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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

Grants Back Public-Charter Cooperation
New York Times, NY, December 5, 2012
In an effort to encourage collaboration between charter schools and traditional neighborhood schools, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $25 million in grants to seven cities.

Transformed Teachers Unions Are Putting Focus of Quality
News Tribune, WA, December 5, 2012
We have all heard about the dramatic changes in the American electorate and how, because he spoke to the concerns of the growing numbers of Hispanic, black, female and younger voters, President Barack Obama was re-elected despite adverse economic conditions.

Raising The Bar For New Teachers
Washington Post, DC, December 4, 2012
Regarding the Dec. 2 news article “ Union to propose ‘bar exam’ for teachers”: I changed careers 13 years ago to become a teacher.

FROM THE STATES

ALABAMA

Whittington Wants Back On Committee
WJTV, AL, December 4, 2012
A state lawmaker at the center of a political fight over charter schools speaks out.

CALIFORNIA

Charter School Chosen By Parents To Take Over Failing Adelanto School Makes Pitch To Board
Contra Costa Times, CA, December 5, 2012
The charter school chosen by a group of parents under California’s “parent trigger” law finally got their chance to present how they’d remake a failing High Desert elementary school Tuesday night.

L.A. Unified Says Deal On Evaluations Meets Court Order
Los Angeles Times, CA, December 4, 2012
District files brief by judge’s deadline, but details remain unresolved in agreement with union on using student test scores to assess teachers.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Is Big Disruption Good For Urban School Districts?
Washington Post Blog, DC, December 4, 2012
My colleague Emma Brown has been looking closely at Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s plans to close one of every six traditional D.C. public schools.

FLORIDA

Three Finalists Are In The Running To Lead Education
Tallahassee Democrat, FL, December 5, 2012
The former head of two national school choice organizations, the outgoing education chief from Indiana and the president of a Kentucky university are the three candidates on the short list to be Florida’s next Commissioner of Education.

Charters Chart Big-Growth Course
Fort Myers Florida Weekly, FL, December 5, 2012
Charter schools — tuition-free schools funded by taxpayers, reviewed for quality by a nonprofit oversight board and often managed by a for-profit business or a public agency — have exploded with growth in Southwest Florida.

Wild Spending At Charter School Warrants Probe
Orlando Sentinel, FL, December 5, 2012
In June, NorthStar High closed after a sorry, years-long stretch of poor performance. During its pathetic run, the Orange County charter school rarely spent its taxpayer dollars on luxuries. Like computers. Or a school library. Or quality instructional resources.

Duval Board OKs 12 Charters, Suspension For Principal
Florida Times-Union, FL, December 4, 2012
Duval County will see 12 new charter schools in coming months.
The School Board approved the new schools Tuesday night during its monthly meeting. During the meeting, board members also denied two other charter school applications.

Forty Percent of School-Age Kids Enrolled In Ed Choice Programs
WFSU, FL, December 4, 2012
The number of children enrolled in Florida’s publicly funded school choice options has grown exponentially over the last decade. That’s according to state education officials giving updates to lawmakers in a House Education Sub-Committee.

GEORGIA

Charter School Contract Approved
Cherokee Ledger, GA, December 5, 2012
Cherokee Charter Academy’s funding arm unanimously approved on Nov. 28 a renewed management contract with Charter Schools USA , which was negotiated behind closed doors and voted on, without comment, in a public meeting. That contract was one of the documents presented to the state Department of Education as it heard the academy’s petition renewal request Nov. 29.

Charter Schools, Vouchers In BOE Legislative Goals
Douglas County Sentinel, GA, December 5, 2012
The Douglas County Board of Education (BOE) has introduced two legislative priorities or the 2013 session dealing with funding issues and the power of local school boards to manage schools in their system.

ILLINOIS

CPS Releases List of Underused Schools for 2012-13
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 5, 2012
Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday released a list of schools that are underenrolled according to this year’s attendance figures, providing additional data for a commission that is studying school closings but may not weigh in on which buildings should be shuttered.

INDIANA

Charter Schools a Great Education Option
Frost Illustrated, IN, December 5, 2012
Research suggests that neighborhood schools are valued highly by urban residents and represent an important part of neighborhood identity. Thurgood Marshall Leadership Academy is a neighborhood school right here in our community building a new sense of pride, culture and identity.

Teacher License Changes Under Review By Indiana Board
Indianapolis Star, IN, December 5, 2012
Republican state schools superintendent Tony Bennett will get the chance to sign off on changes to Indiana’s teacher certification and licensing process before leaving office.

LOUISIANA

School Voucher Decision Threatens Course Choice Initiative
Times-Picayune, LA, December 4, 2012
A recent ruling declaring Gov. Bobby Jindal’s school voucher program unconstitutional threatens another component of his administration’s education reform agenda: allowing students to take courses from non-traditional sources on the taxpayer’s dime.

Voucher Lawsuit Decisions Get Mixed Reactions
St. Tammany News, LA, December 5, 2012
“We strongly disagree with the ruling. We are optimistic this decision will be reversed on appeal.”— State Superintendent of Education John White.

New School Plan Advances
The Advocate, LA, December 5, 2012
A state panel Tuesday endorsed a new way to offer classes to public school students even though a district judge struck down the funding mechanism last week.

BESE Voting On Recommendation To End Charter Contracts With 4 New Orleans Schools
Times-Picayune, LA, December 4, 2012
It could be a rough holiday for students and teachers at four New Orleans elementary charter schools. The Louisiana Department of Education has recommended that Benjamin E. Mays Preparatory School, Pride College Preparatory Academy , Crocker Arts and Technology School and the Intercultural Charter School lose their charters at the end of the 2012-13 academic year.

MARYLAND

A New School Of Thought
The Diamondback, MD, December 4, 2012
There is a clear need for what the charter school offers — collectively, the Prince George’s County Public Schools Science and Tech high schools have just 500 spots for the 3,000 applicants they receive annually, and the charter school can help fill that niche. Most importantly, offering students the opportunity to gain college credit with a personalized and blended curriculum will help the city continue distinguish itself as a “smart place to live.”

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston Schools Win Gates Foundation Grant
Boston Globe, MA, December 5, 2012
Boston will receive a $3.25 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to foster collaboration among the city’s school system, charter schools, and parochial schools, the foundation plans to ¬announce Wednesday.

Raise The Charter-School Cap Again
Boston Globe, MA, December 5, 2012
IT WAS very good news for some families in Fall River and Lawrence, but Monday’s front-page Globe story also underscored an important reality about improving urban education. Although that reality will make teachers’ unions and their allies uncomfortable, it’s one policymakers will soon have to reckon with.

MICHIGAN

Island City Academy Showing Great Academic Success
Lansing State Journal, MI, December 5, 2012
Today, when you walk through the halls of Island City Academy with School Administrator Aaron Warren one thing is clear – a parent’s motivation can make things happen.

MINNESOTA

We Must All Fight To Close The Achievement Gap
Minnesota Daily, MN, December 5, 2012
The Dec. 3 article, “University aims to close K-12 achievement gap in Minnesota,” brought up a couple of things people must know.

Appeals Court Rejects Charter Lease Appeal
Star Tribune Blog, MN, December 4, 2012
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has quashed on a technicality an appeal by the Minneapolis school district in a dispute involving $960,000 in charter school rent, ruling that the district’s appeal of that action was too late.

MISSISSIPPI

Charters Could Affect Public Schools Pt. 2
WHLT, MS, December 4, 2012
Governor Phil Bryant and republicans are pushing for charter schools in Mississippi.
Charters are public schools that receive local, state and federal funding. However, those schools aren’t required to follow regulations like public schools. Superintendent of Hattiesburg Public Schools, James Baachus, explains.

NEW YORK

Plan To Push School For At-Risk Kids Out, To Move Well-Connected Charter In
New York Daily News, NY, December 4, 2012
The city is planning to create more space for the Moskowitz charter school by moving the Innovation Diploma Plus school to a Washington Heights building that lacks science labs and a gym.

Two Futures for NYC’S Schools
New York Post, NY, December 5, 2012
Where will the next mayor take the city’s public schools? The candidates have said as little as possible on the subject. But recent news in two other cities reveals the possibilities.

NORTH CAROLINA

Wake School Board Heeds Parents In Changes To Assignment Plan
News & Observer, NC, December 5, 2012
Amid a constant refrain of providing stability to families, Wake County school leaders backed off Tuesday on some proposed student-assignment changes and on moving the day of the week when students will have half days off for teacher training.

OHIO

Cleveland Schools CEO Eric Gordon Rolls Out Draft Plan Aimed At Lifting District’s Performance
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, December 4, 2012
Six failing schools in the Cleveland school district could be overhauled in the fall.

Education Reform Bills Moving This Way
Canton Repository, OH, December 4, 2012
Two bills making their way through the Ohio legislature will bring a number of changes to the way schools operate.

PENNSYLVANIA

Parents Groups, NAACP To File Ethics Complaint Over School District Consultant
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 5, 2012
Members of two parent groups and the city’s NAACP chapter plan to file a city ethics complaint Wednesday alleging that William Penn Foundation-funded work that a consulting firm did for the Philadelphia School District this year constituted lobbying.

Only the Bureaucrats
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 5, 2012
For the more than 34,000 Philadelphia children on waiting lists for charter schools, the School Reform Commission’s recent decision to restrict charter enrollment is one less thing to be thankful for this holiday season.

I-LEAD Seeks Charter Middle School In City
Reading Eagle, PA, December 5, 2012
After deeming their initial endeavor a success, operators of Berks County’s first charter school are eyeing an expansion.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Unfair Evaluation Format Can Give Good Teachers Bad Marks
Charleston Post Courier, SC, December 5, 2012
State Superintendent Mick Zals and his advisors at the South Carolina Department of Education want to give teachers letter grades of A, B, C, D or F based on their effectiveness, tied mostly to student performance on state and national test scores.

TENNESSEE

Nashville Schools Face Sweeping Changes
The Tennessean, TN, December 5, 2012
Four out of five lessons given in Metro Nashville classrooms aren’t good enough to keep students engaged.

Reform Can Make A Difference
The Tennessean, TN, December 5, 2012
Over the past several months in Nashville, the term “charter school” has been synonymous with discord and controversy. What has been lost in the chatter is the emergence of several great charter schools, where student gains have been occurring at a stunning rate. With data for 2011-2012 now available, those schools deserve accolades for their wonderful work.

Mississippi Leaders Get Close-Up Look At Helena KIPP School
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 4, 2012
Mississippi’s lieutenant governor, some legislators and the state education superintendent traveled just across the Mississippi River Tuesday to look at a successful charter school that they’d like to see replicated in their home state.

TEXAS

New Austin School Trustees Flex Muscle In Reconsidering Charter Contract, All-Boys School
Austin American Statesman, TX, December 4, 2012
Three months after the Austin district launched its first charter school partnership with IDEA Public Schools, school board members are now considering revamping the contract to keep IDEA from expanding into a second East Austin school.

Texas Education Commissioner Urges Charter Schools To Tout Work To Legislators
Dallas Morning News, TX, December 4, 2012
Charter school leaders should work to inform legislators about the education they provide and be better mentors for low-performing schools in their field, Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams told charter advocates Tuesday.

TLCA Pushes For Funding
San Angelo Standard-Times, TX, December 4, 2012
Texas Leadership Charter Academy directors are among the hundreds of charter school advocates in Austin this week planning legislative strategies and taking part in education workshops.

Teacher Pay Threatens Student Achievement, Expert Testifies
Houston Chronicle, TX, December 4, 2012
Texas teacher salaries are not competitive, and teaching quality has declined, which threatens student achievement, a Harvard-trained economist testified Tuesday in an ongoing school funding lawsuit trial.

UTAH

Rating Schools
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, December 5, 2012
A new school assessment system designed to replace the federal No Child Left Behind eliminates some of the onerous weaknesses of the Bush-era NCLB. But Utah ’s education officials must be careful that it does not also throw out the federal program’s strength — forcing schools to focus on underachieving students.

WASHINGTON

Constitutional Charters?
Seattle Weekly, WA, December 5, 2012
If charter schools have a roadblock to starting up locally, it’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn. After voters narrowly approved a charter-school initiative, Dorn announced that he was likely to sue over a provision in the measure that would establish a commission to oversee the new schools. His beef: The initiative puts the commission in the governor’s office rather than his.

ONLINE LEARNING

Challenge Heard To Oklahoma Virtual Charter School Law
The Oklahoman, OK, December 5, 2012
State Supreme Court referee hears arguments that the measure should be struck down because it violates a constitutional prohibition on placing multiple subjects into a single bill. An attorney for the state says the measure is legal because both fall under the same subject of education.

Future Of State’s Largest School May Be In Question
9NEWS, CO, December 4, 2012
For years, the Colorado Virtual Academy has been a part of the Adams 12 Five Star School District. The K-12 online school has about 4,400 students around the state. But, now Adams 12 leaders are wondering if the district should continue to authorize COVA’s charter.

NEWSWIRE IS OUT TODAY! 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

Union Calls For Teacher Certification Exam
Associated Press, December 3, 2012
Schoolteachers should have to pass a stringent exam – much like the bar exam for lawyers – before being allowed to enter the profession, one of the nation’s largest teachers unions said Monday.

Teachers Union Idea Makes The Grade
Venture County Star , CA, December 3, 2012
Finally, there is a union that seems to be paying attention to more than just the next pay and benefits contract and personal well being of its members.

A Valid Way To Use ‘Value Added’ In Teacher Evaluation
Washington Post Bog, DC, December 4, 2012
Value-added measures have played a valuable role in sparking this important debate, but they need not do all the heavy lifting for our reformed teacher evaluation systems. We need more than a number, but a process for identifying low-performing teachers and helping them get better.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Charter School Chosen To Remake Failing Adelanto School Has History Of Fast Turnarounds
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, CA, December 3, 2012
Once its charter application is approved, the charter school tapped to take over Adelanto’s failing Desert Trails Elementary School will have only months to hire a staff and set up a new school before the start of the 2013-14 school year.

For Dropouts, A Way To Drop Back In
Los Angeles Times, CA, December 3, 2012
An increasing number of young people neither attend school nor work, a study finds. A new partnership between the city of Los Angeles and L.A. Unified aims to halt that ‘unacceptable’ trend.

Planned Novato ‘Core Curriculum’ Charter School Raises Questions
Marin Independent Journal, CA, December 3, 2012
THE PROPOSAL to open another charter school in Novato has stirred controversy.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

District Probes Residency of 80 Public School Students
Washington Post, DC, December 4, 2012
The District is investigating the residency of 80 students who attended school at D.C. taxpayers’ expense in 2011-12 but have not been able to prove that they live in Washington , according to city officials.

GU Teams With Charter School Group
The Hoya, DC, December 4, 2012
Georgetown formally partnered Nov. 26 with the Knowledge Is Power Program, a national charter school system aimed at boosting college attendance among students from low-income, minority backgrounds.

FLORIDA

A ‘Value-Added’ Travesty For An Award-Winning Teacher
Washington Post Blog, DC, December 3, 2012
Here’s the crazy story of Kim Cook, a teacher at Irby Elementary, a K-2 school which feeds into Alachua Elementary, for grades 3-5, just down the road in Alachua, Fla. She was recently chosen by the teachers at her school as their Teacher of the Year.
Evaluations of Teachers Need Reset
News Press, FL, December 4, 2012
There is time for the state to return to the blackboard and develop a merit pay program for teachers that is easier for everyone to understand and places more of an emphasis on the proven value of an educator rather than on predictions.

Salary Increases For Pines Charter Teachers Could Throw System Into Financial Urgency
Sun Sentinel, FL, December 3, 2012
A salary increase for 329 teachers could throw the A-rated Pembroke Pines Charter School System into financial urgency.

Closed Orange County Charter School Faces More Financial Accusations
WFTV, FL, December 3, 2012
More troubling questions surround a charter school that’s already under fire for a huge payout to the principal.

GEORGIA

Fulton Science Academy High School Could Lose Charter, Close in June
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, December 3, 2012
Fulton Science Academy High School in Alpharetta could lose its public school charter and be forced to close at the end of the school year, in part, for illegally making students pay for mandatory classes.

ILLINOIS

Build On Successes of Charter Schools
Chicago Sun Times, IL, December 3, 2012
It is easy to dismiss the Chicago Teachers Union’s latest assault against charter schools in Chicago.

School Closing Meeting Sparsely Attended
Chicago Tribune, IL, December 3, 2012
About 100 people came to a cavernous South Side church Monday for a meeting of a Chicago Public Schools commission charged with gathering community input on school closings.

INDIANA

Indiana School Chief Tony Bennett Applies For Florida Post
Courier-Journal, IN, December 3, 2012
Less than a month after losing his re-election bid to Washington Township teacher Glenda Ritz, Indiana State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett is seeking the same job in Florida .

LOUISIANA

Judge Deals a Setback to Louisiana’s Voucher Program
New York Times, NY, December 4, 2012
Last January, Gov. Bobby Jindal took the oath of office for his second term, declaring in his inauguration speech that anyone who stood in the way of his education reform efforts “must stand down.” On Friday, a judge in Baton Rouge said, in effect: not so fast.

MARYLAND

Baltimore’s Bold — And Necessary — School Plan
Baltimore Sun, MD, December 3, 2012
Alonso’s massive school repair, renovation and construction plan is exactly what the city needs to improve educational opportunities for students and attract new families to Baltimore

MASSACHUSETTS

Don’t Blame Critics For Charter’s Plight
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, December 3, 2012
Speaking about the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School last week, Secretary of Education Paul Reville stated, “We’ll never know, in the absence of that kind of implacable opposition to the school, if they would have succeeded.”

MICHIGAN

Mich. Educators Form Coalition To Oppose School-Reform Bill Giving EAA Power
Detroit News, MI, December 4, 2012
A coalition of Michigan public school officials is mounting stiff resistance to legislation that would strengthen the Educational Achievement Authority’s power to take over the state’s lowest achieving schools.

Charter Schools Are Not A Solution
Detroit News, MI, December 4, 2012
Most people would agree that every child should have the opportunity at a high quality education. Unfortunately Republicans have become obsessed with making changes that don’t actually improve educational outcomes.

MISSISSIPPI

Charters Could Affect Public Schools
WHLT22, MS, December 3, 2012
Governor Phil Bryant is pushing for charters schools throughout the state. So what does that mean for your child’s school here in the Pine Belt?

NEW JERSEY

Mount Olive ‘Choice’ Costs District $2 Million In Added Aid
New Jersey Hills, NJ, December 3, 2012
The school district was approved as a “state choice district” in August meaning that for the 2013-14 school year it could enroll students from other districts and gain as much as $2 million in additional state aid to educate the new students.

NEW MEXICO

N.M.’s Small Districts Show How It’s Done
Albuquerque Journal, NM, December 4, 2012
Like “The Little Engine That Could,” a coalition of small school districts pulled together to make it into the last leg of the federal Race to the Top.

NEW YORK

NYC Kids Greet PM
New York Post, NY, December 4, 2012
When the prime minister of South Korea wanted to see a great city public school in action, he chose a Harlem charter.

Readers Respond on Teacher Evaluations
Newsday, NY, December 3, 2012
How can New York State United Teachers president Richard Iannuzzi say that we are rushing into teacher evaluations and it will “cost” the taxpayers and students [“Teachers union: State rushed evaluations,” Letters, Nov. 26]?

OKLAHOMA

Douglass High School Mess Reflects A Systemwide Failure
The Oklahoman, OK, December 4, 2012
ON the first day Douglass High School students walked the halls of their new building, the Oklahoma City School Board chairman at the time stood before students with a message of hope.

PENNSYLVANIA

Two Groups Present Charter School Plans In North Penn School District
The Reporter, PA, December 4, 2012
Two groups that want to launch charter schools within the North Penn School District presented their plans to the school board, administration and the community Monday night.

State Nominates Receiver for Chester-Upland School District
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, December 4, 2012
Pennsylvania’s education secretary asked Delaware County Court on Monday to name the Chester Upland School District’s state-appointed chief recovery officer as receiver of the struggling district.

RHODE ISLAND

Providence Elementary School Files For Charter
Brown Daily Herald, RI, December 3, 2012
Frank D. Spaziano Elementary School recently became the only school in the Providence Public School District to vote in favor of becoming a district charter school.

TENNESSEE

Expert Training, Longer Day May Boost Nashville’s Lowest-Performing Schools
The Tennessean, TN, December 4, 2012
National education experts will descend on five of Nashville’s lowest-performing public schools in the coming months, seeking ways to improve their performance.

School Voucher Proposal Must Be Carefully Crafted
Knoxville News-Sentinel, TN, December 4, 2012
Gov. Bill Haslam’s Task Force on Opportunity Scholarships — otherwise known as school vouchers — has given him a range of options for inclusion in a bill should he move forward.

Pros And Cons Of School Vouchers
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 4, 2012
When it comes to giving children from low-income families a chance to attend a quality private school, tuition vouchers could be a great idea.

TEXAS

Austin School Board May Revamp Contract With IDEA, Keep Charter From Expanding Into Eastside Memorial
Austin American-Statesman, TX, December 4, 2012
Shortly after midnight Tuesday, Austin district trustees directed Superintendent Meria Carstarphen to bring up for review at its Dec. 17 board meeting the contract with charter operator IDEA Public Schools.

WASHINGTON

7 Apply To Be Seattle District’s First Creative Approach Schools
Seattle Times, WA, December 3, 2012
Throughout the campaign over this year’s charter-school initiative, a number of Seattle’s school leaders argued that Seattle didn’t need charters to build and nurture innovative teaching. By giving a number of schools new flexibility next fall, they hope to prove it.

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin: GOP Lawmaker Pridemore Launches Run For State School Superintendent
Pioneer Press, WI, December 3, 2012
Republican state Rep. Don Pridemore launched his campaign to become Wisconsin ‘s top education leader on Monday, saying he would bring a conservative approach to the job while refusing to talk specifically about what policies he would push.

ONLINE LEARNING

Discover Learning
Albuquerque Journal, NM, December 4, 2012
Parents got their first chance recently to take a look at Discovery Education, a classroom service that provides web-based resources like videos, interactive lessons, games and other digital learning tools.

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.

5 States To Increase Class Time In Some Schools
Associated Press, December 3, 2012
Open your notebooks and sharpen your pencils. School for thousands of public school students is about to get quite a bit longer.

Schools Ring Closing Bell
Wall Street Journal, December 3, 2012
At Davis Elementary in this city’s mostly poor southeast section, 178 students are spread out in a 69-year-old building meant to hold 450.

Union Proposes ‘Bar Exam’ For Teachers
Washington Post, DC, December 1, 2012
A major teachers union wants to create a rigorous professional exam for K-12 teachers that would serve the same function as the bar exam for lawyers and board certification for doctors.

American Education — Wrong Questions, Wrong Answers
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 2, 2012
In the past decade, we have seen a growing litany of assertions proclaiming the belief that the system of American public education injures and/or ill-equips massive numbers of children. It is this belief that has spawned a Race to the Top to standardized curricula for our students and evaluation systems for our educators.

FROM THE STATES

ARIZONA

Charter Purchasing Practices Under Scrutiny
Arizona Republic, AZ, December 2, 2012
The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools is considering possible changes to school procurement policies after an Arizona Republic investigation detailed how school-board members and administrators are profiting by doing business with their own schools.

Crane Charter School To Offer New Approach
Yuma Sun, AZ, December 2, 2012
The Crane School District is embarking on a new approach to learning with the school board’s approval last week of a new charter school that will put emphasis on science, technology and mathematics.

TUSD Has 13k More Seats Than Students
Arizona Daily Star, AZ, December 2, 2012
The Tucson Unified School District has about 13,000 empty seats – that’s more than the entire enrollment of most every other local district.

ARKANSAS

Debate Over Charter Schools To Continue In Ark. Legislature
KUAR, AR, December 1, 2012
With Republican majorities in the Arkansas House and Senate, some expect a surge of legislation during the coming session further expanding public charter schools in the state.

CALIFORNIA

Oakland County Education Leaders Lobby Against Legislation They Fear Would Create Statewide System Of Privately Run Charters
Oakland Press, CA, December 2, 2012
Oakland County education leaders have initiated a movement to fight the passage of proposed state legislation that they say would change how school districts operate.

Student Scores May Be Used In LAUSD Teacher Ratings
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 30, 2012
Union leaders and LAUSD officials agree to make testing data part of evaluations. But some hurdles remain.

COLORADO

New Adams 50 STEM School Will Let Students See Science Everywhere
Denver Post, CO, December 3, 2012
When he was growing up, Colorado native Anthony Matthews had to put in effort — often outside of school — to pursue his interest in science and engineering.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Paid $3 Million To Send Nonresidents To Private Schools
Washington Examiner, DC, December 2, 2012
The District spent about $3 million to send 47 special education students who were not D.C. residents to private schools last year, school officials told The Washington Examiner.

FLORIDA

Charter Schools Complicate Effort To Reduce Crowding
Palm Beach Post, FL, December 1, 2012
In simpler days, Palm Beach County, developers and the school district thought they had the solution to school crowding: Build schools where students are.

Fairness Of Teacher Evaluation System Debated
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL, December 2, 2012
Palmetto Elementary School teacher Sarah Winn was rated a highly effective teacher for 2011-12.

Florida’s Education Reform Model Can Unite Us
USA Today, December 1, 2012
In the wake of one of our most divisive elections, Americans are looking to our leaders to bring the country back together. No issue has greater potential to unite the country than improving the way we educate our children.

IDAHO

Charter School Boosts Scores
Bonner County Daily Bee, ID, December 2, 2012
The Forrest Bird Charter School is moving into the holidays after charting some improved standardized test scores in 2012.

Xavier to Stay Open this Year, Future Uncertain
Magic Valley Times News, ID, December 2, 2012
Xavier Charter School will remain open this school year, but the school board is working to find a longer-term solution to financial issues.

LOUISIANA

Lost in Louisiana
Wall Street Journal, December 2, 2012
Louisiana Judge Timothy Kelley sure is a fast writer. Only hours after the end of a two-day trial, the Balzac of the judiciary rolled out a 39-page opinion striking down the state’s pioneering voucher program as unconstitutional. Could it be that he knew how he was going to rule before the trial?

Judge Blocks Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Signature School Voucher Program
Christian Science Monitor, LA, December 1, 2012
The nation’s boldest school voucher program made nearly half of Louisiana ‘s students eligible for taxpayer-funded vouchers to attend private schools. A state judge ruled the plan unconstitutional, setting up a funding fight in an age of austerity.

White: LFT, LAE in Way of Student Achievement
The Advocate, LA, December 3, 2012
Louisiana’s two teacher unions are hindering efforts to improve student achievement in public schools, state Superintendent of Education John White said.

Two St. Landry Schools May Be Affected By Ruling
Opelousas Daily World, LA, December 2, 2012
A ruling by a Louisiana State Judge that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s private school voucher program is unconstitutional may affect two St. Landry Parish schools.

MASSACHUSETTS

Worcester to Foot Bill for Millions in State Aid Cuts
Go Local Worcester, MA, December 3, 2012
state revenues in the gutter so far this year, Worcester is bracing for reductions to charter school funding and a $2.5 million cut in state aid, a gap the City will have to fill from its own coffers.

Record Crowd At Mystic Valley Admissions Lottery
Malden Observer, MA, December 2, 2012
The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School held its annual Admissions Lottery on Nov. 14.

MICHIGAN

Keith Johnson Wins Detroit Teachers Union Election
Detroit News, MI, December 2, 2012
Keith Johnson was re-elected Saturday as president of the DFT, his third two-year term, the union announced.

MINNESOTA

St. Paul District: ‘High-Need’ Areas Among Changes Planned To School Choice
Pioneer Press, MN, December 2, 2012
St. Paul hopes to steer more students from neighborhoods facing the steepest challenges to its most popular elementary schools.

Twin Cities: Bringing Method To Our Achievement-Gap Madness
Pioneer Press, MN, December 1, 2012
When it comes to efforts to narrow the achievement gap, the Twin Cities are “program-rich, but system-poor.”

MISSISSIPPI

Discourse About Charter Schools Should Be Based On The Truth
Clarion Ledger, MS, December 3, 2012
Individuals who appreciate facts and thoughtful discourse have always welcomed Charlie Mitchell’s columns.

Visits Precede Charter School Push
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, MS, December 2, 2012
Mississippi legislators have toured charter schools in Florida, New Orleans and Arkansas as they prepare to tackle the controversial issue again during the upcoming 2013 session.

Response to Bryant’s Reform Plans Positive
Clarion Ledger, MS, December 1, 2012
If she could, Mary Bishop of Raymond would send her three children to Clinton High School. She’s willing to provide the transportation and already travels about that far to send her children to a private school.

NEVADA

New Ratings Leave No School Behind, Push Many To Top
Las Vegas Review, NV, December 2, 2012
On paper, Booker Elementary School is exceptional, exceeding standards with four out of five stars, according to the district’s assessment.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Nashua Teacher’s Union Gives Blessing to Race to the Top Grant
Nashua Telegraph, NH, December 2, 2012
When the state tried to get millions in federal funding through the Race to the Top education grant two years ago, the application went nowhere.

NEW JERSEY

N.J. Charter School Study Shows Success, But Need For Close Monitoring
Star-Ledger, NJ, December 2, 2012
The latest study on charter schools shows promising results, especially in Newark.

Fine Print: Newark’s Race to the Top Application
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, December 3, 2012
Ambitious and expensive, the proposal from the state’s largest district wants almost $30 million to put “personalized learning” in the schools.

NEW YORK

State Deadline For Teacher Evaluations Looms
Buffalo News, NY, December 3, 2012
More than 90 percent of the school districts in New York State had submitted teacher evaluation plans to Albany as of Friday – the soft deadline that state Education Department officials had set if schools did not want to jeopardize any of their state aid.

City’s Own ‘Fi-School’ Cliff
New York Post, NY, December 3, 2012
It’s crunch time. The city and its teachers union have just six weeks to reach a deal on a new teacher-evaluation system — or else forgo nearly $300 million in public-school funds.

OHIO

Group Calls For Charter Crackdown
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, December 2, 2012
Charter schools are public schools operated by independent organizations. About 105,000 students statewide, or 6.5 percent of public school kids in the state, attend a charter school. There are 34 in Greater Cincinnati.

OKLAHOMA

With The Most Failing Schools, Tulsa Leaders Suspect Methods
The Oklahoman, OK, December 2, 2012
Of the 10 schools that received F’s in the entire state one was in Oklahoma City, one in Atoka and the other eight were in Tulsa .

PENNSYLVANIA

Feds’ Denial Of Charter AYP Rule Change Will Allow Closer Comparisons
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, December 3, 2012
Bache-Martin is a K-8 District-run public school in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia with about 400 students. People for People is a K-8 charter school with just over 500 students not too far away in lower North Philadelphia.

No Child Left Behind Bears Unrealistic Expectations
Patriot News, PA, December 3, 2012
The No Child Left Behind Act is ideal for everyone except the thousands of children being left behind. The contentious law offers incentives that it fails to deliver and does not fund schools with the necessary means to accomplish the goals it has established. The government’s promised funding has fallen short by billions, and many schools are entering a state of financial decay because of the deficit.

Charter School Funding Reform Must Address Pension
Delaware Count Daily Times, PA, December 2, 2012
There are several reasons why laws regulating charter schools should be examined and addressed by Pennsylvania lawmakers after they failed to accomplish that task this legislative session.

TENNESSEE

Nashville Charter School Fair Will Let Parents Compare Options
The Tennessean, TN, December 3, 2012
First, Nashville families got a look at all their choices in Metro schools. Now, they’ll get a look at something different: charter schools that promise to do more, thanks to freedom to deliver the curriculum they choose, the way they choose.

McIntyre To Urge School Board To Vote Against Charter Application
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, December 3, 2012
Knox County Schools Superintendent Jim McIntyre has recommended the school board reject the latest application that proposes converting the facilities at Vine Middle Performing Arts and Sciences Magnet School into a charter school.

More Questions Than Answers With School Vouchers
The Tennessean, TN, December 3, 2012
A task force of nine people met numerous times over the course of a year, did massive research, wrote a 94-page report, and still couldn’t reach a consensus on how a school voucher system would work in Tennessee.

Good Judgment Can Be Tough
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 2, 2012
The scenario: A charter school for poor kids is up for review. A judgment has to be made in the next few days on whether the school is failing or succeeding.

Gov. Bill Haslam Expects Voucher Bill Legislation
Commercial Appeal, TN, December 3, 2012
Tennessee lawmakers will almost certainly approve some kind of voucher bill in the upcoming legislative season. And while Gov. Bill Haslam doesn’t know how broad it will be, he is not interested in a trial run.

WASHINGTON

We Must Continue to Race to the Top
Seattle Times, WA, December 2, 2012
Let’s hear it for the seven King County school districts in the running for up to $40 million in federal Race to the Top grant. Public-school students are the winners in this competition.

As We Keep Students From Dropping Out …
Seattle Times, WA, December 2, 2012
Washington must tackle its pernicious dropout rate. Getting young people into college or careers means first keeping them in high school.

WEST VIRGINIA

Don’t Postpone School Reform
The Intelligencer, WV, December 1, 2012
There seems to be general agreement major reforms are needed in West Virginia ‘s public schools. But getting everyone “on the same page” about what to do is another story.

WISCONSIN

State’s Largest Teachers’ Unions Agree To Enter Merger Talks
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, December 2, 2012
The state’s two largest teachers unions will formally discuss a merger after the Wisconsin Education Association Council voted to do so at a special assembly in Madison over the weekend.

Education Reform Talks On Tap
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, December 3, 2012
It’s a big week ahead, and the start of a big month, for potentially reshaping the future of our public schools.

Beware Charter School Initiatives That Are A Trojan Horse For Dismantling Public Education
Journal Gazette, WI, December 1, 2012
Many urban educators have long warned that charter schools, along with vouchers, are being used to dismantle public education.

Scores Show Voucher Schools Need Accountability
Journal Gazette, WI, December 2, 2012
Ceria M. Travis Academy is a private school that had 486 kindergarten through 12th-grade students as of September in two buildings, one on the west side, one on the north side. Its partner school, Travis Technology High School on the far northwest side, had 214 students.

ONLINE LEARNING

17 NY Districts Get Virtual Learning Grants
Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2012
New York high school students in several poor districts will have better access to advanced placement courses under a program featuring virtual classrooms.

Digital Age Is Testing North Jersey Teachers
The Record, NJ, December 2, 2012
Spend a while at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale, one of the first in New Jersey to hand every student a laptop, and you’ll likely hear a teacher tell students to “forty-five it.”

E-Schools: Innovative Niche Or Educational Bust?
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, December 1, 2012
The Hingsbergen family of Fairfield Township is an e-school family. Four of the five Hingsbergen children went to high school at Ohio Connections Academy, a statewide online charter school.

Just How Potent Are Teacher Unions?
National Review, November 30, 2012
Hostess Brands is set to liquidate its 82-year-old company because it was unable to meet the salary demands of its unionized employees. Roughly 18,500 workers will lose their jobs because 5,500 members of various bakers’ unions can’t appreciate that a tightening economy, stiffening competition, and an increasingly health-conscious America mean fewer Twinkies for all.

Feds: Leave States Free To Reform Their Schools
Fairmont Sentinel, NM, November 30, 2012
With the national debt and its many related issues moving to the top of both President Barack Obama’s and Congress’ agendas, matters such as education reform probably will receive little attention next year, some analysts have said. Good.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

California Targets School Borrowing
Wall Street Journal, November 30, 2012
California Treasurer Bill Lockyer Thursday called for overhauls in school districts’ sales of so-called capital-appreciation bonds, saying too many schools are locking themselves into what he described as “terrible deals” with onerous terms such as debt payments of more than 10 times the principal.

Not So Fast On Charter Schools
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 29, 2012
It is beyond me why The Times believes charter schools have been any kind of “spark” to education reform in Los Angeles.

LAUSD Slow To Report On Teacher Misconduct
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 29, 2012
An audit finds that the school district failed to promptly inform a California panel about allegations, including sexual ones.

COLORADO

Board OKs Charter School On North Campus Despite Protests
Denver Post, CO, November 30, 2012
About 30 North High School students, parents and community supporters formed a conga line of sorts outside the Denver Public Schools headquarters Thursday afternoon as they chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, co-location’s got to go.”

GALS School Breaks Gender Barriers
Ed News Colorado, CO, November 29, 2012
GALS, which stands for Girls Athletic Leadership School, is making waves as the first girls-only charter school in Colorado.

‘Buy-in’ Key to EL School Conversion, Says Sirko
Glenwood Springs Post Independent, CO, November 30, 2012
The possible conversion of an existing Glenwood Springs school into an official Expeditionary Learning School is a “separate but interconnected conversation” to the ongoing charter school talks, said interim Roaring Fork School District Re-1 Superintendent Diana Sirko.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Last In Nation In Rate Of High School Graduation
Washington Times, DC, November 29, 2012
The nation’s capital had the worst four-year high school graduation rate in the country in 2010-2011, a finding that suggests the city has more work to do to reform its historically troubled school system.

FLORIDA

Charter Schools Revenue There But Not Shared Fairly
Press News, FL, November 30, 2012
Re: Your editorial “Don’t raise taxes for charters,” Nov. 16. The City of Cape Coral Charter School Authority, also known as the “Oasis” schools, has been actively pursuing proper funding for several years. We thank you for the recognition of our system as “providing quality education” to our 3,000 students in Cape Coral.

HAWAII

A School of Choice
Maui Weekly, HI, November 29, 2012
First of a two-part series about Kihei Charter School explores its 12-year history, growth and success. What Maui public high school ranks near the top of all Hawai’i schools in reading and math scores?

INDIANA

Charter Schools Represent Another Valid Option For Parents To Consider
News Sentinel, IN, November 30, 2012
Research suggests that neighborhood schools are valued highly by urban residents and represent an important part of neighborhood identity.

As Hoosier Students Look For Options, Many Charters Aren’t Making The Grade
93.1 WIBC Indianapolis, IN, November 30, 2012
More Hoosier students are attending charter schools, but just like the choice between charters and traditional public schools is critical, the choice between who operates that charter is also extremely important.

Private Schools See Growth With Vouchers
The Herald Bulletin, IN, November 29, 2012
To Anderson’s private schools, it doesn’t matter if a student is on a voucher or not, the mission is to serve all with a quality education, officials said.

LOUISIANA

Charter School Closer To Approval
The Daily News, LA, November 30, 2012
The Louisiana Department of Education announced Wednesday that it will recommend the approval of 11 new charter schools in Louisiana, including one in Bogalusa , for the 2013-14 school year. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will consider each of the proposal applications during a meeting next Wednesday.

State Begins Voucher Trial
The St. Tammany News, LA, November 30, 2012
A lawsuit filed by 43 school boards from across Louisiana and two statewide teachers’ unions challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new education reforms, including the voucher system, began Wednesday in Baton Rouge in 19th Judicial District, Division F Judge Tim Kelly’s court.

MARYLAND

Residents Start Petition Against Plans For College Park Charter School
Washington Post, DC, November 29, 2012
Richard Williamson, 41, of College Park can see the historic building that could become a new 700-student public charter school from his dining room window — a view he describes as fearful given the potential traffic congestion, tax hikes and crime increases he said may come to the area if the school plan moves forward.

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston School-Choice Recommendations Delayed
Boston Globe, MA, November 30, 2012
An advisory committee racing to meet a deadline on recommending changes to the way ¬Boston assigns students to schools will have until at least January to cast a vote, the mayor’s office ¬announced Thursday.

Parents Support Charter Petition
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, November 29, 2012
As the clock ticks toward the mid-December day when the state’s education board will decide the next step for Gloucester ’s charter school — with charter revocation being a possibility — a petition to keep the school open is being circulated, capturing more than 400 signatures in less than two days.

MICHIGAN

‘Any Time, Any Place, Any Pace’: The New Paradigm
Detroit News, MI, November 30, 2012
Like any parent or grandparent, Rose wants the best for these children — the best environment, the best education, the best future. That includes the opportunity to select the right school

Schools Evaluate Teachers
Daily Press & Argus, MI, November 30, 2012
New statewide evaluations for Michigan teachers were released this week; however, results of the evaluations could leave parents more confused than enlightened.

Michigan Schools: 97% Of Teachers Effective Or Better
Detroit News, MI, November 30, 2012
More than 97 percent of the state’s 96,000 teachers were rated effective or higher in 2011-12, including teachers working at some of the state’s lowest performing schools.

Bills To Refine State Education Authority’s Role Make Progress
Detroit News, MI, November 29, 2012
Bills clarifying the role of the state’s Education Achievement Authority are hung up on how schools would end state oversight.

Bills Would Force Districts To Sell Vacant Buildings
Daily Press & Argus, MI, November 30, 2012
An effort to boost the state’s lowest-performing school districts would also require high-performing districts in Livingston County to repair their vacant buildings and sell them to competing charter schools, according to Howell Public Schools Superintendent Ron Wilson.

MISSISSIPPI

Member Booted Over Charter Schools Bill
WJTV, MS, November 29, 2012
This year a charter school bill died in the house education committee by just one vote.
Now Republican Speaker Philip Gunn has replaced a democratic member who opposes charter schools with one who supports the idea.

NEW JERSEY

More Homework Needed On Study
Asbury Park Press, NJ, November 30, 2012
State Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf this week was quick to seize on a new study indicating that charter schools outperformed traditional public schools, particularly in urban districts, as evidence that such schools are providing “much needed options for New Jersey students.”

NEW YORK

Gov, Take The Lead On School Reform
New York Daily News, NY, November 30, 2012
With Gov. Cuomo’s New NY Education Reform Commission soon expected to release its preliminary recommendations, our public schools are at a hinge moment.

For NYC’s Students, Move On Evaluations
New York Post, NY, November 30, 2012
In February, Gov. Cuomo stood with state Education Commissioner John B. King Jr. and the heads of city and state teachers unions to announce agreement on a new evaluation system for teachers and principals. The new law was a groundbreaking accord that laid the foundation for a fair, responsible process to provide educators with constructive evaluations that can strengthen teaching and learning.

Elmira Group Plans Charter School For Boys
Elmira Star Gazette, NY, November 29, 2012
More than 40 people, armed with curiosity and questions, heard a local group’s plan Thursday night to open a charter school in Elmira in September 2014.

OHIO

Charter School Gets 30-Day Reprieve
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 30, 2012
A struggling Columbus charter school got a one-month reprieve to stay open, but it still might be forced to close just before students return from winter break.

School Standards Pass House
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 30, 2012
Ohio schools soon might face a new A-to-F report-card system and a harder time earning high marks after the Republican-led House approved sweeping changes yesterday to the state’s school-accountability system.

OREGON

Reading The Fine Print
Mail Tribune, OR, November 29, 2012
Some parents of students at Madrone Trail Public Charter School are critical of the school’s board of directors, and they’ve asked the Medford School Board to intervene. Doug Breidenthal, Madrone Trail board chairman and a Jackson County commissioner-elect, says the parents are in the minority and are dredging up old issues.

PENNSYLVANIA

No ‘Cooking The Books’ For Charter Schools
Towanda Daily Review, PA , November 30, 2012
Much as the state Department of Education caught several Pennsylvania school districts cheating on student achievement tests, the U.S. Department of Education has caught the state education agency fudging on behalf of charter schools.

Erie Boarding Charter Application Cuts High School Grades
Erie Times-News, PA, November 30, 2012
Organizers of the proposed Eagle’s Nest College Preparatory Charter School have changed the scope of their plan heading into their upcoming charter approval hearing.

TENNESSEE

Streamlined Process For Metro Schools Of Choice Makes Things Easier
The Tennessean, TN, November 30, 23012
A new system for applying to Metro Nashville schools of choice has smoothed out the application process this year, although the number of requests for transfer is expected to be about the same.

District And Charter Schools Have Lessons To Offer
The Tennessean, TN, November 30, 2012
Metro Nashville Public Schools is one of the most diverse school districts in the Southeast, if not the entire U.S. It is a district that serves not only diverse ethnicities, but also a myriad of cultures and languages from around the globe and every income level in the socio-economic spectrum.

The Choice: A School Fight Over Middle Class Families
Nashville Public Radio, TN, November 30, 2012
Students in Nashville have until the end of Friday to apply for a seat in the ever-growing list of “option schools.” Like other large districts nationwide, Metro has been expanding choice to make the system more attractive to families. But even with a menu of charters, magnets and language immersion programs, Metro still has convincing left to do.

Suburban Mayors Say Charter Schools Are ‘Fallback Position’
Memphis Business Journal, TN, November 29, 2012
While efforts to form municipal school districts have been dealt a critical blow by a U.S. District Court ruling, the mayors of Memphis suburban cities are regrouping for their next move, which includes preparing arguments for a Dec. 27 deadline.

TN School Voucher Report Leaves Key Areas Open To Debate
The Tennessean, TN, November 30, 2012
A much-anticipated report Gov. Bill Haslam requested on a potential school voucher program for Tennessee has left key areas open to debate, including recognizing a “range of opinions” on the scholarship’s funding mechanism.

Cheating Ring Undermines All Teachers’ Integrity
The Tennessean, TN, November 30, 2012
Teachers and administrators should be outraged. We certainly are. Federal prosecutors in Memphis this week indicted 14 people, mostly educators, on allegations that they cheated on teacher-certification tests in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas.

TEXAS

State Officials Question Academics, Student Safety At Prime Prep
WFAA, TX, November 29, 2012
When NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders’ non-profit organization applied to open a charter school in North Texas , he promised overall excellence.

WASHINGTON

Let’s Undo Costly Bureaucracy
Daily Herald, WA, November 30, 2012
The guest commentary, “Weak Charter vote dilutes real mandate” in the Saturday Herald is critical of the voters who supported I-1240 for charter schools. Where will the money for them come from, the writers ask?

Who Will Charter Schools Serve?
Kent Reporter, WA, November 29, 2012
Among other things charter schools in this election were touted as being good for students who are not doing well in regular public schools. We know that highly diverse/high poverty schools generally have proportionately higher numbers of students not making the grade, with black and brown students most often performing the worst.

ONLINE LEARNING

Online Charter Schools Spent Millions Of Taxpayer Dollars On Advertising To Recruit New Students
Huffington Post, November 29, 2012
An analysis by USA Today has revealed that 10 of the largest online charter schools spent an estimated $94.4 million in taxpayer dollars on advertising over the past five years. The largest, Virginia-based K12 Inc., spent approximately $21.5 million in just the first eight months of 2012.

Torrington School Board Discusses Online Learning For THS Students
Register Citizen, CT, November 29, 2012
Last year, the Torrington School District implemented an online learning program called “Odysseyware” for students who are at risk of dropping out or who are behind in credits and classes.

Study Looks Into Online Schooling Effectiveness
KREX, CO, November 29, 2012
A recent study done by the Colorado Department of Education shows that, statewide, students in online schools aren’t performing as well as those in traditional schools

LCPS Offers Full-Time Virtual Learning
Las Cruces Sun-News, NM, November 29, 2012
Five high school students with very different educational needs and backgrounds are blazing a new trail for Las Cruces Public Schools.

Online Learning Fills Gaps In Rural Education
Kamloops News, CA, November 30, 2012
People living here can’t remember the last time one of their brightest kids went on to medical school.

Great Teacher Evaluation Shouldn’t Be Good Luck
CNN Blog, November 29, 2012
In the nine years I’ve been in the classroom — at three different urban schools — I’ve consistently experienced evaluations that have allowed me to grow as an educator. I’m a better teacher because of that, and my students have benefited.

Charter School Group Calls For Tougher Laws
USA Today, November 28, 2012
In what may be a wake-up call to many of the USA’s 6,000 charter schools, an influential group called Wednesday for tougher standards for these independently run public schools, saying lawmakers should have more power to close down underperforming schools.

Tougher Charter School Standards Praised — By Charter Group
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 28, 2012
An essential feature of the Cleveland school reforms recently supported by city voters is the school district’s decision to engage with the city’s best charter schools to lift outcomes for all students — in part by making it harder for sham charters to take root. That approach has been reaffirmed from an unlikely quarter: the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.

FROM THE STATES

ARIZONA

Public Schools Compete With Charter Schools For Enrollment Numbers
KVOA, AZ, November 28, 2012
New numbers reveal that there are now over 144,000 Arizona students enrolled in charters. That’s about 10,000 more than previous years. This is the highest of anywhere in the country, second to Washington D.C.

CALIFORNIA

ICEF Charter Schools Say They Are Back On Track Financially
The Daily Breeze, CA, November 28, 2012
ICEF Public Schools, a collection of 14 charter schools in Los Angeles County that nearly shut down two years ago because of fiscal malaise and overexpansion, is back on track financially, officials announced this week.

Charters and Special Ed: Checking Up
Voice of Sand Diego, CA, November 28, 2012
Because of the unique way special education is funded in California , new charter schools are automatically enrolled in their home school district’s special education program. In San Diego Unified and elsewhere, the district charges charter schools a per-student fee for those services.

Hollister Charter School Gains District Approval In 3-2 Vote
Gilroy Dispatch, CA, November 28, 2012
The Hollister School District on Tuesday approved a contract and conditional approval of a petition to open a charter school in Hollister for the 2013-14 school year.

COLORADO

Approve STRIVE High School at Denver’s North Annex
Denver Post, CO, November 29, 2012
The Denver school board should OK a resolution authorizing a Strive high school of 500 students in the North High annex.

Hamner Named House Ed Chair
Ed News Colorado, CO, November 28, 2012
Rep. Millie Hamner of Dillon has been named chair of the House Education Committee and Rep. Cherilyn Peniston of Westminster will be vice chair.

DELAWARE

Is Building Of Odyssey School Necessary?
The News Journal, DE, November 28, 2012
I simply don’t understand why this school has to be built. We have declining enrollments in many New Castle County schools, public and private. Why can’t we use McKean or Dickinson? They are both down 400 students from 2000-2001. We used Wilmington High for Cab Callaway and Wilmington Charter.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Ward 8 Parents, Teachers Challenge D.C. School Closure Plan
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 28, 2012
A standing-room only crowd of parents, teachers and activists gathered Tuesday evening at Savoy Elementary School in Southeast Washington to critique and challenge Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s plan to close 20 under-enrolled schools.

FLORIDA

Union Against Evaluations
Hernando Today, FL, November 29, 2012
Even if Pablo Picasso could be hired to teach art in Florida schools, chances are he would be among many to score poorly under the state’s new teacher evaluation process.

Florida Failing To Hold Private Schools Accountable, Even With State Money
Bradenton Herald, FL, November 29, 2012
Several confounding questions surround yet another alarming situation at a private school owned by a man whose financial track record can only be described as wanting at best. The Prep Academy is now the fourth school owned by Hendrik Lamprecht to fall into deep trouble, though its exact status remains hazy.

ILLINOIS

General Assembly To Vote On Extending School Closings Announcement
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 28, 2012
The request by Chicago Public Schools for more time to compile a list of school closings was all but granted Wednesday, giving officials four more months to make a case for why schools need to be shut down.

INDIANA

Marshall Academy Offers Kids An Option
Journal Gazette, IN, November 29, 2012
Research suggests that neighborhood schools are valued highly by urban residents and represent an important part of neighborhood identity.

Indiana Governor Warns Of Foes To Education Reform
Washington Times, DC, November 28, 2012
At the forefront of education reform in the U.S., Indiana faces an uncertain future after its trail-blazing schools chief was ousted three weeks ago and replaced by a teachers union official.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana Voucher Test
Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2012
This week a state court in Baton Rouge is hearing the union challenge to Louisiana ‘s Act 2, which expanded the New Orleans program statewide and allows families with a household income less than 250% of the federal poverty line to get a voucher to escape schools ranked C or worse by the state. Gabriel’s voucher covers $4,315 in annual tuition.

Foundation Invests in N.O. Charters
The Advocate, LA, November 29, 2012
The Texas-based Laura and John Arnold Foundation announced a $25 million investment Wednesday to help create and expand high-performing charter schools in New Orleans .

New Orleans School Reforms Get $25 Million Grant To Expand
Times- Picayune, LA, November 28, 2012
In a significant vote of support for New Orleans’ school reforms, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation announced a $25 million investment Wednesday to help successful local charters expand and to attract top national charter organizations to the city. The goal is to turn education around for 15,000 kids.

Teachers Should Be Active In Reform Effort
American Press, LA, November 28, 2012
One might almost understand why Steve Monaghan senses an attack. Almost. The president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, speaking at the organization’s annual meeting last week, cited Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education agenda in 2012, through which the governor used the weight of his high office to stack the deck in favor of his version of school reform.

MASSACHUSETTS

Brockton School Officials Mounting Effort To Block Charter School
Enterprise News, MA, November 29, 2012
School officials and School Committee members are gearing up to mount opposition to a proposal to start a charter school in the city.

MICHIGAN

Media Plays Into ‘Unfounded Hysteria’ Over School Reforms
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, MI, November 28, 2012
The Bridge Magazine is misleading the public when describing an educational reform bill, said Michael Van Beek, education policy director of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Is Michigan ‘s Education Achievement Authority Establishing A Statewide School Reform District On The Fast Track?
Grand Rapids Press, MI, November 28, 2012
Michigan Republicans are continuing to shape a proposal that could lead to a statewide expansion of a school district aimed at turning around low-performing schools.

Proposed Teacher Evals Draw Critics
Detroit News, MI, November 29, 2012
Teacher evaluation models at 28 Michigan school districts all fall short of what Michigan should strive for in its new statewide model, according to a nonprofit education advocacy group.

MINNESOTA

New Coalition Targets Achievement Gap In Schools
Star Tribune, MN, November 28, 2012
An influential collection of metro-area organizations goes public Thursday with a new attempt to focus the spending of millions intended to erase the achievement gap in inner-city schools.

MISSISSIPPI

Charter Schools: What Is Your Definition Of A Pilot Program?
Clarion Ledger Blog , MS, November 28, 2012
I got a call from Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, this morning. “It will be a pilot program,” Flaggs told me straight off, referring to charter schools and my column today. We talked at length, and he ran down what he sees a House charter school bill looking like. But is it a pilot program?

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Lynch for Education, So Long As Students Stay In Assigned Schools
Laconia Daily Sun, NH, November 28, 2012
John Lynch has been handing out favors. The beneficiary is our teachers’ union. Under his direction this fall, the Board of Education promoted rules that make it harder for parents to choose an alternative to the public school for their children.

NEW JERSEY

Reaching Students
Asbury Park Press, NJ, November 29, 2012
For students at Red Bank Charter School, the 18-classroom, sky-blue building perched on Oakland Street, the school week is 40 hours long, similar to a full-time job.

‘Renaissance Schools’ Get Board’s Go-Ahead in Camden
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 29, 2012
A proposal to build up to five new “renaissance schools” in Camden under the fledgling Urban Hope Act passed a key hurdle early yesterday morning as the Camden school board gave the go-ahead to the controversial plan.

In A Reversal, Camden School Board Approves KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy Renaissance School
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 29, 2012
Reversing itself, the Camden school board Wednesday backed the creation of a “Renaissance school” at the site of the former public Lanning Square Family School .

NEW YORK

Group May Sue Over Money Owed to Poor New York School Districts
New York Times, NY, November 29, 2012
Six years after New York’s highest court forced the state to substantially increase financing to poor school districts, the group that won that ruling is threatening a new lawsuit unless Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the Legislature come up with billions of extra dollars for those districts.

Teachers Face ‘Anxiety’ With New Evaluations
Daily News, NY, November 29, 2012
This school year teachers at Albion and other school districts in New York will be graded, from a 1 for ineffective to a 4 for highly effective.

Alarm Again Raised Over Lack Of Buffalo Teacher Evaluation Plan
Buffalo News, NY, November 28, 2012
Superintendent Pamela C. Brown on Wednesday renewed her call for Buffalo Teachers Federation President Philip Rumore to return to the negotiating table to reach an agreement on teacher evaluations.

School Superintendents Respond On Teacher Evaluations
Newsday, NY, November 28, 2012
After reading the editorial “More whining on evaluations” [Nov. 28], I believe that Newsday is more interested in being quotable than factual. To make the argument that the new teacher accountability program isn’t unfunded, or underfunded, the writer suggests that Middle Country received an additional $4 million in aid, leading a reader to conclude that there are plenty of dollars available for these evaluation programs.

OHIO

Major Charter Schools Don’t Apply For Cleveland School Tax Money
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 29, 2012
Most of Cleveland’s major charter school organizations did not apply by Tuesday’s deadline for a share of money from the just-passed school levy.

Ohio’s 3 Finalists To Vie For Millions
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 29, 2012
A plan by Reynoldsburg schools to personalize student learning was among 61 finalists nationwide selected by the U.S. Department of Education for a shot at $400 million in federal Race to the Top funding.

State May Count Hours, Not Days In School Year
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 29, 2012
Longer days instead of make-up days may be ahead for Ohio schools struggling to rearrange their calendars after snow days and other scheduling calamities.

Finally, Progress On School Reform
Salem News, OH, November 29, 2012
At long last, Ohio seems on the brink of simple, common-sense school reforms.

PENNSYLVANIA

With Deadline Looming, A Bus Tour Of Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 29, 2012
Friday is the deadline for district students to apply to a citywide or special-admission high school, or to transfer to a district neighborhood school.

State Fails For Attempt To Remove Standard From Tests
Wilkes Barre Times-Leader , PA, November 29, 2012
CALL IT THE de-standardization of standardized tests. When test results don’t meet your goals and you can’t change the tests, change the way you use the tests.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Charleston County School District Still On Track To Open Lowcountry Tech Program On Downtown Rivers Campus
Post and Courier, SC, November 29, 2012
The school board didn’t take any action that would change its 2007 decision for the new Lowcountry Tech program to share space with the Charleston Charter School for Math and Science in the downtown building, and it doesn’t appear that a majority of the board would support changing that.

Buist Academy Increasing Enrollment For 2013-14 School Year By 70 Students To 480
Post and Courier, SC, November 29, 2012
Buist Academy , one of the most in-demand magnet schools in Charleston County , will accept more students for the 2013-14 school year.

TENNESSEE

Creation of Municipal Charter Schools Could be an Option for Suburbs
WREG, TN, November 28, 2012
A federal judge’s decision to stop municipal schools from opening is not quiet the end of the line for those people in support of them.

Closures Intrinsic to Charter-School System
Nashville Public Radio, TN, November 29, 2012
Families and Metro education officials are being reminded charter schools aren’t necessarily permanent. Charters are ramping up in Tennessee , boasting some ten thousand students. They get public money to run their own way, on the promise they’ll put up good test scores. But some charters inevitably fall short, and shutting them down is a messy process.

School Dispute Roils Memphis
The Tennessean, TN, November 29, 2012
Leaders of an attempt by six Memphis suburbs to start their own public school systems are considering how to respond after a federal judge halted their effort.

WISCONSIN

ALPS Charter School Resembles One-Room School House
The Oshkosh Northwestern, WI, November 28, 2012
A small Oshkosh charter school emulating the feel of historic one-room school houses may soon find itself the recipient of state-wide attention, and some possible funding to help share the school’s methods.

ONLINE LEARNING

School Board Institutes Fees For Cyber, Charter Student Activity Participation
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, November 28, 2012
Charter and cyber-school students are welcome to participate in Penn Hills School District sports or extracurricular activities — but it’s going to cost their schools.

Don’t Give Up On Online Learning
The Tennessean, TN, November 29, 2012
Opponents of online learning options for children are shortsighted in their recent criticism of the new Tennessee Virtual Academy . Technology is the future of education throughout the world, and Tennessee cannot afford to be left behind.

Online Schools Spend Millions on Advertising to Recruit New Students
NPR StateImpact , OH, November 29, 2012
In the stories on online education we wrote with the Cleveland Plain Dealer earlier this year, we looked at the huge growth in online charter schools and one of the big questions about those schools: Where does the money go?

Students And Funds Increasingly Move Toward Digital Classrooms
The Review, OH, November 29, 2012
Since the first Ohio virtual schools opened in 2000, charter schools have increased in popularity statewide, with approximately 30,000 students currently enrolled. As more students enroll in these schools, questions regarding standards and accountability arise

JRL Online Class Bid Denied
The Advocate, LA, November 29, 2012
State officials Wednesday rejected a bid to offer online classes to public school students by a firm linked to the 2009 bribery trial of the brother of former U.S. Congressman William Jefferson.

Jeb Bush Hammers Teachers Unions At Education Summit
Washington Times, DC, November 27, 2012
In the fight to reform American schools, former Florida Gov. and outspoken education advocate Jeb Bush on Tuesday took direct aim at labor groups and joined a growing chorus who believe real change must start by loosening the grip of teachers unions.

Call for Reformers and Unions to Get Along
Stateline, November 28, 2012
Speaking in Washington, D.C. at the fifth annual Excellence in Action National Summit on Education Reform, John Podesta said that major electoral defeats in Indiana, Idaho and South Dakota showed the folly of painting unions as the enemy.

Charter School Proponents To Announce Major Focus On Shutting Down Failing Schools
Huffington Post, November 28, 2012
Charter schools are about to get a reality check. As someone who has observed the breakneck pace of the growing charter school movement up close, Greg Richmond, who leads the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), is taking a step back.

Why the School Turnaround Experiment Is Failing
Huffington Post, November 27, 2012
The disappointing results of the Duncan administration’s controversial School Improvement Grants exemplify the fundamental flaw of test-driven school “reform.”

FROM THE STATES

ARIZONA

District Moving Forward To Establish Charter School
Yuma Sun, AZ, November 27, 2012
The Crane Elementary School District governing board recently adopted a charter to move forward with the establishment of a district-sponsored charter school to be opened Fall 2013.

ARKANSAS

Teacher Test Fraud Opens The Door To School Choice In Arkansas
Daily Caller, November 27, 2012
Prospective teachers in three southern states paid stand-ins to take their licensing exams, according to a federal investigation that uncovered 15 years of mass fraud in the public school licensing system.

CALIFORNIA

Proposed Charter School Drawing Heat In Novato
Pacific Sun, CA, November 27, 2012
A national debate over the effect charter schools may have on student diversity has hit home in Marin, as a pair of Bay Area civil rights watchdogs have entered the fray over the proposed North Bay Academy in Novato .

Judge Disagrees With Bullis Charter In Facilities Case, Sides With Los Altos School District
Marin Independent Journal, CA, November 27, 2012
A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge has sided with the Los Altos School District in its latest legal run-in with Bullis Charter School, but the fight over facilities appears to be far from over.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Measuring Quality In D.C.’s School Voucher Program
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 27, 2012
On Saturday, November 17, 2012 the Washington Post published an article entitled “Quality controls lacking for D.C. schools accepting federal vouchers”.

Charter Schools Send Teens To College
Washington Times, DC, November 27, 2012
Graduating urban youths is incredibly important. Friendship Collegiate Academy , one of six public charter school campuses and one of 11 urban campuses run by my organization, is a public charter high school in underserved Northeast Washington .

THE 3-MINUTE INTERVIEW: Jason Lody
Washington Examiner, DC, November 27, 2012
Lody is executive director of Sela Public Charter School , the first Hebrew language charter school in the District — and only the third of its kind in the nation. “Sela” means rock or foundation in Hebrew, and the school recently announced that it will set its own foundation in the Ward 4 neighborhood of Takoma when it opens in fall 2013.

GEORGIA

Georgia’s High School Graduation Rates Near Bottom In U.S.
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, November 27, 2012
Georgia’s high school graduation rates are not good, but probably not quite as bad as the state’s number 48 ranking indicates, state schools Superintendent John Barge said Tuesday.

State Should Keep Charter School As It Is
The Brunswick News, GA, November 28, 2012
Someone in the Georgia Department of Education owes Glynn County , the public school system and the business community an explanation. Someone needs to tell us all, every taxpayer in Brunswick and the Golden Isles, how someone in state government in Atlanta could have approved a school charter that failed to meet the specifics of state law.

ILLINOIS

New Charter Turns To The Law To Inspire Kids
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 28, 2012
Legal Prep Charter Academy opened its doors in West Garfield Park three months ago, the only legal-themed high school in Illinois.

School Closing Bill Moves To House, Senate Floors
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 27, 2012
A key legislator said Tuesday that she remains undecided on whether to allow Chicago Public Schools four more months to produce a list of school closings, even as legislation on the extension moved to the House and Senate floors.

LOUISIANA

Do Louisiana School Vouchers Use State Or Local Money?
Alexandria Town Talk, LA, November 28, 2012
In what may have been the apex of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s power and influence over the state Legislature, his team pressed non-stop to push through a far-reaching package of education bills in the first three weeks of this year’s session, which is considered warp speed at the Capitol.

Louisiana Education Lawsuit: Teachers Association Expects Protracted Legal Battle
Times Picayune, LA, November 27, 2012
Louisiana’s recent education overhaul will be tested Wednesday in court as multiple teachers associations and school boards challenge the constitutionality of changes made this year to the state’s voucher program and teacher hiring rules. Ahead of Wednesday’s court case, Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT) President Steve Monaghan told NOLA.com he expects a protracted legal battle with the Jindal administration.

MARYLAND

City Schools Unveil 10-Year Renovation Plan
Baltimore Sun, MD, November 27, 2012
In the next 10 years, Baltimore’s school system will have a leaner, modernized look under a proposed $2.4 billion facilities plan that calls for closing 26 school buildings and upgrading 136 others in a large-scale face-lift of Maryland’s oldest school infrastructure.

MASSACHUSETTS

City Schools Must Prepare Response To Charter Questions
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, November 27, 2012
We won’t know until sometime next month whether the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will let the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School carry on beyond this academic year — or really even finish it, given Tuesday’s comments by state Commissioner of Education Mitchell D. Chester (See news story, Page 1).

MICHIGAN

Detroit Schools Battle For Custody Following Public Act 4 Repeal
Michigan Chronicle, MI, November 27, 2012
“I have no idea who’s in charge of our public schools, and I don’t know if anyone really has any idea,” Harris said. “Both the school board and the emergency manager think they’re in charge.”

Bills Would Turn Michigan Into ‘Super Choice’ State
Bridge Magazine, MI, November 27, 2012
Michigan Board of Education President John Austin calls it a “nuclear bomb.”

These School Reforms Will Move Michigan Forward
Detroit News, MI, November 28, 2012
The 2012 election is behind us and the voters of this state have spoken. Now it’s time for our state’s leaders to come together and work on common solutions to the problems facing our state.

School Reform Aims For Profits
Detroit Free Press, MI, November 28, 2012
The state Republicans’ wave of education reform is nothing but a power grab. It is part of a long-term strategy to give the so-called job creators control of the education dollar. The voucher era is at hand.

MISSISSIPPI

Did Gov. Bryant Propose A Pilot Program For Charter Schools?
Clarion Ledger Blog , MS, November 27, 2012
Gov. Phil Bryant was on the Paul Gallo Radio Show this morning talking about a variety of topics from Medicaid expansion to health insurance exchanges to his upcoming education policy announcement on Friday.

Pilot Charter School Program Could Work In Mississippi
Clarion Ledger, MS, November 27, 2012
Everyone knows that one of the top issues for the upcoming legislative session is charter schools. Last year, the bill failed largely because it never made it out of committee in the House, where a bipartisan group of legislators killed the Senate version. House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, has fixed that problem by reassigning committee members.

MISSOURI

State-Appointed Board In Riverview Gardens To Remain In Place
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, November 28, 2012
State education officials voted Tuesday in St. Louis to extend state oversight of the struggling Riverview Gardens school district by ordering a Special Administrative Board to remain in place an additional three years.

Link Between Poverty, School Success Needs To Be Systemically Addressed
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, November 28, 2012
As the struggles of school districts across the state reflect, neither size nor geography will determine success but rather the quality of the education being provided and our ability to support the families and neighborhoods where the schools are located. We need to recognize that where children live — their house, their apartment and their neighborhood — matters.

NEVADA

Out of the Race
Las Vegas Review Journal, NV, November 28, 2012
In the end, the encouraging 11th-hour efforts of Gov. Brian Sandoval, the Clark County School District and the Clark County Education Association bore no fruit for local students. The district’s application for a Race to the Top grant from the U.S. Department of Education was rejected Monday.

NEW JERSEY

NJ Charter School Students Learn More Than Their Peers, Says New Report
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 28, 2012
New Jersey’s ongoing debate about whether traditional public schools or charters do a better job educating students got some provocative new data yesterday, courtesy of a study from Stanford University that came down on the side of the charters — particularly in Newark ‘s embattled school district.

The Lesson in Newark
CNN Blog, November 28, 2012
School and union leaders in the nation’s largest school districts who are waging epic battles over teacher evaluation, compensation and the future of the teaching profession could learn a lesson from their colleagues in Newark, New Jersey . That’s where the city’s 3,300 teachers recently ratified a groundbreaking new contract that provides them unprecedented support and compensation.

N.J. Charter School Students, On Average, Outperform Those In Public Schools, Study Shows
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 28, 2012
Students in New Jersey charter schools show greater learning gains, on average, than those in comparable traditional public schools, a study released Tuesday by a Stanford University research center shows.

NEW YORK

Storied St. Jerome’s And Seven Other Bronx Catholic Schools Put On Notice For Closure In 2013
New York Daily News, NY, November 28, 2012
Among the eight Bronx Catholic schools identified as “at risk” for closure by the Archdiocese of New York is storied St. Jerome, which opened its school doors more than 140 years ago on Alexander Ave.

Bronx District OKs Elementary-School Choice
New York Post, NY, November 28, 2012
One of the city’s lowest-performing school districts has voted to give parents choice in applying to elementary schools — becoming only the second of 32 geographic districts to do so.

Charter School Could Mean $14.8M Loss to Utica School District
Utica Observer Dispatch, NY, November 27, 2012
With a charter school expected to open next fall, the Utica City School District is preparing its budget for $14.8 million loss of state aid over the next five years.

Multifaceted Approach Needed On School Reform
Buffalo News, NY, November 28, 2012
The executive director of the New York State School Boards Association is correct – we do elect the school boards. He is also correct about the statistics regarding degrees and experience of the members.

NORTH CAROLINA

Wake School Board Deals With Concerns About Capping
News & Observer, NC, November 27, 2012
Wake County school board members are trying to reassure parents that a proposal to limit overcrowding at nearly three dozen schools won’t shut their children out next school year.

OHIO

Ohio’s Grad Rates Show Racial Disparity
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 28, 2012
Ohio has one of the nation’s lowest graduation rates for black students but one of the better rates for white students.

House Tweaking Schools Legislation
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 28, 2012
Majority Republicans in the House say legislation to ramp up the school accountability system and create new report cards for schools and districts could be voted on as early as Thursday.

PENNSYLVANIA

KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy Renaissance School Proposal Is Approved By Camden School Board
Philadelphia Inquirer Blog, PA, November 28, 2012
After months of lobbying behind the scenes, the KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy renaissance school founders got their wish: their five-school campus proposal was accepted by the Camden School Board early Wednesday evening.

No Child Left Behind Waiver To Be Sought By Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 28, 2012
Pennsylvania Education Secretary Ron Tomalis said his department will seek a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, which in its current form calls for all students to test proficient in reading and math on annual state achievement exams by 2014.

TENNESSEE

Knox County Schools Accepting Charter School Proposals
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, November 28, 2012
Knox County Schools is accepting charter school proposals — for both new schools and potential conversions of existing schools to a charter — for the 2014-15 school year.

Suburbs Study Options After Schools Defeat
Commercial Appeal, TN, November 27, 2012
Suburban Shelby County residents had been preparing for swearing-in ceremonies for the municipal school board members they elected Nov. 6, but late Tuesday officials from Arlington , Bartlett , Collierville, Germantown , Lakeland and Millington had dropped those plans and were reassessing their options.

TEXAS

Dallas ISD Could Be Model For Reform, Education Secretary Arne Duncan Says During Visit
Dallas Morning News, TX, November 27, 2012
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s visit Tuesday to Dallas ISD offered local leaders an unrivaled opportunity to highlight the district’s reform plans and make a sales pitch to the country’s top educator.

WASHINGTON

I-1240 Opponents Can Take The High Road If They Want
News Tribune, WA, November 28, 2012
After four hard-fought charter initiative campaigns, legislative foot-dragging, and implacable opposition from the state’s public school establishment – not just the teachers’ unions – Washington voters have approved public charter schools

WISCONSIN

Voucher School Expansion May Do Little To Help Kids
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, November 27, 2012
Gov. Scott Walker should focus on how to ensure that more poor kids do better in school. They are the ones who need help.

NEWSWIRE IS BACK
Okay, stop the calls and emails. We’ve heard you! You like our insightful and relevant commentary and news vignettes better than anyone’s, and you’ve told us loud and clear that we need to step it up. We’ve loved hearing that we write what you’re thinking and provide useful information that helps you do your job better. As we shared when we stopped a few months back, we took a pause and began providing you daily news clips instead, available on our website, and stepped up our News & Analysis section so that you’d have ready access to MORE news and MORE information. But, websites are so passé, and you apparently like getting millions of emails more than you like going to check out what you’ve missed online, so because you are the reason we exist to fight and to create more choice and accountability for all children, Newswire is back. Enjoy — and keep in touch. Click here to read NEWSWIRE.

NATIONAL
Colleges Agree To Recruit KIPP Alumni
Washington Post, DC, November 26, 2012
Twenty colleges and universities, including some of the nation’s most prestigious, have pledged in the past year to recruit more students from a prominent charter school network that focuses on educating the rural and urban poor.

Leaders Speak at Summit on Education Reform
C-Span, November 27, 2012
The Foundation for Excellence in Education will begin its annual National Summit on Education Reform on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Teacher’s Union: We Must End This “Fixation” On Testing Students
Washington Examiner, DC, November 26, 2012
The American Federation of Teachers announced today it is expanding on their campaign “against excessive testing” called “Learning Is More Than a Test Score.”

FROM THE STATES

ARIZONA

Phoenix, Mesa Mayors Push To Reform Education
Arizona Republic, AZ, November 26, 2012
Hoping to spur dialogue where others have failed, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and Mesa Mayor Scott Smith announced on Monday a new forum to tackle education reform in the state through a bipartisan group of Arizona mayors.

CALIFORNIA

Green Dot Charter Schools Founder Steve Barr Resigns From Board Of Directors
Daily Breeze, CA, November 26, 2012
The founder of Green Dot Public Schools – a nationally renowned cluster of charter schools in Los Angeles County that includes two in the South Bay – has stepped down from the organization’s board of directors.

Civil Rights Groups Raise Concerns About Novato Charter School Plan
Marin Independent Journal, CA, November 26, 2012
In the latest twist in a contentious debate over a proposed Novato charter school, two San Francisco civil rights groups have entered the fray, arguing the school could isolate minorities and poor students.

Inglewood Superintendent Returns To Turn Schools Around
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 26, 2012
Kent Taylor hopes to stabilize the insolvent district that he says set him on his course through life. But not everyone is rooting for him.

COLORADO

Charter School Group To Proceed With Re-1
Post Independent, CO, November 27, 2012
A group of parents who want to start a new public charter school in Glenwood Springs will withdraw their application from the state chartering authority, but hope to proceed in making their case to the Roaring Fork School District.

DELAWARE

Odyssey Charter School’s Plan for Del. 48 Campus Raises Concerns
News Journal, DE, November 26, 2012
Westgate Farms resident James Kennedy was happy when he learned Odyssey Charter School officials chose the historic Mundy Farm on Del. 48 in Mill Creek as the site for a new location.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

KIPP DC a Finalist in Race to the Top Competition
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 26, 2012
Charter school operator KIPP DC is one of 61 finalists in the federal government’s $400 million Race to the Top-District grant competition, U.S. Department of Education officials announced Monday.

FLORIDA

Matt Reed: Why Brevard’s Opening Schools, Closing Others
Florida Today, FL, November 27, 2012
Sunday, I pointed to the absurdity for taxpayers in having to close four public schools in Brevard while paying to launch new charter schools, including one in Viera.

Researcher Says State Charter School Study Was ‘Poorly Done’ And ‘Biased’
State Impact NPR, FL, November 26, 2012
A University of Central Florida business professor and the Florida Department of Education have been swapping research the past week in a debate about whether charter schools perform better than district schools.

ILLINOIS

CPS Offer Escalates School Closing Fears
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 27, 2012
Chicago Public Schools leadership offered a trade Monday as it tries to win state lawmakers’ support for a key school reform measure: Agree to push back the announcement of what schools will close until spring, and the district will put a five-year moratorium on shutting more buildings.

The Painful Conversation
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 27, 2012
Closing a school, no matter how poorly it performs, is emotionally wrenching for students, parents and teachers. Now imagine that you had to close not one school, but dozens. That’s the painful reality facing leaders at Chicago Public Schools this year.

INDIANA

County School Voucher Use Low
Princeton Daily Clarion, IN, November 26, 2012
While enrollment in the state’s voucher program has more than doubled since implemented last year, only a small portion of Gibson County students are enrolled, according to the Indiana Department of Education.

IOWA

Des Moines School Board Considers Hiring Own Lobbyist
Altoona Herald, IA, November 26, 2012
Some Des Moines school officials want the district to hire its own lobbyist for the upcoming legislative session, a move that could lead to more decision-making authority at the local level.

LOUISIANA

School Voucher Desegregation Ruling Comes Ahead Of Teacher Union Lawsuit
Times Picayune, LA, November 26, 2012
Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education overhaul conflicts with a desegregation agreement in place in Tangipahoa Parish, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Teachers Group To Push Repeal Of Jindal’s Laws
The Advocate, LA, November 27, 2012
Steve Monaghan, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, acknowledged that repealing Gov. Bobby Jindal’s public school overhaul laws next year would require a political tsunami.

MARYLAND

Charter School Renewals, Contract Schools Debated
Baltimore Sun Blog, MD, November 26, 2012
Today, The Sun published a story about a slew of Baltimore city charter schools are up for renewal this school year, and all agree that it was fine time for the popular schools to have a uniformed, reliable and rigorous evaluation process that will improve their trajectory in the district. You can read more about that renewal process, here.

MICHIGAN

Public Education’s Big Challenge: Innovate Or Die
Detroit News, MI, November 27, 2012
Education should be about TLC: Teaching, learning and children. Yet when it comes to providing the education our children need and deserve, to not merely survive — but to thrive in a fast-paced, hyper-competitive, disruptive, knowledge economy where ideas and jobs move around the globe effortlessly — the focus quickly deteriorates into power, control, politics and adults.

MISSISSIPPI

Charlie Mitchell Was Wrong About Public Charter Schools
Sun Herald, MS, November 26, 2012
Unfortunately, Mr. Mitchell’s Nov. 20 column is a far cry from the type of serious public discourse the charter school debate deserves. Not only is Mr. Mitchell apparently unfamiliar with key provisions in the recent charter school legislation, his rhetoric is offensive as he resorts to images of garbage collection and segregation in an effort to inflame, not enlighten.

NEW MEXICO

Gov. Shows Support For Charters
Albuquerque Journal, NM, November 27, 2012
I want to give Gov. Susana Martinez a big ‘thank you” for attending the New Mexico Coalition for Charter Schools ’ 12th Annual Conference and addressing the attendees

NEW YORK

School Closures Target Widens
Wall Street Journal, November 26, 2012
The New York City Department of Education on Monday named 23 high schools that could be closed due to poor performance, up from 17 targeted at this time last year.

Syracuse Students Will Have A Say In Their Teacher’s Job Evaluation
Syracuse Post-Standard, NY, November 27, 2012
This year, Syracuse students, even the kindergartners, will have a voice in their teacher’s formal job evaluation.

Teacher Eval Hitch Could Cost Yonkers
Journal News, NY, November 27, 2012
The state is threatening to withhold millions of dollars in aid from the cash-strapped city schools next year if the district can’t iron out a deal with the teachers union on new performance appraisals by week’s end.

Teacher Evaluations Usually Not ‘Unfunded’
Newsday, NY, November 26, 2012
School districts throughout New York are complaining that the new evaluation system for teachers and principals is creating a fiscal burden they can’t handle. They’re calling it another of the “unfunded state mandates” administrators complain about so often. It is a mandate, but it’s not unfunded, or expensive, and the whining says more about the education establishment than the costs.

Archdiocese Of New York Releases List Of 26 Elementary Schools And One High School ‘At Risk’ Of Closure
New York Daily News, NY, November 27, 2012
The selections were made through an arduous, months-long evaluation process that involved school boards and an archdiocesan committee, officials said.

Schools Head Finds a Formula
Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2012
Five years ago, students in the public-school system here were almost as likely to drop out as earn a diploma. School-board meetings routinely devolved into shouting matches, with a board member once pouring a pitcher of ice water over an administrator’s head.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma Strikes Out Again In Quest For Race To The Top Education Funds
The Oklahoman, OK, November 27, 2012
The U.S. Education Department announced Monday that 61 finalists were named from about 370 applications nationwide. Six applications came from Oklahoma ; none were finalists.

OREGON

Albany School Board Turns Down Charter School
Albany Democrat Herald, OR, November 27, 2012
The Albany School Board agreed unanimously Monday to deny an application to open a charter school next fall, citing financial stability as the biggest problem.

Charter Schools Withdraw Applications From Portland Public Schools
The Oregonian, OR, November 26, 2012
Organizers from two charter schools that had hoped to open their doors this fall in Portland Public Schools have withdrawn their applications.

Executive Director To Be Evaluated By Homesource
The Register-Guard, OR, November 27, 2012
Paula Praus-Williamson, HomeSource Family Charter School’s executive director, is under fire from her own board and from the Bethel School District as the embattled charter school faces another round of allegations that it violated its contract with the Bethel district.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter School Funding Reform Must Address Pension Flaw
Pottstown Mercury, PA, November 27, 2012
We can think of several reasons why laws regulating charter schools should be examined and addressed by Pennsylvania lawmakers after they failed to accomplish that task this legislative session.

Chester Upland School Board Rejects Recovery Plan
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 27, 2012
The Chester Upland school board voted, 5-4, Monday night to reject a recently released financial and academic recovery plan, causing the state to seek to have the troubled district placed in control of a receiver.

Council Ponders Philadelphia District’s Future
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, November 27, 2012
That’s what City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell wanted to know just three months after the release of the Boston Consulting Group’s controversial report and its recommendations for the distressed school district.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Lowcountry Teachers Quiz State Schools Chief On Evaluation System
Post & Courier, SC, November 27, 2012
About 200 Lowcountry public school teachers packed a high school auditorium Monday to learn more about what they need to do to make the grade.

TENNESSEE

Six Memphis City Schools Recommended For Closure
Commercial Appeal, TN, November 26, 2012
The 23-member unified school board will address a proposal to close six schools in the northwest and southwest regions of the Memphis City Schools district when it convenes for the third of three meetings this week.

TEXAS

Two Charter Schools Here Are Race To The Top Finalists
San Antonio Express, TX, November 26, 2012
Two charter school districts with campuses here were named national finalists for the federal Race to the Top competition — bringing the Harmony and IDEA Public Schools a step closer to the possibility of millions of dollars in grants previously unavailable to Texas schools.

WASHINGTON

No Charter Schools In Offing On North Olympic Peninsula
Peninsula Daily News, WA, November 27, 2012
Voters statewide approved allowing charter schools, but so far no one has contacted any of the nine North Olympic Peninsula school districts with an interest in starting one.

WEST VIRGINIA

The State School Board Is Serious About Reform
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, November 27, 2012
At last, West Virginia has a starting point for public education reform. On Wednesday, the state Board of Education approved its long-awaited response to the independent audit of our public school system.

WYOMING

Pilot Program To Evaluate Wyoming Teachers Could Begin In 2014
Casper Star-Tribune , WY, November 26, 2012
Measures to hold individual educators in Wyoming accountable for student learning may begin during the 2014-15 school year. That work, known as the second phase of the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act, originally was planned to start about a year earlier.

ONLINE LEARNING

State Examines Application For York-Based Cyber Charter School
York Dispatch, PA, November 27, 2012
Urban Cyber School , the first cyber charter school that would be based in York County , had its first big test on Monday.

Insurance Provider Files Suit Against PA Cyber
Beaver County Times, PA, November 26, 2012
In response to a federal class-action lawsuit filed by West Allegheny and three other school districts against the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School earlier this year, an insurance provider is asking federal court to determine the extent of the provider’s liability.

Georgia Threatens To Close K12-run Online Charter School
State Impact NPR, FL, November 26, 2012
The Georgia Department of Education is threatening to close an online charter school run by K12, the nation’s largest online education company, over issues with special education students.

NCAA Nixes Southwest Secondary, Local Online School
Albuquerque Journal, MN, November 27, 2012
High school student athletes, take note: You may want to make sure that online class you’re taking is accepted by the NCAA. As of October, the NCAA is no longer accepting any classes from Southwest Secondary, a popular Albuquerque charter school.

When ‘Grading’ Is Degrading
New York Times, NY, November 23, 2012
IN his speech on the night of his re-election, President Obama promised to find common ground with opposition leaders in Congress. Yet when it comes to education reform, it’s the common ground between Democrats and Republicans that has been the problem.

Charter School Corruption
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 23, 2012
No, this is not an indictment of all charter schools. Some do great things for kids. It is, however, the tip of an iceberg that is repeatedly ignored by school reformers who are insistent on opening more and more charters without sufficient oversight, all along saying it is “for the kids.” Funny so many adults apparently think it is more about their wallets.

Feds: Teachers Embroiled In Test-Taking Fraud
Associated Press, November 25, 2012
It was a brazen and surprisingly long-lived scheme, authorities said, to help aspiring public school teachers cheat on the tests they must pass to prove they are qualified to lead their classrooms.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Charter Schools Making Headway In Communities
San Diego Union Tribune, CA, November 23, 2012
It was 20 years ago that Gov. Pete Wilson signed the California Charter Schools Act into law, and California became the second state, after Minnesota, to approve charter schools. With the governor’s signature, the door in the Golden State was opened, creating an innovative educational laboratory.

For Two L.A. Schools, Sharing A Campus Is Starting To Chafe
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 25, 2012
Logan Elementary in Echo Park hosts Gabriella Charter School. That seemed good when enrollment was lower. But both schools are growing, and the campus is not.

Give Charter Schools Their Due
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 25, 2012
By now, it should be apparent that charter schools have been the spark to the education reform flame in the Los Angeles Unified School District .

Lessons From A Disadvantaged Children’s Charter School
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 23, 2012
Para Los Niños Charter School in an industrial part of downtown Los Angeles turns out to be a model for what upscale parents say they want for their children.

L.A.’s Revamped Teacher Evaluation System Getting Mixed Grades
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 25, 2012
Teachers are finding value in the new evaluation system as it rolls out, but administrators doing the reviews complain about how time-consuming they are.

Upcoming Battles In California Legislature Pit Education Reformers Against Teacher Unions And Their Backers
The San Jose Mercury News, CA, November 22, 2012
A nearly $6 billion infusion from Proposition 30 and a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature are a welcome pre-holiday gift to public education from voters, but it also could set the stage for battles between those laboring for education reform and suddenly fortified unions protecting teacher interests.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Kaya Henderson Wants Better Relationship Between Charter Schools And DCPS
WAMU, DC, November 25, 2012
Charter schools currently educate more than 40 percent of the District’s children. Now, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson says she wants the ability to authorize charter schools within the traditional public school system.

D.C. School Boundaries Fight Looms
Washington Post, DC, November 25, 2012
As District parents and activists organize to oppose Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s proposal to close 20 city schools, a potentially larger and more divisive fight looms.

FLORIDA

Florida Already Funnels Millions In Tax Dollars To Religious Schools
Orlando Sentinel, FL, November 24, 2012
On Election Day, voters turned down a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution that critics said could have cleared the way for taxpayer-funded vouchers for religious schools.

Confused, Discouraged Teachers File Complaints Over New Reviews
Orlando Sentinel, FL, November 22, 2012
When Central Florida teachers got their final job evaluations this month, many were puzzled or discouraged by how student test-score data affected their reviews.

With This Evaluation System, Florida Teachers Have No Shot
Palm Beach Post, FL, November 26, 2012
In 1999 the Florida Legislature and then-Gov. Jeb Bush enacted a law that said the state will assign valid grades to every public school.

Next Education Commissioner Will Tell Us A Lot About Florida’s Commitment To Reform
Orlando Sentinel, FL, November 24, 2012
With any luck, this week will bring a stop to the revolving door in the office of Florida’s education commissioner.

Public Schools Outperform Charter Schools
St. Augustine Record, FL, November 25, 2012
Here’s what the state Board of Education writes about charter schools:
They “are created through an agreement or ‘charter’ between the school and the local school board or a state university. This agreement gives the charter school a measure of expanded freedom relative to traditional public schools in return for a commitment to higher standards of accountability.”

West Boynton Charter School Was A ‘Want,’ Not A ‘Need.’
Palm Beach Post, FL, November 23, 2012
The “Canyon Angels” worked persistently and effectively to bring a charter school to their neighborhoods west of Boynton Beach. But one story line — that the parents had to overcome an obstructionist Palm Beach County school board and county commission — is inaccurate.

GEORGIA

No Easy Explanation For Charter School Amendment Vote
Athens Banner-Herald , GA, November 24, 2012
Predictably, the punditry’s instant analyses came out immediately upon the closing of the polls a couple of weeks ago, if not before, even though all of the electoral dust had yet to settle.

ILLINOIS

For Some, Entering A City Elite High School Gets A Little More Difficult
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 24, 2012
Demographic tweaks to a complex enrollment system intended to ensure diversity at Chicago’s best public high schools have created added anxiety for many parents who suddenly face tougher odds of getting their children into the elite schools.

Consistently Mediocre
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 24, 2012
Any kid trudging home to deliver a lackluster report card knows the first question from a parent: How will you do better next time? That’s the question every teacher, principal and administrator in this state needs to answer.

INDIANA

School Voucher Program Should Be Here To Stay
Star Press, IN, November 23, 2012
Indiana Supreme Court justices heard arguments last week over the state’s school voucher program, also known as Choice Scholarships Program.

New Indiana Schools Chief Says GOP Approval Not Needed
Journal Gazette, IN, November 26, 2012
Indiana’s new superintendent of public instruction, Democrat Glenda Ritz, said she can make some policy changes for the state’s schools without needing the approval of the Republican-controlled General Assembly and governor’s office, but that she welcomes input, no matter where it comes from.

KANSAS

Kansas Charting A Course For Teacher Evaluations
Topeka Capital Journal, KS, November 25, 2012
Sitting in her office at Chase Middle School, Teresa Songs places two red folders and a three-ring binder on her desk. The folders contain snapshots of her work as the school’s principal: an email she has sent with feedback to a teacher, information on recent staff training and a list of lessons on social skills that the children are learning.

Hope For Charter School In Town Is High
Hutchinson News, KS, November 24, 2012
This community of less than a thousand residents lost its only school when the elementary school closed in 2011. But the building could reopen in August 2013 as a K-12 public charter school.

MAINE

Public School District Budgets Take Cash Hit For Charter School Tuition
Kennebec Journal, ME, November 25, 2012
The creation of a new charter school and expansion of two existing ones in central Maine have some public school officials worried about the effect on their district budgets.

Cornville Charter School Settles Into Steady Groove, Hopeful For Future Growth
Morning Sentinel, ME, November 25, 2012
Students at Cornville are not separated by age. There is a combined kindergarten to second-grade classroom, a third- and fourth-grade classroom and a fifth- and sixth-grade classroom.

MARYLAND

Baltimore Charters Looking To The Next Decade
Baltimore Sun, MD, November 25, 2012
Eighteen charter schools seeking contract renewals to continue operating in Baltimore are undergoing a rigorous review process that will uniformly evaluate them for the first time since they began populating the district 10 years ago.

MASSACHUSETTS

Former Mayor Leads Effort To Open Charter School In Brockton
Enterprise News, MA, November 24, 2012
A group led by former Mayor John T. Yunits is trying to open the first charter school in the city, an effort that is likely to meet with opposition from public school officials and unions alike.

Charter School Review Has Context
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, November 25, 2012
There is no question that the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School, as noted by state Education Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester, still “faces substantial challenges to its ability to implement a viable and effective school program.”

MICHIGAN

Fight Over Detroit Education Achievement Authority Control Comes To Head
Detroit News, MI, November 26, 2012
Officials with the Education Achievement Authority say they’re transforming chaotic, underperforming Detroit schools into orderly buildings, where students are learning at their own pace using individualized education plans instead of standard grade-level curricula.

When It Comes To School Choice, Most Families Can Figure Out What’s Best For Their Children
Detroit News, MI, November 26, 2012
A new report on the prevalence of charter schools nationwide places Detroit in the No. 2 spot for the percentage of students in these alternative public schools. That’s cause for celebration for proponents of the movement but cause for alarm for those who believe charters are spreading too fast in Michigan .

MINNESOTA

Former State Senator Heads Back To Capitol To Push School Reform
Star Tribune, MN, November 23, 2012
Kathy Saltzman heads StudentsFirst, which champions reforms against the headwinds of Education Minnesota, the teachers’ union.

New Teacher Test Gauges Work In Front Of Classroom
Pioneer Press, MN, November 24, 2012
Starting next year, student results on the edTPA will count toward state approval of Minnesota’s teacher education programs. Down the road, the exam could replace a multiple-choice test on the science of teaching as a requirement to get a teaching license.

MISSISSIPPI

Forum To Focus On Charter Schools
The Meridian Star, MS, November 25, 2012
Organizers of a forum that will highlight statewide school reform initiatives expected to be addressed in the 2013 session of the Mississippi Legislature are encouraging residents of all East Central Mississippi counties to attend.

MISSOURI

Teachers Skeptical of Federal Education Efforts
Columbia Tribune, MO, November 24, 2012
A recent Gallup poll found that 68 percent of Americans think education will improve during President Barack Obama’s second term.

NEVADA

Education Reform
Las Vegas Review Journal, NV, November 23, 2012
This year’s state and local campaigns focused on education issues. Funding dominated election conversations about how to improve Nevada’s public schools.

NEW JERSEY

Teacher Seniority Still a Four-Letter Word to Administration — ‘LIFO’
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 26, 2012
For all its celebration of New Jersey’s new teacher tenure law, the Christie administration hasn’t hidden its lament for the one provision it couldn’t change: seniority protection for tenured teachers in the case of layoffs.

Bonus Time
The Economist, November 24, 2012
NEWARK’S public schools are dreadful. Although they have been under the supervision of New Jersey ’s state government since 1995, there has been little improvement since then.

NEW MEXICO

3-Tiered Teacher System Never Tied to Students
Albuquerque Journal, NM, November 26, 2012
I would like to comment on two recent Journal articles that addressed two important issues in K-12 public education that are currently being discussed and debated in New Mexico and beyond.

NEW YORK

Teacher Evaluation Systems Proving Costly
Newsday, NY, November 22, 2012
The newly mandated teacher and principal evaluation system is costing Long Island school districts tens of thousands of dollars per year in training, testing and materials, even as they struggle with effects of the property-tax cap and putting in place other required education reforms.

New Options Weighed for School Diplomas
Wall Street Journal, November 24, 2012
With New York state education officials expected to act early next year to give high-school students more career-specific pathways toward graduation and the working world, the idea is being endorsed as a way to improve graduation rates and fulfill demand for skilled workers in emerging industries.

OHIO

Cleveland-Area School Districts Must Work Harder To Keep Children Who Move Frequently From Falling Through The Cracks
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 24, 2012
Students who often change schools — making them hard to track and harder to teach — have long been a problem in many Ohio school systems, particularly Cleveland’s.

OKLAHOMA

As Study Shows, Money Alone Not To Blame For Oklahoma Schools’ Performances
The Oklahoman, OK, November 26, 2012
JENKS schools Superintendent Kirby Lehman recently said Oklahoma schools’ academic performance doesn’t rank nationally in the 40s, saying it was actually “in the 20s.” Only school funding ranks so poorly, he said.

PENNSYLVANIA

School Days Are Too Short
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 23, 2012
The Cherry Hill Board of Education and its teachers agreed to a new contract this week that extends the school day for middle and high school students.

Saugus To Hold Public Hearing On Charter School Proposal
The Daily Item, PA, November 26, 2012
A new charter school may be coming to Saugus next year, and the Department of Elementary and Second Eduction is holding a public hearing for input from residents.

Fair Standard For Charters
Scranton Times-Tribune, PA, November 25, 2012
Much as the state Department of Education caught several Pennsylvania school districts cheating on student achievement tests, the U.S. Department of Education has caught the state education agency fudging on behalf of charter schools.

TENNESSEE

TN School Vouchers Could Include Public, Private School Choices
The Tennessean, TN, November 26, 2012
As state lawmakers and members of a Gov. Bill Haslam-appointed task force consider the scope of a possible school voucher program in Tennessee, talks aren’t limited to using public dollars for private schooling.

School Closure Not Easy, But Best For The Students
The Tennessean, TN, November 25, 2012
The Metro School Board voted to close Smithson-Craighead Middle School after three consecutive years of lousy test scores. They weren’t picking on the school: All Nashville charter schools are given three years — and no more — to bring student test scores up to snuff or they’ll be shut down.

Charter Schools Are Succeeding
The Tennessean, TN, November 24, 2012
When school reform advocates gained state approval for charter schools in 2002, it was on the basis that charters would accept a high standard of accountability for their new responsibility of educating public school students. In effect, charters must deliver on what they promise — strong academic progress and performance — or face closure for chronically poor performance.

WASHINGTON

As Charter Schools Get Going Here, Best-Known Charter Chains May Stay Away
Seattle Times, WA, November 24, 2012
The first charter schools in Washington probably will be kitchen-table charters, started by a teacher or principal or two. Many of the nation’s best-known charter chains are already committed elsewhere or want to wait and see how the first charters fare.

Education Chairs Must Lead Washington State Forward
Seattle Times, WA, November 25, 2012
Washington state faces a daunting but critical challenge with a state Supreme Court ruling saying education is underfunded. Key to success is more constructive legislative leaders on education committees.

WEST VIRGINIA

Real School Reform Near
Wheeling Intelligencer, WV, November 26, 2012
At long last, Ohio seems on the brink of simple, common-sense school reforms.

Most States Now Allow Charter Schools
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, November 22, 2012
Opponents of charter schools – publicly financed, privately operated – paint them as demon spawn that sap resources from public schools.

WISCONSIN

Districts Combine Resources For Alternative Charter High School
Journal Sentinel, WI, November 25, 2012
Bob Kazmierski once struggled in a traditional high school classroom setting where he couldn’t get enough individualized attention, so he turned to Connects Learning Center , an alternative high school program in Cudahy.

ONLINE LEARNING

School Lockdown: PA Cyber Charter Owes The Public Some Answers
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 25, 2012
Just because one facet of a public school is under investigation doesn’t mean its officials are off the hook on answering questions about other operations.

Bartow Virtual Academy Meets State Standards
Daily Tribune, GA, November 25, 2012
While State Department of Education officials have said they will begin shutting down the Georgia Cyber Academy in April if it fails to address concerns over how to handle special education curriculum, the Bartow County Virtual Academy is safe, says Bartow County Learning Center Director Larry Parker.

Lake Co. Faces Tough Questions On Growing Virtual School
WFTV, FL, November 23, 2012
The Lake County School District is facing tough questions about its growing virtual school.

Michigan Takes Big Step Forward In Online Testing Of Students
Detroit Free Press, MI, November 26, 2012
They ditched their No. 2 pencils in favor of a mouse and a keyboard to take the MEAP social studies exam — and in the process became part of a crucial project that will give state officials a glimpse into the future of online testing in Michigan .

Idaho’s Online Education Needs To Be Fixed, Not Abandoned
Idaho Statesman, ID, November 25, 2012
Online learning must be a component in an evolving Idaho classroom.But teachers and school districts also must have a real say in developing an online learning component that makes sense for today’s students — and tomorrow’s employees.

Carbon Co. School Provides Virtual School Option
Billings Gazette, WY, November 22, 2012
A Carbon County school has been working to bring the school to one family that live too far away for their two sons to make the daily trek to class.

Funding Rules Test Schools
Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2012
The school district in this ranching community has long been among the poorest in the state—and it remains so, local officials say, even though an oil boom has sent property values surging eightfold in the past two years.

FROM THE STATES

ARKANSAS

How One AR School Is Trying to Close the Achievement Gap
KARK, AR, November 20, 2012
Dedication. That’s how Wilbur Mills High School Principal Veronica Perkins summed up what it’s going to take for some students at her school to meet federal and state standards for math and literacy.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

More Details On Three Charter-School Chains Seeking Approval To Operate In The District
Washington Post Blog, DC, November 20, 2012
Three experienced charter-school operators have applied to set up shop in the District, eventually enrolling more than 6,000 kids at 10 separate campuses.

FLORIDA

Teachers Give An F To Evaluation Process
Florida Current, FL, November 21, 2012
The Florida Education Association wants a moratorium, a timeout, a pause in the implementation of SB 736, also known as the Student Success Act of 2011. It was the first bill Gov. Rick Scott signed into law and it ties teachers’ raises to how their students perform in the classroom.

Union Questioning Florida’s Teacher Evaluation Plan
Pensacola News Journal, FL, November 21, 2012
Margaret Goodman says she received high marks from all five principals she’s worked for during 39 years, yet Florida’s new evaluation system gave her a low rating of “needs improvement.”

GEORGIA

Black Politicians Ignoring Black Voters
Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2012
On Election Day earlier this month, voters in Georgia approved a ballot initiative that will expand school choice in a state where one in three high school freshmen fails to graduate in four years. You might consider this progress, but some lawmakers in the state are fighting the new law, which passed 59% to 41%. Even more curious is the fact that black lawmakers are leading the charge.

Georgia: Putting All Our Eggs And Hopes In Charter School Basket
Atlanta Journal Constitution Blog, GA, November 21, 2012
The battle in Georgia to win passage of a controversial charter school amendment turned out to be costly, divisive and polarizing.

ILLINOIS

Teachers Union Chief Slams ‘Top-Down’ Reform
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 20, 2012
Showing the same combativeness that was on display during the recent strike, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said Tuesday that the wealthy backers of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s efforts to overhaul the city’s troubled schools should donate money to support public education but otherwise butt out.

Aldermen Question CPS ‘Right-Sizing,’ Opening Charters In ‘Haphazard’ Way
Chicago Sun Times, IL, November 20, 2012
Aldermen upset about the prospect of massive school closings amid an expected charter expansion Tuesday got a lot of reassurances but not as many specifics from Chicago Public School officials.

INDIANA

Indiana School Voucher Program Taking Off; Lawsuit Over Popular Program Will Be Heard Wednesday
Indianapolis Star, IN, November 21, 2012
Indiana’s private school voucher program grew at an unprecedented rate this fall, more than doubling the number of students in its second year.

500 More Students Lost To Vouchers
The Journal Gazette, IN, November 21, 2012
Participation in the state’s voucher program more than doubled statewide this year, with Fort Wayne Community Schools losing more than 500 additional students to area private schools.

Thank God, Or Someone, For School Voucher System
Muncie Times, IN, November 21, 2012
Indiana Supreme Court justices will hear arguments this morning on whether the state’s school voucher system is the turkey its detractors claim it is.

Hoosier Voters Didn’t Renounce Education Reform
Muncie Times, IN, November 21, 2012
It’s ludicrous to equate Tony Bennett’s defeat in the school superintendent’s race with public rejection of a school reform agenda, as many in the education bureaucracy are trying to do.

LOUISIANA

Figuring Out How Well Louisiana Teachers Teach
Times-Picayune, LA, November 21, 2012
Many teachers are worried about the state’s new approach to evaluating their performance in the classroom, and that is understandable. It will be a dramatic change to use student test scores as part of a teacher’s measurement.

Principals, Teachers Wrestling With How To Carry Out New Teacher Evaluation Rules
Times Picayune, LA, November 20, 2012
Now, Louisiana was planning a major intensification of teacher job reviews, another chapter in a longstanding drive to reform public education, this one focusing on better identifying top-notch instructors and ushering out nonstarters.

MICHIGAN

Rush To School Reform Likely To Get It Wrong
Detroit Free Press, MI, November 20, 2012
Lame-duck legislative sessions are typically the devil’s cauldron, filled with a steaming heap of cowardly and ill-thought-out legislation that wouldn’t have a prayer of passing if citizens (or even lawmakers) were paying much attention.

MISSISSIPPI

Gunn Faces More Choices With Education Committee Vacancies
Clarion Ledger, MS, November 21, 2012
When House Speaker Philip Gunn removed Rep. Linda Whittington from the House Education Committee, he did so under the guise of promoting her to vice chairman of the Tourism Committee.

MISSOURI

Help Great Schools Flourish in Missouri
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, November 21, 2012
As we begin the transition from election to new term, we owe it to the children of Missouri to focus on high quality public schools. If we can find what’s working, and expand it to reach more students, we have a great shot at setting Missouri’s young people up for success, and giving our state a competitive advantage that will benefit us for years into the future.

UMKC Won’t Renew Charter for Derrick Thomas Academy
Kansas City Star, MO, November 20, 2012
The Derrick Thomas Academy charter school in Kansas City will no longer be sponsored by the University of Missouri-Kansas City, university officials announced Tuesday.

Downtown Elementary School Fills Neighborhood Need
Kansas City Star, MO, November 20, 2012
For the past 10 years, Kansas City has strived to turn downtown into a real neighborhood. The main ingredients were all there — new loft housing, a vibrant library, parks, cultural amenities, even a grocery store.

NEW JERSEY

Race to the Top Returns, This Time for School Districts
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 21, 2012
Twenty-one New Jersey school districts are among more than 370 nationwide to apply for $400 million in federal Race to the Top funds, as the sweeping and sometimes controversial competition goes local with a push into specific instruction models and technology.

NEW MEXICO

Kudos to Gov. for Supporting Charter Schools
Albuquerque Journal, NM, November 21, 2012
Consider this. While only 10 percent of New Mexico’s public schools are charters, under our new school grading system, 25 percent of the top 40 public schools that received an “A” grade were charters. In fact, four of the top 10 schools are charters.

NEW YORK

Report: Insolvency Looms For NY School Districts
CBS News, NY, November 20, 2012
More than 40 percent of New York school superintendents say they will be unable to balance their budgets within four years if obligations and income continue on the current path, and even more say they won’t be able to keep up with student instruction and services mandates.

Charter School Push Is Not For The Fainthearted
Buffalo News, NY, November 21, 2012
You have to wonder why he – why they – don’t just walk away. They were figuratively beaten up by the Board of Education.

OHIO

Graduation Test To Be Subbed Out
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 21, 2012
Ohio will dump its high-school graduation test and replace it with a tougher college-readiness exam and a series of end-of-course tests.

Cleveland Schools Set Goal of Topping Other Big-City Districts by 2017
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 20, 2012
The Cleveland school district aims to have state test scores by 2017 that would top those that all other big-city districts in Ohio have now.

Reach Out To Bring Parents Back To The Cleveland Schools
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 20, 2012
School districts that want to improve student achievement have to partner with parents. That message isn’t earth-shattering, but it bears repeating as the Cleveland schools embark on the most critical phase of their reform plans.

OREGON

Breidenthal Defends Madrone Trail School From Parents’ Criticism
Mail Tribune & Daily Tiding, OR, November 21, 2012
Concerns from Madrone Trail Public Charter School parents expressed to the Medford School Board this week about the charter school’s board of directors are outdated and not representative of the majority of parents, board Chairman Doug Breidenthal said Tuesday.

PENNSYLVANIA

School Board OKs Plan To Close Achievement Gap
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 21, 2012
Pittsburgh Public Schools board Tuesday unanimously approved an equity plan that is largely the same as when it was introduced in August.

Scandal-Tainted Md. Honcho Named CFO of Philly Schools
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, November 21, 2012
MATTHEW E. Stanski, who was chief financial officer with Prince George’s County, Md., schools until a payment scandal forced his removal in September, has been named the Philadelphia School District ‘s new CFO, district sources have told the Daily News.

Pa. Charter Schools Have No Accountability
Mercury News, PA, November 21, 2012
The Pennsylvania General Assembly has failed again in its attempt to provide financial and academic accountability to charter schools.

TENNESSEE

Cap On Special-Ed Testing Concerns Schools
The Tennessean, TN, November 21, 2012
The push for educational accountability is creating a delicate balancing act for advocates of children with disabilities, who want improvement measured but don’t want children or schools punished for poor scores.

TEXAS

Five Lose Jobs At Charter School
San Antonio Express, TX, November 20, 2012
Five employees at KIPP-San Antonio’s University Prep High School have been laid off because state funding did not meet expectations, KIPP-S.A. CEO Mark Larson said.

WEST VIRGINIA

State BOE To Vote Again On Firing Of School Chief
Herald Dispatch, WV, November 20, 2012
West Virginia’s Board of Education will meet again next week to vote on Superintendent Jorea Marple’s firing because of concerns that the board may have violated the open-meetings law when it surprised many, including Marple, by ousting her on Thursday.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

Virtual Uncertainty
Commonwealth Magazine, MA, November 20, 2012
The state’s first all-online public school in Greenfield struggles to boost student achievement

Virtual Schools Popping Up In Georgia
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, November 21, 2012
Virtual schools are expanding their reach into Georgia, where three schools now operate in the state with a combined enrollment of nearly 15,000 students.

Georgia Cyber Academy Disputes Allegations in Georgia Department of Education Comprehensive Monitoring Report
The Herald, GA, November 21, 2012
The Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA), together with the school’s independent nonprofit governing board, the Odyssey Charter School Board, disputes the allegations in a Comprehensive Monitoring Report released by the Georgia Department of Education (DOE) yesterday.

Students Get Chance To Earn Diploma With Online Learning
Burton View, MI, November 21, 2012
The Swartz Creek Global Learning Hub is a program for sixth grade through 13th grade students, which are also known as fifth year super seniors in the program, where the students take a combination of online courses accompanied with more traditional classes with a teacher to earn their high school diploma.

Teachers ‘Flip Classroom’ To Cope With Math Anxiety
WLS-TV, IL, November 20, 2012
The word pre-calculus is frightening, itself. But for some math is more than scary, it’s a pain.
“I don’t know how else to describe it, but it’s scary,” Allison King said. Just the thought of a major math test can be mentally paralyzing for the 16-year-old, who says she “sometimes” enjoys math.

All-Online K-12 Needed in N.M.
Albuquerque Journal, NM, November 21, 2012
One size doesn’t fit all. This is a key principle in public education reform and why charter schools — with their innovative approach to decision-making, scheduling, staffing, curriculum and filling in the gaps in traditional education — have energized students and parents in New Mexico.

** The next edition if the Daily Clips will be on Monday November 26. Happy Thanksgiving.

School Improvement Grants Produce Mixed Results
Washington Post, DC, November 19, 2012
A federal program that pumped a record $3 billion into failing schools has shown mixed early results, with more than one-third of the targeted schools doing worse after receiving funding, according to initial government results released Monday.

Obama’s Education Agenda Dominated By Loose Ends
Associated Press, November 19, 2012
President Barack Obama’s education agenda for next four years may look less like real reform and more like tying up loose ends, experts say, with practical budget issues and an age-old power struggle between Congress and the administration getting in the way.

Unions Flexed Muscles In State Campaigns
Associated Press, November 20, 2012
From California to Maine, unions used their political muscle in the recent elections to help install Democratic governors, build labor-friendly majorities in state legislatures and defeat ballot initiatives against them.

The Attack On Teacher Tenure
Video, CBS News, November 19, 2012
Education has not been a dominant issue in the presidential campaign so far, and that’s a problem for the American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest union. AFT’s president Randi Weingarten talks to Charlie Rose and Gayle King.

No Child Left Behind Reauthorization Debate Likely To Continue In Obama Second Term
Huffington Post, November 19, 2012
In 2008, Barack Obama campaigned on the promise that his administration would oversee the rewriting of the expired No Child Left Behind Act. But four years later, education experts and legislators don’t see any end to the negotiations with and within Congress.

Chartering A New Course
Notre Dame Observer, IN, November 20, 2012
Charter schools may be the most controversial development in American education in the past decade. With the release of successful pro-charter documentaries such as “Waiting for Superman” and “The Lottery,” the conversation about the actual effectiveness of charter schools has been questioned as different statistics and studies have created a rigorous debate over an effort to save American education.

FROM THE STATES

ARKANSAS

State Education Officials Unveil New Accountability System
Log Cabin Democrat, AR, November 19, 2012
More than two-thirds of Arkansas ’ public schools are deemed in need of improvement and just 19 of the state’s 1,102 schools are considered “exemplary” under a new school accountability system unveiled Monday by state education officials.

COLORADO

Litigious Mob Takes On Vouchers
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, November 19, 2012
We constantly hear about a “wall of separation” that protects governments from religion. The wall gives us a secular government, say separation activists, and allows individuals to exercise religion in their private lives.

Douglas County School Voucher Program Has Day In Appeals Court
Denver Post, CO, November 19, 2012
An hour of argument for and against the legality of the Douglas School District ‘s voucher program boiled down to a couple of main points Monday.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. School Closures: Accountability Must Trump Loyalty
Washington Post Blog by Kevin P. Chavous, November 19, 2012
Many years ago, when I was a member of the D.C. City Council, I attended a community meeting at a junior high school scheduled to be closed.

Three Charter School Operators Apply To Open Doors In The District
Washington Post, DC, November 19, 2012
Three experienced charter-school operators have applied for fast-track approval to run 10 campuses serving thousands of students in the District, D.C. Public Charter School Board officials said Monday.

Residency Fraud Still Plagues D.C. Schools
Washington Times, DC, November 19, 2012
D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson stood before a room of high school athletes in a swanky Verizon Center dining room Monday and reminded them of their hard work, good grades and effort to “do what was good and right” in the run-up to their showdown in the annual Turkey Bowl.

FLORIDA

Union Questioning Florida Teacher Evaluation Plan
St. Augustine Record, FL, November 20, 2012
An administrative law judge’s ruling has delayed but not stopped a new state teacher evaluation system.

INDIANA

Daniels’ Focus Was Accountability In Spending And In Student Outcomes
News Sentinel, IN, November 19, 2012
Mitch Daniels used his first term to get Indiana’s fiscal house in order. His second term sealed his reputation as the education reform governor.

LOUISIANA

Kenner Charter Welcomed
The Advocate, LA, November 20, 2012
As plans for Kenner’s first charter school firm up, the city’s public officials are buzzing, particularly since a chunk of the spots at the school will be set aside for Kenner residents.

Expert On Teacher Evaluation Has Concerns About Louisiana’s New System
Times-Picayune, LA, November 19, 2012
The new teacher evaluation system Louisiana launched this fall may be too simplistic, according to the architect of one of the most widely used evaluation systems in the country — and the one on which Louisiana’s new system is based.

MAINE

Portland Charter School On Track To Open In Sept. 2013
The Forecaster, ME, November 19, 2012
After receiving full-approval from the Maine Charter School Commission on Friday, Baxter Academy for Technology and Science is set to start classes next fall.

MICHIGAN

Michigan Schools Overhaul Faces Fight
Detroit News, MI, November 20, 2012
A plan to overhaul Michigan ‘s public education funding system came under sharp scrutiny Monday, as educators, state lawmakers and parents got their first glimpse at the proposed changes.

Flint School Board Considers Opening Charter School
The Flint Journal, MI, November 19, 2012
The Flint school board is considering opening its own charter school years of losing students, and the state funding they represent, to charter schools.

Let Dollars Follow Students
Detroit News, MI, November 20, 2012
Gov. Rick Snyder couldn’t care less about how things have always been done in education. He’s not afraid to rock the boat of the Michigan education establishment because he wants one thing: To see this state’s young people compete with their peers nationwide — and worldwide. To help achieve this goal, the governor wants to revamp how education is funded. A new education finance draft is complete, and it deserves the support of the Legislature.

MINNESOTA

Unique Collaboration Promotes Critical Skill: Reading By End Of Third Grade
Minn Post, MN, November 20, 2012
The Lee family, shown above at St. Paul City Charter School, represents more than 1,200 families in Minneapolis and St. Paul who have been participating in a unique collaboration to promote reading.

MISSISSIPPI

Charter Schools Must Be Tailored To State’s Needs
Sun Herald, MS, November 19, 2012
It’s hard to know what workaday people envision when the notion of “charter schools” is floated, usually as an all-purpose cure for whatever ails public education.”Ah, yes. Charter schools. They will fix everything.”

MONTANA

Public Money For Public Schools; Private Money For Private Schools
Independent Record, MT, November 20, 2012
On Oct. 26, the Independent Record published an opinion by Greg Gianforte, the founder and CEO of RightNow Technologies.

NEVADA

You Paid for It: Quest Academy
KTNV, NV, November 19, 2012
Teachers quitting, parents enraged and demanding answers, and students caught in the middle. That’s what’s going on at a local school under investigation by the state. And it’s raising issues of abuse of authority and waste of your tax dollars.

NEW JERSEY

Judging Teachers By Student Performance
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, November 20, 2012
Since New Jersey first started talking about revamping teacher evaluations, the biggest point of contention has always been the use of student performance in the equation.

NEW YORK

Likely Mayoral Contenders Suggest Improving Bloomberg’s Leadership of Schools
New York Times, NY, November 19, 2012
None of the likely contenders in the 2013 race for New York City mayor said Monday that they would lobby to scrap mayoral control of the city’s public schools in favor of the system it replaced in 2002: 32 neighborhood school boards with oversight and hiring powers.

There Is A Decided Lack Of Consensus As Community Education Council Weighs Changes To Admissions Process For Elementary Schools
New York Daily News, NY, November 19, 2012
Parents’ group debates whether to re-draw zones or eliminate them altogether in effort to give all families equal access to highest performing schools in Upper Manhattan

NORTH CAROLINA

Wake May Cap Schools To Reduce Reassignments
News & Observer, NC, November 20, 2012
Newcomers who buy a home in some of Wake County’s most desirable neighborhoods may encounter an unexpected drawback this school year – the nearest schools have no room for their children.

OHIO

Look For Housing From Old Schools
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, November 20, 2012
The Cincinnati Board of Education on Monday released the names of the people and groups who bought 11 old schools and one vacant parcel of land at auction Nov. 8.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter Schools Blast SRC’s Move To Limit Enrollment
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 20, 2012
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools on Monday blasted the Philadelphia School Reform Commission’s decision to suspend part of state law so it could control charter-school growth, and said the move could trigger legal challenges.

TENNESSEE

Parents Fight to Keep Smithson-Craighead Middle School Open
News Channel 5, TN, November 19, 2012
Parents at Smithson-Craighead Middle School are fighting to keep the school open.

Smithson-Craighead Charter School Closing Rouses Supporters’ Emotions
The Tennessean, TN, November 20, 2012
An informational session meant to smooth students’ transition from soon-to-close Smithson-Craighead Middle, a charter school, to other Metro Nashville schools turned into an emotional pep rally Monday.

PENCIL Has Improved Local Schools
The Tennessean, TN, November 20, 2012
During the first year, 37 businesses signed on as PENCIL Partners for individual public schools. Today, 803 businesses, community organizations and colleges are paired with one or more of 153 schools to donate time, talent and goods to benefit students.

WEST VIRGINIA

Moving Rapidly On School Reform
Wheeling Intelligencer, WV, November 19, 2012
Key state legislators have said public school reform will be a top priority for their regular annual session, beginning in January. But to date, the state Board of Education has not weighed in on precisely what needs to be done. That may change this week.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

State Board Of Education Repeals Online Graduation Requirement
Idaho State Journal, ID, November 19, 2012
The State Board of Education today repealed the pending rule that required students graduating in 2016 to take two online courses to graduate from high school.