Duncan to NEA: Reform Now

Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, recently spoke to the National Education Association, NEA. Duncan expressed federal stimulus money will be handed out to states more open to reform; charter schools and merit pay are the main focuses. According to Education Week:

Speaking before 6,500 officials and local delegates of the NEA, who are meeting here for the union’s annual Representative Assembly, Mr. Duncan underscored compensation, evaluation, and tenure reform as crucial to improving the quality of the education workforce.

“I believe that teacher unions are at a crossroads. These policies were created over the past century to protect the rights of teachers, but they have produced an industrial, factory model of education that treats all teachers like interchangeable widgets,” Mr. Duncan said. “When inflexible seniority and rigid tenure rules that we designed put adults ahead of children, then we are not only putting kids at risk, we’re putting the entire education system at risk. We’re inviting the attack of parents and the public, and that is not good for any of us.”

Basically saying the status quo is only hurting our children and the entire education system. It is past time for change but it is never too late. Slowly but surely, states are open to reform. Lets get the ball rolling!

Missouri Has One Year to Get Act Together

Arne Duncan is a supporter of certain education reform ideas, such as charter schools and merit pay. The US Department of Education has now laid out very specific rules to get education stimulus dollars. There are two rounds in this process, trying to give states a second chance at applying for stimulus money if they didn't make the cut the first time. Missouri could have a chance if they would lighten up on some of the charter school laws!
According to Education Week:

Applications will be due in December and June. So states that have charter school caps, for instance, have a year (as Duncan might say) to get their act together and lift those caps!

It looks like these deadlines will apply only to the $4 billion in state grants, not to the $350 million that's been set aside for new assessments, nor for the $650 million in innovation grants available to school districts and nonprofit groups.

The deadlines are:

Late July: The Department will publish a notice of proposed rule making in the Federal Register, inviting public comment for 30 days on the proposed grant application and the criteria for evaluating the states' applications.

October: Notice inviting applications will be published in the Federal Register.

December: Phase 1 applications will be due.

March 2010: Phase 1 grants awarded, winners announced.

June 2010: Phase 2 applications will be due.

September 2010: Phase 2 grants awarded, winners announced.

Arne Duncan Shows Support for Good Education Reforms Ideas

Duncan comes out praising merit pay for teachers and the expansion of charter schools. Duncan believes teachers should embrace merit pay, and it "He says he wants it done with teachers, not to teachers."

Charter schools offer children options they may not have in their current public schools and Duncan is trying to promote charter schools: (From the Teacher Magazine)

Charter schools are publicly funded but operate independently of local school boards, often free from the constraints of union contracts in traditional public schools. As a result, they are hotly opposed by teachers and other critics who say they drain money and talent from other public schools.

Duncan has criticized states where lawmakers have resisted efforts to allow more charters to open, such as Illinois, or more children to enroll in them, such as Tennessee. He has said states will hurt their chance to compete for stimulus dollars if they fail to embrace innovations like charter schools.

Charter School Video

A great new video has been released depicting the bonuses of charter schools. Currently, state law only allows for charter schools in Kansas City and St. Louis.
The current law needs to be expanded to help all children and parents throughout Missouri.

Charter Schools Gaining Ground

The education reform battle, (or movement if you prefer) has been gaining momentum, even when the hardest legislation to pass has yet to come. There are several aspects to the education reform movement, which include school choice, merit pay for teachers, transparency, charter schools, and alternative teacher certification. Missouri managed to pass the alternative certification bill...this is a huge victory, although some may not see the significance.
Another instrumental portion is charter schools. Currently, only Kansas City and St. Louis allow these schools.
A recent article in Springfield's News Leader illustrates the energy charter schools are maintaining. More people are placing their children in charter schools, thereby pulling them out of traditional public schools.
This academic year, about 23 percent of schoolchildren in the Kansas City public school district are now getting their education at one of the city's 18 public charter schools.
Kansas City has more than 7,000 students in those schools.
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools ranks the city sixth among U.S. communities in the percentage of public school students at charter schools.

Nationally, more than 1.4 million students are enrolled in more than 4,600 public charter schools.
The Kansas City schools are down about 800 students this year. State officials say the enrollment growth might be due to new schools and existing charters opening new campuses.
Charter schools are public schools run by independent boards and supported by the state.

What does it say about the public schools?
Another interesting story...I know a mother in Kansas City, who also happens to be a teacher in public schools. She is largely in favor of school choice, but in fear of the teacher unions, does not want to make this public (which is a shame). Nevertheless, she cannot afford the private school much longer but wants to place her child in a charter school (the name currently escapes me).

More and more parents are putting their children in charter schools or moving to better districts. How bright does the red flag need to be before people realize parents want choice?

Get Out of the Political Gutter

How far will we let failing schools lurk in the gutter with our children before we reach in and pull them out? In both Saint Louis and Kansas City, charter schools have proven to be a lifeline for those children sinking in the mire created by irresponsible educators and politicians. Unfortunately some politicians are out to cut even this lifeline.

Sometimes it's the Republicans, this time it's the Democrats. Claiming Replubican gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof has "traded the future of Missouri kids in urban public schools for $100,000 in campaign cash from a special-interest front group," Democratic party spokesman Zac Wright, along with the Nixon campaign, tried to shift the focus of this important election from things that really matter, like what we are going to do to create a better education system for our children in this state, to things like campaign contributions.

Let's face it: Both campaigns have a lot of money. Nixon is ahead in the polls and has received huge donations from attorneys and the teachers' unions. Hulshof received a large donation from entrepreneur Rex Sinquefield. OK. We know now.

So back to the things that matter. Last week, Hulshof laid out a specific 5-point plan, giving more choice to parents in where to send their child to school by encouraging the formation of more charter schools. It would also allow for the creation of a fund to which citizens could donate and receive a tax credit. The money would create scholarships for city children whose families can't afford to send them to private schools the option to do just that.

These sound like good things to me. Nixon's only response was that he has the support of school adminstrators. Where is his plan? Would it work?

Get out of the gutter.

Strong Arguments for School Choice

To coincide with both the Democrat Nation Convention and the Republican National Convention, the Alliance for School Choice (ASC) distributed this press release making the strong, sound case for school choice. ASC’s release makes several strong arguments that school choice produces real results and helps the public school system by adding competition to the mix.

In Missouri school choice is becoming a great option for parents who have children in failing and unaccredited schools. Although strides have been made in this area, there is much more work to be done to make sure children and their parents have real options when making decisions on education. For example, charter schools are currently only allowed to operate in the St. Louis and Kansas City school districts. These schools that are held accountable for educating children should be allowed to operate in other markets in Missouri. Children need options all across the state, not only in St. Louis and Kansas City. Also, scholarship tax credits must be available for special needs and low income families so they can chart the best course for their child’s education. All too often these groups who need the most help are left behind and given little or no options to provide a good education for their child.

ASC’s press release makes strong arguments for the need for school choice not only in Missouri, but all across the country. Hopefully leaders in both political parties will take note of the positives that school choice offers and work to offer options to all children.