Governors v. Congress
Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2009
But at least five Republican Governors are saying thanks but no thanks to some of the $150 billion of "free" money doled out to states, because it could make their budget headaches much worse down the line. And they’re right.

A New Day for School Reform
New York Times, NY, February 21, 2009
Congress took a potentially transformative step when it devoted $100 billion in the stimulus package to education. Carefully targeted, this money could revive the reform efforts that began promisingly with President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 — but later languished when his administration buckled under to political pressures from state officials.

Mr. Duncan, Show Us The Money
Christian Science Monitor, MA, February 22, 2009
Here’s a trivia question for the world’s next slumdog millionaire: How much money does America’s economic stimulus provide for education? Answer: $115 billion – nearly twice the usual budget for the Department of Education. Now here’s a question for the cabinet secretary doling out that money: Will the funds be spent wisely? 

Reforming Education Is Still Key To Black Progress
Washington Examiner, DC, February 21, 2009
Our education system has been one of the greatest barriers to black advancement, but today can also be seen as a great opportunity.

Kathleen Parker: Needy Rural Schools Are A Blight On The Nation
Columbus Dispatch, OH, February 23, 2009
Obama learned about J.V. Martin, built in 1896, from Ferillo’s 2005 documentary, Corridor of Shame, about crumbling schools along South Carolina’s I-95 corridor.

Takeover Idea Out of Consideration, Rhee Says
Washington Post, D.C., February 22, 2009
Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee says the District is no longer exploring the idea of seeking federal legislation declaring the school system in a "state of emergency," a move that would have freed it from the obligation to bargain with the Washington Teachers’ Union.

Creative Leaders’ Will to Succeed Is Key to KIPP
Washington Post, D.C., February 23, 2009
In most cities, superintendents and charter school leaders don’t cooperate. But Rhee and Schaeffler are in sync. Education Secretary Arne Duncan also has endorsed Schaeffler’s projects.

Agora Cyber Charter Under Investigation, Sources Say
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 23, 2009
A cyber charter school founded by Dorothy June Brown is part of the widening federal criminal probe of area charter schools, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation.

District to Reveal Plan For Revamping Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 23, 2009
Today, the district is scheduled to release a draft of the steps needed to achieve her vision, which includes shuttering failing schools and possibly reopening them as charters.

10 New Charter Schools Planned for 2019
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, February 23, 2009
A celebrated education organization that won approval just last week to open its second Philadelphia charter school is focusing on a bigger goal: growing into a 10-school mini-district over the next 10 years.

Lawmakers Must Stop Gov. Strickland From Killing Ohio’s Charter Schools
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, February 22, 2009
Strickland has taken a club to Ohio’s privately run independent public schools, bashing the good and bad, the for-profit and nonprofit alike.

Education Summit Emphasizes Parent Involvement
Louisville Courier-Journal, KY, February 22, 2009
Speakers at yesterday’s Education Summit, sponsored by the Louisville Urban League, articulated these and other themes as they repeatedly stressed the relationship between student achievement and parental involvement at school.

More Illinois Teachers Striving For Top Certification That Pays
Chicago Daily Herald, IL, February 21, 2009
Last fall, Madsen began working toward his National Board Certification, the highest credential a teacher can obtain. It’s a credential the state deems worth enough to shell out $3,000 a year as an incentive.

School Voucher Debate Renewed In Legislature
Gainesville Times, GA, February 21, 2009
Private school vouchers for public school students — it’s controversial legislation that many public educators hope will just go away.

Head-of-the-Class Reformer
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, February 22, 2009
Hall was named the nation’s top superintendent Friday by the American Association of School Administrators, beating out superintendents from Indianapolis, Trussville, Ala., and Fayette County, Ky.

Public Schools Let Down Learning Disabled Student
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, February 23, 2009
Part of our reward is that we have no choice but to pay large amounts of taxes to support public schools that did not help our learning disabled child. During three years with one of the best public schools in Georgia, we were alternately stonewalled, lied to and ignored. 

Virtual Schools Become An Option For Students
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL, February 22, 2009
Starting this summer, all Florida school districts will be required by law to set up virtual schools for kindergartners through eighth-graders.

Charter Applicants Meet With State Next Week
Shreveport Times, LA, February 22, 2009
The Pelican Educational Foundation, Martin Luther King Jr. Neighborhood Association, New Life Leadership Foundation and Shreveport Charter School groups are vying to manage Linear and Linwood middle schools.

Class Size in New York City Schools Rises, but the Impact Is Debated
New York Times, NY, February 22, 2009
But while state legislatures for decades have passed laws — and provided millions of dollars — to cap the size of classes, some academic researchers and education leaders say that small reductions in the number of students in a room often have little effect on their performance.

Gary Crosby: Charter School Funding Needs To Be Redesigned
Buffalo News, NY, February 22, 2009
Contrary to recent claims made by Peter Murphy of the New York Charter Schools Association, Superintendent James Williams and I have never attacked charter schools "as the primary culprit for the district’s budget woes."

Lessons From A ‘Failed’ Charter School
Boston Globe, MA, February 22, 2009
AT THE State House late last month, Governor Patrick outlined a plan to lift the cap on charter schools, so long as those new schools served students most at risk.

In Mississippi, Give Charters A Chance
Press-Register, AL, February 21, 2009
MISSISSIPPI’S CHARTER school law has barely disturbed the state’s public education monopoly. That’s a sure sign the 12-year-old law, which was supposed to create alternatives to traditional public schools, is too weak to achieve that purpose and needs to be revamped.

Archdiocese Eyes Overhaul of Inner-City Schools
Houston Chronicle, TX, February 21, 2009
Some inner-city Catholic elementary schools could find themselves on the brink of extinction if leaders of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston don’t figure out how to combat declining enrollment, escalating costs and increased competition.

In Idaho, Charters, Conventional Schools Compete
The Olympian, WA, February 21, 2009
That choice is as Idaho lawmakers intended when they authorized charter schools a decade ago, part of a wave of states that embraced an alternative to the conventional classroom.

Rename Law? No Wisecrack Is Left Behind
New York Times, NY, February 22, 2009
Two years ago, an effort to fix No Child Left Behind, the main federal law on public schools, provoked a grueling slugfest in Congress, leading Representative George Miller, Democrat of California, to say the law had become "the most negative brand in America."

Held Back: Will Bloomberg Dump Joel Klein?
New York Magazine, NY, February 20, 2009
But he may not be the one to do it. The seven-year "experiment" in mayoral control of the schools comes up for renewal this June, and legislative approval of its continuation might come at the price of the chancellor’s job.

Keep Tabs On State Legislators
Reporter Herald, CO, February 23, 2009
Senate Bill 221 would create a property tax credit for tuition payments to an independent or parochial school or other educational expenses for a student who previously attended a public school.