2003SOURCE: The Center for Education Reform
Highlights of CER and Education Reform in the
News
2003CLASS STRUGGLE: IS HOMEWORK REALLY SO TERRIBLE?, by Jay Mathews, Washington Post, February 18, 2003.
CHANCELLOR'S NEW READING PROGRAM IS UNPROVEN, by Diane Ravitch, Newsday, February 10, 2003. See also CER's February 18 and January 28 Newswires on the subject.
SCHOOL RULES, Washington Post Editorial, February 8, 2003. See also CER President Jeanne Allen's testimony before the Maryland Senate Education, Health And Environmental Affairs Committee and MARYLAND HAS NO CHARTER LAW -- YET by Jeanne Allen, Letter to the Editor submitted to The Washington Post, February 6, 2003
STUDENTS NEED ALTERNATIVES, by Jeanne Allen, USA Today Online, January 31, 2003
N.Y. SUIT CLAIMS DENIAL OF RIGHTS IN SCHOOL LAW, by Michael A. Fletcher, Washington Post, January 28, 2003.
CHARTER-SCHOOL MOVEMENT SPUTTERS AS APPLICANTS DROP, by Robert Tomsho, Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2003
2002ATTACK OF 'THE BLOB' -- Why are teachers unions and school boards trying to kill charter schools?, By Jonathan Alter, Newsweek Web Exclusive, November 27, 2002. For more information on the the AFT report and other Blob charter misinformation, check out CER's Charter Schools Page and CER press release Charter Leaders Dismiss AFT Report; Data Deliberately Skewed for AFT Gain.
NEW FEDERAL RULE TIGHTENS DEMANDS ON FAILING SCHOOLS, By Diana Jean Schemo, New York Times, November 27, 2002. See also RULE ON FAILING SCHOOLS DRAWS CRITICISM, by Diana Jean Schemo, New York Times, November 28, 2002 and CER Newswire December 3, 2002.
CLASS SIZE IS A BIG ISSUE FOR TEACHERS; With as many as 50 students in a room, critics say learning is taking a back seat, by David Pierson, Los Angeles Times, November 5, 2002.
STATE WARNS PARENTS OF HOME-SCHOOL EDICT, by David Pierson, Los Angeles Times, October 10, 2002.
ONLINE SCHOOLS WON'T GET AN EASY 'A', By John Gartner, Wired News, September 2, 2002. For more information on online schooling, see CER's report Beyond Brick and Mortar: Cyber Charters Revolutionizing Education.
CHARTERS OFFER SMALLER CLASSES FOR LESS MONEY, By Joe Nathan, director of the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, in Pioneer Press, September 22, 2002.
CHARTERING SUCCESS, By Jeanne Allen, The Washington Times Opinion / Editorial, September 16, 2002. See also CER Press Release: NEW STUDY: INCONCLUSIVE AT BEST -- Previous Research Counters Brookings Findings.
BROOKINGS STUDY ON CHARTER ACHIEVEMENT, By John Gehring, Education Week, September 11, 2002. See also CER Press Release: NEW STUDY: INCONCLUSIVE AT BEST -- Previous Research Counters Brookings Findings.
TEACHING ABOUT 9/11: Letter to the Editor, New York Times, by Jeanne Allen, September 6, 2002
POLLS FIND GROWING SUPPORT FOR PUBLICLY FUNDED VOUCHERS, By Linda Jacobson, Education Week, September 4, 2002. Link to CER Press Release and CER Poll.
STUDY: CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS SCORE LOWER, By Greg Toppo, Associated Press, as printed in the Washington Post, September 3, 2002. Link to article. See also CER Press Release: NEW STUDY: INCONCLUSIVE AT BEST -- Previous Research Counters Brookings Findings.
FEW EXERCISE NEW RIGHT TO LEAVE FAILING SCHOOLS, By Diana Jean Schemo, New York Times, August 28, 2002. Link to article. For more on the subject, see No Child Left Behind: The New Elementary and Secondary Education Act.OVERALL SAT SCORES REMAIN CONSTANT, By Steve Giegerich, AP Newswire, Aug 27, 2002. Link to article. For more on the subject, see SAT Scramble.
STUDENT TEST RESULTS SHOW GAINS; SAN DIEGO REFORMS LAUDED; SCORES ARE UP NEARLY ACROSS BOARD, By Maureen Magee, San Diego Union Tribune, August 26, 2002. Link to article.
L.A. UNIFIED HAILS REFORMS AS TEST SCORES RISE FOR FOURTH YEAR, By Duke Helfand, Solomon Moore and Erika Hayasaki, Los Angeles Times, August 21, 2002. Link to article.
The New School Choice: Suddenly, Thousands of Students Can Transfer, By Mary Lord, USNews.com, August 5, 2002.
The National PTA: Becoming Irrelevant?, By Jeanne Allen, July 2002, Published in various newspapers, including Elizabeth News Record, New Pittsburgh Courier, Madison Press (London, OH)
SUPREME COURT APPROVES SCHOOL VOUCHERS, By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, Fox News, June 27, 2002.
PRIVATE SCHOOL AID EFFORTS WILL FACE STATE CHALLENGES, By Mary Leonard, Boston Globe, June 28, 2002.
NEXT BARRIER TO VOUCHERS IS SELLING IDEA TO THE PUBLIC, By Richard Lee Colvin and Massie Ritsch, Los Angeles Times, June 28, 2002.
SCHOOL VOUCHER QUOTES, The Associated Press, NYTimes.com, June 27, 2002.
Single-Sex Schooling Splits Thinking, By Ellen Sorokin, The Washington Times, May 14, 2002.
W Hails Queens Charter School, By Nicole Bode, New York Daily News, May 14, 2002.
OVERHAUL IN PHILADELPHIA:Weigh Charter Schools' Data Carefully, Jeanne Allen, Letter to the Editor, USA Today, April 12, 2002.
PRIVATE CONSULTANTS ARE HIRED TO ASSIST PHILADELPHIA SCHOOLS, By Ellen Sorokin, The Washington Times, March 28, 2002
State Educators Ask Not to Be Left Behind, By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, FoxNews.com, March 28, 2002.
California's Schools: Will AB2160 Improve Them? New Bill Won't Help Teachers, By Jeanne Allen, San Francisco Chronicle, March 20, 2002 2001LIGHTS, CAMERA, DISTRACTION: CER's Play- by- Play Analysis of PBS' School: The Story of American Public Education, September 4, 2001.
OUT OF THE COMMUNITY CHEST, By Lori Yaklin, The Washington Times, August 6, 2001
EVOLUTION OF CHOICE: BAEO President Howard Fuller talks to William Raspberry on school school choice, The Washington Post, August 6, 2001
NOT YOUR MOM'S PTA, by Jeanne Allen, Scripps Howard News Service, July 9, 2001
OPPOSED TO BETTER SCHOOLS?, by Jeanne Allen, Washington Post, July 4, 2001.
EDUCATION REFORM BEGINS AT DINNER TABLE, By Jeanne Allen, The Daily Oklahoman, June 26, 2001.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS URGED TO ACCEPT CHARTER SCHOOL APPLICATION, By Jeanne Allen, The Montgomery County Sentinel, June 21, 2001
EDISON'S FATE, THE CITY'S FUTURE
By CHRIS WHITTLE
The New York Times, April 7, 2001
INDIANA'S CHOICE: WEAK OR STRONG CHARTER SCHOOL BILL Commentary by Jeanne Allen, Indianapolis Star, April 4, 2001.
Edison Schools put on probation; boosters enraged: The firm that operates a charter school in S.F. has 90 days to fix problems found by the board of education, By Colleen Valles,Associated Press, March 29, 2001.
SCORE GOES UP FOR CHARTERS STUDIES SHOW ACADEMIC GAIN AMID GROWING PAINS , By Tamara Henry,USA Today, March 28, 2001
Parent involvement gets poor grade from PTAs: Too-busy adults, apathy blamed for drop in interest in school volunteerism, By Kim L. Hooper,Indianapolis Star, March 24, 2001.
Four Bergen districts chafe at charter school proposal, By JEAN RIMBACH,The Bergen, March 14, 2001.
2000EDUCATION NOMINEE ADMIRED FOR TURNING AROUND HOUSTON'S SCHOOLS, by Claudia Kolker, Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2000.
BUSH SELECTS HOUSTON'S PAIGE AS EDUCATION SECRETARY, by Darcia Harris Bowman, Education Week, December 29, 2000.
Excerpts from SCHOOL VOUCHERS: A ROSE BY OTHER NAME?, By Jodi Wilgoren, New York Times, December 20, 2000
Excerpts from SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAM RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL by Andrea Billups, Washington Times, December 12, 2000
Excerpts from RULING VOIDS USE OF VOUCHERS IN OHIO SCHOOLS, By Jodi Wilgoren, New York Times, December 12, 2000
U.S. STUDENTS LAG IN MATH, SCIENCE, By Andrea Billups
Washington
Times, December 6, 2000
MPS ESTABLISHMENT TAKING KORTE'S CUE FOR CHANGE, By Alan J. Borsuk, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 27, 2000
POST WRONG ON SCHOOL CHOICE: WHERE VOTERS HAVE IT, THEY LIKE IT, Letter To The Editor by Jeanne Allen, The Palm Beach Post, November 19, 2000
VOUCHERS TEST WORTHY, Editorial, USA Today, November 16, 2000
VOUCHERS' ELECTION DAY LOSSES SHIFT SCHOOL FIGHT TO LEGISLATURES, By Tamara Henry, USA Today, November 13, 2000
VOTING ON VOUCHERS, Editorial, Washington Times, November 10, 2000
CHARTER SCHOOLS LIKELY TO RESURFACE: With Washington ballot initiative apparently failing, supporters may look to Legislature with revised measure, By Rebekah Denn, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 10, 2000
NO VOTER SUPPORT FOR VOUCHERS: California's voucher proposition failed, By Anjetta McQueen, AP Wire, November 9, 2000
VAST MAJORITY OF CHARTER SCHOOL STUDIES SHOW POSITIVE FINDINGS, by Darcia Harris Bowman, Education Week, November 8, 2000
VOUCHER WARS
Editorial by The Washington Post, November 1, 2000
GORE ATTACK ON TEXAS SCHOOLS MISSES MARK, USA Today Opinion, October 26, 2000. See also CER's Special Alert on the topic.
CHARTER SCHOOLS DO WORK, Letter to the Editor, Washington Post, October 25, 2000.
ANSWER TO VOUCHERS?
By Jeanne Allen
Letter to the Editor, New York Times, October 24, 2000
VOUCHERS ENTER SECOND DECADE
By Tamara Henry and Anthony DeBarros
USA Today,
October 23, 2000
WATERED DOWN VERSION: SAT losing credibility as Yardstick, by Jeanne Allen, Atlanta Journal, September 20, 2000.
SCHOOL CHOICE V. SMALLER CLASSES, CNN's "Democracy in America" Online Forum, CER President Jeanne Allen, September 17, 2000
DO SMALLER CLASSES EQUAL BETTER STUDENTS?, Douglas S. Wood, CNN Interactive, September 17 2000
CHARTER SCHOOLS THAT WORK, Video Documentary, PBS, Fall 2000.COUNTING ON CHARTER SCHOOLS, US News and World Report, September 11, 2000.
THE OTHER REFORM: More growth in charter schools, US News and World Report, September 11, 2000.
BLACK STUDENTS IN VOUCHER PLANS SCORE HIGHER, US News and World Report, September 11, 2000.
ODD POLITICS COULD DOOM VOUCHERS IN TWO STATES, US News and World Report, September 11, 2000.
CHARTERS VS. PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Who's the Bully? By Ursula Owre Masterson, Fox News.com, September 7, 2000FIRST, FIX THE SCHOOLS, by Jeanne Allen, USA Today, September 5, 2000
AVERAGE MATH SAT SCORE HIGHEST SINCE 1969, by Arlene Levinson, Associated Press, August 29, 2000
UNIONS VS. UNITY, Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2000.
AN A FOR EFFORT: A New Survey Says Americans Like Public Schools, By Maria Durand, ABCNews.com, August 22, 2000
KANSAS EDUCATORS TURN TO WEB TO CREATE UNIQUE 'VIRTUAL' SCHOOL by Rebecca S. Weiner, New York Times, August 16, 2000
BITE IN THE BIG APPLE MONOPOLY, Investors Business Daily, July 31, 2000.
LESSONS FROM FLORIDA ON SCHOOL CHOICE, by Jeanne Allen, Scripps Howard News Service, July 31, 2000.
WITHOUT MERIT, Review and Outlook Editorial, Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2000
TEACHERS UNION TO DEBATE MERIT PAY, by Anjetta McQueen, Associated Press, July 5, 2000, http://www.nandosearch.com/
HIGH COURT RULING FUELS DEBATE ON VOUCHERS FOR EDUCATION, by Jodi Wilgoren, New York Times, June 29, 2000
HOW MUCH DO PRIVATE GIFTS HELP US PUBLIC SCHOOLS? by Marjorie Coeyman, The Christian Science Monitor, June 20, 2000.
SCHOOL BOARD DEBATES NONEDUCATOR, Toledo Blade, June 14, 2000.
CHARTER SCHOOL MOVEMENT GROWING QUICKLY, REPORT SHOWS, By Darcia Harris Bowman, Education Week, June 14, 2000.
TEST CASE: Now the principal's cheating; High-stakes exams provoke official dishonesty, US News & World Report, June 12, 2000.
THIS TEACHER CREATED RESPECT FOR THE INSTITUTION CALLED SCHOOL, by Jeanne Allen, Stars & Stripes, June 8, 2000.GIVING CHARTER SCHOOLS A CHANCE, by Jonathan Schorr, The Nation, June 5, 2000
PAUL ALLEN HELPS BANKROLL INITIATIVES, Charter-school, class-size issues get boost, By Rebekah Denn, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 25, 2000
GROUP RATES CHARTER SCHOOL LAWS, Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, May 21, 2000THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS, National Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show, May 18, 2000
SMART BUSINESS MOVE: HELP CHARTER SCHOOLS By Robert L. Luddy, Point of View, The News & Observer Raleigh, NC, May 17, 2000
THE MATH MELTDOWN, If this is math, then we're at war: By Mark Clayton, The Christian Science Monitor, May 16, 2000.
STATE CREATES PATHWAY FOR NEW CHARTER SCHOOLS, Atlantic Journal Constitution, May 15, 2000
THE TOP EDUCATIONAL TRENDS IN AMERICA TODAY, By Lynne S. Dumas, Family PC from ZDWire, May 1, 2000.
FUZZY ANSWERS / A SPECIAL REPORT: The New, Flexible Math Meets Parental Rebellion, Anemona Hartocollis, The New York Times, April 27, 2000.
REPORT: WEAK CHARTER SCHOOL SUPPORT, by Anjetta McQueen, AP Newswire, April 27, 2000
THE OLD MATH By Jeanne Allen, Scripps Howard News Service, April 26, 2000.
MATH TEACHERS BACK RETURN OF EDUCATION IN BASIC SKILLS by Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times, April 13, 2000
SCHOOL CHOICE, FAILING SCHOOLS AND A 'BUM REP', Pensacola News Journal, April 1, 2000
EDUCATIONAL CHOICE AND THE LAW: Are school vouchers legal?, Salon.com, March 27, 2000. See also Round II, the Rebuttals.
TEACHER UNIONS AND MERIT PAY, Editorial, Investor's Business Daily, March 8, 2000
CHARTER SCHOOLS DELIVERING RESULTS by Jeanne Allen, Takoma News Tribune, March 7, 2000
FIRST IN THE STATE TO START ITS OWN, Cincinnati Enquirer, January 25, 2000
A PALL IS CAST ON URBAN SCHOOLS, BUT PROGRESS COULD COME SWIFTLY, by David Boldt, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 25, 2000.
TEACHER QUALITY AND RETENTION, National Public Radio's Diane Rehm Show, January 20, 2000
PARENTS STILL DON'T HAVE MANY OPTIONS, Staff Editorial, The Atlanta Journal, January 18, 2000
CAPITAL PAINS: A PRINCIPAL'S FIGHT FOR A CHARTER SCHOOL RILES SUPERINTENDENT By June Kronholz, Staff Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, January 13, 2000
FLORIDA'S LAWSUIT IS JUST A DISTRACTION, by Dave DeSchryver, Tampa Tribune, January 8, 2000
MATH WARS, Wall Street Journal, January 4, 2000
MISSING THE REALITY OF VOUCHERS, Chicago Tribune, January 3, 2000
1999REBEL WITH A CAUSE: "A national group of state education leaders bent on radical reform seems to be gaining prominence and steam as more states grapple with such issues as charter schools, school choice and test-based graduation requirements. Since the fledgling Education Leaders Council was formed in 1995, the group has added nearly 200 members and now represents seven state heads of education.... The membership roll of the Education Leaders Council already reads like a who's who of controversial reform figures." Link to full AP article.
ST. LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM SUES TO STOP CHARTERS: Jeanne Allen, who heads the Center for Education Reform, described the suit Tuesday as frivolous, saying it could rob St. Louis children of "the only educational opportunity they may have." Link to: full article. Link to: CER Press Release.LOWERING THE RAISED BAR; Students just can't meet higher standards, so states let them pass: ...supporters say much of the backlash against the testing and standards movement is misplaced. "This is the old, ancient Greek tradition shoot the messenger," says Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform. At a Florida conference of conservative state education chiefs last week, she said, state leaders from Virginia, Arizona, and elsewhere made it clear they have no intention of backing off from their testing programs. "Rather than killing the test, the focus should be on doing things to make sure no one falls between the cracks," she says. By Ben Wildavsky, US News Online, December 13, 1999.
MORE ON MATH:IMPROVE TEACHERS, IMPROVE LEARNING, Boston Herald Editorial, November 21, 1999. "Somebody must stand to lose his or her job if teachers fall short and students fail to learn. That somebody has to be the principal. Holding principals accountable is impossible unless they have substantial control over their faculties - to choose their teachers, promote and reward the good ones, improve the mediocre and fire the incompetent. Just keeping the lid on the building is no longer going to be enough for a principal." More ...
FUZZY MATH: On November 18 about 200 mathematicians and scientists, including four Nobel laureates, wrote an open letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley urging him to withdraw the federal government's endorsement of 10 mathematics programs for schoolchildren. As one of the letter's authors told the Chronicle of Higher Educaiton: "These programs are among the worst in existence. It would be a joke except for the damaging effect it has on children.... There's a very problematic aspect of these recommendations that has to do with race.... The dumbed-down program ... hurts the students with the least resources the most."
Link to related articles:
HIGH MARKS FOR CHARTERS: Maine may very well join 36 other states and the District of Columbia in bringing about charter schools. Because this is an important step to reinvigorate public education, lawmakers and citizens alike must take the time to understand what the fuss is all about.... The only charter law worth fighting for is that which provides maximum flexibility to schools. This flexibility allows schools to create their own programs, set higher standards and bypass nonsensical rules and regulations. Jeanne Allen, Op-Ed in the Bangor News, November 18, 1999.
FAILURE OF PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION, Investors Business Daily
Editorial, November 12, 1999
However good the intentions, the progressive education's movement helped leave
American students lagging the world in critical skills. At home it helped
entrench the very inequality of opportunity that schools were supposed to help
overcome. Link to full article.
20% DISSATISFIED WITH ARLINGTON [TX] SCHOOLS, by Jeanne Graham, Star-Telegram, October 28, 1999: Satisfaction with public schools is not a good barometer of educational quality, said Jeanne Allen, director of the Center for Education Reform. "Is your school great? Is it doing the best job it can do? Those are the questions we need to be asking," Allen said. "We seem to have lowered our standards in this country, not only for our children, but in our expectations."
CHARTER IMPACT: Inkster, Mich., has been losing students steadily for more than 30 years... The emergence of charter schools has done nothing more than illustrate that education can be and is being done better. Inkster was caught flat-footed. Only now have school officials there realized the need to prove themselves and compete to show they can do the job for the city's children. Jeanne Allen in Education Week, October 20, 1999.1 IN 11 D.C. STUDENTS OPT FOR CHARTERS: Fall Enrollment Almost Doubled Since Last Year, By Debbi Wilgoren and Valerie Strauss, Washington Post Staff Writers, October 9, 1999: Charter advocates say they know of no other jurisdiction where charter schools have so quickly drawn such a significant percentage of the public school population. "We're going to see a lot of eyes turning here," said Jeanne Allen, president of the Washington-based Center for Education Reform, which tracks publicly funded charter schools nationwide.... The rapid enrollment growth reflects the high demand for alternatives to the city's many struggling schools and what Allen termed the "friendliness" of the D.C. charter law passed by Congress in 1996. It places few restrictions on charter schools and allows the creation of up to 20 a year. Link to: full article.
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: More information about student achievement has helped change minds in the African-American community, says Jeanne Allen of the Center for Education Reform. "People can see where there has not been progress, and it's breaking down traditional positions." [Link to: full article. Link to: more on the Reform Rainbow.]
HEALTHY COMPETITION by David Osborne, The New Republic,
September 21, 1999
This fall, eight years after the initial charter school law was passed, some 350,000
students will enroll in 1,684 charter schools.... But those who invented
charter schools were not just out to create a few thousand good schools. Rather,
they wanted to improve all 88,000 public schools in the country by creating
enough competition for money and students to force school districts to innovate.
[Link to article. Link to CER
Charter School Progress Report: The Ripple Effect.]
WOULD-BE TEACHERS GET A RUDE WELCOME, by Joanne Jacobs
The Denver Post, September 17, 1999
Sooner or later, the teacher shortage will force serious change in how people
enter the profession and how they're compensated. We're not quite desperate
enough yet, because the kids with the least competent teachers have the parents
with the least clout. [Link to excerpt.]
WHEN A CHARTER SCHOOL FAILS THE GRADE, by Rick Green, Hartford
Courant, September 10, 1999
When charter schools are shut, it's usually due to poor management - not because
students aren't learning. A survey by the Center for Education Reform in
Washington, D.C., last year found that fewer than 2 percent of charters have had
their licenses revoked.... ``A lot of people don't have the financial
sophistication that they need,'' said Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for
Education Reform, a group that supports more school choice, including vouchers.
``It will happen again. It is one of the ways we know that charters are
accountable to reform,'' Allen said. Link to CER
Charter Schools Progress Report: Closures and Accountability.
HOW TO IMPROVE EDUCATION -- FORGET COMPUTERS, by James Freeman, USA
Today, September 10, 1999.
The Center for Education Reform's Parent Power
magazine reports, "The government's plan to put computers in every
classroom would require a $100 billion initial investment, but this astounding
figure is only half the story. Every year thereafter it will take roughly $33
billion to maintain them... The Internet has been lauded as the best research
tool ever, but supporters fail to mention that the Internet contains a lot of
trash packaged to look like reliable information." Link to USA
Today article. Link to Parent Power.
TEN WAYS TO BECOME A SCHOOL ACTIVIST, by Linda Cagnetti, The
Cincinnati Enquirer, August 29, 1999
7. JOIN OR START A PARENT GROUP. The Cincinnati chapter of Parents for
Public Schools is one of 50 chapters nationwide, focused on helping parents
improve schools. It works mostly within the system and helps parents hold
schools to high standards. Other local groups focus on tax reform, school
choice, special education, etc. Some parents, such as Richard Innes of Kentucky,
become experts in one area. He concentrates on KERA (Kentucky Education Reform
Act) testing results. His watch-dogging has led to major changes. The
School Reform Handbook: How to Improve Your School, published by the
parent-founded Center for Education Reform, is a how-to gold mine on this
and much more. [Link to: full
article.]
CHARTER SCHOOLS' RIPPLE EFFECT: Competition Pushes Regular Schools To
Improve, by Anna Bray Duff, Investors Business Daily, August 31,
1999.
"One of the main roles of charter schools is to improve traditional public
schools,'' said Jeanne Allen,
president of the [Center for
Education Reform]. ''A small number of charter schools is having a huge
impact on traditional schools.'' ...Even stepped-up marketing, CER's Allen
argues, suggests a changing attitude - that parents and students are customers
to be wooed. ''They have to have some substance behind the hype if it's going to
have a long-term impact, though,'' she said. Link to full text of Investors
Business Daily article. Link to CER Charter
School Progress Report: The Ripple Effect.
STILL A PLACE FOR VOUCHERS, Editorial by the Toledo Blade,
August 29, 1999
While state funding for vouchers was approved only in July, thus virtually
guaranteeing a challenge as school started, the off-again, now partly on-again
program is no way to treat the kids or their parents. What are the parents of
the 600 or so youngsters denied vouchers now going to do? Link to Toledo
Blade editorial.
OH: Cleveland School Choice Setback: August 24, 1999 -- Judge Oliver,
in a Dickensian twist, says NO to poor students asking "Please, sir, can I
have some more." More choice to a quality education, that is. His ruling
would shut down the program just days before 4,003 of the city's poorest
students are scheduled to begin the year at their school of choice. Instead,
they're faced with returning to the public schools that failed them in the past.
An appeal has been filed, along with a request that the program continue pending
that appeal.
"This is yet another example of
the education establishment's double standard. Those who have choice by virtue
of their stature and wealth want to deny access to those who don't, all
apparently on the pretense that public education will fail without the
scholarship children," said Jeanne
Allen, president of The
Center for Education Reform. "The sad truth is, the schools have
already failed, and their defenders are turning a blind eye." Link to: CER
analysis. Link to: news
coverage from The
Cleveland Plain Dealer. Link to: Excerpts from
"Many Cleveland Parents Frantic After Ruling Limits School Vouchers," New
York Times.
PTA's SMEAR CAMPAIGN: PTA material taken home by school children last month included an anti-voucher diatribe full of crass smears.... It’s hard to decide what is the saddest element of this episode: the PTA’s lobbying through the schools, the crudeness of that lobbying or the school system’s blindness to it all. Officials should not be giving the PTA or anyone else a pass to use public schools to push politics — brain-dead politics in particular. Link to: Detroit News editorial.
EDUCATORS BET SALARY AGAINST GRADES, By Linda Chion-Kenney, St.
Petersburg Times
Top-ranking school officials in Hillsborough County, Fla., have vowed to take a
5 percent salary cut next year if any school gets an F under the state's new
grading system. School Supt. Earl Lennard said his eight deputies and assistants
have volunteered to join him in the pledge. Should any school get an F, it will
cost the administrators $46,968, including $8,250 from Lennard, who earns about
$165,000 annually.... Lennard said the central office staff will assist schools
in getting the resources they need, whether it is for additional teacher
training, class size reduction or after-school and Saturday school tutoring
sessions. [Link to
article reprinted in the Detroit News, August 12, 1999.]
THE NEW SCHOOL: Charters Offer Parents More Choice - "Fed up with shabby schools, indifferent teachers and your children's poor educational progress? Some African-Americans are quitting [traditional] public schools and enrolling their students in charter schools. Hear supporters and critics of charter schools speak out." Essence Magazine, August 1999, page 120.
OR: School
board control will yield fewer charter schools, expert says By Bill
Graves, The Oregonian, July 23, 1999
..."School boards are in charge of the welcoming mat," and they are
showing resistance to charter schools, said Jeanne Allen, founder and president
of the Center for Education Reform, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit
organization that advocates broader school choice and accountability....
[Charter school applicants] also should be allowed to turn to a more independent
panel, such as a state university board or a board created specifically for
chartering schools, Allen said. Link
to full article.
IMPACT: EDUCATION, The O'Reilly
Factor, Fox News, July 13, 1999
"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. They're free from the old, tired, and worn out failed
hiring and firing policies. They have to set standards." Jeanne Allen on The
O'Reilly Factor. Link to transcript.
DC: Charter
schools' big challenge: finding a home by
Gail Russell Chaddock, Christian Science Monitor, June 22, 1999
... "This is a concept that is new to many people. Some zoning boards
consider that charter schools are private. Some municipalities are calling them
commercial," says Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education
Reform, a Washington-based advocacy group. Five years ago, there were only a
handful of charter schools in the US; this year, there were 1,205, with 673
starting in the 1998-99 school year. More
...
PA: Voucher
Plan Size a Factor in Defeat; It would have gone beyond other programs and
contradicted other Ridge initiatives. By Dale Mezzacappa, Philadelphia
Inquirer, June 20, 1999
... "The legislators who make the argument that there needs to be more
accountability in private schools need to take a harder look at public
schools," said Jeanne Allen of the Center for Education Reform, a leading
voice in favor of vouchers. "Private schools already have a higher degree
of accountability. They're accountable directly to the children they serve. If
they fail, they don't stay in business." More
...
Charter Schools: Hope or Hype
"Today there are over 1200
charter schools in 35 states and Washington, DC. On this Edition... charter
schools, one of the fastest growing reforms in public education. Charter schools
are independent public schools that are publicly funded but are free from most
state and local regulations." From Charter
Schools: Hope or Hype? on The
Merrow Report, National Public Radio’s series on youth and education,
April 14, 1999. Participants include CER President Jeanne Allen. Link
to: Transcript.
Link to: Audio
On-Line.
1998Where
Will Your Child Go to School? More parents than ever have a choice about school.
Here's how to make a smart one. By Liz Rusch, Child
Magazine, December 1998
...Choice can give you a
stronger voice in your child's school, points out Jeanne Allen, president of the
Center for Education Reform in Washington, DC. "Parents who actively choose
their child's school can be more effective advocates for their kids because if
they disagree with the school's approach, they have some options," Allen
says. "Schools take you more seriously if you can leave."
Public Education, A Monopoly No Longer, U.S. News and World Report, November 23, 1998
REPORT CARD: Radio America presents Report Card, hosted by The Center for Education Reform 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. Tune in on-line every Sunday from 3:00-4:00 AM or 6:00-7:00 PM ET.
SEE
ALSO:
Special "In the News" Sections of Monthly Letter to Friends of The Center For Education Reform