DFER Heroes
June 19, 2008
RI House Majority Leader Gordon Fox Supports Mayoral Academies
When the 2009 Rhode Island state budget passed late last night, House Bill H7874 was included under Article 38, thanks in large part to House Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox. Representative Fox is a DFER hero for his endorsement of this breakthrough piece of progressive legislation that will allow new charter schools, called Mayoral Academies, to begin operating in the state of Rhode Island. Rep. Fox, who has been serving Rhode Island's District 4 since 1992 and was elected House Majority Leader in 2002, recognizes the problems of the Rhode Island public school system, which received "D's" in the areas of student achievement and teacher quality in a 2008 Education Week poll. He told the Providence Journal that it is "time to think outside of the box."
"Based on their desire to recruit the best teachers, engage parents as partners and put student achievement first, I believe it is important to give [Mayoral Academies] the opportunity to develop their plan for ultimate approval by the Board of Regents," Rep. Fox said.
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June 12, 2008
Representative Margaret Kaiser Helps Charters Compete For The Best Teachers
Representative Margaret Kaiser of Georgia is a DFER hero for her tenacious support of House Bill 1277, which enables charter school teachers to be eligible for Georgia’s health care plan. House Bill 1277 passed the General Assembly two years ago, but was then vetoed by Governor Sonny Perdue. Still, Representative Kaiser persisted and reintroduced the bill earlier this year. It passed on May 13, 2008, and will go into effect in July.
House Bill 1277 is a huge step forward for charter schools in Georgia. It allows charters to compete with other public schools for the best teachers by allowing teachers to receive the same level of health care as their public school counterparts. Additionally, the state funding is a big boon to the charters, who would have otherwise had to dig into their own resources to provide health care for faculty.
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June 5, 2008
Congressman George Miller Focuses on Results in Education
DFER is proud to recognize Congressman George Miller’s work with the Education and Labor Committee, especially in drafting and fighting for the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) act. Rep. Miller’s steadfast dedication to serious results in education is what makes him an effective leader in reforming America’s education system.
Congressman Miller has represented California’s 7th district since 1975 and in these 33 years he has proven to be one of our nation’s leaders in education. Along with three other members of Congress, Rep. Miller created NCLB, a piece of legislation that requires a level of quality in teachers, as well as a continued examination of students' educational progress in math and english through testing.
In 2007, Congressman Miller and Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) held hearings on NCLB to continue to examine the funding and success of this monumental piece of legislation. Sen. Kennedy and Rep. Miller have fought furiously to convince the Senate and House to reauthorize NCLB, which is currently an issue in front of 110th Congress.
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May 29, 2008
Colorado State Senate President Peter Groff Fights For Reform
Colorado State Senate President Peter Groff is a DFER Hero for his groundbreaking work in crafting Colorado Senate Bill 130, the Innovation Schools Act of 2008. Sen. Groff is a crusader of education reform and has worked tirelessly in the state of Colorado to make positive changes in the development and authorization of charter schools. We applaud Sen. Groff’s work with charter schools and his excellent quest towards values that best work for our children’s education. On February 1, 2008, Sen. Groff told the Denver Post, “There is a laundry list of things that impairs and impinges innovation in schools. The question we have to be asking is, ‘what is in the best interest of the child.’”
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September 5, 2007
DFER Education Warrior: NY Sen. Malcolm Smith
New York Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith was a proud supporter of public charter schools long before it became popular to do so within the Democratic Party. A true believer in the economic principle that competition drives innovation, results, and excellence, Smith not only has strongly supported charter school legislation in New York, he has worked to create and support schools himself. Smith is the founder of Peninsula Preparatory Academy (along with Congressman Greg Meeks), the first public charter school in the Rockaways, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Merrick Academy-Queens Public Charter School in Jamaica Queens.
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July 27, 2007
DFER Education Warrior: Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson
(We were pleased to have Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson join us for our June 5th launch event in NYC because he has shown the kind of courage that it takes to battle an entrenched status quo in his school system. DFER encourages visitors to learn more about/and support Mayor Peterson's work through a non-profit he helped establish, The Mind Trust. The organization exists to help attract, support, and empower educational entrepreneurs in Indianapolis.)
Recently dubbed “the Peyton Manning of charter schools” by Education Next magazine, Mayor Peterson is the only mayor in the nation running a charter school authorizer out of his office and has proven himself willing to be judged by the results. This past school year, the mayor oversaw 16 charter schools serving 3,870 students. His charter school office issues an annual report on its schools that, in its candor and analytical sophistication, rivals just about any report out there.
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July 1, 2007
Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy Comes Through
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a Democrat who represents Long Island and parts of Queens , stepped up for quality public schools last week by signing on as a co-sponsor of the Charter Schools Program Enhancement Act of 2007.
According to the folks at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools , the act officially kicks off the discussion of charters in the NCLB reauthorization process.
Highlights include:- Continuing support for charter start-up
- Providing greater support for the expansion and replication of successful charter models.
- Strengthening the Education Secretary's ability to use grant selection criteria to encourage improvements in state charter laws.
- Allowing charter school authorizers to serve as grant administrators in addition to state education agencies
- Allowing the Secretary of Education to allocate funds between the Charter Schools Program and State Facilities Incentive Grants Program.
- Creating a national dissemination program to encourage the sharing of charter schools’ best practices among public schools across the nation.
If you are a Democrat and you support the creation (and continued support) of high-performing public schools through charter school laws in your state, please call Rep. McCarthy (202-225-5516) and let her know you appreciate her sponsorship of this important act.
