9486 in the collection
Charter Schooling News from PPI
Ohanian Comment: PPI are new age Democrats. Here is how they describe themselves:
a catalyst for political change. Its mission is to modernize progressive politics and government for the Information Age. Leaving behind the stale left-right debates of the industrial era, PPI is a prolific source of "Third Way" thinking that is shaping the emerging politics of the 21st century.
They are smart and they are tied in closely with the corporate domination of schools. You can see some research I did on them at:
http://susanohanian.org/show_research.html?id=16
They replied by labelling my Phi Delta Kappan article "Capitalism, Calculus, and Conscience" paranoid. And worse.
I mention all this just to say you need to know who's reporting the news. PPI folk are savvy and they love charters.
New York: The state's first three charter schools are up for five-year renewal this month. Evaluators from New York's Charter Schools Institute (SUNY) recommend that two of the three schools be granted only partial renewal because of inconsistent academic progress and that the third be closed because of financial mismanagement and poor academic results. The SUNY Board of Regents will make the final call, but is expected to follow the Institute's recommendations. Charter school opponents argue this outcome supports their case for a statewide moratorium on charters. In contrast, many charter advocates see an example of the chartering process at work and praise the Charter Schools Institute for good authorizing and holding schools accountable for results.
Tennessee: Charter school advocates and state officials have been grappling over eligibility clauses in the state's 2002 charter law. State officials contend that Tennessee's charter law is aimed at providing education options specifically for students stuck in "struggling schools" and consider only students from identified low-performing schools eligible to attend charters. Many observers argue that this was never the intent of the law, and note the statute doesn't include clear definitions of "struggling schools." This dispute is clearly a problem for charter schooling in Tennessee: five new charter applications were recently denied because of a lack of "eligible" students, and existing charter schools face enrollment declines and an additional burden documenting student eligibility.
Washington State: After years of effort, charter advocates are hoping the new legislative season will be the year to enact a charter law. A new House Republican proposal would allow 30 charter schools over six years, and would allow local
Parents in the Marlborough School District claim the school is forcing middle-schoolers to sign petitions opposing the creation of the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in the district. Parents say children are told that not signing the form will allow the charter school to "take away money from us." The school contends the petition was strictly voluntary.
Minnesota: Minneapolis Superintendent David Jennings is urging school board members to revamp and improve the district, issuing a memo citing the city's "relentless loss of students and money to the school choice movement." Jennings' proposal calls for fundamentally changing how the district is run, including some ways that resemble Paul Hill's ideas on governance reform. Ideas include creating smaller more manageable districts, granting additional charter-like autonomy to many district schools, and allowing principals to hire teachers directly. These approaches signal that charter schools and public school choice in Minnesota are positively impacting the way local school districts think about improving operations and efficiency. The devil is in the details here, but it's worth keeping an eye out since Minnesota has been a harbinger of public school choice innovations.
Further Reading: (Some links won't work or--as is case with New York Times--will charge a fee to access.)
"Report Faults New York's First 3 Charter Schools,"
David Herszenhorn, New York Times (01/13/04):
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?
res=F3081EFB39540C708DDDA80894DC404482
"Charter School Eligibility Debate Likely to Heat Up,"
Claudette Riley and Diane Long, The Tennessean (01/12/04):
http://www.tennessean.com/education/archives/
04/01/45408105.shtml?Element_ID=45408105
"Charter School Foes Are Running out of Time,"
Matt Rosenburg, The Seattle Times (01/14/04):
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/
opinion/2001835769_matt14.html
"Charter School Bill Stalls in Committee,"
King 5.com (01/23/04):
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_012304EDB
charter_school_proposalfailsJM.43a31301.html
"State Report Calls for Adding More Charter Schools,"
Jean Merl, Los Angeles Times (01/22/04):
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-charter22
jan22,1,718780.story?coll=la-news-learning
"Assessing California's Charter Schools,"
Elizabeth Hill, California State Legislative Analyst's Office (January 2004):
http://www.lao.ca.gov/2004/charter_schools/
012004_charter_schools.pdf
"Catching the Wave: Lessons from California's Charter Schools,"
Nelson Smith, Progressive Policy Institute (June 2003):
http://www.ppionline.org/documents/CA_Charters_0703.pdf
"Teachers' Unions Spend Big Bucks to Infiltrate Charter Schools,"
Robert Bluey, Crosswalk.com:
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1240811.html
"Charter School Cap Could be Lifted,"
Kevin Rothstein, The Boston Herald (01/23/04):
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/
local_regional/chartercap01232004.htm
"Changes Proposed for Minneapolis Schools,"
Steve Brandt, The Star Tribune (01/20/04):
http://idea.startribune.com/stories/1592/4328022.html
"School Boards: Focus on School Performance, Not Money and Patronage,"
Paul T. Hill, Progressive Policy Institute (January 2003):
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=110
&subsecID=134&contentID=251238
"Parent Alleges Child Coerced in Charter School Petition,"
Kristin Bradley, Metro West Daily News (01/14/04):
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/
local_regional/marl_petition01142004.htm
Charter Schooling News
Progressive Policy Institute
2004-01-29
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?cp=2&knlgAreaID=110&subsecid=900001&contentid=252348
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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