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Daily Headlines for June 15, 2011

True or False? School Choice Is Increasing
World Magazine, June 14, 2011
Choosing a school has increasingly become a multiple-choice question.

‘Parent Trigger’ Laws: Shutting Schools, Raising Controversy
TIME, June 14, 2011
In a bare-bones basement office in Buffalo, N.Y., Katie Campos, an education activist, is plotting a revolution.

Redefine ‘No Child’ for Success in Real World
Spokesman Review, WA, June 15, 2011
The federal No Child Left Behind Act has been up for reauthorization since 2007, but because Congress hasn’t been able to agree on the fate of the law it has been granted one-year renewals.

ALASKA

State Board Rejects College-Bases Charter School in Fairbanks
Daily News Miner, AK, June 14, 2011
The Alaska Board of Education and Early Development has rejected a proposed Fairbanks charter school geared toward early college preparation where high school students could take university courses for credits.

CALIFORNIA

Rocketship Proposal For 20 More Charters Should Be Launching Pad For Plan To Close Achievement Gap
Mercury News, CA, June 15, 2011
Rocketship Education, the growing charter school operator with three branches in San Jose , has asked the Santa Clara County Board of Education for permission to open 20 more schools by 2018.

FLORIDA

Driving off Teachers
Tampa Bay Tribune, FL, June 15, 2011
The surest way to destroy a state’s economic competiveness is to destroy its education system.

ILLINOIS

Merrillville Denies Site For Charter School
Post Tribune, IL, June 14, 2011
The Town Council voted Tuesday to deny a request to open a charter school at the former Jump N Fun on U.S. 30 and Madison Street, reiterating safety concerns for the more than 300 students who would be enrolled there.

Parents to CPS: Make Our School a Charter
WBEZ, IL, June 14, 2011
When Chicago closes low-performing schools, the district often faces fierce resistance from parents, who fight to save their children’s teachers and their neighborhood’s institution. Now, for the first time in Chicago, a group of parents is publicly asking CPS to shut down their school-and reopen it as a charter school.

LOUISIANA

New Plan Offers Unconventional Way to Govern New Orleans Schools
Times Picayune, LA, June 1, 2011
Two competing visions for New Orleans schools are battling it out among educators, politicians and parents: one that applauds the dramatic state takeover that came after Hurricane Katrina and another that is demanding that control of city schools be returned to the local elected School Board that lost them after the 2005 storm.

MAINE

Charter Schools Measure Wins Maine Senate Support
Portland Press Herald, ME, June 15, 2011
The bill, which now goes to the House, would permit ‘schools of focus’ on certain subjects, its sponsor says.

MICHIGAN

Parents Deserve Choice on Education
Lansing State Journal, MI, June 14, 2011
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s appearance before a joint House and Senate Education Committee hearing today should offer a stark contrast between a state that has embraced parental choice in education and one still grappling with a discriminatory constitutional provision.

NEW JERSEY

Make Public Private
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 15, 2011
Gov. Christie’s idea of letting private education companies operate failing New Jersey schools provides another viable option for parents and children, so long as it doesn’t come at the expense of families who don’t exercise it.

NEW MEXICO

Charter School Budget Reflects Unique Challenges
El Defensor Chieftain, NM, June 14, 2011
Cottonwood Valley Charter School has prepared its budget for the 2011-2012 school year, and as Socorro’s only charter school, the 10-year-old CVCS faces unique challenges in producing money and meeting expenses.

NEW YORK

Graduation Rates in City Set Record
Wall Street Journal, June 15, 2011
The four-year graduation rate in New York City rose to a record 65% in 2010, Mayor Bloomberg announced Tuesday, touting the numbers as a sign his administration’s reforms have boosted student success.

Despite Anger of Black Parents in New York, NAACP is Right
USA Today, June 14, 2011
The NAACP is being attacked by parents of New York City schoolchildren who are angered by the civil rights group’s support for a lawsuit that seeks to keep 20 charter schools out of buildings that already are occupied by traditional public schools.

NORTH CAROLINA

Charter School Cap Lifted
Carey News, NC, June 15, 2011
The North Carolina legislature voted to eliminate the 100-school limit on charter schools, giving supporters a victory they’ve craved for more than a decade.

TENNESSEE

Senate’s Voucher Plan Would Boost Low-Income Students
The Tennessean, TN, June 14, 2011
I read with renewed optimism the June 10 guest column, much of which I agreed with, by Marc Everett Hill, chief education officer of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce (“School voucher plan in present form would be a mistake”).

TEXAS

Charter Schools in Texas
New York Times, NY, June 15, 2011
“Charter Schools Tied to Turkey Grow in Texas” (front page, June 7) attempts to place the schools that several educators and I founded, Harmony Public Schools, in the con
text of an Islamic movement with which we are not and never have been affiliated. Harmony schools do not teach religion, and no such affiliation exists.

East Austin Community Wants Charter School To Take Over
KVUE, TX, June 14, 2011
How do you turn around an under performing school? Some members of an East Austin community say the answer is taking AISD out of the equation. Eastside Memorial High School , formerly Johnston High School , saw nearly 30 percent of its seniors from the Green Tech portion of Eastside, fail to graduate this past year.

UTAH

Utah’s Charter Schools Get Special Treatment
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, June 14, 2011
When it comes to applying rules to the public-education system in Utah, some schools are more equal than others.

WYOMING

Wyoming Charter School Appeal Goes To State Board
Casper Star-Tribune, WY, June 15, 2011
For the third time ever, the Wyoming Board of Education will decide today whether to overturn a rejection of a proposed charter school.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

Virtually There: Online School Program Appeals To Some Parents
Evening News and Tribune, IN, June 14, 2011
V. Lori Hedges has more or less spanned that gamut of school options for her six sons. Some perform well in private schools, others prefer public schools and she’s also given home schooling a go.

Online Charter School Helping Dropouts, Others Earn High School Degrees
Twin Falls Times-News, ID, June 14, 2011
Destanie Breland said she will never get rid of her sapphire graduation gown. She held the flimsy fabric close on Monday as she looked down at her 16-month-old daughter, Aaralynn, who toddled around the living room.

“Virtual School” in Lodi Lets Students Study from Home
KTXL, CA, June 14, 2011
Log on in Lodi. Instead of going to school, students can stay home and take their tests in their pajamas.

Putting the Ill in Illinois

Illinois’ education blob is giving themselves a pat on the back. Their “collaboration” helped pass a bill, almost unanimously, that institutes some form of teacher evaluations based on “multiple measures” yet to be defined, and changes tenure rules, slightly. There are longer school days, strike rules requiring 75 percent of teachers to agree, but not much more. There’s not much here that helps students immediately, or parents, but makes it look like it does. Indeed, the back patting seems to be more about how it was done, not what was done.

Says the press propaganda:

“Unlike our neighbors in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states, stakeholders here worked together to craft an aggressive bill that makes our state the leader in education reform. At a time when many teachers understandably feel under attack, this bill celebrates effective teachers, recognizes their accomplishments and helps keep them in classrooms.”

We’re so glad that no one had to flee a state to keep from voting on major changes to education. Maybe that’s because there was nothing really to flee about, no controversy, no major changes. Time will tell, but a rose by any other name is not a rose. And this bill is not reform.

Creative Non-Compliance

I usually like this term. It means we might as well bend some rules, if the need justifies it, and normally, this term is associated with good deeds. But, Secretary Arne Duncan’s attempt to start creatively non-complying with NCLB may not be about good deeds, as much as he suggests it is. Throughout the weekend, news reports screamed that Duncan will be granting waivers to a law carefully and painfully put in place to guard against the kind of data abuses and lack of transparency that plagued the nation prior to NCLB’s enactment.

Secretary Duncan granting personal waivers.

Secretary Duncan granting personal waivers.

Sure, NCLB is not perfect, and Congress and the past president made lots of mistakes. But the fact is that without NCLB, we simply don’t have a clue how schools or students are performing. We can argue some bars are lower and some higher, that some schools that get labeled do so unfairly. For the most part, however, it works. It shines sun on the dirty little secret of even the best schools that neglect their neediest students. And it captured our attention and put the establishment on the defensive. Most important, it gave parents a tool to use as a lever for change. [Read more…]

Daily Headlines for June 14, 2011

Education Secretary Tells Congress: Change No Child Left Behind – or I Will
Christian Science Monitor, MA, June 13, 2011
Education Secretary Arne Duncan says time is running out to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. If Congress doesn’t move soon, he said he’ll take matters into his own hands

Bridge to Reform for No Child Law
Denver Post, CO, June 14, 2011
While giving states more time to meet the act’s requirements, Arne Duncan is pressing Congress to make long-term fixes.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Progress on Charter Schools Is Threatened
Sacramento Bee, CA, June 14, 2011
From the spate of anti-charter school legislation coming out of the state Assembly, you wouldn’t know that California once was on the leading edge of the public charter school movement.

GEORGIA

An Easier Way To Fix Charter Schools
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, June 13, 2011
Many people have reacted to the decision by the Georgia Supreme Court regarding charter schools as though it were the end of the world, but there is a simple way out that expands school choice without harming our traditional public schools.

Two Charter Schools In Dekalb Get School Board Reprieve
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, June 13, 2011
DeKalb County Schools decided Monday to offer a reprieve to two charter schools, granting them one-year waivers to remain open while those schools seek long-term authority to operate.

Pataula Charter Determined To Stay Open
WALB, GA, June 14, 2011
The Georgia Supreme Court refused to reconsider a landmark ruling Monday that will take away public funding for some charter schools.

IDAHO

Luna Moves On Reforms Even As Referendums Make Ballot
Spokesman-Review, ID, June 13, 2011
Idaho state schools chief Tom Luna opened the deliberations of a 39-member task force Monday that’ll help determine how to implement big new school technology investments, even as the Idaho Secretary of State’s office issued certificates officially placing three referendums on the November 2012 ballot to overturn the reforms.

ILLINOIS

Give State an ‘A’ for Ed Reform
State Journal Register, IL, June 14, 2011
It’s not often that Illinois is hailed as an example of how to do things right in lawmaking. Gov. Pat Quinn’s signing into law Monday of a sweeping package of education reforms gave Illinois a leadership role in addressing arguably the most difficult issue facing state governments nationwide.

MICHIGAN

Charter School Students Faring Better Than Public
WLNS, MI, June 13, 2011
A new report suggests Lansing charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools in the city, but Lansing schools say, not so fast.

Give Individual Detroit Schools More Freedom
Detroit News, MI, June 14, 2011
More flexibility, along with accountability for results, could benefit schoolchildren

NEW JERSEY

Is Gov. Christie’s Charter School Proposal Losing Steam?
New Jersey Newsroom, NJ, June 13, 2011
A large part of Governor Chris Christie’s long running battle for education reform is the expansion of charter schools. But as time has passed, the idea has slowly been losing steam.

NORTH CAROLINA

Charter School Cap To Be Lifted
Richmond County Daily Journal, NC, June 14, 2011
Parents and students in Richmond County could see more choices in the type of educational setting they want in the coming years with the General Assembly poised to lift the ban on the number of charter schools in the state.

PENNSYLVANIA

Measure Would Shift Charter School Costs To State
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, June 14, 2011
Charter school tuition has long been a sore point for school districts, but a bill introduced Monday in Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives would change that, shifting the cost to the state.

Pennsylvania’s School Voucher Legislation Isn’t About Low-Income Students
Patriot News, PA, June 14, 2011
Proponents of tuition vouchers, including legislative leaders and Gov. Tom Corbett, often promote the idea as one needed to help children from low-income families “escape” from struggling schools to attend private or religious schools.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Thank the ‘ Spartanburg Six’
Spartanburg Herald Journal, SC, June 14, 2011
It’s an odd assertion that a “true conservative” is someone who wants the government to subsidize private education and that those who want to protect the public schools are somehow phony conservatives.

VIRGINIA

Richmond Charter School: Growing Pains
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, June 14, 2011
The recent finding that no deliberate fraud has occurred at the Patrick Henry charter school in Richmond is reassuring. But the disarray in the school’s financial controls calls out for redress.

WISCONSIN

Public School Educators In Racine Say No To School Choice
Fox6 Now, WI, June 13, 2011
Educators at Racine public schools are saying no to school choice as a vote on the state budget inches closer and closer. A coalition put together by the Racine Unified School District says school vouchers will reduce the total state aid coming to the district and increase local taxes.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

Education Board Nixes Virtual School Expansion
Arkansas News, AR, June 13, 2011
The state Board of Education voted today to deny a request to expand the Arkansas Virtual Academy in Little Rock.

Schools Weigh Benefits Of Digital Textbooks
Tampa Tribune, FL, June 14, 2011
The books Florida students study from today could become artifacts they only see in pictures on the e-readers of tomorrow.

iSucceed Virtual High School Grads Celebrate
Idaho Press Tribune, ID, June 13, 2011
Seniors and their families gathered in Boise from across the state on Saturday night to receive their diplomas and celebrate their graduation from iSucceed Virtual High School , a statewide, online public high school. This is iSucceed’s third graduation since the school’s founding in 2008.

Daily Headlines for June 13, 2011

Duncan Threatens to Alter No Child Left Behind
Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2011
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is threatening to use the power of his position to alter key elements of No Child Left Behind if Congress doesn’t renew and upgrade the education law before the next school year begins.

Education Secretary May Agree to Waivers on ‘No Child’ Law Requirements
New York Times, NY, June 12, 2011
Unless Congress acts by this fall to overhaul No Child Left Behind, the main federal law on public education, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan signaled that he would use his executive authority to free states from the law’s centerpiece requirement that all students be proficient in reading and math by 2014.

FROM THE STATES

ARIZONA

Arizona Charter Parents Given Opt-Out Right
Tucson Citizen, AZ, June 13, 2011
Charter-school parents now have the same rights as other parents with a new law that allows them to opt their children out of material they consider to be “harmful.”

CALIFORNIA

L.A. Unified: A Report Card
Los Angeles Times, CA, June 13, 2011
A review by the National Council on Teacher Quality highlights some of the district’s wasteful, counterproductive practices.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Hearings to Shine Light On Schools
Washington Times, DC, June 12, 2011
Kwame Brown has made an about-face and announced that the D.C. Council will indeed hear public testimony during confirmation hearings on the schools chancellorship of Kaya Henderson.

FLORIDA

Cash for Pembroke Pines Charter Schools Dwindling Fast
Miami Herald, FL, June 12, 2011
Despite their stellar academic reputation, the city’s charter schools face a funding shortfall that will require budget – and perhaps salary – cuts.

GEORGIA

Charter Academy Parents Plan Rally Tuesday
The Times-Herald, GA, June 13, 2011
The Odyssey School is safe for another five years, but Coweta Charter Academy’s future is still very much in question. Local supporters hope to change that this week.

ILLINOIS

Illinois: The New Leader In Education Reform
Chicago Tribune, IL , June 13, 2011
On Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn signs what might be the most important piece of education legislation ever passed in Illinois. Unlike our neighbors in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states, stakeholders here worked together to craft an aggressive bill that makes our state the leader in education reform. At a time when many teachers understandably feel under attack, this bill celebrates effective teachers, recognizes their accomplishments and helps keep them in classrooms.

INDIANA

A Tug Of War To Control The Turnaround
Indianapolis Star, IN, June 12, 2011
Over the next year, Indiana will see at least some schools, for the first time, taken over by the state with the goal of improving student performance on the standardized ISTEP test. A battle has ensued over who should manage those turnaround efforts in Indianapolis…

LOUISIANA

NASA Software Gives Lusher Charter School Students All The Right Stuff
Times Picayune, LA, June 12, 2011
NASA wants high school students to shoot for the stars, and this spring, a class at Lusher Charter School took the space agency up on the challenge.

MARYLAND

Rolley Urges Vouchers, Mayoral Control of Baltimore Schools
Baltimore Sun, MD, June 12, 2011
Mayoral candidate and former city planning director Otis Rolley III has vowed to offer private school vouchers to students zoned to attend failing middle schools and says he would lobby to restore mayoral control to the city school system.

MASSACCHUSETTS

The High Price Of School Assignment
Boston Globe, MA, June 12, 2011
Like an army of yellow ants, they march across the city: 691 school buses carrying 32,221 students. They will cost the Boston public schools a staggering $80 million next year, approaching 10 percent of the total school budget.

MICHIGAN

Tenure Reform Bills Put Kids’ Education First
Detroit News, MI, June 13, 2011
Bills would tie teacher job security more closely to classroom performance

New DPS Charter School Operators Have Proven Success
The Detroit News, MI, June 13, 2011
Uniforms for students, dress codes for teachers and more math and reading are in store at some of the new charter schools to be opened by Detroit Public Schools this fall.

MINNESOTA

St. Paul Magnet Again At Heart Of District’s Struggle Over Race And Achievement
Minnesota Public Radio, MN, June 13, 2011
A struggling St. Paul elementary school that was once a beacon of racial integration and academic achievement hopes to re-invent itself again, this time taking a page from a successful Afrocentric charter school in north Minneapolis.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Charter School Idea Put To Board
Nashua Telegraph, NH, June 13, 2011
A district-sponsored charter school would serve as a “learning laboratory,” where innovative approaches to education could be used with the goal of taking what works and applying it to other schools in the city.

NEW YORK

Charters: No Kid ‘Stuff’
New York Post, NY, June 13, 2011
The Bloomberg administration’s policy of allowing charter schools to share building space with traditional public schools has not led to a significant spike in class size, according to study released today by a charter-school group.

OHIO

Ohio Senate Tucks Policy Changes Into Massive State Budget
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, June 13, 2011
Requires school districts to offer right of first refusal to charter schools to lease unused school buildings and other district property for $1 if the charter school is rated in the top 50 percent of the performance index score. All other charter schools would get first right of refusal at fair market value.

OREGON

Oregon Legislature Should Invest In More Effective Teachers, Higher Student Achievement
Statesman Journal, OR, June 12, 2011
The key to great schools and successful students is simple to define but difficult to achieve: effective teachers. That’s common sense. But that also has been demonstrated by the brilliant work of the Chalkboard Project and its CLASS initiative.

PENNSYLVANIA

Card Check Primer: The Union Label
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA, June 13, 2011
Imagine finding out without notice that one’s workplace has been unionized, forcing union dues on all employees — much to the surprise and dismay of those who want no part of it.

Ackerman Takes On A Union-Busting Role
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, June 13, 2011
In the past couple of years, the issue of alleged “union busting” in public schools has taken center stage – and suddenly Philadelphia finds itself a major battleground.

Charter School Finds an Angel in Agassi
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, June 11, 2011
When the 5- and 6-year-olds in Betsy Lawson and Brittany Fix’s kindergarten class read books, learn their numbers or dance and sing to rehearse for a performance next Monday, they stay in one brightly colored room that looks just like any other kindergarten room:

RHODE ISLAND

Portsmouth Asks Court To Clarify Who Controls How Teachers Are Hired And Assigned
Providence Journal, RI, June 13, 2011
The long-looming clash between school districts and teachers’ unions over how teachers get hired and assigned to classrooms is headed to court.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Charter School Candidates Denied: Advisory Committee Rejects Applications of Village Charter And Global Studies
Post and Courier, SC, June 13, 2011
Two of the Charleston groups hoping to open new charter schools failed to receive the necessary approval of a state committee last week and will have to wait another year before reapplying.

TEXAS

Supporting Public Schools Privately
Winona Daily News, TX, June 13, 2011
It says plenty that Ridgeway Community School – a charter school formerly in the Winona Area Public Schools system – is expanding.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

Golden Valley Charter, Virtual Charter Schools Celebrate Graduates
Ventura County Star, CA, June 11, 2011
The 13 students from Ventura-based Golden Valley Charter School and Golden Valley Virtual Charter School never entered a classroom to work toward their diplomas.

Four Students Take Alternate Paths To Graduation
San Diego Union-Tribune, CA, June 11, 2011
Kevin Groarke was the first student to enroll in iHigh Virtual Academy two years ago and is graduating as the school’s valedictorian with a 4.03 GPA. For Kevin, the online program was a perfect fit, allowing him to accelerate his education and take classes he was interested in.

Daily Headlines for June 9, 2011

The Dead Hand of Federal Education Reform
Washington Times, DC, June 8, 2011
It’s time for a fresh approach. Instead of continuing to try to reform education from Washington, let’s cut the federal bureaucracy and empower states to spend their own money in ways they feel will best meet their students’ needs.

Complicated, Frequent Teacher Evaluations: Is There Real Value In The Process?
Washington Post, DC, June 8, 2011
School districts, particularly in the Washington area, are now spending much time and money building complicated systems to identify the worst and best teachers, and some gradations in between. They are finding this hard to do. I am beginning to wonder if it’s worth so much effort.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

L.A. Public School System Wastes $500 Million On Pointless Training, Report Says
Los Angeles Times Blog, CA, June 8, 2011
The Los Angeles Unified School District squanders more than $500 million a year on an academic-improvement strategy that has consistently proven to be ineffective, researchers concluded in a report released Tuesday.

COLORADO

Denver Teachers Union Plans Challenge of Innovation Status Granted to Two Future DPS Schools
Denver Post, CO, June 9, 2011
The State Board of Education approved innovation status on Wednesday for three more Denver public schools – two of them future schools that are part of turnaround plans in the city’s far northeast.

CONNECTICUT

Charter School Reform: A Small Step In The Right Direction
Ridgefield Press, CT, June 9, 2011
The creativity and out of the box thinking of Connecticut’s charter schools are helping to close the nation’s largest achievement gap.

FLORIDA

Misplaced Emphasis
Tallahassee Democrat, FL, June 9, 2011
This week’s release of FCAT scores showed that students in Leon County and around the state didn’t take any major dips this year, despite having more rigorous testing measures in place.

GEORGIA

Schools Seek to Renew Charters
MyFox Atlanta, GA, June 9, 2011
Charter schools will go before the state board of education, fighting for their survival, on Thursday

Charter School Supporters Make Their Voices Heard
Marietta Daily Journal, GA, June 9, 2011
The Cobb school board considered approving three new charter schools and renewing another at its meeting Wednesday. The board also approved its $851 million fiscal year 2012 budget, despite protests about the budget’s sustainability from board Chairwoman Alison Bartlett.

INDIANA

Bennett Tells Ballard To Get In Line To Turn Around Failing Schools
Indianapolis Star, IN, June 9, 2011
Mayor Greg Ballard has his own solution for turning around seven low-scoring Indianapolis Public Schools: Put them under city control and convert them to “charter-like” schools.

KANSAS

Give Parents a Choice
Newton Kansan, KS, June 8, 2011
With our state having a severe budget crisis, it seems to me parents would like to give their children more choices as to their education – not the status quo of ‘one size fits all’. I think the following may show the need.

NEW JERSEY

Gov. Christie to Unveil Public-Private School Partnership Plan
The Star-Ledger, NJ, June 9, 2011
Gov. Chris Christie will announce legislation today to create public-private partnerships to run some schools in New Jersey, three people with knowledge of the plan said tonight.

NEVADA

Teacher Seniority Reform Bill To Have Little Impact In Near Future
Las Vegas Review-Journal, NV, June 8, 2011
Gov. Brian Sandoval and prominent education reformers pushed hard to change the “last in, first out” rules governing teacher layoffs in Nevada.

OHIO

Policy-Changing Budget Bill Goes To Reconciliation Panel
Columbus Dispatch, OH, June 9, 2011
The Senate version of the budget includes a requirement that if a public-school building has gone unused for the preceding two years, the district must offer it to an interested charter school for lease. If that charter school ranks in the top 50 percent by academic performance, the cost is $1. Otherwise, it would be fair market value.

PENNSYLVANIA

New Program Will Focus On Pittsburgh Teachers’ Skills
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, June 9, 2011
The Pittsburgh Public Schools yesterday announced a new initiative in the wake of the sudden elimination of the Pittsburgh Teacher Academy.

Chester Academy Shows Hope For Struggling Catholic Schools
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 9, 2011
Times are tough for Catholic education around Philadelphia. The archdiocese plans to close nine elementary schools this year, after shuttering 11 schools last year. Enrollment in parish elementary schools has fallen 18 percent over five years, and high school enrollment has dropped 20 percent.

Community Academy in Kensington Appeals To Renew Charter
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 9, 2011
After twice failing to have its operating charter renewed by the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, Community Academy in Kensington escalated the controversy by asking the state for help.

Numbers Tell Sad Story For Parochial Schools
Delaware County Times, PA, June 9, 2011
No one should be surprised at the news that two more archdiocesan elementary schools are closing their doors in Delaware County.

RHODE ISLAND

Board Says No To Charters
Providence Journal, RI, June 9, 2011
School officials voted unanimously Wednesday night to oppose a plan to open five mayoral academies – publicly funded charter schools led by Mayor Allan W. Fung – that would operate as a parallel school district.

VIRGINIA

Embezzlement Alleged At Richmond Charter School
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA, June 9, 2011
Virginia State Police are investigating an allegation of embezzlement at Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts, a charter school in South Richmond that is completing its first year of operation.

WISCONSIN

Private Schools Debate Accepting Voucher Students
Journal Times, WI, June 8, 2011
So far there are more area private schools interested in being voucher schools than not.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

Will Rocketship Schools Launch in District?
Washington Post Blog, DC, June 8, 2011
Their handshake added an unexpected jolt to the closing session of the New Schools Venture Fund summit in San Francisco last month, and with good reason. Acting Chancellor Kaya Henderson and Reed Hastings, Netflix co-founder and charter entrepreneur, sealed a deal to bring eight Rocketship Education schools to D.C.

Free Online K-12 Public Charter School Seeks Students
Indiana News Center, IN, June 8, 2011
No tuition, no textbook rental fees and no classrooms. That is the pitch from the Indiana Connections Academy, a virtual public K-12 charter school.

Daily Headlines for June 8, 2011

CALIFORNIA

A School Bailout Worth The Money
Los Angeles Times, CA, June 8, 2011
Money woes threaten ICEF Public Schools, a charter school success story in South L.A.

Locking the Parent Trigger
City Journal, June 7, 2011
California’s teachers’ union wants a veto over parents’ power to turn around failing schools.

COLORADO

Loveland Charter School Is Still Alive, Barely
Reporter Herald, CO, June 8, 2011
Loveland’s newest charter school project is still alive, but barely, after a series of flip-flop votes by city councilors Tuesday.

GEORGIA

2 Ga. Charter Schools Ask State For Approval
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA, June 8, 2011
The first pair of 16 charter schools affected by a recent state Supreme Court ruling overturning part of the state’s charter school law is up for approval by the Georgia school board.

Still No Charter School Enrollment List
Cherokee Tribune, GA, June 8, 2011
The Cherokee County School District is still waiting for the list of students selected to attend Cherokee Charter Academy.

Group Calls For Reforms In Private School Scholarship Program
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, June 7, 2011
The Southern Education Foundation said Tuesday that Georgia ‘s program of giving tax credits to fund private school scholarships lacks accountability, fails in its original mission of helping needy children in failing schools, and should be overhauled or ended.

ILLINOIS

Catholic Schools Put Out Welcome Mat For Students With Vouchers
Courier Press, IL, June 7, 2011
Schools in the Catholic Diocese of Evansville have selected “All Are Welcome” as their collective theme for the 2011-12 academic year.

New Law Would Change Rules On Teacher Tenure
Herald & Review, IL, June 8, 2011
Teacher layoffs and callbacks generally follow the “last in, first out” rule. Under a proposed law that will be implemented in phases if Gov. Pat Quinn signs the bill, as anticipated, that would no longer be the case.

KANSAS

Expect Voucher Debate in 2012
Johnson County Sun, KS, June 7, 2011
The formation of school vouchers, I think, will happen in Kansas . Possibly during the 2012 legislative session as a result of a conservative-controlled House, a more conservative influenced Senate, and an ultraconservative governor eager to sign the bill into law as part of a complete overhaul of the state’s school funding formula.

LOUISIANA

Faced with Vacancies, Jefferson Parish Schools Lower Academy Admissions Test Threshold
Times Picayune, LA, June 7, 2011
A higher admissions test cutoff is ruling out so many applicants to Jefferson Parish’s advanced academies that the School Board voted on Tuesday to lower the score.

NEW JERSEY

For Newark’s District Schools and Charters, Peaceful Coexistence?
NJ Spotlight, June 8, 2011
Newark public schools reach out to a community concerned about charters and traditional schools sharing campuses.

Teaneck Likely To Help Charter School Borrow $11M
The Record, NJ, June 8, 2011
The Friends of the Teaneck Community Charter School can pursue a plan to borrow about $11 million to refinance its debt and build a new gym to be shared with the public now that it has the Township Council’s endorsement.

NEW YORK

Hundreds Show Up In Greece To Support School Choice
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY, June 8, 2011
Nearly 400 people packed the auditorium at Olympia High School on Tuesday to show their support for the Greece school district’s school choice policies.

NORTH CAROLINA

End Charter School Cap, Because Achievement Gap Is A Crisis
Charlotte Observer, NC, June 8, 2011
We cannot continue holding our children hostage. Thousands of students are languishing in an educational system where the achievement gap continues to create a divide between African-American students and their peers.

PENNSYLVANIA

State Appeals Board Approves Charter School in Pottsville
Republican Herald, PA, June 8, 2011
The State Charter School Appeal Board on Tuesday gave a group of educators and parents from the Pottsville area permission to form the first charter school in Schuylkill County.

Pa. Education Appeals Board Says Charter School Must Fight Twice
Pocono Record, PA, June 8, 2011
The Pocono Mountain Charter School is not allowed to combine two different outstanding issues into one in its fight to stay open.

Pa. Education Secretary: School Districts Can’t Blame Charters
York Dispatch, PA, June 8, 2011
Department of Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis had a clear, direct message on Tuesday that might send chills up the spines of York City School District officials.

Morphing into Charter District?
York Dispatch, PA, June 8, 2011
Will the last York City School District student please turn out the lights? Sound extreme? Well, it’s not so farfetched if charter schools continue to offer reasonable alternatives to the financially strapped, academically struggling district.

State Legislators Move To Outlaw Teacher Strikes
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, June 8, 2011
When the Bethel Park teachers union went on strike for six weeks last fall, Denise Dillon decided she had had enough.

RHODE ISLAND

Providence Mayor Creates School Reform Task Force
Providence Journal, RI, June 8, 2011
Mayor Angel Taveras has created a task force to help implement his vision for school reform i
n the city.

UTAH

Parent Wins Major Grants For Alpine Charter School
Daily Herald, UT, June 8, 2011
Mountainville Academy is on a roll when it comes to winning major grants, thanks to the work of a parent volunteer.

WISCONSIN

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald: School Vouchers Likely Won’t Change
Green Bay Press Gazette, WI, June 8, 2011
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says changes to the budget as passed out of the Joint Finance Committee last week are being discussed. But he doesn’t believe a provision expanding voucher schools to Green Bay will be removed.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

A Virtual Graduation
Battle Creek Enquirer, MI, June 8, 2011
Battle Creek’s first-ever all-virtual school held its first-ever commencement ceremony on Tuesday.

Daily Headlines for June 7, 2011

To Fix the Schools, Let the Ideas Bloom
New York Times, NY, June 7, 2011
In “Waiting for a School Miracle” (Op-Ed, June 1), Diane Ravitch rightly points out that the quick-fix “miracles” that seem to dramatically improve learning for the most disadvantaged students are usually mirages, not miracles. These charter and traditional public schools tend to feature an outdated reductionist model that simply doesn’t work.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Report Says L.A. Principals Should Have More Authority In Hiring Teachers
Los Angeles Times, CA, June 7, 2011
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa strongly backs suggestions in the report, whose research was paid for largely with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Board Discusses Chief for Charters
Contra Costa Times, CA, June 6, 2011
The San Bernardino City Unified School Board is expected to discuss today in closed session whether the district should task someone with oversight of the district’s 11 charter schools.

IDAHO

Education Reform Foes Deliver Powerful Message
Fox12Idaho, ID, June 7, 2011
They’re sending a powerful message to the people of Idaho and Superintendent Tom Luna. Idahoans for Responsible Education Reform delivered thousands of signed petitions to the Secretary of Sate that will put the so-called “Luna Laws” up to a vote of the people.

NEW JERSEY

“School Choice” is a Parent’s Right
The Star-Ledger Blog, NJ, June 6, 2011
This is a topic of great interest to our NJ Muslim community educators and parents. They just don’t know it yet. It’s about school choice. It is a topic that interfaith groups especially need to consider.

NEW YORK

Make Disclosure Mean Just That
Albany Times Union, NY, June 7, 2011
Welcome, New York, to the new, and woefully unregulated, era of high-priced elections over, yes, school budgets. Albany got its own taste of such sharp-elbowed politics last month, when slick, misleading — and anonymous — mailings went out across the city urging voters to reject the school budget.

NEVADA

Census Study Finds Nevada Lagging in K-12 Spending
Las Vegas Sun, NV, June 7, 2011
Nevada ranks 45th in the nation in K-12 education spending per pupil, according to an analysis released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau.

NORTH CAROLINA

Cap on Charter Schools Hurts Children
Daily Reflector, NC, June 7, 2011
The heat of summer is upon us and North Carolina’s cap on public charter schools still exists. Despite bipartisan support for eliminating the cap, the issue seems to be stuck in the midst of politics.

Unlike NCAE, SEANC Escapes GOP’s Scorn
News Observer, NC, June 7, 2011
The Republican legislature is targeting one public employee union while making nice with another – a reflection of the hardball politics being played in North Carolina’s Capital City these days.

OHIO

West Side Charter School Could Be An Academic Sail And A Neighborhood Anchor
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, June 7, 2011
By bringing the Near West Intergenerational charter school to Ohio City, a group of dedicated parents might just stabilize a neighborhood and contribute to rebuilding a city.

PENNSYLVANIA

Charter Magnate Gets OK for N. Camden School
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 7, 2011
Pennsylvania charter school magnate, lawyer, and entrepreneur Vahan Gureghian is bringing his charter school vision to Camden.

Boys’ Latin Graduates Its First Class Amid Hoopla
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 7, 2011
“Boys’ Latin is the start of something very big, a new tradition to your neighborhood,” Gov. Corbett told the inaugural class of the state’s first single-sex college-preparatory charter school.

Charter Enrollment on Rise in York
York Dispatch, PA, June 6, 2011
It’s not hard to see how well charter schools are doing in York City School District.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Let’s Stay in ‘Race to the Top’
Post and Courier, SC, June 7, 2011
Recently, public education in our state – and specifically here in Charleston – took a huge hit when state Superintendent of Education Mick Zais said ‘no thanks’ to competing for the final round of federal ‘Race to the Top’ (‘RTT’) money.

WISCONSIN

Charter School Off To Good Start
Wausau Daily Herald, WI, June 6, 2011
The fledgling Wausau Engineering & Global Leadership Academy was tailor-made for students such as Marshall Scholz.

Green Bay School Voucher Proposal Ripped By Wisconsin School Superintendent Tony Evers
Green Bay Press Gazette, WI, June 6, 2011
Expansion of school vouchers for Green Bay should be removed from the state budget, Wisconsin state superintendent Tony Evers said Monday

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

‘Virtual Schools’ Approved
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, June 7, 2011
The Virginia Department of Education on Monday announced that Chesterfield and York counties and 11 private companies have been approved as official providers of online programs to students throughout the state.

Lemon Skeptical of ‘Virtual Snow Days’ Concept
Herald-Whig, IL, June 6, 2011
Some school districts across the nation are checking into the possibility of letting students do work online during periods of bad weather so the education process can continue even during blizzards when schools would normally be closed.

Daily Headlines for June 6, 2011

Cline’s Education Reform Vision: Less Federal Cash, More School Autonomy
Minnesota Public Radio, MN, June 6, 2011
While Congress may seem locked in endless budget battles, lawmakers from both parties are trying to overhaul education laws, including No Child Left Behind. Minnesota Rep. John Kline is in charge of that effort for House Republicans.

Review of Teacher Education Colleges A Worthy Project
The Oklahoman, OK, June 5, 2011
STATE schools Superintendent Janet Barresi isn’t just making waves locally. She’s part of a national cadre of superintendents stirring up controversy at the national level, too. The nine state school chiefs who have dubbed themselves “Chiefs for Change” are supporting a review of traditional teacher education programs that we suspect will be enlightening even if it fails to be definitive.

FROM THE STATES

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

D.C. Councilmen Don’t Send Kids To Neighborhood Schools
Washington Examiner, DC, June 5, 2011
Two-thirds go for private schools
D.C. Council members are sending their kids to pricey private schools instead of putting them in the city’s troubled public system that they urge other parents to invest in.

Presidential Candidates Tend To Avoid Education Issues
Washington Post, DC, June 5, 2011
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney declared his candidacy for president last week. I went to his Web site to read his ideas about education. There weren’t any. The same thing happened when I went to former House speaker Newt Gingrich’s campaign site.

FLORIDA

Sarasota’s High Charter Marks
Florida Trend, FL, June 6, 2011
Talk to charter school operators and management companies around Florida and you’ll get an earful about school districts they view as uncooperative at best and hostile at worst. Then there’s Sarasota. ” Sarasota is probably the most enlightened district in the state,” says Tim Kitts, who heads charter schools in Bay County and chairs the advocacy committee for the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools.

GEORGIA

Georgia Hires Team To Work On Teacher Pay Plan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, June 6, 2011
Saying they lack the expertise internally, the Georgia Department of Education plans to spend $758,000 to bring in outside help to develop a system for evaluating teachers and administrators based on how their students perform academically.

Charter Schools Are About Local Control
Walton Tribune, GA, June 4, 2011
Tribune staff writer Stephen Milligan’s May 22 op-ed and its headline, “State needs to support public schools,” displays a lack of understanding about charter schools. First and foremost, charter schools are public schools. That is why leaders of our state and our nation are actively promoting the growth and availability of quality charter schools to our nation’s children.

Ruling on Charter Panel Won’t Hurt Many Schools
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, June 5, 2011
The state Supreme Court ruling that declared a special charter school commission unconstitutional put 16 schools in limbo, but won’t affect more than 100 other Georgia charter schools, including one in Clarke County.

MASSACHUSETTS

Charter School May Exit Union
Boston Globe, MA, June 6, 2011
Teachers at the first charter school in Massachusetts to form a union are now debating whether to dissolve it, dealing a potential blow to an effort to unionize charter schools statewide.

NEW JERSEY

N.J. Power Broker Says He’s Launching Charter Schools
Asbury Park Press, NJ, June 5, 2011
Gov. Chris Christie and Cooper University Hospital Chairman George E. Norcross III locked arms Friday at an event celebrating education and second chances.

Education Reform / Please, Let’s Get Real
Press of Atlantic City, NJ, June 5, 2011
Efforts to improve our schools are simply too important to let the discussion get muddled by misinformation, posturing and half truths. Unfortunately, that’s apparently not a position shared by either the administration of Gov. Chris Christie or the teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association.

NEW YORK

NAACP vs. Black Parents
Wall Street Journal, June 4, 2011
Here’s something you don’t see everyday. Thousands of American blacks held a rally in Harlem last week to protest . . . the NAACP.

Parents Sue to Keep Coney Island Charter School out of Intermediate School 303
New York Daily News, NY, June 6, 2011
One of the city’s most heated conflicts over school space is spilling out of the classroom and into the courtroom.

As Catholic Schools Close in Major Cities, the Need Only Grows
New York Times, NY, June 4, 2011
Amid the grandeur and permanence of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, they marched down the aisle in pairs, the graduating seniors of Rice High School in Harlem. They were the 70th commencement class in the school’s history, the latest to bear the venerable epithet of being “Rice men.”

OHIO

Near West Intergenerational Charter School to Open This Year after Push from Parents
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, June 6, 2011
A group of West Side parents agonized as their children approached school age. They were uncertain about the Cleveland schools in their neighborhood, but could not find a convenient alternative that didn’t have a waiting list. Their answer? Recruit one.

Punishing Talent
Columbus Dispatch, OH, June 5, 2011
Look no further than Pickerington Local Schools to see what is wrong with seniority as the primary driver of staffing decisions in public schools: When budgets have to be cut, principals can’t preserve the best staff. They have to preserve the longest-serving staffers, and those might not be the same people.

Springfield City Schools Lose $5.5M to Community Schools
Springfield News Sun, OH, June 4, 2011
When Dianna Conley left Southeastern schools to attend the charter school Life Skills Center, she didn’t know she took at least $5,700 in state funding with her.

OKLAHOMA

Two Bills Designed To Revamp Education
Daily Ardmoreite, OK, June 5, 2011
With the Oklahoma Legislature done for 2011, several education bills passed as a part of State Superintendent Janet Barresi’s 3R Agenda to rethink, restructure and reform.

PENNSYLVANIA

The Gap Between High School And College Requirements
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, June 6, 2011
Richard Mohammed always thought of himself as a pretty good student. He graduated from Olney High School in 2005 with a B-plus average and optimistically entered Bucks County Community College, eager to study nursing.

Nutter Seeks Role In School Oversight
Philadelphia Daily News, PA, June 6, 2011
IT SEEMS THAT Mayor Nutter plans to take on a more active role in the goings-on of the School District of Philadelphia in light of the district’s deep budget plight and a recent request for $110 million in additional funding.

RHODE ISLAND

Providence Rally Supports Teachers, Criticizes Charter Schools
Providence Journal, RI, June 4, 2011
Nearly 100 teachers and parents turned out Friday to protest the treatment of Providence teachers, but the latest target wasn’t the mayor or even the School Board.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Why S.C. Won’t Enter Race
Anderson Independent Mail, SC, June 5, 2011
Education in South Carolina will improve if Washington will get out of our classrooms. Sen. Jim DeMint and other reformers have proposed the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success, or A-PLUS act, which would free states from many unnecessary and costly regulations.

TENNESSEE

Memphis City Schools Teachers Rewarded For Successes
Commercial Appeal, TN, June 6, 2011
Thousands of Memphis city school teachers will get an extra $750 in their paychecks this month — part two of a $1,500 reward for sticking out the year in tough schools.

UTAH

Utah’s New Charter School Group Says It’s Not Meant To Be An Alternative
Salt Lake Tribune, UT, June 5, 2011
The charter school movement is all about offering parents a choice in public education. Now Utah’s charter schools have a choice when it comes to membership in an organization.

WISCONSIN

Flip-Flop On Voucher Plan Concerning
Green Bay Gazette, WI, June 5, 2011
Few things in Wisconsin politics surprise us, but the flip-flop we saw Friday to expand the Milwaukee school voucher program to Green Bay had us puzzled and stunned.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

Virtual Schools Showing Real Growth
Daytona Beach News-Journal, FL, June 6, 2011
Kim Medley said she was “fed up” with public schools. Her son, Ean, was receiving poor instruction and other children were “out of control.”

Online Education May Be Utah’s Future
Daily Herald, UT, June 5, 2011
As the school year winds down at the Open High School of Utah, I look back at 2010-11 and am thrilled with the transformative power that technology played in preparing my students for what lies ahead. The use of technology — real-world technology — transcends the barriers of time and place and allows students access to knowledge anytime, anyplace.

Daily Headlines for June 3, 2011

New Round of US Grants for Education Innovation
Associated Press, June 3, 2011
The federal government is trying to make it easier to apply for one of its grants for innovative ideas to improve education. But with budget cuts there’s a lot less money to give away this year.

Vouchers: They’re Baaaaaack!
The Nation, June 2011
For most of the half-century since economist Milton Friedman first advanced the idea of school vouchers, it’s been the ultimate weapon in our educational debates, always ticking just under the surface, never quite going off. But after last November’s Republican statehouse victories, the right, sometimes abetted by Democrats and liberals, has brought back vouchers and school privatization with a vengeance.

FROM THE STATES

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Charters Not Keen On Walk in the PARCC
Washington Post Blog, DC, June 2, 2011
As the District retools its standardized tests to align with the Common Core standards, the charter community is expressing concerns that the new testing regime will limit schools’ control over curriculum.

Juvenile Services Reform Bill Greeted With Mixed Reactions
Washington Times, DC, June 2, 2011
D.C. charter school and youth advocates voiced opposition Thursday to portions of a bill that would require teachers to screen students for behavioral health problems and more quickly refer truant students to the court system.

GEORGIA

Georgia Lawmakers Reviewing Charter School Law
WYFF, GA, June 3, 2011
State lawmakers are holding a special meeting to address the Georgia Supreme Court ruling that overturned part of the state’s charter school law.

Legislative Committee To Help Displaced Charter School Students
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, June 2, 2011
Khalil McIver used to sit quietly at his old school, too respectful to tell his teachers that he was bored. Now, the Atlanta Heights Charter School fifth grader is tackling ninth-grade reading and math and he doesn’t want politics to impede his progress.

ILLINOIS

Chicago Public Schools Boss Tying His Pay to ‘Student Achievement’
Chicago Sun Times, IL, June 3, 2011
Newly-appointed Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard disclosed Thursday that he is finalizing a “performance contract” that will tie his compensation to “student achievement.”

LOUISIANA

Bills to Roll Back New Orleans Education Changes Defeated in Legislature
Times Picayune, LA, June 2, 2011
Proponents of the state’s school reform drive, a movement that has profoundly reshaped New Orleans public schools, put up a slew of victories in the Louisiana Legislature on Thursday, killing a trio of bills that would have rolled back some of the most dramatic changes in education policy in the city and across Louisiana.

NEW YORK

The NAACP’s Mystifying Decision To Side With A Union Over Students
Washington Post, DC, June 2, 2011
IT’S CLEAR WHY the teachers union in New York has gone to court to stop the city’s planned shutdown of failing schools and to block charter schools from using the public space. Jobs are in play, and the main mission of the union is, after all, to protect its members. What’s not clear is why the NAACP would join an effort to keep open schools that have failed miserably.

NORTH CAROLINA

Education Judge
News & Record, NC, June 3, 2011
Creating that kind of crisis would be terrible for North Carolina, where the law must prevail. To avoid it, the state’s leaders must make sure they provide the right support for public schools. Manning is doing his job to remind everyone that education is a constitutional right, not a privilege granted only when the state can afford it.

OHIO

Ohio Senate Debates Teacher Merit Pay
Columbus Dispatch, OH, June 3, 2011
The debate over whether a merit-pay system for teachers will ultimately be part of the new two-year state budget is far from over, with some Senate Republicans saying they would like to see it reinserted in some form.

PENNSYLVANIA

Pa. School Choice Bill Tests Traditional Views, Definition
American Independent, June 2, 2011
Pennsylvania’s proposed school choice bill is being sold as an opportunity for the economically challenged to leave underperforming schools. The plan is innocuous enough: Progressive and labor groups have ramped up support for mobile benefits like health care and retirement plans that aren’t tied to any employer. Can’t needy students have the same privilege with tax dollars subsidizing enrollment at the school of their parents’ choice?

RHODE ISLAND

Charter School Opinions Aired
Providence Journal, RI, June 3, 2011
State education officials took up a controversial application Thursday to open five mayor-sponsored charter schools in Cranston.

Bill to Merge R.I. Education Boards Held For Study
Providence Journal, RI, June 3, 2011
Opponents of a proposal to merge the state’s two education governing boards said at a House Finance Committee hearing Thursday that combining K-12 and higher education would not lead to better coordination of the system but would, in fact, weaken it.

TENNESSEE

Charter Schools Ask for Clearer Auditions in Nashville
The Tennessean, TN, June 3, 2011
Drexel Preparatory Academy charter school’s founders don’t think they’d be opening in North Nashville this fall if the state had not intervened.

TEXAS

HISD’s Apollo Project Getting $6 Million Donation
Houston Chronicle, TX, June 2, 2011
Houston Endowment Inc. has pledged $6 million for the Houston school district’s Apollo reform program, doubling the donations made since the campaign launched la
st year, officials announced Thursday.

WISCONSIN

Panel Cuts Green Bay Out Of School Voucher Mix
Green Bay Press-Gazette, WI, June 3, 2011
The Legislature’s budget committee voted Thursday to approve expanding the voucher school program to Racine and all of Milwaukee County but not Green Bay.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION

Schools Try To Bring Kids Back With Cyber Classes
Patriot-News, PA, June 2, 2011
The tough economic time we’re in is having an interesting effect on local governments and school districts. They’re being forced to tighten their belts, and in doing so many are examining why they are or aren’t doing things.