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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

Military bases open their doors to home-schoolers
Associated Press, October 28, 2013
A growing number of military parents want to end the age-old tradition of switching schools for their kids.

Obama, at Brooklyn School, Pushes Education Agenda
New York Times, NY, October 26, 2013
President Obama on Friday visited the innovative Brooklyn high school he praised in his State of the Union address this year, to deliver a message about the urgency of education reform in the global economy.

Preparing Teachers for the Classroom
Letter, New York Times, NY, October 28, 2013
Although I disagree with much of Bill Keller’s Oct. 21 column, “ ‘An Industry of Mediocrity,’ ” he raises critical issues about the preparation of teachers.

Surprising split in school reformer monolith
Washington Post Column, DC, October 27, 2013
Critics of current trends in education reform, such as historian Diane Ravitch, often complain that they are up against a phalanx of business executives and rich investors more interested in making money than improving schools.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Best classroom gizmo? A great teacher
Commentary, Los Angeles Times, CA, October 25, 2013
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s plan to supply every student with an iPad is, to be charitable, not going well. Before any more school districts decide to spend millions on high-tech gadgets, let me offer a few words of caution. Why me? Because I was there in 1986 when Apple computers were first lugged into elementary classrooms.

Parents move to bring Waldorf education to Modesto
Merced Sun Star, CA, October 27, 2013
Parents and children gathered Sunday in Modesto’s Freedom Park for fun classes based on an influential form of alternative education.

COLORADO

Community collaboration gets former dropouts back on track for graduation, jobs
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, October 26, 2013
The mission is to encourage high school dropouts to return to school, recover required credits to graduate and learn social skills and a trade that will lead to employment.

FLORIDA

As student count shows charter growth swing, district-run schools try new marketing tact
Palm Beach Post, FL, October 27, 2013
At Christa McAuliffe Middle School this month, eighth-graders bounced up and down on their exercise balls while doing their online U.S. History lesson and the class pet bunny, Ihop, bounced around the room.

Law Provides School Districts a Class-Size Loophole
The Ledger, FL
October 28, 2013
A recent change to Florida law is doing something lawmakers say they never intended: allowing school districts to skirt the toughest rules of the state’s class-size amend­ment.

INDIANA

School choice deserves bipartisan support
Opinion, Indianapolis Star, IN, October 26, 2013
Today, across Indiana, the classroom door opens to more than 20,000 children to attend a school of their parents’ choice. This open door represents more than access to a new school: It is a symbol of hope, the vehicle to opportunity and it is the real life existence to the dream described by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. more than 50 years ago.

ILLINOIS

Ousting of Thornton Township school board president adds to district upset
Chicago Tribune, IL, October 27, 2013
Frustrated by years of tumult and alleged mismanagement, the teachers union president ticked off a series of complaints at a recent south suburban school district board meeting.

UNO under the microscope
Editorial, Chicago Tribune, IL, October 28, 2013
The United Neighborhood Organization operates an excellent Chicago charter school network with a predominantly Hispanic student population. For the past year, however, the politically connected group has grabbed headlines for another reason: a growing scandal over how it doled out millions of dollars in a state grant to build schools.

IOWA

School choice is education reform that will help kids
Opinion, Des Moines Register, IA, October 27, 2013
Iowa’s reputation as a national leader in education quality has eroded in the past three decades. The home of the well-regarded Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and ACT college exams has not improved on those measures, and more, for approximately three decades.

LOUISIANA

Drop in high school grades sparks dispute
The Advocate, LA, October 27, 2013
Local and state school leaders disagree on whether changes in Louisiana’s rating system caused a dip in some high school letter grades.

John McDonogh High School continues to struggle under charter operator
The Advocate, LA, October 27, 2013
If the charter school movement in New Orleans brings to mind smiling children and leaping test scores, there is also a brutal Darwinism to it: Fail to raise those test scores fast enough, and you lose your school.

Transforming New Orleans schools
Editorial, Times-Picayune, LA, October 27, 2013
To fully appreciate the dramatic change in New Orleans public schools reflected in the state’s latest performance scores, you need to think back to before Hurricane Katrina. In those days — eight, nine, 10 years ago — it would have been unfathomable that city schools could move up so far, so quickly.

MARYLAND

City’s charter schools call new policy ‘discouraging’
Baltimore Sun Blog, MD, October 25, 2013
The Baltimore school board will no longer back loans for charter school facilities, a move that the city’s coalition of charter operators calls “short-sighted” and said could deter those looking to open the in-demand schools.

MASSACHUSETTS

Humility could save school
Column, Worcester Telegram, MA, October 28, 2013
The school could perhaps save itself if it acknowledges that it is not offering its students an education that is superior to what is being offered in the Worcester public schools, and that being a charter school does not make it immune to the challenges of inner-city schools. That way it could perhaps detect and fix its faults.

MICHIGAN

Detroiters on hook for millions used to renovate schools now empty or demolished
Detroit Free Press, October 27, 2013
Over the next 27 years, Detroit property owners will be on the hook to pay more than $437.8 million for renovations made to schools that now sit unused, trashed or demolished, a boon to scrappers and home to vagrants and feral cats.

Michigan considers grading schools from A to F
Detroit News, MI, October 27, 2013
Michigan’s new color-coded school accountability system already could be up for an overhaul just two months after its debut. Some lawmakers say schools should get A-F grades just like students do, so parents and others can easily understand performance.

NEW JERSEY

Christie or Bouno: will the real ‘education governor’ please stand up?
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 28, 2013
Governor and challenger are fiercely committed to education, without agreeing on any of a myriad of details

Dr. Bonilla: ‘In Camden Charter School achieving 100% graduation rates’
The Trentonian, NJ, October 27, 2013
Another approach Camden education officials and experts have welcomed are alternative routes to public education such as charter schools. Charter schools receive public funding but operate independently of local school districts.

NEW MEXICO

Grandstanding doesn’t serve NM’s students
Editorial, Albuquerque Journal, NM, October 27, 2013
New Mexico’s K-12 public education system has serious challenges at hand – its fourth-graders are dead last in the nation when it comes to vocabulary skills, just around half of its students can read and do math at grade level, three out of every 10 students don’t graduate high school in four years, and around 10,000 drop out each year.

NEW YORK

A better city for kids
Opinion, New York Daily News, NY, October 27, 2013
Bill de Blasio has courted opponents of charter schools, school performance accountability and other actions identified with Mayor Bloomberg. In last week’s debate, in fact, de Blasio said his greatest regret was putting too much faith in mayoral control of schools under this mayor.

Ed commissioner tells superintendents NY will cut back on tests
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY, October 26, 2013
Amid criticism over increased student testing, the state Education Department will look to limit some exams and offer additional grants to schools, state Commissioner John King said in a letter to superintendents.

The charter school that turned my life around
Opinion, New York Post, NY, October 27, 2013
I’m in my first semester of college. For millions of American teenagers, that’s a fairly common event. For me, however, it represents an unlikely dream for an African-American man from Bed-Stuy.

Top 16 NYC charater school executives earn more than Chancellor Dennis Walcott
New York Daily News, NY, October 27, 2013
Big paychecks are called ‘outrageous’ as New York City charter schools claim their students would face cuts if the schools are charged rent under a new mayor.

NORTH CAROLINA

Charging that charter schools ‘undermine’ Wake County’s magnet school program
New & Observer, NC, October 25, 2013
Are charter schools undermining programs such as the Wake County school system’s magnet school program?

Policy on tenure not meant to protect bad teachers from being fired
Star News, NC, October 26, 2013
A group of North Carolina teachers has wisely dropped plans for a one-day walkout to protest policies that threaten to undermine a public education system that has made broad gains over the past several decades.

Scott Mooneyham: Going to court over tenure
Column, Salisbury Post, NC, October 28, 2013
From Senate leader Phil Berger’s vantage point, the likelihood of a lawsuit probably comes as no surprise. Berger has been the primary force behind an effort at the North Carolina General Assembly to get rid of teacher tenure in the state.

OKLAHOMA

Public release of school grade cards delayed
Tulsa World, OK, October 26, 2013
The Oklahoma State Department of Education is delaying the public release of new school grade cards until early November “to ensure complete accuracy.”

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter school reform seems to be anything but
Editorial, Chambersburg Public Opinion, PA, October 28, 2013
The campaign for unfettered expansion of charter schools in Pennsylvania has greatly intensified given a bill pending in the state Senate that would give life to a large number of deeply ill-advised proposals.

RHODE ISLAND

Nowell Leadership Academy serves at-risk high school students
Providence Journal, RI, October 28, 2013
The Sheila C. “Skip” Nowell Leadership Academy is a new Rhode Island charter school that aims to provide a specific blend of support to at-risk high school students — especially teenagers who are young mothers and fathers.

Turning around a school
Editorial, Providence Journal, RI, October 27, 2013
Central Falls High School still has a way to go, three years after Rhode Island called for dramatic reform. But there are promising signs that School Supt. Fran Gallo, teachers and students are making progress.

TENNESSEE

Metro Schools must embrace change to reach lofty goals
Column, The Tennessean, TN, October 27, 2013
The first step MNPS should take in executing its strategic plan is to change its rhetoric and figure in how charter schools will be used to achieve its plan, instead of seeing them like a chancre that must be treated with strong medicine.

Teach For America wants to make Memphis a destination, not a stopover
Commercial Appeal, TN, October 27, 2013
Ashley Foxx was in graduate school at Columbia and on the path to a career as a college professor — or so she thought — when she met a former teacher with Teach for America.

WASHINGTON

Teachers jump-start turnaround at White Center Heights Elementary

Seattle Times, WA, October 26, 2013
For years, students at White Center Heights Elementary logged some of the lowest test scores in King County. Then teachers tried something new, and the numbers soared by double-digits after just one year. So what happened, and could it be replicated elsewhere?

WISCONSIN

Growth spurt
Sheboygan Press, WI, October 26, 2013
Since its modest start in 2001 with an enrollment of only 15 students, Lake Country Academy has seen tremendous growth.

Students first, then school — Some criticize rules allowing voucher schools to accept students before budgeting, planning
Journal Times, WI, October 26, 2013
If you want to open a brand-new voucher school in Racine, one of the first things you can do is begin accepting students.

WYOMING

40 percent of Wyoming schools not meeting expectations
Casper Star-Tribune, WY, October 26, 2013
The Wyoming Department of Education released its pilot report on school performance Friday, announcing that about 54 percent of Wyoming schools were meeting or exceeding expectations in the 2012-13 school year.

ONLINE LEARNING

Half of virtual charter schools judged in new report cards miss mark
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, October 27, 2013
Virtual charter schools are on the rise in Wisconsin, but so far new accountability standards that hold them to the same expectations as regular public schools do not paint a flattering picture.

Indiana students benefitting from online schooling
Journal and Courier, IN, October 27, 2013
Opened in 2012, Indiana Cyber Charter School is a statewide online learning program for students in kindergarten through grade 12. InCyber is authorized by Education One LLC, the charter school authorizing body of Trine University.

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

Vitter asks Holder to justify voucher challenge in N.O.
The Advocate, LA, October 24, 2013
U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., led a group of 30 GOP senators expressing outrage over the Department of Justice seeking to temporarily stall the state’s school voucher program because of existing desegregation orders.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Another fight brewing for parent trigger
Editorial, Los Angeles Daily News, CA, October 24, 2013
Opponents of a law that empowers parents with children in failing schools want to rewrite the rules — and they are on the hunt for an ally in Sacramento.

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy may leave in coming months
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 25, 2013
Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy has told some district officials that he may leave but has not submitted his resignation.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. charter school teacher Kena Allison surprised with $25,000 award
Washington Post, DC, October 24, 2013
The students of Anacostia’s Thurgood Marshall Academy filed into the school gym Thursday morning for a pep rally to celebrate their academic accomplishments over the past year.

Why did some charters opt out of D.C.’s enrollment lottery?
Washington Post Blog, DC, October 24, 2013
All DCPS schools and most charter schools have agreed to a common enrollment lottery that will take effect for school year 2014-15. The new process will cut down on duplicate applications and student reshuffling at the beginning of the year. Why, then, have some charters opted not to participate?

FLORIDA

Pinellas schools look to close racial achievement gap
St. Petersburg Times, FL, October 24, 2013
For years, Pinellas County Schools officials have struggled with the black students’ low achievement numbers; but, for the first time, administrators are now looking to the students themselves for help in overcoming the racial divide.

GEORGIA

School choice advocates bring in cash to Atlanta school election
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, October 24, 2013
Wealthy backers of Atlanta charter schools and school choice are pouring money into the city’s Nov. 5 Board of Education elections in an effort to put their slate of candidates in power.

IDAHO

Fulcher, Otter offer similar views on education
Idaho Press Tribune, ID, October 25, 2013
State Sen. Russell Fulcher is positioning for a run for governor, and he has been outspoken about the state’s controversial health insurance exchange. He calls it Gov. Butch Otter’s “regrettable decision to voluntarily thrust Idaho into Obamacare.”

INDIANA

John Mutz sees challenges ahead for charter schools
Opinion, Indianapolis Star, IN, October 24, 2013
Chairman of Indianapolis’ charter school board, Mutz has watched the General Assembly expand charter school options, reduce the influence of teacher unions and approve vouchers for private schools for low-income families.

LOUISIANA

New Orleans schools see major gains in 2013 letter grades
Times-Picayune, LA, October 24, 2013
The New Orleans education establishment celebrated news Thursday that its schools are better than they’ve been since the state started keeping track. From next to last in the state in the months before Hurricane Katrina transformed the New Orleans school system, the city is now right in the middle of the state rankings.

MASSACHUSETTS

State Education Commissioner points to takeover at Parker
South Coast Today, October 24, 2013
Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester, saying he is “alarmed” by a lack of clear progress at the John Avery Parker School, said Thursday that Parker is a likely candidate for state takeover.

MICHIGAN

Lawmaker questions school chief’s move to resume Common Core
Detroit News, MI, October 24, 2013
State schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan ordered the Michigan Department of Education to resume implementation of the state’s Common Core State Standards after the Michigan Senate adopted a resolution Thursday to restart funding.

MISSISSIPPI

Justices: Leflore schools can’t obstruct takeover
Clarion Ledger, MS, October 25, 2013
In an order issued Thursday, the state Supreme Court said the school system has no legal right to appeal an emergency takeover order from the governor. The ruling sets a precedent to block future challenges from other districts.

MISSOURI

Normandy school board votes against paying bill for transfers
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, October 25, 2013
The Normandy School Board on Thursday night voted not to pay the bill for its students who have transferred into higher performing schools.

NEW MEXICO

Fliers criticize old teacher evaluation
Albuquerque Journal, NM, October 25, 2013
A nonprofit group has caused a stir by sending out mailers that criticize the old teacher evaluation system used by Albuquerque Public Schools, while touting a new model being enacted by the state’s Public Education Department.

NEW YORK

Charter March Missed Mark
Huffington Post, October 24, 2013
Locating charter schools in public buildings is a big issue in New York City’s mayoral election. While of little consequence compared to other challenges facing the new mayor, so-called charter co-location is a litmus test for many voters.

NORTH CAROLINA

Eliminating teacher tenure
Opinion, The Daily Reflector, NC, October 24, 2013
Berger has been the primary force behind an effort at the North Carolina General Assembly to get rid of teacher tenure in the state. After two years of talk, the Republican-led legislature approved a measure that drops tenure and its extensive job protections in favor of employment contracts.

OKLAHOMA

TPS’ Keith Ballard pulls no punches on A-F in letter to parents
Tulsa World, OK, October 25, 2013
Tulsa Superintendent Keith Ballard sent a letter home to parents Thursday blasting the Oklahoma State Department of Education for “dysfunction and ineptitude” in the calculation of school report cards due out next week.

OREGON

Hillsboro school district may consider charter proposals
Hillsboro Tribune, OR, October 25, 2013
Public awareness of charter schools is a subject the Hillsboro School Board has wrestled with since the beginning of the school year, with board members voicing philosophical differences on whether the school district should actively seek charter school proposals.

PENNSYLVANIA

Educators lukewarm over a new system
Pocono Record, PA, October 24, 2013
The Pocono Mountain Charter School is an example of a school where student demographics may have played a role in the grade, said Kenneth Koberlein, former superintendent of the East Stroudsburg School District, who now works as a part-time consultant for the charter school’s education program.

Horrible New Bill Will Somehow Make PA Charter School Policy Even Worse
Keystone Politics, PA, October 24, 2013
Cash-strapped school districts and tapped out home and business owners have been begging the PA legislature to reform its broken charter school funding law.

School rallies expected this morning to protest loss of teachers
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, October 25, 2013
TWO PHILADELPHIA schools, facing the loss of teachers and the possibility of combined grades in one classroom, are expected to protest the district’s decision at separate rallies this morning.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC school-choice advocates share options with families
The State, SC, October 24, 2013
About 25,000 S.C. families soon will get a catalog in the mail with information about the various public and private-school choice options available to them.

VIRGINIA

Virginia gubernatorial candidates take different approaches to education
Washington Post, DC, October 24, 2013
Charter school advocates regularly spotlight Virginia as having one of the nation’s unfriendliest charter school laws, largely because local school districts have sole discretion to approve or deny charter applications.

WISCONSIN

Reject any move toward independent charter schools
Opinion, Sheboygan Press, WI, October 25, 2013
It’s legislation that might look fairly harmless, but it poses yet another threat to public education in Wisconsin.

ONLINE LEARNING

Catoosa County: Online academy pilot program tests for success
Walker Messenger, GA, October 24, 2013
Midterms tests are often cause to shudder. Yet students taking midterms with the Catoosa County school system’s new online academy were smiling Thursday afternoon, Oct. 17.

Hands-on outing connects kids from virtual school
U-T San Diego, CA, October 24, 2013
On Oct. 15, Bates Nut Farm hosted more than 25 students, ranging from kindergartners to fifth-graders, from Capistrano Connections Academy, a K-12 virtual public school. Students on the field trip included residents of San Marcos and Oceanside.

In The Best Interest Of Students: Blended Learning In Newark Charter Schools
Forbes, October 24, 2013
For a number of years, educators in both district and charter settings around the country have been leveraging advances in online-learning technologies to move toward blended-learning environments in their brick-and-mortar classrooms and schools to improve the educational opportunities for all children.

Parnell announces digital learning initiative aimed at rural students
Anchorage Daily News, AK, October 24, 2013
Gov. Sean Parnell on Thursday announced a digital learning initiative aimed at ensuring students have access to the best teachers available.

Should Michigan parents consider online charter schools?
Michigan Public Radio, MI, October 24, 2013
To parents who are seeking the best education for their children, it’s a whole new world out there and it can be a confusing one. No longer is it an automatic choice to send your child to the public school in your neighborhood.

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

Better News in New Study That Assesses U.S. Students
New York Times, October 24, 2013
Amid growing alarm over the slipping international competitiveness of American students, a report comparing math and science test scores of eighth graders in individual states to those in other countries has found that a majority outperformed the international average.

Seven States Agree to Pilot Teacher-Prep Changes
Education Week Blog, October 23, 2013
Seven states will overhaul their teacher-preparation and -licensing systems under a two-year pilot program created by Council of Chief State School Officers, the group announced today.

Teachers’ unions fight bill that would bar sex offenders from schools
FOX News, October 23, 2013
A bipartisan bill that would stop convicted sex offenders from working in schools has been passed by the House but is running into a foe as it heads to the Senate: major teachers’ unions like the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

Why Teacher Colleges Get a Flunking Grade
Opinion, Wall Street Journal
Let’s give up on education majors. Too much theory, not enough practical learning about teaching.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Segregating English learners in schools
Editorial, Los Angeles Times, CA, October 23, 2013
The Los Angeles Unified School District has little choice in the matter. Yet there is reason for concern.

COLORADO

Language-centric Fort Collins charter school working to find permanent home
Coloradoan, CO, OCtober 23, 2013
“It’s not ideal,” Spicer said, but it’s what the new, state-approved language-immersion charter school has to work with until it finds a permanent home in Fort Collins.

Rocky Mountain High Taxes
Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal, October 24, 2013
Colorado has veered to the political left in recent years, and on November 5 it may take another leap toward California. The Democrats and unions who now run state government are promoting a ballot initiative that would raise taxes and unleash a brave new era of liberal governance.

Star Academy likely to get second chance
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, October 24, 2013
Colorado Springs School District 11’s Space, Technology and Arts (STAR) Academy is likely to be granted a reprieve.

FLORIDA

Pasco district changes procedures for reviewing charter schools
Tampa Bay Times Blog, FL, October 23, 2013
Pasco County school district officials found several deficiencies in the Pepin Academies application to open a charter school in the county. In the past, that would have been enough for a quick denial, no questions asked.

INDIANA

Education strife reaches new low
Editorial, Journal Sentinel, IN, October 24, 2013
In terms of education policy, the battle should have ended last November, when Democrat Glenda Ritz soundly defeated incumbent Republican Tony Bennett to become superintendent of public instruction

ILLINOIS

Mayor Rahm has successfully pitted charters against public schools
Chicago Reader, IL
October 23, 2013
As you might imagine, I’ve been getting my fair share of abuse from charter school lovers who feel that last week’s post was unfair to their beloved movement.

LOUISIANA

Jindal alleges Obama ‘trying to muzzle parents’ in school voucher suit
Times-Picayune, LA
October 23, 2013
Gov. Bobby Jindal blasted the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday for opposing the request of four families to join the state as defendants in a federal lawsuit over school vouchers and desegregation.

Public school letter grades undergoing changes
The Advocate, October 23, 2013
While public schools will get two letter grades Thursday, this year’s rating system is aimed at being simpler than in the past, state Superintendent of Education John White said Wednesday.

MASSACHUSETTS

Education Reform Group Launches TV Ad For Connolly
WBUR, MA, October 23, 2013
An education reform group has bought time for a television advertisement supporting City Councilor At-Large John Connolly in the Boston mayoral race.

Spirit of accountability
Worcester Telegram, October 24, 2013
Worcester’s youngest public charter school, Spirit of Knowledge, hasn’t yet called it quits, but all signs point toward a very clouded future for the school.

Technology bill holds help for education
Editorial, Sea Coast Today, MA, October 24, 2013
High tech is coming into schools, but not fast enough. The national Common Core will use Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, exams to measure student achievement and teacher success in Massachusetts schools beginning this spring.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Lawmakers plan to introduce legislation aimed at Common Core
Concord Monitor, NH, October 24, 2013
More than half a dozen Common Core-related bills will come before the Legislature next spring, nearly all of them coming from Republican lawmakers who are skeptical of the education standards and aim to limit their reach.

NEW JERSEY

In ‘very strange’ twist, Jersey City school board slate ‘Children First,’ endorses teachers union (not the other way around)
Jersey Journal, NJ, October 24, 2013
Political observers watching the Jersey City school board race have been wondering: Will the local teachers union, which is negotiating a new contract with the school district, endorse anyone before the Nov. 5 election?

Newark needs next mayor to back charter schools
Opinion, Star-Ledger, NJ, October 24, 2013
Last week, Newark Mayor Cory Booker won the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s passing in June. Booker’s replacement in City Hall faces significant challenges on a number of issues, but the people of Newark have made one thing clear: They overwhelmingly support expanding the public charter school sector.

NEW YORK

Charter schools should pay rent
Letter, Newsday, NY, October 23, 2013
Profit-making groups have always paid the city for use of public school space [“De Blasio chides Lhota’s ‘Republican playbook,’ ” News, Oct. 16]. Most charter schools are extremely lucrative operations.

School Choice Has Limits
WNYC, NY, October 24, 2013
A key element of education reform in New York City over the past decade has been the expansion of school choice at all grade levels – and it’s been successful at shifting many students to better-performing schools. But an education marketplace isn’t without consequences, as five education experts explore in the second EdForum online debate.

Smaller is ‘better’ for NYC high schools
New York Post, October 24, 2013
Smaller is better — at least when it comes to New York City high schools.

NORTH CAROLINA

How ‘choice’ and vouchers mean condemning NC public schools
Opinion, News & Observer, NC, October 23, 2013
Since the passage of the Opportunity Scholarship Act in May, conversations have focused on the separation of church and state, costs of education and parental choice without any mention of the not-so-far-off history of school vouchers in North Carolina. Without incorporating our history into the debate, we lose out on important lessons from the past.

New teacher tenure law poses ‘tough’ task for county school board
Richmond County Daily Journal, NC, October 24, 2013
Members of the Sampson County Board of Education learned more about the recent changes to teacher tenure and the decisions the new law requires members to make concerning local teachers’ contracts during a Tuesday morning work session.

OHIO

Public-school task force examines open enrollment
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 24, 2013
Nearly 4 percent of public-school students in Ohio opt out of their neighborhood schools to enroll in other districts free of charge.

PENNSYLVANIA

Penn Hills charter school deals with administrative carousel
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 23, 2013
Students at the Imagine Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship soon will meet their fourth principal in less than a year.

RHODE ISLAND

Flynn should forget charter schools, fix town legal department spending
Letter, Valley Breeze, RI, October 23, 2013
Why in heaven’s name is the Democratic Minority Leader of the Lincoln Town Council, Mr. John Flynn, attacking the charter schools which by all accounts was and is a win-win situation for parents and students who have opted out of the public schools of our town?

SOUTH CAROLINA

Public opposition to S.C. private-school choice flares
The State, SC, October 24, 2013
Suspicion that private school choice would dismantle public education and revive a segregation-era expansion of private schools fueled criticism Wednesday of a state Senate bill that would expand the state’s first private school choice program.

TEXAS

False crisis designed to destroy public schools
Commentary, San Antonio Express News, TX, October 23, 2013
In the context of the Texas Legislature failing to treat public education as a priority when the majority of Texas students are Latinos and African-Americans, we need to be leery when people associate efforts to divert public education funding to charter and for-profit schools as “the civil rights issue of our time.”

WASHINGTON

BCS in favor of bond benefiting all schools
Letter, Los Altos Town Crier, October 23, 2012
In our discussions, the district has proposed a bond where more than half of its value would be dedicated to Bullis Charter School. Implicit in this proposal is the unfortunate position that charter school students would never be provided a fair share of public school resources unless and until such a bond measure is passed and new campuses are built.

WISCONSIN

Number of students choosing to leave OASD slows
Oshkosh Northwestern, WI, October 23, 2013
The drain of students from Oshkosh public schools through school choice programs has slowed for the first time in seven years, according to district records.

Reject move toward independent charter schools
Editorial, Appelton Post Crescent, WI, October 24, 2013
It’s legislation that might look fairly harmless, but it poses yet another threat to public education in Wisconsin.

ONLINE LEARNING

Are Virtual Schools Just Cyber Pie In The Sky?
Huffington Post, October 23, 2013
Sandy Hellebrand was concerned. She needed to find a school that could educate her son Gabriel, who has autism and was about to enter high school.

‘E-learning’ gives some students a lift
Daytona Beach News Journal, FL, October 24, 2013
Tristan Evans dreams of landing a college scholarship in the highly competitive world of women’s gymnastics almost as much as she works on landing back handsprings on the balance beam.

Grant could help Amherst take step toward blending learning
Lorain County Community Newspapers, OH, October 23, 2012
A revolutionary way of teaching may be in the works for Amherst school district if it receives a state grant, dubbed the Straight-A Fund.

IPS Board of Education approves virtual school agreement
Sun Sentinel, FL, October 23, 2013
Martha Guernsey was recognized as a community partner with Ionia Public Schools during the Ionia Public Schools Board of Education meeting on Monday.

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

Education reform groups call for transparency in No Child Left Behind waiver renewals
The Ann Arbor News, October 22, 2013
With Michigan and other states approaching the end of their waivers from federal No Child Left Behind requirements, a coalition of several education reform groups is asking U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to require states to prove their efforts are working.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

Parents describe benefits of Alabama Accountability Act in court filings
The Huntsville Times Blog, AL, October 22, 2013
Montgomery County Circuit Judge Gene Reese ruled Monday that three parents could intervene in the lawsuit backed by the Alabama Education Association ,which has fought the school choice law since it passed in February.

CALIFORNIA

Charter School Wars Heat Up; Can Cooler Heads Prevail?
San Jose Inside, CA, October 22, 2013
The Santa Clara County Office of Education hosted a special meeting Saturday for a charter school study workshop. Approximately, 50 community leaders, elected school board members and parents participated in a discussion on the role of charters and traditional public schools in meeting student academic needs. Even though all those who spoke appeared to have the right intentions, eliminating the achievement gap is a divisive issue.

FLORIDA

Listen to teachers
Gainseville Sun, October 23, 2013
It’s refreshing to hear from educators actually teaching the Common Core State Standards, rather than opponents spreading conspiracy theories about them.

Troubled Pinellas charter school plans a second location in Tampa
Tampa Bay Times, FL, October 22, 2013
A new charter school beleaguered by problems in St. Petersburg is planning to negotiate a contract to replicate the school in Tampa, its founder says.

ILLINOIS

New charter school proposed for Chicago’s Austin neighborhood
Austin Weekly News, IL, October 22, 2013
The Chicago Plan Commission voted Oct. 17, to rezone a closed lumberyard near Prosser Career Academy in order to build a new $20 million charter school in that section of Austin.

Report: community questions CPS’ charter school plans
Chicago Sun-Times, October 22, 2013
A group of parents and students are questioning Chicago Public Schools’ motive to expand charter schools in parts of the city, according to a report released Tuesday

LOUISIANA

Superintendent sees new Course Choice program in action
Times-Picayune, LA, October 22, 2013
State Education Superintendent John White visited two Course Choice sites in New Orleans on Tuesday to highlight the breadth of the new, pioneering program that lets high school students take free classes outside their home schools during the school day, often from private schools or commercial outfits.

WNBA star visits BR, promotes school choice
The Advocate, LA, October 22, 2013
Basketball star-turned school choice advocate Lisa Leslie toured three Baton Rouge schools on Tuesday, one public and two private, discussing her newfound cause, as well as the importance of setting goals, hard work and working well with others.

MASSACHUSETTS

‘Adults have failed the children’ at Spirit of Knowledge Charter School
Worchester Telegram, MA, October 22, 2013
The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education plans to monitor the troubled Spirit of Knowledge Charter School daily but took no action at the board’s meeting Tuesday.

MICHIGAN

Training teachers in the classroom
Editorial, Detroit News, October 23, 2013
An Oakland University partnership offers a smart approach by giving education majors more real-world experience

MISSOURI

Riverview Gardens looks to tough financial choices
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, October 23, 2013
Riverview Gardens School District officials outlined a series of proposed budget cuts Tuesday that would offset at least part of the $15 million in tuition and transportation costs associated with the school transfer program.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Education fight erupts among N.H. Republicans
Eagle Tribune, NH, October 22, 2013
A public disagreement over education is playing out among groups traditionally allied with Republicans in New Hampshire.

NEW MEXICO

Hundreds protest new teacher evaluation system, student testing
Albuquerque Journal, NM
October 23, 2013
Hundreds of teachers, parents and students rallied on a Del Norte High School field Tuesday afternoon in a spirited protest of the state’s new teacher evaluation program and methods of testing students.

NEW YORK

Lhota, in Acrid Second Debate, Turns Up the Heat on de Blasio
New York Times, NY, October 23, 2013
His mayoral ambitions slipping away, Joseph J. Lhota shed his sleepy style to unleash a ferocious attack against Bill de Blasio on Tuesday night in an acrid debate that descended into a free-for-all of interruptions, name-calling and indignant lecturing.

Poison apples
Editorial, New York Daily News, October 23, 2013
New York has released the first round of teacher performance evaluations produced by the hard-fought system for identifying the best and worst instructors — and the results are disastrous.

Some groups call for NY education chief’s job
Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2013
State Education Commissioner John King Jr. and the state Board of Regents said Tuesday they are pushing ahead with the new Common Core learning standards even as some teacher and parent groups call for King’s resignation.

Teachers Get High Marks
Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2013
More than 90% of New York state public-school teachers outside the city received high marks on a new teacher-evaluation system, while 1% were slapped with the lowest rating, officials said Tuesday.

OHIO

Charter Schools Would Benefit From Levy
WOSU, OH, October 21, 2013
We continue our week-long critical look at the Columbus Schools Levy voters will decide next month. Voters, for the first time, are being asked to approve local property tax funds for independently run charter schools. The Charter school sharing proposal is the most controversial policy aspect of the $75 million request.

Cleveland city councilmen, parents losing patience as school district struggles to fill teaching positions
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, October 22, 2013
City Council members and parents are losing patience with the Cleveland school district’s struggle to hire enough teachers to cover classes.

PENNSYLVANIA

Educators lukewarm over new system
Pocono Record, October 23, 2013
The Pocono Mountain Charter School is an example of a school where student demographics may have played a role in the grade, said Kenneth Koberlein, former superintendent of the East Stroudsburg School District, who now works as a part-time consultant for the charter school’s education program.

Former assistant principals became teachers and supervisors
Philadelphia Daily News, October 23, 2013
THE PHILADELPHIA Federation of Teachers and the school district are at odds over two recent teacher hirings that one union official says amounted to skipping over laid-off staff.

Looking into the fog of education funding
Column, Philadelphia Daily News, PA, October 23, 2013
The answer to whether Corbett drastically cut money for education or is funding schools at record levels (or both) depends on your definition of “education.”

TENNESSEE

Metro Poised for Deep Dive Into MNPS Operations
Nashville Scene, October 22, 2013
According to Metro documents, plans to audit Nashville Schools’ operations look to include everything from the district’s hiring and firing practices to how officials evaluate whether their programs are working.

UTAH

Principals request alternative grading system for Utah’s alternative high schools
Deseret News, UT, October 22, 2013
Many in the education community cried foul when Utah’s first school grades were released last month, criticising lawmakers for labeling schools as failing based solely on test scores and graduation rates.

WASHINGTON

Charter Schools ‘3.0:’ Would-be Founders Show Their Hands
Seattle Weekly, WA
October 22, 2013
Early Monday morning, Spokane resident Brenda McDonald caught a flight, slightly delayed by the October fog, for an 8 o’clock meeting in Seattle. Until last summer, McDonald was the principal of a public school, as were the two women she was coming to see, Bellamy-McClain and Maggie O’Sullivan. Then, they all left their jobs and leapt into the state’s emerging charter school scene.

Groups take steps toward new schools
The Olympian, WA, October 23, 2013
Parents and the education community got a glimpse Tuesday of the groups seeking to open Washington’s first charter schools next fall, though some say there isn’t enough time to establish an institution by then.

Seattle School Board candidates differ on influence of money, role of board
Seattle Times, October 22, 2013
The race for District 4, the only competitive open Seattle School Board seat on the November ballot, reflects concerns about the influence of big money and the board’s proper role in overseeing the superintendent.

WYOMING

Charter school sees growth in first year
PODER Academy has doubled in size, added fourth grade and moved to a new location in the old Triumph High building.

ONLINE LEARNING

Chicago-area Catholic schools offer online classes
Chicago-Sun Times, IL, October 22, 2013
As of Tuesday, the nation’s largest private school system is offering online classes to middle and high school students through its new Virtual Academy as a complement to existing classes taught at its schools, the institution announced.

Districts wants to develop blended learning program
Canal Winchester Times, OH, October 22, 2013
Groveport Madison schools Superintendent Bruce Hoover hopes partnerships in developing a blended learning environment could prove successful as the district aims for Straight A state grant funds.

Online credit retrieval program popular at alternative high school
Coeur d’Alene Press, ID, October 23, 2013
Thanks to Gradpoint, an online credit retrieval program, juniors and seniors can work at their own pace to catch up or move ahead in their pursuit of a diploma. The program is now offered to students at New Vision Alternative High School for the first time this fall.

PA Cyber wants 30-day review of Times information request
Beaver Times, PA, October 23, 2013
In response to a right-to-know request filed by The Times, the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School has said it needs 30 days to determine whether documents related to college course payments for students are public or even exist.