David Brooks is, at least for me, the great explainer of our times. Fareed Zakaria helps me understand the world. Brooks helps me understand America.

For someone particularly interested in education and its role in our society and economy, I'm trying to figure out whether the stimulus bill and a hard charging Secretary of Education will produce any real progress.

Having grown increasingly concerned about our diminishing civic problem solving ability, I'm also trying to figure out what kind of dance we'll see between White House and the 111th Congress. Brooks draws some conclusions from the recently passed House climate change bill:

"All of this has produced a ruthlessly pragmatic victory machine. Last week Democrats were able to pass a politically treacherous cap-and-trade bill out of the House. The Democratic leaders were able to let 44 members vote no and still bribe/bully/cajole enough of their colleagues to get a win. This was an impressive achievement, and a harbinger for health care and other battles to come."

Democratic representative Jared Polis of Colorado was the only gay congressional member who didn't attend President Barack Obama's signing ceremony last week of a presidential memorandum extending some benefits to gay federal employees' same-sex partners, but he says many observers have read too much into his absence. Polis took time out to speak with The Advocate about his Oval Office no-show, why he will attend the LGBT Democratic National Committee fund-raiser this Thursday, and his frustration with the slow pace of ending "don't ask, don't tell."

The Advocate: Why didn't you attend the Oval Office signing of the presidential memo extending certain benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers?
Rep. Jared Polis: We just found out about it the day of and we let the White House know at that time that we wouldn't be able to make it. There was a congressional baseball game that I had been practicing for for many months. It was at National Stadium that night and we won 15 to 10. I got a sacrifice fly [run batted in] and a single.

Seven years ago, a rally at the Department of Education promoted one of then-President George W. Bush's most significant domestic achievements -- the No Child Left Behind law. The backdrop: a red schoolhouse.

"We serve the ideal of the little red schoolhouse," then-Education Secretary Rod Paige said of the structure attached to the agency's main entrance on Maryland Avenue SW. "It is one of the greatest symbols of America -- a symbol that every child must be taught and every child must learn."

But now that symbol has been ripped down.

The Obama administration has made clear that it is putting its own stamp on education reform. That will mean a new name and image for a law that has grown unpopular with many teachers and suburban parents, even though it was enacted with bipartisan support in Congress.

"It's like the new Coke. This is a rebranding effort," said Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform. "The feng shui people believe you need to take the roof off buildings to allow bad chi to escape. Let's hope this helps."

Huge win for Cumberland Mayor Dan McKee, who has been a warrior pushing this issue for the last few years. Another win for Duncan, who has shown again that he's serious about the Race To The Top.

Special kudos to House Majority Leader Gordon Fox for his leadership on this issue. (There are lots of great quotes from him in the Pro Jo story linked above. Thanks also to Representatives Kenneth Vaudreuil (D - Central Falls) and Nick Mattiello (D - Cranston) spoke forcefully on the floor about the need for a Race to the Top strategy with excellent charter schools at it's center.

If thousands of DFER supporters give $25 or more, it will provide these carefully-selected politicians with a significant level of financial support in their races for elective office. At the same time, this kind of fundraising help will send a clear message across the spectrum that reform is valued.

Our first DFER Education Reformer of the Month is United States Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colorado.) Find out more about Sen. Bennet on the June contribution page.

Please join other supporters around the country in supporting Sen. Bennet as June's DFER Education Reformer of the Month.

Also, Milwaukee's first crop of TFA corps members reported for duty this week. The edu-political dynamic in Brew Town will suddenly get a lot more interesting.

Will the good reform vibes make their way to Rhode Island, where funding for the first Mayoral Academy charter school is going to need a strong push in the final days of the Legislative session? Race To The Top implications?

Education Secretary Arne Duncan gave the expansion bill new life when he informed Tennesseans that the state had jeopardized $100 million by showing such non-reformist tendencies.

Congrats to everyone involved in making common sense prevail.

The Commercial Appeal coverage is here.

The U.S. Education Secretary's $5 billion "Race To The Top" Fund, as included in the federal stimulus package, represents a historic opportunity to establish clear reform priorities and to back them up with signifiant resources to bring change to America's schools.

Click below for some concepts that DFER supports as part of the Race To The Top competition between states:

-- Race To The Top Issue Brief #1 -  Public Charter Schools and High Quality Pre-K  (June 17, 2009)

-- Race To The Top Issue Brief #2 - Unleashing Innovation In America's Schools (June 18, 2009)

-- Race To The Top Issue Brief #3 - Enhancing Entry Points To The Teaching Profession  (June 19, 2009)

-- Race To The Top Issue Brief #4 - World Class Standards and Assessments  (June 22, 2009)

-- Race To The Top Issue Brief #5 - Growing Innovative Charter Schools (June 23, 2009)

-- Race To The Top Issue Brief #6 - A Great Teacher For Every Child (June 24, 2009) 

The New York State Assembly is expected to approve a bill extending mayoral control of the New York City public school system as soon as Wednesday, lawmakers said Sunday night.

The bill, which the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, introduced late Sunday, would add some checks on the mayor's power, by increasing oversight of certain contracts and requiring hearings before individual schools are closed. But it is widely seen as a victory for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who had vigorously fought other curbs on the powers he enjoys under the current mayoral control law, which was passed in 2002 and expires June 30.

The extension must still be approved by the governor and the State Senate, which is currently mired in chaos, with uncertainty over which party has control. Nonetheless, critics and supporters of mayoral control are looking at Mr. Silver's bill as a significant step toward cementing the policy.

"It's going to carry a lot of momentum," said Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, a group that supports Mr. Silver's bill. "The Senate could go in a direction that does call for more parental input, but ultimately I don't think they could pull the Assembly very far from where the speaker is."

The threat of losing $100 million in federal stimulus money because Tennessee has a bad charter-school law is one reason to think twice about killing a pending law change that would have improved the law -- and public education -- considerably.

But there is an even better reason for Tennessee Democrats to support expanding innovative charter school options: It is the right thing to do. As Democrats, we have historically been proud supporters of public education. Unfortunately, we have sometimes backed ourselves into a corner by defending schools that aren't working for the children we champion. When we are the ones standing between the families we claim to represent and the public school options for which they clamor, we have to re-examine our priorities.

In places like California, New York and Boston, public charter schools have shown they aren't killing public education. In fact, as some of the brightest stars in the modern day education reform constellation, public charter schools are now leading the charge to save public education.

The education aid of up to $100 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has always had two purposes: to help cash-strapped states weather the current economic storm, and to prod states to pursue broad-based improvements to education.

Now that the federal economic-stimulus money is beginning to flow to states, it's clear that the still-bleak economy is heightening the tension between those goals.

In a number of states, including several with ambitious school reform plans on the shelf, massive deficits threaten to swallow a hefty portion of the stimulus aid, leaving less money for sweeping improvement efforts.

Even in states where the fiscal outlook is brighter, districts are reluctant to create new programs or hire new staff members because most of the stimulus funding is for one time only.

Now, at least one key author of the legislation is asking U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan--a strong advocate of using the stimulus aid as a policy lever in such areas as academic standards and teacher distribution--to dial back his expectations for how much fundamental change can be bought with the money.

The state cap on charter schools may hurt its chances of getting hundreds of millions in federal stimulus dollars, the nation's top education official revealed yesterday.

New York has applied for a slice of the $5 billion pot, but Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the state, despite receiving high marks in other areas, has two strikes against it:

* It limits itself to 200 charter schools.

* It prohibits evaluating teachers based on their students' test scores.

New York has authorized 140 of its 200 charter schools to date, according to state officials, which suggests the cap may be reached within the next two years.

"If you're bumping up against caps, that's a problem," Duncan said.

But New York is not alone in this. Only 40 states even allow charter schools to operate, and 26 of them have capped their number.

"There's still a little bit of wiggle room," said Joe Williams, of the political-action committee Democrats for Education Reform. "But it's something New York is going to have to figure out quickly."

When Democrats, who have historically been proud supporters of public education, are the ones standing between the families we claim to represent and the public school options for which they clamor, we have to re-examine our priorities when it comes to schools.

"When Democrats, who have historically been proud supporters of public education, are the ones standing between the families we claim to represent and the public school options for which they clamor, we have to re-examine our priorities when it comes to schools."

"There is no shortage of evidence, in places like California, New York, Boston, and elsewhere, public charter schools have shown they aren't killing public education. In fact, public charter schools are leading the charge to save public education and delivering results. Successful school models like KIPP, Achievement First, Green Dot, Aspire, and others provide proof points nationwide for what is possible in our schools. These public charter schools are offering parents the kinds of schools they want for their children and kids the education they deserve. President Obama and Secretary Duncan get it. It's time for the rest of our party to figure it out."

Sharpton intoned, "The nation's future is at stake, our children [are] at stake."

Education Secretary Arne Duncan was there to lend the administration's support. "There's a real sense of economic imperative," he said. "We have to educate our way [to] a better economy."

Though the media portrayed the meeting as one among "strange bedfellows," in fact Sharpton, Gingrich and Bloomberg are all on the same side of the education policy debate roiling the Democratic Party. The three are spokesmen for the Education Equality Project (EEP), an advocacy group that has attracted widespread media attention since its June 2008 launch, in large part because of its bipartisan call for policies like merit pay and the expansion of the charter school sector. With the support of rising star Democrats like Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker and Washington, DC, Mayor Adrian Fenty, the EEP and such allied groups as the political action committee Democrats for Education Reform--have openly pushed back against the influence of teachers unions, community groups and teachers colleges over national education policy. Proclaiming themselves "reformers," they often borrow their strategies from the private sector, and they believe urban public schools must be subjected to more free-market competition.