The Center for Education Reform connects you to the latest education updates in the news and on the web.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Smarter Charter Kids New York Post, July 20, 2006 Charter schools in the city are vastly outperforming public schools in their neighborhoods, according to a bombshell state report obtained by The Post.

Smarter Charter Kids: Case 1 - Charter New York Post, July 20, 2006 Larry Bunce has watched his daughter, Ashley, 10, blossom since he pulled her out of public school four years ago to enroll her at the Harlem Day Charter School.

Smarter Charter Kids: Case 2 - Public New York Post, July 20, 2006 Devona Beal has nothing but complaints about PS 96, where her daughter Adream Byfield is about to enter third grade.

Eliot Backs Schools After Post Story New York Post, July 21, 2006 Leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer yesterday endorsed opening more independent charter schools as options for kids trapped in failing public schools.

When Activism Masquerades As Education New York Daily News, July 21, 2006 New York City's ideal of public schooling as a means of assimilating all children into a common civic culture is under assault - not by teachers who care too little, but by those who, in a perverse way, care too much.

Supt. Romer Lashes Out at Villaraigosa for Criticism Los Angeles Times, California, July 21, 2006 As Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stumped across Los Angeles on Thursday to drum up support for his proposed takeover of the public schools, Supt. Roy Romer unleashed a stinging rebuke of the mayor and a forceful defense of the embattled school district.

Good News For Public Schools Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Indiana, July 21, 2006 Don't feel bad if you missed the news of a federal report showing public school students did as well or better than private school students in reading and math. That's just what the Bush administration intended.

Deal Reached On Vocational Education Law Boston Globe, Massachusetts, July 21, 2006 House and Senate negotiators reached a deal Thursday to renew the vocational education law through 2012, extending a program the White House wants to end.

Busing and NCLB? Baltimore Sun, Maryland, July 21, 2006 Should Baltimore children in failing schools get a chance to attend a successful suburban school instead? Under a provision of the Bush Administration's No Child Left Behind law, they could -- if we had something called "regional cooperation" around here. Short of that, there is no way to force the issue.

San Mateo County Educators Reject Bid For Charter School For Student Addicts San Jose Mercury News, California, July 20, 2006 The Daytop Charter School would have supplemented the existing Daytop Preparatory School, a non-public school that receives state funding for special education programs but not for general education.

Charter School Honors National Latin Exam Achievers Bellingham Country Gazette, Massachusetts, July 21, 2006 In June, 22 eighth grade students were honored at the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter School with awards for their high scores on the National Latin Examinations.

School Board Votes To Close Charter School Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia, July 21, 2006 A southeast Atlanta charter school lost its bid Thursday to remain open when a majority of the school board sided with the deputy superintendent's opinion that the school lacked a sound curriculum, facility and financial plan.

City Schools Lose Enrollment Dispute With Charter School Cincinnati Enquirer, Ohio, July 21, 2006 Cincinnati Public Schools has lost its challenge of the residency of 25 students who attend Harmony Community School. The decision means Harmony can continue to educate those students and receive state money for it. Last year, the school lost $120,000 in the dispute, school officials said.

5 Seek To Open Charter Schools Trenton Times, New Jersey, July 21, 2006 The applicants who filed in time for this year's deadline Monday are Mercer Arts Charter High School, which was turned down in January; Paul Robeson Charter School for the Humanities; River City Charter School; Capital Preparatory Charter High School, and Learning is Everybody's Business Charter School.

White House Adviser To Address Teachers Brownsville Herald, Texas, July 21, 2006 Early childhood education might be the most important element for determining a student's long-term academic success, according to Norma Garza, senior adviser to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings.

State Charter School Board Elects Retired Psychologist As Chairman Salt Lake Tribune, Utah, July 21, 2006 The State Charter School Board unanimously elected Scott Smith as its chairman and John Pingree as its vice chairman Thursday.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Teachers Union Leader Vows To Boost Activism Boston Globe, Massachusetts, July 20, 2006 The American Federation of Teachers opens its annual convention today in South Boston with plans to increase dues, boost activism, and battle antiunion efforts in states like Louisiana, where thousands of teachers lost jobs and union status following Hurricane Katrina.

Back to School New York Sun, New York, July 20, 2006 While school children try as hard as they can to enjoy the summer vacation, some of their elders are trying to take steps to ensure that when those students return to school they get the best education possible.

Area Charter School Pioneer Receives Irvine Foundation Award Sacramento Bee, California, July 20, 2006 The man behind Sacramento's Capitol Heights Academy charter school was presented Wednesday with a community leadership award and a six-figure grant for his organization.

To Take The Yawn Out Of Math Equations, Teach The Teachers Christian Science Monitor, Massachusetts, July 20, 2006 They're quite a bit older than Mark Hannum's typical students. But they seem just as relieved to get to play with motion sensors and brightly colored basketballs rather than be lectured to for an hour and a half.

District Monitoring School Choice Cases Dallas Morning News, Texas, July 20, 2006 The Garland school district's racial balancing efforts may be considered constitutional now, but U.S. Supreme Court watchers say there's an outside chance that could change.

Charter School Vows Clear Focus On Students Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia, July 19, 2006 Sarah Bullington has a few years before she needs to worry about where her 6-month-old daughter will go to school. As one of five board members of the new Marietta Charter School, however, the 29-year-old Bullington believes she's getting in on the ground floor of what ultimately will be best for her daughter, Charlotte.

Charter Academy Still Homeless As School Year Nears San Diego Union Tribune, California, July 20, 2006 Many parents from Encinitas and beyond embraced the school where a Gifted and Talented Education program would be offered to any student, in all subjects and grades. The concept was so popular that a lottery was held to determine which 220 kindergarten-through sixth-grade students would be admitted.

56 New Orleans Schools to Accept Students for New Year Civilrights.org, July 20, 2006 The Louisiana Department of Education has issued a list of 56 New Orleans public schools that will be accepting students for the coming school year, more than double the 25 that were opened this past year.

Local Charter Schools Meet AYP Henderson Daily Dispatch, North Carolina, July 20, 2006 The Tri-County area's two charter schools both made Adequate Yearly Progress in 2005-06, meeting all reading target goals placed on them by the North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction in accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Beleaguered Schools Chief Quitting Los Angeles Times, California, July 20, 2006 Accused by opponents of dirty tricks and mismanagement, the superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District announced his resignation Wednesday, ending a 15-year tenure in which he oversaw academic gains and sharp growth in one of the state's top districts.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Republicans Propose National School Voucher Program New York Times, July 19, 2006 With Education Secretary Margaret Spellings joining them in a show of support, Congressional Republicans proposed Tuesday to spend $100 million on vouchers for low-income students in chronically failing public schools around the country to attend private and religious schools.

Public vs. Private Schools New York Times, July 19, 2006 The national education reform effort has long suffered from magical thinking about what it takes to improve children's chances of learning. Instead of homing in on teacher training and high standards...

Civic, Business Groups Oppose School Takeover Los Angeles Times, California, July 19, 2006 Resistance to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's proposed takeover of the Los Angeles public school system is gaining momentum as business, civic and parent groups declare their opposition.

Public Education Will Meet Challenge With A Level Playing Field Arizona Daily Star, Arizona, July 19, 2006 Educational leaders are keenly aware of the efforts of the Goldwater Institute, as well as the Arizona legislative leadership, to aggressively attack public education. The July 7 guest opinion by the institute's Matthew Ladner ("School choice offers way to improve Ariz. schools") is but the latest salvo.

Prince George's First Three Charter Schools Will Open Next Month Business Gazette, Maryland, July 18, 2006 County and school system inspectors have approved three charter schools, and they will open the first day of school Aug. 21.

Charter School Law Ignores State Obligation Daytona Beach News-Journal, Florida, July 19, 2006 Under a new Florida law, if school districts want to retain their constitutional duty to "operate, control and supervise all free public schools" within their counties -- including privately operated charter schools -- they will have to apply to the State Board of Education.

Schools To Release Reports On Yearly Progress Today Asheville Citizen-Times, North Carolina, July 18, 2006 Local reporting of preliminary adequate yearly progress, a measure of student testing performance required by the federal government under the No Child Left Behind Act, is scheduled to be released at 2 p.m. today.

Baker Board Rejects Charter School Plan The Advocate, Louisiana, July 19, 2006 Despite emotional pleas from the director of a proposed charter school, as well as parents of potential students and other supporters, the School Board voted 3-2 against backing creation of Northpoint Charter Academy.

Public School Funding Up, Test Scores Remain Flat Western Herald, Michigan, July 19, 2006 Additional funding may be in store for Michigan public schools, if a proposal on the upcoming November ballot is approved. This in turn could change Michigan law to increase education expenditures by the rate of inflation, however, some feel increased funding isn't the answer.

School Board To Revoke Charter School Contract Beaufort Gazette, South Carolina, July 19, 2006 The Beaufort County Board of Education voted to rescind the contract for a new charter school on St. Helena Island during its meeting Tuesday night.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

O'Malley Ads Focus on Working Class; For Ehrlich, It's Education Washington Post, DC, July 18, 2006 After nearly a month-long absence, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley is returning to the airwaves today with a pair of new television ads designed to portray the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful as a fighter for working-class families.

Long-Delayed Education Study Casts Doubt on Value of Vouchers Wall Street Journal, July 15, 2006 Students in public schools perform just as well as their private-school peers when test scores are adjusted for race, socioeconomics and other factors, according to a long-delayed study released Friday by the U.S. Department of Education.

Building a Better School Board Los Angeles Times, California, July 18, 2006 If we had our druthers, the Los Angeles school board as it is currently constituted would be abolished. The mayor would be in charge of the schools, making him the one person accountable for their successes and failures...

Scholars Look For Winning Strategies For Young Black Men Diverse Magazine, July 18, 2006 A panel of high-profile academics, activists and political leaders gathered in New York on Friday to tackle what they called the most pressing issue facing African Americans in the post-civil rights era: the plight of the Black male.

Struggling Schools Get Warning Tallahassee Democrat, Florida, July 18, 2006 State education officials are cracking down on seven chronic low-performing schools in four county districts. To make their message loud and clear, board members announced Monday that they'll sanction the superintendents of the four school districts by withholding one month's salary...

Charter School Urged Again Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pennsylvania, July 18, 2006 Salvador Wilcox, chief executive officer of Education Innovations Inc. of East Liberty, told the board that the organization's charter school would give students opportunities they can't find elsewhere.

Charter Schools, University High Score Well Tucson Citizen, Arizona, July 18, 2006 Some of the smartest kids in the state and nation go to a handful of Tucson charter schools. Scores on the TerraNova were relatively flat for most Tucson-area school districts, although some schools had big increases or decreases.

Teachers Claim Charter School Owes Them $100,000 Palm Beach Post, Florida, July 18, 2006 When Corebridge Academy in Boca Raton abruptly closed last month, Principal Dianne Tetreault took off without paying teachers and with records that are making it difficult to find other teaching jobs.

School Likely To Lose Charter Rock Hill Herald, South Carolina, July 18, 2006 School Superintendent Randy Bridges has met with the school's parent advisory group and is asking its chairman to seek revocation of charter status from the state education department.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Public Schools Perform Near Private Ones in Study New York Times, July 15, 2006 The Education Department reported on Friday that children in public schools generally performed as well or better in reading and mathematics than comparable children in private schools.

A Costly Lesson in Supply and Demand Los Angeles Times, California, July 17, 2006 Recognizing the critical need to boost math and science test scores, the Los Angeles Unified School District has taken several steps - including offering bonuses - to attract and keep teachers in those fields at the district's neediest schools.

Board Might Be Stripped of Some Roles Washington Post, DC, July 17, 2006 A U.S. Senate committee has approved legislation that would require the D.C. school board to relinquish its state-level functions, including its handling of millions of dollars in federal funds and its oversight of reform efforts for low-performing schools.

Charter Schools Need Objective Study Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, New York, July 17, 2006 Local school boards and school boards across New York state appreciate your July 5 editorial ("Deal with charters") regarding lawmakers' cautious approach to expanding New York state's charter school experiment.

Letters: The Mystery of the Echoing Textbooks New York Times, July 17, 2006 Similarities between two history texts are not, as Wendy Spiegel, a spokeswoman for the textbook publisher Pearson Prentice Hall, maintains, "absolutely an aberration" - as a more extensive examination of texts in any field would verify.

Broad Attacks Villaraigosa's Plan for Schools Los Angeles Times, California, July 15, 2006 Philanthropist Eli Broad, one of the city's most influential civic figures, has told Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that he opposes the mayor's current plan to wrest control of the Los Angeles school system.

Sue Over Charter Schools Palm Beach Post, Florida, July 17, 2006 Gov. Bush and the Republican-led Legislature often treat the state constitution as a nuisance, particularly when the issue is education. Most recently, Gov. Bush signed a constitutionally questionable law taking control over charter schools away from local school boards.

Charter School Gets Home at Education Headquarters New York Times, July 15, 2006 Charter schools, which are publicly financed but operate independently of local school districts, typically revel in their autonomy. But Ross Global Academy, a new charter school whose proposed Manhattan location caused a furor, can hardly get more entangled with the city's Education Department.

New Law Could Prompt Expansion Of Charter Schools Daytona Beach News-Journal, Florida, July 16, 2006 Barclee Cannon's mom remembers the day her shy, intelligent fifth-grader came home upset at being called a "brainiac." Kathy Cannon feared the tormenting would only continue in middle school.

Big Easy Schools Prepare For Fall Houston Chronicle, Texas, July 15, 2006 Fall registration is under way for New Orleans public schools, as officials scramble to reach dispersed families and hire 400 teachers to fill the classrooms taken over by the state of Louisiana before school begins Sept. 7.

Colleagues Laud Bennett As Senate Term Draws To Close Arizona Republic, July 15, 2006 Senate President Ken Bennett says he has spent most of his eight years in office attempting to unite a divided government, with a Democratic governor and a Republican majority in the state Legislature.

No End To Questions On State Testing Lincoln Journal Star, Nebraska, July 16, 2006 Nebraskans might need to start asking themselves just how important it is for their state to have its own, one-of-a-kind system for testing students under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Mesa Schools Seek Better PR Arizona Republic, July 15, 2006 Mesa Public Schools is spending $50,000 to hire Phoenix public relations firm E.B. Lane to advise the district on interaction with the community. It comes at a time when competition for students has intensified between public and charter schools.

Virtual Charter School Plans Fall Opening In Chicago WBBM, Illinois, July 14, 2006 It would be the first of its kind in Chicago: an on-line virtual school for kindergartners though 8th graders. In class only one day a week, and the rest of the time, in front of a computer.