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Getting Mad About Schools - I have spent a lot of time in the
worst schools. What strikes me is how little anger is ever expressed
about the mediocre lessons, low standards and decrepit conditions that
characterize such places. When I ask good teachers why more is not
being done, it can't be helped, they say. Getting mad won't do any
good. But when Mike Feinberg became angry and did something
outrageous, it did make a difference and after several other such
episodes him -- he and his young and energetic staff had produced the
greatest gains for low-income students anywhere in Houston, or the
country for that matter.
Michigan
Alliance for Charter School Reform (MACSR) - MACSR is an
alliance of individuals and organizations working to improve public
oversight of Michigan charter schools (public school academies),
charter school management companies, and authorizing institutions.
Assessing the KIPP Schools: A New Perspective - Richard
Rothstein has just published with three co-authors a short piece on
the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), the nation's most interesting
and most successful response so far to the problem of low achievement
in inner city and rural public schools. What is most important about
Rothstein's article is that it leaves intact, and I think in some ways
strengthens, KIPP's reputation for significantly raising the reading
and math abilities of low-income children. It also makes a good case
-- without actually trying to do so -- for introducing into all
low-performing schools KIPP's longer school days and year, stronger
motivational techniques and better principal and teacher recruitment
methods.
New Guide!
Successful Charter Schools
USDOE, October 15, 2004
Twelve years after the first charter school was launched, nearly
3,000 charter schools nationwide serve as beacons of public school
innovation and reform due to an unprecedented combination of freedom
and accountability: freedom to lengthen the school day, require dress
codes, put teachers on school boards, and adopt any instructional
practice that will help achieve the mission of building the skills
students need to succeed in today's world. How these schools have
boosted student achievement is the focus of a new guide from the U.S.
Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement.
Successful Charter Schools offers practical advice and concrete
examples from eight charter schools, all of which are meeting state
standards of accountability for all students under the No Child Left
Behind Act. The charter schools range from those educating urban
students in largely underserved public schools to those serving
parents in more affluent communities who want an alternative to the
local public school program. The first of two sections provides an
overview of common elements, including organizational structure,
leadership and mission, novel curricula and programs, efforts to
promote a community of continuous learning, partnerships and
accountability for results. It also includes such illustrative samples
as one school's list of parent involvement activities for which
parents commit to serve 20 hours annually. The second section provides
rich descriptions about each of the schools featured, which include
The Arts and Technology Academy Public Charter School, Washington,
D.C.; BASIS School, Inc., Tuscon, Ariz.; Community of Peace Academy,
St. Paul, Minn.; KIPP Academy Houston, Houston, Texas; Oglethorpe
Charter School, Savannah, Ga.; Ralph A. Gates Elementary School, Lake
Forest, Calif.; Roxbury Preparatory Charter School, Boston, Mass.; and
The School of Arts and Sciences, Tallahassee, Fla. For a free copy of
Successful Charter Schools, while supplies last, contact the
Department's publications center at 1-877-4ED-PUBS with identification
number EU 0109P.
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MI
Charter Schools: 10
Years of Success and Failure - A
decade after the first charter schools opened in Michigan, the
alternative public schools still inspire the same kind of debate they
did in 1994. Charter schools celebrated their 10-year anniversary this
week, but even after a decade of operation, there's no consensus on
their effectiveness. "We are basically right where we started," said
Michigan State University Professor David Plank, co-director of the
Education Policy Center.
Pioneering Charter School Remains Model for Success
- Ten years ago, a group of San Carlos parents and community
members took advantage of a new opportunity in public education: They
ripped apart California's 7,800-page education rule book and designed
a school as they saw fit.
MI
Report Evaluates University-sponsored Schools;
Many CMU Charters Miss Progress Goals -
Central Michigan University, which sponsors about a third of Michigan's
charter schools, has the state's third-worst record at making "adequate
yearly progress" in its elementary charter programs.
MI
No Child Puts Strain on Charters -
A Michigan Department of Education analysis shows charter schools
are more likely to face sanctions for failing to meet federal
standards than traditional schools and are less likely to have
certified teachers.
MI
State Is Foolish to
Turn Down $500 Million Gifts to Education - Inflexible policy
blocks new Detroit schools and a college in Washtenaw County.
MI
Fight for charter schools
continues in Michigan - Few issues in
education are as controversial as charter schools.
Court Case
Involving Unilateral Placement:
Florence County Sch. Dist. IV v. Shannon Carter (510 U. S. 7)
- Shannon’s parents filed this suit in
July 1986, claiming that the school district had breached its duty
under IDEA to provide Shannon with a “free appropriate public
education,” § 1401(a)(18), and seeking reimbursement for tuition and
other costs incurred at Trident. After a bench trial, the District
Court ruled in the parents’ favor. The court held that the school
district’s proposed educational program and the achievement goals of
the IEP “were wholly inadequate” and failed to satisfy the
requirements of the Act. App. to Pet. for Cert 27a. The court further
held that “[a]lthough [Trident Academy] did not comply with all the
procedures outlined in [IDEA],” the school “provided Shannon an
excellent education in substantial compliance with all the substantive
requirements” of the statute. Id. at 37a.
MI
Gongwer 12-14-02
Charter Bill Felled by
Impatient Senate, Plodding House
MI
Charter school study finds support is
solid - MSU report may play role in effort to
lift current cap.
Gongwer
11-27-02 Federal
Regulations Could Push Up Charter Schools
Read the article from
MIRS 7/31/02 - Cyber'
Schools — Only A Matter Of Time?
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