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Teacher Evaluation Reform Spreading Across The Nation
The Oklahoman, OK, December 25, 2011
Oklahoma is not the first state to adopt a teacher evaluation system based in part on student test results, but is part of a growing trend across states and schools to move to the growth or value added evaluation models.

STATE COVERAGE

Charter School Becomes A Success Story
Anchorage Daily News, AK, December 26, 2011
Turning berry picking into a math lesson is one example of an approach that is helping students at the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School make remarkable gains in achievement scores.

Arizona School System Braces For Biggest Shake-Up In Decades
Tucson Citizen, AZ, December 24, 2011
Arizona is putting in place some of the biggest changes in public schools in two decades. Over the next three years, the reforms will shake up what students learn and when they are promoted, as well as how teachers are evaluated and schools are graded.

Charter School Plans Filed With City
North County Times, CA, December 26, 2011
Santa Rosa Academy in the last few weeks has taken another step toward building its new school in the heart of Menifee.

Teachers Union Sues Sacramento City Schools Over Seniority Rights In Layoffs
Sacramento Bee, CA, December 25, 2011
The Sacramento City Unified School District is fighting a civil lawsuit filed by its teachers union over teacher seniority rights in rehiring after layoffs.

STEM Charter High School Planned at DSU
News Journal, DE, December 26, 2011
The model they saw in action on their visits is known as “Early College High School .” And if the state approves its charter school application, DSU will open the first school of that type in Delaware on its Dover campus by the fall of 2013.

Keep a Watchful Eye on High Cost of School Reform
Washington Times, DC, December 25, 2011
There’s a nasty little

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Charter Schools: The Debate Continues
CNN Blog, December 22, 2011
With recent statistics indicating that more students than ever are enrolled in charter schools, there’s no end in sight to the ongoing debate over which is more effective in educating our kids: Traditional public or charter schools. A newly released report offers potential talking points for both sides.

After Missing Out Last Year, 7 States to Share Almost $200 Million in Education Grants
New York Times, NY, December 23, 2011
Seven states that narrowly lost out in last year’s Race to the Top school improvement competition will share nearly $200 million in the latest round of winners announced Thursday by federal education officials.

Schools Look to Donors
Wall Street Journal, December 23, 2011
Wealthy donors have created a fund to pay the salary of a new Bridgeport school superintendent, ushering in hopes of a new era of private money for reform efforts in Connecticut’s most troubled school system.

STATE COVERAGE

Is Menino The Education Mayor Or Not?
Boston Globe, MA, December 23, 2011
IF MAYOR Menino passes over an educator like Meg Campbell for an open seat on the Boston School Committee, he should turn in his credentials as the education mayor.

Eva Moskowitz vs. Cobble Hill
Amsterdam News, NY, December 23, 2011
It looks like controversial charter school operator Eva Moskowitz is moving into one of the more posh New York City neighborhoods, with the aid of the New York City Board of Education.

In D.C. Charter Schools, A Wide Variety Of Challenges
Washington Post, DC, December 22, 2011
At D.C. Prep Edgewood Middle School, one of the city’s top-ranked charter schools, showing up without a belt as part of your uniform gets you a half-hour detention at the end of the day. So does getting to your seat a minute late, at 8:01 a.m.

Two Charter Schools Recommended For

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Charter Schools Must Succeed Or Close
Washington Times, DC, December 21, 2011
Unlike their traditional counterparts, charter schools aren’t guaranteed an endless existence. And that, supporters say, is a good thing.

Charter Schools Rarely Closed For Academic Performance: Report
Huffington Post, December 21, 2011
In nearly two decades, only 3 percent of charter schools have ever been closed for underperforming, according to a new report released Tuesday.

Reducing Inequality in Our Schools
New York Times, NY, December, 22, 2011
Helen F. Ladd and Edward B. Fiske are right to remind us of the disadvantages faced by poor children in our high-stakes educational system (“Class Matters. Why Won’t We Admit It?,” Op-Ed, Dec. 12).

Gingrich, Romney, Obama — Education Triplets
Washington Post, DC, December 21, 2011
The battle for the White House 2012 has little to do with selecting an education president. That issue is almost never mentioned on the campaign trail. Some candidates don’t even bother to include it on their Web sites.

States Expand ‘Disadvantaged’ Category To Address Racial Gap
Washington Times, DC, December 21, 2011
A number of states struggling with vast racial achievement gaps in schools may have found a way around the problem: Lump blacks and Hispanics with handicapped and poor children.

Segregated Charter Schools Evoke Separate But Equal Era in U.S.
Bloomberg, December 22, 2011
Six decades after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down “separate but equal” schools for blacks and whites; segregation is growing because of charter schools, privately run public schools that educate 1.8 million U.S. children. While charter-school leaders say programs targeting ethnic groups enrich education, they are isolating low-achievers and damaging diversity, said Myron Orfield, a lawyer and demographer.

The Paradox of Merit Pay
American Thinker, December 22, 2011
A recent study from The American Enterprise Institute and The Heritage Foundation compared teacher salaries to their counterparts in the private sector and concluded

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Charter School Proponents Focus On Accountability In Word If Not In Deed
Huffington Post, December 20, 2011
The most recent call to close underperforming charter schools came not from a teachers’ union or a school district, but from a charter-school trade association.

In Education, Focus On What We Can Control
Indianapolis Star, IN, December 21, 2011
When I’m asked about the issue of neglectful parenting and the impact it has on schools, I often offer a confession: While I don’t want to diminish the problem, I have no clue as to how to address it. I don’t see how a new law or policy would improve the situation.

STATE COVERAGE

Can Clergy Run Charter Schools?
Orange County Register, CA, December 21, 2011
A decision by school officials in Compton to deny a charter school application filed by a Christian pastor inspired the first California lawsuit filed by a new Orange County-based legal activist group that focuses on economic and individual liberty.

Chino Valley Board To Decide Whether To Renew Charter For County’s Top Performing School
Contra Costa Times, CA, December 20, 2011
A vote next week by the Chino Valley Unified School Board could determine whether San Bernardino County ‘s highest-performing school remains open past the end of the school year.

Why Rocketship Will, Must Work
San Jose Inside, CA, December 20, 2011
In my 38 years in public education, I never witnessed as consequential a vote as was taken on Dec. 14 and the early morning hours of Dec. 15. The Santa Clara County Office of Education Board, on a very controversial 5-2 and 4-3 vote, approved 20 new Rocketship Education charter schools in Silicon Valley .

Malloy Maps Education Push for Connecticut
Wall Street Journal Blog, December 20, 2011
Spurred by a second loss of federal education grant money and a so far unfulfilled campaign promise to reform Connecticut’s

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STEM and Urban Schools: Opportunities to Escape Poverty’s Cycle
US News & World Report Blog, December 19, 2011
Despite your problems–too many low income residents, too much crime–it is possible to help children in your communities break the cycle of poverty.

Teacher Tenure At Issue In Improving Education
Deseret News, UT, December 20, 2011
Now, more than four years later, the idea that firing bad teachers will make schools better is catching on. States like Idaho , Tennessee and Florida are all in the process of implementing reforms that would make public school employment contingent on some measure of teacher effectiveness.

STATE COVERAGE

Lodi’s Rio Valley Charter School Might Be A ‘Strange Bird’ — But Students Are Flocking To It
Lodi News-Sentinel, CA, December 20, 2011
Rio Valley began with 125 students on Lower Sacramento Road as a satellite of Heritage Peak Charter School in Sacramento four years ago. But in 2009, school staff wanted to expand their program and become their own school.

Up Next — Education Unions’ Plans To Reform Schools
Connecticut Mirror, CT, December 19, 2011
What students and parents didn’t know was that things were about to change. The teachers’ union had a plan, and the University of Connecticut’s highly regarded education college was there to help. That plan called for the school’s teachers and parents to vote to make the management decisions themselves so initiatives would no longer be stalled at the central office.

State’s Educators Are At The Forefront Of School Improvement
News Journal, DE, December 20, 2011
No community decision is more important than how we will educate our children. And the Delaware State Education Association practices the Delaware Way as we engage in the public arena on behalf of education and educators.

Emulate These Schools
Miami Herald, FL, December 19, 2011
Charter schools give parents another choice beyond public and private. Some of

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Schools Race Teaches States A Hard Lesson
Washington Times, DC, December 18, 2011
Every race has losers, and the Obama administration’s Race to the Top education grant competition is proving to be no exception.

Education’s Coconut Cake Problem
Boston Globe, MA, December 18, 2011
There are public schools that are performing near miracles in deeply troubled urban districts, but nobody, not even those who run these schools, can say for sure what makes them work. Everyone has their theory – a longer school day, a little more discipline – but nobody knows the actual recipe.

STATE COVERAGE

Charting a Course for Charter Schools
Dothan Eagle, AL, December 18, 2011
Pataula is located in Calhoun County, Ga. , and enrolls students from a five-county area. The school is 75 percent white and 25 percent minority, and accepts students for empty spots via a lottery. Students at the school must abide by a behavior contract to continue attending the school.

Year In Review: 5 Most Disappointing Moments In Public Education
Los Angeles Times, CA, December 17, 2011
There were hopeful signs this year in public education. Test scores continued to rise in California and in the Los Angeles Unified School District , especially among younger students.

Gateway Would Link Its Teachers’ Pay, Performance
Redding Record Spotlight, CA, December 18, 2011
In the unionized public schools, however, the phrase “merit pay” constitutes fighting words. Most teachers’ contracts offer raises on a rigid schedule that rewards experience — a sensible enough principle — without regard to whether the students are actually enjoying the benefits of a particular teacher’s years in the classroom. Let’s face it: Burnout happens.

Report On “Innovation” Status In Denver Shows Mostly Positive School Cultures
Denver Post, CO, December 19, 2011
The first report from a three-year study of Denver’s innovation schools could lead to more in-depth research and more pointed work

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Closing The Achievement Gap, But At Gifted Students’ Expense
Washington Post, DC, December 15, 2011
President Obama’s remarks on inequality, stoking populist anger at “the rich,” suggest that the theme for his reelection bid will be not hope and change but focus on reducing class disparity with government help. But this effort isn’t limited to economics; it is playing out in our nation’s schools as well.

Teachers Union Leads Effort That Aims To Turn Around West Virginia School System
Washington Post, DC, December 15, 2011
The American Federation of Teachers, vilified by critics as an obstacle to school reform, is leading an unusual effort to turn around a floundering school system in a place where deprivation is layered on heartache.

Charter Schools: Wave of the Future?
CNN Blog, December 15, 2011
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools recently released a report saying that more than 2 million children are enrolled in public charter schools this year. The nonprofit resource for charter schools said that more than 500 charter schools opened their doors across the country in the 2011-12 school year.

Focus on Producing Best Teachers
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, December 15, 2011
The United States ranks between the middle and bottom on international assessments of student achievement. On a per-capita basis, the U.S. spends more than any other country except the tiny principality of Luxembourg. And, as the years go by, one country after another surpasses us in the proportion of the workforce that has a high school diploma or a four-year college degree.

9 States To Win Early Learning Grant
Associated Press, December 16, 2011
Nine states will share $500 million in grant money won in a high-profile competition intended to jump-start improvements in often-overlooked early childhood programs, The Associated Press has learned

STATE COVERAGE

Strange Wants To Focus On Charter-School Legislation, Believe It Campaign
Montgomery Advertiser, AL,