That Old Colorado School District Open Union Negotiations Momentum? It’s Back

by Eddie | 2:20 pm, February 3, 2012

Last April I asked the question: Is momentum growing for open school union negotiations in Colorado? The results ended up mixed — with Colorado Springs District 11 opening more of their bargaining to public view while Jefferson County redoubled under a veil of secrecy.
Well, tagging on at the end of an Ed News Colorado story [...]

Happy Digital Learning Day, Colorado!

by Eddie | 11:09 am, February 1, 2012

I’m still catching my breath from an amazingly successful National School Choice Week, including the Kids Aren’t Cars movie night put on by some of my friends right here in Denver.
And now today it’s the first-ever Digital Learning Day, centered at a site where you can participate in a live chat and watch a [...]

NY NAACP Lawsuit and Lobato Ruling: Don’t Let the Outrage Get You Down

by Eddie | 2:08 pm, January 20, 2012

Has it really been almost three months since I told you about a new Choice Media video on the Douglas County Choice Scholarship program injunction? Well, award-winning director Bob Bowdon has triumphed again with this hard-hitting, six-minute video about the New York City NAACP’s lawsuit trying to remove a charter school that successfully serves inner-city [...]

Bring Out Your Dustbins for the Overhyped 65% Solution (at Least in Georgia)

by Eddie | 4:28 pm, January 11, 2012

Education policy gurus, brandish your dustbins. Last week Mike Antonucci brought attention to a report from Georgia that the state is looking to abandon the once vaunted “65% Solution,” the idea (popular circa 2005-06) that schools should be required to spend 65 percent of funds “in the classroom.” Antonucci writes:
This made for useful sound bites, [...]

K-12 Issues in Colo. Legislative Session Figure to Be Busier for 2012

by Eddie | 5:13 pm, January 9, 2012

If I were to write “it’s that time of year again”… again, you’d probably be ready to chew me out. And my little ears are too sensitive for that. So I’ll just take note that Colorado’s legislative session kicks off on Wednesday. Which naturally means (pardon me if you’ve heard this before) get ready and [...]

Rick Hess’ Edu-Scholar Public Presence Rankings Point to My Indirect Influence

by Eddie | 4:45 pm, January 5, 2012

From time to time you’ll see me write about or reference the work of scholars who research the nitty gritty of education policy. These are the high falutin’ number-crunchers with big degrees who work at universities. Well, the venerable Rick Hess has revealed his 2012 Edu-Scholar Public Presence Rankings to measure more than 100 American [...]

Governor Appeals Lobato Ruling; State Board May Need Some Holiday Cheer First

by Eddie | 11:40 am, December 22, 2011

Talk about making an important decision before Christmas AND the big snowstorm that hit the Denver area and the foothills. Yesterday morning Governor John Hickenlooper announced that he will appeal the outrageous school finance ruling in Lobato v State:
“…a final resolution of the constitutional and legal issues involved in the case require an appeal to [...]

Denver Post Tackles Long-Studied Problem of Tax-Funded Teachers Union Release Time

by Eddie | 2:17 pm, December 19, 2011

Update, 1/5/12: Chris Tessone at the Flypaper blog also makes note of the Denver Post story, correctly observing: “It’s difficult to make an argument that taxpayers should be directly subsidizing union leaders. Organized labor already extracts indirect subsidies by skimming dues from teachers’ paychecks, sometimes against the desires of teachers.”
Guess what! Just over a week [...]

Please, Please, Stop the Taxpayer-Funded (Colorado Teachers) Union Madness!

by Eddie | 11:04 am, December 9, 2011

Sometimes you have to look outside the world of education to capture attention for issues affecting Colorado schools and the students and taxpayers invested in their success. Two headlines in particular popped up this week. The first comes from the Goldwater Institute in Arizona, which is litigating Cheatham v. Gordon, a troubling case of wasted [...]

Seven Things Eddie Can Be Thankful For, 2011 Colorado Education Edition

by Eddie | 12:12 pm, November 23, 2011

Pretty much nobody is in school today, as we all gear up for the big turkey feast tomorrow. As my parents constantly remind me, the fourth Thursday in November is about more than food and football. Yes, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks. While I could gratefully mention the standard fare — family, friends (like those [...]

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