WAMU 88.5 : Metro Connection

After Charter Schools Close, Parents Race To Find New Placements

Play associated audio
School officials throughout the region are considering applying for a waiver of some No Child Left Behind rules after the Department of Education said it would allow such waivers earlier this week.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortinbras/2931835903
School officials throughout the region are considering applying for a waiver of some No Child Left Behind rules after the Department of Education said it would allow such waivers earlier this week.

The D.C. charter school system recently closed several schools, and more than 700 students and their parents have been scrambling to find new placements. Charter school advocates defend the decision to close ineffective schools… they say it's the charters' "tough-love" approach that makes their test scores outshine those of traditional public schools. But parents say in the short term, these decisions often leave them and their children hanging. Education reporter Kavitha Cardoza has the story.

[Music: "Have a Little Faith in Me (Karaoke Version)(In the Style of Joe Cocker)" by The Karaoke Channel from Karaoke - In the Style of Joe Cocker, Vol. 1"

Map of school closures


View D.C. Charter School Closures 2011 in a larger map
NPR

Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process

After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.
NPR

How Genomics Solved The Mystery Of Ireland's Great Famine

Although scientists have known that a funguslike organism caused the potato blight that triggered the Great Famine in Ireland in the 1840s, they didn't know which strain was the culprit. But they do now, thanks to the genes in some 19th century potato samples.
NPR

With White House Bogged Down By Scandal, GOP Looks For Boost

As criticism of the Obama administration over a string of scandals grows, conservatives see an opportunity to gain momentum for 2014 races. Host Neal Conan and Political Junkie Ken Rudin talk with political science professor Jack Pitney about the GOP and the re-emergence of the Tea Party. Plus: the week in politics from Anthony Weiner's New York mayoral candidacy to the Senate immigration bill.
NPR

Apple CEO Defends Tax Practices At Senate Hearing

Apple CEO Tim Cook faced tough questions on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. He defended a tax strategy that allows Apple to avoid taxes on tens of billions of dollars of profits. Cook also called on the Congress to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.