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Letter to the Editor Plain Dealer December 8, 2015 Online charter schools (“Online schools are losing support, creating divisions in the national charter school movement,” Plain Dealer, Nov. 30) have proven effective in educating students. Yet much attention is given to one, very narrow report saying otherwise. The basis for the data that started the […] Read more »

A Message from CER Chairman Jon Hage Dear Friend, I’m excited to be attached to this amazing organization, which since 1993 has been demanding and ensuring the proliferation of freedom, flexibility and innovation in U.S. schools. After having written Florida’s first charter school law, I put policy into practice. My first charter school was a municipal […] Read more »

Wall Street Journal Review & Outlook November 29, 2015 Conservative reformers have had major successes, notably on welfare in 1996. But when a reform doesn’t turn out as hoped, they need to adapt. A case in point is No Child Left Behind, which the GOP Congress is now preparing to leave behind. This week the […] Read more »

I have been an intern at The Center for Education Reform (CER) for six months and I am very excited to be ending my first semester of senior year with a job offer through Teach for America (TFA). Though controversial in the media, I believe Teach for America is the best place for me to […] Read more »

by Robert Reiss Forbes November 17, 2015 Pretty much everyone in America agrees on the importance of our education system. And yet, consider these numbers: America spends $810 billion annually on our school systems and still we are in 17th place in reading and 32nd place in math globally. Shouldn’t that be unacceptable to us? In an […] Read more »

One of the most prevalent education reforms will soon turn 25. Started in 1991 to disrupt what was considered the traditional school districts’ exclusive franchise over education, charter schools broke philosophical ground by uniting people on both sides of the political aisle. The goal of charter schools was to make public education more responsive to the individual needs of its students, more nimble in facing ever-evolving issues, and more innovative in discovering solutions to complex problems. Read more »

On October 15th, I attended an event regarding education reform in our city, Washington D.C. This event was hosted by the Progressive Policy Institute and featured speakers who work and advocate for education reform, including former mayor Vincent Gray, Richard Whitmire, David Osborne, Jennifer Niles and Scott Pearson. The speakers laughed, joked with each other, […] Read more »

“Developing Excellent School Principals to Advance Teaching and Learning: Considerations for State Policy” by Paul Manna is a complex and extensive study that explains one main concept: “how states can ensure schools have principals who advance teaching and learning.” Currently in America, principals’ roles are vital but rarely recognized, and unfortunately overlooked by policy makers in state […] Read more »

I dunno about you, but we’re feelin’ 22! Yesterday CER officially turned 22, marking over two decades of advocating for choice, accountability, and Parent Power. While we’re proud of what the #edreform movement has accomplished, it’s time to ramp up the pace at which students have access to choices. Across America, only about five percent […] Read more »

After reading “Measuring Diversity in Charter School Offerings” by Michael Q. McShane and Jenn Hatfield, my understanding of charter schools has been broadened and solidified. Before reading this report, I knew what a charter school was – a school that is run independently, yet is still funded by the state. However, I now understand just why […] Read more »