Standing athwart the Internet, yelling Stop!
The Education GadflyIllinois Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation last week that places a one-year moratorium on new virtual charter schools outside Chicago and directs a state commission to study the effects and costs of virtual charters.
A school for the gifted: Menlo Park Academy
Ellen BelcherA feature article about Menlo Park Academy, Ohio’s sole charter school whose emphasis lies in educating gifted students.
New homes for D.C. charter schools
Adam EmersonCharters will soon be able to lease as many as sixteen former or soon-to-be-closed public school buildings
Top Ten Takeaways: Common Assessments (Part 2)
The top five takeaways from his interviews with USED, PARCC, and Smarter Balanced
Education’s Fiscal Cliff, Real or Perceived?
Daniela Fairchild, Greg HutkoCharter schools: Underfunded after all these years
Longing for the Holy Grail
Adam EmersonJeff Murray vividly reminds us what it's like to lose the school-choice lottery
No longer a boy’s world: Boys and special education
Aaron ChurchillWayward Sons, a recent report published by the policy think tank the Third Way, finds that the average girl’s educational and career outcomes have improved over time, while boys tend to be faring worse.
Losing the school choice lottery and what it means for one family
Jeff MurrayYesterday, I spent all day hitting the Refresh button on my email account. Probably 653 times. Why? Because the one school that we wanted for our children for next year was to announce its lottery results to those lucky few who would be chosen. 12 or 13 slots for sixth grade, out of an application pool of several hundred (wish I knew exactly how many).
Video of "Always Reformed, Always Reforming" event now available
Kevin PackDid you miss Ohio's recent event? A video is now available!
Religious schools, the ADA, and the Justice Department
Adam EmersonThe Justice Department has taken school-voucher policy to unstable ground
Half empty or half full: Superintendents' views on Ohio's education reforms
Steve Farkas, Ann DuffettThis report is based on the responses to an online survey conducted in Spring 2013 with 344 school district superintendents in Ohio. The survey covered seven education policies, specifically: Common Core State Standards, teacher evaluations, the Third Grade Reading Guarantee, open enrollment, A-to-F ratings for schools and districts, individualized learning (blended learning and credit flexibility), and school choice (charter schools and vouchers). It also included several questions on general attitudes towards school reform in Ohio and two trend items. Download today to discover the key findings!
Pandering beats hostage-taking
The Education GadflyWhen a Michigan House committee approved a measure that would allow students to skip Algebra 2 if they instead take a tec
By the Company It Keeps: The U.S. Department of Education
This interview with the United States Department of Education is the third and final installment in our Common Core testing consortia series
Trashing Success
Terry RyanThe Dayton Early College Academy (DECA) is Dayton’s highest performing high school (district or charter), but is being trashed by a Columbus organization.
Voucher lessons in the Louisiana decision
John HortonWith potential tactics still in play to sustain the voucher expansion, it is likely that this ruling will simply be a pothole on the road to voucher expansion in Louisiana
Choices and Challenges: Charter School Performance in Perspective
Adam EmersonA tricky line of research gets worthy treatment
The first step is admitting you have a problem
The Education GadflyOur Gadfly readers won’t
Louisiana vouchers need more to grow
Adam EmersonAbout 8,000 children had already been promised vouchers for next year when the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled its method of funding unconstitutional
Portfolio management in the suburbs
Adam EmersonFew school systems have embraced a crisis of opportunity quite like the school system in Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
Coalition of high performing charter schools discusses laws with Senate
Angel GonzalezA coalition that included high performing charter schools from Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton testified in front of the Senate Finance Committee’s Education Subcommittee on May 7th.
Fordham’s Terry Ryan testifies in the Senate Finance Committee with high achieving charter school leaders
Angel Gonzalez, Jeff MurrayAs the charter movement enters its third decade, it is imperative that policymakers and legislators understand the perspective of those schools that have succeeded in providing their students with a quality education.
How facility funding fails charter schools
Adam EmersonDespite the surge in charter enrollment, charters still largely direct money from instruction, classroom support, and administration to their facilities
Gales are blowing and defenses are up
The Education GadflySnaps to Gov.
The state of charter authorizing
This report is great data on a critically important field
Charter boards, know thy duty
Adam EmersonWhen boards are mere rubber stamps, questions about accountability, incentives, and conflicts of interest are sure to follow
The recovery school district
The most significant governance innovation since charter schools?