Category Archives: Innovation and Reform

Mashed. Baked. Au gratin. French fries. Hash browns. Tater tots…. Other than the fact it’s almost lunchtime, why am I talking about potatoes? In honor of my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow’s newly-published School Reform News article “Idaho Gov. Signs Two Sweeping Reform Bills”: Amid a rancorous atmosphere that included vandalism against Idaho’s top public school administrator and threats of violence against lawmakers, Governor Butch Otter (R) signed a pair of bills aimed at a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s elementary and secondary schools. Senate Bills 1108 and 1110 both passed Idaho’s upper chamber by 20-15 votes, with eight Republicans and the entire Democratic caucus in opposition. The bills passed by large margins in the House. Together the legislation would phase out teacher tenure and phase in performance pay, include student achievement and parental input in professional evaluations, and limit the scope of public-employee union collective bargaining.

A random Monday posting… First of all, let me clarify that this post has nothing to do with old Star Trek movies or even older Mongol hordes. If you are interested at all in the future of education but haven’t heard of Khan Academy yet, now is the time to start getting up to speed. Khan gives every indication of being at the forefront of entrepreneurial education transformation. And you might even want to be aware of the free learning opportunities the Academy offers now! Today, Joanne Jacobs points to a California news story about Egan Junior High successfully using Khan’s online learning tools in the classroom:

I began the week by telling you about the series of “Innovation Conventions” going on in Falcon 49 — a school district serving about 15,000 students east of Colorado Springs. (Background: Check out District 49’s innovations page and the links it contains, especially the open letter from the Board, the iVoices podcast interview and the op-ed by Ben DeGrow.) An article from yesterday’s Colorado Springs Gazette by Kristina Iodice highlights the latest “Convention,” this one hosted at Falcon High School for 100 staff and parents from the Falcon Zone. A couple of my Education Policy Center friends were there to listen in and observe the process unfold.

You may have missed it because you were recovering from the New Year’s holiday, but I told you a couple months ago how Florida’s new governor Rick Scott was considering some pretty bold education reforms. The first two points of consideration I listed were: Following Colorado’s lead by tying a significant portion of teacher evaluations to measured student academic growth Phasing out tenure for K-12 teachers by denying it to new hires Something similar was attempted last year in the Sunshine State, but then-governor Charlie Crist took his big veto pen and halted Senate Bill 6 in its tracks. Well, yesterday, SB 736 (called the “Son of 6” by the local Naples News) passed the house of representatives and now awaits the new governor’s signature. No one, and I mean no one, expects Scott to pull a Crist on this serious legislative attempt to overhaul teacher tenure and evaluations:

You may have already heard about last night’s BIG news from Douglas County: The Board of Education voted to adopt (quite possibly) the nation’s very first ever school board-approved private school choice scholarship program. And the vote was unanimous! What took me so long to post this, you say? Trying to recover from last night, where I was Tweeting up a happy storm! What more can I say? Find a full report at Ed News Colorado, as well as blog coverage by Jay Greene and Adam Emerson. Get more details from the Douglas County School District choice page, or better yet, from the press release below sent out today by my Education Policy Center friends:

Today I’m trying not to think about the past and focusing instead on the future. By the past, I’m referring to yesterday’s vote in Colorado’s House Education Committee that killed the “Parent Trigger” bill (aka HB 1270). This blogger Victor from the Education Action Group says the “education establishment won their fight.” Disappointed only begins to describe how I feel. Also sad for the kids trapped in the lowest-performing schools. But it’s time to look ahead. Not that far, either. As in tonight, a huge vote is taking place in Douglas County to approve the Blueprint for School Choice — including a first-of-its-kind choice scholarship pilot program for private school students. Please note: School choice supporters need a show of force for important Douglas County Board choice scholarship vote: 5 PM, Dougco Admin Building, 620 Wilcox St, Castle Rock, Board of Ed room (upstairs).

Has it really been a whole month since I wrote about the Falcon 49 innovation plan — not to mention the Cookie Monster? Time flies. Next thing you know, I’ll blink and turn 6. Anyway, over the weekend, we saw one of the first promising signs that the district’s innovative reform is gaining traction. The Colorado Springs Gazette reports on a gathering of key players in the Vista Ridge community: Teachers, parents and district employees at the district’s first “Innovation Convention” mulled110 ideas including tapping Google for online tools including e-mail, changing teacher evaluations and scheduling more time for planning and collaboration. As Falcon pursues streamlining the administration and bringing power down to the building level, these conventions can play a critical role in making the schools more productive, responsive and focused on student needs. Yes, one meeting doesn’t begin to solve every problem. But among other things it does get the process rolling toward identifying specific waivers that should be requested under the Innovation Schools Act — such as costly job protections for ineffective teachers. Innovation Conventions for the other two zones (Falcon and Sand Creek) are scheduled for this week. Making positive change seldom is easy, or so […]

It has been said that flattery will get you nowhere. I don’t know who said that, but it wasn’t a 5-year-old education blogger and his name wasn’t Eddie. My Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow hosted a podcast with prolific education blogger and new media entrepreneur Matthew Tabor from Education Debate at Online Schools. After Matthew put up this post late yesterday, Ben wants to record podcasts with all the prolific education bloggers he can: …Ben is a favorite of mine because he exemplifies that holy trinity of blogging: clear, concise and thoughtful. Think about it – it’s tough to pull off all three at the same time. Also, from what I hear, he’s a mentor to 5-year old education blogger Eddie, who posts his analysis of education policy at Ed Is Watching. You can’t buy that kind of good press. Well, maybe you can. I just haven’t saved enough in my piggy bank to even begin imagining the possibility. It’s not the first time Matthew has said nice things about me, this blog and my friends. Anyway, the podcast discussion is thought-provoking and hopefully inspiring. Please listen! And for all that and more, I urge you to bookmark Matthew’s […]

One of the great cliches in policy is that “one size doesn’t fit all.” Well, cliches get to be that way by having some truth behind them. Kind of like my dad’s spiffy loafers are a little big for my feet when I try them on, sometimes even the best state policies need to be tweaked to meet the needs of local communities. Ed News Colorado reports on yesterday’s State Board of Education meeting, in which Kit Carson R-1 became the state’s first district to receive innovation status: The State Board of Education voted 6-1 Wednesday to grant an innovation application from the Kit Carson school district. A key feature of the plan grants the district waivers from some provisions of Senate Bill 10-191, the landmark educator evaluation and tenure law. The vote is noteworthy because board members faced a seeming conflict between the 2008 Innovation Schools Act and last year’s educator effectiveness law. It’s interesting, because as Ed News’ Todd Engdahl notes, the lead Democratic sponsors of the two pieces of legislation both come from the same northeast Denver Senate District 33. SB-191’s Senator Michael Johnston succeeded former Senate President Peter Groff, who championed the Innovation Schools Act. On […]

Indiana is one of those states where an ambitious education reform push is underway. Interestingly, the Indianapolis Star reports today on some new evidence (H/T American Federation for Children) bolstering part of the legislative package supported by Governor Mitch Daniels and State Superintendent Tony Bennett: The Star looked at charter schools’ scores on ISTEP [Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress] and new end-of-course exams in math and English for high school students last year and compared them with scores in Indianapolis Public Schools. The comparison showed: Charter schools’ overall performance on ISTEP very closely matched that of IPS, but charters ranked somewhat higher on year-over-year improvement for their students compared with those who had similar scores in English.