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IN THIS EDITION |
What to Watch
Indiana school choice program doubles. | Number of the Week
A Gallup poll examines the performance of our private schools. | Inspiring School Choice
Virginia Walden Ford reflects on Secretary Rice's comments on education last week and her own trailblazing journey. | Don't Miss
A school district turnaround in Michigan. | |
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Education Waiver Would Spell Entanglement for Alabama
By Lindsey Burke
 |  | Alabama is considering requesting a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education to relieve the state of some of the burdensome requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). But the waivers represent a troubling pact with Washington: To get relief from federal mandates, Alabama must agree to more federal intervention. It’s a bad deal.
Alabama is seeking a waiver in large part to avoid having to comply with the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement in NCLB (a federal mandate requiring 100 percent student proficiency in math and reading/language arts). Under NCLB, schools that fail to make AYP are subject to “cascading sanctions” ranging from implementing a school improvement plan to a complete school restructuring.
Those sanctions are tough indeed, and illustrate the extent to which Washington intervention in local school policy has grown.
In order to be granted a waiver, however, Alabama must agree to the Obama Administration’s preferred education policies—essentially, what the White House believes is best for Alabama students.
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| What To
Watch | | Indiana School Choice Program Doubles
Up from 3,900 enrollments last year, 8,000 students have applied for vouchers for the 2012-2013 school year. | |
| Condoleezza Rice’s Inspirational Remarks on School Choice
By Virginia Walden Ford
Listening to Condoleezza Rice’s speech at the Republican convention the other night, I have never felt so proud.
Not because, like me, she is African American—and not because, like me, she is conservative—but because she makes everything so clear. We both grew up in the South and experienced so many things in common that impacted who we are. My family told me, just like Condi’s family told her, that with a quality education I could do and be anything I wanted to be.
It was with that advice ringing in my ears that I entered Little Rock Central High School in 1966 with a small group of black students during a difficult time in our country’s civil rights history.
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Number of the Week
78 Percent of Americans say that children attending private schools receive an excellent or good education. Private schools received the highest marks compared to all other types of education. Only 37 percent of participants said public schools provide an excellent or good education.
See "In U.S., Private Schools Get Top Marks for Educating Children"
| | | Quote of the Week |  | “We need to have options for parents wherever possible, wherever needed. We need to be pushing the envelope on innovation and creative problem-solving in places around the state."
-Kenneth Campbell, President of the Black Alliance for Education Options | | |
Don’t Miss
A School District Turnaround in Michigan
In an emergency move, the Highland Park School District near Detroit, Michigan was turned over to a private charter company to undergo major reforms. Read the full story on The Foundry >> |  | |
 | About The Heritage Foundation
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute -- a think tank -- whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. | |
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