EVIDENCE OF SUCCESS. A new study released today from renowned economist Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University reveals remarkable gains among students in charter schools as compared to conventional public schools and puts to rest the flawed conclusions of other recent studies which charter opponents trot out all too often. Setting a new gold standard for research methodology, Hoxby's research shows that, "By the time a charter schools student has reached the end of eighth grade, our estimates indicate that he will be scoring about 30 points higher in math than he would have been scoring if he had been lotteried-out and remained in the regular public schools." It's no wonder that NYC, with a strong Mayor and Schools Chancellor, robust charter community, and one of the best laws in the country, is proving the effectiveness of charters for students and families. (Read CER's summary of the Hoxby study on our website.) Pass it on!
DR. HUXTABLE LOVES PARENT POWER. MSNBC host Michelle Bernard of the Independent Women's Forum was joined by the beloved Bill Cosby for a frank discussion this past Sunday night broadcast live from Howard University. "About Our Children" featured fresh voices and faces of education reform, including Parent Revolution leader Ben Austin, the leaders of two outstanding charter schools in impoverished areas (Deborah Kenney of Harlem Village Academies and Ben Chavis of the American Indian Public Charter School) and civil rights activist and school choice advocate Derrell Bradford of New Jersey's E3. Cosby was thoroughly engaged by discussions with these reformers (and not so much by comments of the NEA president, who couldn't really articulate what it is his union does support). This program was designed to be a real wake-up call to parents that their first duty when raising their kids is to ensure they receive the best education possible. "We have to give more opportunities to parents to make good choices. That's how to help parents in poverty," said Maria Cancian of the University of Wisconsin.
Fittingly, CER has just released a new publication in its Parent Power! series - Know Your Choices: Sowing the Seeds of Education Reform - providing families with a strong starting point - a window to the options available to them - which they can use to challenge the system for the better, for their own child or for all kids.
DURBIN v DC? Sen. Dick Durbin seems to be a one-man judge and jury when it comes to the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. In a spur-of-the-moment hearing on DC schools, and despite representatives from all three sectors of DC schools being present, Durbin had eyes only for the DC OSP - and was loaded for bear with desolate pictures of two participating schools he claims are evidence - from the outside - that this program doesn't work. He questioned witnesses as if they'd just kidnapped a child, and kept former Mayor Anthony Williams from testifying this time. Admittedly lacking all of the details, he nonetheless pressed on with accusations of financial mismanagement and a lack of transparency. Perhaps the Senator would be of greater service to all children if he harnessed the energy spent attacking a small and successful federal program and used it to rally for transparency and accountability in public schools across the country, recipients of more than $100 billion in Washington funding. Stay tuned. Durbin vs. OSP, Round II is up this September 29th.
A QUESTION OF TIME. What is 2 Million Minutes? It's the time spent in high school by most students and also the title of a pair of films exploring education and competitiveness. The latest film focuses on the example set by BASIS charter schools in Arizona that turn out high achieving graduates and routinely top national lists of the country's best public schools. BASIS proves that beyond money and beyond shiny new facilities, it is the freedom given to school leaders to organize and reward teachers who maintain high expectations that closes achievement gaps. Says BASIS co-founder Olga Block, "We don't waste time."
MORE ON CHARTER SUCCESS.
• Five Minnesota charter schools started with the help of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have been posting impressive numbers when viewed side by side with traditional schools, graduating 96 percent (vs. 91.6 percent) of students and even more telling, enrolling more then 87 percent in higher education (vs. 65.3 percent). Visit the Center for School Change for more information.
• In Massachusetts, hundreds of parents, teachers and students turned out for the Bay State's first hearing on Gov. Deval Patrick's proposed expansion of charters as a way to turn around the lowest performing schools.
In Other News...
MAJOR RALLY FOR DC KIDS. Join us and thousands of DC OSP supporters to help DC school children have the choices they deserve. Help us tell Congress what this program is really about.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 30th, 11:30am to 1:00pm
WHERE: U.S. Capitol, Upper Senate Park
Call (800) 521-2118 or email for more information or to RSVP. Sponsored by the DC Black Alliance for Educational Options.
