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Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Evaluate all teachers, tenure or not
Column, San Jose Mercury News, CA, November 6, 2013
Considering how reluctant our public education system is to change, the swiftness with which reform has spread in teacher evaluations is nothing short of breathtaking.

The charter-school lie: Market-based education gambles with our children
Opinion, Salon, November 4, 2013
Abruptly opening and closing schools – leaving school children, parents and communities in the lurch and taxpayers holding the bag – is not a matter of happenstance. It’s by design.
The design in mind, of course, is being called a “market.”

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Brown OK with hijacking of his school reform law
Editorial, San Diego Union Tribune, CA, November 6, 2013
As we have repeatedly observed, when it comes to schools, “subsidiarity” is daffy. In most California school districts, the interests of adult employees are reflexively valued over the interests of students. Increased local control makes this unfortunate emphasis even more likely.

Oakland: Schools OKs tech-based charter academy
Oakland Tribune, CA, November 6, 2013
A charter school proposal, the East Bay Innovation Academy (EBIA), narrowly won approval recently from the Oakland Unified School District board.

State-mandated teacher evaluations elicit local outrage, protests
Las Cruces Sun-News, CA, November 7, 2013
Components of state-mandated evaluations at odds with union pact; LCPS, union reach agreement despite outrage with state agency

COLORADO

School reformers set to forge ahead in Douglas County, Denver
Denver Post, CO, November 7, 2013
The Douglas County school board, unscathed after a contentious election that will keep reformers in the majority for the next four years, is already talking about new initiatives.

DELAWARE

Delaware’s Reach Academy pleads for life as charter school
News Journal, DE, November 7, 2013
More than two dozen teachers, parents, students and other supporters defended Reach Academy for Girls during ameeting Wednesday night, touting the school’s successes and pleading with state officials not to shut it down.

State says principals need to be tougher in evaluating teachers
News Journal, DE, November 7, 2013
Only 1 percent of Delaware teachers were rated ineffective during the first full year of the state’s evaluation system, according to new Department of Education figures.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Options charter in distress after allegations of financial scheme, court records show
Washington Post, DC, November 6, 2013
Options Public Charter School is facing a budget shortfall of $1.6 million and critical gaps in leadership following allegations that the school’s former managers diverted millions of dollars to companies they owned, according to a newly unsealed court document.

GEORGIA

Third year of federally funded turnaround reform at Groves High School begins in celebration
Savannah Morning News, GA, November 6, 2013
In 2012 the school received a three-year federal grant totaling just under $6 million to implement the Obama administration’s turnaround model for academic reform.

KANSAS

Legislative hearing on school finance excludes key education voices
Topeka Capital Journal, KS, November 6, 2013
A nuts-and-bolts hearing for House and Senate members on potential reform of the Kansas school finance system Wednesday raised questions about the conspicuous absence of state education department staff members and state school board members from the agenda.

MAINE

Brunswick charter school proposal all but dead
The Forecaster, ME, November 7, 2013
School Board discussion about starting a charter school has probably come to a halt after the idea received a cool reception in October and a warning from the state that the process may have violated the law.

NEW JERSEY

Christie’s first stop after reelection: Abbott School in Union City
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 7, 2013
Four years ago, the day after his election to his first term as governor, Chris Christie made his opening stop Newark’s Robert Treat Academy Charter School.

NEW YORK

Defeat of School Tax Stings Colorado Democrats
New York Times, NY, November 7, 2012
They had $10 million in contributions, a barrage of advertising and support from the usually warring factions of the educational establishment. But Democratic leaders in this swing state were dealt a stinging defeat on Tuesday as voters resoundingly rejected an effort to raise taxes by $1 billion a year to pay for a sweeping school overhaul.

The de Blasio Mandate for Education
Opinion, Huffington Post, November 6, 2013
Make no mistake: In New York City, the drive to privatize public education has ground to a halt with de Blasio’s election.

NORTH CAROLINA

Fallacies, realities about teachers and education schools
Opinion, News & Observer, NC, November 7, 2013
It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t believe in high standards for teachers and schools. We agree that becoming (and remaining) a teacher should be a rigorous process. We do not ask that quality be excused in teaching or in Colleges of Education – rather, we ask that existing quality be recognized as we continuously work to increase it.

Is the ABSS school transfer policy being abused? Board eyes options
Burlington Times News, NC, November 6, 2013
Parents in Alamance County might be taking school choice into their own hands, and the board of education is talking about joining them if they can’t beat them.

OKLAHOMA

A-F grades see dramatic rise in number of ‘F’ schools
Tulsa World, OK, November 6, 2013
At a special meeting Wednesday, the state Board of Education voted unanimously to certify school report cards calculated with a new formula for each of the state’s 1,785 public schools.

Oklahoma City school district fails to make grade
The Oklahoman, OK, November 7, 2013
Only 28 of 93 schools in the Oklahoma City district managed to improve or stay the same in the A-F grading system. Overall, the district received an F; last year it received a D.

PENNSYLVANIA

Chartered bust
Editorial, Philadelphia Daily News, PA, November 7, 2013
WHEN authorized by the state Legislature in 1997, charter schools were seen to be high-performing alternatives within the public-education system that would operate with public money but without the bureaucracy of the larger systems. Charters were intended to be a booster shot of megavitamins to bolster the existing public school system, to strengthen the education alternatives and reward innovation.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Move slowly on school choice
Editorial, Greenville News, SC, November 6, 2013
A recent poll that shows support is growing in South Carolina for some sort of a school choice voucher program all but assures that some form of private school choice bill is likely to be considered by the General Assembly again during its 2014 session.

Report finds South Carolina charter schools don’t have equitable access to buildings
Charleston Post Courier, SC, November 6, 2013
South Carolina charter schools don’t have equitable access to buildings and financing for capital projects, and that puts their subset of public school students at an educational disadvantage, according to a new report.

TENNESSEE

Freedom Award winner candid with schools leaders in Memphis
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, November 6, 2013
In an unscripted conversation with education leaders, Freedom Award winner Geoffrey Canada talked rapid fire about charter schools, innovation in Memphis and education as the toughest “work anyone is doing anywhere on the country.”

What will happen to the big education bills the GOP dropped the ball on last year?
Nashville Scene, TN, November 7, 2013
How super can a supermajority be if it can’t push through its pet education initiatives? That was the question at the end of the last General Assembly, as GOP infighting derailed two bills with high-powered support that observers believed would pass without too much trouble.

TEXAS

State association continues to serve Texas’ growing charter school population
Midland Reporter-Telegram, TX, November 6, 2013
In its first five years of existence the Texas Charter Schools Association has worked hard to support each of the state’s 550 open-enrollment charter schools through various methods of education.

WEST VIRGINIA

In education reform, listen to what works
Editorial, Charleston Daily Mail, WV, November 7, 2013
THE Education Alliance brought some successful reformers to Charleston this week to discuss public education in West Virginia.

ONLINE LEARNING

E-school cited for lax disabilities policy
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 7, 2013
An online charter school based in Reynoldsburg has been cited by a federal civil-rights office for failing to adequately serve special-needs students.

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

In Public Education, Edge Still Goes to Rich
New York Times, NY, November 6, 2013
But it raises a perplexing question, too. If education is a poor child’s best shot at rising up the ladder of prosperity, why do public resources devoted to education lean so decisively in favor of the better off?

Test Takers rush to complete GED
Associated Press, November 6, 2013
Americans who passed part, but not all, of the GED test are rushing to finish the high school equivalency exam before a new version rolls out in January and their previous scores are wiped out. About 1 million people could be affected.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Funding for L.A. Unified’s iPad program uncertain after three years
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 5, 2013
Options include using leftover construction funds, if any, or new bond measures to pay for the devices, which have a three-year life span.

State launches Charter School Best Practices Project
Press-Enterprise CA, November 6, 2013
A free training session for charter school board members, administrators and teachers as well as a session for charter-school authorizers is being offered Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Riverside County Office of Education, 3939 13th St., Riverside.

COLORADO

Amendment 66: a $1 billion bust
Editorial, Denver Post, CO, November 6, 2013
The drubbing of Amendment 66 Tuesday may have been a defeat for education reform and funding equity, but we understand why so many voters were reluctant to support the measure. The recession is over but times are still tough for many families, incomes remain in the doldrums and educational bureaucracies are not terribly trustworthy.

Colorado school boards shift toward reform
Denver Post, CO, November 6, 2013
Voters swept reform-minded school board candidates into all open seats in closely watched Front Range races in Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties and Thompson Valley schools.

School tax soundly defeated
Durango Herald, CO, November 6, 2013
A multimillion-dollar campaign to increase taxes for schools failed to budge Colorado voters away from their anti-tax stance.

CONNECTICUT

Charter Revision Struck Down, Four Elected To School Board In Hartford
Hartford Courant, CT, November 5, 2013
A minuscule turnout of voters elected four members to the school board and rejected significant changes to the city charter. The proposed charter revisions would have stripped Mayor Pedro Segarra of his vote on the school board and expanded the powers and scope of the city’s internal audit commission.

FLORIDA

Browning denies ‘do-over’ for charter applicant
Suncoast News, FL, November 5, 2013
A split Pasco County School Board approved a charter school’s application Tuesday, but board members expressed concern because Superintendent Kurt Browning allowed the school to make changes or clarifications to the application after his staff initially recommended denial.

School Board approves 19 new charter schools
Sun Sentinel, FL, November 5, 2013
Parents could have more than a dozen new charter schools to choose from next year, including a sports-themed academy, two Hebrew-language schools and several others focused on science and math curriculum.

School District: Students in jeopardy at mismanaged Immokalee charter school
Naples News, FL, November 6, 2013
Uncertified teachers in classrooms, missing financial records and students being fed lunch from McDonald’s are among the litany of mismanagement allegations being levied against an Immokalee charter school, which could be shut down in the coming weeks.

LOUISIANA

Caddo avoids state takeover of schools
Shreveport Times, LA, November 5, 2013
Caddo schools will keep all failing schools and keep the state at bay for two years under a deal unveiled Tuesday.

In New Orleans and nationally, a growing number of charter schools aspire to be ‘diverse by design’
Hechinger Report, November 5, 2013
When a group of Mid-City residents proposed opening a school four years ago that would be racially and economically diverse, they were greeted with doubt. Skeptics thought Morris Jeff would end up like most other public schools in the city: almost entirely African American and low-income.

MASSACHUSETTS

Hunt leads pack for school board
Salam News, MA, November 6, 2013
The dramatic change going on in the public schools was reflected in yesterday’s stunning election for School Committee.

Most students from Spirit of Knowledge now in city schools
Worcester Telegram, MA, November 5, 2013
Most of the 155 students displaced when the Spirit of Knowledge Charter School closed last week have transferred to Worcester public schools, and many of the seniors have transferred to Doherty Memorial High School, members of the defunct school’s board of trustees learned Tuesday night.

Teachers union blasts out last-minute endorsement
Boston Herald, MA, November 6, 2013
The Boston Teachers Union, after staying out of the mayor’s race for months, finally backed a candidate yesterday, sending out an eleventh-hour email blast urging members to vote for state Rep. Martin J. Walsh.

MISSOURI

Superintendents pitch plan to aid struggling schools
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, November 6, 2013
A key education organization is attempting to galvanize support around a proposal that school superintendents hope could sidestep a thorny state statute that has allowed 2,200 students to transfer from unaccredited school districts.

Kansas City charter inflates attendance
Southeast Missourian, MO, November 6, 2013
Administrators and some staff at a Kansas City charter school aimed at dropouts are on leave amid an investigation into inflated attendance and academic problems, Missouri education officials said Tuesday.

NEW JERSEY

Ocean City hoping to work with state on new School Choice enrollment limits
Ocean City Gazette, NJ, November 6, 2013
In an attempt to manage the growth of the popular Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, New Jersey State Department of Education officials recently announced a 5 percent annual cap on the increase in students accepted by receiving districts.

NEW MEXICO

School choice is key to results
Deming Headlight, NM, November 5, 2013
There has been an incredible amount of angst among the education establishment over New Mexico’s newly-enacted system of teacher evaluations. Unlike other aspects of Gov. Martinez’s education agenda including the A-F grading system, elimination of 3rd grade social promotion, and an emphasis on digital learning, these evaluations were not based on Jeb Bush’s successful reforms in Florida.

NEW YORK

Bill de Blasio, as next mayor, must fix major problems in New York City schools
Opinion, New York Daily News, NY, November 6, 2013
The incoming mayor must build upon successful reforms by current Mayor Bloomberg, and he must devise new strategies for big problems that are festering, says New York University Professor Pedro Noguera.

With a Mayor De Blasio, Fate of Charter Schools in Limbo
Newsweek, November 5, 2013
As New York City stands poised to elect its first non-Bloomberg mayor since 2001, the impact of a probable Bill de Blasio administration has put the future of charter schools in question. De Blasio, expected to take office 11 years after Mayor Bloomberg’s takeover of NYC public schools in 2002, has publicly skewered charter schools, a hallmark element of Mayor Mike’s sometimes controversial education policies.

NORTH CAROLINA

McCrory launches teacher advisory committee
News & Observer, NC, November 5, 2013
Gov. Pat McCrory launched a teacher advisory group Tuesday that he charged with making recommendations on issues such as teacher pay, testing and technology.

Opportunity scholarships put school power in the hands of parents
Opinion, News & Observer, NC, November 5, 2013
Over the past two years, I have followed the arguments that opponents of Opportunity Scholarships have hurled at the futures of economically disadvantaged students who need educational options. I am always taken back when people who have benefited from “school choice” desire to restrict minorities from having the same “choice.” This is hypocritical at the least and condemning at best.

Tenure law poorly planned
Editorial, Daily Reflector, NC, November 5, 2013
The Republican-led state legislature should take a lesson from the botched rollout of Obamacare when crafting education policy. Rushing perceived mandates into law does nothing to enhance public opinion regarding the competency of government.

OHIO

Voters soundly defeat Columbus school levy
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 6, 2013
But voters weren’t behind it. They defeated the 23.5 percent property-tax increase yesterday that would have shared local money with charter schools for the first time.

PENNSYLVANIA

Brandywine Heights School Board rejects plan for charter school for autistic kids
Reading Eagle, PA, November 6, 2013
The Brandywine Heights School Board has denied the application of a Lehigh Valley group seeking to open a charter school for autistic children in the district.

Vida families request charter renewal from Gettysburg
Evening Sun, PA, November 5, 2013
Vida Charter School third-grader Spencer Kennedy pleaded in Spanish to the Gettysburg Board of Education members during Monday’s meeting.

RHODE ISLAND

Cumberland’s Blackstone Valley Prep wins $2.2-million grant to expand its charter school network
Providence Journal, RI, November 6, 2013
Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy has received a $2.2-million grant from the Charter School Growth Fund, a nonprofit organization that raises money to help expand charter school networks.

Despite Critics, Achievement First Charter School Up And Running
Rhode Island Public Radio, RI, November 5, 2013
Achievement First is a brand new charter school in Providence that also operates schools in Connecticut and New York. Critics fought hard to keep it from opening in Rhode Island, arguing that among other problems, it would take money away from other public schools.

TENNESSEE

Pro-school-voucher groups reignite campaign
The Tennessean, TN, November 6, 2013
Proponents of a controversial school voucher program in Tennessee have rolled out a new statewide campaign as they look for a different result during the next legislative session.

VIRGINIA

An education path for every child
Column, Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, November 5, 2013
In 2014, we want to build on that by empowering teachers, educators and parents with the tools they need to create what we call “A Personalized Path for Every Child.”

WASHINGTON

Peters edging Dale Estey in fiercely contested Seattle School Board race
Seattle Times, WA, November 6, 2013
Parent activist Sue Peters was leading her much-better-funded opponent Suzanne Dale Estey by three percentage points for a seat on the Seattle School Board.

WEST VIRGINIA

Summit discusses education reform
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, November 5, 2013
Nearly a year after state lawmakers passed a sweeping education reform package, West Virginia has moved to another uncertain phase for those reforms: implementation.

WISCONSIN

Is Wisconsin ready for the corporate reformers of education?
Letter, Pierce County Herald, WI, November 6, 2013
Public education is undergoing a radical change. What was predominately a local school governed by a locally elected school board is poised to become a plethora ofchoices: private religious schools, independent privately operated charter schools, voucher schools, for-profit schools, virtual schools, and public schools.

Public school districts block charter ideas
Letter, Post Crescent, WI, November 6, 2013
Your recent editorial notes that Sen. Alberta Darling’s charter school legislation is a threat to public education. How can that be? Charter schools are public schools. In exchange for more freedom to experiment and innovate, charter schools are held to unprecedented levels of accountability.

ONLINE LEARNING

Chromebooks take students beyond classroom walls
The Princeton Packet, NJ, November 6, 2013
Fifth grade students were excited to tell the Board of Education how Chromebooks are transforming and enhancing their learning in the classroom.Four classes at Village School and four classes at Millstone River School are piloting a program that gives every student a Chromebook.

Regional collaborative submits virtual school proposal
Metro West Daily News, MA, November 6, 2013
An educational collaborative that serves several MetroWest districts was the only organization to submit a proposal to the state Monday to start an online school.

Students learning more with mix of online, traditional classroom learning
Dearborn Press & Guide, MI, November 5, 2013
Dearborn Public School students will increasingly see classes that mix online learning with instruction in brick and mortar classrooms, according to information presented to the school board on Monday.

Why Schools Are ‘Blending’ Learning
EdSurge, November 6, 2013
Judy Beard, principal of Whittemore Park Middle School in Horry County SC, was so convinced that she had to implement “blended learning” to help her students achieve the common core that she started implementing blended learning before they had the funds to purchase the technology.

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

A Plea for Catholic Schools to Ignore New Guidelines
New York Times, NY, November 5, 2013
A group of Roman Catholic scholars has called on Catholic schools to ignore the new educational standards known as the Common Core, a set of guidelines on what students should know and be able to do from kindergarten through 12th grade, opening a front with parallels to the fight over using the guidelines in public schools.

Cantor blasts Obama again over vouchers during visit
The Advocate, LA, November 4, 2013
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor used his second visit to New Orleans this year to criticize the Obama administration again for moving to temporarily halt Louisiana’s school voucher program in much of the state.

Education reform activist talks charter schools, voucher system during Princeton visit
Times of Trenton, NJ, November 4, 2013
New Jersey’s public schools are ranked among the top three in the nation when it comes to reading and math proficiency, but according to Diane Ravitch, nothing is being done to keep it that way.

Poverty and school reform
Opinion, Baltimore Sun, MD, November 4, 2013
But several recent studies suggest that what teachers have been saying is right. Poverty has a substantial impact on brain development and decision-making. The current issue of JAMA Pediatrics reports a study from the Harvard Medical School of brain scans of children growing up impoverished.

STATE COVERAGE

ALASKA

Board considers Star of the North charter school’s renewal
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, AK, November 5, 2013
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board met Monday to discuss renewal of the charter for Star of the North charter school.

Lawmakers See Early Effects of New School Choice Law
KARK, AR, November 4, 2013
School districts in Malvern, Conway, Paragould and Batesville lost the most students to other districts as part of the Public School Choice Act of 2013, lawmakers learned Monday.

CALIFORNIA

Monterey High academy seeks to become charter school
Monterey Herald, CA, November 4, 2013
Coming out to the beach, perhaps more often, is the type of experience MAOS students could get more of if the academy had more flexibility with scheduling and programming. It’s one of the reasons Von Saltza and other MAOS teachers would like to convert the academy into a dependent charter.

DELAWARE

“Reach Academy faces possible closure after panel votes not to recommend renewal of charter
News Journal, DE, November 4, 2013
A New Castle County charter school faces possible closure after the state Department of Education’s Charter School Accountability Committee on Monday voted not to recommend the state renew its charter.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. education agency pays Chicago firm nearly $90,000 for one day of work
Washington Post, DC, November 4, 2013
A D.C. government agency paid a Chicago consulting firm $89,995 for one day of work at a recent city education conference, a fee that included a half-hour keynote speech, three 45-minute parent workshops and hundreds of copies of parenting books.

FLORIDA

What is at stake in APS school board election? Just about everything.
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, November 4, 2013
Most of the APS school board could turn over as a result of tomorrow’s balloting. At the very least, nearly half the board will be new faces since four of the current nine members are not seeking re-election.

ILLINOIS

What our schools can’t do — but parents can
Commentary, Chicago Tribune, IL, November 5, 2013
Chicago schools by themselves can never close the academic gap between poor black and Latino students and their more affluent white and Asian counterparts.

IOWA

Charter school provides hope for students
Pilot Tribune, IA, November 4, 2013
Storm Lake was on the cutting edge in the state of Iowa in 2005 to offer a school within a school to its students.

LOUISIANA

Some charter schools aim to break old patterns
The Advocate, LA, November 4, 2013
When a group of Mid-City residents proposed four years ago to open a school that would be racially and economically diverse, they were greeted with doubt.

MAINE

Brunswick charter school proposal withdrawn
Portland Press Herald, ME, November 5, 2013
“I was surprised, but my sense is that it was not very well received,” said Stadler, who lives in Phippsburg. “There was a lot of opposition from the audience and just to charter schools in general.”

MASSACHUSETTS

Style, Emphasis Separate Mayoral Candidates On Education
WBUR, MA, November 4, 2013
City Councilor John Connolly and state Rep. Marty Walsh, finalists in the Boston mayoral race, do not differ sharply on the basic questions of education policy.

NEW JERSEY

Tally of teacher tenure cases shows new law had impact
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 5, 2013
The first year of New Jersey’s new tenure law has so far resulted in a much quicker process for deciding discipline charges against teachers, while established case law has still largely determined the outcomes.

NEW YORK

Best and brightest try to bridge education gap
The Record, NJ, November 4, 2013
Eli Grossman, a recent Cornell University graduate from Teaneck, wants his Paterson sixth-graders to know he presumes they can make it to college.

Brooklyn Diocese Sues One of Its High Schools in Queens
New York Times, NY, November 5, 2013
For more than 30 years, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and the nonprofit group running Christ the King High School in Queens have acted as one, managing the twin hurdles of declining enrollments and shrinking revenues with a joint aim of fostering parochial education.

Catholic schools work for kids
Opinion, New York Post, NY, November 5, 2013
For decades, Catholic schools have done a tremendous job of educating poor and minority kids — yet the church continues to close them left and right. But tonight Rev. Tim Scully is winning an award for his work in making Catholic schools a viable option for more kids.

NORTH CAROLINA

Teachers’ events protest education funds; McCrory says there are ‘legitimate gripes’
News & Observer, NC, November 4, 2013
North Carolina’s public schools became the latest battleground in the fight over public education Monday as teachers rallied across the state to protest actions of the General Assembly.

OHIO

One in three Cleveland area school districts have tax issues on the ballot
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 4, 2013
Twenty-one Greater Cleveland school districts are on Tuesday’s ballot seeking tax increases, and a dozen others are asking voters to renew existing taxes.

Teachers don’t show after charter fails to pay them
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 4, 2013
A new Columbus charter school failed to pay its employees last week, leading some educators to walk off the job, its founder said yesterday.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma school report cards to measure student growth, performance
Tulsa World, OK, November 5, 2013
Oklahoma’s second-ever report cards that grade public schools and school districts on a scale of A-F could be released at a special state board of education meeting on Wednesday. A new calculation method devised by state lawmakers was used this time around.

PENNSYLVANIA

Bethlehem Area School District introduces career pathways for students
Lehigh Valley Express-Times, PA, November 4, 2013
The Bethlehem Area School District plans to implement career pathways to allow students to focus on their interests and to produce stronger graduates.

Pa. Charter Reform Bill Advances, Draws Criticism
CBS Philly, PA, November 4, 2013
A bill to overhaul Pennsylvania’s charter school law would gut local control of the alternative schools by eliminating enrollment caps and giving universities the power to authorize new charters, opponents said Monday.

Pa. lawmakers to scrutinize charters’ cost to taxpayers
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, November 4, 2013
In North Hills School District, it costs taxpayers $10,336 a year to send a student to a charter school. A few miles south, Pittsburgh Public Schools would pay $12,871 a year — 25 percent more — to send a student to the same charter.

Parents, Teachers, Administrators Address Achievement Gap in Pittsburgh
WESA NPR, PA, November 4, 2013
“Where’s the moral outrage over the lack of equity in education,” asked Duquesne University Dean of Education Olga Welch who attended a recent community forum on the achievement gap held by 90.5 WESA.

TENNESSEE

Investor Townes Duncan accuses school board member of waging ‘vendetta’ against charters
The Tennessean Blog, TN, November 4, 2013
A prominent backer of charter schools has accused Metro school board member Will Pinkston of pursuing a “vendetta” against Nashville charters as he cries foul over what he calls baseless allegations.

WASHINGTON

Not many teachers can be evaluated using state test scores
Seattle Times Blog, WA, November 5, 2013
School districts across Washington state are starting to evaluate teachers and principals in new, more rigorous ways. Not surprisingly, that’s not easy.

WISCONSIN

Voucher plan needs changes
Editorial, Beloit Daily News, WI, November 4, 2013
THE IDEA TO provide taxpayer-financed vouchers to private schools gained traction in Wisconsin and around the country based on the premise beneficiaries would be kids from poor families in challenged urban areas for whom there was no other way to escape a failing public school.

ONLINE LEARNING

Appleton virtual school tops in state
WHBY, WI, November 4, 2013
An online school based in the Appleton school district is tops in the state, for virtual charter schools.

Classes minus the classroom: Students throughout Wisconsin say Grantsburg’s virtual charter school is making the grade
Eau Claire Country Today, WI, November 4, 2013
While most teens her age were seated behind a desk one recent Tuesday morning, Audree Marcis was finishing up the morning chores on her family’s dairy farm.

New virtual learning academy offered through Logan schools
News-Democrat & Leader, KY, November 4, 2013
The Logan County school district rolled out a new program just after fall break this year. The Logan Academy of Virtual Academics (LAVA)is an alternative method of working toward a high school diploma without actually having to attend Logan County High School.

School district staff review updated online education program
Williamsport Sun-Gazette, PA, November 4, 2013
A half dozen teachers and administrators from regional schools last week attended a rollout of the updated “BlendedSchools.net” online curriculum program, designed to make it more user friendly.

“School vs. School” – Who’s Making the Grade?
WTAJ, PA, November 4, 2013
Beyond the “bricks and mortar” public and private schools and home-schooling, there’s a growing number of charter and cyber charter schools. WTAJ News investigated how they compare and how they are competing with public schools for your child and the funding that follows them.

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Reformed Reformer Ravitch Defends Public Education
Editorial, Valley News, NH, November 3, 2013
You’ve probably heard about America’s failing schools, and about this reform, that reform and more reform. There’s always a simple new fix for public education — vouchers, choice, charters, standards, testing, accountability, merit pay, the Common Core.

UW deserves to authorize more charter schools
Appleton Post Crescent, WI, November 3, 2013
Your editorial, “Reject move toward independent charter schools,” attempts to convey the misconception that charter schools authorized by public universities would be void of any oversight, when it’s actually this type of system that produces schools of the highest quality and accountability for students most in need of other options.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Charter school on Westside creates extra traffic, ruffling neighbors
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 3, 2013
The friction in Del Rey is another dispute linked to ‘co-location,’ the practice of housing a traditional public school and a charter school on the same campus.

COLORADO

Colorado Is Asking Taxpayers for $1 Billion to Help Schools
New York Times, NY, November 4, 2013
In one poor school district in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, students take classes in a bus garage, using plastic sheeting to keep the diesel fumes at bay. In another, there is no more money to tutor young immigrants struggling to read. And just south of Denver, a district where one in four kindergartners is homeless has cut 10 staff positions and is bracing for another cull.

Financial backers widen reach in support of vouchers, school choice
Denver Post, CO, November 4, 2013
Financial backers who want school districts to adopt the anti-union, pro-voucher and school- choice model set by Douglas County have fanned out to other parts of Colorado, donating to candidates who are promising similar results.

CONNECTICUT

How Will Charter School Help Fix Absenteeism?
Letter, Hartford Courant, CT, November 2, 2013
The Hartford Board of Education is set to turn over Clark Elementary School to a private management company, Achievement First [Oct. 30, Connecticut, “Charter School Plan Spelled Out”. One reason given was excessive absenteeism at Clark.

DELAWARE

MOT Charter high school proposal set for public hearing
Delaware News Journal, DE, November 3, 2013
The proposed MOT Charter High School, which hopes to open in time for the 2015-2016 school year, gets its first public airing before the New Castle County Planning Board Tuesday night.

GEORGIA

Cluster creates private schools at public expense
Letter, Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, November 4, 2013
I have been a teacher for almost three decades and a parent for 18. I have served on the board of a DeKalb County charter school — the International Community School — and on the board of the tuition-free, private, Global Village School.

FLORIDA

School districts opposing legislation to standardize Florida charter applications
St. Petersburg Tribune, FL, November 2, 2013
Though the 2014 legislative session is months away, public and charter schools are already polishing their speaking points in their seemingly-endless battle over students and funding.

ILLINOIS

Illinois school districts adjust as minority student population surges
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 4, 2013
Illinois public schools are almost “majority minority,” a shift in demographics that is prompting suburban districts that once were predominantly white to change their curriculum and culture.

LOUISIANA

Fair Park HS students protest possible charter school takeover
KSLA-TV, LA, November 1, 2013
Dozens of Fair Park students protested Friday afternoon, after learning that their high school could be taken over as a charter school.

MASSACHUSETTS

Spirit of Knowledge charter school caught in Escobar dealings
Worcester Telegram, MA, November 4, 2013
The small charter school that collapsed last week amid a cascade of financial and organizational problems had long struggled with a deadly hole in its budget.

MICHIGAN

Expansion of charter schools fracturing community unity
Letter, The Ann Arbor News, MI, November 3, 2013
This is no longer true. With the advent of privately-owned, mostly for-profit – but publicly funded – charter schools the goal of communities working together for the common good is directly challenged.

There’s no one solution for keeping kids in school
Opinion, Detroit Free Press, MI, November 2, 2013
Seeing a classroom full of 4-year-olds learning the alphabet, singing songs about colors and drawing stick-figure family portraits gives me hope about the class of 2027. Detroit Public Schools’ plan to educate more pre-K students, add more art and music to its elementary schools and engage parents is an excellent way to ensure that more students make it to graduation day.

MISSOURI

Plans to open charter school in Riverview Gardens scuttled
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, November 2, 2013
A Missouri lawmaker is trying to launch the first charter school in the unaccredited Riverview Gardens School District but says his plans for next school year have fallen by the wayside because of the state Board of Education’s meeting schedule.

NEVADA

‘Classical model’ charter school OK’d for Las Vegas
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, November 1, 2013
A proposed Las Vegas charter school where students would learn Latin, read original Constitution documents and be required to acquire more credits to graduate than other schools won unanimous approval Friday from the state Public Charter School Authority.

NEW JERSEY

School election trend shows lack of involvement
Courier Post, NJ, November 3, 2013
A competitive school board election is hard to find these days.South Jersey voters will head to the polls Tuesday to vote for school board candidates who have no competition. Some smaller towns don’t even have names on the ballot, leaving the vote entirely up to write-ins.

NEW MEXICO

Evaluating … the evaluations: Critics decry new system for rating teachers; supporters say it helps kids
Albuquerque Journal, NM, November 3, 2013
While teachers and administrators at Albuquerque Public Schools have been vocal in opposing the state’s new teacher evaluation program – hundreds of APS teachers rallied at a protest attended by the superintendent last month – the reaction has been mixed elsewhere in the state.

NEW YORK

A Vote for Schools
National Review Online, November 4, 2013
On Tuesday, New Yorkers will head to the polls to elect Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s replacement. Barring a Miracle on Ice–type turn of events, Democrat Bill de Blasio — who has led Republican Joe Lhota by as much as 45 percentage points — is expected to take the helm.

De Blasio’s education agenda is full of hot air
Opinion, New York Post, NY, November 3, 2013
Bill de Blasio’s public-education agenda consists of seven boasts (things he says he’s already done, part of his record as public advocate) and 19 plans for future changes (“policies, agendas and programs” that he promises to “work tirelessly to implement”). Minus the overlap, they add up to two dozen ideas. Here’s how I score them:

Don’t demonize charter schools
Crain’s New York Business, NY, November 3, 2013
More than 50,000 students are on wait lists for the city’s 183 charter schools, and 30,000 more seats will be needed within four years. Yet despite charter schools’ popularity and purpose—to provide more education choices—they foster a fair amount of animosity. Critics question their effectiveness and complain of diversion of taxpayers’ money. Most visible among them is mayoral front-runner Bill de Blasio.

Local school leaders claim city plan based on bad numbers
Brooklyn Daily, NY, November 4, 2013
School’s in — like it or not! A city board approved controversial plans to install new schools inside the buildings of two existing Brooklyn public school, in spite of overwhelming public opposition and claims the proposal is based on flawed data.

NY begins first statewide school-to-job project
Wall Street Journal, November 3, 2013
The first statewide program in the nation using an innovative school-to-career program to link students with companies in search of specific job skills is set to begin in New York.

State audits find flaws in purchasing at two Buffalo charter schools
Buffalo News, NY, November 4, 2013
State audits of Health Sciences Charter School and King Center Charter School found that procurement policies at one school were weak and that officials at the other were not routinely following the purchasing policy.

NORTH CAROLINA

Choosing a charter
WRAL, NC, November 1, 2013
Just knowing that a school is organized as a public charter school is only the beginning of the research for a parent who is thinking about changing where their child learns, say experts interviewed for a story on the state’s growing number of charter schools.

Educators’ frustration over tenure law, impact justified
Editorial, Daily Advance, NC, November 2, 2013
Not surprisingly, the new law that ends teacher tenure in bits and pieces is causing confusion and consternation. It falsely portrays public education as broken in need of fixing. The fixing, however, is divisive and appears to be politically driven.

PENNSYLVANIA

A broken system: Law governing charter schools needs reworking
Opinion, Pocono Record, PA, November 3, 2013
The tension at the meeting reached a peak when one mother got to her feet. “We have to accept that what was done was wrong,” Gisela Vasquez said with frustration about the history of Pocono Mountain Charter School.

City woman addresses school crisis by opening her own
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 4, 2013
Katharine Savage is a devoted city dweller, a believer in public education who joined a civic group devoted to improving the neighborhood school she imagined her three children would someday attend.

Crooks give charters a bad name
Editorial, Pocono Record, PA, November 3, 2013
Joan Chalker, a former top aide in a suburban Philadelphia charter school, pleaded guilty last month to three counts of obstruction of justice. Chalker provides yet another example of unethical people who look at charters as cash cows.

Enrollment cap stuns school districts in ‘choice’ program
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 4, 2013
Sterling is one of many South Jersey districts grappling with news of the cap announced Oct. 3. Nearby Glassboro may have to cancel a specialized theater program, and other schools in the area are losing hundreds of thousands in expected income.

Pocono Mountain Charter School battle tab at $800K
Pocono Record, PA, November 4, 2013
The dollars spent in the war between Pocono Mountain School District and Pocono Mountain Charter School are nearing the $1 million mark, all footed by the taxpayer and with no end in sight.

RHODE ISLAND

R.I. wins high marks for use of teacher evaluations
Providence Journal, RI, November 3, 2013
Rhode Island is one of eight states in the nation that are ahead of the curve in using rigorous new teacher evaluations to prepare new teachers and help those already in the classroom become more effective.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Private-school choice gaining ground in SC
The State, SC, November 1, 2013
Support for private-school choice programs in South Carolina has increased dramatically in the last five years, but the public remains deeply divided over the issue, according to a new Winthrop Poll.

TENNESSEE

Herenton charter school’s final day ends hopeful experiment
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, November 1, 2013
Willie Herenton’s hopeful attempt to educate troubled youth ended quietly Friday when the charter schools he created to serve teens on probation closed, nine weeks after they opened at Northside High.

VIRGINIA

November Charlottesville officials try to explain drop in graduation rate
Daily Progress, VA, November 3, 2013
Charlottesville City Schools officials struggled to explain a slide in on-time graduation rates and a rise in the dropout rate for the class that entered Charlottesville High School for the 2009-10 academic years.

WASHINGTON

Five groups seeking charter school approval in Valley
Yakima Herald-Republic, WA, November 3, 2013
From a well-known early childhood education provider to a Texas-based nonprofit wanting to expand its brand to the Pacific Northwest, five nonprofit organizations are hoping to establish charter schools in the Yakima Valley.

WEST VIRGINIA

Teacher preparation needs reform too
Editorial, Charleston Daily Mail, WV, November 4, 2014
WEST Virginia’s programs to prepare elementary and secondary school teachers got mixed reviews last week in a report from a national group on teacher quality.

WISCONSIN

Charter schools offer a golden opportunity to help children
Fond du Lac Reporter, WI, November 3, 2013
As America struggles with high numbers of school drop outs and too few students who are proficient in math and reading, state lawmakers in Madison have a golden opportunity to strengthen one of the most promising approaches to better public schools for all Wisconsin children.

On vouchers, Republicans do for those who can do for themselves
Column, Wisconsin State Journal, WI, November 3, 2013
Few things are more likely to drive people into the arms of the anti-school-voucher crowd than the headline last week declaring nearly three-fourths of voucher recipients in the state’s expanded voucher program had already been attending private school.

ONLINE LEARNING

Goochland students test-drive iPads
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, November 4, 2013
Thanks to a pilot program, third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students at the school have been using iPads in the classroom and for schoolwork at home.

New Idaho academy gives drop-outs a second chance
Idaho Press Tribune, ID, November 4, 2013
On Thursday, Idaho Youth Challenge Academy staff will hold a community forum to explain what this new school is all about.

Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School to open satellite in Erie
Erie Times-News, PA, November 3, 2013
Pennsylvania’s largest online charter school has long had a marketing presence in Erie, recruiting students with billboards and ads.

Scranton’s new cyber school has nearly 50 students
Scranton Times-Tribune, PA, November 2, 2013
Some of the students returned to the district from cyber charter schools. Others had dropped out of high school or were considering dropping out. Some students, like Anthony, were just seeking flexibility and an option other than traditional high school.

State bills would replace school textbooks with technology
Gadsden Times, AL, November 3,2013
Textbooks have been a part of students’ lives since the days of the one-room school house. But several members of the Alabama Legislature say it’s time to throw out many of the books and replace them with laptops, tablets and other modern technology.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

Education secretary Duncan discusses plight of rural schools
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 1, 2013
Rural students need more access to college and technology to make up for the educational challenges they face, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told small-town teachers and school officials gathered in Columbus yesterday.

How Best To Teach the Teachers to Teach Our Children??
Letter, Wall Street Journal, October 31, 2013
Barbara Nemko and Harold Kwalwasser’s “Why Teacher Colleges Get a Flunking Grade”(op-ed, Oct. 24) is an inaccurate depiction of today’s colleges of education.

Is “School Choice” an Anti-Public School Sentiment?
Huffington Post, October 31, 2013
Do so many options undermine the purpose of public schools though? Should all of the energy that is going into building, naming and analyzing these other schools really be channeled into strengthening the basic schools that the government gave us?

Justice Isn’t Colorblind in New Orleans
City Journal, October 31, 2013
Across the country, the school-choice movement’s future may depend on the outcome of a Justice Department lawsuit charging that the Louisiana Scholarship Program—which provides vouchers for poor children to leave failing public schools—increases racial segregation.

More U.S. states leaning on teachers
CBS News, October 31, 2013
With an increased focus on the performance of the nation’s public schools, a growing number of states are scrutinizing the effectiveness of their teachers.

States make big gains in adopting more rigorous standards for teacher evaluations, study finds
Star-Ledger, NJ, November 1, 2013
More than half of the county’s states, including New Jersey, have adopted teacher evaluations that include student achievement as a significant factor for rating teacher effectiveness, according to a new national study.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

North Vallejo charter school wins $150,000 for new classes
Times-Herald, CA, November 1, 2013
Funds to integrate Common Core with college readiness
Students at Vallejo’s oldest charter school could soon take college courses on their own campus, thanks to a new state grant

FLORIDA

Board weighs new charter school
Tampa Tribune, FL, November 1, 2013
A proposed charter school that would focus on special education students could be headed toward approval by the Pasco County School Board.

Charter school retracts letter that threatens to remove students if they fail FCAT
Tampa Bay Times, FL, October 31, 2013
The Orange County school system is investigating a charter school that wrongly threatened to dismiss students for failing the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests, or FCAT.

IDAHO

Lawmakers on K-12 committee plan another dive into data
Idaho Press-Tribune, ID, November 1, 2013
In September, a legislative committee spent the better part of a day diving into a dry but crucial issue: computer systems designed to help track student growth and performance.

LOUISIANA

Algiers charter group looking outside the city
The Lens, LA, October 31, 2013
As many New Orleans charter operators begin to look to Baton Rouge as a site for future schools, the Algiers Charter Schools Association announced it is drafting a strategic plan to carry them forward, including the possibility of operating schools outside Orleans Parish.

MAINE

For first academic year, Maine’s two charter schools receive high marks
Bangor Daily News, ME, October 31, 2013
Maine’s first two charter schools sailed through their first-annual monitoring reviews by the Maine Charter School Commission with no major problems.

Maine lagging behind other New England states in education, reforms needed, new coalition study says
Bangor Daily News, ME, October 31, 2013
A coalition of business leaders and educators released a report Thursday morning showing Maine lags behind other New England states in terms of preschool enrollment, college graduation and reading and math proficiencies, among other things.

MARYLAND

Prince George’s holds Academic Fair, showcasing its school options
Washington Post, DC, October 31, 2013
Karen and Reynaldo Dudley of Glenn Dale were on the prowl Wednesday night, in search of a suitable educational program for their son, who will be a high school freshman next fall.

MASSACHUSETTS

A school’s awkward last bell
Editorial
Worcester Telegram, MA, November 1, 2013
The shutdown of the Spirit of Knowledge charter school this week was the obviously correct choice, however painful. With the academic year under way and time of the essence, the school had become too much about itself and too little about the students.

MICHIGAN

DPS enrollment surges after years of decline
Detroit News, MI, November 1, 2013
It’s a problem officials at Detroit Public Schools have wanted for the last five decades: schools bulging with students.

MISSISSIPPI

State proposes alternative high school graduation options
WTVA, MS, October 31, 2013
Before graduating, Mississippi high school students must pass a series of subject area tests, and over the years, those test have become more rigorous, preventing some students from graduating.

MISSOURI

Normandy school board reverses, will pay transportation costs for transfer students
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, October 31, 2013
One week after voting to not pay the transportation tab for students who have transferred under a state Supreme Court ruling, the Normandy School Board has reversed itself.

NEW JERSEY

State taps brakes on growth of ‘choice’ schools, including Hunterdon’s
Hunterdon County Democrat, NJ, October 31, 2013
Be careful what you wish for. New Jersey’s Interdistrict School Choice Program, which allows families in one school district to send their children to a school elsewhere, has been incredibly successful. So successful — and costly — that the Department of Education will limit its growth next year.

NEW YORK

Ed panel votes to open five new schools in Queens
Queens Time Ledger, NY, October 31, 2013
The city early Thursday morning approved a slate of new-school openings and co-locations, including several in Queens.

NYC school suspensions drop by 23 percent
Wall Street Journal, November 1, 2013
The number of New York City students suspended from school has dropped by 23 percent.

NORTH CAROLINA

Legislative cuts forcing teachers out of the classroom
WNCN, NC, October 31, 2013
North Carolina is beginning to see and feel the effects of the sweeping changes state lawmakers made to public education over the summer.

OHIO

For-profit charters wouldn’t share in levy money
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 1, 2013
If the Columbus City Schools levy passes on Tuesday, $8.5 million a year will be available for high-performing charter schools.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter school advocate to Philadelphia schools: Listen to parents
Pennsylvania Independent, PA, October 31, 2013
A charter school advocate argues the Philadelphia public school system can get rid of charter schools entirely if officials listen to the reasons parents pull their children out of schools.

Philadelphia Charter School students transform homes, lives
WPVI-TV, PA, October 31, 2013
Students from a North Philadelphia Charter school spent this Halloween beginning to transform a pair of dilapidated homes into affordable urban living.

Shrinking schools: Pittsburgh must study why enrollment is slipping
Editorial, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 31, 2013
The Pittsburgh Public Schools district didn’t need more disappointment, but that’s what it got in its 2013-14 enrollment figures.

TENNESSEE

Hopson’s Choice
Opinion, Memphis Flyer, TN, October 31, 2013
The SCS superintendent’s new plan may have broken the long-standing deadlock between the unified school system and the suburbs.

TEXAS

Dallas ISD Teacher Evaluation Plan Could End Pay Hikes Based On Seniority
KERA News, TX, October 31, 2013
Dallas Superintendent Mike Miles wants to end a long tradition of granting pay hikes based on seniority. Instead, he wants to base them on performance evaluations. This is just one proposed change in teacher evaluations creating ripples in the schools.

Longview ISD teachers to get incentive pay
Longview News-Journal, TX, October 31, 2013
Longview ISD trustees unanimously agreed Wednesday to dole out $64,343 in incentive pay to 16 middle school teachers whose students scored above their expected values in state reading or math tests this past school year.

VIRGINIA

Today’s top opinion: Wow
Editorial, Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, November 1, 2013
Stories regarding education “reform” often elicit shrugs. Officials vow to emphasize basics and to discourage truancy. They set unrealistic goals such as ensuring that every student entering high school will graduate, probably on time. Although The Times-Dispatch supports charter schools and other innovations, they, too, have become part of a mindless mantra. The saga has become a slog. An occasional item provokes a “Wow!”

WISCONSIN

Few new students using vouchers
Sheboygan Press, WI, October 31, 2013
Of the who received taxpayer-subsidized vouchers to attend three Sheboygan-area parochial schools this fall, only five were new to the schools, administrators said this week.