Commentary
What Are Parents Telling You?
The media has been focusing on a certain D.C. school as of late because of its instructional model. But after taking a closer look, parents hold the school in high demand because of its instruction, but also because it’s an open, safe, and diverse community that makes learning fun. Two Rivers Public Charter School in Washington,…
Why D.C. Parents NEED School Vouchers
In 4th Grade, Shirley-Ann Tomdio’s life changed forever when she was accepted into the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP), which allowed her to transfer from a failing D.C. public school to Sacred Heart, a private Catholic school. Shirley, the daughter of two Cameroon, African immigrants, used the voucher for nine years. Shirley testified to the…
Are We Doing Enough to Affect Change in Education?
On Thursday, May 7th, Paul Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. hosted its 2nd Annual “My Brother’s Keeper…Responding to the Call” event focused on effective efforts to prepare young boys of color for college and community action surrounding those strategies. The forum strengthened the dialogue about key issues like inequality and the achievement gap, an…
Schools of Choice: No One is Stuck
Often we hear about children being “stuck” in poorly performing, unsafe, traditional public schools. Last week, The Center for Education Reform (CER) staff got a taste of something different during two charter school visits. “Stuck” is never a word that you would use to describe a student in a charter school. In fact, charter school…
Rising to the Challenge
Founded in 1999, Rise Academy in Lubbock, Texas has achieved a high level of success. For six years in a row, the school has been an “Exemplary School” in the eyes of the Texas Education Agency. But this success hasn’t been obstacle-free. The school “does more with less” to provide traditionally underserved populations of pre-K…
Engaging the Next Generation of Leaders
This is blog #2 in a weeklong series of blogs featuring charter schools during Charter Schools Week 2015. Sign the pledge to show your support for public charter schools! Sometimes adults are scared that the next generation won’t have the knowledge to lead our country through the various issues that it faces. Parents of Challenge…
An Academic Dynasty
This is blog #1 in a weeklong series of blogs featuring charter schools during Charter Schools Week 2015. Sign the pledge to show your support for public charter schools! When people hear the word “decathlon,” images of the Olympics and athletic prowess in track and field come to mind. For the parents, students, and teachers…
Support Edreform When You Shop Amazon!
You Shop. Amazon Gives! All you have to do to is go to smile.amazon.com and select The Center for Education Reform (CER) as your charitable organization of choice, and continue shopping as you would normally! Every effort helps when it comes to ensuring ALL of our children have access to learning opportunities that deliver the promise…
Maryland’s Charter Bill No Laughing Matter
In the final minutes of the Maryland General Assembly’s 2015 legislative session, the State Senate received back from the House of Delegates Senate Bill 595, a charter school bill completely unrecognizable from its original form. “Has everyone recorded the vote? Anyone who wish to change their vote? Anyone who wishes to explain the vote? If not…
The School Choice Mandate
A quick glance at the @edreform Twitter feed in the last few weeks reveals a string of school choice programs that have successfully advanced through state legislatures, with little resistance expected from reform-minded governors. In Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law an expansion of the innovative Education Savings Account (ESA) program, granting eligibility to Native American…