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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

At Retooled Summer Schools, Creativity, Not Just Catch-Up
New York Times, July 1, 2013
According to the National Summer Learning Association, a nonprofit group, 25 of the country’s largest school districts — including Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati; Oakland, Calif.; Pittsburgh; and Providence, R.I. — have developed summer school programs that move beyond the traditional remedial model.

City to appeal Vallas bombshell
CT Post, June 30, 2013
The city attorney’s office confirmed Saturday that there will be a swift appeal to Friday’s decision by state Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis to remove School Superintendent Paul Vallas because he is not qualified for the job.

Wendy Lecker: The hidden costs of charter schools
Opinion
Stamford Advocate, June 28, 3013
The verdict is in, and it is the same as four years ago. In updating its 2009 national study on charter schools, Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) reaches the same conclusion it did in its previous study: The vast majority of charter schools in the United States are no better than public schools.

Parents Revolt Against Failing Schools
Stateline, July 1, 2013
Versions of parent trigger laws have been proposed in at least 25 states and adopted by seven, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In real life, parent triggers have been attempted only a handful of times.

Stop the rush to the Common Core
Opinion
New York Daily News, July 1, 2013
The Common Core — effectively national math and English curriculum standards coming soon to a school near you — is supposed to be a new, higher bar that will take the United States from the academic doldrums to international dominance.

Future of Catholic Schools
Letter
New York Times, June 30, 2013
“Concern for Minorities as Catholic Schools Close” (news article, June 21) misses the mark in one important regard. Many of us who work in Catholic schools have more hope than despair, and we have reason to believe that the future of Catholic schools in urban communities looks less like hospice or retrenchment and more like transformation and urban renewal.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Districts convert schools to charters for more money
Arizona Republic, June 30, 2013
Amid run-of-the-mill agenda items recognizing volunteers and approving playground renovations, the Paradise Valley Unified School District governing board last month quietly made a significant change: It converted one-third of its elementary schools to charter schools.

CALIFORNIA

At Crenshaw High, those left behind are skeptical of changes
Los Angeles Times, July 1, 2013
An overhaul meant to address poor achievement required teachers to reapply for their jobs. Opponents say officials wanted to create a more compliant faculty.

Charter schools, district failing at communications
Daily Democrat, June 30, 2013
An improved need for communication between Yolo County’s charter schools and those school boards that authorize them is needed, according to a study by the grand jury.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. to overhaul ninth grade, separating out students who failed
Washington Post, June 30, 2013
D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson plans to overhaul the city’s approach to ninth-grade education, separating out students who have already failed the first year of high school from impressionable incoming freshmen.

D.C. charter school leader wins national recognition
Washington Post, July 1, 2013
Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School opened in 1998 with 35 students in a D.C. church basement. Fifteen years later, it has become one of the city’s most sought-after and diverse charter schools, offering French- and Spanish-language immersion programs to 350 students in preschool through sixth grade.

Prince George’s approves charter school contract
Washington Post, June 28, 2013
The Prince George’s County Board of Education approved a contract Thursday night with a new charter school in Hyattsville after several members raised concerns about how students were selected for the program.

FLORIDA

New standards don’t make the grade
Editorial
Miami Herald, June 30, 2013
Too many students are being set up to think they are failures by the very people who say they are pushing students to excel. Their teachers will see their hard work in front of the class undercut. And parents will think, wrongly, that their children are attending substandard schools.

Lakeland’s Achievement Academy Expansion Could Double Enrollment
The Ledger, June 30, 2013
The Lakeland-based charter school serves youngsters ages 6 and younger who have a variety of learning and developmental disabilities, and it came close to expansion with the purchase in 2007 of 16 acres adjoining County Road 540A in the vicinity of George Jenkins High School.

GEORGIA

Cheating Case is Set to Proceed in Atlanta
Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2013
The conspiracy case stemming from one of the largest school-cheating scandals in U.S. history can go forward, a Georgia judge has ruled, dismissing defense efforts to get charges against 35 former educators thrown out or reduced.

INDIANA

Ball State defends spending on charter school oversight
NW Times, June 29, 2013
A state legislator from Gary questions whether Ball State University has fully used the money it receives to support charter schools for the funds’ intended purpose.

School voucher supporters praise program expansion that starts Monday
Evansville Courier & Press, June 29, 2013
Indiana’s school voucher program has taken a turn in the right direction, according to Lindsey Brown, executive director of School Choice Indiana.

LOUISIANA

Problems could have been caught
Editorial
Monroe News Star, July 1, 2013
When the state established the school voucher program that pays for students in failing schools to transfer to schools their parents choose, the state agreed to pay the same tuition at the new schools that nonvoucher students pay.

MAINE

Portland Adult Ed merits permanent home
Editorial
Portland Press Herald, July 1, 2013
This important link in our public education system should have the central facility it needs.

MASSACHUSETTS

20 years later — Charter public schools closing the achievement gap and effecting reform at district level
Opinion
South Coast Today, July 1, 2013
When Massachusetts’ landmark Education Reform Act was signed into law 20 years ago, attention was mainly focused on the massive commitment of state resources and the tough new accountability measures. The creation of charter public schools might have seemed almost an afterthought.

High school student decline a strain for Boston
Boston Globe, July 1, 2013
Boston public high school enrollment is on the slide, leaving nearly 3,000 seats empty and raising questions about possible school closures.

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi leaders must name charter board members
Sun Herald, June 29, 2013
With the Monday effective date for Mississippi’s expanded charter school law, the next step is to nominate seven members of the Charter School Authorizing Board.

MISSOURI

In St. Louis, teachers union plays role in getting rid of bad teachers
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 30, 2013
Critics of tenure say it creates an untouchable class of teachers who can become an impediment to improving public schools.

NEW JERSEY

Amended Urban Hope Act Likely to Clear Way for Renaissance Schools in Camden
New Jersey Spotlight, July 1, 2013
Trimmed down to win needed votes, the bill to amend the controversial Urban Hope Act and open the way for a new breed of charter schools ended up passing with little drama in the state Legislature last week.

NEW MEXICO

PS misses chance to lead on teacher evals
Editorial
Albuquerque Journal, July 1, 2013
Albuquerque Public Schools is not only the largest district in the state; it is one of the largest districts in the nation. As such, it should be a leader in education reform, setting a standard for others to follow.

NEW YORK

New Charter High School Will Be Closed to Transfer Students
City Limits, July 1, 2013
The DOE is planting seeds for charters to expand in city schools even after Mayor Bloomberg leaves office. But some of the new resources will only be open to those who won charter lotteries in the early grades.

Waiting Lists for NYC Charter Schools Largest in Nation
Epoch Times, June 30, 2013
New York City has the longest wait list for charter schools in the nation, according to a new survey. In their annual assessment of wait lists for charter schools in the United States, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) found that there are far more kids trying to get access to a specialized school in New York City than any other city.

Only fraction of city schools producing bulk of students ready for college: report
New York Daily News, June 30, 2013
A report by the United Federation of Teachers shows that only 10% of city schools produce nearly half of the graduates considered ready for college.

NORTH CAROLINA

One charter board
Opinion
News & Observer, July 1, 2013
Sure, it’s hard to believe. In this no-holds-barred session of the General Assembly, with Republicans laying waste to Democratic programs and barreling on with curbs to regulation and cuts in education, compromise has seemed to be a word wiped from the GOP dictionary.

OHIO

Urban students flourish in Closing the Achievement Gap program
Akron Beacon Journal, June 28, 2013
Just inside the eastern edge of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a group of Akron students study the biotic integrity of Haskell Run, which flows west into the Cuyahoga River.

Ohio budget rewards low-performing charter schools
Akron Beacon Journal, June 29, 2013
The trend in Ohio has been to change school funding and teacher work rules to reward improved academic performance. That’s not the case for privately run charter schools in the $62 billion, two-year state budget passed last week.

Criticism abounds in Ohio charter school funding
Cincinnati Enquirer, June 29, 2013
Ohio’s charter schools are, in many ways, big winners in Ohio’s proposed biennial budget: The state’s charter schools will receive more money per-student than most traditional schools – in many cases, thousands of dollars more.

PENNSYLVANIA

Rescue plan for Phila. schools: Many ifs, but…
Philadelphia Inquirer, July 1, 2013
The $140 million package Gov. Corbett presented Sunday to rescue Philadelphia’s cash-strapped public schools has tentative written all over it.

KIPP school suppporters wonder about charter proposal
Philadelphia Daily News, June 30, 2013
With the school year over and Alexander Wilson Elementary officially closed, the question now is how long the building will sit empty.

RHODE ISLAND

4 new R.I. charter schools proposed for fall 2014
Providence Journal, July 1, 2013
Four new charter schools are in the pipeline, including two schools proposed by Providence school leaders, a Chinese immersion program, and a science and engineering-themed school in Newport.

TENNESSEE

Creating a world-class school system still is possible if the will is there
Editorial
Commercial Appeal, June 30, 2013
The face of public education in Memphis and Shelby County officially changes Monday when Memphis City Schools goes out of business and the new Shelby County unified school district takes over.

VIRGINIA

Plan for Norfolk charter schools at full throttle
The Virginian-Pilot, June 30, 2013
The School Board in two weeks is planning to vote on an ambitious plan to convert more than a fifth of its schools into charter schools.

WASHINGTON

Districts split over charter schools
Seattle Times, June 30, 2013
The three largest school districts in the state are taking different approaches on whether or not to authorize charter schools, approved by state voters in November.

ONLINE LEARNING

Decision to halt state’s first online charter schools draws criticism from parents, praise from polls
Star-Ledger, June 30, 2013
Lorna Bryant hoped to lead one of the only public schools in the state where elite young athletes, students with severe medical disabilities and victims of bullying could learn together in a nontraditional classroom — one where all the instruction takes place online.

Virtual school board treading lightly with K12
The Recorder, June 29, 2013
With Greenfield’s virtual school under new leadership come Monday, a five-member board of trustees will call the shots instead of the Greenfield School Committee. So, what does that mean for its future with for-profit education provider K12?

District to launch new virtual course options
Cherokee Tribune, June 28, 2013
Middle and high school students in Cherokee County schools will soon have more online credit options.

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

On standardized tests, 17-year-old students are doing no better than they did decades ago
Washington Post, June 27, 2013
Students preparing to leave high school are faring no better in reading or math than their peers four decades ago, the government said Thursday. Officials attributed the bleak finding on more lower-performing students staying in school rather than dropping out.

U.S. education gap narrows between whites and minorities: report
Reuters, June 27, 2013
The achievement gap between white and minority children has narrowed considerably in recent decades, as black and Hispanic students have posted strong gains on math and reading tests, according to a new report out Thursday.

Inequality and Education and the Need for Community
Opinion
Huffington Post, June 27, 2013
As we Race to the Top and offer states “flexibility” on NCLB, evidence continues to mount that our efforts to improve educational outcomes are focused on the wrong problem.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Popularity of charter schools keeps waitlists long
Long Beach Press-Telegram, June 27, 2013
There are 6,000 charter schools nationwide, more than 1,000 in California and upwards of 250 in Los Angeles. It turns out, that’s not enough.

Antonio Villaraigosa leaves his mark on L.A. schools
Los Angeles Times, June 27, 2013
The mayor vowed to turn the district into an incubator of education reform. In his two terms, during which his nonprofit took over more than a dozen campuses, he’s had mixed results.

COLORADO

Teacher turnover down from 2012
Our Colorado News, June 27, 2013
A total of 380 teachers, or about 11.7 percent, of Douglas County teachers are leaving the school district this year. That figure is down from the 2012 turnover rate of 13.26 percent recorded by the Colorado Department of Education.

CONNECTICUT

State Board of Education votes to increase available charter seats by 567
Connecticut Ed News, June 27, 2013
Almost 600 more seats in Connecticut charter schools have been made available for the next school year, after the State Board of Education granted charter operators requests during a Wednesday special meeting.

DELAWARE

Delaware’s low-income private school students get chance at scholarships
News Journal, June 28, 2013
A former charter school leader is raising money for scholarships to pay private school tuition for low-income students.

FLORIDA

Scott to teachers: Pressure is going to get worse
Florida Current, June 28, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott and Education Commissioner Tony Bennett engaged Florida’s teachers of the year Thursday in a roundtable discussion of education philosophies. Most of the talk focused on the transition to Common Core standards and the assessments that will be used to measure student and teacher performance.

‘Devastating’ dual enrollment change could cost $60M
Bradenton Herald, June 28, 2013
While the Manatee County school district struggles to reorganize its finances, new state legislation could cost the district as much as $500,000 to keep its popular dual enrollment program afloat.

IDAHO

Rely on insta-teachers? Idahoans say no thanks
Opinion
Coeur d’Alene Press, June 28, 2013
The Idaho State Board of Education continues to make decisions toward privatizing Idaho’s public schools. In a move by the board on June 20, the Teach For America (TFA) program was, according to their Facebook post, “approved as a state sanctioned vehicle for the preparation of teachers in Idaho.”

MASSACHUSETTS

Charters on edge of ed reform
Opinion
News Telegram, June 28, 2013
When Massachusetts’ landmark Education Reform Act was signed into law 20 years ago, attention was mainly focused on the massive commitment of state resources and the tough new accountability measures. The creation of charter public schools might have seemed almost an afterthought.

Boston’s education mayor?
Opinion
Boston Globe, June 28, 2013
Education may emerge as the central issue in the Boston mayor’s race, and not simply because the school system is one of a handful of big-city districts across the country under mayoral control.

MICHIGAN

More public-private partnerships are needed in Michigan schools
Opinion
Detroit News, June 27, 2013
The use of public-private partnerships for the cost-effective delivery of public goods and services is not new in Michigan. Michigan uses private entities to provide services for prisons, food service, road maintenance, health care and education. As government seeks to deliver services in a more efficient and cost-effective manner, we will see a growing use of private management with a public payer system.

MISSOURI

Missouri charter schools outperform national average
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 28, 2013
A national study of charter school performance shows that reading growth at Missouri’s charter schools has slid since 2009, but the schools’ academic performance overall is outpacing the national average.

NEVADA

Delta Academy’s charter school status renewed
Las Vegas Review- Journal, June 28, 2013
Delta Academy, a Las Vegas charter school for students with behavioral, emotional and social challenges, will remain open for at least six more years despite posting poor student performance.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NCLB waived Now about that innovation
Editorial
Union Leader, June 27, 2013
New Hampshire finally has a federal waiver that allows the state to wriggle out from under the regulations of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Now that state officials have seen how constricting and counter-productive inflexible, bureaucratic dictates can be, New Hampshire’s approach to education reform should be clear.

Board of Education debates salaries for school leaders
Nashua Telegraph, June 28, 2013
What started with a group of motions to hire new school administrators turned into a long debate among Board of Education members Wednesday over the rate of pay the district offers its school leaders.

NEW YORK

Pro-Charter Group Gets New Chief
Wall Street Journal, June 28, 2013
StudentsFirstNY, a pro-charter school organization that launched with a bang a year ago and then stalled, has signaled it is ready to jump back into New York City politics, hiring the top lieutenant of a polarizing charter chain.

Hyde Leadership Charter School
MYFOXNY, June 27, 2013
On Saturday, the school will graduate its first class and 94 percent of the seniors here will be getting their diplomas.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma Board of Education identifies bottom schools
The Oklahoman, June 28, 2013
Oklahoma education officials announced the worst schools in the state during a state Board of Education meeting Thursday. The schools are identified for a long-term partnership with the state Education Department to help turn things around.

PENNSYLVANIA

SRC prepares for new school year amid uncertainty
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 28, 2013
Still facing uncertainty about whether Harrisburg will help the Philadelphia School District fill a $304 million shortfall by July 1, the School Reform Commission took steps Thursday morning to get ready for the new fiscal year.

Pocono Mountain Charter School is coming around, says custodian
Pocono Record, June 28, 2013
Pocono Mountain Charter School students and teachers are thriving despite controversies, according to former East Stroudsburg Area School District Superintendent Kenneth Koberlein.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC governor’s veto pen has hit education hardest
The State, June 28, 2013
Of the nearly 200 budget vetoes Gov. Nikki Haley has issued during her three years as governor, no government service has been struck more than public education.

TENNESSEE

TCAP scores rise once again, with poor students closing the gap
The Tennessean, June 28, 2013
More than half of Tennessee’s third- through eighth-grade students are performing on grade level for the first time since 2010, state officials said Thursday, and low-income students are closing the gap with their more affluent peers.

UTAH

Utah’s teachers do have a choice
Deseret News, June 28, 2013
This week has been dubbed National Employee Freedom Week, a critical national effort to inform employees of the freedom they have regarding opting out of union membership and making the decision about whether union membership is right for them.

VIRGINIA

Another charter
Editorial
Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 28, 2013
As the Patrick Henry School for Science and the Arts moves beyond its initial growing pains to its adolescence, another charter school has moved from conception to gestation. A group called the Richmond Urban Collective has proposed a college-prep academy, preferably for the city’s East End.

WISCONSIN

Veto hiding voucher school records
Opinion
Superior Telegram, June 28, 2013
So much bad was packed into the 2013-15 budget headed to Gov. Scott Walker’s desk that we should start over. From under-funding public schools to expanding the use of taxpayer dollars to fund unaccountable and underperforming private schools, the budget is just full of ideologically driven legislation that is, fiscally irresponsible and educationally unproven.

ONLINE LEARNING

Catching on at last
The Economist
June 28, 2013
The director of North Kenwood-Oakland school says this sort of teaching, blending software with human intervention, helps her pupils learn faster.

Cyber charter school expands into Schuylkill County
Republican Herald, June 28, 2013
A cyber charter school is expanding into eastern Schuylkill County with the purchase of a $1 million facility in West Penn Township.

Scott signs digital learning bill
Florida Current, June 27, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott Thursday signed into a law a bill opening the Florida market of on-line classes to out-of-state digital learning companies. Supporters brushed aside arguments in debate that HB 7029 would cost Florida teaching jobs and focused on the increased accountability provisions in the proposal.

Former Creswell returns as virtual high school in fall
The Advocate, June 27, 2013
Continual low test scores led to the closure of Creswell Elementary last month; however, the school will reopen in August as the site of a virtual high school and a second-chance program for over-aged fifth-graders.

Arizona Virtual Academy: Tuition-free, online public school serving K through 12
ABC15, June 27, 2013
When Amy Rodabaugh’s youngest son, Evan, was in kindergarten and started having severe allergy problems at school, Amy knew something needed to be done. His allergies were so severe, in fact, Evan would often experience nose bleeds and difficulty breathing. After extensive testing, doctors found Evan was allergic to a bacterium prevalent in most brick and mortar schools.

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

Kids need alternatives
Editorial
Winona Daily News, June 27, 2013
A Stanford study released Wednesday on student achievement at charter schools found little to no difference between charters and public schools. As usual, scientists completely missed the point.

Why it’s time for a reset of education reform
Washington Post Blog, June 27, 2013
The end of another school year is leaving a bad taste in many people’s mouths. A steady diet of government austerity and top-down “accountability” mandates have left numerous communities across the country with a severe case of sour stomachs over how their schools are being governed.

U.S. teachers woefully unprepared after college
Opinion
Salt Lake Tribune, June 27, 2013
Here are the most alarming tidbits from NCTQ’s report, which makes clear why so many of our public schools are failing. According to its survey of 2,420 teacher preparation programs at the 1,130 institutions that prepare 99 percent of the nation’s traditionally trained new teachers, it is far too easy to get into a teacher preparation program.

FROM THE STATES

ALABAMA

Future ‘failing-schools’ lists could exclude improving schools, state board member says
The Birmingham News, June 26, 2013
State school board member Mary Scott Hunter said today she regrets that the state’s new list of so-called “failing schools” identified under the Alabama Accountability Act includes those that have made significant improvement in recent years.

ARIZONA

Tucson K-2 charter to stress bilingual ed
Arizona Daily Star, June 27, 2013
A Nogales-based charter school focusing on bilingual education will make its debut in Tucson in August.

COLORADO

St. Vrain charter schools moving to three-year contracts
Longmont Times-Call, June 26, 2013
Most of the charter schools in the St. Vrain Valley School District now have three-year contracts instead of one-year agreements.

FLORIDA

Lake charter will still get money despite $986,378 attendance dispute
Orlando Sentinel, June 26, 2013
A state audit revealed the school couldn’t prove its 283 students attended classes during two head counts throughout the 2011-2012 school year – a mistake which could cost the district and charter up to $986,378 in student funding.

GEORGIA

300 accepted into choice programs next year
Rockdale Citizen, June 26, 2013
More than 300 students will be accepted into new school choice programs next year in Rockdale County Public Schools.

ILLINOIS

CPS cuts trigger heated debate
ABC7Chicago, June 26, 2013
Deep budget cuts triggered another heated debate at Wednesday’s Chicago Public School board meeting as parents and students from schools throughout the city expressed their frustration.

MAINE

Maine bill eases rule on school windfalls
Portland Press Herald, June 27, 2013
Schools might be allowed – just this once – to bypass voter approval to spend unexpected state funds.

MISSOURI

Gordon Parks school will graduate fifth-graders and continue its fight for survival
Olathe News, June 27, 2013
At least one truth can be agreed upon between the people who want to save Gordon Parks Elementary School and the Missouri officials who determined it should be closed:

Charter school brings back principal on interim basis
St, Louis Post-Dispatch, June 26, 2013
Lynne Glickert, the principal whose firing on May 31 created controversy at Grand Center Arts Academy, will come back as interim principal at the charter school.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

No Child Left Behind waiver gives schools flexibility
New Hampshire Union Leader, June 27, 2013
New Hampshire’s Department of Education can proceed with statewide education reforms geared to the specific learning, teaching and administrative needs of its schools since it got a waiver from many of the federal No Child Left Behind Act requirements Wednesday.

NEW JERSEY

Camden charter grads look ahead – and back
Courier-Post, June 27, 2013
At LEAP Academy University Charter School in Camden, planning for college begins in preschool.

Teachers Union Head Reaffirms Controversial Stance on Charter School Parents
Hoboken Patch, June 27, 2013
The real reason local parents opt for charter schools, according to the longtime high school music teacher and marching band director, is to avoid having their kids mix with kids from public housing.

NEW MEXICO

APS to submit new evaluation plan
Albuquerque Journal, June 27, 2013
The Albuquerque Public Schools board voted Wednesday night to submit a teacher evaluation plan to the state Public Education Department, which it does not expect will be approved. One such plan has already been denied.

NEW YORK

South Bronx prep school has a 95% graduation rate
New York Daily News, June 27, 2013
The only prep school in the South Bronx has graduated its first class of college-bound seniors — and it put rest of the city to shame.

Graduation rates show Buffalo remains in crisis
Opinion
Buffalo News, June 26, 2013
If it wasn’t apparent yet, the latest graduation rate report should drive home the point that Buffalo’s public schools are in a state of crisis. As the state reported, graduation rates in Buffalo plummeted, falling from 54 percent in 2011 to 47 percent in 2012. The crisis in Buffalo is real, and the district needs to act with urgency.

NORTH CAROLINA

For teacher pay, it’s a race to the bottom
Editorial
Fay Observer, June 27, 2013
We’re facing a teacher shortage. And the source of it is clear: North Carolina teacher pay stinks. We don’t have the lowest cost of living here, but teacher pay is near the bottom – 46th in the nation. A teacher could get a raise by moving to any one of our surrounding states.

Ruling may ease Wake’s path to income-based school assignments
News & Observer, June 27, 2013
Federal officials have opened the door for Wake County to reintroduce students’ family income as a basis for school assignments.

Bill loosens reins on charters
News & Observer, June 26, 2013
A state Senate committee approved a charter school bill that would free them from going to the State Board of Education for permission to add grades, and would allow the charters to give enrollment preference to siblings of school alumni.

OHIO

Hearing draws a few foes of Columbus levy shared by district, charters
Columbus Dispatch, June 27, 2013
Only six people took the time yesterday to speak at a public hearing about a proposed property-tax levy on the November ballot that would share Columbus City Schools dollars with charter schools.

More Ohio cash not enough for some school districts
Cincinnati Enquirer, June 27, 2013
In the next two years, Ohio may send $94 million more to Greater Cincinnati school districts than it currently sends in state aid.

OREGON

League of Oregon Charter Schools to hold convention at Portland Village School
The Oregonian, June 26, 2013
Charter school advocates will gather at the Portland Village School in August for their annual convention.

VIRGINIA

CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Norfolk Schools Take Lead This Fall
New Journal and Guide, June 26, 2013
A proposal by Norfolk Public Schools’ Superintendent Dr. Samuel T. King to create public charter schools appears to be met with “cautious optimism” by some observers. King’s plan will convert 10 Norfolk underachieving schools to public charter schools this fall in an effort to improve the quality of education for the students who will attend them.

WISCONSIN

Governor should veto attempt to take cap off private voucher schools
Opinion
Capital Times, June 26, 2013
Senators had debated budget passage for nearly eight nonstop hours. In a little over six hours the two-year state budget would be headed to the governor.

ONLINE LEARNING

Pittsburgh Public Schools board approves new vendor for online academy
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 26, 2013
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board voted tonight to change vendors for its Pittsburgh Online Academy from Waterfront Learning, operated through the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, to VLN Partners, located on the South Side.

New Florida Charter School To Offer Blended Learning Program
The Journal, June 26, 2013
A new charter school, opening this fall for students in grades 6-12 living in Broward County, will feature a blended learning program. Pivot Charter School, a full-time public school in the Fort Lauderdale area, will offer a learning center — for on-site tutoring and instruction — as well as a complete online curriculum which complies with “Florida Sunshine standards and the Common Core standards,” according to a statement released Tuesday to the media.

Opponents of state virtual charter ban urge legislature not to limit digital learning
Beacon News, June 26, 2013
As the state’s charter school commission gears up to prepare a comprehensive report for the General Assembly on virtual schooling, those who opposed a one-year ban on new virtual charter schools are hoping the commission won’t recommend policies that restrict virtual schooling and charter growth.

A review of the iPad in the classroom
Editorial
Marysville Globe, June 26, 2013
Last September we took a look at Marysville’s 10th Street School’s plan to convert to iPads as the central learning device. Every student would have one. Most parents equipped their kids with the devices and school fundraisers covered costs for the rest. It was a local experiment being played out in a scatter of schools across the map.

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

Judge Considers Tossing School-Cheating Charges
Wall Street Journal, June 26, 2013
A conspiracy case stemming from one of the largest school-cheating scandals in U.S. history could be scuttled or drastically diminished if a judge rules that investigators coerced some educators into talking.

Education study gets low marks for poor research
Editorial
The Olympian, June 26, 2013
At the end of the school day, it may not matter so much how a teacher was trained or what university they attended that will make the difference in a student’s life. It’s whether that teacher had the inherent personal qualities to inspire a thirst for learning in young people bombarded with so many enticing distractions. And that’s a subjective quality so hard to measure by a black and white data point.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

No reprieve for Oakland Indian charter schools
San Francisco Chronicle, June 25, 2013
Three controversial Oakland charter schools facing closure this summer failed to win a reprieve from the Alameda County Board of Education on Tuesday night.

DELAWARE

Charter school measure heads to governor’s desk
News Journal, June 26, 2013
A bill aimed at tightening safe­guards on charter schools while also giving them more access to state money passed the Senate on Tuesday. Gov. Jack Markell is scheduled to sign the mea­sure today.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Teacher observations can give best insight into effectiveness
Letter
Washington Post, June 25, 2013
Teacher observations are the best way to determine what is happening in a classroom. Principals who routinely observe teachers have a much stronger feel for which teachers are excellent and which ones need support.

David Catania, Marion Barry want to spend extra D.C. revenue on schools
Washington Post, June 25, 2013
D.C. Council members David A. Catania and Marion Barry are pushing to spend more than $40 million of the city’s projected — and unexpected — additional revenue on public education, funds that would be distributed to schools as extra dollars for poor children.

GEORGIA

School board: No to charter school
Brunswick News, June 26, 2013
The Glynn County School Board voted down a start-up charter school petition submitted recently for Valloita Preparatory Academy during its meeting Tuesday.

IDAHO

Meridian School Board votes to revoke North Star’s charter
Idaho Statesman, June 25, 2013
School official said they had agreements to temporarily give North Star Charter School a financial break on its large construction debt while it worked out a long-term plan to meet its obligations.

Teach for America is a step toward privatizing public schools
Opinion
Boise Weekly, June 26, 2013
The Idaho State Board of Education continues to make decisions toward privatizing Idaho’s public schools. In a move by the board on June 20, the Teach For America program was, according to their Facebook post, “approved as a state sanctioned vehicle for the preparation of teachers in Idaho.”

LOUISIANA

Charter schools are giving children a better chance than the old system did
Letter
Times-Picayune, June 25, 2013
Robert Mann’s June 23 column, “Louisiana is walling off schoolchildren from each other,” uses a Frost poem to support his position that “gate-ification of schools” through school choice has done more harm than good. I would argue the true “gate-ification” has come through Louisiana’s failing school system, mired at the nation’s bottom ranks for decades, creating the greatest barrier for students and educators.

Louisiana’s public schools on a long road to improvement
Opinion
Alexandria Town Talk, June 26, 2013
Louisiana public school students made, in most instances, marginal improvement on several fronts in 2012.

MICHIGAN

Pontiac schools taking applications for charter high school board
Oakland Press, June 25, 2013
The Pontiac Board of Education is inviting members of the community to apply to serve on the Public School Academy Board that will provide oversight of Pontiac High School that is in the process of being authorized as a charter high school by the district.

MINNESOTA

State pumps money into early education to close achievement gap
Minnesota Public Radio, June 25, 2013
In a little over a year, many of Minnesota’s youngest students will be spending more time in the classroom.

MISSISSIPPI

Miss. charter school advocates form association
Hattiesburg American, June 25, 2013
Groups that pushed for the passage of Mississippi’s new charter school law have formed an association to promote the schools.

MISSOURI

Charter school closing, but its work will continue
St. Louis Beacon, June 26, 2013
Stephanie Krauss remembers clearly a moment when she saw that her vision for Shearwater, a charter school giving new chances to teens whose education had been interrupted by life, might not work.

Riverview parents demand information about school transfers
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 26, 2013
Close to 150 parents and grandparents in the Riverview Gardens School District nearly filled a church sanctuary Tuesday with their hopes set on one goal: transferring their children to higher-performing public schools.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Charter funding: Some small but needed growth
Editorial
Union Leader, June 26, 2013
It is somewhat surprising that $3.4 million in funding for additional charter schools found its way into the new state budget. In the last legislative session there was a big fight over charter schools.

Proposed Nashua charter school up for authorization in July
Nashua Telegraph, June 26, 2013
It’s been more than a year in the making, but the founders of the proposed Gate City Charter School for the Arts will finally have their day in front of the state Board of Education.

NEW JERSEY

Christie says he’ll continue to push tax credit, vouchers not included in state budget
The Record Blog, June 25, 2013
Governor Christie said he expects to sign the Legislative-approved budget for the coming fiscal year in the coming days even though it doesn’t set aside funding for his tax credit or school voucher programs.

NEW YORK

New York City School Chiefs Get Informal Job Checks
Wall Street Journal, June 26, 2013
Top administrators at the city’s Department of Education haven’t been subject to formal evaluations during the Bloomberg administration, a break from past practice and an unusual occurrence among school districts across the U.S.

CARES program helps struggling New York City students graduate from high school
New York Daily News, June 26, 2013
Harlem students Moet Fontanez and Terrance Russell were dangerously close to dropping out of school. St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospital’s CARES program helped both of these talented teens find their voices—and earn their high school diplomas.

NORTH CAROLINA

Low pay may bring NC teacher shortage
Opinion
News & Observer, June 25, 2013
After flirting briefly with teacher salaries at the national average some years ago, North Carolina has been in a steady decline, to the point that currently the state is 46th in the nation in teacher pay. That’s disgraceful in a state that has long boasted of being more progressive than others in the Deep South and has advertised itself as a place that values education.

Controversial semi-autonomous charter board dropped
News & Observer, June 25, 2013
The main advocate for a semi-independent state board to govern charter schools has dropped the controversial idea in favor of setting up a new charter advisory council.

OHIO

Aurora man indicted on charge of giving kickbacks to charter school CEO
Aurora Record-Courier, June 26, 2013
An Aurora man is among 10 people and 13 firms indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on charges they laundered nearly $2 million from a Cleveland-based charter school.

School choice would get a boost
Cincinnati Enquirer, June 25, 2013
Legislators in conference committee Tuesday approved amendments to the budget proposal that change how schools would be funded over the next two years.

Kasich gets bill to have Columbus schools share tax money with charters
Columbus Dispatch, June 26, 2013
A bill that would allow Columbus schools to share local tax dollars with charter schools is on its way to Gov. John Kasich, who is expected to sign it.

OREGON

Portland Public Schools vs. charters: Agenda 2013
Editorial
The Oregonian, June 25, 2013
Public schools will walk away from this legislative session with a budget that’s either good or very good, but money isn’t everything. Education policy matters, too, and one piece of policy worth following is House Bill 2153, sought by Portland Public Schools. As approved by the House last week, it would allow a handful of school districts to serve as judge, jury and executioner for proposed charter schools.

PENNSYLVANIA

Confusion as state takes over Camden schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 26, 2013
On the day the state took over the Camden School District, teachers protested and board members were perplexed about their new role, while a new interim schools chief offered hopeful remarks.

Charter-school teachers try to unionize in N. Phila.
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 26, 2013
BROTHERS DEREK and Kyjuan Bolling no longer complain about going to Aspira Olney Charter School, and their great-grandmother Jean Bolling gives much of the credit to their teachers.

End teacher seniority rule
Opinion
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 26, 2013
Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. has proposed ending teacher seniority as part of a set of concessions from the teachers’ union.

TENNESSEE

Metro school board approves four new charters for 2014-15 year
Nashville City Paper, June 26, 2013
The Metro school board spent Tuesday night trying to alter the narrative that the district is hostile to charter schools while easily approving four of six charter applications for the 2014-15 school year.

Memphis-Shelby board rejects charter school applications
Commercial Appeal, June 26, 2013
The unified Memphis and Shelby County school board, praising the work of staff members charged with vetting applications for new charter schools, rejected a long list of them Tuesday.

State’s treatment of teachers is a recipe for disaster
Opinion
The Tennessean, June 26, 2013
I am proud to stand with Tennessee’s teachers, who do fine work despite being some of the worst paid and working in the bottom 10 funded schools in the nation. It’s now time for this administration to stop its continued attack on teachers and restore some dignity to this time-honored profession.

UTAH

Study: Utah charter students learn less than traditional school students
Salt Lake Tribune, June 26, 2013
Utah charter school students learn less than traditional district students over the course of a school year, losing the equivalent of 43 days of math and seven days of reading, according to a new national study.

WISCONSIN

Voucher schools will not be held to same standards as public schools
Wisconsin State Journal, June 25, 2013
In Chris Rickert’s Sunday column, he states that Wisconsin’s 2013 legislative session created a myth that private school vouchers amount to an unaffordable second public school system. He then states that the voucher expansion funnels “state tax dollars into a parallel system of publicly supported private schools.” I believe the second of his statements is the myth.

ONLINE LEARNING

Virtual school gets final state approval
The Recorder, June 26, 2013
A state education board voted 9-1 Tuesday morning to allow Greenfield to run the state’s first Commonwealth of Massachusetts Virtual School for at least three years — officially ending six months of uncertainty about the town’s cyber school future.

Study: Pa. in bottom 3 for charter school scores
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 26, 2013
A national study on charter school performance shows that academic achievement is on the rise nationally among charter school students, but Pennsylvania is not sharing in that success, likely due to students in cyber charter schools.

Pasco pushes its own eSchool to retain student funding lost to Florida Virtual
Tampa Bay Times, June 25, 2013
Despite anticipated budget shortfalls, the Pasco School Board agreed to spend $896,400 this spring to establish a summer program for Pasco eSchool.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

Charter schools offer scant edge over neighborhood schools: study (CER in the news)
Reuters, June 25, 2013
Charter schools across the United States have improved in recent years, but on average, they still offer little advantage over traditional public education, according to a new study released on Tuesday.

Charter Schools Receive a Passing Grade
Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2013
Students attending publicly funded, privately run charter schools posted slightly higher learning gains overall in reading than their peers in traditional public schools and about the same gains in math, but the results varied drastically by state, according to one of the most comprehensive studies of U.S. charter schools.

Charter Schools Are Improving, a Study Says
New York Times, June 25, 2013
An updated version of a widely cited study that found many students in charter schools were not performing as well as those in neighborhood public schools now shows that in a few states, charter schools are improving in some areas.

Charters not outperforming nation’s traditional public schools, report says
Washington Post, June 25, 2013
The nation’s public charter schools are growing more effective but most don’t produce better academic results when compared with traditional public schools, according to a report released Tuesday.

The solution to US public schools is not corporate America
Opinion
The Guardian, June 24, 2013
America’s K-12 schools are being hollowed out, dismantled and converted to private management. It’s the ultimate outsourcing of our children’s futures.

America’s mayors take lead on education reform
Politico, June 24, 2013
There’s been a sea change in the education landscape over the past two years, but you won’t see it if you’re looking toward D.C. Instead, look toward our nation’s mayors.

FROM THE STATES

CONNECTICUT

New legislation will put extra pressure on local school districts
West Hartford News, June 24, 2013
Local school districts have mixed reactions to new legislation that will affect how often they evaluate teachers and administrators.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. school system reduces truancy rate
Washington Post, June 24, 2013
Fewer students were chronically truant this year from the District’s traditional public schools, but absenteeism is still a rampant problem at many high schools, Chancellor Kaya Henderson told the D.C. Council Monday.

Pr. George’s should approve new charter school
Letter
Washington Post, June 24, 2013
As a parent of an incoming sixth-grade student at the newly formed College Park Academy (CPA), I was distressed to read [“Vote on Pr. George’s charter is shelved,” Metro, June 20] that one of the first actions taken by the reconfigured Prince George’s County Board of Education was to table a contract agreement with the charter school, which has already gone through approval processes.

Classroom observations to rate teachers are shifting focus to students
Washington Post, June 24, 2013
The new mandate in Virginia to make student achievement a significant part of teacher evaluations is bringing more than an infusion of test scores. It’s also changing the way classroom observations are conducted.

INDIANA

Funding issues threaten Indianapolis, Gary takeover schools
Indianapolis Star, June 24, 2013
The charter school organization hired to run Indianapolis’ Arlington High School after it was taken over by the state for poor test scores said Monday it might not be able to continue operating the school unless it receives extra aid from federal grants.

LOUISIANA

Charter school academic gains in Louisiana outpace conventional public schools, study finds
Times-Picayune, June 25, 2013
Louisiana charter school students are improving academically at a faster rate than their peers in conventional public schools, according to a major study from the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University.

Principals get more control over teacher evaluations
Editorial
The Advertiser, June 25, 2013
An announcement last week by Superintendent of Education John White that principals would be given more authority in evaluating teachers may be a step in the right direction.

Louisiana school to pay Arkansas school to take students
KNOE, June 24, 2013
Louisiana officials plan to pay an Arkansas school to continue accepting Louisiana students.

MAINE

Process to create charter schools in Maine weak, ineffective
Column by Jeanne Allen
Kennebec Journal, June 24, 2013
On Jan. 17, 2001, the Maine Association of Charter Schools met in Bangor to discuss the possibility of creating charter schools here. It was another decade before the Maine Legislature passed a law to allow charter schools to serve students in need of more options.

Local districts shouldn’t bear burden of funding charter schools
Letter
Bangor Daily News, June 24, 2013
Communities have faced funding challenges in recent years as costs rise and state support at all levels shrink. Our local communities have been forced to make hard decisions.

MASSACHUSETTS

target=”_blank”>Ease the charter school choke hold
Opinion
Daily Hampshire Gazette, June 24, 2013
The Amherst school district has had to close a budget gap of $1.6 million for the elementary and regional secondary schools next year. Northampton schools are looking at educational cuts of more than $700,000.

MICHIGAN

Only 20% of Mich. students ready for college
Detroit News, June 24, 2013
Michigan’s high school juniors continue to improve their scores on the ACT college entrance exam and the Michigan Merit Exam, though some MME scores declined from the previous year, state education officials said Monday.

WayPoint Academy school board to keep their school open
Muskegon Chronicle, June 25, 2013
Emotions spilled over at a WayPoint Academy board meeting Monday afternoon where dozens of parents and students expressed anger and sadness over the closure of their charter school.

NEVADA

Nevada students in charter schools shortchanged on learning time, study shows
Las Vegas Sun, June 25, 2013
Nevada’s charter school students lose between six and seven months of learning each year compared with their traditional public school counterparts, according to a Stanford University study released Tuesday.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Excluding religious schools narrows reach of education tax credit
Concord Monitor, June 25, 2013
About 70 percent of scholarship applicants under the education tax credit law sought money for religious schools, and only a small portion of applicants were public school students looking to transfer to private schools.

N.H. NCLB Waiver Passed Over By Feds; State Says Acceptance Is Imminent
New Hampshire Public Radio, June 24, 213
The US department of education announced another round of waivers from the controversial federal education policy, No Child Left Behind, and once again New Hampshire’s application for a waiver has been passed over.

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey budget / Voucher plan dies
Editorial
Press of Atlantic City, June 25, 2013
Democratic legislative leaders did score at least one small victory in their budget “negotiations” with Gov. Chris Christie. The $32.9 billion budget, which lawmakers approved Monday, did not include Christie’s pilot school-voucher program.

NEW MEXICO

Eubank Elementary to get an academic boost
Albuquerque Journal, June 25, 2013
It’s not every day that a principal asks for a turnaround initiative at her own school. But that’s what Christy Sigmon did. Sigmon, who just finished her second year at the helm of Eubank Elementary School, went to associate superintendent Diane Kerschen and said she needed a boost turning around the struggling school.

Establishing a charter school worth trouble
Column
Albuquerque Journal, June 25, 2013
I am often asked by parents and teachers, “How do we start a charter school”? Although I have never started a charter school myself, I have observed a number of folks who have and here is my perspective on what it takes to successfully bring a new charter school to life….

NORTH CAROLINA

NC schools chief warns of teacher losses
Asheville Citizen-Times, June 25, 2013
North Carolina is losing ground in teacher pay and losing teachers to other states, state Schools Superintendent June Atkinson said Monday.

Ensuring the Best Form of School Accountability
Opinion
Carolina Journal, June 25, 2013
Few pieces of education legislation filed this year have been subject to more debate than House Bill 944: Opportunity Scholarship Act. The bipartisan bill would award private school vouchers of $4,200 to a relatively small number of low-income children.

OHIO

Districts double up on superintendents
Columbus Dispatch, June 25, 2013
Five Franklin County districts are getting new superintendents. In three of them — Dublin, Hilliard and Upper Arlington — school boards are paying two leaders at the same time.

PENNSYLVANIA

Reduced busing radius for private, charter schools could save districts money, Parkland officials say
Lehigh Valley Express-Times, June 25, 2013
Pennsylvania school districts are required by state law to provide transportation for students who live within their boundaries, but attend private or charter schools up to 10 miles outside them.

Lakeside’s grads overcame problems to get where they were
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 25, 2013
Lakeside is one of those alternative, last-chance schools. It opened in 1976 in Horsham Township at the request of the Montgomery County Juvenile Probation Department.

Poll: Voters would pay higher taxes to avert school cuts
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 25, 2013
Amid widespread concern over school-funding cuts, a majority of Pennsylvania voters would be willing to pay higher taxes to reverse them, a poll released Monday said.

TENNESSEE

More education in computer programming will put students on path to success, advocates say
The Tennessean, June 25, 2013
Children stare at computer screens, their faces tight with concentration, typing numbers, letters and symbols on their keyboards in a seemingly nonsensical pattern.

State board overhauls teacher pay
Murfreesboro Post, June 24, 2013
The Tennessee State Board of Education voted Friday to overhaul the state’s minimum payment requirements for public school teachers.

VIRGINIA

Moving quickly in Norfolk schools
Editorial
The Virginian-Pilot, June 25, 2013
Norfolk public schools’ need for drastic change has been clear for some time.

ONLINE LEARNING

Atlanta Public Schools Selects Blackboard as its First LMS
The Herald, June 24, 2013
Atlanta Public Schools has selected Blackboard Learn™ as its first district-wide learning management system (LMS) after a nine-month evaluation of leading commercial and open-source platforms. The district of 51,000 students will use Blackboard Learn to rapidly expand online classes offered to students and to align all class content with Common Core standards.

Oregon Connections Academy offers 10 tips for summer learning
Statesman Journal Blog, June 24, 2013
Oregon Connections Academy, a virtual school for students in grades K through 12, offered its list of the top 10 activities for exploring the arts this summer:

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

How education schools can turn out better teachers
Editorial, Chicago Tribune, June 22, 2013
College students who aspire to be teachers often graduate from teacher prep programs unprepared to run a classroom effectively. That takes a toll on their health and happiness and on their students’ academic performance.

Time for a re-evaluation of teacher training
Editorial, Seattle Times, June 23, 2013
Teacher-training programs nationwide need to rethink the skills educators need for today and tomorrow’s classrooms.

No Child Left Behind brought strict standards, unattainable goals
Concord Monitor, June 24, 2013
When No Child Left Behind passed with bipartisan support from Congress in 2001, it promised a new system of accountability that would raise academic expectations and bring all students – rich, poor, black, white, mentally or physically disabled, limited English speakers – to the same level of achievement.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

School tax credit may have few takers
Editorial
Gadsden Times, June 23, 2013
Seventy-eight Alabama schools were branded last week as failing under the Alabama Accountability Act. One of them was Gadsden’s Litchfield Middle School.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

School reform in D.C. should stay the course
Editorial
Washington Post, June 22, 2013
MAYOR VINCENT C. GRAY’S (D) first speech dedicated to education, delivered last week, contained no dramatic proposals or revolutionary changes. That is a good thing.

Principal of Alexandria’s Jefferson-Houston School asks state for more time to improve
Washington Post, June 23, 2013
Principal Rosalyn Rice-Harris has been counting small victories since she took on the urgent task of reversing more than a decade of low achievement at Alexandria’s Jefferson-Houston School.

Maryland teachers prepare for tougher math curriculum under Common Core
Washington Post, June 23, 2013
A team of teachers and the principal of Piney Branch Elementary School hovered over two math questions designed to test fourth-grade students on their understanding of perimeter.

FLORIDA

Education challenges mean all options should be on the table
Opinion
Sun Sentinel, June 24, 2013
Last week we were pleased to see the City of Pembroke Pines and the Broward Teacher’s Union came to an agreement, albeit under enormous pressure, to keep the Pembroke Pines Charter Schools open.

With More Than 400 Students on a Waiting List, Lake Wales Needs Middle Schools
News Chief, June 23, 2013
With more than 400 students on a waiting list to attend Edward W. Bok Academy, it’s clear Lake Wales Charter Schools Inc. needs to expand to local middle schools.

Pinellas abruptly closes Ben Gamla charter school
Tampa Bay Times, June 23, 2013
Ben Gamla was closing, and it had nothing to do with the school’s performance or finances — but a seeming technicality.

Charting a new course for Rowlett Elementary School
Bradenton Herald, June 23, 2013
Manatee County could have its first charter school conversion in the fall of 2014 if Rowlett Elementary school successfully submits an application by Aug. 1 for school board approval — a complex challenge that has brought together a diverse group of planners.

Charter conversion is not common
Herald Tribune, June 22, 2013
Though state law has granted public schools the option to convert to a charter operation since 1996, only 20 operate in the state of Florida. If approved in August, Rowlett Elementary will be the first public school to convert to a charter operation in the past five years.

Charter school management companies flex political muscle as enrollment grows
Florida Times Union Blog, June 22, 2013
He was at an April meeting in support of a bill that would create a slate of accountability measures for charter schools. The former education commissioner and state senator from Clay County now lobbies for a host of charter school companies and organizations.

ILLINOIS

Teachers union blasts Emanuel’s school board choice
Chicago Sun Times, June 21, 2013
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has named an investment banker with ties to charter school organizations to serve on the Chicago Board of Education.

LOUISIANA

New Orleans Schools
Letter
New York Times, June 24, 2013
Sarah Carr is correct that in our efforts to improve education, New Orleans has unwittingly split schools and communities.

New city sought for school district
The Advocate, June 23, 2013
Residents of southeast Baton Rouge fighting for an independent school district are taking a page from the city of Central and mounting a campaign to form their own municipality.

MARYLAND

Companies back STEM efforts as Maryland seeks to revamp science education
Baltimore Sun, June 24, 2013
Students across Maryland would see revamped science classes under curriculum standards the state school board will consider Tuesday — part of a broader effort by educators, researchers and businesses to kindle innovation in children well before they enter the workforce.

Unleashing charter school innovation
Opinion
Frederick News Post, June 23, 2013
U.S. News magazine’s recently released Teacher Preparation Rankings report is one of the best and most important ever published, and has implications for our elected officials.

MASSACHUSETTS

Reshaping the debate on Mass. charter schools
Boston Globe, June 22, 2013
Not every graduate student who passes through Boston leaves a lasting influence on the city. But Chris Walters, a Virginia native who this month received his PhD in economics from MIT, may just be one of them.

Charter school bill stirring debate
Lowell Sun, June 22, 2013
Legislation aimed at closing achievement gaps in Massachusetts schools would make it easier to open charter schools, especially in the worst-performing districts, and give schools power to override unions on hiring without seniority or lengthening school days.

MICHIGAN

At schools, a new ‘white flight’
Battle Creek Enquirer, June 22, 2013
With a lot of angst, Barbour and his wife decided to withdraw their four kids from Albion and use the state’s Schools of Choice program to send them to Homer Community Schools.

NEVADA

Holding charter schools accountable
Opinion
Las Vegas Sun, June 22, 2013
The release of the Silver State’s first round of school star ratings under the Nevada School Performance Framework this month marks a new era for our state’s education system — one that is particularly focused on student achievement.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

End the pointless private school voucher program
Opinion
Portsmouth Herald, June 24, 2013
Last Monday, Strafford Superior Court Judge John Lewis ruled that paying religious schools with vouchers funded by New Hampshire tax credits would violate the New Hampshire Constitution. That’s an important victory for New Hampshire taxpayers and our public schools.

Hopes for charter school expansion receive boost
New Hampshire Union Leader, June 24, 2013
Advocates for public charter schools have renewed hope for expansion, now that lawmakers included $3.4 million to fund four new charters over the next two years, with $1.7 million in each year of the biennium.

NEW JERSEY

Milton Hinton: Charter schools’ allure wears off quickly
Opinion
Times of Trenton, June 23, 2013
Public school children and their parents in the City of Camden and other districts continue to be brainwashed by the allure of charter schools.

Camden Takeover to Proceed With Interim Super in Place
New Jersey Spotlight, June 24, 2013
Camden County executive superintendent will serve while state continues to search for right candidate

Booker brings education ideas to NJ Senate race
Associated Press, June 23, 2013
Cory Booker had just 53 days to convince New Jersey Democrats to nominate him to be the state’s next U.S. Senator, but the Newark mayor spent Friday afternoon speaking to hundreds of boys not yet old enough to vote.

NEW YORK

NY district recruits students from other schools
Associated Press, June 22, 2013
What it hasn’t always had in recent years is enough students. So to keep from laying off teachers and cutting back programs, the district is embarking on a plan to recruit from neighboring districts whose families are willing to pay tuition of more than $20,000 a year — to a public school.

De-zoning deprives children of the opportunity to attend schools near their homes
New York Daily News, June 23, 2013
With de-zoning, children would be forced to attend whatever school they are assigned to by the Department of Education. It would be harder for parents to attend school events and be active in parents’ associations

OHIO

Ensuring charter-school quality depends on responsible sponsors
Columbus Dispatch, June 22, 2013
Mayor Michael B. Coleman and key community stakeholders are to be commended for their recent efforts to improve K-12 public-education opportunities for students throughout Columbus.

Getting better value from Ohio’s value-added teacher ratings: editorial
Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 23, 2013
An illuminating series last week by The Plain Dealer and StateImpact Ohio, a collaboration of Ohio public radio stations, cast light on one aspect of the possible answer: an imperfect value-added grading system for fourth-to-eighth-grade reading and math teachers in Ohio that the state has begun using to evaluate teachers.

PENNSYLVANIA

Uncertainty as new teacher-evaluation systems near
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 24, 2013
Upper Darby High School Principal Christopher Dormer sat in the back of Joe Niagara’s humanities class, tapping out notes on his laptop. But if having the boss sit in and observe made the first-year teacher nervous, he wasn’t letting it show.

Grim day arrives for those facing school layoffs
Philadelphia Inquirer, June 24, 2013
Most of the 600 other teachers got pink slips based on seniority and will spend their last day on the job Monday. Their spots will be filled by instructors displaced from schools that cut staff or are closing.

Charter school gets OK from Pittsburgh district
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 23, 2013
The staff of Pittsburgh Public Schools has recommended granting a charter to the proposed Hill House Passport Academy Charter School in the Hill District.

Bethlehem Area School District doesn’t want charter school to receive TIF dollars
Lehigh Valley Express-Times, June 22, 2013
Bethlehem Area School District officials are disappointed that a city charter school is relocating into a special tax district aimed at boosting the economic redevelopment on former Bethlehem Steel land.

SOUTH CAROLINA

High Point Academy becomes the second public charter school in Spartanburg
Spartanburg Herald Journal, June 22, 2013
High Point Academy has been given the green light by the state charter school district, clearing the way for the school to become the second public charter school in Spartanburg County.

TENNESSEE

Educational reforms raise bar for Tennessee teachers
Times Free Press, June 23, 2013
Some teachers may think they’ve lived through a roller coaster of educational changes in recent years. But they haven’t seen anything yet.

VIRGINIA

Group proposes boys-only charter school for Richmond
Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 24, 2013
A group called the Richmond Urban Collective is proposing a boys-only charter school for the city of Richmond.

WISCONSIN

Private schools mull whether to join statewide voucher system
Lacrosse Tribune, June 24, 2013
The Legislature adopted a statewide expansion of private school vouchers last week, but that doesn’t mean there will be a voucher in every backpack anytime soon.

School choice records provision deserves veto
Editorial
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 23, 2013
Without debate or public dialogue, Republicans slipped into the state budget last week a measure that could curb the ability of the public to understand how choice schools perform. The limits don’t belong in the budget in the first place — they’re another in a long list of non-fiscal items in this budget — and at the very least they deserved the full public airing that introduction as a separate bill would have brought.

ONLINE LEARNING

Online charter school to open Augusta learning center
Augusta Chronicle, June 22, 2013
High school dropouts or students who aren’t comfortable in the typical classroom will have another way to work on a diploma this fall.

Pros and cons of iPads in schools
Letters
Los Angeles Times, June 24, 2013
The decision by the Los Angeles Unified School District to provide its 660,000 students with tablet computers is a step in the right direction. As the head of a nonprofit funder that provides computers and training to parents and teachers in three LAUSD schools, I have lessons to share: