It looks like Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), a longtime proponent of D.C. voting rights, would like to hinge his support of District residents winning a voice in Congress on further renewal of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a voucher system allowing more than 1,700 D.C. children to attend schools of their choosing after having been failed by those to which they are traditionally assigned.

Perhaps the Senator read this.

Or, he could have watched this:

(h/t to Flypaper)

Experts Wonder How Education Goals Will Be Met
Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2009
President Barack Obama laid out new national goals Tuesday aimed at boosting high school and college graduation rates, but left education experts wondering on how he intends to reach his targets, and how much he is prepared to spend on them.

House Bill Draws Criticism From GOP
Washington Post, D.C., February 26, 2009
The House yesterday passed a $410 billion bill to fund government operations through September, brushing aside Republican complaints that the measure included too much unnecessary spending and could lead to the end of a school voucher program for Washington.

A Late Pass for the Teacher
New York Times, NY, February 26, 2009
Since 2001, more than 2,000 people have enrolled in one of nine state-approved programs that offer accelerated training and development to help working professionals make the transition into the classroom.

Charter School Opponents, Watch Out
Christian Science Monitor, MA, February 25, 2009
In his address to Congress last night President Obama promised: "We will expand our commitment to charter schools." Today, as the blogosphere buzzes over the speech, education watchers and International Community School teachers alike are taking that commitment seriously.

Obama Gives Failing Schools a Pass
National Review Online, February 26, 2009
This is classic Obama, straddling the Democratic divide on education, just as he did so deftly during the campaign, striving to placate both the reformers within the party and the union bosses.

The Quality Challenge for Charter Schools
Education Week, MD, February 25, 2009
When President Barack Obama pledged on the campaign trail last September to step up federal aid for "successful" charter schools, he was touching on a matter of mounting concern: how to ensure better and more consistent quality across the growing charter sector.

Obama’s School Choice
Wall Street Journal, February 26, 2009
President Obama made education a big part of his speech Tuesday night, complete with a stirring call for reform. So we’ll be curious to see how he handles the dismaying attempt by Democrats in Congress to crush education choice for 1,700 poor kids in the District of Columbia.

Ackerman Cautious on KIPP Plan
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, February 26, 2009
Philadelphia schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman has responded cautiously to a nationally recognized education organization’s proposal to open eight charter schools in the city over the next 10 years.

A Signal, But No Turn?
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, February 26, 2009
With the end of the school year in sight, Sanders has to keep his promise. He can’t declare these schools sunk without giving them a fair chance to swim.

Strickland’s Schools Formula Gets Math Check
Columbus Dispatch, OH, February 26, 2009
Gov. Ted Strickland and state lawmakers already are looking at significant changes to his new school-funding formula, including a higher figure needed to pay for teacher salaries and ways to limit poorer districts’ short-term pain.

Chicago Schools Moving Ahead With Closings
Chicago Tribune, IL, February 26, 2009
Chicago Board of Education voted Wednesday to close, consolidate or revamp 16 public schools starting in September after hearing nearly five hours of testimony from dozens of parents, teachers and students who spoke out against the plan.

Private Schools Caught In An Economic Storm
Chicago Tribune, IL, February 26, 2009
Financial aid applications and scholarships are on the rise, and admissions applications are flat to slightly declining, private school officials say.

Candidate A: Topic: School Vouchers
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, February 26, 2009
Georgians can do better by supporting Sen. Eric Johnson’s landmark voucher bill, Senate Bill 90. The bill provides parents with up to $5,000 annually per child to help send the child to a private school.

More Metro Atlanta Parents Choosing Public School
WSBtv, GA, February 25, 2009
As the economic downturn continues, parents are realizing they may have to make tough decisions soon about their children’s education.

Louisiana To Get Over $1B For Education
Shreveport Times, LA, February 26, 2009
During the next two years, that money will be used to help advert budget cuts, give incentive pay to teachers, expand and enhance preschool and special education programs, modernize school campuses, enhance technology and make college more affordable, among other things

2 New Charter Schools Planned for Volusia
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL, February 26, 2009
Two new charter schools could open in Volusia County in August if they meet enrollment, facilities and financial requirements earlier in the summer.

Diversity Plan for Public Schools, Using Hebrew
New York Times, NY, February 26, 2009
For the district, which is overwhelmingly black and Hispanic, it offered a pathway toward its mandate of diversifying its schools and the potential to heal some of the fractures in a community where social divisions are mirrored in educational ones.

Our View: State Panel Vote Means It’s Time For All To Embrace Charter School
Gloucester Daily Times. MA, February 26, 2009
A charter school is coming to Gloucester.
That’s no longer the hope of charter organizers — and it’s no longer the apparent worst fear of city and school officials. It’s the reality — and it’s one that officials and parents alike should begin to embrace.

Obama’s Charter School Focus Welcomed By Md. Leaders
WBAL TV, MD, February 25, 2009
With President Barack Obama vowing to spend more money on education — and on charter schools in particular — Maryland is hoping to get its share of federal dollars for new charter schools.

A Charter Schools Tax, Paid By The Oakland School District
Oakland Tribune, CA, February 25, 2009
California’s superintendent of public instruction, Jack O’Connell, has ordered the state-run Oakland school district to divert $480,000 of its funds to the city’s independently run, public charter schools — about $60 for every charter school student.

Bill: Troubled School Boards Could Get Booted
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, February 26, 2009
Failing school boards could be removed by the governor before their system loses accreditation, if a bill passed by the state Senate Wednesday is also aprroved by the House.

2 School Accountability Bills Advance
Wyoming Tribune, WY, February 25, 2009
The Senate Education Committee will continue to discuss a bill today intended to bring more accountability to school districts.

Brookings Study Gives Thumbs Down To European Test
Associated Press, February 29, 2009
When it comes to evaluating U.S. students with their counterparts around the world, the National Governors Association and other groups would like states to include a European test used in 57 countries.But after scrutinizing the exam, the Brookings Institution has concluded it’s seriously flawed.

Obama Seeks to Snap Gloom
Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2009
And the president talked at length about education, promising to reform the fundamentals of U.S. schools, adding new accountability as well as new dollars, while challenging all Americans to get at least one year of education or training beyond high school.

Obama Puts Spotlight on Education Deficit
Los Angeles Times, CA, February 25, 2009
President Obama on Tuesday laid out a series of challenges for the nation to meet in job training and college attainment, part of an effort to give every child a "complete and competitive education."

Obama’s Congressional Address: Education Key to Economic Recovery
Education Week, MD, February 24, 2009
After leading the charge for a $787 billion stimulus package that includes a mind-boggling $115 billion in education aid, the president tonight put education reform on the national stage like it never was during the campaign.

Myths About Schools That Just Can’t Be Fixed
The News Journal, DE, February 24, 2009
To borrow from the old quip on giving up smoking: Fixing public schools is easy — we’ve done it hundreds of times. Even with the billions of dollars in economic stimulus aid, public schools stand no chance of getting better until we dispel some empty theories about how to help them.

Union Chief Weighs In On Rhee’s Comments
Washington Post, D.C., February 25, 2009
The president of the American Federation of Teachers said yesterday that a recent op-ed article written by D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee represented "an apology" to instructors and reflected a conciliatory tone that she has recently struck in contract negotiations.

Voucher Subterfuge
Washington Post, D.C., February 25, 2009
CONGRESSIONAL Democrats want to mandate that the District’s unique school voucher program be reauthorized before more federal money can be allocated for it. It is a seemingly innocuous requirement. In truth it is an ill-disguised bid to kill a program that gives some poor parents a choice regarding where their children go to school

Putting Parents Last in Education
National Review Online, NY, February 25, 2009
The message was clear: Special-interest groups, not parents, still come first in the education debate. For years, blocking school choice and ending the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program has been a priority for the teachers’ unions and their advocates on Capitol Hill. Now, 1,700 low-income children may become casualties in that ongoing political war.

D.C. Charter School Shares Secrets of Success
News Channel 8, DC, February 24, 2009
Administrators of the Capital City Charter School are sharing their secrets of success after President Barack Obama (praised the institution as an example of how all schools should be.

District Wins Right To Close Ailing Charter
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 25, 2009
The Philadelphia School District yesterday won the right to close Germantown Settlement Charter School, but the district left open the possibility that it might wait until June to shut down the troubled middle school.

Monica Yant Kinney: A Public-School Success
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 25, 2009
So Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman wants to shutter 35 of the worst schools in town and start fresh. Sounds intriguing, presuming she studies what’s working at the best of the rest.

You Call This Reform?
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA, February 25, 2009
While progress has been made toward some of these goals, real success will take the support of every part of the Pittsburgh community: parents, students, teachers, administration and school board.

Rockford School Board OKs Second Charter School By 6-0 Vote
Rockford Register Star, IL, February 24, 2009
Chicago International Charter School proponents were clearly excited after six Rockford School Board members voted Tuesday to approve the city’s second charter school.

Charter School Bill Goes Too Far
Denver Post, CO, February 25, 2009
During the last 15 years, charter schools have become a vital part of Colorado’s educational fabric. Many have proven to be innovative, successful and often are a better fit for at-risk or gifted students than traditional schools.

Allowing More Charter Schools Not A Good Idea
Mount Airy News, NC, February 24, 2009
As a true supporter of the public school system, I see it as a personal hit to the local school systems to have two of our local state representatives supporting a bill which would allow up to five charter schools in every school system district in the state.

Rumble Coming Over Who Runs Louisiana Schools
Times Picayune, LA, February 25, 2009
In case it has slipped your notice, your local school board and the man in charge of education statewide are about to go to war. Opening shots have been fired, but the real hostilities should ensue during the legislative session when state Superintendent Paul Pastorek asks lawmakers to impose term limits on local school board members and to stop them from interfering with the day-to-day management of schools.

Bob Bowen: Pay Teachers Based On Results
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, February 25, 2009
In the private sector, those who perform at a high level are paid on the basis of performance and productivity. After spending many millions of dollars through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has noted that teacher quality is an important factor in student success.

State OKs City Charter School
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, February 25, 2009
The state has given the green light to a new arts-focused Gloucester charter school, clearing the way for the school to open in 2010 and bring significant changes to public education on Cape Ann.

ICSD Considers Barring Charter School Students, Home-Schoolers From Activities
Ithaca Journal, NY, February 25, 2009
The Board of Education of the Ithaca City School District presented two policies Tuesday night to bar home-schooled and charter school students from participating in extracurricular activities in the school district.

Mayor Bloomberg and Joel Klein Determined To Keep Parents Seen, Not Heard
New York Daily News, NY, February 25, 2009
The CECs replaced the old community school boards after the Legislature eliminated the Board of Education in 2003 and gave Bloomberg greater control of the schools. Several provisions of that law were intended to assure parents had some oversight over the mayor’s new powers. Klein and his aides have repeatedly flouted those provisions, CEC leaders say.

A Welcome Tutorial For Minnesota Charter Schools
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN, February 24, 2009
An initiative led by the U’s Center for School Change pairs charter and alternative school leaders with experienced business and education mentors.

The Jindal Phenomenon
Washington Post, D.C., February 25, 2009
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — selected to deliver the Republicans’ Fat Tuesday response to President Obama — might also be voted the man least likely to let the good times roll.

In Mayoral Primary, Detroiters Get It Right
Detroit News, MI, February 25, 2009
They also both back a stronger role for the mayor in the troubled Detroit Public School system, although Bing has been more active on the issue of education reform.

Lawmakers Get Creative On Stimulus
Columbia Daily Tribune, MO, February 24, 2009
Missouri will get education dollars from the federal government in two pots: $770 million that must be used for operations and $160 million that must be used for construction and equipment. Rupp wants to shift some of the $770 million from operations dollars to fund one-time projects, such as electronic classrooms and paying for a study on expanding charter schools

Mayor: Close Failing Schools
New Haven Independent, CT, February 24, 2009
With a brand new Fair Haven school as his backdrop, Mayor John DeStefano launched his reelection campaign under the mantle of school reformer.

That’s what the union wants KIPP to be - Nice. In the opinion of the American Federation of Teachers, “nice” means giving them what they want, regardless of whether it’s good for kids. Through its NYC affiliate, the AFT has launched a campaign to pressure the leadership of KIPP AMP Academy’s Brooklyn campus to accept the union as the leader of its teachers. KIPP hasn’t moved to recognize the union, so its leaders are striking back.

Be Nice, they say in a new PR campaign. It’s a clever turn of phrase on the motto of the Knowledge is Power Program, the nationwide network that has re-educated thousands of children nationwide who had been failed miserably by conventional public schools. But they are missing something. “Work Hard” is how the motto begins. “Work Hard, Be Nice.” The two phrases go together. Deliberately. That’s what the teachers who now want a break signed up to do - Work Hard. We wonder -is it nice to take a job in a school that you know requires long hours and arduous work, and then go behind the backs of your leadership and fellow teachers and ask a militant national union to come in and rob children of the first opportunity they’ve ever had to learn?

As in most of the charter schools that came before and since KIPP, success comes precisely because of their independence from onerous contracts and the flexibility afforded by the charter to be able to design programs without top down interference. KIPP sets an ambitious path for staff and students – 7:30 to 5:30 every weekday, Saturday work and summer requirements. That’s one key reason their students perform exceptionally well, despite their disadvantages, the same disadvantages that other public schools blame for their own students’ failure.

“Work Hard”? Those teachers who wanted the union have complained to the newspapers that they are working long hours, and that their complaints go unaddressed. They’ve convinced colleagues to seek unionization, but must have forgotten that they chose to work at KIPP. They weren’t assigned there, as happens to so many union teachers in the conventional system. They got on board voluntarily. They could pick from thousands of NY schools that have traditional days/rules/requirements and unions. But they didn’t. They chose KIPP, and so maybe they should choose to leave KIPP, rather than seek to make KIPP like too many other public schools that do everything the same, and fail as a result.

In charter schools that succeed, the adults are focused not on themselves, but on what they can do better – constantly - to meet their performance goals. Unlike the status quo they left, the adults have agreed that student achievement is the reason for schools. That alone should be the driving concern for all complaints. It’s what has made most teachers love being in charters. But they are not for everyone. Clearly.

The teachers unions have been attempting to get their foot in the door in any state where collective bargaining is optional. It’s important to recall that not one charter bill in any state had the support of the unions when it was passed, unless it included their requirements for unionization. A few deals have been struck to ward off their opposition over time, like the rule in New York that says any school that starts with over 250 students is automatically part of the union. Most charters therefore, start with fewer, on purpose. The response by the union is to scatter loyal unionists in charters – to whip up discontent and cause suspicion where there may have been none. Honest people can begin to believe the worst about someone unless they remind themselves about the best.

And so they seek to cajole and convince others that KIPP doesn’t respect its teachers, and launch a campaign to encourage all charter teachers to write KIPP and encourage them to “Be Nice”. How about the kids? Is it nice to change the environment in which students are learning by creating dissension among teachers?   Where is the “Work Hard” part? That seems to be the part that some of the teachers at KIPP didn’t like, and that resulted in their demand for uniformity and protection through a union contract. Is that nice? Nope. That’s called selfish.

As the founder of the union running the Be Nice campaign once said, ”When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.” That’s the reality everyone needs to understand. This is about dues, not kids. And that’s the part that’s not nice.