In 1993, Jurassic Park, a blockbuster enterprise that transformed entertainment, emerged in Hollywood. At the same time, an organization with the goal to transform education emerged in America. Coincidence?
WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING ALL THESE YEARS? Each week we will be counting back the years and sharing one thing we did — with the support of so many of you — to help bring us closer to our shared vision of a nation that enables broad and lasting quality educational opportunities that secure the freedom and future prosperity of all citizens.
26. In our 26th year CER inaugurated our acclaimed Why America? program; because, as E.D. Hirsch says, you cannot love what you do not know. Now a semester — long program jam packed with interactive seminars with renowned Constitutional experts and authorities on civics, a Master Teacher Recognition Program, continuing education credits, and a personalized learning history contest for students. Teachers can join our next webinar on October 29th about Finding Hope in America’s Story During Troubled Times. Can’t wait? Join our partners at the National Humanities Center TONIGHT for “The Election of 1860,” and explore just how frayed the nation’s political system had become after a decade of uninterrupted sectional turmoil, and its lessons/warnings for today. Session starts at 6:45PM EDT.
STUDENTS SUE FOR CIVICS. From Rhode Island comes a good news/bad news/good news item. Good news — public school students there filed a suit against the state claiming their constitutional rights had been violated by the lack of quality civics education. Bad news — the judge ruled against them because of lack of jurisdiction. Good news — in doing so he gave the education establishment a well deserved slap upside the head, saying the students’ suit “highlights a deep flaw in our national education priorities and policies.”
SPEAKING OF STATES… American School and University magazine published the results of the CER Parent Power Index, highlighting the ten best states for empowering parents to direct their kids’ education. Unsurprisingly, Rhode Island was not in the top 10. In fact it is #27, with an overall score of 64.9%.That’s a failing grade in any school!
WHEN GOOD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE. Kudos to one of CER’s favorite collaborators and all around good-guy Nate Davis, CEO of leading online curricula and schooling provider K12, who was named a 2020 Innovator of Color at the ASU+GSV Summit. Nate and K12 have been literally indispensable in helping families deal with their kid’s education during the COVID crisis. Congrats Nate!
REDLINING IS RACIST – IN LENDING AND SCHOOLING. A long accepted fact is that the practice of “redlining” has long been used to keep equal opportunity from reaching all segments of society. In lending it was used to deny loans or charge higher interest rates on loans to people of color. Happily that practice is illegal. But in education, it is not illegal to “redline” students into zip codes for a similar purpose — denying quality education to kids — usually of color and economically disadvantaged. Derrell Bradford, executive Vice President of 50can lays bare this insidious process in a powerful video. In his words, “All kids deserve a high quality education regardless of their address.”You are singing our song!
UNIONS PUNISH KIDS – AGAIN. We don’t believe in beating a dead horse, but sadly this horse — teachers unions putting the welfare of students at the bottom of their “to do” list — is alive and kicking. Unfortunately it is kicking those who least deserve it – America’s students. An insightful analysis published by the 74 shows that students lose learning even during brief school closures such as snow days, and that the harm from COVID closures will be multiplied many times. Showing disdain for these facts and downright hostility toward the welfare of their students Boston teachers sued to avoid going back to the classroom.
We hope you and yours are safe and sound, and that you are able to see some of the autumn color in your local trees. To help, and maybe help to relax a bit, here’s the King — as in Nat Cole, serenading you with his version of Autumn Leaves. And as always — let us know if we can be of assistance to you or your school.
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education. We’re always delighted to hear from our readers…suggestions, questions and even the occasional complaint!





“The task that you’re engaged in is at the center of what it means to create a fairer world.








HOW LIVING IN A PANDEMIC IS CONNECTING MINDS ACROSS THE GLOBE. “A school is a place students learn, but they learn from the environment as much as the curriculum. Ours is a school that is globally connected, and students will have constant lessons,”
Italian-Americans were over-represented at the event, an intentional and natural consequence of the adventurous and entrepreneurial mindset that infects those of us with that heritage, especially! Take the amazing
DUAL COUNTRY DIPLOMAS? Certo! By leveraging 21st century technology the Academica International Dual Diploma program makes it possible for thousands of students around the world to obtain a fully accredited U.S. high school diploma from their home country. Using technology
Because the Italian Ministry of Education accelerated their transition from paper to digital assessments some years ago, they were able to judge the effect of COVID19 on learning loss quicker than many of their global colleagues.
WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE OF WORK? The pandemic has accelerated the need for students to have sets of business and digital skills.” The future of work has become the present of work”, says
COVID NECESSITATES INNOVATION. Most folks not wedded to the education establishment realize that innovation — while always essential for school success — is even more important now with the changes necessary to deal with COVID. Minerva founder and
SHE WALKS THE WALK, as well as talks the talk, is a fitting introduction to our speaker who closed out day two.
PREPARING STUDENTS TO WORK.
SHARK TANK! FISHING FOR INVESTMENT TREND INSIGHTS, INNOVATOR SECRETS AND START-UP PITCHES: A not to be missed recap of this event will be up on our
DESTINY IS NOT…WELL…DESTINY. In both Italy and the U.S. access to great education is still too much determined by zip code, gender, socioeconomic class and race. Moderated by
Articulating it better than we could ourselves, we share what this one partner said of the experience and look forward to the next time we can come together: “Years from now we will think back on this Covid-infested time and remind each other of this wonderful event, the on-line and unthinkable in-person presentations, we will remember our hosts running around the room checking and rechecking connections around the globe, the pizzette at the buffet table, the mysterious beauty of the venue location, the roller coaster excitement of the shuttle, the proximity of our accommodations to Castel dell’Ovo, the ubiquitous firecrackers, but above all we will remember the people we met, all these people who are dedicating their time and expertise to making the world a better place by employing digital technology in educational infrastructures of every sort.” 
TODAY. You can still join us to take in the inspirational talks and vista of the Mediterranean Sea. Live at 11 AM EDT, students, teachers and just plain people can SEE where Mt. Vesuvius once erupted and left enough land to build entire “new” cities on, where kings once defended their land, and learn of the art that inspired civilizations. The potential to see it all virtually is extraordinary!
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR STATE RANKS in having effective charter school laws? That information is just one click away in CER’s new 

Jeanne Allen: Parents should have power on education
By Jeanne Allen, Founder and CEO of CER
For years, measures like the Nation’s Report Card have assessed educational opportunity in America. Long story short: Our scores are abysmal, and our children are falling further and further behind both national and international norms.
Now enter covid-19. The pandemic has put this ugly truth on display for all to see. Parents, grandparents and concerned adults are seeing for themselves, on a daily basis, what passes for “education” in the United States. More and more, they’re realizing that their ability to educate their kids depends on a limited, finite and often deficient set of offerings. The light bulbs above their heads are turning on as they discover that educational opportunities are dictated by ZIP code.
But the fact is, great schools come about only when parents have power. That is, when states give parents enough information and the discretion to exercise control over their children’s schooling. Sadly, in far too many places across the country, parents have precious little power.
What accounts for this devastating paradox? A new study of state education laws, conducted by my organization, the Center for Education Reform, ranked all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C. Our conclusion: The education establishment views parent power as an infringement on its turf, instead of the right of every parent or guardian.
Consider Massachusetts. Simply put, the legislature here thwarts any effort to expand educational opportunity. A similar story prevails in Maine. The only state whose name has one syllable has only one option for kids: A charter program that’s both tiny and capped.
In New Hampshire, the Granite State’s attitude about parent power, like its namesake, is usually set in stone against action that provides more and better learning opportunities for students. Students fare even worse in neighboring states such as Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey.
Happily, the Northeast has Pennsylvania. Despite a governor who opposes parent power, the birthplace of liberty has significantly expanded educational opportunities for kids. For example, since 2018, the Keystone State has seen a 20% increase in participation in the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program. Similarly, Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program helps low- and middle-income families receive private school and pre-kindergarten scholarships. No other state in the region comes close to matching these lifelines.
Yet Pennsylvania aside, the Northeast remains hostile to parent power. The powers that be guard the status quo with a smug elitism derived from the belief that they — not father or mother — know best. Indeed, much of the education establishment gives parents what is commonly known as “the mushroom treatment” — which in polite company can best be described as keeping parents in the dark and every so often throwing fertilizer on them.
2020 will be looked back on as a year of challenges, conflict and chaos. Hopefully, it will also mark the time when education’s real stakeholders — students and caregivers — grasp their power and use it to ensure that education is one aspect of American life that doesn’t go back to normal.
Follow Jeanne on Twitter or LinkedIn or some of her other work here
don’t forget to check out the Parent Power Index, about your state!
Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.