The Gray administration has commissioned an Illinois firm with close ties to the charter school movement to study how D.C. neighborhoods are served by the public education system and help officials decide which schools should be closed and where new ones might be opened. The study by the Illinois Facilities Fund is the strongest signal yet that Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) is prepared to treat charter schools — which are publicly funded but independently operated — as full partners in a reform effort that was heavily focused on traditional schools during the tenure of his predecessor, Adrian M. Fenty (D). About 40 percent of the 75,000 D.C. public school students attend charter schools. Read full article > >

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D.C. commissions a schools analysis

China sentenced Liu Xiaobo in 2009 to 11 years in prison for inciting subversion of state power. He is the co-author of Charter 08, a call for political reform and human rights.

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Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo wins 2010 Nobel Peace Prize

China’s most widely renowned dissident won the Nobel peace prize Friday from a cell where he’s serving 11 years in prison. Liu Xiaobo is currently in the midst of his sentence for co-authoring Charter 08, a call for democratic reforms in China. He was…

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Chinese Prisoner Wins Nobel Peace Prize