EDUCATION - Blogs - Independence Institute

K-12 Finance Reform Video Stars Differ on Weighted Student Funding Views 0
- June 18, 2012
Education Week last week ran with a story touting renewed local interest in the weighted student funding concept. Quoted in the story, the Center on Reinventing Public Education’s Dr. Marguerite Roza noted that while current budget pressures have sparked interest, the policy offers some real benefits:
Weighted student funding can also help promote nonstandard staffing models […]
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Parental Demand for Public Charter Schools Nationwide Growing Fast, Data Show 0
- June 15, 2012
A quick Friday freebie to wrap your mind around, compliments of Education Week’s Sean Cavanagh:
An estimated 610,000 students are on waiting lists to attend charter schools—a jump of about 200,000 from just two years ago, a national organization says.

The National Alliance of Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) — with its brand new executive director Nina Rees […]
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Six Falcon 49 Schools Win Innovation Status as Board Nears Important Crossroads 0
- June 14, 2012
About six weeks ago I shared with readers that the Falcon School District 49 innovation plan was nearing a crossroads. That crucial time may now be upon us. As reported in the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Colorado State Board of Education yesterday unanimously approved requests to give six District 49 schools official innovation status:
“Innovation is […]
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Dougco Union Power Not Worth Sticking Out a Neck?0
- June 13, 2012
Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. By Ben DeGrow In a superb column today, the Denver Post‘s Vincent Carroll raises a question that not long ago would have stretched the bounds of reason: Are these the final days for the Douglas County Federation of Teachers? With June 30 looming as the
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Hey, Abbott!!! Colorado Really Doesn’t Rank 49th in K-12 Education Spending 0
- June 13, 2012
Who appreciates a little creativity from education policy wonks more than I do? Exactly, which is why a big smile covered my face to see today’s posting from Jonathan Butcher at the Goldwater Institute, titled “An Abbott and Costello routine: Who’s on… 49th?” It’s hard to imagine the really old-time comic duo taking on misleading […]
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Teachers Union Officials Get Sappy, Sentimental about Declining Power 0
- June 12, 2012
After the landmark Wisconsin recall elections, American public education has crossed an important threshold of declining union power and a gradual shift away from the industrial collective bargaining model. While NEA officials wax sentimental (“the way they were”), I look forward to a new model of employee relations that respects both teacher voices and options, while focusing primarily on student learning needs.
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