Idaho Voters to Consider Tossing Out Yummy Education Reform Tater Tots
Progress in education reform, like so many other areas, is never final. Just as bad policies can be undone, so can good policies. Simply put, we can’t rest on our laurels.
I’m sure that Idaho superintendent Tom Luna and the team behind his Students Come First program are well aware of that reality now. Last year […]
DeGrow Discusses Implications to End of Dougco Union Power
Senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow commented recently in an American Family Radio News (One News Now) story about the Douglas County school board’s decision to move forward without a monopoly bargaining agent for teachers. DeGrow told reporter Bob Kellogg that the board’s decision could resonate elsewhere: “Teachers can be treated as professionals, they don’t necessarily […]
Amy Oliver Show: Promoting Early Literacy in Colorado
Colorado Succeeds vice president Scott Laband joins guest host Ben DeGrow to discuss the implementation of the READ Act (HB 1238) adopted by the General Assembly this year and what else can be done to improve early literacy in Colorado.
Devil’s Advocate: Denver Public Schools or Occupy Training Camps?
Tune in to Devil’s Advocate as Denver Public Schools teacher John Peterson and the Independence Institute’s Education Policy Center director Pam Benigno join host Jon Caldara to discuss why both teachers and parents should be concerned about new DPS teacher evaluation criteria that includes encouraging students to “challenge and question the dominant culture,” and “take social action to change/ improve society or work for social justice.”
What the Smart Experts Are Saying about the Chicago Teachers Union Strike
No time to opine today, but the attention of the K-12 education world is on the continuing Chicago teachers strike. A lot of pixels are being used to cover the topic, but I believe the following are the most informative and insightful:
Dr. Terry Moe, one of the nation’s foremost experts on teachers unions, writes at […]
Upward Spending, Revenue Trends Add Context to Tax-Hiking School Districts
At least 23 Colorado school districts are going to local voters this year to ask for some kind of tax increase. Five of the nine largest districts are seeking a mill levy override to boost operational funding. But a closer look at the state’s numbers shows the five districts experienced significant growth in most areas of revenue and spending over the past decade.
What Do Dougco Reform Foes Think of Chicago Teachers Union Tactics, Remark?
Today’s big education news comes from The Windy City, where thousands of Chicago Public Schools teachers have walked out on strike. Students pay the price as the American Federation of Teachers union affiliate turns down an offer to boost an average salary of $71,000 (or $76,000?) by 16 percent over the next four years.
Even […]
Douglas County Stopped The Machine, Why Can’t Other School Boards?
It’s Friday, so instead of making you read a lot, kick back and enjoy this 4-minute video from Reason TV, explaining how teachers unions’ influence on education politics works like a well-oiled machine:
Earlier this week, the Douglas County Board of Education officially put an end to the automatic dues collection service that helped to power […]
9/6/12
Education Policy Center Newsletter September 6, 2012
— Friday TV Alert: Exposing Social Activism in Denver Teacher Evaluations
— AFT Union Loses Battle to Preserve Dougco Power and Privilege
— Watch John Corcoran, The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read
— DeGrow, Farmer Discuss Back-to-School Union Opt-Out Periods
— Eddie Tackles Colorado K-12 Funding Debate
Winters’ Work on VAM Adds Value to Colorado Educator Effectiveness Policy
I’m guessing that 2012 has been fairly busy for education policy researcher Dr. Marcus Winters. He started with the launch of his book Teachers Matter, which included visiting Denver as the first-ever speaker in the Independence Institute’s Brown Bag Lunch series. And he since has published work on school innovation and productivity, and the […]
Trick or Treat: Teachers Union Rhetoric vs. Priorities?
Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. By Ben DeGrow On August 26, a glowing Denver Post feature introduced Kerrie Dallman to thousands of readers as the new president of one of the state’s strongest and most one-sided lobbying arms: the Colorado Education Association. Dallman told reporter Kevin Simpson that the union […]
Amy Oliver Show: On Protests and Teachers Union Priorities
Senior education policy analyst Ben DeGrow highlights the contrast between the new Colorado Education Association president’s statement that students should be at the “front and center” of the union agenda, and her call to members to show “solidarity” at a Wednesday protest of the Douglas County school board.
