Dougco, Dougco, Dougco! State Board Reapproves Teacher Licensure Waiver

by Eddie | 1:09 pm, April 19, 2012

Before diving in, I have to be up front with you: Yes, this is the third time in less than 10 days I’m writing about Douglas County. (And it has nothing to do with the fact that the first legal documents were filed this week in the appeal of last August’s district court permanent injunction [...]

Denver Teacher Tells Frustrating Union Opt-Out Story: Here Comes HB 1333

by Eddie | 11:32 am, April 18, 2012

About a month ago I innocently raised the question: Is someone ready to take care of Colorado teachers’ “Hotel California” problem? A 2010 article by my Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow highlighted a couple real-life examples of teachers who were harmed by the tight revocation deadlines and burdensome procedures for many teachers who simply [...]

Vincent Carroll Sounds Bold Themes of Dougco School Board Budget Proposal

by Eddie | 11:37 am, April 16, 2012

Last week I brought your attention to the Douglas County school board’s bold proposals heading into historic open negotiations. (Thank you, Parent Led Reform!) While I’m little and sometimes notice things that most big people do not, that’s certainly not the case with the Dougco budget proposal.
In fact, Denver Post columnist Vincent Carroll yesterday delved [...]

Encouraging News: Performance Pay in Harrison Gradually Gaining Teacher Support

by Eddie | 11:32 am, April 11, 2012

I’m busy tweeting about the landmark first day of open union negotiations in Colorado’s third largest school district — Douglas County — so you’ll have to forgive a shorter post for today.
In my normal brilliantly childlike fashion, I jump at the opportunity to put together two topics I’ve written about recently. What are those two [...]

Dougco Board Proposes Teacher Raises, Performance Pay, & Ending Union Privileges

by Eddie | 1:23 pm, April 10, 2012

I write a lot about Douglas County here, and with good reason. The school board there has charted a bold course. Hey, it wasn’t much more than a year ago that they voted to establish the first locally-created private school choice program in the nation. More recently, they demonstrated their commitment to transparency by voting [...]

Teachers Matter Education Event – 4/12

by Jon Caldara | 3:37 pm, April 5, 2012

You’re invited next Thursday, April 12, to our new Denver Freedom Embassy home for a special Brown Bag Lunch event on an important Colorado K-12 education issue. Dr. Marcus Winters, author of the new book Teachers Matter, will share his expert insights into the research on “educator effectiveness.” While that phrase makes me think of [...]

Baseball Season (and the Inevitable Comparisons with Education Reform) is Back

by Eddie | 10:35 am, April 5, 2012

What role should value-added test scores play in evaluating teacher performance? While I’m not going to take both sides of the debate, like the nation’s largest teachers union has done recently, there is more nuance to the question than the purpose of this post is suited to address. Maybe you can come to next week’s [...]

Fordham Offers a Few Good Suggestions to Improve Colorado K-12 Accountability

by Eddie | 11:54 am, April 4, 2012

Calling all Colorado education policy makers and policy wonks: I hope you’ll check out this new Fordham Institute report Defining Strong State Accountability Systems: How Can Better Standards Gain Greater Traction? My Education Policy Center friends and I can’t endorse everything in the publication.
But it’s worth looking at because Colorado is one of seven [...]

Harrison’s Reform Champion Mike Miles to Move On to Bigger Dallas Stage

by Eddie | 4:03 pm, April 3, 2012

I’m a little down in the dumps today, and the cool, gloomy weather only has a little bit to do with. Ed News Colorado has reported that bold Harrison reform superintendent Mike Miles is all but officially moving on to be chief of the Dallas Independent School District, the 14th largest in the nation. Apparently, [...]

PACE Teachers Weigh In on Pensions, Open Negotiations, Funding, and Literacy

by Eddie | 9:36 am, March 30, 2012

The Professional Association of Colorado Educators (PACE) — a young, small, but growing (Hey, sounds like me!) non-union teacher membership organization — this week released the results of a member survey on some key education policy issues facing our state. With a Spring Break Friday sailing me away into lazy oblivion, today seemed like the [...]

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