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Daily Headlines for June 17, 2011

Charter School Laws Surge In Maine, N.C., Tenn.
Huffington Post, NY, June 16, 2011
The charter school movement appears to be making gains as new laws expanding charter access have worked their way through several state legislatures over the past week.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

L.A. Unified to Spend $20 Million on Parent Centers
Los Angeles Times Blog, CA, June 17, 2011
A historic one-room schoolhouse became the backdrop Thursday for a parent-involvement initiative that includes spending $20 million to upgrade or add parent centers across the Los Angeles Unified School District.

CONNECTICUT

Right Schools Leader Can Make Difference
Stamford Advocate, CT, June 16, 2011
Aside from the mayor, the schools superintendent arguably is the most important leader in any community. The job goes straight to the community’s bottom line.

DELAWARE

A Second Year For Reach Academy May Be A Worthy Stretch
Delaware Journal, DE, June 16, 2011
However, irate parents can still balance out the argument for keeping the Claymont charter school open. Their righteous anger over the disruption to their children’s opportunity for a credible and challenging public school learning environment had originally been entrusted to the wrong folk indeed.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Kaya Henderson Coasting to Confirmation as D.C. Schools Chancellor
Washington Post, DC, June 17, 2011
Kaya Henderson, 40, the daughter of a high school principal and a graduate of Georgetown University, was the only candidate for chancellor that Mayor Vincent C. Gray seriously considered.

FLORIDA

Pines Looking For Funding For Charter Schools
Miami Herald, FL, June 16, 2011
Although highly successful academically and boasting a long waiting list, the financially troubled Pembroke Pines Charter School system is looking for ways to generate funding.

GEORGIA

Cherokee Board Delays Action On Charter School
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, June 16, 2011
A more than capacity crowd turned out Thursday night as the Cherokee County School Board delayed action on a request that it give its blessings — and taxpayer money — to a charter school that at least 900 students are hoping to attend next fall.

Deal Vows to Help Save State-Approved Charter Schools
Savannah Morning News, GA, June 17, 2011
Gov. Nathan Deal says he’ll work with the General Assembly to bypass a recent court ruling outlawing state-approved charter schools.

IDAHO

Luna, Otter Stump For Reform
Coeur d’Alene Press, ID, June 17, 2011
The campaign to keep Idaho’s new education reform laws in place is on, and another initiative to recall the state’s top education official continues.

ILLINOIS

CPS, Teachers Union Face Off Over Pay Raise
Chicago Tribune, IL, June 16, 2011
As the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools prepare for a showdown over across-the-board raises for teachers, each is digging into stockpiles of statistics to bolster its case.

MICHIGAN

School Full of Miracles — Last-Minute Charter Plan Rescues Catherine Ferguson Academy
Detroit Free Press, MI, June 17, 2011
Catherine Ferguson Academy on Thursday got the miracle its supporters struggled and prayed for: The alternative high school on Detroit’s near-west side will stay open.

3 DPS Schools Get Charter Sponsors As 7 Others Close For Good
The Detroit News, MI, June 17, 2011
The last day of school became an emotional celebration Thursday after students at Catherine Ferguson Academy learned the school for teen mothers is getting a second chance as a charter school.

NEW YORK

Teachers Union Confronts Some Crucial Decisions
New York Times, NY, June 17, 2011
The newly seated Chicago Board of Education may have won the first battle with Chicago teachers this week when it rescinded a 4 percent pay raise, but it may also have ended a relatively peaceful era in labor relations and created a more pugnacious adversary.

NORTH CAROLINA

Republicans Right To Lift Cap So Charter Schools Can Regain Momentum
Winston Salem-Journal, NC, June 17, 2011
A new era in charter schools is on the horizon in North Carolina. The General Assembly has dropped the state’s out-of-date cap on the number of these independently run, but publicly funded, schools. That should mean healthy growth in charter schools statewide.

PENNSYLVANIA

Property-Tax Hike Will Help Bail Out Philly Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 16, 2011
City Council is poised to raise property taxes nearly 4 percent as part of a package to deliver $53 million in new funding to the Philadelphia School District.

RHODE ISLAND

R.I. Education Board Questions Charter School Plan
Boston Globe, MA, June 17, 2011
A Rhode Island education board voiced skepticism about a plan to bring a charter school to Cranston during a meeting yesterday, after the school garnered opposition from a number of officials in the city and some community members.

UTAH

Utah: ‘Not Even Close’ To Closing The Poverty Gap
Deseret News, UT, June 17, 2011
The reason – high poverty schools with a high minority population often don’t perform as well as low poverty schools,
and Utah schools are no exception.

WISCONSIN

Opponents Still Fear a School Choice Expansion by Governor Walker
Green Bay Gazette, WI, June 17, 2011
A local educator fears language added to the state budget early Thursday opens the door for school voucher programs to eventually come to Green Bay and other school districts that meet requirements added in last-minute provisions.

VIRTUAL SCHOOL

State’s Online High-Schoolers To Meet For First Time
The Olympian, WA, June 16, 2011
About 275 Washington teens will receive their diplomas and meet their classmates face to face for the first time at a graduation ceremony Saturday at Bellevue College.