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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

Grading Charter Schools Isn’t as Easy as It Would Appear
Valley News, VT, May 23, 2013
Numerous studies have used this lottery method to analyze the impact of charter schools on standardized test scores, and by and large they report similar findings: Charters in rural or suburban areas don’t do any better than public schools, while in urban areas they are associated with greater test score improvements in math and language.

Parent Trigger Laws Are Likely to Fire Blanks
Huffington Post Blog, May 22, 2013
If turning around a persistently low-performing school were easy, we would not have persistently low-performing schools. In truth, schools that languish at the academic bottom are more often an ongoing source of frustration for the hard-working teachers, parents and students who attend them and the districts that manage them.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Goldwater Report Says Red Tape Could Be Holding Back Arizona Charter Schools
Arizona Business Journal, AZ, May 22, 2013
Charter school advocates warn against government red tape in a report released today by the Goldwater Institute.

CALIFORNIA

Monica Ratliff’s Election To L.A. School Board Is ‘Huge Upset’
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 22, 2013
The fifth-grade teacher’s low-budget effort defeats Antonio Sanchez, who had $2.2 million spent on his behalf and was endorsed by the mayor’s reform coalition.

Refining ‘Parent Trigger’
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 22, 2013
Under California’s “parent trigger” law, parents at underperforming public schools can force dramatic changes in management if half or more sign a petition. It’s a well-intentioned law that school reformers have applauded, but it is desperately in need of certain fixes. The most recent example involves a rule that was intended to bring more openness to the process — but which in practice appears to disenfranchise some parents.

DELAWARE

Delaware Budget Writing Panel Approves $2M In New Spending For Charter School Programs
Washington Post, DC, May 22, 2013
Members of the legislature’s budget writing committee have approved $2 million in new spending for Delaware charter schools.

FLORIDA

Rowlett Charter Plan Opposed By District Officials
Bradenton Herald, FL, May 23, 2013
Dozens of parents, teachers and administrators gathered Wednesday at Rowlett Magnet Elementary School to debate the merits of becoming a charter school.

Palmetto Bay Will Reconsider 1,400-Student Charter School
Miami Herald, FL, May 22, 2013
The Palmetto Bay Village Council has agreed to reconsider a proposal for a charter school at Franjo Road and Southwest 180th Street.

ILLINOIS

CPS Approves Largest School Closure In City’s History
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 23, 2013
Months of argument and anguish over Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s push for sweeping school closings came to a climax Wednesday as his hand-picked Board of Education voted to shut 49 elementary schools and transfer thousands of children to new classroom settings.

Charter Schools: Another Option
WIFR, IL, May 23, 2013
In tonight’s “Classroom Victories” report, 23 News Education Reporter, Lauren Kravets takes us to a Rockford Charter school to show us how kids are preparing for their future.

IOWA

Broken Schools Or A Broken System?
Des Moines Register, IA, May 23, 2013
So now it appears that Iowa may finally be pushed to enter the school reform race, due to public exposure of failing public schools and falling achievement scores that are a threat to our national reputation. The statistics reflecting student performance in the Iowa are alarming and indicate that performance on all fronts is grim.

Iowa’s Top Education Official To Leave The State
Des Moines Register, IA, May 23, 2013
Iowa’s top education official and a leading advocate for school reform is leaving the state.

LOUISIANA

Department Of Education’s Fairness, Impartiality And Intent Brought Into Question
American Press, LA, May 22, 2013
News that the state Department of Education did not properly monitor certain accountability measurements of charter schools for the past four years should raise a red flag.

Test Results Up Overall; Voucher Schools Flat
Alexandria Town Talk, LA, May 23, 2013
A state Education Department analysis of the latest standardized test results for public school students in grades three through eight shows the state continues to make incremental overall improvement with a long way to go.

Recovery School District’s New Orleans Schools Are Top Gainers In Test Results
Times-Picayune, LA, May 22, 2013
The Recovery School District’s standardized test scores in New Orleans grew faster than any other public school system in Louisiana this spring, according to data released Wednesday. The percentage of third- through eighth-graders who scored at or above their grade level rose six points to 57 percent.

MAINE

Help Maine Charter Schools Succeed Before Adding More
Bangor Daily News, ME, May 23, 2013
Gov. Paul LePage is correct that public charter schools have the potential to become a new tool to engage teachers, students, parents and community members in finding innovative ways to improve public education in Maine.

MARYLAND

Federal Audit Finds City Schools Misspent Stimulus, Title I Funds
Baltimore Sun, MD, May 21, 2013
The Maryland State Department of Education may have to pay back up to $540,000 in federal money intended to help the state’s poorest schools after a scathing audit found that Baltimore City was one of two school districts that misspent the funds, using the money for dinner cruises, makeovers and meals.

MASSACHUSETTS

Extended Time Doesn’t Guarantee A Better School Day
Boston Globe, MA, May 23, 2013
I AGREE with Scot Lehigh that with “longer charter [school] days come impressive academic results” (“Will the city’s new mayor be pro-charter?” Op-ed, May 10)

MICHIGAN

Taxpayers To Get Bill For Pontiac School Mess
Detroit News, MI, May 23, 2013
The meltdown of the Pontiac School district is about to show up on the tax bills of property owners in several Oakland County communities.

MISSOURI

Gordon Parks School Must Prove It Merits Staying Open
The Kansas City Star, MO, May 22, 2013
Gordon Parks Elementary School won a reprieve Tuesday in Cole County Circuit Court from a state order to abruptly close this week.

NEW YORK

New York’s Public School Paradox
City Journal, May 22, 2013
When he came into the mayor’s office in 2002, Michael Bloomberg made reforming New York City’s schools one of his principal goals.

The Arrival of the Rockland Academy of Excellence Charter School to East Ramapo in Rockland Sparks Debate
Rockland Times, NY, May 23, 2013
The arrival of the Rockland Academy of Excellence to East Ramapo in Rockland has sparked debate from the community of East Ramapo. They say you can tell the strength of a person by the way they love their children and Rockland loves their children.

New Charter School Opening In Downtown Brooklyn
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, NY, May 23, 2013
Brooklyn Prospect Charter School said on Tuesday that it will open its first elementary school this September in Downtown Brooklyn (District 13). Starting with kindergarten, the school will take up the upper three floors of 80 Willoughby Street, alongside St. Joseph High School for girls.

NORTH CAROLINA

Passions High Around School Voucher Bill
WRAL, NC, May 21, 2013
In a packed room, the House Education Committee heard Tuesday from supporters and opponents of a plan to give taxpayer-funded scholarships for low income students that attend private schools.

Voucher Debate Must Start At Accountability
Fayetteville Observer, NC, May 23, 2013
Applause, please, for the N.C. House Education Committee, which did what a legislative committee should do – on Tuesday, it listened to both sides of a hot issue and jumped to no conclusions.

PENNSYLVANIA

LESSON PLANS: Teachers Must Face The Part They Play In School Problems
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, May 23, 2013
CONTENTIOUS contract negotiations, like those involving the School District and the teachers’ union, are usually at heart a battle of narratives – between management, which is often in financial crisis, and labor, whose narrative is about protecting beleaguered workers from being exploited. They are rarely a celebration of hard data and facts about hiring, compensation and policies.

RHODE ISLAND

Gist by the Numbers: Achievement Gap Failing to Improve
Go Local Pov, RI, May 23, 2013
Test scores are up. So are graduation rates. But the gap between white students and those who are minorities, have disabilities, or are not native English speakers has either stagnated or worsened in the four years that Deborah Gist has been at the helm of the Rhode Island Education Department.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC Senate Defeats Tax Credits For Private School Tuition
The State, SC, May 22, 2013
A proposal to give tax breaks to parents of students who are home-schooled or go to private schools was defeated in the S.C. Senate Wednesday, despite predictions from Republicans that the vote would be close.

TENNESSEE

Smithson Craighead Middle School Won’t Get Reprieve, Will Close
The Tennessean, TN, May 23, 2013
U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Sharp released a 19-page memorandum Wednesday dissolving a class-action lawsuit filed by two parents after Metro Nashville Public Schools decided in November to close the school because of lagging academic performance.

TEXAS

Charter School, Testing Bills Will Pass Or Die Together
Austin Statesman, TX, May 22, 2013
The fates of two major education bills that would reduce standardized testing and allow more charter schools have become inextricably linked, and it appears they will either cross the legislative finish line together or not at all.

VIRGINIA

Mayor Disbands School Reform Task Force
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, May 23, 2013
A little more than 16 months after chiding Richmond schools Superintendent Yvonne W. Brandon for “celebrating mediocrity” and, two months later, berating the School Board for passing an unbalanced budget, Mayor Dwight C. Jones has disbanded his school reform task force.

WISCONSIN

Expansion Of School Vouchers Will Dismantle Public Education
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, May 23, 2013
According to Murphy’s Law, if you tinker around with something long enough, it will eventually break. That describes the governor’s and certain legislators’ proposal to expand school vouchers in Wisconsin.

ONLINE LEARNING

Michigan’s Charter Options To Grow
Detroit News, MI, May 23, 2013
Thirty-two new charter schools plan to open this fall in Michigan, including three cyber academies as well as “blended-learning” schools in Novi and Beverly Hills, where charters are making their first appearance.

Kobler To Lead Shift Toward ‘Technology-Rich’ Classrooms
Lawrence Journal World, KS, May 23, 2013
The Lawrence school district is gearing up for the next phase of its venture into a new kind of classroom teaching, in which students rely as much on computers and online material as they do on textbooks and teachers to guide instruction.

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

NATIONAL COVERAGE

The College ‘Preparation Gap’ In A Single Graphic
Washington Post Blog, DC, May 22, 2013
An annual national survey of school curriculum concludes that there is a “large gap” between how high school teachers perceive their graduating students’ readiness for college and what professors expect freshmen to know.

Common Core Clash: AFT President Fires Back At State Education Officials
Washington Post, DC, May 21, 2013
The head of a major teachers union fired back Tuesday at state education officials who had dismissed her call for a moratorium on stakes associated with new standardized state tests in public schools.

Education Reform Is Only Part Of Answer To Student Achievement
Seattle Times, WA, May 21, 2013
But don’t expect state money, or reforms, or anything politicians in Olympia do will make Johnny do his homework. He will do it when he knows he can’t get out of it, and it will take people more powerful than politicians to convince him of that.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

AZ Grading System Hurts 3 Edge Schools
Arizona Star, AZ, May 22, 2013
Edge High School in Tucson takes in students from difficult backgrounds – about one out of 10 is homeless, many are parents or pregnant, some are sixth- or seventh-year seniors – and helps them graduate.

Desegregation Plan, Competition From Charter Schools Add To Tucson School District’s Financial Woes
KJZZ, AZ, May 21, 2013
School is out for summer, but Arizona school districts are looking ahead to the fall when they will face another year of lean budgets.

CALIFORNIA

Ratliff Holding Slim Lead In LAUSD Race
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 22, 2013
The race for an open seat on the Los Angeles Board of Education was close in early returns with Monica Ratliff ahead despite financial support and union backing that made her opponent, Antonio Sanchez, a heavy favorite.

COLORADO

Overhauling School Funding
Daily Camera, CO, May 22, 2013
It wasn’t the most attention-grabbing bill coming out of the legislature this year, but the most sweeping change to school funding in Colorado may be near.

CONNECTICUT

Against Proposed New Charter School
CT Post, CT, May 21, 2013
I am a parent of two children currently enrolled at Waltersville School. I have witnessed firsthand how underfunded the Bridgeport Public School District is.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Council Must Stop Micromanaging Public Schools
Washington Post, DC, May 21, 2013
ONE OF THE FIRST things D.C. Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) did after taking over the newly constituted education committee was host a dinner aimed at establishing a new tone of collaboration for those involved in D.C. public education.

Meridian Continues To Examine Allegations Of Test-Tampering
Washington Post, DC, May 21, 2013
Meridian Public Charter School officials have said that are continuing to examine allegations of test-tampering at the school and have not yet disciplined any staff members.

FLORIDA

Florida Teacher Evaluation System Still Needs Tweaks, Panel Decides
Florida Times Union, FL, May 22, 2013
If Florida continues to base its teacher evaluations solely on student academic growth and observations from a principal, that might lead educators to “teach to the test.”

ILLINOIS

Teachers, Perpetual War Doesn’t Help Students
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 22, 2013
We point this out on a day when the Chicago public school system will make a gut-wrenching decision. The school board is set to vote Wednesday on whether to close 53 elementary schools. Chicago teachers and parents have been protesting, trying to save those schools.

LOUISIANA

Benjamin Mays Prep Families Still Await Orleans Parish School Board Takeover Answer
Times-Picayune, LA, May 21, 2013
Families at the Recovery School District charter school Benjamin Mays Prep continue to hope that this school year isn’t the last for the Desire-area elementary — but they got no answers Tuesday from the Orleans Parish School Board, one month after a parents’ group came to the board asking to be taken over. The Recovery School District is shutting down the school for poor academic performance.

MAINE

Maine Educators Object To Evaluation Emphasis
Kennebec Journal, ME, May 22, 2013
Teachers and school administrators took issue Tuesday with the weight given to student assessments in proposed regulations for teachers’ and principals’ evaluations.

MARYLAND

Montgomery Schools React To New Innovation, Intervention Plan
Maryland Gazette, MD, May 22, 2013
Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr said he believes there is no one-size-fits-all approach to school and student success.

Montgomery’s First Charter School Operates Under The School Board’s Radar
Maryland Gazette, MD, May 22, 2013
Community Montessori Charter School faced an initial rejection and then much scrutiny from Montgomery County school board members two years ago when applying to be the first public charter school in the county.

MASSACHUSETTS

Charter Schools In Boston Score Higher On Key Tests
Boston Globe, MA, May 22, 2013
Boston charter schools outperform other public schools on three popular barometers of achievement — the MCAS, the SAT, and the Advanced Placement exams — but tend to have lower four-year graduation rates, according to a study being released Wednesday.

Charter Idea Backed
Republican –American, MA, May 21, 2013
A string of political, business, philanthropic and educational heavyweights turned out Tuesday night to back a proposed new charter school.

MICHIGAN

Plan Makes Test Data Main Factor In Teacher Pay
Daily Press & Argus, MI, May 22, 2013
Teachers are responsible for producing well-rounded students but don’t control whether students come from stable homes or eat or exercise enough.

MISSOURI

Questions Of Accountability And Fairness Remain After Charter School’s Reprieve
Kansas City Star, MO, May 21, 2013
The lofty promise that is Gordon Parks Elementary School has won a reprieve, at least temporarily.

NEW JERSEY

Diegnan’s Charter School Bill
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, May 22, 2013
Assemblyman drops bill, which called for central review board and local approval for new and expanded charters

N.J. Charters Look At Teacher Evaluations
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 22, 2013
Following a parallel but very different path from their school-district brethren, New Jersey’s charter schools are finalizing plans for how they will evaluate teachers and principals.

OHIO

Bill Would Have Columbus Schools Share Levy Money With Charters
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 21, 2013
State lawmakers drew attention to academic failures of the Columbus school district and to its ongoing data scandal tonight in the first talks over a bill that, if passed, could share district tax money with charter schools.

OKLAHOMA

Evaluating Teacher Training Programs Complex
The Oklahoman, OK, May 22, 2013
Regarding “Study shows need to better prepare teachers” (Our Views, May 10): I take exception to your endorsement of the study by the National Council on Teacher Quality evaluating the effectiveness of teacher training programs, and your recommendation that lawmakers “carefully review its findings on Oklahoma programs.”

Oklahoma Lawmakers Should Resist Push To Repeal Common Core
The Oklahoman, OK, May 22, 2013
IN a triumph of irrationality over reason, House Speaker T.W. Shannon abruptly announced that lawmakers might try to repeal Common Core academic standards in the legislative session’s final days.

PENNSYLVANIA

Nonprofit’s Study Critical Of Phila. Teacher Policies
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 22, 2013
The Philadelphia School District shells out too much for the health care of its teachers, who tend to be absent too often. Teacher pay ought to be revamped to keep strong performers, and effectiveness, not start date, should guide layoff decisions.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC House Bill Would End ‘School Choice’ For Student-Property Owners
The Herald, SC, May 21, 2013
A decades-old form of “school choice” is under fire from lawmakers who say it is not fair to all S.C. families.

TEXAS

Bill To Create District To Improve Unacceptable Schools Dies In The Texas House
Dallas Morning News Blog, TX, May 21, 2013
A bill to create a district of underperforming schools with the goal of improving their ratings was killed in the House on Tuesday by a technical maneuver.

WASHINGTON

Catholic Schools Update To Compete With Charter Schools
Seattle Times, WA, May 21, 2013
A number of Catholic schools in Western Washington are embracing educational innovations in an attempt to update their curriculum and to better compete with the charter schools that will open here in the next few years.

WEST VIRGINIA

No Child Left Behind Waiver Will Bring Major Changes To Schools
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, May 22, 2013
They might not be immediately noticeable to students, but major changes are coming to education in West Virginia.

ONLINE LEARNING

iCademy Is New Online K-12 Charter School From LSSU
Second Wave, MI, May 22, 2013
Charter schools are nothing new for Upper Peninsula universities; they are located all over the state. But the latest one chartered by Lake Superior State University is different.

Reynoldsburg Takes Over Charter E-School
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 22, 2013
The Reynoldsburg school board is taking over the charter e-school that it placed on probation last year.

Moratorium Bill In Springfield Could Halt Local Virtual Schools
Kane County Chronicle, IL, May 22, 2013
A proposed virtual school that could affect some Kane County schools would be delayed for a year if Gov. Pat Quinn signs into law a moratorium on charter schools like it.

Let’s Look At What Online Charter Schools Are Really Selling
Naperville Sun, IL, May 21, 2013
Sometimes it’s a hard sell. A K12-managed Illinois Virtual Charter School at Fox Valley — which was recently proposed by Virtual Learning Solutions, a non-profit company that as its name implies resists tangibility — was denied by all 18 of the school districts involved.

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

State Education Chiefs Oppose Delay In High-Stakes Test Repercussions
Washington Post, DC, May 21, 2013
A small group of state education officials is pushing back against a call by teachers unions for a moratorium on using standardized tests for evaluating students or teachers until states have completely implemented Common Core standards, a new way of teaching math and reading in grades kindergarten through 12th.

Cul-de-Sac Poverty
New York Times, NY, May 21, 2013
In 2011, the suburban poor outnumbered the urban poor by three million; from 2000 to 2011, the number of poor people soared by 64 percent in the suburbs, compared with 29 percent in cities.

Should We Let Wunderkinds Drop Out Of High School?
Associated Press, May 21, 2013
Examples of tech geniuses who lack college degrees are well-known — Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg among them. But Karp left high school after his freshman year, with his mother’s blessing, at the tender age of 14.

GOP Fear of Common Core Education Standards Unfounded
Washington Post, DC, May 21, 2013
Modern conservatism comes in two distinct architectural styles. The first seeks to build from scratch, using accurate ideological levels and plumb lines, so every wall is straight and every corner squared.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

Lawmakers Approve Tax Credits For Students In Failing Schools
WIAT, AL, May 21, 2013
State lawmakers finalized big changes in the way parents in Alabama can decide where their children go to school. In the final hours of the 2013 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature, state lawmakers rejected an executive amendment to the Alabama Accountability Act which impacts students who are enrolled in failing schools.

CALIFORNIA

Ask The L.A. Mayor Candidates: Would You Try To Take Control Of L.A. Schools?
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 20, 2013
During separate video interviews with the Los Angeles Times last month, candidates for L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel responded to questions from individual voters.

Charter School Proposal Drawing Criticism
San Diego Union-Tribune, CA, May 20, 2013
The former site of Escondido’s East Valley library branch would become a charter school campus under a proposal the City Council is scheduled to consider Wednesday.

COLORADO

ABCs of the New School Finance Act
Colorado Statesman, CO, May 20, 2013
On Tuesday, May 21, Gov. John Hickenlooper is scheduled to sign Senate Bill 13-213, the new public school finance act passed by the General Assembly earlier this month. And then the real work begins: getting Colorado voters to approve a $1 billion income tax hike that will restore much of the funding cut over the last few years.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Gray Releases 16 D.C. Public School Buildings For Reuse By Charters
Washington Post, DC, May 20, 2013
The District plans to allow public charter schools to enter into long-term leases for a dozen old public school buildings, some of which are traditional public schools that are slated to close by next year, Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Monday.

ILLINOIS

Source: Fewer Than 5 Schools To Be Spared
Chicago Tribune, IL , May 21, 2013
Pressured for months by teachers, community leaders and aldermen, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s hand-picked school board is nonetheless expected on Wednesday to approve closing all but a few of the 53 elementary schools the administration wants to shut down.

IOWA

Branstad Wants Education Accountability
Quad City Times, IA, May 20, 2013
Gov. Terry Branstad said Monday he thinks lawmakers are “close, very close” on an education reform package but warned he needs to see changes in teacher accountability provisions to sign off on the bill.

LOUISIANA

State Monitoring Of Charter Schools Falls Short, Report Finds
Times-Picayune, LA, May 20, 2013
The promise to the public for New Orleans’ many independent charter schools is that although they have broad freedom to operate and educate as their leaders see fit, the state is keeping its eyes open for fraud and abuse.

MAINE

Innovative Schools Turning Lives Around In New England
Kennebec Journal, ME, May 21, 2013
Among them is a school in Deer Isle, Maine, which has developed a marine studies program.

MASSACHUSETTS

Expansion Rejection Is Unfair, Charter School Says
Boston Globe, MA, May 21, 2013
The highly ranked Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden is vigorously objecting to the denial of its request to expand by 400 students, contending that it has been singled out by the state for issues that are ignored at other charter schools.

MICHIGAN

Grand Rapids Schools Adopts Teacher Evaluation Policy
Grand Rapid Press, MI, May 20, 2013
Like public school districts across the state, Grand Rapids schools is improving its teacher evaluation system.

NEW JERSEY

Charter Schools Chart Course for Teacher Evaluations
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, May 21, 2013
Following a parallel but very different path from their district school brethren, New Jersey’s charter schools are finalizing plans for how they will evaluate their teachers and principals.

Charter School Critics Keep Coming Up Short
Star-Ledger, NJ, May 21, 2013
We were reminded of this cartoon when a new charter school study was released by Mathematica, showing that over a three-year period, KIPP charter students gained an average of 11 months’ learning in math and eight months in reading than district school peers.

NEW MEXICO

APS To Manage Charter’s Budget
Albuquerque Journal, NM, May 21, 2013
The Albuquerque Public Schools board is taking over the finances of 21st Century Public Academy charter school, after a unanimous vote Monday morning.

NEW YORK

Recognizing ‘Master Teachers’
Albany Times Union, NY, May 21, 2013
Top teachers in New York have long been eligible for their share of awards and plaudits, including Teacher of the Year honors and a national certification that brings higher pay.

Quinn’s School Folly
New York Post, NY, May 21, 2013
New York City is a regular Lake Wobegon, where all the kids are above average — at least according to Christine Quinn. The mayoral hopeful has announced that she wants to expand by 8,900 the number of seats in New York’s gifted and talented programs. Why stop there? Why not just put all the students into a gifted and talented program and pretend they’re all geniuses?

NORTH CAROLINA

Revamped Voucher Plan Debuts In House Committee Tuesday
News & Observer, NC, May 20, 2013
House lawmakers will consider a revamped plan to provide taxpayer dollars to help send public school students to private schools.

Proposed Board Splits Charter Advocates
WUNC, NC, May 21, 2013
Charter schools have been around in North Carolina for about a decade and a half, and for most of that time, the relationship between charters and traditional public schools has alternated between frosty and hostile.

OHIO

Legislature May Ditch Takeover Proposal For Columbus Schools
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 21, 2013
As hearings start this week on a Columbus school-district reform bill, an earlier proposal allowing for a state takeover of the state’s largest district is likely to vanish.

Added Scrutiny Of Charter Schools In City And State Is Overdue, But Finally Coming
Youngstown Vindicator, OH, May 21, 2013
State and local education leaders are committing themselves to beefed-up monitoring of Ohio’s ballooning network of charter schools.

PENNSYLVANIA

Wanting Public Money, But Not The Accountability
Observer-Reporter, PA, May 21, 2013
More and more, it appears that Pennsylvania’s charter schools want to have it both ways. They want generous servings of public dollars while, at the same time, avoiding the accountability that comes with being the recipients of taxpayer beneficence.

A New Kind Of College ‘Signing Day’
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 21, 2013
With cheerleaders, mascots, and thunderous applause, thousands of students from Mastery Charter Schools gathered for a giant pep rally Monday, but the event had nothing to do with sports.

Don’t Lay Off By Seniority: If We Want First-Rate Schools, We Must Keep The Best Teachers
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 21, 2013
In the fall of 2010, Dominique, known by her students as “Ms. D,” voluntarily transferred to teach in one of Philadelphia’s most challenging high schools. She wasn’t alone. The principal had articulated a vision of building an excellent school by recruiting a dream team of passionate, hard-working teachers.

Corbett Asks For ‘Modifications’ To Pa.’S Proposed Regulations On School Standards
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 21, 2013
Gov. Tom Corbett is recommending changes to a set of education regulations that have been criticized by both Democrats and conservatives.

RHODE ISLAND

Teachers Blast Gist At Public Forum
WPRI, RI, May 20, 2013
Hundreds of teachers from all over Rhode Island on Monday packed the Cranston West High School auditorium to criticize the policies and initiatives of state Education Commissioner Deborah Gist.

TENNESSEE

Achievement School District Adds High School
Memphis Daily News, TN, May 21, 2013
The state-run Achievement School District ventures into high school territory in August with the start of its second school year.

WISCONSIN

School Board Members Tell Charter School To Show More Diversity
Leader Telegram, WI, May 21, 2013
The Eau Claire school board continued to mull a contract extension for the district’s only charter school, with some board members saying Chippewa Valley Montessori Charter School should do more to diversify its enrollment.

Legislators To Decide Reach Of School Voucher Programs
Wisconsin Public Radio, WI, May 20, 2013
Legislators may soon decide the fate of Governor Scott Walker’s controversial plan to expand taxpayer-funded school vouchers. The expansion has been a divisive issue, especially in the communities that would be directly impacted.

ONLINE LEARNING

Akron Schools Trim Staff, Set Digital Academy Loose Featured
AkronNewsNow, OH, May 21, 2013
Smaller enrollment means the Akron Public Schools will do without 32 staff positions. And ending a sometimes contentious relationship, the Akron district moved to do without sponsorship of the Akron Digital Academy charter school.

BHS Offers Students Broader Range Of Courses Via Online
The Union-Recorder, GA, May 20, 2013
Baldwin High School senior Taylor Martin has enjoyed taking online courses for the last two years to further her knowledge in content areas not offered in the regular high school curriculum. With Georgia Virtual School (GaVS), students are provided that option of online learning.

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

Think Tank Takes: What You Don’t Know About Common Core
Washington Examiner, DC, May 19, 2013
Sol Stern is a nice man. It’s too bad he’s deceiving himself and others about Common Core, an enterprise that essentially nationalizes U.S. education. He and Joel Klein write in the Wall Street Journal, in the latest pro-Common Core PR piece:

Commentary: Common Core Needs More Debate
Detroit News, MI, May 20, 2013
Parents in Michigan, like those across the country, want their children to have the tools they need to excel in school and beyond. The Common Core national curriculum standards were sold as the way to give students those tools.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Allsport Academy’s Charter Revoked By Arizona Education Department
Arizona Daily Star, AZ, May 19, 2013
The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools voted last week to revoke the charter of a Tucson school that mixes sports with academics.

COLORADO

Colorado’s Charter Schools: Their History And Their Future
Denver Post, CO, May 20, 2013
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Colorado Charter Schools Act, thanks to the hard work of Gov. Roy Romer, state Rep. Peggy Kerns, Gov. Bill Owens, former Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien, and many others.

CONNECTICUT

Things Looking Up For Connecticut’s Education Reform Program
New Haven Register, CT, May 20, 2013
The governor’s education reform program, which just completed its first school year, appears out of danger concerning loss of support in the upcoming two-year budget.

DELAWARE

Charter Schools Are My Family’s Best Education Choice
News Journal, DE, May 19, 2013
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of speaking at a rally for Delaware’s charter schools in Dover. I spoke because I feel very strongly about the merits of charter school education and how it can change the trajectory of a child’s life, as I’ve seen with my own family.

Christina Should Find Incentives For Teachers
Delaware News Journal, DE, May 20, 2013
Walking away from a fight is seldom a painless venture, and one the Christina School District might or might not realize with its decision to turn down $2.3 million in federal Race to the Top funds.

FLORIDA

Public Charter Conversions Could Become Popular Option
Bradenton Times, FL, May 19, 2013
If 51 percent of both teachers and households vote in favor of a proposal to convert popular elementary magnet school Rowlett into a public charter school, Manatee School District could see the beginning of a trend.

Florida Plans Increased Scrutiny For Education Schools
NPR StateImpact, FL, May 20, 2013
UCF is the largest producers of teachers in the state; the university’s education school enrolls more than 2,000 students.

INDIANA

Charter School Families In Limbo
The Journal Gazette, IN, May 20, 2013
Mary Staples has been a strong supporter of Imagine MASTer Academy, but she feels she’s in limbo now, pulled between her desire to send her kids to the school and her need to plan ahead. Ball State University decided not to renew the charters for Imagine MASTer Academy and two other Fort Wayne charter schools because of their poor academic performances.

IOWA

State Supports 52 Charter Schools, Giving Parents Options
Des Moines Register, IA, May 19, 2013
The charter school’s 470 students sign a contract pledging to do their best every day. Teachers promise to do the same. And the school gets results — making it a small yet promising part of Maryland’s education reform story.

LOUISIANA

New Nonprofit Helps To Recruit Charter Companies To BR
The Advocate, LA, May 20, 2013
Soon after Chris Meyer came on board in spring 2012 as the first CEO of the fledgling nonprofit New Schools for Baton Rouge, he compiled a list of more than 150 charter management organizations from around the country in hopes of finding some that would be worth recruiting to Baton Rouge.

Incentivize Actual Learning
National Review Online, May 20, 2013
The decision of the Louisiana supreme court to strike down as unconstitutional the funding mechanism of the state’s school-voucher program is a major blow to school-choice supporters, but the biggest problem they face is not the courts. It’s a funding system that pays schools for failure.

MAINE

Funding Isn’t Everything: Education Reform Takes Innovation, Cooperation
Bangor Daily News, ME, May 19, 2013
Education is a big deal. It prepares our children, fuels our economy and accounts for more than a third of our state budget — even more for local town budgets. We must take steps to allow our education system to adapt to changing times, and we must ensure that it serves our children above all else.

MARYLAND

Now’s The Time To Raise The Bar For Baltimore Schools
Baltimore Sun, MD, May 19, 2013
KIPP founder says change of leadership offers opportunity to focus on effective teachers and empowered principals

Baltimore Charter School Advocate Among New Crop Of Casey Foundation Fellows
Baltimore Sun, MD, May 19, 2013
City Neighbors schools founder chosen for leadership program that trains those working with children, families

MASSACHUSETTS

Targeted Districts Have Reason To Be Wary Of More Charter Schools
Boston Globe, MA, May 20, 2013
YOUR MAY 13 editorial “Where district schools falter, state should add more charters” names a number of school districts where it is believed that the current cap should be removed. According to the editorial, “the most telling testimony came from . . . Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes” study of Massachusetts charter schools.

MICHIGAN

Michigan Lawmaker, Board Of Education President Spar Over Charter Schools And Financial Oversight
The Grand Rapids Press, MI, May 18, 2013
Political tensions related to public charter schools continue at Michigan’s Capitol, evidenced this week by a squabble involving the Republican chairman of the Senate Education Committee and the Democratic president of the State Board of Education.

What Michigan’s Charter Schools Can Teach the Country
Wall Street Journal, May 18, 2013
Public charter schools now serve 2.3 million children nationwide and enjoy growing bipartisan support. But they are still loathed by teachers unions and traditional public-school officials more interested in protecting their piece of the school-funding pie than in providing students trapped in failing schools with a chance at a decent education.

MINNESOTA

Mpls. Schools To Revive Autonomy Plan Amid Mixed Results In US
Minnesota Public Radio, MN, May 20, 2013
In the latest effort to boost student performance, the Minneapolis school district wants to give more autonomy to individual schools.

MISSOURI

School Choice Advocates Come Up Empty In 2013 Legislature But Vow To Keep Fighting
Missoulian, MO, May 18, 2013
While advocates of school choice struck out again this year in Montana, failing to enact a bill providing tax credits or any public money for private or charter schools, they say they’re not giving up.

1 St. Louis Charter School Closing, 2nd Is At Risk
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, May 19, 2013
One St. Louis charter school is closing and another is at risk. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Shearwater High School announced Friday that it would close voluntarily in late June. The school sought to help at-risk students receive diplomas before they turned 22. But officials said many arrived so far behind that staff couldn’t get them caught up in time.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Attacks Against School Choice Network Misleading And Off-Base
Nashua Telegraph, NH, May 20, 2013
The Network for Educational Opportunity is busy launching a scholarship program that will make a positive contribution to educational excellence in New Hampshire. Soon, we’ll discover the merits of parental choice in the decision of where and how students are educated when an authentic choice is presented.

NEW YORK

Despite Opponents’ Criticism, The Demand For Charter Schools In New York Is Growing
New York Daily News, NY, May 19, 2013
There are 50,000 families on charter school waitlists citywide, 20,000 of those in the Bronx, where last year only one-third of students in public school grades 3-8 could read at grade level

School ‘Project’
New York Post, NY, May 19, 2013
A controversial $100 million charter school will open next month smack in the middle of a rundown, crime-plagued Harlem housing project — a first-of-its-kind arrangement in the nation.

Brooklyn Principal’s 92G Bonus
New York Post, NY, May 20, 2013
Good grades earned him more than just a spot on the fridge. PS 172 Principal Jack Spatola has raked in $92,000 in bonus pay from the city since 2008 for his Brooklyn school’s good performance, making him the top earner under a revamped merit-pay system, data show.

Education, Vision and the Mayor’s Race
New York Times, NY, May 20, 2013
The Democratic candidates for New York mayor, whirling around the boroughs on the debate-and-forum carousel, have been struggling for advantage and the attention of tuned-out voters. But they have had no trouble infuriating the Bloomberg administration, which seems to be getting touchier about criticism as it heads to the exits.

NORTH CAROLINA

Bid For Potential Funding Shift Benefiting Charter Schools Falls Short
Winston-Salem Journal, NC, May 18, 2013
Those who oversee public school district coffers are breathing a collective uneasy sigh of relief, at least for now, after a renewed attempt to funnel more money to charter schools is likely put to bed for this legislative session.

Not Sold On Single-Gender School Plan
Herald Sun, NC, May 19, 2013
Is it worth it? Is it wise? Can a district already so strapped for cash that it has to scrounge to keep teacher assistants on the payroll one more year afford to launch a multi-million dollar experiment to save the boys of Durham?

OHIO

Charter Tax Plan Raises Questions
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 18, 2013
A proposed state law singles out Columbus City Schools taxpayers to shoulder part of the tax burden for charter schools even though thousands of Franklin County’s charter-school students live in suburban school districts.

OKLAHOMA

Fallout Of Oklahoma School Testing Glitch Continues
The Oklahoman, OK, May 20, 2013
Oklahoma schools Superintendent Janet Barresi said she wasn’t part of the decision-making process to hire the state’s testing company, but she has stepped in to negotiate what happens from now on after the company experienced a technical glitch that affected more than 9,000 test-takers.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charters Ready To Work With District
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 20, 2013
A flurry of media activity has swept the city in the wake of the School District of Philadelphia’s fiscal crisis. This activity has produced some misinformation regarding charter schools. It’s time to set the record straight.

We Can’t Afford Not To Have True Education Reform
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 20, 2013
It is disturbing that so few Pittsburgh children attend their feeder schools (“4 of 10 Pupils Attend Assigned Schools,” May 13), and I applaud the district’s effort to improve school quality, but true reform must make a commitment to the quality education found in other places in the world.

Pennsylvania Education Standards Running Into Resistance
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 19, 2013
Pennsylvania education standards running into resistance
A new set of educational standards based on Common Core has run into late-in-the-game opposition along unusual political lines

Agency: Charters Ignore Most Records Requests
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, May 17, 2013
Charter schools, funded with about $1.1 billion a year in tax money, ignored citizens’ requests for records about 87 percent of the time and didn’t participate in nearly three of four appeals to the Office of Open Records, agency records show.

Criticism Flares Around New Pa. Graduation Tests
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 20, 2013
It seemed to hit the Capitol like a brick: a sudden groundswell of criticism over a move by Gov. Tom Corbett and the Pennsylvania State Board of Education to toughen academic achievement standards and tie them to graduation tests for the state’s roughly 1.7 million public and charter school students.

WASHINGTON

Port Townsend Board Delays Decision About Charter Schools
Peninsula Daily News, WA, May 20, 2013
The Port Townsend School Board said it will put off deciding on whether to become a charter school authorizer until next Monday in order to give the district superintendent time to research the issue.

WISCONSIN

Pro-Voucher Group Targets Madison School District
Capital Times, WI, May 20, 2013
Why is EAGnews, the website for a Michigan-based “education reform” group — proudly pro-voucher, pro-charter school, anti-union and basically anti-public schools — blasting local Madison media outlets with alarming press releases about spending in the Madison School District?

ONLINE LEARNING

D.C. Charter School Would Teach All But Math And English Online
Washington Examiner, DC, May 19, 2013
A controversial computer-based learning model is competing with eight other proposals to be one of the next charter schools approved for the District.

Bradley County Has 4 Graduates In Its First Virtual School Class
Cleveland Daily Herald, TN, May 19, 2013
The first class of graduates from Bradley County Virtual School walked across the stage to receive their high school diplomas on Friday.

K12 and Virtual Academy Put Students First
The Gazette, VA, May 19, 2013
An editorial in The Gazette about the online public school Virginia Virtual Academy makes a number of wrong claims. It is children, not online learning provider K12 Inc., who benefitted most from the academy.

Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy’s First Graduating Class Turns Their Tassels, Earns Their Diplomas
KJRH, OK, May 18, 2013
The first graduating class of the Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy accepted their diplomas in Tulsa Saturday.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

Schools Rethink Suspension
Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2013
Damien Valentine was suspended from school for the first time as a seventh-grader in South Central Los Angeles, after arguing with a math teacher who had asked him to change seats.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

La Tijera School May Be Converted To Charter Campus
Los Angeles Wave, CA, May 15, 2013
Interim state administrator La Tanya Kirk-Carter has approved a study that seeks to convert La Tijera School into a dependent charter like City Honors, the district’s top academic institution.

Charter School Needs To Open Up
Los Altos Town Crier, CA, May 15, 2013
When is a public school meeting open to the public and when is it not? That’s the question we’ve been asking since Doug Smith, Los Altos School District Board of Trustees president, found himself unwelcome at two recent Bullis Charter School parent meetings he wanted to attend.

Data Lacking From Teacher Prep Push
San Diego Union-Tribune, CA, May 16, 2013
For the rest of the semester, the students will gradually take over more responsibilities in local classrooms, many of which are in low-performing schools in high-poverty districts.

COLORADO

Denver School Shutdown Creates Tension In Stapleton, Park Hill
Denver Post, CO, May 16, 2013
A plan to shut down an underperforming middle school in Park Hill and replace it with a nearby Stapleton campus has tensions running high among neighborhood parents.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Judge Declines To Block D.C. School Closures
Washington Post, DC, May 16, 2013
Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson can move forward with plans to close 15 D.C. schools, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, rejecting activists’ claims that the closures violate the civil rights of city children.

FLORIDA

Education Bills To Change State Landscape
St. Augustine Record, FL, May 16, 2013
The biggest battles on the education front in the 2013 legislative sessions have already been fought and largely decided: Educators will get $480 million in pay raises, though not precisely how Gov. Rick Scott had asked, and the Senate killed a bill allowing parents more of a say in the future of failing schools.

ILLINOIS

CTU Files Lawsuits To Stop School Closings
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 16, 2013
The Chicago Teachers Union’s decision to go to court to try to stop the city from closing 53 elementary schools, while not unexpected, makes clear that the Board of Education’s vote on the proposal next week will not put an end to the controversy.

INDIANA

Charter Schools Should Reassess Before Seeking New Start
Journal Gazette, IN, May 16, 2013
School closings are painful and disruptive, but the decisions behind them are never made lightly. Ball State University President Jo Ann Gora’s decision this week to uphold the charter revocations for five Indiana schools, including two Imagine schools in Fort Wayne, appears to come with more deliberation than the initial decision to grant the charters.

BSU Ending Pacts With 3 City Charters, 7 In Indiana
The Journal Gazette, IN, May 16, 2013
Ball State University officials have officially pulled the plug on the sponsorship of seven charter schools across the state, including three in Fort Wayne.

LOUISIANA

LPSS Board Hears Pitch On Charter Schools
The Daily Advertiser, LA, May 16, 2013
Two organizations hope to build a total of four charter schools in Lafayette Parish.

Voucher Funding Formula Modified
The Daily Advertiser, LA, May 16, 2013
Education Superintendent John White says a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling and Senate committee action are forcing a reworking of the plan to fund public schools by taking vouchers out of the formula and funding them separately.

Shakeout From School Voucher Ruling By Louisiana Supreme Court Begins
Times-Picayune, LA, May 15, 2013
The ramifications of a state Supreme Court decision radically disrupting school funding in general and Gov. Bobby Jindal’s voucher program in particular began to become clear Wednesday.

MARYLAND

Baltimore Teachers Union Supports Call To Halt Common Core Consequences
Baltimore Sun Blog, MD, May 15, 2013
The Baltimore Teacher’s Union has called for the district hold off on attaching penalties to schools’ performance on the new Common Core assessments, citing insufficient professional development and resources to implement the new high-stakes curriculum.

MASSACHUSETTS

Probation Is Urged For Charter School
Telegram & Gazette, MA, May 16, 2013
State Commissioner of Education Mitchell D. Chester is recommending that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education place the Spirit of Knowledge Charter School on probation.

A Good-Hearted Undertaking At Norwell Charter School
Patriot Ledger, MA, May 16, 2013
South Shore Charter Public School is blanketed with paper hearts from all over the world as a result of a student project intended to prove that the world is filled with kindness.

MISSOURI

School District Takeover Bill Goes To Nixon
Kansas City Star, MO, May 15, 2013
Legislation allowing the state to more quickly take over the Kansas City school district is headed to the governor.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

In Education, Money Counts: NH’s Top Schools Often Have The Lowest Amounts Of Poverty
Nashua Telegraph, NH, May 16, 2013
It’s a question that has been tossed around for years, by lawmakers trying to create a balanced budget and by educators lobbying for more funding for schools.

NEW YORK

A Team Approach to Get Students College Ready
New York Times Blog, NY, May 15, 2013
Sheffy’s school is one of three New York City public schools working with an organization called Blue Engine, which recruits and places recent college graduates as full-time teaching assistants in high schools, helps teachers shift to a small-group classroom model with a ratio of one instructor for roughly every six students…

The Bronx Is Burning — With Charter School Applications
New York Daily News, NY, May 15, 2013
Borough not only has the most hopefuls but also dramatically fewer slots. Parents complain of, frankly, poor schools in the mainland borough.

Bensonhurst Public School Sees Major Success From Longer Class Days
New York Daily News, NY, May 15, 2013
Bensonhurst students who are enduring a three-hour longer school day are finally seeing the reward: double-digit increases in test scores.

Charter School Students All From Utica
Utica Observer-Dispatch, NY, May 15, 2013
A Marcy couple hugged each other, eyes filled with tears at the sight of their daughter’s name on the acceptance list.

Thompson Proposes Plan for Teacher Merit Wages
Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2013
Bill Thompson said Wednesday he would create a form of merit pay for some New York City teachers if elected mayor, giving the city’s best teachers incentives to work in struggling schools.

NORTH CAROLINA

Senate Backs Wake Commissioners Takeover Of School Construction
News Observer, NC, May 16, 2013
Wake County commissioners on Wednesday neared their goal of taking possession of more than $1.8 billion in Wake school property, as the state Senate passed a bill that would strip the school board of its authority to own and build schools.

OHIO

Cleveland School District Moves Towards Performance Pay
StateImpact, OH, May 15, 2013
Last night the Cleveland school board unanimously agreed to what city and union officials are hailing as a groundbreaking teacher contract for Ohio. Union members will vote later this month.

House Revises Reading Plan For Ohio Schools
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 16, 2013
Gov. John Kasich and state legislators last spring created a new reading guarantee designed to identify young students with reading problems, get them help and keep them in the third grade if they do meet certain standards.

PENNSYLVANIA

Corbett To Keep Tomalis In New Post, Same Pay
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 16, 2013
Gov. Corbett made it official Wednesday: Pennsylvania Education Secretary Ron Tomalis is leaving his cabinet post, to be replaced by a suburban Harrisburg school superintendent.

SRC Renews 5 Charters
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, May 16, 2013
THE SCHOOL REFORM Commission voted to approve charter renewals for five schools last night, but four of them were forced to improve their enrollment procedures.

Plan Stresses Attracting Charter-School Students Back To York City Schools
The York Dispatch, PA, May 15, 2013
The state-appointed chief recovery officer for the York City School District doesn’t want to lose any time attracting charter-school students back to the district.

Charters’ Double Dip
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 16, 2013
In response to the May 7 letter “Wrong Reform” by Robert Fayfich, executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, an important clarification must be made.

School Websites The Latest Venue For Advertisements As Districts Seek Revenue Sources
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 16, 2013
With funding tight, expenses ever increasing and limits set on how high taxes can be raised, school leaders find themselves looking for new ways to raise revenues.

RHODE ISLAND

Flynn: Charter School Cost Unfair To Lincoln
Valley Breeze, RI, May 15, 2013
The taxpayers of the town of Lincoln are paying the tuition this year for 68 children enrolled in the Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy. This is costing the taxpayers $650,488 for this year. This amount will be increasing each year as the charter school expands, and in the next few years could exceed $1 million.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC High School Graduation Exit Exam Could Be History
The State, SC, May 15, 2013
There also is wide agreement among lawmakers, state education officials and educators that the state should eliminate the test because, they say, it does not adequately measure students’ preparation for college or for today’s work force.

TENNESSEE

Stax Records Left A Powerful Legacy With An Ongoing Impact On Students In Memphis’ Soulsville
Associated Press, May 16, 2013
The academy also is adjacent to the Soulsville Charter School, which sends most, if not all, of its graduates to college every year.

TEXAS

House To Consider Much-Watched Charter School Bill
Beaumont Enterprise, TX, May 16, 2013
The House is set to debate a plan to dramatically expand the number of charter schools allowed to operate in Texas — a sweeping proposal that’s cleared the Senate but could face a tougher road in the lower chamber.

Texas Charter School Bill Would Put End To Nepotism
Dallas Morning News, TX, May 16, 2013
Texas charter schools can hire relatives of board members and superintendents. It’s a unique perk that was meant to foster innovation but has led to abuses of taxpayer dollars.

ONLINE LEARNING

In Maine, Push For Virtual Schools Fades
Press Herald, ME, May 16, 2013
After negative publicity, a task force’s preliminary report omits key digital learning reforms championed by Gov. LePage and Jeb Bush.

State Panel Won’t Consolidate 18 Virtual School Appeals
Daily Herald, IL, May 15, 2013
Administrators, district attorneys, school board members, union representatives and community members packed the meeting Wednesday of the Illinois State Charter School Commission in Chicago to argue against the proposed appeal process for a virtual charter school — and won.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

How Could a Sweet Third-Grader Just Cheat on That School Exam?
Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2013
The line between right and wrong in the classroom is often hazy for young children, and shaping the moral compass of children whose brains are still developing can be one of the trickiest jobs a parent faces.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Charter School Gives Second Chance At Success
Hanford Sentinel, CA, May 14, 2013
Students who need to make up for missed or incomplete courses have a new resource available in Hanford.

Parent Trigger Group Gets Thumbs-Up From LAUSD
Mercury News, CA, May 14, 2013
A group of Watts parents have successfully ousted an elementary school principal.On Tuesday, the Weigand Parents Union, representing some of the parents of students attending Weigand Elementary School, became the third group in California to successfully use the state’s parent trigger law.

COLORADO

Core Standards Are Education’s Best Hope
Denver Post, CO, May 15, 2013
Today’s workplace demands highly educated employees who can succeed in an increasingly complex and global economy. As a business leader and parent, I am impressed with the hard work and innovative strategies educators engage in daily to meet the needs of students.

Colorado Springs Joins The Waldorf-Charter Wave
Colorado Springs Independent, CO, May 15, 2013
The charter school movement was supposed to bring a sense of experimentation into education, a chance to throw new ideas at the wall and see what stuck. In reality, however, most Colorado charters have followed the same principle: “back to basics.”

CONNECTICUT

(Some) Charter School Applications Released
CT Mirror blog, CT, May 14, 2013
Looks like officials at the State Department of Education have changed their minds about not releasing the applications of those seeking to open new charter schools in the state.

Minority Teachers Key to Closing Achievement Gap
New America Media, May 15, 2013
In Connecticut, where Gov. Dannel Malloy has taken a leadership role in transforming urban education, diversity is the missing ingredient that has likely resulted in the tepid result unveiled at Hartford Public School’s 2013 State of the Schools symposium at the Bushnell Theater earlier this month.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

This D.C. Schools Proposal Deserves A Chance
Washington Post, DC, May 14, 2013
Many who have admired D.C. Council member David Catania’s (I-At Large) interest in charter schools and education policy will be surprised if he proves unwilling to entertain Chancellor Kaya Henderson’s proposal to merge a charter school and a traditional public school.

D.C. Mayor Still Discriminating Against Charter School Students
Washington Examiner, DC, May 14, 2013
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray pledged throughout his 2010 mayoral campaign to end years of systematic city underfunding of the District’s public charter school students compared to their peers in the city’s traditional public school system. Yet, after three budgets, he has failed to deliver on his promise.

FLORIDA

Superintendent Wants More Choices For Students
Tampa Tribune, FL, May 15, 2013
The Pasco County school district, though, has come up woefully short in offering options for parents shopping for the best opportunities for their children, and that needs to change, Superintendent Kurt Browning said.

IOWA

No Good Reason To Hold School Reform
Des Moines Register, IA, May 15, 2013
Another proposal would allow home-school parents to teach up to four unrelated children. That raises all kinds of questions …

LOUISIANA

Breakaway EBR School District Bills Pass Committee
The Advocate, LA, May 14, 2013
A plan to set up a new school district in southeast Baton Rouge edged closer to a late-session showdown Tuesday when a Louisiana House panel approved the package.

Full Speed Ahead: Despite Court Ruling, Cenla Schools Prepare To Accept Voucher Students
Alexandria Town Talk, LA, May 14, 2013
The funding source of the state voucher system was declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court, but local private schools are not worried about the program’s future.

MAINE

Democrats Move Maine Teacher Evaluation Rules Forward After Scolding From Bowen
Bangor Daily News, ME, May 13, 2013
A dust-up around the introduction of new teacher and principal evaluation rules appeared to calm Tuesday with Democrats vowing to pull the measure into the process within a week.

MARYLAND

Pr. George’s Official Tapped As Chief Of Staff For Montgomery Schools Superintendent
Washington Post, DC, May 14, 2013
Andrew Zuckerman will serve as Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr’s new chief of staff starting June 17.

Montgomery Announces ‘Innovation Schools’ Pilot Program For Improving Achievement
Washington Post, DC, May 14, 2013
Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr on Tuesday announced the first Montgomery County “Innovation Schools,” a list of 10 schools that will work with central office administrators to develop customized plans for improvement.

City School System Receives Seven Charter Applications
The Baltimore Sun, MD, May 14, 2013
The city school board is considering proposals for seven charter schools that include two named for female trailblazers, another attempt at an all-male, college-preparatory program in East Baltimore, and an elementary school for at-risk youths.

MASSACHUSETTS

Bellingham Teachers Union Declares No Confidence In Super, Chairman
Milford Daily News, MA, May 15, 2013
The Bellingham Teachers Association has voted “no confidence” in Superintendent Edward Fleury and School Committee Chairman Daniel Ranieri, citing increasingly hostile contract negotiations and recent job cuts.

Hudson High School Starting New Programs To Curb Dropouts
MetroWest Daily, MA, May 15, 2013
With a nearly 3 percent dropout rate at the high school, the administration has created new programs and allocated resources to help students earn their diplomas.

NEW YORK

50,000 Families Are On Waiting Lists For New York City Charter Schools
New York Daily News, NY, May 15, 2013
Parents are learning a tough lesson about the city’s school system: There aren’t enough charter school seats to meet demand.

City Classrooms At The Crossroads
New York Daily News, NY, May 15, 2013
Why it is absolutely crucial to get a strong teacher evaluation system, whether by negotiation or imposition

NORTH CAROLINA

Big Voucher Bill Postponed, Little Voucher Bill Moves
News & Observer, NC, May 14, 2013
A hearing on a broad voucher bill was pushed to after crossover, but a bill offering vouchers for disabled students to attend private schools continued its march to the House floor.

OHIO

Cleveland Parents Must Invest In School Reform
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, May 15, 2013
The discouraging parental turnout was troubling. It was also business as usual in a district where a handful of parents are active in the schools while others are no-shows.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma School Districts Could Opt Out Of State Mandates Under Bill Sent To Governor
Tulsa World, OK, May 15, 2013
All public school districts would have the same ability as charter schools to opt out of state mandates under legislation sent to the governor Tuesday by the House of Representatives.

PENNSYLVANIA

Extra Students May Put Discovery Charter In Jeopardy
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 15, 2013
Discovery Charter School in Parkside says it is fighting for its life. In anticipation of having its charter renewed and opening a new building, the academically successful elementary school added 73 students beyond the 620 maximum in its current charter.

Pa. Official: Charter Schools Flout Public-Records Law
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 14, 2013
Pennsylvania’s 180 charter schools routinely ignore the state’s Right-To-Know Law even though as publicly funded institutions they are bound to comply with it, the chief of the state’s Office of Open Records told a Senate committee on Monday.

UTAH

Utah Charter School Nurtures Entrepreneurial Spirit
NPR, May 15, 2013
A new charter school in Utah wants to equip students in kindergarten through ninth grade with a solid foundation in business.

WISCONSIN

GOP Considers Statewide School Vouchers
Wisconsin Public Radio, WI, May 14, 2013
GOP lawmakers are pushing for school vouchers to expand statewide — further than an expansion plan fellow Republican Governor Scott Walker recommends.

Vouchers Won’t Improve Education
Dunn County News, WI, May 14, 2013
There are many reasons why we are opposed to the expansion of private voucher schools in Wisconsin, but our main concern could be boiled down to equality and accountability.

ONLINE LEARNING

Virtual Charter School Off Of Legislative Radar … For The Moment
Progressive Pulse, NC, May 14, 2013
K12, Inc. bumped into another stumbling block in its attempt to break into North Carolina’s public education market, with a state legislator saying he will forgo legislation to put an online charter school’s application back in front of the State Board of Education.

Legislation Further Undermines Florida’s Public School System
Bradenton Herald, FL, May 15, 2013
Florida’s relentless drive to privatize public education scored another victory on the final day of the Legislature’s session when Republicans approved the expenditure of public school funds on classes offered by online learning companies. While applauding the measure as a win for school choice, GOP lawmakers conveniently ignored troublesome aspects to privatization.

Virtual School’s Students Got The Raw Deal
Roanoke Times, VA, May 15, 2013
I was highly disappointed in the one-sided May 3 editorial on closing the virtual school in Carroll County (“A raw deal on virtual schools”). The real raw deal here is the more than 400 children (including my son) who just found out they have no school to attend next year. How would your children feel if their school was closed with no warning or good explanation?

EdisonLearning, K12 Inc. Among National Companies Looking To Open New Online Charter Schools In Ohio
StateImpact, OH, May 15, 2013
David Vasconez is running radio ads in Ohio for his company’s new online charter school. He’s working on a sponsorship deal with a minor league sports team. And there’s a grassroots student recruitment plan in the works.

D300 Hears Bid For Local Charter Online Expansion
Courier News, IL, May 15, 2013
The proposal that Northern Kane Educational Corp. CEO Larry Fuhrer presented Monday night to District 300 school board members was different from “other experiences you have had lately,” he said.

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

Conservatives and the Common Core
Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2013
Although the two of us have disagreed about several school-reform issues, we strongly believe that the Common Core State Standards, voluntarily adopted by 45 states, is one of the most promising education initiatives of the past half century. If implemented properly, they can better prepare students for college-level work and to gain the civic knowledge that is essential for democracy to prosper.

Teaching ‘Diversity’
Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2013
Polls show that parents place a premium on having high-quality teachers in the classroom. But the champions of “diversity” who run public schools seem more interested in making sure that teachers and students share the same race and ethnicity , even if that results in hiring a less-capable instructor.

Indiana Hits ‘Pause Button’ On Common Core Education Push
Washington Times, DC, May 13, 2013
Indiana’s former Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels was one of the biggest supporters of the K-12 academic standards known as Common Core.

STATE COVERAGE

ARKANSAS

Weiner High Supporters Push For Agriculture Charter School Option
Kait 8, AR, May 13, 2013
Supporters of Weiner High School are trying yet another road to keep the school open. They’re hoping a conversion charter school for agriculture will work.

CALIFORNIA

Nine San Fernando Valley Schools Seeking Affiliated Charter Status
Pasadena Star, CA, May 13, 2013
Nine more San Fernando Valley campuses would open this fall as charter schools if their applications are approved today by the Los Angeles Unified school board.

Parent Trigger Law Invoked To Kick Out L.A. School’s Administrators
San Bernardino Sun, CA, May 13, 2013
A group of parents appear ready to force the Los Angeles Unified School District to enact sweeping changes at their elementary school.

CONNECTICUT

Funding Trouble For Education Reform
WTNH A, CT, May 13, 2013
re state lawmakers back-tracking on Education Reform? The landmark law passed one year ago may be headed for funding trouble because of the state’s looming red ink problem.

DELAWARE

Delaware Senate To Vote On Bill Aimed At Standardizing School Choice Process
Washington Post, DC, May 14, 2013
The state Senate is set to vote on a bill standardizing the school choice process in Delaware. The bill to be voted on Tuesday cleared a Senate committee last week, just one day after receiving unanimous approval in the House.

FLORIDA

Failing Flagler Charter School Seeking Turnaround
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL, May 13, 2013
Instructors at a Palm Coast charter school plagued by poor test scores and low enrollment have spent the year trying to help its students catch up with their peers in other area schools.

ILLINOIS

3 Days Of Marches Against School Closings Announced
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 14, 2013
With just over a week before the Chicago Board of Education votes on a proposal to close 54 schools, the Chicago Teachers Union and other activist groups said Monday they would hold marches over three days to protest the plan.

LOUISIANA

State Supreme Court Rules School Voucher Plan Unconstitutional
The Nonprofit Quarterly, May 13, 2013
Remember Louisiana’s plan to use public dollars to send students to private schools? Governor Bobby Jindal, a prospective Republican presidential candidate, made it a linchpin of his educational program.

MASSACHUSETTS

Teachers’ Contract With Brockton Ties Them To Student Test Scores In Return For 2 Percent Raise
Brockton Enterprise, MA, May 14, 2013
In exchange for one year of raises, the city’s teachers agreed to language training and a state requirement tying them to the academic performance of their students.

MICHIGAN

Students Left Looking For A School After Academy Of Flint Loses Charter
Flint Journal, MI, May 13, 2013
Nine months ago, officials at the Academy of Flint were told by Central Michigan University that the school’s charter would not be renewed.

A New WAY To Do Summer School
Detroit News, MI, May 13, 2013
Taking the summer off does not facilitate education. There is a new and better way of learning. In a few short weeks another school year will be coming to an end and the summer break will begin.

MISSISSIPPI

Lamar Co. Teachers To Receive Merit Pay Raises
Hattiesburg American, MS, May 14, 2013
Lamar County School District will give merit pay increases to teachers beginning in the fall 2014. The Lamar County School Board voted 5-0 to approve a plan for awarding the increases at its May 6 meeting.

MISSOURI

Heated Whipping Process On Display In Education Reform Vote
Missouri Times, MO, May 14, 2013
Senate Bill 125, backed by House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, and touted as a way to improve public schools, failed Wednesday by a vote of 76-82 after a long night in the chamber and an extremely contentious vote-whipping process.

NEVADA

One Move To Fund Education Meeting Opposition From School Boards, Teachers’ Union
Las Vegas Sun, NV, May 13, 2013
Gov. Brian Sandoval’s plan to give tax subsidies to help low-income students attend private schools ran into opposition Monday from school boards and a teachers’ union.

NEW YORK

Schools Chief Blasts Mayoral Candidates Over Remarks at Education Forum
New York Times, NY, May 14, 2013
Dennis M. Walcott, the New York City schools chancellor, lashed out at the Democratic candidates for mayor on Monday, saying that he did not believe any of them had a compelling vision to lead city schools and that they had been pandering to gain the support of the teachers’ union.

NORTH CAROLINA

Separate Public, Charter School Boards Will Hurt Education
News & Observer, NC, May 13, 2013
Republicans in the state legislature are in the process of making a multitude of bad decisions with regard to public education. And the antipathy they feel toward public school teachers, some of whom have criticized cuts to education, is leading GOP lawmakers down a path that will do much damage, from making it harder to get good teachers in the state to dividing public school governance between charter schools and conventional schools to providing vouchers of public money for parents to send kids to private schools.

OHIO

Yet Another Tale Of A Looted Charter School Shows That Better Fiscal Safeguards Are Needed
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, May 13, 2013
If the Cuyahoga County prosecutor has it right, for the last six years, an in-house den of thieves has stolen nearly $2 million from a Cleveland charter school for teen dropouts, ripping off the taxpayers and their students.

OKLAHOMA

Questions Linger Following Oklahoma City School District Transfer Flap
The Oklahoman, OK, May 14, 2013
PERHAPS Oklahoma City School Board members knew exactly what they were doing when unanimously denying transfers into Classen School of Advanced Studies, one of the state’s premier high schools.

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania Getting Swept Into National ‘Common Core’ Education Debate
Morning Call, PA, May 14, 2013
Senate Democrats call on Gov. Tom Corbett to halt start of Common Core standards; House and Senate to hold hearings on Common Core.

Pa. Official: Charter Schools Flout Public-Records Law
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 14, 2013
Pennsylvania’s 180 charter schools routinely ignore the state’s Right-To-Know Law even though as publicly funded institutions they are bound to comply with it, the chief of the state’s Office of Open Records told a Senate committee on Monday.

NPSD Using Delay Tactics, Charter School Says
The Reporter, PA, May 13, 2013
Souderton Charter School Collaborative’s appeal of their denied charter school application has hit an obstacle, with legal counsel for the North Penn School Board objecting to the petition form that was used in gathering signatures of those in support of the charter.

Pittsburgh Public Schools Exploring Options For Different Learning Models
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 13, 2013
With options such as charter, private and parochial schools as well as district-operated magnet schools, only 40 percent of K-12 students in the city are attending the feeder school assigned by where they live.

Let’s Fund-Raise For Philly Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 14, 2013
A recent gala headlined by John Legend celebrated the University of Pennsylvania’s exceeding its $3.5 billion fund-raising goal by $800 million. But only blocks away, University City High School students quietly emptied their lockers following the Philadelphia School Reform Commission decision to close their school and 22 others to cover a $300 million budget deficit.

TENNESSEE

Nashville Schools Cast Wider Net For Gifted Children
The Tennessean, TN, May 14, 2013
Black and Hispanic children are grossly underrepresented in the Encore program for academically gifted and talented students, which serves children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, according to statistics provided by the school system.

WISCONSIN

Lawmakers Tour Voucher Schools
Fox 11, WI, May 13, 2013
Some state lawmakers got a first-hand look at the state’s school voucher system Monday. Democrats and Republicans took a look around four voucher schools in Milwaukee Monday afternoon. This as Governor Walker is pushing to expand the school voucher program from two to nine districts including Green Bay, Fond du Lac and Sheboygan.

ONLINE LEARNING

Education Committee Votes Along Party Lines To Stall Virtual Charter Schools
Bangor Daily News, ME, May 13, 2013
Maine would impose a moratorium on virtual charter schools and require that all charter schools function as nonprofit organizations if three measures endorsed Monday by the Legislature’s Education Committee become law.

Online Charter School Hopes to Escape from Limbo
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, May 14, 2013
The nation’s largest online education company, K12 Inc., is once again registering kids and offering jobs to teachers for the debut of New Jersey’s first virtual charter school – all without knowing if the school will even open.

Virtual Schools Poised To Go Viral In Florida
Palm Beach Post, FL, May 13, 2013
Florida Virtual School grow 20 percent a year as legislature starts requirement for online class to graduate.

Dist. 300 Considers Second Online Charter School Plan
Daily Herald, IL, May 13, 2013
Community Unit District 300 board members have moved from one charter school proposal to another, holding a public hearing Monday night for the Illinois Online Charter School.

Moreno Valley: School Board To Consider Online School
Press Enterprise, CA, May 13, 2013
The Moreno Valley Unified School District board is scheduled to add another program to increase graduation rates, an online school.

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

Mothers Want More School Choices For Kids
USA Today, May 12, 2013
In a nation that offers so many choices from what cell phones to buy our kids to what pizza parlor will host their next birthday party, school choice is one choice no mother should be denied.

Study: Black Students Suspended More Often Than Others
USA Today, May 12, 2013
Black students are suspended more than three times as often as their white classmates, twice as often as their Latino classmates and more than 10 times as often as their Asian classmates in middle and high schools nationwide, a new study shows.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Tanque Verde Looks At Turning Elementary School Into Charter
Arizona Star, AZ, May 12, 2013
The Tanque Verde Unified School District is considering the possibility of changing one of its elementary school into a charter school.

CALIFORNIA

Phillips Struggles To Save Its Charter Status
Napa Valley Register, CA, May 12, 2013
Students, parents and teachers from Phillips Charter School filled the room at a recent school board meeting in an attempt to save Phillips from losing its charter.

LAUSD Board Could Ban Suspensions For ‘Willful Defiance’
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 12, 2013
Backers of the resolution say ‘zero tolerance’ is harming kids. ‘Instead of punishing students, we’re going to engage them,’ says one supporter.

CONNECTICUT

The Wrong Way To Go After New School Law
CT Post, CT, May 11, 2013
Denying funding to programs created under last year’s school reform bill will not make them disappear.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Teacher Pay Gaps Among Washington Area Schools Could Deepen
Washington Post, DC, May 11, 2013
After years of pay freezes and unpaid furloughs, physical education teacher Steven Lightman received a roughly $8,000 annual salary bump this school year.

D.C. Would Be Stronger With A Weaker Mayor
Washington Post, DC, May 11, 2013
The recent investigation into cheating in D.C. schools highlights a little-understood fact in the District: Our mayor has too much power. Every state-level agency charged with overseeing the mayor’s activities reports to the mayor — a level of control that exists nowhere else in the country.

FLORIDA

Will Rowlett Chart A New Course?
Herald Tribune, FL, May 12, 2013
The last thing the embattled Manatee County School District needs is for one of its premier schools, Rowlett Magnet Elementary, to leave the fold.

ILLINOIS

Where UNO Charter Schools’ Money Comes From
Chicago Sun Times-IL, May 13, 2013
As the largest charter-school operator in Illinois, the United Neighborhood Organization depends largely on City Hall and Springfield.

INDIANA

New Law Shifts Remediation From College To High School
News and Tribune, IN, May 13, 2013
Legislation signed into law by Gov. Mike Pence will require high schools throughout Indiana do a better job of determining whether their students are ready to go college.

LOUISIANA

Charter Schools Help Drive Educational Success
Times-Picayune, LA, May 12, 2013
The charter school movement and the educator empowerment it provides has been a potent driver behind the academic gains we see in New Orleans public schools.

State’s School Voucher Funding Questioned
The Advocate, LA, May 13, 2013
Gov. Bobby Jindal faces budget and political hurdles in his bid to continue funding for vouchers after the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that the current spending method is unconstitutional.

Voucher Ruling Creates Uncertainties
Shreveport Times, LA, May 13, 2013
Gov. Bobby Jindal somehow was claiming a victory and telling parents not to worry after the Louisiana Supreme Court, in a 6-1 vote, rejected his administration’s legal arguments and declared the financing of his voucher program unconstitutional.

Court Made The Right Choice On Voucher Issue
The Advertiser, LA, May 13, 2013
The Louisiana Supreme Court was right last week when it upheld a lower court decision that ruled funding the state’s voucher program with money from the Minimum Foundation Program was unconstitutional. Taxpayer money dedicated to supporting the state’s financially struggling public schools should not be diverted to private schools.

MARYLAND

School Reform 2.0
Baltimore Sun, MD, May 12, 2013
The mission should not just be to find another Alonso but to recruit someone who can address the challenges the departing CEO left behind

MASSACHUSETTS

We Face A Gap In Opportunity, Not Achievement
Boston Globe, MA, May 12, 2013
WHILE PARENTS told touching stories of their children’s activities at charter schools at last week’s hearing before the Legislature’s Education Committee, the fact that charter schools do not serve all Massachusetts students was also hammered home (“Charter advocates want cap removed,” Metro, May 8).

Where District Schools Falter, State Should Add More Charters
Boston Globe, MA, May 12, 2013
CHARTER SCHOOLS started as an experiment, but over the last two decades, the innovative academies, which operate independently of local school committees and teachers’ unions, have become an established source of new strategies.

MICHIGAN

Michigan Lawmakers Debate Teacher Performance Pay
Detroit News, MI, May 12, 2013
Michigan teachers’ performance in the classroom would play a bigger role in the amount they get in their paychecks under a proposal being debated in the Republican-controlled state House.

MISSOURI

Backlash Of New Education Standards Is Rooted In Suspicion Of Federal Government
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, May 12, 2013
James Shuls of the conservative Show-Me Institute considers himself an outspoken critic of the Common Core, a set of national standards that define what English and math skills public school children should learn at each grade level.

NEW MEXICO

Taos County Charters Emphasize School Choice
Taos News, NM, May 11, 2013
Taos’ charter schools are among those celebrating National Charter Schools Week by touting what they have to offer.

Double-Testing Districts Flunk Common Sense
Albuquerque Journal, NM, May 13, 2013
The whole idea behind moving New Mexico’s K-12 curriculum to a common core is to ensure students have the sufficient foundations in each subject matter at each grade level to advance. It is an essential requirement in the state’s federal waiver to No Child Left Behind mandates.

NORTH CAROLINA

Charter Schools More Segregated Than Traditional Public Schools
WCNC, NC, May 10, 2013
At Sugar Creek Charter School on North Tryon Street in Charlotte, black students make up 96% of the student body while at Community School of Davidson, black students account for about 3% of the school.

OHIO

Charter School For Troubled Students Calling It Quits
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 11, 2013
A Columbus charter school that serves troubled students in grades 6-9 will close at the end of this school year.

Cleveland School District, Cleveland Teachers Union Revamp Salary System To Reward Best Teachers
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, May 13, 2013
A tentative contract negotiated by the Cleveland school district and Cleveland Teachers Union throws out “step” raises based on years of experience and advanced degrees and replaces them with a new system in which teachers have to earn “achievement credits” to move up the salary ladder.

Charter Schools, Too, Merit Public Aid
Columbus Dispatch, OH, May 13, 2013
When it comes to charter-school funding and performance, reality can be hard to discern when interest groups hide or distort facts. Nothing is more frustrating than an elusive truth.

OKLAHOMA

School Grading Bill Merits Oklahoma Legislature’s Approval
The Oklahoman, OK, May 13, 2013
IN the sometimes Orwellian world of politics, the meaning of words can be twisted beyond recognition. In the Oklahoma House of Representatives, some lawmakers are translating “local control” to mean school administrators have a right to require teachers to engage in grade inflation. Failure to turn in an assignment would be no cause for a student to get a zero.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter School Lawyers Ask Judge To Postpone Whistleblower’s Suit
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 13, 2013
A federal investigation of a Kensington charter school has not made headlines since a TV station showed video of agents carting off boxes of documents in 2009, but the probe is very much alive.

Homewood School Alters Approach To Good Behavior
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, May 13, 2013
At Pittsburgh Faison K-5 in Homewood, fifth-grader Sha’nya Currington was so excited to be recognized for her good behavior that she ran across the gym, jumped up and gave a huge hug to educator Janice Motley.

SOUTH CAROLINA

New Charter Schools Not In Stars For Pee Dee
Morning News, SC, May 13, 2013
The South Carolina Department of Education announced a list of 19 schools last week that have applied to become accredited charter schools to open in the 2014-15 school year, after using next year to plan. The proposed schools are concentrated in the Midlands, the Upstate and in Charleston.

TENNESSEE

Williamson Co. Superintendent Gets His Wish: Freedom To Be More Like Charter Schools
Nashville Public Radio, TN, May 13, 2013
Williamson County Schools could be free of some state regulations as soon as July 1st. The suburban system pushed the “High Performing School Districts Flexibility Act” through the legislature, and it was signed into law late last week.

TEXAS

In Education Reform Debate, One Group Stands Out
Texas Tribune, TX, May 12, 2013
As his legislation expanding the state’s virtual school network reached the floor of the Texas House in early May, Rep. Ken King was focused on what it was not.

WISCONSIN

A Road Map For Education Reform
Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, WI, May 11, 2013
As much as any city in America, Milwaukee has played a pioneering role in educational choice. More than two decades after establishing the nation’s first urban school voucher program, Milwaukee offers families a raft of options, including district schools, charter schools and publicly funded private school scholarships.

ONLINE LEARNING

Altoona Pulls Out Of Cyber School
Altoona Mirror, PA, May 12, 2013
As one local district cuts ties to a local cyber charter school to save money, another is looking to take it over as a source of revenue.

Law Opens Up Funding For Virtual Schools
Bradenton Herald, FL, May 12, 2013
Private online learning companies will get a better shot at Florida public school funding under a bill that won approval on the final day of the legislative session.

Recording: K12 Inc. Struggled To Comply With Law
Miami Herald, FL, May 12, 2013
The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and StateImpact Florida have obtained internal emails and a recording of a company meeting that provide new insight into allegations that K12 Inc., the nation’s largest online education company, uses teachers in Florida who do not have all of the required state certifications.

What Comes Next For Proposed Virtual Charter School In Suburbs?
Chicago Sun Times, IL, May 13, 2013
More than 100 suburban school board members voted against an online charter school in April that was proposed to serve students from Algonquin to Plainfield.

The Who’s Who Of Online Charter School Plan
Daily Herald, IL, May 13, 2013
Suburban school board members from Algonquin to Plainfield received a proposal February 14 for a virtual charter school that would cross 18 school district boundaries. It was a Valentine’s Day surprise from Virtual Learning Solutions, a fledgling nonprofit that had incorporated with the state just a month before.

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

In Texas, Obama Lauds ‘New Tech’ High School. Model For The Future?
Christian Science Monitor, MA, May 9, 2013
President Obama kicked off his “Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tour” Thursday with a visit to Manor New Tech High School in Manor, Texas, where he met some of the students that will help make up the 1 million new graduates he hopes to see in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) over the next decade.

Michigan Parent To Arne Duncan: ‘Our Schools Are At The Breaking Point’
Washington Post Blog, DC, May 10, 2013
Education Secretary Arne Duncan just visited Michigan where he visited schools in Detroit and the Perry Child Development Center in Ypsilanti. Here’s an open letter to Duncan, put out before the visit and written by Steve J. Norton, executive director for Michigan Parents for Schools, a nonprofit advocacy group pushing for quality local public education.

National Survey On Teacher Quality Produces Some Troubling Results
The Oklahoman, OK, May 10, 2013
EDUCATION reform debates, locally and nationally, have largely focused on raising the bar for students. Less effort has been placed on ensuring that quality teachers are in the classroom. The National Council on Teacher Quality hopes this will change.

Winners And Losers In The School Wars
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 10, 2013
Education policy does not have to be a war in which 60 percent win, while 40 percent lose. Public education is too important for that. Let’s stop the school wars. With choice, we can all win.

Balloon Bursts On Test-Driven School Reform
Capital Times, WI, May 10, 2013
It’s a terrible time for advocates of market-driven reform in public education. For more than a decade, their strategy — which makes teachers’ careers turn on student gains in reading and math tests, and promotes competition through charter schools and vouchers — has been the dominant policy mantra. But now the cracks are showing. That’s a good thing because this isn’t a proven — or even a promising — way to make schools better.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Ace Charter Teachers Vote For Union; School Board Wonders Why
Camarillo Acorn, CA, May 10, 2013
“Our board has absolutely no idea why (the teachers) did this,” said Roger Rice, secretary of the ACE school board. “We were not consulted or spoken to and had no warning. Obviously (the teachers) have some concerns, but we just don’t know what drove their decision to organize.”

COLORADO

Aspen Ridge Charter School Looks To Offer Middle School, Enrichment Classes
Longmont Times-Call, CO, May 9, 2013
This week, Aspen Ridge Charter School in Erie announced to parents its plans to offer sixth, seventh and eighth grades and a more immediate goal to launch weekly enrichment classes.

DELAWARE

Delaware Charters Celebrate National Charter Schools Week
WDDE, DE, May 9, 2013
Hundreds of charter school officials, parents and students gathered on Legislative Mall Thursday to celebrate National Charter Schools Week.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

EDELIN: District Must Be Fair In Funding Charters
Washington Times, DC, May 10, 2013
This week is National Charter Schools Week, an event promoted by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools to celebrate the great work accomplished by charter schools across the country. Meanwhile, the D.C. Council is considering Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s proposals for funding D.C.’s charters, which educate 43 percent of the city’s public school students, as well as D.C. Public Schools.

Lawsuit Over Closure Of 15 Public Schools In Washington Heads To Court
Washington Post, DC, May 10, 2013
A lawsuit over the closure of 15 public schools is headed to court in Washington. Lawyers for the District of Columbia and the community group Empower DC will be in court on Friday.

The Charter Future Of D.C. Public Schools
Washington Post Blog, DC, May 9, 2013
With one decision about one elementary school, D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson is filling in the picture of the future of the District’s long-troubled public school system.

GEORGIA

City Schools File To Become Charter System
Times-Georgian, GA, May 10, 2013
The Carrollton city school system has filed a letter of intent to become a charter school system by next fall.

IDAHO

Charter School Plan Gains Momentum
Idaho Mountain Express, ID, May 10, 2013
A petition to form a new state-funded charter school in Blaine County has passed a “sufficiency review” by the Idaho State Department of Education and has now been submitted to the Blaine County School District board of trustees for its consideration.

INDIANA

Pence Signs Voucher Expansion
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN, May 10, 2013
Gov. Mike Pence on Thursday signed into law an expansion of Indiana’s already extensive school voucher program.

LOUISIANA

Guillory Vows To Fund Vouchers
Opelousas Daily World, LA,May 10, 2013
Days after the Louisiana Supreme Court struck down private school vouchers funded by public school money as unconstitutional, state Sen. Elbert Guillory, D-Opelousas, said the education committee is working toward a funding solution for the program.

Voucher Payments Under Review
The Advocate, LA, May 9, 2013
State Superintendent of Education John White said Thursday that officials are trying to decide how to make the school year’s final $6 million payment for vouchers after the state Supreme Court scuttled the way the aid is allocated.

MAINE

State’s Plan For Helping Schools Flawed At Core
Morning Sentinel, ME, May 10, 2013
About a week since it released its controversial A-F grades of Maine public schools, the Department of Education has announced how it plans to aid the schools that it has marked out as having fallen behind.

State Proposal No Help To Struggling Schools
Portland Press Herald, ME, May 10, 2013
Maine’s education commissioner announces an underfunded and poorly thought-out plan.

Democrats’ Reaction Cool To LePage Plan For Funding Charter, Certain Religious Schools
Morning Sentinel, ME, May 9, 2013
A long-awaited, sweeping school-choice bill from Gov. Paul LePage that would remove the cap on public charter schools and give public money to certain private, religious schools is getting a cool reaction from legislative Democrats.

MASSACHUSETTS

Will The City’s New Mayor Be Pro-Charter?
Boston Globe, MA, May 10, 2013
IT WAS a juxtaposition that demonstrates the way things are changing in Boston.
One of the elected officials who came to the State House this week to weigh in on charter schools was Boston Mayor Tom Menino. The mayor wants more charters that are subject to mayoral control (surprise, surprise), but doesn’t favor lifting the cap to allow more of the independent academies known as Commonwealth charters.

MICHIGAN

Officials Scramble To Save School Year For Saginaw County District
The Detroit News, MI, May 10, 2013
Amon-Weigandt was among the parents who blasted the school board Thursday night for allowing the tiny district to run out of money, forcing the cancellation of classes this week.

Michigan Schools Can Stop Deducting Union Dues
The Detroit News, MI, May 10, 2013
A divided federal appeals court released a ruling Thursday that lets Michigan public schools stop collecting union dues under a law approved last year.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Manchester Takes Legal Action To Stop Hooksett Exodus
Union Leader, NH, May 10, 2013
The Manchester School District is seeking an injunction in the Hillsborough County Superior Court to halt Hooksett School District from reassigning students to other schools.

NEW MEXICO

Boards Discuss Teacher Evals
Albuquerque Journal, NM, May 10, 2013
In an unusual joint meeting Thursday of the Albuquerque and Rio Rancho school boards, members of both boards raised concerns about the costs, logistics, timeline and fairness of the state’s new teacher evaluation system.

NEW YORK

DOE Plans To Co-Locate Charter School In Adult Learning Center
Amsterdam News, NY, May 9, 2013
The Department of Education’s (DOE) controversial co-location of charter schools is slated to affect adults who use the system to advance their education. Plans are in the works to co-locate a charter school in the Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center (MMALC) in Harlem.

BTF Going To Court To Enforce Teacher-Evaluation Agreement
Buffalo News, NY, May 9, 2013
The Buffalo Teachers Federation voted Thursday to take the Buffalo school district to court to enforce a teacher-evaluation agreement that the state Department of Education, the state education commissioner and the governor have declared illegal.

PENNSYLVANIA

City Leaders Pledge Effort To Get School Funds
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 10, 2013
City officials and leaders of the Philadelphia delegation in Harrisburg pledged their strongest efforts Thursday to find an additional $180 million for the School District, as about 300 students marched peacefully to City Hall, asking the government to “save our schools.”

Education Cuts Taking A Toll
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, May 10, 2013
Over the past four years, my children have attended their neighborhood school in Philadelphia. My husband and I were attracted to Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School in Roxborough because of its dedicated teaching staff, its vibrant parent community, and its academic strength and diversity.

Charter School For Autistic Students Proposed
Reading Eagle, PA, May 10, 2013
Tom Lubben is no stranger to starting a charter school. The Northampton County man had a hand in starting two arts-related charter schools in the Lehigh Valley. And he’s preparing to do it again.

Urban Pathways Charter Schools Committed To 100 Percent Graduation
New Pittsburgh Courier, PA, May 9, 2013
100 percent. This figure has remained constant at Urban Pathways Charter Schools. For the past three years, one hundred percent of Urban Pathways’ seniors have graduated and been accepted into mostly four-year colleges and universities.

RHODE ISLAND

Bill Exempting School Employee Evaluations From The Public Records Act Passes RI Senate
Providence Journal, RI, May 9, 2013The bill exempting all school employee evaluations from the public records act passed the Senate on a vote of 37 to 0 Thursday.
http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2013/05/bill-exempting-school-employee-evaluations-from-the-public-recirds-act-pass.html

TENNESSEE

Nashville’s Top Teachers Can Get Bonuses For Signing With Low-Performing Schools
The Tennessean, TN, May 10, 2013
Top teachers in Metro Nashville’s five lowest-scoring schools might earn a bonus next year, thanks to a state plan that will reward them for staying in troubled schools or give them a pay boost for moving to one.

TEXAS

Texas Charter School Wait List Numbers Remain Fluid
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, TX, May 10, 2013
As lawmakers debate expanding Texas charter schools to accommodate students wanting to leave unsatisfactory traditional classrooms, new details show charter school waiting list numbers can fluctuate during the year due in large part to varied reporting standards and duplications.

WASHINGTON

Sequim Says No To Charter Schools; Port Townsend Mulls Them
Peninsula Daily News, WA, May 10, 2013
The Sequim School Board will not authorize charter schools in its district, at least for the foreseeable future, and the Port Townsend School Board will discuss the matter Monday.

ONLINE LEARNING

D300 Supt. Bregy Sees Progress In Springfield On Online Charter Bill
Courier News, IL, May 9, 2013
Community Unit School District 300 Superintendent Michael Bregy was back at the Illinois State Capitol Tuesday — this time, without the red apparel that first gained the legislatively active district notoriety as it protested the extension of the economic development area around Sears corporate headquarters in Hoffman Estates about a year and a half ago.

Early Glimpses At Digital Learning
Greenwich Times, CT, May 9, 2013
In one corner of her classroom at Hamilton Avenue School, second-grade teacher Karrie Vale sits cross-legged on a circular rug, surrounded by a small cluster of students, a scattering of books and the glowing screens of iPads.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

A One-Size-Fits-All Education Model Doesn’t Cut It—And Never Will
Take Part, May 8, 2013
Education reformer Kevin Chavous speaks out about why America is still ‘A Nation at Risk.’

Study: Many Don’t Need Remedial Classes
Miami Herald, FL, May 8, 2013
Many students are needlessly sent to remedial math classes at community colleges to learn high school math they won’t need in their first-year programs anyway, according to new research on what it takes to be successful in community college.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

School District And Plumas Charter Will Continue Greenville Collaboration
Plumas County Beacon, CA, May 9, 2013
A draft memorandum of understanding between Plumas Unified School District and Plumas Charter School for 2013-14 was presented to the school board at the May 2 board meeting in Chester.

Fresno Unified Denies Charter Renewal For Troubled New Millenium School
The Fresno Bee, CA, May 8, 2013
Fresno Unified trustees voted unanimously Wednesday night to not renew a five-year charter for troubled New Millennium in west Fresno, agreeing with district staff and the county grand jury that the school had failed to fix itself.

Silenced By Teachers Union
San Diego Union-Tribune, CA, May 8, 2013
In California, where I’m a public school teacher, union bullying is enshrined in state law. The law requires that all teachers in public schools pay compulsory “agency fees” to support the agenda of the teachers unions — the most powerful political force in the state — thus allowing the union to dominate and skew political dialogue.

COLORADO

New Charter School Has A Home In District 51
KJCT, CO, May 8, 2013
A contract was signed Tuesday night that will finalize the location for Juniper Ridge Charter School. Tuesday night, the District 51 School Board thought they had made a decision to post-pone the school’s future, but they spoke too soon.

CONNECTICUT

Not All Votes Counted In Parent Council Election
CT Post, CT, May 9, 2013
Janet Gomes, a Thomas Hooker parent, won a three-way race for president of the District Parent Advisory Council Wednesday in a controversial re-do election in which the votes of parents whose children attend charter schools weren’t counted.

DELAWARE

It’s Time To Change The Conversation On Charter Schools
The News Journal, DE, May 9, 2013
Charter schools have gotten a lot of bad press over the last year. School closings. Teacher videos. Investigations about school leader qualifications. Financial crises. Governance issues.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. to Establish a Hybrid Traditional-Charter School in Southeast
Washington Post, DC, May 9, 2013
A long-struggling Southeast D.C. elementary school will undergo a renovation and then reopen under the management of a high-performing charter school, Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced Wednesday evening.

FLORIDA

‘Parent-Trigger’ Bill Is Just Special-Interest Legislation
TC Palm, FL, May 9, 2013
The Florida House of Representatives recently passed H.B. 867, which would establish a “parent trigger” that allows parents to force a failing public school to be closed or converted to a charter school when requested by a majority of parents. The Senate considered a similar bill.

ILLINOIS

Charter School Advocates Call For Fair Funding At Loop Rally
Chicago Tribune, IL, May 9, 2013
Thousands of people wearing bright yellow caps rallied in the Loop’s Federal Plaza on Wednesday evening in support of privately run charter schools, which are under more scrutiny because of the city’s plan to close 53 neighborhood schools.

Ald. Burke Wants Gov. Quinn To Restart Uno Charter-School Funding
Chicago Sun Times, IL, May 8, 2013
Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) went to bat Wednesday for the embattled United Neighborhood Organization, urging his ally Gov. Pat Quinn to resume funding for an UNO charter school being built in his Southwest Side ward.

INDIANA

Indiana General Assembly Rewards Failure
NW Times, IN, May 9, 2013
Proponents of traditional public schools are upset about the Indiana General Assembly forgiving startup loans for charter schools — even schools that failed. They make a good point.

IOWA

Group Pushes For Reducing Education Gap
Des Moines Register, IA, May 9, 2013
Mark M. Jacobs once was a Fortune 500 CEO and soon may be a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, but for the time being he’s leading a nonprofit group pushing for improvements in K-12 for Iowa’s education system.

LOUISIANA

Jindal Loses On Funding
The Advocate, LA, May 8, 2013
If a defeat for Gov. Bobby Jindal’s position, the governor and other backers of state vouchers for private school tuition can take considerable comfort in a narrowly focused decision by the Louisiana Supreme Court.

MAINE

Maine Charter School Commission Approves Three More Schools
Bangor Daily News, ME, May 8, 2013
The Maine Charter School Commission approved contracts for three new charter schools which are scheduled to open in the fall.

MARYLAND

Demand For Charter Schools Remains High
Frederick News Post, MD, May 9, 2013
According to local brief in Tuesday’s edition of The News-Post, Frederick County Public Schools’ two Montessori charter schools have far more applicants than their programs can accommodate.

MICHIGAN

Bill Would Link Michigan Teachers’ Pay To Student Growth
Michigan Public Radio, MI, May 8, 2013
New teachers in Michigan would be paid based primarily on student growth under a bill in Lansing.

Small School Districts Must Consolidate In Michigan
Detroit News, MI, May 9, 2013
The Buena Vista School District near Saginaw is an example of a small school system that no longer has adequate resources to serve its students, and it is time to end its financial struggles by dissolving. Other Michigan school districts that are facing looming deficits should also consider this cost-saving action.

MISSOURI

House Speaker Loses Again In Bid To Overhaul Educator Evaluations
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, May 9, 2013
In a stinging rebuke to Speaker Tim Jones, the heavily Republican House has rejected for the second time his drive to tie educators’ job evaluations to students’ academic progress.

NEVADA

Elaine Wynn Bemoans State Of Education In Nevada, Lobbies For National Search For New Superintendent
Las Vegas Sun, NV, May 9, 2013
Elaine Wynn called on the Clark County School Board to conduct a national search for its next superintendent during her keynote address Wednesday at a Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

NEW MEXICO

UNM Hits ‘Reset’ On Teacher Education
Albuquerque Journal, NM, May 9, 2013
The University of New Mexico’s College of Education dean stepped down Tuesday in what administrators say is the beginning of a multimillion-dollar revamp with the goal of improving the quality of education in New Mexico.

NEW JERSEY

Camden Charter School To Open In September
Camden Courier Post, NJ, May 9, 2013
For Robin Ruiz, hope started as a thought that grew into a passion. Now it’s a charter school. Ruiz is the lead founder of Hope Community Charter School, described as a new elementary school with a focus on literacy.

NEW YORK

Teach-Eval Ball In State’s Court
New York Post, NY, May 9, 2013
The state’s top education official has been tapped to finally end the city and teachers union’s long-running dispute over a new ratings system for educators.

Teachers Union Loses Three Allies In School Board Races
Buffalo News, NY, May 8, 2013
Someone spent a lot of money in the last couple of weeks trying to elect union-backed candidates to the Buffalo School Board.

Enterprise Charter School Is Granted One-Year Extension
Buffalo News, NY, May 9, 2013
The Buffalo Board of Education voted, 6-2, Wednesday to renew the charter of Enterprise Charter School for only a year, despite objections by school leaders who wanted a longer renewal period.

NORTH CAROLINA

Rock Hill Might Get A Second Charter School
Charlotte Observer, NC, May 8, 2013
Pastor Brian Keith’s idea for a second charter school in Rock Hill began in talks with parents who wanted to see a different kind of education.

OHIO

Cleveland School District And Teachers Union Reach Agreement On Cleveland Plan Details
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, May 8, 2013
The Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Cleveland Teachers Union have reached a tentative agreement on how the two will work together to implement the Cleveland Plan for Transforming Schools.

OKLAHOMA

School Spending Should Actually Fund Reforms
The Oklahoman, OK, May 9, 2013
Over the past few years, school officials have repeatedly decried the education reforms that they claimed were unfunded. This year, schools are getting a not-insignificant budget increase. As lawmakers provide it, they should ensure the money actually goes to pay for the reforms school officials have often used to justify increased appropriations.

TEXAS

Top Senator Vows His Charter School Plan Will Pass
Lubbock Avalanche Journal, TX, May 9, 2013
The top proponent for school choice in the Texas Legislature vowed Wednesday that his much-watched effort to expand charter schools in Texas will become law — even though it could still face a tough road in the House.

Senate Democrats Block Texas Education Agency Bill Over Concern About Vouchers
Dallas Morning News, TX, May 8, 2013
Senate Democrats have decided to block legislation that would reauthorize the Texas Education Agency, citing concerns that the bill could become a vehicle for private school vouchers or other education measures they oppose.

WISCONSIN

Special Ed Vouchers Won’t End Discrimination
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, May 8, 2013
What do these children have in common? They all have disabilities, they all tried to participate in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and they all were denied admission, not served or pushed back into public schools by private voucher schools.

ONLINE LEARNING

Online Schools A Virtual Reality In Sacramento
News Review. CA, May 9, 2013
When Kelly Krug’s son Ben struggled academically, the Fair Oaks mom looked for options that provided computerized instruction.

Gila Vista’s Online Use Earns ‘Rock Star’ Status
Yuma Sun, AZ, May 8, 2013
Gila Vista’s success with online learning, and specifically the Plato courseware system, earned the Yuma junior high school an award from the curriculum’s provider, Edmentum.