Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley cheers for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s call for parental choice.  But pay particular attention to what she identifies as the stakes for Detroit:

The mayor’s efforts come at a time when the Detroit schools are in turmoil. They are in debt and losing students by the thousands. The school board, after initially announcing it would close as many as 50 schools, voted last week to close none. But they come also as the mayor leads redevelopment that has received national notice…

Detroit has an estimated adult illiteracy rate of 47%. Its middle class is still moving to the suburbs or out of state. We’re headed for a single-state depression. Only Detroit can save it, and only if the city fixes education.

Due to the ongoing woes of the American car industry, Michigan is in an economic tailspin.  Everybody knows it, especially with a new report indicating bleak times ahead for the state.  So is it really any surprise that there’s increased interest on the part of businesses in education reform?  I commented earlier on Robert Thompson’s attempted philanthropy in Motor City; consider efforts by Detroit businessman and former Detroit Pistons star  Dave Bing to help Thompson:

Bing, an African American, later told the Detroit Free Press, “When I heard how Bob was treated, it just didn’t make sense to me. I knew there was a need. From a selfish standpoint, as a businessperson, I need educated people on my work force. I’m not anti-public schools. But I don’t think they will fix public schools quick enough to stop the drain. And if parents and children don’t have other options, it’s a lose-lose proposition for both the public schools and the city of Detroit.”

I’m dismayed by the browbeating some businesses receive when they try to get involved in education reform.  The subtext is generally one of greed: “why, these money-grubbing companies only want to get their mitts in schools so they can soak the kids/parents/taxpayers.”  However, there doesn’t seem to be any meaningful recognition that businesses might actually have some perfectly appropriate reasons for getting involved in education reform–or that kids (not to mention communities) might actually benefit from such involvement.  Consider this article, which suggests there’s actually an ongoing global labor shortage.  Michigan desperately needs to diversify its economy away from manufacturing and do all it can to take advantage of this situation.  But it needs a labor force capable of stepping up to the plate, and with nearly half of Detroit functionally illiterate, education reform has got to happen.  I think would-be edureformers need to better acknowledge the close ties between urban renewal and education reform–it can help explain why people and organizations with no apparent connection to education become interested in change.

Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley cheers for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s call for parental choice.  But pay particular attention to what she identifies as the stakes for Detroit:

The mayor’s efforts come at a time when the Detroit schools are in turmoil. They are in debt and losing students by the thousands. The school board, after initially announcing it would close as many as 50 schools, voted last week to close none. But they come also as the mayor leads redevelopment that has received national notice…

Detroit has an estimated adult illiteracy rate of 47%. Its middle class is still moving to the suburbs or out of state. We’re headed for a single-state depression. Only Detroit can save it, and only if the city fixes education.

Due to the ongoing woes of the American car industry, Michigan is in an economic tailspin.  Everybody knows it, especially with a new report indicating bleak times ahead for the state.  So is it really any surprise that there’s increased interest on the part of businesses in education reform?  I commented earlier on Robert Thompson’s attempted philanthropy in Motor City; consider efforts by Detroit businessman and former Detroit Pistons star  Dave Bing to help Thompson:

Bing, an African American, later told the Detroit Free Press, "When I heard how Bob was treated, it just didn’t make sense to me. I knew there was a need. From a selfish standpoint, as a businessperson, I need educated people on my work force. I’m not anti-public schools. But I don’t think they will fix public schools quick enough to stop the drain. And if parents and children don’t have other options, it’s a lose-lose proposition for both the public schools and the city of Detroit."

I’m dismayed by the browbeating some businesses receive when they try to get involved in education reform.  The subtext is generally one of greed: "why, these money-grubbing companies only want to get their mitts in schools so they can soak the kids/parents/taxpayers."  However, there doesn’t seem to be any meaningful recognition that businesses might actually have some perfectly appropriate reasons for getting involved in education reform–or that kids (not to mention communities) might actually benefit from such involvement.  Consider this article, which suggests there’s actually an ongoing global labor shortage.  Michigan desperately needs to diversify its economy away from manufacturing and do all it can to take advantage of this situation.  But it needs a labor force capable of stepping up to the plate, and with nearly half of Detroit functionally illiterate, education reform has got to happen.  I think would-be edureformers need to better acknowledge the close ties between urban renewal and education reform–it can help explain why people and organizations with no apparent connection to education become interested in change. 

New York Sun: Spitzer Wins a Victory on Charters

In a victory for Governor Spitzer, lawmakers are poised to approve an expansion in the number of charter schools in the state, agreeing to give second life to an 8-year-old experiment in education that has been lauded by school-choice activists but resisted by state teachers unions and school district bureaucracies.

In one of last deals made during the budget negotiations, lawmakers have agreed to allow an additional 100 charter schools in the state, which would increase the total number of the schools to 200.

The trustees of the State University of New York, which are appointed by the governor, and the Board of Regents, a state entity largely controlled by Assembly Democrats, will each have approval power over 50 of the charters, which are publicly funded schools under contract with state entities but independent of school district bureaucracy and union rules.

The final budget will likely eliminate Mr. Spitzer’s plan to give parents who pay for private or public school tuition annual $1,000 tax deductions to offset the costs. Worth on average $68 a year, the money would have covered just a tiny fraction of tuition costs at most schools. For private and religious school advocates, the deduction represented a critical precedent for using state funds explicitly to help families pay for private tuition.

LA Times: L.A. Unified rejects charter expansion

A split Los Angeles Board of Education on Thursday rejected the expansion plans of one of the city’s leading charter school operators — a move that almost certainly violates state law and firmly sets back future collaboration between the charter group and the school district.

The unexpected 3-3 vote by the Los Angeles Unified School District board defeated Green Dot Public Schools’ application for eight new charters. The group had planned to use several of the charter licenses to open new schools this fall in the Watts neighborhood around Locke High School — one of the city’s worst. The board’s seventh member, David Tokofsky, recused himself because he works for Green Dot.

Board members and teachers union allies Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, Jon Lauritzen and Julie Korenstein voted against the charters, saying that despite the promising results Green Dot has produced at its other charters, they remain skeptical of the group’s reform model.

Their vote enraged Green Dot founder Steve Barr, who said it essentially ended months of talks between him, Supt. David L. Brewer and board President Marlene Canter aimed at a joint reform plan for Locke.

"There is nothing to collaborate on … now we’re outsiders," Barr said. "We’ve spent hours and days and nights trying to collaborate…. I really have a hard time finding any reason to continue talking with this district."

Dallas Morning News: House rejects urban vouchers

In a blow to the school voucher movement, the House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to bar use of any state funds for private school vouchers in Texas.

The 129-8 vote – which came on an amendment to the proposed state budget – appeared to signal an end to efforts to pass a voucher bill this year that would allow low-income students in Dallas and other urban school districts to transfer to private schools at state expense.

House action came just hours after a Senate committee considered a proposal to let up to 50,000 low-income students from public schools in Dallas, Fort Worth and seven other urban districts participate in a pilot voucher plan. The bill would take about 90 percent of the funds used to educate those students and send it to private schools to pay tuition. That percentage would amount to about $8,000 per student, according to state education officials.

Myrtle Beach Sun News: Education chief’s open enrollment plan passes

After voting down several attempts to add provisions for vouchers or tax credits to attend private schools, the House on Thursday passed state Education Superintendent Jim Rex’s open enrollment plan 69-53.

The bill allows a limited number of pupils in poorly performing schools to attend another public school outside their assigned area. The Senate has a similar bill it is working on.

The issue split the local delegation, with four for it and six against. Although Democrats in general favored the bill, the Black Caucus turned against it along with many Republicans.

"It’s not choice at all," said Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach. He said it’s feel-good legislation that has too limited a reach.

Education chief’s open enrollment plan passes - After voting down several attempts to add provisions for vouchers or tax credits to attend private schools, the South Carolina House on Thursday passed state Education Superintendent Jim Rex’s open enrollment plan 69-53.

School choice bill gains House OK - Parents are one significant step closer to having the option of sending their children to any public school in South Carolina after the House gave key approval Thursday to a plan that allows enrollment across school district lines.

S.C. House passes school-choice bill free of vouchers - South Carolina students could apply to attend any public school in the state — regardless of where they live — if a bill passed by the House Thursday becomes law.  But the measure doesn’t include private school vouchers or tax credits as a further option, as some conservative lawmakers had hoped.

Legislators come down on both sides of private-school-tuition fence - Proposals that would help parents pay for private school tuition with public money were defeated Thursday in the South Carolina House of Representatives, the fourth consecutive year the idea has failed.

Committee hears hours of testimony on school vouchers - A Texas Senate committee heard hours of testimony from parents, educators and experts on a controversial school voucher bill on Thursday. Supporters argued the measure would give parents a choice in their children’s education and opponents said it would hurt public schools.

House rejects urban vouchers - In a blow to the school voucher movement, the House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to bar use of any state funds for private school vouchers in Texas.

House prohibits vouchers, approves $150 billion budget - The Texas House voted 129-8 to prohibit any state education dollars from being spent on school vouchers.

State budget deal doubles charter schools - New York will double the number of charter schools permitted and provide additional funding for districts in which the alternative schools are located, under a series of budget deals that came together Thursday at the state Capitol.

Spitzer Wins a Victory on Charters - In a victory for New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, lawmakers are poised to approve an expansion in the number of charter schools in the state, agreeing to give second life to an 8-year-old experiment in education that has been lauded by school-choice activists but resisted by state teachers unions and school district bureaucracies.

Deal a Budget Boost to Charter Schools - Gov. Spitzer and legislative leaders yesterday agreed on a new state budget that officials say includes authorization for 50 new charter schools in the city.

E-mail bashing charter schools leaves bad taste - Education-reform proponents were outraged Thursday about an e-mail in which Colorado House Education Committee Chairman Mike Merrifield said, “There must be a special place in Hell” for advocates of vouchers and private and charter schools.

Mayor takes lead in necessary revolution on city schools - Opinion: Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick says that, despite criticism, he is undeterred in his efforts to improve education for all Detroit schoolchildren and will continue conversations with educators, foundation leaders, corporate leaders and parents to discuss what is best for the kids and the city’s future — including establishing more charter and private schools in the city.  Thank God. That means the mayor is doing his job.

Expect charter reforms, state says - Florida legislative leaders are talking about possible changes in the regulation of the state’s 300-plus charter schools in response to Orlando Sentinel stories this week outlining academic, financial and oversight problems at many schools.

No child left behind - Opinion: Although nothing is perfect and NCLB is no exception, I believe the intent of the law is good and I don’t see the need for any major changes to it.  With that said, there still are some areas in need of attention and change.

Teacher union won’t strike - Members of West Virginia’s second-largest teachers union overwhelmingly voted against striking to protest the Legislature’s 3.5 percent pay increase.

A Player Switches Sides in the Interest of Education - Not that Martine G. Guerrier, a self-possessed, child-obsessed education policy expert, is much of a blusher. But at first blush the arrangement recently struck between New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the Department of Education and Ms. Guerrier, formerly a most outspoken appointee to the city’s Panel for Educational Policy as well as its first Haitian-American soccer mom, sounds like an exercise in keeping friends close and enemies closer. For all three parties, finally, unanimity! Or maybe not.

L.A. Unified rejects charter expansion - A split Los Angeles Board of Education on Thursday rejected the expansion plans of one of the city’s leading charter school operators — a move that almost certainly violates state law and firmly sets back future collaboration between the charter group and the school district.

Mailing misleads about candidate - Through headlines from Journal Sentinel articles, the ad links Bonds specifically to Mandella School of Science and Math, a now-closed school where the principal used state money to buy two Mercedes-Benz cars. Bonds has said he supports school choice, but the ad makes some misleading leaps in connecting him with the troubles at Mandella. 

UPDATE:

Bottom line is children - Letter to the editor: Rather than asking, "Will vouchers hurt public schools?" we need to be asking, "Will vouchers help children?" The bottom line is children, not schools. Children are our future. Therefore, it is not only morally, but also economically, sound for us to do whatever it takes for all children to be educated. 

Public school choice passes - The House gave key approval Thursday to a plan that would allow students to attend the public school of their choice, regardless of attendance boundaries. Attempts to let students transfer to private schools, however, failed. 

School transfer chances rise - Portland students’ chances of snagging a transfer out of their neighborhood high school have improved since last year, preliminary school choice lottery results show.  

A petition to sign: Legal wrangling should not stop voucher referendum - Editorial: The groups who want to give Utah voters a chance to strike down the controversial law should keep pressing forward. Their own lawyers take exception to Shurtleff’s opinion, and if the referendum is successful, they are prepared to go to court to make it stick. 

School voucher use up more than 3,000 over previous year - Overall participation in the voucher program is up sharply this year because a cap of about 15,000 students was lifted a year ago as a result of an agreement between Republican legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.  

This aint your 2005 House - Opinion: By far the most interesting moment of today’s long, and I mean long, House debate over the state budget was when members voted to scrap the state’s sizable incentive pay program for teachers and replace it with a modest across-the-board pay raise for teachers. 

Let the people decide what to do about public education - Voucher proponents state that the voucher bill will help low-income Utah families. If this is true, why don’t they have the support of low-income organizations? Why aren’t there droves of poor people crowding the Legislature in support of school vouchers? 

Fairness of school reform law challenged - Educators and watchdog groups converged at School Without Walls High School, late Thursday to trade complaints and summon support for changing the federal No Child Left Behind act.

Town leaders have reservations about Rell tax-cap plan - The governor, who in February proposed an across-the-board state income-tax hike to pay for a massive, $3.4 billion increase in education spending by 2012, pledged to develop a complementary plan to provide municipal tax relief.

Dark Themes in Books Get Students Reading (Edweek.org subscription required) - Ms. Brown is glad that teachers at Evanston High, like educators elsewhere, have been supplementing the canon with recently published books to provide a more varied, and palatable, literary menu for students. Such decisions, some experts say, can add the kind of engaging and relevant content that high school reform advocates have been calling for.

Dan Walters: New school pact leads to a raid - Opinion: The plain fact is that school trustees presumably elected to govern prudently have approved a legally binding contract that commits them to shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars more than they know they’ll have.

‘No Child’ leaves big gap to fill in grade schools - Opinion: As a student teacher supervisor in the Grand Rapids, Mich.-area, I observe elementary classrooms daily. I constantly ask myself how our classroom structure could have deteriorated so rapidly within the past decade.

Chester school board postpones charter vote - Confronted by an angry crowd of several hundred charter school parents, some waving signs saying "Afraid of Competition" and "Board Should Resign," the new state-appointed board that runs the Chester Upland School District postponed a vote last night on whether to cap charter school enrollment at its current levels.

Angry Parents Confront Board Over Capping Charter School Enrollment - Emotions ran high as community members faced-off against a state-appointed control board. Hundreds of people — some educators, but mostly parents — showed for the meeting, held in a middle school to accomodate the crowd.

Tempe districts battle dip in enrollment - Both the Kyrene and Tempe elementary school districts have lost nearly 800 students in the past two years, resulting in a loss of some $3 million in funding.

Toledo teachers cite fear of assaults in union poll - Twenty percent of Toledo Public Schools classroom employees who responded to a survey from their union said they had been assaulted or physically threatened last school year by students.
 

Gov. Ted Strickland announced on March 14 that he intends to roll back Ohio’s tiny school voucher program to save money in the next budget. The problem is, it would cost a lot more to send the thousands of children in the program back to the failing schools from which they escaped.

More “Will Strickland’s Proposal to Cut the EdChoice Program Pay Off? (Adam Schaeffer)”