Tag Archives: Harmony

House approves charter expansion bill SB2

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A big step forward for those who would like to see more charters. Senate Bill 2 passed on a 105-34 vote on second reading. It now faces a third reading before it can be reconciled with a similar version the … Continue reading →

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TEA drops the hammer on North Forest again

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty much as expected. North Forest ISD announced Monday that the Texas Education Agency had upheld the decision to close the school district and annex it to Houston ISD this summer. The ruling, however, does not end the school district’s … Continue reading →

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Not so fast on the North Forest charter plan

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not everyone is convinced that the plan to allow a consortium of charter schools to take over North Forest ISD is a good idea. In interviews Monday, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson and Sens. Rodney Ellis and John Whitmire, all Democrats, … Continue reading →

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Charters apply to take over North Forest ISD

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. In a potentially groundbreaking move, three of Houston’s top-performing charter schools are making a pitch to run the long-troubled North Forest school district. The charter groups — KIPP, YES Prep and Harmony — are asking Texas Education … Continue reading →

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TREE lawsuit may proceed with the other school finance suits

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We will have one big school finance lawsuit, not multiple separate suits. State District Judge John Dietz ruled on Tuesday that the claims from Texans for Real Efficiency and Equity in Education, a group of charter school supporters and parents, … Continue reading →

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Some things are not easily replicated

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Harmony Public Schools appears to have cracked the code. The charter school system, with 38 campuses across Texas and more than 23,000 students, regularly produces students who excel at math, science and … Continue reading →

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Dis-Harmony

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting story about the Harmony charter schools, which are right up there with KIPP and YES Prep among the top charters. They seem to attract a fair amount of criticism, more than their peers, for how they do their business, … Continue reading →

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Why the budget almost didn’t pass in the special session

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall that just before the House passed SB1, which was a must-pass bill for the special session and whose failure would have necessitated a second special session, the House voted it down before reconsidering and passing it on … Continue reading →

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Harmony Academy

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting story about another large charter school network in Texas. With little fanfare, the Harmony Academy system has become the powerhouse of the Texas charter school scene — easily surpassing KIPP and Yes Prep as the largest charter network in … Continue reading →

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More charter school stuff

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now that you’ve listened to my interview with Chris Barbic, here are a couple more charter school-related articles of interest. First, from the Trib, a story about charter schools getting help for facilities from the Permanent School Fund. Fledgling charter … Continue reading →

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