That last Brown Bag Lunch back in April — the one with Marcus Winters, author of Teachers Matter — was such a success that my Education Policy Center friends are excited to introduce the second Brown Bag Lunch, coming soon:

This year’s signature education legislation, the Colorado READ Act, has shined the light on the need to boost early childhood literacy in our state. One of the nation’s great literacy champions is coming to the Mile High City to share his compelling story and his insights on this timely and critical issue. Please join us at the Independence Institute Freedom Embassy (727 E 16th Avenue, Denver, CO 80203) on Thursday, August 2, to hear from our special guest speaker, John Corcoran, president and CEO of the John Corcoran Foundation.

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If you live in the Denver area, please mark your calendars for April 12. My Education Policy Center friends are hosting a brown bag lunch event with a special guest speaker. Dr. Marcus Winters, a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs assistant professor and Manhattan Institute senior fellow, will be sharing the findings and recommendations from his new book Teachers Matter: Rethinking How Public Schools Identify, Reward, and Retain Great Educators:

The question is, how do we sort out the good teachers from the bad? Winters shows the shortcomings of the current system, which relies on credentials and longevity, and spells out a series of reforms based on results achieved in the classroom. For the first time, standardized test results offer an objective, reliable measure of student proficiency that can be tied to an individual teacher. Sure to be controversial, Winters’s plan will be of interest to the education community, policy makers, and parents concerned about the future of education in America.

I’m so glad that Dr. Winters lives in Colorado and can drive up to visit the Independence Institute. The invitation to the event reminds us that the issue is one of profound and timely relevance in our own state: Continue Reading »

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While School Choice Week has me in a happy frenzy, it doesn’t leave me as much time for blogging. But in my few spare moments, I wanted to share a few timely developments fitting for this week’s big festivities:

• The Alliance for School Choice has released the latest version of the School Choice Yearbook… The big news? More than 210,000 students nationwide are enrolled in publicly-funded private educational choice programs, a 25 percent increase in just four years!
• Remember Education Savings Accounts, the cutting-edge school choice program with a superior design? Well, today a Maricopa County judge ruled that Arizona’s first-of-its-kind ESA program for special needs student was constitutional!
• Finally, speaking of special needs students, the Columbus Dispatch reports that Ohio is about to launch its fourth voucher program, the Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship!

Good news on all three fronts. Before my hyperactivity takes over and my short attention span fades away, here’s one last call to invite you to this evening’s Kids Aren’t Cars movie night at the Independence Institute in Denver. Hope to see you there!

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I know it’s only Tuesday, but I can’t help but thinking about movies again. Last week was the Denver event co-hosted by my Independence Institute friends. About 50 guests showed up to watch The Cartel and have a great discussion about education reform afterward. I couldn’t go because it was past my bedtime. And my Education Policy Center so-called friend Ben DeGrow couldn’t save any of the tub of buttery movie popcorn, or even spare a single Kit Kat bar, for me.

Anyway, having just watched one top-notch education reform movie, there’s another one to look forward to being released in the fall, called Waiting for Superman. Here’s a snippet of a review:

[Director Davis] Guggenheim makes his points by introducing us to all sorts of people who are directly affected by our floundering education system — and for the most part, it’s just not pretty. We meet Washington D.C. Education Chief Michelle Rhee, who has some revolutionary new ideas on how to keep teachers happy and inspired … but the teachers’ union doesn’t like them. We get to know a small handful of great kids, all of whom seem smart and sweet and dedicated … oh, but there simply isn’t enough room for those kids at the (relatively) local charter school.

Seem familiar? Gulp. It sounds like there isn’t much that could make this movie even better. If you want my opinion, I think they should change the name to “Waiting for Spiderman,” because he is really a much cooler superhero. He climbs buildings, shoots spider webs from his hands, and doesn’t need a phone booth (a what?) to change clothes….

Well, anyway, here’s the brand-new trailer of Waiting for Superman that just might get you to anticipate this movie as much as I am: Continue Reading »

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Last Friday I told you that a great new education movie called The Cartel is coming to town. In fact, on this coming Tuesday at 7 PM, at Denver’s Chez Artiste Theatre, my Independence Institute friends are co-hosting a special screening event with a brief Q & A following the movie.

Given the events of this week, in which thousands of New Jersey students walked out in protest at proposed K-12 education budget cuts, watching the film takes on all the more fresh relevance. As edublogger Matthew Tabor points out, the adult organizers who incited the event are doing a disservice to students by showing no interest in truly solving the Garden State’s education problems. Had they watched The Cartel with an open mind first, they might have taken a different perspective on quite possibly the most fiscally bloated and corrupt state education system in the nation.

Got your attention yet?

If you’re still not sure about whether to come, I invite you to read a brand new review of the film written by local blogger Joshua Sharf. It provides a refreshing and insightful perspective, coming from someone smart and thoughtful who isn’t enmeshed in the finer points of the education policy research and debates.

Look, in all honesty, you don’t have many good excuses to miss watching The Cartel at some point this week while it’s in town. You especially want to come out on Tuesday evening to see the movie and my Education Policy Center friends — and if I can stay out of trouble, maybe my mom or dad will bring me, too!

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Break out the heavily-buttered popcorn, and don’t forget the Kit Kats and Junior Mints. Movie night is coming! And not just any movie… My Education Policy Center friends are co-hosting a special screening of The Cartel on Tuesday, May 4, at 7:00 PM, at Denver’s Chez Artiste Theatre. Besides the special screening event — at which Pam Benigno and Ben DeGrow will follow the movie with a brief Q&A — The Cartel is scheduled to show at Chez Artiste four times a day from April 30 to May 6. (Tickets for all screenings are available online or at the box office.)

The new, award-winning documentary focuses on New Jersey to offer a fresh inside look at the K-12 public school system and opens eyes to the need for significant reform. Click the play button below (or follow this link) to listen to a new iVoices podcast as The Cartel producer/director Bob Bowdon gives a sneak peek at his film and shares what it’s all about: Continue Reading »

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Last Thursday my Education Policy Center friends hosted an event on 21st Century Learning with Randy DeHoff from the Colorado State Board of Education. He discussed whether the idea of 21st Century Learning (and skills) is a valid one and how it will affect Colorado’s new standards and (coming soon) assessments. The informative presentation was followed by a lively discussion, with some thoughtful questions that covered a range of topics.

But you missed it, you say? I don’t know what your excuse might be, unless you heard that I wasn’t coming (I had chores to do, and my mom and dad wouldn’t let me stay out late), and couldn’t bear the disappointment. Well, wipe away those tears. While you’ll have to wait for another time to meet me in person, you can go here to watch the official video of Randy DeHoff’s presentation.

Cyberschool mom Lori Cooney also has posted her take on the event, along with a couple more pictures, over at her blog. Thanks, Lori!

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I wanted to take a moment to let all you Colorado homeschoolers and high school students out there about a great opportunity coming up on Saturday, September 12. You’ll want to check out the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) seminar, hosted by Colorado Christian University (CCU) and titled “Reforming Federal Environmental Policy: Entrepreneurs, Enterprises, and the Environment”:

This seminar, which will feature FEE president Lawrence Reed and author Gregory Rehmke, is specifically designed for Christian high school and home-school students who want to seriously explore this complex economic issue.

FEE is a great organization, and Dr. Lawrence Reed is an excellent thinker, speaker and gentleman. If you’re anywhere near the Denver metro area, and you get a chance to go, I highly recommend it!

You can register online here.

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My friends in the Education Policy Center received the following notice in an email message, and wanted to let you know about the opportunity:

VOLUNTEER SPEECH AND DEBATE JUDGES NEEDED

April 15-18, 2009
Region 3 Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament
First United Methodist Church
420 N. Nevada Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO 80903 Continue Reading »

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