Monthly Archives: July 2010

Six months ago I told you how Colorado was flattered by the attention from the National Education Association’s political giving during the 2007-08 political cycle. Now we have some rock-solid numbers to back it all up. In his new report for Education Next titled “The Long Reach of Teachers Unions,” the inimitable Mike Antonucci looks at the big picture of NEA and AFT spending, and then breaks it down state-by-state. He writes: In the 2007–08 election cycle, total spending on state and federal campaigns, political parties, and ballot measures exceeded $5.8 billion. The first-place NEA spent more than $56.3 million, $12.5 million ahead of the second-place group. That’s not all. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the smaller of the two national professional education unions, ranked 25th in campaign spending, with almost $12 million, while NEA/AFT collaborative campaigns spent an additional $3.4 million, enough to earn the rank of 123rd. All told, the two national teachers unions distributed $71.7 million on candidate and issue campaigns from California to Florida, Massachusetts to South Dakota. Millions more went to policy research to support the unions’ agenda. A look at the state-by-state chart Antonucci created (PDF) reveals that Colorado was the third-largest target […]

As I write this, I’m listening to the Mike Rosen Show on AM 850 KOA Denver as he interviews director Madeleine Sackler about her newly released edu-documentary The Lottery. A month ago my Education Policy Center friends attended a special screening of this film. The Lottery is back in Denver this week, and you can watch it at the Starz Film Center at the Tivoli.

Ed News Colorado reported last Friday that a new Denver Public Schools policy has started to reap some small dividends: Fewer Denver teachers unable to find jobs on their own were placed into the city’s highest-poverty and lowest-achieving schools for 2010-11, according to district figures. That’s a reversal of what’s occurred for at least three years, when the poorest schools were more likely to be assigned teachers who either did not apply to be there or were not chosen for hiring by the principal. Because of collective bargaining agreements and standard bureaucratic practices in most larger urban school districts (81 out of the nation’s 100 largest district, Education Week reports), the reality for some time has been that the unwanted teachers get shuffled around and force-placed in the poorest schools with the neediest students. A much bigger problem for Denver than the surrounding suburban districts, this “dance of the lemons” is not exactly a formula for closing the academic achievement gap. The new Denver Public Schools policy makes it more difficult for forced placement of teachers into high-poverty schools and prohibits forced placement into low-performing schools. In addition to easing the effects on high-need schools, it looks like the policy […]

It’s almost too obvious to say, but worth repeating to those who don’t want to listen: Not all public charter schools are good. But nearly all are offering families a viable education alternative, and many are outperforming their traditional counterparts — some by a significant amount. Like KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program). A new study conducted for KIPP by Mathematica shows exactly that. KIPP charter schools are making a positive impact on the primarily poor and minority student populations they serve. The examination of academic progress at 22 KIPP middle schools yielded some glowing results, including: Nearly all 22 schools have significant positive effects on student math performance over three years, mostly in the second and third year Most schools have significant positive effects on student reading performance over the second and third years, not as many in the first year “Estimated impacts are frequently large enough to substantially reduce race- and income-based achievement gaps within three years of entering KIPP.” Most KIPP schools have more students held back a grade (largely because they don’t practice social promotion) but have no higher levels of student attrition than their public school counterparts Perhaps most interesting of all is the way this […]

I may be young, but I didn’t fall off the apple cart yesterday (or however that expression goes). In fact, your little Eddie sometimes is way ahead of the curve on local education issues. Take Colorado’s emerging debate over Common Core Standards: Been there, done that. Six weeks after I first brought your attention to the concerns raised by State Board of Education member Peggy Littleton, the Denver Post comes through with a front-page story this morning: A backlash over national education reforms is growing in Colorado, with some school leaders rejecting what they call a federal intrusion into the classroom. The piece by Jeremy Meyer not only highlights Littleton’s efforts and some statements made by U.S. Senate candidates Jane Norton and Ken Buck, but it also zooms in on one of the state’s smallest school districts out on the Eastern Plains:

From time to time, it’s worthwhile to look outside the borders of our United States to glean some valuable lessons about school reform. Rick Hess — one of the more thoughtful education policy gurus out there — recently returned from a two-week trip to Georgia and shared his thoughts. So some of you are thinking… Georgia? A different country? Maybe like 150 years ago or something. Wrong Georgia. We’re talking halfway around the world, not just across the continent. Anyway, Hess notes the heavy emphasis on reform in the former Soviet republic in what he calls the “land of the libertarians”:

I’ve had a great time lately with the cool (and here in Colorado, I mean “cool”) fireworks shows and water fights. Still, it’s good to be back sharing some more good news about school choice. Yes, I’m behind the curve in letting you know about what Louisiana has done, but better late than never — besides, it’s summertime: Washington, D.C. (June 25, 2010) – Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal this week signed into law the nation’s 20th private school choice program, which will allow children with special needs to use state-funded scholarships to attend the private schools of their parents’ choice.

Looking for something a little different than the traditional schooling model, maybe even cutting edge and innovative? After all, exposing Colorado families to more choices and educational options is a big part of what the “glimpse at new schools” series is all about. You might be interested in this: Aurora Public Schools opens the doors of Vista PEAK Exploratory in August. The school was highlighted a few months back in a story for the Aurora Sentinel: It’s an approach that will offer students a new way of planning their education from an early age, one that will give children access to specialized programs in science, math, visual arts, business and other areas. This new “pathways” method will play a central role in the Vista PEAK Exploratory School on East 6th Avenue and Harvest Road that’s set to open later this year, the first part of a campus that’s eventually slated to include a high school and a satellite college campus.

The faithful readers of Ed Is Watching (I love you, mom and dad!) know that during the past two summers I have dedicated many blog posts to introducing interesting new education options in Colorado. Links to all the posts are compiled on our A Glimpse at New Schools page. This year, I’ve decided to get an earlier head start while we head for the mid-summer doldrums. To kick off the 2010-11 edition, it seems appropriate to highlight the offspring of some golden oldies. I’ve written before about West Denver Prep middle school and Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) — both top-notch, “distinguished” charter schools. The great news is that these schools won’t be contained, but rather are multiplying under successful models and sound leadership. The 2010-11 school year doubles the number of West Denver Prep campuses from two to four, with new sites shared at Lake Middle School (starting with 6th graders only) and Emerson Street School. And DSST (the original campus in the Stapleton neighborhood contains both a middle school and a high school) will open a second campus in far northeast Denver’s Green Valley Ranch. If DSST II hits the same trajectory of getting 100 percent […]