Hey, Colorado: Billion Dollar K-12 Tax Hike OR End the Education Plantation?

by Eddie | 1:27 pm, April 15, 2013

Often it’s very easy to get bogged down in a big education policy debate like Colorado’s SB 213 school finance reform proposal. Then along comes a Denver Post op-ed piece by a motivated citizen that exhales a breath of fresh air: Colorado currently spends about $10,600 per student per year on K-12 education. You can [...]

Scholarship Tax Credits Could Help Denver, Aurora HS Students Overcome Challenges

by Eddie | 11:05 am, April 12, 2013

For those who long have rolled up their sleeves to try to improve student learning, the cause of urban high school reform remains one of the most daunting tasks. Even in areas where the most concentrated and sustained efforts at reform have taken place, the promising results have been very limited. Enter a brand new [...]

Split Partisan SB 213 Vote Shifts Debate from Real Reform to Raising Taxes

by Eddie | 1:58 pm, April 2, 2013

In case you haven’t been following me on Twitter (which raises the question: Why not?), you may not have noticed that the big education bill of the 2013 Colorado legislative session has made its way through the State Senate. As a new Ed News Colorado story by Todd Engdahl highlights, Senate Bill 213 has advanced [...]

All This Talk about Course Choice Makes Colorado Debates Seem So 20th Century

by Eddie | 3:11 pm, March 25, 2013

While the big school finance reform legislation at the Colorado State Capitol explores reshuffling the dollars in a 20th century system — and dashing my youthful hopes along the way — other states continue to plow ahead with the idea of course choice. Students are enabled to customize their education by choosing courses regardless of [...]

Big SB 213 School Finance Bill Hearing Keeps Me Watching, Brings Out Questions

by Eddie | 12:32 pm, March 19, 2013

When it comes to the world of K-12 education in Colorado — you know, what keeps my little eyes busy watching — today (this week!) is all consumed in the political debates over Senate Bill 213, the big school finance overhaul tied to a billion dollar tax increase. So I invite you to follow the [...]

Lobato Case Returns: We Need School Finance Reform, Not Constitutional Crisis

by Eddie | 1:11 pm, March 8, 2013

Yesterday, some attorneys got up and argued an important case affecting K-12 education before the Colorado Supreme Court. The hearing was about an appeal of the Denver district court’s Lobato decision, previously referred to by the Denver Post as the “Super Bowl of school funding litigation.” Judge Sheila Rappaport granted judgment for the plaintiffs, contending [...]

Overcome with Excitement Today: Appeals Court Revives Dougco Choice Program!

by Eddie | 11:49 am, February 28, 2013

I am going to be catching my breath all day, I’m so excited by this fantastic news from the Colorado Court of Appeals today: DENVER—The Independence Institute, Colorado’s leading pro-freedom policy voice, praised today’s decision to restore a groundbreaking school choice program previously struck down by a Denver judge. The Colorado Court of Appeals today [...]

Hip KIPP, Hooray! Major Research Shows Big Learning Gains for Challenged Students

by Eddie | 6:00 pm, February 27, 2013

A powerful research report released today from a big study confirms what anyone paying attention to the urban charter school movement already should have noticed. KIPP produces big gains for students: KIPP middle schoolers learn significantly more than comparison students, concludes a report by Mathematica Policy Research on 43 schools in 13 states plus the [...]

Heartbroken by Choice Bill Defeats, Hoping for Some Scholarship Tax Credit Love

by Eddie | 12:56 pm, February 15, 2013

I tend not to get into all the icky Valentine’s Day stuff (flowers, pink hearts, greeting cards), except to the extent I can stuff my face with candy. Even so, some events that transpired yesterday at the Capitol nearly broke my heart. Ed News Colorado reports on the Thursday afternoon state senate committee hearing that [...]

Rick Hess Slam Dunks for Colorado with Call for Cage-Busting Can-Do

by Eddie | 5:37 pm, February 11, 2013

Local education leaders want to transform a rigid, bureaucratic system — re-imagining the delivery of instruction, giving more freedom, flexibility, and accountability to teachers and principals at the school level. But then some interest groups or just plain old naysayers come along to protest, saying “We’ve never done it that way before.” Or maybe a [...]

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