Charter
Schools Are Rising to the Challenge: Charters in
operation for at least five years -- the time it takes to fully
implement a program -- are outscoring non-charter public schools
on the state's mandated testing, according to a study by the
Charter Schools Development Center in Sacramento. San
Francisco's two oldest charter high schools -- Gateway and
Leadership -- rank among the top four high schools on the
statewide assessment tests. By Peter Thorp, San Francisco
Chronicle, October 2, 2003. Link to full
article.
DC Mayor Anthony A.
Williams, D.C. Council education committee chairman Kevin P.
Chavous, and D.C. Board of Education President Peggy Cooper
Cafritz endorse the federal voucher program for DC's students.
Read the full Letter
to the Editor in the Washington Post, September 3, 2003.
MORE
CHOICES FOR COLORADO PARENTS: "Giving parents
greater choices and kids more chances does not hurt public
education; it strengthens it and brings us closer to equal
opportunity, especially for disadvantaged youth whose parents
cannot afford the choices that more affluent families may enjoy.
Nothing is more powerful to school reform than an informed
parent with options." By U.S. Department of Education
Deputy Under Secretary Nina S. Rees, Denver Post, April
20, 2003. Link to full
article.
SKEWED STUDY: The
Charter School Leadership Council rebukes PACE
"analysis" as biased and politically motivated. "It
fails to make a legitimate or compelling argument on the
effectiveness of charter schools, leaping instead to spurious
conclusions about "input" and "process" data
that reflect not only a lack of understanding about charters,
but also an obvious anti-charter bias." Charter
School Leadership Council Rebukes PACE 'Analysis' as
Biased, Politically Motivated. April 8, 2003.
MAKING
THE MOST OF VOUCHERS: "Schools, be they public,
private, religious or secular, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim or
Jewish, make an indelible contribution to the fabric and
character of a community. Through schools we pass on the values
and mores of our society to our children. No community,
including one bereft of self-government, should forsake or be
denied its responsibility to educate its children.... We should
join the U.S. Department of Education in forging a system that
includes vouchers, charter schools and public schools -- one
that would afford children in the District the best possible
education." By Peggy Cooper Cafritz, president of the D.C.
Board of Education, Washington Post Op-Ed, March 29,
2003. Link to full
op-ed and follow-up Washington
Post editorial.
YELLOW
FLAG: "Not only are many charter schools enjoying
success, but they are also held accountable in a way regular
public schools are not.... [But] the charter movement can no
longer coast on a theory and a hope. It has a track record, if
not a solid one. This has given new opportunities to those who
never liked the charter movement in the first place. But there
are ways to strengthen the charter movement to counter the
attack." By Bruno Manno, Education
Next, Winter 2003.
CHANCELLOR'S
NEW READING PROGRAM IS UNPROVEN: "Chancellor Joel Klein
has decided to mandate a little-known reading program called 'Month by Month
Phonics' for most New York City schools.... Before the city compels hundreds
of schools to adopt a uniform reading method, that program should have an
outstanding record of success. This program does not have such a track
record." By Diane Ravitch, Newsday, February 10, 2003. Link to complete
article.
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MOM, APPLE PIE &
EDUCATION: In the wake of 9-11,
"Let freedom ring" has been sounded from every corner of the globe, and schools and community leaders are unabashedly praising the tenets upon which this nation
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Apple Pie and the Schools Home Page.
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