The Need for School Reform
Deseret News, UT, September 30, 2010
But what the president says has little real effect on education in this country because, despite a growing federal presence, schools remain local concerns. State legislatures and school boards make the big decisions about reform.

Some Teachers Need to Go
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 30, 2010
President Obama made another big push for his education agenda this week, with a renewed call to hold the worst teachers accountable.

It’s A Bird! It’s A Plane! It’s School Reformers!
NPR, September 29, 2010
The thesis in Waiting for Superman is clear: America has left too many kids’ education up to chance. And Guggenheim wants to enlist every American to help change that. The movie’s website even has a sign-up sheet and donation box. You have to wonder, though, if Guggenheim has thought about what’s easier - stopping global warming or making sure every child in America attends a good school.

FROM THE STATES

Colorado

New Charter School Builds Leadership In Girls
9NEWS, CO, September 29, 2010
Sixth-grader Leslie Robles says she’s a different person this year. She is one of 120 students enrolled in the Girls Athletic Leadership School which opened this fall.

Run for the Money
Denver Daily News, CO, September 29, 2010
But Polis, D-Boulder, who has introduced the extension proposal with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said yesterday in a statement that there are no losers in the program, despite Colorado losing the competition not once, but twice.

District of Columbia

D.C. Charter School Used To Tout Student-Aid Program
Washington Times, DC, September 29, 2010
Two days after President Obama disparaged D.C. Public Schools on national television, Education Secretary Arne Duncan used a highly successful public charter school as a backdrop to publicize a federal college-access program.

Could Gray Vouch for Vouchers?
NBC Washington, DC, September 29, 2010
If Vincent Gray really wants to continue reforming D.C.’s public schools, but in a more conciliatory way than that taken by Adrian Fenty and Michelle Rhee, a good start would be to push for a revival of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.

Illinois

Jim Edgar and Bill Daley: Data Shows State Has A Lot Left To Do In School Reform
The State Journal-Register, IL, September 30, 2010
It’s report card day in Illinois. But this report card isn’t for children, it’s for our state’s parents, educators and policy-makers on both sides of the aisle. “The State We’re In: 2010, A Report on Education in Illinois” offers a comprehensive assessment of our educational performance as a state, from birth to higher education.

New Jersey

Charter and Choice, the Second Piece of Christie’s Education Reform Agenda
NJ Spotlight, NJ, September 29, 2010
Gov. Chris Christie will be at the Elysian Charter School of Hoboken today to present the second piece of his education reform agenda, this time dealing with charter schools and school choice.

Obama/Christie on Same Page When It Comes To Education
Daily Record, NJ, September 30, 2010
Amid the divisiveness in today’s politics, recent cooperation among leaders of both parties on trying to shape new education policy is encouraging.

Perth Amboy’s First Charter School Aims To Produce Future Leaders
Courier New, NJ, September 29, 2010
Joshua Bishop chose to attend the Academy for Urban Leadership Charter High School , the city’s first charter school, because he wants to learn in an environment that has high leadership standards.

North Carolina

Charters Sue Durham Schools, Saying They’re Owed $1.2 Million
News & Observer, NC, September 30, 2010
Five charter schools are suing Durham Public Schools for more than $1.2 million they say the district owes them from the past five years.

Pennsylvania

Applying to A Charter School In PA
MyFox Philadelphia, PA, September 29, 2010
According to Pennsylvania law, if a charter school receives more applications than it can handle, it’s required to hold a lottery. That, of course, sets up a kid for disappointment if he/she does not “win”.

South Carolina

Educational Free Market Works
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC, September 30, 2010
Education, allow me to introduce you to the free market. This is my fourth year teaching at J.L. Mann. I’ve heard many suggestions offered to improve our education system for all people involved. In light of all the tough challenges we face, I’m convinced that the underlying cause of many of our problems in education is too much bureaucracy and a lack of free market economics.

Wisconsin

Appeals Court Upholds Parents’ Open Enrollment Right
WTAQ, WI, September 29, 2010
A school district in eastern Wisconsin was told Wednesday it cannot limit the number of students who leave under the state’s public school choice program.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

New Milford Students Take Part in Virtual High School
Twin Boro News, NJ, September 30, 2010
Calling it a critical part of the high school educational experience in the early 21st century, New Milford High School has joined more than 600 schools across the United States and around the world in offering online courses as part of its overall curriculum.

American Schools Under Large-Scale Scrutiny
Epoch Times, September 28, 2010
A summit panel dedicated to technology in the classroom brought together developers, implementers, and sellers of educational technology. NBC news anchor Lester Holt introduced the discussion by describing technology that some children are already using at school every day.

Charter School Group to Raise $160M
Associated Press, September 29, 2010
The Charter School Growth Fund is announcing a $160 million fundraising campaign Wednesday - the largest-ever aimed at helping start more of the nontraditional public schools nationwide. The goal is to establish 335,000 more spots for children at charter schools in the next decade.

Longer School Year
Las Vegas Review - Journal, NV, September 29, 2010
But states can provide more classroom instruction if Mr. Obama and Congress are willing to go a different route: Get the federal government out of state-run schools, leaving the money in local hands and allowing districts to implement the reforms necessary to build a foundation for achievement.

Putting Kids First
New York Post, NY, September 28, 2010
Even before Davis Guggenheim’s powerful documentary “Waiting for Superman” opened in theaters, critics were discounting the film as charter-school propaganda and suggesting it vilifies public-school teachers. The problem with that logic is twofold: First, charters are public schools. Second, the teachers within them — the good and the bad — are also public-school teachers. The difference is that most don’t belong to the teachers union.

FROM THE STATES

Colorado

The Chances for Serious Education Reform
Denver Post, CO, September 29, 2010
Now that Colorado has been given an “F” for its final grade in the Race to the Top competition, what are our chances for serious reforms in our public schools? In reality, about the same as had we won and received that $175 million largess from the U.S. Department of Education.

Connecticut

Conn. Governor Candidates Talk Education At Forum
Waterbury Republican American, CT, September 29, 2010
The candidates for Connecticut governor agree that education will be a top priority for the state’s next top official. Democrat Dan Malloy, Republican Tom Foley and independent candidate Tom Marsh revealed their plans to help the state’s troubled public education system during a forum Tuesday night.

Florida

Scott Education Plan: More School Choice
Miami Herald, FL, September 28, 2010
Republican Rick Scott wants to increase school choice programs while cutting taxes. Democrat Alex Sink and teachers union leaders criticized Scott’s plan.

Illinois

From Basement Classrooms, A Broader View Of The World
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 29, 2010
GCE is the project of teacher turned educational consultant and entrepreneur Eric Davis, 35, who says he put 15 years of experience into creating a high school built around “doing things that matter in the real world.”

Louisiana

Mayor Mitch Landrieu Calls Education Advances in New Orleans Vulnerable
Times Picayune, LA, September 29, 2010
Asked by NBC News anchor Brian Williams what worries him most about the future of public education in New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s answer boiled down to one word: politics.

Maine

Candidates Debate Education Policy
Kennebec Journal, ME, September 29, 2010
Charter schools, funding for higher education and the university system were topics of debate Tuesday at a forum for the five gubernatorial candidates who will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Massachusetts

Greater Flexibility In Teachers’ Contract Urged
Boston Globe, MA, September 29, 2010
Dozens of students, business leaders, and parents turned out for a City Council hearing yesterday to demand a teachers’ union contract that focuses more on improving instruction for students rather than on protecting the workplace conditions of teachers.

Michigan

Charter Schools Performing Better Than Neighboring Traditional Public Schools
Michigan Public Radio, MI, September 28, 2010
A new study finds charter schools in Michigan are doing a better job than previously thought.

New Jersey

N.J. Gov. Christie Calls for New Methods to Evaluate Teachers, Merit Raises
The Record, NJ, September 28, 2010
Governor Christie called for new laws Tuesday that would dramatically change the way teachers are evaluated and fired, and would award pay based on effectiveness rather than seniority.

Booker Hopes Newark Can Be A National Laboratory For Education Reform
The Record, NJ, September 28, 2010
Failing schools in Newark may be shuttered, charter schools expanded and private money used to boost salaries and provide merit bonuses to teachers, Mayor Cory Booker said Tuesday.

Obama’s School Choice: Poor Kids Should Be Able To Escape Failed Schools, Too
Star-Ledger, NJ, September 29, 2010
The real knock on Obama is that he opposes voucher programs that would allow low-income families to escape failing schools as well. Their kids remain trapped in the same classrooms that he didn’t want for his daughters.

Ohio

2 Euclid Elementary Schools Eligible for EdChoice Scholarship
News Herald, OH, September 29, 2010
Parents living in low-performing school districts may have a better opportunity to send their kids to private school, thanks to a state-funded scholarship program.

Oklahoma

Decades Later, Black Students Still Get the Short End of Education
The Oklahoman, OK, September 29, 2010
Oklahoma’s black elected officials are calling for action against the persistent gap between black and white students academic achievement, but history shows there’s no simple solution.

Pennsylvania

Master Charter Schools, Phila. District Get U.S. Aid for Reforms
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 29, 2010
Mastery Charter Schools has been selected to receive a further $5.1 million in federal funds to expand, and the Philadelphia School District has been awarded a $3.8 million grant to create small learning communities inside five large, neighborhood high schools.

Key Senator Sides With Charter School Against Phila. Enrollment Limits
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 29, 2010
The stakes in a Philadelphia charter school’s enrollment and funding dispute with the school district have been raised.

Senator Zeroes in on School Choice Legislation in 2011
Patriot News, PA, September 28, 2010
The Dauphin County Republican, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, is planning a daylong hearing on Oct. 13 in the North Office Building Hearing Room 1 in the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg on the topic of school choice.

Rhode Island

Caprio Says He Supports Gist, School Reform
Providence Journal, RI, September 29, 2010
State treasurer and Democratic candidate for governor Frank T. Caprio called a news conference on Tuesday to slam his leading opponent for wavering on whether he would keep the state’s high-profile education commissioner, Deborah Gist.

Virginia

York River Academy Settles Into New Brick and Mortar Home
York Daily Press, VA, September 28, 2010
Rain Tuesday morning had absolutely no impact at York River Academy.
That’s a difference this fall for the small York County charter school, which operated in trailers on the campus of York High School for the past eight years.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

Vouchers, Online Schools Are Part of Scott’s Plan
Herald Tribune, FL, September 28, 2010
Saying that more money alone will not improve Florida schools, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott on Tuesday outlined an ambitious plan for a “new era” in public schools that could dramatically expand the use of private school vouchers and having children get their schooling online.

Virtual Education in St. Johns County
St Augustine Florida News, FL, September 28, 2010
Parents looking for a world class educational opportunity that is custom designed for their child should take a look at St. Johns Virtual School , a part of the Florida Virtual School system.

Online School for Girls helps Harpeth Hall Students Manage Time
The Tennessean, TN, September 28, 2010
Margot said taking the course through the Online School For Girls, a virtual school that gives girls from across the world access to advance high school courses, will ensure her final year of high school will be less hectic.

Students and Parents Give High Marks to Online Academy in Nevada
MyNews4, NV, September 28, 2010
It’s a public school and it’s free, the only difference is the home is the classroom and instead of raising your hand, students get access to their teacher with the click of a mouse.

Good morning!

In the line up today: Colin and Alma Powell, Shrinking the Achievement Gap, and more…

Updates throughout the morning:

…on the Live Blog

…on Twitter

More notes after the jump…

More “Edspresso LIVE!: Education Nation, Day 2″

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