Schools Glad To Have Stimulus Cash, But Delays & Rules Frustrate
National Public Radio, August 10, 2009
There are many stories from across the country about how school systems are putting the money they’re getting from the federal economic stimulus package to use.

Rich Prize, Restrictive Guidelines
Education Week, MD, August 10, 2009
The U.S. Department of Education’s proposed guidelines for awarding $4 billion in Race to the Top Fund money send a strong message that any state hoping to land a competitive grant should expect to allow student test scores to be used in decisions about teacher compensation and evaluation.

FROM THE STATES

District of Columbia

New Ad Campaign Demands Immediate Action from Duncan, Obama on D.C. Vouchers
Business Wire, August 10, 2009
A new radio advertisement—premiering tomorrow—features parents demanding that Education Secretary Arne Duncan and President Barack Obama save and strengthen the Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

The Selflessness of Teaching
Washington Post, DC, August 11, 2009
But no amount of praise showered on teachers will ever produce the kind of dramatic results we need to close the achievement gap — because, at its core, teaching is never about the teacher.

Georgia

Study: Some Charter Schools Struggling Financially
Macon Telegraph, GA, August 10, 2009
Nearly half of the Georgia charter schools examined in a new report are in financial trouble, suggesting a chronic problem that could lead to the schools shuttering.

Idaho

Luna Seeks To Lift Charter School Cap
The Olympian, ID, August 10, 2009
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna says he will urge lawmakers to lift the cap on charter schools to improve the state’s odds of competing for more than $4 billion in federal education grants.

Indiana

Virtual Learning Supporters
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, August 11, 2009
Indiana’s public education community is often characterized as obstructionist. But as the state moves further into the brave new world of cyber-learning, it might well be state educators leading the way.

Virtual Charter Not The Same As Home Schooling
News Sentinel, IN, August 10, 2009
There are plenty of concerns that could be discussed by Hoosiers about Indiana’s new virtual charter school. But whether it is a “back door” effort to institute taxpayer-supported home schooling should not be one of them.

Montana

Superintendent: Federal Charter School Rule Blues for MT
Public News Service, August 11, 2009
Federal “Race to the Top” education grants may speed right by Montana and other rural states. The grants require the creation of charter schools; Montana doesn’t have a single charter school, nor have there been any requests to establish charters in 20 years.

New Jersey

Public Schools That Operate Outside The District Can Help Relieve Overcrowding.
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, August 11, 2009
The state Department of Education recently approved two more charter schools for South Jersey. They will be the first two in the tri-county area not located in Camden

New York

Bloomberg Plans to Stop Promoting Low-Performing Fourth and Sixth Graders
New York Times, NY, August 11, 2009
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Monday that he planned to make it harder this year for fourth and sixth graders who score poorly on standardized tests to move on to the next grade, extending a policy that his re-election team hopes will help him curry favor with voters.

North Carolina

Charter Schools Perform Well On Tests
Asheville Citizen-Times, NC, August 11, 2009
All three of Buncombe County’s charter schools reached expected growth goals during the 2008-09 school year, according to the ABCs of Public Education accountability report.

Oklahoma

A Way To Help Steer Dropouts Back To School
The Oklahoman, OK, August 11, 2009
GOOD ideas come from all sorts of places. Including Texas. And that’s a place Oklahoma should look as education advocates and policymakers do the tough work of trying to tackle the problem of high school dropouts.

Pennsylvania

Phila. School Progress Steady But Slow
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, August 11, 2009
It was back to school yesterday for 600 Philadelphia School District administrators, and Superintendent Arlene Ackerman greeted them with good and bad news.

Parents Ask To Join Agora Cyber Charter Suit
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, August 11, 2009
A group of parents from the Agora Cyber Charter School has asked to become part of a suit pending in U.S. District Court in an effort to keep the Devon-based school open.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

A Working Model
America Magazine, August 11, 2009
If you are looking for a convincing argument in support of voucher programs for Catholic schools, you could do no better than Patrick J. McCloskey’s new book, The Street Stops Here: A Year at a Catholic High School in Harlem, a profile of New York City’s all-boys Rice High School.