NATIONAL

Charter Schools: Two Studies, Two Conclusions
Washington Post, DC, November 30, 3009
As President Obama pushes for more charter schools, the education world craves a report card on an experiment nearly two decades old. How are these independent public schools doing? The safest and perhaps most accurate reply — it depends — leaves many unsatisfied.

School Reform Retreat?
Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2009
The Obama Administration’s education rhetoric, with its emphasis on charter schools and evaluating teachers based on student performance, has won plaudits from school reformers-and from us. But this month the Department of Education laid out in detail the eligibility requirements for states seeking federal grant money, and it looks like the praise may have been premature.

FROM THE STATES

Alabama

Performance Varies for Charter Schools
Press-Register, AL, November 28, 2009
Before there was a lottery to get into the Beulah Academy of Science, parents would camp out in the parking lot overnight to try to get their children enrolled. The charter middle school, which opened in 1998, rented out rooms in a church until school administrators had enough money to build the current 12-classroom brick building.

Now Is the Time to Try Charter Schools
Birmingham News, AL, November 29, 2009
The state Board of Education and the state Department of Education are charged with many responsibilities, all of which culminate in one primary purpose — providing the students of Alabama with the best public education possible. That responsibility challenges us all to use the resources we have available efficiently and effectively.

Colorado

Atlas Prep Uses Innovative Methods For Success
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, November 28, 2009
So when Atlas Preparatory School opened in August in Harrison School District 2, Shayla was part of the inaugural class of about 100 fifth-graders.

District of Columbia

An Unequal Equation at D.C. Schools
Washington Post, DC, November 27, 2009
THE DISTRICT’S charter school movement started in 1996 with 160 students in two schools. Today, there are nearly 28,000 students in 57 schools on 99 campuses. That’s nearly 38 percent of the public school population, and so it’s long past time that the city government stops treating charters like an unwanted stepchild.

School Vouchers at Risk
Washington Times, DC, November 30, 2009
President Obama and other Democrats are battling among themselves over school vouchers, with low-income D.C. schoolchildren caught in the middle.

Kansas

State Seeks More Grant Money for Education
The Wichita Eagle, KS, November 30, 3009
To soften the blow of state budget cuts, Kansas school leaders say they hope to receive $175 million through a competitive federal grant program.

Maryland

Reform at a Snail’s Pace
Baltimore Sun, MD, November 29, 2009
Our view: Maryland leaders are wrong to think they’ll succeed in the Obama administration’s ‘race to the top’ without making the serious effort other states have

Michigan

En Route to the ‘Top’
Detroit Free Press, MI, November 30, 2009
But some in Michigan’s educational establishment are balking at the stick: more charter schools, expanded alternative teacher certification, and teacher reviews tied to student performance.

North Carolina

Schools May Turn To Merit Pay
News & Observer, NC, November 30, 2009
A North Raleigh elementary school’s use of merit pay for teachers could become the model for other high-poverty Wake County schools as the district stands on the edge of abandoning busing for diversity in favor of neighborhood schools.

Nevada

State Teachers Union OK With Using Test Scores for Evaluations
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, November 28, 2009
In dropping their opposition to student test scores being used in teachers’ performance evaluations, Nevada’s teachers unions appear to be essentially adopting a compromise by the Obama administration.

New York

Mayor Says Student Scores Will Factor Into Teacher Tenure
New York Times, NY, November 26, 2009
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Wednesday that New York City public schools would immediately begin to use student test scores as a factor in deciding which teachers earn tenure, a proposal that has been bitterly opposed by the teachers’ union and criticized as putting too much weight on standardized exams.

Mayor Pushes Albany to Act on Education Reform
New York Post, NY, November 25, 2009
Mayor Bloomberg took a hard line with Albany lawmakers today, urging them to make a string of education policy changes that would bolster New York’s chances of winning billions in federal aid.

Ohio

Columbus’ Single-Gender Schools Not New Idea
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 30, 3009
Single-gender middle schools were among the big ideas for change in the Columbus school district four or five years ago. In a bid to regain students from charter schools, Columbus lined up proposals for new programs.

Pennsylvania

Successful Charters Should Be Encouraged
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 30, 2009
Edwin H. Smith argues that charter schools have a drastic competitive edge over public schools because when a parent is involved enough to place a child in a lottery, that school is guaranteed a better pool to select from (”Choosing the public they school,” Nov. 20).

Rhode Island

Much at Stake in Lawsuit Over East Providence Teachers’ Contract
Providence Journal, RI, November 29, 2009
The bitter yearlong fight between the city School Committee and its teachers union is coming to a head in Superior Court - and officials all over the state are watching.

Gist Applauds Forums in ‘Race to Top’
Warwick Beacon, RI, November 27, 2009
Nearly 100 people from across the state braved the rain Monday to attend a community forum at Toll Gate High School on education reform hosted by new Rhode Island Commissioner of Education Deborah Gist.

Charter School Budget Raised By Educators
Providence Journal, RI, November 30, 2009
Despite the state’s deep budget cuts and yawning deficit, education officials have developed a budget proposal for 2010-2011 that includes slightly more than $7.3 million in additional money for charter schools.

Texas

Texas Education Commissioner Deserves Kudos For Promoting Charter School Growth
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX, November 30, 3009
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott made news when he announced that he intends to make it easier for effective public charter schools to expand in Texas. This is welcome news for charter school leaders and the more than 17,000 Texas students who are on waiting lists to attend charter schools.

West Virginia

Charter Schools Showdown Coming
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, November 27, 2009
Judy Hale, president of the West Virginia chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, has some concerns about charter school legislation that will inevitably come up in January’s regular session.

Wisconsin

Suburbs Taking Interest in Charter Schools
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, November 30, 2009
A funny thing happened in October when the state Department of Public million pool to be Instruction announced the first round of grants from an $86 distributed for charter schools over the next five years. Of the five awards for the planning or first-year operations of charter schools in the Milwaukee area, four went to schools in the suburbs.

School Choice Shapes Educational Landscape
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, November 29, 2009
With all the controversy in recent months around whether to overhaul the way MPS is run, the half dozen other routes that Milwaukee children have for getting publicly funded education have been almost entirely out of the spotlight.

NATIONAL

Race to the Top in Education
Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2009
For decades, policy makers have talked about significantly improving public education. The problem has been clear: one-third of public school children fail to graduate, there are embarrassing achievement gaps between middle-class children and poor and minority children, and the gap between our students and those in other countries threatens to undermine our economic competitiveness.

Good News: U.S. Charter Schools Reach Milestone
CitizenLink, November 24, 2009
What began as an experiment in 1992 has become 5,043 charter schools in 39 states and the District of Columbia, providing nearly 2 million American families with opportunity not available in the public school system.

FROM THE STATES

Arizona

Lawmakers Leave Charter Schools Untouched In Cuts
Arizona Republic Blog, AZ, November 24, 2009
Arizona lawmakers gathered this week long enough to cut $144 million from state K-12 schools. Make that $144 million out of district K-12 schools. State money going to charter schools was left untouched.

California

Massive Public Support Helps Keep Cesar Chavez Charter School Alive
The Daily Sound, CA, November 25, 2009
In a dramatic, emotionally charged meeting, the Santa Barbara School Board agreed to allow Cesar Chavez Charter School, Santa Barbara’s only English and Spanish dual immersion elementary school, to remain open through June, but its fate beyond the end of the school year is still a mystery.

District of Columbia

WTU Loses Court Challenge To Layoffs
Washington Post, DC, November 25, 2009
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Tuesday upheld Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee’s decision to lay off 266 public school teachers and other educators to close a budget gap, flatly rejecting union arguments that she contrived financial problems to rid the system of older instructors.

Illinois

CPS Adds Five New Charter Schools
Chicago Current, IL, November 24, 2009
Chicago has five new charter schools despite opposition from some South Side community members and a group of educators. The Board of Education voted yesterday to approve the charter schools, which will open in 2010 or 2011. The schools will serve communities in South Shore, Roseland, Englewood, Riverdale and South Chicago on the Indiana border.

Vouching for Education. Bringing Choice to Illinois
Chicago Daily Observer, IL, November 25, 2009
Too many students are forced to attend schools that will not provide a decent education, despite earnest efforts to turn those schools around. Southland pastor and state Sen. James Meeks (D-Chicago) seeks to change that fact. He proposes that families be given the choice of sending their children to the best schools they can find, even if those schools are private.

Massachusetts

The Candidates and the Unions
Boston Globe, MA, November 25, 2009
Take education. President Obama supports merit pay and has called for the elimination of laws that forbid the use of student achievement data to evaluate teachers and principals. But the National Education Association opposes tying teachers pay, in whole or part, to student achievement or test scores. Sadly, Coakley, Capuano, and Pagliuca all fell squarely in line with the union.

Charter School Referendum Edging Closer To Ballot
Cape Ann Beacon, MA, November 24, 2009
Former state education board chairman James Peyser, leading an effort to lift the statewide cap on charter school enrollment and spending, said Tuesday he believes his supporters have gathered enough signatures to put such a measure on the 2010 ballot.

Michigan

Detroit Teachers Union Chief Holds Key to Change in Failing Detroit Schools
The Detroit News, MI, November 25, 2009
The Detroit Public Schools and Detroit Federation of Teachers trumpeted Tuesday a new “covenant” — a promise to the city to wrap up their contract talks by next week. A change in tone from the head of the teachers union offers hope for significant change.

Missouri

Three St. Louis Charter Schools Awarded Federal Grants
St. Louis Today, MO, November 25, 2009
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded more than $1.5 million in Charter Schools Program grants to three St. Louis charter schools that are slated to open this fall. The grants aim to help leaders in planning, program design and opening their schools.

Nevada

Teachers Do a 180 for Sake of Grants
Las Vegas Sun, NV, November 25, 2009
The state teachers union has done an about-face and is working with legislators to change a state law that prevents test scores from being used to evaluate teacher performance.

North Carolina

Payback Time for Public Schools
News & Observer, NC, November 25, 2009
Public school leaders across the state, and especially in the Triangle, are recalculating their budgets to figure out how many millions they owe charter schools to comply with a state court ruling.

Pennsylvania

‘Bad’ Competition
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, November 25, 2009
We’ve been saying it for decades: America’s public schools can’t stand the test of competition. And Pittsburgh Public Schools just proved that point in shocking fashion.

Rhode Island

E. Providence Teachers Object to Pay Proposal
Providence Journal, RI, November 25, 2009
Beginning in July 2011, the School Committee says East Providence teachers will be paid, in part, by how well they do in the classroom, not just how long they have been there.

Texas

Perry Says Texas, Not U.S., Should Set Education Standards
Dallas Morning News, TX, November 25, 2009
Gov. Rick Perry still wants no part of a move to establish national standards for English and math instruction in public schools.

Despite the adage that you get more bees with honey, I will not sit idly by and allow Congressman Jose Serrano, Democrat from Bronx, NY, write an opinion for The Washington Post that is layered with obfuscation and misperceptions, without calling him on it.

Serrano is suddenly the focus of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program’s supporters, forced by the unique circumstances of the federal government’s oversight of the District of Columbia, which he manages as chair of a nebulous Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government. Serrano is apparently angered that this position begets him calls from all over the nation - from people of all stripes and walks of life, who want children to have what they deserve and rarely get in the District’s traditional public schools - a good education that is also safe, also preparatory for life.

Serrano’s attitude to these calls - and the children affected - can best be considered ignorance. He says that local people should lobby their local leaders, as if their local leaders have the authority to spend federal money. By doing so, he also ignores that local people HAVE lobbied local leaders - tens of thousands of them - and those local leaders have endorsed the program and written Congress about that endorsement. The Mayor, the Chancellor of the city’s schools, a majority of the City Council, the former Mayor, the former City Council Education Chair, the Mayor’s staff. These are not Republicans, as Serrano wants us all to believe. These are Democrats, and predominantly people of color, who understand and care deeply about the people of this city, and who are happy to draw help from anyone who can or would want to help them, regardless of affiliation.

That’s what it means to be a true democrat - an individual open to many viewpoints and voices, which apparently, Serrano is not.

Finally, a word from a person who actually has deeper roots in the Bronx than he. My grandparents settled in the Bronx in the early part of the last century, and my mother was raised there. I grew up attending family functions in the Bronx. The area started as an enclave for European immigrants and over time, evolved into an enclave for immigrants from throughout our continent, drawing people of Latino descent from throughout the Hemisphere. But the people who populate the area are no less interested in great education than my ancestors. And today, despite the best of intentions by area leaders, the Bronx is ailing, with poverty and gangs just two of the indicators. But schools are slowly helping turn around the younger generation, thanks to charter schools that the city, the state, and education entrepreneurs have worked together to create. This is just one form of choice that exists. The same people Congressman Serrano proudly represent also draw heavily on Catholic schools. They would probably shudder if they knew that their Congressman opposed any opportunity out of poverty for those disadvantaged by circumstance, in any city. Indeed, Serrano’s own constituents rely heavily upon religious institutions to help them provide food, shelter, clothing and all social services to their community. Not one block in the Bronx is without a religious organization, most of which draw federal and state funds to help the state administer programs for the needy.

Such aid seems not to bother Congressman Serrano, even though the same principle is at work in the DC scholarship program he apparently abhors. That program provides federal funds in the form of scholarships to ensure that more children have access to poverty-fighting institutions, and they are only spent by the choice of Americans, living in the District, who want something better for their children.

And so I ask you, Congressman Serrano — How dare you write that this is a program whose fate lies in the hands of local leaders when you’ve made it clear you control the appropriations process for DC programs like this one? How dare you say this is a program that was imposed on the District by Republicans, when the individuals who fought tirelessly for years to see it enacted, and who still lobby you for its continuation are as varied in their composition as the neighborhood you call home?

Oppose the program if you wish, but don’t lie and say you do so because the program was imposed by Republicans and not supported locally. Tell the truth. And then stop complaining about how many calls you are getting from people around the country that support the program.  They pay your salary, and they want you to do your job, objectively, and without bias. And with appreciation for the needs of the people you serve.

NATIONAL

Charter Schools Already Help Students Race to the Top
PR Newswire, November 23, 2009
At a time when states are scrambling to compete in President Obama’s signature ‘Race to the Top’ effort, they really only need to look in their own backyards to see one reform that continues to make a difference in the lives of millions of kids. Today, 5,043 charter schools in 39 states and the District of Columbia are providing nearly 2 million families the option to break away from schools that are failing students and into schools that are serving them.

Stimulus Rules on ‘Turnarounds’ Shift
Education Week, MD, November 24, 2009
$4 billion Race to the Top competition give states and districts more leeway in how they intervene in chronically underperforming schools, a subtle but important change that raises new questions about whether the push to turn around struggling campuses will succeed in rehabilitating large numbers of schools.

FROM THE STATES

Alabama

Byrne Says He’ll Support Charter School Bill
Montgomery Advertiser, AL, November 24, 2009
Bradley Byrne, former two-year college chancellor turned Republican candidate for governor, said he would work to pass charter school legislation if he is elected governor and that he already has a commitment of help from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Rep. Phil Williams Pushing for Charter Schools in Alabama
WAFF, AL, November 23, 2009
The debate over charter schools is heating up in Alabama and one state representatives is taking a public stance in favor of them.

District of Columbia

Catholic Schools Look at Closing
Washington Post, DC, November 24, 2009
Pastors at 14 churches in the Washington Archdiocese have warned that their schools could close or be reconfigured if enrollments continue to decline. The schools are split evenly between the District and Maryland, and all serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Kentucky

Grass Roots Movement For Charter Schools Growing in Kentucky
WAVE3, KY, November 23, 2009
It’s the public alternative to education as we know it - charter schools. In early 2010, you will hear more about them as Kentucky lawmakers have filed bills in favor of the education reform. We took a trip to Indianapolis to look at two charter schools that are making the grade.

Louisiana

Race to the Top Opportunity for La.
The Advocate, LA, November 24, 2009
If the New Orleans Saints have kept you on the edge of your seat this fall, have I got a competition for you. There are no rings involved, unless you count school bells. But Louisiana’s a heavy favorite to win, the prize money is in the millions and the stakes are high.

Massachusetts

Shunning Ed Reform Approval An Embarrassment Move By Lawmakers
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, November 24, 2009
For all the unfinished business, however, none may prove more critical than the House’s failure to act on a critical education reform bill - a shameful walkoff that could very well cost Massachusetts some $250 million in federal education assistance.

Missouri

State Seeks a Share of $4.35 Billion Stimulus
News Tribune, MO, November 24, 2009
And about 250 Missouri education, political and business leaders spent nearly six hours Monday discussing ways the Show Me State can compete and win in the “Race to the Top” challenge.

New Jersey

Form of Public School Choice Approved By Senate Committee
New Jersey Newsroom, NJ, November 23, 2009
Legislation that would allow some students to enroll in public schools outside their school district was unanimously approved Monday by the state Senate Education Committee.

New York

As Charter Slots Dwindle, Competition Increases
New York Times Blog, NY, November 23, 2009
In Albany, issues tend to get shunted aside until the last possible moment. The challenges facing charter schools are no different. As advocates have pressed lawmakers to raise the cap - that is, the maximum number allowed, now 200 - many have said that the state is years away from reaching it, so no immediate action is needed.

New York’s School-Funding Disparities Worst in Nation
Buffalo News, NY, November 23, 2009
In light of The News’ editorial cartoon of Oct. 23 attacking educational funding growth for all school districts in New York State, we suggest some homework: Based upon the most recent study by the nationally recognized Educational Trust, while education funding in New York is high, the funding gap between wealthy and poor school districts here is the worst in the United States.

Rhode Island

Mayoral Academies Group Receives Grants
Providence Journal, RI, November 24, 2009
Rhode Island Mayoral Academies, an umbrella organization that launched a charter school in Cumberland this fall, has received three grants that will help the organization grow.

Washington

On to Round Two
Seattle Times, WA, November 24, 2009
Gov. Chris Gregoire says Washington must sit out the first round of competition for a $4 billion federal education-reform fund. This state simply wasn’t ready.

NATIONAL

Laying the Groundwork
Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2009
We asked four policy makers to give us their thoughts on the four critical issues: health care, the economy and finance, energy and the environment, and an educated work force. Here are some highlights. Michelle Rhee : HOW TO LEAD: I often get in trouble for saying this, but I actually think it’s true-that collaboration and consensus-building and all those things are, quite frankly, overrated. None of you CEOs run your companies by committee. So why should we run a school district by committee?

An Educated Work Force
Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2009
If an educated work force is the nation’s human capital, business is seeing a lot of subprime these days. Graduation rates are dismal in many school districts. Teachers are bailing out of the profession.

White House Pushes Science and Math Education
New York Times, NY, November 23, 2009
President Obama will announce a campaign Monday to enlist companies and nonprofit groups to spend money, time and volunteer effort to encourage students, especially in middle and high school, to pursue science, technology, engineering and math, officials say.

FROM THE STATES

Arizona

Law Changes Way Teachers Contract with Districts
Arizona Republic, AZ, November 23, 2009
The Arizona Legislature made sweeping changes to state teacher contracts earlier this year, removing seniority, salary and contract guarantees. Changes under House Bill 2011 mean that school districts will be prohibited from using tenure or seniority as a factor in determining which teachers can be laid off. Additionally, school districts no longer have to honor seniority when they rehire.

California

Assembly Must Get Moving on ‘Race to the Top’
Sacramento Bee, CA, November 23, 2009
But the Assembly has dawdled. California’s application can’t proceed until the Assembly acts. No one else can move until they know what the laws will say - and the Assembly has kept everyone guessing.

Delaware

Delaware Plans Education Changes To Win Federal Grant
News Journal, DE, November 23, 2009
Delaware officials are preparing to overhaul the way the state turns around failing schools and evaluates teachers in an effort to win a potential $75 million federal education grant.

District of Columbia

D.C. Charter Schools Put Out A Call For Protection
Washington Post, DC, November 22, 2009
But she wondered why charter schools, which enroll more than 38 percent of public school students in the city, don’t get regular protection like that at traditional public schools, where about 100 officers walk the halls full time.

Save the Vouchers
Washington Post, DC, November 22, 2009
OPTIMISM THAT the District’s federally funded school voucher program will be allowed to flourish is fading. Leading Democrats say that they are open to letting new students enter the program, but efforts to make that a reality seem to have stalled. Indeed, it appears that some Democrats’ idea of saving the program is simply to let it slowly wither away.

Rhee’s Reforms Take Hold
Washington Examiner, DC, November 22, 2009
For more than two years, headlines have focused on D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s work as a wrecking ball and not on the reforms she has built upon the cleared ground. At the end of her first year on the job, she closed more than 20 schools, replaced nearly 40 principals, and axed more than 100 central office workers.

Illinois

Candidates Focus on Education
Peoria Journal Star, IL, November 22, 2009
Illinois has long struggled with thorny questions about how best to fund schools and ensure that all children receive a quality education that readies them for employment or further schooling.

Louisiana

Vallas Busts Charter Myths
New Orleans City Business, LA, November 23, 2009
New Orleans charter schools are elite institutions, and their recent improvements in student performance are the result of selective enrollment. Those were two of the myths Recovery School District Superintendent Paul Vallas debunked in a luncheon speech Wednesday to the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce at the Roosevelt Hotel.

More Excuses from Schools
The Advocate, LA, November 22, 2009
In the Race to The Top, the Louisiana School Boards Association doesn’t even want to suit up for the game. We hope that the association, and more so the board members and superintendents who advise it, reconsider this decision.

Massachusetts

Molasses Reform
Worcester Telegram, MA, November 23, 2009
When the Massachusetts House of Representatives adjourned Wednesday for its holiday recess, it left a major education reform bill on the table. Gov. Deval Patrick had urged passage of the measure by last Wednesday and has even asked the House to reconvene and act.

Minnesota

Payment Shift Makes Rough Waters For Charter Schools
Minnesota Public Radio, MN, November 23, 2009
St. Paul, Minn. - Charter schools in Minnesota are bracing for a cash flow crunch that could determine whether some survive.

Charter School Accountability Starts Here
Bemidji Pioneer, MN, November 22, 2009
Charter schools are different things to different people. Supporters see charter schools differently than their critics see them. Maybe that’s the problem.

Ohio

Ohio Vies for Race to the Top Money for Education Reforms
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 21, 2009
The final rules are set. The deadline for applying is just a couple of months away. And Ohio is preparing to break out of the starting gate as one of the states vying for $4 billion in Race to the Top grants.

Oklahoma

Fundraising Efforts Up At Charter Sites
Tulsa World, OK, November 21, 2009
Tough economic times in public education have local charter schools trying new fundraising efforts and pinching pennies. Charter schools have been shorted the same percentage as all other public schools in Oklahoma every month since August.

Rhode Island

R.I. Education Commissioner Unveils Sweeping Reform Plan
Providence Journal, RI, November 23, 2009
State education officials have unveiled an ambitious plan to increase student proficiency, revamp failing schools, improve teacher quality and shrink gaps between low-income and middle-income students, even as the state struggles to dedicate enough resources to public education.

Tennessee

Charter Schools Seek Strong Leadership, Volunteers
The Tennessean, TN, November 23, 2009
Nashville’s anticipated charter school boom is creating opportunities to volunteer in education.

Wisconsin

State, Let Charter Schools Be Charters
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, November 21, 2009
Public charter schools have become a litmus test to judge the education reform efforts of individual states. President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have expressed their support for charters in a number of ways, including the $4 billion Race to the Top funds that are being used to encourage states to embrace change. Unfortunately, even though Wisconsin has more than 200 charter schools, it probably will not see any of that money.