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Daily Headlines for January 28, 2011

Time for School Choice: National School Choice Week Ends, Struggle Begins
Catholic Online, January 28, 2011
The unwillingness of those currently in charge of the Federal Educational Bureaucracy to consider school choice when everyone knows the educational system is broken exposes the difference between rhetoric and reality, real concern for real reform and sophistry. School Choice affirms that Parents should make the choice and State and Federal Government should support the first government in the home.

School Choice Saves Dollars, Makes Sense
Orange County Register, CA, January 27, 2011
Finally, a point most often considered irrelevant by school administrators and other public officials: School choice enhances personal freedom. Why, if it is reasonably possible and presents no harm to their neighbor, should any family not have a choice as to how their child is educated – particularly if that choice results in a savings to other taxpayers? More than serious consideration, does not school choice merit a real-world audition?

FROM THE STATES

California

L.A. Catholic Schools To Add 20 Days To Academic Year
Los Angeles Times, CA, January 28, 2011

The switch to a 200-day calendar will give campuses run by the archdiocese in L.A. , Ventura and Santa Barbara counties one of the longest school years in the nation.

New State Regulations Make School Choice Easier For Some Families
Whittier Daily News, CA, January 27, 2011
Recent changes in state law have brought about more choices – and convenience – for parents in the San Gabriel Valley and Whittier areas who wish to enroll their children outside of their neighborhood school districts.

Colorado

Haley: The Plight of Jailed Mom
Denver Post, CO, January 27, 2011
You can question whether she deserved a felony conviction or not, but to me the bottom line is you shouldn’t have to break the law to get your kid into a better school. Parents need choices.

School Choice is a Good Thing
Highlands Ranch Herald, CO, January 28, 2011
Shortly after the public meeting on the possibility of offering school vouchers in Douglas County as part of the school district’s choice programs, I wrote a column asking you to research the pros and cons. Walking the talk, I did the research myself and have come to the conclusion that vouchers will lead our schools in the right direction.

District of Columbia

Norton is Misleading the Public About Local Support, Academic Effectiveness of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
PR Newswire, January 27, 2011
Today, Kevin P. Chavous, former D.C. Councilman and chairman of the Black Alliance for Educational Options, released the following statement regarding Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s recent press release—in which she explained her opposition to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program

Do the Right Thing, Right Now, on D.C. Opportunity Scholarships
Washington Examiner, DC, January 28, 2011
For thousands of children and their families who are looking for a way to end the cycle of poverty, break out of failing public schools and receive the same kind of education that the president and many members of Congress provide for their own children, this is the right thing to do.

School Vouchers the Right Option
Washington Times, DC, January 27, 2011
But what about her girls and the untold numbers of other low-income boys and girls languishing in troubled schools while inside-the-Beltway powerbrokers tussle over dollar signs? It’s cheaper to provide vouchers to school children, regardless of ZIP code, than to continue shortchanging them by financing the status quo.

Indiana

Parents Deserve Charter Choice
Palladium-Item, IN, January 28, 2011
Opponents of charter schools in Indiana are saddled with a fundamental weakness in their argument against expansion of educational choices. They must persuade the public, and members of the Indiana General Assembly, that parents aren’t qualified to select the best learning environment for their children.

Where’s the MEA Reform?
Detroit News, MI, January 28, 2011
The union’s agenda pays lip service to getting quality results in the classroom. But a closer inspection reveals standard union demands: protection for employees and calls for more funding without tying money to performance.

New Jersey

Specialization or Segregation? NJ’s First Charter School for Autistic Children Already Faces Challenges
NJ Spotlight, NJ, January 28, 2011
Approved last week, the Forest Hill Charter School in Newark has received much attention as New Jersey ‘s first charter devoted entirely to students with autism. It was singled out by Gov. Chris Christie as part of a new generation of autonomous schools.

New York

Despicable Lies
New York Post, NY, January 28, 2011
Do middle-class parents deserve good, free public schools for their kids? That’s the question the city’s Panel for Educational Policy will answer Tuesday, when it votes on whether to let a new charter school — the Upper West Success Academy, run by former City Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz — share available space at Brandeis HS on West 84th Street in Manhattan.

North Carolina

NC Senator Proposes Ending Charter School Limits
Charlotte Observer, NC, January 27, 2011
New legislation in the North Carolina General Assembly would scrap the 100-school limit on taxpayer-funded charter schools.

Tennessee

Memphis to Vote on Transferring School System to County
New York Times, NY, January 28, 2011
The voluntary surrender of the city schools’ charter, since backed by the City Council and most of the school board, has led to an extraordinary standoff between Tennessee ‘s largest county and its largest city, a showdown charged with issues of money, politics, class and race.

State May Force School Approval
Commercial
Appeal, TN, January 28, 2011

Shelby County Schools may be required by the state board of education to approve a charter school application that the district has emphatically rejected.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

Virtual Learning Can Improve Student Outcomes and Save Money
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, MI, January 27, 2011
Michigan should expand leadership role in online education; thousands of K-12 students currently participate in hundreds of online programs throughout the state, but unnecessary restrictions limit educational opportunities