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	<title>Charter School Monthly</title>
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	<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com</link>
	<description>Published by ReSolutions, your BEST source for Arizona charter school news...</description>
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		<title>Charter School News Roundup</title>
		<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/charter-school-news-roundup/</link>
		<comments>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/charter-school-news-roundup/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:14:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jan Krygier</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/?p=8050</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Tomorrow’s scientists will gather at Arizona Compass Prep School in Chandler for the Annual Maricopa County Regional Science Fair March 7-9. Skyline Schools will host the science fair, open to students in grades K-12. For more information, go to www.skylineschools.com or call science fair coordinator (and Skyline Tech High School principal) Jeff Thornburg at (480) 763-8425. Thirty-three states (including Arizona) and the District of Columbia have submitted intents to nominate schools for the new Green Ribbon Schools awards program launched last September. Schools nominated by state education agencies are eligible to receive the award. The program asks states to nominate schools in their jurisdiction that come closest to achieving the high bar that Green Ribbon sets: net zero environmental impact of facilities, net positive health impact on students and staff, and 100 percent environmentally literate graduates. States will submit nominees to the U.S. Department of Education by March 22; the winners will be announced in April. To learn more, go to http://www2.ed.gov/programs/green-ribbon-schools/. Happy Birthday, Sonoran Science Academy! The academically achieving charter has grown from one Tucson school focused on math and science education to a network of nine schools in Tucson and Phoenix. On hand to celebrate were over 300 [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Superior Court Upholds Empowerment Savings Accounts</title>
		<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/superior-court-upholds-empowerment-savings-accounts/</link>
		<comments>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/superior-court-upholds-empowerment-savings-accounts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:13:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/?p=8054</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ Courtesy of the Goldwater Institute Education-reform advocates won an opening-round victory January 26th, with a judge upholding the constitutionality of Arizona’s first-in-the-nation education savings accounts. The Maricopa County Superior Court rejected a legal challenge by the Arizona School Boards Association and the Arizona Education Association against the accounts, known formally as empowerment scholarship accounts (ESAs). “Though this is only the opening round of a protracted legal battle, it is gratifying to start with a victory for the kids,” declared Clint Bolick, vice president for litigation at the Goldwater Institute, who argued on behalf of the Institute before Judge Maria Del Mar Verdin. ESAs were proposed by the Goldwater Institute as a way to expand educational opportunities, and were adopted by a bipartisan majority of the Arizona Legislature for disabled schoolchildren in 2010. For eligible children who leave the public schools, the state provides 90 percent of their per-pupil funding in an account that can be used for a wide variety of educational purposes, including private school tuition, tutoring, distance learning, community college classes, and educational software. The Arizona Supreme Court struck down school vouchers in 2009, holding that because they could only be used for private school tuition, they were [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Alternatively Speaking: Arizona’s Alternative School Accountability</title>
		<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/alternatively-speaking-arizona%e2%80%99s-alternative-school-accountability/</link>
		<comments>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/alternatively-speaking-arizona%e2%80%99s-alternative-school-accountability/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:12:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Az Alternative Ed Consortium</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/?p=8056</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Work among state entities on alternative school accountability is reaching “critical mass.” The Research and Evaluation division of the Arizona Department of Education, considering expert advice from its Accountability Advisory Group (AAG), is working on a “parallel achievement profile” calculation (A.R.S. §15-241, J) to recommend to the State Board of Education. The AZ LEARNS subcommittee of the State Board of Education may reconvene. In Goal 2.A of its strategic plan, the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools has as its Strategy 6, “define the level of adequate academic performance for alternative schools.” Each of these entities is eager to hear concrete recommendations from the Arizona Alternative Education Consortium. We are working hard to provide them. Arizona Alternative School Accountability Over the past 18 months alternative educators in both district and charter schools, and those dedicated to alternative education, have been discussing what alternative school accountability would look like for Arizona.  At its mid-January meeting, the Arizona Alternative Education Consortium approved a framework for alternative school accountability. The framework, http://azaec.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/AZAECAltSchlAccountFramework.pdf, gives concrete recommendations as a starting point for discussions with state-level policy and decision makers. The framework centers on student achievement, student growth, and postsecondary and workforce readiness. In addition, the [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Praising Arizona: Now We Know</title>
		<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/praising-arizona-now-we-know/</link>
		<comments>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/praising-arizona-now-we-know/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:11:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Robert Maranto</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Features]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/?p=8062</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When April [Maranto, research partner and spouse] and I first studied Arizona charter schools back in 1997, they had 222 campuses, a 3.3% market share, and suffered criticism from folks who had never set foot inside a charter. 15 years later they have 520 campuses, a 12% market share, and still face critics who prefer prejudice to analysis.   Yet one thing has changed: Now we know. We know that charter school teachers feel more empowered than district school teachers. We know charter parents like their schools. We know that most charters resemble nearby district schools demographically, save for a few charters which began as private schools. We know that charters serve disproportionate numbers of kids who floundered at traditional public schools. We know that charters spend less, and do no worse on student academic growth. We know that older charters do better. We know that charter competition has pushed some district schools to treat parents and teachers with respect, lest they join or even start the competition. We know that charter schools like Mesa Arts Academy, Sonoran Science Academy, and the upstart Phoenix Collegiate prove that disadvantaged kids can learn. We know that charters like Tempe Prep and Basis prove [...]]]></description>
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		<title>District Schools, Charter Schools, and Culture Change</title>
		<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/district-schools-charter-schools-and-culture-change/</link>
		<comments>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/district-schools-charter-schools-and-culture-change/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:10:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jennifer W. Ash</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Features]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/?p=8065</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[“As a leader, the most important thing you need to do to effect meaningful change is _________. It’s not going to be easy to ________. But, if you work hard and never give up, you can achieve your goal of __________. Once you do that, you’ll have paved the way to becoming a successful leader.” – The Education Leadership Gurus No matter what phrase fills in the blank, this statement should send up a big red flag. So vague that it is meaningless, this advice contains no concrete steps one can take to accomplish the goal. Fill in “establish a positive school culture” and you’ll have exactly the meaningless gospel education gurus Roland Barth, Michael Fullan, Terrence Deal, and Kent Peterson preach to their readers. These gurus seem not to understand the real-world obstacles to culture change in traditional district schools, particularly those that are failing. That said, it is important to acknowledge that their advice can be helpful to charter school leaders, who have much more authority to change school culture. School culture, according to Barth, is “the complex pattern of norms, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, values, ceremonies, traditions, and myths that are deeply ingrained in the very core of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/district-schools-charter-schools-and-culture-change/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>Second Page: Educational Reform</title>
		<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/second-page-educational-reform/</link>
		<comments>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/second-page-educational-reform/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:09:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Greg Miller</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/?p=8068</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My fellow charter operators, lend me your ear!! The excerpts that appear below are from a column I wrote more than two years ago [Charter School Monthly, June/July 2009]. Fortunately, the bill I discussed in that column – HB2357 – never passed the Senate. (Maybe some of the senators concurred with my opinion!) But the issue raised through HB2357 has raised its inappropriate head again. This time, it’s HB2563, and it is asking for a high school class on the Bible. Maybe it is worth remembering, Representative Terri Proud, that this is public school, not Bible Study at your local Christian house of worship. What is the lesson we just learned about ethnic studies conflict in the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD)? Legislation like HB2563 only reinforces that these types of conflicts are just below the surface and can explode at any time. I would like to remind everyone of the salient issues related to the difference between faith and religion as I did in my earlier column. From my 2009 column: “To say I was stymied by the legislators’ action [in passing HB2357 and sending it up to the Senate for further consideration] is a huge understatement. What are [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Superintendent Views</title>
		<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/superintendent-views-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/superintendent-views-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:08:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Huppenthal</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/?p=8071</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The week of January 22 -28 marked the second annual National School Choice Week. All across the nation, school choice advocates and organizations, grassroots networks, parents, and students held hundreds of events to increase awareness of the importance of providing effective educational options for every child. Arizona, considered by many to be one of the leading states in the nation in the school choice arena, held a full week of activities celebrating the diverse number of educational options that are available to parents for their students. Bookending the week’s festivities were two outstanding events held at the Edu-Prize charter schools that brought together thousands of students and parents to tell their great stories about how being at the right school has made a difference in their education. As many of you who have worked with me over the past 15-plus years know, I believe that educational decisions should be made at the most local level whenever possible. To me that means parents should be able to make the decision on which school will best meet the unique educational needs of their child. Charter schools have been a vital part of providing parents with those choices. I saw early on the [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Teachers Are Role Models</title>
		<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/teachers-are-role-models/</link>
		<comments>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/teachers-are-role-models/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:07:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>John Waddey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/?p=8074</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It used to go without saying that teachers are role models. Historically, school boards expected anyone who applied for a teaching position to accept that being a role model is a vital part of the profession. However, somewhere along the road (perhaps during the 1960s), many teaching professionals decided that being a role model was not important. Some would even bristle at the idea. Granted, some fields of employment do not require one to be a role model for others. But such is not the case for teachers. Teachers are entrusted with the lives of other people&#8217;s children. Their job includes preparing them for success in life. Whether one wants to accept the fact or not, the man or woman who spends time each day with impressionable youngsters is going to make an impression on them. It is inevitable! The question is what kind of impression will it be? While in school, kids are learning more than the prescribed curriculum. As with any other adult with whom they have regular and close association, youngsters observe their teachers, and consciously or unconsciously they learn and adopt some of the things they see. Because school is the place where young people are [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Respect and Glorify Creativity</title>
		<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/respect-and-glorify-creativity/</link>
		<comments>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/respect-and-glorify-creativity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:06:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Paul Clement Czaja</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/?p=8077</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Through the early years of my schooling I was never asked or given the opportunity to discover the human gift of creativity. My daily lessons were all directed by the teacher’s command to “copy” this or “copy” that as accurately as I could possibly do, and then my childhood efforts were severely corrected by the teacher’s red pencil markings and rigorously graded with a percentage given in bold writing on the top margin of the page: usually a 63% or, rarely, an 86% if I had copied more accurately. Even the art teacher who would come into our classroom once a week for a 45-minute art class would have us all copy a clever chalk drawing she would do before our eyes on the big chalkboard. I recall on the week before Thanksgiving she drew a huge stylized but colorful turkey in the right corner board and instructed us to copy it on our papers with provided crayons. I delighted in the drawing I created, for you could certainly tell it was a turkey and not just a big bird. The teacher, however, desecrated it by writing a big red minus 10 points on my paper because my turkey had [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Association Update</title>
		<link>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/association-update-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/2012/02/01/association-update-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:05:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Eileen Sigmund</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.charterschoolmonthly.com/?p=8081</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Arizona&#8217;s public schools are now easy to compare. The Education Evaluator is a map that provides an easy, transparent way to view and compare enrollment information, student achievement, and student funding data for all of Arizona&#8217;s public schools – charter and district.   This map is the first of its kind in Arizona. We compiled information from many reports and put it into one easy-to-understand format. The map allows parents to compare schools in their neighborhood to find the best education option for their child. It allows legislators to easily locate the public schools within their district. And it is a way for school leaders to evaluate how their students perform in comparison to other schools.   Users can search by school name, zip code, city, or address. It has a filter results feature, which allows users to narrow searches by school information, test results, and accountability data and distinguishes between district and charter schools. Our new Education Evaluator map was recognized by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry as the Best Online Tool of 2011. Chamber President Glenn Hamer said this about the map: &#8220;Kudos to the Association and its president, Eileen Sigmund, for their work to make [...]]]></description>
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