One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: A Setback for Choice in North Carolina
A lack of progress is always frustrating. I’ve been trying to convince my parents that broccoli is too dangerous to be trusted for months. But my struggles pale in comparison to the frustration that a large number of students and families in the Tar Heel State are facing after yesterday’s unfavorable ruling regarding school choice. […]
Amy Oliver Show: Liberty Common HS Breaks State ACT Record
Liberty Common High School (LCHS) principal Bob Schaffer and senior Jesse Zuniga talk about what goes into their school this year shattering the state’s record score on the ACT test, with a 28.63 average.
Back-to-Back: Durango, Pueblo Papers Weigh In for Open Negotiations
Anyone who has been a reader of this blog for any length of time knows that I’m a big fan of open negotiations. When school board representatives and the leaders of employee groups sit down to discuss how huge chunks of taxpayer-funded K-12 budgets are spent, and set policies that affect classrooms, we’re better off […]
It Says What? Facts, Fiction, and NEA’s Foot-in-Mouth Disorder
Everyone suffers from foot-in-mouth disorder at some point in their lives. You know the situation: You’re in the middle of an important conversation, things are going well, and you’re looking pretty smart. Then, with no warning at all, you blurt out something silly. Maybe it was offensive, confidential, or ill-advised. Or maybe it was just […]
“What Are People Thinking” about Education? PEPG Makes It Pay to Know
Sometimes you see or hear about some crazy behavior out there, and somewhat aghast, you ask aloud or think: “What are people thinking?” Other times, you’re just curious about the opinions of those adults around you who can affect important issues, and it’s just: “I wonder… what are people thinking?” My faithful fans know that […]
No Excuses: STRIVE to Do Better
One day not so long ago, my father sat me down for one of his famous heart-to-heart chats. I’d done poorly on a math quiz (it turns out that two plus two does not equal a picture of a dragon eating a stick figure), and I knew I was in big trouble. But he didn’t […]
Amy Oliver Show: National Employee Freedom Week and Teacher Options
On a special National Employee Freedom Week edition, Professional Association of Colorado Educators regional membership director Tim Farmer discusses the difficulty teachers in many school districts face in trying to exercise their right to end union membership.
Liberty Common Shatters ACT Test Record; State TCAPs Less Inspiring
Yesterday brought a big data dump from the Colorado Department of Education, and it’s nothing that is going to get the rest of the nation ooh-ing and aah-ing about where we’re headed. When aggregate scores for 3rd to 10th graders in all three subject areas dip half a point, clearly far more is getting measured […]
08/14/14
Education Policy Center Newsletter August 14, 2014
In this issue
— Friday TV Alert: What’s New in Colorado Blended Learning?
— Center Conquers New Territory with Dougco Amicus Brief
— Employee Freedom Message Comes to Pueblo
— Choice and Charters Backed by Strong Opinions, Research
— Eddie Rounds Up Summer
Too Good, Too True: KIPP’s Continuing Success
“If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.” You’ve heard that one, right? Of course you have. It’s a pretty good aphorism, and one that I’ve already heard no fewer than 2,000 times in my five years of life. Somewhat ironically, this universal statement holds true in many cases, but falls short […]
Chieftain Highlights Institute’s Billboard Message to Pueblo Teachers
The Pueblo Chieftain features coverage of a special Independence Institute billboard message notifying local teachers of their limited opportunity to avoid paying union membership or non-member “representation” fees.
BFFs of the Court: Chiming in for Choice in Douglas County
Court briefs are terrifying to kids like me. They are long, complicated, and governed by a system of rules in which words like “pagination” and “certiorari” are commonplace. And, in a cruelly ironic twist, they are anything but “brief.” Worse still, they have absolutely no pictures. To be honest, I look at most legal briefs […]
