Research Ought to Give Second Thoughts about Government Preschool Programming

by Eddie | 4:35 pm, February 14, 2013

It’s been almost two years since I last brought your attention to the overwhelming research findings that the nearly-50-year-old Head Start program has not made a real difference in education outcomes. But a new Wall Street Journal story by Stephanie Banchero points out that some federal officials appear intent on doubling down. In an article [...]

Looming Legislative Session Evokes More Heartburn than Hope for K-12 Issues

by Eddie | 4:12 pm, January 8, 2013

Run for cover, and hold onto your wallets! Tomorrow marks the beginning of the first session of the 69th Colorado General Assembly. At first, I thought about just re-posting last year’s pre-session warning. Yet while there may be some similarities between 2012 and 2013, it would end up being a lazy thing to do, and [...]

Winters Just Made It Even Harder to Argue with Florida’s Education Success

by Eddie | 10:45 am, August 14, 2012

Last time I wrote about Florida, it was touting their “silver medal” among the 50 states for growing student achievement in the past 15 years. The Harvard study that handed out the imaginary awards analyzed how much progress 4th-grade and 8th-grade students have made on the national NAEP test.
Second place out of 50? Not too [...]

Many Colo. Parents Aren’t Buying SB 130’s Early Childhood Bureaucratic Change

by Eddie | 10:12 am, March 29, 2012

Look, I’m still young, but I’m learning that there are some different major philosophies out there about what government can and should do. My friends around this place believe that government’s role should be limited and tend to be very skeptical when proposals come forward to expand the government’s role. This one issue is a [...]

Happy Dr. Seuss’ Birthday: A Fun Friday NEA Tribute from Ed-I-Said

by Eddie | 1:58 pm, March 2, 2012

Today is the birthday of the late, great Dr. Seuss (aka Ted Geisel). Millions of school children across Colorado and the rest of the United States will hear one or more of his stories as part of the Read Across America campaign. The nation’s largest teachers union is one of the event’s key sponsors. Hey, [...]

Head Start Hasn’t Lived Up To Its Promises: How About Just Getting Out of Debt?

by Eddie | 3:52 pm, March 9, 2011

Adults can be strange sometimes. Create a government program. Make it about helping little kids like me. Give it a catchy name like “Head Start.” Spend billions of dollars. And then when the evidence repeatedly shows it doesn’t work? Just ignore it.
Wait, huh?
Okay, not all adults have that mindset. But it’s funny to see [...]

Glimpsing a K-12 Future: Pension Transparency and Education Entrepreneurs

by Eddie | 12:48 pm, July 15, 2010

It’s the middle of July. It’s hot outside. If they’re not swimming in the pool, people are more interested in political scandals than education stories. That’s too bad.
Whether we realize it or not, I’m beginning to believe I am lucky enough to be coming of age during a truly transformational time in public schooling and [...]

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• PPC Training for Activists

  UPDATE: Something apparently got messed up with the PayPal buttons during this past weekend’s database glitch – fixed now. Yes, it’s that time again — PPC will be conducting training classes for center-right activists on Saturday, April 20 and Saturday, April 27, at Independence Institute in Denver. The tentative class schedule is as follows: Saturday, [...]

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