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My friends at the Independence Institute yesterday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission after a local teachers union small donor committee reported giving $2,000 to Congresswoman Betsy Markey’s campaign. As the Longmont Times-Call reports: The teachers’ union committee is not registered with the Federal Election Committee, so it is prohibited from contributing more than $1,000 to candidates for federal offices. “It was an oversight; it’s been corrected,” said Trip Merklein, president of the SVVEA [St. Vrain Valley Education Association]. One of my Education Policy Center friends chimed in about the complaint:

One argument in education I’m already tired of is what’s the impact of union collective bargaining on student learning. Do unions help or hinder achievement? The problem is it’s an oversimplified question, as I once explained a long time ago. But the ever insightful Mike Antonucci from the Education Intelligence Agency put forward an interesting twist to the question on his Intercepts blog. The real effect of teachers’ union contracts, he says, is the 20.7% cost premium for states (including Colorado) with collective bargaining. To take it a step further, it would be good to control this finding for the cost of living to see how much of the premium remains. On that note comes an interesting story from California (H/T Joanne Jacobs): a school employees union “is protesting a program to place parents in volunteer positions on campus.” I guess it comes down to whether you think our K-12 system is primarily a taxpayer-funded jobs program or a means to help educate students and prepare them for the future. I vote for the latter. Whichever priority you choose has consequences–including the cost of education. Definitely something that deserves a closer look.

It sure looks like Denver’s education reform backlash has made some noise of late. As the editors of the Denver Post explain today, what’s really absurd is the venomous propaganda being launched at successful charter schools in the district’s proposal to expand them into the northeast region of the city’s troubled education system: DPS has produced a thoughtful blueprint for reforming schools in northeast Denver, using programs and tools that have proven successful in other parts of the city. DPS board members ought to publicly disavow the misinformation campaign that says charter schools “perpetuate the school-to-jail track” and also alleges that the reforms will “force hundreds of high school students out of their neighborhood.” It is unbelievable that anyone who cares about education, even if they disagree with DPS policy, would use such blatantly false rhetoric.

‘Tis the political campaign season, fa la la la la…. Yesterday the Denver Post published its endorsements of Colorado State Board of Education candidates. This year 3 of the 7 seats are up for election — two open after Board members are retiring and one held by an appointed Board member who stepped in to fill out a term. So what does the Post think?: The Colorado State Board of Education will face many important issues in the coming years, not the least of which is choosing a new education commissioner. The balance of the seven-member board is crucial, and we hope voters will choose to elect reformers who will continue the good work that has put Colorado at the forefront of education reform. One critical issue is the approval of the nuts and bolts of a new teacher evaluation system that will link teacher tenure to student achievement. Now, look. Little Eddie doesn’t touch candidate endorsements with a 10-foot pole. All you big people out there have to decide who you want to serve on the State Board of Education. But maybe you’re wondering what it is the Board actually does. That I can help with. We’ve got an […]

In his role as writer and contributing editor for School Reform News, my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow recently came out with two articles on charter school developments in other states. First up is a research-based boost for nontraditional public school excellence in one of the Heartland’s cities: Researchers at Vanderbilt University’s National Center on School Choice followed students in Indianapolis who switched from traditional public schools to charter schools. The study found the group, which included students from 2nd through 10th grade, made substantial strides in math achievement and smaller gains in reading. African-Americans made statistically significant gains in math, and Hispanics demonstrated significant growth in reading. “Indianapolis was a district in high need of innovative schools,” said Anna Nicotera, coauthor of the study and director of research and evaluation at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS). “These schools appear to have filled that niche.”

How often do you see a local school board proactively promoting school choice — including choices inside and outside the district, for the sake of satisfying the local education customers? Let’s be honest: It’s pretty rare. So maybe it’s time to introduce you to the Board of Education for the Douglas County School District, the third largest in Colorado. Last Thursday the DCSD board sent out a memo that included this interesting passage: We also want to address the perception that the Board of Education prefers one type of school over another. Nothing could be further from the truth. Simply put, your Board supports choice. We believe that informed parents, not Board members, are best suited to determine which schools will best serve the needs of their individual students. Under our Superintendent’s leadership, schools are making efforts to define themselves clearly. We strongly support these efforts so that parents have the best information to choose which school will meet the unique learning needs and goals of their children. This work will also provide choices for teachers to match their professional styles with the school’s learning environment. Our role will be properly limited to ensuring that all schools operate on a […]

You might be saying by now: When will this kid stop writing about the movie Waiting for Superman? To be honest, I don’t know. I’m too young and impulsive to plan that far ahead. But since today is the movie’s official opening in Colorado, what better reason to bring it up again today? Well, here’s one. My Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow got the opportunity to conduct a 5-minute exclusive interview of the movie’s director Davis Guggenheim. You can listen to it online. Special thanks to the gracious staff of the Colorado Children’s Campaign for their help in making the interview possible after their special 25th anniversary luncheon event. (For another Guggenheim interview from yesterday’s event, check out Ed News Colorado’s blog, complete with video.) No, make that two reasons: My Education Policy Center friends are going to see the movie today. Do you think they invited me? No. Not even to cheer me up from the “Reformer-Michelle Rhee-Resigned-from-Her-Job-in-D.C.” Blues. So maybe if they read this, they’ll feel guilty and invite me along. At least I hope so. While my friends soon will be Done Waiting to watch Waiting for Superman, this Colorado kid can’t wait any longer to […]

Sorry, no long post today. I’m sad, and reeling a bit. My edu-crush and reform hero Michelle Rhee has announced her resignation as chancellor of Washington, D.C., public schools. Guess I knew it was coming, but was probably in denial. The place to go for thoughtful reactions is School Reform News, where many respected education reformers weigh in (H/T Jay Greene’s blog) — including Robert Enlow, Virginia Walden Ford, Greg Forster, Matt Ladner and Lisa Snell. They offer an important reminder: “Rhee was overhyped in the sense that reformers need to put broad systemic reforms in place, like the DC charter law, in addition to strong leaders,” Ladner said. “Rhee lasted approximately the average tenure for an urban superintendent. Leaders come and go, but the struggle for reform goes on.” “Rhee was not overhyped,” said Forster. “What was overhyped was the whole heroic reformer model that says the system can work as long as we put the right people in charge of it.”

An article in yesterday’s Denver Post brought attention to a new report by our friends at Colorado Succeeds that urges Colorado to follow Florida’s lead on education reforms. Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah… Jeb Bush’s Stellar Education Reform Record Worthy of Colorado Emulation (July 2008) Bolstering the Case for Jeb Bush’s Education Reform Success (October 2009) Florida Keeps Star Role Among States in Improving Student Test Scores (March 2010) CSAP Scores Get Little Attention, But Call for Expanding School Reform Approach (August 2010) If Colorado policy makers read the report and follow the Florida formula, frankly I don’t care who gets the credit. The Denver Post story focuses heavily on two planks of the Colorado Succeeds report’s five-plank recommendation: 1) End promotion from 3rd grade to 4th grade until students prove basic literacy skills; and 2) Improve the Colorado Growth Model with clearer, easier-to-understand letter grades and other consequential refinements.

Look, I’m going to admit up front that little Eddie isn’t inherently balanced, not when it comes to discussions education issues anyway. I have a point of view. It’s no secret. I try to back up my arguments with evidence as much as I can, but in the end I have some pretty strong beliefs of which I also try to persuade my readers. But then again, I’m not a public affairs television program on PBS. If I were, then maybe you could add Studio Eddie to your regular boob tube viewing routine. Instead, PBS viewers last week were treated to this hour-long Studio 12 panel discussion, inspired by the new film Waiting for Superman, about current, pressing education issues: