Especially with regard to charter schools, Sara notes, a push for expanding accountable pre-K programs in these schools would seem to be a no-brainer.

Sara hit the same note in this DFER briefing paper on the subject.

By BRIENNE BELLAVITA

I am writing in regard to the July 6 News article “Buffalo’s charter schools post some of the city’s highest test scores.” State Board of Regents Chancellor Robert Bennett got it right when he asserted that charter schools are “no longer an experiment.” New York has experienced a steady growth of charter schools in recent years, with at least 20 new schools opening this fall, and with good reason. As the article noted, “as a whole, charters continue to significantly outperform the city’s traditional public schools.” This holds true not only for Buffalo, but for all of New York State.

Citizens are no longer willing to turn a blind eye to the failings of our public school system, and will no longer tolerate the frequent disregard for the education of minority and poor students. Thousands of parents have flocked to public charter schools, eager for their children to receive the quality education that many of these schools are offering.

We’re left to wonder why so many elected officials are reluctant to allow more city students to access these schools. Parents are starting to take notice of who is on their side and who is blocking opportunity for their children. It’s time for our elected officials to stand up against the status quo and start protecting the interests of our children.

After securing this increase in funds, Gov. Warner worked to create innovative and efficient programs to help improve Virginia's public school system. One major project was the Education for a Lifetime (EFL) initiatives, which focus on teacher quality, retention and recruitment. One aspect of the initiatives is providing teachers with incentives to stay at a disadvantaged school or relocate to another, understaffed school. Another EFL initiative is the renowned Virginia School Turnaround Specialist Program, which works to improve leadership in low-performing schools. Under this program, which Warner launched in 2004, top-ranked faculty members from Virginia graduates schools are brought in to train public school principals. The program has been an enormous success, and it has spread to other cities including Chicago and Philadelphia. 

South Carolina Congressman James E. Clyburn's dedication to education can be traced back to his days teaching history in Charleston, South Carolina. Once elected to the United States Congress in 1992, Clyburn's shepherding of education bills pushed him to the forefront of our country's leaders in education reform. Since then he has risen to become the first South Carolinian and second African-American House Majority Whip.

When Congressman Clyburn joined community partners to open the James E. Clyburn Community Empowerment Center in 2007, he added to his legacy of a lifetime's worth of passionate support for education reform by providing children and adults access to technological and educational resources. At the opening of the center he stated, "From my first career as a high school teacher to my current position in the U.S. House of Representatives, I have always dedicated myself to providing youth the best opportunities to succeed in life."

In mid-November 2007, Congressman Clyburn visited Harlem Success Academy Charter School in New York City and was incredibly impressed by what he saw, later describing his visit as "deeply emotional." This visit triggered Clyburn into becoming a vocal advocate of school choice. On November 26, 2008 Clyburn told the New York Sun, "There are few things that are more vital than ensuring that all of our children have access to a meaningful and productive education."

Except they edited out Obama's comments about charter schools, incentive pay for teachers, and merit pay.

The mission for Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday was clear: graciously accept the (rather weak, by historical standards) endorsement of the National Education Association, point out where he and the union are in agreement on education issues, and then unapologetically point out the areas where the union (which was not much help to Obama on the campaign trail for the Democratic nomination, and in many cases, worked against him) and he do not agree.

What we saw yesterday was a candidate who is trying to live up to his image as an agent of change, one who won't be forced to play by the old rules, and one who is refreshingly willing to point out the extent of the very big problems he is trying to solve. I think he pretty much nailed it. Of course, that doesn't always go over so well with the NEA crowd. You can read USA Today reporter Greg Toppo's dispatch here.

Under the old rules, the presidential candidate is supposed to stop by to accept the union's endorsement in person. (And while Reg Weaver may have acted like he didn't mind that Obama beamed in his remarks from a hope-to-be-flipped red state, Weaver made it pretty clear in 2004 that John Kerry had committed a cardinal sin by similarly selecting to be anyplace but the NEA convention on speech day.)

But which hat would he wear, Cubs or White Sox, I asked him. (Obama is a Sox fan, but he may need transplanted Cubs fans to carry important swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin. I remembered how silly Hillary Clinton looked when she first put on her Yankees cap and tried to pretend she had New York in her blood (we were going to vote for her anyway, no need to pretend!)

Americans (and Chicagoans) like authenticity and decisiveness in their athletic fanaticism and boosterism. 

That's only one reason they should dig "info junkie," Illinois Network of Charter Schools boss (and lifelong Democrat) Elizabeth Evans -- who not only has some of Carlton Fisk's blood running through her veins, she attends 25-30 White Sox games a season, according to this light profile in Chicago Business.

The edu-politics in the Second City are going to get interesting. 

Former Postie (and all-around good guy) Dave Andreatta answers the call with stories like this at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. 

New York Assemblyman Sam Hoyt is a true crusader for education. In his 16 years serving the 144th Assembly district, Assemblyman Hoyt has fought hard for increased funding in education and has been an influential proponent of charter schools.

A self-described "leading proponent for charter schools," Assemblyman Hoyt has a history of standing behind progressive education. He was a strong and early supporter of charter schools in New York - long before it was popular - often defending the concept and legislation in legislative sessions and budget deliberations. In 2004 he was honored by the New York Charter Schools Association (NYCSA) with the annual Charter School Champion Award along with New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. At that time, NYCSA President Bill Phillips stated that Hoyt was "a fighter for children and a hero to the charter school movement, particularly in the City of Buffalo where charters are changing the face of public education."

Upon receiving his award, Assemblyman Hoyt stated, "Children and parents deserve choices when it comes to their education and charters provide an option to the status quo." 

B.) Classroom signage featuring the Chicago Bears logo. (Remember, we're talking about Milwaukee here!)

A Wisconsin State Appellate Court correctly ruled that the Bears sign was much more of a distraction. It then issued a formal "stay" on Brett Favre's retirement and ordered that he report to training camp immediately.

Normally at this point, the presidential nominee owes the world to the NEA for all the work it did to get him to the general election, except, uh, Obama doesn't owe nuthun this time around, yo. In fact, there are some folks in the Obama camp who can point to scars they suffered at the NEA's hands in battlegrounds like Nevada (and others who have tracked every dollar the AFT spent trying to decapitate their man Obama.)

So the decision about how to handle the Representative Assembly/Panderpalooza is a tough one. On the one hand, it makes no sense for a candidate who cares about education to even remotely come off as having snubbed teachers - a factor most of us consider to be the most important ingredient in all of this education stuff.

On the other hand, a guy who is running for president on the whole "Yes We Can" theme doesn't want to spend too much time kissing the rings of the folks who bankroll the "No We Can't" movement in American public eduation.

So it appears Obama has reached the perfect compromise: He won't attend the NEA Panderpalooza event in DC this weekend, but will have his speech beamed in via satellite. Good call, I think.

It is worth noting that John Kerry also made the decision four years ago to skip out on the NEA Panderpalooza event, appearing via satellite with his recently-announced running-mate, John Edwards. NEA boss Reg Weaver didn't take too kindly to the snub (remember when he held up his cell phone so that all 10,000 delegates could scream their disapproval at once?)

I think it is safe to say the the political "golden era" for the NEA is long past...

On Monday night DFER Intern Ben Wrobel attended the Council of Urban Professionals’ (CUP) Distinguished Leadership Series, during which speakers Mayor Byron Brown of Buffalo, NY, Mayor Douglas H. Palmer of Trenton, NJ and former Washington, D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt discussed the challenges facing today’s American cities. Below he offers his thoughts on the evening:

Monday night's event provided me with some interesting insights into cities' problems and their potential solutions. A main theme of the discussion was the need to marry private innovation to public government, despite their seemingly disparate agendas. The speakers reached the conclusion that the private sector can and should play a large role in the redevelopment of any city, by contributing their unique expertise and offering support in areas where their elected counterparts tend to fail.

It seems that this philosophy applies particularly well to education reform. Charter schools are an example of the marriage between private interests and local governments – in areas where the existing school systems have proven ineffective due to administrative incompetence or simply bureaucratic clutter, charter schools are a privately run but publicly financed alternative. A well-intentioned businessman can contribute to the community by donating or volunteering time or services to a school.

At a forum the other day in L.A., Brewer lamented that no one is really in charge (one of the main reasons why no one is ultimately responsible.)

"There are so many things that protect adults in this system that have to change," Brewer is quoted as saying on the LA Times education blog.

Then, speaking of the school board, Brewer implored: "Give me political cover to kick some ass and make some changes."

Prediction: Since Brewer has now figured out where the bodies are buried, he will be gone by Christmas break... Thanks for trying, Admiral!

After only one year in Albany, New York State Senator Craig Johnson has made a splash in the education reform movement.

Sen. Johnson made history in 2007 as the first Democrat elected to represent New York's 7th District in over 100 years. Backed by the support of a constituency crying out for change, Johnson vigorously fought for education funding for the 16 schools in his district. 

In 2007, despite his relatively short time in the Senate, Sen. Johnson broke ranks with his party and secured $25 million for the 7^th district – a 19.27 percent increase from the previous year. This was a record amount of school budget funding for the district and the largest increase that year of any senate district on Long Island.