Monthly Archives: July 2011

Ed News Colorado reports today that school districts are eager to participate in the pilot for the state’s new educator effectiveness law: Nearly a quarter of Colorado school districts have applied to participate in field-testing of new principal and teacher evaluation methods. It was “a surprise and an encouraging message” that the Department of Education received 41 applications, said Diana Sirko, deputy commissioner. “We look at is as very encouraging.” She said CDE had expected a couple of dozen applications at the most. According to the Denver Post, another CDE official indicated realistic hopes were for only about 10 positive responses from Colorado’s 178 school districts. Talk about the second local major education reform program of the year in which participation has exceeded all expectations. The more than 30 private schools that applied to be partners in Douglas County’s groundbreaking local voucher program (19 have been approved, as of this date) inundated staff who planned for about half the response. All in all, it appears to be a positive sign that a large number, and wide variety of (rural, suburban, urban), Colorado school districts want to be a part of piloting the educator effectiveness law, which garnered national attention last […]

(H/T Adam Emerson, RedefinED) From yesterday’s Boston Globe, the innovation school idea is starting to take off in Massachusetts: “It’s really catching fire,’’ said Paul Reville, the state’s education secretary. “I would predict innovation schools in a relatively short period of time could surpass the number of charter schools in the state if the growth continues at the rate we’ve seen recently.’’ … Innovation schools and the state’s 56 independently run charter schools are similar in that decisions about curriculum, staffing, and budgeting are made by a school-based governing board with the goal of crafting programs that meet the specific needs of their students. But unlike charter schools, which report directly to the state, innovation schools must negotiate the extent of the freedom to make their own decisions with the superintendent and School Committee, and are bound by most provisions of the district’s teachers union contract.

It’s July. School is out for the summer. Education news tends to be slow. To top it all off, your local edu-blogging prodigy is spending extra time at the swimming pool, and occasionally gets wrapped up in frustrating games of Angry Birds on his dad’s iPhone. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few things worth noting. First, have you ever wanted to make a persuasive case for school choice to a skeptical acquaintance, but didn’t want to recommend a too-thick tome they’d never read or have to send a list of web links that might disappear? Then Dr. Jay Greene just might have the solution for you, announcing the publication of his new 48-page booklet Why America Needs School Choice. To get a good hint of what it’s about, listen to the new School Reform News podcast interview with Dr. Greene. Second, the grassroots group supporting Colorado’s groundbreaking local voucher program (among many other expanded educational options) has launched a new website. Check out Great Choice Douglas County, and be sure to show your support! Remember, too… visit the page created by my Education Policy Center friends for all the information you’ll need on the Douglas County Choice Scholarship […]

This hasn’t been one of the big issues on my education transformer radar, nor is it one I’ve covered before. But it does bring out an interesting point of clarity for those who are interested in our K-12 schools and the politics that surround them. The Coloradoan in Fort Collins reported yesterday that the state’s largest teachers union has filed a legal challenge against a new public school reporting requirement: The statewide teachers union has sued the Colorado Board of Education over new rules requiring the public disclosure of teacher arrests. The board passed the new rules this spring at the prompting of Fort Collins resident and board chairman Bob Schaffer. The first attempt to establish the rule was shot down by a 4-3 vote in May 2010. The State Board went back to the drawing table to address concerns and complications, but the teachers union remained fundamentally opposed:

A couple weeks ago I filled you in on how there are two separate groups that have filed their legal complaints against the Douglas County Choice Scholarship Program. Well, as Ed News Colorado reports, now they’ve taken the next official step: Plaintiffs in two lawsuits challenging the Douglas County voucher pilot are asking for an immediate halt to the plan, arguing it must be stopped before any public dollars flow to private schools. “Once the money is illegally diverted away from public schools, the bell can’t be unrung,” said Gregory M. Lipper, attorney for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, one of the plaintiffs.

Update, 7/7: Guest-writing over at Eduwonk, the insightful Paul Hill gives valuable perspective to the scandal, noting that Atlanta had taken a very inside-the-box approach to achieve its touted phony scores and suggesting the use of online adaptive tests as a policy solution that curbs cheating while preserving test-based accountability. The big, hard-to-ignore education news of the week comes from Atlanta, Georgia, in the sunny South. The Christian Science Monitor‘s Patrick Jonsson reports: Award-winning gains by Atlanta students were based on widespread cheating by 178 named teachers and principals, said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Tuesday. His office released a report from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that names 178 teachers and principals – 82 of whom confessed – in what’s likely the biggest cheating scandal in US history. This appears to be the largest of dozens of major cheating scandals, unearthed across the country. The allegations point an ongoing problem for US education, which has developed an ever-increasing dependence on standardized tests. Let me tell you: If I got caught cheating, I couldn’t even imagine the consequences my parents would bring down on me. No trips to the beach all summer? No dessert for a month? Grounded from playing […]

Still trying to recover from the big fireworks last night, I couldn’t decide between two blogging ideas this morning. So instead I’m giving you a little bit of both. First, you just have to read today’s Wall Street Journal editorial proclaiming what I told you last week — that 2011 is indeed The Year of School Choice: No fewer than 13 states have enacted school choice legislation in 2011, and 28 states have legislation pending. Last month alone, Louisiana enhanced its state income tax break for private school tuition; Ohio tripled the number of students eligible for school vouchers; and North Carolina passed a law letting parents of students with special needs claim a tax credit for expenses related to private school tuition and other educational services. The Douglas County Choice Scholarship program gets a mention later on in the piece, making Colorado one of the 13 states. Isn’t that number ironic, coming right after the July 4th holiday, remembering the number of colonies that declared independence from the British crown? It could have been 14, if Pennsylvania hadn’t fumbled the ball, as the Journal points out. So make that Year of School Choice almost perfect.

Believe it or not, July is here and the Independence Day weekend is practically upon us. You know what that means. Lots of red, white and blue; cookouts; parades; and, of course, fireworks. But probably not the kind of fireworks you’re thinking of. One thing about fireworks is how they can provide a moment of brilliant light that illuminates the sky and sometimes the ground below, providing a candid glimpse of things otherwise concealed by a blanket of darkness. In that sense this frank declaration of union priorities delivered at the 2009 National Education Association Representative Assembly certainly would qualify as fireworks: Will there be similar fireworks — or maybe fireworks of another kind — at this year’s NEA event, which is now getting underway in Chicago? The big attention for 2011 is focused on NEA’s new teacher evaluation policy proposal, but the agenda also includes a proposed dues hike and a formal endorsement of President Obama for re-election. The best coverage of the NEA Representative Assembly (hands-down) can be found at two blogs: Mike Antonucci’s Intercepts and Stephen Sawchuk’s Education Week Teacher Beat. Light a sparkler or two for me while you’re at it.