Sweet ‘N Low (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette), Unions block the way (Evening Bulletin), Nevada mulls more charter oversight (Las Vegas Review) and much more in today’s Morning Shots.

The missing issue
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, October 8, 2008
The sweeteners added to the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan last week included a few crumbs for education: a two-year extension of the $250 income-tax credit teachers can receive for buying classroom supplies.

Candidates ignore education
Savannah Morning News, GA , October 8, 2008
Schools are a mess. No one wants to condemn No Child Left Behind (NCLB) as a failure, yet no one wants to be on the record advocating its reauthorization in its current form. 

For Students With Special Needs, a Vow Of Assistance
Washington Post, D.C., October 8, 2008
District officials, under mounting pressure from a federal judge to overhaul special education services in public schools, promised significant improvements over the next year, including the return of some children now in private schools because the city could not meet their needs.

Toledo council wants minimum school facilities; charters assail proposed rules
Toledo Blade, OH, October 8, 2008
A proposal to require all new schools in Toledo to have a minimum level of facilities, such as a gym and cafeteria, is generating controversy among supporters of charter schools, which they feel are being unfairly targeted.

Charter Group Organization Announces New Leader
Inside Indiana Business, IN, October 8, 2008
The Indiana Public Charter Schools Association (IPCSA) has named Russ Simnick as president of the organization to lead the growth, development, and grassroots activities of the public charter school movement throughout the state.

Raising courageous women
Washington Times, D.C., October 8, 2008
Perhaps most remarkable is that the school receives less than 10 percent of its budget from taxpayer dollars — mainly in the form of participation in the federal free and reduced-price lunch program. 

California boarding schools? It’s not an oxymoron
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 8, 2008
But that mind set is evolving, and the number of boarding students at California schools has risen nearly 8% over the last decade, according to the National Assn. of Independent Schools. 

School Choice Advocates See Teachers’ Unions As Main Roadblock
Evening Bulletin, PA, October 7, 2008
A Commonwealth Foundation (CF) panel of school-choice advocates yesterday celebrated the modest gains their movement has made so far in Pennsylvania, but they see a challenging road ahead. 

You can’t blame charters for school resegregation
The News Journal, DE, October 8, 2008
Ultimately, the report found, “it is not possible to link the presence of charter schools to changing demographics within traditional public schools.”  This careful language suggests policymakers shouldn’t hold charters responsible for resegregating our schools. 

A competitive climate
The Times-Picayune, LA, October 8, 2008
With 47 charter schools in the mix this year, the competition for public school students has become intense. Schools are aggressively trying to woo new students, with one offering a $20 gas card as a reward to parents who referred new families to the school. 

Charter schools oversight intended
Las Vegas Review-Journal, October 8, 2008
Education governance may be in for a legislative overhaul in the next session. Members of the Legislative Committee on Education agreed Tuesday to sponsor a bill draft calling for the creation of a new state agency dedicated to charter school oversight. 

Well-Paid Teachers? I’m on Board
New York Times, NY, October 7, 2008
In order to recruit the country’s top teachers to work with these at-risk students, the school’s founding principal will cut administrative costs and put a higher percentage of the school’s public funding into teacher salaries. 

No more sitting by idly as MPS fails
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, October 7, 2008
On the other hand, when I see public schools afraid to make almost any judgments, it’s made me a big school choice believer. Choice bashers often sound as though they aren’t afraid school choice won’t work; they’re afraid it will.