Scholarship Tax Credits Could Help Denver, Aurora HS Students Overcome Challenges
For those who long have rolled up their sleeves to try to improve student learning, the cause of urban high school reform remains one of the most daunting tasks. Even in areas where the most concentrated and sustained efforts at reform have taken place, the promising results have been very limited. Enter a brand new […]
Adams 12 School Board Steps into the Light, Calls Union Leaders’ Bluff
In response to the Adams 12 school board asking all employees to share a little more in paying for their pension contributions, teachers union leaders have organized protests and worked with a local TV news reporter to trump up phony, easily debunked charges. To help clear the air the board has asked to open bargaining negotiations to public view, but union leaders say they aren’t interested.
Parent Power in Colorado: Aiming to Join or Surpass the Dazzling Dozen
Has it really been more than six whole months since the Hollywood movie Won’t Back Down hit the Denver and national scene. While not a blockbuster success, the parent power-themed, feature-length film certainly raised the profile of K-12 education reform. Two moms took charge and took on the bureaucracy and union opposition to change the […]
Amy Oliver Show: Adams 12 Weathers Union Attacks
Adams 12 board member Norm Jennings explains how teachers union leaders have collaborated with a local TV news investigative reporter to attack the district’s fiscally responsible solutions to budget challenges.
Here’s Hoping for a Real Common Core Debate… and Some Real School Choice
More than two-and-a-half years ago, the Colorado State Board of Education adopted the Common Core standards. Just this last December the State Board took another careful look at the decision, as this School Reform News article by my Education Policy Center friend notes. For a number of reasons, the issue has gained greater national notoriety […]
Let’s Not Allow Test Cheating Scandals to Lead to Faulty Conclusions
Let’s go over it again: Standardized tests are far from the be-all and end-all of education. But if we’re not going to put money in student backpacks and make schools directly accountable to parents, how can such assessments NOT be used as a key component of measuring student progress, teacher effectiveness, and school quality? If […]
Well, Teachers Union Leaders Could Use a New Argument Against School Choice
Take your hats off to those teachers union officials, they sure know how to plan ahead sometimes. The Education Intelligence Agency’s Mike Antonucci brings our attention to a PBS Newshour clip in which NEA president Dennis Van Roekel tried to respond to a question about why private educational choice works at the college level but […]
Split Partisan SB 213 Vote Shifts Debate from Real Reform to Raising Taxes
In case you haven’t been following me on Twitter (which raises the question: Why not?), you may not have noticed that the big education bill of the 2013 Colorado legislative session has made its way through the State Senate. As a new Ed News Colorado story by Todd Engdahl highlights, Senate Bill 213 has advanced […]
Change of Heart on Choice, Reform, Funding, and Unions: Time for Ed Is Playing!!
It’s been several days since I’ve had a chance to write here. The end of my spring break provided a lot of time for reflection on some issues that really have been bothering me. Now that I’ve had time to re-evaluate my well-known positions on some key education issues, I feel it is my obligation […]
Post Column Cites DeGrow’s Call for Deeper Student Funding Reforms
In his latest Sunday column, the Denver Post‘s Vincent Carroll cites remarks from Ben DeGrow about the need for more substantive changes in Senate Bill 213, a proposal by Colorado senator Michael Johnston to modify the school finance formula. Carroll notes that SB 213’s adoption is tied to voters approving a billion-dollar tax increase on […]
Looking to the Next Wave of Learning Innovation, and Doing It “My Way”
How many education programs do you know that make Frank Sinatra songs pop into your head? At least that’s what some of the big people I know tell me. (H/T Ed News Colorado) Well, the Colorado Springs Gazette‘s Carol McGraw today featured such an online program from the Widefield School District that is tailored to […]
03/27/13
Education Policy Center Newsletter March 27, 2013
— Center Proclaims Good News for DougCo from Appeals Court
— Center Sheds Light on Anti-Reform Attacks in DougCo
— DeGrow Tackles Big School Finance Reform Debate
— From Online Learning to K-12 Scholarships: Catch the Latest Podcasts
— Eddie Excited by National School Choice Developments
