Jefferson County’s Ongoing Case of the Blue Flu
Whatever Jeffco’s teachers have, it seems to be pretty contagious. First it spread like wildfire through two high schools, then it infected thousands of Jeffco high school students. Now, it’s made its way to teachers in two more schools. We should probably start making warning posters: “The blue flu is active in this area. Symptoms […]
How Much Video Fun is an Education Policy Wonk Allowed to Have?
Thanks to Choice Media for making my Friday life easier. It’s been a crazy week with the Jeffco union using kids as pawns. More on that later, but for now, here’s a 5-minute video from the American Enterprise Institute to catch your attention: Yes, the video features a ghost-girl. Yes, there are more policy wonk […]
More Research Could Highlight Real Promise of Blended Learning
Today seemed like a good day to get out of the hot kitchen and look at a topic I haven’t addressed in awhile: blended learning. You know what I mean. According to the Clayton Christensen Institute, it’s: a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online learning, with some […]
Jeffco Teacher “Sickout” Has Me Feeling Sick… And Confused
Having to write this kind of post makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. Why would some teachers walk out on kids, enough to close down two Jeffco high schools? The headline from a 9News story points to the only two possibilities I can see: AP US History or teacher pay raises. What… […]
Russian Dolls and Education Policy: New Study Looks More Closely at Teacher Evaluations
Ever heard of a matryoshka doll? You may not have heard the name before, but I bet you’ll recognize the concept. You start with a big doll, break it open, and discover a smaller doll inside. That doll contains a still smaller doll, and inside that one is an even smaller one. You’ve got to […]
Task Force Talks Testing: The Challenges Ahead
As you may have noticed, I’ve been talking a lot about testing recently (see here and here). I thought I got it all out of my system, but it turns out blogging about testing is a little like eating potato chips—it’s close to impossible to stop yourself once you’ve opened the bag. It’s like cracking […]
The No-Longer-Invisible Achievement Gap: Challenges for Foster Kids in Colorado
My parents sometimes drive me crazy. They won’t let me drink soda or jump on (or off) the bed, and they stubbornly refuse to allow me to live solely chocolate and bacon (hint of the day: combine the two for double the nutrition). Still, for all the frustrations parents can bring, I know I’m lucky […]
Amy Oliver Show: Scholarship Tax Credits Win in Courts
The Cato Institute’s Jason Bedrick celebrates a New Hampshire court victory for scholarship tax credits, while observing the strategy of school choice opponents to continue with a series of lawsuits against Florida’s highly successful scholarship tax credit program.
Colorado More Leader than Laggard: A Report Card Eddie Can (Mostly) Enjoy
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you probably know I have a fondness for report cards. A certain kind, anyway. Just as long as it’s not my report card going home to my parents about my performance. Seriously, though, I like to talk about report cards related to education policy — […]
Empire Strikes Back against School Choice in Courts; Don’t Give Up!
A couple days ago I tossed out a Star Trek reference. Today, it’s going to be a Star Wars metaphor. I hope this doesn’t cause any sort of Sci-Fi universe catastrophes, including but not limited to wormholes, disturbances in the Force, or ripples in the space-time continuum. All that setup to talk about the Empire […]
Pressing Forward with Scholarship Tax Credits in Colorado
Although programs increasing school choice through private investment have a strong legal track record, opponents continue pushing back in the courts. Their determined attacks shouldn’t deter Colorado families seeking better schools. The New Hampshire Supreme Court delivered good news with an Aug. 28 ruling reinstating the Corporate Education Tax Credit. The two-year-old program reduces a […]
Not a Walk in the PARCC: Testing and Local Control In Colorado
I wanted to open this post with a cute joke rhyming joke, but it turns out nothing rhymes with local control, Common Core, or assessments. Unfortunately for you, this means you get serious Eddie today. Maybe it’s for the best—issues surrounding testing, local control, and the Common Core are pretty serious these days. As the […]
