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Folks have been fawning over Randi Weingarten’s seeming embrace of education reform since her National Press Club speech in November, and Dana Goldstein has a must-read profile of the AFT/UFT president in the latest American Prospect. Weingarten’s media makeover has served her well, leading many to do as Goldstein has and give her credit for […] Read more »

The education chatterers are all a twitter this evening over Sec. Arne Duncan’s “support” for a “continuation” of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. Wonk #1: Tee-hee. Is the Obama Administration really going to go up against Congress on D.C. OSP? Wonk #2: Ooooh. Is Duncan all about the choice now? Wonk #3: I’ve got 10 […] Read more »

It looks like Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), a longtime proponent of D.C. voting rights, would like to hinge his support of District residents winning a voice in Congress on further renewal of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, a voucher system allowing more than 1,700 D.C. children to attend schools of their choosing after having been […] Read more »

Nancy: Joe, did Barack just endorse charter schools as an example of what’s working in public education? Joe: I think he did. Nancy: Everyone looks like they are about to applaud. What should we do? Joe: Do you think the cameras are on us right now? Nancy: I don’t know. Maybe they’re taking a shot […] Read more »

That’s what the union wants KIPP to be – Nice. In the opinion of the American Federation of Teachers, “nice” means giving them what they want, regardless of whether it’s good for kids. Through its NYC affiliate, the AFT has launched a campaign to pressure the leadership of KIPP AMP Academy‘s Brooklyn campus to accept […] Read more »

CER’s recent monograph, Mandate for Change, pinpoints teacher quality as one in a five-part prescription for what ails public education in America today. Richard Whitmire’s essay lays out a compelling argument for addressing the way teachers are evaluated, cautioning “Effective teachers make a difference and the current system does next to nothing to reward effective […] Read more »

Guadalupe Sandoval, a junior at Serra High School in San Diego, CA has had a lot of time to think about teachers and the impact they have on her and other students. Her parents have chosen to send her to a school outside of her neighborhood based on teacher quality (or lack there of). Her […] Read more »

District superintendents around the country – who will be the first port of call for the education stimulus funds – seem to want more than what is already a pretty substantial influx of money. They have their eyes set on the Education Secretary’s discretionary fund (his “Race to the Top Fund”), money that is supposed […] Read more »

All stimulus—all the time. There is nothing like a raucous action film filled with exploding cars and high-powered weaponry to distract you from your troubles and take your mind off your real obligations back home. Like it or not, this is the net effect of the Stimulus package now furiously hurdling through Congress like some […] Read more »

Seemingly always the last question asked in the political arena, President Obama was queried by 9-year-old James earlier during his Elkhart, IN town hall meeting. James asked how the President planned to help our schools. His laundry list of solutions: – Rebuild schools to be state-of-the-art – Train new teachers (and re-train existing ones) – […] Read more »