Daily Headlines

A Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Harvard’s Paul E. Peterson describes several randomized experiments, conducted by researchers from Stanford, Harvard and RAND Corp., which have shown student performance increasing among students admitted to charters, as well as charter graduation and college attendance rates besting those of traditional public schools.

In other headlines...
“Innovative Schools” in Maine
NY May Reconsider Charter Cap
‘Charter School Offers Flexibility to Aspiring Artists, Athletes’

The Washington Post and USA Today report that President Obama has proposed an overhaul of the No Child Left Behind Law, replacing a pass-fail approach with a focus on academic growth.

In other headlines...
‘Utah Legislature: Charter Schools Get Boost in Funding, Seat on Board’
‘In Virginia, a Watered-Down Bill on Charter Schools’
‘Strong Cities Start with Safe Streets, Good Schools’
‘Coalition of Newark Educators Form Unlikely Alliance Trying To Reform City Schools’

The Detroit Free Press reports that a city charter school will be the first new school to be funded by a grant from Excellent Schools Detroit, the coalition planning to open 70 new schools in the city over the next decade.

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‘Charter Schools Getting More Interest as KCMO Plans School Closings’
HIn Utah, Lawmakers Drop Charter Funding Proposal to Resolve Budget
‘What Diane Ravitch Gets Wrong’

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, lawmakers in the Utah House of Representatives have until midnight tonight to resolve the issue of how charter schools are funded.

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A New Plan for Detroit
New Jersey Ed. Commissioner to Encourage More District-Charter Cooperation
‘Parents in Struggling School Districts Partner With National Firms To Launch Charters’

According to the New York Times, Andres Schleicher of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development testified yesterday before the Senate education committee that American schools should take a page from the charter school playbook in order to retain their international education advantage.

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A Response to Ravitch
Va. Senate Passes Charter School Bill
Oklahoma Senate Passes Charter School Bill
Charter School Bills Headed for Compromise
First Lady to Speak at Charter School Commencement

A Newsweek article on teacher quality holds up KIPP as an example of what inner-city schools could be like were they free to innovate and hire and fire at will.

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Jay Matthews on Diane Ravitch
In Washington, ‘Is It Time to Reconsider Charter Schools?’
‘On to College…’

Education Week analyzed the finalists in the federal ‘Race to the Top’ grant competition, which include five states which either don’t allow charter schools or have restrictive caps on their growth: Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island.

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‘Charter Schools Flourish in Harlem’
‘Charter Schools Could Help -- Even in Northern Virginia’
‘New Orleans Charter Schools Work To Sustain Teachers' Energy, Results’
Charter School Success in Utah
100% College-Bound

The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Education Department has chosen 16 finalists in the ‘Race to the Top’ grant competition: Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.

In other headlines...
Va. House Passes Charter School Bill
‘KIPP Helps Worst Students, Study Says’
California Not Selected in ‘Race to the Top’
Idaho Senate Rejects Changes to Charter School Cap

A Wheeling Intelligencer editorial urges the West Virginia Senate to resurrect the charter schools bill that Senator Erik Wells effectively killed yesterday because it did not have enough support in the House.

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In Va., ‘General Assembly Kowtows To Public School Interest Groups’
‘Wyoming Law Puts Chains on Charter Schools’
‘Who’s Afraid of Big Bad Charter Schools? Not St. Mary’s’

According to the Charleston Daily Mail and West Virginia Public Broadcasting, West Virginia Senator Erik Wells sent his charter schools bill back to committee yesterday, essentially killing it for the session.

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In L.A., ‘A Lesson for Charter School Operators’
Idaho Senate Committee Passes Charter School Bill
Duncan on Charter Schools
Mississippi House Committee Passes Charter School Bill
In Alabama, a ‘Damaging Decision’

The Virginian-Pilot reports that Governor Robert McDonnell’s charter schools bill passed a House committee with bipartisan support yesterday, and is expected to be passed by the Senate Education Committee as well.

In other headlines...
South Dakota Legislature Passes Charter School Bill
‘LAUSD Board's So-Called Reform’

According to the Washington Post, President Obama is proposing replacing low-performing schools with charter schools as a dropout prevention strategy, and hopes to offer $900 million in grant money to states and districts to reform their worst schools.

In other headlines...
In Oklahoma, ‘Charter Schools For Whole State’
In South Carolina, ‘Maintain Charter Momentum’
‘Lack of Charter Schools in W.Va. Examined’
In Wyoming, ‘State Needs Better Charter School Law’
In Mississippi, ‘Do Charter Schools Right, If At All’
Georgia Charter Schools Chief to Leave for Illinois

In a Hill op-ed, Rep. Jared Polis, of Colorado, the former chairman of the Colorado State Board of Education and superintendent of charter schools serving disadvantaged youth, praises high-quality charter schools, saying: “I know firsthand the life-changing and transformative effect that such schools can have on students, their families and communities.”

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‘The Charter School Test Case that Didn’t Happen’
‘McDonnell Brings Out Allies to Push Charter School Changes’
‘Law Needs To Change for Wyoming Charter Schools to Progress’
Charter School Activism in NYC

According to the New York Times, at yesterday’s Congressional hearing on rewriting the No Child Left Behind law, charter school advocates testified that charters should be better monitored for their admissions procedures, academics and finances.

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‘Let Charter Schools Flourish’
NYC Charters Get Less Money Per Student
Va. Governor’s Charter School Plan Faces a Test
Utah Considers Removing Charter School Cap
‘Charter School Bill Passes Oklahoma House Committee’
In W.Va., ‘Charter School Bill Faces Uphill Climb’

A Washington Post editorial encourages Virginia and Maryland lawmakers to follow Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell’s lead in attempting to change his state’s restrictive charter school law.

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Where the Bar Ought to Be
Students at Charter High Schools More to Likely to Graduate College
New Charter School Bill Introduced in West Virginia
Proposed Bill Would Create New Charter Schools in Iowa
In South Carolina, ‘Charter Schools Cope With Cuts’

An editorial in the Oklahoman argues that federal and state lawmakers should “make it easier to establish and expand high- quality charter schools.”

In other headlines...
‘Fine-tuning Colorado’s Charter School System’
‘Raw Power Stopped Charter School Bill’
Texas Senate Studies Special-Ed Charter Idea
‘Mcdonnell's Charter School Proposal Deserves A Thumbs-Up’
‘A New School Hopes to Learn From the Charters’
New Haven Charter Gets ‘Green’ Grant

 The Washington Post reports that a group of senior House Republicans and Democrats have teamed up to rewrite the No Child Left Behind Law, in “a rare show of bipartisanship in the polarized Congress.” Rep. George Miller described it as “the best opportunity we have had to have really substantial change in how we meet the educational needs of our kids.”

In other headlines...
‘Smith to Step Down as Head of Charter Schools Group’
St. Louis May Owe Charter Schools $20 Million
Oregon’s Charter Law Under Review L.A. Supt. Issues Recommendations for New and Failing Schools
‘Alabama’s Charter School Bill is Dead, But the Debate Continues’

According to the Opelika Auburn News, the Alabama legislature has blocked Governor Bob Riley’s attempt to bring charter schools to Alabama.

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Mississippi Lawmakers Revisit Charter Schools
Minnesota Bill to Make Changes to Charter Facilities Laws
Oklahoma Charter School Bill Advances
Chicago KIPP Schools Win $100,000 Grant
Houston To Try Charter-Like Extended School Year

The Birmingham News editorial confronts the “education establishment,” led by state teachers’ union head Paul Hubbert, for blocking needed education reform by opposing charter schools in Alabama. A Senate committee will consider charter legislation today; a House committee indefinitely postponed a similar measure last week.

In other headlines...
In New Jersey, ‘Charter Schools Fight to Survive’
A Colorado Bill to Tighten Charter Oversight
Georgia Charter Commission Faces Another Lawsuit

According to the Idaho Press-Tribune, state Senator John Goedde has introduced a bill that would raise the cap for Idaho charter schools which serve low-income, minority, at-risk, immigrant, special needs or gifted and talented students.

In other headlines...
‘Charter Schools Face Uphill Battle in 2010 Alabama Legislature’
‘Charter Schools Aren't Racist Tool’