Sign up for our newsletter
Contact

Elections, New Hampshire, and Education

February 10, 2016 By

by Jeanne Allen, CER Founder & President Emeritus
February 10, 2016

As the American people are digesting the results of the 2016 New Hampshire primary, and the news media are acting like the contest for president is over, a reminder of how Democracy in America works in is order.

Over 150 years ago, de Tocqueville called the four-year cycle of presidential elections a “revolution… in the name of the law,” writing:

“Long before the appointed day arrives, the election becomes the greatest, and one might say the only, affair occupying men’s minds… As the election draws near, intrigues grow more active and agitation is more lively and widespread. The citizens divide up into several camps… The whole nation gets into a feverish state…”

Wait, you mean that this isn’t the first year people wanted to send a message? The reality is that – thankfully, for the cause of education – the New Hampshire primary is just the beginning. Democracy matters, and for the media and the pundits to begin to declare winners and losers long before November is an assault on what we stand for: knowledge and the cause of opportunity for all Americans.

Those of us engaged in education know that knowledge matters. In the spirit of knowledge (as well as improving the institutions that help many arrive at such knowledge, namely schools), here are a few American government basics for the voters (and a candidate or two?) of what this Democracy in America that de Tocqueville reported is all about:

1. Many people feel disenfranchised, lacking basic education, work, housing and support. “If ever freedom is lost in America,” de Tocqueville cautioned, “that will be due to the … majority driving minorities to desperation…” But our common sense, he predicted, would most often prevail.

2. Despite widespread frustration with the status quo, and a very conflicted populous that changes their opinions day to day, New Hampshire is a state, not a nation. The great democratic contest for the next president goes on for another nine months. (Sorry candidates – it’s not over!)

3. Presidents do not abolish agencies. Congress makes laws, presidents execute. Even abolishing agencies – say the Department of Education – does nothing to the programs that exist within them. You want to change education? You change state laws. Presidents can lead, recommend and cajole, not end state or federal efforts. Even a united Congress has difficulty doing that.

4. Saying education should be about local control ignores the fact that the only people who have the control are school boards and teachers unions. Assigning children based on zip codes bestows no power on those who need it the most – parents. This has been the case since 1965, unless states have pushed those institutions to reform or adopt various charter school or choice programs.

As we move toward the next round of contests, let’s check our candidates every step of the way on what matters most to making education – and by extension our nation — great. Rather than responding to aspirational talk, for starters, we should be asking:

  • What is education and why does it matter?
  • Precisely what do you know about how the government functions in and around education, and what would you do to make it work for the people?
  • What have you done to create more educational equality, as well as quality options, for kids? What would you do?

For the guardians of education reform, there has never been a more important moment in history. Let’s be educated about the stakes, and educate our neighbors and our fellow citizens to distinguish between the reality and the rhetoric.

Filed Under: Opinions

On Elections, the Impact of New Hampshire, and the Importance of Education

February 10, 2016 By

by Jeanne Allen, Founder & President Emeritus

As the American people are digesting the results of the 2016 New Hampshire primary, and the news media are acting like the contest for president is over, a reminder of how Democracy in America works in is order.

Over 150 years ago, de Tocqueville called the four-year cycle of presidential elections a “revolution… in the name of the law,” writing:

“Long before the appointed day arrives, the election becomes the greatest, and one might say the only, affair occupying men’s minds… As the election draws near, intrigues grow more active and agitation is more lively and widespread. The citizens divide up into several camps… The whole nation gets into a feverish state…”

Wait, you mean that this isn’t the first year people wanted to send a message? The reality is that – thankfully, for the cause of education – the New Hampshire primary is just the beginning. Democracy matters, and for the media and the pundits to begin to declare winners and losers long before November is an assault on what we stand for: knowledge and the cause of opportunity for all Americans.

705px-Child_with_Flag

Those of us engaged in education know that knowledge matters. In the spirit of knowledge (as well as improving the institutions that help many arrive at such knowledge, namely schools), here are a few American government basics for the voters (and a candidate or two?) of what this Democracy in America that de Tocqueville reported is all about:

1. Many people feel disenfranchised, lacking basic education, work, housing and support. “If ever freedom is lost in America,” de Tocqueville cautioned, “that will be due to the … majority driving minorities to desperation…” But our common sense, he predicted, would most often prevail.

2. Despite widespread frustration with the status quo, and a very conflicted populous that changes their opinions day to day, New Hampshire is a state, not a nation. The great democratic contest for the next president goes on for another nine months. (Sorry candidates – it’s not over!)

3. Presidents do not abolish agencies. Congress makes laws, presidents execute. Even abolishing agencies – say the Department of Education – does nothing to the programs that exist within them. You want to change education? You change state laws. Presidents can lead, recommend and cajole, not end state or federal efforts. Even a united Congress has difficulty doing that.

4. Saying education should be about local control ignores the fact that the only people who have the control are school boards and teachers unions. Assigning children based on zip codes bestows no power on those who need it the most – parents. This has been the case since 1965, unless states have pushed those institutions to reform or adopt various charter school or choice programs.

As we move toward the next round of contests, let’s check our candidates every step of the way on what matters most to making education – and by extension our nation — great. Rather than responding to aspirational talk, for starters, we should be asking:

  • What is education and why does it matter?
  • Precisely what do you know about how the government functions in and around education, and what would you do to make it work for the people?
  • What have you done to create more educational equality, as well as quality options, for kids? What would you do?

 
For the guardians of education reform, there has never been a more important moment in history. Let’s be educated about the stakes, and educate our neighbors and our fellow citizens to distinguish between the reality and the rhetoric.

Filed Under: Commentary, Edspresso Tagged With:

NEWSWIRE: February 9, 2016

February 9, 2016 By

Vol. 18, No. 6

SECRET MEETINGS IN MA. When Four Rivers Charter Public School principal Peter Garbus showed up to what he thought would be a public discourse on charter schools with Senate President Stan Rosenberg as lawmakers are feeling the pressure to liftScreen Shot 2016-02-09 at 4.57.04 PM the cap for 37,000 on waitlists, he was dismayed and shocked when he was asked to leave. “What happened was a partisan, closed-door meeting to organize opposition to charter schools, he said. Speaking of closed-door meetings, the MA teachers union decided to hold an executive session about slowing down their nearly $10 million plan to fight the charter cap lift. The meeting left the union chair of the government relations committee in tears as she wrote on Facebook, “at a time when we needed to push internal politicking aside and fight tooth and nail for our teachers and students… We cannot expect our legislative friends to be accountable for their votes if our own union wants to vote in secret.”

Screen Shot 2016-02-09 at 5.11.42 PMTAKE ACTION. Ask Massachusetts lawmakers to give 37,000 students, and others, a chance to attend the schools they want, and deserve.

 

TN POTENTIAL. While we applaud potential action on school choice, it makes no sense that the legislature would continue to ban partnerships with tax-paying management companies that local groups believe could help them accomplish their educational goals. TN’s charter law prohibits instructional partnership with for-profit management companies, thanks to teachers associations and school boards who are threatened by the potential of top-notch charter schools being built in The Volunteer State. Not allowing these partnerships is extraordinarily un-American, and mind-boggling considering partnerships that already exist in our traditional district schools!

Screen Shot 2016-02-09 at 5.07.48 PMPRIORITY SCHOOLS. The Jefferson Co. KY school board will discuss what to do with eight struggling schools labeled “priority schools” this evening. To remove the “priority” designation, schools must get out of the bottom 5% and have grad rate above 70% for three consecutive years. The real “priority,” however, should be getting more options for kids since research reveals at-risk students in charter schools & other schools of choice more likely to graduate.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TFA. Congrats to Teach for America, our longtime ally in the battle for great schools, as they celebrate 25 years!

COULSON’S LEGACY. We’re shocked and saddened by the passing of Andrew J. Coulson, Senior Fellow in Education Policy at CATO. A beautiful tribute from his colleagues noted, “When Andrew wanted to fix something, he went to work.” Indeed, he did, as reflected in one of our favorite pieces of his that tackles a NCES voucher study and the media’s dramatic and inaccurate take on it head on. As with John Chubb, we will work to ensure Andrew’s legacy will not be forgotten.

 

Filed Under: Newswire Weekly, Newswire

Dissent among teachers union over charter fight

February 9, 2016 By

The Boston Globe
February 5, 2016

The Massachusetts Teachers Association has positioned itself as perhaps the most aggressive foe of a charter school expansion in the state.

Barbara Madeloni, the fiery president of the union, has pledged an all-out fight. “We’re going to put everything we’ve got into it,” she said last month.

But the union is not quite ready to make the full investment.

Over the weekend, the union’s board of directors slowed approval of an aggressive, $9.6 million plan to fight legislation and a related ballot measure aimed at lifting the state’s cap on charter schools.

Instead, the panel provided interim funding to get the grass-roots portion of the campaign started, pushing a decision on the larger budget to a much bigger body — the MTA delegates, who will hold their annual meeting in May at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

The move set off a round of recriminations within the union. Deborah McCarthy, chairwoman of the MTA’s government relations committee, took to Facebook to excoriate the board for making the decision in executive session, out of public view.

“I was crying as I shared with you how embarrass[ing] it was to be thrown out of the room,” she wrote. “At a time when we needed to push internal politicking aside and fight tooth and nail for our teachers and students, we were acting like a superintendent or Charlie Baker were running our board.”

Janet Anderson, a member of the board who is challenging Madeloni for the union presidency, replied in her own post that she voted against going into executive session. But she wrote that the plan approved by the panel, pushing the final decision to the MTA delegates, “is an example of democracy at its best.”

And while the panel instructed the MTA to participate in legislative negotiations over charter schools, she wrote, that does not mean a retreat from the union’s hard-line opposition to lifting the cap. “I want to make clear that the Board’s decision . . . does not include a call for a compromise. Period.”

The debate over funding the anticharter campaign comes as the US Supreme Court is deciding a case that could significantly weaken public-sector unions, eliminating requirements that workers join the unions and pay fees.

Madeloni, in an interview this week, declined to speak directly to the impact of the Supreme Court case on MTA’s decision-making. But she said the best way to maintain solidarity is to be a “fighting union.”

“We’re doing well,” she said. “We’re strong.”

She also voiced confidence that the MTA would fully fund the anti-charter campaign.

David Scharfenberg

A fight Rosenberg didn’t need

Senate President Stan Rosenberg thought he was heading back to his Western Massachusetts district to meet with constituents and talk about charter schools. Little did he know he was walking into a buzz saw.

Before it was all over, a local charter school principal was charging that he had been barred from the meeting. Rosenberg had to scramble to distance himself from the gathering — and he canceled his appearance at a follow-up meeting scheduled for this Friday.

It all began when word got out in the local media that Rosenberg was meeting in Greenfield Jan. 22 with educators and education activists to talk about the controversial push on Beacon Hill to lift the state cap on the number of charter schools. He had been invited by an anticharter group — Public Funds for Public Schools — to meet in a private home.

When Peter Garbus, the principal of the Four Rivers Charter Public School, showed up at the private residence where the event was to take place, he said he was told “that I was not welcome” and attendance was by invitation only.

He said he was led to believe — in part from statements made by Rosenberg’s office — that the Senate leader was coming to his community to have an open and frank dialogue.

“However, what happened in Greenfield . . . was a partisan, closed-door meeting to organize opposition to charter schools,’’ Garbus wrote to Rosenberg the day after the meeting.

Rosenberg, realizing he had been unwittingly caught up in a conflict he didn’t need — particularly as he is trying to craft a consensus in the Senate to deal with the red-hot education issue — moved quickly to distance himself from fray.

He immediately canceled his appearance at follow-up session in Amherst. And his aides quickly got the word out that his office had nothing to do with organizing the sessions.

His chief of staff, Natasha Perez, insisted Rosenberg was not aware that the Greenfield meeting, which had been touted in the local media as a public session, was private.

“He obviously doesn’t want to be in a public meeting in which people are excluded,’’ Perez said. “But he also will meet with either side privately if that’s the forum they want.’’

Filed Under: Breaking News

Local View: Charter schools are high-quality option

February 8, 2016 By

by Katie Linehan
Lincoln Journal Star
February 4, 2016

Much has been written recently regarding charter schools. To be clear: charter schools are public schools, open to all students, accountable to the public, and authorized by the state.

Charter schools do not cost taxpayers more. Rather, funding follows the student.

While many parents in Nebraska enjoy some ability to choose among existing schools, high performing public options are often at capacity.

Parents of means enjoy the opportunity to then choose among private school options. Low income parents, however, are left with fewer options and, far too often, their only options are low performing schools. Frequently, this results in a child’s zip code determining the quality of education she receives.

Despite increased spending and good intentions, student outcomes in Nebraska have failed to keep pace with the average rate of improvement in other states. Meanwhile, the achievement gap between white and minority children in Nebraska has grown and is now among the largest in the nation.

Charter schools are one example of a reform that has proven to benefit students, and under-served students in particular. The highest performing charter schools in the country are not only closing the achievement gap, but reversing it.

Given their positive outcomes, the charter school movement is growing. After twenty five years, charter schools are working for more than two million children in America, doubling the number of students served over the past decade. Forty three states and the District of Columbia have passed charter school legislation.

No charter school law has been repealed and weak laws, like that in Ohio, have been reformed. In 2015, students attending charter schools in Arizona performed as well as all students in the state of Massachusetts (the highest performing state in the country) on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP).

As a laggard in the charter school movement, Nebraska can benefit from best practices and high quality implementation from the start.

The thousands of families being served by charter schools across the country have proven the need for more high quality school choices for their children. The results of urban charter schools, in particular, speak to this need: on average, students attending urban charter schools gain an additional 40 days of learning in math each year and an additional 28 days of learning in reading each year compared to their traditional school peers.

Children in Nebraska, and particularly the children attending schools with a combined math and reading proficiency of less than 20%, deserve these options.

Great schools for all children, regardless of race or income, whether they be public charter schools or traditional schools, is pro-every student, not anti-public school.

As a state, we should band together and support the highest quality educational options possible for every student. For most, great traditional public schools will fill this need. For many, charter schools would offer a needed, high quality option immediately. For all, charter schools will raise expectations for children, regardless of race or income.

Katie Linehan was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. She has spent more than a decade working with underserved youth, primarily in North and South Omaha, and most recently as a middle school teacher at Success Academy Charter School in Harlem, NYC.

Filed Under: Opinions Tagged With:

Newswire: February 2, 2016

February 2, 2016 By

Vol. 18, No. 5

TIME FOR KY TO GET IN CHARTER GAME. Super Bowl 50 teams have endured a season-long struggle to reach their ultimate goal. Like theScreen Shot 2016-02-02 at 2.51.55 PMse gridiron warriors, advocates of school choice in Kentucky have struggled and persisted in their efforts to enact a charter school law. For the sake of the children, we hope they win. And while football offers creative analogies, the future of our children is not a game and losing cannot be an option. More on why Kentucky badly needs school choice.

UNIONS’ POLITICAL SPENDING. Early spending of upwards of $7M from both the AFT and NEA backing 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is just the “tip of the iceberg,” reports Politico. Both unions came out early backing Hil, which explains why she’s been singing the same off-key tune as unions when it comes to charter schools.

Screen Shot 2016-02-02 at 2.54.20 PMCAP LIFT. There’s a bi-partisan agreement in MA in support of lifting the cap on charter schools, as the Democratic Speaker and Republican Governor are both speaking out on behalf of the 37,000 children on charter school waitlists.

NC ACHIEVEMENT DISTRICT. Kudos to NC Rep. Rob Bryan for improving opportunities for kids with proposed new Achievement District, which would convert the state’s lowest performing schools into charter schools.

MORE CHOICES FOR INDIANA. The first-ranked Parent Power state is looking to expand choices for more working-class families with a bill that would extend the state’s voucher program to families making up to $97,000 annually and allow funds to be used for other education-related expenses such as textbooks and tutoring, for example.

 

Filed Under: Newswire Weekly, Newswire

Editorial: The speaker speaks up

February 2, 2016 By

Boston Herald
February 2, 2016

House Speaker Robert DeLeo doubled down on the benefits of charter schools last week, and frankly that’s a beautiful thing for the thousands of parents and students who are tired of being on waiting lists for the school of their choice.

In his annual address to House members, the speaker made clear that school districts that want charters “should be given the chance to pursue them, or any other option that they may deem necessary, in order to do right by their students.”

The next day DeLeo, appearing on Boston Herald Radio, said, “We have to give every child in the state the opportunity to succeed and quite frankly, I have so many parents who come in to talk to me, some of which are almost crying at the fact that they want to see their child in X, Y, Z school. And I feel that, who am I to deprive that child, if they have that opportunity, not to be able to attend a school of their choice?”

No child’s future should be determined by lottery — and yet that is the sad case for so many left on waiting lists by the luck of the draw. Gov. Charlie Baker is committed to expanding the number of charter school offerings in the state — preferably through legislation. But there’s the ballot question alternative if that fails.

And it speaks to the mindless opposition of the education establishment when Massachusetts Teachers Association President Barbara Madeloni can say — as she did to State House News Service, “It is incredibly disappointing that the speaker appears to be buying into the anti-public education agenda.”

Well, charter schools are public schools — but whatever!

DeLeo said, “When I take a look at some of those MCAS scores [at charter schools], and see that some of them are some of the highest in the state, you have to take notice of that.”

You do unless blinded by the alleged political might — and donations from — teachers unions. Nice to know the speaker isn’t. We’re less optimistic about the state Senate.

Filed Under: Opinions Tagged With:

Charters can put KY in education Super Bowl

February 2, 2016 By

Screen Shot 2016-02-01 at 6.21.22 PMby Jeanne Allen
Courier-Journal
February 1, 2016

Super Bowl 50 teams have endured a season-long struggle to reach their ultimate goal. Like these gridiron warriors, advocates of school choice in Kentucky have struggled and persisted in their efforts to enact a charter school law. For the sake of the children, we hope they win.

Why has it been so hard to deliver this common-sense choice for Kentucky’s kids? Even while nearly 2.9 million children are served by more than 6,700 charter schools across the country, it seems that myths and misconceptions have kept Kentucky one of only seven states still denying its most needy students access to the choice of a public charter school. Unfounded arguments often deter lawmakers from taking the bold step of reforming their public school system, a monopoly that challenges its teachers, staffs and students.

Charter schools serve a diverse array of students for whom the traditional neighborhood school may not work for a whole host of reasons. A majority of charter school students are non-white, and almost two-thirds of charter schools serve a population with family incomes so low that more than 60 percent qualify for the federal free and reduced-price meals program. This is choice at work, not creaming as some suggest.

Once empowered with choices, families show their preference for schools that fit their needs best by switching to a charter school that simply offers them a better opportunity to learn.

There is a myth that charter schools somehow take resources away from local public schools. Charter schools make education funding more equitable for all, sending money to the schools where students are, not where the district dictates its placement. However, despite money following children, in most states charter schools get only a portion of the operational funding and little facilities support so they are forced to do more with less.

Kentucky has a rich history of wanting to improve how it serves students. As it considers charter legislation it could break the mold by ensuring 100% educational equity for all students.

Oftentimes the debate over charter schools comes down to “we vs. them.” The reality is that as long as we do better for kids we are all playing on the same team. And charter schools really do perform better.

A meta analysis of four research studies shows that black students in charter schools score better than their district peers in both English and math. Research also has shown that charters have a positive “ripple effect,” improving performance at neighboring public schools.  A Harvard University study found in Arizona that district schools neighboring charter schools scored increases in math achievement more than three times that of schools with no charter schools in their communities.

Yes, some have had their share of struggle, like all schools. They can open and close based on their experience and achievement, a great advance for those who believe that education should serve kids and not the other way around.

Charter schools allow innovations in teaching and learning and are free from most regulations that prevent traditional schools from making more progress, which while steady in Kentucky, is too slow for generations of students who have not been well served, for whatever reason, by the one-size-fits-all system.

Only 28 percent of Kentucky’s 8th-grade students score proficient in math on the latest national assessment. Only 36 percent were proficient in reading. Fewer than 33 percent of Kentucky residents finish high school and go on to earn a two- or four-year higher education degree.

Strong economies require strong schools, and just like strong football teams require strong players, Kentucky should get in the game and join the Super Bowl of charters. Charter schools can help lure new investment and philanthropy to the state, and provide a better environment for youth to learn, prosper, and stay in the state. While football offers creative analogies, the future of our children is not a game and losing cannot be an option.

Charter schools are independent public schools that are held accountable for student results. Kentucky needs those schools to help them get over the educational goal line all kids need to succeed.

Jeanne Allen is founder and president emeritus of the Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C.

Filed Under: CER in the News

CER Responds to an Attack on the Nation’s Charter Schools

January 26, 2016 By

In August of 2004 Diana Jean Schemo and the New York Times published “Nation’s Charter Schools Lagging Behind, U.S. Test Scores Reveal.” The piece alleged charters performed poorer than traditional public schools in almost all cases, citing findings from the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress that were “unearthed from online data by researchers at the American Federation of Teachers” and sent by researchers from the teachers union to the Times. Schemo credited the AFT as historically supporting the idea of charter schools, contrary to previously published studies by the union that would beg to differ. The paper implied that there were efforts made to keep the findings out of the public eye, too. 

The Center for Education Reform responded not days later, and with the signatures and support of 30 prominent members of the national research community took out a full page ad in the Times condemning the report and the study as failing to meet professional research standards. CER later published a release demonstrating the volume and content of the coverage the AFT report and Times’ article was receiving across the country. The magazine Education Week found fault with the AFT study and the New York Times coverage as well. CER Founder Jeanne Allen appeared on the Tavis Smiley radio show with then-AFT head Bella Rosenberg to discuss the data.

Filed Under: Choice & Charter Schools

Newswire: January 26, 2016

January 26, 2016 By

Vol. 18, No. 4

In lieu of this week’s Newswire, we’re bringing you today’s School Choice Week spotlight on the leaders who help push for the conditions possible to make numerous and diverse education options a reality for children.

A Leader’s Choice

“It’s not an experiment anymore. It’s not a demonstration. It’s not a what-if. After 20 years, we have overwhelming evidence . . . of kids, parents, families who have found what they were looking for in the charter school movement here in the Commonwealth of Mass.”

Those are words from Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker as he addressed the crowd of parents, educators and advocates at the State House last week as they prepared to press lawmakers to lift the cap on charter schools.

Since October 2015, the Governor has been pushing legislation that would allow 12 new or expanded charter schools statewide annually in low-performing districts.

Gov Charlie Baker and charter school advocates gather to encourage lawmakers to lift the cap on charter schools

Photo Courtesy of Masslive.com

While eliminating caps completely and allowing for independent authorizers could really help charter schools grow and thrive in the Bay State, the expansion would without a doubt be a positive step forward, as the state has nearly the same number of children on charter school wait lists (about 37,000) as they do enrolled in public charter schools (approximately 40,000). Compared to traditional district schools, public charter school students in Massachusetts score proficient or advanced in all subject tests at every grade level. In fact, some of the state’s urban charter schools with populations that are mostly low-income and minority students are ranked among some of the best schools in the state.

“Governor Baker is putting a lot of political capital on the line for school choice for some of the poorest students in the state,” Mary Kissel of the Wall Street Journal notes. Despite the fact that charter schools have disrupted traditional public education in positive ways, there’s still reluctance and backlash to expand choices because of pushback from groups like the teacher’s union interested in maintaining the status quo.

From the cap push in Massachusetts, to Tennessee where progress toward full vouchers for the most needy is finally on a positive path and holds hope for that governor’s initial promises, it’s important to not just know, but highlight how state chief executives are doing in ensuring innovation thrives in our schools.

Today, we celebrate Gov. Baker’s commitment to children, and all elected officials across the nation taking their responsibility seriously to create more and better learning opportunities for children by championing school choice.

This is one of a series of posts highlighting numerous diverse opportunities from towns to nations for National School Choice Week 2016.

 

Filed Under: Newswire Weekly, Newswire
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »