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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

‘Nation At Risk’ Warnings About Shortcomings In US Education 30 Years Ago Still Resonate Today
Washington Post, DC, April 24, 2013
But its warnings still reverberate today, with 1 in 4 Americans failing to earn a high school degree on time and the U.S. lagging other countries in the percentage of young people who complete college.

Why Are 2 of U.S. News’s Top 5 ‘Best High Schools’ Arizona Charter Schools?
The Atlantic, April 23, 2013
U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of the nation’s best high schools are out, and the results suggest students thrive when given access to curriculum and instruction that’s significantly more challenging than what a typical American student receives.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

Anniston Senator: Common Core Ban Bill On Hold
Anniston Star, AL, April 23, 2013
A bill to ban the state from using its Common Core-based academic standards is on hold in the Alabama Senate, Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said today.

CALIFORNIA

Oakland Charter School May Shut Down Due To Mismanagement
KGO-TV, CA, April 23, 2013
A high school in Oakland has been honored with national recognition for academic performance, ranking 36th in the entire country. But there is a big problem — the school, American Indian Public Charter High, may shut down soon because of alleged financial mismanagement.

CONNECTICUT

Proposed State Budget Contains Bad News For Charter Schools
The Hour, CT, April 24, 2013
There seems to be a pattern in news coming out of Hartford these days — you know, good news, bad news.

DELAWARE

Pencader And State Remain At Odds Over Possible Rescue
News Journal, DE, April 24, 2013
The relationship between Pencader Charter School and the state Department of Education appears to be deteriorating.

FLORIDA

Parent Trigger Headed To Senate Floor
Florida Current, FL, April 23, 2013
The “parent trigger” bill cleared its final committee stop Tuesday and now heads to the Senate floor. Opponents speaking at the final public hearing for SB 862 outnumbered supporters by a 3-1 margin, but members of the Senate Appropriations Committee sent it to the floor on a 12-6 vote.

Gov. Rick Scott Not Giving Up On Across-The-Board Teacher Raises
Tampa Bay Times, FL, April 23, 2013
First, Gov. Rick Scott criticized the Florida House on Tuesday during a Cabinet meeting, calling it “very disappointing” that the House is pushing a 6 percent increase in tuition at state colleges and universities.

Willfully Blind
Gainesville Sun, FL, April 24, 2013
It’s nothing new for Florida lawmakers to try to pull down the shades on the state’s Sunshine Law, creating exemptions that hide information from public view.

Stop Blaming Poor Parents, Empower Them With School Choice
Miami Herald, FL, April 24, 2013
There has long been a troubling attitude in our society about low-income parents. Put bluntly, it goes like this: Poor people make poor parents.

Former Southside Fundamental Middle School To Become Charter School
Tampa Bay Times, FL, April 23, 2013
The Pinellas County school board voted Tuesday night to sell the property to University Preparatory Academies, Inc. The $1.1 million purchase marks the first time the Pinellas school board has sold a former school site to a charter.

GEORGIA

Dark Days for DeKalb County Schools
Atlanta Daily World, GA, April 24, 2013
Over the past two years, Metropolitan Atlanta school systems have faced much scrutiny. Suspicions of manipulated students test scores, changes to attendance records and the mismanagement of county funds for personal usage have all been par for the course.

ILLINOIS

School Board To Hear Charter Proposal
Idaho Mountain Express, ID, April 24, 2013
The Blaine County School District board of trustees has scheduled a special meeting for Thursday for an update on a proposal to establish the private Mountain School near Bellevue as a state charter school.

A Bronzeville Charter School Makes Its Mark In Robotics
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 24, 2013
If their robot was ever going to fling Frisbees well enough to win a world championship, the students at Perspectives/IIT Math & Science Academy had work to do.

INDIANA

Charter School Hearing In Clark: Backers, Opponents Make Their Case
Courier Journal, IN, April 23, 2013
Clark County school officials told staff members of the Indiana Charter School Board during a hearing Tuesday that a proposed charter school locating in the county would financially devastate area districts by taking state education money that follows each student.

Data Show Voucher Students Often Opt For Schools No Better Than Public Ones
Evansville Courier & Press, IN, April 243, 2013
Students using Indiana’s voucher program to attend private schools are not necessarily attending better-quality schools when they leave public schools.

IOWA

Education Group Tries To Jumpstart Reform Debate
Des Moines Register, IA, April 24, 2013
The national education reform advocacy group StudentsFirst will start running a radio spot in the Des Moines area this week aimed at breaking a stalemate in the state’s education reform debate.

LOUISIANA

Orleans Parish School Board Takes First Step In Hiring New Superintendent
Times-Picayune, LA, April 23, 2013
The Orleans Parish School Board took the first step in hiring a new superintendent Tuesday, voting unanimously to use a professional firm to run the process. The board expects to receive some applications by its May meeting.

MAINE

Charter Schools Contribute To $500K SAD 59 Budget Squeeze
Kennebec Journal, ME, April 23, 2013
Superintendent says $300,000 of increase comes from tuition payments to charter schools; $150,000 from increased teacher retirement costs

MASSACHUSETTS

Union Says Teacher Evaluation Plan Has Race Bias
Boston Globe, MA, April 24, 2013
The Boston Teachers Union demanded Tuesday that the School Department launch an independent review of its new teacher evaluation system to determine why black and ¬Hispanic teachers are more likely to be targeted for possible dismissal.

MICHIGAN

Keep Backroom Dealings Out Of The Classroom
Detroit Free Press, MI, April 23, 2013
Gov. Rick Snyder says education in Michigan — and in the nation — is broken, and badly in need of reform. We couldn’t agree more. So, let’s talk about it.

MINNESOTA

House Education Bill About More Than Education
Bemidji Pioneer, MN, April 24, 2013
A debate about education funding goes beyond helping individual students: There is widespread agreement that a better education system would help the economy. However, there is less agreement about how to achieve those improvements.

NEW YORK

The Teacher-Rating Charade
New York Post, NY, April 23, 2013
Gov. Cuomo likes to boast that “99 percent” of state school districts struck teacher-evaluation deals with their unions, attributing it to funding he offered if they did. A report yesterday suggests a different reason: The deals are shams.

Buffalo District, Teachers Should Give Up Attempt To Weaken Evaluation System
Buffalo News, NY, April 24, 2013
Children in the Buffalo Public Schools are once again caught in the middle because self-interested adults will not follow the rules set out by state officials. At risk is millions of dollars in aid flowing to this broken school system.

NORTH CAROLINA

N.C. Lawmakers Court Black Families To Back Vouchers
News Record, NC, April 24, 2013
State lawmakers have turned to a key demographic in the state — black families — to build support for legislation that would help more students attend private schools.

School Voucher System With A Different Name
Citizen Times, NC, April 24, 2013
The legislative assault on education in North Carolina continued last week as Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have followed through on a pledge — some might characterize it as a threat — to introduce legislation that would throw an estimated $90 million in state taxpayer dollars at private institutions over the next two years.

TENNESSEE

Metro School Board Braces For Review Of 6 New Charter Schools
Nashville City Paper, TN, April 23, 2013
In light of what the school district considers a legislative victory in local control, Metro school board members are bracing to review six new charter school applications this spring.

TEXAS

House Panel Mulls Charter School Expansion Bill
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, TX, April 24, 2013
Top education leaders in the Texas House began discussing a major proposal late Tuesday to increase the number of charter schools allowed to operate statewide. The plan sailed through the Senate but may face a tougher road in the lower chamber.

Charter School Banks On Innovation For Students
Daily Cougar, TX, April 24, 2013
Sitting on the edge of the UH campus is a public charter school that admitted around 135 students from kindergarten to fifth grade.

UTAH

Valley Academy Charter School, Invitational Demonstrates First-Year Success
South George News, UT, April 23, 2013
Valley Academy Charter School hosted an Invitational Brunch on Thursday where its staff showcased their program, gave attendees a tour of the school, allowed them to observe how the teachers and students interacted, and made board members, administrators, members of the school staff, and a parent volunteer, available to answer questions.

Education Task Force All Too Familiar
Deseret News, UT, April 24, 2013
Would we think it strange, if plumbers and electricians decided to form a task force to reform the medical profession and hold physicians accountable? Why then, do we not cringe when lawyers and business executives decide to reform public education and hold teachers accountable?

VIRGINIA

Legislature’s Contentment With Status Quo Hinders Student Success
Virginia Watchdog, April 23, 2013
A culture of complacency is keeping Virginia from furthering student success, one educational expert says.

WISCONSIN

Data In Department Of Public Instruction Release Fuels Private School Voucher Debate
Daily Cardinal, WI, April 23, 2013
A Tuesday release from the Department of Public Instruction that showed Milwaukee and Racine students in the state’s school voucher program scored lower on last year’s standardized achievement test than public school students raised questions among state legislators over the necessity of private school voucher expansion.

ONLINE LEARNING

Phila. Cyber Charter Fights State Bid To Close It
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 24, 2013
A Philadelphia-based cyber charter school that the Pennsylvania Department of Education wants to shut down as allegedly not providing cyber education is fighting to survive.

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

When Schools Cheat, Don’t Blame Tests: Our View
USA Today, April 22, 2013
The cheating scandal in Atlanta, which led to the indictment of 35 teachers and school officials last month, is breathtaking in its scope.

The False Promise Of ‘Education Reform’
Everett Daily Herald, WA, April 23, 2013
Since her time as District of Columbia schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee has been the face of “education reform.” Regimenting testing for D.C. kids, she fired 241 teachers in one day alone in 2010 for low test scores. She fired a principal on camera. In turn, D.C. voters fired her mayoral patron in 2010 and she resigned.

STATE COVERAGE

CONNECTICUT

School Board Considers Charter School Plan
CT Post, CT, April 23, 2013
The public will have to wait until May 7 to weigh in on a plan to create a district-run charter school, but the city school board got to sound off Monday on the plan for a Montessori elementary school on the West End of town.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C., Montgomery Schools Named National Green Ribbon Schools
Washington Post, DC, April 23, 2013
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Monday honored five Washington-area schools and the Montgomery County school system as National Green Ribbon Schools for their exemplary environmental education programs and sustainable facilities.

Evidence Of Widespread Cheating Leads To Probe At D.C. Charter School
Washington Examiner, DC, April 22, 2013
Meridian Public Charter School has begun an internal investigation into cheating on standardized tests after a District investigation found “strong circumstantial evidence” that cheating efforts were orchestrated throughout the school, officials announced Monday.

Council Questions Push For Special-Ed Students In D.C. Public Schools
Washington Post, DC, April 22, 2013
D.C. Council members, advocates and parents raised questions Monday about Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s push to reduce the number of special-education students who attend private schools at public expense.

FLORIDA

Hernando Teacher Of Year Illustrates Flaws In Evaluation System
Tampa Bay Times, FL, April 23, 2013
So, it seems, the teachers unions have found the ideal poster person to illustrate the craziness of the state’s new teacher evaluation system.

US Education Secretary Urges Fla. To Work On Teacher Evals
Tallahassee Democrat, FL, April 23, 2013
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is urging Florida to quickly address any problems with its new teacher evaluation system, which grades instructors in large part on students’ standardized test scores.

Parent Trigger: Who’s For It And Who’s Against It Tells The Story
Washington Post Blog, DC, April 23, 2013
You can learn pretty much everything you need to know about the controversial “parent trigger” legislation now before the Florida Legislature by looking at who is for it and who is against it.

Lawmakers Want Teacher Raises Based On Merit; Not Scott’s $2,500 Plan
ActionNewsJax, FL, April 22, 2013
Fla. Gov. Rick Scott isn’t going to succeed in getting $2,500 pay raises for the state’s teachers. Florida legislators meeting over the weekend have settled on setting aside nearly $500 million to boost teacher pay. But House and Senate budget negotiators made it clear they will not hand out raises the way Scott wanted.

Scott Signs Bill Revamping Schools, Universities
Miami Herald, FL, April 22, 2013
On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott signed a sweeping education bill that will revamp the state’s high school graduation requirements and place new emphasis on coursework that prepares students for high-tech careers.

ILLINOIS

Charter School Parents Form Advocacy Group
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 23, 2013
Cast by critics including the Chicago Teachers Union as villains in the ongoing school closings controversy, privately run charter schools and their advocates are fighting back with efforts that include plans for a downtown rally by a newly formed parents group.

Chicago Charter School Teachers Push To Form Union
CBS2 Chicago, IL, April 22, 2013
One of the things that makes charter schools different may be starting to change.

INDIANA

Bill Easing School Chief Rules Passes
Journal Gazette, IN, April 23, 2013
A bill allowing school districts to hire superintendents without an educator’s license is headed to Gov. Mike Pence for his signature.

Revoked Charter Schools In Indiana Could Be Forgiven
Courier Journal, IN, April 22, 2013
Indiana lawmakers are considering forgiving $12 million in loans that “failing” charter schools accepted from the state, as part of a broader package of state aid for charters.

KANSAS

Kansas Flunks School Choice Study
Kansas Watchdog, KS, April 22, 2013
When it comes to school choice and giving parents the power to control their child’s education, Kansas earns a failing grade.

LOUISIANA

Education Groups Join To Oppose Jindal-Backed Bills
News Star, LA, April 23, 2013
Five education groups are joining to present unified opposition to the Legislature trying to re-approve elements of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s 2012 education package that ran into problems in court.

MICHIGAN

Michigan School Chief: End Project By Secret Group
Detroit News, MI, April 23, 2013
Michigan’s school chief on Monday urged the disbanding of a work group that has been secretly developing ways to lower the cost of public education through technology and a funding mechanism that resembles vouchers.

Eastern Michigan University Regents Authorize 5-Year Contracts With 3 New Charter Schools
Ann Arbor, MI, April 22, 2013
The Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents recently voted to enter a five-year contract with new Ypsilanti-based charter school Global Tech Academy.

MINNESOTA

Higher Ground Academy In St. Paul: Succeeding At Math And Reading, Tackling Science And Art
Twin Cities Daily Planet, MN, April 22, 2013
Here’s an unusual high school graduation requirement: students must be accepted into college before they are allowed to graduate. That’s the rule at St. Paul’s Higher Ground Academy, according to Executive Director Bill Wilson.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Great Bay Charter School Expands, Adds Grade 7
Portsmouth Herald, NH, April 23, 2013
The New Hampshire Board of Education approved the Great Bay Charter School’s request to expand to include Grade 7 for the 2013—14 school year. This award-winning school is located on the Tuck Learning Campus in Exeter. Charter schools are public schools of choice and all students in New Hampshire are eligible for admission.

Something Which Is Well Worth The Fight
Fosters Daily Democrat, NH, April 23, 2013
Last week the New Hampshire Senate, by a vote of 13-11, decided to let stand a school voucher bill that allows businesses to take a tax credit if they donate to a school education fund. In turn the money is used for school vouchers that can be used at private and parochial schools.

NEW MEXICO

Charter Money Flow Is Clarified
Albuquerque Journal, NM, April 23, 2013
In my two previous monthly columns, I discussed a number of myths about public charter schools. Those myths included charters “cherry-picking” students; operating without proper oversight; not servicing special needs students and not being accountable for results

NEW YORK

New, More Demanding State Tests Aren’t The Problem For School Kids
New York Daily News, NY, April 22, 2013
All over New York, parents — some of them — are up in arms over the new state English exam students took last week. The most outraged of the lot had their children boycott the test.

The Teacher-Rating Charade
New York Post, NY, April 23, 2013
Gov. Cuomo likes to boast that “99 percent” of state school districts struck teacher-evaluation deals with their unions, attributing it to funding he offered if they did. A report yesterday suggests a different reason: The deals are shams.

NORTH CAROLINA

Advocate For Rural Public Charter Schools
Daily Tar Heel, NC, April 23, 2013
Public charter schools in rural North Carolina present an opportunity for more school choice options and economic development in the state’s 85 rural counties.

Ending Teacher Tenure: An Invitation To Control Young NC Minds
News & Observer, NC, April 22, 2013
Teachers and professors in all grade levels and types of learning institutions are charged to develop critical thinking skills in their students.

Ending Teacher Tenure: A Chance To Raise Standards In NC
News & Observer, NC, April 22, 2013
There is little doubt that teacher quality is important. High-quality teachers produce superior academic outcomes for students, regardless of a child’s challenges and circumstances. Like most states, the quality of North Carolina’s teacher work force varies from school to school and district to district, but the overall quality of the state’s teacher work force is alarmingly low.

OHIO

Boardman Schools Oppose State Expansion Of Voucher Program
Youngstown Vindicator, OH, April 23, 2013
The board of education approved a resolution Monday in opposition to two voucher programs included in Gov. John Kasich’s biennial budget.

PENNSYLVANIA

Shouting Match Interrupts MWCDC Forum On Possible Charter School
South Pittsburgh Reporter, PA, April 23, 2013
The Mount Washington Community Development Corporation (MWCDC) held its regular monthly forum meeting last Thursday, where the topics of energy efficiency and public education were not the only things raised; several voices were raised, too.

Founder Of Two Area Arts Charter Schools Creating Autism Charter Facility
Lehigh Valley Express-Times, PA, April 22, 2013
There are about 13 charter schools for children diagnosed with autism nationally but none have a curriculum that blends applied behavioral analysis with Montesorri techniques like the charter proposal does, Hickey said.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Interest In Charter Schools In South Carolina Spikes Despite Challenges
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC, April 22, 2013
Charter school families in Horry County will rejoice in August when Coastal Leadership Academy opens its doors, providing a charter high school option for students who now attend charter schools that only provide instruction through grade eight.

TENNESSEE

How Tennessee Voucher Momentum Splintered
Heartland Institute, April 23, 2013
Years of voucher proposals, polls showing parent support for vouchers, and a governor-sponsored voucher bill did not culminate in a new Tennessee voucher law this spring.

Charter School Applications Decline
The Tennessean, TN, April 23, 2013
Applications to start new charter schools in Metro are at their lowest level in three years, and a school board member believes charter operators may be stepping back and reassessing their place in the Nashville market.

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin Voucher Students Lag In Latest State Test
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, April 23, 2013
Students attending private voucher schools in Milwaukee and Racine scored lower than their public-school counterparts in Milwaukee Public Schools and the Racine Unified School District on the latest state standardized achievement test, according to results released by the state Tuesday.

ONLINE LEARNING

All Fox Valley-Area Districts Nix Virtual Charter School Plan
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 22, 2013
All 18 districts affected by a proposed Fox Valley-area virtual charter school have denied the concept and now await an appeal process.

Dubois School District Loses $2.7 Million With Cyber Schools
Courier Express, PA, April 22, 2013
The DuBois Area School District has lost more than $2.7 million in basic education money over the last five years and directors plan to consider a resolution that calls for the reform of the state’s funding formula at Wednesday’s regular board meeting.

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 First Race to the Top
New York Times, NY, April 21, 2013
We have come a long way since the summer of 1845. Public education, then in its infancy, is now universal. Testing yields essential, valuable knowledge about school performance, but its exaggerated use distorts teaching and ignores the broader purpose of education. As Howe’s committee insisted, test results should not be the full and final judgment on schools and their teachers. There is more to a child’s education than “positive information, in black and white.”

Is Common Core Cutting-Edge Education Or Just Use Of A Dull Blade?
Denver Post, CO, April 22, 2013
Talk to Melissa Colsman and you know she’s a teacher, even before she tells you she once taught math. The executive director of the Colorado Department of Education’s Teaching and Learning Unit makes a compelling case for what public schools need.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

In L.A. School Board Race, Sky-High Spending Continues
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 21, 2013
The contest between Antonio Sanchez, a former mayoral aide, and Monica Ratliff, a teacher, will be decided in May’s runoff. Money pours in for their campaigns.

COLORADO

Why Are So Few Students Ready For College Classes?
Denver Post, CO, April 20, 2013
Startlingly, 40 percent of Colorado high school grads — and far higher numbers among minorities — need remedial education.

CONNECTICUT

Fey’s View from the Right: We can learn from Charter Schools
Norwich Bulletin, CT, April 20, 2013
Here’s a multiple choice question that you won’t find on the Connecticut Mastery Test: When anything is proposed that might nudge the state’s education system away from the status quo, the stock response from the state’s teachers unions is…

School Advocate Groups Clash Over Election
CT Post, CT, April 22, 2013
The city school district’s deeply divided parent organization will hold a second election for officers next month, after the first election was deemed so tainted the results were thrown out.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Charter Schools Deserve Fair Funding
Washington Post, DC, April 20, 2013
One of the arguments that has been used to justify the shortchanging of D.C. charter schools for public dollars is that they have the advantage of being able to draw on more private funds. The findings of a new study shatter that defense and underscore the need for the District to come up with a funding scheme that ensures equity for all of its public school students.

Mike Peabody’s Focus On City Schools Led Him To Help Establish D.C. Charters
Washington Post, DC, April 20, 2013
Malcolm E. “Mike” Peabody began lobbying to establish charter schools in the District nearly two decades ago. At the time, D.C. charters were just a concept; now they are a thriving part of the city’s education landscape, serving nearly half the children in D.C. schools.

FLORIDA

Parents Oppose Closing Of Bradenton Charter School
Herald Tribune, FL, April 21, 2013
Before August, Christopher Oliver struggled with bullies as much as he did with classwork. He says that changed when he found refuge at Bradenton Charter School, which instructs many children with special learning needs.

Historic Visible Men Academy To Mold Young Manatee Students
Bradenton Herald, FL, April 22, 2013
A historic new charter school will open this fall to teach boys to become responsible young men by offering an environment geared toward the way they learn.

House, Senate Agree On Merit Pay Raises For Teachers
Miami Herald, FL, April 21, 2013
The House and the Senate aligned their position on teacher pay raises Sunday, putting the Florida Legislature on a collision course with Gov. Rick Scott.

INDIANA

Voucher Proponents Showed True Colors
NW Times, IN, April 20, 2013
Two years ago, when the voucher system was first proposed, the proponents pledged vouchers would be available only to those students who had first attended a public school and found it didn’t adequately meet their needs. They also vowed vouchers would only be awarded to low-income students who couldn’t afford another choice and that the number of vouchers would be capped.

KANSAS

Sen. Wagle To Push For Charter Schools
Wichita Eagle, KS, April 20, 2013
State Senate President Susan Wagle told a Wichita Republican club Friday that she wants to push ahead with expanding charter schools in the state after the Supreme Court rules on a pending school-finance lawsuit.

LOUISIANA

More Than 500 Apply For About 85 Charter School Positions At Crescent City Schools
The Lens, LA, April 19, 2013
During a 50-minute Crescent City Schools April board meeting Wednesday, board members discussed hiring updates and board fundraising, among other topics.

Louisiana Education Chief Will Consider Changes To Teacher Evaluations
Alexandria Town Talk, LA, April 21, 2013
Louisiana Superintendent of Education John C. White said Friday he is open to changes in how public school teachers are evaluated, including a possible delay in when educators will face major consequences.

High Schools Showing Gains
The Advocate, LA, April 21, 2013
If the good news about increased graduation rates from high school does not take us out of the bottom tier of the states, there is still reason for optimism about the direction of Louisiana public schools.

MAINE

Charter School Funding Creates System Of Winners, Losers
Morning Sentinel, ME, April 22, 2013
We try to teach our children to be fair and kind from an early age. My preschool-age son talks about such lessons each day. My first-grade daughter recently brought home a kindness award for her willingness to help others without being asked. So why is it that the Legislature has created a system that creates winners and losers when it comes to funding charter schools?

MARYLAND

Montgomery County To Announce Program Aimed At Helping Low-Performing Schools
Washington Post, DC, April 20, 2013
Montgomery County education officials will identify about 10 schools in the district for extra support and resources under a new program that aims to help individual campuses boost performance.

Montgomery County Lawmakers: Teacher Raises Won’t Narrow Student Achievement Gap
Washington Examiner, DC, April 22, 2013
Montgomery County lawmakers say the county school system should spend more of its limited funds to close a troubling gap between white and Asian students and their black and Latino counterparts.

MICHIGAN

Snyder Defends Secret Project To Reform Education System
Detroit News, MI, April 20, 2013
Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday defended his administration’s involvement in a secret project that is trying to develop a cheaper way to deliver public education through a voucher-like funding system.

MINNESOTA

Support Pre-K Funding To Help Narrow Achievement Gap
Star News, MN, April 22, 2013
A growing number of scientific findings on early brain development and the ability of children to learn more earlier is leading educational and business leaders to push for more state funding to educate 3-and 4-year-old children, particularly from communities with concentrations of poor families.

MISSOURI

De Smet vs. CBC: How Catholic Schools Compete For Recruits
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, April 21, 2013
During the last decade, Catholic schools in the St. Louis Archdiocese have lost about 14,000 students — a drop attributed to the poor economy, defections to public schools and fewer baptisms. All that means fewer eighth-graders to feed into Catholic high schools.

MONTANA

Adding Teeth To Truancy Laws
Great Falls Tribune, MT, April 21, 2013
School Resource Officer Cory Reeves has one student at Great Falls High this year with 501 unexcused absences from class and no authority to really rectify the situation — until now.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Petition Asks State Board To Consider New Charter School Applications
New Hampshire Sentinel, NH, April 21, 2013
An online petition asking the state Board of Education to consider applications for new charter schools, despite a funding battle, has gained more than 150 signatures the past few days.

NEW JERSEY

Parents, Students Seek Coveted Entry To Prestigious Bergen Charter School
The Record, NJ, April 21, 2013
Parents leaned in, eyes wide, to read the names flashing on the screen of the children who had made it into kindergarten at the Bergen Arts and Science Charter School through a lottery.

NEW YORK

Quiet Agreements On Teacher Evaluations Imperil Funds, Commissioner Says
Buffalo News, NY, April 21, 2013
The teacher evaluation battles are not over yet. Hundreds of school districts across New York pushed to get their teacher evaluation plans approved in time to meet Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Jan. 17 deadline, so that they didn’t lose their increase in state aid.

NORTH CAROLINA

N.C. Bill Would Block School Boards From Suing County Commissioners For More Money
News & Observer, NC, April 21, 2013
North Carolina’s 115 public school systems would lose the right to take their local board of county commissioners to court for more funding under a bill filed in the state Senate.

OHIO

Cleveland School District Considers Using Money From Sale Of Headquarters To Offer More School Options Downtown
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, April 20, 2013
Although the Cleveland School District is leaving its longtime offices on East Sixth Street this summer, school board member Eric Wobser wants the district to increase its presence downtown.

CPS Goes Outside The Box To Sponsor A Charter School At Aiken
WVXU, OH, April 22, 2013
It’s unusual for a public school district to partner with a charter school, but that will happen this fall when Carpe Diem opens inside the new Aiken High School in College Hill. It is one of two schools at Aiken. The other is New-Tech, focused on project-based learning.

PENNSYLVANIA

POWER Play
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 22, 2013
AT THE SITE where Connie Mack Stadium once stood, thousands rallied together Sunday, chanted “We are POWER!” and tried to hold their highest players accountable.

York City Schools: Community Members Must Help Turnaround, But Are They Willing?
York Daily Record, PA, April 20, 2013
In the last three months of 2012, three York City School Board members left their posts. The May primary has drawn only four candidates — all sitting board members — for five open seats. Parents of nearly one-third of the district’s students have sent them charters.

Are High-Stakes Tests Counterproductive?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, April 22, 2013
A group of parents across the country are rejecting the idea of high-stakes testing as a means of judging both schools and educators, choosing to have their children opt out of standardized high-stakes tests like the PSSAs that public school children in Pennsylvania are taking right now.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Say No To School Choice Bill
The Herald, SC, April 22, 2013
Say this for state lawmakers promoting a bill to give tax credits to families who send their children to private schools: they’re tenacious. But that doesn’t mean they deserve to succeed.

TENNESSEE

GOP ‘Supermajority’ Rolls, But Friction Derails Pet Projects
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, April 20, 2013
Commenting on one of several pieces of legislation to gain national attention during the 2013 session of the Tennessee General Assembly, Gov. Bill Haslam blamed the failure of his education reform priority of the year on “infighting among advocates.”

Failed Education Bills To Be Revived In Next Legislative Session
The Tennessean, TN, April 21, 2013
In the last few years, Tennessee hasn’t shied away from contentious initiatives as it seeks to remain at the forefront of education reform in the nation.

New School A Major Change For Charter District
San Antonio Express, TX, April 21, 2013
The John H. Wood Jr. charter school district was created to educate troubled students, and it does so in juvenile detention centers and residential treatment facilities across the state.

More Charter Schools in Texas?
Amarillo Globe-News, TX, April 21, 2013
For David Dunn, charter schools have blossomed in Texas since the first campuses opened in 1996 for a simple reason.

Teacher Groups Fail Bills Tied To New Evaluations
San Antonio Express, TX, April 22, 2013
While many states in recent years have started to change the way they evaluate teachers, Texas has largely avoided that controversy.

ONLINE LEARNING

Pittsburgh CyberSchool Making Tweaks Amid Turnover
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, April 22, 2013
In their first year of operating their own online school, Pittsburgh Public Schools officials learned what many cyber charter school operators already know: There is lots of student turnover.

Don’t Cut Cyber School Funding
Courier Times, PA, April 22, 2013
I’ve been at Pennsylvania Virtual Charter Schools since kindergarten, and now I’m in ninth grade. My school is considered a public cyber charter school, which is different than homeschooling.

Mount Clemens To Replace Teachers With Cyber Learning
Macomb Daily, MI, April 21, 2013
Mount Clemens schools officials plan to introduce online classes for high school students to make up for the loss of 16 teachers scheduled to be laid off over the summer due to the district’s financial problems.

Online Charter School To Appeal Denials From 18 Districts
Courier News, IL, April 19, 2013
It’s unanimous: All 18 area school districts have denied a charter to the Illinois Virtual Charter School @ Fox River Valley.

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

Criminalizing Children at School
New York Times, NY, April 19, 2013
The National Rifle Association and President Obama responded to the Newtown, Conn., shootings by recommending that more police officers be placed in the nation’s schools.

Common Core Standards Attacked By Republicans
Washington Post, DC, April 19, 2013
Republicans have launched an attack on the Common Core State Standards, an initiative that more than 45 states and the District of Columbia signed onto but that has been facing increasing opposition in recent months from both right and left.

Governors Like Talking About Education. A Lot.
Washington Post Blog, DC, April 18, 2013
As lawmakers in Washington have been wrestling over guns, immigration and sequestration, the nation’s governors have their sights on a different issue: Education.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

Misspent School Money
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 18, 2013
Our schools need to do better, but you can’t blame teachers for being paranoid when they see some of the people lined up against them: members of the Walton family, who are rabidly against unions, or Republicans whose colleagues in state after state are trying to destroy teachers unions.

CONNECTICUT

Parents Turn Out To Support Elm City Montessori Charter School
New Haven Register, CT, April 18, 2013
Supporters of the proposed Elm City Montessori charter school spoke out Thursday night at a Board of Education public hearing.

FLORIDA

The Parent Trigger Bill: A Shot At Privatization
Cape Coral Daily Breeze, FL, April 19, 2013
The current legislation being considered by the Florida legislature (known as the Parent Trigger Bill) is the latest assault on the public education system. Promoted as a means of parent empowerment, (nothing about turning a profit) the Parent Trigger Bill allows parents to petition for dramatic changes at failing public schools.

ILLINOIS

Kadner: Parents Battle For Slice Of School Pie
Southtown Star, IL, April 19, 2013
A terrific charter high school for children in the south suburbs is creating a financial dilemma.

INDIANA

Deal Nears On Voucher Expansion
Journal Gazette, IN, April 19, 2013
Lawmakers seeking a compromise on a voucher expansion seemed close Thursday, with House Republicans seeking only three small changes in the proposed bill.

IOWA

Parties Split Over Teacher Evaluations
Mason City Globe Gazette, IA, April 19, 2013
Teacher evaluations have emerged as one of key divisions between Republican and Democratic lawmakers looking to make a deal on education reform.

Education Reform Sees Progress After Rocky Few Days
Des Moines Registers, IA, April 19, 2013
An education reform plan that faced an uncertain fate in the Iowa Legislature earlier this week took positive steps forward on Thursday, when Democratic and Republican lawmakers engaged in earnest negotiation after several days of acrimony.

LOUISIANA

EBR Board To Shift Gifted Students, Create Magnet School
The Advocate, LA, April 19, 2013
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board on Thursday put off for two weeks a decision on changing how it provides health insurance to retirees as well as setting the 2014 premium rates of all employees.

MICHIGAN

Education Reform Group Forges Voucher-Like Plan For Michigan
Detroit News, MI, April 19, 2013
A secret work group that includes top aides to Gov. Rick Snyder has been meeting since December to develop a lower-cost model for K-12 public education with a funding mechanism that resembles school vouchers.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Senate Rejects Repeal Of School Vouchers
Exeter News-Letter, NH, April 19, 2013
Repealing New Hampshire’s controversial business education tax credit, a legislative priority for Gov. Maggie Hassan and fellow Democrats, ran headlong into the resistance of Senate Republicans who used their slim majority Thursday to block those efforts.

NEW JERSEY

Camden Schools Chief Hopes Takeover Will Help
Courier-Post, NJ, April 19, 2013
Education Commissioner Chris Cerf Thursday likened the state takeover of Camden schools to President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, saying officials will take “new and bold” steps to enact change.

NEW YORK

State Tests Spark Ire, Analysis
Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2013
New York state education officials have already begun to weigh the fallout from tougher standardized tests tied to new academic standards after schools and parents complained this week that children ran out of time, collapsed in tears or froze up.

Irate Parents, Teachers Say Brooklyn Public Schools Received Meager Improvements As Charter School In Same Building Enjoyed Big Makeover
New York Daily News, NY, April 18, 2013
The Department of Education counters that it invested more than $2.1 million in upgrades to the public schools and spent $350,000 on charter school Success Academy Cobble Hill on Baltic Street. The law requires the department to spend at least as much on the public schools, the Brooklyn School for Global Studies, the School for International Studies and Public School 368K.

NORTH CAROLINA

Why School Vouchers Are Wrong For NC
News & Observer, NC, April 18, 2013
House Bill 944, a school voucher bill, aims to spend $90 million of taxpayer money over the next two years to subsidize private school tuition, takes money away from already underfunded public schools and offers little accountability to taxpayers.

OREGON

Corbett School Board Election Puts District Charter School On Trial
Oregonian, OR, April 18, 2013
Corbett students boast some of the better test scores in Oregon, and the district has made top 10 lists in Newsweek and The Washington Post for having so many students taking tough, college-level classes.

PENNSYLVANIA

Districts Launch Teacher-Retention Program
Philadelphia Tribune, PA, April 18, 2013
Officials responsible for the Philadelphia Great Schools Compact – an education reform agreement signed by the School District of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Coalition of Charter Schools, the Mayor’s Office on Education, the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia – have recently publicized a new program to attract and retain high-quality teachers for each district.

‘Catastrophic’ Budget Laid Out By Philly Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 19, 2013
If the “catastrophic” budget picture Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. laid out Thursday comes to pass, Philadelphia schools would be virtually unrecognizable come September.

‘No Child’ Crowding Out Curriculum
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 19, 2013
Thank you to Joel L. Naroff for his article about the need for better tools to evaluate charter schools and, indeed, every school in our educational system (“Are charter schools working? It’s anybody’s guess,” April 7).

SRC Votes To Close Stanton School
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 19, 2013
The Philadelphia School Reform Commission on Thursday night ordered another city school to shut in June.

TENNESSEE

TN To Vote On Merit Pay For Teachers
The Tennessean, TN, April 19, 2013
State officials are expected to give preliminary approval this morning to a teacher pay policy that forces each district to create a merit pay system for the 2014-15 school year .

Authorizer Bill Enlarging State’s Power Over New Charter Schools Advances
Memphis Flyer, TN, April 18, 2013
For diehard determination in the face of intractable and hostile and inevitable fate, General Custer had nothing on the few Democrats, mainly from Nashville, who spent a futile but valiant hour in the state House of Representatives on Thursday, the next to last day of the 2013 legislative session, trying to turn back, or at least amend, a charter-authorizer bill that basically gives state government unlimited veto power over local school boards.

Tennessee Is Moving Ahead on Effective School Reform
Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2013
Your claim that the School Boards Association or teachers unions influenced this decision in any way is just plain wrong. Both groups oppose vouchers in any form and never supported my bill.

ONLINE LEARNING

Bethel Park Calling For Cyber And Charter School Funding Reform
McMurray Almanac, PA, April 18, 2013
Bethel Park School Board members are expected to vote April 23 to approve a resolution calling for the reform of the commonwealth’s charter and cyber school funding.

Bradley County Virtual School Growing
Times Free Press, TN, April 19, 2013
Officials with the Bradley County Virtual School are requesting more teachers and expanded Internet access to meet the needs of a growing student body.

Virtual Reality Check
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 19, 2013
Local educators in the Fox River Valley have rejected a proposal to start an online charter school that would serve students in their area. They argue that there are too many concerns about cost, curriculum, accountability and teacher quality in the bid by the nonprofit firm Virtual Learning Solutions.

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

NATIONAL COVERAGE

Michelle Rhee And The Unproven Teacher Evaluation
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 17, 2013
The debate — and that’s putting it nicely — over the use of standardized test scores in teacher evaluations has always confused me, because the answer seemed so simple. One of the things we ask of teachers — but just one thing — is to raise those scores. So they have some place in the evaluation. But how much?

Education Reform: The ‘Choice’ Is Clear
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, April 17, 2013
Imagine a federally funded education program that not only delivers what’s intended but provides a 162 percent return on investment. Incidentally, this would be the same initiative that President Obama unsuccessfully tried to quash in 2009.

Rice Backs Merit Pay For Teachers
The Advocate, LA, April 18, 2013
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a Baton Rouge audience Wednesday that merit pay for teachers and school choice are among steps needed to improve the nation’s education system.

Teachers Union’s Hedge Fund Enemy List
Wall Street Journal Blog, April 17, 2013
The nation’s second biggest teachers union is out to school the hedge fund world.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

Alabama Public Education Is Ranked Low – Again
Anniston Star, AL, April 17, 2013
Say this much about the Center for Education Reform: It’s not a fan of the quality of public education in Alabama.

CALIFORNIA

County Board Concerned With BCS’ Lack Of Diversity, Community Discord
Los Altos Town Crier, CA, April 17, 2013
Bullis Charter School’s annual report to the Santa Clara County Board of Education left some board members concerned about the school’s lack of diversity and wondering whether its exemplary academic program outweighs the community discord over sharing facilities with the Los Altos School District.

LAUSD OKs Parent-Trigger Petition
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 18, 2013
The school board ratifies a partnership between L.A. Unified and a charter school to take control of the low-performing 24th Street Elementary in Jefferson Park.

COLORADO

St. Vrain Valley School District’s Charters Team Up To Work On Issues
Longmont Daily Times-Call, CO, April 18, 2013
So five of the six charter school boards are negotiating a memorandum of understanding to clarify how much of the 2012 mill levy override funds will go the charter schools and when that money will be distributed.

CONNECTICUT

11 “Developing” Teachers Face Possible Removal
New Haven Independent, CT, April 17, 2013
Twenty-nine teachers may lose their jobs at the end of the school year as the district’s new teacher evaluation system moves to a new phase: Pushing out not just lowest-performing teachers, but those who failed to improve to “effective” over three years.

DELAWARE

Pencader Seeks $350,000 Bailout From The State
The News Journal, DE, April 18, 2013
Like thousands of parents across Delaware, Ron Prettyman can’t wait to see his son James receive his high school diploma.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Study: Charters Get Less Funding Than Traditional Public Schools
Washington Post, DC, April 17, 2013
Public charter schools received significantly less funding than traditional public schools in five cities, including the District, between 2007 and 2011, according to a new study released Wednesday.

Injecting Integrity Into D.C. Schools Testing
Washington Post, DC, April 17, 2013
Mr. Catania, chair of the council’s education committee, will hold a hearing Thursday on legislation that would make cheating on standardized tests illegal and establish some test-security protocols for the city’s traditional and charter public schools

D.C. Council, Residents Criticize School-Funding Formula
Washington Examiner, DC, April 17, 2013
The District’s funding of schools based on the number of students they enroll is flawed, D.C. Council Education Committee Chairman David Catania said Wednesday.

IOWA

Education Deal Seems Unlikely As Feud Ignites In Iowa Legislature
Des Moines Register, IA, April 18, 2013
Progress on top-priority education reform was stymied by arguments and recriminations in the Iowa Legislature on Wednesday, as the governor’s office released a video critical of Democrats and lawmakers were unable to agree even on a negotiation strategy.

Iowa Lawmakers Dally On Education
Mason City Globe Gazette, IA, April 18, 2013
Only a generous teacher could give Iowa lawmakers an incomplete for education reform. Anyone else who blew off a homework deadline would earn an “F.”

MAINE

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em …: School Board Seeks Pact With Proposed Brunswick Charter School
Forecaster, ME, April 17, 2013
In an attempt to provide an alternative to nearby charter schools, the School Board is in preliminary talks for a partnership with a proposed charter school at Brunswick Landing.

MICHIGAN

Detroit Schools Get Graded
Detroit News, MI, April 17, 2013
A new ranking of elementary and middle schools from Excellent Schools Detroit showcases the best schools in Detroit — as well as the worst. The ranking is based solely on state standardized test scores (the MEAP), but it’s still a good indicator of how well schools are teaching the kids in their care.

Failing Schools
Lansing State Journal, MI, April 17, 2013
Tom Watkins recently chided Michigan educators for not offering school reform ideas. The popular term Failing Schools has long been the central theme of public-education detractors and reform advocates.

Charter Schools Spell Trouble
The Macomb Daily, MI, April 18, 2013
Mayor Fouts in his recent letter to the editor provided some important facts about charter schools. The expansion of charter schools in Michigan will continue to take away much needed funds from our local school districts.

MISSISSIPPI

‘New Era’: Governor Signs Education Reforms, Including Charter Schools, Into Law
Clarion Ledger, MS, April 18, 2013
Education reform measures signed into law by Gov. Phil Bryant constitute real progress, business leader and education advocate Jim Barksdale said.

MISSOURI

Achievement Gap Is Real And Consequential
St, Louis American, MO, April 18, 2013
I agree with Brittany Packnett’s call for sharing responsibility for a just educational system. Her voice is one of many within Teach for America and across the nation engaged in blunt debates about academically underperforming children in our schools and our responses to their plight.

Teacher Tenure Still A Live Issue In Jefferson City
St. Louis Beacon, MO, April 18, 2013
A bill that would bring big changes to how Missouri teachers are evaluated – and how those evaluations could affect their jobs – lost big in the Missouri House last week, but those who favored the changes aren’t giving up yet.

NEW YORK

Could Charters Chew Up The Rochester School District?
Rochester City Paper, NY, April 17, 2013
Lately, there’s been a lot of chatter about charter schools. Rochester, with some of the lowest-performing schools in the country, is a market ripe for an explosion of charters, according to some local educators.

NORTH CAROLINA

Class-Size Caps For K-3 Ended In Senate Bill
Enquirer-Journal, NC, April 17, 2013
Republican senators recommended Wednesday to end caps on the number of students in North Carolina’s public school classrooms for the earliest grades, partially backing off mandates over the last decade to improve student-teacher ratios.

OHIO

School Funding Plan From Ohio House Headed To A Vote With Many Details Still Unclear
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, April 18, 2013
Details about how charter school funding would be affected under the House plan are just trickling out and also have limitations that make direct comparisons difficult.

Coleman Balks At School-Takeover Legislation
Columbus Dispatch, OH, April 17, 2013
Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman opposes a legislative plan that would allow him to pick two of the five members of a state panel that could take over Columbus City Schools.

PENNSYLVANIA

Parents At Laboratory Charter School Take Issue With Its Board
Philadelphia Enquirer, PA, April 18, 2013
Parents at the flagship school of Dorothy June Brown’s charter network in Philadelphia are fighting for the school’s survival, and say the greatest obstacle may be the school’s own board.

TENNESSEE

TN Charter Authorizer Bill Back On Track
The Tennessean, TN, April 18, 2013
An overhauled version of a controversial bill that would allow the state to approve charter schools in five counties, including Davidson, cleared a Senate committee Wednesday, one day after it became clear it wasn’t going anywhere in its previous form.

TEXAS

Board of Education Bristles At Losing Power Over Charter Schools
Austin American-Statesman, TX, April 17, 2013
The State Board of Education on Wednesday lambasted a high-profile proposal approved by the Texas Senate that would strip the education panel of its power to authorize new charter schools.

Senate Chooses Consensus Over Gridlock In Compromise On Charter School Bill
Austin American-Statesman, TX, April 17, 2013
Charter schools are one of the best reforms to happen to public education because they provide competition and quality alternatives to regular public schools without charging tuition. Charter schools are detrimental to public education because they siphon money and higher-performing students from traditional public schools in an unfair competition that exempts them from costly state regulations governing their public school peers.

UTAH

Charter School Unveils $8 Million Project
Daily Herald, UT, April 18, 2013
Renaissance Academy executive director Marc Ursic unveiled plans Wednesday evening for a $8 million building project that will house a space education center in north Lehi.

WISCONSIN

Walker Takes Control On Charters; Madison School Board Cedes It
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, April 18, 2013
Charter school advocates are understandably irritated by the policy the Madison School Board approved Monday to tighten eligibility requirements for the publicly funded, semi-autonomous schools.

ONLINE LEARNING

Philadelphia Hopes To Launch Online Cyber School In Fall
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 18, 2013
Cyber charter schools, watch out. The Philadelphia School District is coming for your students.

Pittsburgh Public Schools Board Expected To Vote On Expanding Online Academy
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, April 17, 2013
The board of Pittsburgh Public Schools is expected to vote next week on expanding its new Pittsburgh Online Academy from grades 6-12 to grades 4-12.

New Florence Girl Advocates For Cyber Schools At State Hearing
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, April 18, 2013
Two bills that would reduce funding for cyber schools from local school districts could be considered by the state House in June.

State House Oks Virtual Charter School Moratorium
Kane County Chronicle, IL, April 17, 2013
Legislation to slap a one-year hold on the creation of new online charter schools has cleared the Illinois House on Wednesday.

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

Teachers Unions Scour Charter Schools For New Memberships
Washington Times, DC, April 16, 2013
Members of the nation’s largest teachers’ unions — the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers — are pushing to organize in charter schools in several cities around the nation.

School Choice Is On The March
Washington Times, DC, April 16, 2013
These days, freedom is under fire in many ways. It’s nice to be able to report that in one area, at least, freedom is marching in the right direction: education.

STATE COVERAGE

CALIFORNIA

School Board Renews Contract For Ivy Academia Charter
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 16, 2013
The Los Angeles school board Tuesday renewed the operating charter for a Woodland Hills school recently embroiled in controversy.

State’s Budget Fakery Takes A Toll On Charter Schools
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 16, 2013
Because state funding is often deferred for months, charter schools must take out bridge loans to pay the bills. The interest costs come at the expense of pupils.

L.A. Unified Board Ratifies ‘Parent-Trigger’ Partnership
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 16, 2013
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday ratified a partnership between the school district and a charter school to take control of struggling 24th Street Elementary under a controversial parent-empowerment law.

COLORADO

Denver School Board Election’s Focus On Reform Draws National Interest
Denver Post, CO, April 17, 2013
Denver Public Schools board president Mary Seawell’s announcement this month that she will not seek re-election has created a newfound urgency among school reformers, not just locally but on a national level.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Charter Board Rejects Request From BASIS To Expand
Washington Post, DC, April 16, 2013
The D.C. Public Charter School Board on Monday rejected a request from BASIS DC to expand, citing concerns about the high number of students who have withdrawn from that school since fall.

FLORIDA

Florida: Teachers Sue Over Evaluation System
New York Times, NY, April 17, 2013
Seven Florida teachers have brought a federal lawsuit to protest job evaluation policies that tether individual performance ratings to the test scores of students who are not even in their classes.

IOWA

Closing The Achievement Gap In Iowa Schools
Muscatine Journal, IA, April 17, 2013
Every child, regardless of zip code, deserves a quality public school education. Unfortunately, for our State’s children growing up in low-income neighborhoods, far too often this is not the case. On average, children in low-income neighborhoods are two to two-and-a-half grade levels behind their peers in higher income areas by the time they get to eighth grade.

Panel’s Education Meeting Has Little Common Ground
Des Moines Register, IA, April 17, 2013
A bipartisan panel assigned to negotiate a compromise on education reform — one of the marquee issues before the Legislature — on Tuesday cataloged the areas of disagreement that divide Democrats and Republicans.

MAINE

Charter Incomplete Mission
Bangor Daily News, ME, April 17, 2013
The argument favoring charter schools is weak. Jodie Mosher-Towle, in her opinion piece appearing in the BDN on April 8, said, “Charter schools differ from public schools in that they are given increased freedom from regulations to allow school leaders to develop innovative approaches to educating their students.”

MICHIGAN

In Detroit, Grading Schools Helps Parents Choose
Detroit News, MI, April 17, 2013
As more schools open in Detroit, parents are becoming increasingly savvy about the art of school shopping. The right school can make all the difference in a child’s life. Ensuring parents have factual information about these schools is key to making school choice work for families in the city.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Charter School Advocates Start Online Petition For School Approvals
Nashua Telegraph, NH, April 17, 2013
An online petition asking the state Board of Education to consider applications for new charter schools, despite a funding battle, has gained more than 150 signatures the past few days.

NEW JERSEY

Charter Schools Arrive … at Well-Attended Conference in Atlantic City
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, April 17, 2013
It’s nothing compared to the annual teachers convention or even the yearly gathering of school-board members from around the state, but New Jersey’s charter schools are starting to make their presence known on the Atlantic City convention circuit.

NEW MEXICO

Same Old Swill
Santa Fe Reporter, NM, April 16, 2013
If Tennessee, or any state or district, truly wants to “reinvent” public education, it needs to experiment not with governance models, but with the variable that matters most: learning models.

ABQ Charter School Ranked Among The Most Challenging In The Nation
KOB, NM, April 16, 2013
An Albuquerque charter school ranks among the most challenging high schools in the nation in a brand new survey from the Washington Post. But the school’s principal says there’s “nothing magic” about what they do at Albuquerque Institute for Mathematics and Science – AIMS, for short.

NEW YORK

New South Bronx Charter School Hosts Lottery For Spots In Kindergarten, 1st Grade
New York Daily News, NY, April 16, 2013
April Lily Ruiz-Dentico is fired up for her first day of school. The five-year-old won a spot at Brilla College Prep, a new public charter school in the South Bronx that will open its doors in September. April spent the weekend telling anyone who would listen about her new school.

NORTH CAROLINA

The Wrong And Right In Education Reform
Richmond County Daily Journal, NC, April 17, 2013
Once again we hear calls for education reform and like many issues there is some right and some wrong in what is being discussed. It is wrong to say our education system is broken. It is right that there are enough problems that we should seek education reform.

Schools Object To Charter; Cite Lack Of Innovation And High Profit For Owner
State Port Pilot, NC, April 17, 2013
Local education officials have expressed formal opposition to a proposed new charter school in southeastern Brunswick County.

Charter School Applicants Field Questions
Lexington Dispatch, NC, April 17, 2013
Proponents of a proposed charter school in Davidson County met a flurry of questions from interested parents on Tuesday in Lexington.

Teacher Tenure Bill Moves Swiftly Through House Committee
News & Observer, NC, April 17, 2013
A bipartisan House bill that would change the state’s teacher tenure law moved swiftly through the House Education committee Tuesday. The bill would allow veteran teachers to keep tenure, though they would lose it with two consecutive years of poor performance. Teachers with four years experience who are rated “highly effective” would be granted tenure.

Proposal Of Vouchers For Special Needs Students Moves Forward
News & Observer, NC, April 16, 2013
Arguments over a bill that would give tax money to private schools that enroll children with disabilities offered a preview of the debate brewing over a broader measure that would give private school vouchers to thousands of students.

OHIO

More Than 1,500 Rally At Ohio Statehouse For School Choice
Streetsboro Gateway News, OH, April 17, 2013
Mike Pecchia recalled the “tears of joy” running down the cheeks of a single mother after her four children enrolled in a safer, better school, thanks to state voucher programs.

Columbus Schools Could Face Takeover Under Plan
Columbus Dispatch, OH, April 17, 2013
Columbus City Schools would sit directly in the path of a state takeover under an amendment to the state budget bill proposed yesterday.

OKLAHOMA

Superintendent Says Oklahoma City Charter School Fails Academically, Fiscally
The Oklahoman, OK, April 17, 2013
A northeast Oklahoma City charter school has mismanaged money and failed to provide adequate academic progress to students, according to a letter from the superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools.

OREGON

Network Charter School In Eugene Will Have A New Director
Register-Guard, OR, April 17, 2013
Network Charter School is losing its most visible advocate, but gaining an intriguing new leader at a time when the school faces increased scrutiny from the Eugene School District.

TENNESSEE

Smithson-Craighead Middle School Sues To Stay Open
The Tennessean, TN, April 16, 2013
Smithson-Craighead Middle School and the parents of two students there are asking a judge to stop the Metro school board-ordered closing of their school.

Ex-Memphis Mayor Partners With Church For Third Charter School
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, April 16, 2013
Willie Herenton plans to break ground this week on a new charter school he is building with a church partner in Hickory Hill, giving the former Memphis mayor’s proposed charter network a third location.

Tennessee Charter School “Authorizer” Bill Struggling In Senate Committee
Times Free Press, TN, April 16, 2013
A bill creating a statewide charter school “authorizer” for Hamilton County and four other school systems is struggling in Tennessee’s Senate Finance Committee.

WISCONSIN

Districts Could Lose Aid Under Voucher Plan
Wisconsin Radio Network, WI, April 16, 2013
A new report from the state’s Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows nine Wisconsin school districts could each lose up to $1.4 million in state aid under Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to expand private school vouchers. The maximum losses would occur if 110 students in each district take tax-funded vouchers to go to private schools.

ONLINE LEARNING

Maine Legislative Democrats Conflicted on Virtual Schools
MPBN News, ME, April 16, 2013
Justin Alfond, one of the Legislature’s top two Democrats, took a hard line on virtual charter schools. “I stand here today, urging the committee to put a moratorium on virtual public charter schools,” Alfond said.

Opinions Heard Once More Ahead Of Virtual School Deadline
The Recorder, MA, April 16, 2013
Six people praised the Massachusetts Virtual Academy as the best fit for their children and four Greenfield residents expressed concerns about the school department’s cyber school future during a Greenfield School Committee public hearing Tuesday.

Virtual School Cap Passes; Charter Schools Delayed
Leaf Chronicle, TN, April 16, 2013
The Tennessee House has approved a proposal that caps enrollment in virtual schools.
The House voted 66-29 Tuesday to pass the administration bill that allows beginning online schools an enrollment of 1,500 with the ability to expand as long as they meet performance requirements. If they fail to do so for three consecutive years, then the state education commissioner could choose to cap enrollment or direct the local school board to close the school.

D202 Opposes Plan For Online Charter School
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 16, 2013
Plainfield school officials lined up Monday with neighboring districts to reject a proposal for an online charter school.

East Aurora, Naperville District 203 Vote Down Virtual Charter
Beacon News, IL, April 17, 2013
Four more school boards unanimously voted down a proposed Fox Valley virtual charter school Monday night: those at East Aurora, Naperville 203, Plainfield and Burlington Central 301.

Arizona’s Online Public Schools Deserve Equal Funding
Arizona Capitol Times, AZ, April 16, 2013
Fairness is among the first lessons we teach our children. Wait your turn, share your toys, obey the rules. So why is this value absent when it comes to funding children’s public education? I can’t fully answer that question.

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

How Will Michelle Rhee’s Policy and Politics Work Fare in States?
Ed Week Blog, April 15, 2013
The biggest national education story of the past week was John Merrow’s discussion of a memo about possible, even likely cheating in D.C. Public Schools under former Chancellor Michelle Rhee, and how she may have swept the issue under the rug, or just passively let it get buried and lost under other paperwork, depending on how you look at it. (As my colleague Lesli Maxwell documents, Rhee claims not to remember the memo.)

Choice Rests With Schools, Not Parents
Roll Call, April 15, 2013
Kevin P. Chavous’ recent Guest Observer (“Congress Is Getting It Wrong on Parental School Choice,” April 5) is little more than a propaganda piece for the forces that seek to privatize elementary and secondary education in America.

Unions’ Charter-School Push
Wall Street Journal, April 16, 2013
Charter schools have spread across the country while generally keeping organized labor out, with operators saying they can manage schools better when their staffs aren’t unionized. But labor groups are now making a big push to get a stronger foothold in this educational realm.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

The Top 10 States For Educational Options; Arizona 6th
Arizona Business Journal, AZ, April 15, 2013
Arizona ranked sixth on The Center for Education Reform’s Parent Power Index, which means parents have access to quality education options and are provided with good information to make smart decisions about their children’s education.

TUSD Will Allow Charter School To Lease Closed Site
Arizona Daily Star, AZ, April 16, 2013
Acknowledging TUSD has to be more open-minded if it’s going to dispose of its vacant school sites, the Governing Board agreed to lease the shut-down Rogers Elementary to a charter school.

CALIFORNIA

Charter School Sees Success In Beaumont Even Before It Opens
Record Gazette, CA, April 16, 2013
It didn’t take long for parents to take advantage of an alternative option for their children: Highland Academy, Beaumont’s first charter school affiliated with the school district.

COLORADO

School Choice Economical, Gives Every Student Opportunity
The Coloradoan, CO, April 15, 2013
The system of “choice” makes it possible for any school or any kid to have advantages that may not otherwise exist and for children to have an education that meets their needs, whatever those may be. And it does so without draining money from the public school system, as vouchers would do.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C.’s Public Education Landscape Changing Rapidly
CBS Local, DC, April 15, 2013
Public education in Washington, D.C. looks much different than it did a decade ago. It continues to evolve, as traditional public schools close and new charter schools open every year.

FLORIDA

Florida Teachers Plan New Legal Challenge To Evaluations
Orlando Sentinel, FL, April 15, 2013
Florida’s teachers union plans to file a new legal challenge to the state’s teacher evaluation system Tuesday morning, a union spokesman said Monday.

Much Ado About ‘Parent Trigger’
Orlando Sentinel, FL, April 15, 2013
No matter what side you are on, the “parent trigger” bill is a lesson in the worst kind of politicking.

Grading Teachers: Put Legislators To Test
The Ledger, FL, April 16, 2013
A growing number of states are implementing teacher-evaluation systems to weed out weak instructors, reports The New York Times. But it found that the systems often produce glowing results.

ILLINOIS

CTU President Launches Effort To Oust Rahm
Chicago Sun Times, IL, April 16, 2013
Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis isn’t waiting for 2015 to try to oust Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whom she blames for closing a historic number of public schools, she said Monday, announcing an aggressive campaign to train his possible replacement.

LOUISIANA

Plan Would Allow Some Charter Schools To Reserve Seats While Taking Part In OneApp
The Lens, LA, April 15, 2013
Under a much-anticipated plan that officials will present to the state education board on Tuesday, some charter schools participating in the city’s OneApp enrollment process would be allowed to hold seats for specific students.

MARYLAND

Seeking A Comeback For Catholic Education
Baltimore Sun, MD, April 15, 2013
Here’s hoping that under Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori’s innovative leadership, Catholic education will once again assume the priority status it deserves in the church’s new game plan. A lot of kids in our most challenging neighborhoods would benefit. The state (and country) would benefit, too.

Balto. Co. Budget Would Add New Seats For Crowded Schools
Baltimore Sun, MD, April 16, 2013
Baltimore County would add classrooms for thousands of students under a budget proposal unveiled Monday by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz — a plan advocates hope signals a commitment to solve the overcrowding that has plagued the school system.

MINNESOTA

Student Group Hopes To Bridge Achievement Gap
Minnesota Daily, MN, April 16, 2013
He and other members of Students for Education Reform will give local ninth graders a taste of life at the University of Minnesota on Thursday as part of their efforts to combat the educational achievement gap.

MISSOURI

Education Reform: Public Schools Don’t Need Grade Ratings
Springfield News-Leader, MO, April 16, 2013
StudentsFirst formed in 2010 as a grass-roots group and works to lobby elected officials, craft legislative bills and back political candidates. This is an “out of state” group trying to change Missouri public education policies.

NEVADA

Four CCSD High Schools Ranked Among Nation’s Most Challenging
Las Vegas Sun, NV, April 16, 2013
Sixteen Nevada high schools — including four from Clark County — have made the Washington Post’s list of the most challenging high schools in the nation.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NH Charter School Funding Saga Continues: ‘Dollars And Cents’ Or Bargaining Chip?
Nashua Telegraph, NH, April 15, 2013
If the state passes its budget for the next biennium without money for new charter schools, the effects would be devastating, and long-lasting.

NEW JERSEY

Fine Print: Newark Charter School Revocation
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, April 16, 2013
What it is: The state Department of Education yesterday released its letter to the 100 Legacy Academy Charter School in Newark, informing the school that its state charter had been revoked after just seven months of operation. The April 11 letter cited a number of violations and findings concerning the school’s instructional programs, financial viability, and general operations.

Fixing Schools
The Record, NJ, April 15, 2013
GOVERNOR CHRISTIE continues his efforts to use vouchers to improve New Jersey’s educational system, arguing he wants to help some students in bad situations have access to better schools. However, keeping vouchers in the conversation does nothing but damage the futures of the majority of the state’s students. Christie needs to look at how he can help the whole state — not just a select few.

NEW YORK

King Charter Students Test New App For Getting Into College
Buffalo News, NY, April 15, 2013
A group of middle schoolers at King Center Charter School are testing a new app designed to help them get into college and succeed.

Ad Campaign Warns Families About Tougher Standardized Tests Awaiting New York Elementary Students On Tuesday
New York Daily News, NY, April 16, 2013
Officials predict a 30% drop in student scores because of the more challenging exams. Critics contend children are ill-prepared for the Common Core curriculum-based tests, which will help determine promotion to the next grade.

Pressure From Excessive Testing
Press Republican, NY, April 15, 2013
While it is, comparatively, a small number of parents who will opt their children out from the statewide exams today, the rebellion will continue to grow unless New York makes adjustments in what many deem as excessive testing.

NORTH CAROLINA

Why Tenure Is Important
Times News, NC, April 15, 2013
You want your child’s teachers to have tenure because .… only with tenure can they stand up for your child against inane and harmful directives issued by administrators and central office.

NC Charter School Bill Raises Questions
WFAE, NC, April 15, 2013
A charter school bill that would change the oversight of charter schools in North Carolina has raised a lot of questions and speculation.

School Voucher Bill Filed In House
News & Observer, NC, April 16, 2013
A bill that would give students who transfer from public to private schools up to $4,200 a year to pay tuition was filed Monday in the House.

OHIO

Strongsville School District Makes Offer To Striking Teachers, But No Settlement Yet
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, April 15, 2013
A bumped-up offer from the Strongsville school board early Monday morning to striking teachers was not enough bring the two sides to an agreement.

Metro School Extends Its Reach
Columbus Dispatch, OH, April 16, 2013
A plan to expand Metro Early College High School to include middle-school grades comports with a key idea in how to make better schools available to more kids: Take what works and do more of it.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City School Could Lose Charter
The Oklahoman, OK, April 16, 2013
Oklahoma City Public Schools has put a northeast charter school on notice that it could lose its charter. Marcus Garvey Leadership Charter School, 1537 NE 24, received poor marks from the state Education Department this year, including Fs in reading and math.

OREGON

Board OKs Kids Unlimited VIBES plan
Mail Tribune, OR, April 16, 2013
Kids Unlimited Monday night was given the go-ahead by the Medford School Board to begin preparing to operate what will likely become the school district’s third charter school.

PENNSYLVANIA

Crowd Urges SRC To Approve Charter Renewals, Expansions
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 15, 2013
Waving placards and chanting, more than 250 charter school students, supporters, and parents urged the Philadelphia School Reform Commission on Monday to approve pending charter renewals and expansion requests.

Chester Township Against Tax Exemption For Charter
Delaware County Times, PA, April 15, 2013
Township officials say they will oppose a move by a local charter school to secure tax-exempt status.

TENNESSEE

Smithson-Craighead, Parents Sue MNPS To Prevent Charter School From Closing
Nashville City Paper, TN, April 16, 2013
A lawsuit filed by Smithson-Craighead Middle School and two parents on Monday aims to prevent the charter school from closing at the end of the year.

Tennessee Municipal School District Bill Passes Legislature, En Route To Governor
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN, April 16, 2013
With suburban mayors from Shelby County watching in support, both houses of the state legislature approved the bill allowing the six Memphis suburban cities to create new municipal school districts Monday.

WISCONSIN

Neighboring School Districts Planning Health Care Charter School
Journal Sentinel, WI, April 15, 2013
Two Waukesha County school districts are pursuing a new joint charter school that would prepare students for careers in the health professions.

Voucher Backers’ Cash Detailed
Appleton Post Crescent, WI, April 15, 2013
Supporters of private school vouchers have spent about $10 million on political campaigns in Wisconsin since 2003, including $2.4 million in support of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, a new report released Monday showed.

ONLINE LEARNING

SRC To Vote This Week On $15 Million For New Cyber School
Philadelphia Notebook Blog, PA, April 15, 2013
On the agenda for Thursday’s School Reform Commission meeting is a resolution to approve $15 million to establish a District-run virtual school.

Dist. 203 Joins Others In Rejecting Virtual Charter School
Daily Herald, IL, April 15, 2013
Naperville Unit District 203 board members, hoping to avoid a “veritable disaster” Monday night, unanimously denied a petition for a virtual charter school hoping open in the coming school year.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

Bush, Obama Focus On Standardized Testing Leads To ‘Opt-Out’ Parents’ Movement
Washington Post, DC, April 14, 2013
A decade into the school accountability movement, pockets of resistance to standardized testing are sprouting up around the country, with parents and students opting out of the high-stakes tests used to evaluate schools and teachers.

America’s Most Challenging Schools Are Facing Staff Cuts And Shut-Downs
Washington Post, DC, April 4, 2013
I have been ranking the most challenging schools in the country and this region for 15 years. Rarely have I encountered anything like the American Indian Public Charter High School of Oakland, Calif., the No. 1 school on my 2013 list. It has risen to the top just as its city school board is trying to shut it down.

Helping Teachers Learn
New York Times, NY, April 14, 2013
The school cheating scandal in Atlanta that led to criminal indictments against dozens of teachers, principals and administrators last month contains at least three lessons for states that are developing teacher evaluation systems.

Some States Dropping GED as Test Price Spikes
Associated Press, April 14, 2013
Several dozen states are looking for an alternative to the GED high school equivalency test because of concerns that a new version coming out next year is more costly and will no longer be offered in a pencil and paper format.

STATE COVERAGE

ALABAMA

Charter Schools In Alabama Would Help Improve Broken Education System
Alabama Crimson White, AL, April 15, 2013
There has been a lot of debate on education in the state legislature this year. Largely, it has been centered on the Alabama Accountability Act and the vouchers it provides for private schools. While important, these vouchers are not the only creative avenues for education reform. The state needs to have a discussion on charter schools, which have the potential to help all students of the state of Alabama, and not just a few.

CALIFORNIA

Huachuca Mountain Parents Delve Into Charter Proposal
Sierra Vista Herald, CA, April 15, 2013
Speaking to more than 50 parents, five Huachuca Mountain Elementary School teachers explained why they support flipping the school into a district-run charter at a meeting in the school’s library last week.

L.A. School Reform Effort Draws Diverse Group Of Wealthy Donors
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 14, 2013
Republicans, liberals, Hollywood notables and global corporate executives are among those who gave to the Coalition for School Reform.

California Democrats Blast Efforts To Overhaul Schools
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 14, 2013
They call StudentsFirst and Democrats for Education Reform fronts for GOP and corporate interests. Also, Harris and Newsom tout stands on same-sex marriage.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Sidwell Friends Alumni Aim To Open Public Charter School In The District
Washington Post, DC, April 13, 2013
Sidwell Friends, the elite private school known for educating the children of presidents and members of Congress, has lent its support to a group of former students and faculty who are seeking to open a public charter school in the District.

Students Leaving Mid-Year Raise Questions For Charter School
Washington Examiner, DC, April 14, 2013
D.C. charter board staff are recommending that Basis Public Charter School should not be allowed to add 35 seats next year because a large number of students are leaving in the middle of the school year.

FLORIDA

Parents, Students Fight Shutdown Of Bradenton Charter School
Bradenton Herald, FL, April 14, 2013
Bradenton Charter School may be forced to close its doors this June. But since the Manatee school board voted for the nonrenewal of the school’s contract in March, parents, teachers and students have been scrambling to get another chance.

GEORGIA

Ga. May Standardize Teacher Evaluations
Cherokee Tribune, GA, April 14, 2013
Georgia is moving forward with a plan to standardize annual evaluations for teachers and principals based, in part, on student performance.

Ex-Senator Sets Up Foundation For Charter School Systems
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, April 13, 2013
The sponsor of legislation creating charter school systems has formed a taxpayer-supported foundation to lobby for the program his bill created.

LOUISIANA

The Direction of our Compass
The Advocate, LA, April 14, 2013
The founder of Microsoft has taken to tilting at philantrophic windmills, from malaria in Africa to public education in America. But if Bill Gates has an image as a Knight of Nerds, or Duke of Data, his message on a key policy problem in the latter sector is focused on the worker bees: teachers, and their roles as inspirers of the next generation in our classrooms.

Teachers Blast Louisiana Evaluation System, Say State Doesn’t Support Them
Times-Picayune, LA, April 15, 2013
Teachers attending a Saturday town hall meeting in New Orleans hosted by NBC’s Education Nation blasted new state evaluation procedures for teachers and Louisiana’s adoption of national education standards, saying the state Department of Education isn’t giving teachers enough support.

Teacher Unions Push Bills
The Advocate, LA, April 15, 2013
One or both teacher unions in Louisiana back bills that would require the state superintendent of education to be elected by voters, add new oversight to online schools and change testing rules for public school students.

MASSACHUSETTS

Charter School Wait List: Take An Accurate Count
Boston Globe, MA, April 14, 2013
THE STATE’S 80-odd charter schools and their supporters point proudly to a 53,000-student waiting list as proof for the need to raise the state cap on these K-12 classrooms that operate outside the control of local school districts. It’s true that parents are queuing up to get their children a seat in charter schools known for impressive MCAS scores, flexible teacher hiring practices, and a longer school day. But the list is inflated by duplicate entries that arise when families join the lotteries for more than one charter school.

Underperforming Schools Take On Partners To Stave Off State Takeover
Boston Globe, MA, April 14, 2013
Boston and three other Massachusetts cities, in an attempt to stave off a state takeover of underperforming schools, are turning to nonprofit partners to jump-start flagging overhaul efforts.

MISSISSIPPI

Let’s Keep Promises Of Charter Schools Bill
Clarion Ledger, MS, April 14, 2013
When Gov. Phil Bryant places pen to paper on the recently passed charter school legislation, he won’t just be signing a bill, he’ll be signing a promise to Mississippi’s school children. This promise — that Mississippi will work to ensure that all children have access to an excellent public school — is one that we must all make, but especially those of us who have championed the charter school legislation.

MISSOURI

Charter Schools Want Flexibility In Pensions
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, April 14, 2013
Grand Center Arts Academy needed a reading teacher. So Principal Lynne Glickert began recruiting a candidate from St. Louis County, a teacher whom she calls “amazing.”

NEW JERSEY

Vouchers Not The Answer For Schools
Herald News, NJ, April 15, 2013
GOVERNOR CHRISTIE continues his efforts to use vouchers to improve New Jersey’s educational system, arguing he wants to help some students in bad situations have access to better schools. However, keeping vouchers in the conversation does nothing but damage the futures of the majority of the state’s students. Christie needs to look at how he can help the whole state — not just a select few.

Camden Charter To Be Managed By N.Y. Network
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 15, 2013
When Freedom Academy Charter School was put on state probation last year – its charter was in jeopardy because of poor academic results – it hired a New York charter management organization as an academic consultant while continuing a partnership with a local group to oversee its finances.

NEW MEXICO

Teacher Eval Criticism Doesn’t Add Up For N.M.
Albuquerque Journal, NM, April 14, 2013
Here’s a math quiz for the defenders of the status quo who are fighting the state’s new teacher evaluation system — a serious proposal put forth in the equivalent of an improvement and accountability vacuum.

District Pushes For Clear Info On Charters
Santa Fe New Mexican, NM, April 14, 2013
Santa Fe Public Schools plans to initiate a charter school performance management system that will provide more information, clarification and transparency about the four district-chartered schools’ status.

NEW YORK

Students Face Tougher Tests That Outpace Lesson Plans
New York Times, NY, April 15, 2013
At Public School 10 on the edge of Park Slope, Brooklyn, parents begged the principal to postpone the lower school science fair, insisting it was going to add too much pressure while they were preparing their children for the coming state tests.

New Teacher Evaluations Costly For School Districts
Utica Observer Dispatch, NY, April 14, 2013
Students aren’t the only ones subject to testing. A state mandated evaluation system now puts teachers and principals in the hot seat, but it’s about more than just a passing grade.

Shady Charter ‘$trips’
New York Post, NY, April 14, 2013
The city approved a politically connected charter school — whose founder went to prison and principal was once accused of fixing grades — to issue up to $23 million in tax-exempt bonds to relocate to a former Bronx strip club.

NORTH CAROLINA

Fitzsimon: Battle Over Vouchers
Daily Reflector, NC, April 14, 2013
The real battle for the future of public education is about to begin in Raleigh.
The leading think tank on the anti-public education Right set the stage this week with an “exclusive interview” with chief school privatizer and voucher proponent Rep. Paul Stam who talked about the voucher bill he would be introducing in the House.

Charters Benefit Legislators
News & Observer, NC, April 14, 2013
Senate Bill 337 comes directly from the American Legislative Exchange Council’s model legislation called “Charter School Growth with Quality Act.” In ALEC’s 2010 Report Card on American Education it called on its members and allies to “Transform the system, don’t tweak it.”

OHIO

Common Core: More Thinking, More Learning
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, April 14, 2013
The change will, advocates say, mark a fundamental shift in the way the nation’s children are educated. And it’s happening right now, in classrooms across Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky, as school districts work to train teachers and administrators how to educate students the Common Core way.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City School Transportation Plan Adds Some Students, Omits Others
The Oklahoman, OK, April 15, 2013
Oklahoma City Public Schools developed a new transportation system to shuttle students across the district to attend new high school academies this year. But that shuttle hasn’t been open to students who attend alternative or magnet schools.

OREGON

A New School Or Back To The Drawing Board?
Mail Tribune, OR, April 15, 2013
The Medford School Board will vote today on whether to approve Kids Unlimited’s modified application to create the district’s third charter school.

PENNSYLVANIA

No Child Left Behind Gauge May End In Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, April 15, 2013
Adequate yearly progress has been the assessment measurement for schools and school districts in Pennsylvania since the enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind Law in January 2001.

TENNESSEE

Tennessee Voucher Fiasco
Wall Street Journal, April 15, 2013
Republicans claim to be looking for a way to support upward economic mobility without compromising their principles, and school choice is a natural. So it’s dismaying that Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has decided to kill a voucher plan to please the teachers unions.

TN Lawmakers Push Education Bills In Final Days Of Session
The Tennessean, TN, April 14, 2013
As the 108th Tennessee General Assembly draws to a close, state lawmakers are hoping to push through education proposals that include creating a state panel to authorize charter schools for five counties and a measure that would clear the way for cities to begin forming municipal school systems.

Proposed Charter School Panel Would Oversee Knox, 4 Other Counties
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, April 14, 2013
A bill to create a new state panel that could authorize charter schools when local school boards reject them has been revised to apply only in five counties, including Knox, and remains a contentious issue as legislators push toward adjourning the 2013 session.

WASHINGTON

Charter Schools Should Ignite Change For The Better
News Tribune, WA, April 14, 2013
I applaud the Tacoma School Board for signaling an interest in becoming a public charter school authorizer. It’s time that our community learned more about public charter schools.

WISCONSIN

Madison School Board To Finalize Charter Policy
Madison State Journal, WI, April 15, 2013
The Madison School Board on Monday plans to finalize revisions to its charter school policy, which, according to advocates for the alternative public schools, will discourage future proposals from coming forward.

Madison’s Thriving Private Schools Buck National Trend
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, April 14, 2013
Private school enrollment has steadily declined across Wisconsin over the past 15 years, but that’s not the case in Madison and Dane County.

ONLINE LEARNING

Virtual School Puts Florida On Cutting Edge Of Digital Learning
Orlando Sentinel, FL, April 14, 2013
This time of year my heart grows fond for Florida, both for its pleasant spring weather and for the wonderful memories of serving in the Florida Legislature, particularly the time spent as the first Republican speaker of the Florida House in 122 years.

D-300 Vows To Fight Any Appeal
Northwest Herald, IL, April 14, 2013
Some District 300 board members already have dangled the threat of legal action if a state commission doesn’t fairly consider the district’s questions concerning a proposed online charter school.

Legislators Target Online Charter Schools
Daily Chronicle, IL, April 15, 2013
As area school boards rejected an online charter school that would draw students from its schools, state lawmakers appear poised to slap a hold on the creation of virtual schools until regulations and guidelines can be crafted.

Digital Learning Way Of The Future
Albuquerque Journal, NM, April 14, 2013
Last year, President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued what has become known as the “digital mandate,” challenging schools to adopt digital technology by 2017.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

Common Core: Nationalized State-Run Education
American Thinker, April 12, 2013
Common Core, the new federal education standards, may look delicious; but before you take a bite out of the apple, it might be a good idea to know a razor is inside.

Common Core Will Raise The Bar Of Standards, But Scores Will Go Down At First
New York Daily News, NY, April 12, 2013
Students will no longer be learning at the lower standards set by No Child Left Behind. We can only hope students will be learning more with standards that compete internationally.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Governor Vetoes Bill Adding Disabled Kids To Charters
KVOA, AZ, April 11, 2013
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has vetoed a bill that would have allowed charter schools to enroll some disabled pre-school students because the Legislature didn’t include funding for the students.

CALIFORNIA

Greuel Vows School Reform As Garcetti Seeks End To ‘Division’
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 11, 2013
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel laid out her plans to improve public schools on Thursday, pushing for tougher evaluations of teachers and principals, while opponent Eric Garcetti secured endorsements from a handful of African American leaders.

L.A. Teachers Vote ‘No Confidence’ In Supt. Deasy
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 12, 2013
In a referendum, 91% disapproved of the superintendent, the teachers union says. A measure sharply criticizing the union’s leadership and laying out priorities passes too.

Imagine That: Happy Ending To A ‘Parent Trigger’ Petition
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 11, 2013
The “parent trigger” movement underwent a maturation process in its latest campaign, a petition to restructure 24th Street Elementary in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

COLORADO

Plaintiffs In Douglas County School Voucher Fight Turn To High Court
Denver Post, CO, April 12, 2013
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado filed a petition Thursday with the Colorado Supreme Court, asking that it overturn the state appeals court ruling that found that Douglas County schools’ voucher program did not violate the state constitution.

Report States Reform Efforts In Denver, Aurora Lacking
9NEWS, CO, April 11, 2013
A group of community leaders called A+ Denver launched a comprehensive study into whether or not reform efforts in urban schools are working as well as district leaders are claiming. The report shows that despite targeted funding more students are not ready for college.

CONNECTICUT

A Few Words Of Advice For Charter Naysayers
CT Post, CT, April 11, 2013
Not all advocates appreciate their critics, but I do. As an advocate for charter schools, I’m grateful for the passion of our naysyers and respect their dedication to public education.

DELAWARE

Delaware Charter School Troubles: Pencader Parents, Students Dealt Another Blow
Newsworks, DE, April 11, 2013
First Pencader Charter High School lost its charter; now, less than two months later, Pencader parents received more bad news.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Memo Warns Of Rampant Cheating In D.C. Public Schools
USA Today, April 11, 2013
District of Columbia Public Schools officials have long maintained that a 2011 test-cheating scandal that generated two government probes was limited to one elementary school. But a newly uncovered confidential memo warns as far back as January 2009 that educator cheating on 2008 standardized tests could have been widespread, with 191 teachers in 70 schools “implicated in possible testing infractions.”

FLORIDA

No Need For “Parent Trigger.” Florida Has “Parent Empowerment.”
Palm Beach Post, FL, April 12, 2013
The image of crusading parents turning around their children’s failing public school is compelling. That’s why advocates of so-called “parent trigger” laws invoke it. But in most cases, the image is a simplistic sham.

ILLINOIS

Illinois School-Choice Supporters Disappear For Dem Bill
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 12, 2013
In certain corners of the national education reform movement, there is no prize more coveted than a voucher system that gives parents the freedom to choose and the tuition to pay for private school enrollment so their children don’t have to attend an academically deficient public school.

High-Performing School Finds Itself On Closing List
Chicago Tribune, IL, April 121, 2013
A big blue banner hangs on the brick exterior of Calhoun North Elementary boasting how the East Garfield Park neighborhood school provides a rich array of computer access for students and has logged some of the best math scores in the city.

KENTUCKY

Teachers Union Denies Holding Up Low-Performing Jefferson County Schools
Louisville Courier-Journal, KY, April 12, 2013
The Jefferson County Teachers Association is denying claims by Kentucky Department of Education officials that its teachers are resisting changes at some of the district’s persistently low-achieving schools.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana Parents Have Power In Their Children’s Education, Study Says
Times-Picayune, LA, April 11, 2013
Louisiana parents have more power in their children’s education than parents in nearly every other state, according to a new report card from the pro-charter Center for Education Reform.

MASSACHUSETTS

Students Ask For More Charter Schools
WWLP 22News, MA, April 11, 2013
Hundreds of western Massachusetts students, teachers and parents are asking state lawmakers to raise the cap on the number of charter schools that are allowed to open, especially in the state’s low-performing districts.

MICHIGAN

Over 100 Michigan Charter Schools To Be Represented At Job Fair At Novi Showplace
Oakland Press, MI, April 11, 2013
More than 100 charter schools will be represented at a job fair Saturday, April 20 sponsored by the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, including many of the new charter schools expected to open next school year.

EM Roberts Rolls Out Plan To Revive Detroit Schools
Detroit News, MI, April 12, 2013
Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts unveiled a plan Thursday to reverse a longtime enrollment slide and stabilize the district’s precarious finances.

MISSOURI

Missouri House Rejects Educator Evaluation Legislation
Missourian, MO, April 11, 2013
Missouri House members rejected legislation seeking to make changes to teacher tenure while requiring school districts to develop educator evaluation systems centered on student achievement.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Coalition Calls For Repeal Of N.H. Education Voucher Law
Portsmouth Herald, NH, April 12, 2013
A coalition of state educators, taxpayers and concerned citizens are calling for the repeal of what they call the “misguided Bradley-O’Brien education voucher law.”

NEW JERSEY

Opposition Muted as Christie’s School-Voucher Pilot Makes Public Debut
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, April 12, 2013
There were plenty of questions but little outright opposition as Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed school-vouchers program got its first public airing yesterday.

Traditional School Takeovers Aren’t Working
Daily Journal, NJ, April 12, 2013
As the state prepares to take over Camden schools, is it time to consider a different approach? One education policy think tank believes so.

For Failing Schools, There’s Another Option
Courier-Post, NJ, April 11, 2013
As the state prepares to take over Camden schools, is it time to consider a different approach? One education policy think tank believes so.

NEW YORK

Crown Heights Parents, Teachers Upset About Proposed School Closure, Co-Location
NY1, NY, April 11, 2013
A few dozen parents and teachers are fired up about a school closure and the proposed co-location of a charter school.

Lottery Nears For Utica Charter School; Staff Also Being Sought
Utica Observer Dispatch, NY, April 11, 2013
On Tuesday, April 30, Amela Pekmez hopes to win the lottery. The prize isn’t money. It’s a spot for her ninth-grader at the Utica Academy of Science Charter School.

NEW YORK

Walcott Faces Concerns Over Co-Location At West Harlem Town Hall
Columbia Spectator, NY, April 12, 2013
New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott did little to assuage concerns about co-locations at a West Harlem town hall meeting Wednesday.

NORTH CAROLINA

Brunswick Must Repay What It Owes Charter School, Ruling Says
Star-News, NC, April 11, 2013
The Brunswick County school system has underfunded Roger Bacon Academy’s charter school operation and must repay the amount it shortchanged going back three years, according to a ruling Wednesday in Brunswick County Superior Court.

School Districts Could Create, Approve Charters Under New Bill
Winston-Salem Journal, NC, April 11, 2013
Two bills filed in the N.C. House this week could change the dynamic of charter schools in the state’s public education system.

OREGON

Armadillo Charter School Must Drop Its GED Program
Mail Tribune, OR, April 12, 2013
A popular GED program at the Armadillo Technical Institute may be dropped as the charter school and the Phoenix-Talent School District develop a new agreement to address concerns about low graduation and high dropout figures.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter School Operators Defend Performance
Philadelphia Tribune, PA, April 11, 2013
While State Representative James Roebuck’s recent report and legislation is aimed at reforming the state’s charter school system – especially in light of several reports that have cast a pall of suspicion on numerous charter school operators – there are operators who view Roebuck’s legislation as an attack on properly run and executed alternative education programs.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Can School Choice Survive The SC Senate?
The Herald, SC, April 12, 2013
Supporters of a $39 million Senate plan to give parents tax deductions for sending their children to private schools are hopeful that the proposal will advance this year.

TENNESSEE

For-Profit Charters Still Alive, Taking Non-Traditional Route
Nashville Public Radio, TN, April 11, 2013
Governor Bill Haslam says for-profit charter schools are worth giving a look. He says a legislative proposal ending the state’s ban snuck up on him, but he’s open to the idea.

TEXAS

Senate Panel OKs Measure To Fund Tuition At Religious And Private Schools
Star-Telegram, TX, April 11, 2013
A state Senate committee on Thursday approved a high-profile school voucher plan, sending it to the full chamber for what could be a fierce floor fight.

Charter Schools Bill Advances
San Antonio Express, TX, April 11, 2013
Texas could have 100 more charter schools by 2019, and state officials could more easily close them if they perform poorly, under legislation adopted Thursday with broad bipartisan support by the Texas Senate.

ONLINE LEARNING

Teplitz Pushing For Six-Month Study On Fixing Charter School Tuition Rates
Patriot News, PA, April 11, 2013
State Sen. Rob Teplitz, D-Dauphin is pushing for a study he hopes will adjust tuition costs for Pennsylvania’s charter schools so they no longer burden public districts.

Online Learning Plan Out Of Line
Tampa Bay Times, FL, April 11, 2013
The Legislature’s stampede to significantly expand online learning for students in public schools has nothing to do with offering more options and meeting unmet needs.

Proposed Legislation Would Halt Local Virtual Charter School Plan
Elgin Courier News, IL, April 11, 2013
New legislation that has moved to the Illinois House floor for a vote would put a stop to a virtual charter school that’s seeking approval to open this fall in 18 Fox Valley districts.

Charters, Vouchers And Virtual
Northwest Herald, IL, April 11, 2013
K12 Inc., a virtual charter school corporation, is stalking the public schools in our region, attempting to get its hands on public education money.

State Lawmakers To Put Online Charter Schools On Standby
Northwest Herald, IL, April 12, 2013
As local school boards rejected this week a request from a proposed online charter school that would draw students from its schools, state lawmakers appear poised to slap a hold on the creation of virtual schools until regulations and guidelines to govern them can be crafted.

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NATIONAL COVERAGE

Lawsuits Start To Pile Up On Plans To Close Schools
Washington Post, DC, April 11, 2013
There’s a list of them in Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Milwaukee, New York and the District, and major cities on the eastern and western ends of Pennsylvania have lists, too, as do other cities.

The Public Must Save Public Schools
St. Louis American, MO, April 11, 2013
There is a continued assault on the institution of education from within and without and from sea to shining sea. The public school experiment over the last couple of generations has not been without consequence to the individual student, our communities and ultimately the nation.

Obama Budget’s Big Education Items: Preschool For All, College Race To The Top
Christian Science Monitor, MA, April 10, 2013
President Obama’s budget proposal gives the Education Department $71.2 billion in discretionary spending for fiscal year 2014. Preschool for All would be funded by a tax hike on cigarettes.

Students Get 2nd Chances To Learn, Graduate
Deseret News, UT, April 10, 2013
Educational software that meets learners where they are, then guides them through school subjects at their chosen pace, is proving especially valuable to non-traditional high school students. Sixty-two percent of U.S. students taking makeup classes for courses they failed took them online, according to 2012 figures from the National Center for Education Statistics.

STATE COVERAGE

ARIZONA

Arizona’s Public Schools Getting Creative To Compete For Students
Cronkite News, AZ, April 10, 2013
Conducting exit interviews with students and parents who choose charter or private schools over public schools.

CALIFORNIA

Parents Choose Unique School Takeover Model In ‘Trigger’ Vote
The Hechinger Report, April 10, 2013
In the latest test of California’s controversial “parent trigger” law, South Los Angeles parents have voted to transform their struggling neighborhood school into a charter school hybrid beginning this fall, organizers announced Wednesday.

San Carlos District To Consider Adding Two Charter Schools
San Jose Mercury News, CA, April 11, 2013
Since six of San Carlos’ seven public elementary and middle schools are charters, Superintendent Craig Baker tonight is expected to seek similar status for two new schools the district plans to build.

COME BACK KIDS: Charter School To Offer Dropout Recovery
Press-Enterprise, CA, April 10, 2013
The Riverside County Board of Education approved a Come Back Kids charter school Wednesday, April 10.

Parents Make Case For YES Charter School Before Yuba Board
Yuba Appeal-Democrat, CA, April 11, 2013
Attorneys and supporters of YES Charter Academy challenged Marysville Joint Unified School District findings on Wednesday while pleading their case for a charter renewal during a public hearing at the
Yuba County Board of Education meeting.

Parents Choose LAUSD, Charter School To Run Jefferson Park Campus
Los Angeles Times, CA, April 10, 2013
Parents at 24th Street Elementary School have overwhelmingly chosen a partnership between the Los Angeles Unified School District and a charter school to run the persistently low-performing Jefferson Park campus.

CONNECTICUT

State Receives Proposals For New Charter Schools
CT Post, CT, April 10, 2013
The state received seven applications for new charter schools this week, including one for a Montessori school in Bridgeport that would be run in conjunction with the city school board.

DELAWARE

Christina May Turn Back On $2.3 Million
The News Journal, DE, April 11, 2013
The board also made clear Tuesday night that it would rather walk away from its share of Delaware’s Race to the Top money — $2.3 million — than accept a new state evaluation system for teachers.

FLORIDA

The Dark Side Of Parent Trigger
Miami Herald, FL, April 10, 2013
The crusade to privatize public education continues gaining ground in the Florida Legislature, where the controversial bill to have a traditional neighborhood school transformed into a charter school, among other options, sails at full speed under the premise of empowering parents to turn around a school that’s failing their children.

Education Bills Address Class Choices
Tallahassee Democrat, FL, April 10, 2013
Florida lawmakers for years have supported school choice policies like vouchers and charter schools. State Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, says he wants to create “choice within choice” — allowing students to pick individual courses from outside the existing offerings of the state’s education system.

GEORGIA

Savannah-Chatham Public Schools Rightsizing Goes Wrong
Savannah Morning News, GA, April 11, 2013
Wednesday Savannah-Chatham Public School officials presented plans for shifting around students from the highly successful Early College and Woodville-Tompkins programs in order to fill up woefully underutilized Savannah High and make space for new and growing programs.

IDAHO

Idaho Charter Schools Eye New State Dollars
Idaho State Journal, ID, April 10, 2013
While Idaho charter schools may be months away from getting their split in about $1.4 million in funding promised by lawmakers, some school administrators say they are having no problem figuring out how they’ll spend the extra cash.

ILLINOIS

Charter School Wars Hurting All Children
Chicago Sun Times, IL, April 10, 2013
Charter schools have become a flash point in this city’s school wars, praised by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, demonized by the Chicago Teachers Union, and targeted for a moratorium by a faction of the City Council.

INDIANA

Senate Narrowly OKs Expanding Vouchers
The Journal Gazette, IN, April 11, 2013
More Hoosier children will be eligible for state-paid vouchers under a bill narrowly approved by the Senate on Wednesday.

IOWA

House GOP Offers Education Concession
Des Moines Register, IA, April 11, 2013
There’s no deal yet on education reform, one of Gov. Terry Branstad’s top priorities, but House Republicans have offered a major concession aimed at compromising with Senate Democrats.

KANSAS

Mount Hope Fails To Obtain Charter
The Hutchinson News, KS, April 10, 2013
A bid to establish a rural-life charter school at Mount Hope failed.

MAINE

Proposal Would Make All Maine Districts, Not Just Local Ones, Responsible For Charter School Funding
Bangor Daily News, ME, April 10, 2013
Lawmakers reacted warmly Tuesday to a concept presented by Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen that would drastically change how charter schools in Maine are funded, spreading the financial responsibility to every school district in the state.

MASSACHUSETTS

Holyoke Parents Set To Lobby Lawmakers For Additional Charter Schools
The Republican, MA, April 10, 2013
Between 100 and 200 parents are scheduled to travel to Beacon Hill Thursday to urge legislators to allow more charter schools here, a spokesman for the group said Wednesday.

Dismantling Of Ed Reform
Worcester Telegram, MA, April 11, 2013
The Gov. Deval Patrick administration has finally come clean, admitting that MCAS will soon be a thing of the past.

Flunking The Test
Boston Globe, MA, April 11, 2013
Starting this spring, Rhode Island high school seniors will have to pass the New England Common Assessment Program to get their diploma. The new requirement is the latest effort by the Rhode Island Department of Education to improve low-performing high schools. But does high-stakes testing ensure the state’s students are properly prepared to succeed in a 21st century workforce? A group of local high school students is raising the question.

MICHIGAN

Muskegon Heights Schools Emergency Manager, Charter Company Detail Steps To Address ‘Academic Tragedy’
The Muskegon Chronicle, MI, April 10, 2013
With most high school students’ learning three grades behind, teachers in Muskegon Heights’ new charter school are “pre-teaching” students and providing extra before- and after-school instruction to help students catch up.

MONTANA

SB 374 Aims To Establish Public Charter Schools
Beartooth NBC, MT, April 10, 2013
The House Board of Education heard public comment on a bill today that aims to establish public charter schools in the state of Montana.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Gov. Hassan Touts Casino’s Potential Impact On Education Funding During Tour Of Manchester Charter School
New Hampshire Union Leader, NH, April 11, 2013
Gov. Maggie Hassan visited a Manchester charter school on Wednesday and said her plan for a casino represents a way to pay for an expansion of charter schools in the state.

NEW JERSEY

N.J. Teacher Evaluation On The Wrong Track
Star-Ledger, NJ, April 10, 2013
The New Jersey Department of Education has proposed major changes in the rules governing how public school teachers are evaluated. The idea is to use students’ standardized test scores to measure how well teachers are doing their jobs.

New N.J. School Reports Released By State Education Department; Bring New Rankings, Data
Star-Ledger, NJ, April 10, 2013
New school performance reports released today by the state Department of Education place each school in a new “peer group” with 30 other schools with similar demographics.

NEW YORK

10,000 Students Cheer State Tax Credit Bill To Help Private Schools
Buffalo News, NY, April 11, 2013
The cheers Wednesday morning in First Niagara Center were louder and heartier than the Buffalo Sabres have been able to elicit from fans this season.

NORTH CAROLINA

Superintendent Says Charter School Recruitment Violated Policy
Shelby Star, NC, April 10, 2013
Cleveland County Schools officials say supporters of a new charter school have been recruiting students from one of their campuses. But organizers at Pinnacle Classical Academy say they don’t need to recruit and supporters were acting without the approval of Pinnacle board members.

Senate, House Leaders Differ On Teacher Tenure
News & Observer, NC, April 10, 2013
A major fissure opened Wednesday between House and Senate leaders on how to evaluate the state’s 93,000 teachers and grade schools.

OHIO

Local Schools Take Big Hits In House GOP Budget Plan
Columbus Dispatch, OH, April 11, 2013
Ohio schools would get $121 million less next year under a House Republican funding plan unveiled on Tuesday compared with an earlier proposal from Gov. John Kasich, a state Department of Education analysis shows.

PENNSYLVANIA

Education Advocates Push Changes In Phila.
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, April 10, 2013
Stop filling any Philadelphia School District vacancy on the basis of teacher seniority. Overhaul recruitment policies. Get rid of ineffective principals. Tie school safety to administrators’ ratings.

Group Wants Philly Teacher, Principal Reforms
Philadelphia Inquirer Blog, PA, April 10, 2013
A newly-formed umbrella group of many of the city’s leading education nonprofits hopes to affect the upcoming Philadelphia teachers’ contract.

Finances Detailed For York School Options
York Daily Record, PA, April 10, 2013
Both options proposed to reform the York City School District could balance the budget in future years, according to financial projections presented Wednesday night. But either way, the district would need to draw students back from existing charter schools.

TENNESSEE

Charter Authorizer Plan Sent To House Floor After Senate Bill Slowdown
The Tennessean, TN, April 11, 2013
Lawmakers in the Tennessee House of Representatives pushed on with a bill that would set up a new panel to review charter school applications, a day after major questions delayed the measure in the Senate.

Reducing Welfare Payments For Parents Of Failing Students Is Not A Solution Toward Better Grades
Commercial Appeal, TN, April 10, 2013
If Campfield and Dennis really want to do something to encourage students to perform better in school, maybe they could sponsor bills that create an incentive program to award monetary stipends to poverty-challenged students who earn good grades. That makes more sense than fiscally punishing parents who are already living in poverty — and the children who depend on them.

TEXAS

Charter School’s Entry Fee Is Illegal
Houston Chronicle, TX, April 10, 2013
Houston Gateway Academy, a public charter school that serves mostly low-income families, was charging parents fees to enroll their children in violation of state law, according to the Texas Education Agency.

IDEA Finds New Home After AISD Breakup
American-Statesman, TX, April 10, 2013
Leaders of IDEA Public Schools, whose partnership with the Austin school district divided the community, announced Tuesday afternoon they found a new location.

WISCONSIN

Local Control Lost Under Charter School Proposal
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, April 10, 2013
When reading Monday’s letter “Support charter schools in Wisconsin” from the state director of Democrats for Education Reform, Wisconsin Chapter, it’s easy to think charter schools provide tangible benefits to students. He has the right idea, but charter schools are not the only or best answer.

ONLINE LEARNING

Charter Reform Sought By Seneca Valley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, April 11, 2013
Seneca Valley school board members want to reform Pennsylvania’s cyber charter school law, and they want the public to join their quest.

Senate Seeking Compromise On Funding For Online Classes
StateImpact NPR, FL, April 10, 2013
A Senate committee is attempting to defuse a funding dispute between the state-sponsored Florida Virtual School and private online providers.

Schools Exploring Online Learning
Tiffin Advertiser Tribune, OH, April 11, 2013
Columbian High School students, administrators and teachers discussed the benefits of online learning at their Virtual High School Collaborative Open House Wednesday.

Dist. 303 Charter School Rejection May Be Template For Battle
Chicago Daily Herald, IL, April 10, 2013
In denying the application for a virtual charter school this week, St. Charles Unit District 303 may have revealed the cornerstone of the argument up to 18 school districts involved in the decision will soon bring to a state commission.

House Bill Would Ban New Virtual Charter Schools In Illinois For 3 Years
Quad Cities Dispatch, IL, April 10, 2013
An Illinois House committee on Wednesday passed a controversial bill that would put a three-year freeze on the creation of new virtual charter schools in Illinois.