NATIONAL

Innovations Rare in Race to the Top
Sacramento Bee, CA, April 2, 2010
Race to the Top was always too good to be true. President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan sold the $4.35 billion stimulus program as education reform’s 21st century “moon shot.” But as this week’s announcement of the first two state grant recipients shows, it’s just another expensive sop to the education establishment, no less beholden to politics and bound by bureaucratic red tape.

Federal Strings
Las Vegas Review - Journal, NV, April 2, 2010
Judge individual teachers based on student performance? Sure. But “Race to the Top” is not the unalloyed source of “free” money that it first appears.

FROM THE STATES

Colorado

Legislator Hopeful His Tenure Bill Will Pass
Denver Post, CO, April 2, 2010
For decades attempts to rework Colorado’s teacher tenure law have fizzled in the legislature, but state Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver, believes his bill will work this year.

Connecticut

Race to the Top: Reform bills Approved by Committee
The Connecticut Mirror, CT, April 2, 2010
A key legislative committee Thursday approved several major education bills designed to reshape Connecticut’s public schools and improve the state’s chances to win millions of dollars in federal school reform money.

Illinois

Ben Boychuk: Give Every Child A School-Choice Option
State Journal Register, IL, April 2, 2010
School choice has been proven to empower parents, help children excel, narrow the achievement gap among poor and minority students, and save taxpayers money. Yet teachers unions, education bureaucrats and their patrons from the White House on down oppose any reform they cannot stifle with red tape and regulation.

Kentucky

Senate Quickly Approves Charter Schools Proposal
Lexington Herald Leader, KY, April 1, 2010
The Senate narrowly approved an education bill Thursday that includes a provision to allow charter schools in Kentucky, which supporters say will help the state fare better in its bid for federal grant money.

Missouri

A State At Risk
Southeast Missourian, MO, April 2, 2010
There are successful education practices going on in the 30 states that were rated ahead of Missouri in the Race to the Top competition and, with concerted support and effort, that success could be replicated here. Education is truly the key to having a prosperous state economy. If we continue to embrace the status quo, we do have a “state at risk.”

New Jersey

Charter Schools Offer Parental Choice
Princeton Packet, NJ, April 1, 2010
The founders and families of students who will attend Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS), opening in September 2010, were pleased to read in the editorial of Jan. 29 that The Princeton Packet believes our students “will do a lot of good in the world.” It’s exactly why the school was created…

36 Groups Apply To Start Charter Schools in New Jersey
The Record, NJ, April 2, 2010
The New Jersey Education Department received 36 applications for new charter schools by Wednesday’s deadline, including three in Bergen and five in Passaic County, a department spokesman said Thursday.

New York

Many Applications for New Charter Schools in New York
WGRZ-TV, NY, April 1, 2010
The State University of New York has 18 charter schools left to approve — the only remaining ones before the state reaches the cap of 200 — and is flush with applications, SUNY’s Charter Schools Institute.

North Carolina

Charter Schools Would Help Win The Race
Fay Observer, NC, April 2, 2010
The state should have an impartial charter review board, one that includes education experts involved in innovation, to approve new schools, without numerical limits. Final decisions about charter schools should come from such an independent board, not from education officials who are worried about diverting funding from public school systems.

Rhode Island

Gist Approves Plan for Providence Schools
Providence Journal, RI, April 2, 2010
State Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist has approved the Providence School Department’s plan to create an innovative new labor-management partnership to run four of the state’s worst-performing schools.

Texas

Lottery Held For Limited Number Of Seats at South Austin Charter School
KVUE, TX, April 2, 2010
When most of us hear the word lottery we think about someone winning a jackpot of money. Thursday evening, the word lottery meant a chance for parents to provide a better education for their children.