New Fiscal Impact Study Reinforces Benefits of Dougco Choice Scholarship Program
The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice has released an interesting new study titled “The Fiscal Effects of School Choice Programs on Public School Districts.” Author Benjamin Scafidi took a state-by-state look at total per-pupil spending, breaking out the fixed costs from the variable costs.
Here’s the basic idea. Take a state’s K-12 “expenditures on capital, […]
Taking a Few Leaps to Promote Excellent School Leadership in Colorado
Since today is February 29, I’ll take a timely leap from some of my usual fare to point you to two new podcasts produced by my Education Policy Center friends. In the first, Gina Schlieman explains how school-level autonomy has empowered some positive changes in Britain. In the second, foundation president Tom Kaesemeyer highlighted a […]
Colorado Education Transparency Train Rolls On
Union agreements bind many local school boards in how they use public funds, while also setting priorities and policies for local schools and classrooms. What other private group do we allow to have secret meetings with government officials over tax dollars and official policies? Following a 2010 K-12 financial transparency law, HB 1118 would open union negotiations to public view. The education transparency train rolls on.
Comprehensive Milwaukee Voucher Study Shows Some Positive, No Harmful Results
The big news from the education reform world this week is the release of the School Choice Demonstration Project’s final reports evaluating five years of matched student comparisons between the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and the Milwaukee Public Schools. What can we learn about vouchers from the results of this program?
The American Federation for Children […]
Senate Bill 82 Shows Utah Serious about Treating Teachers Fairly
Many Colorado schools and teachers impart to their pupils the importance of fairness, whether through formal lessons, classroom conversations, special events or codes of conduct. Meanwhile, school officials could glean some important ideas about fairness from legislation being considered by our western neighbors in Utah. The grassroots reformers at Parents for Choice in Education are […]
February a Month to Remember (or Forget) in National K-12 Standards Debate
Last spring I told you about a growing movement to oppose the Common Core standards and accompanying assessments, as well as the momentum toward a national curriculum. Well, a recent spate of evidence suggests that the Common Core cause has fallen on hard times, to say the least:
Two recent Pioneer Institute reports not only call […]
DeGrow Comments on Colorado’s Educator Effectiveness Policy Progress
A story today on American Family Radio News (One News Now) about Colorado’s latest step toward measuring teachers based on effectiveness featured comments from senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow. In an interview with reporter Bob Kellogg, DeGrow put the development in context and urged the state to move toward performance-based educator pay.
Denver Foundations Reward Local Schools that Beat the Odds
Tom Kaesemeyer, executive director of the Denver-based Fox Family Foundation, discusses the local cooperative initiative Foundations for Great Schools, which in January announced $500,000 in grant awards to more than a dozen Denver-area district and charter schools successfully serving large numbers of low-income students. Kaesemeyer highlights the genesis of the initiative, some of the key school success factors considered, and future plans to continue the program.
“Education Justice League” Sums Up Research, Points to School Choice Future
A new Education Week column signed by “nine scholars and analysts” lays out clearly what the research says about school choice. In the highest-quality studies, educational voucher and tax credit programs usually show positive, and never negative, effects. The article also reminds readers that we haven’t begun to “exhaust the potential of school choice,” which could create a dynamic market of new possibilities.
Let’s Pay Teachers to Be Effective, Too
Colorado is one key step closer to distinguishing teachers who effectively help students learn from those who don’t. But we certainly haven’t overcome every obstacle to delivering top-notch instruction.The same effectiveness measures that will be used to evaluate and make tenure-related decisions ought to factor significantly into how principals and instructors are paid. This logical leap forward from rewarding educators based on years of service and academic credentials can be enhanced further by paying more for harder job and school assignments.
Can We Put the Schools “in Charge”? Colorado’s Falcon 49 Shows a Different Way
A good thought-piece to read this week is John Katzman’s new Education Week article “Putting the Schools in Charge.” While I don’t agree with everything in the piece, the author has a laudable vision about sweeping systemic K-12 changes and makes some very sound assessments of the best ways to get there. And as I […]
Digital Dilemma: Why Can’t All Districts Filter Internet Device Access from Home?
One of this blog’s themes that regular readers are familiar with is the power of digital technology to help transform the capability and productivity of public education. Combined with the right policies and innovative direction of resources, this technology has tremendous potential to effect positive change. Digital Learning Now’s Roadmap for Reform released last October […]
