Why does it take a riot to get school district officials to focus on parent demands and student needs? Why did it take several rallies to dismiss Ohio Governor’s ill-conceived proposals to practically abolish all school choice programs? Freedom is a right, and Americans want more freedom, not less. In an age where we are free to do and say so much more than ever before, why are school officials allowed to close the door to freedoms that allow parents to be free to decide what kind of education their children should have? Given the choice, most parents choose good schools, not bad ones like those in Watts. That’s why there are new riots in Watts and elsewhere. Most parents are fed up and they’re not going to take it anymore. 

Cyber charters in jeopardy, MI markets public schools, no books for back to school, NCLB puts teachers/unions/administrators to the task…

Grassroots Action in the news…

Savannah Morning News, GA: Savannah-Chatham School District Sets School Choice Deadline - Parents planning to use their No Child Left Behind Act school choice options to transfer out of a Needs Improvement School must move quickly.

Inside Indiana Business: Friedman Foundation to Recognize Nobel Laureate’s 95th Birthday - 47 states are joining in the celebration with breakfasts, policy briefings, lunches, forums, receptions and dinners, all concentrating on Friedman’s contributions to freedom. Regarded as one of the world’s most influential promoters of freedom, Friedman argued that the voluntary choices of individuals, not the dictates of the state, should be the default mode of human life; government is justified only insofar as it preserves, protects and defends people’s liberty. His revolutionary work in economic theory earned him the Nobel Prize in 1976.

Education Reform Outrage in the news…

Post-Gazette, PA: Hearings to Focus on Cyber Charter Schools - Representative Beyer said cyber charters have "far less overhead" than regular public schools and absorb more money than they need from school districts, with some amassing unacceptably large fund balances as a result. Critics say her bill represents an attempt by school districts and labor unions to gang up on the competition. "It’s a cartel," Timothy Daniels, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Charter Schools, said of the cyber charters’ opponents.

Washington Times: Schools to Lack Books, Repairs at Classes Resume - A task force will be resolving a mix-up in which about half of the city’s schools did not get textbooks or got the wrong books.

School Choice in the news…

Hawaii Reporter: Marketing Schools - Michigan public schools have taken to the radio, newspapers and direct mail to advertise. The competition created by schools of choice laws has produced marketing and customer service efforts as the public schools attempt to attract and retain students.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Sustained Mediocrity - What’s needed is not more carrot — for simply doing the job that’s expected — but more "stick." Specifically, better accountability, which is achievable through school choice. Competition for school dollars, put in the hands of parents instead of educrats, will reward the competent and weed out incompetents. All teachers are equal? We think not. A Congress willing to pay more for mediocrity, and a union that endeavors to protect the mediocre, will never achieve excellence in education.

Napa Valley Register, CA: Blog Comments on NCLB - This community has the right to take the school administration, teachers and unions to task. The are paid by the taxpayers to educate our children. They have failed! They don’t teach, they don’t maintain the buildings, but they whine! They whine about NCLB because it is a way to measure the success of our students, which should be the ultimate goal of our schools.

a 4-day school week, 72 failing DC schools, online education gains, NYC charters have the edge, NCLB shedding light on poor performing schools, …

Grassroots Action in the news…

Vail Daily, CO: Asking the Right Questions - A Colorado news blog offers a template for the tough questions parents should ask when evaluating which school to choose for their student. 

Dallas Morning News: Sounding Off: Who’s Right on Schedule? - Parents and administrators clashed over a proposed four-day school week, which administrators say would save taxpayers’ money. One parent notes, having a four-day workweek might save the taxpayers money; however, they will spend what they save, in additional childcare expenses.

Pioneer Press, MN: Minnesota Education/Online High Schools Are Niche Some Kids Need - Minnesota’s online academies are growing, and news is spreading like wildfire over the tech-waves: text messaging, MySpace and blogs. Kids are wired like that, so online education is just a natural extension of the life they live outside schools. Advocates say online learning is a better fit for students who don’t fit the mold at bricks-and-mortar schools. Students with physical handicaps that impair mobility, teen moms, professional athletes, gifted students and struggling students are among those who make up the student body.

Quad-Cities Online, IL: Readers Respond to Moline School’s Restructuring Options - Parents and Citizens speak in the local paper about their opinions towards the district’s restructuring.

The Tennessean: Teachers Speak Out on Upcoming Challenges - What are the challenges Midstate schools face when classes begin in August? Teachers offer their responses including: merit pay, teaching to prevent remedial college courses, parent involvement, community involvement…

School Choice in the news…

Education Week: Study Finds Edge for NYC Charters - Students in New York City charter schools are, on average, posting higher gains in reading and mathematics than they would have had they attended the city’s regular public schools, a federally financed study concludes.

Macon Telegraph, GA: New Law Gives Students With Disabilities Options - There are about 180,000 students with disabilities in Georgia, but Tofig estimates that only about 5 percent of them - or about 9,000 students - may use the vouchers. And, restrictions abound: only six weeks to apply, enrolled in public school last year, part of an individualized education program, has a special need from the list, the private school they apply to can meet their student’s needs, etc.

Santa Cruz Sentinel, CA: Johnnie Wilson: Blinded By The Light - One CA teacher is grateful for the spotlight NCLB casts on the poor performance of schools serving poor and minority students. It is not acceptable that the teaching of poor and minority students should be hidden. It should be held up to the light, questioned, examined and made better.

Yahoo! Finance: Education Next: New National Survey Shows Majority of Americans Support Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind - The Education Next poll reveals that Americans are clearly open to a host of reforms to improve their schools, ranging from high-stakes student accountability to merit pay for teachers to school vouchers. The poll also shows that the public pulls no punches when grading the quality of its schools. Most give the nation’s public schools only mediocre marks — the majority give them no better than a C.

Education Reform Outrage in the news…

Examiner, DC: Reports Show DC Schools Failing Federal Education Standards - By law, any student in a failing school can transfer out to a successful school or receive publicly-funded tutoring. The article provides a spreadsheet of D.C.’s 72 failing schools, their label and the reasons they were put on the failing list.

Worchester Telegram & Gazette, MA: School Recruiting Race-Based - Parents might not realize at first that their race might dictate what options they are given.

Courier-Journal, KY: Judge Tosses Contempt Request Against JCPS - A federal judge yesterday abruptly dismissed a motion asking that an estimated 2,800 students be given the option to attend different schools because they had been denied their school choice because of race. Lawyers argued that failing to do so violated the Supreme Court ruling, and he asked that school board members and administrators be held in contempt.

Teachers’ Unions in the news…

The Spectrum, UT: Will the NEA, parents or the state control public education? -  Despite the unrelenting efforts of a generation of reformers, it is fair to say that we have gotten lost somewhere on the road to educational excellence. So we are faced with a choice: Keep driving around until the education-reform bandwagon runs out of gas, or swallow our pride, pull over, and look at a map."

WBBM780.com: Principals Inflating Teachers’ Performance Ratings - 56 percent of CPS principals admitted inflating a teacher’s rating at least once. Many blamed an ineffective evaluation form, while others said a union contract hinders their ability to lower a rating.

My husband and I had four children (and raised 7 others), two of whom needed special education services. It was one struggle after another to get the school district to do what the law clearly said was required to help our children. I am also a teacher and have had to fight with my administrators to get support services for students, especially if it was going to cost the district money (for example, if student was classified as under section 504 of the Federal law which meant s/he needed services but the district would not be reimbursed for providing them). The odds are indeed stacked; parents and teachers have to unite to overcome those odds on behalf of the children; especially those from poorer families who are less likely to have access to legal representation.

Read more parent responses to the article.

My husband and I had four children (and raised 7 others), two of whom needed special education services. It was one struggle after another to get the school district to do what the law clearly said was required to help our children. I am also a teacher and have had to fight with my administrators to get support services for students, especially if it was going to cost the district money (for example, if student was classified as under section 504 of the Federal law which meant s/he needed services but the district would not be reimbursed for providing them). The odds are indeed stacked; parents and teachers have to unite to overcome those odds on behalf of the children; especially those from poorer families who are less likely to have access to legal representation.

Read more parent responses to the article.