Has it really been more than six whole months since the Hollywood movie Won’t Back Down hit the Denver and national scene. While not a blockbuster success, the parent power-themed, feature-length film certainly raised the profile of K-12 education reform. Two moms took charge and took on the bureaucracy and union opposition to change the trajectory of a failing school.

At that same time last fall, the Center for Education Reform released the first-ever Parent Power Index. Colorado ranked 14th in the measurement of parent access to school choice, vibrant charter school and online learning options, quality classroom teachers, and transparent information.

Today comes the sequel and the exciting, bold-headline update that our state has climbed the rankings from 14th to 13th! We’re above the national average, at least, which should placate some status quo defenders who cling to that point of comparison.

Since Parent Power is such an important piece of improving K-12 education, I thought it would be helpful for Colorado to look UP and see the 11 states (plus D.C.) that rank higher on the Index, the Dazzling Dozen:

1. Indiana
2. Florida
3. Louisiana
4. Ohio
5. District of Columbia
6. Arizona
7. Georgia
8. Wisconsin
9. Minnesota
10. Utah
11. Michigan
12. Pennsylvania

Aim high, Colorado! When it comes to Parent Power, we can certainly do better!! Why not start with a scholarship tax credit program like so many other states have?