Takeovers
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School & District Management
Maryland Lawmakers Override Veto; Baltimore Schools Stay in Local Control
The Maryland Senate on April 10 joined the House in voting to keep 11 Baltimore schools under local control, upsetting the first-ever attempt by a state to take over failing schools under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Federal
State Steps in Under NCLB in Baltimore
Maryland became the first state to use its authority under the No Child Left Behind Act to seize control of failing schools when the state board of education voted this week to take over 11 middle and high schools in Baltimore.
School Choice & Charters
New Orleans Charter Network Gets Under Way
As students have returned, they’ve found their old school far from the way they left it before Hurricane Katrina devastated much of the city.
School & District Management
L.A. Mayor Steps Up Bid to Control Schools
By proposing to run the Los Angeles schools, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is facing what experts say could be the most difficult takeover of schools yet to be tried by a mayor. In fact, his bid is raising the political and educational stakes enough to spark concern among many in the sprawling district.
School & District Management
Louisiana Eyes Plan to Let State Control New Orleans Schools
Calling it a “golden opportunity for rebirth," Gov. Blanco asked the legislature to embrace a state control plan for New Orleans public schools.
Law & Courts
New Orleans Board Backs Charters as Governor Calls for Stepped-Up State Role
The New Orleans school board, previously deeply divided over whether to reopen schools as charter schools, has unanimously decided to expand and move ahead with its charter school plan.
School & District Management
Effects of Mayoral School Control in N.Y.C. Under Scrutiny
Scholars and activists gathered at a think tank in Washington last week to evaluate how Michael R. Bloomberg, who is running for re-election this year as New York City’s mayor, has wielded his power over its school system. They sounded cautionary notes about the use of such power.
School & District Management
State-Run Pa. District Battles Host of Woes
Four years after a private management company assumed responsibility for most of the Chester-Upland, Pa., schools, the system is in dire financial and academic straits, and is considering letting the contract expire.
School & District Management
Explainer
Low-Performing Schools
What to do about chronically low-performing schools is an issue influencing school improvement efforts and accountability systems.
School & District Management
Baltimore Bailout in Doubt; State Takeover on the Table
Maryland's plan to bail out the Baltimore city schools was in limbo last week while Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and city officials negotiated a possible state takeover of the district's finances.
School & District Management
Opinion
Takeovers or Toeholds?
Mayors don't have to take over their school systems in order to make a difference, say authors Fritz Edelstein and J.D. LaRock. Smaller initiatives can have just as big effects.
School & District Management
Clevelanders to Weigh in on Mayoral Control of Schools
One of the most significant local contests on the Nov. 5 ballot is in Cleveland, where citizens will decide whether to keep a 4-year-old system of mayoral control of their district or return to an elected school board.
One of the most significant local contests on the Nov. 5 ballot is in Cleveland, where citizens will decide whether to keep a 4-year-old system of mayoral control of their district or return to an elected school board.
School & District Management
Province Takes Over Toronto Schools
A bitter and political school funding showdown in Canada left control of that nation's largest school system—Toronto—and two others in the hands of the Ontario provincial government when classes started last week.
School & District Management
Big-City Mayors' Control of Schools Yields Mixed Results
Studies dribbling out since late last year are beginning to cast the first real analytical eye on what happens when mayors take a hand in key public schooling matters. What the research concludes, for the most part, is that mayoral involvement has produced variable outcomes in cities that have given it a try.