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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.

More States Consider ‘Parent Trigger’ Laws
Education Week, March 21, 2013
The push for the “parent trigger” option for turning around struggling schools continues, with new laws under consideration in 12 states’ legislative sessions, even as such laws already on the books remain unused in all but one of the seven states that have them.

FROM THE STATES

ALABAMA

Superintendent On School Choice/Tax Credits Bill
Times-Journal, AL, March 20, 2013
Gov. Robert Bentley may have signed the Alabama Accountability Act into law March 14, but local school officials continue to speak out against it.

ALASKA

Lawmakers Should Be Wary Of School Vouchers
Anchorage Daily News, AK, March 20, 2013
As state lawmakers face the reality of declining oil revenues and calls from Alaska’s leading economist to spend billions less, one issue under consideration that should be given extensive public vetting is the proposal to fund private and religious schools.

ARKANSAS

Arkansas Lawmakers Debate School Transfer Changes
Little River News, AR, March 20, 2013
Removing race as the main factor in deciding whether a student can transfer to another school district in Arkansas would give parents more control on educational choices for their children, one lawmaker said last Wednesday, but opponents warned the idea could lead to segregation.

CALIFORNIA

Oakland To Close 3 Charter Schools
San Francisco Chronicle, CA, March 20, 2013
Three of the state’s highest-performing schools must shut down at the end of this school year after administrators failed to acknowledge and address illegal activity and serious lapses in financial and administrative oversight, the Oakland school board decided Wednesday night.

Incubator School in L.A. Sparks Discord Over Location, Teachers
Los Angeles Times, CA, March 20, 2013
The pilot middle school, which is slated to open next year but lacks a site, will teach students how to launch a business in addition to academics.

COLORADO

A Better Way To Fund Student Success.
Denver Post, CO, March 21, 2013
Over the last few years, Colorado has established itself as a national leader for education reform based on the transformational policies that have been adopted and implemented.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

A Bitter Lesson From ‘The Best And The Brightest’
Washington Times, DC, March 20, 2013
The Boston School Committee announced last week that it will finally end almost 40 years of forced busing — long after the policy effectively wrecked local schools.

FLORIDA

Athenian Academy Charter School Sparring Over Number Of Seats In Lottery
Tampa Bay Times, FL, March 20, 2013
The Athenian Academy charter school has a 108-student problem as it prepares for its open enrollment lottery this evening.

Struggling Milestones Charter School In Leesburg Works To Improve Grade
Orlando Sentinel, FL, March 21, 2013
Milestones Community Charter School has replaced teachers, lengthened the school day and trying to clean up recordkeeping woes

Parent Trigger Bill: A Trojan Horse of Corporate Charter Schools
Flagler Live, FL, March 20, 2013
First it was called the parent trigger bill but when that became a negative connotation, it was rebranded the ”parent empowerment act.” Whew, that’s much better.

Bucking Scott’s Plan, Senate Proposes Merit-Based Raises For Teachers
Bradenton Herald, FL, March 21, 2013
Less than three weeks into the legislative session, Gov. Rick Scott’s signature proposal to give across-the-board pay raises to teachers appears to be in serious trouble.

IDAHO

Senate Amends Charter School Bill
Idaho State Journal, ID, March 21, 2013
Nonprofit corporations would no longer be able to start charter schools, according to changes senators made to a bill that’s part of a package of reforms working its way through the Legislature.

House Passes Private School Tuition Tax Credit Legislation
Idaho Reporter, ID, March 20, 2013
The Idaho House Wednesday narrowly passed legislation that would extend tax credits to Idahoans who make donations to state-sanctioned “scholarship granting organizations.” The scholarships would in turn be granted to eligible children to enable them to attend private schools within the state, and the donors would receive a dollar-for-dollar credit against their annual state income tax bill.

ILLINOIS

CPS To Announce School Closings; Foes Say They Will Target Minorities
Chicago Tribune, IL, March 21, 2013
After months of hearings and debate, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration is ready to announce plans to close about 50 elementary schools, sources said, a number that quickly drew fire from aldermen and community leaders in the mostly African-American neighborhoods that will be hardest hit.

INDIANA

State Shouldn’t Blindly Accept Common Core
Courier & Press, IN, March 21, 2013
When right and left wing activists find themselves in agreement , it’s worth probing why. Such is the case with the Common Core academic standards being implemented in Indiana and 45 other states. Conservatives and progressives alike see problems with them.

Indianapolis Soon To See New Charter Schools
Indianapolis Star, IN, March 21, 2013
The Mind Trust’s charter school incubator will announce today that it has selected two new national groups to receive $1 million in aid to open new charter schools in Indianapolis.

Legislators Hear Hours Of Testimony On Expanding Indiana’s School Voucher Program
Courier & Press, IN, March 20, 2013
The state Senate Education Committee heard hours of testimony Wednesday on a bill to expand Indiana’s school voucher program.

KANSAS

Funding Questions Postpone Charter School Vote
Topeka Capital-Journal, KS, March 20, 2013
A vote on the charter schools bill was postponed another day Wednesday by opponents who continued their barrage of questions about how the measure would work.

LOUISIANA

Schools To Lose $422,000 To Charter School Funding
The Daily News, LA, March 20, 2013
The Bogalusa School Board learned Monday the district’s state funding will be decreased by nearly a half million dollars, with that money going to the Northshore Charter School.

MICHIGAN

New Charter Schools Find Niches
Detroit News, MI, March 21, 2013
At a school in Farmington Hills, kindergarteners spend the first half of their day learning core curriculum disciplines: Math, social studies, science. But each afternoon, they split up into two groups — those learning Mandarin Chinese and those learning Spanish. They then spend three hours immersed in either language.

Lansing Schools Comes Through For Charter
Lansing State Journal, MI, March 21, 2013
Competition between charter schools and traditional public schools isn’t as cutthroat as, say, Toyota vs. General Motors.

MINNESOTA

Lessons Of Teacher Bonus Program A Chance To Learn
Pioneer Press, MN, March 20, 2013
Did Minnesota get the results it wanted from the “Quality Compensation,” or Q-Comp, pay-for- performance system for teachers?

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Derry Charter High School Will Focus On Flexibility
Union Leader, NH, March 21, 2013
When the Next Charter High School opens in September, the school’s co-directors are counting on the key to its success being its flexibility; both flexibility of space and flexibility in what it can offer its students.

NEW JERSEY

Choice-School Transfer Rule A Winner
Daily Record, NJ, March 21, 2013
Sometimes the political process works efficiently — even in New Jersey. The state’s Choice School Program Act, which went into effect in 2010, allows students to transfer to a state-approved school within 20 miles of their home district, at no cost to parents.

NORTH CAROLINA

Berger’s Plan Is Unfairly Tough On Teachers
News & Observer, NC, March 20, 2013
One wonders whether a teacher once put state Sen. Phil Berger in the corner in first grade, causing him to say to himself: “One day I’ll be president pro-tem of the state Senate and I’ll pay ’em all back.”

Education Advocate: N.C. On The Wrong Path
News & Observer, NC, March 20, 2013
North Carolina is heading down a destructive path for its public schools, according to education author, researcher and advocate Diane Ravitch.

OHIO

Superintendent Hathorn Wants To Meet With Charter School Parents
Youngstown Vindicator, OH, March 21, 2013
City schools Superintendent Connie Hathorn wants to meet with parents of students attending charter schools to tout what the city district has to offer.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma State Schools Superintendent Janet Barresi Asks For More Time For Teacher Evaluation
The Oklahoman, OK, March 21, 2013
The state schools superintendent is asking lawmakers for extra time to implement a new teacher evaluation system.

PENNSYLVANIA

Ambler Parents Assail School District Over Redrawing Elementary School Boundaries
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 21, 2013
Ambler parents are again facing off against the Wissahickon School District, accusing officials of racism and classism in redrawing elementary school boundaries.

A Charter Denied
Intelligencer Journal, PA, March 21, 2013
In recent weeks, the debate surrounding the Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship Charter School’s application for a charter occasionally delved into the politics surrounding the school’s rumored links to Turkish-operated charter schools in this country — a link that has been repeatedly denied by Sait Onal, the president of the proposed academy’s founding board.

With Parent Demand Surging, 20 Charters Seeking To Expand In Philadelphia
Philadelphia Schools Notebook, PA, March 20, 2013
Chrissy Poper has been trying to get her 8-year old daughter into the popular MaST Community Charter School in Northeast Philadelphia for the last three years.

Pottsville Area Seeks State Reimbursement For Charter School Costs
Republican Herald, PA, March 21, 2013
Once upon a time, when the Pottsville Area School District used state subsidy to send a child to charter or cyber charter school, the state gave the district a bit of reimbursement, Superintendent Jeffrey S. Zwiebel said Wednesday.

TENNESSEE

Competing Voucher Bill Withdrawn
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, March 21, 2013
The sponsor of legislation that was competing with Gov. Bill Haslam’s to create a school voucher program withdrew her bill on Wednesday after proponents of a broader program decided they want to focus on the governor’s plan.

WEST VIRGINIA

House GOP Seeks Charter Schools In W.Va. Ed Bill
WTRF, WV, March 21, 2013
Republicans in West Virginia’s House of Delegates want to add charter schools to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s education proposal.

WISCONSIN

Big Money Plays Part In Voucher Pitch
Fox 11, WI, March 20, 2013
A plan to expand school vouchers in the legislature has politicians taking sides and money being spent in the hopes of winning over their votes.

ONLINE LEARNING

Parents, Teachers Urge District 202 To Reject Online Charter School
Chicago Tribune, IL, March 20, 2013
Plainfield parents and teachers urged School District 202 board members to reject a proposal for an online charter school during a recent marathon public hearing.

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

Minority Groups Remain Outnumbered at Teaching Programs, Study Reports
New York Times, NY, March 20, 2013
Despite major changes in the racial makeup of American public school students, the people training to be teachers are still predominantly white.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Report Stirs Debate On Oakland Teachers
San Francisco Chronicle, CA, March 20, 2013
An independent group that evaluated policies in Oakland’s public schools will release a report Wednesday calling for an overhaul of the way the district compensates teachers and holds them accountable for their performance.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Henderson’s D.C. Schools Plan Calls For Equity Across The City’s Great Divide
Washington Post, DC, March 19, 2013
Provide equal educational opportunities across a city that is divided by one of the largest income gaps in the country — that’s the plan, according to D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson.

FLORIDA

Parent-Trigger Bill Bumping Forward in the House
Sunshine State News, FL, March 20, 2013
Controversial legislation known as the parent-trigger bill continues to spark debate at the state Capitol.

IDAHO

Charter School Bills Poised For Amendments
Magic Valley Times, ID, March 19, 2013
Two charter school funding bills that so far have been on a difficult path to passage may face another round of changes in the Idaho Senate.

Education Panel OKs Seniority Layoffs Bill
Idaho State Journal, ID, March 19, 2013
Seniority would no longer be used as the sole criteria when Idaho school districts determine teacher layoffs under a bill advanced by a Senate committee.

INDIANA

Statehouse Rally Aims to Move Lawmakers Against School Vouchers
93.1 WIBC Indianapolis, IN, March 19, 2013
The rally was put together by the Indiana Coalition for Public Education, which has long opposed vouchers and the expansion of charter schools. It also took place one week after an “Education Reform Rocks” rally at the Statehouse attended by Governor Pence and several pro-voucher activists, including former Indiana Pacer Jalen Rose.

KANSAS

Charter School Bill Nearing Vote
Topeka Capital Journal, KS, March 19, 2013
A bill to overhaul Kansas’ charter school system, rejected by the House Education Committee, could find new life in the Senate.

LOUISIANA

Voucher Funding In Court’s Hands
The Advertiser, LA, March 20, 2013
Whether the state constitution allows using funds dedicated to public schools to pay for private school vouchers is now in the hands of the Louisiana Supreme Court.

For Louisiana Parents, Failure Is Not An Option And Tomorrow May Be Too Late: Letter
Times-Picayune, LA, March 19, 2013
Joining parents in the fight to protect and save the Louisiana Scholarship program, the Louisiana Black Alliance for Educational Options has been working hard to rally supporters and empower parents to speak out and tell their stories.

Parents Find School Picks Slim
The Advocate, LA, March 19, 2013
A day after her children entered the halls of their fifth public school in five years, New Orleans artist and parent Anika Watson received two letters detailing something that came as no surprise: Two of her children had just begun a new school year in one of the city’s 32 failing public schools.

MARYLAND

Montgomery Schools, Unions Support Bill Postponing Reform Of Teacher Evaluation
Washington Post, DC, March 19, 2013
School administrators and teachers unions from Maryland will testify Wednesday in favor of a bill that would postpone state reform of teacher evaluation systems.

MASSACHUSETTS

Charter Schools Work
Commonwealth Magazine, MA, March 19, 2013
CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE one of the great success stories of Massachusetts education reform, but thanks to a state law limiting enrollment, their growth is about to hit the wall.

MICHIGAN

Mich. Kids Deserve A Strong Educational Foundation
Detroit News, MI, March 20, 2013
A group of largely Republican lawmakers is backing a set of bills that would weaken Michigan’s Merit Curriculum. The new standards passed seven year ago and are starting to reap some results. It doesn’t make sense to gut them now.

MINNESOTA

Teachers Facing Achievement Gap Try Cross-Race Connections
Minnesota Public Radio, MN, March 20, 2013
All the bleak statistics about Minnesota’s achievement gap became personal to fifth-grade teacher Jen Engel, when she realized that gap was playing out in her own classroom.

MISSISSIPPI

Veto Of School Board Bill By Bryant Likely To Stand
Clarion Ledger, MS, March 19, 2013
Bryant on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would create a task force to study changing from appointed to elected school boards in Mississippi. Overriding the veto would require a 2/3 vote of both chambers of the Legislature.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

A Brazen Attempt To Hold Schools Hostage
Union Leader, NH, March 20, 2013
One committee chairman in the New Hampshire House admitted in a rare moment of candor that he intends to use schools as a political hostage in his grand negotiating scheme. This sort of cynical manipulation helps explain why average citizens have such contempt for politicians and their perverted sense of ethics.

Charter School Votes In Concord Anger Advocates
Nashua Telegraph, NH, March 20, 2013
Charter schools waiting for approval will have to wait a while longer.

NEW JERSEY

Charter School To Expand Its Garfield Location
The Record, NJ, March 20, 2013
The Bergen Arts and Science Charter School in Garfield is getting a second building, a former parochial school that will allow the charter’s elementary population to grow by 240 students in September.

NORTH CAROLINA

Push Resumes For N.C. Charter School Board
News-Record, NC, March 20, 2013
Republican legislators who helped eliminate a cap on charter schools in 2011 are pushing to create a new regulatory body to oversee such schools in North Carolina.

N.C. Sen. Phil Berger’s Bill Ends Teacher Tenure
News-Record, NC, March 19, 2013
The leader of the state Senate revived a proposal Tuesday to end job-protecting tenure rules for veteran schoolteachers and to move forward a pay proposal that seeks to reward the best-performing classroom instructors.

OREGON

VIBES Charter School Will Provide What Its Students Need
Mail Tribune, OR, March 19, 2013
Children living in poverty and English as a Second Language students are not successful in the standardized classroom across the United States, including right here in Medford.

PENNSYLVANIA

Education Group Eyes System For 1 Citywide School Application
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 20, 2013
WHILE the number of district-run and parochial schools shrinks and the city’s charter-school population booms, a group of education advocates is looking at a plan to implement a single, citywide enrollment process.

School District Of Lancaster Board Rejects Charter For Controversial Business School
Intelligencer Journal, PA, March 19, 2013
Citing “serious and pervasive deficiencies” in its application, the School District of Lancaster board has rejected a charter for the proposed Academy of Business Entrepreneurship Charter School.

Law Creating Charters Needs To Be Overhauled
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 20, 2013
A new report on Pennsylvania’s charter and cyber charter schools helps make the case for long overdue reforms in how they operate.

TENNESSEE

Rep. DeBerry Considers Allowing For-Profit Charter Schools In TN
The Tennessean, TN, March 20, 2013
As a state lawmaker considers legislation allowing for-profit charter school companies in Tennessee, he is being urged to build in financial safeguards that would prevent abuses seen elsewhere.

UTAH

Republicans Keep Starving Utah Public Education
Deseret News, UT, March 20, 2013
Education is underfunded in Utah, plain and simple. Utah spends the least per pupil of any state in the nation, by far.

WASHINGTON

2 Districts Plan To Apply To Be Charter Approvers
Longview Daily News, WA, March 19, 2013
The State Board of Education says two Washington school districts have formally expressed interest in applying to be charter school authorizers.

WEST VIRGINIA

House Panel Moves School Reforms Forward
Charleston Gazette, WV, March 19, 2013
House of Delegates members questioned state school officials Tuesday about a section in Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s education reform bill that removes the state superintendent’s $175,000 salary cap and strips down the post’s minimum qualifications.

WISCONSIN

School Officials Express Voucher Program Concerns
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, March 20, 2013
Representatives from four of the nine Wisconsin school districts that would be affected by Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal to expand the state’s education voucher system voiced concerns Tuesday in a conference call organized by state Rep. Sondy Pope, D-Cross Plains.

ONLINE LEARNING

Public Charter School Blazes Educational Trail With On-Site/Online Classes
Charleston City Paper, SC, March 20, 2013
The future home of Fairfield Charter High School doesn’t look much like a school. With 5,000 square feet of space on the second floor of a West Ashley business center, the school’s neighbors will include doctors’ offices and nonprofits.

Charter School Operators Drop Appeals In Orange, Seminole, Lake
Orlando Sentinel, FL, March 19, 2013
A network of online charter schools gave up on opening in Central Florida this fall when four rejected charter schools withdrew their appeal before the state Board of Education on Tuesday.

District 300 Leaders Question Charter Reps, Get Few Answers
Daily Herald, IL, March 19, 2013
If the Illinois Virtual Charter School at Fox River Valley opens in August, its students would be expected to log in to their computers for lessons, homeroom, labs and meetings with other students and teachers all working remotely. Each student would need a “learning coach” — a parent or guardian — to help him or her stay on task.

D204 Officials, Parents Scrutinized Online Charter School
Chicago Tribune, IL, March 19, 2013
A virtual charter school seeking to operate in 18 area school districts was scrutinized during an Indian Prairie District 204 hearing Monday.

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

Guess When This Was Written
Washington Post Blog, DC, March 19, 2013
For well over two decades now, public schools have been subjected to wave after wave of reform in which the results of standardized tests have had increasing stakes for students, teachers, schools, districts and even states. The promise was that the test data would “drive” instruction and “drive” things to improve.

FROM THE STATES

ALABAMA

Preparing Teachers For Classrooms
Times Daily, AL, March 19, 2013
Alabama ranks among the top four states in the nation for preparing new teachers for the classroom, according to a recent study.

ARKANSAS

School Choice Bills Fails In Arkansas Senate
Log Cabin Democrat, AR, March 18, 2013
A proposal that would have allowed students who have transferred to other districts under the Arkansas school choice law to remain in those districts has narrowly failed before the state Senate.

CONNECTICUT

Conflict On State School Board
Stanford Advocate, CT, March 18, 2013
Andrea Comer is a successful executive in the state charter school business. She has worked for the charter management company Achievement First, and in October was appointed chief operating officer of Family Urban Schools of Excellence, a management/expansion company created by Hartford’s Jumoke Academy charter school.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Charter Schools Can’t Fill Education Void
Washington Post, DC, March 18, 2013
The controversy aroused by KIPP DC’s proposal to build a high school on public land in Southwest Washington [Metro, March 12], with expedited city transfer of the land, highlights the negative consequences of allowing even a good charter operator to fill a geographic education void.

FLORIDA

Senate Education Committee Looks To Merge Competing Charter School Bills
WFSU, FL, March 18, 2013
Florida Senator David Simmons (R-Maitland) wants to strengthen state laws governing financial transparency and accountability for charter schools.

Bill Would Tweak Teachers Evaluations
Tallahassee Democrat, FL, March 19, 2013
A Florida Senate panel on Monday took an early step to address a major source of anxiety for Florida’s teachers.

GEORGIA

Georgia Charter-School Law Would Be Different From Other States’
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, March 18, 2013
Georgia could become the only state to force local school boards to consider petitions to transform non-failing traditional public schools into charter schools.

INDIANA

FWCS Opposes Plan To Expand Vouchers
The Journal Gazette, IN, March 19, 2013
Fort Wayne school board members on Monday reviewed pending state legislation and decided to oppose expansion of Indiana’s voucher program.

More Thoughtful School Reform Debate Needed From The Indiana Legislature
Evansville Courier & Press, IN, March 19, 2013
In a Courier & Press Sunday opinion column three weeks ago, political writer and commentator Abdul Hakim-Shabazz chose quite an offhand manner to address the difficulties new State Superintendent of Education Glenda Ritz is facing.

KANSAS

ALEC-Based Charter School Bill Getting Second Chance
Lawrence Journal World, KS, March 18, 2013
Specifically, the Kansas Senate Education Committee worked through a pile of bills Monday, including one that would create new opportunities for establishing charter schools in Kansas.

House Bill Creates $10M Aid Program For Private Schools
Topeka Capital Journal, KS, March 18, 2013
Critics contend measure lacks academic accountability, unfair to disabled students

MAINE

Speech Outlines Challenges Ahead For Portland Schools
Portland Press Herald, ME, March 18, 2013
Portland’s public schools must do everything they can to stay competitive against charter schools, including investing in buildings, improving students’ achievement and changing their culture.

MASSACHUSETTS

Charter Grants To Help Pay Creditors
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, March 19, 2013
The Gloucester Community Arts Charter School is gearing up to repay some of the school’s lingering $89,266 in debts through a federal grant and an assets sale that the state approved this month, as trustees wrap up the closing procedures.

MICHIGAN

Detroit Schools Seeks Community’s Help For Strategy To Boost Enrollment
Detroit News, MI, March 19, 2013
School closures, layoffs and debt service payments are the norm at Detroit Public Schools, a district that every year loses thousands of students and millions of dollars.

MISSOURI

Study Points The Way To Better Public Schools
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, March 18, 2013
There’s a study recently completed that examines the record of the highly touted Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools. It should be mandatory vacation reading for education policy makers.

NEVADA

Who’s In Charge Of Education In Nevada?
Las Vegas Sun, NV, March 19, 2013
It could have been a “Beauty and the Beast” story of unlikely love. In 2011, Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval joined the Democratic legislative leadership — your call who’s beauty and who’s beast — in an effort to turn around Nevada’s failing education system by passing a number of education reforms for which they could both be proud.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

More Nashua Students Choosing Traditional Over Charter High School
Nashua Telegraph, NH, March 19, 2013
While she did not have exact numbers, high school guidance director Maureen O’Dea said she’s seen more and more students, particularly at the high school level, interested in returning to North or South for their last four years of schooling in the city.

NEW JERSEY

From ‘Failing’ To Flourishing: One School’s Successful Journey
Burlington County Times, NJ, March 19, 2013
Let the politically charged postmortems begin on the experience and impact of No Child Left Behind on America’s schools and children. But we should be as empirical in our analysis as we are in our leadership. Would schools like Rancocas Valley have had laser-focused programs of identification, support and remediation if not for No Child Left Behind?

NEW MEXICO

Charters Held To Higher Standards
Albuquerque Journal, NM, March 19, 2013
This month, we continue with our series of articles on dispelling myths about charter schools. Last month’s column focused on clarifying that charter schools do not hurt a local school district’s graduation rate, are not private schools and that charter schools “cherry pick” their students.

Taos’ Student Numbers Updated As Charter Lotteries Near
Taos News, NM, March 18, 2013
As charter schools prepare to hold their lotteries and a challenge to a new charter school in Taos heads to District Court, enrollment numbers recently reported to the state shed light on the populations local charter schools serve.

NEW YORK

11% of Schools Never Flunk Their Teachers
Wall Street Journal, March 19, 2013
Principals at more than one in 10 New York City public schools didn’t flunk a single teacher for at least eight years, according to an analysis of city data by The Wall Street Journal.

NORTH CAROLINA

Lee Charter School Future Uncertain After Management Company Pulls Out
Chapel Hill News, NC, March 19, 2013
National Heritage Academies has pulled out of the proposed Howard and Lillian Lee Scholars Charter School. “We’re very disturbed and disappointed,” board member Danita Mason-Hogans said Monday. “Right now we’re trying to decide what we’re going to do as a board.”

PENNSYLVANIA

Advocate Of Pa. Charter Overhaul To Release Report On Abuses
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 19, 2013
To bolster his argument that Pennsylvania’s laws covering charter schools and cyber schools need overhaul, the Democratic chairman of the House Education Committee will release a report Tuesday that catalogs instances of fraud, financial irregularities, mismanagement, and test-score cheating at charter schools across the state.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Revoked Charter School Remains Open, SLED Investigating
WLTX, SC, March 18, 2013
Classes continued Monday at a Sumter school with a revoked charter and a restraining order.

TEXAS

Controversial Bill Would Open Door For More Charter Schools
Austin American-Statesman, TX, March 18, 2013
Harmony Public Schools, the state’s largest charter school system, cannot keep up with the demand for seats in its 38 campuses across the state.

WEST VIRGINIA

Senate Approves Compromise School Reform Bill
Charleston Gazette, WV, March 18, 2013
State senators passed Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s education reform bill Monday, after making a flurry of last-minute changes to win support from West Virginia’s teachers unions.

WISCONSIN

Hold Voucher Schools To The Same Standards
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, March 18, 2013
As a teacher in Beloit, am I supposed to sit back and accept the idea, promoted by groups such as Americans for Prosperity, that my school is failing, that I am failing?

Governor, School Board Both Hold Events on School Vouchers
WBAY-TV, WI, March 19, 2013
The debate over the expansion of Wisconsin’s school voucher program continued Monday night as the Green Bay school board and Governor Walker held separate events in Green Bay discussing the issue.

Feast For Private Schools, Famine For Public Schools
La Crosse Tribune, WI, March 18, 2013
The 2011-2012 state budget handed our public schools one of the biggest funding cuts they have ever been asked to endure. Funding for public education was slashed by $1.6 billion, causing many school districts to eliminate teaching positions and cut educational programs.

ONLINE LEARNING

U46 Committee, Most Residents At Public Hearing Oppose Online Charter School
Elgin Courier News, IL, March 19, 2013
The last time a charter school proposal came to the Elgin School District U46 Board of Education, it was missing information, data, background – “the very pertinent questions simply were not asked,” said board member Joyce Fountain.

Online Charter School Officials: No Special Rules For Us
Daily Herald, IL, March 18, 2013
A virtual charter school that could siphon about $600,000 of state funding away from St. Charles Unit District 303 received a lengthy cross examination from district officials Monday night. But people at the meeting left it with just about as many questions as when they walked in.

New Statewide Virtual Charter School Board Has First Meeting
Tulsa World, OK, March 19, 2013
The board responsible for the new statewide virtual charter school met for the first time Monday, just months before classes are set to begin.

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

More Teachers Are Grouping Kids By Ability
USA Today, March 18, 2013
New findings based on more than 20 years of research suggest that despite decades of controversy, elementary school teachers now feel fine placing students into “ability groups.”

No Child Left Behind
New York Post, NY, March 17, 2013
Gifted and talented programs have been the target of criticism ever since the concept took hold in the 1970s, as huge demographic changes were transforming urban school districts and white, middle-class families were fleeing to the suburbs.

FROM THE STATES

ARKANSAS

Lawmakers Mull Options On School Choice Law
Log Cabin Democrat, AR, March 16, 2013
A testy exchange during a Senate committee hearing last week illustrates the sensitivity of the school choice issue in a state still trying to move beyond its history of racially separate public education.

CALIFORNIA

Leaders Of Charter Movement Seek Higher Standards
San Diego Union Tribune, CA, March 16, 2013
After two decades of offering educational choice to families, leaders of the charter-school movement in California are touting accomplishments but also calling for higher standards in light of some underperforming and mismanaged schools.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

$43,056 Bonus To Charter Teacher At ‘D’-Rated School
Washington Post Blog, DC, March 18, 2013
The obsession among school reformers with standardized test scores and merit pay has led to this: A fourth-grade teacher at a charter school in New Orleans won a $43,056 bonus because her students’ scores skyrocketed at a school with a “D” state rating. But there’s more.

District Officials Oddly Unwelcoming To A KIPP Charter High School
Washington Post, DC, March 16, 2013
“KIPP is a great school, they do good work, they’re a valuable part of the District. But that doesn’t mean that we’re simply going to hand over a parcel of land to them.” So said Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s spokesman, explaining why there has been no action on a proposal by the high-performing public charter network to build a high school in Southwest D.C.

Closing The Achievement Gap In Education
Washington Times, DC, March 16, 2013,
Recently, the Equity and Excellence Commission — a commission of the Department of Education — released recommendations on how to close the persistent achievement gap that exists among 22 percent of children attending substandard schools and living in poverty. Although it’s a product of 27 first-rate minds, the report is remarkable for what it doesn’t address.

FLORIDA

CER President: Florida Charter Schools Need Less Regulation, Better Authorizing And Supervision
Orlando Sentinel Blog, FL, March 14, 2013
Bills in the state legislature that would give school districts and the state more power to regulate charters would be a move in the wrong direction, said Jeanne Allen, founder and president of the Center for Education Reform, in an interview with School Zone.

Charter Schools Deserve No Help From School Boards
Palm Beach Post, FL, March 17, 2013
Regarding the push to expand charter schools, I do not understand why the Palm Beach County School Board would hesitate to close charter schools, which are free and receive public money, that have questionable financial practices, substandard math programs, and inadequate or non-existence reading programs (“Should district save charter schools?” March 11).

Charter School Supporters Plan To Tone Down Lobbying Strategy In Tallahassee
Miami Herald, FL, March 17, 2013
After suffering bruising defeats during last year’s Legislative session, charter school advocates have descended upon the capital city with a revamped strategy.

Parent Trigger Laws Won’t Help Students
Palm Beach Post, FL, March 16, 2013
Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett has warned that “parent trigger” bills expected to pass the Legislature are flawed. He’s right, but for the wrong reasons.

GEORGIA

Blackmon: ‘Parent Trigger’ Is Wrong Approach To Education Reform
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, March 16, 2013
I just can’t see where a parent trigger will do anything but generate discord and instability and waste money that could be used on actual education, only to create “transformed” schools that continue to get the same results. The evidence from other states supports my conclusion.

IDAHO

Idaho Public Schools Take Fresh Hits In Legislature
Spokesman Review, WA, March 16, 2013
Unbowed by the defeats of Propositions 1, 2 and 3 last November, Idaho lawmakers have renewed their efforts to undermine public school education.

LOUISIANA

Bobby Jindal Will Call Special Legislative Session If Education Overhaul Ruled Unconstitutional
Times-Picayune, LA, March 16, 2013
Gov. Bobby Jindal confirmed Thursday he will call the Legislature into special session if his education overhaul is ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court.

Vouchers go to Supreme Court on Tuesday
Opelousas Daily World, LA, March 18, 2013
Attorneys on both sides of the Louisiana voucher debate are honing their arguments for a showdown Tuesday before the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Orleans Parish School Board Committees Focus On Charter Control
The Advocate, LA, March 17, 2013
The Orleans Parish School Board discussed new legislation at its committee meetings Thursday to work toward convincing more Recovery School District charter schools to return to local control.

MARYLAND

Prince George’s County Reacts To Rushern Baker’s Plan To Take Over The School System
Washington Post, DC, March 17, 2013
A newly elected Prince George’s County school board member said Sunday that she strongly supports County Executive Rushern L. Baker III’s plan to take over the county’s struggling school system, saying the board is hampering the schools and is averse to accountability.

MICHIGAN

Enrollment Falls At Detroit School For Teen Mothers
Detroit News, MI, March 18, 2013
Nearly two years after Detroit Public Schools cut ties with Catherine Ferguson Academy, the charter school for pregnant students and teen mothers is experiencing some challenges.

MINNESOTA

If Most Teachers Get A Bonus, Does Minnesota’s Q-Comp System Work?
Pioneer Press, MN, March 16, 2013
Minnesota’s pioneering teacher pay-for-performance system has grown into one that awards a bonus to nearly every teacher who participates.

MISSISSIPPI

In Mississippi, a Gray Area Between Black and White
Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2013
But nearly a half century after a federal judge ordered Cleveland to begin school desegregation, government attorneys have returned to court to argue the district must, once and for all, “fully dismantle its racially identifiable one-race schools,” in a legal battle that is again dividing the town.

Landmark Education Reform Needed
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, MS, March 17, 2013
Gov. Phil Bryant laid out a bold education reform package for the Legislature calling this the “Education Session.”

MONTANA

Who, And What, Are Behind School-Choice Movement In Montana?
Billings Gazette, MT, March 18, 2013
Advocates for “school choice” — the use of tax credits or public money to help finance public-school alternatives in Montana like charter or private schools — have hit a high-water mark this Legislature, getting a major bill through a chamber for the first time.

MEA-MFT’s Feaver: School Choice Rips The Fabric Of Public Education
Billings Gazette, MT, March 18, 2013
Eric Feaver, the leader of MEA-MFT, the union representing teachers and other public workers, says it’s no coincidence the entire public-education community is battling hard against school-choice bills this Legislature.

NEW JERSEY

From Pilot Teacher Evaluation Systems, Words of Encouragement, Warning
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, March 18, 2013
With every New Jersey school district tasked with having a new teacher evaluation system in place by next fall, the experiences of the handful of districts that have been testing the tools for the past two years are in high demand.

NEW YORK

Nine High Schools, One Roof
New York Times, NY, March 17, 2013
Still, only 14 percent of students graduated with a Regents degree from Stevenson in 2005; at the five schools with graduating classes in 2011, 40 percent did.

OREGON

Take The Long View
Mail Tribune, OR, March 17, 2013
Tom Cole says he hopes Medford School Board members can look beyond financial concerns when they decide whether to approve a new charter school operated by Cole’s Kids Unlimited organization. We hope so, too.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC Moves To Close Failing Charter School After A Year Of Trying
The State, SC, March 16, 2013
At the same time, the state’s charter school district was moving forward with steps – on hold for a year by court order – to shut the school down for failure to improve its academic performance, financial reporting problems and alleged violations of state law.

TENNESSEE

Rocketship’s Nashville Charter Schools May Fall Short On Diversity
The Tennessean, TN, March 17, 2013
The California charter school company approved by the state to put new schools in Nashville gets high performance marks from education leaders, but its stated mission could run afoul of a diversity policy aimed at charter schools.

School Vouchers Do No Improve Student Outcomes
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, March 17, 2013
Which is more important, providing a high-quality education to all children, or promoting an ideology with questionable benefits to kids? If you agree that children’s needs come first, contact our state legislators and ask them to vote no on school vouchers.

Nashville’s Battle Over Charter Schools Authorizer Shifts To Costs
The Tennessean, TN, March 18, 2013
As Metro schools officials dig in to halt legislation that would create a new state panel able to authorize charter schools, their final argument is a fiscal one: protecting the purse of Metro government.

School Voucher Program Is Not A Good Idea
Leaf Chronicle, TN, March 17, 2013
The currently pending school voucher legislation is a terrible idea for these reasons:

TEXAS

Sweeping Effort To Expand Charter Schools Faces Hurdles
Texas Tribune, TX, March 17, 2013
When former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told Texas lawmakers recently to “go big or go home” on education reform, he offered advice that state Sen. Dan Patrick had already embraced.

Two-Stepping to Excellent Schools
Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2013
As parents of Texas public-school students and founding members of Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment, we were surprised to see Tamsa described as “anti-testing” (“Doing a Texas Two-Step Around Education Reform” by Charles Cook and Terrence Moore, Cross Country, March 9).

WASHINGTON

Commit To Poor Kids To End The Achievement Gap
Seattle Times, WA, March 16, 2013
We must move past the notion that poor kids will never achieve academic success until poverty is addressed, writes guest columnist Chris Korsmo.

WEST VIRGINIA

Don’t Stymie School Reform
The Intelligencer, WV, March 18, 2013
Officials of West Virginia’s two teachers’ unions scored something of a victory last week, in delaying a state Senate vote on Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s school reform bill.

Teacher Seniority Bill Nears Big Hurdle
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, March 17, 2013
Teachers union officials, state lawmakers and the governor’s office resumed talks over the weekend on an education reform bill expected for a vote on the Senate floor today.

WISCONSIN

Green Bay Expands Traditional Education With Specialty Schools
Green Bay Press-Gazette, WI, March 16, 2013
For some Green Bay students, school no longer is about sitting behind a desk listening to a teacher lecture.

ONLINE LEARNING

Pass Reforms For Charters
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 18, 2013
However, I believe Pennsylvania needs major reforms in the governance, financing, and accountability of charter and cyber schools. The estimate of $365 million in savings is conservative – the increased transparency and accountability requirements in this bill may reveal further savings.

Public School Districts Using More Online Classes
Washington Examiner, DC, March 17, 2013
As Southwood High School Principal Jeff Roberts sat next to his fellow principals for a virtual school sales pitch three years ago, he said he couldn’t sign up for the program fast enough.

Online School Pays Kids To Take Graduation Test
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, March 15, 2013
Thousands of Ohio students got an added bonus for taking state-mandated graduation tests this week. Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, the largest online charter school in Ohio, is paying students up to $100 to take the Ohio Graduation Test.

Online School Public, Run By New Mexicans
Albuquerque Journal, NM, March 17, 2013
There has been a lot of discussion in the New Mexico Legislature lately about online public charter schools. Rather than talking about how these public schools can benefit certain types of students, some are trying to abruptly take these education options away from families through legislation.

How Does The Carpe Diem Charter Model Work, In Practice?
News-Sentinel, IN, March 16, 2013
Full disclosure: I had never heard the phrase “blended learning” before a recent public hearing to discuss the proposed Carpe Diem Summit Campus, a charter school that will be located on the former campus of Taylor University.

Online Charter Program Seeks Inroad Into Local Schools
Elgin Courier News, IL, March 17, 2013
Residents of more than a dozen Fox Valley school districts will get their chance to ask questions about a proposed charter school that would serve students online, rather than in a classroom.

Virtual School Providing Options For Education
Silver Pinyon Journal, NV, March 18, 2013
Most parents are aware of at least two options for educating their children – public school and homeschooling. There is another option – virtual public schooling.

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School Revamp Debated
The Advocate, LA, March 14, 2013
A former federal education official and the president of Louisiana’s top school board Thursday clashed over vouchers, charter schools and the need for changes in public schools.

When Third-Graders Can’t Read
Washington Post, DC, March 14, 2013
Thank you for the thoughtful March 10 news article “States issue third-grade ultimatum on reading,” on mandatory retention laws for third-graders reading below proficiency levels.

Common Core as Trojan Horse
National Review Online, March 15, 2013
Last week, I reported on the federal government’s massive new student-tracking database, which was created as part of the nationalized Common Core standards scheme.

FROM THE STATES

ALABAMA

Gov. Robert Bentley Calls School Choice Bill Historic; AEA Vows Legal Fight Not Over On Alabama Accountability Act
Alabama News, AL, March 15, 2013
Gov. Robert Bentley has signed into law a controversial school choice bill that gives families zoned for “failing” schools tax credits to pay tuition at a private school or better public school.

Lawmakers Undermine Local Schools
Decatur Daily, AL, March 15, 2013
Gov. Robert Bentley’s decision to sign a school tax-credit and voucher law Thursday was less surprising than the votes the bill received from local legislators.

ARKANSAS

Bill To Give Districts More Time To Fix Fiscal Woes Passes House
Log Cabin Democrat, AR, March 14, 2013
The House advanced bills Thursday that would give fiscally distressed school districts more time to get their financial houses in order and would create a new state panel to decide the fate of charter schools.

CALIFORNIA

Have Charter Schools Grown Too Fast?
San Diego Union Tribune, CA, March 14, 2013
After two decades of offering educational choice to families, leaders of the charter-school movement in California are touting accomplishments but also calling for higher standards in light of some underperforming and mismanaged schools.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

DCPS Achievement Gap Widens
Washington Examiner, DC, March 15, 2013
If it took Hurricane Katrina to improve New Orleans’ failing public school system, one shudders to think what it will take to improve Washington’s. A recent study by the DC Fiscal Policy Institute underscores this grim reality.

FLORIDA

House Budget Committee Approves Sweeping Charter School Bill
Tampa Bay Tribune Blog, FL, March 14, 2013
The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a sweeping charter school bill that would, among other things, require traditional public schools to share empty classroom space with charter schools.

ILLINOIS

U-46 Candidates Split On Charter School Support
Daily Herald, IL, March 14, 2013
The six candidates in a race for Elgin Area School District U-46 school board agree better communication will help improve the district’s image, forge strong relationships with its unions, avoid future lawsuits and engage the community. Where the candidates’ platforms differ is on charter schools.

INDIANA

Vouchers’ Untold Story
Journal Gazette, IN, March 15, 2013
Monday’s school choice rally at the Statehouse packed a powerful energy boost for Indiana lawmakers considering a sweeping expansion of the nation’s most expansive voucher program.

LOUISIANA

Orleans Parish School Board Hopes To Lure State Takeover Schools Back To Local Control
Times-Picayune, LA, March 14, 2013
The Orleans Parish School Board is addressing a key roadblock this legislative session after two years in which no state takeover schools chose to return to local control.

MINNESOTA

Should School Districts Both Oversee And Lease To Charters?
Daily Planet, MN, March 14, 2013
A disagreement between the state and some school officials about charter school leases could be resolved by a bill heard in the House Education Finance Committee on Wednesday.

MISSOURI

New Standards In Math, English Cause Furor In Jefferson City
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, March 15, 2013
The teachers from across the St. Louis area had come to learn about changes afoot — state education officials have approved a new national set of standards in math and English, called the Common Core.

Group Challenges Public Employees, Aims To Privatize The Public Schools
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, March 15, 2013
Puppets of ALEC cannot say outright they seek to abolish (privatize) public schools where 90 percent of our students attend. They seek, some wittingly and some unwittingly, to take small steps..

Mo. Senate Passes Bill Allowing ‘Incompetent’ St. Louis Teachers To Be Fired
St. Louis Public Radio, MO, March 14, 2013
Teachers with tenure in St. Louis could be fired for incompetency under a bill that was passed Thursday by the Missouri Senate.

NEW JERSEY

Looking Beyond Vouchers
Herald News, NJ, March 15, 2013
THE GREATEST drama generated during Governor Christie’s town hall meeting Tuesday in Paterson came when a single parent spoke out, without being called upon, for the governor to “fix the public schools.” The outburst and subsequent exchange with the governor came near the end of a more than hour-long give-and-take with about 700 residents at the city’s St. Luke Baptist Church.

NEW MEXICO

Gov. To Veto Teacher Pay Scale Revisions
Albuquerque Journal, NM, March 15, 2013
Gov. Susana Martinez will veto a bill that would have revised the criteria for teacher pay scales, a spokesman for her office said Thursday.

NEW YORK

Slap At Charter-School Discipline
New York Post, NY, March 15, 2013
Charter schools are being unnecessarily harsh in disciplining students with special needs — suspending some for days and weeks on end, parents and an elected official charged yesterday.

New York’s Education Deficit
New York Times, NY, March 15, 2013
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders are hammering out the $142 billion state budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year, which must be approved by April 1. It is crucial that more financing be allocated to public schools, both in upstate areas and in New York City.

Teacher’s Union Takes Aim At Bloomberg’s Control Of Public Schools
New York Post, NY, March 14, 2013
The teachers’ union today proposed to gut one of Mike Bloomberg’s signature legislative achievements: the ability of the mayor to run New York City’s public school system.

OHIO

Don’t Believe Charter Critics
Youngstown Vindicator, OH, March 15, 2013
Unfortunately, the commentary by Janetta King of Innovation Ohio (Vindicator, March 11) contains a great deal of misinformation about charter schools that must be addressed.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma House Crams Education Bills On Deadline
Tulsa World, OK, March 15, 2013
A fistful of education bills – including two that would give school districts more flexibility in dealing with state mandates and another that creates a task force to study the controversial A-F school grading system – limboed under the deadline for House passage.

OREGON

Private School Enrollment Falling In Oregon And Nationally, Charter Schools May Be The Cause
The Oregonian, OR, March 14, 2013
Enrollment in private schools has fallen during the past 10 years, both nationally and in Oregon, and the growth of charter schools seems to be one big cause, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter School Reform Legislation, Audits Grab State’s Attention
Herald Standard, PA, March 15, 2013
The money Pennsylvania’s school districts are required to pay to charter schools came under fire on Thursday.
First, the House Education Committee listened to support and some sharp criticism about legislation that would change the way districts fund charter schools.

Public’s Take On Recovery: Give Our Schools Another Chance
York Dispatch, PA, March 15, 2013
It’s usually hard to get a general consensus when dozens of people speak at a public forum.
But there was a theme during the at times insightful, dramatic, personal and always passionate public comments Thursday at the York City schools advisory committee forum.

School Lane Among Auditor General’s Charter Lease Targets
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 15, 2013
State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Thursday that regular audits of six charter schools across Pennsylvania found they had improperly received a total of more than $550,000 in taxpayer money from the state’s charter lease-reimbursement program.

TENNESSEE

Rocketship’s Plans To Open Charter Schools Blindsides Metro
The Tennessean, TN, March 15, 2013
Metro school officials were shocked to hear a California charter school group had state permission to open the first of eight planned schools in Nashville in 2014.

Charter Schools About Options, Casada Says
The Tennessean, TN, March 15, 2013
Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, supports a state authorizer panel and believes it would usher in more charter schools for the state and ultimately give students more options.

UTAH

Nearby Charter Schools Boost Public School Performance, Researcher Says
Deseret News, UT, March 14, 2013
Public schools may see a jump in math, science and language arts test scores — if a charter school is in the same neighborhood.

WASHINGTON

Tacoma Could Be Charter Authorizer
News Tribune, WA, March 15, 2013
During last fall’s campaign for charter schools, members of the Tacoma School Board voted to oppose the ballot initiative.

New Charter School Commission Can Learn From Other States
News Tribune, WA, March 15, 2013
Based on 20 years of experience in other states, the nine members of the recently appointed State Charter School Commission are in for hard work, long hours and difficult deliberations.

ONLINE LEARNING

Greenfield School Committee May Reconsider Ending Online School
The Republican, MA, March 14, 2013
After learning more information about a 3-month-old law that will regulate online schools, some members of the School Committee said they want to reconsider a decision to end the virtual school it started four years ago.

In Cyber-Charter Funding Debate, Educators On Predictable Seesaw
WITF, PA, March 14, 2013
If school districts are up on an idea, cyber-charter school groups are down. If the cyber-charter groups swing skyward, the traditional school boards careen to the ground.

TN Senate Approves Virtual-School Enrollment Cap
The Tennessean, TN, March 15, 2013
Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to tighten enrollment requirements at privately run online schools has passed the Senate.

McCrory Signing 2 Digital Learning Bills Into Law
WBTV, NC, March 15, 2013
Gov. Pat McCrory wants to join state legislators in getting more electronic and online learning into North Carolina’s public schools.

Virtual Charter School Would Be First Of Its Kind In State
Naperville Sun, IL, March 14, 2013
As 18 school districts in the region prepare to make a decision about a proposed virtual charter that would serve their students, school officials are trying to figure out just how such a multi-district online charter — which would be the first of its kind in Illinois — would work.

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

Michelle Rhee: Not All Charters Created Equal
San Diego Union Tribune, CA, March 13, 2013
Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of schools in Washington, D.C., brought her controversial brand of reform to San Diego on Wednesday when she was featured as the keynote speaker at the California Charter Schools conference at the convention center.

Standard Tests Do Reveal Which Teachers Are Best
Allentown Morning Call, PA, March 13, 2013
Improving the quality of education delivered through our public schools can not only boost economic growth but also help to narrow income inequality in the U.S. And the best way to improve education is to identify and promote the most talented teachers.

FROM THE STATES

ALABAMA

Failure To Repeal Common Core Will Become Re-Election Issue For Republicans, Activists Say
Alabama News Blog, AL, March 13, 2013
Supporters of a failed bill to repeal Alabama’s common core curriculum standards vowed today their fight will become a re-election issue for Republicans who helped defeat the bill in committee.

ARKANSAS

Ark. House Takes Up Charter School Law Changes
Log Cabin Democrat, AR, March 13, 2013
The House on Thursday was scheduled to vote on a bill by Republican Rep. Mark Biviano of Searcy that would designate the state Education Department and not the Board of Education as the primary authorizer of charter schools.

Ark. Panel Considers School Choice Law Rewrite
Gurdon Times, AR, March 13, 2013
The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday is expected to consider Republican Sen. Johnny Key’s proposal to rewrite a 1989 school choice law that a federal judge struck down last year.

GEORGIA

Deal Appointees Join DeKalb School Board
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, March 13, 2013
The six new members of the DeKalb County school board have backgrounds in business, education and, maybe just as importantly, mediation. Now, they must use their skills to save the state’s third-largest system from losing accreditation.

ILLINOIS

Educational Experiment
Chicago Tribune, IL, March 14, 2013
The effort at Harlan is the first foray into a high school for the Clemente Course, which teaches the humanities to low-income adults nationwide. The format is as important as the content. Classes are Socratic seminars, with students sitting in a circle and discussing a text through a teacher’s questions.

Closing Time
Chicago Tribune, IL, March 14, 2013
In the next week or so, Chicago Public Schools officials will announce a list of underused schools to be closed or overhauled this year. A battalion of CPS officials has spent months whittling down the list and evaluating each of the 129 schools that could be closed. They’ve listened to more than 20,000 parents, students and community members in 29 community meetings.

INDIANA

Evidence On Voucher Success Scant As Lawmakers Move To Expand Program
The Statehouse File, IN, March 13, 2013
Welcome back to voucher wars. For the better part of 20 years, much of the educational energy in this nation and state have been consumed by an endless debate about whether giving parents choices as to where they send their children to school would improve education.

LOUISIANA

Department Of Education Announces $5 Million To Turn Around Failing Schools
Times-Picayune, LA, March 13, 2013
State Superintendent John White announced Wednesday that the state will use $5 million in federal professional development funds to train educators interested in turning around failing district-run schools.

State Asks 5th Circuit To Overturn Tangipahoa Voucher Ruling
The Advocate, LA, March 14, 2013
The Louisiana Department of Education filed its appellate brief to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, arguing for reversal of a lower court ruling that the state’s voucher program conflicts with court orders in Tangipahoa Parish’s decades-old desegregation case.

MAINE

School Choice Offers Incentives To Improve Public Education
Portland Press Herald, ME, March 14, 2013
Mainers in a survey show support for the freedom families would gain from a voucher program.

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston School Committee Approves New Student-Assignment System
Boston Globe, MA, March 14, 2013
The Boston School Committee, in a momentous vote Wednesday, scrapped a school assignment plan developed under court-ordered desegregation almost a quarter century ago and embraced a new system that seeks to allow more students to attend schools closer to home.

MICHIGAN

Statewide Teacher Evaluations Could Be In Place By Fall 2014
Detroit News, MI, March 14, 2013
Lawmakers by June should receive a report recommending a statewide teacher evaluation system that could be in place for the 2014-15 school year.

Authority Gives Kids At Worst-Performing Schools Chance To Grow
Detroit News, MI, March 14, 2013
As a mother of four with kids in public schools, and as chair of the House Education Committee, I have a great interest in public education and an immense passion for the kids in our schools.

MISSISSIPPI

Fate Of Charter Schools Bill Uncertain
Clarion Ledger, MS, March 14, 2013
The state Senate on Wednesday passed its version of a charter schools bill for the second day in a row, while the House appeared to send a message with inaction on the issue.

MONTANA

Cookie-Cutter Legislation
Missoula Independent, MT, March 14, 2013
How a corporate bill mill plays into Montana politics–and why you should care

NEW JERSEY

Teacher Evaluation Plan Gets Mixed Reviews in First Public Forum
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, March 14, 2013
The Christie administration took its new teacher-evaluation system on the road yesterday — and the maiden trip left few doubts there are going to be some bumps along the way.

NEW MEXICO

Charter Schools Four-Year Grad Rates Low, Data Reflects
Silver City Sun-News, NM, March 13, 2013
Monika Robinson got caught up in high school’s drama and social hierarchy. She fell behind in classes and took a year off to work and figure out what she wanted to do.

NEW YORK

Liberty Parents Suggest Charter School Option
WETM, NY, March 13, 2013
A group of Tioga County neighbors are making it clear they’re unhappy with the Southern Tioga School District.

NORTH CAROLINA

School Vouchers: A Threat To Our Very Foundation
News & Observer, NC, March 13, 2013
Superintendents, principals and teachers were invited recently to the General Assembly to share their ideas about improving and protecting public education in North Carolina.

Bill Proposes $3,000 Grant To Send Disabled Students To Private Schools
News Observer, NC, March 13, 2013
Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake County, is behind a bill introduced this week that would give students with special needs taxpayer-funded scholarships to attend private schools or be home-schooled.

Education Establishment Runs From Its Own Customers
Carolina Journal, NC, March 14, 2013
If only more policymakers and politicians understood that a willingness to compete can also transform the public sector. But instead of embracing the opportunity, some public officials fear competition and heap scorn on those who champion it.

OHIO

Charter School In Youngstown Continues Its Academic Success
Youngstown Vindicator, OH, March 14, 2013
Charter schools in Ohio are, by and large, a failure, with only two dozen out of the nearly 300 scoring above the state average on performance measures. Even so, there is no sign that the charter schools initiative, which was launched 15 years ago, has lost the support of Republican Gov. John Kasich and the GOP controlled General Assembly.

Charters Get Additional $34.8 Million In Kasich Plan
Columbus Dispatch, OH, March 14, 2013
Despite getting less base funding per student, Ohio charter schools would receive nearly $34.8 million more from the state under Gov. John Kasich’s proposed education-funding plan, according to an analysis from the Legislative Service Commission.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma Educators Wait To See How State Question 766 Will Affect Funding
The Oklahoman, OK, March 14, 2013
Educators throughout the state know tens of millions of dollars in school funding will disappear because of a new property tax law, but no one is exactly sure what the real impact will be.

PENNSYLVANIA

Phila. School Partnership To Announce $3.4 Million In Grants For 2 Charter Groups
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 14, 2013
The Philadelphia School Partnership will announce grants totaling $3.4 million Thursday to help two charter organizations with long waiting lists expand in the northern and western parts of the city.

McKeesport Area School Board Denies Charter School Application
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, March 14, 2013
Although the board of the McKeesport Area School District voted at a special meeting Tuesday to deny the application of the Young Scholars of McKeesport Charter School, the matter is far from closed.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Two New Charter Schools Hope To Open In Downtown Charleston In 2014-15
Post and Courier, SC, March 13, 2013
Community members hoping to open two new charter schools downtown will host informational meetings during the next two weekends.

Evaluation Plan Ignores Teachers’ Challenges
Greenville News, SC, March 13, 2013
As a citizen of this state, I cannot sit idly by while the state Superintendent Mick Zais appears to show little respect for the public school teachers of South Carolina. His plan to assign letter grades to teachers ignores the background of poverty, lack of parental support, conflicting social mores, and other issues that teachers must deal with daily.

SC Senate Panel OKs Students Attending School In Another District
Island Packet, SC, March 13, 2013
A bill that would allow children to attend the public school of their choice – regardless of where they live – passed a state Senate committee Wednesday.

TENNESSEE

Senator Offers School Voucher Plan To Rival Gov. Haslam’s
The Tennessean, TN, March 14, 2013
A senior Republican in the state Senate has filed a rival plan to Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to create a school voucher program — one that would raise income limits and the number of vouchers available at the outset.

State Charter School Authorizer Would Provide Education Options
The Tennessean, TN, March 13, 2013
FRANKLIN Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, believes a state authorizer panel would serve to usher in more charter schools that would ultimately give students more options.

WEST VIRGINIA

The Conversation Is About W.Va. Students
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, March 14, 2013
A legislative conversation that was supposed to center on what West Virginia students need – an education – has focused once again on what education unions demand instead.

Senate Could Approve Education Bill By Week’s End
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, March 13, 2013
The Senate could send Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s education reform bill to the House as early as Friday.

WISCONSIN

Proposed Charter School Changes Cause for Concern for Some
WUMN, WI, March 14, 2013
MCarrie Bonk is all in favor of the governor’s plan to create a state board that could approve more chartering entities. Bonk heads the Wisconsin Charter School Association.

State Schools Debate: Superintendent Candidates Clash Over Education
Leader Telegram, WI, March 14, 2013
State schools Superintendent Tony Evers and challenger Don Pridemore outlined their very different visions for Wisconsin’s schools during a debate Wednesday, disagreeing over the governor’s proposed expansion of the state’s voucher system and proposed freeze in public school spending.

Voucher Schools’ Finances Must Be Well Vetted
Journal Times, WI, March 13, 2013
Last year, in its very first year of operation, St. John Fisher Academy, a voucher school, was forced to close its doors from lack of funding. The Northwestern Avenue school had counted on various grants and other funding coming in. But they didn’t come through and, after months of teachers working without pay, the school announced its closing.

ONLINE LEARNING

Hearing Set On Charter School Plan
Naperville Sun, IL, March 13, 2013
If a Virginia-based company has its way, Naperville students will get a chance to attend a virtual charter school next fall.

Year-Round, Blended Learning Classroom Bill Fails In Utah House
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, March 13, 2013
A bill to create a pilot program for schools to blend online learning into year-round schedules got slapped down in the House on Wednesday, amid concerns that it didn’t get enough public discussion and that it would mainly fund a consultant.

Senate To Take Up Virtual School Measure
WSMV-TV, March 14, 2013
Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to tighten enrollment requirements at privately run online schools is scheduled to be heard on the Senate floor Thursday.

Virtual Charter Schools Are A Great Idea
Gaston Gazette, NC, March 14, 2013
I am writing in response to Mr. Fleming’s column supporting a virtual charter school option and I couldn’t agree more. Virtual charter schools are a more affordable alternative than traditional schools and would allow North Carolina parents to maximize the individual potential of their student.