Vol. 14, No. 32

WE’RE BACK. Okay, stop the calls and emails. We’ve heard you! You like our insightful and relevant commentary and news vignettes better than anyone’s, and you’ve told us loud and clear that we need to step it up. We’ve loved hearing that we write what you’re thinking and provide useful information that helps you do your job better. As we shared when we stopped a few months back, we took a pause and began providing you daily news clips instead, available on our website, and stepped up our News & Analysis section so that you’d have ready access to MORE news and MORE information. But, websites are so passé, and you apparently like getting millions of emails more than you like going to check out what you’ve missed online, so because you are the reason we exist to fight and to create more choice and accountability for all children, Newswire is back. Enjoy — and keep in touch.

CH,CH,CHANGES… Maybe? Not so much? Washington will be different in January, not the same, as some are suggesting. We’ll be here reporting and working and yes, pushing to make sure we don’t get more regulation over reform, that we don’t make inadvertent and frankly, illogical decisions about spending and accountability, like the proposals being discussed that would in effect put the feds in charge of determining what charter accountability is all about. What? You didn’t know about that? While accountability for traditional public schools is discussed in terms of school improvement grants and turn around models, proposals for charter school accountability are much more highly regulated, taking a movement born to welcome entrepreneurial enterprise and demonstrate performance-based accountability and turning it into a new “system” that requires a heavy hand from federal policymakers. Click here to

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“Indiana school voucher program taking off; lawsuit over popular program will be heard Wednesday”
by Scott Elliott
Indianapolis Star
November 20, 2012

Indiana’s private school voucher program grew at an unprecedented rate this fall, more than doubling the number of students in its second year.

If the state’s program continues to grow at that pace, Indiana could challenge Ohio and Wisconsin as the nation’s biggest program as soon as next year.

However, today the Indiana Supreme Court is to hear arguments challenging the program’s constitutionality.

The Indiana Department of Education announced Thursday that 9,324 students are now signed up for state-funded vouchers to attend private schools statewide, surging from 3,919 students in the first year and making the program the fastest growing in history.

The number of schools participating jumped to 289 from 241. The program is now redirecting more than $38 million in state aid from public schools to private schools, although state officials say it saved $4.2 million that was redistributed among all public schools.

The controversial program is also still under attack.

The Indiana State Teachers Association, the biggest statewide teacher’s union, is aiming to shut it down. The ISTA-supported lawsuit before the state Supreme Court today charges the program is an unconstitutional mingling of state money and religious institutions. The vast majority of schools accepting vouchers are religiously affiliated.
“When you look at the dollars coming into program, those are coming right off the top of money going to our public schools,” said Teresa Meredith, ISTA vice president and a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “I see that as a real concern.”

Indiana’s big voucher numbers are due in large part to the design of the program, which is less limited than those in other states.

Ohio has a statewide program, but it restricts vouchers to communities with failing schools. Wisconsin limits the program to one city

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So where was the issue of education reform during the presidential campaign? Republicans didn’t even visit the cities that owe their education salvation to this leadership. While strong reformers who are Republicans continue to run and win elections in states, Republicans at the national level seem not to understand that in supporting educational choice they are supporting a civil right, and that they are the leaders in this support. Republican embrace of individual freedom and liberties over government at the local, state and federal level is an anchor for education reform. And it is repulsive to those who manage and protect the status quo.

Tuesday’s results are not the only wake-up call. Here’s another one: Democrats are working hard to own this issue. Do they deserve the credit? Will they advance the movement? No, but President Obama and his party have vowed to make their party the party of education reform. A recent missive from the Democrats for Education Reform declared Obama “EdReformer in Chief.” He has done little to merit such a title.

We’ve praised Obama’s candor and vocalization of the problems facing American education. We’ve commended the power his Education secretary has wielded to talk about issues that most reformers embrace. But his Administration is conspicuously quiet on the issue of real school choice. And while they talk about ensuring real performance pay for teachers, underneath the talk, the teachers unions are still in charge.

Think about the Democratic Party and this bedrock constituency. Unions once helped those most in need, but today they are keeping those poorest children, those who cannot afford to change zip codes or pay tuition to escape, in failing schools.

President Obama and his majority at the national level continue to oppose attempts to give those students choices. Absent leadership, the nation sits quietly as we

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Earlier we pointed out four races worth watching because wins would usher in extremely pro-education reformers to the U.S. Senate.

Two of the four races ended up as “wins” for education reform with victories for Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). Ted has a national reputation for defending school choice and parent rights for over a decade, and Jeff is the author of Arizona’s pioneering charter school law and a stalwart supporter of school choice.

Another result that bodes well for education reform is the return of Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.). Carper is a relatively reliable reform vote, at least on charter schools and teacher issues, and has proven to be a friend to reform in Delaware and across the United States.

Wins for Cruz, Flake, and Carper all count as victories for education reform, otherwise, there’s not much in the Senate to report right now. More to come as we watch these folks assemble and start considering what their agendas will be.

There were a total of five state superintendent races this year across the country and none of the elected leaders are supportive of education reforms, such as charter schools, school choice, or performance pay for teachers.

Two of the winners are incumbents, including June Atkinson in North Carolina, and Randy Dorn who ran unopposed in Washington. Although the superintendent race in Montana is still too close to call, current Superintendent Denise Juneau holds the lead.

North Dakota‘s new choice for State Superintendent, Kristen Baesler, does not appear to be a leader that will push for reforms that will lift the state from its near last rating on the Parent Power Index.

Education reform took a hit with Indiana electing Glenda Ritz as Superintendent of Public Instruction, ousting current Superintendent and reform-champion Tony Bennett. While newly elected governor Mike Pence holds the same pro-reform mindset as outgoing governor Mitch Daniels, there is no doubt many will be watching Indiana to see if the Hoosier State will continue to live up to its reputation as the “reformiest” state given the difference of opinions between the governor and superintendent.

Two new reform-minded governors have joined the other 23 in the United States that support true education reform, such as charter schools, school choice, and performance pay for teachers, according to analysis by CER.

North Carolina was the only state to elect a reform-minded governor after the last governor was decidedly against changing the status quo. In Indiana, governor-elect Mike Pence will hopefully continue on the path started by governor Mitch Daniels, who signed an expansive voucher program into law and improved charter school legislation.

Six of the eleven states holding elections this year voted to keep their current governor in office: Jack Markell in Delaware, Jay Nixon in Missouri, Jack Dalrymple in North Dakota, Gary Herbert in Utah, Peter Shumlin in Vermont, and Earl Ray Tomblin in West Virginia. Only two of these reelected governors are reform-minded according to CER’s criteria.

Incumbents were not up for reelection in New Hampshire or Washington, but New Hampshire elected a governor with the same negative attitude towards education reform as the previous governor. Results in Washington are still pending, but candidate Jay Inslee, who is not a proponent of reform just like outgoing governor Christine Gregoire, holds the lead as of now.

For a list of governors in every state and where each stands on the three key education reform issues go to http://www.edreform.com/education-50/governor-grades/.

The Center for Education Reform, the nation’s leading voice for structural and substantive change in education, congratulates President Obama on his reelection. We praised the President in his first term for reminding the nation of our serious problems with K-12 education, and for working energetically to spread the word and seek change. We were concerned the Administration was too beholden to the national teachers unions, and that this support was an impediment to meaningful reforms that could lead to better schools and more educational choices.

We offer the following suggestions for the President in his second term:
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“Parents can log on, pick Nashville school of choice”
by Lisa Fingeroot
The Tennessean
November 6, 2012

Submitting a school choice application to Metro schools is becoming a little easier this month with the launch of an online process designed to get more children enrolled in the school they want, an education official said.

The biggest change in the application process is that it can be done completely online for students who are already attending a Metro school, said Meredith Libbey, assistant to the director of schools and part of the communications team involved in designing the process.

In the past, parents had to physically obtain information from one school and deliver it to another. The parents of children who do not attend Metro schools must still hand-deliver an application to the main school office because the child has not yet received a student identification number, Libbey said.

The second change is that families are being asked to rank their choices in order of preference and may have seven selections.

Previously, parents could request as many schools as their child was eligible to attend. Some parents would select every school of choice on their child’s grade level in hopes of getting into one, Libbey said.

A lot of time was wasted keeping up with waiting lists, phone numbers and changes of address only to have staff members call parents who said they had forgotten they even applied to the school that had an opening.

In the new process, a student is either accepted into one of his school choices or put on a waiting list. There is no juggling of spots and holding them open while a family makes a decision, Libbey said.

About 15,000 applications were submitted for schools of choice for the current school year, and about 70 percent of the students received at least one of

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by Andrea Neal
Indianapolis Star
November 5, 2012

(Second of two columns on Gov. Mitch Daniels’ legacy)

Mitch Daniels used his first term to get Indiana’s fiscal house in order. His second term sealed his reputation as the education reform governor.

“Truly historic changes” came to Indiana schools, the American Legislative Exchange Council said in its 2012 Report Card on American Education.

“Indiana moved up into the A’s for the first time after the reform-minded governor and legislature greatly improved the state charter law in 2011,” said the Center for Education Reform Report.

The Weekly Standard, a national journal of conservative thought, credited Daniels for “taking Indiana from the backwaters of education reform in America to the forefront.”

It’s a bit early to claim success. It will be several years before Hoosiers know if reforms instituted by Daniels will boost test scores. ISTEP passage rates are creeping up and graduation rates are higher, but there’s yet to be noticeable improvement on the National Assessment of Education Progress or the SAT.

Daniels took office in 2005, but his first term was consumed with budget balancing and recession, which delayed his educational initiatives until the middle of term two. Once he and School Superintendent Tony Bennett turned their sights on schools, change was fast and furious:

Collective bargaining with teachers unions was limited to wages and benefits, which means schools can pursue their own reform ideas, such as longer school days.

Teacher pay raises are now based on many factors, including student test scores, as well as the previous criteria of seniority and education. Teachers rated as ineffective can’t receive a pay increase.

The State Board of Education uses letter grades — A to F — to judge school quality instead of vague labels like commendable and academic progress. The new system take into account test scores, score improvement, graduation rates and

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by Howard Blume
Los Angels Times
October 12, 2012

The following are edited excerpts from telephone interviews and email exchanges with leading education analysts, writers and researchers regarding the policies and positions of the presidential candidates.

Michelle Rhee

Chief executive, StudentsFirst; former chancellor, District of Columbia Public Schools

Both support expanding educational options for families. President Obama did this, for example, by encouraging states to get rid of unnecessary caps on public charter schools through Race to the Top . At the same time, Gov. Romney supports dramatically expanding choices parents can make about where to send their kids to school. But he doesn’t tie that increased flexibility to strong rules ensuring any school — private or public — that takes the public funds will be held accountable for student learning.

Jonathan Kozol

Author whose books about education include “Death at an Early Age” (1967) and “Savage Inequalities” (1991). His new book is “Fire in the Ashes.”

As we saw in Wisconsin, there is a constituency out there that would like to do away with public-sector unions. The teachers are the loudest of those unions. Romney could not do away with teachers unions, but I think he will do his very best to move us in that direction.

President Obama simply wants to challenge the teachers unions to be more flexible in their demands but obviously recognizes they have a useful role in our society.

I regret the President’s apparent willingness to continue relying on standardized exams in evaluating teachers because I think it’s a simplistic way of judging what happens in the classroom and excludes so many aspects of a good education that are not reduceable to numbers.

The President recognizes that a demoralized teaching force is not going to bring passionate determination to the education of children — no matter how you measure them, castigate them or

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