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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

Vouchers validated by most studies
Editorial, Orange County Register, CA, October 11, 2013
Though U.S. taxpayers spend billions of dollars to help families pay tuition to private colleges, hardly anyone questions whether the “investment” yields academic gains. Yet the public education establishment continues to question the efficacy of school vouchers for K-12 students. And some, if not most, of the news reporting we read on vouchers raise the same question.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

Parents defend private school tax credits
Tuscaloosa News, AL, October 11, 2013
A Mobile mom trying to protect Alabama’s private school tax credits said the money is allowing her sixth-grade son to avoid a failing public school and allowing her to make a choice that would have been unaffordable.

CALIFORNIA

Fixing Public Schools for Everyone
National Journal, October 10, 2013
Learning Without Limits would become a partner charter school, maintaining its ties to the district but gaining more autonomy over staffing. “You don’t just get to make a decision on my child’s future without my consent,” Cash says of the school district.

COLORADO

Colorado’s biggest teachers’ union on the defensive after breaking agreement not to sue the state
Daily Caller, DC, October 10, 2013
Colorado’s largest teachers’ union is on the defensive after being accused of violating an agreement not to sue to block the state’s nascent tenure reform law.

Vote to continue reforms in DPS
Editorial, Denver Post, CO, October 10,2013
For the third straight school board election in Denver, the stakes could not be clearer: Should the district continue on its current reform path or choose another direction?

FLORIDA

County’s magnet schools may have more freedom
Hernado Today, FL, October 10,2 013
Hernando County’s three magnet schools may soon have the ability to remove students with poor attendance, grades or behavior to their regularly zoned schools.

IOWA

Overton: School choice isn’t effective
Opinion, The Daily Iowan, IA, October 11, 2013
School choice is an insidiously popular option for trying to reform the education system. People like to think they’re in control, especially parents.

MINNESOTA

Diversity’s delicate mix in Minnesota charter schools
Editorial, Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN, October 10, 2013
There’s no disputing that many of Minnesota’s public charter schools lack racial diversity. Because some of them were started specifically for underserved, disadvantaged students, they enroll a majority of low-income kids of color.

NEW JERSEY

Accolades for Clifton charter school
Clifton Journal, NJ, October 11, 2013
No stranger to accolades, the Classical Academy has another reason to celebrate its excellence in achievement at the middle school level.

NEW YORK

Charter plan slammed at Roy H. Mann
Brooklyn Daily, NY, October 11, 2013
Hundreds of residents blasted a plan to shoehorn a charter school into Roy H. Mann middle school during a crowded hearing at the Mill Basin school on Tuesday night.

De Blasio vs. School Choice
Opinion, Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2013
Charter school advocates are up in arms about Democrat Bill de Blasio’s plans to make opening such schools more difficult if he’s elected mayor of New York next month. They are right to be upset, given that these schools have proven to be viable alternatives to traditional public schools, especially when it comes to serving low-income black and Hispanic kids.

Fed Up With Fund-Raising for My Kids’ School
Opinion, New York Times, NY, October 11, 2013
AMID the flurry of school notices coming home in my kids’ backpacks, the PTA donation envelope carries a nostalgic pang. I remember thinking, only four years ago as my first child entered school, that a modest contribution to the PTA was my only cash obligation to New York City’s public schools — beyond being a dutiful taxpayer, of course.

Parents, educators fed up with special treatment of charter schools
Column, New York Daily News, NY, October 11, 2013
The endless number of co-locations has exceeded the capacity of public school buildings and straining quality of life for city students. Some feel it will only end if Bill de Blasio becomes mayor.

Parents Navigate Polarized Charter Waters
WNYC, NY, October 11, 2013
Tuesday’s march included families from dozens of charters schools that delayed or cancelled the school day so that the event would be heavily attended. No expense was spared. Chartered buses, printed shirts and rally organizers helped create a political show of force.

Speaker Silver backs Bill de Blasio’s plan to reform elite public school admissions
New York Daily News, NY, October 11, 2013
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he believes we should ‘use other criteria in addition to testing’ to diversify the public school system and give everyone an equal opportunity.

NORTH CAROLINA

Students needed for Buncombe charter school
Black Mountain News, NC, October 11, 2013
Buncombe County’s first charter high school is poised to be up and running by this time next year — now all it needs is about 400 students to attend it.

OKLAHOMA

OKC charter school’s ills outlined by frustrated parents, teachers
The Oklahoman, OK, October 10, 2013
Enrollment at an Oklahoma City charter school being investigated for possible misconduct has plummeted from about 110 students to 30 since a popular principal was terminated last month, people close to the school said Thursday.

PENNSYLVANIA

Dues deduction exploits Pa. teachers, taxpayers
Commentary, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 11, 2013
Teachers from across the commonwealth, including from the Pittsburgh area, have joined together to protest being forced to finance a political organization that works against their own views and values.

N.J. rejects Luongo’s bid for arts charter
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 11, 2013
WASHINGTON TWP. The New Jersey Department of Education has rejected former Washington Township Mayor Gerald J. Luongo’s application for a performing-arts charter school in Gloucester County.

TENNESSEE

Hunt: Nashville at center of education reform
Nashville Ledger, TN, October 10, 2013
Shannon Hunt, who attended John Trotwood Moore Middle School, Hillsboro High School and the University of Tennessee, is a longtime public education supporter and comes from a family of public school advocates.

More TN teachers now approve of evaluation process
The Tennessean, TN, October 11, 2013
While more Tennessee teachers approve of a complex evaluation process — put in place with Race to the Top funding — a slim majority of teachers and administrators says part of the evaluation requires more effort than it’s worth.

TEXAS

Valley becomes proving ground for innovation in educational programming
The Monitor, TX, October 11, 2013
Data from last year showed an achievement South Texas had never before reached in education, but there was little, if any, news about it, said Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Superintendent Daniel King.

ONLINE LEARNING

Board president steps down at scandal-ridden PA Cyber school
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 11, 2013
The man who guided the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School’s board through a year of probes and staff turmoil resigned late Thursday, and the board accepted the resignation against the backdrop of an apparent state review of educational benefits provided to his daughter.

Campbell County pulls plug on virtual school
WBIR, TN, October 11, 2013
Director of Campbell County Schools, Donnie Poston, told WBIR 10News that the school board voted unanimously Tuesday night to withdraw the virtual school contract. The move by the school board comes after officials said they submitted all of the documentation to the state to get approval for the virtual school.

Charter school reform needed in Pa.
Editorial, York Daily Record, PA, October 10, 2013
The state House recently passed a package of changes to charter school regulations — which would be great and overdue news, save for the fact that the reform bill only makes temporary changes while a statewide commission continues to review the rules.

Defense spending: A cyber school should not cover lawbreakers
Editorial, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 11, 2013
Due to an ongoing investigation and criminal charges filed against its founder, the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School spent nearly half a million dollars on legal fees in the past year. That’s bad news for the taxpayers, all across Pennsylvania, who fund the public school.

Kan. school blends normal classroom, e-learning
Kansas Eagle, KS, October 11, 2013
The number of students enrolled at Andover eCademy at least part time has increased by more than 1,000 percent in the past year. And that’s not a typo: Last school year, 520 students took at least one class through the eCademy’s K-12 program; this year, that number is 5,030 – 381 full time and 4,649 who plug in to at least a class or two.

Setting record straight about Idaho Virtual Academy, K12
Opinion, Idaho Press-Tribune, ID, October 11, 2013
The Press-Tribune published an op-ed by Travis Manning recently criticizing the school I lead, the Idaho Virtual Academy, and its curriculum and education services provider, K12 Inc.

Virtual School enrollment shifts to local districts
Tallahassee Democrat, FL October 11, 2013
Changes made last legislative session are fueling a drop in projected enrollment at Florida’s award-winning virtual education program — and faster growth in the local franchises run by school districts.

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

D.C. officials say shutdown threatens students at charter schools
Washington Post, DC, October 9, 2013
D.C. officials warned Wednesday that they will have to close charter schools, turning away 35,000 students, unless President Obama and Senate Democrats relent and pass a bill carving the city out of the government shutdown.

How States Evaluate Teachers Varies Widely
Stateline, October 9, 2013
In the drive to hold teachers more accountable for student learning, states are revolutionizing how they evaluate teachers.

Racial trade-offs
Opinion, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 10, 2013
Black congressmen and black public officials in general, including Barack Obama, always side with teachers unions in their opposition to educational vouchers, tuition tax credits, charter schools and other measures that would allow black parents to take their children out of failing public schools.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Sunnyvale parent group hopes to create K-8 charter school
San Jose Mercury News, CA, October 9, 2013
A core group of Sunnyvale parents are looking to establish the city’s first K-8 charter school, after presenting a petition to the Sunnyvale School District’s Board of Education last month.

CONNECTICUT

Stop Trying To Put Band-Aids On Schools
Letter, Hartford Courant, CT, October 9, 2013
More Achievement First charter schools are wrong for Hartford [Oct. 3, letter, “Can’t Say No To A Good School”]. Achievement First’s Hartford Academy Elementary School lottery for various reasons tends to exclude children who need special ed, have behavioral disorders or are English language learners.

FLORIDA

Most Florida teachers still await pay raises; Collier, Lee teachers have tentative agreements
Naples News, FL, October 9, 2013
Fewer than one in five Florida school districts have reached agreements with local unions clearing the way for them to dole out Gov. Rick Scott’s much-touted teacher pay raises, according to a state survey.

ILLINOIS

Fiscal, educational reasons against U46 charter schools
Letter, Courier News, IL, October 10, 2013
Regarding the report on a proposed charter in School District U46: Any charter will divert desperately needed funding from our local neighborhood public schools. The U46 board should deny any charter application as a matter of basic fiscal responsibility.

LOUISIANA

Ruston school sues state, claims it should be allowed in voucher program
The Advocate, LA, October 9, 2013
A church-affiliated school in north Louisiana that was booted from the state’s voucher program in June after auditors said they uncovered problems is fighting back and suing the state Department of Education.

MAINE

School transfer decisions refocused on best interest of students
Penobscot Bay Pilot, ME, October 9, 2013
If superintendents reject a parent’s request to send their child to school in another district, they must now explain why that denial is in the child’s best interest

MASSACHUSETTS

Audit right to note effect of closure on GCAC families
Editorial, Gloucester Daily Times, MA, October 10, 2013
The report is in from State Auditor Suzanne Bump on the demise and considerable financial failings of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School.

MICHIGAN

Additional loan options being considered for Jackson Preparatory & Early College charter school building
The Ann Arbor News, MI, October 9, 2013
The leaders of Jackson County’s newest proposed charter school continue to seek funds for a building slated to open in September 2014.

MINNESOTA

Charting the right course: Local charter schools praised by state organization
Bemidji Pioneer, MN, October 10, 2013
Volunteers of America-Minnesota (VOA-MN) is one of the state’s largest health and human services organizations. With an annual budget of about $44 million, its services range from residential care and community-based services for the young and old to working with special-needs individuals toward self-sufficiency.

NEW JERSEY

Seven local school districts win approval for the state’s school choice program
Press of Atlantic City, NJ, October 10, 2013
Seven area school districts will join 27 new districts statewide that have been approved to accept students from outside their districts in 2014-15 as part of the school choice program.

NEW YORK

Bill de Blasio and Civil Rights
Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2013
It’s too bad every New Yorker who plans to vote in the city’s mayoral election Nov. 5 couldn’t be at the Brooklyn Bridge Tuesday morning. They would have seen the single most important issue in the race between Bill de Blasio and Joe Lhota. It’s not stop-and-frisk.

Bill de Blasio: Tests shouldn’t be only way kids get into NYC elite schools
New York Daily News, NY, October 10, 2013
In an interview with the Daily News Editorial Board, the Democratic mayoral nominee blamed the reliance on the admissions test for creating schools he claimed did not portray New York’s diversity. ‘These schools are the academies for the next generation of leadership in all sectors of the city, and they have to reflect the city better,’ he said.

De Blasio plan could close some charter schools: advocates
New York Post, NY, October 9, 2013
Some of the city’s best and brightest students would be left out in the cold under Bill de Blasio’s plan to charge rent to charter schools, educators and advocates said Wednesday.

OHIO

With first-day turnout of 40, school closes doors
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, October 9, 2013
College Hill Leadership Academy opened for its fourth year Aug. 21, full of promise.

PENNSYLVANIA

At symposium, a call for state education funding formula
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 10, 2013
If the Pennsylvania Legislature had not scrapped a statewide education-funding formula in 2011 it had approved three years earlier, the Philadelphia School District would have received $360 million more in state aid this year and would not be in a fiscal crisis now, an expert said Wednesday.

The School Performance Profile: The state’s failure
Editorial, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 10, 2013
For botching the debut of a new accountability system replacing No Child Left Behind’s Adequate Yearly Progress, Pennsylvania’s Department of Education deserves both an “F” and an “incomplete.”

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC Board of Education cool to plan to allow larger classes
The State, SC, October 9, 2013
A plan to allow larger K-12 class sizes and eliminate state rules dictating school staffing may be short-lived – even though S.C. lawmakers have decided to suspend those same rules each year since 2009.

TENNESSEE

Tennessee ranks high in list of teacher evaluation measures
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, October 10, 2013
Teacher evaluation systems in Tennessee and a majority of other states are more refined and useful than past models, according to a new national report released Wednesday by the National School Boards Association.

Should MNPS schools be more like MLK Magnet, or do we just need more magnets?
Nashville Scene, TN, October 10, 2013
As more than 200 people crowded into Metro’s Martin Center Sept. 25, for a town-hall meeting on the future of Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet school, one thing was certain: They like it the way it is.

VIRGINIA

Norfolk school board OKs plan for 10 charters
The Virginian-Pilot, VA, October 10, 2013
After a lengthy and, at times, tense discussion, the School Board voted in support of allowing Superintendent Samuel King to continue to develop his proposal to convert 10 public schools into charters.

WISCONSIN

Debate flares up again over Milwaukee Public Schools’ empty buildings
Journal Sentinel, WI, October 9, 2013
The battle over empty buildings in Milwaukee Public Schools heated up Wednesday in Madison during debate over a bill that would force the sale of more district facilities to competing school operators.

Low-scoring schools’ problems can be fixed, officials say
The Sheboygan Press, WI, October 9, 2013
Three schools within the Sheboygan Area School District that garnered low marks from state overseers recently presented plans for improvement to the Board of Education this week, saying their poor performance can be corrected.

ONLINE LEARNING

Cyber school legislation would send dollars back to districts
Tribune Democrat, PA, October 10, 2013
A bill heading to the Senate after passing the House in September would allow school districts across Pennsylvania to keep $41 million a year that they now pass along to cyber schools as part of the tuition for students who enroll online.

Pa. Cyber School releases new details on legal costs
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 9, 2013
The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School today released documents further chronicling nearly half a million dollars in spending on legal bills spurred by the federal grand jury probe of its founder and various subcontractors.

Virtual school out at least $20 million
Florida Current, FL, October 9, 2013
A change in the funding formula for public schools initiated by lawmakers in the spring has cost the Florida Virtual School $20 million and may be a factor in a 10-to 15-percent drop in enrollment.

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.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

CAVIT is now open to charters
TriValley Central, AZ, October 8, 2013
Thanks to a change in state law, charter high schools inside the Central Arizona Valley Institute of Technology boundaries – most of western Pinal County – now may send juniors and seniors to CAVIT’s central campus just like the high schools in the Casa Grande Union, Maricopa, Florence, Coolidge and Santa Cruz Valley public school districts.

COLORADO

Denver school board wants superintendent to make faster progress
Denver Post, CO, October 8, 2013
Academic performance has improved under the leadership of Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg, but the progress is not fast enough, according to an evaluation by the school board.

CONNECTICUT

Mom Glad For Hartford School Alternative
Letter, Hartford Courant, CT, October 8, 2013
The Hartford teachers union op-ed on charter school expansion, “Hartford Board Too Hasty On Charter School” [Sept. 29, Opinion], is not only insulting to the Achievement First educators who run these public schools, but more important, to those of us who have chosen to send our children there.

State OKs New Work Rules At “Local Charter”
New Haven Independent, CT, October 8, 2013
New Haven got the OK to launch another experiment in how a teachers union can work with the school district to try out new ways of running schools.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C.’s Oldest Charter School Faces Possible Revocation after Mismanagement of $3M
Washington Informer, DC, October 8, 2013
The D.C. Public Charter School Board may have to revoke the charter of its oldest school amid an investigation of alleged fiscal mismanagement involving more than $3 million in funds from city coffers.

Most D.C. schools to participate in unified enrollment lottery starting next year
Washington Post, DC, October 8, 2013
The majority of D.C. charter schools and all schools in the city’s traditional school system plan to participate in a single unified lottery to determine enrollment for the 2014-2015 school year, officials in the office of Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) said.

School choice may get easier; still tough between districts
Delaware News Journal, DE, October 9, 2013
Parents could find it easier to “choice” their students into other school districts, now that districts must bring themselves in line with new state laws.

Study: Boost D.C. schools funding by $180 million
Washington Post, DC, October 8, 2013
The District should boost funding for public education by more than 15 percent — or nearly $180 million — to ensure that schools have adequate resources to lift student achievement, according to the preliminary recommendations of a study commissioned by the city government.

ILLINOIS

Lawmakers end voucher study with few clear answers
Chicago Sun Times, IL, October 8, 2013
Indiana lawmakers are ending their review of the state’s school vouchers program with few clear answers.

MASSACHUSETTS

Students adrift due to bus driver strike, parents jump in
Boston Globe, MA, October 8, 2013
Some walked their children for miles across the city, while others borrowed cars, took public buses, or found friends and relatives to help out.

MINNESOTA

Study: ‘White flight’ gets a nudge from Minnesota charter schools
Start Tribune, MN, October 9, 2013
Findings show charter schools with mostly white student bodies are opening in diverse neighborhoods.

NEW YORK

Charter schools earn more than passing grade
Editorial, amNY, NY, October 8, 2013
Thousands of charter-school parents and students in matching green shirts marched across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall Tuesday and straight into a political whirlwind. If their goal was to flex some political muscle, it was mission accomplished.

Thousands rally against charter-school rent plan
New York Post, NY, October 9, 2013
Thousands of infuriated parents and children, staging one of the biggest demonstrations in years, converged on City Hall Tuesday to protest Bill de Blasio’s plan to make charter schools pay rent.

PENNSYLVANIA

Phila. has more than half of Pa.’s worst schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 9, 2013
More than half of Pennsylvania’s 92 worst-performing schools are in the Philadelphia School District, the state said Tuesday.

TENNESSEE

3 Nashville charters warned to improve or else face closure
The Tennessean, TN, October 9, 2013
A new Metro schools report released Tuesday warns three Nashville charter schools to improve their performance levels this schools or face possible closure in the future.

ONLINE LEARNING

Trombetta sister pleads to assisting brother in charter school fraud
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 8, 2013
A crying and at times inaudible Elaine Trombetta Neill admitted in federal court Tuesday that she helped her brother hide some of the money he was siphoning from the Beaver County cyber charter school he founded.

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

Harvard study shows that teacher quality affects student outcomes
Boston Globe, MA
October 7, 2013
Nearly everyone has an anecdote about the teacher that made a difference to them: the person who taught iambic pentameter or quadratic equations, but also inspired and imparted wisdom. But does teacher quality really matter, or do we simply have fond memories of our mentors?

Suspending mandated tutoring program under NCLB a good idea
Editorial, Star-Telegram, TX, October 7, 2013
The federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help low-income students improve academically, but after 10 years the program is clearly troubled.

Vouchers Can Help Kids and Big-City Politicians
Opinion, Wall Street Journal, October 8, 2013
In his former post as White House chief of staff, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel famously remarked: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” What he said next is less remembered: “And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”

STATE COVERAGE

COLORADO

Founders making cases for 2 proposed Fort Collins charter schools
The Coloradoan, CO, October 7, 2013
School board members will listen Tuesday as two groups argue for why they should be allowed to open what would be the seventh and eighth charter schools in Fort Collins.

GEORGIA

Common Core off to rocky start in Ga.
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, October 8, 2013
The controversy continues over Common Core educational standards with the prospect of a fight in the General Assembly over Georgia’s participation in the program.

IOWA

Majority of Iowans support school voucher program, survey says
The Gazette, IA, October 8, 2013
A majority of Iowans support a school voucher program in the state, according to a survey released today by a national school choice advocacy group.

LOUISIANA

Charter groups meet with community Monday night
The Advocate, LA, October 7, 2013
Nine charter school groups planning to open schools in Baton Rouge introduced themselves Monday night to about 125 people who gathered at Living Faith Christian Center.

MASSACHUSETTS

Mayor: Charter proposal would ‘devastate’ Fitchburg schools
Fitchburg Sentinel and Enterprise, MA, October 8, 2013
The School Committee plans to write a resolution opposing a new charter school that has been proposed in the city, citing a “fundamentally unfair” funding formula that could “devastate” Fitchburg Public Schools if it’s approved by the state.

MICHIGAN

EAA schools get tough on gangs in Detroit
Detroit News, MI, October 8, 2013
Relatively few young people join gangs in Detroit. Yet their presence has a tremendous impact inside the city’s high schools.

NEW JERSEY

Achievement gap widens in Montclair schools
Montclair Times, NJ, October 8, 2013
Board of Education members were told Monday night that economically disadvantaged blacks students are falling behind their white classmates at the elementary school level by as many as 60 percentage points in language arts and nearly 50 points in mathematics according to the most recent series of state-mandated standardized testing.

Booker touts Newark charter schools in new web video
Star-Ledger, NJ, October 7, 2013
Newark Mayor and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cory Booker is featured in a new video touting charter schools in New Jersey’s largest city.

Philadelphia-based charter network tries to cross river into Camden
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 8, 2013
Three years ago, the Mastery Charter Schools network out of Philadelphia gained its first foothold in New Jersey, earning state approval to open a school in Camden.

NEW YORK

New York City teachers, parents and students ‘charter’ school march
New York Daily News, NY, October 8, 2013
If elected mayor, De Blasio has vowed, he’ll end the practice of giving most charter schools rent-free space in city school buildings.

Warwick charter school idea bashed
Times Herald-Record, NY, October 8, 2013
Faced with the possibility that the Warwick School District might have to close yet another school if a proposed charter school is approved, a standing-room-only crowd turned out for a public hearing Monday night.

NORTH CAROLINA

Are Charter Schools A Threat to Traditional Public Schools?
WFDD, NC, October 7, 2013
The push for more competition and school choice in North Carolina is changing the state’s education landscape.

New School Vouchers Stir Controversy
WFDD, NC, October 7, 2013
More commonly known as vouchers, the program will provide taxpayer money for low-income families to pull a child from public school and place them in a private school.

State board of education member right to push for teacher raises
Editorial, Winston Salem Journal, NC, October 8, 2013
With more than 30 years logged as a commercial banker, John Tate knows much about the economy and how to attract good employees. He knows that North Carolina’s current teacher pay schedule won’t help grow the state’s economy or in the recruitment and retention of good teachers.

OHIO

Charter school recruiting “gimmicks” draw fire from church leaders who declare, “Our children are not for sale.”
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, October 8, 2013
A new charter school that parked an ice cream truck behind a Cleveland school district school this summer to attract students has angered neighborhood parents and a regional coalition of churches.

PENNSYLVANIA

Allentown School Board holds hearing on proposed arts elementary charter school
The Morning Call, PA, October 7, 2013
At a public hearing Monday, charter school veteran Thomas Lubben pitched his latest project — a K-5 fine arts school — to a skeptical Allentown School Board that questioned the school’s ability to deal with special needs students and provide an effective curriculum, among other issues.

Comprehensive reform needed on charter school legislation
Opinion, The Reporter, PA, October 7, 2013
STATE REP. Dan Truitt, R-West Chester, made a very good point while issuing a pithy sound bite about the Legislature’s effort to reform charter school funding.

Performance report shows mixed results for charter schools in York City
York Dispatch, PA, October 8, 2013
A statewide school performance profile website that went live Friday showed charter schools in York County scored better than many schools in the York City district, but far behind other schools in the county.

Put schoolchildren first
Letter, Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 8, 2013
I am the parent of two Philadelphia public school children, and I have seen what happens when decisions about our children’s education are based solely on seniority in hiring and transferring teachers.

VIRGINIA

Norfolk’s plan for struggling schools
WAVY, VA, October 7, 2013
Several of Norfolk’s schools have failed to meet accreditation standards this year, but the Superintendent has a plan to turn things around.

WISCONSIN

Proposal would allow charter schools to rise independent of districts
Journal Sentinel, WI, October 7, 2013
However, controversial legislation recently introduced by a Milwaukee lawmaker would allow new charter schools to open across the state without the blessing of local school districts. If it passes, the proposal by Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) would dramatically change the system for chartering schools in Wisconsin.

ONLINE LEARNING

Andover eCademy sees huge growth in past year
The Wichita Eagle, KS, October 7, 2013
The room at Meadowlark Elementary in Andover sounds more like an air-traffic control tower than an elementary school classroom.

PA Cyber shells out half a million in legal fees
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 8, 2013
The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School paid attorneys more than half a million dollars to protect its interests and those of current and former employees during a federal grand jury probe of the online educator’s subcontractors.

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

Closing achievement gap requires new thinking
Opinion, Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, October 6, 2013
For nearly 50 years, the federal government has tried — but largely failed — to find the right formula to close the achievement gap between the highest-performing students in America’s public school classrooms and those who get left behind.

Deciding Who Sees Students’ Data
New York Times, NY, October 6, 2013
WHEN Cynthia Stevenson, the superintendent of Jefferson County, Colo., public schools, heard about a data repository called inBloom, she thought it sounded like a technological fix for one of her bigger headaches. Over the years, the Jeffco school system, as it is known, which lies west of Denver, had invested in a couple of dozen student data systems, many of which were incompatible.

Getting better teachers requires thorough education reform
Opinion, Washington Times, DC
October 6, 2013
Teaching — or at least teaching well — should be thought of as a “trade” not a “job.” Those doing an everyday (or even complex) job require training, experience and steadiness to become successful. Teachers need all that as well, but it’s more nuanced.

How much more do home buyers pay for better schools?
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 6, 2013
Buyers pay $50 more per square foot for homes in top-rated school districts compared with homes served by average-rated schools, Redfin says. But its nonscientific study has limitations.

Making Sure Teachers Are Classroom-Ready
Stateline, October 7, 2013
Most candidates for a teaching license in the United States have to pass written exams testing their knowledge of teaching theory and specific subject areas, such as English or biology.

Pay Raises for Teachers With Master’s Under Fire
Wall Street Journal, October 5, 2013
The nation spends an estimated $15 billion annually on salary bumps for teachers who earn master’s degrees, even though research shows the diplomas don’t necessarily lead to higher student achievement.

The DOJ’s Attack on Vouchers
Opinion, National Review Online, October 7, 2013
Obama held out the promise of a post-racial, post-partisan presidency. He would not reflexively dismiss vouchers or play interest-group politics. Five years on, things have changed.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

In defense of charter schools
Letters, Los Angeles Times, CA, October 5, 2013
Re “The charter mistake,” Opinion, Oct. 1. To say I am disappointed by Diane Ravitch’s Op-Ed article is an understatement. Many of her assertions regarding charter schools are offensive to the parents and educators who have created some amazing charters.

L..A. events call for opposing corporate-style school reform
Los Angeles Times, CA, October 6, 2013
Los Angeles was the scene last week of two events that took on corporate-style school reform, which emphasizes competition and accountability and is promulgated by many state governments and the U.S. Department of Education.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Meridian Public Charter School shrugs off D.C. investigation into test tampering
Column, Washington Post, DC, October 6, 2013
Six months ago, a consulting firm working for the D.C. schools superintendent reported that staffers at the Meridian Public Charter School had tampered with their students’ annual city tests, raising scores significantly above what they would have been.

FLORIDA

Lawsuit aims to increase Florida education funding
Miami Herald, FL, October 6, 2013
A group of determined parents from four Florida counties say the state’s public schools are unsafe, underfunded, inefficient and ineffective.

IDAHO

Idaho education reforms — let’s get it right first time
Opinion, Idaho Statesmen, ID, October 7, 2013
The prosperity of Idaho’s businesses depends largely upon the preparation we provide to our children. All of our children need access to learning opportunities that will help them become good citizens with strong minds. And we must start in the early years.

LOUISIANA

Could vouchers improve integration?
The News Star, LA, October 6, 2013
A recent report runs contrary to a federal government lawsuit that alleges Louisiana’s voucher program interferes with court-ordered school integration plans.

KIPP, Dillard partner to keep students in college
Times-Picayune, LA, October 4, 2013
Dillard University plans Friday to announce it will guarantee full financial support for 10 students from KIPP charter schools each year, as part of KIPP’s effort to ensure its alumni finish college. The initiative will quadruple the number of KIPP alumni at Dillard in four years.

La.’s education reform all about fuzzy math
Opinion, Shreveport Times, LA, October 6, 2013
What has reform really meant for Louisiana beyond the fuzzy math and mysterious statistics recited by (Bobby) Jindal in his “Louisiana is Leading the Way in Education” op-ed of Sept. 15, (The Times-Picayune)?

MASSACHUSETTS

Bills would raise Mass. dropout age to 18
Westport News, MA, October 7, 2013
Massachusetts lawmakers are again considering proposals to raise the legal dropout age for public school students from 16 to 18.

NEVADA

Huge victory for school choice … but not in Nevada
Commentary, Elko Daily Free Press, NV, October 5, 2013
A gaggle of school voucher-haters – led by the Arizona School Boards Association and the Arizona teachers union — filed a lawsuit challenging the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program.

NEW JERSEY

Christie calls for school vouchers at Orthodox Jewish gathering in Teaneck
The Record, NJ, October 6, 2013
Governor Christie made a pitch Sunday for school vouchers — which he tried unsuccessfully to get through the Legislature — to an Orthodox Jewish group concerned about the cost of private religious schools.

Dozen applications put NJ schools in the running for ‘Race to the Top’ grants
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 7, 2013
While applications submitted by Newark and Paterson public schools got the headlines, another 10 New Jersey applications were also filed for federal Race to the Top funds, including two from charter operators.

NEW YORK

A walk on the child’s side
Editorial, New York Daily News, NY, October 6, 2013
Thousands of parents are set to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge Tuesday carrying an urgent message to the city’s next mayor, especially if it’s Bill de Blasio, as is looking increasingly likely.

Parents’ historic march for charter schools
Editorial, New York Post, NY, October 6, 2013
Some 10,000 parents, kids and teachers are about to make city history: On Tuesday, they’ll march across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan to demand an end to the war on charters.

Why I’m marching for charter schools
Opinion, New York Daily News, NY, October 6, 2013
I like a lot of what Bill de Blasio says. I believe he wakes up in the morning thinking about people like my family and our friends — people who are working hard but find it harder than ever to make it in New York.

MARYLAND

Changes to teacher and principal evaluations rolled out as part of Race to the Top
Carroll County Times, MD, October 7, 2013
Teacher and principal evaluations have changed starting this school year, and there still may be more adjustments as the state seeks an exemption from part of the evaluation requirement.

Fight to keep the Common Core from being implemented in schools
Baltimore Sun, MD, October 5, 2013
Robert Small, the Howard County parent whose name became known from Maine to California when he protested new nationwide education standards, is part of a chorus of increasingly strident voices rising up against the initiative — from both ends of the political spectrum.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter bill just first step
Opinion, Republican Herald, PA, October 7, 2013
Pennsylvania taxpayers have been paying charter schools, based partially on costs that they do not incur, for more than a decade.

I-LEAD school rocks downtown Reading’s redevelopment plans
Reading Eagle, PA, October 6, 2013
Spencer said the donation has thrown a wrench in the works for the city on several levels. The immediate impact, he said, is the loss of more than $150,000 in property taxes, which the nonprofit I-LEAD won’t have to pay.

More school choices arise as fewer students stay in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 6, 2013
As population declined over the past 30 years, so did the number of students enrolled in school from age 3 through the end of high school in both Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, each losing about one in five students.

SOUTH CAROLINA

School choice policies need strong analysis
Editorial, Aiken Standard, SC, October 7, 2013
The first steps toward a statewide school choice program in South Carolina may already have taken place.

Students need to be in schools that help them best develop
Editorial, Morning News, SC, October 6, 2013
Parents of special needs children and educators often are frustrated by the public school system that cannot meet the students’ needs.

TENNESSEE

ASD reshapes charter climate in Memphis; awaits school board response
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, October 6, 2013
Kindergarten at KIPP Memphis Academy Elementary is part performance with two teachers in each classroom playing off each other, their energy bouncing around the room like sparkles from a disco ball.

Haslam making progress on education
Editorial, Leaf Chronicle, TN, October 6, 2013
Gov. Bill Haslam is distinguishing himself as an “education governor,” with an array of programs to enhance learning opportunities for Tennesseans from preschool to college.

Springfield tests charter school waters
The Tennessean, TN, October 6, 2013
Two representatives of an Arkansas-based charter school company met with nearly 30 members of the Springfield community at a town hall meeting last month, explaining how they believe they could improve education in city schools.

TEXAS

Largely Unchecked, Tutors Got Millions Through Program
Texas Tribune, TX, October 6, 2013
In late September, a lesser-known No Child Left Behind program that set aside millions in federal funding to provide remedial help for struggling students from low-income families quietly came to a close in Texas.

WASHINGTON

Tri-City school districts not keen on charter schools
The Bellingham Herald, WA, October 5, 2013
Tri-City school districts are in no hurry to help create charter schools within their boundaries, at least not for the time being. Other school districts around the state, including the West Valley School District in Yakima, have at least expressed interest.

WISCONSIN

Lessons for Racine in New Orleans
Editorial, Journal Times, WI, October 5, 2013
A report in the Sept. 30 Wall Street Journal on the state of public education in New Orleans offered insight that should be useful for Racine as the debate over the school voucher program and charter schools continues in the coming years.

ONLINE LEARNING

School Board approves ‘blended learning’ IGA
Elburn Herald, IL, October 5, 2013
On Monday, the board officially approved the intergovernmental agreement for an online “blended learning” program with four other districts to form a Blended Learning Consortium.

School choice means progress by students
Letter, Cleveland Daily Banner, TN, October 3, 2013
Our families are particularly excited to begin another school year of online learning with the Tennessee Virtual Academy. We recognize that, like those in many other families, our children have very unique learning needs — and online learning is helping us meet the educational needs of our children in ways we never thought possible.

Volusia charter school applicant withdraws
Dayton Beach Journal-News, FL, October 6, 2013
Pivot, which offers a blend of online and face-to-face instruction, had hoped to open a school in Deltona next year that ultimately would serve more than 400 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

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

Obama’s pre-Kindergarten plan expensive, shows little results
Opinion, Albuquerque Journal, NM,, October 4, 2013
Throughout the spring and summer, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has traveled the country to build support for President Obama’s “Preschool for All” program. He has made stops in Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Wyoming, and several other states.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Gloria Romero Leaving One Ed Reform Group to Start Another
LA School Report, CA, October 3, 2013
Gloria Romero is stepping down from her position as Director of California Democrats for Education Reform (or DFER) to start a new organization, the Foundation for Parent Empowerment.

COLORADO

Colorado’s schools need Amendment 66
Editorial, Denver Post, CO, October 3, 2013
Colorado has been a leader in school reform for 20 years, ever since a charter school law passed in 1993 over the vociferous opposition of the teachers union and education insiders.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Ex-officials of Options Public Charter deny wrongdoing but cut financial ties to school
Washington Post, DC, October 4, 2013
Former managers of the District’s Options Public Charter School on Thursday denied accusations that they diverted millions of dollars from at-risk students to enrich themselves and their for-profit companies, but they agreed to sever their financial relationship with the Northeast Washington school.

FLORIDA

Under fire from Hollywood neighbors, school trims size of planned campus
Miami Herald, FL,, October 3, 2013
After hearing concerns from Hollywood residents who say traffic is already infuriatingly snarled, officials from Ben Gamla Charter School on Thursday said they plan on reducing the size of a proposed high school to hold 600 students instead of 1,050.

GEORGIA

BOE vote next for city schools charter application
Times-Georgian, GA, October 4, 2013
Following a year of community forums, internal conversations and countless hours of writing, Carrollton City Schools presented its charter system application to the Board of Education on Thursday for the first time in its entirety.

HAWAII

Hawai`i School Enrollment Up, Led by Charter Schools
Big Island Now, HI, October 3, 2013
The number of students enrolled in Hawai`i’s public schools was up by 1,818 over last year, an increase of 1.1%, the state Department of Education said Wednesday.

LOUISIANA

Ultimate hypocrisy at the Department of Education
Opinion, The Daily Advertiser, LA, October 3, 2013
So the DOJ is attacked for asking that White abide by desegregation orders, and is not denying choice to any parents. While White, on the other hand, is actually using a desegregation case to deny parents in St. Helena Parish any school choice. This is hypocrisy run amok.

Teachers to begin receiving merit pay based on 2013-14 evaluation scoresM
Times Picayune, LA, October 4, 2013
Now that Louisiana public school teachers have been given their first detailed job evaluation reports, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Educator Effectiveness initiative moves into full implementation: paying cash bonuses next year to the most effective instructors.

MARYLAND

Laurel charter school to build on successful math, science program
Maryland Gazette, MD, October 3, 2013
A Laurel charter school is expanding next school year, offering a math- and science-focused curriculum at a new school in northern Prince George’s for lower grade levels and at a new school in the southern part of the county.

MASSACHUSETTS

Applications to McAuliffe Charter School Up 185%
Framingham Patch, MA, October 4, 2013
Although the lottery will not be held until early 2014, applications for the Christa McAuliffe Regional Public Charter School are up 185 percent.

Boston Foundation launches prize competition for charter schools
Boston Globe, MA, October 4, 2013
The Boston Foundation has announced the launch of an annual prize competition to recognize excellence in a Greater Boston charter school.

MICHIGAN

3 Metro Detroit teachers finalists for Charter School Teacher of the Year
Detroit News, MI, October 3, 2013
Three Metro Detroit charter school teachers are among the finalists for this year’s Charter School Teacher of the Year announced Thursday by the Michigan Association of Public School Academies.

Trail to better education for son leads dad out of town
Detroit News, MI, October 4, 2013
Calvin McGhee’s son was in kindergarten when the Detroit native decided the city wasn’t the best place to raise a child.

MISSOURI

Lessons from Washington in Missouri’s school transfer crisis
Editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, October 4, 2013
The juxtaposition of two stories about major crises on the front page of the Post-Dispatch on Wednesday suggest why the state and national governments have become so inept at dealing with complicated topics.

NEVADA

A win for school choice, but not in the Silver State
Opinion, Nevada Appeal, NV, October 4, 2013
A gaggle of school voucher haters — led by the Arizona School Boards Association and the Arizona teachers union — filed a lawsuit challenging the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESA) program. Among other things, the voucher haters maintained that the voucher program violated the state’s constitution because the vouchers could be used in religious schools.

NEW JERSEY

Jersey City will get charter school next year devoted to health sciences
Jersey Journal, NJ, October 4, 2013
Jersey City will be home next year to a new charter school intended to focus on education in the medical sciences.

Newark Teachers Say ‘No’ on Grant
Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2013
The Newark Teachers Union on Thursday declined to sign off on a $30 million federal grant application, an indication of how fractured labor relations have become in New Jersey’s largest school district a year after Gov. Chris Christie and union leaders celebrated a new labor contract.

NEW MEXICO

Union wants debate on teacher evaluations
Albuquerque Journal, NM, October 4, 2013
The Albuquerque Teachers Federation has thrown down the gauntlet in the form of an invitation to debate the new teacher evaluation system, but New Mexico Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera said Thursday she’ll not be picking up the glove.

NEW YORK

Forty percent of Syracuse teachers need improvement plans, early evaluation results show
Post-Standard, NY, October 4, 2013
Forty percent of teachers in the Syracuse school district will have to develop improvement plans because they scored below “effective” on their state-mandated performance evaluations, according to preliminary results released by the district.

Study: Charter schools actually cheaper than public schools
New York Post, NY, October 3, 2013
Charter schools offered free space in city educational facilities are actually a bargain for New York taxpayers, a new study shows.

NORTH CAROLINA

State Board of Education adopts tougher testing standards
News & Observer, NC, October 4, 2013
The State Board of Education adopted passing scores for standardized tests Thursday after toying with the idea of lowering the bar so more students would pass.

State tests scores drop significantly in face of tougher standards
Winston-Salem Journal, NC, October 4, 2013
The State Board of Education accepted test scores Thursday that show double-digit declines in reading and math proficiency in the face of new, more rigorous exams.

PENNSYLVANIA

Assessing Philadelphia Public Schools’ Real Problems
Letter, Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2013
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, scolds the Journal’s editors (Letters, Sept. 30) for blaming public-school “Failure in Philadelphia”(Review & Outlook, Sept. 25) on unions.

Hundreds of letters decry problems at underfunded city schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 4, 2013
These were among 260 separate complaints sent to the state by parents of city schoolchildren that education advocates described at a City Hall news conference Thursday. The documents depict deficiencies in the city’s cash-strapped schools that they say violate state or federal laws.

Money isn’t everything
Editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, October 3, 2013
One silver lining of the crisis that Philadelphia’s schools have been staggering through has to be the activism it has generated for the proper education of the city’s children.

State public school scores to be released
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, October 4, 2013
With the scheduled release of state test results today, Pennsylvania will usher in a new way to rate public schools.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Orangeburg getting S.C.’s first single-gender charter school
Times and Democrat, SC, October 4, 2013
Garden City Preparatory Academy for Boys, which will be located in Orangeburg, has been approved as a school in the S.C. Charter School District.

TENNESSEE

Haslam sets goal for TN to become fastest-improving in teacher pay
The Tennessean, TN, October 4, 2013
Gov. Bill Haslam wants Tennessee’s teacher salaries to become the fastest improving in the nation, a long-term and still-unfunded goal that complements a controversial new pay plan that rewards educators who perform the best.

Tennessee Charter School Center hires John Little for community outreach
The Tennessean, TN, October 4, 2013
A native Tennessean and former political campaign manager is the new director of community engagement for the Tennessee Charter School Center.

VIRGINIA

Bridge gaps on education
Opinion, Fairfax Times, VA, October 4, 2013
In a gubernatorial race that has centered on gifts from political supporters, FBI investigations, extremism and social issues, it’s odd there hasn’t been more talk about education. In Fairfax County, where SOL test scores and Advanced Placement courses are always hot topics, education is a subject that will determine how more than a few ballots are cast.

WASHINGTON

Charter school proposals could pave way for education ideas
Editorial, Yakima Herald-Republic, WA, October 4, 2013
Washington state, ahead of the national curve in so many areas of public policy, is a notable laggard on the issue of charter schools. Washington finally joined 41 other states and the District of Columbia in authorizing the schools last November, when voters narrowly approved Initiative 1240.

State-evaluation system for teachers a good thing
Opinion, Seattle Times, WA, October 4, 2013
I teach in a school that has embraced the new state evaluation system for teachers. And maybe that’s part of our success, writes guest columnist Janice Maxson.

ONLINE LEARNING

City library to provide online tutoring to Chicago students
Chicago Sun Times, IL, October 3, 2013
Help is just a keystroke away for Chicago students stumped on homework assignments or struggling to grasp difficult concepts before a school test or college entrance exam.

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 now global, schoolyard fight on tap
Column, Washington Times, DC, October 2, 2013
It’s time. It’s time to look again at how the United States stacks against other countries in education now that Education Secretary Arne Duncan blew it on Monday.

Preparing Teachers for the Urban Classroom
Letters, New York Times, NY, October 3, 2013
Kudos to Joe Nocera for highlighting the overly theoretical approach to preparing teachers in most traditional programs. Without clinical training, one in three new teachers in New York City exits the school system within three years, stymied by poor preparation and the lack of continuing support.

Teacher status around the world: how the US stacks up
Christian Science Monitor, MA, October 2, 2013
The first-ever Global Teacher Status index finds significant disparities in how teachers are viewed. In China, teachers are as respected as doctors; in the US, they’re more often compared with librarians.

The Closing of Diane Ravitch’s Mind
Opinion, City Journal, October 3, 2013
Education writer and activist Diane Ravitch is very angry these days. She’s convinced herself and her followers that elements of the American corporate elite are working to destroy the nation’s public schools, the indispensable institution that has held our republic together for more than two centuries. According to Ravitch, these fake reformers—the “billionaire boys’ club,” as she calls them—are driven by greed: after destroying the schools and stigmatizing hardworking teachers, she says, they want to privatize education and reap the profits from the new market.

STATE COVERAGE

ARKANSAS

Voucher sins
Editorial, Arkansas Times, AR, October 3, 2013
An interim committee of the Arkansas legislature will study the subject of school vouchers before the next regular legislative session convenes in January 2015. We recommend the lawmakers take a look at Georgia, among others.

CALIFORNIA

Backers of proposed El Cerrito charter school ask panel to revive plan
Contra Costa Times, CA, October 2, 2013
Supporters and opponents of a proposed charter school to be located in El Cerrito argued their cases passionately Wednesday evening before the Contra Costa County school board that is considering the charter’s petition after the West Contra Costa school district denied it.

How Charter Schools Lose in SD Unified’s Land-Sale Spree
Voice Of San Diego, CA, October 2, 2013
The San Diego Unified School District has one of the largest real estate portfolios in town, but its assets are quickly dwindling as it sells off “excess” schools and properties to restore furlough days and pay for promised pay raises to teachers and staff.

Turning the city of L.A. into a classroom
Op-Ed, Los Angeles Times, CA, October 3, 2013
Mayor Eric Garcetti and the city would be further ahead by connecting schooling to out-of-school learning, with a program like Chicago’s badge system.

COLORADO

Suit filed to invalidate signatures for Colorado education tax measure
Denver Post, CO, October 2, 2013
A lawsuit challenging the petition-gathering process that got a $950 million school-tax proposal on the November ballot was filed late Wednesday, according to a group opposing the measure.

CONNECTICUT

When is school reform not reform?
Commentary, CT Post, CT, October 3, 2013
Connecticut has received some amount of attention lately for the so-called school reform movement being sponsored and directed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Commissioner of Education Stephan Pryor, and in Bridgeport, nationally known Superintendent Paul Vallas.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Bill aimed at curtailing ‘social promotion’ is endorsed by D.C. Council panel
Washington Post, DC, October 2, 2013
A bill that aims to end the “social promotion” of students in the District’s public schools passed a D.C. Council committee Wednesday.

D.C. charter school allegations raise questions for city officials
Editorial, Washington Post, DC., October 2, 2013
D.C. PUBLIC charter school officials say that, as soon as they learned about alleged fiscal irregularities at the city’s oldest charter school, they took swift action.

FLORIDA

Lee County Education: Pivot Charter charts course for success
News Press, FL, October 3, 2013
A Florida auditor general report released in late August found that Lee County had four schools with low finances and deficits in their net assets during the 2011-12 school year. But of the four, one remains open and has emerged in the black — Pivot Charter School in Fort Myers.

Miami-Dade schools enrollment up because of charter growth
Miami Herald, FL, October 2, 2013
Student enrollment has increased by the thousands this year in Miami-Dade schools — charter schools, that is.

INDIANA

State education board fixes school grading glitch
Munster Times, IN, October 2, 2013
The State Board of Education approved a plan Wednesday designed to produce more accurate ratings of Indiana schools with nontraditional grade groupings.

LOUISIANA

Caddo plan to close 3 schools, convert 17 others to avoid state takeover
Shreveport Times, LA, October 2, 2013
Caddo schools officials are planning to close three schools, revamp as many as 17 others and remove teachers and principals at failing schools in an effort to avoid state takeover of district schools.

John White’s hypocrisy runs amok
Opinion, The Advocate, LA, October 2, 2013
Governor Bobby Jindal, of Louisiana, along with his hand-picked Superintendent of Education, John White, and Republican leaders across the nation have sold the American people a false bill of goods.

Louisiana school voucher program improves racial integration in some cases, study says
Times-Picayune, LA, October 2, 2013
In some cases, students transferring out of public schools through Louisiana’s voucher program improved the racial balance in the schools they left behind, as well as that of the schools they entered, according to a study released Thursday by EducationNext.

MARYLAND

Laurel charter school to build on successful math, science program
Maryland Gazette, MD, October 3, 2013
A Laurel charter school is expanding next school year, offering a math- and science-focused curriculum at a new school in northern Prince George’s for lower grade levels and at a new school in the southern part of the county.

MASSACHUSETTS

Group says state should OK charter school expansion
Patriot Ledger, MA, October 3, 2013
Legislation that would allow for the expansion of charter and non-traditional public schools could help close the achievement gap among the state’s students, supporters say.

MISSISSIPPI

Charter push for Jackson’s Lanier High underway
Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS, October 3, 2013
It both hurts and haunts longtime Jackson physician Aaron Shirley, a proud 1951 alumnus of Lanier High, to see what has happened to his school.

Is takeover best option for school?
Natchez Democrat, MS, October 3, 2013
Next week, the fate of Morgantown Middle School will rest in the hands of the Mississippi Department of Education

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey Public Schools- separate, unequal, and unfair
Op-Ed, New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 3, 2013
Policies that disproportionately harm and disenfranchise communities of color are incapable of improving either educational achievement or equity

Newark schools could lose chance for $30M in federal funds after fight over ‘Race To The Top’ application
Star-Ledger, NJ, October 2, 2013
The Newark school district will likely lose any chance of winning roughly $30 million in federal funds because of a dispute between union and district officials over the city’s “Race To The Top” application.

State education department approves just three out of 38 charter proposals
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, October 3, 2013
On the eve of the November election, the Christie administration has approved just three more application for charter schools in New Jersey, continuing its on-again, off-again relations with the charter movement.

NEW YORK

City Council members call for end of Mayor Bloomberg strategy for closing struggling schools
New York Daily News, NY, October 3, 2013
Critics say the public doesn’t have enough input in the city’s current process, while Chancellor Dennis Walcott defended the practice and said the city has become a ‘model for urban school systems.’

De Blasio backers push Walcott to hit charter schools
New York Post, NY, October 3, 2013
City Council members urged the schools chancellor to throw in the towel now on controversial space-sharing arrangements between schools Wednesday in preparation for a likely Bill de Blasio mayoralty.

De Blasio eyes ex-Baltimore schools chief as next NYC chancellor
New York Post, NY, October 3, 2013
The former education boss of Baltimore is being pushed for schools chancellor if Bill de Blasio is elected mayor, The Post has learned.

Don’t undermine charter schools with rent
Editorial, amNY, NY, October 2, 2013
Charter schools are a success story in New York City, a town that’s desperate for educational progress. So why does Bill de Blasio want to make life harder for them?

Unchartered waters: Protestors vow no co-location at Seth Low Intermediate School
Brooklyn Daily, NY, October 3, 2013
Families and teachers from Seth Low Intermediate School decried a city plan to install a controversial charter school chain in the building at the corner of W. 12th Street and Avenue P during a raucous public hearing on Sept. 30.

OHIO

Panel to sort charter schools for Columbus levy funds
Columbus Dispatch, OH, October 3, 2013
A new citizen committee could begin drafting rules as early as next week to determine which charter schools could receive local tax dollars from a Columbus City Schools levy on the Nov. 5 ballot.

OREGON

Hillsboro School Board disagrees about whether to invite charter school applications
The Oregonian, OR, October 2, 2013
Is the Hillsboro School District hostile to charter schools? On Tuesday evening, its school board couldn’t decide.

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania House passes new school property tax reform effort on bipartisan vote; bill now moves to Senate
Patriot News, PA, October 3, 2013
The state House of Representatives has kick-started a new debate on property tax reform, with 149-46 passage of a bill Wednesday that would give local school districts the ability to shift their budgets away from heavy reliance on real estate taxes.

RHODE ISLAND

Escalating costs of Mayoral Academy bear watching
Letter, Daily Breeze, RI, October 3, 2013
I don’t know how or why the decision was originally made to send Lincoln students to the Blackstone Valley Prep Charter School, but as a taxpayer of Lincoln I resent the town having to pay $1.3 million for charter school tuition.

WASHINGTON

Official: W.V. keeping charter school options open
Yakima Herald, WA, October 3, 2013
West Valley School District is considering becoming a charter school authorizer, but Superintendent Mike Brophy said Wednesday that members of the school board are uncertain about moving forward with the plan.

WISCONSIN

Bill would allow UW schools, technical colleges to authorize charter schools
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, October 2, 2013
All University of Wisconsin System campuses, state technical colleges and educational service agencies would be able to authorize charter schools under a bill to be discussed by a legislative committee Thursday.

ONLINE LEARNING

Ambridge develops new online, arts academy
Beaver Times, PA , October 3, 2013
George Davis, in the early weeks of September, found some challenges in his senior class schedule, so he shared them with a guidance counselor at the Ambridge Area High School.

Cyber student’s request to attend Franklin Regional dance prompts policy discussion
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 2, 2013
Franklin Regional officials plan to develop a policy to enable students who attend charter schools or who are homeschooled to attend school dances sponsored by district organizations.

Education reform bill aims to recoup tuition paid to cybers
York Dispatch, PA, October 2, 2013
A bill to reform funding for cyber charter schools passed in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, a move that has public and cyber school officials weighing the merit of the legislation.

Funding, virtual charters, building alliances set as priorities for D300
Elgin Courier News, IL, October 2, 2013
The Community Unit School District 300 Board of Education recently approved five legislative priorities for the legislatively-active district to tackle this school year.

Learning and removing barriers
Opinion, Black Hills Pioneer, SD, October 2, 2013
Blended learning is the new catch phrase to enhancing the student experience in the classroom. In essence, blended learning can give the classroom teacher greater control over the curriculum and how that material can be delivered to allow student collaboration.

Second-class students?
Opinion, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, October 2, 2013
The recent passage of state House Bill 618 is devastating for Pennsylvania public cyber school children. HB 618 would cut the funding for our public cyber schools by as much as 10 to 15 percent. This loss would be devastating for our schools.

Virtual academy provides an alternative to home-schooling, traditional schooling
Kitsap Sun, WA, October 2, 2013
Washington Virtual Academy is one of a handful of digital public schools that offer online learning options for students and families who choose not, or are unable, to take part in traditional schooling or home school.

Virtual school’s first year brings hurdles to jump, leaps of success
Star-Telegram, IN, October 2, 2013
In its first year, iUniversity Prep, an open enrollment online school in the Grapevine-Colleyville school district, provides an alternative to brick-and-mortar public schools. The virtual school currently enrolls grades 6-11, but plans to add a grade level each year beginning with 12th grade next year, then down to third in the years that follow.