DFER News Round up
By Devin Boyle, Director of Communications
Grab your margaritas (too early?). You’re in for a long one…
DFER Seen & Heard:
- Op-ed Alert: DFER’s Gloria Romero co-authors, “Open enrollment unlocks path to choice,” for The Sacramento Bee
- “The CTU is jumping the gun and we are concerned that the union is getting more aggressive and confrontational,” said DFER’s Huffman regarding the Chicago Teachers Union’s strike authorization vote (WLS)
- Group airs radio ads against teachers union strike authorization vote (Chicago Sun-Times, Huffington Post, & PBS)
- The Columbian says it’s time to try charter schools in Washington – Good call, friend
- Joe Williams comments on the battle in Chicago over a possible strike vote by the Chicago Teachers Union in the Chicago Tribune (Pretty sure you can catch a glimpse of DFER’s Rebeca Nieves Huffman in the third row of the photo)
- Eric Bauman, Chairman of the LA Democratic Party vs. DFER’s own Gloria Romero in a fight over the use of the word “Democrats” and the race to elect ed reformer Brian Johnson (LA Weekly)
- Teacher unions fight to keep clout with Democrats (Reuters)
From DFER’s Blog:
- Guest Post by Sean Andersen of Education Reform Now: “Parents in NYC are looking for a candidate to champion their cause” (DFER’s Blog)
- Colorado Senator Mike Johnston Talks Teacher Evaluations in Indiana (DFER’s Blog)
- Happy Birthday to Us: DFER celebrated its 5th birthday yesterday (DFER’s Blog)
- “Preparing High School Students to do More Than Just Graduate,” by DFER CO Board Member, Van Schoales (DFER’s Blog)
- DFER’s Katy Venskus asks, “Will Milwaukee finally elect an Education Reform Caucus?” (DFER’s Blog)
Coalition Work:
- A group of advocacy organizations – DFER Included – sent a letter to Congress asking them to fund competitive teacher-quality program (Coverage by Ed Week)
In Related News:
- “Students vs. the Status Quo: California lawsuits target teachers’ union work rules” (City Journal)
- Chicago Public Schools question process behind the Chicago Teachers Union’s strike authorization vote (Chicago Tribune)
- More than ½ of high school grads without a college degree said their generation would have less financial success than their parents according to a recent study, as reported by The New York Times
- 17 year old Latino student in LA says he felt less prepared compared to kids of other races (Huffington Post)
- 8 more states are awarded waivers from the DOE. The question is – how many more will be added to the list? Total to date = 19 (Huffington Post)
Videos Worth Watching:
- Because it’s our birthday – that’s why: 4 year old sings happy birthday in 6 languages (YouTube)
- Melinda Gates speaks to PBS Newshour on the importance of evaluations in shaping effective teaching
- Ed Week’s video clip summarizing Romney’s education agenda
A little something Extra:
- Track your state’s graduation rate trends over the past 10 years with Education Week’s Interactive Map
- See where your state stands in the waiver process using the Council of Chief State School Officers’ State ESEA Flexibility Map
Call to Action:
- Contribute to DFER
- Support our Reformer of the Month
- Sign our Statement of Principles
And, as always – Have a great weekend!