School Choice news stories

2004-07-15T09:07:00.000-04:00

July 12 2004 The Buffalo [NY] News
Board member to seek hold on charter schools

By PETER SIMON

The future of charter schools sponsored by Buffalo Public Schools will be put to the test this week.
...

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

2004-07-15T08:37:00.000-04:00

July 13 2004 [Tupelo, MS] Agape Press
Colorado Congresswoman Vows to Keep Fighting for Vouchers

By Jim Brown

A Colorado lawmaker says she will not give up in her fight to bring true school choice to low-income children in the state.
...

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

2004-07-15T08:35:00.000-04:00

July 13 2004 The Allen [TX] Star
Home-schooling continues to grow in popularity

BY ALLEN HOUSTON
...
According to the North Texas Home Educator's Network, 90,000 families home-school in the top of Texas. The industry has grown 6 to 8 percent every year for the past decade.
...

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

2004-07-15T08:29:00.000-04:00

July 12 2004 Los Angeles Daily News

LAUSD plunders funds for charter schools

By Lisa Snell

... as much as 37 percent of the funding ... never reaches the school, let alone the classroom. Instead, districts, like the Los Angeles Unified School District, keep the money.

What do the charter schools get in return? "Not only does the district take as much as 37 percent from us, but they provide zero services in return," said Yvonne Chan, principal at the 1,500-student Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Pacoima.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Los Angeles Daily News.

2004-07-15T08:25:00.000-04:00

July/August 2004 Home educator's Family Times
How Do Homeschool Parents Know Their Children Are Learning?

by Jan Hunt
...
How do homeschooling parents know their children are learning? The answer to this question is, to put it most simply, direct observation. I have only one child. If a teacher had only one child in her classroom, and was unable to describe the reading skills of that child, everyone would be dismayed -- how could a teacher have such close daily contact with one child and miss something so obvious?
...
No homeschooling parents have twenty-five children, and we are thus free to focus on the enhancement of learning without being continually distracted by the many time-consuming tasks unrelated to learning that are necessary in a classroom situation.
...
Any parent of a preschool child could almost certainly tell us how many numbers her child can count to, and how many colors he knows -- not through testing, but simply through many hours of listening to his questions and statements and observing his behavior.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Home Educator's Family Times.

2004-07-15T08:21:00.000-04:00

July/August 2004 [Gray, ME] Home Educator's Family Times
Does College Fit With Homeschooling?

by Peter Kowalke

Homeschoolers excel in college. But is college a temporary solution for homeschoolers until they, as a movement, find
a better alternative?
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Home Educator's Family Times.

2004-07-15T08:17:00.000-04:00

July 13 2004 [Indianapolis, IN] WISH-TV
Billboards Inform Parents of School Choice
...
One billboard tells parents that if your public school is listed by the state as a school that needs improvement, it is your legal right to request that your child be transferred to another school.

Another billboard gives a phone number for information on free tutoring opportunities, and a third encourages parents to consider charter schools.

The billboard campaign is sponsored by the Geo [Greater Educational Opportunites] Foundation, which promotes school choice.
...

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

2004-07-15T07:47:00.000-04:00

July 13 2004 The [Durham, NC] Herald-Sun
Board to discuss school-use policy

BY CAROLYN NORTON

CHAPEL HILL -- Sparked by a parent's request earlier this year for her son to play baseball, the city Board of Education plans to discuss Thursday night its policy on allowing home-schooled students to be included in school activities.

"It's not just the athletics we deal with," said Steve Scroggs, the district's associate superintendent of support services. "We have requests for use of chemistry labs, to be in art classes."
...

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

2004-07-11T22:23:00.000-04:00

July 7 2004 Detroit Free Press
Michigan to receive $21 million in federal grants for charter schools

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan will receive $21 million in federal grants to help start new charter schools.
...

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

2004-07-11T22:02:00.000-04:00

July 8 2004 Business Wire
REPORT: Charter Schools Successfully Providing Disabled Students with a Quality Education
Report Demonstrates Charters' Effectiveness at Early Intervention Strategies, Suggests Improvements by Allowing Special Education Dollars to Follow Student

A report released today by the Reason Public Policy Institute (RPPI) found that California charter schools are successfully providing students with disabilities with a quality education.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Business Wire.

2004-07-11T21:59:00.000-04:00

July 8 2004 The [Columbia, SC] State
Parents hope to form school for disabled children

...
Parents hope a home-schooling cooperative at Carolina Pediatric Therapy in Rock Hill would give their children a place to learn and heal.
...

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

2004-07-11T21:51:00.000-04:00

July 8 2004 Oneida [NY] Dispatch
Home-schooled student looks forward to college

By: ELIZABETH RINALDO

VERONA - Katelyn Walker keeps a busy schedule.

There are dance classes, voice lessons, organ lessons, piano lessons, 4H meetings and art classes.
...
Walker has been home-schooled by her parents for her entire education. And now she has graduated, and is getting ready for life beyond high school, and beyond Mom and Dad's house.

Forget all the home schooling stereotypes.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Oneida Dispatch.

2004-07-11T21:48:00.000-04:00

July 9 2004 Portland [OR] Tribune
Schools take factory approach to learning
...
Why do I carry on about the factory model of public education? Because the organized socialization rituals carried on in these institutions are part and parcel of what the model is trying to achieve, and is one of the primary attributes that I reject.
...

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

2004-07-11T21:38:00.000-04:00

July 10 2004 The Miami Herald
Parents, state praise charter schools
Six years after Pembroke Pines started its charter school system, the seven schools have earned praise from parents and the state.

BY AMY SHERMAN
...
Six years after the city opened its first charter schools, the 5,200-student system has become so popular that at times the waiting list for the seven schools has risen above 10,000. The schools have received high marks from the state, which this year gave A grades to the elementary and middle schools, and a B for the high school.
...

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

2004-07-10T06:30:00.000-04:00

July 10 2004 [Indianapolis, IN] WISH-TV
New Charter Schools to Focus on Arts

By Leslie Olsen

Indianapolis students will have a new opportunity to learn academics through the arts. The next two charter schools sponsored by the mayor will focus on the fine and performing arts.
...

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

2004-07-10T06:28:00.000-04:00

July 6 2004 [Washington, DC] WTOP
Students Attend D.C. Charter Schools Illegally

Hundreds of students are apparently studying illegally in the District.
...
The city's charter schools are publicly funded but independently operated. The charter schools have steadily grown in enrollment over the past six years, while the city's public schools have seen a decline.
...

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

2004-07-10T06:15:00.000-04:00

June 21 2004 The Virginian Pilot
State’s home-schooling laws still under debate

By PHILIP WALZER

Virginia law offers several pathways to home schooling, with differing levels of demands. A proposal earlier this year to ease the regulations drove a wedge between Gov. Mark R. Warner and the General Assembly.
...

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

2004-07-10T06:06:00.000-04:00

July 9 2004 The Hampton [NH] Union
Annual homeschooling conference set for July 16-17

GRAY, Maine - One of homeschooling’s leading authorities and most heralded authors, Linda Dobson, will keynote at this year’s annual New England Homeschool & Family Learning Conference held in Boxborough, Mass., on July 16 and 17.

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

2004-07-10T06:01:00.000-04:00

July 5 2004 The [Salt Lake City] Deseret News
Is backing by UEA the kiss of death?

By Jennifer Toomer-Cook

The state's largest teachers union is poised to choose which candidates will receive its stamp of approval.

The Utah Education Association hopes its endorsements will be a compass for teachers, moms and dads to navigate November's election ballot.

But some moderates say it can be like sporting a bull's-eye at target practice for GOP conservatives.
...
But some legislators believe the union doesn't represent the average teacher and makes lawmakers out to be "the bogeyman," said Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper.

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

2004-07-05T02:51:00.000-04:00

June 28 2004 [Salt Lake City] KSL-TV
Candidate Matheson Outlines Education Plan
...
Matheson says he supports allowing parents to choose which public school their children attend, however his education plan opposes tuition tax credits and vouchers, which he argues would take away resources from public education and make it difficult for schools to improve.
...

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

2004-07-05T02:48:00.000-04:00

July 5 2004 The [Brockton, MA] Enterprise
School Choice funds to aid West Bridgewater

By Denise Hill

School Committee members began divvying up the $360,000 expected to come into the School Department through the School Choice program.

Superintendent Robert White told the committee Monday night he has received 72 confirmations from parents interested in sending their children to the school district in the fall.

If the sending school districts are assessed the full $5,000 per student, White said the district could expect to add $360,000 to its budget.
...

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

2004-07-05T02:39:00.000-04:00

July 1 2004 Mackinac Center for Public Policy
A New Direction for Education Reform

...
Actually, some parents shop around now. The very wealthy have always had school choice. For them, the price of admission to a good public school may be merely the cost of a moving van and a nice, big house. Or because they can afford to, they will simply pay twice—once in private school tuition and then in taxes for the public system they can reject.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

2004-07-05T02:35:00.000-04:00

July 2 2004 The [Lakeland, FL] Ledger
More Bad News For Vouchers

The Florida Department of Education should have seen it coming
...
The Faith Christian Academy in Bartow was supposed to be using education vouchers to help students with special learning needs.

Instead, ... principal Betty J. Mitchell and six relatives or employees of the now-closed school used $200,000 in voucher money to buy a $53,000 Hummer H2, airline tickets, tickets to shows, a satellite television and beauty supplies.
...

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

2004-07-05T02:32:00.000-04:00

July 2 2004 The [Charlottesville, VA] Daily Progress
Charlottesville school fails SOLs, must offer transfers

By Julie Stavitski

Charlottesville school officials will be forced to offer school choice to parents of Clark Elementary School students this year based on preliminary data from this spring’s Standards of Learning Assessments.
...

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

2004-07-05T02:25:00.000-04:00

July 2 2004 Nevada City Union
Charter schools seek cheaper rents
District looks to cut rent to save programs

BY DAVID MIRHADI

Two western Nevada County charter schools are looking for cheaper buildings where they can educate their students.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Nevada City Union.

2004-07-05T02:22:00.000-04:00

July 2 2004 Newport [OR] News Times
Charter schools catch on statewide; local charters end successful first year

By Terry Dillman

If all goes well, as many as 16 new charter schools will open in Oregon by the start of the 2004-2005 school year, boosting the statewide total to 56.
...

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

2004-07-05T02:19:00.000-04:00

July 5 2004 [San Mateo, CA] Daily Journal
Online school could bring cash

By Yunmi Choi

...
As first reported by the Daily Journal Thursday, the board of trustees is holding a public hearing on a charter school proposal by California Virtual Academies July 13.
...

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

2004-07-05T02:16:00.000-04:00

July 2 2004 [Springfield, MO] News-Leader
Education is not settling for less

... We have been home schooling for over five years and my children are some of the most social kids you would ever meet. They have no problem talking with other children and making friends. There are plenty of social events with other home schoolers that they are involved in.
...

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

2004-07-05T02:13:00.000-04:00

July 4 2004 The Boston Globe
Charter schools in limbo
Plans on hold as state debates a moratorium

By Peter Schworm

When Julia Sigalovsky met with the bank recently to discuss a loan for the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School, the credit officer said her request would have to be put on hold. With a proposed moratorium on new charters putting the school's future in doubt, his hands were tied.
...

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

2004-07-05T02:11:00.000-04:00

July 4 2004 The Salt Lake Tribune
People of integrity can be trusted to overcome personal bias

By Paul T. Mero
...
Case in point: the new legislative study on tuition tax credits. Presumably, this legislative study will produce some sort of framework, perhaps even a recommendation, to approach a resolution to the issue of tax credits for children attending private schools.
...

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

2004-07-05T01:52:00.000-04:00

July 4 2004 The Kalamazoo Gazette
On July 4th, celebrate common values
...
Americans desire freedom and self-determination.
...
Americans want a better life for their children.
...
Americans believe in the importance of education. When we argue over public schools, charter schools, parochial schools, vouchers and home schooling, we are simply seeking ways to improve the way American children are educated, although we may disagree on the best method.
...

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

2004-07-05T01:48:00.000-04:00

July 4 2004 Tallahassee Democrat
Vouchers sought in local districts

By Diane Hirth

Families have applied for 'opportunity scholarships'
About 34 families in Gadsden and Jefferson counties are likely to pull their children out of public schools deemed to be failing. They have indicated interest in using taxpayer-funded vouchers to enroll their children in a private school or another public school.
...

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

2004-07-01T16:46:00.000-04:00

July 1 2004 Market Wire
From Melting Icebergs to a Special Section on Art and Science, Science & Spirit Magazine Explores Today's News, Issues, and Trends

... The July-August issue of Science & Spirit magazine takes a hard look at troubling trends in climate change
...
Also in this issue:
...
virtual schools as the new trend in home schooling.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Market Wire.

2004-07-01T16:40:00.000-04:00

July 1 2004 [St. Petersburg, FL] Tampa Bay's 10
Seven arrested for abuse of school vouchers

Seven people who operate a Polk County school that accepts voucher money from the state now face charges ranging from grand theft to racketeering.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Tampa Bay's 10.

2004-07-01T16:37:00.000-04:00

June 29 2004 News4Jax
Duval Closes Two Charter Schools; Third Gets Another Chance

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Duval County School Board has voted to shut down two of the three charter schools that have received two "F" grades from the state over the three years, but a third will get a year to see if it can improve its grade.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of News4Jax.

2004-07-01T16:31:00.000-04:00

June 30 2004 Indianapolis Star
State getting $7.5 million to create charter schools

Indiana is getting $7.5 million in federal funds to help develop more charter schools and increase public education options for Hoosier families.
...

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

2004-07-01T16:28:00.000-04:00

June 30 2004 [Escondido, CA] North County Times
Charter schools earn high marks in review

By: TANYA RODRIGUES - Staff Writer

Two affiliated charter schools have earned high marks in a review from a group that works with the state and federal education departments.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the North County Times.

2004-07-01T16:25:00.000-04:00

June 29 2004 Stevens Point [WI] Journal
New charter schools may help students learn better

By Jill Steinke

Three elementary school will open their doors in the fall with some noticeable changes as they begin to implement their charter school status, which now will be shared by nearly all elementary schools in the district.
...

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

2004-07-01T16:24:00.000-04:00

June 30 2004 The Salt Lake Tribune
SUU professor booted from state tax-credits study

By Ronnie Lynn

Legislative leaders and researchers booted a Southern Utah University economics professor from a state-funded tuition tax credits study after deciding his support of the controversial measure could undermine the report.
...

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

2004-07-01T16:13:00.000-04:00

June 30 2004 [Springfield, MO] News-Leader
Don't shelter kids from the real world
...
The worst thing we could do to a child who is growing up in a Pagan family is isolate that kid.
...

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

2004-07-01T16:11:00.000-04:00

July 1 2004 Palm Beach [FL] Post
Two charter schools feel heat

By Nirvi Shah

The governing board of charter school TerraNova Academy this week eliminated the job of the man who runs the school along with a part-time position held by his son.
...

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

2004-07-01T16:08:00.000-04:00

July 1 2004 [Munster, IN] Times
Local charter schools growing in number
IN EDUCATION: Local students receive different education options

BY OLIVIA CLARKE

The charter school movement keeps growing in Northwest Indiana.

By 2006, at least six charter schools are expected to be up and running in East Chicago, Schererville and Gary.
...

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

2004-07-01T16:04:00.000-04:00

June 30 2004 [Long Beach, CA] Press-Telegram
A boost for charter schools
Now they need fewer restrictions.

California's charter school movement got a welcome boost from the federal government this week with a $75-million grant to establish about 250 new charter schools during the next three years.
...

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

2004-06-27T04:56:00.000-04:00

Spring 2004 City Journal
If Not Vouchers?

Brian C. Anderson
...
Small wonder that some school-choice supporters are touting scholarship tax-credit programs—in effect, a privately funded, though publicly subsidized, voucher system—as a more feasible alternative.
...

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

2004-06-27T04:49:00.000-04:00

June 26 2004 The Maui News
BOE approves first Molokai charter school

KEALAKEKUA, Hawaii - The Board of Education approved a plan to convert Kualapuu Elementary School on Molokai into the island's first public charter school.
...

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

2004-06-27T04:46:00.000-04:00

June 25 2004 Honolulu Advertiser
Charter schools chief selected

By Kevin Dayton

KEALAKEKUA, Hawai'i — The Board of Education last night appointed Big Island educator Steve Hirakami as interim executive director of Hawai'i's charter schools.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Honolulu Advertiser.

2004-06-27T04:44:00.000-04:00

June 25 2004 The [Vancouver, WA] Columbian
Campaign 2004 - Teachers' union backs foe of charter schools

By DON JENKINS

The state's largest teachers' union has shunned a longtime educator in favor of an anti-charter schools candidate in the 17th Legislative District.
...

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

2004-06-27T04:40:00.000-04:00

June 26 2004 The Boston Globe
Romney vetoes freeze on new charter schools
Lawmakers considering an override

By Suzanne Sataline

Governor Mitt Romney, as promised, vetoed a freeze yesterday on the opening of new charter schools, leaving lawmakers to decide whether to override his action or accept his suggested overhaul of charter school funding.
...

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

2004-06-27T04:37:00.000-04:00

June 26 2004 Lodi [CA] News-Sentinel
Charter schools: Growing success or educational fad?

By Tom Hall

Fourteen years ago, parents had only a few options and little say in their child's education.

And then City Academy in St. Paul, Minn. opened for business.

The charter movement, which is now very much alive in Lodi, was born.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Lodi News-Sentinel.

2004-06-27T04:32:00.000-04:00

June 26 2004 Winston-Salem Journal
CHOICE: Black family sees value of home school

... they [Paula Penn-Nabrit and her husband] realized that with their Ivy League/Seven Sisters educations - he graduated from Dartmouth, she from Wellesley - "our educational credentials, objectively, were superior to those of any of our kids' teachers."
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Winston-Salem Journal.

2004-06-27T04:24:00.000-04:00

June 26 2004 [Munster, IN] nwitimes
Home is where the school is
CHESTERTON: Chesterton home schoolers want the option to take classes

BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
... They are upset the board earlier this month reaffirmed a practice of barring children not enrolled full time in the schools from taking individual courses. The decision came after another Chesterton parent, Susan Nurse, sought to enroll her home-schooled daughter in a summer geometry class.
...

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

2004-06-25T06:03:00.000-04:00

June 21 2004 The Boston Globe
Behind the wheel of school choice
Hub bus drivers worry for future

By Megan Tench
... the grandmothers, community activists, and others who make up the blue-collar crew consider themselves more than just bus drivers who may lose their jobs.

Many say they are the enforcers of school choice.
...

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

2004-06-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

June 21 2004 eSchool News
Districts balk at payments to online charter schools

From eSchool News staff and wire service reports

Two years after the Pennsylvania Legislature made the state responsible for approving internet-based charter schools, the way these "cyber schools" are funded remains a sore spot for many area school districts, which must foot the bill.
...

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

2004-06-25T05:58:00.000-04:00

June 21 2004 [Norfolk] Virginian Pilot
State’s home-schooling laws still under debate

By PHILIP WALZER

Virginia law offers several pathways to home schooling, with differing levels of demands. A proposal earlier this year to ease the regulations drove a wedge between Gov. Mark R. Warner and the General Assembly.

The law permits home schooling under five options. Four of them require parents to submit evidence of academic progress by their children.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Virginian Pilot.

2004-06-25T05:56:00.000-04:00

June 25 2004 [Muncie, IN] Star Press
Ball State sponsors three new public charter schools

MUNCIE - Ball State University has authorized new public charter schools in Carmel, Gary and East Chicago.

Based upon a recommendation of a charter school review panel and after receiving overwhelming community support at each school's public hearing, Ball State Acting President Beverley J. Pitts approved the sponsorship of the schools.
...

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

2004-06-25T05:53:00.000-04:00

June 25 2004 [Mesa, AZ] East Valley Tribune
Charter schools have legal and moral obligation to open records

Because they have proliferated as an alternative to district schools, charter schools — and some don’t do much to correct this notion — are often seen as private schools.

They are not private. As the Tribune’s Daryl James reported Sunday, charters are virtually as public as district schools because, like district schools, they receive public funding from tax dollars.
...

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

2004-06-25T05:49:00.000-04:00

June 22 2004 Baltimore Sun
State receives $3.8 million for charter schools
Grasmick, Ehrlich laud effort to expand alternatives to public education; Officials hope federal grant money will fund up to 30 charter programs by 2006-2007

By Stephen Manning

ARNOLD -- Maryland received $3.8 million today from the federal government to fund charter schools, money state officials hope will help increase alternatives to the public schools.
...

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

2004-06-25T05:46:00.000-04:00

June 23 2004 [Winter Haven, FL] Polk Online
Board OKs charter schools

By KYLE KENNEDY

BARTOW - Come July 1, the state's first conversion charter school district will be born in Lake Wales.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Polk Online.

2004-06-25T05:44:00.000-04:00

June 23 2004 The Washington Times
Grant to fund charter schools

By Robert Redding Jr.

ARNOLD, Md. — Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. yesterday announced the state has received a $3.8 million federal grant to further its commitment to building more charter schools.
...

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

2004-06-25T05:39:00.000-04:00

June 23 2004 St. Petersburg [FL] Times
Malnourished girl thrusts DCF back into spotlight

By ROBERT KING and CURTIS KRUEGER
...
The agency will ask judges to ensure that foster children go to public or private schools, no longer allowing home-schooling. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of the St. Petersburg Times.

2004-06-25T05:34:00.000-04:00

June 23 2004 Acton Institute
Southern Baptists Offer Words of Wisdom on School Choice

by Clint W. Green
... whatever the ultimate choice— government, private, or home schools—parents are empowered by God to choose.
...

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

2004-06-25T05:32:00.000-04:00

June 24 2004 New York Post
CHARTER SCHOOLS EXPANDING

By CARL CAMPANILE

The Knowledge is Power Program Academy — one of the city's most successful operators of privately managed charter schools in The Bronx and Harlem — plans to open new middle schools in Brooklyn and Washington Heights.
...

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

2004-06-25T05:30:00.000-04:00

June 24 2004 [Gaithersburg, MD] Gazette
Charter schools to draw from county resources

by Angela Swinson Lee
... the school board approved an application process for charter schools that will use school system resources.
...
With the application process in place, charter schools could open in the county by August 2005.
...

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

2004-06-25T05:27:00.000-04:00

June 24 2004 Boston Herald
Gov to veto charter schools moratorium

By Kevin Rothstein

Gov. Mitt Romney vowed to veto a charter school moratorium yesterday as his staff scrambled to sell a compromise plan to at least allow five already approved charter schools to open as planned.
...

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

2004-06-25T05:21:00.000-04:00

June 24 2004 The Salt Lake Tribune
Matheson courts GOP voters

By Dan Harrie
...He warns that diverting state income tax revenue to pay for private-school students will "take away from public education." And he says the majority of Utah residents share his view.

If true, you would never know it from the debate during the Republican convention and primary. Except for outgoing Gov. Olene Walker, every one of the eight GOP candidates in the early going of the race endorsed tuition-tax credits for private school students as part of the conservative "education choice" movement.
...

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

2004-06-23T10:19:00.000-04:00

June 22 2004 The Christian Science Monitor
In a sea of school choice, a city's schools fight back
But can Minneapolis improve enough to keep more students from jumping ship?

By Amanda Paulson
...
Twelve years after America's first charter school opened in Minnesota, parents in Minneapolis face a daunting smorgasbord of options.
...
While many urban districts struggle to retain white, middle-class families, Minneapolis is also losing low-income, minority ones, primarily to charter schools. It's led to an enrollment crisis for the district, which loses state money with each departing student, and now has 800 surplus classrooms. But many observers point out that this is exactly how choice is supposed to work: better options for individual students, and a competitive educational landscape that may, in the end, force all the schools to improve.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Christian Science Monitor.

2004-06-23T09:57:00.000-04:00

July 1 2004 School Reform News
Lessons for U.S. as School Choice Spreads Worldwide

Written By: Robert Holland
...
Recently, school reformers convened at the Cato Institute in Washington, DC to look at other countries' experiences with school choice and to discuss what Americans might learn from them.
...

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

2004-06-23T09:54:00.000-04:00

July 1 2004 School Reform News
Study: School Choice Would Revitalize Ohio Cities

Written By: Krista Kafer

Establishing school choice in "education empowerment zones" would revitalize Ohio's six largest cities--Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo--according to a new study by The Buckeye Institute, a public policy think tank in Columbus, Ohio.
...

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

2004-06-23T09:51:00.000-04:00

July 1 2004 School Reform News
Fighting for School Choice in the Courts

Written By: George A. Clowes

Having traveled across the country for more than a decade to defend state-based and city-based school choice programs, the Institute for Justice (IJ) expects soon to be defending choice legislation in its home town of Washington, DC: the recently approved D.C. School Choice Incentive Act.
...

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

2004-06-23T09:47:00.000-04:00

July 1 2004 School Reform News
IJ's Bolick Takes Helm at School Choice Alliance

Written By: George A. Clowes

Clint Bolick, who as vice president and cofounder of the Institute for Justice (IJ) was instrumental in establishing the public interest law firm as the nation's preeminent defender of school choice programs, assumed a new role in April when he became president and general counsel of the newly formed School Choice Alliance and its companion organization, School Choice Advocates.
...

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

2004-06-21T20:07:00.000-04:00

June 21 2004 The Heritage Foundation
Be Nice to Liberals Day

by Daniel J. Mitchell, Ph.D.

... liberals need our sympathy in these trying times. Consider the trauma they've had to deal with in recent years:
...
Educational choice is slowly spreading across America. Liberals condemn school choice as a sinister plot to de-fund government schools. Allied with the teacher unions, they vigorously resist programs to give poor parents the ability to choose better schools for their children.
...

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

2004-06-21T02:44:00.000-04:00

June 20 2004 The [Springfield, MA] Republican
Charter schools outrank many, vie for acceptance

By NATALIA E. ARBULÚ

SPRINGFIELD - Two local charter schools outperformed a vast majority of district schools on the 2003 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test, a finding that would seemingly justify Gov. W. Mitt Romney's plans to remove caps limiting their development and provide parents with more choice.
...

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

2004-06-21T02:34:00.000-04:00

June 20 2004 [Salt Lake City, UT] Deseret News
Duo back tuition credit
But observers say the candidates' support is unequal

By Jennifer Toomer-Cook

Both Republicans facing off in Tuesday's gubernatorial primary indicate support for a tuition tax credit bill that surfaced last Legislature.
...

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

2004-06-20T05:24:00.000-04:00

June 17 2004 Wiscasset [ME] Newspaper
Alna Voters To Make School Choice June 23

Ryan Thompson

In addition to deciding on the $1.1 million school budget, Alna voters will choose which school system to send their students to at a June 23 special town meeting.

The town has no school and has renewed a contract with Wiscasset for another year to tuition about 100 kindergarten through eighth grade students.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of Wiscasset Newspaper.

2004-06-20T05:21:00.000-04:00

June 18 2004 Cybercast News Service
Arizona School Choice Plan Endangered in Supreme Court

By John Turner Glliland

The U.S. Supreme Court this week dealt a jarring blow to one of the country's most successful school choice programs. The justices ruled 5-4 that the American Civil Liberties Union could sue the state of Arizona over the way it funds private schools, both secular and parochial.
...

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

2004-06-19T02:46:00.000-04:00

June 17 2004 The [Newark, NJ] Star-Ledger
Baptists reject plan for home schooling
Members support marriage amendment

BY ADELLE M. BANKS

INDIANAPOLIS -- Southern Baptists yesterday turned down a plan to remove their children from public schools in favor of home education.
...

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

2004-06-19T02:37:00.000-04:00

June 18 2004 Cato Institute
D.C. School Choice: Just Getting Started

by Neal McCluskey
...
Naturally, it will always be aggravating to hear opponents of educational freedom categorize as a failure anything less than perfection in school choice programs. But experience has shown that no matter how embattled or handicapped choice may be, it quickly becomes irresistible to parents -- exactly what the opponents of D.C. school choice are trying to avoid.

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

2004-06-19T02:33:00.000-04:00

June 18 2004 The [Columbia, SC] State
Pro-school choice group backs Brady
All Children Matter sends out mailings supporting Brady over Brill in House District 78 runoff

By SHELLEY HILL

A Michigan political advocacy group that supports school choice has jumped into a hotly contested House race in Northeast Richland.

The group, All Children Matter, is running radio ads and has sent out a mailing supporting Joan Brady in the race for House District 78.
...

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

2004-06-19T02:29:00.000-04:00

June 18 2004 Cherry Hill [NJ] Courier-Post
Clergy, politicians rally for school choice
It's best option for troubled urban schools, leaders insist

By LUIS PUGA

Religious and city leaders rallied Thursday on the steps of City Hall in support of school choice, saying it is the best option for the city's troubled schools.

The Rev. Reginald Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers' Council of New Jersey, told a crowd of 50 that this month's graduation ceremonies in poorer districts are fraudulent.

"The fraud is that those handing out the diplomas know that the children are going out to a world they are not prepared for," he said.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post.

2004-06-19T02:25:00.000-04:00

June 18 2004 Palm Beach [FL] Post
State gives no letter grade to nearly half of charter schools

By Kimberly Miller

Nearly 50 percent of Florida's charter schools received no school grade this week, and the state has only a vague idea why.

Of 255 charter schools, 135 were rated on the A through F scale state education officials use to determine school performance.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Palm Beach Post.

2004-06-19T02:23:00.000-04:00

June 18 2004 The Fort Wayne [IN] Journal-Gazette
Overseeing charter schools

Ball State University’s decision to revoke the charter of Urban Brightest Community Academy after just one school year raises serious concerns about oversight and accountability of charter schools.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette.

2004-06-19T02:18:00.000-04:00

June 18 2004 The Salt Lake Tribune
Governor hopefuls' views in sync

...They agreed that Utah should experiment on a small scale with tuition tax credits for private school students, ...

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

2004-06-16T12:15:00.000-04:00

June 2004 The [Nashville] Tennesean
Public school for Christian kids?

Are Christian children better off in private religious schools or in home-schooling than they are in the public school system?
...

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

2004-06-16T12:12:00.000-04:00

June 13 2004 Daytona Beach [FL] News-Journal
Florida sees jump in home-schooled children

By LINDA TRIMBLE

DELAND -- Esther Brunnig practiced for this year's Volusia County Spelling Bee, where she took second place, while rolling around her living room atop an exercise ball.
...
Fourteen-year-old Esther has never attended a traditional school. ...

For the full story, go to the web site of the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

2004-06-16T12:00:00.000-04:00

June 13 2004 The [Durham, NC] Herald Sun
Charter schools: Pros, cons

BY MICHAEL PETROCELLI

DURHAM -- Mike Wood had seen enough of Durham's public schools to know he didn't want his 5-year-old daughter Elizabeth in one.
...

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

2004-06-16T11:58:00.000-04:00

June 14 2004 The [San Jose, CA] Mercury News
Now-free charter schools don't need new shackles
LEGISLATORS SHOULD RESIST THE URGE TO TINKER

Mercury News Editorial

Having won their freedom from the state's stifling education code, charter schools must now be vigilant about legislators who want to put shackles back on. It's like battling termites that slowly and steadily eat away a strong foundation.
...

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

2004-06-16T11:55:00.000-04:00

June 16 2004 WKRN [Nashville, TN]
Charter schools brace for effects of No Child Left Behind law

Charter schools, designed to give students specialized attention in smaller classes, may be forced to accept more students under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Charter schools are given more leeway in how they educate students, allowing them to be more independent and individualized but still subject to public school rules and regulations because they receive local, state and federal tax dollars. Federal law supersedes any of their plans.
...

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

2004-06-16T05:39:00.000-04:00

June 15 2004 North Adams [MA] Transcript
Lawmakers leave gay marriage law on books; freeze charter schools

By Julie Mehegan,
...
The final budget also calls for a one-year moratorium on the opening of new charter schools, a controversial provision that may not stand if the two-thirds majority required to overturn a promised veto by the governor does not support it.
...

For the full story, go to the web site of the North Adams Transcipt.

2004-06-16T05:36:00.000-04:00

June 15 2004 The [Lakeland, FL] Ledger
Charter Schools Deal With Myriad Details

By Bill Bair

LAKE WALES -- The board of trustees of Lake Wales Charter Schools continues to work on the nuts and bolts of setting up what amounts to a $24 million business.
...
Nicole Barranco, who is on the committee setting up science labs for the schools, said a list of needed supplies is being developed so the labs can be in operation when schools resume. The budget for the science labs is $100,000.

The actual charters, or contracts under which the schools will operate, are scheduled to be considered by the Polk County School Board on June 22.
...

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

2004-06-16T05:33:00.000-04:00

June 15 2004 Newsday
New charter schools

Plans to open eight new charter schools next year reaffirm Chancellor Joel Klein's heartening commitment to education alternatives. At that rate, however, he'll miss the goal of opening 50 more of the publicly financed schools in the next five years.
...

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

2004-06-16T05:26:00.000-04:00

June 15 2004 Indianapolis Star
Baptists to take up public education
Proposed resolution for convention calls on members to seek Christian schooling.

By Abe Aamidor
...
One proposed resolution, which hasn't been approved by the resolutions committee, calls on all Southern Baptists to abandon "government schools" in favor of Christian education or home schooling.

A competing resolution, also not recommended, states that public schools are "mission fields" to spread Christianity and that children may continue attending them.
...

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

2004-06-13T05:08:00.000-04:00

September 17, 2001 Cato Institute Policy Analysis
The Arizona Scholarship Tax Credit
Giving Parents Choices, Saving Taxpayers Money

by Carrie Lips and Jennifer Jacoby

Executive Summary

In 1997 policymakers in Arizona created a $500 tax credit for contributions to organizations that give students scholarships to attend private elementary and secondary schools. At that time there was, and there still is, much debate and uncertainty about the program's likely effect on students, taxpayers, and the education system. This analysis informs that debate by considering Arizona's experience with the tax credit and assessing its likely impact in the future.
...

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

2004-06-11T17:02:00.000-04:00

June 11 2004 The [Columbia, SC] State
Education pledge about politics, not better schools

By ASHLEY LANDESS
... they do not want legislators to read reports showing school choice improves public education, or that tuition tax credits do not cost districts money.
...

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

2004-06-11T03:04:00.000-04:00

June 9 2004 [Chicago] Daily Herald
Reagan's Geneva visit a lasting memory

By Kimbriell Kelly
...
President Ronald Reagan was in Chicago at the National Catholic Education Association's annual convention in April 1982 pushing tuition tax credits for parochial schools.
...

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

2004-06-11T03:01:00.000-04:00

June 8 2004 National Public Radio
'Rudy' Crew Takes on the Miami-Dade School District

Rudolph "Rudy" Crew is the incoming Miami-Dade County schools superintendent. He is former chancellor of New York City's schools, ...

For the full story, go to the web site of National Public Radio.

2004-06-11T02:54:00.000-04:00

June 9 2004 Washington University in St. Louis
Opposition to charter school movement ‘misguided,’ says expert in U.S. legal, social history

By Jessica Martin

Since their creation in the early 1990s, charter schools have come under fire from many civil rights supporters. "Traditional advocates of civil rights claim that charter schools are but another opportunity for whites to escape from the public school system and gain advantage for their children at taxpayers' expense," says Tomiko Brown-Nagin, J.D., Ph.D., a legal and social history expert at Washington University in St. Louis

"This criticism overlooks the astounding fact, however, that most charter schools have been established in poor, minority neighborhoods and are attended disproportionately by poor, minority students ..."

For the full story, go to the web site of Washington University in St. Louis.

2004-06-11T02:50:00.000-04:00

June 11 2004 Ohio News Network
District to build virtual high school as alternative to charter schools

COLUMBUS, Ohio The city school district will develop an online high school to try to retain hundreds of students it expects to lose to charter schools next year, school officials said.

Columbus Public Schools officials say the district's new school would mirror the services of Internet charter schools, which have attracted more than 1,000 students away from its public schools.
...

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

2004-06-11T02:47:00.000-04:00

June 9 2004 Melrose Park [IL] Herald
Home support boosts pupil

BY JOHN HUSTON

Months before Geoffrey Kammrath was named Walther Lutheran High School's valedictorian, his mother told him to start preparing a speech for graduation.
...
It wasn't just his straight A's or long hair that made Kammrath stand out at the school -- he was one of the few students who was home-schooled up until his ninth-grade year.
...

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

2004-06-11T02:43:00.000-04:00

June 10 2004 Akron Beacon Journal
Suit filed against charter schools
Teachers union claims they violate Constitution

Associated Press

COLUMBUS - Ohio's charter schools violate the U.S. Constitution by unfairly taking state funds from traditional public school students in urban districts with large minority populations, the state's largest teachers union said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
...

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

2004-06-11T02:40:00.000-04:00

June 10 2004 WINS [New York, NY]
City Plans Eight New Charter Schools

(1010 WINS) (New York) -- New York City plans to open eight new charter school this fall as part of its plan to develop 50 new charter schools over the next five years.
...

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