Survey Says Dougco Residents Love Choice, Reform
An April 2013 survey commissioned by the Independence Institute found that healthy majorities of Douglas County residents support their school board’s innovative agenda.
Dougco Loves Choice, School Board’s Reforms
Results of a recent survey show strong backing from Douglas County residents for a groundbreaking private school choice program and a host of other reforms pursued by the local school board.
State Report Shows Colorado Public Charter Schools Outpacing Their Peers
Having been long-winded the past couple days, I will keep this Friday posting short. But in case you missed it, please check out this week’s K-12 radio podcast interview, as Colorado League of Charter Schools president Jim Griffin breaks down the Colorado Department of Education (CDE)’s latest report on the state of charter schools. The […]
More Than a May Day Coincidence: SB 213 Tax Hike and “Phantom” Funding Reform
There are a few possible explanations for all those shouts of “May Day” Coloradans may have heard yesterday. Some might have been the annual calls for an imaginary workers’ paradise, while others might have been desperate pleas of displaced Texans and Californians calling for relief from the late-season snow. In my education policy wonk world, […]
TELL-ing Dougco Results: Teacher Satisfaction Mostly High and Growing
The latest results of Colorado’s TELL teacher survey are out, and reported satisfaction among Douglas County teachers is high and growing. The news is especially remarkable in light of the fact that in the past two years Dougco has expanded school choice, has ended the union contract, and is pushing ahead with a slate of ambitious performance-based innovation. Challenges lie ahead, but bold school reformers should be heartened.
CO Observer Features Comment on Union Local Strategy
In a story highlighting contentious negotiations in the Adams 12 school district, The Colorado Observer‘s Sunana Batra cites an Education Policy Center expert about the teachers union leadership’s strategy to resist local reforms: Critics believe the Colorado Education Association (CEA), of which the DTEA is a local affiliate, may be attempting to fight a pitched […]
Ex-Education Secretary William Bennett Visits Dougco, “Very Impressed”
Colorado’s non-union teacher group PACE today posted some more of the results from their recent member survey. Roughly 3 out of every 4 expressed support for “a pathway for career advancement outside of the traditional, seniority-based salary schedule,” often known as a career ladder. One of their members hit the nail on the head: A […]
Amy Oliver Show: Colorado Charters on the Rise
Jim Griffin, president of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, talks about a new report that documents the growth of the state’s public charter school movement, and the better academic outcomes their schools are getting with less funds.
04/30/13
Education Policy Center Newsletter April 30, 2013
— New Colorado Kids Win Site Highlights Scholarship Tax Credits
— DeGrow Tackles Big School Finance Reform Debate (Cont.)
— Center Covers Teachers Union Showdown in Adams 12
— Raaki Garcia Show Covers KIPP, Parent Resources, Dougco
— Confused about Weather, Eddie Rounds Up April K-12 Topics
Three Decades After “A Nation at Risk,” Incredible Theories Live On: Who Knew?
Talk about ancient history for a kid like me. On Friday the Fordham Foundation and American Enterprise Institute commemorated the 30th anniversary of the landmark A Nation at Risk education report with this 23-minute video documentary: It may be a lot to take in for those with shorter attention spans (wait, is that a squirrel??), […]
Adams 12 Negotiations Reconsider Tax-Funded Teachers Union Release Time
Interesting news this week out of Phoenix, Arizona, where a judge ruled it unconstitutional for taxpayers to fund police union “release time” activities, and put an injunction on the practice. We’re talking about two different states, and two different sectors of government, but one has to wonder whether a similar case could be made about […]
Washington Post Highlights Benigno’s Reaction to DougCo Choice Program Ruling
In a Washington Post article about the Colorado Court of Appeals ruling in favor of Douglas County’s Choice Scholarship Program, Associated Press writer Steven Paulson quoted the Education Policy Center director’s reaction to the welcome news
