States Open to Education Reform See Stimulus Money

Attention states: Allow for education reforms, and you will see stimulus dollars. Expanding charter school options and allowing for merit pay are two ways the stimulus dollars will make way into states. Many states have changed laws in order to make this an option. By allowing merit pay, lifting caps on charter schools, or overhaul troubled schools; certain states will reap the benefits. Now...when will Missouri do this???

From the Wall Street Journal:
Mr. Duncan has warned states in recent months that they are unlikely to qualify for the grants if they don't move toward changes such as merit pay for teachers and lifting caps on charter schools -- measures that unions have either opposed or tried to limit....

"We have been talking about these gaps for years while children wait," Gov. Patrick said Thursday....

Teachers are starting to adjust to the new landscape. They are "both feeling the pressure and willing to think about doing new things," said Jane Hannaway, director of education policy at the Urban Institute, a left-leaning research group. "It's a new world."

Florida's Education Reform Methods Paying Off

Some states fare better than others in education and I have been closely following the ones that succeed. Florida has been on my radar because of what I believe are strong reform methods. I know they allow for charter schools and grant special needs children school choice. Florida has been one of my strong examples that reform do help and others states should look for guidance. Unfortunately, not everyone is going to listen to me.
These are some crucial excerpts from the Washington Times:

But if President-elect Barack Obama wants to improve our education system, he should look at what Jeb Bush did in Florida, ...
Three years before NCLB was enacted, then-Gov. Jeb Bush decided to set clear accountability standards, and to back them up with school choice for students and meaningful rewards for good teachers.

The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) is the gold standard of national education achievement tests. It is not a state-designed test. Over the past decade, NAEP reading scores for Florida fourth graders have soared nine percentage points - more than twice the national gain. Florida's eighth-grade reading gains were also almost double the national average. Math scores also registered solid gains, exceeding the national average.

Most impressive has been the success of minorities. Scores among Florida's low-income black and Hispanic students have risen much faster than the national average. Hispanic fourth-graders in the Sunshine State now boast reading scores higher than the all-student average in 15 states, including California.

How did Jeb Bush get results so much better than his brother's national program? Four simple but effective ideas.

First, the state didn't play games with test standards. Florida's test methodology measures what students actually knows, not just how well they do compared with other Florida students. And each public school in the state gets its own A-F report card annually. Successful schools get bonuses. Failing schools get tough remedial action.

Second, Florida ended "everyone-passes" social promotion at the third grade. Failing students get early remedial help, not a free pass.

Third, Florida got serious about school choice, promoting a range of public and private options. For instance, 20,000 students with disabilities now receive private-school scholarships. And more than 100,000 children attend charter schools.

And, it turns out, school choice delivers an added bonus. The Urban Institute, a leading national think tank in Washington, found that competition spurred a general improvement in student achievement in Florida's "F" schools. When faced with accountability pressure and choice, these schools tried new and better ways to raise standards.

Fourth, Jeb Bush acted to reward good teachers, while circumventing union-devised red tape that often keeps excellent educators out of the classroom. The state awards large bonuses to teachers with demonstrated success. And Florida instituted alternative paths to teacher certification in order to attract top-flight educators who would be stymied by the normal bureaucratic rules. Today, about half of all new Florida teachers use the alternative certification route.

Walking the Walk

This press release from the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation is just one more example of moving a child from a bad school to a good school working.  TTEF gives scholarships to children in St. Louis Public Schools to go to private schools.  According to this release 1,100 children benefit annually from TTEF scholarships.

I would hope the anti school choice advocates take note of the Sinquefield's contribution to helping these children get into schools where they are receiving a good education.  A Harvard study, also noted in the release, has demonstrated students progressing more than a grade level past their peers in reading and math after transitioning schools.  Mr. and Mrs. Sinquefiled are clearly walking the walk and backing up their advocacy by donating to TTEF.  Real examples of the lives of real children being positively changed.  I invite the anti education reform movement to show where they are helping children in SLPS in such a monumental way by maintaining the status quo.       

Scholarship Tax Credits Work!

Today I came across an article from the Providence Journal.  The article told the story of a girl who, along with her parents, are refugees in the US from the civil war in Liberia.  After doing poorly in the local school she received a tax credit scholarship to go to a Catholic High School where she thrived.  She is one of 278 students to receive one of the scholarships in the program's first year.  

This scholarship tax credit program in Delaware has many of the same features that previous legislation in Missouri sought to enact.  It is very frustrating that this option is not out there for low income Missouri students who are often trapped in failing and unaccredited schools.  I dare any of the opponents of scholarship tax credits in Missouri, including Jay Nixon, to look this girl and her family in the eyes and tell them that her daughter should not have had this opportunity. 

This is just one example of how scholarship tax credits really work.  They are not always intended to help wealthy kids pay for private school.  They are, in fact, targeted at low income students who can thrive if given the opportunity to move out of the local schools.  Missouri legislators should make this option available to low income and special needs children in Missouri in the 2009 legislative session.   

   

Education Reform is a Non- Partisan Issue

Marketwatch.com reported recently that multiple groups including Democrats for Education Reform and the Reverend Al Sharpton gathered in Denver to push for education reforms on the eve of the Democrat National Convention. Many of the reforms that this organization calls for are centered on school choice and other creative ideas that have too often been labeled right wing attempts to end public schooling.

This once again shows that education reform is not a partisan issue, but an issue of concern for all Americans as we continue to see our childhood education system fall behind many of the other developed countries in the world. The reforms advocated by this group, including expanded access to charter schools and increased accountability measures, will greatly help those currently in hopeless education environments achieve their potential.

No matter who is elected to be our next President in November education should be a prominent part of their domestic agenda. Implementing reforms centered on school choice will bring our K-12 education system in line with our country’s world renowned university system.