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

Friday, June 1, 2007

Preuss School Among U.S. Top 10
The Guardian, California, May 31, 2007
UCSD's Preuss School has been named the ninth best high school in the nation by Newsweek magazine, making it the only California school ranked in the top 25.

Report Shows Schools' Progress Under No Child Left Behind Act
Newsday, New York, June 1, 2007 
The 1,658 public schools, 14 charter schools and 288 public school districts got the designation for meeting all applicable state standards and showing adequate progress in English and math for two years.

U.S. Data Show Rapid Minority Growth In School Rolls
The New York Times, June 1, 2007
Driven mainly by an extraordinary influx of Hispanics, the nation’s population of minority students has surged to 42 percent of public school enrollment, up from 22 percent three decades ago, according to an annual report issued yesterday by the government.

'Serrefine' Wins Boy Spelling Bee
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Evan O'Dorney always eats fish before his spelling bees. The brain food apparently has served him well: He's the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.

U.S. Education Group Puts Vista School On Its Honor Roll
North County Times, California, May 31, 2007
VISTA -- Paul Canaletti beamed with pride as he talked about how it felt to find out that Guajome Park Academy, the charter school where he teaches, recently won national and state awards from education reform groups.

Charter School In Novato Wants New Managers
Marin Independent Journal, California, June 1, 2007
Parents, students and administrators of a Novato charter high school want to sever ties with a San Francisco charter school management organization and create a new nonprofit to take over.

One-Sided Input On Charter School
The Post & Courier, South Carolina, June 1, 2007
The Post and Courier's lead editorial of May 27 urged the Charleston County School District to house the proposed Charleston Charter School for Math and Science on the former Rivers Middle School campus, and did so under the headline: 'Encourage community input by advancing charter school.'

Senate Oks Open Enrollment Bill
Conference Panel To Iron Out Differences Between House And Senate Versions
The State, South Carolina, June 1, 2007
Living in a certain neighborhood soon might no longer be the only way for parents to make sure their children get into the best schools.

Students, Families Rally On Issues Of School Choice
Jewish News, Ohio, June 1, 2007
The crowd that gathered on a hot spring day had a clear message to shout: “Don’t take away my school.” Parents, children, teachers and administrators gathered May 24 at Citizens’ Academy near University Circle for a “Save Our Schools” rally in support of school choice in Ohio and a budget bill that will keep it available.

Perdue's Righteous Ax
Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia, June 1, 2007
Political pettiness does have its virtues.  A vengeful Gov. Sonny Perdue, for example, saved state taxpayers $130 million by cutting pet projects — appropriately known as "pork" — that rebellious Republican legislators had inserted in the 2008 budget.

Tale Of Two Public Schools
The Times, New Jersey, June 1, 2007
Charter schools are closing the achievement gap among New Jersey's poor urban schoolchildren, yet they continue to be treated as second-class citizens when it comes to receiving state education funding at levels enjoyed by other elementary and secondary schools.

Mitchell Unveils School Proposals: Many Of His Suggestions Already In Place
Baltimore Sun , Maryland, June 1, 2007
Baltimore City Councilman and mayoral candidate Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. yesterday floated proposals to expand the school year and make it easier to establish charter schools. But some of his ideas, such as reducing school size, are initiatives that have already taken place or are under way.

Politics Adding More Confusion To Voucher Mess
The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah, June 1, 2007
Besides picking new mayors and city council members, Utahns will get a chance to vote on private-school vouchers in November.

Voucher Challenges Consolidated
Deseret Morning News, Utah, June 1, 2007
Two opposing Supreme Court challenges to ballot language written for the November referendum vote on vouchers will be consolidated and heard June 8.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Opposing View: 'Too Destructive To Salvage'
USA Today, May 31, 2007
It's time to say in a national newspaper what millions of teachers, students and parents already know: No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is an appalling and unredeemable experiment that has done incalculable damage to our schools — particularly those serving poor, minority and limited-English-proficiency students.

Most Americans Want 'No Child' Law Left Behind
Detroit News, Michigan, May 31, 2007
A survey of 1,010 American adults reveals that nearly two-thirds of them want Congress to rewrite or outright abolish the landmark No Child Left Behind Act that mandates nationwide testing of elementary students to determine whether public schools are performing adequately.

How New Generation Of Reformers Targets Democrats On Education
New York Sun, May 31, 2007
A money manager recently sent an e-mail to some partners, congratulating them on an investment of $1 million that yielded an estimated $400 million. The reasoning was that $1 million spent on trying to lift a cap on the number of charter schools in New York State yielded a change in the law that will bring $400 million a year in funding to new charter schools.

"No Child Left Behind": State Tests Vary
CBS News, May 31, 2007
As much as I've heard and read about "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) — the landmark education bill President Bush signed into law five years ago, I had no idea that every state uses a different test and standard to determine whether its schools are making the required progress under the law.

New York City Expands Test Program In Schools
New York Times, May 31, 2007
Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein announced yesterday that the city school system would spend $80 million over five years on a battery of new standardized tests to begin this fall for most of New York City’s 1.1 million public school students.

Ohio School Fears Cuts Will Rewrite Its Success Story
New York Times, May 31, 2007
The 32 students who graduated from the Dayton Early College Academy on Wednesday evening were mostly from low-income families. Few of their parents went to college.

SC Senate Defeats School Voucher Proposals
Charlotte Observer, South Carolina, May 31, 2007
Senators defeated attempts Wednesday to add private school vouchers to a bill that would allow students a chance to enroll in any public school regardless of attendance lines.

St. Louis School Board Awarded No-Bid Deal To Counter Charters
St. Louis Dispatch, Missouri, May 30, 2007
The St. Louis School Board Tuesday awarded a no-bid contract to a marketing firm headed by a local radio show host with ties to two board members. According to the resolution, approved 4-3, the firm, Penetrating Urban Market Politics, will use the $25,000 contract to "drive the message of the negative impact of charter schools."

City School Board May Revisit Anti-Charter Contract
St. Louis Dispatch, Missouri, May 31, 2007
It seems the St. Louis School Board has not seen the last of a $25,000 no-bid contract it awarded Tuesday to radio talk show host Lizz Brown.  Brown is to counter advertising campaigns for charter schools with her own marketing firm.

Disabled Access In Schools Faulted
Los Angeles Times, California, May 31, 2007
An audit of the Los Angeles Unified School District's progress in building and remodeling schools to make them accessible to the disabled found chronic problems in the design of parking, restrooms, ramps and drinking water fountains, as well as a troubling lack of documentation and misstatements of accomplishments.

Charter School To Open After All
Colorado Springs Gazette, Colorado, May 31, 2007
The demise of Holy Trinity Catholic School was an opportunity for the Cesar Chavez School Network to get back on track in opening a Colorado Springs school this year.

Local Sponsor Renews 73 Charter-School Contracts
Toledo Blade, OHIO, May 31, 2007
The Lucas County Educational Service Center Governing Board spent nearly seven hours yesterday reviewing each of the 73 charter schools the agency sponsors across Ohio. Twenty-five schools were given five-year contract extensions.

Albany Private School Welcomes Vouchers
WALB-TV, Georgia, May 31, 2007
Administrators at a South Georgia Christian school say they welcome a new law that gives parents of disabled children money to send their kids to private schools, but they don't want the government to interfere with their operations.

Board Oks Charter School With Conditions
Corvallis Gazette Times, California, May 31, 2007
The Corvallis School Board approved the application for Muddy Creek Charter School on Tuesday night, but neither the board nor the charter school’s supporters seemed particularly happy about it.

Officials Call On State To Block Charter School
C & G Newspapers, Michigan, May 31, 2007
City officials stepped up their efforts to oppose the relocation of a charter school near 13 Mile and Ryan roads last week. Through a letter and a resolution, respectively, sent to Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Warren Mayor Mark Steenbergh and members of the Warren City Council  continued to express their concerns about the development planned by Conner Creek Academy East.

Planned Charter School PSL Divides Residents
Fort Pierce Tribune, Florida, May 31, 2007
Keeping kids close to home for school is supposed to unite communities, but just north of Becker Road, a proposed charter school is dividing the neighborhood.

Troubled Redlands-Based Charter School To Shut Campuses
San Jose Mercury News, California, May 31, 2007
The financially troubled Gorman Learning Center planned to close all of its campuses by Thursday and move its headquarters to Los Angeles County before September, officials said. The charter school will continue to counsel students and offer home-schooling support, but intended to shutter the learning centers in seven cities where students used to visit for group-learning sessions, Gorman board President Kim Clark said this week.

Debate On Vouchers Heats Up
Deseret News, Utah, May 31, 2007
It is "disingenuous" for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to call a special session on vouchers before the Nov. 6 public vote, says House Speaker Greg Curtis, who vows to "vigorously" fight against repealing HB174 if such a session is called.

Yes To Moratorium On New Charter Schools
Concord Monitor, New Hampshire, May 30, 2007
For years, local school boards refused to approve charter schools for fear of taking revenue away from struggling public schools. In 2003, to get around that impasse and encourage experiments in alternative education, then-Gov. Craig Benson and the Legislature gave the politically-appointed state Board of Education permission to approve up to 20 charter schools.

State OK Needed For School Plan
Springfield Republican, Massachusetts, May 31, 2007
The New Leadership Charter School announced plans last Friday to close early this year, on June 7 instead of June 15, but state approval is required. "In order to drastically alter their calendar, New Leadership needs approval from the Commissioner (David P. Driscoll).

Cyber Charter Schools Need To Justify Funding
Allentown Morning Call, Pennsylvania, May 31, 2007
Backers of cyber charter schools like to portray themselves as David fighting the Goliath school districts that they accuse of trying to run them out of business.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

A Bush Brother Spreads His Vision Of Computerized Teaching Programs
New York Times, May 30, 2007
To review with her class of fifth graders the tapestry of reasons Europeans came to America, Cheryle Hodges clicks on a mouse that brings a roly-poly disc jockey to a screen at the front of the classroom here at Harrison Road Elementary.

'No Child Left Behind' Fails Children
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, New York, May 30, 2007
As a Rochester parent, the more I learn about the No Child Left Behind Act, the more I realize that it has caused more damage to our children than good. NCLB has four main goals that include academic accountability, flexibility, choices for parents in high-needs districts and "scientific" teaching methods.

Putting His Wealth To Work To Improve Urban Schools
Washington Post, DC, May 30, 2007
He counts the Prince George's County school superintendent and D.C. school board president among his disciples. He has advised the D.C. mayor on cuts in school system bureaucracy. He and a better-known West Coast entrepreneur are spending millions to persuade the next president of the United States to improve teacher quality and lengthen school days.

Activists Push To Allow Vote On School Plan
Washington Post, DC, May 30, 2007
A coalition of D.C. activists launched a campaign yesterday to enlist volunteers to gather about 20,000 petition signatures in an uphill effort to put Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s school takeover legislation to a referendum.

New York Is Top State In Dollars Per Student
New York Times, May 30, 2007
New York again leads all other states in school spending per pupil, according to the latest census figures. Nationwide, public school districts spent an average of $8,701 per student on elementary and secondary education in the 2005 fiscal year, 5 percent more than in the previous year.

Ohio Urban School Superintendents Back Strickland Plan
Toledo Blade, Ohio, May 30, 2007
The superintendents of Ohio's eight largest urban districts and teachers' union leaders gathered yesterday to present joint testimony to the Senate Finance Committee in support of Gov. Ted Strickland's education budget.

Court Decision Bolsters Unions’ Strength
Kansas City Star, Missouri, May 30, 2007
The Missouri Supreme Court this afternoon overturned a six-decade-old precedent in a school case out of Independence, a decision that strengthens bargaining rights for public employees throughout the state.

Gorman Closing All 6 Schools
San Bernardino Sun, California, May 30, 2007
Financially troubled Gorman Learning Center of Redlands is closing all of its campuses by Thursday and will move its headquarters to Los Angeles County before September. The charter school will continue to offer independent study, said Kim Clark, board president.

2 Charter School Permits OK'd; Citifest Funded
Toledo Blade, Ohio, May 30, 2007
Toledo City Council approved permits yesterday for two new downtown charter schools - but not by veto-proof majorities. Council also approved spending $75,000 to keep CitiFest Inc. in operation this year, and nearly $1.6 million in city funds for the development of a riverfront park in the Marina District.

Charter Schools Deserve Larger Share Of State Aid Package
Asbury Park Press, New Jersey, May 30, 2007
Charter schools are closing the achievement gap among New Jersey's poor urban schoolchildren, yet they continue to be treated as second-class citizens when it comes to receiving state education funding at levels enjoyed by other elementary and secondary schools.

With Lawsuit Looming, Spellings Discusses No Child Left Behind
Danbury News Times, Connecticut, May 30, 2007
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings vigorously defended the No Child Left Behind Act today in Connecticut, which has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the education law.

Parents Excited About Charter School
Marion Chronicle-Tribune, Indiana, May 30, 2007
Teachers wanted to know about the curriculum. Parents wanted to know where to sign. Tuesday's charter school hearing to discuss the Robert H. Faulkner Academy brought out about 40 community members who expressed mostly excitement at the prospect of another educational option in Marion.

Charter School Closing Unclear
Albany Times Union, New York, May 30, 2007
A week after New Covenant Charter School's board said the school would close, bondholders sought a meeting that could alter that fate. The school's board of trustees canceled a meeting with parents slated for Tuesday night, saying the bondholders for the building wanted to meet with the board first.

Board Deals A Blow To Vouchers
Salt Lake Tribune, Utah, May 30, 2007
The Utah State Board of Education on Tuesday refused to implement a school voucher program using an incomplete version of state law creating the program, a move that could speed a Utah Supreme Court decision on vouchers but leave the board without legal counsel.

State School Board Holds Emergency Meeting On Vouchers
Salt Lake Tribune, Utah, May 30, 2007
The state Board of Education held an emergency meeting today to decide whether to adopt a private-school voucher program - despite a voter repeal effort or put it on hold until the November referendum.

At This Charter School, Music Is The Primary Tool For Teaching
Boston Globe, Massachusettes, May 30, 2007
Ten-year-old Isaiah Simmons of Roxbury is the picture of concentration as he carefully makes his way through a solo violin version of the venerable folk song "Old Joe Clark." Literally and figuratively, music is in the air at the Conservatory Lab Charter School -- and in the curriculum, too.

School of Hard Knocks
Boise Weekly, Idaho, May 30, 2007
During its brief existence the Garden City Community School has learned some tough lessons.  After opening last fall, the school has racked up debt, lost students and moved twice--all while dealing with the possibility of being closed down by the state because of some of those very factors.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Standardizing The Standards
New York Times Magazine, May 27, 2007
“I know you’re restless today, but I need to see you sitting at your desks. Angel, that means you, too!” In the second-grade classroom at the Washington school where I volunteer, the teacher turned to me and said with a sigh, “It’s testing week.”

Core Classes Not Enough, Report Warns
Washington Post, DC, May 28, 2007
It's no secret to most high school students that taking the required courses, getting good grades and receiving a diploma don't take much work. The average U.S. high school senior donning a cap and gown this spring will have spent an hour a day on homework and at least three hours a day watching TV, playing video games and pursuing other diversions.

City Officials Squabble Over Takeover Plan
Washington Post, DC, May 27, 2007
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's high-stakes effort to seize control of the District's struggling public school system has set off a fight for influence and power among the city's top elected leaders.

‘Middle School Syndrome’ Undergoes A Reversal
New York Times, May 27, 2007
Scores on state tests at Westlake Middle School were disappointing for years, and school officials had largely written them off as “middle school syndrome,” a mysterious decline in achievement between elementary school and eighth grade that seemed to afflict most schools in the state.

A Civics Lesson For D.C. Students To Skip
Washington Post, DC, May 26, 2007
Let's hope D.C. public school students are too busy with their studies to pay much attention to the officials overseeing their school system. Goodness knows those adults are teaching lessons that students should never learn.

On Reading, Charters Outperform
New York Sun,  May 29, 2007
The most recent round of reading tests show students attending charter schools in the city outperforming other public schools on reading tests.

More Schools Are Ditching Final Exams
Los Angeles Times, California, May 29, 2007
Instead of late-night cramming and tutorials on how to ace multiple-choice tests, Joshua Koenig prepared for finals by rehearsing a PowerPoint presentation on the challenges of trading stock options and what he learned while attempting to climb Mt. Rainier with his father.

Parents, Teachers Protest Principals' Styles
Washington Post, DC, May 29, 2007
Principals at two well-regarded D.C. public schools have become the target of demonstrations and organized efforts to oust them because parents, and in one case teachers, too, have lodged complaints about their management styles.

Here's How To Design Award-Worthy Schools
Detroit Free Press, Michigan, May 29, 2007
As superintendent of the Detroit Edison Public School Academy, people ask me all the time, "How did you do it? How did you create a successful charter school?" Our academy is a public school in Detroit chartered by Oakland University, which successfully provides an educated choice each and every day to 1,100 scholars in grades pre-K through eighth.

Charter School Talks Over Campus An Issue
San Diego Union Tribune, California, May 26, 2007
Talks on whether a construction-themed charter school could open on the former Lincoln Middle School campus are expected to continue over the next several weeks after a narrow vote by the Vista Unified school board Thursday night.

School's Creed Helps Boys Believe In Themselves
Chicago Tribune, Illinois, May 27, 2007
D'Angelo Gardner didn't like it when staff members at Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men started telling him to tuck in his shirt, pull up his pants, straighten his tie.

Will Mayor's Charters Aid Detroit Education?
Detroit News, Michigan, May 28, 2007
As the parent of three high school graduates of charter schools in Detroit, I was a bit dismayed by The News' endorsement of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's plan on expanding charter schools ("Kilpatrick's charter plan deserves broad support," May 15).

Nation’s Charter School Leaders Focus On N.O
New Orleans City Business, Louisiana, May 28, 2007
With 57 percent of students in Orleans Parish now enrolled in charter schools, New Orleans is ground zero for charter school monitors nationwide.

Test-Takers, Not Students
Los Angeles Times, California, May 26, 2007
It is popular to blame the federal No Child Left Behind Act for California's educational woes, but our misery is largely homegrown and predates the 2001 law.

State Warns KIPP School To Shape Up Or Be Closed
Buffalo News, New York, May 28, 2007
Buffalo’s KIPP Sankofa Charter School, considered a promising alternative for inner-city middle school students when it opened in 1993, is plagued by failure and is fighting for its life.

Tucson Charter School In Newsweek's Top 10 List
Arizona Republic, Arizona, May 28, 2007
BASIS Tucson, a charter high school, is again ranked in the nation's top 10 by Newsweek magazine in the May 8 issue, said the school's director, Gloria Mitchell.

Encourage Community Input By Advancing Charter School
Charleston Post & Courier, South Carolina, May 26, 2007
Educators consistently identify parental and community involvement as indispensable assets in the critical mission of improving public schools. That makes the turnout of approximately 250 people for Tuesday night's public forum at Burke High School highly encouraging.

Business Is Essential To Fixing Schools
Detroit News, Michigan, May 27, 2007
Michigan's public schools stink, say the state's business leaders, and they're not willing to pony up more money for education until something is done to stop teacher benefits from sucking up all the dough.

House Scuttles Charter School Reform
Dallas Morning News, Texas, May 26, 2007
A measure to shutter the state's lowest-performing charter schools and reward the best with financial incentives fell apart in the House on Friday.

Vouchers Courtbound?
Deseret News, Utah, May 26, 2007
In a move to clear up school voucher confusion as swiftly as possible, opponents want to send the crux of the voucher issue straight to the Utah Supreme Court. Friday Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, submitted a "request for agency action" asking the State School Board to issue an emergency order that would declare the voucher amendment law, HB174, invalid and unable to stand on its own apart from the original voucher bill, HB148.

A Second Separation
Twin Falls Times News, Idaho, May 27, 2007
For the second time in less than a year a charter school has proposed to open in Twin Falls, and once again the school district has decided to separate itself from that charter school.

Two N. Phila. Schools Win Accolade In Time
Philadelphia Inquirer, Pennsylvania, May 26, 2007
Stanton Elementary School in North Philadelphia has collected national accolades for improving student test scores, hosted a visit by U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, and been profiled in a new book from Harvard Education Press.

Themed Schools Still A Draw, But Not All Are Magnets
Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Minnesota, May 29, 2007
Calypso singer Cyril Paul tried three times before most of the kids in his audience at Birch Grove Elementary waved their arms and swiveled their hips at the right time while singing ... all ... the ... lyrics ... clearly.

Texas' Dropout Problem Probably Worse Than Reported
Austin American-Statesman, Texas, May 27, 2007
Sunday after Sunday, Sarah Luna's prayer never changed.  With about a month to go until graduation, the 20-year-old Lanier High School senior pleaded with God for one life-changing miracle that seemed hopelessly out of reach: her diploma.

The Lessons Learned From School Reform
Philadelphia Daily News, Pennsylvania, May 29, 2007
THE SCHOOL DISTRICT of Philadelphia is at a critical stage: It must maintain the successful programming reforms of the last five years, and drastically improve its financial management.

Sutherland Institute Crosses The Line
Salt Lake Tribune, Utah, May 27, 2007
Since the voucher debate in Utah began, I have heard arguments that were poorly reasoned, that distorted the facts, that were pure emotion, that rewrote history or warped economics.