The Choice Channel

“In the last two decades, charter schools have emerged as one of the dominant reforms in public education in the United States. While desegregation and magnet schools were hallmarks of education reform in the 1970s and into the 1980s, by the end of the century charter schools had eclipsed such initiatives to take center stage. From only a handful of schools in the early 1990s, by the 2006–07 school year there were more than 4,000 charter schools enrolling more than a million students in 40 states and the District of Columbia.” (10/08)

http://tinyurl.com/45w97x

“There was nary a blip on my radar last month when the St. Louis Public Schools selected its new superintendent, Kelvin Adams. No disrespect intended to the former staff chief of the Recovery School District of New Orleans. Mr. Adams seems a capable enough leader for the district’s next experiment. Yet, it’s those two words, ‘leader’ and ‘experiment’ that frustrate me. Let’s face it, over the past decades, the city’s public school system has been segregated, desegregated, integrated, chopped up, bused out, decertified and magnetized. Reform efforts have been little more than ill-conceived experiments led by politicians, their appointees and School Board members.” (10/16/080

http://tinyurl.com/42ddrq

“With crises as riveting as failing banks, rising layoffs and mordant mortgages, the electorate is paying less attention to how Americans will obtain health insurance and a good education. That’s understandable in these days of urgency. But in the long term, there is no thriving economy without a healthy, educated population, and the United States is losing ground on both of these fronts. The worsening employment situation will reduce even further the number of Americans with health insurance; over the last 20 years, the percentage of the nation’s workers covered by employer-based plans has fallen by more than 10 points.” (10/16/08)

http://tinyurl.com/3l3aoo

“One of the most misleading statements during the presidential debates was when Barack Obama claimed that William Ayers was just ‘a guy in the neighborhood.’ But that piece of spin is nothing compared to the false story now being peddled by Mr. Obama’s media supporters that Mr. Ayers — who worked with the Democratic nominee for years to disperse education grants through a group called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge — has redeemed his terrorist past. In the New York Times, for example, Frank Rich writes that ‘establishment Republicans and Democrats alike have collaborated with the present-day Ayers in educational reform.’” (10/14/08)

http://tinyurl.com/53kuj8

“It’s mid-October, and with the Presidential Election less than a month away public education is still not playing a major part in the campaign, or in voters’ decisions. The crumbling financial situation, concerns over health care, and the war in Iraq are all more important to the voters and the candidates. And yet, come January, our new President will appoint a Secretary of Education and begin to influence, if not direct, federal education policy. Unfortunately, too many education advisers these days are not educators, and not in touch with the daily successes – and struggles – of schools and schoolchildren. I thought about this on the way home from school on Tuesday, October 7.” (10/14/08)

http://www.forumforeducation.org/blog/index.php?

“Is education one of your top priorities in the State Legislative races in LD-26? If so, your choice comes down to this: Do you like the idea of vouchers for private schools, or don’t you? All three candidates will tell you they’re big supporters of public education. They want more money for schools, higher teacher salaries and lower class sizes. No surprises there. If asked, I’m sure they’d all take equally bold stands in support of motherhood and apple pie.” (10/15/08)

http://tinyurl.com/4kw6pu

“The Philadelphia School Reform Commission should move forward with plans to close Germantown Settlement Charter School. With a final vote set for today, the commission has an opportunity to usher in a new era in school reform by shutting down a charter school for the first time since the movement began in the city 11 years ago. Three charter schools are under federal investigation. The time has come for more accountability and oversight by the School District and the state Department of Education.” (0/15/08)

http://tinyurl.com/54ozld

“Vouchers and school choice have long been a political debate that advocates promise will solve every problem facing public schools and the property tax dilemma that supports public schools. Does this political movement hold promise or is it just another philosophical volleyball of broken hopes and promises? In this month’s article, we will explore the facts. When one takes the subjectivity out of the equation and looks strictly at objective data, there is virtually no data or scientifically credible statistics to support such a philosophical move.” (10/15/08)

http://tinyurl.com/4hg6mk

“Los Angeles philanthropist Eli Broad has probably never met Soledad Moya, an eighth-grader at Middle School 302 in the South Bronx. But both are big believers in an approach that has people wringing their hands and wagging their fingers: paying students to perform on standardized tests. Moya’s school is a 45-minute subway ride from the Manhattan hotel where Broad took the stage at last month’s Clinton Global Initiative to announce a $6-million grant to help launch EdLabs — an initiative at Harvard University to advance innovations in public schools. EdLab’s first order of business is to determine if Spark — the pilot financial incentive program at Moya’s school and 58 others in New York City — leads to concrete improvements in academic achievement.” (10/15/08)

http://tinyurl.com/46x3pf

“In 1940 teachers reported their major problems were talking, gum chewing, noise, running in halls, and cutting in line. In 1990 the problems were assault, robbery, drug abuse, and pregnancy. Forty-three percent of teachers now say they spend more time trying to keep order than teaching. A United States Department of Education 2006 report disclosed that the average is 45 crimes per 1000 students in public schools—and ONLY 28 violent crimes per 1000 students. School shootings are extreme cases of a grimmer fact—public schools have grown increasingly dangerous.” (10/13/08)

http://tinyurl.com/3se3x5