School Choice Programs Growing Fast; Kansas Looks Like Next State to Join
If 2011 was christened the Year of School Choice, what should we call 2013? At the time that year dawned, I worried that it wouldn’t exactly be smooth sailing. But given the recent news headlined by the release of the Alliance for School Choice’s annual yearbook, it must be that even my young, healthy eyes […]
Jeffco Board Makes More Money Follow Students, Brings a Jan Brady Smile
Once upon a time, say two years ago, I felt the heat for focusing a lot of extra attention on a certain large school district between Denver and Colorado Springs. You could almost hear a number of nearby Jan Bradys crying out in frustration: “Dougco, Dougco, Dougco!” Back then I said: But hey, don’t complain […]
Amy Oliver Show: Commission Recommends Online Education Policy Improvements
Matt Samelson from the Donnell-Kay Foundation talks about a legislative-backed commission’s new policy recommendations to help improve online learning experiences for Colorado’s K-12 students.
Yes, Fordham, Colorado School Boards Matter; Let’s Encourage True Local Control
A long, long two-and-a-half years ago I shared with you my thoughts about school boards going the way of the horse and buggy. The article written by education reform senior statesman Checker Finn prompted me to weigh in: Unlike many other areas of education reform, this is one in which Colorado would not figure to […]
New Independence Institute Ownership? Goodbye, Eddie; Hello, Little Ed Koch
Change is hard, especially when you’ve been 5 years old for so long like I have. But it can be good, too. Some of you may have seen today’s important news release from the Independence Institute about their new arrangement: Under the terms of the agreement the Koch brothers have invested an undisclosed amount of […]
Colorado Ranks 21st in Per-Pupil Spending (and Other New Numbers from the NEA)
The month of March is getting ready to go out. Not exactly sure it’s like a lamb. But there is one report released this month that some in Colorado’s education-industrial complex would just as soon see put out to pasture. The National Education Association has released its annual “Rankings and Estimates” publication, which compares the […]
Filling In a Few Compelling Reasons to Go Watch Jeffco Open Union Negotiations
What a difference six weeks can make! When I last focused in on happenings at Jeffco schools, the local teachers union had taken its political spectacle from the boardroom to the classroom. Meanwhile, the school board moved ahead discussing its priorities and engaging the community in a search for a new superintendent. It was good […]
Watching Student Data Privacy Issue Means Not Watching Student Data
Let the truth be known, I have a larger online footprint than your average youngster. There’s plenty you can glean about Eddie just from this site, including that I’m a fictional longtime 5-year-old who likes Legos, football, and video games; considers myself an exceptionally gifted blogger; and has a unique obsession with keeping an eye […]
03/25/14
Education Policy Center Newsletter March 25, 2014
In this issue
— DeGrow to Serve on New Online Education Task Force
— Families Join School Choice Week Celebration
— Center Responds to Union’s Anti-Reform Lawsuit
— Financial Issues Top Education’s Legislative Agenda
— Douglas County Report Sent Statewide
— Vigilant Eddie Blogs as 2014 Gets Underway
Opponents’ Best Shot? Maybe Thompson Should Look at Innovating Educator Pay
A month ago my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow wrote a Greeley Tribune op-ed, explaining that some local school board leaders have picked up the ball dropped by state lawmakers and are making progress on rewarding top-notch educators. He noted work going on in Jefferson County, Mesa 51, and Adams 12. But based on […]
Colo. Digital Learning Policy Alternate Route Gives Some Spring Break Hope
Have you ever tried to plan a trip to an important new destination? Maybe it was a long road trip for SPRING BREAK or a family vacation or a visit to an old friend who moved to a new town. You program your GPS, or at least make a search on Google Maps first. (Back […]
Time to Go Wild: Legal Win for Kids Helped by Arizona’s Cutting-Edge ESAs
Most Fridays I just want to get up, stick my tongue out, yell, and run around like a wild man. Hey, I’m a kid, it’s okay to be crazy. Sometimes it’s a frustrated, “I can’t take it any more”-kind of crazy. Today, it’s a feeling of relief turned into exhilaration. The Federation for Children delivers […]
