Category Archives: Just For Fun

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 claims about K-12 funding, but Butcher does a great job setting up the parody. Then he brings home the powerful punchline: Since 2007, local media in five states have named their state “49th” in education funding. In 2005, eight states were crowned 49th. While we all argue over who is second-to-last in funding, we ignore the larger problem: Despite decades of increasing education funding, student achievement is no higher today than it was 40 years ago. In Arizona, real per-student funding more than doubled between 1969-70 and 2008-09, but test scores are flat.

Last week, the day after the landmark failed recall elections in Wisconsin, I offered some thoughts about what it means and where it’s all headed. We’ve crossed an important threshold that shows the teachers union power is declining and that the industrial labor model of collective bargaining gradually fades from the governing of public education. But I didn’t realize that the changes would cause the status quo to go all sentimental so soon. Yesterday, the Education Intelligence Agency’s Mike Antonucci sent out his weekly Communique detailing a remarkable revelation from the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union. Following up on the news of significant NEA membership declines and the need to cut staff and budget at their Washington, D.C., office, Antonucci posted from an NEA memo being circulated among union activists: Unlike in the past, our shrinking membership is not the sole product of a down economy from which we could expect to eventually recover. The forces impacting us are so strong that they have indelibly changed our industry, the educational system, and society at large. Things will never go back to the way they were…. [emphasis added] Mind you, it wasn’t my parents who picked up […]

I saw an email this morning from Joe Williams, founder and executive director of Democrats for Education Reform. Receiving such a message is not a noteworthy event in and of itself. But the beginning of the message caught my eye: Five years ago today a bunch of us set out to try to change our party. We wanted to put an end to the days when the Democratic Party was the place where good education reform ideas went to die. We were frustrated but hopeful, despite the long list of skeptics who warned us we were wasting our time. Along the way, many of you like-minded activists – already working to improve education in your communities – joined forces with us and a political movement was born.

To all my fellow education policy geeks out there, it appears that national TV executives have heard our cries and given us what we wanted. I’m not talking about the recent two-hour NBC Education Nation teacher town hall in Denver. However, you really ought to listen to the podcast interview with Branson Online elementary teacher Christina Narayan, as she explained her perspective from attending the event. Nor am I talking about the fact that my family’s favorite Friday night show The Devil’s Advocate last week featured a conversation with Tim Farmer from the Professional Association of Colorado Educators about House Bill 1333, the “options for teachers” legislation. Yes, that’s great, too. But I am thinking about something that could be potentially bigger and feed my video-watching appetite for a long time to come. Choice Media TV’s Bob Bowdon has unveiled the new series Reform School: A Public Forum on Changing American Education. The inaugural episode features a lively discussion on the federal role in education policy with Democrats for Education Reform‘s Joe Williams and Dr. Jay Greene of the University of Arkansas. Two clips have been released on the Choice Media site:

Before diving in, I have to be up front with you: Yes, this is the third time in less than 10 days I’m writing about Douglas County. (And it has nothing to do with the fact that the first legal documents were filed this week in the appeal of last August’s district court permanent injunction overreach — though I’m getting ready for a Court of Appeals hearing to take place some time this summer.) No, this one may lie even further beneath the radar. In 2008 my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow published an innovative school district issue paper titled Douglas County’s Home-Grown Teachers: The Learning Center Waiver Program. Since 2007 the district has had the freedom essentially to train its own teachers in key strategic areas: The waivers enable the Douglas County Learning Center to train three types of teaching candidates: Alternative licensure for non-licensed applicants with content expertise in highneeds areas—especially math, science, foreign language, and technical trades Teachers-in-Residence (TIR) primarily for licensed applicants with non-special education teaching endorsements to become special education instructors Professionals-in-Residence (PIR) for non-licensed professional applicants who “are not interested in seeking licensure” but want to teach a course on a specialized topic […]

What role should value-added test scores play in evaluating teacher performance? While I’m not going to take both sides of the debate, like the nation’s largest teachers union has done recently, there is more nuance to the question than the purpose of this post is suited to address. Maybe you can come to next week’s Education Policy Center event on Teachers Matter with Dr. Marcus Winters and get his thoughts. Part of the debate, however, has filtered into the issue of whether teachers’ value-added (aka VA) performance scores should be disclosed to the public. A couple years ago the Los Angeles Times stirred up controversy by publishing teacher ratings. In February the “Old Gray Lady” herself, the New York Times, followed suit. Rather than opine on the controversy myself, it seems a far better (and easier) approach to bring your attention to the insightful and creative commentary of California’s Larry Sand, author and former teacher known for espousing commonsense views on education issues:

I’m a little down in the dumps today, and the cool, gloomy weather only has a little bit to do with. Ed News Colorado has reported that bold Harrison reform superintendent Mike Miles is all but officially moving on to be chief of the Dallas Independent School District, the 14th largest in the nation. Apparently, I’m not alone in feeling the selfish reaction about what Colorado is losing, an exception in the leadership of traditional public education: Van Schoales, senior consultant to the national Education Reform Now, described Miles’ pending departure as “depressing.” Why, it was barely 10 days ago I carefully brought your attention to a terrific new report Miles wrote for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute on the Colorado Springs school district’s bold and cutting-edge teacher performance pay plan.

A couple weeks ago I excitedly tweeted about a great blog piece in which four of Colorado’s leading Democrats — Lt. Governor Joe Garcia, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, and State Senator Michael Johnston — explained why they support school choice. Then today Todd Shepherd of Complete Colorado forwarded me an interesting little tidbit of information that ties right in. It’s a tidbit that (to the best of my knowledge) no one has reported on, and hey, even 5-year-old blogging prodigies like to share scoops once in awhile. Apparently, on January 9 of this year, Mayor Hancock took a 30-minute call from former tennis champion Andre Agassi on the subject of “Education Reform.” Some of you may be scratching your head, but there is a good reason not to be surprised. After holding the number 1 world ranking, winning eight Grand Slam singles titles and claiming an Olympic gold medal, Mr. Agassi opened a highly-successful Las Vegas charter school, the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy. The school has graduated close to 100 percent of its mostly low-income students ready to do college work.

Today is the birthday of the late, great Dr. Seuss (aka Ted Geisel). Millions of school children across Colorado and the rest of the United States will hear one or more of his stories as part of the Read Across America campaign. The nation’s largest teachers union is one of the event’s key sponsors. Hey, the NEA needs to show off its softer side, too — especially when mired in a losing PR battle. So in the spirit of the day, I decided to reach out to some NEA officials and invite them to become regular readers on my blog. Here is an unofficial transcript of the dialogue*:

Since yesterday’s school choice trifecta was so successful, why not another one to help bring a smashing conclusion to National School Choice Week? We’re in the heart of basketball season — it’s not March Madness time yet — but still “trifecta” gets me thinking about making that long-range jumper for student-centered education reform: