Morning Shots

I might not be Santa, but I love his philosophy! There comes a time in everyone’s life (and for me it’s now) where one’s tolerance for injustice becomes too much. For the Occupy movement, that means taking over public parks and becoming an ever-present obstacle to remind people of their positions. Like it or hate it, you can’t get too far from it.

As long as I’ve been at the helm of CER, I’ve been proud to stand alongside individuals within the organization and without who don’t let people stray too far from what their positions and obligations are all about. We’ve taken on Democrats and Republicans alike, including presidents. We’ve called out the Blob, and we’ve challenged those who are allies or friends. We’ve called out non-profits and for-profits. We’ve both praised and torn apart the media.

My personal responsibility is to those who turn to us for help and those who support us to do so. They run the gamut from $10 donors to big foundations. They fund many of the same people we support and some that we criticize. I’ve often repeated to my kids that old but true saying, “Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is looking.” So it gets to me, in particular, when people conduct themselves poorly because they think no one is watching, particularly public officials.

Take New Jersey’s Commissioner of Education, whom I’ve been proud in the past to stand by when he called or asked for help in numerous positions he’s held. Yet lately, he’s stood by a flawed charter review process and has decided to turn personal on the business issue at hand. After reading Newswire’s critique of his department’s stepping aside to allow the Garden State Virtual Charter to take a dive, one example of the

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What’s wrong with the NY Times article, “Profits and Questions at Online Charter Schools”?

Let me count the ways:

1) Alex Molnar — used as an expert. Has been a known ideological opponent of reform since I was in college. Literally. Crazy man. Has no academic standing.

2) Gary Miron — a little better and sometimes a fairly good researcher, but who’s devoted a lifetime to studying for-profit companies, always with a slant as to how they hurt charter schools. Not much credibility here, either.

3) Jack Wagner — PA State Auditor, who wants to be governor some day with the support of the teachers union. Has been saying for years that having charter schools funded from same pool as other public schools is unfair. Strike 3

4) Lawyer for school districts used as a source

5) By page 5 (online), we still haven’t heard from someone with a different point of view. Now the NEA is being used as a source for policy and data.

6) CREDO — Yep, that study. Too bad there’s no corollary provided. More on that here and here.

6) Reagan. Had to bring him up. PR guy for local Ohio choice group used to work in that Administration. Clearly this is all the former president’s fault!

And this reporter won a Pulitzer Prize? Obviously, it’s not just the education system that’s been dumbed down!

For the facts on online learning, check out the Center for Education Reform’s Digital Learning Toolkit.

For another analysis on the story, visit this post on Getting Smart.

Demonstrating once again the power of being number 1 (as in, the NUMBER 1 Strongest Law in the nation), the independent authorizer for DC charter schools has created and yesterday announced the results of a new performance accountability system aimed at tracking in real time the performance and growth of all the students in its 58 schools — nearly 42 percent of all DC public school students, period!

And to naysayers that say charters don’t work, that they don’t close and that they are not accountable, I’d like to know what you call this.

It’s so good that not only can you see superior gains in charters versus traditional public schools (Sorry, Macke!) but there is a tier of schools under review that the data — using child by child performance scores — suggests either needs to buck up or be closed, something this independent, superior authorizer is willing to do.

A model to be sure for other states, and a proud moment for DC. Kudos, DCPCSB and charter school leaders!