Wyoming School Makes Me See Myself as “Sr. Online Communication Specialist”
Hey, wait a minute! Doesn’t America have an unemployment problem? Do we need a bunch of kids glutting the job market? I have to ask because Michelle Luce, writing for Education Debate at Online Schools, brought my attention to a Fox News story about a Wyoming school giving jobs to elementary students:
“My son Kaleb is […]
Bogey Man School Board Story in Colorado’s Largest District Lifts Hopes
Hey, guess what everybody? I heard that some people running for office right now want not only to bring bogey men into little kids’ bedrooms like mine, but also to feed them (with whatever bogey men eat) and…. It’s just a rumor, you say? Well, someone should write a story about it anyway. Call the […]
R.I.P. Steve Jobs, Sensible and Courageous Voice for Education Reform, Too
A couple days ago we lost a great American entrepreneur: Steve Jobs. A million words have been offered up to commemorate his untimely passing, and the tremendous impact his genius and innovation have had on our society and our daily lives. There’s not much more I can say. I’m too young to remember life before […]
Proposition 103: More Tax Dollars for Schools Makes No Sense
Do you want government to throw even more of your tax dollars at Colorado teachers unions and their pet politicians, or do you actually want better education for Colorado children? Proposition 103 is about throwing money. Sponsored by Sen. Rollie Heath (D-Boulder), and endorsed by Colorado’s largest teachers union, the initiative would increase income tax rates by 8.0% and sales tax rates by 3.4% — both for five years. But decades of increasing school funding has not increased student test scores.
Time to Follow Florida and End Social Promotion for 3rd Graders Who Can’t Read
Yesterday I told you that effective education reform might be ready to give Iowa a try. A major piece of the plan proposed by Gov. Terry Branstad and education department leader Jason Glass is to end social promotion for 3rd graders who can’t read. Well, my timing as usual is golden, since key Colorado education […]
Inquiring Minds: Is Major Education Reform About Ready to Give Iowa a Try?
In this musical play my grandma told me about, called The Music Man, there’s a song that strongly suggests people from Iowa are stubborn, and (kinda tongue-in-cheek) tells listeners that “you really ought to give Iowa a try.” Back in January, my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow noted how one-time Colorado education innovator Jason […]
Suttons Bay Joins Harrison with More NFL-Like Teacher Pay Innovations
Last week I shared with you an update about the Harrison School District’s forward-thinking teacher compensation system. Led by superintendent Mike Miles, the Colorado Springs-area district is one of the few in the state, or even in the nation, to completely discard the old salary schedule and its rigid payment of teachers based on years […]
Colorado Proposition 103 Tax Hike Blue Book: Not Just for Eddie to Color On
A couple days ago my parents received in the mail a little blue booklet. Since most of the things we receive in the mailbox anymore are junk, I was getting ready to decorate it with my crayons when my mom told me to stop. It turns out the “Blue Book” is an election guide from […]
Harrison School District’s Bold Pay Reform Shows Early Success, Draws Attention
At my Education Policy Center friends’ recent series of Colorado school board candidate briefings, one of the local reforms they highlighted was Harrison School District Two’s groundbreaking pay-for-performance system, known as Effectiveness and Results (E & R). Well, who knew during the briefings that a little sensational news would give certain local bloggers a platform […]
9/28/11
Newsletter September 28 2011
Colorado School Districts Part of Mediocre Picture in International Comparison
Last week I pointed you to a provocative new Rick Hess essay that asked whether education reform has paid too much attention to focusing on urban, high-poverty areas and on closing achievement gaps. Well, almost as if on cue, Jay Greene and Josh McGee write in Education Next about their new study on how suburban […]
Fordham’s Checker Finn: School Districts Ready to Go the Way of Horse & Buggy
Fordham Institute president Checker Finn asks the provocative question: Are local school district boards and the 19th century governance structure they represent about ready to wither away and disappear? The Education Policy Center has raised the issue before, saying we need more local control by students and parents. Could such a change be in Colorado’s future?
