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Vol. 15, No. 46 SUPPORT FOR ACCOUNTABILITY. As teacher unions and establishment allies across the country marched on statehouses and in cities urging those in power to maintain business as usual, we thought it only too fitting to release poll results that reflect a strong desire to see increased accountability in schools. With the exception of […] Read more »

Vol. 15, No. 45 POSITIVE CULTURE. We were on the ground today touring Democracy Prep Endurance Charter School in New York City, where it shares a building with a traditional public school. As we made our way towards Endurance’s classrooms, the cultural shift in the building’s atmosphere became abundantly clear. Detailed, colorful banners lined the hallways, […] Read more »

Vol. 15, No. 44 THANKSGIVING. This holiday season, there are more families than ever who have reason to be thankful for the improved educational landscape in their community and chances of success for students. Here are just a few items for which we’re thankful: We’re thankful for those in communities who have the courage to […] Read more »

Vol. 15, No. 43 WHY THEY EXCEL. Earlier today, we were very fortunate to receive a tour of Excel Academy,  an all girls charter school that is deliberately located in the Anacostia section of Washington, DC. The school staff, mission and most of all the young scholars are nothing short of a quintessential example of […] Read more »

Vol. 15, No. 42 CALIFORNIA PARENTS WANT POWER. The state of California just boosted the state-aid in the low-income Fresno school district where over 80 percent of students are eligible for free or subsidized school lunches. Once the parents caught wind of the extra funding, hundreds spoke up to claim their power. Because of their […] Read more »

Vol. 15, No. 41 ELECTION DAY. Today, the likely decisions of voters in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City chart a very uncertain future for education reform and student opportunity. Two frontrunners have firmly positioned themselves as anti-reform, while one other merely has the potential to do more. In a state desperately in need […] Read more »

Vol. 15, No. 40 CHARTER LAW LESSONS.  We’ve long said that creating charter school authorizing commissions is a policy prescription that actually works against quality charter school growth. First hand evidence of bureaucratizing the process in New Mexico, politicizing it in Maine or building new barriers to entry that have little to do with quality like in Idaho, are […] Read more »

Vol. 15, No. 39 TERRIBLY OFF-TRACK. Over 130,000 students are enrolled with at least 40,000 more on charter school waiting lists across Pennsylvania. Despite the demand from parents to bring more high quality choices to the state, lawmakers in Harrisburg are doing the bidding of special interest groups. In fact, what was once billed as […] Read more »

Vol. 15, No. 38 NEW YORK, NEW YORK? No, that isn’t a reference to the wildly successful RatPack EdReformies last week, but rather the uncertain future of charter schools in New York City. The mayoral race between candidates Bill de Blasio (D) and Joe Lhota (R) is guaranteed to have a substantial impact on the […] Read more »

Vol. 15, No. 30 THE FOUR C’s. Complacency, Choice, Conventional Wisdom, and Change. Those were the four C’s highlighted by CER’s own Kara Kerwin at Virginia Governor’s Bob McDonnell’s Education Summit, during a panel discussion on how to expand the charter school sector in the Old Dominion. In recent years, Virginia has been plagued by […] Read more »