Leaders for quality public education from cradle to career
With many folks quoting the CREDO study on public charter school effectiveness, we wanted to offer an alternative view of that much-quoted study. The Center for Education Reform has published its take on the 3-year-old study, offering some greatly different viewpoints. Throughout the media in recent months, a statistic is often repeated that suggests charter [...]
California parents with children in public charter schools shared their stories during a conference call today of how these schools have impacted their lives. Listen to the podcast or browse the transcript. (Note: This is a rough transcript of the conversation. Please listen to the recording for a full accounting.) KM: Karen Martinez, Rocketship Education [...]
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Lawmakers are considering a bill that would establish universal voluntary early learning for 3- and 4- year olds in Washington. HB 2448 would also focus on birth to three programs. Despite the state’s tough economic situation, there have been highlights in early learning. Many people now recognize that investment in high-quality early learning pays great [...]
From The Tri-City Herald: Washington voters have rejected charter schools three times but things are different now. Today, we are one of only eight states that don’t allow charter schools. It’s not always a good idea to follow the herd, but when everyone else is on a different path, it’s prudent to find out why. [...]
From the Associated Press: The expansion in public prekindergarten programs has slowed and even been reversed in some states as school districts cope with shrinking budgets. As a result, many 3- and 4-year-olds aren’t going to preschool. Kids from low-income families who start kindergarten without first attending a quality education program enter school an estimated [...]
This article is posted on the Democrats for Education Reform website. It is written by Lisa Macfarlane, DFER Washington State Director and LEV co-founder. Trying to have a conversation with Washington State Democrats about allowing the development of charter schools is like trying to talk to Republicans about implementing an income tax. Their minds are [...]
From an editorial in The Seattle Times…. A SLEW of education reforms proposed to the state Legislature signal a chance to get real work done this session. Rep. Eric Pettigrew, D-Seattle, and Sen. Steve Litzow, R-Mercer Island, provide a bipartisan and bicameral approach for smart reforms. Their proposals would allow charter schools, establish a process [...]
Macy, a student at Whitworth University in Spokane, shares how her public charter school education transformed her life. Her charter school focused on helping low-income students be the first in their families to go to college. All of her classmates graduated from high school, and 94% went on to attend four-year universities. “Preuss taught me [...]
From an editorial in the Tacoma News Tribune: Charter public schools are hardly the most important reform out there, but they do serve as a barometer of a state’s willingness to give every possible option to parents and children. The highly motivated educators who typically launch charter schools sign a contract – the charter – [...]
From The Columbian…. Now that the state Supreme Court has affirmed what the state constitution proclaims — that basic public education is the state’s paramount duty — proper pursuit of that goal requires innovative thinking. That’s one reason charter school projects elsewhere have been supported by Seattle’s Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. And that’s why [...]
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