DC Charter Schools Examiner

Michelle Rhee involved in D.C. voucher fight and perhaps quieting sex scandal

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:49:20 -0700

In one of their regular editorials endorsing continuance of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program the editors of the Washington Post reveal that DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee has been trying to work a deal on the plan. Under her proposal ...

The fatal conceit: the errors of national education policy

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:11:39 -0700

Watching the Race to the Top and the Administration's efforts to open more charter schools, develop a national standardized test, and tie teacher evaluations to student performance, reminds me of the problems of centralized government control ...

KIPP should close its Baltimore campus

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:29:48 -0700

A Washington Post article by Nick Anderson last Saturday about Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton together visiting a charter school in Baltimore highlighted the problem of having unions involved in the movement. The KIPP school they vi...

The race to mediocrity

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:46:40 -0700

I linked to a posting by education scholar Diane Ravitch recently and based upon her most recent article I may have to do it every day. In a piece slamming the President and his education secretary Ms. Ravitch says that their use of federal ...

Arizona charter schools mirror those in the rest of the country

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:06:42 -0700

Extremely interesting article in yesterday's Washington Post by Nick Anderson on the 500 charter schools now in Arizona, teaching 100,00 children which equates to 10 percent of the state's public school population. The key paragraph is thi...

New charter school facility incubator announced

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:22:58 -0700

The editors of the Washington Post are gleeful about new incubator space for two charters created out of the closed Draper Elementary School in Southeast. Achievement Preparatory Academy Public Charter School and the National Collegiate Prep...

D.C. puts developers in front of students

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:32:46 -0700

Excellent letter to the editor by Sam Broeksmit of Mount Pleasant appearing in the November 11th edition of the Northwest Current regarding his frustration in trying to have his child's charter school takeover the Franklin School building at 1...

Education scholar Diane Ravitch goes after charter schools and Duncan

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:06:57 -0700

Diane Ravitch is on a roll. First, she finds the recent study touting charter school success in New York City by Carolyn Hoxby interesting but in no way indicative of what charters have been able to achieve academically across the country.&n...

Kelo fiasco demonstrates limits of centralized government planning

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:29:34 -0700

In 2005 the Supreme Court made one of the biggest mistakes in their history in deciding that the city of New London had the right to eminent domain in the taking of several homes for the building of a shopping mall. Susette Kelo lost he...

A Berlin Wall needs to fall in D.C. so that each child can receive a private school voucher

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:29:05 -0700

The images and symbolism coming from Berlin yesterday on the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall were striking. They brought back the emotional feelings tied to people tasting the power of liberty for the first time.&nbs...

The National Charter School Institute provides management assistance

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:03:27 -0700

Today I'm back to my reoccurring topic of charter school management and it turns out that a non-profit already exists to help schools improve their organizational performance. The National Charter School Institute has been around sinc...

Is the D.C. Public Charter School Board limiting school choice?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:07:00 -0700

The other day the D.C. Public Charter School Board released their guidelines for new charters applying to open in 2011. Mr. Nida, the chairman of the board, commented, "with the existing 57 schools on 99 campuses, any new applications w...

Charter schools help boost academic results in traditional schools

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:32:26 -0700

Finally we have clear evidence of what school choice advocates like myself have been saying for years, namely that competition in public education will raise academic achievement for all students. A study reported today in the Wall Street Jo...

It's time for Highly Qualified Heads of Schools

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:54:04 -0700

Tom Nida would like to create a designation called Highly Qualified Trustees which would be individuals that had received specialized training to server on non profit charter school boards. I would like to take his idea a step further and design a...

Two new books about Ayn Rand

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:30:03 -0700

If you want to know more about the woman who inspired me and numerous others to champion school choice there are now not one but two just released books on this incredible philosopher and novelist. Anne Heller wrote the first biography of Mr...

Here's the school choice ad that the U.S. Attorney General tried to stop from running

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:40:21 -0700

See it here.

U.S. Attorney General tries to stop ad critical of President's move to kill voucher program

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:23:59 -0700

By way of Cato's Andrew Coulson I learned yesterday of a disgusting attempt by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to stop a television advertisement that criticizes President Obama for revoking the private school scholarships&nbs...

It is time for Rhee to go

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:04:28 -0700

Bill Turque of the Washington Post reports today that DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee has asked her principals how to regain the trust of her teachers. Really? There are so many thoughts going through my head at reading this that I don't...

Washington Post editors should give up on central control of public schools

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:15:04 -0700

Yesterday, the editors of the Washington Post scolded D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray for his 18 hour public hearing which heavily criticized Michelle Rhee's recent firing of over 200 teachers. They are afraid that the Council will...

Sara Mead appointed to D.C. Public Charter School Board

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:37:07 -0700

It was announced yesterday that charter school expert and friend Sara Mead was appointment to the D.C. Public Charter School Board. The body is fortunate to have someone so smart and nice joining them. Sara gave the first annual Wi...