Monthly Archives: October 2008

Denise at Colorado Charters highlights two new, freshly-submitted charter school applications in Jefferson County. Both have interesting and somewhat unique focuses. First, the proposed Arvada K-8 school Global Outreach Academy, which would cater to Slavic immigrant students. Second, the Lotus School for Excellence, which would be a math, science, and technology school eventually serving students from K-12. Both proposed Jeffco charter schools are based on established models. And the fact that both come from California shouldn’t be a deterrent. An operation similar to the Lotus School has been set up in Aurora, and of the two especially seems to have an excellent track record. Here’s hoping the Jeffco school board will give chief consideration to the needs and demands of the parents they are supposed to represent, and not let their judgment be clouded by issues of control and political power. It’s good to see Colorado’s charter school sector continue to grow, and with it the commitment to excellence and meeting the diverse needs of students and families.

In contrast with the unimpressive remarks provided at the vice-presidential debate, I was excited to hear the candidates in last night’s presidential debate talk so much about school choice. The candidates agree on public school choice. First, an excerpt of Senator John McCain’s remarks: So choice and competition amongst schools is one of the key elements that’s already been proven in places in like New Orleans and New York City and other places, where we have charter schools, where we take good teachers and we reward them and promote them…. Charter schools aren’t the only answer, but they’re providing competition. They are providing the kind of competitions that have upgraded both schools — types of schools. And here’s some of what Senator Barack Obama had to say: Charter schools, I doubled the number of charter schools in Illinois despite some reservations from teachers unions. I think it’s important to foster competition inside the public schools. But then came the point of disagreement.

Last week, I introduced you to two candidates for Colorado’s State Board of Education from the 3rd Congressional District – Democrat Jill Brake and Republican Marcia Neal – but had to close with an important question about them: I know I can sound like a broken record at times, but wouldn’t it be good to know where Ms. Brake and Ms. Neal stand on school choice (e.g., charter schools, online schools, open enrollment)? What about expanding local innovation? The students and parents of Colorado – especially those trapped in failing schools – deserve to know. So my friends in the Education Policy Center went back and did a little research, and followed up with emails to each of the candidates to give them a fair chance to explain themselves on where they stand on school choice and local innovation.

The National Education Association (NEA) has contacted Josh Pullen of Michigan 19 times (10 phone calls, 9 postcards) asking him to support their preferred presidential candidate. Some of you might say, “Yeah, so what? It’s election season.” Well, Josh’s father disagrees. The most recent postcard urging a vote for “Barak” Obama put him over the edge. That’s right … Josh’s father. Josh is only 6 years old! Maybe if Josh were 7 years old – like O’Jahnae Smith from Connecticut – ACORN (a group under investigation in many states for potentially fraudulent activities) could register him to vote. Blogger Matthew Tabor wonders about NEA’s priorities: The NEA and its brethren consistently moan about low pay for teachers, shortfalls in school budgets, teachers buying their own supplies, etc. If you’ve got an example of hardship and martyrdom, someone at the AFT or NEA is whining about it. All these gripes – and many of them are real problems – and the NEA spends its time, money and other resources on contacting a 6-year old 19 times. When I turn 6, I hope I don’t end up getting harassed like that. Of course, the election will be over by then, too.

A couple weeks ago I said that voters in Jefferson County need clearer information to decide the expensive school funding proposals on their ballot this year. This isn’t exactly what I meant. Here is part of the “Pro” argument in the official voters guide for the Jeffco 3A property tax mill levy increase: Taxes should be increased $34 million annually by a mill levy of 4.4 mills. Past increases have not resulted in the desired student performance improvement and a greater infusion of funds is required. Compared to other professions and trades, teachers are poorly paid and hopefully beginning salaries in the six-digit range can be offered within three or four years. Senior citizens with fixed incomes are hard-pressed to shoulder increases in property tax. These people should recognize that their reduced productivity calls for them to be replaced by the youth of our nation. This measure calls for some of the property taxes to be earmarked for: “Expanding options for career job skills and technical training to prepare students for today’s work world.” Half of these should be committed to the following: Seniors on fixed incomes, to whom this school tax is burdensome, need training, as well as compassion. […]

What does it take to attract teachers to serve in the more challenging school environments? Part of Denver’s ProComp program rewards teachers who work at hard-to-serve schools with a $2,345 bonus this year. While the extra money definitely plays a part in providing incentives to some, there are other factors that help attract teachers to challenging environments they might not otherwise choose. As Ed News Colorado reports about a new study: Augenblick, Palaich and Associates surveyed teachers and principals at 16 relatively high-performing public schools – some charters, some district schools – in six cities coast-to-coast. The study, undertaken in collaboration with district and union leaders from Aurora, Denver and Jefferson County public schools, was funded by Denver’s Rose Community Foundation. The study participants were overwhelmingly from elementary schools, so people reviewing results should keep that in mind, researchers stressed. Dale DeCesare, one of the study’s authors, said he was surprised by the emphasis teachers placed on the effective use of technology. Overall, availability of technology ranked as the third most important factor in creating positive working conditions. As someone surfing the Internet and reading an education blog, you must have some appreciation for the value of technology. The article […]

Washington Post education columnist Jay Mathews wrote a column earlier this week suggesting that “merit pay could ruin teacher teamwork” in Washington, DC. In response, Jeanne Allen from the Center for Education Reform wrote an open letter saying that merit pay is in fact the key to building a culture of teamwork inside the district schools of our nation’s capital. But there’s more to throw into the pot of this little debate. Findings from a study of a merit pay pilot program (PDF) in Little Rock, Arkansas, further questions the conventional wisdom in Mathews’ piece: The data do not indicate that ACPP teachers experience divisive competition, suffer from a negative work environment, or shy away from working with low-performing students – despite the fact that these are three oft-cited potential problems inherent in merit pay plans. More research is needed, but it looks like there’s reason to believe that the old teachers union saw about merit pay being divisive isn’t necessarily true. More teamwork, higher quality instruction, and ultimately, students learning more: I have a hard time seeing what’s not to like about paying teachers for performance. Several Colorado school districts and charter schools are leading the way in this […]

Today’s Rocky Mountain News explains Colorado education leaders’ attempt to put greater emphasis on the arts in the state’s new standards and assessments: [Commissioner of Education Dwight] Jones and [Lieutenant Governor Barbara] O’Brien addressed a news conference called to highlight a report showing that many Colorado students are not exposed to the arts, which include music, theater and dance, as well as the visual arts. The report, prepared for the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Council on the Arts, shows that art is offered at 93 percent of elementary schools, 86 percent of middle schools and 83 percent of high schools. But 29,000 students attend schools that do not offer art, the study found. Statewide, 53 percent of high school students don’t take art, which is not mandatory even at schools where it is offered. The study found that 75 percent of principals say the arts are being squeezed by the need to focus on reading, writing and math. One of the findings of the new report says that arts education “associates with higher scores” on CSAP tests. But as my smart friends at the Education Policy Center point out, the fact that the two items are associated […]

Sometimes people get tired of seeing what I have to say about the need for more school choice. It’s times like these that are good to hear from real parents and students who benefit from having options. In that spirit, here’s a video created by the Illinois Policy Institute talking to families who benefit from charter schools in Chicago: As Denise at Colorado Charters points out, our state is blessed by comparison. In a state that serves nearly three times as many public school students, Illinois only enrolls 19,000 students (or fewer than 1 in 100) in public charter schools. Colorado has about 55,000 charter school students (or about 1 in 15 of the total public school population). Still, though, the demand is great. As Denise reminds us, 24,000 are on waiting lists to get in. What are we waiting for? Isn’t public education mainly about serving the kids and providing them the options that fit them best?

The big election is less than a month away. A few of the races that get little attention – but many Coloradans will have to decide – are the contests for the State Board of Education. Few Colorado voters are aware that this elected body is about to become more important, as Rocky Mountain News reporter Berny Morson pointed out on Saturday: The Colorado Board of Education labored in obscurity for years, setting rules that were mostly of interest to teachers, superintendents and other insiders. That’s about to change. A law adopted last spring with the backing of Gov. Bill Ritter gave the board broad authority over school reform. The result could put the board’s mark on everything from statewide achievement tests to high school graduation requirements. The article goes on to highlight the two candidates vying to represent the 3rd Congressional District (southern and western Colorado) on the State Board. These two candidates have some clearly different views. Democrat Jill Brake wants to spend more money on early childhood education, and supported the automatic education funding increase of Amendment 23 and Gov. Bill Ritter’s unconstitutional property tax hike. On the other hand, Republican Marcia Neal – a retired Grand […]