More speech reactions

Here's my analysis of the Obama education speech in National Review.

Flypaper is on the beat!

Many were caught off guard by this press release from the US Department of Education today. ????Jo Anderson, head of the Illinois Education Association (an NEA affiliate), was named "senior advisor" to Secretary Duncan. ????

White House voucher whispers

It's short on details, but yesterday's White House press briefing transcript offers a tidbit about President Obama and the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program: Q: Robert, what does the President think about the D.C. scholarship program? The spending bill zeroes out and cuts the money for it.

More thoughts on Obama's education reform speech.....

Our friend Rick Hess also offered his thoughts (pasted below this entry) on the Obama education speech earlier this week. Rick wasn't entirely optimistic.

Big news in Baltimore

The schools chief in Baltimore unveiled a laudable????plan last night to close low-performing schools, expand high-performing schools, and continue opening new schools. Very exciting stuff.

Why are they doing this?

I agree with Amber's post on the demise of the DC voucher plan. ????I'll add four quick things.

Bleak news for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program

The Senate passed its $410 billion budget bill yesterday and rejected an amendment that would have restored funding for the DC voucher program (vote was 58-39). This means that the 1,700 students enrolled in the scholarship program will likely have to return to the failing schools they left. Sen.

Arne who?

I spent yesterday guest-lecturing at a reputable education school about the role of the federal government in education. These last-semester teaching candidates appeared bright and interested, yet I walked away feeling as if they knew far too little about the policy issues surrounding the profession they were about to enter.

NYT encroaching on WaPost's turf?

Obama on Education

President Obama delivered a major, long (over 4,500 words), and substantive speech on education this morning. Transcript here; coverage here

Obama's speech gets the education reform-o-meter treatment

With Mike away on vacation, I get the keys to the vaunted Reform-o-Meter. Certainly President Obama's big speech today deserves to be taken for a spin.

President Obama, education standards and accountability

Just a quick sidenote about the speech this morning. Obama complained pretty emphatically about state standards and the current system--50 different sets of standards, from the lowest-of-the-low to the highest-of-the-high.

President Obama pushes for education reform

(Guest blogger Laura Bornfreund is a Fordham Fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute)

Obama speaks on charter schools-will states listen?

In his first major education speech since taking office, President Obama made the case for charter schools as incubators of innovation and excellence in public education.

The education thought-world knows no limits

In his classic book, The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them,??E.D. Hirsch describes the education "thought-world," born from schools of education but dominant throughout the education system.

The Barack Obama Education Reform-o-Meter: The readers speak

I'm heading out of town this evening for a spring break, but before I do I thought I'd check in and give our Reader Reform-o-Meter a check. As loyal Flypaper readers know, whenever we put someone or something through the Reform-o-Meter treatment, you get to voice your vote, too.

CER's new charter report

WSJ on DCOSP

At least the teachers get along

The Cincinnati Public Schools have been praised (including by yours truly) for embarking on top-to-bottom overhauls of the district's most persistently underperforming schools.

ED stimulus "guidance"

Mayoral control in New York City

Odds and ends before the weekend

First, I'm thrilled to be affiliated with TBFI and have the chance to contribute to Flypaper.???? Thanks Checker, Mike, Eric, and team.???? It's been great.

Success story!

So here's an inspirational article about a once-struggling Florida school that pulled itself up from a "D/F" rating to an "A" rating two years in a row (and they expect a third "A" this year).

Vouchers: Not so radical anymore

Arne Duncan, warming to school vouchers

I've already parsed the meaning of Arne Duncan's statements about Washington's school voucher program (he doesn't think vouchers ???ultimately are the answer??? because they're not ???ambitious???

Charter schools rock

Gadfly has arrived

You don't want to miss this spectacular issue (and enjoy it too, since Gadfly's taking his spring break--woo hoo! Cancun!--next week and will return to your inboxes on March 19).

The Accountability Illusion event video

Check out our long-overdue "The Accountability Illusion" event video. You can read the full report here. Don't forget to check out our "Fix That Failing School" video game!

Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools

Roberto Agodini, Barbara Harris, Sally Atkins-Burnett, Sheila Heaviside, and Timothy NovakMathematica Policy Research for Institute of Education SciencesFebruary 2009

Realizing the Promise: How State Policy Can Support Alternative Certification Programs

Robin Chait and Michele McLaughlinCenter for American ProgressFebruary 2009