Good Summer News: Two Arizona Choice Programs on Verge of Expansion
There’s no time like summertime to focus on some good news, even if it comes from some place even hotter than home: Arizona. Thanks to Matt Ladner guest-posting on Jay Greene’s blog, I learned that the Grand Canyon State is a small step away from creating more opportunities for students and families after the legislature [...]
Attacks against Dougco Market-Based Pay Miss Economic Mark, Educational Reality
A few days ago I told you about the national attention attracted to Douglas County School District’s market-based pay system. That was before Choice Media highlighted the story on its Ed Reform Minute, or the Education Intelligence Agency’s Mike Antonucci linked to the Reuters story with the quip: In Douglas County, Colorado, they are actually [...]
Amy Oliver Show: New Statewide Online School Breaks Innovative Ground
Falcon School District 49 innovation zone leader Kim McClelland discusses the newly-approved statewide Colorado Prep Online Academy, a K-12 school. Authorized by the Colorado Digital BOCES, the first to focus solely on high-quality digital learning, CPOA will provide both online and face-to-face instruction, including opportunities for concurrent enrollment.
Wisconsin Looks at K-12 Tax Deductions: One Better for Colorado?
Governing magazine reports today that Wisconsin wants to join the cadre of states that offer private school tax deductions: Last week, the Wisconsin legislature’s Joint Finance Committee approved new tax deductions for families that put their kids in private school as part of its 2013-2015 budget. The plan allows for families to deduct up to [...]
Dougco’s Market Pay Innovation Draws Attention, Gives Hope of Progress
Education Transformers may get impatient at the pace of progress. Douglas County may be unique among school districts in taking the commonsense approach of differentiating teacher pay based on how hard it is to find someone to fill the position. While the rarity of such policies in K-12 may be frustrating, it’s encouraging to see national attention on the plan, like the new Reuters story.
Numbers Tell Part of the Tale: Drilling into Census Bureau’s Colorado K-12 Data
Mike Antonucci is doing yeoman’s work at the Education Intelligence Agency, going state by state to update K-12 student, employee, and spending data from the U.S. Census Bureau. I’ve called on his helpful charts that show the relationship of pupil enrollment to teacher hiring, and how states (and even districts) are doing financially compared to [...]
Devil’s Advocate: Colorado Charter Schools Turn 20
Education Policy Center director Pam Benigno and longtime Colorado League of Charter Schools president Jim Griffin reflect on the 20th anniversary of Colorado’s Charter Schools Act, the third of its kind in the nation. The guests share colorful stories from the past and discuss some of the state’s charter successes.
Better Than Dusty Old History: Learn How Colorado Got Its Charter School Law!
Just a short one today. Because it all has to do with things that happened in the way-back long ago dark ages of 1993 (before my time), I defer to my Education Policy Center friends. What better place to start than today’s Denver Post column by Vincent Carroll, who writes about when the good guys [...]
Carroll Invokes Center’s Charter School History Paper
In his June 5 column recounting when the good guys in education reform prevailed, the Denver Post’s Vincent Carroll touted the Education Policy Center’s “painstakingly evenhanded” retelling of how Colorado’s 1993 Charter Schools Act — the third of its kind in the nation — came to be:
[Authors Pam Benigno and Kyle Morin] give credit to [...]
Independence Institute Joins National Employee Freedom Week
DENVER – Today, the Independence Institute announced its participation in National Employee Freedom Week, a first-of-its-kind national campaign to remind union members about the freedom they have to leave their unions.
National Employee Freedom Week (NEFW), which will run from June 23-29, 2013, will highlight how unionized employees often don’t know they have the legal [...]
