State Board Resignation Raises Eyebrows
I wanted to do a fun Friday story today. I really did. But duty calls, and we need to talk about something important in Colorado education: The resignation of Chairwoman Marcia Neal from the Colorado State Board of Education. Many of you are already familiar with Marcia, but here’s a quick bio for those of […]
Students’ Walk in the PARCC Gets a Little Shorter
It wasn’t too long ago that we were in the midst of a high-stakes game of legislative testing chicken. The Great Testing Debate of 2015 eventually ground to a (sort of) conclusion that involved reducing the amount of testing overall and creating a pilot program to look into new possibilities on the testing front. Yes, […]
Thompson Board Stands Firm on Bad Contract; Union Backers Go Haywire
Yesterday I prepped you for the big vote and showdown at last night’s Thompson school board meeting on whether to accept the proposed union contract update. I told you it could go one of two ways: Either the return to the drawing board 1) resulted in some reasonable solutions to board director concerns that could […]
Thompson Gears Up for the Final (?) Battle
We’ve talked an awful lot about Thompson School District recently. And why wouldn’t we? The district and its reform majority are, after all, at the very forefront of Colorado’s ongoing—and increasingly nasty—education reform wars. The board’s attempt to build a smarter, better union contract that does right by both its students has been met with […]
Tuesday Twofer: More Legal Victories for School Choice
This year has been a big year for school choice, and a decidedly bad year for teachers unions. First, a red tidal wave surged across the country in the 2014 elections despite record union spending in an effort to stop it. Then, the school choice aftershocks started. Alabama became America’s 43rd charter state, Nevada passed […]
Little Eddie Digs Out After the 2015 Legislative Session
The 2015 legislative session ended last week, and I have no doubt you are all eagerly awaiting a report on the progress made—or lack thereof. Luckily for you, I have been diligently digging through the aftermath of the 2015’s education battles just as I help dad shovel snow after a big storm. With a whopping […]
Thompson Stands Up for Change
Some famous guy at some point in history once said that the hardest part of any effort is taking the first step. How right he was. Even at the tender age of five, I can tell you that it’s hard to do big, scary, important stuff. But you don’t need to take my word for […]
Drumroll, Please: The Great Testing Debate of 2015 Nears Conclusion
This is it, my friends. We have entered the final phase of the Great Testing Debate of 2015 as the legislature speeds toward the finish line. We’ve been talking about testing since the session began back in January (and even before then), but it looks like we’re nearing the end of the discussion. While we […]
NEA President Reminds Us That Education Policy Belongs in Legislatures, Not Courts
I don’t want to write about the teachers union today. I already did that this week, and it resulted in a whole bunch of grownups calling me and my friend Ross Izard ugly names. When I told Ross, he just laughed and said “If you’re catching flak, you’re over the target.” I don’t really know […]
High-Stakes Game of Legislative Testing Chicken Nears Point of No Return
There’s nothing quite like the last-minute drama of a Colorado legislative session to fire up the creative juices. Last year at this time, I imagined the crazy showdown over transparency in the Student Success Act as an old gangster film. This time around, the big looming education issue is what to do about testing. No […]
If You Want Something Done Right: CEA Steps into Thompson’s Union Negotiations
After observing many of them on the playground, I can say that bullies are interesting creatures. Usually, they figure they can just push you around without any resistance. But stand up to them just a little, and they have to reevaluate. That reevaluation usually involves a two-step process. First, they try out nasty underhanded tactics […]
Whichever Way You Look, Colorado Seems to be Stuck in a Testing Rut
I came across a story in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times under the headline: “Majority of California’s Latino voters highly value school testing.” Given the state of affairs in Colorado, how could something like that escape my attention? A majority of Latino voters, 55%, said mandatory exams improve public education in the state by gauging student […]
