The House is holding a hearing this Wednesday on the All Students Achieving through Reform (All-STAR) Act, which would create a new competitive grant program designed to help replicate and expand high-performing charters.
There will be some very good testimony in favor of the bill, which if approved could make its way into the reauthorization of NCLB/ESEA.
This legislation is important for lots of reasons: it would modernize the concepts underlying the aging charter schools grant program; it would support one of the most important developments of chartering (replications of great schools); and it offers an alternative to turnarounds (rather than try to fix broken schools, start new ones and expand great ones).
UPDATE: Thanks to the folks at the House ED/Labor Committee for sending along the official witness list for the hearing:
Eileen Ahearn, Director, National Association of State Directors of Special Education
Eva Moskowitz, Ph.D, CEO and Founder, Harlem Success Academy
Thomas Hehir, Ed.D, Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Robin Lake, Associate Director, Center for Reinventing Public Education, University of Washington
Greg Richmond, President, National Association of Charter School Authorizers
Caprice Young, Ed.D, President and CEO KC Distance Learning, Knowledge Universe
--Andy Smarick