Friday, February 13, 2009

Stimulus Bill Provides Some $100 Billion for Education
Education Week, MD, February 12, 2009
After days of tense negotiations, congressional leaders hope to begin voting as early as Friday on a nearly $800 billion economic-stimulus bill that would provide some $100 billion for education.

Why the Stimulus Needed To Keep Education
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 13, 2009
PNC’s experience is an example of why advocates say education spending belongs in the $789 billion economic-stimulus package being negotiated in Congress: Ineffective education is a drag on productivity.

Nation’s Schools Would Get $106 Billion From Federal Economic Stimulus Package
Los Angeles Times, CA, February 13, 2009
The massive federal economic stimulus package hammered out by Congress this week contains about $106 billion earmarked for education, an unprecedented expansion of federal spending into the nation’s schools.

Reforming D.C.’s Public Schools
Washington Post, D.C., February 13, 2009
I was impressed with Michelle A. Rhee’s Feb. 9 op-ed column, "The Toughest Job," on the value of teachers. I have lived in the District for 15 years, and it is a relief to see the progress she has been making with our chronically underperforming schools.

Private Schools Are Feeling the Pinch
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, February 13, 2009
Even Pittsburgh’s priciest private schools are not immune to the nation’s economic woes.

Give Us School Choice
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, February 13, 2009
I too would support Gov. Rendell’s plan to consolidate 500 school districts into 100 school districts, but I believe school choice should be factored into this equation.

Fair play: Changing Charter-School Tuition Faces Tough Road In Do-Nothing Legislature
Beaver County Times, PA, February 12, 2009
If state lawmakers were fair, the commonwealth would be funding charter schools in Pennsylvania, including cyber schools. As The Times reported Sunday, public school officials and the state Department of Education want to change the way in which charter schools are funded.

Ban Charter Schools, Says School Board Member to City
Riverfront Times, MO, February 12, 2009
Last Friday, St. Louis Public Schools’ Elected School Board member David Jackson Jr. sent a formal request to three city aldermen asking them to introduce legislation barring any more charter schools from opening in the city.

Forsyth Schools Seek Flexibility From State
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, February 12, 2009
Forsyth County Schools on Thursday unveiled a plan to join Gwinnett Schools as the second district in Georgia to seek freedom from state mandates on education to better serve students.

New Charter School Exciting Parents
WBBH, FL , February 12, 2009
Local students, for the first time, are getting a chance to graduate with not only their high school diploma, but a college degree.

Battle of Boston: Charter vs. Pilot Schools
Washington Post, D.C., February 13, 2009
In the national charter school debate, Boston has special significance. The city has unleashed imaginative teachers to run both independent charter schools and semi-independent "pilot" schools, with much of the rest of the country waiting to see which does best.

Charter School’s Deadline to Recognize Union Passes
New York Times, NY, February 13, 2009
A move to create a union at one of the city’s leading charter schools may turn into a protracted battle, as the deadline passed on Thursday for the school, KIPP AMP in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, to voluntarily recognize the union.

Failing Catholic Schools May Convert To Charters
Queens Tribune, NY, February 12, 2009
In an effort to save Catholic Schools facing closure around Queens, Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio are considering a pilot program that would convert some Catholic schools into charter schools. The measure would be open to converting other parochial and private schools.

Renew Effort For School Choice
East Valley Tribune, AZ, February 12, 2009
East Valley school districts have too many students who want to enroll in their traditional or alternative school programs. It’s a pleasant problem that wouldn’t exist if state officials had listened to critics of the school choice movement over the past decade.

Taking School Choice To A Whole New Level
The Oregonian, OR, February 12, 2009
In this "free democratic" school, kids call the shots on most things. They decide what they want to learn, when they want to learn and how they want that learning to look.
The school’s philosophy? The most substantive learning takes place when students initiate the learning process themselves.

Charter School Bill For Autistic Kids Advances
Rocky Mountain News, CO, February 12, 2009
The Senate education committee Thursday voted to create up to three charter schools to serve children with autism and related disorders.