Online Schooling Grows, Setting Off a Debate
New York Times, February 1, 2008
Half a million American children take classes online, with a significant group, like the Weldies, getting all their schooling from virtual public schools.

Merit Pay Problems
Los Angeles Times, California, February 1, 2008
We must look with serious concentration upon the ways in which we support and reward what is considered to be the work of good teachers.

House Votes To Create Charter School Panel
Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia, February 1, 2008
A new state commission could begin authorizing more tuition-free charter schools next year and give parents more educational choices for their children.

100 March Against Plan to Close Schools
Washington Post, D.C., February 1, 2008
With prayer, song and chants, more than 100 D.C. students, parents and supporters took their displeasure over a proposal to close 23 schools to the school system’s headquarters yesterday.

Gist Picked For Prestigious Superintendent’s Academy
D.C. Examiner, February 1, 2008
D.C. State Superintendent Deborah Gist was selected for a highly competitive superintendent’s academy run by a national group that funnels millions of dollars into the charter school movement.

Calls Tout Availability Of Vouchers
Columbus Dispatch, Ohio, February 1, 2008
Since December, the nonprofit advocacy group has called about 64,000 Ohio families to tout EdChoice, the 2-year-old statewide voucher program.

Collegiate High School Would Offer A Fast Track
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Florida, February 1, 2008
Edison College wants to start a high school where students can get their diploma and an associate degree at the same time. But first, the college must gauge whether there is enough community interest.

More Than 4,000 Apply For Charter School In Tradition
TC Palm, Florida, February 1, 2008
By March, parents of the more than 4,022 students who have applied to the new charter laboratory school in Tradition will know if their children have seats.

Groff School Bill Offers Flexibility
Denver Post, Colorado, February 1, 2008
A bill that would give traditional Colorado schools the flexibility to operate more like charter schools and allow them to be removed from union agreements was introduced into the legislature Thursday.

American Teachers Unions: The Fatal Flaw
Rocky Mountain New, Colorado, February 1, 2008
In rejecting the very reasonable reform requests sought by the great majority of the school’s teachers, supported by parents and approved by the Denver Public Schools board, the DCTA has gotten a very public black eye that no amount of union doubletalk or sophistry can conceal.

Ohio Launches New STEM Initiative Through $12 Million Gates Grant
Education Week, January 31, 2008
In the latest state-level effort to promote science and technology education, Ohio has launched a new public-private partnership intended to connect 100,000 students over the next 10 years to high-tech careers aimed at helping to fuel the economy.

Online Schools Better With More Oversight
Appleton Post-Crescent, Wisconsin, February 1, 2008
Parents who want their children educated through one of 12 online schools in Wisconsin got a victory last week when legislators decided, in effect, to keep the schools open.

School Choice
Las Vegas Review - Journal, Nevada, February 1, 2008
Nevada’s education establishment should take notice of a recent opinion poll on parent satisfaction with public schools.

Lawmakers Concerned About Achievement Gap
Washington Post, D.C., February 1, 2008
A consultant’s report on new state and local money spent on Maryland public schools since 2002 drew criticism yesterday from some lawmakers, who said poor, black and Hispanic students are not sufficiently narrowing the gap in achievement with white students.

School Issues Separate
Topeka Capital-Journal, Kansas, February 1, 2008
I have been distressed by the heated discussion between the Topeka USD 501 Board of Education and advocates for a charter school.

Another School Is Not Bad News
Daily News - Galveston County, Texas, February 1, 2008
News that a charter school system with a national reputation is talking about opening a campus in Galveston shouldn’t worry officials in public-school districts. But it has.

Charter Schools Get Starved
The Union Leader, New Hampshire, February 1, 2008
And what if the school had to close, sending your kids to a school that’s wrong for them, because the state decided the other school should get the money?

Louisiana Seeks Partners to Take Over Failing Schools
Education Week, January 31, 2008
Louisiana’s top education officials have launched a nationwide search for organizations to help them turn around academic achievement in 11 chronically failing schools in districts around the state.

Are You Up Yet?
New York Times, February 1, 2008
The obvious remedy would be for high schools to start later - well after 8 a.m.