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Learning as Freedom
New York Times, NY, September 6, 2012
IN March, a task force organized by the Council on Foreign Relations tried to reframe the problems of the nation’s public schools as a threat to national security. “Large, undereducated swaths of the population damage the ability of the United States to physically defend itself, protect its secure information, conduct diplomacy, and grow its economy,” it warned, while also referring to students as “human capital.”

The Sad, Sad School District Michelle Obama Mentioned
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 5, 2012
Students who live in the district can also go to one of the several charter schools, which include on-line charters. About 45 percent of the district’s students go to charter schools, including the state’s largest. Some of the charter schools perform better than the traditional public schools in the district, and some worse — so they are no panacea.

FROM THE STATES

ARKANSAS

9 New Charter Schools Proposed, Including 1 in Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff Commercial, AR, September 5, 2012
The state Department of Education’s public charter school office received nine applications for new open-enrollment charter schools, including one in Pine Bluff , officials said Wednesday.

CALIFORNIA

Judge Must Rein In Defiant School Board
Press-Telegram, CA, September 5, 2012
Parent empowerment? No, more like parent roadblock. That’s the role assumed by trustees of the Adelanto School District up in the high desert of San Bernardino County in response to parents’ attempt to exercise the state’s Parent Empowerment Act.

COLORADO

Dougco Schools Pass On Ballot Issue; Vote To End Talks With Union
Denver Post, CO, September 6, 2012
The Douglas County School Board voted Wednesday night to end discussions with the union over the collective-bargaining agreement and to no longer pay union leaders’ salaries with public funds.

DELAWARE

Classroom Spending Gets Better Grades
The News Journal, DE, September 6, 2012
If all public Delaware schools followed the example of the districts with the highest classroom spending, there would be about $21 million more available for teaching the state’s schoolchildren, according to a report released today by the lieutenant governor.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

At Options Charter, Football Offers Alternative To Troubled Youth
Washington Post, DC, September 5, 2012
The boys gathered on the bleachers, their sweat still glistening under the scorching sun. The afternoon’s football practice had been an especially difficult one. But no one complained.

Teachers Union Chief: No More Recall Efforts
Washington Times, DC, September 5, 2012
The resounding victory of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, in a recall election earlier this year has caused the head of the nation’s largest labor union to change his game plan.

GEORGIA

Georgia Charter Schools Amendment Gets Boost From RNC
Atlanta Journal Constitution Blog, GA, September 6, 20123
In a state as red as Georgia, local suspense concerning the presidential race died with March’s GOP primary. Nor will any coattails worn by Mitt Romney sweep across our red clay: The only contested statewide races for November are the oft-neglected ones for the Public Service Commission.

Savannah’s Oglethorpe Charter School Won’t Be Renewed Until Enrollment Demands Met
Savannah Morning News, GA, September 6, 2012
Now that Oglethorpe Charter School is all moved into its beautiful new $21 million, 600-student-capacity building, the Savannah-Chatham public school board is threatening to put them out unless enrollment is increased.

ILLINOIS

Chicago Parents Prepare For Possible Teachers Strike
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 6, 2012
Second-grader David Nesbitt can’t debate the pros and cons of a longer school day or explain exactly why his teachers are demanding more pay. But he does know what it means to go on strike.

LOUISIANA

Report Backs Evaluating Teachers On Test Scores
The Advocate, LA, September 6, 2012
Linking public school teacher job evaluations to student achievement, which Louisiana is starting this year, is a solid indicator of how effective teachers will be in the future, according to a report issued Wednesday.

MAINE

School Reform Grant Program Draws Little Interest in Maine
Portland Press Herald, ME, September 6, 2012
Most state districts are too small to qualify and conditions can be difficult to follow.

Winners Drawn In Cornville Charter School Lottery
Kennebec Journal, ME, September 6, 2012
Parents in the bingo-style lottery determining which children could attend the new Cornville Regional Charter School fist-pumped the air Wednesday night, but nobody yelled “bingo.”

MASSACHUSETTS

Orchard Gardens Basks In Spotlight At Democratic Convention, But Work Remains
Boston Globe, MA, September 6, 2012
As an art teacher walked down a quiet hallway at the Orchard Gardens K-8 Pilot School on Wednesday, she smiled at the sight of three eighth-graders helping to move chairs. “You can’t get enough of this place, huh?” she asked.

Mixed Reviews For Gov On Stage
Boston Herald, MA, September 6, 2012
The Orchard Gardens Pilot School (funny how he left out the “pilot” part) is indeed a success story. Although relatively new (built in 2003) its students had among the lowest test scores in the city. The fact that it had six principals in seven years didn’t help.

Is Top-Ranked Massachusetts Messing With Education Success?
Christian Science Monitor, MA, September 5, 2012
Massachusetts public schools produce students who are top in the nation in reading and math. Here’s what the state did to get there, and here’s why its shift to the new Common Core standards worries some experts.

NEW JERSEY

Group Calls For School Changes
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, September 6, 2012
Gov. Chris Christie’s education task force on Wednesday called for hundreds of changes intended to ease “over-regulation” in the state’s schools.

Too Early to Guess TEACHNJ Impact on South Bergen
The Record, NJ, September 6, 2012
The governor signed legislation which will reform teacher evaluations and the tenure system. Proponents and opponents alike in the education community have expressed strong opinions about the changes to the tenure system, but how new evaluation systems will impact districts remains largely speculative at this point.

NEW YORK

Teachers Union President Michael Mulgrew Sandbags Kids By Stalling on Evaluation System
New York Daily News, NY, September 6, 2012
The school year is only beginning, and already the score is: United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, 1, Students, 0.

Tough Truths About Charters
New York Daily News, NY, September 6, 2012
Is it possible for charter schools to increase educational options and diversity in the public school system but decrease diversity overall; to spend less money than regular public schools but cost taxpayers more overall, and to outperform regular public schools but decrease achievement overall?

Pushing for Class Size of One
Wall Street Journal, September 5, 2012
Private schools have always praised the value of intimate classes, where teachers and students have a chance to connect.

Buffalo Schools To Go Ahead With Teacher Transfers
Buffalo News, NY, September 5, 2012
The Buffalo Public Schools will move forward with plans to involuntarily transfer 54 teachers out of three low-performing schools, district officials said Wednesday.

NORTH CAROLINA

State Board to Vote on 25 New Charter Schools
News & Observer, NC, September 5, 2012
The State Board of Education is expected to give preliminary approval to 25 new charter schools Thursday, putting them on track to accept students in fall 2013.

PENNSYLVANIA

Number Of ‘Persistently Dangerous’ Phila. Schools Drops
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 6, 2012
The number of schools deemed so unsafe that parents have the choice of sending their children elsewhere has dropped 50 percent citywide.

Corbett’s Aggressive Charter Push Could Cost PA Money — And Oversight
Philadelphia City Paper, PA, September 6, 2012
Gov. Tom Corbett has cut $860 million from the state’s public schools; now, he seeks to remake them. Into what is increasingly evident: an ever-growing number of charter schools.

Appeal Filed for Charter School in Wilkinsburg
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 6, 2012
A former Wilkinsburg student trying to start a charter school in the borough is filing an appeal after being denied a charter by the school board for the fourth time.

SOUTH CAROLINA

School ‘Choice’ Isn’t The Path To Enrollment Diversity
Post and Courier, SC, September 6, 2012
Philosopher and essayist George Santayana wisely said, “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” I thought of his words when I read Monday’s Commentary page column by Leroy Connors, Park Dougherty and Arthur Lawrence.

TENNESSEE

Charter School in Nashville’s Affluent West Side Still Serves Mostly Poor
The Tennessean, TN, September 6, 2012
Parents pushing a new charter school for Nashville’s affluent west side say their children need a more rigorous curriculum with higher student expectations than traditional public schools can provide.

VIRGINIA

Wise Retreat
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, September 6, 2012
State education officials wisely have decided to revisit and revise new testing standards that treat students differently based on race.

VA: ‘At-Risk’ Fairfax Charter Puts State’s Largest School District to the Test
VA Watchdog, September 5, 2012
As Fairfax County considers launching Virginia’s fifth charter school, the exercise is proving to be a steep learning curve.

WASHINGTON

State Schools Chief Critical Of Charter School Measure
Everett Daily Herald, WA, September 6, 2012
When it comes to charter schools, there are right ways and wrong ways of nurturing them to success.

WISCONSIN

Marquette to Sponsor Cristo Rey Charter School
Marquette Tribune, WI, September 6, 2012
This year, Marquette will sponsor a new charter school coming to Milwaukee through the Jesuit Catholic Cristo Rey network. Students attending these schools go to class four days a week and work with participating businesses in the community on the fifth day in order to afford tuition and learn work-readiness skills.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

Kutztown School District Names Leader of Cyberschool
Reading Eagle, PA, September 6, 2012
The Kutztown School Board named a veteran educator to spearhead the reorganization of the district’s cyberschool.

Kids Can’t Afford To Be Set Back By ‘Virtual School’
The Tennessean, TN, September 6, 2012
“Virtual schooling” has had a rough first year in Tennessee, with its students performing poorly on standardized tests.

Virtual Academy: Trust, But Verify
Commercial Appeal, TN, September 6, 2012
Tennessee has a lot of irons in the fire as it puts into effect tactical programs to boost student test scores.

Back to School at Home: 3,000 Attend Online Academy in Oregon
KVAL, OR, September 5, 2012
For 5th grader Shelby Kurien, school is waiting downstairs. Shelby is one of a growing number of kids that go to Oregon Connections Academy, a virtual charter public school.

Suits Challenge Classrooms That Segregate Boys, Girls
Wall Street Journal, September 5, 2012
Public-school students in some parts of the country this year are going back to very different classrooms than they are used to: ones with both boys and girls.

What The Democrats Won’t Say About Education
Washington Examiner, DC, September 4, 2012
Although Democrats talk a lot about economic inequality, one of its most powerful remedies, school choice, will be missing from speeches at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte , N.C.

The Left’s Education Divide
American Spectator, September 5, 2012
At the Democratic convention, a choice between children and teachers unions.

What Democratic Platform Says On Education
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 4, 2012
Here are portions of the Democratic Party’s 2012 platform that discuss education and school reform. The platform was approved Tuesday by convention delegates meeting in Charlotte, N.C. , to formally nominate President Obama to seek re-election. You can read the education portion of the Republican Party’s 2012 platform here.

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

USC Charter School Opens in Downtown
Daily Trojan, CA, September 4, 2012
USC Hybrid High School, a new independent charter school developed by the USC Rossier School of Education, opened Tuesday at the World Trade Center in Downtown Los Angeles to 100 students.

Another Look at Charter Schools’ Results
San Jose Inside, CA, September 4, 2012
I take great pride in the work we have done the last few years to change the conversation when it comes to the achievement results from publicly funded schools. The status quo was unacceptable: 50 percent of San Jose ’s students scored below grade level proficiency on math and language arts on California Standards test, and there was an achievement gap of at least 30 percent.

Hurdles Cleared, Charter School Opens Downtown
Stockton Record, CA, September 5, 2012
Brandishing crib notes and a microphone, TEAM Charter School Director Dillon Delvo led his new students Tuesday morning in a pledge laden with audacious ambitions for the children who were taking it.

LAUSD Proposes New Teacher-Evaluation System, Negotiating With UTLA
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, CA, September 4, 2012
Under a court order to demonstrate that they’re trying to devise a new teacher evaluation system, Los Angeles Unified officials said Tuesday that they’ve presented formal proposals and continue to negotiate with union leaders.

Oakland School Aims To Help Black Boys
San Francisco Chronicle, CA, September 4, 2012
In the first hour of the first day of school Tuesday, the sixth-grade Oakland boy was sure he was in trouble for goofing off.

A Democrat Serious About School Reform
Victorville Daily Press, CA, September 4, 2012
Gloria Romero is that rarest of all political birds, a pro-labor Democrat who seeks to reform education in California . Ms. Romero is a Barstow native, and served as California’s Senate majority leader from 2001 to 2008. But term limits meant her legislative career would be over in 2010, so she opted to become chairman of the State Senate’s Education Committee, where she pushed reforms to increase teacher and school accountability.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

High-Performing Teachers In Low-Income D.C. Schools To Get Fastest Raises
Washington Post, DC, September 5, 2012
High-performing D.C. public school teachers who work in high-poverty schools will be able to accelerate through the pay scale to reach top compensation levels more quickly under a “career ladder” announced Tuesday.

FLORIDA

Low-Income Parents Deserve A School Choice, And Other Opinions
Florida Times Union, FL, September 4, 2012
What is a low-income family to do with failing schools and the inability to move to a better school system?

Pasco Superintendent Accuses Charter School Of Trying To ‘Cherry-Pick’ Brightest Students
St. Petersburg Times, FL, September 5, 2012
Pasco schools superintendent Heather Fiorentino on Tuesday accused a well regarded charter school of attempting to “cherry-pick” only the brightest students to attend its classes.

Dispute Between Pasco , Charter School Goes To Mediation
Tampa Tribune, FL, September 5, 2012
After six months of contract talks failed, the Pasco County School District and a charter school will turn to a mediator to settle a dispute over how the school determines which students to enroll.

Seminole Rejects 1 Charter-School Application, Considers 2 Others
Orlando Sentinel, FL, September 4, 2012
A new, financially struggling private school in Longwood that hoped to get tax dollars by becoming a charter operation was rejected Tuesday by Seminole County school officials, who said state law would prohibit the change.

A Ringside Seat For Debate Over School Choice
Florida Times Union , FL, September 4, 2012
It was an extraordinary moment in a job that is full of them. One morning during WJCT’s “First Coast Connect,” public schools advocate and former news anchor Deborah Gianoulis said that proponents of school choice want to “dismantle” public education.

GEORGIA

Georgia PTA Reiterates Opposition To Charter Schools Amendment
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, GA, September 4, 2012
The Georgia PTA has reiterated its opposition to the hotly debated proposed constitutional amendment on charter schools.

ILLINOIS

New Opportunities
Lake County News Sun, IL, September 4, 2012
Lake County educational opportunities took another step Tuesday with the opening of the LEARN Public Charter School at Naval Station Great Lakes.

Public Gives Opinion On Greentek Charter School
WREX, IL, September 5, 2012
Community members get a chance to discuss what could be Rockford ‘s newest charter school. But not before school board members and administrators got to ask some questions of their own. Board representatives had two hours worth of questions before the public could even speak.

With CPS Strike Looming, Parents In The Dark
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 4, 2012
With a possible teachers strike just five days away, Chicago Public Schools parents are being given only a sparse outline of the district’s plan for students if there is a walkout.

Revealed: The Chicago Teachers Pact
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 5, 2012
We interrupt preparations for a Chicago schools strike — union members chanting, “Enough is enough,” district officials conjuring alternative activities for children — with a bulletin:

LOUISIANA

Board To Look At Teacher Evaluations
The Advertiser, LA, September 4, 2012
After more than a month of delays, the Lafayette Parish School Board could approve a new layoff policy to comply with the state’s new teacher evaluation system.

MASSACHUSETTS

Lawrence Schools Need Overhaul, And Union Shouldn’t Have Veto Power
Boston Globe, MA, September 5, 2012
There’s finally some hope for Lawrence’s perpetually troubled schools. The state, which pays close to 90 percent of school costs there, has taken over the district; Jeff Riley, who has proved his mettle in other education reform efforts, has been appointed to lead the turnaround; Riley has developed a bold plan that, in June, was approved by Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester.

Hub School Officials Counter Union Contract Proposal
Boston Herald, MA, September 4, 2012
Negotiators for the Boston Teachers Union are huddling tonight to come up with a response to a contract proposal they received from city school officials this morning aimed at resolving a two-year impasse with Hub teachers.

Lighthouse Charter Moves Into New Harwich Digs
Cape Cod Times, MA, September 5, 2012
Although the Lighthouse school gets some money from the state, it has to use money from its operating budget, along with fundraising, to pay those expenses. Towns also send money to the charter schools to pay for their students who choose to attend.

MICHIGAN

Court Fights Loom Over School Pension Law, Pay Deductions
Detroit News, MI, September 5, 2012
Michigan’s teachers went back to school Tuesday and their labor unions went back to court, temporarily blocking full implementation of a new law affecting school employee retirement benefits hours after Gov. Rick Snyder signed it.

NEW JERSEY

‘Choice’ Program Benefits Students
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ, September 5, 2012
Last year, 19 public school districts in Camden , Gloucester and Burlington counties opened their doors (and empty seats) to accepting a limited number of students from other towns who wanted the chance at a better education.

Governor Expands School Choice Program, and So Does Ocean City
Ocean City Gazette, NJ, September 5, 2012
Gov. Chris Christie is doubling New Jersey’s Interdistrict Public School Choice program, signed into law in 2010, by expanding it to over 6,000 students in 107 school districts.
Ocean City, which was one of 56 school districts selected to participate for the 2011-2012 school year, is entering its second year of the growing program.

NEW YORK

State Puts 16 Borough Schools On New Poor-Performing List
Times Ledger, NY, September 5, 2012
Under a new assessment system, the state Education Department last week identified 16 Queens schools that were failing to help disadvantaged students make progress on state exams.

School District Bets Future on Real Estate
New York Times, NY, September 5, 2012
This tiny farm-country community is having a back-to-school sale, on the schools themselves. Interested in a well maintained, one-owner elementary with playground and orchard view? Or a 1990s charmer, now used for teaching second through fifth grades but convenient to shopping and the Interstate?

NORTH CAROLINA

Wake Adds Magnet Program To Three Schools
News & Observe , NC, September 5, 2012
Wake County parents will have three new magnet schools to choose from next year, and two schools will get new magnet themes.

OHIO

Ohio Welcomes Teach for America
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, September 4, 2012
Just as Gov. John Kasich promised in his State of the State address in 2011,Teach for America graduates finally can teach in Ohio . So far, about 50 are assigned for the next two years to several Cleveland charter schools and a handful of area public schools, while other teachers from the organization will be working elsewhere in the state.

PENNSYLVANIA

Criminal Parents? They Just Want A Better Education For Their Child
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 5, 2012
WHAT SHOULD the penalty be for two Philadelphia parents caught sending their child just to a neighboring school district just over the Philadelphia border? In the spectrum of law enforcement, what is the appropriate punishment for these parents trying to get their elementary-school-age daughter a better education in a suburban school district?

Turning Around A Low Achieving School
CBS Philly News, PA, September 5, 2012
With 54% of students performing below or at grade level, new principal Suzanne Gimenez, was one of 26 administrators charged with turning a school around in one of Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s neediest schools.

Pocono Mountain Charter School Opens for 10th Year
Pocono Record, PA, September 5, 2012
Be in uniform. No gum or candy. And no cellphones, except at lunch. Pocono Mountain Charter School Dean of Students Clara Williams read off those rules to a group of students during Tuesday’s first day of classes.

VIRGINIA

Charter School Plan Denied in Rockbridge County
Roanoke Times, VA, September 5, 2012
After about a year of planning and review, the Rockbridge County School Board on Tuesday quashed plans for Virginia’s first rural charter school — which would have been located in a shuttered elementary school west of Lexington .

Mckenna: Charter Schools ‘Clearly’ Constitutional
Spokesman Review Blog , WA, September 4, 2012
Charter schools would be constitutional in Washington state under the system proposed by this year’s ballot initiative, Attorney general and would be governor Rob McKenna said Tuesday.

Maple Grove Starts New Era As A Charter Program
Wausau Daily Herald, WI, September 4, 2012
More than 100 students got their first taste Tuesday of the new hands-on, project-based style of learning now being used at Maple Grove School .

ONLINE SCHOOLS

Profiteers From Away Putting Us In Their Pocket
Morning Sentinel, ME, September 5, 2012
A scathing investigation by Maine Sunday Telegram writer Colin Woodard should cause lawmakers to put the brakes on Maine ‘s virtual school and digital learning programs and ask who these policies are really designed to help.

Schools Now Offer High School Online
The-News-Leader, OH, September 5, 2012
Area high school students now have the option of attending high school online through the school district. Students who enroll in the new “Digital Knights” program can take classes entirely online through the district. If they sign up, the schools will even lend them a laptop computer and allow them to earn a diploma.

Virtual Schools And Real Profits: Industry Shapes State Policies
Atlanta Journal Constitution Blog , GA, September 5, 2012
The Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram published an impressive investigation on a trend that we are seeing in Georgia : For-profit online k-12 schools “aiding” legislators in writing laws that create a demand and favorable climate for their product.

Locals Enjoy Online School Option
Santa Maria Times, CA
September California Virtual Academies, a tuition-free online K-12 public school, was just getting off the ground the postcard announced.

Finding A New Way To Grade Schools
Portland Press Herald, ME, September 4, 2012
Educators are helping the state develop a better system to gauge a school’s adequate yearly progress than the one applied under No Child Left Behind.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/finding-new-way-to-grade-schools_2012-09-04.html

MASSACHUSSETTS

Boston Teachers’ Contract: Beware Of Toxic ‘Cure’
Boston Globe, MA, September 4, 2012
Even as the Boston Teachers Union offered late last week to make much-needed concessions in one key way, it muddied the waters in another.

Teachers Under Scrutiny With New Rules
Sun Chronicle, MA, September 4, 2012
Attleboro-area school districts have or will be adopting a new teacher evaluation system over the upcoming year.
While some didn’t meet a Sept. 1 deadline, others still have a year to get the requirement down.

Salem Charter School Launches Today
Eagle Tribune, MA, September 4, 2012
The former Furniture World building on South Broadway has been transformed into the town’s first charter school.

MICHIGAN

Student-Teacher Nexus Is Still Key To Achievement
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 4, 2012
Michigan is logging a lot of firsts this week: the first two school districts converted to charter systems; the Detroit debut of the soon-to-be-statewide Educational Achievement Authority to buoy underperforming schools; increased opportunities for high school students to take community college classes; more charter schools; and the possibility of more cyber schools.

For DPS, No More ‘One Size Fits All’
Detroit News, MI, September 4, 2012
The educational landscape in Detroit has been one of constant change in the last decade. And this new school year is no different.

Gov. Snyder To Sign Legislation Impacting Teachers
CBS Local, MI, September 4, 2012
On the same day that the kids head back to school — the governor is signing legislation that impacts teachers.

MINNESOTA

Assessing Schools With Nuance
Star Tribune, MN, September 3, 2012
When Minnesota students return to class today, many of their schools will have different state designations than they had last year. Hundreds of schools that were called failing under federal No Child Left Behind rules will no longer bear that negative title.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

State’s 17 Charter Schools Start Year With Fresh Visions
Union Leader, NH, September 3, 2012
Seventeen charter schools are beginning new years across the state.

We Have Reached Out To School Districts
Conway Daily Sun, NH, September 3, 2012
The recent coverage of the Robert Frost Charter School in The Conway Daily Sun has accurately described this new public elementary schooling opportunity for our community. However, I did want to address the concern expressed by Conway School Board members that the Robert Frost Charter School Board of Trustees has not been forthcoming with information regarding the students who have enrolled in the charter school.

NEW YORK

New York City Fair Student Funding Reform? Not So Fair: Exclusive Analysis
New York Daily News, NY, September 4, 2012
The analysis shows that schools opening in the last 3 years — Bloomberg’s ‘pets’ — get more dough than those getting shut down by city.

NORTH CAROLINA

Shift To Charter Schools May Cost Taxpayers More
Winston Salem Journal, NC, September 4, 2012
Just as state Republicans are celebrating their long-pursued dream of adding charter schools, a libertarian research group that often influences their thinking has issued a cautionary study on the growth.

PENNSYLVANIA

School Begins With Challenge
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, September 4, 2012
Another school year, another big test for the Philadelphia School District – will that ever change?

TENNESSEE

Judge Will Rule On Shelby County Vote About Schools
The Tennessean, TN, September 4, 2012
A vote that changes the landscape of public education in Tennessee ’s largest county is being challenged in federal court, and the trial will begin today.

WASHINGTON

Seattle Catholic School Pins Hopes On Charter-Style Changes
Seattle Times, WA, September 3, 2012
Once among the ranks of ailing urban Catholic schools across the nation, St. Therese Catholic Academy in Seattle started this school year in much better shape, the result of big changes that have helped bolster its enrollment. Supporters hope the school will become a model to help other Catholic schools survive.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

Hudson County Schools Increasingly Use Electronic Media For Classroom Instruction
Jersey Journal, NJ, September 4, 2012
The Jersey Journal spent some time at the end of last school year with students, who are headed back to class this week, as they learned to use the devices and incorporate them into their daily routines.

Pa. School Districts, Cyber Charters Vie For Students
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 4, 2012
No matter whether he turns left or right driving home from his Homestead office, Paul Cindric, curriculum coordinator for the new STREAM Academy Cyber Charter School , is bound to pass a huge billboard advertising a competitor.

Online School’s Performance ‘Unacceptable’
Times Free Press, TN, September 4, 2012
Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman is calling last year’s student performance at Union County public schools’ new, privately run Tennessee Virtual Academy “unacceptable.”

Virtual School Students Learn At Own Pace
The Oshkosh Northwestern, WI, September 3, 2012
A recent article (Aug. 26) stated this and concluded that therefore virtual schools are not meeting the needs of students. Unfortunately, the article ignores a primary advantage of virtual public schools; that a student can comfortably work at their own pace. This is a fundamental part of the online public charter school model, and the series of articles misses this point entirely

What’s A Charter School If Not A Game Changer?
NPR, August 31, 2012
The charter school movement is now at a crossroads. More than 2 million students will be enrolled in charter schools in the fall — a big number for a movement that’s barely 20 years old. The publicly funded, privately run schools have spread so fast, they operate more like a parallel school system in some places.

Intrusive to the Core
Boston Herald, MA, September 3, 2012
Labor Day is a good time to remember that there was no bigger proponent of the central role public schools play in our democratic society than the late president of the American Federation of Teachers, Albert Shanker. “One is not born into something that makes you an American,” Shanker said. “It is . . . by accepting a common set of values and beliefs . . . ”

FROM THE STATES

CALIFORNIA

Another Bout of ‘Gut And Amend’
Orange County Register, CA, September 1, 2012
The California Legislature spent its final days of the 2012 session demonstrating why it should go to part-time status. If lawmakers had stayed around much past Friday, there might not be much state left to govern. As usual, they spent their final days together disregarding good bills while passing legislation that should have been dumped long ago.

Adelanto School Board’s Judicial Defiance
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 2, 2012
The panel’s decision to wait 30 days to consider a response to a judge’s order to create a charter school echoes the Arkansas governor’s Central High School desegregation fight in Little Rock.

COLORADO

Four New Charter Schools Proposed in District 11
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO, September 01, 2012
Four charter school applications were submitted to Colorado Springs School District 11 by the Friday deadline.

CONNECTICUT

Perfect Evaluations, Then Tie To Tenure
The Day, CT, September 2, 2012
Recall that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy didn’t get his plan to reform Connecticut’s broken public education system off to a very good start last year when he remarked in his State of the State speech that all a teacher needs to achieve tenure is to show up for four years.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Chiefs of Five School Districts Talk Reform — And Describe Their Biggest Wish
Washington Post Blog, DC, September 2, 2012
With the new school year upon us, we asked a handful of superintendents of districts in the greater Washington area to answer six questions so we could get a better understanding of their vision and challenges.

Democrats Are Killing the Dream of an Education for Poor Children
Washington Examiner, DC, September 2, 2012
On Tuesday, about 45,000 public school children will begin classes in our nation’s capital.

FLORIDA

Sen. Thrasher Holds Key To Charter School Issue
St. Augustine Record, FL, September 1, 2012
State Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, asked the right question when he heard that three charter schools, two based in Miami and the other in Orlando , have applied to come to St. Johns County .

GEORGIA

Out-of-state Donors Funding Charter-school Push
Athens Banner-Herald, GA, September 1, 2012
The committee campaigning for the passage of a charter-school constitutional amendment on the November election ballot is getting nearly all of its funding from outside Georgia.

GSBA: Educate Yourselves About HB 1162
Rome News Tribune, GA, September 2, 2012
Three Georgia education organizations released a statement this week urging the public to educate themselves about the political controversy regarding House Bill 1162, a state constitutional amendment that would allow the state to authorize state charter schools that have been rejected by local boards of education.

Split Illustrates Management Disputes Charter Schools Can Face
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, August 3, 2012
Classes carried on as usual last week at Wesley International Academy charter school in Grant Park, as if, behind the scenes, there had been no management shake-up.

ILLINOIS

Schools Chief Brizard, The Mayor’s Human Shield
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 2, 2012
Before there was a looming teachers strike and before the mayor had to go through Friday’s charade of giving Chicago Public Schools frontman Jean-Claude Brizard a vote of confidence, the schoolmaster was engaging in social networking.

Charter School To Open In Wake Of District 187 Upheaval
Chicago Tribune, IL, September 2, 2012
Parents desperate for an alternative to the woefully deficient North Chicago public school system recently packed an open house for a new charter school, which opens Tuesday as part of the state’s aggressive intervention into a “chronically failing” district.

INDIANA

Gary Schools Must Compete For Students
Munster Times, IN, September 2, 2012
Gary Community School Corp.’s enrollment figures are evidence that Gary ‘s parents want choices in the types of schools their children attend.

Voucher Deadline Nears
The Star Press, IN, September 2, 2012
The deadline is quickly approaching for parents who want to take advantage of school vouchers this school year.

LOUISIANA

The Learning Curve
Opelousas Daily World, LA, September 3, 2012
On a day set aside to honor labor, one of Louisiana’s largest employee groups — teachers — is trying to cope with massive education reforms put in place this year.

MAINE

We Know Status Quo Doesn’t Work, So Let’s Try Charter Schools
Kennebec Journal, ME, September 1, 2012
Gov. Paul LePage, referring to the findings of the Harvard University’s Program on Education Policy and Governance, claims “This report reaffirms what we already know: that the status quo in Maine is not working. Our educational system has neglected to put its students first, and has therefore failed them. We have a lot of work to do to rejuvenate our academic performance.”

MICHIGAN

Charter High School Founded By Jalen Rose Changes Direction, Staff Heading Into Its Second Year
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 3, 2012
As it heads into its second year Tuesday, the school — founded by Detroit native and former NBA player Jalen Rose — is already radically changing its strategies.

In Detroit, This First Day Of School Will Be Like No Other
Detroit Free Press, MI, September 3, 2012
Hire the best people to teach and to lead. Give schools the tools they need — and the obligation to hold themselves accountable. And meet students where they learn instead of lumping them into grade levels.

Parents Drawn To Charter Schools’ Tailored Approach
Detroit News, MI, September 3, 2012
More parents like Stevenson are choosing charter schools, and for the school year that begins Tuesday across Michigan, they have more options than ever.

New Charter Schools Provide Choice
Detroit News, MI, September 3, 2012
Families throughout the state will have 31 new school choices this fall. The charter schools are opening following the passage of a law late last year that gradually lifts the cap on these alternative public schools.

MINNESOTA

From A Single Charter School, A Movement Grows
WSIU, MN, September 2, 2012
City Academy in St. Paul, Minn. , became the nation’s first publicly funded, privately run charter school when it opened its doors in 1992. Its founders, all veteran public school teachers, had tried but failed to create new programs for struggling students in their own schools.

MISSOURI

Parents Like To See How High Schools Measure Up In National Rankings
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, September 2, 2012
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education used to rank the state’s top 10 school districts based on scores on standardized tests. But that stopped in 2010, when state Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro and other leaders began moving toward a system with less focus on labels.

NEW JERSEY

Defining a Good Teacher
The Record, NJ, September 2, 2012
WE HEAR a lot about good teachers, particularly in New Jersey . The effort to reward them with the profession’s biggest prize — tenure, with its lifetime job guaranty — is at the center of Governor Christie’s tenure reform effort.

NEW YORK

School Choice Is No Cure-All, Harlem Finds
New York Times, NY, September 3, 2012
When it came time to pick a Harlem middle school for her daughter, Eula Guest did her research. She inquired with friends, principals and PTA presidents, and talked to students inside art studios and auditoriums. “I got down to the nitty-gritty,” she said. “I asked about everything.”

2 Hudson Valley Charter Bids Axed; 3rd Opposed
Newsday, NY, September 3, 2012
Two of the six groups that had been hoping to start charter schools in the Hudson Valley have withdrawn their proposals, and a third is facing steep opposition from local school superintendents.

OHIO

Truancy Rates In Doubt
Columbus Dispatch, OH, September 2, 2012
The Cleveland school district wiped more than 1,700 students from its rolls in a single year for being chronic truants.

Drawing Up A Route To Better Cleveland Schools
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, September 2, 2012
The Cleveland School District seems to know what it wants to be in the near future — an effective system where more students attend effective schools, whether charter or traditional public schools.

Teach For America Teachers Start School Year In Local Charter Schools
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, September 2, 2012
The Village Prep charter school had openings for nine teachers this school year.

PENNSYLVANIA

Cash Still Flows To Troubled School
Morning Call, PA, September 1, 2012
The classrooms walls are stripped bare and the desks are gone. The modular buildings are on flatbeds waiting to be towed. Empty crates are piled in the main hallway under the banner featuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s paraphrased quote, “Within every child … there is the potential for greatness.”

TENNESSEE

Academies of Nashville Achieve High Status
The Tennessean, TN, September 2, 2012
The restructuring of Metro Nashville high schools into what naysayers once called vocational programs is starting to pay off for students and garner national recognition for Nashville schools.

TEXAS

The Texas Table Is Tilting Toward Vouchers
Star-Telegram, TX, September 1, 2012
The way things look now, four months out from the beginning of the next session of the Texas Legislature, private school vouchers will be back on the table for debate.

WASHINGTON

Charter-School Groups Eyeing Washington
Seattle Times, WA, September 2, 2012
Initiative 1240 would allow independent public schools to be established in Washington state for the first time.

Initiative Gets ‘A’ From U.S. Charter School Group
Everett Daily Herald, WA, September 2, 2012
If voters pass an initiative allowing charter schools, Washington will become one of the nation’s leaders in its embrace of the nontraditional mode of educating students with public funds.

ONLINE SCHOOLS

Those Helping Write Virtual School Policy Positioned To Profit From It
Kennebec Journal, ME, September 2, 2012
Maine’s education commissioner had just returned to his Augusta office last October after a three-day trip to San Francisco, where he attended a summit of conservative education reformers convened by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education, which had paid for the trip.

Cyber Charters In Pennsylvania Growing Despite Issues
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 2, 2012
In the fall of 2000, the Pittsburgh area was introduced to a new, though largely unwelcome, educational venue when Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School opened, allowing students to attend school online from home.

Franklin Park Home Is A Cyber Schoolhouse
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA, September 3, 2012
On weekday mornings, school buses transporting neighborhood children to North Allegheny schools rumble up and down the Franklin Park street where the family of Jill and Rick Buffalini lives.

Start Of Classes A Bit Different For Cyber, Home School Students
Standard Speaker, PA, September 1, 2012
Though many students won’t admit it, it’s exciting to get ready for the start of the new school year.

Students’ Online Program Could Mean Savings for Henrico
Richmond Times-Dispatch, VA, September 3, 2012
Working as interns at a local technology firm, two teenagers developed a program that could save paper, time and money for the Henrico County school system.

Senator Wants Review Of Virtual School
The Tennessean, TN, September 1, 2012
Sen. Andy Berke wants a review of a for-profit virtual school enrolling about 1,800 students around the state after test results put it in the bottom 11 percent.