What's New in Education Reform 
and on the CER Website
Archive 2000

See Also: 
WHAT'S NEW HOME PAGE
WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 2001
WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 1999
WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 1998

COURT REPORT: 
BAD NEWS: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has struck down the Cleveland Scholarship Program, dealing a devastating blow to the educational futures of the nearly 4,000 Ohio children, but paving the way for sending the case to the nation's highest court. 

PRESIDENT JEANNE ALLEN'S MONTHLY LETTER TO FRIENDS: Special Holiday Edition, No. 66, December 2000 - January 2001: For Seven Years, Making Schools Work Better ... · The Year 2000 at CER: Highlights · A Toast to Some Dynamic Reformers · Business Delivers Better Schools, CER's Second Annual Leader's Forum · Education Reform: The Future Looks Bright: The Annual Meeting of the Education Leaders Council · The School Board Network: Uniting Local Board Leaders for Change · A Toast to the Media that "Get-It" · Dear Santa: CER Christmas Wish List

December 2000: Find out all about The New Face of Home Schooling, and check out all of the December issue of Parent Power!, now online. Then sign up to receive your full issue in the mail, or sign up to receive free, instant electronic notification when each issue of Parent Power! is posted to this website.

SCHOOL CHOICE IS HERE TO STAY; PUBLIC TRIES IT, LIKES IT says CER president Jeanne Allen in response to premature rumors of its demise by the NEA and others of the education status quo. Newspapers from USA Today to the Washington Post agree, giving rousing endorsements to education voucher activity in various states. Get all the choice news coverage of this hot election-year topic.

ELECTION 2000 RESULTS
TOO CLOSE TO CALL: With those words still echoing days after Super Tuesday, it's time to get specific about what the returns mean for education reform. Check in here for CER's rundown of the winners, the losers, and the judgment calls.

PRESIDENT JEANNE ALLEN'S MONTHLY LETTER TO FRIENDS: No. 65, November 2000: Eureka! · On Charter Schools · No Education Crisis? ·  Short Takes ·  A View from the Blob ·  We give thanks…

GOOD AND PLENTY: What do we know about charter schools? Plenty! CER studied 52 research reports, and found that the conclusion of the overwhelming majority (49)  is that charter schools are innovative and accountable, create opportunities for the children that attend them, and have a "ripple" effect on traditional public schools within their jurisdiction. Still, there are those who will tell a different tale ... Link to: What the Research Says About Charter Schools 2000. IN THE NEWS: Vast Majority of Charter School Studies Show Positive Findings, Education Week, November 8, 2000

TESTING THE NEXT GENERATION: Fewer than half of state tests are linked to state education standards and goals, and fewer still are linked to high stakes for students or the public schools they attend. But in those states that have adopted high-stakes testing, the results show that many students fail to meet basic, minimum standards for their grade level. Link to full report.

NINE LIES ABOUT SCHOOL CHOICE: ANSWERING THE CRITICS: With a number of tax programs supporting school choice and nearly 80 privately-funded voucher programs up and running, the case against school choice is unraveling every day. Nine Lies sets the record clear and provides the ammunition to prove the critics wrong. Meanwhile, Florida kids win when the state's successful choice program is declared constitutional. 

September 2000: Check out Don't Know Much About History from our latest issue of Parent Power! here online. Then sign up to receive your full issue in the mail. 

PRESIDENT JEANNE ALLEN'S MONTHLY LETTER TO FRIENDS: No. 64, Back to School, September 2000: "Best of" at a glance …On Testing · …On School Choice · …On Unions…and their dance with reform ·  From the Trenches ·  The Good News ·  Reality Check ·  You Know it’s Time for Reform When… ·  Words to the Wise ·  Achievements ·  Headlines We Like

CER's Back to School 2000 Series offers issues, insights and action to help you get back into the school swing. Topics include recent SAT and NAEP scores, the latest crop of charter schools, and the power of polling and how Americans really feel about their schools and education reform.

To assist you with the start of the new school year, we've put the entire August 2000 Back to School issue here online. Start with our cover story checklist that helps you determine: Is your school great? And find out about how to evaluate teacher quality ... and finally, how to decipher just what those state-issue, stat-packed school report cards really mean about the state of your neighborhood, district and state schools. 

CHARTER SCHOOLS IN THE NEWS:  
KANSAS EDUCATORS TURN TO WEB TO CREATE UNIQUE 'VIRTUAL' SCHOOL: "I don't think it's a trend or the world to come, but charter schools will be suited to meet students' needs," CER President Jeanne Allen told The New York Times .... The initiatives in California and Kansas have shown they can provide an important alternative. 
Investor's Business Daily's BITE IN THE BIG APPLE MONOPOLY reports that "beginning in the fall of 2001, the [New York] city's board of education is likely to privatize five to 10 schools; maybe even 20. They will be turned into charter schools, to be run by private firms or nonprofit groups. Parents whose children will escape New York's poorest schools should give the board members a welcome fit for heroes. The Center for Education Reform found that charter schools give parents what they want: smaller schools, academic rigor, basic instruction and academic improvement." 
See more at CER and Education Reform In The News.

MONEY MATTERS: Since the first charter law was passed in 1991, charter operators have struggled against tremendous financial odds to create a place where children can succeed and thrive academically. CER Action Paper "Solving the Charter School Financing Conundrum" provides advice and models to policy makers, community leaders and reformers who see that the success of charters is necessary for the success of a thriving public school system.

MAPPING CHARTER ACTION: How does your state rate? Find out what's happening with charter schools in your state. Is there a law? Is it any good? How many schools, serving how many students? Who's there to help? Get all the stats and resources, links to schools and and support websites, as well as history and late breaking developments, from politics to academic achievement. Surf to your state from CER's Charter School Map USA.

LESSONS FROM FLORIDA ON SCHOOL CHOICE: When Florida passed its A-plus program only a year ago, a bevy of Chicken Littles said that public education would soon die in the Sunshine State.... So this June, when the latest scores of how well Florida school children write, read and count were released, the critics' silence was shocking. Rather than doomsday, the program had sparked major improvements in all public schools. The result? None of the F schools had repeat Fs. Progress was made ... progress that 20 years of the same old solutions couldn't produce. -- By Jeanne Allen, Scripps Howard News Service, July 31, 2000.

BLOB WATCH

• NEA: Despite the growing national focus on teacher quality issues, this year's annual conferences of the two largest teacher unions gave little attention to how to recruit, retain and reward high quality teachers. Instead, the NEA reiterated its opposition to merit pay, and agreed to dues hike of $10 million annually to fight school choice and other reform efforts focused on accountability and achievement.  The Center for Education Reform challenged the unions to put into play policies and practices to ensure opportunity and excellence for students. Instead, the unions have once again opted for the status quo. See also WITHOUT MERIT, Wall Street Journal Editorial, July 10, 2000.
• AFT: Sometimes education proposals are so sad that they are actually funny. Not to be outdone by the NEA, the American Federation of Teachers has offered up its own miss-the-point perspective on  reform at its annual convention. CER awards the AFT this month's citation for Most Outrageous Proposal for their proposition that only by adding an optional year to the traditional four year track will we be serving more challenged students well. Jeanne Allen's July Monthly Letter looks at the union's latest antics.

PRESIDENT JEANNE ALLEN'S MONTHLY LETTER TO FRIENDS: No. 63, July 2000: Don’t Fix the Schools — Just add more time! · More on the NEA · Dave’s World · On Content · Teacher Quality Focus · Of Law, and Sausage

QUESTION AUTHORITY: Do you know what your PTA does -- or doesn't do? As the National Parent Teacher Association annual conference gets underway this weekend in Chicago, CER has assemble ten questions to help concerned citizens determine where the NPTA stands on critical education reform issues, and whether PTA leaders are doing what they say and saying what they mean. Also check out 20 questions posed by CER to the National School Boards Association on on high-stakes testing, charter schools, private contracting, full school choice, and more...

EDUCATION FORUM ON CHARTER SCHOOLS:
PROBLEMS IN PENNSYLVANIA: Except for in Philadelphia, Just four charter applicants for fall 2000 have been approved in the whole state, thanks to stonewalling local boards and a clumsy appeals process. 
MASSACHUSETTS MILESTONE: The charter schools that have reached the five-year mark are taking advantage of their autonomy and flexibility to create effective learning communities.

PRESIDENT JEANNE ALLEN'S MONTHLY LETTER TO FRIENDS: No. 62, June 2000: The Testing Conspiracy Exposed · The Real State of Testing · Other Testing Reflections · From the Trenches:  Charter Schools, School Choice, and General Reform · In Memoriam

IN THE NEWS:

• TEST CASE: Now the principal's cheating; High-stakes exams provoke official dishonesty. "The cause [of cheating] is not the test, not the standards movement, but some character flaw," insists Jeanne Allen, president of Washington, D.C.'s Center for Education Reform. "These tests . . . are challenging, but they reflect what should be taught in various grades, and if educators are cheating, it means they don't have the ability to get these kids to learn, which means they shouldn't be teaching in the first place." US News & World Report, June 12, 2000.
• CLASS ACT: The ability to develop a solid understanding of each child is the first hallmark of a good teacher. Ms. Olmstead was one of the best. Her not-so-subtle message was that you, too, can learn. This teacher created in her students a respect for the institution called school that they will carry with them through their formative years. That's a great teacher, and one that we can only hope all children someday will have in their lives." -- CER President Jeanne Allen's tribute to retiring kindergarten teacher Carol Olmstead, Stars & Stripes, June 8, 2000
• BILLIONAIRE BACKING WASHINGTON CHARTERS: Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has pledged support for Washington's charter school initiative, " virtually guaranteeing the measure will make the fall ballot. 'If someone as reputable as Paul Allen can get their hands around something like this, I think it will really help a lot of people take notice,' said Jeanne Allen (no relation), president of the non-profit Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C., which tracks charter schools nationwide." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 25, 2000

MYTHS AND REALITIES: Two views on how charter schools are serving students and communities in ways not seen elsewhere in the public school system. Visit the Education Forum and check out SMART BUSINESS MOVE: HELP CHARTER SCHOOLS, by Robert L. Luddy, The News & Observer Raleigh, NC, and CHARTER SCHOOL OPPONENTS IGNORE FACTS, by Paul T. Hill and Robin Lake, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

PRESIDENT JEANNE ALLEN'S MONTHLY LETTER TO FRIENDS: No. 61, May 2000: Celebrating Charter Schools · Choice Ripples through Florida… · …And The Program Continues · Think Globally, Act Locally · On Politics · The Curriculum Wars Revisited: Math – The Real Thing; Reading – Phonics Rules! · Highlights · On Report Cards

In the May 2000 issue, Parent Power! takes a look at the charter school concept, as well as three individual charter schools. SNEAK PEEK: About Charter Schools -- Frequently Asked Questions ... and Answers. Also, take this quiz to find out if you're an educated education consumer...

CHARTER SCHOOLS

• In honor of National Charter Schools Week, May 1-5, CER invites you to VISIT A CHARTER SCHOOL TODAY! Check out links to nearly 500 of the nation's charter schools, as well as and other individual stories that the world needs to hear and see.

• Charter School Laws Across the States 2000. 
  In its third consecutive review and ranking of charter school laws, CER's expert panel gives 19 states with strong laws As and Bs. Strong laws foster the development of numerous, genuinely independent charter schools. The 18 remaining states are weaker across the spectrum, precluding parents and children from fully benefiting from inclusion of charter schools in the public education system.

• CER's National Charter School Directory 2000, a 280-plus page volume reflects the tremendous growth in charter schools nationwide. The new directory includes information on about 2,000 charter schools, year by year enrollment and growth trends and more!

SCHOOL CHOICE

• THE TRUTH ABOUT VOUCHERS: Competing claims and confusion about what school choice is, how it works, and its effectiveness have obscured a growing scholarly consensus: that school choice experiments have had largely positive effects. Check out the facts and findings, and decide for yourself.
• FINDINGS: A groundbreaking report confirms that competition from school choice is forcing Florida's failing public schools to clean up their act. COMPETING TO WIN: How Florida's A+ Plan Has Triggered Public School Reform, which is based on more than 300 documents supplied by the public schools themselves, found widespread efforts by public schools to improve their instruction and teacher training as a result of competitive pressures brought to bear by the nation's first statewide school choice program. 

• FACTS: The facts show that school choice programs are not only improving the education opportunity for participating children, but are also having a dramatic impact on how non-choice public schools operate. 

In the April 2000 issue, Parent Power! looks at Educational Opportunity Scholarships. The Children's Scholarship Fund gives 40,000 children from low income families the opportunity to attend the school their parents believe is best for them. SNEAK PEEK: An interview with the mother of two children who are benefiting from these opportunity scholarships. To read it all, including an interview with one of CSF's program directors, as well as tips on how to become a school activist, subscribe today.

20 QUESTIONS: CER poses hard questions to the recent gathering of the National School Boards Association. Where do your school board members stand on high-stakes testing, charter schools, private contracting, full school choice, and more... 

SCHOOL CHOICE 
SETBACK: A Florida Circuit Judge ruled on March 14 that the program authorizing Florida's Opportunity Scholarships is unconstitutional. "Given that the unions essentially authored this opinion, it is about as bad and as self-serving a it gets," said Clint Bolick, Litigation Director for the Institute for Justice. The nation's first state-wide choice program was designed to serve as a money back guarantee to parents whose children are trapped in failing schools. More...
HEART OF THE MATTER: Howard Fuller, former Milwaukee superintendent, argues that the central question confronting elected officials, the Supreme Court, and, indeed, the citizens of America is: Should low-income, mostly African American parents receive vouchers that will empower them to make educational choices that a majority of Americans both cherish and take for granted? -- The Continuing Struggle of African Americans for the Power to Make Real Educational Choices, By Dr. Howard Fuller, Institute for the Transformation of Learning, March 2000.

PRESIDENT JEANNE ALLEN'S MONTHLY LETTER TO FRIENDS: The February/March issue is chock-full of what reformers need to know about what's happening coast-to-coast, regarding charter schools, pay for performance, accountability, PTA propaganda, charter schools, the Legos-college connection, and more. It also includes comments from the real people in the trenches, revealing the devotion - and the frustration - when it comes to America's schools. 

HIGH IMPACT: CHARTER SCHOOLS TODAY: Changing the Face of American Education, a new report from CER, offers a vivid snapshot of the charter schools movement in the United States. Less than a decade after the first charter school opened its doors, 1,700 charter schools are not only providing a very popular education alternative, but are having a dramatic impact on other schools in their communities. Check out CER's significant findings, and order your copy today.

POWER SEARCH: CER has just added an improved search engine to our website that gives you more accurate and refined results, and also lets you search specific CER publication libraries, including the Education Forum, the Monthly Letter and our regular Education Reform Updates. More features coming soon...

February Sneak Peek: Is the US Soft on Science Education? Subscribe today to get your issue, and find out more about science education, the role of fathers, how to organize a parents' group, and the real deal on Blue Ribbon schools. 

PRESIDENT JEANNE ALLEN'S MONTHLY LETTER TO FRIENDS:
No. 59, January 2000: Those Who Can … Should Teach! · On Charter Schools · Elsewhere in the Trenches… · More on Teachers · Tough Love
Get the latest on the BLOB's in-the-classroom anti-choice propaganda, teacher quality and retention problems and solutions, charter school school challenges in the court and the legislature, and quoteworthy observations on civic duty, high standards and the carrot and stick of competition. All this and more in CER's January Monthly Letter.

TURF WAR: The ongoing battle between DC charter applicants and district officials over school real estate highlights how even the possibility of competition can make the status quo stand up and take note -- either to change and improve, or dig in their heels. As Milton Shinberg explains in HELP CHARTER SCHOOLS FIND INEXPENSIVE HOMES, "the solution to two major problems facing the District [of Columbia] -­ the dearth of choices in public education and the blight of abandoned school buildings -­ could be solved if the city made its surplus schools available at no cost for charter school use." And the Wall Street Journal chronicles one such battle in CAPITAL PAINS: A PRINCIPAL'S FIGHT FOR A CHARTER SCHOOL RILES SUPERINTENDENT. "The tussle over an old junior high school in inner-city Washington helps explain why charters are growing fast, why many districts are trying so hard to stop them, and why nothing is likely to get fixed very quickly in the meantime." Get all this and more in the Education Forum and Education Reform and CER In the News

NEW RESOURCES
THE BUSINESS OF EDUCATION: For years, for-profit involvement in education delivery beyond textbooks and support services was taboo. But dissatisfaction with the quality of our public schools has paved the way for private organizations to bring the entrepreneurial spirit to the design and delivery of innovative, accountable education. Learn more at our new Education Entrepreneurs page.
SCHOOL REPORT CARDS: Many states offer "report cards" on their schools and school districts, to help parents and taxpayers see just how and where schools are performing, or coming up short. CER now provides links to these school-by-school evaluations for 37 states, and will be adding in the coming weeks. Find out how your school and district are doing.

Sneak Peek: In the January 2000 issue of Parent Power! one parent describes her efforts to improve her children's school: Organizing on the Sidelines of the Soccer Field -- One mom's struggle to overcome complacency in her school.  To get the complete Millennium issue, including the scoop on academics and the visual arts, and the education of boys, subscribe today.

MORE NEW PAGES: As the battles are won or lost, the war for education excellence and access continues. CER introduces new pages to bring you up to date on the latest happenings in the Math Wars, the SAT Scramble and School Choice State-by-State, with a focus on the legislative and court battles in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin.

See Also: 
WHAT'S NEW HOME PAGE
WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 2001
WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 1999
WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 1998

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