Category Archives: Independence Institute

Last night my friends in the Education Policy Center hosted a get-together for teachers to eat, fellowship, and watch Flunked: The Movie. Afterwards, teachers discussed the themes and stories in the film, expressing a wide range of views. Besides the discussion, a lot of people stayed around for the ice cream sundaes. I wish I could have come just for that part, but the Education Policy Center staff has promised to save me some. Summer just wouldn’t be as good without ice cream. For those who weren’t able to make the movie and the event, here is some of what you missed: Information was given out about the Independence Institute’s teacher website (set to move to a new location soon). A representative from the Professional Association of Colorado Educators shared information about his group. An Independence Institute intern told teachers about the opportunity to take the Free People, Free Markets class. Teacher guests were given the chance to take home copies of some relevant Independence Institute publications – including one on Denver’s ProComp plan, and one on the national Tough Choices report. Finally, the Education Policy Center also made mention of the School Choice for Kids website and handed out […]

Colorado needs more charter schools. We have about 140 now. But many of them are full, and parents keep asking for more. Thousands of families across the state are on wait lists to get into charter schools. On a lighter note today, Denise at Colorado Charters tells us how all those new charter schools we’d like to see could avoid confusion by steering clear of duplicating names. She gives plenty of Colorado examples. After reading through her list, your head will spin. With all the Academies, Pioneers, Frontiers, Excels, and Vanguards, you might think you’re on a car dealer’s lot (or maybe just shopping for car insurance). Denise concludes: In my dream world new charter schools select names that are unique and easy to differentiate. The founders check the Secretary of State’s website to make sure the legal name is available. And, of course, my dream world includes charter founders asking about the feasibility of using a school name before making it official. So here’s a challenge to all those aspiring charter school founders: Pick a name that really sets you apart. How about naming the school after an inspiring national or Colorado historical figure? Whatever it is, find that […]

This post is a little different than many of the usual ones here, but sometimes it’s good to expand our horizons. My parents say that’s an important part of a good education. Well, anyway, a couple months ago, the Education Policy Center (the whole Independence Institute really) made a new friend in Ethiopian journalist Habtamu Dugo, who fled his homeland to avoid persecution from the government. Here’s a 5-minute video in which Habtamu tells his own story: Now living in the United States, Habtamu recently wrote about the problems with his nation’s education system, particularly how the government’s repressive segregationist policy is so harmful to the ethnic groups not represented by those in power.

It’s exciting to see how much school choice has grown lately (even though it would be better to see some of it happening here in Colorado). I’ve told you about new programs in Georgia and Louisiana just in the past several weeks. Well, if you want to get a sense of all the different private school choice programs out there, you have to check out the Independence Institute’s “Voucher and Tax Credit Programs in the Nation” page. The page has just been updated by Marya, one of the nice people here in the Education Policy Center. I know it’s summer, so I can’t stand to think much about school either. But if you want to get a good historical picture of school choice in the United States, you also should read the newly-updated report by senior fellow Krista Kafer. So check out the updated web page and the updated report. Think of it as your homework assignment: a fun homework assignment. Besides, it’s not really that much to read and it’s not due right away either. Back to the playground!

Did you miss the opportunity to come see the movie Flunked? Here’s your chance to do the next best thing: Click here to watch Flunked producer Steve Maggi and Education Policy Center Director Pam Benigno (the really nice lady who lets me write here) discuss some of the education success stories featured in the movie… and some Colorado examples, too. It’s the latest Independent Thinking with host Jon Caldara. If you’d rather watch the episode the old-fashioned way, it will be on KBDI Channel 12 this Tuesday (June 17) at 5 PM.

My friends who run SchoolChoiceForKids.org have made it even easier for my mom and dad and lots of other parents to find a good school for me and my friends. Now you can search for PK-12 non-public schools (private, religious, and independent schools not operated by the government). For each school you can find: Address Map of the area Phone number Web site (when available) Grade levels served Religious affiliation (if any) Schools that only teach preschool and kindergarten are not listed, but you can find all of that information on this special page they created just for preschool. Parents who can’t afford private school tuition may be able to get a scholarship for their kids through one of the private organizations listed here. And don’t forget that you can also look for public schools near you, too.

Two of the Education Policy Center staff – Pam Benigno and Ben DeGrow – just got done speaking to all those in attendance at the Independence Institute Candidates Briefing. It was hard to fit inside of 30 minutes a real flavor of all these busy people (including Marya DeGrow and Raaki Garcia-Ulam) do. There were plenty of good questions from the audience. The candidates seemed especially interested in information about school finance, because it’s so hard to find reliable information. And they’re interacting with members of the public, many of whom drastically underestimate how much our schools spend. This stuff is kind of boring and hard to figure out, but ask Mr. DeGrow for help. He’s done a lot of the hard work digging through the data. But for the candidates here, it gets even better this afternoon, as Pam is going to talk about our School Choice website. Me? I’m going to play outside before it starts raining.

One of the most common critiques of No Child Left Behind is that its goal of achieving proficiency in reading and math for all students by 2014 is impossible to achieve. While it may be impossible for all American public schools to achieve the 100 percent proficiency marks, should we let that excuse stop many schools from achieving 100 percent proficiency, schools that really are able to get there? The Washington Post highlights a Maryland elementary school that already has hit the mark: Last spring, all 184 students in the third and fourth grades at Ocean City Elementary School passed the Maryland School Assessment, or MSA, a battery of tests given by the state every year since 2003 to satisfy the law. The school was the first in the state, apart from a few tiny special-education centers, to meet the goal that has defined public education this decade. “We think of MSA as the floor, as sort of the basics of what all students should be doing,” Principal Irene Kordick said. “We shoot for the ceiling.”… The school serves 568 students in a coastal resort town with an odd mix of families — in oceanfront condominiums, middle-class colonials and Coastal […]

Update: Pam let me know that a couple things quoted from her interview with 9News weren’t quite right. So I’ve marked them below. Yesterday, Education Policy Center Director Pam Benigno spoke out about a proposal to raise school property taxes in Jefferson County: “Well, I think this is definitely not a good time,” said Pam Benigno, director of the Education Policy Center within the Independence Institute. The Independence Institute is a Golden-based, non-partisan government watchdog group. Benigno says the homeowner should not have to shoulder the burden of JeffCo’s increasing costs. “I think that this is, this is too much,” said Benigno. “However, the system is the problem. They will always need more money.” Benigno claims that while attending a meeting on the 2004 bond election [it was actually many years before that], a district staffer told her JeffCo plans on a bond issue or mill levy increase once every four or five years. “As a citizen of Jefferson County, that really makes me uncomfortable to know that they’re planning on raising my taxes every five years,” said Benigno. “And, this time, this has been only four years.” Benigno says the district should take a hard look at the way […]

Some people just don’t want to believe that more boys than girls have a hard time in our education system. The really smart Jay Greene points out the problems with such a new report: The American Association of University Women released a report this week attempting to debunk concerns that have been raised about educational outcomes for boys. The AAUW report received significant press coverage, including articles in the WSJ and NYT. But the AAUW report simply debunks a strawman — er, I mean — strawperson…. Jay Greene goes on to explain how the AAUW report ignores the problem that boys are under-performing in our schools. Joanne Jacobs says the report is missing a big part of the point, too, and concludes: “Focusing more on the learning needs of boys isn’t necessarily bad for girls.” I still think girls are yucky, but Ms. Jacobs has a point. The authors of the AAUW report should have read what Independence Institute senior fellow Krista Kafer had to say last year for the Independent Women’s Forum. I agree with Krista: Parents know what’s best for their boys and their girls, and should be given more school choice to meet the unique needs of […]