AP Atlanta: Spellings continues push for No Child renewal

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said Tuesday the next phase of the federal No Child Left Behind law should focus on schools that chronically underperform.

Schools that don’t meet federal standards for multiple years should offer parents more options for transferring their child _ such as vouchers to attend private schools _ and need to have the resources to attract top teachers, she said.

Speaking to the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Spellings downplayed critics of the 5-year-old No Child Left Behind law while continuing to push for its renewal.

"I’m counting on reformers and pioneers like you to lead the way," she said.

Deseret News: Committee passes school-vouchers bill

As expected, the House Education Standing Committee on Tuesday OK’d what would be Utah’s first general government voucher program for private school tuition, costing the state $9.2 million up front.

That leaves the House, once again, in the ultimate driver’s seat — positioned to steer the controversial measure either to the graveyard, where it has dumped it seven years in a row, or to the Senate, where many believe it will pass without too much difficulty. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has expressed support for the concept.

"We knew this would not be close," Kim Burningham, chairman of the State Board of Education, which opposes the concept, said after the committee hearing. "We always knew (the real test) was on the floor of the House. We’ll keep working."

San Francisco Business Times: KIPP Foundation gets $14.6M grant

Atlantic Philanthropies has made a $14.6 million, five-year commitment to San Francisco’s KIPP Foundation. It is the largest single grant to the nonprofit since Doris and Don Fisher invested $15 million to start the charter school foundation in 2000.

KIPP supports a network of 52 Knowledge Is Power Program charter schools in 16 states and Washington, D.C. To date, its expansion has been largely funded by the Fishers, co-founders of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), who have contributed more than $40 million to KIPP Foundation. Don Fisher told the Business Times last year that he wants KIPP Foundation to be less reliant on philanthropy and to diversify its funding sources.

The Atlantic Philanthropies grant will fund a major third-party study of the effectiveness of the KIPP model, which has students attend school from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. five days a week, as well as every other Saturday and up to four weeks in the summer. The grant will also support principal recruitment and leadership training as well as shore up administrative systems in advance of future growth.

KIPP plans to double to 100 schools within five years and to triple the number of KIPP students. Currently, 12,000 students are enrolled in KIPP schools.

Washington Post: Audit Finds Financial Problems

An independent audit of the D.C. government has found serious problems with the public school system’s financial controls, alarming District officials who say that the city’s fiscal health could be at risk if the lapses are not corrected.

The audit could help Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) win critical support in his attempt to persuade the D.C. Council to approve his proposal to take direct control of the 58,000-student school system.

Fenty and D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi plan to formally announce the findings at a news conference today, during which they will also hail the city’s 10th consecutive balanced budget.