The October 2009 issue of School Reform News reports on efforts by Robert Bobb, emergency financial manager of the Detroit Public Schools, to shake up the system. This summer he required teachers and other district employees to reapply for their jobs.
Also in this issue:
* To qualify for federal Race to the Top funding, Louisiana legislators this summer threw open the doors to charter school expansion statewide.
* Schools in choice environments, such as the one in Denver, are facing a new problem this year—the need to hire marketing experts to help them sell their schools to parents.
* The Academy of Urban School Leadership is turning around some of Chicago’s worst-performing public schools and receiving accolades from parents—and jeers from teacher unions.
* With the passage of a new law this summer, Indiana has created another avenue for school choice.
* School choice has become a key issue in the New Jersey governor’s race, with challengers to Gov. Jon Corzine supporting vouchers and charter school increases.
