Last Wednesday evening at Bellevue’s swanky, new City Hall, the Bellevue Downtown Association held a forum for candidates in the 41st and 48th LDs. It was mostly what you’d expect this late in the campaign, but there was one big surprise…Greg Bennett, who is struggling to explain why voters should replace the highly regarded incumbent, [...]
Superman paves the way for more education reform documentaries
October 18, 2010 By
Waiting for Superman may be starting to wind down its run across the country, but that doesn’t mean the conversation about education reform is waning. A handful of related documentaries will soon be making their way to the big screen or to DVD. We encourage you to check them out. The Films Teached deals with [...]
Study: U.S. recruits fewer teachers from top ranks
October 15, 2010 By
Interesting article in Education Week: Countries with the best-performing school systems largely recruit teachers from the top third of high school and college graduates, while the United States has difficulty attracting its top students to the profession, a new report finds. With more than half of all American teachers today becoming eligible for retirement in [...]
Education Department, teachers union plan summit
October 14, 2010 By
We look forward to seeing what the outcomes of this summit will be…. Via the Washington Post: Conventional wisdom holds that teachers unions are stuck in the status quo and that there are few examples of labor-management teamwork on education reform. On Thursday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and leaders of the two largest teachers unions [...]
Watch video of Kevin Johnson's speech
October 14, 2010 By
If you missed our first Voices from the Education Revolution event featuring Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson last week, don’t despair. We’ve got it covered. Watch the videos of the event below (due to YouTube’s 15-minute maximum, we had to break it up into four separate videos – KJ’s speech starts around the 7:40 mark in [...]
High school coursework matters
October 13, 2010 By
As further corroboration that I am not crazy (about this particular topic, at least), ACT released a report, titled Mind the Gaps: How College Readiness Narrows Achievement Gaps in College Success, showing the link between student course taking in high school and post-secondary success. Lo and behold, students who took a strong core of classes in high school [...]
I-1098: What's in it for Kids?
October 13, 2010 By
There has been and will continue to be a lot of talk about what I-1098 does for the adults in Washington State – cuts state property taxes for everyone, eliminates or cuts B&O taxes for the vast majority of businesses in our state, and establishes a modest income tax on just 1.2% of taxpayers etc… [...]
R-52: E is for Education, Environment, and Employment
October 12, 2010 By
Multiple Choice Exam – R-52 is a referendum to the voters that: A. Creates better, healthier places for children to learn and teachers to work by getting districts the resources to fix critical problems like lead pipes, asbestos, and old heat and ventilation systems. B. Creates 30,000 new jobs across the state. C. Makes smart [...]
Artist captures KJ at Mount Zion
October 12, 2010 By
Washington state PTA sets 2011 legislative priorities
October 12, 2010 By
I spent Friday and Saturday with about 175 parents who want to change the face of education in the state of Washington. These are people who are working with teachers, principals, and legislators to improve education. They are incredibly energetic, hungry for information and willing to argue for what they believe in. These are my [...]
