New Research Shows Negative Union Impact on Education Outcomes
Starting discussions about the role and effects of teachers unions certainly is one way of pouring cold water on a party or social event. A lot of the topics surrounding K-12 education policy and reform can be emotionally charged. But if you want to step back from the heated discussions and consider what the research […]
Tennessee Study Sequel Pours More Cold Water on Pre-K Enthusiasm
Given new results from Tennessee, and Brookings’ key finding, best optimistic expectations for universal pre-K should at least be severely restrained.
New Survey, Research Point to Need for Balanced Computer Use in Learning
Given the prodigious quantity of blogging here, some may find the contents of this particular post somewhat hypocritical, or perhaps just a little bit ironic. But I certainly strive to keep things interesting. Once upon a time, you heard quite a bit more from little Eddie about blended learning — though recently my eyebrows have […]
Granddaddy of KIPP Studies Shows More Success for Growing Charter Network
I can confess to you that something has made Eddie a little sad lately. That’s just the amount of crazy charter-bashing going on these days. Some of this craziness gets imported locally by reform opponents who twist themselves in knots to dance around their rage at the Jeffco and Thompson boards of education providing fair, […]
Jeffco Union Prez Wants “Big Lift”; For Kids’ Sake, How About Some Peace?
So union leaders and members come to an agreement with pay raises and some concessions from district leaders — an agreement praised by the Denver Post — yet JCEA wants to keep fighting for control. And they want us to believe their focus is what’s best for students? JCEA brass is focused on the “big lift,” leaving many great teachers and even more kids trapped in between.
New York Charter Success: You Know How to Spell It
It’s often been said “you can’t argue with success” (or Success). But that doesn’t stop some from trying. Last year, I pointed out the collective jaw-dropping that took place when test results came back from students in the Harlem Success Academies, a New York City charter network that overwhelmingly serves poor and disadvantaged families. Just […]
A Rocketship Visit to Jeffco: More Than Just Eddie’s Big Dream?
There’s a lot of attention on the school board politics in Jeffco these days. Dealing with it sometimes is a necessity. But to me it’s a shame, given the pockets of great need for students in the Jefferson and neighboring Alameda articulation areas, just west of Denver. Last November I first highlighted the significant positive […]
Close Look at Diverse Charter Options Helps to Tell Us What Parents Want
What do parents want? I’m not sure why people bring this question to me. Based on my somewhat limited experience, I tend to think the answer has something to do with keeping rooms clean, eating fruits and vegetables, minding manners, and not breaking things. When it comes to a child’s education, I think there’s more […]
Performance-Based Learning, Strategic Compensation Keep My Eyes on Mesa 51
When it comes to K-12 education, I tell you a lot about what’s going on in the Denver area and along the Front Range. That’s where most people in our state live. But Colorado is a big place, and it’s good for me to keep expanding my horizons. One of those places is called the […]
Great Minds Assemble to Promote ESA Success for Nevada Students
A couple weeks ago I giddily danced to the national news of this year’s growing momentum behind educational choice. Foremost among recent developments is Nevada’s breakthrough adoption of a nearly universal ESA program in Nevada. This snippet from Leslie Hiner’s new column in The Hill puts the new Education Savings Account in perspective: During the […]
Nevada Joins Ranks of ESA States, Adds Momentum to Educational Choice
A few months ago one of my Education Policy Center friends created one of the first-ever Freedom Minute videos on “The Education Debit Card.” Remember? It’s everywhere you want to learn or Don’t leave home without it. The Education Debit Card is a catchier name for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Dubbed the “iPhone” of school […]
The Most Important Policy Field Trips Are the Ones I’m Not On
Fridays are always better when they involve policy field trips, don’t you think? This morning, I had the pleasure of sitting in on a floor debate on SB 45, which some of you will remember I wrote about a while back. SB 45 may well pass in the Senate, but it doesn’t have much chance […]
