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Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Author shows how ridiculous arguments are against school reform
New York Post, NY
September 14, 2013
Public schools? They’re fine. Teachers who can’t be fired? No problem at all. Our international competitiveness in education? Nothing to worry about.

United States v. minority children
Editorial, Chicago Tribune, IL, September 15, 2013
Think about that for a second: The Justice Department is concerned that giving vouchers mostly to minority children so they can attend better schools perpetuates segregation. Best then to leave them in their failing schools? It’s a sinister argument to say the least.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Traditional, Charter Schools Compete For Students
The Foothills Focus, AZ, September 12, 2013
Traditional school districts and their new, charter school spin-offs largely vie for the same students, and the resulting competition for classroom “customers” has fueled some strongly worded marketing pitches from both sides.

CALIFORNIA

L.A. Unified seeks to end confusion and fights over parent trigger law
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 16, 2013
School board votes to require public informational meetings about campuses targeted in parent petition campaigns.

Education secretary tones down criticism of California
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 16, 2013
Arne Duncan says his threat to withhold federal funding over state’s new student test plan was a ‘last resort’ and praises Gov. Brown.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. police adjust how schools are patrolled
Washington Post, DC, September 15, 2013
D.C. police this year have quietly adjusted the way they patrol the District’s traditional public and charter schools, moving away from assigning dedicated officers to most public high schools and instead clustering groups of schools with shared officers.

attendance gets a closer look
Editorial, Washington Post, DC, September 15, 2013
SEPTEMBER MEANS back to school for the country’s 55 million students. Too many students, though, will finish the month with two or three absences and, if that pattern continues, end up missing 10 percent of the school year.

GEORGIA

Georgia commission to decide on possible Hephzibah charter school in October
Augusta Chronicle, GA, September 15, 2013
Officials in Hephzibah are counting on a state commission to approve their application for a charter school targeted toward children in the Hephzibah and Blythe area and aimed at giving families an alternative to Richmond County public schools.

City moves ahead on performance pay for teachers
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, September 16, 2013
The Marietta Board of Education this week unanimously approved developing a performance-based pay system for teachers that would take effect for the 2015-16 school year.

ILLINOIS

Emanuel touts plans for Southeast Side elementary school amid concerns about urgency, environment
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 15, 2013
The rooftop plants, gleaming glass windows and pristine entranceway in the image beside Mayor Rahm Emanuel stood in stark contrast to the tiny, dated school gymnasium where he spoke Sunday evening.

Rauner calls for more charter schools, less union control
Quincy Journal, IL, September 14, 2013
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner wants to shake up the state’s education system by introducing more charter schools and taking on teachers unions.

TIFs won’t rescue schools
Editorial, Chicago Tribune, IL, September 15, 2013
As the Chicago Public Schools district has closed dozens of buildings and cut thousands of staffers, an idea has gained steam: Prop up the schools by shifting millions of dollars from Chicago’s tax increment financing districts.

INDIANA

Bennett emails reveal deep worries about takeover school
Courier Press, IN, September 14, 2013
Emails showing deep concerns about how a private company was handling an Indianapolis school taken over by the state in 2012 are raising broader questions about how the Department of Education operated under former schools chief Tony Bennett.

IOWA

Home-schoolers find their own clout in Legislature
Editorial, Mason City Globe Gazette, IA, September 16, 2013
Iowa’s home-schoolers delivered an important lesson for every student enrolled in a public K-12 district, and every private school, as well as their parents: If you want to change state law, it helps to have your advocates hold elected office.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana is smart to have these school fights
Editorial, Alexandria Town Talk, LA, September 15, 2013
It is only about 1,150 miles from Baton Rouge to Washington, D.C., but it can seem a lot farther away, especially when you’re looking in either direction through the lens of change.

New Orleans is leading the way in education reform: Gov. Bobby Jindal
Op-Ed, Times-Picayune, LA, September 14, 2013
When Hurricane Katrina struck our shores eight years ago and devastated the city of New Orleans, it was more than just infrastructure and commerce that was left in ruin. A school system that was already on life support from years of neglect and mismanagement was in danger of being washed away entirely.

Tea party opposition to Common Core could have implications
The Advocate, LA, September 16, 2013
The politics of education have been scrambling typical party divisions for decades. But over the past few months a new force has entered the debate, complicating the lives of Louisiana educators and politicians alike: the tea party.

MAINE

Common Core: Overreach or the start of school improvement?
Column, Bangor Daily News, ME, September 13, 2013
Just months after Republicans took control of the Maine Legislature in 2011, the House and Senate unanimously approved a bill allowing the state to implement a new set of math and English expectations for students in kindergarten through grade 12.

MASSACHUSETTS

At lot at stake in Salem school race
Salem News, MA, September 16, 2013
The crisis in the Salem public schools has sent ripples in many directions. Inside the schools, there are a number of initiatives and new programs underway aimed at turning around an underperforming system.

Rob Consalvo earns A+ in pandering to teachers union
Column, Boston Globe, MA, September 13, 2013
IT WAS a spectacle not to be missed: a mayoral campaign forum featuring candidates sharply divided about charter schools, held at the Boston Teachers Union Hall.

MICHIGAN

Detroit Public Schools’ new policy seeks to get tough on truancy
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 16, 2013
After years of angst and lost funding because of chronic truancy, Detroit Public Schools is implementing a new attendance policy for the 2013-14 school year that could result in parents being reported for prosecution after nine unexcused absences for their child.

Tennis star Andre Agassi coming to Detroit for grand opening of new school
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 16, 2013
It’s all about the arts at the new Southwest Detroit Lighthouse Charter Academy, where music, dance, art and theater are interwoven throughout the curriculum. But on Tuesday at the school’s grand opening, there might just be a little tennis added in.

MINNESOTA

High-poverty Columbia Heights charter school beats the odds to achieve academic excellence
Star Tribune, MN, September 14, 2013
Global Academy’s college prep classes, a no-nonsense classroom culture and involved parents have contributed to remarkable results.

MISSOURI

School test scores only part of the picture for many parents
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, September 14, 2013
A new set of report cards and ratings for public schools in Missouri now give parents more information at their fingertips than ever before to compare quality and effectiveness — that is, if they care to look.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Attacks on education tax credit full of disinformation
Letter, Nashua Telegraph, NH, September 14, 2013
Bill Duncan has always been a vociferous opponent of the new education tax credit law in New Hampshire. In a recent column, he disparaged this law by asking, “How is it that New Hampshire’s voucher tax credit program can find only 15 public school students who want vouchers?”

NEW JERSEY

Christie gets improving grade for handling of education issues
Courier News, NJ, September 16, 2013
For many, views of Gov. Chris Christie’s handling of education were cemented in 2010 — the height of his feud with the New Jersey Education Association, either a badge of honor or sign of disrespect for teachers, depending on one’s point of view.

Democratic assemblyman starts to leave his mark on education policies
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, September 15, 2013
Singleton releases package of three bills, working on revision of 1995 Charter School Law.

Minority male teacher shortage prompts legislation that aims to boost their numbers
Star-Ledger, NJ, September 15, 2013
Minority male teachers are scarce in New Jersey’s public schools—and in classrooms across the country—but a bill moving through the state Legislature aims to attract more of them to some of the state’s struggling school districts.

NEW MEXICO

Lawmakers join educators in legal fight over evaluations
Santa Fee New Mexican, NM, September 14, 2013
A trio of Democratic lawmakers have joined with a state teachers union and others to stop the Public Education Department from initiating a new teacher evaluation system.

Teacher evaluation petition another stalling tactic
Editorial, Albuquerque Journal, NM
September 16, 2013
An Albuquerque representative calls it an effort to block an “end run” around the law-making process. The New Mexico Public Education Department calls it “terribly unfortunate.”

NORTH CAROLINA

State teachers face difficult choices after new law
Daily Tar Heel, NC, September 16, 2013
Like Hennessee, some teachers and education majors in North Carolina are reconsidering career options after education issues dominated the N.C. General Assembly’s recently concluded long session.

A teacher’s master’s degree equals more math learning for students
Opinion, News & Observer, NC, September 13, 2013
The fact that teacher pay (in constant dollars) has fallen faster in North Carolina than in any other state in the nation over the past decade has finally raised some eyebrows. Removing pay incentives for teachers who earn graduate degrees should as well.

OHIO

Don’t judge charter schools too hastily
Letter, Columbus Dispatch, OH, September 14, 2013
On Aug. 27, The Dispatch ran an op-ed column by Charles M. Blow that cited the Broad Foundation, an educational-reform group, on the U.S. educational system: “American students rank 25th in math, 17th in science and 14th in reading compared to students in 27 industrialized countries.”

Ohio lawmaker proposing that Ohio license plates help fund private education
Akron Beacon Journal, OH, September 15, 2013
Proponents of publicly funded charter and private schools can make a donation to the school choice movement through their local Bureau of Motor Vehicles if one state lawmaker gains support for legislation that could hit the statehouse floor by early October.

PENNSYLVANIA

Audit: End of charter reimbursements hurting school districts
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 13, 2013
State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale today highlighted the financial difficulties of the Duquesne and Sto-Rox school districts as he released their performance audits.

Districts, teachers at loss over solving strikes
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 14, 2013
Gone are the days when teachers stayed on strike until their contracts were settled and school boards could raise taxes to fund the agreements.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Charter schools experience first-year growing pains
Hilton Head Island Packet, SC, September 14, 2013
But so, too, can the schools they attend, according to the superintendent for the S.C. Public Charter School District. That’s why Wayne Brazell is neither alarmed nor surprised by tumult at Bridges Preparatory School in Beaufort, which lost its head of school less than a month after it opened in August.

TENNESSEE

White Ready to Take on Frayser High
Memphis Daily News, TN, September 16, 2013
Bobby White is so close that he sometimes has to remember that the decision about who will run Frayser High School won’t be made until December.

UTAH

In our opinion: Charters doing well
Editorial, Deseret News, UT, September 14, 2013
Now that Utah’s schools have each received a letter grade as part of a state-imposed accountability system, some are calling attention to the fact that Utah’s charter schools received roughly the same A through F grade distribution as traditional public schools.

WASHINGTON

Area school districts besides SPS undecided on charter schools
Spokesman Review, WA, September 16, 2013
Not all school districts are as sure about charter schools as Spokane Public Schools. Spokane’s biggest district made history last week by becoming the first in the state to welcome a charter school.

New-school thinking
Spokesman Review, WA, September 16, 2013
Seven years of foreign language. Extra math and science. Nine-hour school days and an extended school year. These are the makings of a charter school planned for Spokane next year.

WEST VIRGINIA

High school graduates could save state money
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, September 16, 2013
West Virginia could save $100 million annually in crime-associated costs just by increasing its high school graduation rate by 5 percent.

ONLINE LEARNING

Glitches slow digital makeover effort for Utah schools
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, September 14, 2013
Students are powering on MacBook Air laptops and Skyping with teachers at Kaysville charter school Career Path High.

Graduation gaps among Miss. school districts glaring
The Hechinger Report, September 16, 2013
To catch Walton up with his classmates, the Rankin County School District enrolled him in both traditional classes and online classes, which operate like college correspondence courses.

Interest in virtual schooling surges in Tampa Bay area
Tampa Tribune, FL, September 16, 2013
For the first time in its 16-year history, Florida Virtual School, the largest state-run online K-12 school in the nation, this year had to fire teachers due to low enrollment numbers and diminished funding. At the same time, school districts across the Tampa Bay area are dealing with too many students.

iPads open doors for students in poor school districts
USA Today, September 14, 2013
Coachella Valley Unified is one of small number of school districts buying iPads or other tablets for all their students. The district will issue iPads to all students – pre-school through high school – by November.

No Child Left Untableted
New York Times Magazine, NY, September 15, 2013
Sally Hurd Smith, a veteran teacher, held up her brand-new tablet computer and shook it as she said, “I don’t want this thing to take over my classroom.” It was late June, a month before the first day of school.

Online school best for some students
Letter, The Tennessean, TN
September 16, 2013
A new school year is upon us — with new teachers, new textbooks, and hopefully, many new educational opportunities for more Tennessee families and students.

Should state funds cover online classes? Many not sure
USA Today, September 15, 2013
Growing concerns over how much state education funding should go to online courses are prompting lawmakers to create a range of policies, but no clear consensus has yet emerged.

Walnut Valley Unified’s virtual teaching could foreshadow future of education
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, CA, September 15, 2013
There’s online classes, then there are classes online. Walnut Valley Unified is trying virtual teaching this semester in an interesting experiment that could foreshadow the future of education.

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

More federal intervention not answer for schools
Editorial, Fort Wayne News Sentinel, IN, September 13, 2013
Apparently the absence of some useless federal regulations makes some hearts grow fonder of them.

States, schools urge U.S. Senate to pass new No Child Left Behind law
Reuters, September 12, 2013
States, cities and school districts are pressing the U.S. Senate to vote on “No Child Left Behind” education legislation, after the House of Representatives passed its version of the bill two months ago.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

Michelle Rhee on AEA protest outside town hall meeting: teachers should be inside taking part in discussion
The Huntsville Times Blog, AL, September 12, 2013
A teacher town hall meeting tonight hosted by controversial education reformer Michelle Rhee had more teachers outside the building protesting than actually participating in the discussion.

CALIFORNIA

Union-backed bill to streamline disciplining of teachers advances
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 12, 2013
The Senate on Thursday voted 25-13 to approve a bill supported by teachers’ unions that would streamline the discipline and dismissal process for teachers accused of misconduct. The measure goes back to the Assembly for a vote on amendments.

COLORADO

A snapshot of education reform: Latino students in DPS
Commentary. Denver Post, CO, September 12, 2013
A few weeks ago, Denver Public Schools released the results of the 2013 Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP), a measurement of students’ yearly improvement in reading, writing, math and science.

CONNECTICUT

Hartford ‘Sheff’ Students Outperform Those In City Schools
Hartford Courant, CT, September 13, 2013
New state data from this year’s mastery tests show that Hartford residents who attend regional magnet schools and Open Choice suburban schools outperformed city students enrolled in Hartford neighborhood schools.

FLORIDA

Jax Beach charter school promises “new model” of learning
WTEV 47, FL, September 12, 2013
The subjects are similar to the ones taught in public school systems, but the way these elementary school students learn is much different. They are aided by UNF professors and students who are learning to teach a way that’s even new to them, utilizing research into early childhood education learning.

Keep the pressure on charter schools
Editorial, Tampa Bay Times, FL, September 12, 2013
The Hillsborough County School District should continue to monitor charter schools for the fees and other charges they are passing along to students. Parents at some charters have complained that they are being asked to pay for routine classroom expenses. These pass-through charges are inappropriate, and the district needs to call out those charters that take advantage of a gray area in the law.

‘Pause Button’: Polk Legislators React to Common Core Bill
The Ledger, FL, September 12, 2013
The issue of whether the Common Core Standards should be implemented in Florida schools has drawn mixed reactions from Polk’s legislative delegation.

Volusia school board files lawsuit against failing charter school
WFTV, FL, September 12, 2013
A Volusia County school is in for a legal battle. The school board has filed a lawsuit against a failing DeLand charter school and its management company in an effort to force them to turn over unspent money.

GEORGIA

Bad teachers? There aren’t that many
Column, Savannah Morning News, GA, September 12, 2013
School may not have been on the minds of students this summer, but it sure was on the minds of state legislators around the country.

IDAHO

Charter school enjoying success in Coeur d’Alene
KREM, ID, September 12, 2013
Spokane Public Schools announced their intent to incorporate charter schools into the district for the first time this week, but across the border in Idaho, charter schools have been an option for more than ten years.

ILLINOIS

Why charter schools are part of the solution
Opinion, Crain’s Chicago Business, IL, September 13, 2013
The Illinois Network of Charter Schools is compelled to set the record straight on the sweeping generalizations about Chicago charter public schools in Kenneth Saltman’s opinion piece.

INDIANA

Democrat calls for investigation of Bennett lists
Courier Press, IN, September 13, 2013
Indiana’s Senate Democratic leader called for an investigation Thursday after fundraising lists for former state schools chief Tony Bennett were discovered on state computers.

KENTUCKY

Kentucky a national leader in instituting Common Core math and reading lessons in classroom
The Courier-Journal, KY, September 13, 2013
Though the school year has just begun, Young’s class is already in full throttle, poring over math problems they are expected to master under the Common Core standards, a set of ambitious academic guidelines designed by states that clearly describe what students need to learn in math and English language arts before completing each grade.

MASSACHUSETTS

Andover School Committee members spar over possible conflicts of interest
Eagle Tribune, MA, September 13, 2013
Citing “potential or perceived” conflicts of interest, the chairman of the School Committee is calling into question fellow member David Birnbach’s involvement as a leading proponent of a proposed charter high school in town.

Rob Consalvo earns A+ in pandering to teachers union
Column, Boston Globe, MA, September 12, 2013
It was a spectacle not to be missed: a mayoral campaign forum featuring candidates sharply divided about charter schools, held at the Boston Teachers Union Hall.

Somerville to purge low teacher evaluations
Boston Globe, MA, September 13, 2013
Guided by a belief that everyone can improve, Somerville school leaders imposed a harsh “needs improvement” rating on scores of teachers last year, a near-failing grade that placed them on a potential path to termination.

MINNESOTA

Rêve Academy gives north Minneapolis students digital skills
KMSP-TV, MN, September 12, 2013
With online sales predicted to grow, there’s a large demand for people to program websites and a Twin Cities non-profit is working to solve the worker shortage by training students in north Minneapolis to use the tech that will give them a competitive edge.

MISSISSIPPI

30 Miss. schools may face state takeover
Clarion Ledger, MS, September 13, 2013
Thirty or more Mississippi schools as early as next fall could see their entire staffs fired — from principal to custodians — and new hires made by the state if they earn an “F” rating from the state Department of Education for a third year in a row.

NEW YORK

‘Developing’ label disheartens teacher
Albany Times Union, NY, September 13, 2013
For them, it was just another test, one of those unpleasant parts of the school day. For Jen, it felt like watching her career slide away.

NORTH CAROLINA

Charter schools need to be true to mission
Letter, News & Observer, NC, September 12, 2013
With her apparently warm embrace of the 170 letters of intent from groups wanting to form new charter schools, June Atkinson is facing political reality gracefully.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma leads nation in percentage of cuts to school funding
The Oklahoman, OK, September 13, 2013
Oklahoma has slashed per-pupil spending by 22.8 percent, according to the report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a policy research organization based in Washington, D.C.

PENNSYLVANIA

Goode opens new front on Phila. schools crisis
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 13, 2013
PHILADELPHIA A new front appeared to open in the Philadelphia school funding crisis Thursday when City Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr. tied his long-standing effort to reduce a home-building tax incentive to the daunting deficit facing the schools.

National union leader thwarted in school visit
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 13, 2013
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, got what she wanted Thursday at Abraham Lincoln High School in Northeast Philadelphia – even though she was stopped just past the metal detector.

Philipsburg-Osceola school board member proposes salary ceiling for administrators
Centre Daily Times, PA, September 13, 2013
Jim Verbeck wants to know what the Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District principals and other staff members make — and why.

TENNESSEE

Education Reform Leaders
Memphis Daily News, TN, September 13, 2013
Shelby County Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson and Achievement School District superintendent Chris Barbic say the education reformation underway locally in Shelby County can lead and influence the national discussion about education reform.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman unfazed by ouster petition
Times Free Press, TN, September 13, 2013
State Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman makes no apologies for a sharp-elbowed approach that now has nearly half of Tennessee’s local school directors up in arms about his management style and policies.

TEXAS

Dallas charter school to remain closed pending safety compliance
Dallas Morning News, TX, September 12, 2013
A Dallas charter school will remain closed until it can prove it’s complying with state laws to keep children safe, a state education official ruled Thursday.

WISCONSIN

School accountability bill gets Capitol hearing
Wisconsin Radio Network, WI, September 13, 2013
State lawmakers discuss plan to track student performance at schools that receive taxpayer dollars. Senator Luther Olsen (R-Ripon) is a co-author of the legislation (SB-286) that creates new standards for measuring performance at Wisconsin’s public and private schools getting taxpayer dollars. “And no matter if you’re a public school, a charter school, or a choice school … if you get a check, you’re gonna get a check-up.”

Transparency a must in voucher program
Editorial, Green Bay Press Gazette, WI, September 12, 2013
Private and Catholic school representatives on Thursday objected to some of the accountability measures they might have to abide by in the voucher program.

ONLINE LEARNING

SC online schools fear becoming “dumping ground’
The Herald, SC, September 13, 2013
Leaders of the state’s charter school district fear its fledgling online schools are becoming a “dumping ground” for the state’s most at-risk students.

Students find success at virtual school
Mason City Globe Gazette, IA, September 13, 2013
For the second consecutive year, one North Iowa family has exchanged backpacks, lunch money and school bus rides for a cutting-edge alternative public school education.

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

‘Common Core’ is the 115th verse of same old ‘fix schools’ song
Opinion, Clarion Ledger, MS, September 12, 2013
Listen to the speechifying these days and “No Child Left Behind,” the moniker for federal efforts to “help schools do better” under the previous president, was, in reality, a Republican conspiracy to kill public education.

In Charter School Fantasy World, Teacher Experience Irrelevant
Opinion, San Diego Free Press, CA, September 11, 2013
As the New York Times reported on August 27 (“At Charter Schools, Short Careers By Choice”) most charter school teachers only remain in the profession for two to five years. In contrast, traditional public school teachers average nearly fourteen years of experience. But in the fantasy world of charter school proponents, far from being a shortcoming this lack of teaching experience is a positive.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

A step toward competition
Opinion, Troy Messenger, AL, September 11, 2013
Our state took a step toward school choice and vouchers by passing the Alabama Accountability Act last spring. The Act allows students in the attendance zones of failing schools to enroll in other public schools or private schools with a tuition voucher equal to the state’s portion of per pupil public school funding (around $3,500).

CALIFORNIA

Bill to suspend state tests moves forward
San Diego Times, CA, September 11, 2013
State lawmakers moved ahead Wednesday with a controversial plan to suspend much of a statewide K-12 testing program for a year, despite objections by federal education officials who threatened to withhold federal funds.

COLORADO

Charter school movement growing
KKCO, CO, September 11, 2013
It’s been 20 years since the first charter school opened its doors in Colorado and the option has been growing ever since.

CONNECTICUT,/strong>

ACEL charter’s red ink prompts Fresno Unified scrutiny
The Fresno Bee, CA, September 11, 2013
Fresno Unified officials say they’re planning to keep a closer eye on the Academy for Civic and Entrepreneurial Leadership, known as ACEL, after the downtown Fresno charter school reported a more than $200,000 negative financial balance last school year.

School board results all about the mayor
Commentary, CT Post, CT, September 12, 20132
In a race that pitted Democrat against Democrat, some wondered if Tuesday’s crushing defeat of the party-nominated school board slate in the primary was a referendum on Mayor Bill Finch, the party machine or the Paul Vallas brand of education reform.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. charter board asked to reconsider preschool ranking plan
Washington Post, DC, September 11, 2013
Some D.C. charter school leaders are asking the city’s public charter school board to reconsider a proposal to rank preschools based largely on their performance on varying math and reading tests.

FLORIDA

Broward’s district-run schools lose 2,500 students, charters gain
Sun Sentinel, FL, September 11, 2013
Enrollment at Broward public schools is up this year, but more of those students are choosing charter schools over traditional public schools.

First city-run charter school in Palm Beach County gets green light
Sun Sentinel, FL, September 11, 2013
West Palm Beach will be the first city to open its own charter school in Palm Beach County.

ILLINOIS

Can we trust the school numbers now?
Editorial, Chicago Tribune, IL, September 12, 2013
In July, Chicago Public Schools officials revealed that the number of students who met academic standards had plummeted. That’s because the basic measure of success — the Illinois Standards Achievement Test — had been adjusted to meet reality.

KENTUCKY

Gov. Steve Beshear says he will implement science standards despite legislative committee’s vote
Courier-Journal, KY, September 12 ,2 013
Gov. Steve Beshear said he plans to implement a controversial revamp of science education despite a legislative committee’s rejection of it on Wednesday.

LOUISIANA

Lafayette group has property lined up for new charter schools
The Advocate, LA, September 12, 2013
A group that has applied to open charter schools in Lafayette Parish told the School Board on Wednesday that it has signed letters of intent to purchase 8 acres of land in north and south Lafayette to open two schools by next August.

MASSACHUSETTS

Mayoral hopefuls debate charter schools
Boston Globe, MA, September 12, 2013
Eleven mayoral candidates — many positioning themselves to be the next “education mayor” — ventured inside the Boston Teachers Union Hall Wednesday night where they pitched their ideas to overhaul the school system during a lively forum that at times put some candidates at odds with the city’s largest union.

MICHIGAN

Schools step up student recruiting to keep state aid
Detroit News, MI, September 12, 2013
Shrinking school-age population, more charters, open enrollment options have districts scrambling

MISSOURI

A better way to evaluate school districts
Letter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, September 12, 2013
In his commentary “School performance reviews mislead” (Sept. 10), Peter Downs finally addressed the elephant in the room. The system that evaluates school districts in Missouri tells us very little about school quality.

NEVADA

How to grow a school
Las Vegas Weekly, NV, September 12, 2013
In December, the Program for International Student Assessment will release its new rankings of academic performance. Odds that the U.S. has improved its global standings since 2009—14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math—are almost as poor as the outcomes of public schools in Las Vegas.

Reform schools structure
Editorial, Reno News & Review, NV, September 12, 2013
That same kind of empire building was reflected when Sandoval called on the Legislature to allow him to appoint the state superintendent of schools, previously appointed by the Nevada Board of Education. Then, for good measure, he also asked that he appoint the members of the Board of Education.

NEW JERSEY,/strong>

NJ Senate Committee To Consider Charter Schools For Students With Substance Abuse Problems
New Jersey Today, NJ, September 12, 2013
Tell everyone to get New Jersey News from WWW.NJTODAY.NET The Senate Education Committee will take up legislation today authored by Senator Raymond Lesniak allowing for the creation of recovery charter schools for students with substance abuse problems.

NEW MEXICO

Suit filed to stop teacher evaluation
Albuquerque Journal, NM, September 12, 2013
A cadre of state legislators, teachers unions and an individual teacher have filed a legal petition against the state Public Education Department, seeking to halt the state’s new teacher evaluation system.

NEW YORK

RIT announces new partnership with Rochester Prep charter school
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY, September 11, 2013
Rochester Institute of Technology is working with True North Rochester Prep Charter School to open a high school in the city — an unprecedented partnership those behind it say could become a national model for collaboration between colleges and K-12 systems.

The ugly war on co-locating city schools
Opinion, New York Post, NY, September 11, 2013
For a taste of how the November election could bring the bad old days back to New York City’s schools, consider the lawsuit by teachers-union boss Mike Mulgrew to throw out the Bloomberg administration’s plans for school sitings for the 2014 school year.

NORTH CAROLINA

Bertie County’s 1st Charter School Causing Budget Concern
WITN, NC, September 11, 2013
The first ever charter school in Bertie County will provide options to parents who send their kids to public school, but not everyone is happy about it.

Local charter school options growing
Charlotte Post, NC, September 11, 2013
The charter school movement is growing across North Carolina in general and Mecklenburg County in particular.

PENNSYLVANIA

Nutter, Clarke again tout alternate school-funding plans
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, September 12, 2013
DESPITE Mayor Nutter’s ongoing push for City Council to support Gov. Corbett’s school-funding plan, Council President Darrell Clarke announced yesterday that he’s moving forward with an alternative proposal when the body returns from its legislative break today.

Tribal warfare
Editorial, Philadelphia Daily News, PA, September 12, 2013
A STATE hearing on education funding Tuesday held at the Franklin Institute often seemed not so much a hearing as a temporary détente among warring factions.

TENNESSEE

Lobbyist argues at length against charter school moratorium
Tennessean Blog, TN, September 11, 2013
In an email that’s longer than most New Yorker magazine profiles (just kidding, but it is a robust 1,160 words), lobbyist James Weaver told Metro Council members this week why they should reject a non-binding resolution seeking a moratorium on the approval of new charter schools in Nashville.

TN school superintendents ask Gov. Haslam to rein in Commissioner Huffman
The Tennessean, TN, September 12, 2013
In an unprecedented move, school directors across Tennessee are calling for the governor and legislature to put the brakes on Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman and his reform ideas.

UTAH

Gov, lawmakers agree to tweak Utah’s school grading law
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, September 12, 2013
Education » The governor says he supports the concept, but the system needs to be adjusted.

WASHINGTON

Open union-bargaining meetings to the public
Opinion, Seattle Times, WA, September 11, 2013
Conducting government-labor contract negotiations in secret deprives the public of the ability to monitor important discussions, argues guest columnists Jami Lund and Maxford Nelsen.

Spokane’s charter school gets state board’s OK
Spokesman-Review, WA, September 12, 2013
Spokane could have the first charter school in Washington by next fall. It will be a historic and controversial development closely watched by school administrators, teachers, politicians and education reformists throughout the state.

Yakima County school districts to explore options of charter schools
KIMA-TV, WA, September 11, 2013
The State Board of Education met in Yakima on Wednesday to go over charter schools. A couple of school districts in Yakima County have expressed interest in starting charter schools, but are holding off for now.

ONLINE LEARNING

Digital Textbooks Present New Learning Frontier For Students
NY 1, NY, September 12, 2013
In response to persistent concerns over the weight of backpacks for students, a school in White Plains is the first high school in the nation to go digital and get rid of all paper textbooks for good. NY1’s Adam Balkin filed the following report.

Penn-Trafford teachers union chief calls for changes in cyber-school funding
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, September 11, 2013
In the wake of a federal indictment against the founder of PA Cyber Charter School, the president of the Penn-Trafford teachers union is calling for reforms to the funding formula for cyber schools in the state.

Schauer needs to be schooled on cyber charters
Letter, Detroit Free Press, MI, September 12, 2013
As the parent of children receiving a great education in one of Michigan’s cyber charter public schools, I was dismayed to read a column in the Free Press by Mark Schauer attacking my family’s decision to pursue the best possible education for our kids.

Vern Van Y Elementary becomes virtual academy
Burton View, MI
September 12, 2013
Superintendent of Atherton Schools John Ploof wasn’t about to let the Vern Van Y Elementary building sit empty. A “non-traditional” alternative academy called Atherton Alternative Virtual Academy is now at the site of the old Vern Van Y building, which closed its doors earlier this year.

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Charter School Gravy Train Runs Express To Fat City
Forbes, September 10, 2013
Charter schools are booming. “There are now more than 6,000 in the United States, up from 2,500 a decade ago, educating a record 2.3 million children,” according to Reuters.

Loud Voice Fighting Tide of New Trend in Education
New York Times, NY, September 11, 2013
Diane Ravitch made her name in the 1970s as a historian chronicling the role of public schools in American social mobility.

State Senate approves bill to overhaul standardized tests
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 11, 2013
The Obama administration has threatened to withhold education funds from the state unless students, parents and school officials have access to this year’s scores.

Teach for America is a deeply divisive program. It also works.
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 10, 2013
Teach for America, the nonprofit organization that places high-achieving college graduates in school districts in underserved areas of the country, hasn’t lacked for evaluations over the years.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Magnets attract top students
Arizona Daily Sun, AZ, September 10, 2013
Flagstaff Unified School District’s magnet programs stacked up well against local charter schools during the AIMS test.

CALIFORNIA

Jerry Brown pushes school testing delay despite federal threats
Sacramento Bee, CA, September 11, 2013
State officials are pushing forward with a plan to suspend mandatory school testing for a year despite U.S. Department of Education threats to withhold federal funds.

L.A. school board approves new parent trigger rules
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 10, 2013
Pioneering guidelines to help Los Angeles Unified school staff and parents navigate the complex and controversial process to overhaul failing schools under the state parent trigger law were approved Tuesday by the school board.

Manteca Unified plans PR blitz to counter exodus to charter schools
Manteca Bulletin, CA, September 11, 2013
Coming soon to a movie theater near you – advertising touting the good things about the Manteca Unified School District.

DELAWARE

James L. Wilson: Give all schools the flexibility to perform
News Journal, September 11, 2013
One of the most significant pieces of educational legislation introduced this year was House Bill 90, which was passed overwhelmingly by both the House and Senate.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

District officials turn to home visits to boost schools
Washington Post, DC, September 7, 2013
After years of focusing their attention on the quality of teaching inside city classrooms, District public schools officials are turning to a new front in their efforts to improve the schools: family living rooms.

Jesús Aguirre to be D.C.’s new state superintendent for education
Washington Post, DC, September 10, 2013
Jesús Aguirre, director of the District’s parks department, will become the city’s new state superintendent of education, Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced Tuesday.

FLORIDA

Now the hard part begins, after more than 200 dropouts return to school
Orlando Sentinel, FL, September 10, 2013
One former student failed to make up half an English credit. Another dropped out because she became a mother and didn’t have child care. And a third didn’t return to school this fall because he was working to help his mother pay the bills.

West Palm Beach charter school could help — and hurt.
Editorial, Palm Beach Post, FL, September 10, 2013
West Palm Beach wants to start a city charter school for the best of reasons — to boost reading and math results for up to 600 elementary-age children. Even if it works, or perhaps especially if it works, such a charter school could have unintended consequences that won’t all be wonderful.

MINNESOTA

Minneapolis school board votes to sign on to Q Comp
Star Tribune, MN, September 10, 2013
It’s been a long, bumpy ride, but the state’s third-largest school district is finally on the verge of joining the Minnesota alternative teacher pay program known as Q Comp.

MISSISSIPPI

Charting a New Path
Delta Business Journal, MS, September 10, 2013
By working with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS), Mississippi’s charter school advocates received insider information on how to make the state’s charter school law strong, thus ensuring only high performing charter schools will open in Mississippi.

State could take over three more school districts
Clarion Ledger, MS, September 11, 2013
The Mississippi Department of Education’s Commission on School Accreditation voted Tuesday to send resolutions to the state Board of Education recommending a state of emergency be declared in Claiborne County School District, Yazoo City School District and Leflore County School District.

MISSOURI

Challenges in St. Louis schools have some teachers quitting
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, September 11, 2013
Laura Sahaida knew teaching kindergarten at a low-performing elementary school in the city would be a tough job — but not like this. Just six days after she started at Ashland Elementary this school year, she decided to resign.

NEW JERSEY

N.J. teacher evaluation rules up for vote; hundreds weighed in
Star-Ledger, NJ, September 10, 2013
More than 600 people — from elementary school teachers, to New Jersey Education Association officials, to concerned citizens — have weighed in on new proposed rules for teacher evaluations and tenure.

NORTH CAROLINA

NC could get 170 new charter schools in 2015
News & Observer, NC, September 10, 2013
As many as 170 new charter schools could open in North Carolina in 2015, including 39 in the Triangle and 43 in Mecklenburg County.

OHIO

Keeping the lines open
Editorial, Columbus Dispatch, OH, September 11, 2013
Walking into the meeting of a local tea party group to explain the benefits of the Common Core couldn’t have been comfortable for Worthington City Schools Superintendent Thomas Tucker.

PENNSYLVANIA

Erie nonprofit considers opening charter school Erie Times-News, PA, September 11, 2013
The Boys & Girls Club of Erie is considering opening a charter high school.

Philadelphia Schools Reopen Amid Financial, Academic Distress
Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2013
As Philadelphia students returned to school this week facing larger class sizes and slimmed-down arts programs, a fight raged over how to keep the district from sinking further into financial and academic distress.

York City superintendent optimistic as 134 students return to district
York Dispatch, PA, September 10, 2013
York City School District officials are celebrating the first bit of evidence that shows their effort to woo the parents of former charter-school students is working.

TENNESSEE

Achievement School District Getting Bigger, Maybe Better
Memphis Flyer, TN, September 10, 2013
The Achievement School District for low-performing schools in Shelby County will have eight or nine new members next year, including one high school that was targeted for closing.

VIRGINIA

Campbell County School Board to take stand on state’s new school takeover initiative
News & Advance, VA, September 10, 2013
The Campbell County School Board plans to take action next month on a resolution in support of a lawsuit against a new state institution that would take over schools that fail to meet state standards.

WASHINGTON

Charter school weighed for Battle Ground
The Columbian, WA, September 10, 2013
Karl Johnson, a teacher at Summit View Middle School in Battle Ground, says he’s committed to finding a better way to reach students who don’t thrive in a regular classroom.

WISCONSIN

Common Core raises the bar for schools
Editorial, Wisconsin State Journal, WI, September 11, 2013
As Wisconsin students settle back into classrooms, they might notice something is a little different this fall. K-12 teachers push them a little harder, and the homework is a little more challenging.

Voucher school accountability bill on right track
Opinion, Steven Point Journal, WI, September 11, 2013
As he promised during the state budget process, Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, has come up with a plan to provide for better accountability for voucher schools.

WYOMING

Wyoming version of No Child Left Behind on track
Star Tribune, WY, September 10, 2013
A new education accountability system in the works at the Wyoming Department of Education would hold schools accountable to a state-developed set of performance standards starting in the spring of 2015.

ONLINE LEARNING

After two weeks open, cyber academy “nothing but good news”
Danville News, PA, September 10, 2013
Since opening at the start of this school year, Danville’s e-Learning Cyber Academy has enrolled 18 students.

Erie’s Barker: Indictment of online-schools boss ‘completely surprised’ him
Erie Times-News, PA, September 11, 2013
Over the past several weeks, former Erie schools Superintendent Jim Barker has seen his former boss indicted and his 17-year tenure at the Erie School District questioned once more.

Online classes a hit for students
Statesman Journal, OR, September 11, 2013
Last year Natalie Bensing, a high school junior, lived in the southern Oregon coastal town of Brookings.

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

How big can Teach For America get?
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 10, 2013
Even in school districts where teachers have been laid off because of budget cuts, Teach For America manages to keep expanding.

Last Chance on School Reform?
US News & World Report Blog, September 9, 2013
The start of the school year also marks the end of the congressional recess. And this fall, Congress’s education “to do” list includes updating the federal statute governing America’s public schools.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Lennox academy makes hasty attempt to secede from district as charter
Daily Breeze, CA, September 10, 2013
The Lennox Math, Science and Technology Academy is a perennial presence on the U.S. News and World Report’s annual list of best American high schools and, by many accounts, the crown jewel of the Lennox School District.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

GED will soon have online guide for high school dropouts
Washington Post, DC, September 9, 2012
Dropouts who want to take the GED high school equivalency test will soon have an online guide to walk them through their preparation, registration, and college and career planning.

FLORIDA

At charter school, enrollment drop follows campus drama
Herald Tribune, FL, September 9, 2013
After a School Board meeting packed with supporters carrying signs, contentious court hearings and the uncertainty of who would lead Imagine School at North Port, Chrissy Bynum decided she had had enough.

Rowlett becomes Manatee’s first conversion charter
Bradenton Herald, FL, September 10, 2013
The room burst into applause, with some scattered squeals, when the Manatee County School Board swiftly and unanimously approved Rowlett Elementary’s bid to become the county’s first conversion charter school Monday night.

IDAHO

Idaho schools chief Luna admits to missteps in education reform plan
Idaho Statesman, ID, September 10, 2013
Nearly a year after voters trounced Tom Luna’s Students Come First proposals in a referendum, the state schools superintendent acknowledged he did not do enough to make the plan transparent or to involve Idahoans.

IOWA

Homeschool advocates score major victory in Iowa
Quad City Times, IA, September 10, 2013
Branstad’s education reform bill had just been through its initial run in the Legislature, and lawmakers were trying to attach amendments for everything from raising starting teacher pay to $45,000 a year to giving local school boards more authority over their operations.

KENTUCKY

KY Legislators Hold Charter School Public Hearing
WKMS, KY, September 9, 2013
A Kentucky legislative education committee will hold a public hearing on charter schools this week. The request came from the Kentucky Charter Schools Association, which was created by its chairman, Hal Heiner, this year.

LOUISIANA

Teacher reviews spark new argument
The Advocate, September 9, 2013
The first snapshot of how public school teachers fared under Louisiana’s new job reviews has reignited arguments over the value of the revamped evaluations.

MAINE

Core rift confronts Gov. LePage
Morning Sentinel, ME, September 10, 2013
Two key Republican constituencies – the tea party and business – are on opposite sides.

MICHIGAN

Port Huron teachers sue over evaluations
Port Huron Times Herald, September 9, 2013
The Port Huron Education Association is suing the district over its teacher evaluations.

a href=”http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130910/OPINION01/309100004/1008/OPINION01/State-takeover-hurt-DPS”target=”_blank”>State takeover hurt DPS
Letter, Detroit News, MI, September 10, 2013
Now that the Detroit mayoral primary is over and the inadequately-funded candidates — including me — were soundly defeated by the two lavishly-financed and media-anointed frontrunners, I will offer fresh ideas for the sorely-needed revitalization of Detroit and its traditional public schools.

MISSOURI

With a summer of drama over, Gordon Parks charter school works to secure its future
Kansas City Star, September 9, 2013
As the school started its third full week of the fall term Monday, the state of Missouri announced that it will not appeal a recent court decision, ending any speculation that it might try again to compel the struggling charter school to shut down.

NEW JERSEY

Justice tough on both sides in appeal of Montclair charter bid
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ
September 10, 2013
Some on NJ’s highest court cite state’s decision-making flexibility but others wonder why education officials didn’t back up verdict.

NEW MEXICO

Voters split on teacher evaluation system
Albuquerque Journal, September 10, 2013
Slightly more Albuquerque voters oppose basing half of teacher evaluations on students’ academic performance than support it, according to a new Journal Poll.

NEW YORK

Bloomberg Heads Back to School, for Final Time
Wall Street Journal Blog, DC, September 9, 2013
Monday was the start of school for most of New York City’s more than 1 million schoolchildren, the last in the waning days of the three-term Bloomberg administration. Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott made his traditional five-borough tour, where he stopped at one school per borough.

City teachers learn how to appeal evaluation
WHAM13, NY, September 9, 2013
The union that represents Rochester teachers put together sessions at which teachers could learn how to appeal the grade associated with new evaluations.

Merit must matter
Editorial, New York Daily News, NY, September 9, 2013
The failure of the public schools to raise the educational levels of black and Hispanic students is shamefully obvious in the small numbers of students from both backgrounds who win places in New York City’s nine specialized high schools.

OHIO

4 charters springs up in Toledo
Toledo Blade, OH, September 10, 2013
This year’s crop of charter schools in Toledo has strong religious connections.

Strongsville schools believe charter-school deduction in state aid is unfair; North Royalton and Brecksville-Broadview Heights don’t feel the pain
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, September 10, 2013
State funding to the Strongsville City Schools will decrease by .49 percent this year due to a rising number of students attending charter schools.

OKLAHOMA

Tulsa charter school’s board votes to rescind controversial hairstyle rule
Tulsa World, OK, September 10, 2013
The independent governing board for the Deborah Brown Community School voted 4-0 Monday night to rescind a controversial policy banning dreadlocks, afros and other “faddish styles” of hair.

PENNSYLVANIA

Philly schools open with fewer counselors and many concerns
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, September 10, 2013
PHILADELPHIA schools opened yesterday amid the district’s well-documented fiscal woes and drastically reduced staffing levels.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Anthony, candidate for schools’ chief, would fight vouchers
Spartanburg Herald-Journal, SC, September 9, 2013
Mike Anthony became so popular in Union after successfully coaching three teams to state championships that he says he only invested $800 for a few campaign signs to win his first run for state office.

Charter school’s use of former Schroder Middle building in Hollywood stirs debate, anger among some
Post & Courier, SC, September 9, 2013
The politics and controversy that often come with the charter school territory were distractions. Lowcountry Leadership Charter School organizers took deliberate steps to avoid.

TENNESSEE

Charter, traditional schools both play key role
Opinion, The Tennessean, TN, September 10, 2013
The organization I lead, the United Negro College Fund, the nation’s largest minority education organization, and Metro Nashville Public Schools share a critical mission: We are dedicated to making sure our children get the education they need to compete in the 21st-century economy.

Option: Pay for Charters by Closing Low-Performing Schools at MNPS?
Nashville Scene, TN, September 10, 2013
When Metro Schools board members begin considering “high leverage” parts of the budget to cut so they can afford charter schools, closing underperforming schools will be one of their options, board member Will Pinkston tells the Scene in advance of today’s Budget and Finance Committee meeting.

TN attorney general says charter schools law constitutional
The Tennessean, TN, September 10, 2013
In what’s now a case of dueling legal opinions, Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper says the state law that allows charter schools to operate here doesn’t impose financial burdens on local school districts in violation of the state constitution.

TEXAS

State closes Dallas charter school, pending staff background checks
Dallas Morning News, TX, September 10, 2013
A Dallas charter school was ordered closed Monday because of violations that threaten the health and safety of students, state officials said.

VIRGINIA

Teachers’ lobby begins pro-McAuliffe ad push
The Virginian-Pilot, VA, September 10, 2013
More third-party money is flowing into the race for governor courtesy of a new ad push the national teachers’ lobby hopes will earn Democrat Terry McAuliffe some extra credit with voters who have school age children in Virginia.

WASHINGTON

Education board to address charter schools at Yakima session
Yakima Herald-Republic, WA, September 10, 2013
Spokane public schools may become the first district in the state granted authorization to set up charter schools if the state Board of Education approves its proposal Wednesday.

State wants more details on Seattle’s special-ed plan
Seattle Times, WA, September 9, 2013
The state is asking for more details before approving Seattle Public Schools’ plan for fixing its special-education program. Federal money could be delayed if Seattle doesn’t respond swiftly.

WISCONSIN

Choice is positive in teacher evaluations
Opinion, The Northwestern, September 10, 2013
A new state law says school districts must evaluate the effectiveness of teachers and other educators, beginning in the 2014-15 school year. Most districts, however, will conduct pilot runs this year using one of two evaluation models.

Walker’s voucher program undermines education
Op-Ed, Badger Herald, WI, September 10, 2013
The recently signed 2013-2015 budget, which expands Wisconsin’s school voucher program in an attempt to further privatize public education, will not improve the state’s school system. Instead of embracing policies that slowly privatize and weaken education, Walker and the Legislature need to enact policies that preserve and improve our public educational system, like Oregon’s recently enacted plan for a graduate tax.

ONLINE LEARNING

$2 million grant competition promotes blended-learning schools in D.C.
Washington Post, DC, September 9, 2013
A group of local and national organizations on Monday announced a $2 million grant competition meant to spur the creation of District schools that combine online and face-to-face instruction.

Pender County piloting virtual school program
Star News, NC, September 9, 2013
Starting next semester, high schoolers in Pender County will get the best of both worlds: virtual classes with a teacher they can meet in person.

Seneca Valley cyber and performing arts school ads increase site traffic
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 10, 2013
Efforts to market the Seneca Valley Academy of Choice, the school district’s cyber and performing arts school, through television advertisements are paying off.

Sylvania immersing in laptop-based learning
Toledo Blade, OH, September 9, 2013
Using pen and paper in Sylvania school rooms may soon be a thing of the past as the administration begins a laptop based Digital Learning Initiative.

Click here for Newswire, the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else – spiced with a dash of irreverence – from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Education report lauds Delaware Gov. Jack Markell as ‘pro=reform’
Delaware News Journal, September 8, 2013
While many consider Jack Markell an “education reform” governor, a recent national report gives Delaware a squarely average ranking on reform efforts – and Markell’s office is backing away from embracing the label.

I’m Homeschooled-Hold the Pity, Please
Opinion, Wall Street Journal, September 9, 2013
‘You’re home-schooled? That’s bad, right?” Another teenager started off a conversation with me that way recently. We’re both actresses, and we were waiting for a theater rehearsal to begin.

Louisiana ranked 44th among states for school choice efforts
Alexandria Town Talk, September 8, 2013
Louisiana ranks fourth nationwide in a survey of efforts to give parents and guardians the power to choose the best education for their children, according to the latest rankings from the Center for Education Reform.

More parents opting kids out of standardized tests
Associated Press, September 8, 2013
While his eighth-grade classmates took state standardized tests this spring, Tucker Richardson woke up late and played basketball in his Delaware Township driveway.

The Rising Costs of a ‘Free’ Public Education
Wall Street Journal, September 8, 2013
The kids are back in school. And you’ve probably shelled out for pencil cases, notebooks, a new backpack—and AP French.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Charter funding law pays millions to tiny NOrther San Joaquin Valley school
Merced Sun-Star, September 9, 2013
The priciest school in California sits far from swank ZIP codes in Malibu or Marin County. It lies a stone’s throw from the orchards and fields of the Northern San Joaquin Valley. It’s a tiny district that saw opportunity in a charter school funding law and seized the day. But that funding heyday may have passed.

Deasy pulls support for speedup of standardized testing overhaul
Los Angeles Times, September 9, 2013
L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy changes his mind about a plan to accelerate the changeover in standardized testing over financial issues.

LAUSD revives effort to reopen four blighted West Valley schools
Los Angeles Daily News, September 8, 2013
Under pressure to provide classroom space to popular charter schools, Los Angeles Unified plans to seek proposals to redevelop and lease four long-closed campuses in the Woodland Hills area that could cost up to $80 million to restore.

‘Trial run’ for Common Core
Editorial, Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2013
A complicated bill in the Legislature on standardized testing has some ideas that are bold and forward-looking and some that aren’t.

Veto another push to obstruct charter schools
Editorial, Press-Enterprise, September 6, 2013
California should not complicate the formation of charter schools just to please a special interest. The governor should veto a bill that would require proposed charter schools to gain approval from school support staff before the schools can launch. The bill is not about improving education, but boosting union power.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

How one great teacher was wronged by flawed evaluation system
Washington Post Blog, September 8, 2013
In this new post, Burris tells the story of a New York state teacher who was just unfairly smacked by the state’s flawed new teacher and principal evaluation system, known as APPR, which in part uses student standardized test scores to evaluate educators. The method isn’t reliable or valid, as Burris shows here.

FLORIDA

Pinellas plan to pay starting teacher $40,000 might start bidding war
Tampa Bay Times, September 7, 2013
The Pinellas County school system reached an agreement with the teachers union this week to increase starting teacher pay to $40,000 a year, vaulting the district to the top of the Tampa Bay region and outpacing the national average.

Stakes are high as dozens of new charter schools seek approval
Orlando Sentinel, September 8, 2013
With millions of dollars of taxpayer money at stake, Central Florida school boards will be considering the fates of three dozen charter-school applications during the next few weeks.

GEORGIA

Hotel teaches Georgia educators about hospitality
Associated Press, September 8, 2013
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. uses the “wall of applause” to show appreciation – a central message during a recent training session with Georgia education officials working on a broad initiative to create family-friendly schools.

INDIANA

Abandonment of public schools isn’t working
Commentary, NW Times, September 8, 2013
Recent revelations concerning former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett instructing his associates to raise the letter grade for Christel House Charter School (as well as several other charter schools) reveals a desperate act to prove success for an inherently flawed concept of school reform.

Don’t scrap school ratings, fix them
Editorial, Evansville Courier & Press, September 7, 2013
If it hasn’t already been decided unofficially among Indiana government and education officials, it is probably time for Indiana to completely drop its A-F system for grading individual Indiana schools and start over completely. It just depends on which new version, if any, state leadership decides on.

IOWA

New laws relax oversight of Iowa’s homeschoolers
Quad City Times, September 8, 2013
For homeschool advocates, rollbacks on homeschool regulation in Gov. Terry Branstad’s 2013 education reform bill were a resounding victory that made Iowa a model for the nation.

LOUISIANA

Recovery School District flags nine charters in first months of new oversight plan
Times-Picayune, September 7, 2013
The Recovery School District reprimanded nine New Orleans charter schools in the first four months of a accountability system that aims to tighten oversight of 59 largely independent campuses, according to public records.

RSD eyes charters for BR schools
The Advocate, September 8, 2013
Several national groups were recently approved to move into north Baton Rouge and start charter schools over the next few years, but the Louisiana Department of Education has yet to make a critical decision, picking which ones will land space in the seven schools the state operates there.

Why do Democrats want to block Louisiana’s school improvements?
Opinion, Alexandria Town Talk, September 8, 2013
Before Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department move forward with a lawsuit to block vouchers for thousands of low-income students trapped in failing Louisiana public schools, he ought to speak to parents whose children benefit from the statewide voucher measured called the Louisiana Scholarship Program.

MISSISSIPPI

Miss. to consider takeovers of 3 school districts
Clarion Ledger, September 8, 2013
State officials will consider taking control of the Claiborne County, LeFlore County and Yazoo City school districts on Tuesday.

MISSOURI

St. Louis mayor pushes charter schools
Daily Journal, September 8, 2013
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay is seeing pockets of success at both the charter schools he aggressively promotes and city schools that sometimes compete with the rival charters for students and resources.

NEW JERSEY

Controversial charter proposal heads to state’s highest court today
New Jersey Spotlight
September 9, 2013
Organizers of plan for school in Montclair, rejected six times, claim rules are stacked against them.

NEW YORK

Experts in education field offer advice for the city’s next mayor
New York Daily News, September 9, 2013
After a dozen years of school reform under Mayor Bloomberg, the future direction of city public schools hangs in the balance.

Wanted: An education reformer
Opinion, New York Daily News, September 9, 2013
The Democrats running for mayor have been virtually silent on how they will create more quality school options for parents

NORTH CAROLINA

Wake sees more charter schools opening
News & Observer, September 8, 2013
Lunch is in the classroom instead of a cafeteria, and students rely on public transportation rather than school buses to get to Longleaf School of the Arts in downtown Raleigh. But you won’t hear students complain.

OHIO

Columbus’ mayor says city’s schools needed vital intervention
Columbus Dispatch, September 8, 2013
Coleman says fixing city’s schools is the most important task he’s faced in his long tenure in office.

Failing charter schools often close, reopen with little change
Akron Beacon Journal, September 7, 2013
When Romig Road Community School in West Akron received its state report card a little more than a year ago, the news wasn’t good: Under Ohio law, it had crossed the line of no return.

School districts not always willing to meet tea party supporters
Columbus Dispatch, September 9, 2013
When a local tea party group invited the Worthington school district to discuss new national education standards, which the district backs but the conservative group doesn’t, the superintendent knew the meeting could be volatile.

PENNSYLVANIA

For-profit charters not proper schools
Letter, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 9, 2013
HOW INTERESTING to read about operators of charter schools that claim that their finances are “trade secrets” and that they are “not a school.”And there is the real problem with for-profit and many charter schools – they are not schools at all. Rather they are money-making operations that happen to have figured out how to fuel their business with our children’s futures and taxpayer money.

Schools open amid angst
Editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 8, 2013
Fear and loathing shouldn’t describe parents’ feelings as the first day of school approaches. But in urban districts facing fiscal and staffing issues, they can’t help it.

Schools set to open with bigger classes, smaller staff
Philadelphia Inquirer, September 9, 2013
After a summer of angst and uncertainty, the Philadelphia School District is opening 212 schools Monday. It promises to be a first day like no other.

VIRGINIA

Charter school charts new territory in Hampton Roads
The Virginian-Pilot, September 7, 2013
Four girls clutching their first high school schedules plunked down at a library table Tuesday morning, the first day of school.

WASHINGTON

Seattle Schools contract helps build quality teaching corps
Editorial, Seattle Times, September 7, 2013
Seattle Schools fought successfully to keep a highly respected teacher-principal evaluation system that includes student test scores.

WISCONSIN

Sen. Jennifer Shilling: Reforms needed to hold voucher schools accountable
Opinion, September 8, 2013
Across Wisconsin, over 870,000 students recently began a new school year. Like most of these children, my two young boys are excited to get back into their classrooms, discover new inspirations, and learn new skills.

Voucher accountability bill on right track
Editorial, Appleton Post-Crescent, September 8, 2013
As he promised during the state budget process, Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, has come up with a plan to provide for better accountability for voucher schools.

ONLINE LEARNING

Cyber schools are the best option for many
Letter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 7, 2013
As a 2009 graduate of Commonwealth Connections Academy — a cyber school in Pennsylvania — I have been very worried about some recent developments that seem to treat students who choose cyber education as second-class citizens (“Virtual Indictment: How Pa. Regulates Charter Schools Is on Trial, Too,” Aug. 27).

Eagle County online learning program expanding
Eagle Valley Enterprise, September 8, 2013
When Tellez received her diploma, she became the first World Academy graduate, the local school district’s online school. She earned a scholarship and is headed toward a brighter future.

Logging On to Learn: Virtual school participation up, academic achievement not
Magic Valley Times-News, September 8, 2013
Nationwide, the online student population quintupled from 50,000 to 250,000 between 2001 and 2011, says a 2012 study by the Center for Public Education.

New Mexico Virtual Academy adds 12th grade
The Daily Times, September 8, 2013
The New Mexico Virtual Academy has kicked off its second year with the addition of another grade.

Online class means more responsibility for student
Editorial, Daily News Journal, September 8, 2013
Continuing problems with state test scores for the Tennessee Virtual Academy, an online school operated by a private company, and recent launching of the Western Governor University in Tennessee require some attention to the appropriate role of online classes in education at all levels.

South Eastern looks to tout its in-house cyber school
York Dispatch, September 7, 2013
The South Eastern school board wants to explore better ways to promote its in-house cyber education program.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

How to Stop the Drop in American Education
Opinion, Wall Street Journal, September 6, 2013
With headlines announcing unemployment rates above 8% in some parts of the country, many people I talk to are surprised to learn that jobs by the hundreds of thousands remain vacant.

Parents who home-school question Common Core’s reach
FOX News, September 5, 2013
It is up to each state whether home-schooled children must take standardized tests in grades three through eight, and once in high school. But all college-bound home-schooled students take the SAT, which is now being aligned with the new standards.

States seek delay in Justice Department school vouchers desegregation suit
Times-Picayune, September 5, 2013
Lawyers for the state of Louisiana have asked a judge to delay the filing deadline at least until Nov. 15 in the U.S. Department of Justice’s education civil rights lawsuit.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Bill would overhaul testing in California schools
Daily Breeze, September 5, 2013
Signaling their intention to “go all in” with a national curriculum, California’s education leaders outlined plans Thursday to immediately suspend most standardized assessments and replace them with a trial run of online tests tied to the more rigorous academic standards.

CONNECTICUT

When charter and districts collaborate, parents and kids win
Opinion, The Connecticut Mirror, September 5, 2013
Hartford is a national example of the success that is possible when school districts and public charter schools collaborate — and parents and students benefit most.

FLORIDA

Orange effort: Persuade dropouts to drop in again
Orlando Sentinel, September 5, 2013
Teams of educators will fan out across Orange County on Saturday to visit former students who have dropped out of school. The goal: to persuade them to drop in again.

PB traditional public schools show decline in enrollment while charters climb
Sun Sentinel, September 5, 2013
There may be more students attending Palm Beach County’s public schools this year but more of them are turning to charter schools instead.

Pinellas investigating complaints about new charter school
Tampa Bay Times, September 5, 2013
Pinellas County school officials are investigating parents’ claims that a new St. Petersburg charter school is kicking out students with behavior issues.

GEORGIA

City school system faces public confusion over charter status
Times-Georgian, September 5, 2013
As the Carrollton City School System moves closer to becoming a charter school system, it faces a lot of public questioning on why it’s seeking charter status now when the Board of Education spoke out last November against the charter school amendment vote.

Dougherty School Board, charter school proponents draw line in sand
Albany Herald, September 5, 2013
With days remaining before a Monday meeting with the State Charter School Commission (SCSC), the Dougherty County School System and officials of the River School For Children STEM Academy (RSCSA) are not budging from their respective positions in regard to the proposed charter school.

Marietta schools eye merit pay plan
Marietta Journal, September 6, 2013
Teachers in Marietta City Schools could be earning their paychecks based on student achievement and performance, not the years of experience or the number of degrees they have.

IDAHO

Market public schools
Editorial, Idaho Mountain Express and Guide, September 6, 2013
Everyone knows about schools. Nationally, everyone knows that public schools in big cities are bad, marked only by low test scores, dilapidated buildings and armed guards. Everyone knows that private schools, charter schools, even home schools, are better, that test scores are higher, resources are more plentiful, and campuses are safer.

ILLINOIS

State’s new exams will put grade school students to the test
Chicago Tribune, September 6, 2013
More rigorous reading and math standards pose a challenge throughout Illinois

LOUISIANA

School board considering new school for Youngsville
The Advertiser, September 5, 2013
The Lafayette Parish School Board is floating the idea of building a new school in Youngsville to address overcrowding there.

School counselors’ evaluations more subjective that teachers’, Superintendent John White saya
Times-Picayune, September 5, 2013
Although Louisiana’s new tool for evaluating public school teachers is useful and discerning, Education Superintendent John White said Thursday it is less precise in grading school counselors. There, he said, it needs work.

MASSACHUSETTS

Family Income not a factor as students eat free
Associated Press, September 6, 2013
Some students toted lunchboxes to the first day of school in Boston this week, but district administrators are expecting that could become a more unusual sight as parents learn about a federal program that is now providing all public school students in the city with free breakfast and lunch.

State flunks charter school test
Op-Ed, Boston Herald, September 6, 2013
But something is upside down when our legislators won’t find the time to debate and pass a law that would ensure that families in 29 troubled urban school districts can send their kids to good schools.

MISSOURI

Nurturing success in a city of academic struggle
St. Louis-Dispatch, September 6, 2013
Mayor Francis Slay cut the ribbon on another charter school last week, expressing his confidence that the school will succeed in a city in which three out of four public schools aren’t making the grade.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Scrap N.H.’s school vouchers
Opinion, New Hampshire Business Review, September 5, 2013
How is it that New Hampshire’s voucher tax credit program can find only 15 public school students who want vouchers, and is giving them $164,000 – $11,000 apiece – to leave their public schools and go to private schools.

NEW JERSEY

NJ teacher raises keep shrinking
The Record, September 6, 2013
As New Jersey teachers head back to class this month, they face pay raises that have gotten smaller on average for the sixth year in a row.

NEW YORK

DOE plans 11th-hour school co-locations
Queens Chronicle, September 5, 2013
With only a few months left in Mayor Bloomberg’s term, the city Department of Education is seeking to approve at least three more co-locations and extend one in borough schools at the end of October.

New York City’s Public Education Challenges
Debate, September 6, 2013
The next mayor of New York City faces some tough challenges particularly when it comes to setting public education priorities. Should he or she abandon Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s fixation on testing and data-driven accountability, or expand school choice and close failing classrooms to give more options to families, especially English-language learners and those in low-income communities?

Shaping classrooms, not the students within
Letters, New York Post, September 6, 2013
If Moskowitz is sincere that her charter schools are about students first, rather than cash and profits, why does she take a salary approaching that of the president of the United States?

NORTH CAROLINA

NC approves 26 new charter schools
News & Observer, September 5, 2013
The State Board of Education gave preliminary approval Thursday for 26 new charter schools to open in 2014.

Old school new again in East Durham
The Durham News, September 5, 2013
The Maureen Joy Charter School opened its new building on Driver Street just two weeks ago, but people who live around it say it already means a lot to them.

OHIO

Fate of Ohio’s charter school rules still uncertain
Zanesville Times Recorder, September 5, 2013
Charter school critics and supporters alike agree the tough new Ohio report cards are a step in the right direction to raise the bar on charter school quality in the state.

State aid could fall for nearly 200 school districts under new budget, once money for charter schools is deducted
Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 5, 2013
More than a quarter of Ohio school districts will likely receive less money from the state this school year than they did last school year, according to calculations by The Plain Dealer and new estimates from the legislature’s research arm.

TENNESSEE

Budget limits number of charters
Opinion, The Tennessean, September 6, 2013
What happens next is unclear, but the debate isn’t about the merits of charter schools. It’s about funding adequacy and equity for all schools.

Metro Nashville paid a foreign company to study our schools. So why did its reports get an icy reception?
Nashville Scene, September 5, 2013
During the day, Metro Schools’ headquarters on Bransford Avenue bustles with traffic as hundreds of district employees file into work, from bean counters to executive principals, secretaries to chief officers in three-piece suits.

WISCONSIN

Milwaukee stonewalling sales of unused schools to choice schools, law firm says
Wisconsin Reporter, September 5, 2013
A complete failure. That’s how the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty rates city of Milwaukee’s policy of giving Milwaukee Public Schools the authority to sell or lease the district’s unused school buildings.

School accountability bill has little support
Sheboygan Press, September 5, 2013
A plan to kick poor-performing schools out of the state’s taxpayer-subsidized voucher program is generating little support in the Legislature so far, but its Republican co-sponsor who introduced the bill Thursday said he was confident it would pass later this year.

ONLINE LEARNING

Big gift lets Adams 12 replace textbooks with interactive Techbooks
Denver Post, September 6, 2013
Sixth-graders in Lisa Meier’s science and engineering class on Thursday used laptop computers to look up words in an interactive glossary — an easy way to start exploring their new digital textbooks.

Seven groups want to open Maine charter schools
Portland Press Herald, September 6, 2013
They submit letters of intent – five for schools with a special focus, and two providing ‘virtual’ learning.