NATIONAL

Obama School Plan Strives to Make Grade
CBS News, March 11, 2010
The Department of Education says Locke’s changes are exactly what their new Race to the Top program is encouraging. The administration will dole out $4.3 billion next month to states that have the best school reform plans. Forty states have been competing for the money. Just 15 of them are now finalists.

Biting the Hand That Bites Unions Back
Daily Caller, DC, March 12, 2010
Rigid contracts, uniform pay schedules, and teacher-union dues ultimately protect poor teachers and mediocre performance. When even America’s education newspaper of record, Education Week, admits that newer teachers’ commitment to the union is “tentative at best” in large part because of these policies, it is clear that union leadership is out of touch with economic and educational reality.

FROM THE STATES

Colorado

Charter Schools a Good Alternative
Greeley Tribune, CO, March 12, 2010
Growing up in Greeley, we didn’t have much choice in where to go to school. Nearly everybody went to Greeley-Evans District 6 schools. We had a few religious- or church-based schools and the Laboratory School at the University of Northern Colorado, but little else. Home school was unheard of. So, if you lived in Greeley or Evans, you went to regular public school.

District of Columbia

Record Number of Families Took Part in D.C. Schools Lottery
Washington Post, DC, March 12, 2010
District families applied in record numbers to the annual online lottery for out-of-boundary, preschool and pre-kindergarten slots, school officials reported Thursday.

Let Senators Vote on D.C. School Choice
Washington Examiner, DC, March 12, 2010
More than 1,900 students in our nation’s capitol have benefited from the Opportunity Scholarship Program that provided private school scholarships and a way to flee the chronically dysfunctional District of Columbia Public Schools system.

Michigan

Detroit Charter School Seen As A Role Model
Detroit Free Press, MI, March 12, 2010
To get an idea of the kind of schools philanthropic leaders want to create in Detroit, look no further than Detroit Edison Public School Academy.

Missouri

District Tackles Woes Money Didn’t Fix
Wall Street Journal, March 12, 2010
Arthur Benson fought in court for decades to improve the Kansas City School District. This week, he voted to close nearly half its schools. The decision by Mr. Benson and his colleagues on the Kansas City School Board to shutter 26 of the district’s 61 schools marks a sea change for the inner-city district, once viewed as an experiment in using generous spending as a way to improve performance.

Board’s Decision to Close 28 Kansas City Schools Follows Years of Inaction
New York Times, NY, March 12, 2010
But a closer look at the school board’s recent history reveals a chaotic, almost nonfunctioning body that put off making tough choices and even routine improvements for generations. Experts said that in the board’s years of inaction is a cautionary tale for school districts everywhere.

New York

Parents Can Now Apply To Charters More Easily
Queens Chronicle, NY, March 12, 2010
For the first time, parents and students in New York City will be able to fill out one application and apply to any charter school within the five boroughs without having to obtain individual applications from every school, the Department of Education announced this week.

Virginia

Traditional Allies at Odds Over Charter Schools
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA, March 12, 2010
An unusual alliance between the Virginia Education Association and the McDonnell administration on education reforms has alienated some of the teachers group’s most loyal political supporters.

Wisconsin

Ripon’s Charter Schools Set Lofty Standards
Oshkosh Northwestern, WI, March 12, 2010
The Ripon School District operates two successful charter schools, with a third starting up next school year. It’s the only district in Fond du Lac County that operates any charter schools, according to the Department of Public Instruction.