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Deep down we know that our public school teachers are anything but a “one-size-fits-all” model. They’re human beings, right? And not only are some more effective at their jobs, but they also often have different experiences, philosophies and points of view. As Mike Antonucci observed in pointing out an online Alexander Russo interview with Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Michelle Switala, the most recognized successful teachers especially tend to have a maverick quality about them. Locally we have an even better and timelier example, as CEA member teacher and fellow Ed News Colorado blogger Mark Sass takes union leaders to task for their disingenuous attacks on SB 191: Colorado’s teacher effectiveness bill. Among other things, Sass points out that he and a few other CEA member teachers testified in favor of the legislation. Unlike in many other states, Colorado teachers can choose to join or not join a union or other professional organization. And many make their decisions to do so for a wide variety of reasons. The information on our Independent Teachers website is there to help them. But it’s disappointing (and hardly surprising) to see CEA leaders sometimes act as if they’re speaking on behalf of all their […]

Last night’s House Education Committee hearing on Senate Bill 191 went really late. My mom made me go to bed, so I missed a lot of it. But my Education Policy Center friends tell me it was quite the show. And given the reports I’ve seen, I have to agree. Kudos goes to three reporters (along with legislative staff and others) who stayed late to burn the midnight oil until the hearing ended at 12:37 AM. They have a strong case for earning overtime — if not combat — pay. Oh, the melodrama their stories just begin to tell….

This week the state’s latest 3rd grade reading test scores came out. As the Denver Post‘s Jeremy Meyer points out, the results were disappointing: Year after year, the number of proficient third-grade readers in Colorado stays mostly the same — hovering around the 70 percent mark — mirroring a trend occurring nationally. On Tuesday, the state released unofficial and preliminary results of the Colorado Student Assessment Program third-grade reading test, showing 70 percent of the students proficient or advanced in reading, 3 points lower than in 2009. Of course, the big picture sometimes clouds bright spots:

I bet you didn’t know it’s Teacher Appreciation Week. As we near the end of the year for most Colorado schools, it’s a perfectly fitting time to show your appreciation to your teacher, your child’s teacher or some other important teacher in your life. Why else is it fitting? It’s also THE week in the Colorado House of Representatives for Senate Bill 191, the Great Teachers and Leaders bill. Important policy questions about teacher quality that will have profound impacts on Colorado schools and classrooms will be decided this week. Some teachers come down on one side of SB 191, and some on the other. But as I pointed out on Monday, only one side gets tax funding to argue its case. Another favor you can do to show appreciation to Colorado teachers at least is to point them to the information on the Independent Teachers website, so they can make the best informed decisions about their professional memberships and the uses of their funds for political purposes. Information teachers and other education employees in our state can use all year long. Whatever you do, I hope you don’t end up saying “Screw Teacher Appreciation Week.”

It wasn’t that many months ago the Colorado Supreme Court decided it has the right to decide our state’s school funding policy in the Lobato case. Faithful readers have seen me write about it on several occasions. A couple months ago the plaintiffs — including some funded by school district tax dollars — filed a new official complaint, arguing that Colorado public schools are so under-funded that students are denied an adequate education, in violation of that state constitutional mandate of a “thorough and uniform” system. As reported in Ed News Colorado, Colorado’s Attorney General last Friday filed a response: In standard legal language, the answer rejects most of the plaintiffs’ claims or terms them legal conclusions that don’t require an answer. The AG’s filing claims the plaintiffs lack standing to bring the case, seek an unconstitutional remedy and that their claims violate the separation of powers. It asks that the court rule in the state’s favor. I happen to think the Attorney General is right. But anyway, thanks to the Colorado Supreme Court, Round 2 of the long, costly legal battle is now underway. It could be many years and many taxpayer dollars spent on both sides before the […]

A couple weeks ago I brought your attention to the fact that it was THE week for Senate Bill 191, the monumental effort to reform Colorado’s teacher evaluation and tenure system. Well, now that THE week is over and the bill passed the senate, this week really is THE week — as it goes up for a critical House Education Committee vote on Thursday. In the meantime, the heated debate over SB 191 has brought attention back to a locally-negotiated special perk for many teachers unions — tax-funded release time from the classroom for teachers to lobby against the bill. I have asked the question before: Where is the accountability for school employee union leave activities? In an op-ed published three (count ’em, three) places since Friday, my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow says the latest experience with release time to rally against SB 191 makes the issue as relevant and as significant as ever. Take your pick:

Last Friday I told you that a great new education movie called The Cartel is coming to town. In fact, on this coming Tuesday at 7 PM, at Denver’s Chez Artiste Theatre, my Independence Institute friends are co-hosting a special screening event with a brief Q & A following the movie. Given the events of this week, in which thousands of New Jersey students walked out in protest at proposed K-12 education budget cuts, watching the film takes on all the more fresh relevance. As edublogger Matthew Tabor points out, the adult organizers who incited the event are doing a disservice to students by showing no interest in truly solving the Garden State’s education problems. Had they watched The Cartel with an open mind first, they might have taken a different perspective on quite possibly the most fiscally bloated and corrupt state education system in the nation. Got your attention yet? If you’re still not sure about whether to come, I invite you to read a brand new review of the film written by local blogger Joshua Sharf. It provides a refreshing and insightful perspective, coming from someone smart and thoughtful who isn’t enmeshed in the finer points of the […]

When I saw the opinion article in today’s Denver Post titled “Keep the government out of teaching,” I thought I was going to encounter a radical libertarian argument for the “separation of school and state” — or at least something like universal vouchers. You start reading the piece, and realize it’s a response to a previous column written by local radio talk host Mike Rosen defending the Texas State Board of Education’s newly-approved social studies curriculum. Oh, okay. So judging by the title then, this column is arguing for government bodies to stop imposing curriculum decisions on schools or for expanding school choice so parents can pick a school with a different curriculum. Right?

One of the main ingredients that gives public charter schools the opportunity to thrive in a competitive environment is the degree of autonomy to determine its own culture, curriculum, program, budget and personnel policies. But just how much autonomy do they have? We know that because of different laws and policies, all states certainly aren’t equal. The Center for Education Reform’s annual report card on states’ charter-friendliness is the leading example. But today the Fordham Institute released a report that takes a closer look at 100 charter schools in 26 different states, rating them on a carefully-developed metric of autonomy in the areas of: Vision and Culture, Program, Staffing, and Financial and Governance. An interesting aspect of the report was not only taking into account the effect of state laws but also adding the impact of contracts signed between charter schools and their authorizers (e.g., school districts) on autonomy in these different areas.

People in Iowa, avert your eyes for a moment. The shame might hurt too much. Did you see this story? Thanks to Mike Antonucci, I learned today about the “teacher who Un Des-Moines her own protest.” For all you Cleveland Indians fans out there, that’s what we call a pun. The Iowa State Daily tells us more about the protest: Earlier that week, students arranged a gathering outside of Merrill Middle School in Des Moines to protest the cuts before the school day started March 8. The rally was organized by Theresa Hoffman’s language arts students while Hoffman got an OK with Merrill’s principal. “They were very upset that we lost shop and drama [last year], and then when they heard we were going to lose vocal music and that I am retiring and a math teacher is retiring, and they’re not replacing us, they’re concerned with the size of classes,” Hoffman explained