Friday, November 14, 2008

Obama and Big Labor
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 13, 2008
So Obama owes the unions, and he’ll need them to get re-elected in 2012. There’s every reason to believe he’s going to start checking off their wish lists in January.

Three States Eye Bold High School Reforms
Christian Science Monitor, MA, November 14, 2008
Redefining high school is a controversial idea. And it’s just one part of a comprehensive set of education reforms that the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce is urging in order to prepare workers to be competitive in the 21st-century global economy.

Bill Gates’ New Education Plan
Forbes, NY, November 13, 2008
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation summoned 130 or so education heavies (many of them grantees) to Seattle this week to attend the foundation’s gala unveiling of its long-awaited education strategy, the culmination of an intense rethinking process spearheaded by the new education director, Vicki Phillips.

Which School Will Pass the Obamas’ Test?
Washington Post, D.C., November 14, 2008
It’s the talk of the town, in coffee shops, workplaces and classrooms: Where will President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, decide to send 10-year-old daughter Malia and 7-year-old daughter Sasha to school when they move into the White House?

Opening of Fifth Charter Campus Is Cause For Families And Taxpayers To Celebrate
TC Palm, FL, November 14, 2008
It was encouraging to see both Charlie Wilson and Claudia Jimenez at last week’s dedication of Indian River County’s newest charter school, Imagine School at South Vero.

5 Charter Schools Up For Vote
Tampa Tribune, FL, November 14, 2008
TAMPA - Hillsborough County parents are looking at an array of expanded school options with eight new charter schools planning to open in August.

Charter School Exodus From Columbus May Rise
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 13, 2008
The number of children leaving the Columbus school district for charter schools is projected to surpass the 10,000-student mark this school year, costing the district more than expected, officials reported today.

Despite a Few Miscreants, Pa. Charter Schools A Success
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 14, 2008
Recent publicity has focused on several charter schools under investigation for mismanagement and fiscal irregularities. But these scandals are not representative of the largely successful charter-school movement.

Group Pledges 1,300 Scholarships to Phila. Children
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 14, 2008
The Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia yesterday announced it would offer 1,300 new four-year scholarships to help low-income families send their children to nonpublic elementary schools in 2009-10.

Vouchers Add Life To Private Schools In City
Times Picayune, LA, November 14, 2008
This year, with the introduction of a new voucher program in Louisiana, Upperroom is a changed place. The small classrooms in the eastern New Orleans church are packed with students, dozens of them taking advantage of the tuition vouchers.

Say No To The Union
Times Picayune, LA, November 13, 2008
When the School Board let the union’s collective bargaining agreement lapse in mid-2006, it was a signal that the welfare of students would take precedence over grownups post-Katrina. Now the union is pushing for the board to approve a new contract.

Making Charter Schools Measure Up
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 14, 2008
When historians write the story of public education in Los Angeles at the beginning of the 21st century, they may well dub this the Decade of the Charter. Since 2002, the Los Angeles Unified School District has added about 120 independent charter schools and another 12 that are affiliated with the LAUSD — more than any other district in the country.

Catholic Schools Struggle
San Antonio Express, TX, November 13, 2008
This year, 124 students are enrolled at St. Leo, down from about 450 students that graduated high school with Pedraza in 1983. Citywide, enrollment in Catholic schools has dropped to 13,717 students this year, down about 3,000 from the all-time high enrollments the system saw in the late 1990s.

Committee Unanimously Opposes Proposed Charter School
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, November 14, 2008
Calling the charter school a "train wreck" for the city, committee members Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution opposing the proposed Gloucester Community Arts Charter School because of a projected loss of more than $2 million in state aid each year that would go to the new school instead of the district.

Charter School Proponents Disappointed By FCPS Denial
Frederick News Post, MD, November 14, 2008
Proponents of a proposed charter school believe they are getting mixed messages from Frederick County Public Schools officials and the Board of Education, which on Wednesday denied approval of an application to create a girls-only school.

More Parents Turning To Charter Schools
WBAL TV, MD, November 13, 2008
More and more Maryland parents are turning to public charter schools because they offer more choices.

Malvern Parents Fight for School Choice
KARK, Little Rock, AR, November 13, 2008
Should you be able to send your child to school in another city? That’s what parents of more than 100 students fought for in federal court today.

Private Schools’ Numbers Down
The Free Lance-Star, VA, November 14, 2008
Several local families, however, put their children in public school only because they couldn’t afford the rising cost of a private education, say officials from area private schools. It’s a nationwide trend as the country faces the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Obama and Our Schools
New York Times, NY, November 13, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama and his aides are sending signals that education may be on the back burner at the beginning of the new administration. He ranked it fifth among his priorities, and if it is being downplayed, that’s a mistake.

Teacher Pay Plan Has Merit
The Star-Ledger, NJ, November 12, 2008
Education lacks a means of advancement for good teachers who want to stay in the classroom. Merit pay could be one way to do that, and it seems more than fair that those who do the best job should be rewarded.

Children Trapped In Lousy Schools Merit Real Choices
San Antonio Express, TX, November 12, 2008
… the Obamas have the ability to make a choice for their children, a choice the president-elect would deny to every other American who cannot afford to pay private school tuition. This is not the vaunted fairness for which Obama campaigned. This is not spreading the educational and intellectual wealth around.

A School Chief Takes On Tenure, Stirring a Fight
New York Times, NY, November 13, 2008
Michelle Rhee, the hard-charging chancellor of the Washington public schools, thinks teacher tenure may be great for adults, those who go into teaching to get summer vacations and great health insurance, for instance. But it hurts children, she says, by making incompetent instructors harder to fire.

D.C. School Reform: The Backlash
Washington Post, D.C., November 12, 2008
When Michelle Obama visits town and stops by two private schools without so much as a rolling glance at any D.C. public school, and when Barack Obama takes a moment in a presidential debate to lament that Washington’s schools are “in terrible shape,” the message received in the city school system cannot be a happy one.

Cost of Phila. Charter Schools: $105M
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 13, 2008
Charter school advocates and the Philadelphia School District have long been at odds on the cost of charter schools.

Scholarships Offered to Phila. Children for Non-Public
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 13, 2008
The Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia this morning is scheduled to announce that will be offering 1,300 new, four-year scholarships to help low-income families send their children to nonpublic elementary schools in 2009-10.

Public Charter High School Proposal to be Reviewed
Waukegan News Sun, IL, November 13, 2008
Among the issues that Waukegan Public Schools officials will consider when reviewing a proposal to open a public charter high school in the city are the charter’s goals, pupil performance standards and economic feasibility.

Private Schools Incorporate Technology in A Big Way
Tampa Bay Business Journal, FL, November 13, 2008
Berkeley Preparatory School, a preK-12 grade private school, issues laptops to students through an initiative called Anytime Anywhere Learning that began in 2000.

Schools of Choice in Kansas City
Kansas City Star, MO, November 13, 2008
Thousands of families living in the Kansas City School District should be congratulated for empowering themselves and choosing the public schools their children will attend.

School District to Ask For State Research Grant
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, November 12, 2008
Clarke County School District administrators may apply for up to $10,000 from the state Department of Education while they decide what kinds of charter schools would work best here.

The Challenges of Choice
Catalyst Chicago, IL, November 2008
At the heart of Renaissance 2010 is the belief that opening new schools will benefit families and students. But a Catalyst Chicago analysis finds that a surprising number of black students are choosing lackluster schools.

Supt. Brewer’s Failings
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 13, 2008
But along with much of California, the district is heading into troubled times — largely financial — that threaten its classrooms and students, and that will test its management and educational skills.

The Year for School Choice
Orangeburg Times Democrat, SC, November 13, 2008
For years, parents in South Carolina have been clamoring for school choice. Low-income and minority parents want something like the HOPE scholarships that grant them access to better classrooms.

The Private Side of Education
State Journal, WV, November 13, 2008
Time and again the message from business is that privatization works, and in West Virginia education, private school supporters agree.

Charter School Should Be Given A Chance To Work
Eagle Tribune, MA, November 12, 2008
It is time — past time — for a minority of the Haverhill School Committee to end its sour-grapes effort to undermine the new Silver Hill Horace Mann charter school.

Green
Green Bay Press Gazette, WI, November 13, 2008
Green educational programming is flourishing in public charter schools because these schools can break the mold of traditional school, which is bound by bricks-and-mortar, industrial-era ideas about classrooms and instruction…

Growing Charter School Eyes
The Jersey Journal, NJ, November 13, 2008
One of the first charter schools in the state when it opened in 1997, LCCS has long wanted “a more traditional school building” with the facilities it currently lacks, including a library, cafeteria and auditorium, she said.

City’s Leaders Celebrate Independence Charter School At New Lombard Location
Philadelphia Center City Weekly Press, PA, November 12, 2008
What could have become a twenty-story luxury condo at the defunct Durham School at 16th and Lombard had the Philadelphia School District, under the leadership of former CEO Paul Vallas, sold the building to the Miles & Generali Corporation, now houses the Independence Charter School (ICS), grades K-8.

Give Public Schools A Chance
USA Today, November 12, 2008
Barack Obama made history as America’s first African-American president. He now has a chance to shatter another historic White House convention — as the first chief executive in three decades to send his children to a local public school.

First Family Dilemma: Which School For The Kids?
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 12, 2008
The education world is waiting to see whether Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, will be sent to a private school while their father continues to oppose tax-supported voucher programs to less-fortunate parents who also would like their children to attend a quality private school.

School Districts Caught In A Squeeze
USA Today, November 11, 2008
School superintendents nationwide say the struggling economy threatens to reverse progress they have made in closing historic achievement gaps as schools face trimmed budgets now — and possibly worse ones next fall.

New York Prof Says KIPP Isn’t a Magic Bullet; KIPP Founder Says, Hey You’re Right
Houston Press, TX, November 11, 2008
A just-released report from a New York City prof warns that while KIPP – the Knowledge Is Power Program operated in non-profit charter schools in cities across the country including Houston — does many good things, it should not be adopted as a role model for changes in public schools.

More ‘Blue’ Congress to Tackle Education
Education Week, MD, November 11, 2008
President-elect Obama can look forward to working with a beefed-up Democratic majority in Congress when he seeks to enact his education agenda after taking office in January.

State Electoral Victors Face K-12 Hurdles
Education Week, MD, November 11, 2008
The new class of governors, state legislators, and chief state school officers elected last week will face formidable challenges in dealing with the squeeze the nation’s sagging economy—and ballooning state budget deficits—is putting on K-12 education.

Gates Foundation Plans To Spend More On Education
D.C. Examiner, D.C., November 11, 2008
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is going to increase its education giving, with more money for teacher training, support for better testing and creation of national standards.

Charter Schools Still Get No Respect
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 12, 2008
A lot of folks who see the need for innovation in urban public schooling are wondering whether and where that innovation is happening. It is happening, and where may be a surprise to you.

Phila. SRC to Get Details On Charter School Costs
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 12, 2008
Michael J. Masch, the chief business officer of the Philadelphia School District, will brief the School Reform Commission today on charter school costs.

Proposed Charter High Schools Named After Miami Heat Star Dwayne Wade Fail To Impress Broward School District Staff
Sun-Sentinel, FL, November 12, 2008
Mavericks High D. Wade’s Schools are among 11 charter schools going before the School Board on Wednesday seeking approval for the 2009-10 school year. The D. Wade’s Schools are the only ones recommended for denial. Nine others withdrew their applications.

Should Private School Kids Get A Free Ride?
WLWT, OH, November 11, 2008
Every day across the Tri-State, public school buses are used to take kids to private schools. It’s costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year and some people want it to stop.

Charters Lead State’s Traditional Schools In Achievement For Poor Children, Survey Finds
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 12, 2008
The burgeoning charter school movement in California has largely made its mark as an alternative to low-performing inner-city schools. An analysis being issued today suggests that, at their best, charters are doing that job well, outperforming most traditional public schools that serve children in poverty.

Metro May Lose Charter School Fees
The Tennessean, TN, November 12, 2008
Metro school officials won’t say whether they will stop charging the district’s charter schools thousands annually in administrative fees — a practice Tennessee’s attorney general called illegal.

Sanford Wants Parents To Get Charter School Information
Greenville News, SC, November 12, 2008
Gov. Mark Sanford, distressed over news that Greenville County Schools barred charter schools from recruiting in district schools, has asked state Superintendent Jim Rex to "use your position in whatever way you can" to help parents get information.

Groff, Carroll Selections Give Hope to School Choice Supporters
Face The State, CO, November 11, 2008
This year’s newly minted state House and Senate Democrat leaders have given school choice supporters a reason to be cautiously optimistic, as the two men slated to lead their respective chambers have often split with their union-backed party to support school choice.

Obama Is Expected to Put Education Overhaul on Back BurnerWall Street Journal, November 11, 2008
But with the financial crisis and other priorities bearing down, President-elect Barack Obama’s education initiatives — at least early in his term — are expected to be more about tinkering than bold change.

School of Choice for Obama Girls?
USA Today, November 11, 2008
Great news for the Obamas: If they want to strike a populist note and send their two daughters to a District of Columbia public school, there are lots of choices.

Uncertainty Over Obama Education Adviser
Huffington Post, NY, November 10, 2008
In education circles, however, there’s no hotter topic than who is going to be the next Secretary of Education–and if it’s going to be Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford professor known for her focus on teacher quality

School Choice Movement Launches Major National Campaign
News Release Wire, November 10, 2008
The national school choice movement today launched an aggressive campaign to recruit 10,000 new activists. Coordinated by the nonprofit Alliance for School Choice…

Nation’s Top 50 Catholic High Schools Announced for 2008
PR Newswire, November 11, 2008
National Catholic High School Honor Roll announced its fifth selection of the best 50 Catholic secondary schools in the United States.

D.C. Schools Chief Scores Gains, Ruffles Feathers
Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2008
Barack Obama just got elected promising to bring change to Washington. Michelle Rhee is already on the job.

Heritage High to Remain Open Charter Official Says
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL, November 11, 2008
Doug Jackson, president of Academies of Excellence, said in a telephone interview Monday that the recent layoff of four employees at Heritage High School in Bunnell is the result of budget cuts and not a sign the charter school is folding.

Teacher Pay Competitive In Many Parts of State
Seattle Times, WA, November 11, 2008
Teachers are among the best-paid college-educated workers in many parts of Washington, but educators in the Kennewick, Bremerton and Seattle labor markets are not keeping up with people in other occupations, a new analysis of Washington wages shows.

Voters Support S.C. Public Schools
Orangeburg Times Democrat, SC, November 11, 2008
Around the state, the message from voters is they consider public education a priority, they support their public schools, and they want their schools to have the resources needed to succeed.

Suit Aims For School Choice For Special-Needs Children
Bellingham Herald, WA, November 11, 2008
Washington has a reputation for tolerance. It might surprise you, then, to learn that our state is drawing upon a history of religious discrimination to deny educational opportunity to some of our most vulnerable citizens: special needs children.

Why More Students Are Trying Virtual Classes
Lynnwood Enterprise, WA, November 10, 2008
Online schools are booming. In Washington, the number of elementary, middle and high school students enrolled full-time in public, online schools has nearly quadrupled in three years to 5,666 last school year.

The KIPP Success Story
Arkansas Times, AR, November 10, 2008
But do they really ‘work’? An in-depth study is underway. But on the jump is an interesting summary of some points to consider on the KIPP schools, which are slated for expansion in Arkansas.