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NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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

Exploring Charter Schools
WVTF, June 10, 2013
Not all minds learn the same way. However, when it comes to education, millions of children across the U.S. are swept into the same system of state and federal mandates—with expectations of positive academic results and developing a sense of individuality.

Teachers’ teachers face test as scrutiny of education rises
Hechinger Report, June 9, 2013
When Candice McQueen learned last fall that a controversial statistical analysis had declared her teacher-training program relatively weak in the area of social studies, she wasn’t surprised.

Under siege—and in bid to stay relevant—teacher unions evolve
Hechinger Report, June 9, 2013
he Hawaii State Teachers Association’s weekly briefing meeting had turned into a battle-planning session; the conference room became a war room. It was late November. Officials were digging in for a protracted fight with the state over teacher evaluations and compensation.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Gilbert school board member accuses Arizona board of bias
Arizona Republic, June 8, 2013
A Gilbert Public Schools governing board member wants the district to pull out of the Arizona School Boards Association, claiming the organization is politically biased and at odds with her positions on key issues.

CALIFORNIA

West Sac Prep’s first graduating class has stellar goals
Modesto Bee, June 10, 2013
How many high schools can boast that its entire graduating class will go to college, a vocational school or the military after commencement?

Inglewood schools’ slide steepens despite state takeover
Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2012
Inglewood Unified’s finances worsen despite a state takeover and an infusion of cash; there is even talk of dissolution.

COLORADO

‘Providing choice for kids’: Any student can go to innovation schools
The Pueblo Chieftain, June 9, 2013
Pueblo City Schools’ (D60) decision to turn three academically struggling middle schools into innovation schools is bringing more choices in education.

New Denver Public Schools remedial classes aimed at college success
Denver Post, June 10, 2013
KayLynn McAbee is one of thousands of high school graduates across the state slated to take costly remedial courses that do not count toward her college degree.

CONNECTICUT
Dunbar to be run by charter school company
CT Post, June 8, 2013
Dunbar School was ushered into the state’s Commissioner’s Network last week, a designation that will mean a new approach to learning and quite possibly new teachers.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Backed by Marriott and Hilton, Hospitality High School moves to a permanent location
Washington Post, June 9, 2013
Since its opening in 1999, more than 2,000 students have graduated from Hospitality High School, the first industry-specific public charter school to open in the District.

FLORIDA

Large charter school businesses draw criticism
St. Augustine Record, June 9, 2013
He was at the April 1 meeting in support of a bill that would create a slate of accountability measures charter schools would have to follow. The former education commissioner and state senator from Clay County now lobbies for a host of charter school companies and organizations.

ILLINOIS

Suburban group takes aim at state charter school commission
Daily Herald, June 9, 2013
A suburban group wants to get rid of the Illinois State Charter School Commission, which they argue shouldn’t be able to overturn decisions made by local school districts.

INDIANA

What consequences?
Editorial, Fort Wayne Journal- Gazette, June 10, 2013
The ISTEP+ fiasco last month makes this year’s test scores unreliable. As a result, poor-performing charter and voucher schools are given a reprieve under the flawed system that was supposed to hold all schools accountable. In 2014, however, taxpayers and voters can hold accountable the elected officials who promised better schools and delivered only poor choices.

Merit pay doesn’t come easily, or soon
Journal and Courier, June 9, 2013
It is common knowledge that teachers are under scrutiny now more than ever, thanks to annual, more intensive evaluations required beginning this year

Cap on funds for dropout schools could slow growth
News Sentinel, June 9, 2013
Supporters of charter schools that have helped hundreds of Indiana high school dropouts earn their diplomas are questioning state lawmakers’ decision to cap funding for the ventures.

LOUISIANA

Education overhaul slows in 2013 session
The Advocate, June 9, 2013
With two notable exceptions, the 2013 Legislature was marked by the death of a wide range of public school bills, including a push to delay the key impact of Louisiana’s new teacher evaluations.

MAINE

Charter school commission wise to move slowly
Editorial, Portland Press Herald, June 7, 2013
Making hasty choices now could waste taxpayers’ money and students’ precious time.

MICHIGAN

Detroit finds new uses for old buildings
Associated Press, June 10, 2013
When it was a high school, the auditorium and gymnasium at the Burton International School thrummed with the sounds of students gathering for assemblies or bouncing balls. These days, film dialogue and soundtracks fill the nearly 100-year-old building, which has found new life as a movie theater.

MISSOURI

Flare-up raises questions about charter school governance
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 10, 2013
Dianne Gray and other parents felt powerless last week when the governing board of Grand Center Arts Academy fired their beloved principal and replaced her with an administrator with allegations of scandal in her past.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

House, Senate budgets differ on Medicaid, personnel, charter schools
Editorial, Nashua Telegraph, June 9, 2013
The budgets passed by the New Hampshire House and Senate have much in common: They both increase funding for higher education. They both support an increase in the cigarette tax. They both support more spending for the mentally ill. They both count on millions from moving Medicaid to a managed care system. They both increase overall state spending by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

NEW JERSEY

Charter Tech high school / Filling a need
Editorial, Press of Atlantic City, June 10, 2013
We have never been wholehearted supporters of charter schools. By design, they siphon funds from public schools and undermine an educational system that a democracy should want to nurture.

New Charter School Bill Previews Before Committee
New Jersey Spotlight, June 10, 2013
Almost two decades since New Jersey’s first charter school law was enacted, the Legislature’s latest stab at a law for the state’s growing charter movement will get its first public airing today. But it is far from a done deal and — and even if it’s embraced by the panel — skirts two of the most contentious charter school issues.

Hard-Fought Election Raises Hopes for Jersey City Public Schools
Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2013
A bitterly fought mayoral election has helped renew attention on the troubled public-school system here, an institution that has tempered this city’s surging growth over the past decade.

NEW YORK

Who’s Minding the Schools?
Opinion, New York Times, June 9, 2013
IN April, some 1.2 million New York students took their first Common Core State Standards tests, which are supposed to assess their knowledge and thinking on topics such as “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and a single matrix equation in a vector variable.

NORTH CAROLINA

Randolph County’s first charter to open in August
Winston Salem Journal, June 10, 2013
Randolph County’s first charter school will open in the fall under the guidance of two area high school teachers.

Blacks split on school choice
Commentary, Fayetteville Observer, June 10, 2013
School choice has become the new dirty word. In the minds of some, school choice will promote resegregation, race wars, ethnic cleansing and genocide.

OHIO

Charter aims to fill Mary Immaculate’s role
Toledo Blade, June 10, 2013
Public school in Toledo looks to serve special-needs students as Catholic K-8 closes

PENNSYLVANIA

Avon Grove Charter School graduates grateful for unique education
Avon Grove Sun, June 7, 2013
Members of Avon Grove Charter School’s Class of 2013 made their way through monsoon conditions into the International Cultural Center Auditorium at The Lincoln University on Friday night to celebrate their graduation.

School districts have more freedom to cut teachers
Morning Call, June 10, 2013
When Superintendent Susan McGinley was asked last spring to explain Easton Area School District’s plan for eliminating 49 teachers, she picked up a stack of paper and started reading.

More than 3,700 school employees are being laid off
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 7, 2013
Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. announced Friday that the School District had begun mailing layoff notices to 3,783 employees, informing them they will lose their jobs July 1 because of the district’s financial crisis.

Magnet schools in Pittsburgh lose their racial balance
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 9, 2013
While magnet schools in Pittsburgh Public Schools historically ensured racial balance, city magnet schools now operate as schools of choice without any guarantees or deliberate measures racially balancing them.

TENNESSEE

Charter school vote scheduled
The Daily News Journal, June 9, 2013
The Rutherford County Board of Education will vote on its first charter school application this week.

TEXAS

Transformative Charter Academy gives out 40 diplomas to students
Killeen Daily Herald, June 9, 2013
People told Jonathan Kitchens he would be in jail by the time he was a high school senior. Despite negative comments and criticism, Kitchens walked across the stage at Pershing Park Baptist Church on Saturday and graduated with about 40 other students from Transformative Charter Academy.

WASHINGTON

Senate proposes votes on budget, school policy shifts
Seattle Times, June 9, 2013
One proposal would give principals the option of rejecting teachers who are appointed to their schools. Another would place limits on the rate of growth for non-education spending in the state budget

WISCONSIN

Wauwatosa school officials protest budget measure on charter schools
Journal Sentinel, WI
June 9, 2013
They say new authority for UWM to operate independent public schools encroaches on their turf

Most charter schools escape DPI evaluation
Wausau Daily Herald, June 9, 2013
Most of north central Wisconsin’s charter schools are not evaluated under the state’s new accountability system, so people have to dig to find out how they are performing.

Vouchers, GOP share supporters
Herald Times Reporter, June 9, 2013
Gov. Scott Walker and Republican legislators are using research paid for by the same special interest groups that support many GOP candidates to push for a statewide expansion of the school voucher program, campaign finance reports show.

Voucher opposition all about the money
Letter, Capital Times, June 9, 2013
Dear Editor: I had heard for years that the resistance to the school voucher system was all about the money. The current spate of articles and letters condemning this plan proves it. Each student is seen as X amount of state dollars; therefore the voucher program is perceived as robbing the public school system of X dollars for each student who does not attend public schools.

ONLINE LEARNING

To grow online learning, reform the rules
Column, Daily Progress, June 9, 2013
In late April, the Carroll County School Board voted to close Virginia’s largest full-time statewide virtual school, leaving only a small school of 130 students in King and Queen County offering full-time online options to the state’s 1.2 million public school students.

Teacher, students come together in new ways in online program
Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 9, 2013
Bryce Lyle is the kind of high school teacher most kids will never see. A nine-year veteran of Chesterfield County Public Schools, he does his thing, the students do theirs and they come together only when assignments are due and exams are given.

New eAcademy in Redlands will offer online schooling
San Bernardino Sun, June 8, 2013
In a medium-sized classroom behind Orangewood High School, seven teachers were discussing how to promote the recently launched Redlands eAcademy.

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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

The Corporate Takeover of Public Education
Huffington Post, June 6, 2013
Independent research in recent months has documented that the nation’s wealthiest philanthropic foundations are steering funding away from public school systems, attended by 90 percent of American students, and toward “challengers” to public education, especially charter schools.

Parties offer competing plans to overhaul ‘No Child’ education law
Washington Times, June 6, 2013
After years of failed attempts to replace the widely maligned No Child Left Behind education law, lawmakers are giving it one more try.

Common Core supporters back moratorium on new tests’ high stakes
Washington Post Blog, June 6, 2013
A coalition of education organizations and unions that support the Common Core State Standards issued an open letter on Thursday backing a moratorium of at least one year on the high stakes associated with new standardized tests being given to students that are aligned with the Core.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Troubled Oakland charter schools to stay open
San Francisco Chronicle, June 6, 2013
A trio of controversial Oakland charter schools slated for closure at the end of this month can continue to operate as they move through the appeal process, an Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday.

CONNECTICUT

School suspension statistics skewed
Stamford Advocate, June 7, 2013
School suspensions are down statewide, but that is of little comfort if you are a boy, a minority student or attend a state charter school.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Prince George’s among counties unable to develop new teacher performance guidelines
Washington Post, June 6, 2013
Prince George’s and six other counties in Maryland have been unable to agree with the state department of education on the best way to use student test scores to measure teacher performance in time to meet Friday’s deadline for submitting revised evaluation plans.

FLORIDA

Rowlett prepares to count parent ballots in charter decision
Bradenton Herald, June 7, 2013
Whether Rowlett Elementary School will convert from a public school to a charter school is being decided this week as parents cast their ballots on the issue

GEORGIA

Classical Academy Charter School welcomes new director
Savannah Morning News, June 7, 2013
Savannah’s new charter schools have hired administrators and are preparing for opening day.

INDIANA

New Richmond charter school seeks 300-plus students
Palladium-Item, June 6, 2013
Richmond’s new charter school for high school diploma-seeking adults is building a staff and making plans to recruit more than 300 students for this fall while details of a contract with Richmond Community Schools is being considered this week.

ILLINOIS

CPS enrollment figures for closing schools reliable?
Chicago Tribune, June 7, 2013
Chicago Public Schools touted a smooth start to the school closing process this week by announcing that 78 percent of students at schools being shut down have been enrolled at another school, most at the one designated for them by the district.

Group to meet on charter school commission
Kane County Chronicle, June 7, 2013
The meeting is to consider a campaign to overturn Senate Bill 79, which transferred charter school authorization from the Illinois State Board of Education to the commission itself. Among other things, the law allows the commission to reverse a school board’s decision to deny a charter school proposal.

LOUISIANA

5 groups seek to open new Orleans Parish School Board charters
Times-Picayune, June 7, 2013
Five groups have filed letters of intent to open new charter schools under the auspices of the Orleans Parish School Board. If any are approved, it will mark a continuing and gradual expansion of charters in the small system. A sixth group was interested but was deemed ineligible.

Parent trigger bill passes
The Advocate, June 7, 2013
Lawmakers gave final, unanimous passage Thursday to the creation of a “parent trigger” law for poor-performing schools in the Recovery School District.

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston Teachers Union Calls on Lawmakers: Keep Caps on Charter Schools
Open Media Boston, June 7, 2013
The Boston Teachers Union called on lawmakers Tuesday to keep limits on the number of charter schools in the Bay State.

MICHIGAN

Pontiac schools inch closer to state takeover
Michigan Public Radio, June 7, 2013
Pontiac schools are a step closer to a possible state takeover. A state board found Pontiac schools in “probable financial stress,” following a review led by the state schools Superintendent Mike Flanagan. The board’s finding triggers a more comprehensive review of the district’s finances.

Michigan students may get more flexibility
Detroit News, June 7, 2013
The state House passed a legislative package Thursday that proponents say would loosen Michigan’s Merit Curriculum requirements to allow some high school students more flexibility to pursue technical or arts careers.

MISSOURI

Kansas City Public Schools face possible state intervention, education reformers eye ballot initiative
Missouri Times, June 7, 2013
When a stripped-down version of an education reform bill, Senate Bill 125, passed through both chambers of the General Assembly near the end of the 2013 legislative session, everybody knew what part of the state would be most impacted.

NEW JERSEY

Two Tenure Law Sponsors Now Seek Delay in Tougher Teacher Evaluations
New Jersey Spotlight, June 7, 2013
Concerns about the upcoming launch of a new teacher evaluation system in New Jersey have caught the attention of some high-ranking legislators, with two Assembly leaders offering up a resolution to delay some key pieces of the new requirements.

NEW YORK

Harlem Children Zone’s Promise Academy charter school, built with $60M from city, opens
New York Daily News, NY
June 6, 2013
Some neighbors don’t see the benefit, as most slots are for students from outside the immediate area. Mayor Bloomberg hails public-private charter partnership.

Teachers irate: Students’ hours in lab could affect evaluations
Journal News, June 6, 2013
High school science teachers had better hope their students did their lab work this year, or teachers could see their own grades lowered.

Teacher evals a ‘gotcha’ program
Letter, Newsday, June 6, 2013
As a retired teacher, I have nothing to gain or lose with this new evaluation system [“Teacher evaluations will factor into mayoral race,” Editorial, June 4]. But as a former teacher, I know future generations have everything to lose and nothing to gain. There is nothing in this evaluation system that helps teachers improve. It is only a gotcha system.

NORTH CAROLINA

Year-old private school seeks charter approval
Herald Weekly, June 7, 2013
The next step in the evolution of the Pioneer Springs Community School happens June 18 when its board meets officials in Raleigh to receive final approval to become a charter school.

Charter school leader response to criticism from district
WECT, June 6, 2013
The man who founded and operates three charter schools in the Cape Fear region is responding to criticism from Brunswick County Schools.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City should overhaul bad public schools, allow successful charters to multiply
Editorial, The Oklahoman, June 7, 2013
A major selling point for charter schools is their accountability. In exchange for operational flexibility, charter schools face strong penalties for failure — including closure. This is why the Oklahoma City School Board’s recent decision to close the Marcus Garvey Leadership Charter School isn’t a defeat for charter schools, but a victory.

PENNSYLVANIA

Wissahickon Charter to get $1.5 million grant to expand
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 7, 2013
The Philadelphia School Partnership will announce Friday that it is awarding a $1.5 million grant to Wissahickon Charter School in Nicetown to help it expand.

City charter school backers are back
Lancaster New Era, June 6, 2013
A Manheim Township businessman apparently is again trying to get a publicly funded charter school started in Lancaster city.

RHODE ISLAND

Ma href=”http://www.golocalprov.com/news/reaction-to-gists-extension/”target=”_blank”>Reaction to Gist’s Extension
Go Local Prov, June 7, 2013
Following one of the most divisive debates on education in recent history in Rhode Island, the Board of Education yesterday voted to renew Education Commissioner Deborah Gist’s contract for two years.

TENNESSEE

The Achievement School District is helping the education reform effort here continue in high gear
Editorial, Memphis Commercial Appeal, June 7, 2013
The education reform effort in Memphis is continuing in high gear with the announcement Monday that the Achievement School District will authorize nine charter schools to take over more city schools in the fall of 2014.

UTAH

Davis ATC prepares to open charter school for career seekers
Standard-Examiner, June 6, 2013
Davis Applied Technology College this fall will open a charter school for high school students seeking not only a diploma, but technical training likely to lead directly to a job with a good paycheck.

WASHINGTON

State lawmakers need to keep focus on education
Editorial, Seattle Times, June 6, 2013
In the waning days of an overtime session, Washington lawmakers need to prioritize education in a sustainable, gimmick-free budget

WISCONSIN

Schultz worries about ‘opening the floodgates’ with vouchers
Dubuque Telegraph Herald, June 7, 2013
Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans who crafted a deal allowing the statewide expansion of private school vouchers stood by their plan, despite promises from a moderate GOP senator who said he and others would attempt to limit the program’s growth.

ONLINE LEARNING

New Hope-Solebury to add cyber charter school
Courier Times, June 6, 2013
Cyber charter schools, which educate students online, are growing in popularity and drawing ever more money away from school districts.

Reform rules in order to grow online learning
Opinion, Fairfax Times, June 7, 2013
In late April, the Carroll County School Board voted to close Virginia’s largest full-time statewide virtual school, leaving only a small school of 130 students in King and Queen County offering full-time online options to the state’s 1.2 million public school students.

Home-schoolers gather for training, graduation
Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 7, 2013
Barr was among many like-minded parents who flocked to Richmond on Thursday for the start of the 30th annual Virginia Homeschool Convention, which is expected to draw more than 14,000 people from Virginia and surrounding states to the Greater Richmond Convention Center through Saturday.

More virtual learning options
Opinion, The Herald, June 6, 2013
Classrooms of today have no blackboards, overhead projectors or pull-down maps of the world. Tomorrow’s classrooms might have no walls.

Tigard-Tualatin Online Academy offers summer school to Beaverton kids
The Oregonian, June 6, 2013
The Tigard-Tualatin Online Academy has opened its summer school program to middle and high school students from both inside and outside the Tigard-Tualatin School District.

NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for 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

G.O.P. Bill on Schools Would Set Fewer Rules
New York Times, June 6, 2013
Signaling a preference for a much smaller role for the federal government in public schooling, Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, is introducing legislation on Thursday to revise No Child Left Behind, the Bush-era education law.

Jumble of education topics facing Congress
Associated Press, June 6, 2013
From pre-kindergarten to No Child Left Behind to college loans, students in every age group are suddenly finding the spotlight on Capitol Hill.

‘Hope Against Hope’: A community’s painful struggle over school reform
Book Review, Washington Post, June 5, 2013
In her new book, veteran education journalist Sarah Carr attempts to tell the controversial story of New Orleans schools post-Hurricane Katrina from the ground up, focusing primarily on affected families and educators.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Vail schools may convert to charters
Arizona Daily Star, June 6, 2013
Vail School District is considering converting some of its schools to charter schools in a move to bring in more state funding.

CALIFORNIA

Oakland charter school seeks court order to stay open
KTVU, June 6, 2013
An Oakland charter school that has high-achieving students but allegedly engaged in financial improprieties has gone to court to try to keep its doors open.

Time to make Brown’s school funding reforms work: Editorial
Los Angeles Daily News, June 5, 2013
The new school funding formula proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown is a thoughtful approach, more logical and democratic than its predecessor, and a good start on reforming a broken system.

New leader for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s schools
Los Angeles Times, June 5, 2013
One of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s closest advisors will become the new leader of the nonprofit overseeing public schools under the mayor’s control.

CONNECTICUT

Study shows school suspensions still too high
Republican American, June 6, 2013
In Connecticut, boys are twice as likely to be suspended from public schools as girls. Black and Hispanic boys are two to three times more likely to be suspended than white peers.

Education funding fares well in state budget
Greenwich Times, June 5, 2013
Education reform efforts advanced last year by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy appeared to have survived a struggling economy.

DELAWARE

Charter school reform bill advances in state House
News Journal, June 6, 2013
A bill aimed at reforming the state’s charter school system is headed to full House, despite objections that the measure needs public input and will hurt traditional schools.

FLORIDA

Rowlett parents bullish on charter conversion
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 5, 2013
Parents set on converting Rowlett Elementary to a charter operation say their proposed budget shows the magnet school will not only be viable, but capable of bringing in extra funding for fine arts programs many want to preserve.

LOUISIANA

Rules governing funding formula for public schools confirmed by Louisiana House
Times-Picayune, June 5, 2013
Louisiana’s public school funding formula will have to jump through all the same legislative hoops that a regular bill does, under a resolution given final approval by the House on Wednesday. The move is meant to avoid further costly litigation after the state Supreme Court ruled the process by which the formula was passed last year unconstitutional.

MASSACHUSETTS

Parker Charter School graduates 14th class
Lowell Sun, June 6, 2013
The processional was as about as traditional as it gets: 55 senior high school students in robes and mortarboards marching across the grass and onto an outdoor stage to the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance.” The processional was as about as traditional as it gets: 55 senior high school students in robes and mortarboards marching across the grass and onto an outdoor stage to the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance.”

NEVADA

New star rating system rises over Nevada’s struggling schools
Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 5, 2013
Less than 19 percent of Clark County high school students passed the Algebra I spring semester exam in 2012. Not even half of eighth-graders passed the pre-algebra exam. About one of two students in elementary and middle school earned the minimum score for grade-level proficiency on the state’s reading, writing and science tests.

Silver State Charter High School graduates look back and forward
Nevada Appeal, June 6, 2013
While high school graduation can feel like stepping into the great unknown, Joshua Carmicheal knows exactly where his path is leading.

NEW JERSEY

Camden schools takeover gets OK
Cherry Hill Courier Post, June 6, 2013
New Jersey is about three weeks away from taking control of Camden schools after the state Board of Education approved the intervention Wednesday.

New Teachers Should ‘B’ Ready for Tougher Standards
New Jersey Spotlight, June 6, 2013
State proposes hiking minimum college GPA from 2.75 to 3.0 in attempt to improve quality of new educators

Performing arts school expands to fit new students
Press of Atlantic City, June 5, 2013
When Charter Tech High School for the Performing Arts opened in September 1999, after a two-year battle that moved the fledgling charter school from Ocean City to Linwood, this year’s graduates had not yet even started school.

NEW YORK

Better Teachers for New York City
Editorial, New York Times, June 6, 2013
The new teacher evaluation system that the New York State education commissioner, John King Jr., has imposed on New York City represents an important and necessary step toward carrying out the rigorous new Common Core education reforms.

Criticism of charter school is bogus
Letter, Riverdale Press, June 6, 2013
Re: “Did new charter fake community outreach?” May 30: I have never been a supporter of charter schools and voted in the Assembly against expanding the number of such schools. But they are coming and it is vitally important that the new schools be top notch schools with excellent leadership.

Councilmember Levin demands moratorium on charter schools
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 5, 2013
Charter school spending is “out of control” Councilmember Stephen Levin (D-Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint, Boerum Hill) said on Wednesday as he called for a moratorium on the opening of all charter schools in New York City.

NORTH CAROLINA

Gov. McCrory: Public school students take too many tests
News & Observer, June 5, 2013
Public school students take too many tests, Gov. Pat McCrory told education leaders Wednesday, and the state needs to figure out how to lighten the load.

NC needs to realize Common Core is a conservative victory
Opinion, News & Observer, June 5, 2013
For some time now, outside groups have been vigorously spreading misinformation about the Common Core State Standards. The effort has been relentless, and North Carolina has not been immune to the falsehoods.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter school teachers vote in union
Pocono Record, June 6, 2013
Pocono Mountain Charter School teachers, crowded into the school’s dance studio Wednesday afternoon, broke into applaus

Make charter schools fully accountable
Opinion, Scranton Times-Tribune, June 6, 2013
Charter schools are publicly funded but, compared with conventional public schools, they operate off the grid.

Pa. House bill could save York City schools $375K
York Dispatch, June 5,, 2013
Legislation that would overhaul some of the longstanding and much-criticized aspects of the charter school law is awaiting a state House vote.

RHODE ISLAND

Education Is Rhode Island’s Political Football
Opinion, Go Local Prov, June 6, 2013
By now, most every Rhode Islander knows (or should know) that The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education’s contract is up for renewal.

TENNESSEE

Education Pioneers opening office in Memphis
Memphis Commercial Appeal, June 6, 2013
The latest confirmation of the starring role Memphis is playing in education reform is Education Pioneers, a national nonprofit setting up shop here to provide high-caliber fellows for the growing list of charters, nonprofits and foundations looking for strategic talent

VIRGINIA

Chesterfield lawmaker working to help lighten load of mandates pressing on schools
Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 6, 2013
A state requirement that high school students pass a financial literacy class in order to graduate went into effect in 2011, much to the delight of its supporters.

WEST VIRGINIA

Legislators must keep track of new evaluations
Editorial, Journal-News, June 6, 2013
Good school principals have been coaching teachers for many years. Now, such coaching is official policy in West Virginia public schools. A new system of evaluating teachers is based heavily on principals’ views of them.

WISCONSIN

State public education decisions create stir
Shawano Leader, June 5, 2013
Public school representatives were shaking their heads Wednesday at the state budget proposal that the Wisconsin Assembly will begin debating in two weeks. The final elements of the bill, which expands the state’s voucher program and increases per pupil spending in public schools, were approved early Wednesday by the state Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee.

ONLINE LEARNING

Obama to visit NC school, fundraise in California
Associated Press, June 6, 2013
President Barack Obama wants to see the nation’s classrooms transformed into digital learning centers and he is ready to ask federal regulators to use billions of dollars to pay for the broadband and high-speed Internet connections that will be needed to make it happen.

Morning talker: Are cyber schools real schools?
Column, Patriot News, June 6, 2013
Earlier this week Suzanne D. Hair penned a piece on why she sends her son to Commonwealth Connections Academy and arguing that cyber schools are public schools and deserve equal funding. It was in response to another article from a parent insisting that lawmakers stop “overpaying” for charter and cyber schools.

Cutting funds to Pa. charter schools puts students at risk
Letter, Lehigh Valley Express-Times, June 6, 2013
On Monday, House Bill 618, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Emrick, R-Northampton, narrowly passed the House Education Committee by a vote of 13-12. This bill drastically cuts funding to Pennsylvania cyber/charter schools and unfairly creates a double dip for school districts across the state, possibly forcing schools to “virtually close their lids” on our students.

Charter schools remain a hot topic in Harrisburg
The Reporter, June 5, 2013
As the state legislature works towards finalizing a budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year, other pieces of legislation are also being considered, including several focusing on education, most notably H.B. 618 , which made it through the committee by a narrow 13-12 vote and calls for charter and cyber charter school reform.

PA Cyber Charter School to graduate 1,500
PRNewswire, June 6, 2013
The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School will graduate 1,500 members of the Class of 2013, its 13th and largest graduating class ever, announced CEO Dr. Michael J. Conti .

Turner Co. will launch new online school in fall
WALB, June 5, 2013
Turner County is now giving home schooled and private school students another choice for their education. The system is ready to launch a learn at home online school.

Florida Virtual School commencement points to new education trend
Seminole Chronicle, June 5, 2013
When seniors from across the state of Florida came together Saturday at Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, they did so for a graduation that was the first of its kind here in the Sunshine State.

Lee school’s Virtual Instruction Program culls national recognition
Fort Myers Beach Bulletin, June 5, 2013
Lee Virtual Instruction Program, the School District of Lee County’s high-quality, fully online school for students, was recently awarded the Bronze ranking in US News & World Report’s rating of America’s Best High Schools.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

Bill to Alter Bush-Era Education Law Gives States More Room
New York Times, June 5, 2013
Renewing the effort to revise No Child Left Behind, the signature Bush-era federal education law, Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, introduced a new version on Tuesday that he said would “replace the failed tenets” of the law.

Grading teachers on test scores: Column
USA Today, June 4, 2013
Signs exhorting students have been springing up at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., where I teach English. “Keep Calm and Crush the Test” is my favorite.

Ind. charter school group head takes US-wide post
WTHI, June 5, 2013
A leader among Indiana’s public charter schools is moving into a national advocacy post.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Arizona court refuses to stop state’s voucher-like ’empowerment savings account’ program now
East Valley Tribune, June 5, 2013
The Court of Appeals won’t stop the state from continuing to fund a controversial voucher program, at least not now. In a brief order Tuesday, the judges rejected a request by foes of what are called “empowerment scholarship accounts” to block continued payments while the legality of the program is litigated.

CALIFORNIA

Kudos for Great Valley Academy described as ‘model charter school’
Manteca Bulletin, June 5, 2013
Great Valley Academy in Manteca was described as one of the “few (charter school) models that exist” by the Center for Educational Reform.

Charter money grab should end
Opinion, The Record, June 5, 2013
California slipped a notch in spending per public school pupil in 2011, falling to 35th among states in a year that marked the first overall drop across the nation in nearly four decades, the U.S. Census Bureau reported last month.

COLORADO

When the good guys in education reform prevailed
Column, Denver Post, June 5, 2013
Twenty years ago this week, Gov. Roy Romer signed the single most significant piece of school reform legislation of the past generation. As a result, 97,000 students will enroll this fall in charter schools, a number larger than the attendance in any single school district.

Dougco teacher plan innovative
Editorial, Denver Post, June 5, 2013
The school system’s ideas on teacher salaries may not be perfect, but they are on the right track.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Henderson not convinced that D.C. education plan will help schools
Washington Post, June 4, 2013
D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson said she is not convinced that a wide-ranging package of education legislation introduced Tuesday will improve educational outcomes for the city’s children.

Failing schools should be converted to charters
Editorial, Washington Examiner, June 4, 2013
David Catania, chairman of the D.C. Council’s Education Committee, wants to increase DC Public Schools’ accountability and academic results. Catania has the right idea but the wrong approach, one that is as doomed as other past attempts at school reform. But he’s not bold enough to propose the one thing that just might work.

FLORIDA

Teachers union not ‘dragging feet’
Tampa Tribune, June 5, 2013
The union that represents Pasco County school employees is as eager as anyone to start contract negotiations for the 2013-14 school year, but needs more information from the school district before that can happen, its leader said Tuesday.

Idaho college leaders back Common Core
Idaho Statesman, June 5, 2013
University presidents say the more rigorous standards will make for better students.

Teachers union worried about jobs with upcoming CPS budget
Chicago Tribune, June 5, 2013
As Chicago Public Schools prepares to issue budgets for individual schools to principals, the Chicago Teachers Union is predicting that hundreds of its members could be laid off because of the district’s ongoing budget woes.

LOUISIANA

John McDonogh High charter group will not manage Cohen in the fall
Times-Picayune, June 4,, 2013
The charter school group in charge of the John McDonogh High takeover that was chronicled in a recent Oprah Winfrey television series is relinquishing its limited management of another high school, citing budget problems.

Bills put religion in Louisiana schools
Letter, The Advocate, June 4, 2013
Regarding the letter to the editor May 25, “Evolution is its own religion,” by Larry Miller:
There is no doubt that the “Science Education Act” (House Bill 116) and the school voucher program are intended to introduce a religion (Christianity) into public schools.

MAINE

Commission considers moratorium on new charter school applications
Kennebec Journal, June 5, 2013
The Maine Charter School Commission is considering a one-year moratorium on new charter school applications after staff and several commissioners noted the time-consuming work of monitoring the five schools they’ve already approved and creating a raft of new rules to govern the two-year-old commission’s work.

MASSACHUSETTS

Barros proposes single application for city, charter schools
Boston Globe, June 5, 2013
Mayoral hopeful John Barros, in an effort to simplify the process of registering for school, is calling for a single application that can be used in Boston’s school system and at independently-run charter schools.

Lynn CFO says charter school costs ‘a killer’
The Daily Item, June 5, 2013
It has a hilltop view of Lynn from its perch in the Highlands, and the Knowledge Is Power Program academy is starting to figure prominently in city budget calculations as elected officials start the annual process of crafting a municipal budget.

Blackstone Valley Boasts a ‘Kick Butt’ School
Column, Go Local Worcester, June 5, 2013
Like many urban teens, Jessica Coello was obviously smart and capable, but totally turned off from school. When she was in grade school, thinking about high school, someone suggested she visit Blackstone Academy Charter School–recently recognized as 1 of 12 schools “Commended” by the state.

MICHIGAN

Grand Rapids schools’ statistical model for teacher evaluation pushes it ahead of the rest of the state
Grand Rapid Press, June 4, 2013
The old system of evaluating a teacher’s performance – a principal observing in a classroom – was not particularly effective, school administrators and teacher union leaders agree.

Financially troubled Michigan school districts may be forced to close
Detroit News, June 5, 2013
Insolvent school districts could be shut down and their students sent to neighboring districts within three weeks under bipartisan legislation proposed by two Michigan lawmakers.

MINNESOTA

Apple Valley charter school’s teacher terminations spark frustration
Star Tribune, June 4, 2013
At Apple Valley charter school Paideia Academy, tensions are running high among parents and students after the contracts of five teachers weren’t renewed for next school year.

MISSOURI

Reality of school funding in Missouri? It gets worse ever year.
Editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 5, 2013
When Missouri House budget chairman Rick Stream, a Kirkwood Republican, bragged last month that lawmakers approved K-12 education funding at the “highest level in the history of Missouri,” he was telling the truth.

NEW JERSEY

Creating successful charter schools for New Jersey
The Record, June 5, 2013
NEW JERSEYANS have sadly never had an opportunity to witness the benefit of a truly statewide charter school environment that helps children succeed, all schools improve and educators thrive. Unlike most other states, New Jersey law rests all authority to approve and vet charter school applications with the state Commissioner of Education.

NEW YORK

A win for NYC’s kids
Column, New York Post, June 4, 2013
This weekend, we made history. After months of uncertainty and years of grappling with special interests, state Education Commissioner John King announced a landmark teacher-evaluation system that continues us down the path toward ensuring all 1.1 million New York City school children have great teachers in their classrooms.

School district struggles over state ruling on students’ right to transfer
Buffalo News, June 4, 2013
Buffalo school administrators are struggling with a state Education Department ruling that says the district must find space for every student who wants to be transferred out of a failing school and into a better one.

NORTH CAROLINA

Charter school request heavily scrutinized
Daily Dispatch, June 4, 2013
A request from Henderson Collegiate to expand onto more county-owned property hit a snag Monday.
The Vance County board of commissioners, in its regular monthly meeting, asked the charter school for a detailed plan and opponents cited concerns with the proposed expansion.

New voices supporting vouchers emerge
Opinion, Elkin Tribune, June 5, 2013
There’s something exciting happening in North Carolina: Young, liberal African-American politicians are breaking away from teachers’ unions to support school choice.

OHIO

More students qualify for vouchers under Senate budget changes
Columbus Dispatch, June 4, 2013
The Ohio Senate would further expand who qualifies for Ohio’s voucher program, the tax-funded tuition for private schools, under its latest batch of major changes to the new two-year budget.

OREGON

Clackamas Web Academy’s Annie Sharpe builds up college credits during high school
The Oregonian, June 4, 2013
Though Annie Sharpe graduated from high school this week, she’s already intimately familiar with college life.

PENNSYLVANIA

Nutter, Butkovitz push Pa. for more school funding
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 5, 2013
Philadelphia leaders launched a full-court press Tuesday on the General Assembly, seeking support for funding to cover the projected $304 million school budget shortfall.

Charter school teachers will vote today on unionizing
Pocono Record, June 5, 2013
Teachers at the charter school fighting for its survival will vote today on whether to unionize.
The Pocono Mountain Charter School has warred for years with the Pocono Mountain School District over the status of its charter and seen scandal and contention among its leaders.

WISCONSIN

Deal announced on income tax cuts, school vouchers
Chippewa Herald, June 5, 2013
Republican legislative leaders announced an agreement shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday that would nearly double Gov. Scott Walker’s income tax cut over the next two years, expand private school vouchers statewide and allow public school funding to increase.

School choice must be expanded
Opinion, Appleton Post-Crescent, June 5, 2013
Nearly 25 years ago, business leaders in Milwaukee came to me, deeply concerned that they couldn’t find enough qualified workers among the students leaving the Milwaukee public schools. At the same time, African-American parents came to me, worried about their children’s future in a school system that wasn’t meeting their needs.

ONLINE LEARNING

Cerf Pulls Plug on Online Charter Schools
New Jersey Spotlight, June 5, 2013
Growing opposition to virtual charters, legal challenges and gray areas help inform commissioner’s decision

State wants to revoke charter of Philadelphia-based cyber school
Philadelphia Notebook Blog, June 4, 2013
Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis wants to close down the Solomon Charter School in Philadelphia, which opened just months ago.

Local to graduate from online public school
Elko Daily Free Press, June 5, 2013
The Nevada Connections Academy class of 2013 graduates Friday in Reno and Las Vegas. Hornback will be among the graduates in Reno.

California Virtual Academies graduates celebrate in Vacaville
The Reporter, June 5, 2013
The cliché image is that these students attend class in their pajamas. But one thing is clear about seniors enrolled in California Virtual Academies: They do not graduate in them.