Category Archives: School Choice

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 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).

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.

When Mondays come, especially when the Monday is cold and wet and foggy, I’m on the lookout for good news. For parents seeking a better educational option for their kids, I just might have the sort of news you’re looking for. First and foremost, my Education Policy Center friends have added a new feature to one of my personally favorite sites on the Internet: School Choice for Kids. As if the site weren’t parent-friendly enough (but can it ever truly be?), a series of new brief, informative podcasts have been added to select pages. The four English and three Spanish podcasts provide a quick overview of the subject matter and point users to relevant other pages and features on the site — like this one on public online education. Coincidentally, another school information website was unveiled today. The Center for Education Reform has launched YourCharterSchool.com. The site offers an interactive map of the United States with links to all 5,301 charter schools nationwide. Nothing against this new site: In fact, I’ve got it bookmarked as a resource in case I’m looking for a charter school somewhere outside Colorado. But I’m still partial to School Choice for Kids. Not only does […]

A couple weeks ago I told you that the “parent trigger” idea was coming up soon for consideration in the Colorado legislature, and dispelled any idea that it might have something to do with guns or horses. Remember? We’re talking about empowering parents to change low-performing schools so they can improve them. Ok, so now it’s finally here, and it has a number: House Bill 1270 (PDF). If you live around Denver like I do and have the alternative of being bored this evening (and 8:30 isn’t past your bedtime!), then I truly hope you’ll tune in to tonight’s Devil’s Advocate show on Channel 12, as HB 1270 sponsor Rep. Don Beezley and my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow talk about the “parent trigger” with host Jon Caldara. An Ed News Colorado story earlier this week gave a nutshell explanation of what HB 1270 would do:

Last Thursday a couple of my Education Policy Center friends took part in the Colorado Coalition of Cyberschool Families Day at the Capitol event. Although a bit cold and windy in Denver, it was a great time to see hundreds of students, parents and teachers show up and make a statement about what public school choice and virtual learning means to them. The day’s proceedings began indoors down the street from the Capitol, as students had the opportunity to work with teachers on fun projects and parents could listen to some informative presentations. One of the first speakers of the day was our own Ben DeGrow, who shared with the audience Colorado’s background with public school choice, how parents can help make school choice “work” and some of the parent-friendly resources from the Education Policy Center. Including, I’m told, this little blog of mine. Thanks for the plug! Later everyone marched down to the west steps of the State Capitol for a rally with speeches from cyberschool parents, students and leaders, as well as a couple legislators, along with award presentations to some deserving online students. And then to top it all off, a great lunch! Special thanks go to […]

I think a lot of the policy makers, experts and officials out there don’t get how little patience a little kid like me has. (Or maybe they just don’t care.) But there’s only so many hours I can spend playing Legos, or running around the house screaming and getting on my parents’ nerves, without knowing the details of what’s going to happen with Douglas County School District’s groundbreaking private school choice idea. The last news we heard, my Education Policy Center friends reported on the GoBash blog back in early December. That was right after the DCSD board unanimously adopted a resolution to increase parental choice. A few weeks before that, I told you about the public debate and shared informative arguments in favor of the school choice proposal. At last, today the Denver Post is reporting that district officials have released their first draft including details about their groundbreaking private school choice program (known as the Option Certificate Program):

In a high-tech media world, it’s still lots of fun to get an actual print copy of the Sunday newspaper. That’s what my parents do. Sunday afternoon as I was digging through the newest edition of the Denver Post to find the color comics, I ran across something called the “Perspective” section. What did I find, but two (not just one) very interesting pieces on K-12 education in our state — things I have told you about before right here on the blog. How exciting is that!

Friday seems like a good time to take a step back and look around the country at a slate of school choice legislation. Writing on the Flypaper blog, Jamie Davies O’Leary highlights a number of proposals in Ohio that are being given serious consideration, including: Expanding the Cleveland voucher program statewide, removing all enrollment caps and the “failing school” requirement Establishing a scholarship program available to all special-needs students, not just those with autism Creating education “savings accounts” that would empower parents to save additional scholarship funds for future educational use Meanwhile, Amy Graham at redefinED has provided updates on bills advancing in Indiana and Pennsylvania — states that already have school choice programs but are taking some serious looks at expanding opportunities. She also takes note of Arizona, which among other school choice enhancements is looking to develop “Empowerment Accounts” for special-needs students. Georgia has several bills to strengthen its special-needs scholarship program, while Oklahoma is considering a Parental Choice in Education Act. Maybe I’m a bit partial, but it seems like Colorado’s HB 1048 tuition tax credit legislation should be added to the list, too. While it faces a steep and uphill battle this year, the idea has […]