See Also:
WHAT'S NEW HOME PAGE
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WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 2000
WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 1998
GONE A-COURTING: Judge
Solomon Oliver ruled against the Cleveland
Scholarship Program, which currently allows more than 3,000
disadvantaged children to attend the school of their choice. In Missouri, The
Center for Education Reform has filed a "friend
of the court" brief in support of Missouri's charter schools
that face a suit by the St. Louis Public School System to stop charters in the
district.
PRESIDENT JEANNE ALLEN'S MONTHLY
LETTER TO FRIENDS:
No. 58, December 1999: Standards and Testing and More - Oh, My! ·
Pride and Prejudice · A Holiday Parody: The
Blob Who Thought It Stole Christmas · The Year
in Review · Looking Ahead · The
Spirit of Giving
NEW WEB PAGES: CER is happy
to introduce new pages for those in the education reform trenches, focusing
particularly on the issues and activities of concern and interest of TEACHERS,
PARENTS and POLICY
MAKERS. Get right to where you need to go, on education reform
information, resources and action.
HOLIDAY
CHEER: "The web site Center for Education Reform has been selected for
a Go Network Award, for the Education
topic page in the Go.com Directory. Each site in the directory has been
carefully reviewed, and [the CER] site is one of the best for its subject
area." Go.com / Infoseek reviewers gave the CER Website its top rating for
education reform, charter schools and school choice. Click here for more about
CER and our web site.
DO THE MATH: "If public
leaders cannot agree on the importance of lessons as basic as the multiplication
tables, it's fair to ask whether they are leaders at all." Los Angeles
Times Editorial ... "Parents should take a long, hard look at their
children's math program -- especially if it has been recommended by Washington's
so-called Expert Panel." Linda Seebach, Scripps Howard News Service
... 'The poorest kid in the Bronx should have access to the best program because
that kid could be the next Albert Einstein ... If you take this mediocrity
across the U.S., no one will benefit.'' math teacher Lawrence Braden quoted by Associated
Press. More in the News ....
Take a sneak peek at the cover story of the
November issue and find out: Does Music Class Help Children Learn?
Or, to get the full scoop on raising educated children, grading grades, the
power of play, and more on music, subscribe
today.
PRESIDENT JEANNE ALLEN'S MONTHLY
LETTER TO FRIENDS: No. 57, October
/ November 1999: Parents for the Status Quo · From the Trenches
· The Curriculum Wars, Part I: Reading · The Curriculum Wars, Part
II: The Great Math Debate · School Choice and the Courts · On
Charter Schools · You Know It's Time For Reform When ... · A Few Good Men
NO WARM WORDS FOR FUZZY MATH:
About 200 mathematicians and scientists, including four Nobel laureates, have
written an open letter to U.S. Secretary of
Education Richard Riley urging the federal government to withdraw its
endorsement of 10 mathematics programs for schoolchildren. Summed up
signer David M. Klein, "The dumbed-down programs ... hurts the
students with the least resources the most." Visit our Standards
and Curriculum Library and the Monthly Letter
for more on the debate.
NEW FOR YOU: CER introduces
two new web areas specifically designed to help parents
and policy makers get right to where they
need to go, on information, resources and education reform action. Coming soon
... a page specially for educators.
SCHOOL CHOICE IN THE COURTS:
A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court clears the way
for 700 new students to participate in Cleveland Ohio's school choice
program, staying an earlier decision by Ohio District Judge Solomon Oliver that
prevented these families from participating in the 3-year old program. The
Supreme Court's decision goes uncontested by the district court. Says CER's
Jeanne Allen: "It's a great decision! Its just too bad that the opponents
continue to saturate the courts with nuisance lawsuits that don't help children.
We look forward to the day when school choice is a right, not just for
those who have money but for those who are less privileged too." Meanwhile,
in Florida, the court battle in defense of A+
school choice program is just beginning.
In the October issue of Parent
Power, now on-line, learn: How to Make A Difference by Being a Leader at
Your School; Why We Need Small Schools; What You Should Know About Testing; and
Whatever Happened to ... Penmanship?
WORDS OF WISDOM in CER's
Education Forum: Tracy Thomas on the
latest antics from the leader of the "don't worry, be happy"
everything's-fine-in-education crowd, Education Dean David Berliner; Gov.
Jeb Bush and Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan on the positive influence Florida's
path-breaking statewide school choice program is having on the state's public
schools; ousted NAACP leader Willie H. Breazell Sr. on the benefits of school
choice for those most disenfranchised from today's education system.
INTRODUCING: CER's Newswire
emailing list brings you the latest on reform issues and activity around the
nation, including news on: school choice, charter schools, standards and
assessment, curriculum, and other reforms that achieve quality and
accountability in schooling. Join
today to get these regular updates delivered directly to your email in-box.
President Jeanne Allen's Monthly
Letter to Friends of The Center for Education Reform, September, 1999, No.
56:What a month! Andrew Young joins the school choice train; a Colorado
Springs NAACP board member follows suit. Denver teachers adopt a merit pay plan
in sheep's clothing, and the SAT gets worse! And it's barely fall! Join us in a
review of what else is happening, starting with a hearty welcome message to this
fall's One Thousand, Six Hundred Eighty Charter Schools!
REFORM IN THE NEWS: As
students return to the class room, the current state of academics in America is
foremost on everyone's mind. CER applauds US Education Secretary Riley's support
for the proven success of high standards and small schools, but emphasizes
that even nationwide reform must be a local effort, and offers five powerful
reform actions for policy makers. The results of such approaches can already
be seen in notable successes around the country.
In Florida, for instance, the new competition of the state choice program is spurring
public schools to stay of the Failing Schools list. But such
successes are not deterring the anti-voucher PTA from using
school children in their efforts to disseminate false and misleading information
on school choice. And with the further
dumbing down of the SAT, reformers and
conscientious educators and parents still have much work to do.
REFORM RAINBOW: While
it's not always apparent, it is people of color who are leading the charge in
the states to turn reform ideas into reality. CER's
summer Leaders' Forum: Lessons from the Front --
Triumphs in Education Reform from the Rainbow highlighted the
real stories of real people involved in urgent, dramatic and passionate calls
for change. UPDATE: A community NAACP leader
joins the ranks of the reform rainbow, but is ousted from the NAACP for his
support of school choice. And check out: VOUCHERS
STRAIN OLD ALLIANCE, More minorities are backing school choice - parting ways
with the Democratic stance, by Gail Russell Chaddock, The Christian
Science Monitor, September 23, 1999.
NEW PAGES: CER brings you a special
Back-to-School Section that focuses on the latest education reform
issues of interest to parents and other reformers, offers support for those
"in the trenches" working to improve their children's and community's
schools, as well as provides a few quick takes on recent education outrages.
Speaking of outrages, CER also brings you the new Blob
Watch page, tracking all the miss-the-point mischief of those Big
Learning Organization Bureaucracies. Visit both these pages to gather
ammunition, support and insight for your education reform efforts.
CER's
CHARTER SCHOOL NUMBERS ARE IN: As
the kids go back to school nationwide, an unprecedented number of them will be
attending charter schools. CER's up-to-the-minute tally: 1,684 charter
schools will open their doors to approximately 350,000 children in 32
states and the District of Columbia.
SMALL REPRIEVE: Late Friday,
the Judge partially dissolved his injunction against Cleveland Ohio's full
school choice program, allowing 3,214 scholarship students who participated in
the program in prior years to continue attending private schools.
587 students who were to take advantage of the scholarships for the first
time now face the prospect of returning to the failing public schools. The Institute
for Justice filed papers in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
to gain full relief for these children. NATIONAL VIGIL: In
protest of Judge Oliver's legislating from the bench to shut down Cleveland's
school choice program, choice activists held candlelight vigils in cities
nationwide on Tuesday, August 31st.
ACCOUNTABILITY
IS KEY TO REFORM: What is the fix for struggling schools? High standards
are essential. But while more than 40 states claim to have standards, only a
handful actually require schools and students to meet them. Consequences are
critical motivators. Students say they're not challenged. Teachers concede the
system doesn't reward excellence. Standards matter only when they count. Jeanne
Allen in USA Today
OHIO
CHOICE PROGRAM STALLED, Oliver Says "No More": 4,000 of
Cleveland's poorest children, who thought they'd been given the chance of
a lifetime to attend a school of their choice, are being sent packing back to
the public schools that failed them in the past. In a Dickensian twist, it
was Judge Oliver who said NO to poor students asking
"Please, sir, can I have some more," when he granted voucher opponents
an injunction against the Cleveland Scholarship program, despite the program's
two years of verified success. PARENTS REACT: The Judge's decision to
shut down the program days before students were to go back to school had parents
reeling: "Please don't take this away from us.... I'll work 10 jobs before
I send him to the public schools.'' one mother told the New
York Times.
President Jeanne Allen's Monthly
Letter to Friends of The Center for Education Reform, August, 1999, No. 55:
SNEAK PEEK: One year into a privately funded school choice program for
low-income students in New York City, students are making gains in reading and
math. In Philadelphia, 1,000 children applied for just over 700 seats at
the Mathematics, Civic and Sciences Charter, one of 27 area charter
schools serving roughly 8,349 children this fall. Meanwhile, ETS is dumbing down
the SATs some more.
EDUCATION
FORUM: Washington state's new Academic Achievement and Accountability
Commission, popularly known as the A+ Commission, has stalled in a debate over
the make-up of its nine members. Democratic Governor Gary Locke, who only a few
months ago signed the bill into law, has subsequently refused to pick anyone
from the GOP nominee list. The credentials of the Republican nominees are long
on active and meaningful reform, and short on status-quo protectionism. Hear
from nominees Jim Spady, Patricia
Lines and Lynn Harsh.
IMPACT
- EDUCATION: "The problem is a power problem, which is
why the solution rests with restoring control, providing more control for those
who have the least of it, which is parents and teachers, through things like
charter schools where you start publicly autonomous but locally controlled
schools that are free from union-dominated contracts." Jeanne Allen in
the news on The O'Reilly Factor.
CER
releases the third in the series CHARTER SCHOOLS: A Progress Report. Part
III: The Ripple Effect tackles the question "Do charter schools improve
public education?" In a system of 80,000 public schools nationwide, a mere
1,400 charter schools are having a significant and measurable impact, and
instigating true systemic reform. CER documents how charters are impacting
individual schools, changing the attitudes of whole districts, and benefiting
public education over all.
Poll after poll reveals Americans’
growing dissatisfaction with the current condition of public education, and
their growing support for school choice as a dynamic solution. CER explores the
latest developments in this issue in School
Choice Today, an overview of the programs, the obstacles and the
effects of school choice for students and communities.
THE GOOD NEWS:
Who Says Standards Don't Work: The
Alexandria, VA school district is the first to announce the results of this
year's Virginia standards testing, showing increases ranging from 3 % to 18% in
math, English, history, science, and computer technology, and proving that the
adoption of rigorous standards, with consequences, is an important ingredient to
improving education. THE BAD NEWS: SCHOOL
CHOICE IN THE NEWS: Despite
the abundance of evidence that choice programs are having an impact on school
districts, some reporters continue to present a discouraging picture downplaying
the success of school choice.
President Jeanne Allen's Monthly
Letter to Friends of The Center for Education Reform, June, 1999, No. 54: "I'm
Melting!" ·
And Now for the Tin Man Prize ·
The Cowardly Lion ·
The Scarecrow · Special
Events · Catch
a Wave! · Florida's
Wave · New
York Charters Approved · Who,
Me? · From
the Trenches · On
Charter Schools · An
F for Connected Math
NOW
AVAILABLE: CER's National Charter
School Directory 1998-1999. CER's annual directory provides an overview
of the dramatic growth of charters throughout the country -- 65% in just one
year, bringing the current total to 1,205 operating schools. In addition to
contact information on over 1350 operating and approved charter schools, this
188-page directory also includes state and national statistics on operating
schools, enrollment, grade levels, and sponsorship, as well as contact
information for state-level charter support organizations. Order
your copy online right now.
CHARTER WATCH:
On May 28, 1999, OKLAHOMA USHERED IN THE NATION'S
37TH CHARTER LAW; meanwhile, a look at THE
REAL UNIONS unveils their negative and agressive reaction to
charter legislation and activity around the country. As the charter opportunity
begins to chip away at the public schools' traditional seniority-based
job-security structure, replacing it with merit-based accountability, union
leaders step up their efforts to stop the progress through rhetoric and
legislation.
CHOICE
AND CHARTER LEGISLATIVE ACTION: AROUND THE REFORM
WORLD IN 30 DAYS: Oregon charter school and
alternative teacher licensing legislation … Minnesota charter
law improvements … New Hampshire school choice bill for poor
students in failing schools … and strong Oklahoma charter
school legislation.
President Jeanne Allen's Monthly
Letter to Friends of The Center for Education Reform, May, 1999,
No. 53: The Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education ·
Nero Fiddles while Rome Burns… ·
From the Trenches… ·
Good Vibrations ·
On Teaching ·
States Tackle Teacher Quality · On
Littleton.
Reflections on the
Tragedy in Littleton: Tragedy Strikes our
Students: CER President Jeanne Allen offers insights on one of the
"culprits " in the Columbine High shooting — large, cold, impersonal
schools and the loss of community; and the Colorado State Board of Education
asks "What is to be done" in our
homes, our schools and our society as we all search for meaning in this tragedy.
School
Choice: FLORIDA'S A+ PLAN:
Bringing Choice and Accountability Home: Thanks to the efforts of
Florida lawmakers and thousands of ordinary citizens, children in the Sunshine
State will be waking up to the promise of better schools. Florida's A+
Education Package has made education reform history as the first statewide
choice program and one that stresses public school improvement and
accountability. Also: For more background on nationwide choice activity, see
recently updated CER paper CHOICE IN ACTION.
Political
Developments: CALIFORNIA
CHARTER SCHOOL LEGISLATION: Two Steps Forward and Two Steps Back,
By Pam Riley, Center for School Reform, Pacific Research Institute, April 16,
1999. A CHOICE WIN FOR MILWAUKEE:
An Exclusive Interview with Re-elected School Board Member John Gardner, April
9, 1999
President Jeanne Allen's Monthly
Letter to Friends of The Center for Education Reform, March / April, 1999,
No. 52: The Grammys of Math Reform ·
Wipe Out! ·
The Score on Reading ·
On Content ·
From the States · Mea
Culpa ·
New from the Center for Education Reform ·
Food for Thought
TUNE IN
ONLINE: Radio America presents Report
Card, hosted by The Center for Education Reform’s president
Jeanne Allen and Denis Doyle, Hudson Senior Fellow and education analyst. Report
Card, a weekly discussion of the current direction and projected course of
education in America, is the first and only national radio program to address
our country's education concerns. Also: Charter
Schools: Hope or Hype? from The Merrow Report, National Public Radio’s
series on youth and education. Participants included CER President Jeanne Allen.
Call CER's NEW TOLL
FREE HOTLINE to learn about late breaking and important news to assist
your reform efforts: 1-877-433-8228,
or "read all about it" here on the website.
THE FEDERAL ROLE: Leading
education scholars and state and local policymakers find that federal programs
aimed at improving public education have become obstacles to significant school
reform. Also, Lisa Graham Keegan, Superintendent of Public Instruction
for the State of Arizona, testifies on federal reauthorization of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. See Condition of Education
in The Education Forum.
NEW CHARTER PUBLICATIONS: CLOSURES:
The Opportunity for Accountability, Part II of CER's Charter School
Progress Report series examining successes and struggles
experienced by charter schools. ACCOUNTABILITY:
The Key to Charter Renewal, A Guide to Help Charter Schools Create
Their Accountability Plans by Bruno Manno. Shows how developing a strong, clear
accountability plan can give the charter-school community a clear
sense of what’s expected of it and establish the basis on which its
effectiveness will be judged going forward.
President Jeanne Allen's Monthly
Letter to Friends of The Center for Education Reform, February
1999, No. 51: On School Boards · "Dave’s
World" · From the States ·
On Achievement Gain... · In North
Carolina… · On Unions ·
More on School Choice · Reflections
REFORM
FORUM: SCHOOL CHOICE: "Education: The
Schools that Vouchers Built," by Sol Stern in City Journal,
Winter 1999. CHARTER SCHOOLS: Joe Nathan
responds to the results of a charter school study released by Minnesota's Office
of Educational Accountability.
President Jeanne Allen's Monthly
Letter to Friends of The Center for Education Reform, December 1998 -
January 1999, Nos. 49 & 50, CER National Conference and
5th Anniversary Celebration Issue
The Case for Radical Reform · Stories from
the Front · The Quest for Better Schools in
Three Cities · Bringing About Charter
Schools: Three Success Stories · A View From
Outside the Box · Salute to the Nation's
Unsung Heroes · Education And Choice: Taking
It One School At A Time · What Are We
Teaching Our Children? · Going From A Nation
Still At Risk To A Nation Strong · The Next
15 Years
WHAT'S NEW HOME PAGE
WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 2001
WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 2000
WHAT'S NEW ARCHIVE 1998
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