Los Angeles Times: Green Dot charter organization to take over Locke High School - The Los Angeles Board of Education voted Tuesday to turn over one of the city’s most troubled high schools to a charter school organization, marking the first time an outside group will run a traditional public school in Los Angeles. Leaders of the teachers union said they would file a grievance to block the transfer on grounds that the decision violates the teachers’ labor agreement and state law.

Mlive.com, MI: Tensions high at meeting about student transfers - Parents asked for a meeting with the county school chiefs to vent concerns about county superintendents making it more difficult for students in charter and parochial schools to transfer to suburban districts. Families now have to compete with others in the choice program or hope their home district agrees to release the students."This is a school choice issue and Kent County is one of the worst school choice counties in the state. Parents shouldn’t have to beg, and something has to take hold to fix this problem."

Washington Examiner: D.C. schools seek teacher certification numbers  - District of Columbia Public Schools officials are trying to get a handle on how many uncertified teachers are in the system so they can alert parents if their child is in a class with someone lacking credentials, according to officials. The No Child Left Behind Act requires the notification, but DCPS has not previously met this mandate.

Toledo Blade, OH: Big Schools get smaller in Ohio - Enrollment in Ohio’s largest school districts appears to have declined again, continuing a trend of diminishing numbers in urban systems that started more than a decade ago. School leaders blamed charter schools, vouchers, low birth rates, and suburban migration for the declines. The number of charter schools in the state, for example, increased slightly over last year and the number of private-school vouchers that were awarded more than doubled.

KCPW, UT: Online Charter School Approved for 2008 - Utah already has a virtual high school, which led some members of the State Board of Education to question the need for a virtual charter school. But Harmon says the Utah Virtual Academy will have a more comprehensive offering for students.

Edmond Sun, OK: Surprising Truth About Teacher Pay - “Few clichés permeate our culture more thoroughly than that of the underpaid schoolteacher.” Nobody perpetuates that cliché better than the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union.

ABC12.com, MI: Bill could permit teachers to carry concealed weapons - Guns in the classroom could soon be a reality if one Michigan lawmaker has his way.

Washington Examiner: Catholic school conversions raise placement issues - Where nearly 550 low-income students involved in D.C.’s voucher program would go is a big question mark as officials decide whether to convert eight Catholic schools into public charter schools.

Deseret Morning News, UT: Utahns hope to reform NCLB - Utah’s congressional delegation is probing ways to give power back to the people who run local schools … the administrators, not the parents.

Open enrollment… except if you’re white,  

Education Reform Outrage in the news …

WI State Journal: Open enrollment closed to white Madison students - If he lived anywhere else in Wisconsin, Zachary Walton, 12, wouldn’t have this problem. If he were black, Asian, Hispanic, or American Indian, Zachary wouldn’t have this problem, either. But he’s in Madison, where growing numbers of white students are discovering that because of their race, the state’s open enrollment program actually is closed.

Orlando Sentinel, FL: Merit pay for teachers reveals sway of affluence - The Sentinel’s review showed that teachers at predominantly white and affluent schools were twice as likely to get a bonus as teachers from schools that are predominantly black and poor. It wasn’t supposed to work that way. Florida education officials promised that imbalances along racial or income lines would not happen under the state’s beleaguered and now-defunct merit-pay program known as Special Teachers Are Rewarded, or STAR.

Grassroots Action in the news …

Washington Times: Web-savvy teacher starts virtual class - Mrs. Goldberg is the founder of Write Well University, a virtual school that teaches writing skills over the Internet. The startup school offers live, online writing lessons to people from across the world looking to improve their writing skills.

Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX: E-ducation - The Texas Legislature approved another step along the digital learning path for Texas students. By the 2008-09 school year, they’ll be able to tap into the state’s first "virtual school network" to take online courses. Those courses might be advanced language, math or science courses that their own districts simply don’t offer, electives that don’t otherwise fit into the student’s schedule, or even classes for early college credit.

NC: Questions about charter schools - Have questions about NC Charter schools and rules? This site allows you to get your questions answered.

Forbes.com: Cosby brings back TV Teaching Program - Bill Cosby is getting behind efforts to improve education. Cosby announced last week that his animated series, "Little Bill," which is aimed at getting preschoolers interested in learning, is returning to television on cable’s Noggin network.

School Choice in the news …

National Review Online, NY: Credit Where Due - So, which of the two options for real school-choice reform are more popular: vouchers or education tax credits? Surveys generally demonstrate that tax credits command five to ten percent more support than do vouchers.

WFIE-TV, IN: Test for Schools: How Should Teachers be Graded? - As the curtain opens on a new school year, the spotlight is on teachers. Off in the wings, a noisy debate ensues about how to ensure that public school teachers are well qualified - and receive enough support - to do their jobs.

Commercial Appeal, TN: Revolving door leaves teacher ranks short - Which states are really suffering from teacher shortages in public schools.

Lincoln Tribune, NC: Spend A Lot, Teach A Little - Debates about parental choice and school reform come down to productivity. I don’t doubt the good intentions and efforts of most public-school leaders and educators. And I have long favored a governmental role in ensuring that all children have access to educational opportunities. But monopolies cost too much and deliver too little.

Check out these tips for parents to promote real education reform.

The Center for Education Reform offers some tips (and there are lots more out there) about how parents can be more effective advocates for their kids… asking the right questions, getting the right information, making the right choices for each student.

Tired of the problems? Ready to get real with real education reform?

Check out the Job Watch section at www.edreform.com for opportunities to roll up your sleeves and get involved.