This Recess Is Really From Accountability
Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2008
The Business Coalition for Student Achievement (BCSA) could not disagree more. The president of the National Educational Association claims that H.R. 6239, "The Recess for NCLB Until Reauthorization Act," introduced by Reps. Tim Walz and Sam Graves does not undermine education accountability.

Get Bolder In Effort To Lift All Children’s Education
Detroit Free Press, MI, July 31, 2008
Schools fail not because they lack resources, or quality teachers. School influences are overwhelmed because so many children are molded by highly vulnerable and dysfunctional environments.

Environmental Education Gets A Green Light
USA Today, July 30, 2008
Interest in environmental education appears to be soaring, buoyed in part by alarms over global warming and concerns over energy prices.

D.C. Adopts Oversight Regulations for Home-Schooling
Washington Post, D.C., July 31, 2008
A parent who wants to home-school a child in the District needs to give written notice 15 days before taking a child out of public school, and have a portfolio of the student’s work available for review, according to new rules put in place by the state superintendent of education.

‘Public’ School Should Denote Best, Not Worst
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, July 31, 2008
My concern is that a growing number of public officials have come to think of public education in the same way that most Americans think of public housing or public health facilities —- that is, as the education source of last resort.

Educator Gets What He Wanted: His Own School
St. Petersburg Times, FL, July 31, 2008
Malatesta will lead the new Community Charter School of Excellence, a public elementary school backed by a national organization for alternative education.

Capitol Region Education Council Opening Four Magnet Schools
Hartford Courant, CT, July 31, 2008
The Capitol Region Education Council is opening four magnet schools across the region, including an academy in Avon that will use a child’s natural curiosity to promote creativity and critical thinking skills.

Charter School Exceeds State Averages
Grand Junction Sentinel, CO, July 30, 2008
Grand Junction charter school Caprock Academy scored well above almost every state average on the 2007-08 Colorado Student Assessment Program in its first time administering the test.

Protect Charter School Option For Students
South Coast Today, MA, July 31, 2008
The Global Learning Charter School is a success story for New Bedford, and it should not be made a scapegoat for budgetary woes that are afflicting every city and town in the commonwealth.

Thriving Schools For Thriving City
Sacramento Bee, CA, July 31, 2008
Officially, the mayor of Sacramento has no role in the public schools that educate the city’s children. But across the country, even in cities where the public schools aren’t part of city government, successful mayors realize that the success of a city depends on the quality of its schools.

S.C. Shows Positive Signs In Education
Orangeburg Times Democrat, SC, July 31, 2008
Our leaders are not on the same page when it comes to public education, with lawmakers and the governor deeply divided over the issue of school vouchers.

Let the Funding Debate Begin!
New America Foundation, DC, July 29, 2008
Now that Republican and Democratic presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama have both released their education agendas, Ed Money Watch has decided to examine the federal education funding implications of both plans.

Florida’s Best, Worst Charities
Florida Trend, FL, July 30, 2008
The Florida School Choice Fund in Tampa, also known as Florida P*R*I*D*E, is Charity Navigator’s top-rated organization. The group gives K-12 “Step Up For Students” scholarships to low-income students using private-sector money donated by corporations that get state tax credits for their donations.

City System to Apply for Charter School Status
Courier Herald, GA, July 29, 2008
The Dublin Board of Education Monday gave approval for the system to apply for a grant to open a charter school, designed to help improve the graduation rate and better prepare students for the workforce.

Parents Find Ways to Bypass Boundaries
Washington Post, D.C., July 30, 2008
Despite a court ruling this week that upheld the School Board’s decision to reshuffle high schools for hundreds of western Fairfax County students, many parents have found a way to bypass the new boundary map and send their children to campuses of their choice.

Charter School Option Should Continue
North County Times, CA, July 30, 2008
Politics and rhetoric aside, charter schools can be a good alternative for educating our children.

Charlie Arlinghaus: Follow Sweden’s Lead On Education Reform
The Union Leader, NH, July 30, 2008
New Hampshire should become more like Sweden. It is hard to believe I just wrote that, but the country of Volvos, ABBA and third-way socialism has moved aggressively and successfully to choices and decentralization in improving the education of its children.

25 Years And Counting
Cherokee Scout, NC, July 29, 2008
The center opened in 1983 after Mary Jo Dyre decided there should be a choice for education in Cherokee County.

Last-Chance School For Struggling Kids
WABC, New York, July 29, 2008
You know the dismal figures. About four of every 10 New York City high school students do not graduate. But now, one local school is designed just for those struggling students.

Charter School Survey Shows the Success of Innovative Education Models in the Face of a Severe 40% Funding Gap
PR Newswire, national, July 28, 2008
The results of a comprehensive survey on the factors influencing charter school operations released by the Center for Education Reform (CER) provide a powerful look at the operational success of public charter schools in the face of a severe funding gap when compared to conventional public schools

McCain, Obama Offer Dueling Education Plans
National Public Radio, July 28, 2008
McCain would offer vouchers to children in schools that fail to meet federal standards, so they can attend private schools. Obama opposes vouchers.

Stop Dumbing Down America
Washington Times, D.C., July 29, 2008
When the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law was proposed six years ago, I was hopeful that it would provide the structure and incentives for schools across America to improve similar to Virginia’s schools.

Transfer Options Open Up
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, July 29, 2008
Thousands of Gwinnett County students enrolled in low performing public schools have the option to transfer this week. A provision under the federal No Child Left Behind Act provides school choice to children attending campuses that fail to meet state benchmarks measuring student achievement.

LAUSD Bond Proposal Now Twice As Large
Los Angeles Daily News, CA, July 29, 2008
Meanwhile, district and charter officials are wrangling over exactly how much charter schools would get from the bond measure and whether the charters would own any properties and schools that are developed with the funds.

Results At Charter Schools Are As Obvious As 2 + 2 = 4
New York Daily News, NY, July 28, 2008
Can we finally admit charter schools in New York City are no longer an experiment but a valuable institution that works for poor and predominantly minority children and their families?

The Greatest Scandal
Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2008
The profound failure of inner-city public schools to teach children may be the nation’s greatest scandal. The differences between the two Presidential candidates on this could hardly be more stark….We think the facts support Senator McCain.

The Urban Environment
New York Times, NY, July 27, 2008
In its 11th year, Common Ground, a magnet high school of 150 students, chosen by lottery, was one of the country’s first so-called green charter schools. Today, at least 120 such programs…

Schools Need Role In Election Debate
Washington Times, D.C., July 27, 2008
Asya’s parents are in that group of American voters who believe education is the key to economic opportunity - not only for their children, but for the country. Education reform is their No. 1 priority during this presidential election cycle.

Big Change For Welfarist Sweden: School Choice
Washington Post, D.C., July 26, 2008
Before the reform, most families depended on state-run schools following a uniform national curriculum. Now they can turn to the "friskolor," or "independent schools," which choose their own teaching methods and staff, and manage their own buildings.

Legislature Should Look At Grad Rate
Palladium-Item, IN, July 28, 2008
It is not enough to step aside and let home schooling or charter schools pick up the void for some students while leaving others trapped in a failing public school system.

Tenure in D.C. Schools: What’s It Really Worth?
Washington Post, D.C., July 27, 2008
The discussion is largely defined in terms of a crusading new leader trying to overhaul a broken system over the opposition of stubborn teachers and their unions. This may well be the case. But lost in the discussion are two issues…

It’s The System
Augusta Chronicle, GA, July 27, 2008
Of course, we think he and the Board of Education should go even further than that. They should adopt a tangible sense of urgency and start considering some radical changes in Richmond County schools.

Students Using Vouchers On The Rise
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, July 27, 2008
More than 10,450 public school students in Ohio, including 2,088 or so in the Cincinnati area, will attend private schools on the state’s dime in the upcoming school year.

Charter Status Lets School Systems Tailor Plans To Students’ Needs
Gainesville Times, GA , July 27, 2008
The Gainesville school system will start the school year on Aug. 7 as one of four state-approved charter school districts in Georgia.

Center Teaches Parents About School Options
Miami Herald, FL, July 27, 2008
When Brenda Lanuza first came to Miami, she assumed the only educational choice for her 8-year-old son was the neighborhood school. Now she knows she has options.

Education Options
Lake City Reporter, FL, July 27, 2008
Parents who want to draw from a number of aspects of public schools and home schools have a new option for their child’s education.

Funds Found for New Charters
Washington Post, D.C., July 26, 2008
The District will use a $7.5 million education reserve fund to pay for the seven former Catholic schools slated to reopen as secular charter schools next month, and it will be able to find more money if necessary, officials said this week.

Three Well-Regarded Cleveland Charter Schools Join Forces While Staying Separate
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, July 26, 2008
How can three highly regarded Cleveland charter schools join forces without losing the unique identities that set them apart from mainstream public education? Their futures may hinge on the answer.

Whining Won’t Help Us Educate Our Children
Lansing State Journal, MI, July 27, 2008
The K-12 education system was designed to provide an opportunity for students to learn the basics they need to be successful. There is no suggestion that it was primarily designed to support school infrastructures, teachers, administrators, parents and communities.

OSU To Sponsor Proposed Tulsa Charter School
Tulsa World, OK, July 26, 2008
The Oklahoma School for the Visual and Performing Arts is still seeking the Legislature’s approval to create the school and to fund about $5 million annually for operations, said David Downing, the school’s co-chairman with his father-in-law, John Brock, a retired Tulsa oilman and philanthropist.

Math Scores Show No Gap for Girls, Study Finds
New York Times, NY, July 25, 2008
Although boys in high school performed better than girls in math 20 years ago, the researchers found, that is no longer the case.

Virtual Schools, Real Businesses
Forbes, NY, July 25, 2008
Ron J. Packard, the chief executive of K12, an online education company in Herndon, Va., is adamant that he runs a public school.

The Odd World of E-School Teachers
Washington Post, D.C., July 25, 2008
Educators who supplement or replace their day jobs with online teaching for local public schools are discovering that the perks of working at home come with hurdles…

Barry Promoting 2 Charter Schools
Washington Post, D.C., July 25, 2008
Now the man known as D.C.’s mayor-for-life, who abandoned his doctoral dissertation in chemistry for a career in politics, is working to open two public charter schools.

Conference Offers Lessons On World Schools
Star-Ledger, NJ, July 25, 2008
Imagine a place where parents had their choice of schools, and two-thirds of the students wound up in private or religious institutions, often with impressive results.

Business, School Leaders Form Council To Improve Work Force
Southeast Missourian, MO, July 25, 2008
Its goal is to better prepare students for the work force. That includes ensuring students can "seamlessly" pass through high school to college.

Money Available To Help New Charter Schools Get Going
The Oregonian, OR, July 25, 2008
Citing Oregon’s track record of holding charter schools accountable for results, the U.S. Department of Education gave Oregon a $9.5 million grant Thursday to help spawn more charter schools across the state.

Charter School’s Ranking Ought To Silence Critics
The News Journal, DE, July 25, 2008
The Delaware State Educators Association is attempting to curtail the growth of charter schools. DSEA disagrees with the suggestions of Edwin Meese, president of the Delaware Charter Schools Network.

Ease Off Those Guys, Legislatin’ Is Hard
Charleston Post Courier, SC, July 25, 2008
It’s a good thing state lawmakers have decided to work over the summer on South Carolina’s education funding problem. For a minute there, it looked like we were in trouble.

Longtime Public School Advocate Kathi Littmann Joins California Charter Schools Association
Market Watch, July 24, 2008
The California Charter Schools Association today announced that Kathi Littmann, former Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) executive director of iDivision Design Schools and respected veteran in the education arena, has joined its staff as Senior Vice President of Intergovernmental Affairs.