Joe Williams' Blog
March 27, 2008
TFA: Most Def Making A Big Dif
The Urban Institute throws Obama astrologist Linda Darling Hammond to the wolves, releasing a new study on the impact of Teach For America teachers in North Carolina. This one seems to be the first to examine the impact of TFA on high schoolers.
Posted by Joe Williams on March 27, 2008 10:36 PM
Sara Mead: Why Can't Pre-K And Charter Schools Get Along?
Democrats for Education Reform today released a new policy briefing memo by DFER board member Sara Mead called Partners In Closing The Achievement Gap: How Charter Schools Can Support Quality Universal Pre-K. (You can download a PDF copy here.)
Mead, director of the Early Education Inititiative at the New America Foundation, writes that these two movements (the early childhood and charter school movements) have the potential to become important partners in improving education for America's children. She writes:
But despite their similarities and shared goals, these movements generally operate on separate tracks, with little cooperation or exchange of ideas between the two sectors. That’s unfortunate, because both sectors face similar challenges such as building capacity and ensuring high quality across diverse providers, and could help one another develop solutions. For instance, charter schools offer a potential source of new pre-k capacity. And, by the same token, policies to incorporate charter schools into state pre-k programs could support growth and quality in the charter movement. Because achievement gaps are in place long before children start kindergarten, charter schools seeking to narrow achievement gaps must be able to begin working with children in pre-k.
Mead's specific policy recommendations include:
-- Eliminating state policies barring charter schools from offering Pre-K
-- Allowing public charter schools to access per-pupil funds to educate 3- and 4-year-olds
-- Build charter authorizer capacity and expertise in early education
-- Allow charter schools to access state and federal Pre-K funds
-- Ensure adequate Pre-K funding to ensure quality
-- Include Pre-K charters in the Federal Charter Schools program
-- Eliminate caps on the number of charter schools which may serve children
Give the report a read. Sara does a much job making her case than I do in highlighting the juicy parts.
It would seem that two of the most significant concerns with many Pre-K programs - namely wide disparities in perceived quality and a sometimes glaring disconnect between early childhood programs and elementary schools - could be addressed head-on by tapping into the accountability measures and structural flexibility that charter schools provide.
Posted by Joe Williams on March 27, 2008 11:14 AM
March 25, 2008
KJ Rocks The DFER House
My sincere apologies for taking so long to post this stuff. We have a lot of video footage from last Thursday's inspiring/rocking Democrats for Education Reform rally at Harlem's Mt. Olivet Baptist Church. Some of the footage is better than others and we're trying to put it all together to make one, nice program for viewing. But until then, I'll post some of the raw footage so that you can get an idea just how fired up the place was.
We had 1,400 charter school crazies packed into the place, some carrying signs and chanting on their way in. (Special thanks to the local police precinct for crowd control as the throngs decended upon the church, especially those parents who marched straight from dismissal!)
Nelson Smith blogged on the rally here.
This clip shows former NBA star Kevin Johnson (who is opening one of his St. Hope charter schools in Harlem in the fall and is currently running for mayor of Sacramento) accepting his "Education Warrior" award.
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Posted by Joe Williams on March 25, 2008 1:23 PM
March 18, 2008
New York Legislature: Giving Away The Store?
Is anyone else amazed at the chutzhpah of the New York State legislature on this whole teacher tenure issue?
This legislation is so bad that even UFT President Randi Weingarten isn't willing to publicly admit she was pushing for it!
It would seem that there is some room for debate as to whether test scores alone can or should be used by local school districts in making tenure decisions, but passing a law which says student performance specifically can't be used to determine whether or not a teacher is effective and deserving of tenure? Man. It's not like we didn't just buy off the teachers union with that massive early-retirement program. Now we have to surrender common sense at the Legislative alter too?
This may be the most rabidly anti-public education legislation ever. Far worse a threat to the sinking franchise than any voucher ballot initiative we've ever watched go down in flames.
Even though the public spotlight is now on this puppy, it's not too late for someone to emerge and use the "Oops- it was a typo" excuse!
Posted by Joe Williams on March 18, 2008 2:16 PM
March 12, 2008
Spitzer Resigning/Paterson To Be Sworn In
The following statement was issued by Democrats for Education Reform this morning, based on reports that New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is resigning:
On The Resignation of Governor Eliot Spitzer And On The Swearing-In of Governor David Paterson
Statement from Joe Williams, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform:
We were as shocked as everyone by the news of the last few days involving Governor Spitzer. The governor was a champion for education reform and played the lead role in lifting the cap on the number of public charter schools available to New York State children.
As longtime fans of David Paterson we are extremely confident that the hard work of providing a quality education for every child in the state will not only continue, but will take on a whole new sense of appropriate urgency. Gov. Paterson is an inspiring human being, one of the smartest individuals with whom we have ever worked, and a warrior on behalf of the families who crave and need excellent public education options for their kids.
We look forward to working with the new governor to make the dreams of hardworking New York parents a reality.
Posted by Joe Williams on March 12, 2008 9:37 AM
March 10, 2008
RIP: Bruce Gill
My heart broke over the weekend when I learned that Bruce Gill, an editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, passed away from complications from a brain aneurism. If you read the obits and columns about Bruce's life, you find lots of references to young reporters who grew under his wing, his unmatched devotion to open government and the press' role therein, his hard-charging drive for truth, his warm sense of humor, and his incredible sense of loyalty toward reporters who worked for him.
I knew all of that well. Bruce was my mentor. He was a college professor of mine who took a huge chance on me by getting me a job at the Milwaukee Sentinel while I was still in school. It was the best newspaper for which I ever worked, in large part because of Bruce. He helped me write my first Freedom of Information Law request and I thought of him hundreds of times afterward when I used open records laws to do my work. (I even called him to boast when I submitted a FOIL letter to the NYC Department of Education requesting copies of all the other FOI requests that they had received, along with the dates on which they were fulfilled. I told him I wanted to know if everyone was getting as screwed as I was by the city in terms of slow responses and a lack of accountability to the public.)
Once, when I was starting out as a general assignment reporter, Bruce asked me to check out a tip he had gotten. I called the PR flack for whatever agency it involved and reported back to him a short time later that "spokesman so-and-so said it isn't true." Case closed, I seemed to think.
His response was instant: "He's lying to you. Now what are you going to do?"
Continue reading "RIP: Bruce Gill"....
Posted by Joe Williams on March 10, 2008 8:36 PM
March 6, 2008
Jumpshot: Kevin Johnson Runs For Mayor
Former Phoenix Suns standout Kevin Johnson officially announced yesterday that he is running for mayor of Sacramento, California, in what the experts are already calling a "knock-down, drag-out fight."
Johnson, who founded and operates St. Hope Public Schools, an independent charter school district, said Sacramento needs change. "Right now, people see our city as nonresponsive, tired, uninspired and bureaucratic," Johnson told a crowd of more than 200 supporters yesterday.
Keep an eye on this one.
Posted by Joe Williams on March 6, 2008 9:02 AM
