A crtitique of Brill’s “Class Warfare”

It’s not often I would describe a book on education reform as a page-turner, but Steven Brill’s book Class Warfare kept me engaged late into the night.  I thought “Wow, someone has finally described some of the political battles underlying the current reform wars.”

Brill’s book is a dramatic rendering of a few of the characters (friends like Democrats for Education Reform chief Joe Williams and Colorado State Sen. Mike Johnston) and the work undertaken to reform public education in this country.

While there is much that has been reported by others about Teach for America, KIPP, high performing charters and heroic figures like Wendy Kopp and Eva Moskowitz in the education reform movement, Brill manages to pull it all together into a compelling narrative about state and federal education policy change.

Brill captures many of the interconnecting relationships between the practioners in schools and the policy advocates at the city, state and federal levels.   He describes how many of the players like Jon Schnur came to education reform and how Alan Bersin’s work in San Diego led to the work of Michelle Rhee in DC and Joel Klein in New York. He also does a good job of showing how instrumental Race to the Top was to the reform movement, while shedding light on the drama around choosing states. The book reminded me of a fast paced education reform version of All the Presidents’ Men or the British series Traffik without the sex, drugs, violence and crime (hey, it’s public education).

2 of 7 DPS board members overspend

Updated – Two of Denver’s seven school board members exceeded their credit-card limits, including one member who spent nearly $13,000

Dougco to seek tax increases

Douglas County will ask voters for more operating and building dollars on Nov. 1, and the Daniels Fund joins the district’s voucher fight

Wednesday Churn: Budget outlook worse

Updated – State finances are in even worse shape than previously thought, a new DU study finds.

From the publisher: EdNews site enhancements

Today, we are introducing some enhancements to the Education News Colorado website.

As time goes by, we learn more about gaps in information that a site like ours can fill. We also study data from Google Analytics and elsewhere to see which of our offerings are most popular with readers. We’re committed to being responsive to what our readers want and need.

Here is a list of what’s new on the site, all of it easily found through our new, secondary menu bar, which sits under the main menu bar, just below the EdNews logo:

• Easy access to databases. Our searchable databases of information on subjects including test scores, remediation rates, state ratings and drug offenses by schools are now grouped conveniently under a new heading on the secondary menu bar. Click on the EdNews’ databases item under the Data Center heading to find the list of databases.
• In-depth issues. Another new secondary menu bar item highlights a current education issue to which we’ve dedicated extensive coverage. This item debuts with a link to all EdNews stories on the Lobato funding adequacy trial.
• Timely topics. Here is the place to go if you want to sound like an education wonk. Read our CliffsNotes-like summaries and descriptions of complex education topics and you’ll be able to spout off on issues like those on the site today — state testing, school funding and vouchers. Over time we will add additional topics pages. Do you have a topic in mind you’d like to see summarized in an accurate, objective fashion? Drop us a line.
• Easier access to education law and bill tracker features. The secondary menu bar now provides easy, one-click access to this popular and useful feature. The tracker allows you to read new education law and, during the legislative session, bills that are working their way through the system.

Why won’t DPS spread ELL success to innovation schools?

The following article was submitted to EdNews by Denver school board member Andrea Mérida. It is also posted on her blog

While the politics of education reform swirl all around us, it’s important to keep clear on what works and what doesn’t. The good news is that the Denver Public Schools is actually doing very well in supporting a particular segment of our student population, English learners.

The confusing part is that we seem ready to ignore that fact and follow a path that is completely divergent from real, lasting reform. The right path to close the achievement gap and provide opportunity for all Denver’s students is clear, and we would do well to heed the evidence.

In 1999, the Department of Justice won a decision on behalf of the Congress of Hispanic Educators which asserted that the Denver Public Schools lacked adequate programs for students of limited English proficiency. DPS was ordered to allow parents to choose either full Spanish-language instruction, sheltered instruction (English with instructions in Spanish) or complete English immersion for their children (Click here to read those court documents).

Around 35 percent of DPS students are classified as English language learners (ELLs). Not all these students come from Spanish-speaking homes; they also speak Vietnamese, Arabic, Somali, Nepali, and Karen/Burmese. Spanish-speaking students represent around 57 percent of DPS’ ELL population.

The CSAPs taken in March 2011 show that “exited” ELLs, or those students who now are proficient enough to be placed in English-only classrooms, outperform district averages. Keeping in mind that these standardized tests are only an indicator of performance, these students also have surpassed Asian/Pacific Islander and Anglo students in many categories. These exited ELLs now take the CSAP in English.

The following graphs show the percentages of elementary-aged ELLs scoring at or above proficiency in subjects tested by CSAP. ELLs outperform their Anglo counterparts in reading, writing and math and are very competitive with Asian students in science.

Experts share tips on early literacy

The statistical handwriting is on the wall for the 16,000 Colorado third-graders who are functionally illiterate – if only they could read it

Lobato 8/30: Bob Schaffer sticks to his guns

State Board of Education chairman Bob Schaffer has a firm opinion about the meaning of a thorough and uniform education

Tuesday Churn: Daniels joins voucher fight

Updated – The Daniels Fund is giving $330,000, with the promise of matching $200,000 more, to defend the Dougco voucher pilot

Lobato 8/29: Can’t fire your way to Finland

One Lobato case expert took apart another expert’s claims during video testimony Monday.