Change of Heart on Choice, Reform, Funding, and Unions: Time for Ed Is Playing!!

by Eddie | 12:18 pm, April 1, 2013

It’s been several days since I’ve had a chance to write here. The end of my spring break provided a lot of time for reflection on some issues that really have been bothering me. Now that I’ve had time to re-evaluate my well-known positions on some key education issues, I feel it is my obligation [...]

Guess No “Vouchers” in SB 213, Really Not Much Backpack Funding, Choice at All

by Eddie | 12:14 pm, March 21, 2013

So some of you may have been missing me since a couple days ago when I asked a dozen questions regarding the major school finance bill, SB 213. Many of my questions remain unanswered, and the first committee vote on the bill itself isn’t slated until this afternoon. But a couple interesting conversations sprung up [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

It’s Hard to Get Beyond Emotion in Legislative Debates on School Safety

by Eddie | 2:55 pm, January 29, 2013

School safety is a big deal. I don’t write a lot about it, partly because big people say I’m not “mature” enough yet to understand it all. But after hearing one of my Education Policy Center friends interview a school board member about a legislative bill he supports, I had to put a little something [...]

Teacher Evaluation Debate Kicked Up by Gates Project Hits Colorado

by Eddie | 2:53 pm, January 9, 2013

If a person asked why he is doing something gives the response, “Because everyone else is doing it,” that usually won’t pass muster. If that person happens to be 5 years old, even if an accomplished blogging prodigy, you’d cut them a little slack… right? Today, it seems like everyone out there has something to [...]

Colorado Isn’t Alone in Considering School Finance Reform “Grand Bargain”

by Eddie | 12:13 pm, October 11, 2012

I’ve shared with you before my concerns about the work of Colorado’s School Finance Partnership — too weighted down by established interests, too vague and unambitious thus far, etc.
The Partnership put out a report in August, but now is transitioning to a series of technical discussions on how to make effective changes to school [...]

Competing with Vouchers, Indiana Public Schools Step Up Marketing Efforts

by Eddie | 11:35 am, August 21, 2012

As I told you a couple months ago, the nation’s largest voucher program — enacted by Indiana in 2011 — is growing quickly in both popularity and promise.
In the Hoosier State, more than 8,000 students from low- and middle-income families are taking advantage of the private option provided by the new choice scholarships. And [...]

State Board OKs Two More Falcon Innovation Schools; One Banishes Tenure

by Eddie | 10:25 am, August 10, 2012

When Colorado passed the first-of-its-kind Innovation Schools Act in 2008, observers knew that the law was primarily tailored to transform the most challenging campuses in Denver Public Schools (DPS). And so it largely has played out. No one else has matched the 24 DPS schools who have taken advantage of the Act’s process to transform [...]

Let’s Treat Irreplaceables (Teachers, Not Cartoon Superheroes) Accordingly

by Eddie | 2:13 pm, July 31, 2012

One of the themes my Education Policy Center friends and I like to harp on is how poorly most of our K-12 system does in distinguishing high-quality educators from their low-performing counterparts. And the problem is especially pronounced in low-income urban communities, where tremendous need exists for great instruction to compensate for the challenges more [...]

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