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The Wall Street Journal, March 16, 2010
Charter Schools and Student Performance
On Saturday, President Obama delivered a radio address on education and he didn't shrink from saying that American high school students are trailing international averages. He sketched out details of a bill his administration is now pushing to revise the No Child Left Behind Act. He proposes to preserve testing requirements but create a better measuring stick, require teachers be evaluated by performance (not credentials), and use carrots instead of sticks to encourage progress... click to read more [Return to Top]
Hartford Courant, February 7, 2010
State Must Remove Handcuffs From Charter Schools
Connecticut cannot continue its terrible distinction of having the nation's worst achievement gap. Poor students tested in eighth-grade math in 2009 were more than three grade levels behind their better-off peers. A federal study found that white students in Connecticut score above the national average, but black students score lower, on average, than blacks across the South... click to read more [Return to Top]
wsj.com, November 4 , 2009
No Child Left Behind
Opponents of school choice are running out of excuses as evidence continues to roll in about the positive impact of charter schools... click to read more [Return to Top]
seattletimes.com, October 24, 2009
Education's quiet revolution: change we can believe in
A few weeks ago, "Saturday Night Live" teased President Barack Obama for delivering great speeches but not actually bringing change. There's at least one area where that jibe is unfair: education... click to read more [Return to Top]
HeraldNet.com, October 21, 2009
Washington shouldn't say no to schools innovation
The $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund provides a powerful incentive for Washington to join the education mainstream. More discretionary money than the feds have ever made available, the funds will be awarded to states to spur and support eduction reform... click to read more [Return to Top]
detnews.com, October 2, 2009
School unions are out for themselves
Earlier this year Robert Chanin, the recently retired general counsel for the National Education Association, discussed the effectiveness of teachers unions at a gathering in San Diego... click to read more [Return to Top]
contracostatimes.com, September 28, 2009
Research shows charter schools can excel
ONE OF THE long-standing misperceptions about charter schools is that they cherry-pick the better students from an area, resulting in higher test scores than in comparable regular public schools... click to read more [Return to Top]
washingtonpost.com, September 27, 2009
Charter Success
OPPONENTS OF charter schools are going to have to come up with a new excuse: They can't claim any longer that these non-traditional public schools don't succeed. A rigorous new study of charter schools in New York City demolishes the argument that charter schools outperform traditional public schools only because they get the... click to read more [Return to Top]
boston.com, September 17, 2009
The next chapter on education reform
Deval L. Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts, wants strong charter school laws: EXCELLENCE in education is a proud tradition in Massachusetts. Thanks to innovative ideas, creative problem-solving, and our ability to focus on the needs of future generations regardless of today’s circumstances, we have earned a national and international reputation as a home to quality education. But we must not take our progress for granted... click to read more [Return to Top]
boston.com, September 16, 2009
Legislature must respond to clamor for better schools
Deval L. Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts, offers up two must-pass bills to shake up underperforming schools: FROM THE HIGHEST reaches of the Obama administration to the parents of children in dysfunctional classrooms in Boston and elsewhere, there is a clamor to shake up underperforming schools. Tomorrow, the Legislature’s education committee will take up two must-pass bills from Governor Patrick... click to read more [Return to Top]
theolympian.com, September 15, 2009
Charter school debate is worth revisiting
This state’s steadfast refusal to allow charter schools is going to have a financial consequence. Washington is one of 11 states without charter schools, and that puts this state at the back of the line when it comes to receiving more than $4 billion in federal education grants... click to read more [Return to Top]
nypost.com, September 14, 2009
Blocking the schoolhouse door
Minority kids try to enter a school. Angry adults scream at them and try to block their path. Little Rock, 1957? Try New York City, 2009. That was the shocking scene last week at a Harlem building shared by a traditional public school, PS 123, and a charter school, Harlem Success Academy 2... click to read more [Return to Top]
seattletimes.nwsource.com, August 30, 2009
Los Angeles school district hopes charter approach rescues failing schools
Much separates Seattle from Los Angeles besides 954 miles. L.A.'s school district enrolls 688,800; Seattle's, 46,000. There are little more than 90 schools in Seattle, 800 in L.A... click to read more [Return to Top]
edweek.org, August 28, 2009
'Race to the Top' Lessons From New Orleans
As the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top competition focuses new attention on what it takes to turn around failing public schools, New Orleans is proving that the job can be done... click to read more [Return to Top]
washingtonpost.com, August 26, 2009
D.C.'s Other School Reformers
WITH D.C. schools reopening, attention is focused on the reform efforts of Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, and rightly so. But with growing numbers of students enrolled in charter schools, hers is just part of the story of educational change in the District. Not only are a record number of charter students expected this year but an initiative is also being launched to hold the public charters more accountable and improve their performance... click to read more [Return to Top]
OregonLive.com, August 2, 2009
Time for Oregon schools to stretch
Will Oregon be among the recipients of the Race to the Top Fund, $4 billion in stimulus package money that the Obama administration has set aside to encourage new ways of teaching?... click to read more [Return to Top]
thenewstribune.com, July 27, 2009
Educational pioneer? Not this state
In case you missed it, Washington just flunked the test for school reform. The failure will sting. States that pass the test are eligible for a piece of $4.35 billion in federal education funding. It looks like Washington's schools aren't even in the running... click to read more [Return to Top]
mainebusiness.com, June 30, 2009
US Ed. Secretary Duncan Chides Maine Legislators
After the Maine Senate voted twice in June to defeat public charter school legislation, US Secretary Duncan called on the Maine Legislature to “act in the best interest of students and open doors to education entrepreneurs, like those running charter schools.” He said, “Many charter school operators are today’s top education innovators and entrepreneurs. Children need more high-quality educational options”... more [Return to Top]
washingtonpost.com, June 22, 2009
Blackboard Pulpit
AN ESTIMATED 365,000 students are on waiting lists to get into charter schools. More than half of all charter schools across the country report having to disappoint parents who want their children in better schools. Yet many states, for reasons that have nothing to do with sound educational policy, discourage or even forbid the growth of charters. It's a ridiculous situation, and we hope that Education Secretary Arne Duncan is serious about not rewarding states hostile to charter schools. ... click to read more [Return to Top]
OregonLive.com, March 14, 2009
Why is NEA cheering Obama's education ideas?
The National Education Association appears to be humming "Stand By Your Man," even after President Barack Obama promoted both merit pay and an expansion of charter schools in his recent comments about education... click to read more [Return to Top]
Columbian.com, March 3, 2009
Washington View: Obama, Jindal both right about charter schools
Both President Barack Obama (D) and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) spoke of the need for more charter schools in their televised addresses to the nation in late February. Their agreement illustrates that prominent Democrats and Republicans can agree charter schools are improving student learning and should expand... click to read more [Return to Top]
DailyBreeze.com, November 11, 2008
Charters prove their worth
Every once in a while, someone produces a study demonstrating something we already knew, and the response is telling: Those who are firmly grounded in reality yawn at the restatement of the obvious. And those who are so blinded by ideology or self-interest that they can't bear to face certain inconvenient truths howl in outrage... click to read more [Return to Top]
The L.A.Times, February 5, 2008
Charters' competitive edge: Students succeed when schools have five key components
Charter schools -- public schools that have been exempted from selected state and local regulations -- are changing the competitive landscape of American elementary, middle and high schools... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Columbian, December 2, 2004
OP-ED: Public Opinion Goes Against Teachers Union
The Washington Education Association's (WEA) definition of success appears to be as strange as its definition for fair... click to read more [Return to Top]
Tacoma News Tribune, November 19, 2004
OP-ED: School Reform Needs Choices, Accountability, Money
When it comes to education reform, the November 2004 election appeared to be a victory for the status quo. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson was re-elected, and both Initiative 884 and Referendum 55 were defeated. But it didn’t have to be that way... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Everett Herald, October 29, 2004
EDITORIAL: Referendum 55 - A Measured Introduction to Charter Schools
Public schools in Snohomish and Island counties have, by and large, made impressive progress of late. Still, plenty of challenges remain. Innovation is at the heart of moving our schools forward, and must be encouraged whenever possible... click to read more [Return to Top]
Centralia Chronicle, October 27, 2004
EDITORIAL: Charters Worth Try
VOTE FOR CHARTERS: The Washington Education Association, the state teachers' union, is again opposing competition from charter schools within the public school system. The WEA sees charters as a threat to its teacher dues-supported power base... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Olympian, October 21, 2004
OUR VIEWS: Referendum 55 Merits Support
The most compelling case for charter schools can be found in this state's high school dropout rate. About 30 percent of Washington's students are not receiving a high school diploma. The dropout rate jumps to 50 percent among some minority populations. Clearly, today's public education system is not meeting the needs of those students... click to read more [Return to Top]
Tacoma News Tribune, October 20, 2004
EDITORIAL: Charter Schools Can Help Neediest Students
The way opponents talk about charter schools, you’d think they were educational King Kongs, threatening to stomp and destroy our beloved public schools. The only thing charter schools truly threaten is the status quo—and the power and influence of teacher unions... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Spokane Spokesman-Review, October 20, 2004
EDITORIAL: Charter Schools Good for State
The Washington Education Association would have you believe that charter schools will severely damage public education. The teachers union claims erroneously that the approval of Referendum 55, which would legalize charter schools, will drain $100 million from state education coffers. If that doesn't scare voters enough, the WEA will use words like "vouchers" and "boot camps" to denigrate an innovative movement that has become mainstream, embraced by 40 other states... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Longview Daily News, October 20, 2004
EDITORIAL: 'Yes' on Referendum 55
Referendum 55 on the Nov. 2, 2004 ballot asked Washington voters to allow the creation of up to 45 publicly funded charter schools in the state over the next six years. The Daily News recommended approval of this referendum. Voters shouldn't be misled by opponents of charter schools, who would use R-55 to repeal the modest charter school bill approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Gary Locke last spring. Charter schools would take nothing from traditional public schools. They, in fact, would be part of the public education system... click to read more [Return to Top]
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 17, 2004
OP-ED: On Nov. 2 Washington Voters Can Make Policy on Multiple Fronts
Next month, Washington voters will have the opportunity to help improve our public schools by approving Referendum 55. The referendum will give parents and local communities an effective tool to help underserved students get the education they deserve. It will let local school boards convert persistently low performing public schools into tuition-free, charter public schools. These schools help students excel through innovation, parental involvement, and accountability... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Seattle Times, October 16, 2004
OP-ED: The Gift of Choice
Twelve years, two failed appeals to Washington voters and one vicious national debate separate the opening of the first charter school in Minnesota and the arrival of charter-school legislation in Washington state. Charter schools must be backed by strong legislation to be successful. This task, arguably one of the most difficult in the charter process, has already been done. Years of effort and debate produced the bill that passed in the Legislature last March... click to read more [Return to Top]
Bellingham Herald, October 16, 2004
EDITORIAL: Charter Schools Deserve Voter OK
Creating charter schools is not going to fix all the problems in the Washington public school system. But, the very limited charter schools bill passed in the state Legislature last year and in front of voters in the form of Referendum 55 this election may help some students succeed in places where the worst schools exist. Voters should approve it... click to read more [Return to Top]
Yakima Herald-Republic, October 16, 2004
OP-ED: Referendum 55, Charter Public Schools Would Help Kids
Referendum 55 would give local communities an effective tool to help public school kids who are falling through the cracks. R-55 would let communities convert persistently failing public schools into tuition-free, charter public schools, which are more accountable to parents and the community. These schools help improve academic achievement through innovation, they encourage parental involvement, and they curb costly bureaucracy... click to read more [Return to Top]
Tri-City Herald, October 14, 2004
OP-ED: Charter Schools Improve Education without Raising Taxes
Referendum 55 provides Washington voters with an opportunity to improve our public schools and increase school accountability—without raising taxes. Referendum 55 will change the status quo and help struggling students get the education they deserve. Approving Referendum 55 will allow local communities to convert persistently failing public schools into tuition-free, charter public schools. These schools help students improve academic achievement through innovation, more parental involvement, and less bureaucracy... And charter public schools work. click to read more [Return to Top]
The Kitsap Sun, October 13, 2004
OP-ED: We Need School Choice, but Not a School Sales Tax
Last session, our state representatives in Olympia finally approved a measure to establish charter schools. Washington would join 40 other states and the District of Columbia in offering this educational choice... click to read more [Return to Top]
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, October 11, 2004
EDITORIAL: Voters Should OK Plan to Allow Limited Charter Schools
Are charter schools the answer to all of our educational woes? Probably not. Yet, in some circumstances, charter schools might be just what is needed to solve specific problems... click to read more [Return to Top]
Seattle Times, October 6, 2004
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The unions may see schools as their monopoly, but that government-granted status has not served our children well, in many cases not at all. We need to help our children who are stuck in failing public schools with no choices but to suffer or quit. Charter schools would give them another chance at an education, and that will serve all of us, as a society of educated individuals... click to read more [Return to Top]
King County Journal, October 6, 2004
OUR VIEW: Charter Schools: Yes on R-55
We can increase opportunities for educating children in our state in November with the passage of R-55, which would allow establishment of charter schools. We recommend voters say “yes&rduo; to this common sense measure... click to read more [Return to Top]
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 5, 2004
EDITORIAL: Referendum 55: A Modest Experiment
Washington voters have a choice between paralysis and modest experimentation in public schools. State residents should approve Referendum 55, a law already passed by the Legislature to allow charter schools. On balance, approval of R-55 offers opportunities for improving schools, particularly in disadvantaged areas, with only modest risks... click to read more [Return to Top]
Seattle Times, October 4, 2004
OP-ED: Fulfilling the Promise of Education Reform
Making education reform happen requires strong, committed leaders in our community. Our superintendent of public instruction, Terry Bergeson, is one of them... click to read more [Return to Top]
Seattle Times, October 3, 2004
THE TIMES ENDORSES: 'Yes' for Charter School Reform
In the years Washington state has spent debating charter schools, much could have been learned about them if a few had been allowed to exist... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Seattle Times, October 1, 2004
OP-ED: Accountability's Fine, but Give the Kids a Break
The news coming out of the Tacoma School District recently shines a spotlight on educational policy at its most witless. Since 1997, elementary-school recess has been outlawed in Tacoma... click to read more [Return to Top]
New York Post, October 1, 2004
OP-ED: GEDs Just Don't Cut It
The most important thing to understand about the GED and other alternative certificates is that they aren't even close to equivalent to a high-school diploma. Employers don't treat job applicants with GEDs as though they had real diplomas. Studies overwhelmingly find dropouts with GEDs have worse life outcomes than real graduates in terms of incomes, unemployment, crime, and so on... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Seattle Times, September 29, 2004
EDITORIAL: Kerry on Education: Teeth and Funding
Nearly one-third of America's young people fail to graduate from high school. What's needed is a national strategy such as that offered by Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry... click to read more [Return to Top]
Ketchikan Daily News, September 24, 2004
EDITORIAL: Nope, Not Here
Small-town Americans often are accused of thinking, "It couldn't happen here," but in the case of the 6,000 students stranded by the demise of the California Charter Academy in August, this particular bad thing couldn't happen here... click to read more [Return to Top]
Port Orchard (WA) Independent, September 22, 2004
OP-ED: This Time, Let’s Get Charter Schools Right
For the third time in eight years Washingtonians will have a chance to vote on whether to allow charter schools in our state... click to read more [Return to Top]
The (Vancouver, WA) Columbian, September 20, 2004
IN OUR VIEW: 'Yes' for Ref. 55
The Washington Education Association is again leading a misguided fight against the creation of a small number of public charter schools in our state. Meanwhile, more than 40 other states allow charter schools and are enjoying the innovations these schools can provide, as well as the federal funding that is available to states that offer citizens more choices... click to read more [Return to Top]
San Diego Union Tribune, September 19, 2004
OP-ED: Charter Schools: A Beacon of Hope for California Public Education
California's promising public charter school movement offers public school teachers the opportunity to design and lead high-powered public schools that are free from many cumbersome rules that hold back public education. This new freedom is leading to improved student achievement. Note: This Op-Ed contains a sidebar article on how a charter school is formed... click to read more [Return to Top]
The (Everett, WA) Herald, September 18, 2004
OP-ED: How Investing in Education Pays Off
Too often we don't talk about ways that education has direct value to taxpayers (on top of what our children get.). One particular argument hasn't gotten nearly enough attention: schooling cuts crime. And the crime-cutting value of education is large enough that it deserves our attention... click to read more [Return to Top]
Boston Globe, September 16, 2004
EDITORIAL: Greater Expectations
Massachusetts students made impressive gains from 2001 to 2004 in spite of tight school budgets. But the next round of reform will be more challenging still as schools set the goal at proficiency rather than just passing on standardized tests and pressure grows to raise the academic achievement of minority and low-income youngsters... click to read more [Return to Top]
Sacramento Bee, September 9, 2004
OP-ED: Charters Remain Best Hope for Public Education
Charter schools are the best hope for the future of public education because they provide an outlet for great teachers, choice for parents, and opportunity for students who might otherwise be stuck in under-performing schools. They are innovation driven from the ground up, not the top down. They are the re-democratization of the public school, returning education to its roots in the family and the community... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Akron Beacon Journal, August 23, 2004
OP-ED: Union Study of Charter Schools Fails in Accuracy
The New York Times reported that national test data proves that students in charter schools “lag behind” students in traditional public schools. This statement is baseless. More than 10 years of comprehensive research demonstrates that charter schools produce strong student achievement, especially among minority and at-risk students... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Moscow-Pullman Daily News, August 26, 2004
OUR VIEW: Charter Schools Can Serve the Community; Educators Must Work with District to Benefit Students
When done right, charter schools offer an alternative for some to traditional public education. When done wrong, failure is inevitable... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Seattle Times, August 24, 2004
EDITORIAL: New School Policies, More Than Promises
A flurry of revamped policies from Seattle Public Schools are intended to bridge the disconnect between the schools and parents. But if they are to succeed, they must usher in a cultural shift at district headquarters. Unless the hostility to change and innovation that has plagued those working out of the district's Sodo headquarters disappears, new policies are not worth the paper used to print them... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Seattle Times, August 24, 2004
OP-ED: This School Bus Needs a Mechanic, Not a Driver
The analogy is far from perfect, but think of a local school system as a school bus and the superintendent as a bus driver. The bus itself is in bad shape. It uses far too much fuel, in the form of school dollars. The engine is unresponsive because it is out of date and important parts have fallen into disrepair. The gauges—the tests and other devices that can tell us how it is performing—have been ignored and/or disconnected. We're not even agreed as to where the vehicle should be headed... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Tacoma News Tribune, August 22, 2004
EDITORIAL: AFT's Statistical Attack on Charter Schools Proves Exactly Nothing
Mark Twain said it best: There are lies, damn lies, and statistics. The latest conscription of educational statistics in the war against charter schools is a case in point. The front page of The New York Times last Tuesday trumpeted a cover-up: The U.S. Department of Education had "buried in mountains of data" a set of statistics that "deals a blow" to charter schools, which are self-governing, deregulated public schools. The problem with the new study lies in the context it neglected to provide and the data it chose to emphasize... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Seattle Times, August 20, 2004
EDITORIAL: The Debunking Politics Of Charter Schools
Once again, charter-school opponents are doing everything they can to debunk the charter process except give it a fair chance... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Commonwealth Foundation, August 20, 2004
OP-ED: Union Propaganda Can't Hide Charter Schools' Success
The AFT claims that test scores of charter school students fall below those of district school students. But are the claims accurate?... click to read more [Return to Top]
New York Post, August 19, 2004
OP-ED: Defaming Charters
The recent firestorm over the performance of charter schools can be traced to a mischief-bearing grenade hand-delivered by the charter-hating American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to The New York Times...click to read more [Return to Top]
The New York Sun, August 18, 2004
OP-ED: No Comparison
Across the nation there are charter schools with the stated purpose of educating groups like pregnant teens, high school dropouts, delinquent youth, or even the broadly defined group of at-risk children. About 13% of New York’s charter schools are targeted to such underperforming populations. So are about 41% of charter schools in Texas and 67% of charter schools in Illinois... click to read more [Return to Top]
The (Canadian) National Post, July 30, 2004
OP-ED: Ontario Needs School Choice
Earlier this year, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty released the report of a blue ribbon panel on the role of government in society. Among its many recommendations was that the province bring in charter schools... click to read more [Return to Top]
Education Week, July 28, 2004
OP-ED: The New Math on Graduation Rates
The national graduation rate is not the widely broadcast 85 percent. In our public schools, the correct figure is much closer to 68 percent. Minorities nationwide have little more than a 50-50 chance of earning a diploma... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Detroit News, July 20, 2004
EDITORIAL: Drop Union Opposition to Charter Schools in Detroit
Last year, industrialist Robert Thompson offered $200 million to build 15 charter schools in Detroit. A matching $200 million was also available. But the teacher’s union pressured Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to scuttle the deal... click to read more [Return to Top]
Providence Journal, July 14, 2004
OP-ED: R.I. Needs These Experiments
Despite successful efforts, mostly by teachers' unions, to weaken and restrict charter laws, there are now nearly 3,000 charter schools in the United States, and enough kids on their waiting lists to fill 900 more... click to read more [Return to Top]
The Long Beach Press Telegraph, June 30, 2004
EDITORIAL: A Boost for Charter Schools.
California's charter school movement got a welcome boost from the federal government this week with a $75-million grant to establish about 250 new charter schools during the next three years... click to read more [Return to Top]
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