Upcoming Events
Tue., Sep. 16, 2008DFER Happy Hour with Chris Gabrieli
Join us for a special evening with Chris Gabrieli, co-chair of the National Center on Time and Learning.
Location: Galway Hooker, 7 E. 36th St., Manhattan, NYC
When: 6:30 PM
Tickets/More Info
Tue., Sep. 23, 2008
Education BBQ With Stig and DeShawn
Reforming public education, one hamburger at a time. Join us for an evening with Stig Leschly and DeShawn Wright, of the Newark Charter School Fund.
Location: Home of Ken Hirsh, 114 W. 13th St., NYC
When: 7:00 PM
Tickets/More Info
Thu., Sep. 25, 2008
Kevin Johnson Night
Join us for this special event for former Phoenix Sun's star Kevin Johnson, candidate for Mayor of Sacramento, Calif.
Location: The home of Brian Zied, 188 E. 64th St., Apt. 3501, NYC
When: 7:00 PM
Tickets/More Info
Thu., Oct. 16, 2008
Ed BBQ With Zeke Vanderhoek
Reforming public education, one hamburger at a time. Join us for an evening with Zeke Vanderhoek, founder of the Equity Project Charter School.
Location: Home of Ken Hirsh, 114 W. 13th St., NYC
When: 7:00 PM
Tickets/More Info
Joe Williams' Blog
August 29, 2008
More Coverage From Sunday's DNC Ed Challenge for Change Event
Dem ed reformers take unions to task, Education News Colorado, Alan Gottlieb, August, 24 2008.Booker charges into Denver, Politicker NJ, NJ , Max Pizarro, August 24, 2008.
Dems Rally against Unions!, Slate, Mickey Kaus, August 24, 2008.
Education Overhaul?, Reader's Digest, NY , Carol Kaufmann, August 24, 2008.
Education Event Tags Unions, Roll Call (subscription), DC , Kate Ackley, August 24, 2008.
Rhee in Denver: Media to Blame for Teachers' Contract Holdup, Washington Post, David Nakamura, August 24, 2008.
Union Tensions at DNC, Education Week News, Michele McNeil, August, 24 2008.
Advocates draw attention to education, Denver Post, Allison Sherry, August 25, 2008.
DC Schools Chancellor Addresses Forum at DNC, WAMU (DC NPR affiliate), Rebecca Blatt, August 25, 2008.
The Democratic Education Divide, The American Prospect, Dana Goldstein, August 25, 2008.
Ed. Equality Project's 'Cheap Shot' at Unions, Education Week News, Michele McNeil, August 25, 2008.
Lesson plan: Put kids over teachers, Rocky Mountain News, Nancy Mitchell, August 25, 2008.
With the Democrats in Denver, Washington Post, Fred Hiatt, August 25, 2008.
An American Wife, New York Post, NY, August 26, 2008.
Obama and the NEA, Rocky Mountain News, August 26, 2008.
Rev. Al Sharpton, Other Prominent Democrats Break with Unions, School Reform News, The Heartland Institute, IL, Christin Coyne, September 1, 2008.
Blog Entries:
A Call for Longer School Days, MINDSprinting Blog.
An inspirational panel discussion? Believe it., Schools for Tomorrow Blog, Alan Gottlieb, August, 24 2008.
Are Dems finally getting into the discussion?, Eduwonk.
Change!, Joanna Jacobs.
Democrat Mayor Corey Booker: "[We] have to admit as Democrats we have been wrong on education.", Anchor Rising.
Democrats: All on Board in Attack on Teachers Unions, Education Notes Online.
Democrats against Teachers' Unions?, Ken Blanchard/South Dakota Politics.
Democrats fight teachers' unions, The Big Stick.
Dems v. Teacher Unions: More Cracks in the Facade, Jay P. Greene's Blog.
Mayor Cicilline Stands with Education Reformers, Passing Notes: Rhode Island Education Reform.
Mission Accomplished, Flypaper.
Randi Whine-garten feels dissed, Schools for Tomorrow.
Schmoozapallooza in Denver, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
Sharpton, anti-union education reformers speak at DNC, Blah, blah, blah.
They all had one thing in common, Small Talk.
What the Convention Says about the Democrats and Education, Tapped.
Dems rally against unions! in Denver, Economic Freedom.
The "Teacher Agenda" Diffused, Education Notes Online.
New Generation of Democrats Embraces School Choice, Education Week: Campaign K-Posted by Joe Williams on August 29, 2008 11:15 AM
August 27, 2008
Change We Can Believe In (And Change You Can Bank Votes On)
Like everyone else in Denver this week for the Democratic National Convention, we've been running around like mad around the clock, attending event after exhausting event. Will try to quickly update some of the coverage - in blogs and in print - of the "Ed Challenge for Change" event on Sunday that we sponsored along with the Piton Foundation and several dozen other organizations.
Dan Gerstein gives it a mention in this Wall Street Journal piece from this morning. The relevant parts:
And the ideal issue for Mr. Obama to focus on in the speech and beyond, as Mayor Bloomberg can attest, is education. No challenge is more consequential for our country than closing the achievement gap in our urban schools and raising the competitiveness of our workforce. And no special interest has done more to stand in the way of change in our public schools than the teachers unions that dominate Democratic politics.
The unions' chokehold on the party (and by extension the futures of millions of black and Hispanic children) is starting to loosen. One sign of that was the impressive number of progressive leaders who showed up to support Mr. Obama's change agenda and embrace an aggressively pro-innovation set of principles at a forum sponsored by Democrats for Education Reform (full disclosure: the group is a client of mine) here in Denver on Sunday. That group included three of the country's most influential African-American mayors, all rising stars in the party -- Adrian Fenty in Washington, Cory Booker in Newark, and Michael Nutter in Philadelphia.
Imagine what the party's first African-American presidential nominee could do to liberate millions of low-income children of color, not to mention elevate his standing as a change agent, simply by declaring that the era of unequal education is over in America. Mr. Obama doesn't have to, nor should he, attack or even mention the unions. Just do what he has already done (but louder): challenge his own party to change its policies to put children first, and embrace innovative solutions like longer school days and years, high-quality charter schools, and performance pay for teachers.
That's not just change you can believe in. That's change you can bank votes on.
Posted by Joe Williams on August 27, 2008 4:19 PM
August 20, 2008
Caprice Young Moves On
I had no idea what to do for a headline for this post. I wanted to pay due respect to a DFER board member, good friend, and education warrior without making it seem like she had, uh, expired or something. So "Caprice Young Moves On" will have to suffice.
Caprice, a true Democrat for education reform, is stepping down from her post as head of the all powerful and everlasting California Charter Schools Association to become a bigwig at Knowledge Universe.
For those of you who don't keep up with what Caprice has done since her days on the LAUSD School Board and with the association, it is impossible to describe in a blog post the amazing level of productive/constructive ass-kicking that has occured because of her work/passion.
Caprice was supposed to join us at an education reform commune*** we have set up at the DNC convention next week, but will be otherwise busy dealing with a big change in her life. Like a soldier who has gone off to war, we will leave a chair at the picnic table empty in her honor.
Congrats Caprice!
*** There is talk that Eduwonk, one of the co-habitants at the commune, will be selling clothing made out of hemp, and then using the proceeds to buy locally-produced, organic eggs for edu-omelettes for the rest of the communist/ed reformers. I will update you if this turns out to be correct.
Posted by Joe Williams on August 20, 2008 9:19 PM
August 18, 2008
Look For Us In Denver (And Other Upcoming DFER Events)
Democrats for Education Reform has been working to help assemble a great cast of progressive groups to show the kind of "change we can believe in" when it comes to providing better opportunities for America's schoolchildren. The "Ed Challenge for Change" event at the Denver Art Museum on Aug. 24th represents a positive vision for what we can accomplish for kids if we put our political might behind it. It will feature some of the brightest change-agent elected officials (and Obama supporters) in the country, as well as cutting-edge practitioners who have got "Yes We Can" written all over them.
DFER and supporters will be making our presence felt throughout the rest of the convention as well. Drop me a line if you'd like to meet up.
Also, mark your calendars for these other DFER-related events (click on the links for more details):
-- Monday, August 18th, 6:30 p.m., NYC Fundraiser for Assemblyman Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo.)
-- Tuesday, September 16th, 6:30 p.m., Happy Hour With Chris Gabrieli, of the National Center for Time and Learning.
-- Tuesday, September 23rd, 7 p.m., Education BBQ with Stig Leschly and DeShawn Wright, of the Newark Charter School Fund.
-- Thursday, September 25th, 7 p.m., NYC Fundraiser for Kevin Johnson, Candidate for Mayor in Sacramento.
-- Thursday, October 16th, Education BBQ with Zeke Vanderhoek, founder of the Equity Project Charter School.
-- Thursday, October 30th, Brooklyn Charter Night, at the Brooklyn Museum.
Posted by Joe Williams on August 18, 2008 10:45 AM
August 15, 2008
Generational Split: You Saw This One Coming
From this morning's Washington Post story on the action behind the current teacher contract offer, which would pay teachers a boat load of money in exchange for giving up job security, comes this very important line which will continue to play out across the country:
The split in the teaching corps largely, but not exclusively, is occurring along generational lines, with younger teachers more willing to accept the risks and older ones often questioning the proposal.
Posted by Joe Williams on August 15, 2008 10:55 AM
DFER Fellow Claire Lowenstein on Rethinking Summer School
With the summer drawing to a close, the idea of summer school keeps surfacing in my head. Summer school is somewhat controversial because the summer is a time for students to take a reprieve from traditional learning. However, the responsibility of providing kids with opportunities to explore new ways of learning in the summer months falls on parents. For some moms and dads that is a welcomed experience because they are financially secure and have the liberty and time to create experiences that will entertain their children. However, what happens to the families who do not have extra money to send their kids to summer camp, sport's camp, art classes, or even opportunities to go to the pool or park? Many of those kids end up staying home cooped up in warm apartments in a trance from watching so much television or playing video games.
Continue reading "DFER Fellow Claire Lowenstein on Rethinking Summer School"....
Posted by Joe Williams on August 15, 2008 8:31 AM
August 14, 2008
Sol Stern's Marshall Plan for Reading
I'm a sucker for Marshall Plans in general. I have supported NYC's Marshall Plans to get rid of rats, Marshall Plans to fight childhood obesity, Marshall Plans to ensure clean air and water, etc.
So, I'm inclined to like Sol Stern's new Marshall Plan for Reading.
A lot of people have wondered when it was that Sol went south on Mayor Bloomberg's school reforms, and he is clearly telegraphing the moment (the selection of the city's reading curriculum) when he left the reservation.
Sol's kicker paragraph is most interesting, though, because he is setting up reading as an issue for the next round of mayoral candidates. If this is a signal that people like Sol are approaching the 2009 NYC mayor's race/mayoral control of schools issue with an eye toward the future rather than being stuck in the past, this could be productive. (Hint: Sol doesn't seem to like the idea of leaving reading curriculum ideas up to community groups, anonymous pedagogues, or parent veto. He seems to think a strong mayor, acting with some room to make controversial decisions, should lead the charge.)
Posted by Joe Williams on August 14, 2008 9:33 AM
