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	<title>Passing Notes</title>
	<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org</link>
	<description>Rhode Island Education Reform</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:17:56 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>RI Mayors Share Vision for Great RI Schools</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The ProJo recently ran an op-ed signed by mayors representing about half the population of Rhode Island in support of Mayoral Academies.  

Mayors and town managers have a plan to open new, high-performing regional public schools in Rhode Island. As has been widely reported, these public schools, known as mayoral academies, would be a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org/2008/12/ri-mayors-share-vision-for-great-ri-schools/</link>
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		<title>Duncan Pick Signals New Direction for Democrats</title>
		<description><![CDATA[When President-Elect Obama named Arne Duncan his pick for US Secretary of Education this week, it signaled a new direction for Democrats on education reform, and that Obama is serious about challenging the status quo.  During his time in Chicago&#8217;s public school system, Duncan has been a strong advocate for meaningful reform.
Duncan is midway [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org/2008/12/duncan-pick-signals-new-direction-for-democrats/</link>
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		<title>Teach for America No Longer Banned from RI</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After a lengthy debate, Rhode Island&#8217;s regulations on alternative certification of teachers became competitive with other states as the Board of Regents voted to approve new regulations that for the first time allow programs like Teach for America and The New Teachers Project to apply for approval to operate in Rhode Island.  These programs [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org/2008/11/teach-for-america-no-longer-banned-from-ri/</link>
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		<title>Mayor McKee Wins Big in Vote on Education Reform</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In case you missed it, Barack Obama recently gave a major speech on Education in Ohio, where he called for:

Doubling federal funding for charter schools and touting his record of doubling charter schools in Illinois;
Rewarding excellent teachers with &#8220;merit pay&#8221; or &#8220;pay for performance&#8221;;
Replacing ineffective teachers, even if they are tenured

Doesn&#8217;t this sound a bit [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org/2008/09/mayor-mckee-wins-big-in-vote-on-education-reform/</link>
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		<title>Mayor Cicilline Stands with Education Reformers</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Yesterday in Denver, Democrats for Education Reform and the Education Equality Project held an event at the Democratic National Convention titled &#8220;Ed Challenge for Change,&#8221; marking a watershed turning point for the Democratic party on issues of accountability, choice and a true commitment to addressing our nation&#8217;s greatest civil rights injustice: the achievement gap between [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org/2008/08/mayor-cicilline-attends-ed-challenge-for-change/</link>
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		<title>Lessons from New Orleans</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a phoenix has risen from the ashes.  Long plagued by incompetence, corruption, racial segregation and dysfunction, the New Orleans school district was essentially scrapped in the wake of the hurricane.  In its place, education reformers have taken a &#8220;clean slate&#8221; attitude to the challenge, focusing on the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org/2008/08/lessons-from-new-orleans/</link>
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		<title>KIPP Academy in Lynn, MA Outperforms Marblehead</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Globe has a story today about the KIPP middle school closest to Rhode Island.  In Rhode Island, not a single district-operated open-enrollment urban middle school has even 50% of its students proficient in math or reading.  Yet in Lynn, Massachusetts, KIPP Academy, now in its fourth year as one of over 65 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org/2008/08/kipp-academy-in-lynn-ma-outperforms-marblehead/</link>
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		<title>Newsclips: Kudos for Legislature; Big Apple; Global Competitiveness; Rhee; Obama; Wendy Kopp</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A quick post with several recent articles about education in Rhode Island and across the country:

Voting for Students: The Providence Journal praises the General Assembly&#8217;s moves to end the ban on new charter schools and allow &#8216;Mayoral Academies,&#8217; noting &#8220;&#8230; it is enormously encouraging that Rhode Island’s political leaders displayed real backbone this year in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org/2008/07/newsclips-kudos-for-legislature-big-apple-global-competitiveness-rhee-obama-wendy-kopp/</link>
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		<title>NEARI&#8217;s Purtill Resorts to Personal Attacks</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In the wake of the recent victory for education reformers in Rhode Island, I appeared on 10 News Conference with NEARI Executive Director Bob Walsh to debate the issue on the merits.  
While Mr. Walsh debated in public, however, NEARI launched personal attacks behind the scenes.  NEARI publishes an official newsletter called &#8220;Newsline,&#8221; [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org/2008/07/nearis-purtill-resorts-to-personal-attacks/</link>
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		<title>10 News Conference on Charter Schools, and Length of School Day</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I was appeared recently on 10 News Conference, our local version of &#8220;Meet the Press,&#8221; with NBC 10 reporters Kelley McGee and Bill Rappleye to discuss public charter schools and the recent expansion of the charter school law in Rhode Island.  Joining me was Bob Walsh, Executive Director of the NEARI union, a vocal [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.bestforkids.org/2008/07/10-news-conference-on-charter-schools-and-length-of-school-day/</link>
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