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THE PRICE IS RIGHT! You can just hear show host Bob Barker with his famous “COME ON DOWN…” as former Congressman Robert Francis O’Rourke – aka “Beto” – joins the American Federation of Teachers and its President Randi Weingarten as the next contestant on their “show.” It’s being billed as a town hall tonight on the eve of the first Democratic Debate. If he’s honest, he’ll talk about his support for “investing in new charter schools” and giving parents the power of choice, something he said in Congress in 2015. Or he’ll talk about his wife, Amy, who helped start a charter school and is a well-respected figure in the charter school movement. She’s said that “innovation and creativity are the backbone of charter schools” and that they help “[the] underprivileged succeed through hard work.” He might consider showing Bernie and the others a thing or two about sticking to principle over politics. We’ll let you know what we think after we see the show! STILL IN THE DARK ABOUT JANUS. One reason that the anti-choice AFT can still get candidates to pay homage may be found in this surprising and alarming report from the Association of American Educators indicating that only 48% of the 1,003 teachers surveyed nationally were aware of the meaning of the Janus decision and that 82% had not been contacted by anyone to explain their rights under Janus. However 74% think union membership should be voluntary. Realizing the danger, the union-backed House of Representatives Education & Workforce Committee Chair and ranking member of the Senate HELP Committee are pushing legislation that would guarantee public employees in non-right to work states the right to organize and bargain collectively, even as the High Court found that they cannot extract compulsory payments from teachers who have not given them permission. Numerous state bills also seek to undermine the Court’s ruling. Sounds like our nation’s educators need an education, not more federal legislation. UPSIDE DOWN LOGIC IN BROOKLYN. From the “you can’t fix stupid” file comes this story that in order to solve a lack of diversity in its “Gifted and Talented” classes the New York City school board is considering…wait for it…abolishing the classes altogether. Meaning of course that however many minority students are in these classes now, in the future there will be zero minority students in the non-existent classes. CER Board Member Dennis Cariello –@EduCounsel, hits the nail squarely on the head with this tweet:  Most of these school board members obviously failed their “logic 101” classes. DO AS WE SAY – NOT AS WE DO. From the land of Lincoln comes a sad tale of legislators dancing to the tune of the teachers’ union even if it means punishing kids. As the Chicago Tribune points out,” the politicians have school choice but want to curb it for other people’s kids” – – mainly minority and economically disadvantaged kids. If these politicos had any shame, they would blanch at reading this line from the paper; “…charter schools face tough oversight while underperforming neighborhood schools statewide are allowed to fail families for generations.”  |
WE TOLD YOU SO. A new study points out that sixty-five percent of children entering school today will end up in jobs that don’t yet exist, and that much of the future of work won’t be about college degrees but job skills. The solution, as the study points out, is to discard education models that are over a century old and pursue “non traditional” education options. Wish we had said that. Oh wait…we have!
LETTERS, WE GET LETTERS. A little bragging, if we may, about our consistent support of the proverbial education Davids when the Goliaths come a marching. This flattering acknowledgement of our help with the MAS Charter School in Albuquerque fighting the New Mexico education bureaucracy, is just one of the dozens of ways CER works to expand opportunity for all kids, no matter where they live.
INNOVATIVE THINKING IN NORTH CAROLINA. “Reality Check with Jeanne Allen,” the weekly podcast hosted by CER’s founder and CEO, released its 66th episode this week featuring Mark Johnson, North Carolina’s Superintendent of Public I
nstruction – @MarkRJohnsonNC – who was elected to his position on a pro-innovation, pro-options platform. In addition to discussing Johnson’s work, this week’s episode covers the state’s teacher strikes, the problem of obstructive state governments and the persistent successes of schools when teachers and parents have power. Give a listen to some common sense from the Tar Heel state.
Drop us a line, as always, please reach out with any input and suggestions.
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.