FROM THE DESK OF Two-thirds of all U.S. 4th graders are unable to read, write or do math proficiently - yet nearly half of Americans give their schools high marks. Although the presidential campaigns may ignore America's education crisis, much work is needed - including strong coverage by the media.
Politics and Prose: Has the NEA overcommitted its members? At least one teacher is hoppin' mad about the union's political assumptions.
Bucking Convention: Charter schools in the spin cycle - getting to the real achievement data ... Democrats in Denver and the union divide ... plus choice news and more in this week's Newswire.
Americans give charter Schools, performance pay and school choice consistently high marks. "People want immediate opportunities for children that work, regardless of what it is called or if it is outside of what they have grown up to view as traditional public education,” said CER president Jeanne Allen.
A Senior's Brave New World: As new 12th graders begin their last year of primary education, parents are challenged not only to push that last year to count, but choose the post-secondary next step. Herewith, a reality-TV point of view to the issue for back to school, 2008.
Making the Grade? By Lynn Vincent, World Magazine, September 6, 2008
Still, Kevin Chavous, a distinguished fellow at the Center for Education Reform and founder of Democrats for Education Reform, said Obama has "made it clear he's not going to be a rubber stamp for the teachers unions." Chavous notes that Obama pointedly skipped the National Education Association's election-year convention, usually a compulsory stop on the Democratic campaign trail.
The question, some say, is what "adequate and equitable funding" means. "Charter schools operate with 40 percent less funding than other public schools," said Jonathan Oglesby, director of public relations for the Center for Education Reform (CER), a charter school advocacy group based in Maryland.
Politics and Prose
Americans give charter Schools, performance pay and school choice consistently high marks. "People want immediate opportunities for children that work, regardless of what it is called or if it is outside of what they have grown up to view as traditional public education,” said CER president Jeanne Allen.
