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Via EducationNews comes this interesting news: Steve Barr, the man behind L.A.’s phenomenal Green Dot charter schools, could be on the verge of having carte blanche with the state board of education: On Wednesday, the state Board of Education is poised to vote on giving Green Dot the authority to create independent charter schools without […] Read more »

LAUSD English teacher Doug Lasken is less than optimistic on the takeover: The California Teachers Association and United Teachers Los Angeles were set to kill mayoral control, but they have done a 180-degree turnabout, moving from vocal opposition to vocal support. Endless e-mails tell members that “takeover is dead” and that we have a great […] Read more »

A fistfight is brewing over the D.C. voucher program: Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the District, intends to introduce legislation Thursday that would increase the income guidelines to 300 percent of the federal poverty line, from 200 percent, according to an aide in his office. The aide said a potential […] Read more »

The LA Times has some letters to the editor on the paper’s recent article on Milton Friedman.  Read more »

Anchor Rising takes a good look at union determinism vs. reformer optimism.  Read more »

Home Education Magazine notes that the NEA hasn’t budged in its policy on homeschooling.  (Hat tip to–as you might have guessed–Cobranchi.) Read more »

At the high point of the NEA’s annual conference, the teachers’ union has decided enough is enough on NCLB: An overwhelming majority of delegates from the nation’s largest education union approved a plan this week to aggressively lobby Congress for reform of the No Child Left Behind Act. The National Education Association has fought to […] Read more »

In the wake of our administrative action, the U.S. DOE has leveled an ultimatum: In an unprecedented move, Spellings has given California six weeks to come up with a plan that would allow students in failing schools throughout the state to transfer to a better school this fall. If the state does not submit a […] Read more »

the New York Times: Skeptics have often expressed doubt that good teachers would make any difference in the lives of the country’s poorest students, who typically show up in first grade not at all prepared to learn. The Education Trust study, which draws on a treasure-trove of data from several states, clearly refutes this notion. […] Read more »

Mixing work with play?  Or maybe he just had nothing better to do with all those frequent flyer miles?  No matter; Mike Antonucci is watching the NEA’s every move at the union’s annual convention, held this year in sunny Orlando.  (And when it’s all over, he’ll jump up and shout, "I’m going to…"  Oh, never […] Read more »