Category Archives: Uncategorized

These are momentous days in Douglas County, Colorado. A 60,000-student school district charting new horizons for parental choice and academic excellence through cutting-edge, performance-based systems? An organized labor interest group frustrated at being stripped of monopoly power? Yes and yes. A lot of eyes are watching what unfolds in the growing suburbs south of Denver. While we wait for the Colorado Court of Appeals to weigh in on the fate of student educational opportunity through the district’s groundbreaking Choice Scholarship Program,opponents of the bold, outside-the-box school board have been trying to make waves.

Local education leaders want to transform a rigid, bureaucratic system — re-imagining the delivery of instruction, giving more freedom, flexibility, and accountability to teachers and principals at the school level. But then some interest groups or just plain old naysayers come along to protest, saying “We’ve never done it that way before.” Or maybe a little self-doubt creeps in and the leader wonders if that’s really something he or she should do. Well, into the fray comes American Enterprise Institute (AEI) education scholar and guru Rick Hess with an Education Next essay to help infuse a little can-do attitude into the discussion:

Truth be told, I tried to find someone else to fill in and do the blogging for me today — a substitute, if you will. It’s Friday, one of the more common days for teachers to get a classroom substitute, at least according to a Harvard study cited in a new Education Week piece by June Kronholz titled “No Substitute for a Teacher.” That’s just one of numerous interesting findings brought up in the article. More likely to take days off are teachers in traditional district schools, in larger schools, or in elementary schools; teachers of low-income students; teachers without a master’s degree; teachers with tenure; or female teachers under age 35. For each of those, I’m sure there are a variety of factors and trends to provide some broad explanations. Kronholz lays out the problems associated with lost learning caused for students when they are under the supervision of a substitute. While many of my peers may find it fun to act up and pick on the substitute, they may not realize that over the course of their K-12 career they could spend six full months in class without a regular instructor! To be fair, classroom teachers do have […]

It’s been a whole year since the last Digital Learning Day, and somehow I’m still 5… Go figure! There is so much going on with digital learning innovations in Colorado, but I just wanted to hone in on one of them. In December, my Education Policy Center friends visited Denver’s Rocky Mountain Prep charter school. Because of the school’s innovative use of the blended learning rotation model, I said it “may be at the cutting edge of an important trend in Colorado.” To get a clearer picture of how learning and instruction looks different at Rocky Mountain Prep, listen to school founder James Cryan’s radio interview yesterday on the Amy Oliver Show. Depending on Rocky Mountain Prep’s level of success, families should demand more such options to emerge in the future. For those looking to start an effective new school that combines online instructional delivery, customized student-centered learning, and traditional brick-and-mortar supervision (in Colorado or elsewhere), Digital Learning Now has just released the Blended Learning Implementation Guide.

You can forgive a blogger if once in awhile he decides to rehash a little old news, can’t you? Especially if he’s a cute little kid like yours truly? Anyway, long-time readers may be aware of my longtime edu-crush on former DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. You also may recall how excited I was to report in 2011 her Denver speech when she declared she had changed her mind in favor of private school choice. Well, I’m all smiles to relive that moment again in this newly-published piece Rhee did for The Daily Beast, titled “My Break with the Democrats,” in which she explains the transformation. She talks about numerous meetings she had with parents who were seeking Opportunity Scholarships to get their kids out of failing DC schools:

It wasn’t so long ago I pointed you to the results of an Association of American Educators (AAE) member survey to drive home the point that teacher opinion is far from monolithic. Well, the good folks at AAE have done it again, releasing a snapshot of members’ perspectives on a number of school reform issues. Not only do strong majorities back a variety of different school choice programs, but they also show themselves to be supportive of policies that would enhance their own professional options:

I’m sad to see a successful School Choice Week winding down. There are almost too many different options of what to blog about. Rather than exercise a choice and just do one of the items, I’ve decided instead to blitz you with a bunch of neat items to bring to your attention:

Back in early December my Education Policy Center friends helped put on a State Capitol event, laying out ideas for dramatic “backpack funding” reforms that need to be at the heart of this year’s keystone school finance debates. We’ve been waiting awhile now to see what Senator Johnston’s “Grand Bargain” legislation might look like. I can get impatient about these things. As Ed News Colorado reports, the time is drawing near, but legislative leaders are proceeding deliberately:

Keep those education policy grades a-rollin’ in! Not even two weeks since I shared with you that the Center for Education Reform placed Colorado 10th nationally for the strength of its charter school law, here comes another rating. The ever-growing National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) has released its fourth annual ranking of state charter laws. So what’s different? (Commence Wonk Speak) NAPCS incorporates more factors into its rating system, including an added focus on issues of ensuring quality control. In addition to measuring access to multiple authorizers, levels of school-based autonomy, and equitable funding, NAPCS also gives credence to transparent approval processes, performance-based contracting, and clear guidance regarding student enrollment and recruitment procedures. (End Wonk Speak) The formula helps Colorado to rank 4th overall, earning 70 percent of the possible points. Remarkably, while the competition is growing from other states improving their policies, Colorado still managed to pick up significant points and gain three spots since last year:

School safety is a big deal. I don’t write a lot about it, partly because big people say I’m not “mature” enough yet to understand it all. But after hearing one of my Education Policy Center friends interview a school board member about a legislative bill he supports, I had to put a little something out there. Senate Bill 9 simply would have allowed local school boards to adopt policies that allow teachers and other school employees to carry concealed weapons on campus. The goal? School security, keeping students safe. Apparently, there have been some pretty awful things that have happened I’m not “mature” enough to know about. (That’s OK, I’d rather not know.) In the end, after a long hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee killed SB 9 on a 3-2 party line vote. Given the nature of the bill, I found this one tidbit interesting: