Vol. 4, No. 23
June 18, 2002

* CHOICE I: Nearly 9,000 children at 10 Florida schools are now eligible for opportunity scholarships, a result of the state's three-year old A+ accountability program which allows children in schools that have failed for two years out of four to choose to attend public or participating private schools. Five of those schools are in Miami-Dade County. The "double-F" schools are likely to reconstitute staff or undertake serious restructuring. Each of those schools is required to come up with a plan to boost academic achievement, for which they also receive additional state funds.

        But the State's accountability plan also resulted in widespread improvements. "Nearly 40 percent of the state's schools improved a grade or more," according to the St. Petersburg Times. Says Florida's Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan, "I know everybody's going to fixate on the 68 F schools, but there's a lot of good information here."

        How did Florida charter schools do? Of the 37 charter schools that were graded this year, 57% received a B or higher. Thirteen schools got A's, and eight schools received B's. On the other side of the spectrum, 12 schools got either a C or a D, and four got F's.

        Currently under the A+ Plan, only 51 students from 2 Pensacola-area schools receive Opportunity Scholarships. Another 120 or so left the two "F-rated" school to attend another higher-performing public school.

        For more information about vouchers available to parents whose children are in any of the ten schools deemed as failing by the state, call toll free 1-800-447-1636.

* CHOICE II: While Florida is already in its third year of allowing children in failed schools to choose alternative learning opportunities -- including private schools -- Cleveland parents are looking with hope toward Washington for relief in the program that gives their children choices. The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to make known their decision on the fate of the voucher program that serves nearly 4,000 low-income Cleveland children. The ruling is expected next week as the Supreme Court term closes. 
· Link to CER's analysis of opening arguments. 
· Link to full CER coverage of Ohio Choice Program.

* UNIONS: States like Florida and Massachusetts, and others profiled in CER Newswire over the weeks, have demonstrated that by setting and holding students and schools to standards that are frequently measured, student achievement does improve. That apparently has been lost on the National Education Association, which appears to be gearing up to train its members how to impede or stop the implementation of the new elementary and secondary education law in their schools and communities. According to the Education Intelligence Agency, "this summer, NEA will hold three regional meetings, to be attended by its top state affiliate executives and as many of the union's UniServ directors as possible. NEA hopes to have a ESEA plan in place by the time school starts in September.

"The NEA reaction illustrates the limits of law-based school reform. A centralized initiative is met with a centralized response -- neither of which is conducive to local flexibility, from where all true education reform will rise. Still, EIA sees no reason to man the parapets just yet. NEA has traditionally had about as much success coordinating strategy in all of its affiliates as the Democratic or Republican parties have had in coordinating strategy in all 50 state legislatures."

        For more on recent union antics, including outrageous but telling quotes, go to EIAs website at http://members.aol.com/educationintel/

* PHILLY: With less than three months until a new school year in the City of Brotherly Love, the School Reform Commission (SRC) still hasn't signed contracts with most of the groups they've invited to help run schools. What we know is that there will be 70 schools turned over to seven management organizations beginning in the upcoming school year. What we don't know -- and what parents need to know -- is how and when they will know where their children will be attending school.

        While it looks like the commission has actually picked up speed from its previous prehistoric pace, it's not clear that the action means improvement. Here's a quick run down of what has transpired in recent days.

• June 4: The SRC announced that 26 charter schools whose applications were put on hold in February could receive permission to open this September. That same day, the SRC announced that 19 "reconstituted" schools would remain under district control.
• June 12: The SRC announced it would scrap a plan to turn 5 schools into "independent" schools. The Commission also named community partners to convert four schools into charters and established detailed plans to restructure 21 schools that will be overseen by district staff.
• June 16: Reports surfaced that SRC Chairman James Nevels introduced $10 million in new or renewed school contracts in a closed door meeting. Among the companies proposed to receive contracts were two PR firms, three planning and policy consultants and a New Jersey construction firm. All supposedly have political ties with Nevels and were offered contracts without competitive bidding.

(Note: Here's a suggestion for good PR -- get a real accountability plan in place! Nothing sells like success, they say! For one model, see blurb on Florida at top of Newswire!) For more background on the Philly Overhaul, read all about it In the News.

* CHARTERS: Michigan lawmakers have resurrected a bill that died earlier this month that would curtail the flexibility and freedom of charters and put them needlessly under additional state regulatory control. The move was designed as an attempt to compromise between those who wanted to lift the cap on charters to allow for more of these independent public schools and those who want to put them permanently into oblivion. Many charter proponents see this as a lose-lose, including the school leaders who will have to contend with new education bureaucracy oversight. A summary of the pending legislation is available here on CER's website, in addition to analysis of the ongoing war in the state. And for more background on charters in the state, go to our Michigan Charter Schools page.

* UPCOMING EVENTS:

June 28-30: The Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs (MAAP) is sponsoring the 32nd Annual Conference of the International Association for Learning Alternatives in Duluth, MN. Go to http://www.alternative-education.org for more information.

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