Tis the season … Virtual program gives the gift of science (PR Newswire), Students’ wish list at one CA charter is straight from the heart (San Diego Union Tribune), OH gives parents the gift of knowledge (Cleveland Plain Dealer). Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Edspresso! Morning Shots will resume in January.

Did the Dog Eat Mills’s Homework?
New York Sun, December 21, 2007
The alarm comes from the growing gap between the results on the fourth and eighth grade math and English language arts tests administered by state and similar tests administered by the federal government.

K12 Presents Gift to Families and Schools Across the World
PR Newswire, December 20, 2007
Free web-based science lessons demonstrate how the amazing K12 curriculum enables mastery and makes learning come alive!

With Little Time Left, Trenton Lawmakers Weigh New Formula for School Financing
New York Times, December 21, 2007
Less than three weeks before the end of the legislative session, state lawmakers began circulating a bill on Thursday that would overhaul the formula New Jersey uses to finance its public schools.

Value-Added Education Data Becomes Available To Ohio Parents
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio, December 20, 2007
These new Ohio Department of Education data provide a microscopic view of the classroom that should help teachers and principals figure out what’s working and what’s not.

Third-Graders’ Holiday Wishes Come Straight From The Heart
San Diego Union Tribune, California, December 21, 2007
The children attend Darnall Charter School near College and University avenues, where 85 percent of the students qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program.

Charter Schools
Winston-Salem Journal, North Carolina, December 21, 2007
The Blue Ribbon Charter School Study Commission has come out with a pair of recommendations that the General Assembly should adopt, even if the state’s educational establishment doesn’t like them.

Charter Schools Could Be Community Opportunity
Bloomington Pantagraph, Illinois, December 21, 2007
While I fully support the proposed expansion and related expenditures, I urge our community to consider future options that include progressive educational alternatives.

Sac High Keeps Charter
Sacramento Bee, California, December 21, 2007
Kevin Johnson’s St. HOPE Corp. received permission Thursday night to run Sacramento Charter High School for another five years when the Sacramento City Unified school board voted 6-1 to renew the school’s charter.

Jordan High Won’t Join Villaraigosa’s School Partnership
Los Angeles Times, California, December 21, 2007
But under an agreement between the district and the teachers union, the mayor’s plan needed a majority of a school’s entire bargaining-unit, regardless of how many voted.