Waiting Has Been Hard, So I’m Glad to See Douglas County School Choice Details
I think a lot of the policy makers, experts and officials out there don’t get how little patience a little kid like me has. (Or maybe they just don’t care.) But it’s good to see at last the first draft of details of what’s going to happen with Douglas County School District’s groundbreaking private school choice idea.
Pushing Back Against Public Employee Unions
A significant piece of Wisconsin legislation to cut spending and rein in public employee union power has led to protests and a lot of national media attention. Education policy analyst Ben DeGrow breaks down the differences between public and private sector unions, what the bill would actually do, the potential national impact, and whether any of the ideas might be a good fit for Colorado.
MacLaren School and K-12 Class Sizes: Finding the Sunday Perspective Section
In a high-tech media world, it’s still lots of fun to get an actual print copy of the Sunday newspaper. That’s what my parents do. Sunday afternoon as I was digging through the newest edition of the Denver Post to find the color comics, I ran across something called the “Perspective” section.
What did I find, […]
If I Showed This Union Leader’s Attitude, No Way I Would Have Gotten Off So Easy
I guess that United Federation of Teachers political director Paul Egan is too old to get sent to his room without dinner. Because if I tried his attitude with my mom, that would be the least of my problems:
And with Egan apparently worked into a froth over the size of his quail in the $40 […]
Momentum Growing to Expand Private School Choice in Many States in 2011
Friday seems like a good time to take a step back and look around the country at a slate of school choice legislation. Writing on the Flypaper blog, Jamie Davies O’Leary highlights a number of proposals in Ohio that are being given serious consideration, including:
Expanding the Cleveland voucher program statewide, removing all enrollment caps and […]
Threatened by Tighter Budgets, More States Challenge Teacher Union Perks
It was exactly two years ago today that President Obama flew to town to shake lots of bills off the magical money tree for Colorado public schools. Now the federal dollars (borrowed from my future) have dried up. Our new governor John Hickenlooper bore the news to the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) on Tuesday: $332 […]
Don’t Shoot, But Is the Parent Trigger Idea Ready to Giddy Up in Colorado?
Here we are waist-deep into Colorado’s legislative session (at least I’m waist-deep, most big people are probably more like knee-deep). Word on the street is that a bill is coming (like one adopted in California and proposed in Georgia) that would empower parents to reform low-performing schools. Wouldn’t that be neat to see a Colorado version of the “Parent Trigger” ready to Giddy Up!
Ben DeGrow (and Cookie Monster?) Talk Falcon Innovation on Jeff Crank Show
It’s been more than a week since my last update about the cost-saving, cutting-edge innovation going on in Colorado’s Falcon School District 49. Last Thursday, after the Ed News Colorado feature was republished on the Education Week site, one of the Fordham Institute’s Flypaper bloggers reacted favorably by noting Falcon’s innovation could serve as a […]
Colorado State Board Begins to Wrestle with Kit Carson Innovation Plan
Yesterday the superintendent of one of Colorado’s smallest school districts came before the State Board of Education. Kit Carson R-1’s Gerald Keefe was there to answer questions about his district’s innovation proposal. This wouldn’t surprise you at all if you listened to one of the newest podcasts produced by my Education Policy Center friends, in […]
Opponent Arguments Batted Down, HB 1048 Stuck in Legislative Sausage Maker
A few weeks ago I told you about the “voucher bogeyman” fearmongering around Colorado House Bill 1048 (PDF) — which would provide non-refundable tax credits to parents or donors supporting a student’s private school tuition or home education. (And therefore, not a “subsidy” as was headlined and reported with a strong anti-choice slant on the […]
Upgrading Colorado Teacher Policies
Sandi Jacobs, vice president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, discusses the latest annual update to her group’s State Teacher Policy Yearbook. She explores the impact of 2010’s groundbreaking Senate Bill 191 and highlights key areas where Colorado can improve its teacher policies.
Making Progress in K-12 Financial Transparency, But Still a Long Way to Go
A few weeks ago I pointed out to you the weak effort of Kansas’ largest school district (Wichita) to implement online financial transparency — an effort I learned about through the great work and analysis of Matthew Tabor of Education Debate at Online Schools. Afterward, I received a phone call telling me about KansasOpenGov.org, a […]
