NATIONAL

Will AFT Teacher Evaluation Effort Succeed?
National Journal, January 19, 2010
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten stirred education circles with a recent speech in which she called for a new template for evaluating public school teachers, including changes to the procedures for dismissal, formally known as due process.

Choice Education Chiefs
Wall Street Journal, January 20, 2010
Kudos to the country’s two newest governors, Republicans Bob McDonnell of Virginia and Chris Christie of New Jersey, who have tapped strong school choice advocates to head their state education departments.

States Race to Apply for U.S. Education Funds
Wall Street Journal, January 20, 2010
Forty states are seeking federal school funding through a competitive Obama administration program that has prompted educational changes as well as resistance in much of the country.

Duncan Carving Deep Mark on Policy
Education Week, MD, January 19, 2010
A year ago, Arne Duncan was known as a long-serving urban district chief who had used his collegial management style to push innovation and close failing schools in Chicago.

FROM THE STATES

Alabama

Charter School Idea Receives Lift
The Huntsville Times, AL, January 20, 2010
City schools chief supports concept for at-risk kids.The superintendent of Huntsville schools expressed support Tuesday for the idea of forming charter schools in the city.

Arizona

State Weighs Major Reform for Education
Arizona Republic, AZ, January 20, 2010
In an effort to win a share of the largest federal education grant ever awarded, Arizona is offering, among other things, to base up to 50 percent of a teacher’s job evaluation on his or her students’ academic progress each year.

Colorado

False Start on Race to the Top
The Denver Post, CO, January 20, 2010
A mere nine months ago, Colorado’s prospects for getting a huge federal grant from the newly announced Race to the Top education effort were bright. After all, the state already had made progress on many of the goals that Education Secretary Arne Duncan had laid out, including broader charter school opportunities and performance pay programs. We’re afraid, however, that Colorado has blown its lead, and the real losers may end up being the state’s children. What a shame.

Delaware

Delaware Schools: State on Board in Race to the Top
News Journal, DE, January 20, 2010
Delaware leaders and educators hope statewide collaboration will give the First State an edge in winning up to $107 million in federal grant money for school reform.

Indiana

Education Officials Reveal Big Reforms
Indianapolis Star, IN, January 20, 2010
Indiana education officials on Tuesday charted a bold and controversial path for the state’s schools with a series of reforms that include forcing out weak teachers, shutting down teacher colleges whose graduates don’t get results, and converting troubled schools to charters.

Economic Club to Welcome National Charter School Advocate
Inside INdiana Business, IN, January 19, 2010
A national education reform leader will be the featured speaker at the Economic Club of Indiana luncheon on January 20. Kevin Chavous, an attorney by trade, helped lead the charter school movement in Washington, D.C. - where more than 20% of public school children now attend charter schools.

Louisiana

Louisiana Making Headway in ‘Race to the Top,’ President Barack Obama Says
Times-Picayune, LA, January 19, 2010
President Barack Obama on Tuesday again cited Louisiana as one of the state’s adopting effective school reform policies as final applications came due for a share of a $4.35 billion education grant program known as the “Race to the Top.”

Massachusetts

State Must Convert Latest ‘Opportunity’ Into Real Ed Reform
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, January 20, 2010
The new education reform bill passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Deval Patrick last week offers some hope for real improvement in public schools in Gloucester and around the state.

Montana

Bill Addresses Charter Education
Billings Gazette, MT, January 20, 2010
A new bill might change that, holding charter schools to the same building standards as district schools. The bill dictates that school districts include charter schools in their facilities plan, provided the schools have operated for at least five years and met academic goals and standards.

New Jersey

The Charter Challenge
The Daily Newarker, NJ, January 20, 2010
JN Senior Correspondent Marie DeNoia Aronsohn spent several months working on a report about the Robert Treat Academy’s lottery. A popular misconception is that New Jersey’s charter schools “pick and choose” their students. But as this well-done, two-part series shows, the students are picked through a random lottery. For some parents, like Ivonne Velazquez, the results of the lottery brought tears of joy.

New York

Public School 15 in Brooklyn One of Many Struggling Against Charter Schools
New York Daily News, NY, January 20, 2010
Yet, parents at the school find themselves locked in a neighborhood civil war instigated by the Department of Education. Their nemesis is PAVE Academy, a charter school that shares their building but keeps demanding more space.

No-Class NY Pols Shaft Kids
New York Post, NY, January 20, 2010
Grade: F! State lawmakers flunked by blowing yesterday’s deadline to lift the cap on charter schools — imperiling cash-starved New York’s bid to win up to $700 million in federal education funds.

‘Powerful’ Lesson By Teach Unions
New York Post, NY, January 20, 2010
It was crystal clear yesterday that New York’s teachers unions aren’t just joined at the hip with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and the Democratic legislative leadership, they ARE part of the leadership.

UFT Chief: Union Not to Blame for Failed Charter Schools Bill
WNYC, NY, January 19, 2010
The head of the city’s teachers union says his members are not to blame for Albany’s failure to pass a bill that could have helped the state win $700 million in federal aid.

North Carolina

100-School Charter Cap May Cost N.C. Millions, Some Say
News & Observer, NC, January 20, 2010
Advocates for charter schools say North Carolina’s restrictive laws to create and manage them could prevent the state from winning up to $470 million in federal education grants this spring.

Oregon

What’s Controversial in Oregon School Reform? Duh — Merit Pay
The Oregonian, OR, January 19, 2010
Bottom line: Merit pay — phrased in the application as “using evaluations to inform compensation, promotion and retention” — is hands-down more controversial than any other element.

Pennsylvania

120 Districts Competing for Share of $400 Million
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, January 20, 2010
In Pennsylvania, 120 school districts and 59 charter schools have signed on to compete for up to $400 million in the Race to the Top competition.

Erie R.I.S.E.. Leadership Academy Organizers to Make Case for School Charter
Erie Times News, PA, January 20, 2010
Tonight, retired Erie Principal Greg Myers will detail plans for a new charter school that he hopes will lead city children out of poverty and into college. Myers and others organizing a new Erie R.I.S.E.. Leadership Academy Charter School applied to the Erie School District for a charter on Nov. 15.

Rhode Island

Union Chief Wants A Say In School Reforms
Providence Journal, RI, January 20, 2010
Risking his own place in the labor hierarchy, the president of the state’s largest teachers union said he supports the education commissioner’s controversial school-reform plan because it is “the right thing to do for kids.”

South Dakota

Supe’s On
Brandon Valley Challenger, SD, January 20, 2010
The legislature is back in action and already some education bills are making their way through the committee process. HB 1020 flew through the House Education Committee and provides districts with some flexibility in how stimulus money can be spent. In hard economic times having flexibility can sometimes help save the day, so the district is very supportive of that legislation.