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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Thursday, April 03, 2008
Keep Them Coming
On the same day that Dena Levitz of the Examiner reports that student enrollment in DCPS is even lower then officials thought, the Charter School Board releases the names of 11 applicants for new schools.
By my count three of these new schools would focus on special educations kids. But the most interesting application has to be the conversion of seven catholic schools to charters representing over 1,000 students.
The count demonstrated that DCPS currently has about 49,000 people enrolled while the charters have 22,000. So 30% of all D.C. kids now attend a charter school. This means that it is highly probable that by the next academic year charters will educate half the number of students as DCPS.
Now that's a powerful movement.
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By my count three of these new schools would focus on special educations kids. But the most interesting application has to be the conversion of seven catholic schools to charters representing over 1,000 students.
The count demonstrated that DCPS currently has about 49,000 people enrolled while the charters have 22,000. So 30% of all D.C. kids now attend a charter school. This means that it is highly probable that by the next academic year charters will educate half the number of students as DCPS.
Now that's a powerful movement.
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Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Not So Fast
Marc Fisher of the Washington Post blogs about D.C. catholic schools converting to charters, making the point that these institutions will be diminished once they cannot teach religion. But as I've pointed out in this space before I don't think that just because these schools become charters they need to stop talking about god. See my posts on this subject.
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Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Finally Some Original Thought
Reason's Ron Bailey pointed me towards an article by Karl Manheim and Jamie Court of the Christian Science Monitor in which the authors claim that forcing people to purchase private health insurance may be unconstitutional:
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A health insurance mandate is essentially a forced contract, in which one party (the insurer) gets to set the terms. You must buy their policies, even if you prefer to self-insure, rely on alternative medicine, or obtain treatment outside the system. In constitutional terms, such mandates may constitute a violation of due process or a "taking of property."Here's the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution for all of you who don't have it memorized:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.The mandate that people purchasing health insurance (an idea as a libertarian I have never been comfortable with) is put forth by politicians like Hilliary Clinton and Barak Obama for a public purpose. They don't want the costs associated with treating people without coverage shifted to those who do. Looks to me like if this idea really caught on we would be going straight to the Supreme Court.
