Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Hell Has Frozen Over
In a Washington Post editorial yesterday former D.C. Mayor and current Councilman Marion Barry announced his backing of D.C.'s private school voucher program:
Quite a turnaround for someone I observed only a few years ago say that he was "against vouchers but for charter schools."
Now can Eleanor Holmes Norton be far behind?
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I support this package because it provides much-needed financial support to all D.C. schools and because it offers parents a choice without hurting public schools. That's a win-win situation. We must make sure that children in the District are given every chance to attend schools that work for them. To do anything else is wrong.Of course, everything he says in the statement above is correct but liberals almost always ignore these facts and repeat the mantra that vouchers "destroy the public school system." In fact, just the opposite is true.
Quite a turnaround for someone I observed only a few years ago say that he was "against vouchers but for charter schools."
Now can Eleanor Holmes Norton be far behind?
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Wrong
Walter Williams documents all the environmental doomsday predictions that never came to be.
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Monday, May 12, 2008
The Folks Behind Imagine Schools
Jay Mathews of the Washington Post profiles Dennis and Eileen Bakke who started Imagine Charter Schools. The company has 51 schools with 25,000 students but my September plans to enroll 35,000 kids in 75 facilities. They have two sites currently in D.C.
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Thursday, May 08, 2008
George Will Is On A Roll
Here is how Clinton will claim she won the Democratic nomination:
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After Tuesday's split decisions in Indiana and North Carolina, Clinton, the Yankee Clipperette, can, and hence eventually will, creatively argue that she is really ahead of Barack Obama, or at any rate she is sort of tied, mathematically or morally or something, in popular votes, or delegates, or some combination of the two, as determined by Fermat's Last Theorem, or something, in states whose names begin with vowels, or maybe consonants, or perhaps some mixture of the two as determined by listening to a recording of the Beach Boys' "Help Me, Rhonda" played backward, or whatever other formula is most helpful to her, and counting the votes she received in Michigan, where hers was the only contending name on the ballot (her chief rivals, quaintly obeying their party's rules, boycotted the state, which had violated the party's rules for scheduling primaries), and counting the votes she received in Florida, which, like Michigan, was a scofflaw and where no one campaigned, and dividing Obama's delegate advantage in caucus states by pi multiplied by the square root of Yankee Stadium's Zip code.He captures the way the Clinton's think exactly.
Or perhaps she wins if Obama's popular vote total is, well, adjusted by counting each African American vote as only three-fifths of a vote. There is precedent, of sorts, for that arithmetic (see the Constitution, Article I, Section 2, before the 14th Amendment).
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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Turn Stevens Into WEDJ At K
Bill Turque of the Washington Post has a story today focusing on the closing of Stevens Elementary School in N.W. Many people, the reporter notes, are upset about the loss of a historic property. The school used to teach freed slaves, was opened in 1868 for this purpose, and is
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a school whose halls were walked by singer Roberta Flack, community activist and talk show host Petey Greene, Washington Post columnist Colbert I. King and former president Jimmy Carter's daughter, Amy.So instead of losing this site as a place to educate children the city should turn it over to the William E. Doar, Jr. Public Charter School for the Performing Arts. We would jump at the chance to have a downtown location at 21st and K Streets. Just think of it, we could then do our performances at the Kennedy Center. Perfect.
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Monday, May 05, 2008
This Is Not The Year For Libertarian Presidential Candidates
Friday, May 02, 2008
Obama As Hypocrite, Williams As A Smuggler
Charles Krauthammer accuses Mr. Obama of being dishonest in his race speech. Walter Williams finds another hero.
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Washington Post Continues Its Support of Vouchers
The editors of the Washington Post argue strongly today for Congress to continue the private school voucher program that began in Washington D.C. in 2004. They chose to write on this subject because Mayor Fenty is due to testify before a House Appropriations Committee tomorrow and the topic of the program is sure to come up. President Bush's recent budget includes $18 million for private school choice, part of a $74 million allocation for District schools which also includes money for DCPS and charters. In other words the President is continuing the "Three Sector Approach" that allowed the voucher bill to be passed in the first place and which was promoted so well by my friend Kaleem Caire.
The Washington Post has been solidly behind private school vouchers since I met with Colbert King to ask for his support for the idea in 1998. The newspaper's support was recognized by Clint Bolick in his book Voucher Wars. Writing about a Post editorial that did not back Milwaukee's voucher plan in 1992 the author comments that "only a few years later, the Post abandoned its reticence and became one of the nation's most consistent and influential backers of school choice experiments" (58).
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The Washington Post has been solidly behind private school vouchers since I met with Colbert King to ask for his support for the idea in 1998. The newspaper's support was recognized by Clint Bolick in his book Voucher Wars. Writing about a Post editorial that did not back Milwaukee's voucher plan in 1992 the author comments that "only a few years later, the Post abandoned its reticence and became one of the nation's most consistent and influential backers of school choice experiments" (58).
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Monday, April 28, 2008
The Milton Friedman Prize
David Boaz of the Cato Institute reflects on this year's winner of the Milton Friedman Award, Yon Goicoechea, who as a law student in Venezuela successfully fought against political reforms introduced by Hugo Chavez that would have turned the country into a dictatorship.
He also provides a history of the other individuals who have won the prize.
My wife and I will be attending the dinner in New York City on May 15th where the award will be presented.
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He also provides a history of the other individuals who have won the prize.
My wife and I will be attending the dinner in New York City on May 15th where the award will be presented.
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Friday, April 25, 2008
New Washington Post Education Reporter Gets It Wrong
In today's story about the demographics of traditional public and charter schools Mr. Turque writes:
Reliable information was especially scarce when it came to the city's 72 charter schools, which are publicly funded but governed and operated by private, nonprofit boards.
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Reliable information was especially scarce when it came to the city's 72 charter schools, which are publicly funded but governed and operated by private, nonprofit boards.
The boards of charter schools are not private. While it may take a little effort to determine who serves on these boards and when they meet anyone can attend these sessions and minutes can be obtained from the D.C. Public Charter School Board.If Mr. Turque is quoting from the Brookings Institution report then I question the accuracy of the entire study.
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Thursday, April 24, 2008
George Will
in a column today provides us with the depressing history of the Federal government's involvement in education. A must read for all in the reform movement.
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Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Rhee Chose The Wrong Option
In a Washington Post story today by Theola Labbe, oh wait, I'm mistaken, the story is by Bill Turgue. Apparently the fine reporter who has been doing a wonderful job following the escapades of DCPS for a couple of years is no longer allowed to write education stories. She will be greatly missed.
Anyway, Mr. Turgue repeats the options that are available to Ms. Rhee under NCLB as to what to do with schools that fail to meet AYP for five years. One of those choices was to turn them into charters. This is the course she should have picked.
Now she plans to hire charter school operators to fix the mess that is D.C.'s high schools. But these organizations will be operating out of their nature. They are used to making up their own rules and hiring who they want. But in this case these companies will not have this freedom.
When people or systems that have succeeded in the past are coerced into doing things outside their nature then we should not be surprised when they fail.
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Anyway, Mr. Turgue repeats the options that are available to Ms. Rhee under NCLB as to what to do with schools that fail to meet AYP for five years. One of those choices was to turn them into charters. This is the course she should have picked.
Now she plans to hire charter school operators to fix the mess that is D.C.'s high schools. But these organizations will be operating out of their nature. They are used to making up their own rules and hiring who they want. But in this case these companies will not have this freedom.
When people or systems that have succeeded in the past are coerced into doing things outside their nature then we should not be surprised when they fail.
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Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Benefit of NCLB
I'm against the law as much or more then anyone. To me NCLB is an unconstitutional intrusion by the Federal government in a matter that should be left to the states. Also, to me it's contradictory to expect charter schools to be innovative and figure out for the first time how to education inner city students while at the same time living under the fear of being labeled "failing" and while having to run a start-up business.
But the question for you all this morning is whether the 10 District of Columbia High Schools would have been restructured without this legislation being in place? The answer is most definitely no.
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But the question for you all this morning is whether the 10 District of Columbia High Schools would have been restructured without this legislation being in place? The answer is most definitely no.
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Sunday, April 20, 2008
Growing Influence Of Public Charter Schools
Friends of Choice in Urban Schools recently announced that charter schools now education 31% of all public school students in the nation's capital. But if we add the 2,600 kids that are in failing public high schools that are about to be turned over to charter school operators then the percentage swells to 42%.
This means that the number of students educated by DCPS and D.C.'s charter school movement are just about even.
Quite impressive considering that each charter school is in essence its own company.
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This means that the number of students educated by DCPS and D.C.'s charter school movement are just about even.
Quite impressive considering that each charter school is in essence its own company.
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Thursday, April 17, 2008
Why Not Doar?
Dion Haynes of the Washington Post reveals today the six nonprofits who will bid to take over 10 failing high schools in the District. Friendship Charter School is on the list. Why can't WEDJ compete? We were just approved to expand to the Tri-Community campus which enrolls 130 students. Our Edgewood Street site is over-enrolled with 710 kids and many more on waiting lists. We made AYP last year.
I think we deserve a shot at it. Ms. Rhee should give me a call.
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I think we deserve a shot at it. Ms. Rhee should give me a call.
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Monday, April 14, 2008
The Real Obama
Expressed perfectly by the editors of the Wall Street Journal.
And Bill Kristol wonders whether the candidate is actually a Communist. What I don't understand is how none of the liberal columnists in the Washington Post or New York Times write about Obama's recent comments.
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And Bill Kristol wonders whether the candidate is actually a Communist. What I don't understand is how none of the liberal columnists in the Washington Post or New York Times write about Obama's recent comments.
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Friday, April 11, 2008
Establishment Clause
I am still hoping that an establishment of religion U.S. Supreme Court case arises out of a desire for Catholic schools in the district to continue teaching religion once they covert to charters. As I've pointed out in this space I believe that, based upon the precedent in the Zelman case, the Justices would say that this does not violate the separation of church and state. However, another establishment issue may beat me to the punch.
Theola Labbe of the Washington Post reports that as part of their application to the D.C. charter school board the Archdiocese of Washington has proposed using a non-profit charter school operator, Center City Public Charter Schools, to run the seven facilities undergoing the conversion. Center City would then pay the Archiocese rent to use their facilities.
All told we are talking about $14.5 million a year in public funds going into the church's bank account. Again, I argue that their is no constitutional infraction here because the money is simply following the child.
But it's difficult to believe that some group, like the ACLU, will not challenge this reasoning.
Life doesn't get much better then this.
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Theola Labbe of the Washington Post reports that as part of their application to the D.C. charter school board the Archdiocese of Washington has proposed using a non-profit charter school operator, Center City Public Charter Schools, to run the seven facilities undergoing the conversion. Center City would then pay the Archiocese rent to use their facilities.
All told we are talking about $14.5 million a year in public funds going into the church's bank account. Again, I argue that their is no constitutional infraction here because the money is simply following the child.
But it's difficult to believe that some group, like the ACLU, will not challenge this reasoning.
Life doesn't get much better then this.
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Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Fuzzy Math
Andrew Coulson of the Cato Institute published an editorial recently in the Washington Post, and followed this up with a detailed blog post, estimating that D.C. spends about $24,000 to educate each child in their public school system. I estimated the number at $12,000. To reach his conclusion Mr. Coulson counts construction dollars and money tied to teacher retirement funds.
He then goes on to say that private schools are spending a little over $14,500 per pupil which makes it appear that these institutions are far more efficient.
However, if he is going to add funds for buildings and retirement accounts then Mr. Coulson must apply the same reasoning to private schools. Costs that would need to be included would be items such as capital campaigns, bank loans, and contributions that were used for facilities. 403(b) or 401(k) contributions from the schools would also be in the mix.
I think that unless Mr. Coulson captures these expenditures then his comparison between public and private costs to educate their children is like, well, between DCPS and charter schools. It doesn't work.
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He then goes on to say that private schools are spending a little over $14,500 per pupil which makes it appear that these institutions are far more efficient.
However, if he is going to add funds for buildings and retirement accounts then Mr. Coulson must apply the same reasoning to private schools. Costs that would need to be included would be items such as capital campaigns, bank loans, and contributions that were used for facilities. 403(b) or 401(k) contributions from the schools would also be in the mix.
I think that unless Mr. Coulson captures these expenditures then his comparison between public and private costs to educate their children is like, well, between DCPS and charter schools. It doesn't work.
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Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Boston Globe Wins Pulitzer For Criticism
Boston Globe writer Mark Feeney won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for criticism. One of the stories that the paper submitted for consideration was the author's review of the recent Edward Hopper retrospective. Here's his piece.
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Monday, April 07, 2008
Is Obama Ready For America
Walter Williams turns around the question of whether America is ready for Obama and finds that the answer is clearly no.
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Friday, April 04, 2008
WEDJ Is Full
At a wonderful national lottery event at the William E. Doar, Jr. Public Charter School for the Performing Arts attended by Nelson Smith, President of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Romona Edelin, Executive Director of the D.C. Association of Charter Schools, a WAMU reporter, and staff from FOCUS we pulled more then 525 names out of a purple jack-o-lantern to fill our Edgewood Street Campus. There are no places left and plenty of people on the waiting list for grades Pre-K through 11.
There is, however, space available at our Northwest campus. We have about 100 students so far so that leaves 30 slots for those who might be interested.
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There is, however, space available at our Northwest campus. We have about 100 students so far so that leaves 30 slots for those who might be interested.
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