DFER’s Senate Confirmation Hearing Questions for Betsy DeVos

Originally posted on dfer.org  From DFER President Shavar Jeffries:    On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate HELP Committee will convene the confirmation hearing for Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, conservative activist Betsy DeVos. From what we know about the education agenda of President-elect Trump and Mrs. DeVos, we are deeply troubled. There is simply

ERNed Media: 2016 Year in Review

As we approach the end of 2016, here’s another look back at some of our year’s most popular content. Here is your top 12 reading list for December and the holiday break. Happy holidays to all and we’ll be back in 2017! ERNed Media 2016 Year in Review: Top 12 Reading List from Education Reform Now

Statement from Shavar Jeffries on Hillary Clinton’s New College Compact

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Following Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s speech on higher education with Senator Bernie Sanders at the University of New Hampshire this week, Education Reform Now (ERN) President Shavar Jeffries released the following statement: “Sharing the stage with her former rival, Hillary Clinton laid out a bold vision for the future of American

2016 | First Presidential Debate Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump on Education | Part 4 – Early Childhood Education

By Charles Barone and Marianne Lombardo   This is the 4th in a series of pre-debate blog posts. See also: Part 1 – “One of Them Is a Wonk” Part 2 – “What’s the Proper Federal Role?” Part 3 – “Public Charter Schools, Parental Choice, & Quality” Early Childhood Education Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have very different plans

2016 | First Presidential Debate Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump on Education | Part 3 – Public Charter Schools, Parental Choice, and Quality

By Charles Barone and Marianne Lombardo This is the 3rd in a series of pre-debate blog posts. To see Part 1,  click here. To see Part 2, click here. Public charter schools came up several times in the Democratic primaries, with both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders making comments that concerned charter supporters. Clinton course-corrected subsequently, emphasizing her strong support

2016 | First Presidential Debate: Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump on Education | Part 2: What’s the Proper Federal Role in Education?

This is the 2nd in a series of pre-debate blog posts. To see Part 1,  click: here. By Charles Barone and Marianne Lombardo On December 10th, 2015, President Obama signed into law the “Every Student Succeeds Act” (ESSA), Congress’s long overdue reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the first reauthorization since No Child Left Behind in

2016 | First Presidential Debate: Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump on Education | Part 1: One of Them is a Wonk

  By Charles Barone and Marianne Lombardo Last night, Lester Holt, the moderator for the first Presidential debate on Monday, September 26,  announced the topics he will cover with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump: “America’s Direction,” “Achieve Prosperity” and “Securing America.” They’re pretty nebulous so, who knows, maybe even education will come up. Here’s a rundown of the candidates’

Higher Education Reform Now

By Michael Dannenberg Do you think higher education is held accountable for poor outcomes? No? Me neither. On one end of the spectrum, we have high-quality, wealthy colleges reaping the benefits of public support despite serving an unacceptably low number of working class and low-income students. On the other end, we have significantly underperforming and

Donald Trump’s Education Week

By Michael Dannenberg According to press reports, Donald Trump’s “education week” begins next Monday (August 29th) – timed to coincide with ‘back-to-school’ happenings. He’s expected to push traditional Republican fare like private school vouchers, anti-Common Core standards rhetoric, and a general beating up of teachers and their unions (e.g. tenure, collective bargaining, etc., etc.). Unfortunately, some good

Education Reform Now Celebrates Historic Week at DNC Convention & Camp Philos 2016

After an exhilarating week in Philadelphia, Education Reform Now is reinvigorated in our ability to influence the progressive direction of our Party and our nation’s education policies. We kicked off the week with our third-annual Camp Philos that featured some of the biggest names in politics and policy. Below is a recap of our speakers’ comments and