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April 30 2004 Talahassee Democrat
Low-income kids deserve choices

By Lawrence Patrick III
...
Earlier this month, the Black Alliance for Educational Options co-sponsored a rally in Tallahassee to express the importance of school choice to the Legislature ...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Talahassee Democrat.

April 29 2004 Denver Post
Committee endorses vouchers

By Karen Rouse

State Rep. Nancy Spence is hoping the third time is a charm for passing a voucher bill that would allow some low-income students to attend private schools this fall.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Denver Post.

April 29 2004 Newhouse News Service
In the Black Schools of America Before Brown, Keys to Renewing Success

BY Jonathan Tilove

... Dedicated teachers. Strong principals. Order. Discipline. High expectations. Community and parental support. What is astonishing ... is how many black children attended schools during segregation that delivered on these objectives, and how few do so now.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Newhouse News Service.

April 29 2004 The Columbia [SC] State
An answer to what it means to be ‘for public schools’

By NINA BROOK

MOST ELECTED OFFICIALS claim to be “for public education.” But what does that mean?
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Columbia State.

April 29 2004 Myrtle Beach [SC] Sun News
Bill would help education, fund efficiency
'PUT PARENTS IN CHARGE ACT'

By Tom Swatzel

The Sun News on April 23 misses the mark concerning the "Put Parents in Charge Act," a tuition tax-credit bill supported by Gov. Mark Sanford and sponsored by 35 House members that will expand educational opportunities for middle- and low-income families.

Let's set the record straight. The act allows parents and/or relatives of a child a credit against their property- or state-income-tax liability for spending their own money for independent school tuition, public school interdistrict transfer fees or certain home schooling expenses. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Myrtle Beach Sun News.

April 26 2004 The [Vancouver, WA] Columbian
Opinion - In Our View: Parents as Partners

Columbian editorial writers

The Vancouver School District is about to launch a stepped-up service to home-schooled children, further proof that the parents-as-teachers phenomenon is not a passing fancy. It's also additional evidence that the once-icy relationship between some public schools and home-schooling parents has thawed.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Columbian.

April 26 2004 [Salt Lake City] Deseret News
School funding elusive
But perennial task by lawmakers has borne little fruit

By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
...
Legislative fiscal analysts projected that tuition tax credits would have saved the state $3.5 million in education costs the first year by enticing families to put children in private schools rather than keeping them in the public schools.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Deseret News.

April 24 2004 [Portland, OR] kgw
Saving themselves from extinction, rural school districts become charter schools

By JULIA SILVERMAN
...
Paisley saved itself by becoming a charter district, triggering hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal money that's earmarked to get new charter schools off the ground. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of kgw.

April 25 2004 [Eureka,CA] Times-Standard
charter schools continue to grow

By Sara Watson Arthurs
...
Coastal Grove, like many charter schools, was created by parents and teachers seeking an alternative.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Times-Standard.

April 24 2004 [Denver] Rocky Mountain News
House retreats on school choice

Desperate to prevent a revival of a pilot school-voucher program, the Colorado Education Association took out a full-page ad in Thursday's Rocky Mountain News ...


For the full story, go to the web site of the Rocky Mountain News.

April 24 2004 [Mesa, AZ] East Valley Tribune
Celebrating school choice
Tribune Editorial

Thanks to an excellent charter-school law, a private-school scholarship tax credit, and a renewed commitment by traditional public schools to excel, Arizona parents have many attractive educational options from which to choose.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the East Valley Tribune.

April 23 2004 Texas City Sun
Put vouchers on the table

By T.J. Aulds
...
For those who missed it, Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday dropped the “V” word — as in vouchers.

Of all the education issues to tackle, school vouchers — allowing parents to use public funds to pay for private school education — is the largest lightning rod.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Texas City Sun.

April 23 2004 The Salt Lake Tribune
It's a turning point for party hopefuls

By Kirsten Stewart and Thomas Burr
...
Working against the teachers' union is Parents for Choice in Education, a political action committee backed by national interests that have targeted Utah as one of four states where proposals have momentum to give tax breaks to parents who privately school their children.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Feb 18 2004 Pacific Research Institute
Expanding the Zone of Choice

by K. Lloyd Billingsley

... teacher unions hate charter schools. They want teachers to be assigned by seniority, and don’t like the idea of principals matching teachers with student needs. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Pacific Reserach Institute.

April 22 2004 The [Columbia, SC] State
House panel might delay action on Sanford’s tax-credit proposal until 2005

By JENNIFER TALHELM

Gov. Mark Sanford’s plan to give tax credits to parents to send their children to private school may have to wait until next year, some state House members predict.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The State.

May 1 2004 School Reform News
Inside and Outside: School Choice from Two Perspectives

Review by Jonathan Butcher
...
In his new book, Common Sense School Reform (Palgrave Macmillan, April 2004) [Frederick] Hess uses his dual perspective to argue that educators and reformers must be willing to trade ideal designs for pragmatism for the benefit of the children. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of School Reform News.

April 21 2004 Lincoln [IL] Courier
Home is where the school is

BY NANCY ROLLINGS SAUL
...
School buses, dress codes, dismissal bells and cafeteria lunches are not a required part of the learning experience for an untold number of Logan County students who are home schooled, usually by their parents.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Lincoln Courier.

April 22 2004 The Miami Herald
GI voucher bill clears House, but Senate passage unlikely

JACKIE HALLIFAX

Children in military families could receive vouchers to attend private schools through a plan passed Thursday by the House, yet the proposal seems unlikely to go anywhere in the Senate.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Miami Herald.

April 22 2004 The [Bentley College] Vanguard
Republicans: Political Face-Off
Private School Vouchers

By David Litke

Within the past few years, the debate over private school vouchers has risen to a fever pitch. Vouchers would give money to private and parochial schools from public school tax collections. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Vanguard.

April 22 2004 News 8 Austin
Perry wants vouchers

By: Associated Press

Republican Gov. Rick Perry said he'd like to see a school voucher bill emerge from the special legislative session.

On Thursday he said he supports a public school choice pilot program.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of News 8 Austin.

April 22 2004 The [Concord, NH] WMUR Channel
Senate Gives Preliminary Approval To School Vouchers
Low-Income Families Could Send Children To Private Schools

A potentially major school reform is taking place in Concord after the Senate endorsed an idea intended to help low-income families break down the financial barriers to a better education.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The WMUR Channel.

May 1 2004 School Reform News
3,000 Charters Proves a Hard Nut to Crack

By: School Reform News Staff
...
According to figures reported by the Center for Education Reform, there are 2,996 charter schools operating in the 2003-04 school year, up 297 from the previous year's figure of 2,699. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of School Reform News.

May 1 2004 School Reform News
Arizona Charter School Students Start Lower but Finish Higher

By: Vicki Murray

... Washington state just became the 41st state to enact charter legislation. (Washington DC has such legislation as well.)
...

For the full story, go to the web site of School Reform News.

April 22 2004 [Boulder, CO] Daily Camera
Bill would allow state to pass charter schools

A bill that would allow the state education board to authorize charter schools if local school districts reject or refuse to hear proposals won preliminary approval Wednesday in the Senate.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Daily Camera.

April 22 2004 The Kansas City [MO] Star
CMSU backs continuation of four charter schools

By LYNN FRANEY The Kansas City Star

Kansas City's charter school movement received a vote of confidence Wednesday as Central Missouri State University's governing board expressed a willingness to renew four schools' contracts for five years.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Kansas City Star.

April 21 2004 The Buffalo News
State Regents criticize board's charter school plan

By PETER SIMON

Some state Regents Tuesday criticized the Buffalo Board of Education's plan to create a network of district-sponsored charter schools, saying it could hurt children left behind in traditional public schools and appears to be a "union-busting" tactic.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Buffalo News.

April 21 2004 Philadelphia Inquirer
Charter school teachers to vote on unionizing
Staff at Camden's LEAP Academy could join New Jersey's largest teachers union today.

By Melanie Burney

Teachers at the city's first charter school will decide in a vote today whether they want the state's largest teachers union to represent them in contract negotiations.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

April 21 2004 Boston Globe
Mass. charter schools deserve to be expanded

By Scot Lehigh

... Charter school students are poorer than those in traditional public schools. Fully 42 percent of them qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, compared with 26 percent of the total Massachusetts public school population (a group that includes both students in traditional public schools and charter public schools). Further, while 25 percent of the entire public school population is minority, minorities comprise 49 percent of total charter school enrollment.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Boston Globe.

April 21 2004 [Columbia, SC] WIS News
Parents speak up about school choice proposal at hearing
...
Bridgette Reeves says she needs help paying for private school for her son who has learning disabilities. She says the change from public school has improved the 11-year-old's self-esteem and learning.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of WIS News.

April 13 2004 Yahoo News (press release)
NewSchools Venture Fund Announces Launch of Pacific Charter School Development
Public-Private Partnership Will Help Solve Charter School Facilities Challenge in California

NewSchools Venture Fund today announced the launch of Pacific Charter School Development (PCSD), a new nonprofit organization that will provide financing and facilities development to high-performing charter schools, with plans to serve more than 11,000 public school students by creating 30 new buildings in the Los Angeles area over the next five years. ...


For the full story, go to the web site of Yahoo News.

April 14 2004 [Fort Worth] Star-Telegram
Look west, young Texans

By Vicki Murray

Texas and Arizona are national leaders when it comes to sheer numbers of charter schools, with 241 and 491 schools respectively. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Star-Telegram.

April 14 2004 The Columbian [WA]
Advocates of charter schools get ball rolling

By GREGG SHERRARD BLESCH

Now that Washington law allows charter schools, advocates are staging a conference this weekend to teach interested parties how to start them.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Columbian.

April 6 2004 Newsday
School choice plans deserve a closer look

Raymond J. Keating
...
What's truly outrageous is any notion that public schools in New York need more funds. According to State Education Department data, New York State spent $12,265 per public school pupil in 2001-02, and New York City $11,627. The commission reported that New York State spends more per pupil than any other state in the nation, topping the national average by 47 percent.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Newsday.

April 8 2004 The Salt Lake Tribune
Panel offers fix for school woes

By Ronnie Lynn

Open up public schools to competition via tuition tax credits. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Salt Lake Tribune.

April 7 2004 [Indianapolis] WISH TV
Gates Foundation Announces $300,000 in Grants for Indy Charter Schools

By Leslie Olsen

Five Indianapolis public high schools were recently given several million dollars. The funding came from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of WISH TV.

April 12 2004 Juneau Empire Opinion
Charter schools are a cost-effective alternative

By Jeannie Monk
...
There are charter schools in almost every major community in Alaska.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Juneau Empire Opinion.

April 12 2004 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Vouchers spur lasting achievement gains in MPS schools, study says
But critics seek more information, argue that other research doesn't match

By SARAH CARR

Milwaukee's voucher program prompted sustainable achievement gains for the city's public elementary schools, according to a new study by a Harvard economist.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

April 13 2004 [Provo, UT] Daily Herald
Class helping home-schoolers get PE credit

Christi C. Babbitt

"OK, start your engines!" shouted Brigham Young University sophomore Courtney Dawson. "Vroom, vroom!" a group of young children gleefully responded as they ran around her with arms outstretched, pretending to be a mini squadron of airplanes.

For the children -- all home-schooled -- the activity provided physical fitness instruction. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Daily Herald.

April 11 2004 The Buffalo News
BUFFALO BOARD OF EDUCATION
Candidates speak up on charter schools


By PETER SIMON

A plan to create a network of district-sponsored charter schools drew support from most of the 14 Buffalo Board of Education candidates who took part in a public forum Saturday.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Buffalo News.

April 9 2004 Newsday
State senator applies to open charter school

By MICHAEL GORMLEY
...
The application for a charter school in the Far Rockaway section of Queens by Sen. Malcolm Smith has already been endorsed by state Education Department staffers, according to a department memo.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Newsday.

April 9 2004 The Ann Arbor News
Lotteries, waiting lists for area charter schools
Enrollment in smaller academies growing fast

BY PATTY MAHER
...
South Arbor, on Carpenter Road in Pittsfield Township, is one of two Ann Arbor-area charter schools with fall enrollment waiting lists for every grade. Some other charters have waiting lists for most grades - ...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Ann Arbor News.

April 10 2004 The Salinas Californian
Home-schooling works for parents

By KELLY NIX
...
Danielle Strand is a bright 14-year-old who doesn't mind not visiting a classroom every day.

The Salinas teenager is among a growing number of Monterey County children who are home-schooled by their parents.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Salinas Californian.

April 10 2004 The [Tacoma] News Tribune
Charter school foes' plan challenged

JOSEPH TURNER

Opponents of charter schools hope to start collecting signatures next week on a referendum ...

Charles Hasse, president of the 77,000-member Washington Education Association, filed a referendum last month. The union wants to ask voters to overturn the charter-school law passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gary Locke last month.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The News Tribune.

April 6 2004 [Kenai, AK] Peninsula Clarion
Conference praises charter efforts

About 40 Alaskans met Friday and Saturday in Kenai to discuss challenges and successes related to the state's charter schools.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Peninsula Clarion.

April 7 2004 [Allentown, PA] Morning Call
Lehigh Valley Academy gets a positive report
Bethlehem school directors' concerns appear unwarranted.

By Genevieve Marshall

Despite their misgivings about charter school law, Bethlehem Area school officials said Lehigh Valley Academy is doing a good job educating children in its second year of operation.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Morning Call.

April 7 2004 [Salem, OR] Statesman Journal
Charter school movement gains momentum
More than 40 such schools are up and running in Oregon.

JULIA SILVERMAN

Fifteen more charter schools might open in Oregon in the upcoming school year, the latest sign of the movement’s growing presence in the state.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Statesman Journal.

April 7 2004 [Rochester] Democrat and Chronicle
Parents back school choice
City kindergarten signup off to a strong start

By Heather Hare

Latoya Barfield wants her son, Jacquane Reed, 4, to go to his neighborhood school for kindergarten. But she likes that the Rochester School District didn’t tell her he had to go there.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Democrat and Chronicle.

April 19 2004 The New American
No Child Left Unbrainwashed

by Jodie Gilmore

Federal aid to education is comparable to carrying water in a leaky bucket from your own reservoir to a big central well. What is left of the water is poured into the well, and then those in charge apportion you some water in that same leaky bucket and you bring it home. Besides losing what water is spilled on the two-way trip, you eventually find yourself being told what to do with the water that remains — although it was your own water in the beginning.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The New American.

April 3 2004 Cato Institute
School Choice Boosts Public School Performance

by David Salisbury

School choice opponents claim that choice harms public schools. Research, however, shows the opposite. A new study published by Harvard economist Carolyn Hoxby addresses the question: "Do public schools respond constructively to competition induced by school choice, by raising their own productivity?" The answer: Yes, they do, and the benefits are greatest where large numbers of students are eligible for choice.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Cato Institute.

March 30 2004 The Salt Lake Tribune
'School choice' lobby calls meeting

By Dan Harrie

A "school choice" lobby group will hold a news conference today to tout the call by most Republican gubernatorial candidates for lawmakers to override GOP Gov. Olene Walker's veto of a limited school voucher bill.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Salt Lake Tribune.

March 31 2004 Houston Chronicle
Texas' ultimate reform would be school choice

By JOHN E. HOCK
...
Texas desperately needs to accelerate the real but modest pace of improvement in public education seen during the 1990s to compete for jobs and business investment in the 21st century. Giving parents the right to choose the school that best fits with the needs of their children will not only help transferring students, but also will provide powerful incentives for public schools to meet the needs of children choosing to remain at them.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Houston Chronicle.

April 1 2004 WCJB TV 20 News
Bill Could Allow Military Families to Have School Vouchers

By Sarah Williamson

School vouchers offer Florida parents the opportunity to send their kids to any school they want without having to foot the entire bill. A new bill before the Florida House of Representatives would extend and expand that right to members of the military community. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of WCJB TV 20 News .

March 30 2004 Agape Press
Homeschool Alums Succeed as Adults

By Ed Vitagliano

While the subject of home schooling may still draw odd looks from some folks, the students themselves are demonstrating that they are no oddballs. An estimated one to two million students of middle and high school age are being home schooled in the U.S. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of Agape Press.

March 31 2004 Sacramento Bee
For schools, no escaping the red tape
Charter campuses find success means more rules.

By Bill Lindelof

Nearly nonexistent in California a decade ago, charter schools have become one of the fastest-growing movements in public education in recent years, gaining some influential political supporters.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Sacramento Bee.

March 31 2004 The Boston Globe
Charter schools could hit ceiling
Regulations may limitnew approvals next year

By Suzanne Sataline

Charter schools could become victims of growth and the laws that created them, the state education commissioner said yesterday.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Boston Globe.

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