an education system grounded in choice and accountability will prevail.
Teachers Weigh In On Tenure, Evaluations
Washington Post, D.C., May 7, 2008
More than half of teachers believe it's too difficult to weed out ineffective teachers who have tenure, and nearly half say they personally know such a teacher.
Sizing Up the Charter School Movement
U.S. News & World Report, DC, May 6, 2008
It's National Charter Schools Week, and that means lots of chatter in Washington, D.C., about whether charter schools hurt or improve public education.
Rhee's Need to Hurry Runs Into Parents' Fear of Change
Washington Post, D.C., May 7, 2008
The next four months, leading up to the start of the 2008-09 academic year, will be a critical, perhaps defining, period for the chancellor.
Poor Charter Oversight
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, May 7, 2008
As the state moves to improve accountability for public spending, charter school boards stand as an illogical exception to those efforts.
St. Louis Gets State’s First Unionized Charter School
St. Louis American, MO, May 6, 2008
The Construction Careers Center in St. Louis will become Missouri’s first unionized charter school, a move initiated by the school’s employees to improve working and learning conditions, AFT St. Louis, Local 420, announced today.
Changes at New Orleans Schools Bring Gains in Test Scores
New York Times, NY, May 7, 2008
A broad education overhaul under way here has produced improvement in test scores, results released Tuesday showed, though many students are still struggling.
Minnesota Graded 'B' For School Choice Options
Alexandria Echo Press, MN, May 7, 2008
Minnesota ranked fifth in school choice options that increase accountability and improve student achievement according to the Choice and Education Across the States report by The Heartland Institute.
Religious School Vouchers: An Obstacle to Education Reform
Red Orbit, TX, May 7, 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court, in what I believe was one of its worst church-state opinions ever, upheld voucher aid for religious schools in 2002. Since then, the debate has shifted away from the constitutionality of vouchers to their effectiveness.
Dozens of States Consider School-Choice Legislation
Citizen Link, CO, May 5, 2008
A record 44 states have introduced school-choice legislation this year. Lawmakers are using tax credits and other incentives to help low-income families get their children out of failing schools.
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