DFER News Round Up
By Devin Boyle, DFER’s Director of Communications
DFER Seen & Heard:
- Joe Williams tells the WSJ, “New York can now claim the prize for having spent more time debating the release of these evaluations than the makeup of the evaluations themselves” – PS: We did not change our name to Democrats for Evaluation Reform.
- “Organized parents and donors can have a tremendous impact on the political landscape, even if they raise only a fraction of what they are talking about,” says Joe Williams after hearing about a new organization started by a group of Charter School Parents. (GothamSchools)
- Groups – DFER included – send a letter to NEA and AFT asking teachers’ unions to promote reform policies at the state level. (Huffington Post)
- “Obama Administration Softens Position On DC Voucher Program,” as reported in the Huffington Post. DFER’s Barone gives his take.
- Hard work pays off in Jersey for more than just the cast of Jersey Shore (Although we prefer Jerseylicious): DFER applauds bill in NJ Senate overhauling teacher tenure (NorthJersey.com)
- “We are on the path toward change, ” says DFER’s Romero regarding the recent support of parent trigger laws by the US Conference of Mayors. (Reuters)
- DFER gets a mention in Dropout Nation’s post, “Rahm Emanuel’s Ronald Reagan Moment.”
- Indiana’s Gubernatorial Candidates – Including DFER’s Reformer of the Month, John Gregg – Outline their Education Platforms (NPR)
- The spotlight is on Chicago: The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Vote to Authorize Strike. (Chicago Sun-Times, CBS Chicago)
From DFER’s Blog:
- “After Parental Choice, Then What?,” asks DFER MI State Director Harrison Blackmond. (DFER’s Blog)
- DFER’s Barone calls out Diane Ravitch in his post, “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them (with apologies to Al Franken).” (DFER’s Blog)
- DFER’s Joe Williams pens, “Empire State Teacher Evaluation Freak Show, Part 6.” (DFER’s Blog)
- Teacher contract negotiations take a dangerous turn for kids in Chicago, reports DFER’s Huffman. (DFER’s Blog)
- DFER’s Lisa Macfarlne asks, “What’s Behind the Curtain of WA’s Innovation Schools?” (DFER’s Blog)
DFER Advocacy:
- Read DFER’s breakdown of requests & allocations in the FY13 Labor, HHS, & Education Bill. (DFER Advocacy)
In Related News:
- DFER gets some mentions in the policy brief by Alexander Russo, “The Successful Failure of Ed in ’08.” (AEI)
- The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools reports that 610,000 students are on waiting lists to attend charter schools (up from about 200,000 two years ago).
- Senate Panel Approves Small Funding Increase for Education Department. (Ed Week)
- LA Unified School District is ordered to use students’ academic achievement in teacher evaluations. (Dropout Nation & LA Times)
- Former Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, says she withdrew from advising Romney’s campaign once he rejected strong federal accountability measures as part of his education agenda. (NYT)
Videos Worth Watching:
- Just for fun: Conan schools 1st graders on the art of singing the blues. (YouTube)
- Ed Week’s video on Obama’s record on education in his first term.
- DFER’s Huffman appears on NBC Chicago to weigh in on CTU strike authorization vote.
- DFER’s CA State Director, Gloria Romero, discusses Gov. Jerry Brown’s stance on education. She says, “We’re still waiting to see where Gov. Jerry Brown will be.”
Call to Action:
- Contribute to DFER
- Support our Reformer of the Month
- Sign our Statement of Principles