Learning to Teach to Bridge the Achievement Gap
New York Times, NY, November 20, 2009
What is turbo-charging academics at this school? It is never easy to prove a cause-and-effect relationship in education, but three ingredients associated with success in other schools are at work: high expectations for everyone, constant assessment and family involvement.

Gates Foundation Gives $335 Million To Raise Teacher Effectiveness
Washington Post, DC, November 20, 2009
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Thursday a $335 million investment in teacher effectiveness, funding experiments in tenure, evaluation, compensation, training and mentoring in three large school systems and a cluster of charter schools.

Changes Urged in Rules for Federal Innovation Aid
Education Week, MD, November 19, 2009
As the U.S. Department of Education prepares final rules for the $650 million Investing in Innovation Fund, officials face strong concerns from school districts and philanthropies that requiring matching funds from the private sector is unworkable and would turn foundations into the gatekeepers for these federal grants.

FROM THE STATES

Arizona

Special-Needs Scholarship Struggles for Donations
The Arizona Republic, AZ, November 20, 2009
A new scholarship fund for Arizona special-needs and foster children to attend private schools is falling flat, forcing some parents to send their children to other schools or to home-school, and prompting some small private schools to close their doors.

Florida

State Will Soon Grade Its Education Schools
Orlando Sentinel, FL, November 19, 2009
Florida already grades its public schools and rates its pre-kindergarten programs based on student test scores. Its teacher-preparation programs look to be next. The Florida Department of Education is working on a system to judge programs that train teachers - whether at universities, colleges or school districts - in an effort to boost teacher quality.

Illinois

Brady Unveils Education Reform Package
Chicago Daily Observer, IL, November 19, 2009
Sen. Bill Brady, Republican Candidate for Governor, unveiled a comprehensive education reform package today to give parents a greater choice in their children’s education and to better prepare Illinois students for college educations and 21st Century vocations and careers.

Indiana

Duncan Says U.S. Has Chance to Reform Education System
Indianapolis Star, IN, November 20, 2009
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told educators at a conference Thursday in Indianapolis that too many adults — in classrooms, communities and state governments — are standing in the way of American children getting a good education…. But local educators pointed out afterward that many obstacles stand in the way of reform.

Iowa

School Changes Could Net Millions for Iowa
Des Moines Register, IA, November 20, 2009
Iowa would tie teacher evaluations to student test scores and expand charter schools as part of a school reform effort announced Thursday by Gov. Chet Culver.

Louisiana

Few Charters Operate Privately
Monroe News Star, LA, November 20, 2009
To say that charter schools are “privatizing” the public education system in Louisiana is a serious misstatement and nothing more than an attempt by those that oppose the reforms here to further spread myths and half truths about charter schools.

Massachusetts

Teacher Unions Keep Fighting Education
Enterprise News, MA, November 20, 2009
Every time teachers battle education reform measures that would seem to improve education, their union leaders trot out the mantra “it’s for the children.” Don’t allow teacher testing. Don’t use MCAS tests. Don’t give bonuses to the best teachers. Don’t fight tax increases and raises for teachers.

Fix schools and Budget - Legislature’s Recess Can Wait
Boston Globe, MA, November 20, 2009
WHEN THE state House of Representatives formally adjourned for the year Wednesday night, it left important public business in limbo. The chamber failed to pass a landmark education reform initiative - one that is vital to competing for $250 million in federal education money.

Race for Last Place
Boston Herald, MA, November 20, 2009
In failing to adopt meaningful education reforms by the end of formal sessions this week the Legislature has placed the commonwealth at risk of forfeiting some $250 million available under a new White House education initiative.

Missouri

Three St. Louis Charter Schools Get Federal Grants
St. Louis Post Dispatch, MO, November 19, 2009
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded more than $2 million in Charter Schools Program grants to four new Missouri charter schools.

New York

Teachers at Some Low-Performing Schools Get Bonuses
New York Times, NY, November 20, 2009
Teachers at W.H. Maxwell Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn were among those at 23 high schools citywide awarded a total of $3.5 million in performance bonuses on Thursday, even though the school received a D on its progress report earlier this week.

Ohio

Ohio Should Restore Catholic School Aid
Cincinnati Enquirer, OH, November 20, 2009
The old adage not to judge a book by its cover was never more apparent than when the Ohio House released its “Education Funding Protection Act” that ignores students in Catholic schools.

Pennsylvania

Choosing the Public They School
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 20, 2009
However, as much as we all yearn for a neat answer to our educational problems, the current charter school model is not it. Despite constant claims that charter schools do much more with exactly the same students, they don’t.

Washington

Shameful for Washington to Miss Federal School Funds
Bellingham Herald, WA, November 19, 2009
The Obama administration’s Race to the Top initiative has done Washington a painful favor. It has exposed just how hostile the state’s K-12 establishment has been to genuine education reform.

Wisconsin

Number of Milwaukee Children Using Vouchers Rises 4%
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, November 20, 2009
The number of Milwaukee children using publicly funded vouchers to attend private schools increased 4% in 2009, while the total number of voucher schools decreased significantly for the first time in years, according to data released this week by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Health Care, Education Reform Both Need Competition
Hernando Today, FL, November 18, 2009
Real reform in education should ask the following questions: Is there adequate competition among education providers, do education consumers have enough choices and is the public option the only appropriate way to provide education?

Give “American Education Week” Some Real Meaning
Pacific Research Institute, November 18, 2009
The desire to provide every child with a quality education is a laudable one. In order to compete in an increasingly competitive world, American students need access to top-notch educations. The NEA, unfortunately, has consistently opposed measures like merit pay and vouchers that would make it possible for all students to get the education they deserve.

FROM THE STATES

California

New School Focuses on the Individual
San Diego Union Tribune, CA, November 19, 2009
There’s no football team, high school yearbook or senior prom.
Many of the students at the new Diego Hills Public Charter school have more weighty topics on their minds. Some are parents. Others have been in gangs or are working long hours to help support their families. Many have dropped out of traditional high schools.

Obama 1, CTA 0? / Assembly Right To Take Up School Reform Plan
San Diego Union Tribune, CA, November 19, 2009
President Barack Obama’s unexpectedly insistent push for education reform is the most welcome surprise of his 10 months in office. A Democratic president is far better positioned politically to demand changes in how schools work than a Republican, whose policy pronouncements are likely to be trashed by the powerful National Education Association or the American Federation of Teachers as a secret plot to undermine public education.

District of Columbia

D.C. Schools Chief Targets Tenure
Wall Street Journal, November 19, 2009
The Obama administration says it wants to remake public education around the principle that the best teachers should be promoted and rewarded, regardless of seniority. And a brawl over just that idea is now playing out in the shadow of the White House.

Louisiana

Schools Guide Students To Graduation, Beyond
Times Picayune, LA, November 19, 2009
Thank you for including this article in your school choice series. Similar to KIPP adviser Nicole Cummins, I work as a graduate support advisor to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at the Esperanza Charter School, run by the United Neighborhood Organization.

Massachusetts

Lawmakers Leave Patrick, Bills Waiting
Boston Globe, MA, November 19, 2009
Sweeping changes to the state’s education and criminal justice systems stalled in the Legislature early this morning, as House leaders traded barbs with Governor Deval Patrick and refused to give him power to make emergency budget cuts.

‘Reform’ Proposals Would Hurt Charters
Attleboro Sun Chronicle, MA, November 19, 2009
The Massachusetts Charter Public School Association is deeply concerned about a number of proposals within the Senate Ways and Means version of the Education Reform bill. While we share the overall goal to expand charter public schools, there are provisions that would undermine this goal.

Michigan

DPS, Teachers’ Union Agree To Try To Turn Around Failing Schools
Detroit News, MI, November 19, 2009
Detroit Public Schools’ Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb and his academic czar, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, are trying to do what no leadership team has done in Detroit in decades: Make failing schools work again.

Missouri

Missouri to Compete For Federal Stimulus Funds for School Reform
Kansas City Star, MO, November 19, 2009
The fight is on for billions of federal dollars to back school reform, and Missouri is answering the bell after all. The Obama administration is opening up $4.35 billion in stimulus funds for states that can show the strongest plans for reforming schools and boosting student performance.

Ohio

Stuck in the Middle
Columbus Dispatch, OH, November 19, 2009
For decades, it has been no secret that sixth grade, the advent of middle school, is the point at which parents are most likely to move into suburban districts or transfer their children into private schools, because these schools are perceived to be better and safer.

Pennsylvania

The Charter-School Pop Quiz
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, November 19, 2009
WHICH OF THESE statements is true? Charter schools don’t get enough oversight from the state and the various school districts, which has led to so many financial scandals. Charter schools are being overregulated - and unfairly scrutinized - cramping the very strengths we expect from them: independence and innovation. If you were in school, this would be an impossible test, since, in many ways, both answers are right. Then again, maybe it depends on who’s marking the test.

Rhode Island

Cranston Mayor Considers Mayoral Academy
Providence Journal, RI, November 19, 2009
By traditional measures such as reading scores and math scores, the city’s schools are generally doing well. Mayor Allan W. Fung is hoping a dose of competition from a not-so-traditional setting will encourage them to do better.

Tennessee

Nashville Charter School Advocates Say Director Gets In Way Of Mission
The Tennessean, TN, November 19, 2009
Relations between charter schools and Metro administrators used to be distant and chilly, but now some charter leaders are wondering if attempts to improve the bond have made it too close for comfort.

Washington

Seattle Public Schools Report Card Welcome
Seattle Times, WA, November 19, 2009
Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson makes good on that promise with a set of report cards for schools, central-office departments and individual employees. This kind of transparency is welcome in the state’s largest school system.

Duncan Hosts Meeting with Rural School Superintendents As He Continues to Seek Input on Education Reform
US Department of Education, November 17, 2009
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan met today with a group of rural school superintendents from nine states to listen and learn about their needs and to discuss ways the Education Department can be a partner in helping to find solutions to their educational challenges.

FROM THE STATES

Florida

School Board Votes To Take Gates Grant
Tampa Tribune, FL, November 18, 2009
The district, the eighth-largest in the nation, is the biggest of the four being considered by the Gates foundation.

Maryland

Officials Debate Charter School Tax Problem
Frederick News Post, MD, November 18, 2009
The Frederick County Commissioners have granted a one-year tax waiver to the Monocacy Valley Montessori Public Charter School. Commissioners would like to see a permanent solution to the school’s problem, which is that the school is paying property tax despite a state law exempting school buildings.

Massachusetts

Senate Passes Sweeping Changes For Underperforming Schools
Boston Globe, MA, November 18, 2009
The state Senate last night passed a sweeping education bill, the most significant in more than 15 years, giving Massachusetts an edge in a scramble to compete for $250 million in federal education grants.

City Takes Aim At A Dozen Lagging Schools
Boston Globe, MA, November 18, 2009
At least a dozen Boston schools - many in neighborhoods with high rates of crime, poverty, and teenage pregnancy - are being targeted for dramatic overhauls, reinvention, or closing, under a plan that Superintendent Carol R. Johnson is scheduled to present at tonight’s School Committee meeting.

Union Blocks Teacher Bonuses
Boston Herald, MA, November 18, 2009
Grinchlike union bosses are blocking at least 200 of Boston’s best teachers from pocketing bonuses for their classroom heroics in a puzzling move that gets a failing grade from education experts.

Missouri

Teacher Salaries
Columbia Daily Tribune, MO, November 17, 2009
The very mention of merit pay for public school teachers gives most people inside the academy the fantods. Unions and worker groups most likely to organize therein generally oppose the idea of pay increases based on any hint of discrimination among members.

Nevada

Gibbons Wants Law Changed To Enable Nevada To Get Education Stimulus Money
Reno Gazette Journal, NV, November 18, 2009
If the state’s worsening fiscal woes force a special legislative session, Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons said Tuesday he’d likely ask lawmakers to change a law that prevents Nevada from competing for part of $4.3 billion in federal education funding.

New York

Finally Getting Real On Training Teachers
New York Post, NY, November 18, 2009
On Monday, New York state started taking education re form seriously: The state Board of Regents took up the topic of teacher preparation — with new Education Com missioner David Steiner as the star witness.

Pennsylvania

City Council Questions Limits On Charter School Growth
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 18, 2009
At a time when the state legislature is mulling placing more restrictions on charter schools, City Council held an unusual hearing last night to question whether the Philadelphia School District has too much oversight over charters.

Gates Foundation Awards $40 Million To City Schools
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, November 18, 2009
In what officials said would be the largest grant ever made directly to the Pittsburgh Public Schools, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has offered the district $40 million for sweeping initiatives to maximize teacher effectiveness.

South Carolina

Shiny Apple
Charleston Post Courier, SC, November 18, 2009
Patricia Williams doesn’t like seeing such a vast number of local students score basic and below on the state’s standardized exams. It’s a problem she’s been talking about for years, and she decided to do something about it. Williams is executive director of The Apple Charter School, a new charter school that will open in Charleston County in the fall of 2010.

Virginia

Education Legacy: Schools Must Improve Under McDonnell . . .
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA , November 17, 2009
ARLINGTON Bob McDonnell faces a daunting workload as Virginia’s 71st governor. The budget crisis and transportation are headliners, but Virginia faces other serious challenges. A key one is improving our schools.

States Sprinting Hard in the “Race to the Top”
State Net Capitol Journal, November 16, 2009
The Obama administration has officially launched its “Race to the Top” competition for states seeking new federal education dollars. But anxious states have already been working for months on their plans for securing a piece of the $4.35 billion pie the program has to offer.

The Edsel of Education Reform
Wall Street Journal, November 17, 2009
We hate to say it, but don’t be misled by headlines. The biggest headline in education circles last week was that the Ford Foundation is making a whopping $100 million grant “to transform secondary education in the nation’s most disadvantaged schools.”

Education’s 5 Big Lies
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, November 17, 2009
AFTER 30 years of teaching, and 20 of talk radio and participating in dozens of education forums, I’ve heard “theories” of education from all over the spectrum - from the innovative to the idiotic. I’ve concluded that there are five big lies about schools and education that are widespread and damaging.

Half of States Now Offer Online-Learning Programs
Education Week, MD, November 16, 2009
More than half of U.S. states now operate online-learning initiatives for K-12 students, an increase over the 15 states that did so just two years ago, according to a new survey.

The New War Against Ed Schools
Education Week, MD, November 16, 2009
After taking aim at teachers and their unions with an unabashed endorsement of merit pay and charter schools, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has now decided to focus on a target he seems to think might be more vulnerable: schools of education. He has accused them of being “mediocre” and of producing teachers who are largely unprepared to teach in the public schools.

FROM THE STATES

Arizona

Professor Puts Savings for State at up to $186 Million
Arizona Republic, AZ, November 17, 2009
Baylor University economics professor told lawmakers on Monday that Arizona’s private-school tax-credit scholarship program saved the state $44 million to $186 million last year.

California

Villaraigosa, Teacher Groups Vie for 4 Schools
Los Angeles Times, CA, November 17, 2009
Jefferson High is one of the campuses that both Los Angeles’ mayor and groups backed by the teachers union have bid to run. Supt. Ramon Cortines will decide.

Colorado

Denver School Board Receives Input on Reforms
Denver Post, CO, November 17, 2009
About 40 parents teachers and others weighed in Monday on reform plans by Denver Public Schools - criticizing and applauding the district’s proposed changes. The DPS administrators’ recommendations aim to improve schools, close failing programs and add charter schools throughout the district.

Louisiana

Educators Eye Privatizing Public Schools
Louisiana Gannett News, LA, November 17, 2009
Educators from across northern Louisiana gathered in Rayville Sunday to learn about the increasing influence of the private industry in public education and to talk about its link to Race to the Top, a federal program offering states money for education reform.

Maryland

O’Malley Says State Is Moving To Capture Stimulus Education Dollars
Baltimore Sun, MD, November 17, 2009
Gov. Martin O’Malley defended on Monday Maryland’s efforts to qualify for Race to the Top federal education funds, saying the state is competitively positioned despite being characterized by some as visibly lagging behind other states.

Massachusetts

Amendments Bog Down Charter School Bill in Senate
Boston Globe, MA, November 17, 2009
Speedy legislative approval of a bill that would expand charter schools appeared to be in doubt last night as the Senate confronted mounting opposition on an array of provisions and 95 amendments to the bill, delaying a vote in that chamber at least until today.

Moving Schools in Right Direction
Cape Cod Times, MA, November 17, 2009
Beacon Hill lawmakers have just a few days before this year’s legislative session ends. The Cape’s own Sen. Robert O’Leary, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, is working hard to ensure the clock doesn’t run out for Massachusetts children, whose public schools desperately need reform.

Michigan

A New DPS in the Making
Detroit Free Press, MI, November 16, 2009
Teachers in Detroit Public Schools soon may help weed out inept colleagues and some failing schools may extend hours to give them more time to improve.

New York

More New York High Schools Get A’s
New York Times, NY, November 17, 2009
In releasing the third annual round of A through F grades for New York City high schools on Monday, the Education Department produced a rather murky picture: The number of schools receiving A’s on the city’s report cards increased this year, but more schools received C’s and D’s. And just one school received an F.

Start Grading The Teachers: Adopt Rigorous Ratings For Classroom Effectiveness
New York Daily News, NY, November 17, 2009
The single most important factor in how well a class of children learns is the quality of the teacher - except no one imposes any real quality control.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City Charter School Principal Receives National Prize
The Oklahoman, OK, November 17, 2009
Students at Santa Fe South Charter High School in southeast Oklahoma City were the first to respond to the announcement that their principal, Chris Brewster, had won a national award.

Pennsylvania

Charter Schools to Sound Off On District Policy Change
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 17, 2009
Philadelphia charter school operators who say a proposed school district policy will limit their ability to increase enrollment will air their objections today during a City Council committee meeting.

Virginia

Education Legacy: . . . And Charter Schools Are the Way to Start
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA, November 17, 2009
It’s now official. After more than a year of hard-fought campaigning, Bob McDonnell is Virginia’s governor-elect. As a candidate, McDonnell rightly focused his efforts on improving the common wealth’s economy. As governor, however, he will have greater control not over economic conditions, but over the condition of schools and the quality of education in the commonwealth — an issue that directly impacts the economy of the future.

New Governor’s Test in Public Education
Virginian Pilot, VA, November 17, 2009
Gov-elect Bob McDonnell promised this fall to push for more charter schools and performance pay for teachers. Budget cuts and resistance from teachers and school administrators will make both goals especially challenging.

Race to the Top Heats Up
Sun Sentinel Blog, FL, November 15, 2009
Florida is in hot pursuit of the $4.35 billion in federal funding available through the Race to the Top contest, which put in motion a new phase of federal education reform.

Obama Gets Inflated Grade on Education Reform
Detroit News, MI, November 14, 2009
Even as President Barack Obama’s approval ratings continue to slide, folks of all political persuasions are singing his praises on education — though he has done little of substance.

Unlikely Allies Advance Classroom Innovation
Washington Post, DC, November 15, 2009
The Rev. Al Sharpton, liberal Democrat, and former House speaker Newt Gingrich, conservative Republican, did all that here Friday, as they have in several other cities since September. President Obama met with them at the White House in May and urged them to go on tour to promote school innovation.

Funding for Common Assessments Poses Challenge
Education Week, MD, November 13, 2009
Near the end of a public meeting held here Thursday, the director of the Race to the Top Fund competition at the U.S. Department of Education, Joanne Weiss, asked a group of assessment experts to summarize their thoughts about how the federal agency could work to improve the country’s assessment systems.

FROM THE STATES

Alabama

Alabama Doesn’t Stand Much Chance For Federal Education Innovation Funds Without Allowing Charter Schools
Birmingham News, AL, November 16, 2009
Most gubernatorial candidates in Alabama sound as if they’re willing to enter another race: the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top,” President Barack Obama’s competition among states to reward education innovation. The program offers grants to states that embrace certain reforms, such as evaluating teachers using student achievement, using data systems to track student performance long term, and allowing charter schools.

Colorado

Colorado’s Efforts to ‘Race to the Top’
Denver Post, CO, November 15, 2009
One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education. As a Colorado educator, I know how scarce resources can be for everything - from classroom time to pencils. That’s why I’m thrilled at the prospect of a $400 million grant for public education in Colorado.

District of Columbia

Schools for Education
Washington Post, DC, November 16, 2009
THE D.C. government has never been particularly generous when it comes to making space for public charter schools. It grudgingly accepts applications from charters hoping to acquire vacated school buildings but, more often than not, opts to sell the properties to private developers or, worse, lets the buildings rot.

Florida

Studying Online Full Time From Home Catches on with Florida Kids
Orlando Sentinel, FL, November 16, 2009
Thousands of students across Florida are studying in classrooms that are right at their fingertips. Using home computers, they are logging into everything from first-grade reading to high-school biology in a new public-education option expected to become more popular as parents realize it’s available - and free.

Georgia

Charter Schools: BOE Wants To Maintain Local Control
Rockdale Citizen, GA, November 13, 2009
The Rockdale County Board of Education is trying to do its part to stand up to state practices that hurt its school system and other local systems around the state. “We oppose a separate entity to make a decision over and above the power of the (local school) board,” said Rockdale County Public Schools Superintendent Samuel King.

Louisiana

Making New Orleans School Choices Easier: An Editorial
Times Picayune, LA, November 15, 2009
They and their families found what so many others are finding: Despite a plethora of school choices in post-Katrina New Orleans, it isn’t easy to navigate the diffuse educational network. The complexities and frustrations were explained last week in reporter Sarah Carr’s five-day series, “The Challenge of Choice.”

Educators Discuss Private Influence
Monroe News Star, LA, November 16, 2009
Educators from across northern Louisiana gathered in Rayville Sunday to learn about the increasing influence of the private industry in public education and to talk about its link to Race to the Top, a federal program offering states money for education reform.

Massachusetts

State Ed Reform Measure Hovers Over Charter Talks
Gloucester Daily Times, MA, November 16, 2009
Even as the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meets tomorrow to weigh its options on its approval of a charter school for Gloucester, state lawmakers are also poised this week to consider education legislation rooted in Gov. Deval Patrick’s overall charter-school plan.

Missouri

Civil-rights Panel Hears Issues within KC Schools
Kansas City Star, MO, November 14, 2009
Any examination of the civil rights of children growing up in the Kansas City School District needs to recognize a changed education landscape, several speakers said Saturday.

Nevada

Nevada Out of ‘Race’ For Innovation Funding
Las Vegas Sun, NV, November 14, 2009
It’s official: Nevada has been shut out of the “Race to the Top,” a federal grant program offering $4.35 billion to improve the nation’s public schools. Keith Rheault, Nevada’s superintendent of public instruction, said Thursday “it’s looking pretty hopeless … they won’t even let us come to the starting line.”

New York

Losing the Race: State Must Bag Foolish Laws To Compete For School Reform Funds
New York Daily News, NY, November 14, 2009
The Obama administration is dangling $4.35 billion in awards for states that prove they’re committed to dramatic education reform. It’s called Race to the Top. New York is running, at best, in the middle of the pack.

Ohio

Ohio Education Association Blocks Ohio Republican Party Request For Teacher Contact Information
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, November 14, 2009
Kevin DeWine, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, said in a statement that the information would be used to communicate with teachers and let them know where Republican candidates stand on education issues.

Virginia

Charter Schools in Virginia
Washington Times, DC, November 16, 2009
Does the Virginia gubernatorial victory handed Republican Robert F. McDonnell mean that voters support his education agenda? Voters and school-choice advocates won’t know the answer until after the General Assembly convenes in January and the governor-elect is sworn in. In the interim, education, religious and business advocates are scheduled today to release the results of a voter survey on school choice…

Washington

Race to the Top in Education? Who, Us?
News Tribune, WA, November 16, 2009
The Obama administration’s Race to the Top initiative has done Washington a painful favor. It has exposed just how hostile the state’s K-12 establishment has been to genuine education reform.

‘No Child’ Law Sees More Students Transferring To Better Performing Schools
The Daily Herald, WA, November 16, 2009
More than 620 students across Snohomish County have transferred to schools with higher test scores this fall because their neighborhood schools didn’t measure up to federal academic goals.

West Virginia

Charter Schools a Hot Topic
Parkersburg News, WV, November 15, 2009
The debate over charter schools is returning to West Virginia, but state officials say a plan to introduce “innovation zones” into public schools may make the argument moot.

Wisconsin

Should State School Superintendent Have More Power?
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, November 14, 2009
The bill would give the state superintendent the power to implement new curriculum, expand school hours, add individual learning plans for pupils, make personnel changes and adopt accountability measures to monitor the school district’s finances.

The ‘Highly Qualified Teacher’ Dodge
New York Times, NY, November 13, 2009
Education Secretary Arne Duncan has been widely held in high regard since he was appointed in January, but no honeymoon lasts forever.

Racing to Reform
Washington Post, DC, November 13, 2009
WITHOUT spending a penny, Education Secretary Arne Duncan prodded states to take important, if small, steps toward school reform. Hoping to win funds from his forthcoming Race to the Top competition, states dismantled barriers to the use of student achievement data in assessing teachers, lifted caps on charter schools and raised standards for getting a teaching license.

Compromising on Education Reform?
ABC News, November 12, 2009
“The innovative reform piece was charter schools, they’ve muted that. The teacher reform piece was performance pay, they’ve muted that,” said Jeanne Allen, president of the nonprofit Center for Education Reform. “We thought Arne [Duncan] liked the girl with the brains but he’s dumped us for the popular girl…. The education establishment got to them.”.

‘Race to the Top’ Guidelines Diluted
PR Newswire, November 12, 2009
Federal guidelines for the distribution of $4.3 billion in “Race to the Top” education funds to states are irresponsibly weak and filled with loopholes, according to the national nonprofit Center for Education Reform (CER). The long-awaited guidelines, which many education reformers hoped would push states to adopt meaningful education reforms, contain serious flaws.

FROM THE STATES

Alabama

Alabama Candidates for Governor Warming Up to Charter School Idea
The Birmingham News, AL, November 12, 2009
In a nutshell, nearly everyone running for governor next year says Alabama should reverse course and allow charter schools as a way to foster competition and innovation in public education.

California

Charter School Offer Many Public Choices
The Desert Sun, CA, November 13, 2009
The Nov. 5 Valley Voice by Alexis Willis, president of the Coachella Valley Educators Association, contains several statements that I take issue with. I firmly believe that parents should have a choice in selecting their child’s school. Your residence should not determine the school that your child attends.

Indiana

Public-to-Private Switch: Save Money, Graduate More Kids
Indianapolis Star, IN, November 13, 2009
I like an idea recently presented to the Economic Club of Indiana: Improve Indiana K-12 education while reducing state and local government

Louisiana

Educator: Link Salary to Progress
The Advocate, LA, November 12, 2009
Kreuz made her comments to Louisiana’s Blue Ribbon Commission for Educational Excellence, which includes teachers, principals, state education administrators and teacher union representatives. The panel is looking for how to replace the way the state pays public schoolteachers, which critics say is disconnected from student achievement.

Maryland

No More Half-Measures
Baltimore Sun, MD, November 13, 2009
This unusual pairing of a liberal civil rights activist with the conservative former speaker of the House provides Maryland policymakers - and all educators - an opportunity to reassess where we are in America today with the quality of education offered children attending inner-city schools.

Massachusetts

Stand Up for Students In State’s Weakest Schools
Boston Globe, MA, November 13, 2009
The Education Committee on Beacon Hill is handing public school districts a valuable gift card that can be used to turn around the state’s weakest schools and school districts. The question now is whether the state’s teachers unions will rip it to pieces before it can be redeemed.

Superintendents’ Proposal Hurts Charter Schools
The Standard Times, MA, November 13, 2009
Your recent editorial (”Lift cap on charter schools,” Nov. 5) repeats oft-stated misinformation about charters by the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.

Education Reform Is In for a Big Test
Boston Globe, MA, November 13, 2009
We’ll learn what’s truly important to the Massachusetts Legislature: offering families more choices, catalyzing educational innovation, and tackling underperforming schools - or placating the teachers unions.

The Race for $4.35 Billion 
Press of Atlantic City Blog, NJ, November 13, 2009
The race is on. The U.S. Department of Education is taking applications for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top Funds, a competitive grant program designed to “encourage and reward states that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform” according to the DOE’s release.

North Carolina

Grant May Play Role in Teacher Pay Issue
Greensboro News & Record, NC, November 13, 2009
As the debate about linking teacher salaries to student achievement gathers strength in North Carolina, Washington is throwing its $4 billion dog into the fight.

Courts Hands Charter Schools a Victory
Beaufort Observer, NC, November 13, 2009
State law in North Carolina requires that public school systems share The Current Expense Fund revenues with the local charter school on a per pupil basis. But one school system decided that it was not as simple as dividing the amount of the Current Expense fund by the number of students and then allocating an equal per pupil share to the charter school. After years and thousands of dollars in lawyer bills the courts have said: equal means equal.

Rhode Island

Fundraiser Kicks Off for R.I. Catholic Schools
Providence Journal, RI, November 12, 2009
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence is launching a new fundraising campaign to provide more scholarships to families in need.

Texas

Texas May Pay Price for School Overhaul Stance
Houston Chronicle, TX, November 12, 2009
Texas is in the running for hundreds of millions of federal dollars to spur school improvement, but the state’s reluctance to embrace some of President Barack Obama’s education reform ideas could hurt its chances.

Virginia

Charting a New Path for Virginia Education
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, November 13, 2009
You’d think any reform touted by both a solidly conservative Republican and a staunchly liberal Democrat would face good odds in a purple state like Virginia. But not necessarily. Two major obstacles stand in the way: misperception and the forces of reaction.

Washington

Washington in Race for Federal Education Funds
Seattle Times, WA, November 13, 2009
Washington leaders are working to become more competitive in winning a share of $4.35 billion in education grants through an Obama Administration program called Race to the Top. Some think the state’s chances are, at best, a longshot.

Wisconsin

Charters Incubate Innovative Teaching
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, November 12, 2009
Charter schools provide an option in public school education for children who do not thrive in the traditional model. And they are designed to be a testing ground for innovative practices that can then be brought to traditional schools…

Obama Administration Must Embrace Real Education Reform, Not Just Rhetoric
Reuters, November 4, 2009
As admirable as the Obama administration’s policy on charters may appear to be, the President and his Education Secretary are, too often, giving states credit for talking about charter schools rather than actually changing laws to improve the likelihood that children will have real school choice.

Election Offers Varied Impact for Education
Education Week, MD, November 4, 2009
The results from yesterday’s state and local elections around the country offer some potentially significant implications for K-12 education, as voters sent two big-city mayors with authority over their school systems back for another term and replaced Democrats with Republicans in two governors’ mansions.

School Choice in America 2009: What it Means for Children’s Futures
The Heritage Foundation, November 4, 2009
School choice — what does it mean for American’s daily lives? It means that more and more parents are able to send their children to safer, better schools. It means that low-income and special-needs children across the country are attending a public or private school of their parents’ choice.

Obama Sets Markers On School Reform
Washington Times, DC, November 5, 2009
President Obama sent an unmistakable message to the nation’s teachers unions and school administrators Wednesday during a speech at a Wisconsin charter school: Don’t stand in the way of education reform.

FROM THE STATES

California

California Senate OKs School Changes To Seek Federal Funds
Sacramento Bee, CA, November 5, 2009
Senate Bill X5 1, approved by the Senate Tuesday, would make the state more likely to get a piece of the $4.35 billion in Race to the Top federal stimulus funds offered to the nation’s schools.

Colorado

Dougco Elects GOP-backed School Board Slate
Denver Post, CO, November 5, 2009
Voters turned out in record numbers for the school-board election in Douglas County, electing four new members who had been endorsed by the Republican Party.

End of Denver’s School Reforms
Denver Post, CO, November 5, 2009
By adding two new members to the Denver Public Schools board who are backed by the teachers union, voters may have delivered a disheartening blow to the struggling district’s nascent yet promising reform efforts.

District of Columbia

Md., Va. Dip Toes In Charter School Waters
Washington Post, DC, November 5, 2009
The number of charter schools in the District has skyrocketed over the past decade, and charters are on track to claim 38 percent of public school students in the city. The charter scene is a comparative desert in Virginia and Maryland, but that might be changing.

Georgia

More Public Input for School Systems Opting Out of State Mandates
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, November 5, 2009
The Georgia Board of Education approved changes Wednesday that give parents more say when local school systems seek to free themselves from state mandates.

Charter Schools Rally at State Capitol to Draw Close to 1,000
Atlanta Journal Constitution Blog, GA, November 4, 2009
A crowd of nearly 1,000 students, parents, educators, politicians and others will show their support for public charter schools in Georgia at the first ever “Rally at the Capitol for Charter Schools,” Friday, Nov. 6, 10 a.m. - noon, on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol building.

Illinois

School Options
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 5, 2009
This is in response to “Charter success story” (Editorial, Oct. 15). I commend the Tribune for so ardently supporting school choice. As one of the founders of the first charter school proposed in Illinois in the mid-1990s, the Tribune’s support of our efforts during the ordeal of continued rejection was very helpful to its ultimate approval by the Illinois State Board of Education.

Chicago May Open Charter School Near Altgeld Gardens
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 5, 2009
Chicago Public Schools is seeking to place a new charter school near the Altgeld Gardens housing complex for sixth- to 12th-grade students, a move that could quell tension in a community that has been vocal about wanting a neighborhood option for its high school students.

Louisiana

Charter Advocates Seek To Persuade School Board
The Daily Advertiser, LA, November 5, 2009
Lafayette Parish School Board members have said they would not be in favor of allowing a charter school to use Moss, nor would they be in favor of a charter school.

New Jersey

NJ Gov.-Elect Renews Pledge To Improve Education
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, November 4, 2009
New Jersey’s next governor, making his first post-Election Day appearance at a thriving charter school in the state’s largest city, renewed a campaign pledge to reform urban education.

West Virginia

Teaching May Evolve to Meet New Needs
Charleston State Journal, WV, November 5, 2009
Roughly 50 to 60 teacher-led schools exist throughout the nation, most of them charter schools. No charter schools currently exist in West Virginia, thanks in large part to opposition from teachers’ unions and because of no clear rules for setting them up in state law.

Wisconsin

CHARTER SCHOOLS: See the Whole Picture
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI, November 5, 2009
Milwaukee has 51 charter schools. The large majority of these schools are highly performing, and in fact many of them are among the best performing schools in the city. This includes schools authorized by the City of Milwaukee.

SECRETARY DUNCAN: I don’t have a hard number for you. We can get you that number.

Q: Thousands?

SECRETARY DUNCAN: Yes, thousands, thousands. Yes.

(Press gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Madison, WI - 11/4)

4,578.

That’s the answer you were looking for aboard Air Force One yesterday, Mr. Secretary. We’ve counted it, reported it, documented it. Sorry it wasn’t at your fingertips.

4,578 charter schools.

Thanks for supporting good charters. We actually support great charter schools, and we know that most are great, through scores of studies and reports over recent years. We also know by seeing who attends them, who waits to attend them, who escapes bad alternatives when they are available.

But we also support great charter laws, because without great laws, you can’t have great schools.

The small percentage of schools that some data suggest aren’t working are compromised by two things - first, bad charter laws that leave the same bureaucracies in control of the schools that are in control of the other bad public schools, and second, political opposition that sucks the energy and resources of the average charter school leader working on a shoestring budget with no PR department to fight the lies that are often spread about them.

Yes, good charter schools are right. There are boatloads of them.

And bad charter schools get closed.

657 of them have been closed over the course of the movement’s history.

How many bad public schools have closed? Not many.

Help us make all charter schools great, Mr. Secretary. Push for more than lifting caps and start talking about how most of them are really good. We can give you that data, too…

Obama Coaxes States to Change With School Dollars
Associated Press, November 4, 20009
One year after his election, President Barack Obama is coaxing states across the country to rewrite education laws and cut deals with unions as they pursue his vision for school reform. Obama is visiting Wisconsin, where lawmakers are poised to change a law to boost their state’s chances at $5 billion in education grants, the most money a president has ever had for overhauling schools.

No Child Left Behind
Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2009
Opponents of school choice are running out of excuses as evidence continues to roll in about the positive impact of charter schools.

FROM THE STATES

Colorado

Denver School-Board Election Seen As Neighborhood Schools Vs. Charters
Denver Post, CO, November 4, 2009
In a school-board election framed around the debate over charter schools, Denver voters were giving a mixed answer Tuesday.

Florida

More Private Firms Want To Run Charter Schools
Florida Times-Union, FL, November 4, 2009
The number of private companies running public schools in Georgia could jump next month if a state panel approves.

Illinois

Program Based On Harlem Initiative Shows Promise
Chicago Tribune, IL, November 4, 2009
3 city areas looking at zone-based plan similar to New York City’s, which focuses on increasing access to various social services and has reported success among children

Kentucky

Recharging State’s Education Reform
Lexington Herald-Leader, KY, November 4, 2009
The intense competition among states for $4 billion in federal education grants is forcing Kentucky to think seriously about a couple of missing links in education reform: how to improve teaching and how to turn around chronically failing schools.

Louisiana

Louisiana has a Fighting Chance For School Grants
The Daily Advisor, LA, November 4, 2009
Over the last decade, Louisiana has made considerable progress in K-12 public education, particularly in our efforts to narrow the achievement gap between races and classes. Undoubtedly, our gains are due to the commitment of students, educators and policy makers across the state.

Massachusetts

Charter Schools: Doing Right by Our Kids
Cape Cod Times, MA, November 4, 2009
Massachusetts can boast a long tradition of leadership in education - after all, the very idea of public education was invented here. Today, the commonwealth stands poised to build on that heritage, reasserting its role as a national leader of school-based innovation.

Menino Needs To Make the ‘Future’ Now
Boston Globe, MA, November 4, 2009
One of those problems is an area where Flaherty showed more urgency in this campaign: the public schools. Menino needs to stick forcefully by his newly minted pro-charter-school stand, even if he doesn’t get his preferred version, in-district charters.

Michigan

State Ignores $600M for Schools
Detroit News, MI, November 4, 2009
Michigan’s school funding debate has been cast as a choice between two ideas: Budget cuts or tax hikes. Yet there is a $600 million alternative that has been ignored by key players in the debate.

New Jersey

Private Schools Entitled To Government Funds
Asbury Park Press, NJ, November 4, 2009
Private education in New Jersey is a more complex issue than simply favoring or opposing school vouchers. It is about the right of parents to choose where they send their children to school, and the state’s responsibility to ensure that they have equal access to education funding. Apart from school voucher programs, there are a variety of simple ways New Jersey could improve private education for more of our children.

Texas

Charter Schools Could Expand Under Rule Change
Austin American-Statesman, TX, November 4, 2009
State Education Commissioner Robert Scott announced Tuesday that he intends to make it easier for high-performing charter schools to expand in Texas.

Island a Charter School Laboratory
Galveston Co. Daily News, TX, November 4, 2009
After Hurricane Ike, Galveston became a laboratory for those who are interested in charter schools. Across the state, 3 percent of the students in public schools are in charter schools. In Galveston, that number exceeds 10 percent.

Wisconsin

State Deserves National Attention
Green Bay Press Gazette, WI, November 4, 2009
While it’s great the president has chosen Wisconsin to test the waters on important issues of our time - health care in Green Bay and now education in Madison - we hope his visits are a way to include us in the national dialogue and not simply be a backdrop for it.

Wisconsin School Boards Oppose Teacher Evaluation Bill
FOX 21, WI, November 3, 2009
A bill that would lift Wisconsin’s ban on using test scores to evaluate teachers is racing through the state legislature. And while it has the backing of the state’s teacher’s union, school boards say it’s too weak.

“In appearance it is very powerful but in reality it is nothing to be afraid of
it is a paper tiger. Outwardly a tiger, it is made of paper, unable to withstand the wind and the rain.”

Mao’s definition actually doesn’t fit the US, but it does fit well the reality of the teachers unions here, particularly when you consider what just happened in the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia.

The New Jersey Education Association is considered almost the most powerful special interest in that whole state.

The Virginia Education Association is likewise a power broker for all policies, not just education but health, taxes, defense and more.

So why didn’t these forces prevail in their dogged campaigning and support for their union friendly candidates?

NJ Governor Corzine worked in tandem with the Jersey union leadership for four years.  Their electioneering is usually a safe bet.

Virginia challenger Deeds was similarly endorsed by the Virginia blob, but even that endorsement failed to merit the votes he needed.

That NYC Mayor Bloomberg also survived the strike of opposition against him in the most powerful union city in the country is testimony to the flimsiness of the message that most unions endorse.

We’re thrilled that ‘Hizzoner pulled it through so that his very strong education reform program can continue to bring student achievement up.

And, we’re grateful for the reminder in these three areas that the teachers unions are only as powerful as we let them be.  The people rained on their policies.  They blew past their influence.  Paper tigers can’t withstand the wind and rain.