February 2: Top Story - Is West Virginia losing the 'Race to the Top'?

The West Virginia Gazette reports that the state’s lack of charter schools may hamper its ‘Race to the Top’ application.

In other headlines...
‘School Reform Can’t Wait’
Boston Charters Reach Out to English-Language Learners
‘Iraq Soldier Comments on Daughter’s Red Hook School’

Is West Virginia losing the 'Race to the Top'?

The West Virginia Gazette reports that the state’s lack of charter schools may hamper its ‘Race to the Top’ application. "West Virginia immediately puts itself at a disadvantage because it doesn't have a charter school law," said Andy Smarick of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. "West Virginia loses a lot of points in the competition straight off the bat." Some in West Virginia favor the state’s alternative to charters, “innovation zones,” which free up certain schools from some regulations. Smarick calls this approach “charter lite.” "What West Virginia did there is a classic example of trying to look like they're doing reform," he said. Governor Joe Manchin said he will call a special legislative session if West Virginia doesn’t win first-rounding funding; the charter school issue could come up in such a session.

Source: West Virginia Gazette, http://wvgazette.com/News/201002010751?page=2&build=cache

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‘School Reform Can’t Wait’

A Baltimore Sun editorial calls Baltimore’s reform efforts, which include replacing failing schools with charters, “tailor-made for the federal Race to the Top funds.” The Sun also praises the constructive relationship the Baltimore Schools CEO, Andres Alonso, has with the American Federation of Teachers. According to a recent report, the suburbs are home to the majority of the regions poor people, but “county school systems have resisted innovations, such as charter schools or tying teacher evaluations and merit pay to student performance, that are fundamental to how federal funds will be distributed in the future.” The Sun predicts that the Obama administration will penalize most of Maryland for its “backward looking attitude”, even as Baltimore city moves forward with raising student achievement.

Source: Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bal-ed.schools02feb02,0,975333.story

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Boston Charters Reach Out to English-Language Learners

A Boston Globe editorial praises the move by the city’s 14 charter schools to recruit more English-language learners, which includes “canvassing in immigrant neighborhoods and distributing fliers in Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese.” In addition, translators will be available at a charter school recruitment fair. “If there is any group that could benefit from the long hours and special tutoring at many charter schools,” the Globe writes, “it is English language learners.”

Source: Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2010/02/02/charters_an_overdue_outreach/

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‘Iraq Soldier Comments on Daughter’s Red Hook School’

An opinion piece in the Brooklyn Eagle by Evans Vielle, a soldier home on leave from Iraq, praises PAVE Academy, his daughter’s charter school, where the teachers “are having a tremendous impact” on his daughter. Vielle was surprised and saddened to witness a meeting on PAVE’s continued co-location with PS 15, a traditional public school. Many speakers against PAVE didn’t live in the neighborhood or have children in either school. “Whose interests are these agitators looking out for?” Vielle wondered. The school building was built for 725 students; it currently has 500 studnets split between the two schools. “The building belongs to the taxpayers of New York City. It should be celebrated that it is being operated efficiently and that as many students as possible receive a great education inside its walls,” Vielle writes. “Petty adult concerns and politics need to be set aside for what is in the best interest in children.”

Source: Brooklyn Eagle, http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?”category_id=10&id=33276

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