High-quality customizable learning options should be the rule, not the exception
Terry RyanOne could argue that 2011 was the year of “digital learning” in Ohio and across the nation. In September, the White House announced its “Digital Promise” campaign, while a number of states have been embracing initiatives and campaigns in this realm, aided and encouraged by national groups like the Digital Learning Council and the Foundation for Excellence in Education. Ohio’s biennial budget launched the Ohio Digital Learning Task Force and charged it with ensuring that the state’s “legislative environment is conducive to and supportive of the educators and digital innovators at the heart of this transformation.”
Can a small program in Mexico inform parental choice in the U.S.?
Parents, even those a step above poverty, are ready to exercise more control over their children's education.
Survey: charter school closure rates dropping
Adam explains why charter school applications must be subjected to closer scrutiny.
Scaling up by scaling down
Peter MeyerReal reform must embrace choice—choice at the individual level.
Ranking reform, embracing audacity
As the recent ALEC report card on American K-12 education shows, it's been a brazen year for school reform.
School choice options abound in Ohio
Bianca SperanzaAs you are likely well aware, we are in the midst of School Choice Week, not only here in Ohio but nationwide. Numerous events have been going on all throughout the Buckeye State to help commemorate.
The feds find a way to stem the tide of STEM innovation
The Education GadflyCatching up on the week's news.
What history can teach our school choice debates today
It's worth looking back at the bipartisan roots of the school choice movement.
Ohio’s “unique” approach to charter-district collaboration
Terry RyanOhio is unique in its ability to turn the best of charter school theory and practice on its head. The most recent example comes from an Ohio school district that set up a charter school to offload test scores of low-performing students while making money for the district.
The State of Charter Schools: What We Know – and What We Do Not – About Performance and Accountability
Bianca SperanzaSince the first charter school opened its doors in Minnesota in 1991, over 6,700 charter schools have set up shop in 40 states and DC. Unfortunately, not all of these schools have been successful and a number of them have since closed.
Raising Job Quality and Skills for American Workers: Creating More-Effective Education and Workforce Development Systems in the States
Adrienne KingThe U.S. economy has shed more than eight million jobs since 2008, and has created only two million new jobs in that same period of time, resulting in not only a high number of unemployed people, but also a high number of job vacancies.
Charter-School Management Organizations: Diverse Strategies and Diverse Student Impacts
Laura JohnsonUpdated, but still without names
Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2011
Lisa GibesIt’s not all kumbaya, even if you want it to be
Ms. Meier, tear down this wall
Chris TessoneWhile Chris Tessone takes issue with Deborah Meier's view of Russian history, he writes that they have more in common than she might expect when it comes to democracy in education.
What Can Ohio Learn from the Louisiana Recovery School District?
Terry RyanIs it time for Ohio to consider new forms of governance and management for its most troubled schools and districts, and, if so, what might alternatives look like?
What Can Ohio Learn from the Louisiana Recovery School District?
Terry RyanIs it time for Ohio to consider new forms of governance and management for its most troubled schools and districts, and, if so, what might alternatives look like?
It’s time to move beyond old assumptions about vouchers
Guest blogger Adam Emerson exposes the flaws in out-dated thinking on school vouchers.
A glimpse at a successful school turnaround
Emmy L. PartinYesterday I had the pleasure of visiting Columbus Preparatory Academy, a K-8 Mosaica-run charter school on Columbus’s west side that is a poster child for the successful turnaround of a troubled school.
Profiles of For-Profit and Nonprofit Education Management Organizations: Thirteenth Annual Report
Chris IrvineEMO 101
The cost of online learning and why it matters to Ohio
Terry RyanWhat does online learning really cost? Can it, in fact, be both better in terms of improving student achievement and overall less expensive than traditional bricks and mortar schools?
Creating “AgBioscience” STEM Schools in the Buckeye State
Terry RyanSTEM education in Ohio is a growing component of the state’s K-12 system. Metro Early College High School opened as a STEM school in Columbus in 2007, and since then STEM schools have opened their doors in metro regions like Dayton, Cincinnati,and Cleveland.
D.C. stiffs charter schools in $21M giveaway
Chris TessoneVincent Gray's move to bail out DCPS unfairly ignores the District's charter sector.
Creating “AgBioscience” STEM Schools in the Buckeye State
Terry RyanSTEM education in Ohio is a growing component of the state’s K-12 system. Metro Early College High School opened as a STEM school in Columbus in 2007, and since then STEM schools have opened their doors in metro regions.
Ohio school districts refuse to compete with nuns
Chris TessoneOhio's districts are shrinking from competition with parochial schools through expanded voucher programs.
Is there an Act II for David Brennan the Revolutionary?
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Terry RyanRecent news that White Hat, the big, Ohio-based, profit-seeking charter school operator, faces financial problems was surely received as an early Christmas present by many long-time charter opponents, particularly within the Buckeye State. The company?s founder and leader, Akron industrialist David Brennan, has been a larger-than-life-target for school choice foes since Governor George Voinovich appointed him in 1992 to head a commission intended to advance choice in Ohio k-12 education.