Sign Up For Our Newsletter

A VERY, VERY, VERY FINE HOUSE. Last week the White House held an event to celebrate inclusion of funding for the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP) in the continuing budget resolution. Everyone was there: event host, VPOTUS Mike Pence; Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos; 20 local DCOSP students and parents; and some very important others, including POTUS, who had great things to say about charters and choice.

The good news: DCOSP has been funded for the next three years. The bad news: it’s only been funded for the next three years. Still, three is better than one, and the funding provides a respite from the year-to-year-to-year, annual renewal treadmill the program’s been on since its inception. And, if the funding battle has to be waged again in three years, so be it.In the meantime, here’s the video of a very nice ceremony at a very fine house.

A VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. As we write, the annual ASU+GSV Innovators Summit is going on out in Salt Lake City. Innovators of all stripes have gathered to meet, learn, and generally advance innovation and opportunities in American education. CER’s there as a participant and sponsor, holding compelling panels on each of the summit’s three days: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

ALSO FROM THE SUMMIT. We’ll note here, too, that CER’s Jeanne Allen will be giving Wednesday’s primetime keynote remarks to all those assembled at ASU+GSV. She’ll also be the interlocutor in a “fireside chat” with Secretary DeVos, following the Secretary’s keynote address today. Catch the live stream of DeVos right now on our Facebook page.

LOVE LETTERS STRAIGHT FROM YOUR HEART. To celebrate the release of Frederick Hess’s new book, Letters to a Young Education Reformer, veteran ed reformers gathered last week for an interesting, and educational, panel discussion hosted by AEI. The topic: “reflections on momentous experiences in their careers that changed their thinking on contentious issues or prepared them to turn their ideas into reality.” Here’s the video and here’s a write-up from Rick.