I Hugged a Leader of the Ohio Federation of Teachers Today

By Marianne Lombardo A glimmer of hope shined in one of the most contentious education reform states today.     The Thomas B. Fordham Institute hosted an event to release their latest report, Quality in Adversity: Lessons from Ohio’s Best Charter Schools. The report selectively surveyed leaders from the state’s 110 most successful public charter

Too Much Testing? Top Ten Takeaways from Obama’s Policy Announcement

By Charles Barone President Obama got a lot of attention over the weekend for his plan to limit annual student testing to 2% of class time. Obama remarked that he’s heard from parents who worry “about too much testing, and from teachers who feel so much pressure to teach to a test that it takes

A College Fund for Every Union Family

By Michael Dannenberg Here’s an idea. Did you catch the New York Times article a few weeks ago about the union-founded and owned Amalgamated Bank that has carved out a niche as the financial institution of choice for left-leaning non-profits and Democratic campaign committees? Well, maybe Amalgamated should pursue a mutually beneficial deal with its

Getting Accountability Right

By Marianne Lombardo Disagreements over accountability nearly brought down ESEA reauthorization. It also nearly took down the Ohio Department of Education. In both situations, public officials should remember that their obligation is to protect the public trust – not politics. Most importantly, what shouldn’t get lost in the politics is a needed discussion about accountability,

Sen. Sherrod Brown Wisely Withdraws Charter Amendment

Here, we would like to think, is why. By Marianne Lombardo Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) offered an ESEA amendment to “improve accountability and transparency” of public charter schools. DFER, and other organizations, believed the amendment would crush public charter schools. Although the amendment will not be voted on, it’s important that the implications be addressed.

Arne Duncan’s Improvement Plan

Guest blog post by Akeem Anderson One year ago this week, Randi Weingarten and the American Federation of Teachers voted to place Education Secretary Arne Duncan on a “Needs Improvement” plan.   As part of the plan, the AFT asked that President Obama implement a: [S]ecretary improvement plan…based upon: [1] Standing up for public education; [2]

NEA, Civil Rights, and Declarations of Independence

By Charles Barone As the National Education Association holds its annual conference this week in Orlando, Florida, it will be interesting to see if they acknowledge their increasing and, arguably, unprecedented isolation from other education stakeholders, including some of their own members. For definitive coverage, check in regularly with Stephen Sawchuk of Education Week’s “Teacher

John Oliver – This Moment in History Requires a Bigger Vision Than That Of Privileged Anti-Testers

By Marianne Lombardo Baltimore burned because black people’s lives are devalued by systematic, institutionalized unfairness in the justice, economic, and education systems. Anger is the manifestation of despair. The Telegraph writes “While black men of all economic backgrounds face many pressures, those without hope for economic opportunity are the most likely to explode.” Earlier today,

RealClear Education: Education Focus Needed to Help America's Working Families

By Charles Barone, DFER Policy Director   RCEd Commentary In America’s longstanding fight to expand job opportunities and improve social equality, the largest socioeconomic influencer is often grossly forgotten: education. And the country’s most powerful labor group can be the one to change that, if it resolves the conflicting interests between union members whose children

Education Focus Needed to Help America’s Working Families

By Charles Barone   In America’s longstanding fight to expand job opportunities and improve social equality, the largest socioeconomic influencer is often grossly forgotten: education. And the country’s most powerful labor group can be the one to change that, if it resolves the conflicting interests between union members whose children attend public schools and teachers