These seats shouldn't be empty. Let's make sure all the children are here.

What’s happening in the Dropout Nation:

1. The past couple of days has been filled with news about the various Race to the Top applications. You can check out the applications submitted by Indiana, Tennessee, Illinois, Alabama, Ohio, and California. Alexander Russo offers a more-comprehensive list; Andy Smarick offers some thoughts; and Neal McCluskey wishes it would all fade away (with the help of newly-elected U.S. Senator Scott Brown).
2. The Wall Street Journal editorial board offers some advice to Arne Duncan on spending the Race to the Top money. Pick the best and most-innovative plans, they say, and forget a “Race to the Middle”.
3. At EducationNews, Linda Schrock Taylor offers a few suggestions on how schools should teach reading. Start with by not bothering to teach it at all. She’s just kidding (I think).
4. John Fensterwald looks at the latest NAEP data and sees bad news for the Golden State. Not exactly surprising.
5. In the Detroit Free Press, the state-appointed finance czar (and school district overlord-in-waiting) Robert Bobb proposes that he and others should be “righting the great wrongs” of educational neglect that happens daily within the district. Well, it is a start.
6. Charter Insights responds to AFT New York City honcho Michael Mulgrew’s latest paean against lifting New York State’s charter school cap.
7. The SacBee offers a database on average teacher salaries in its region. It notes that the average teacher saw a 1.8 percent increase in pay.

More coming later this afternoon. Until then, enjoy this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast and commentary on the need to bring diversity of thought and coverage to education reporting. A video featuring D.C. Public Schools’ teacher quality czar will come in the next hour.

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If only if this was the Redskins instead of the Jets. Photo courtesy of ESPN.

What’s happening in the dropout nation that doesn’t involve pigskin:

1. In New York, Randi Weingarten’s successor as head of the American Federation of Teachers’ New York City local is using the language of Gary Orfield and Richard Kahlenberg in his opposition to the lifting of New York State’s charter school cap. In the Daily News , United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew declares that “charter schools are actually becoming a separate and unequal branch of public education”, citing the low levels of ELL students in some charters. Could it be that the parents of these students, mostly immigrants themselves, don’t have the sophistication or access to information about charters to make a different choice than send their kids to traditional public schools? Or could it be that, like parents of special ed students, ELL parents tend to think that traditional public schools can handle those children better than charters, even though the evidence of this is sparse (and often, would lean against that conclusion)? Mulgrew doesn’t ponder either of these matters. But certainly he wouldn’t. Mulgrew isn’t thinking about equality or integration. Or even about the kids under the care of his rank-and-file.  He’s thinking about the best interests of his union.
2. Meanwhile in Albany, the notoriously dysfunctional state legislature is looking to strip the State University of New York of its power to authorize charters, according to Cara Matthews. This is the price Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (and his ally, the AFT’s New York State affiliate, which opposes charters altogether) hope to extract in exchange for lifting the cap on charters. As you would expect, Gov. David Paterson and charter school advocates oppose this exercise in school reform futility. This isn’t exactly New York’s Race to the Top.
3. Even worse, as the New York Times reports, the New York City Department of Education, one of the most-aggressive charter authorizers, would also lose the authorizing role under the plan. Apparently, Silver and the AFT’s New York State local wants to make sure that either New York State is out of Race to the Top or that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his schools chief, Joel Klein, lose as much as possible under the plan. Although I am generally against allowing school districts to have authorizing power (mostly because they tend to never use it and keep out charters), New York City has been the exception and should keep the authorizing ability. As usual, this is typical teachers union/Sheldon Silver politics. Neither are worthy of respect.
4. Meanwhile Paterson proposes to give SUNY and the City University of New York freedom from state budgeting, reports the Press & Sun-Bulletin. This includes allowing the universities to raise tuition without legislative approval. As I’ve noted in a 2008 Hechinger Institute report, such freedom tends to not work out well for college affordability or for expanding access to higher ed among poor students.
5. As for higher ed, InsideHigherEd reports that public funding for state universities is on a “historic” decline. Now this depends on what you mean by decline. As their chart notes, higher ed funding has still increased by more than 19 percent (and a 29 percent increase, if you add federal stimulus funds into the equation). Cry me a river.
6. San Diego Union-Tribune writer Dean Calbreath looks at the recent Alliance for Excellent Education, EdWeek and Bureau of Labor Statistics data and concludes that dropping out equals fewer job opportunities.
7. The L.A. Times opines about the Matthew Kim teacher termination saga and concludes that the entire system of teacher hiring and compensation needs an overhaul.
8. Speaking of teacher compensation: Battles over teachers pensions and retirement benefits are starting to heat up. Vermont is the battleground this time around. The NEA’s Vermont affiliate is already on the warpath.
9. John Fensterwald reports on the growing opposition to Common Core Standards, especially among mathematicians. This battling over the value of a national curriculum — some would say it already exists — is going to be an undercurrent in the battle over the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.
10. Entrepreneur Sramana Mitra takes a look at how technology can be deployed to improve education.
11. EducationNews‘ Michael Shaughnessy interviews Anthony Rao, who looks at how schools teach boys and girls and how it may contribute to the former’s achievement gap issues.
12. Jay Mathews thinks the Brookings Institution’s recent study on education news coverage overstates the problem of mainstream reporting on ed news.
13. Don’t forget to check out this week’s Dropout Nation podcast. The commentary focuses on the need to improve leadership throughout school districts. Sure, teachers unions are part of the problem. But leadership at the district and school levels are also the reasons why so many school districts are in academic and bureaucratic freefall.
14. And given this is Martin Luther King day (and courtesy of Eduflack), don’t forget to listen to the famed ” Have a Dream” speech today. And remember, when it comes to education, we are far away from fulfilling either the dream and even further from the Promised Land. But we will get there soon.

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The dropout nation is brimming with news:

1. Matt Yglesias argues that some conservatives are moving past charters because they “don’t do anything to entrench the privileges of the wealthy.” As usual, Yglesias weakens his arguments with class warfare material instead of making a strong case for his position. For one, plenty of conservatives are supportive of charters; it’s usually hard-core libertarians — who, on principle, are opposed to any state intervention in education — and moderate Republicans representing suburban school districts (which oppose vouchers and charters altogether) who have issues with charters. Two, as seen in the case of D.C.‘s soon-to-be-shuttered voucher program and the pioneering program in Milwaukee (along with programs run by private foundations), all the kids attending private schools on vouchers are poor. If Yglesias is going to play the class warfare game, he should at least get it right.
2. In any case, charters and vouchers can both foster educational equity, especially for the poorest children, who couldn’t otherwise afford even the highest-quality Catholic schools. As I’ve reported in The Catholic World Report, Catholic archdioceses across the country struggle to maintain their position as the private schools of choice for poor immigrant, urban and rural families largely because of the costs. Allowing for both charters and vouchers, along with improving the quality of public education overall, helps to bring equity to all.
3. Speaking of charters: Diane Ravitch is at it again. At least she admits charter schools do work (even if it is a tad backhanded).
4. And the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools releases its rating of states today. The Washington Post has its take.
5. The Orlando Sentinel notes that only 14 Sunshine State districts have so far signed onto the state’s Race to the Top reform plan. Meanwhile the head of Florida’s PTA has taken a stand for Race to the Top participation.
6. Speaking of Race to the Top, Tom Carroll speculates on whether the state’s dysfunctional legislature will get the job done. Of course, the AFT’s New York State affiliate is key in this discussion — as as noted yesterday, aren’t exactly playing nice.
7. Speaking of the AFT, here is the video of union president Randi Weingarten’s announcement that it will begin supporting the use of student test score data in teacher evaluations. How much of this is proverbial rope-a-dope? As Andy Rotherham notes, Weingarten declares the union is turning over a new leaf every year with little in the way of follow-through. Weingarten’s letter in Monday’s Wall Street Journal (along with her classic “Bush II” comment last year) justifies the skepticism. But, as I’ve noted, the location of the AFT’s locals in hotbeds of reform, along with its history and demographics, makes it more likely that the union will actually walk the walk. Besides, as pointed out by the Education Equality Project, it’s a sweet way to stick it to the rival National Education Association (which has historically lagged behind the AFT in everything).
8. Meanwhile the guy causing all these dust-ups, Arne Duncan, gets a bashing from one outlet for lacking teaching experience. As if the most successful education reformers this past decade (or for that matter, this past century) have been teachers. By the way, my take on Duncan and the problems in reforming school districts is officially up today.
9. EducationNews’ Michael Shaughnessy interviews The Month of Zephram Mondays author Leslie A. Susskind. Short and interesting.
10. Chad Ratliff observes the appointment of a charter school-friendly state education chieftain in his home state of Virginia — a notoriously difficult state in which to start them — and is excited by the possibilities.
11. Joanne Jacobs comments on the latest round of charter school activity in L.A. and notes that charters are doing well by their students even if they have to admit all children– unlike magnet schools, which Richard Kahlenberg fails to point out in a screed dedicated to yours truly. As an aside: It is interesting that those arguing for equity support a form of public education that is inherently unequal and anti-family choice.
12. And for those interested in the role of broadband in education, here’s a PowerPoint presentation on distance learning and broadband given yesterday at the Broadband Breakfast by the Federal Communications Commission’s education director. Enjoy.

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Photo courtesy of AP

What’s happening in the dropout nation:

1. As readers know, I reported two years ago on the reality that high school exit exams are being watered down or basically rendered useless by so-called alternative methods that allow children to graduate despite being unable to pass the tests. Now the New York Times offers its own story on the same issue. Worth reading.
2. John Fensterwald notes that more districts in California signed on to the state’s ambitious Race to the Top agenda. Still, only eight of the top 10 districts (and 10 of the top 30) signed on, defying pressure from state NEA and AFT locals. Fensterwald also reports that the U.S. Department of Education official in charge of Race to the Top told a Northern California audience that she was pleasantly “stunned” by the response.
3. Speaking of districts, here’s my latest report in The American Spectator, this time on Arne Duncan, the bad news out of the Windy City about the district’s issues, and why reforming school districts (especially big urban districts) is so difficult to do.
4. And as for more Race to the Top news: Editorial pages in Boston and Buffalo advocate for their respective states to get off the wall and embrace reform. Meanwhile the AFT’s New York State affiliate is bringing out the proverbial shock troops to battle against the upcoming reform proposals, especially the lifting of the cap on charter schools. No shocker. (Thanks to Tom Carroll’s crew for the news).
5. Tom Vander Ark shakes his head at all the negative responses to California’s parent trigger law and other opposition to parental choice. Sadly, such elitism and expertist thinking is typical in education circles. And one wonders why parents struggle to be involved?
6. Graduation rate data is now streaming out of Indiana, D.C., and other states. In Milwaukee, there’s talk about forming a research and accountability group to observe the city’s woeful school system similar to the famed Consortium on Chicago School Research.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Dropout Nation Podcast. You can listen to the new one, on looking beyond Race to the Top, today.

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Photo courtesy of Jose Vilson

What the dropout nation is reading this Monday morning:after the NFL playoffs:

1. John Fensterwald notes Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s effort to revamp the state’s teacher seniority rules, which force districts to lay off their younger teachers first without regard to their performance. Fensterwald notes that if Schwarzenegger succeeds, districts will have to step up to the plate and conduct strong rigorous evaluations of teacher performance. Fensterwald also reports that some school districts are getting cold feet about Race to the Top participation.
2. In the Daily News, Tom Carroll takes to task Randi Weingarten’s replacement as head of New York City’s AFT local. Sample quote: “Mulgrew’s point is not actually the advancement of any specific proposal, but rather to throw out there as much mischief as possible to gum up charter schools”.
3. In Dropout Nation comments for Friday’s Read. Southern Education Foundation’s Steve Suitts, who co-wrote the recently-released A New Diverse Majority report, responds to Monise Seward’s criticisms of the study (and of education think tankers in general). He makes some important points about the study and its overall focus. I’m reading the report now for an upcoming Spectator report.
4. Virginia’s Democratic House leader argues that support for charter schools shouldn’t be a “partisan” issue.
5. School administrator Deron Durflinger offers a voucher-like kind of school reform: Give vouchers to parents, who can then directly select the teachers they want to teach their children. Intriguing idea. It could actually lead to greater parental engagement, improve student achievement and make teachers true professionals the way lawyers usually are.
6. Alan Bonsteel of California Parents for Educational Choice offers historical perspective on school choice and the Golden State’s recent school reform efforts.
7. Julia Steiny focuses on a union-sponsored charter school. A school not sponsored by either the NEA or AFT.
8. Kevin Carey observes the financial havoc within California’s university system and takes shots at the University of California’s leaders and wealthy students for their “faux solidarity” with poor collegians.

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The happy faces of children engaged in learning. It is a beautiful thing. (Photo courtesy of the New York Daily News)

As both the Bluegrass Policy Institute and Fordham’s Andy Smarick have pointed out, several states are putting together what can be best called Trojan Horses reform packages for Race to the Top funding. This can be expected. Even as state legislators and governors want to get their hands on the money, they must also stare down the teachers unions, suburban school districts and skeptical suburban parents who are satisfied with the status quo.

One area in which states may be able to fudge is in the requirement to remove restrictions on the growth of the charter school movement. The U.S. Department of Education regulations governing Race to the Top clearly states that caps on the number of charter schools allowed to be authorized must be removed (this can be found in Appendix B of this Ed Department answer sheet). But it doesn’t clearly state that other kinds of restrictions on charter school growth can exist. This is a problem. In many states, there are terms and rules in charter school laws that essentially act to restrict the growth of (and diversity within) charters.

One method is to limit their existence to large urban areas. In Missouri, charters can only be opened in St. Louis and Kansas City. Although the rules initially were written in order to bring competition and choice to poor urban families stuck with woeful traditional public schools, the rules essentially keep charters out of suburbia. Suburban districts, therefore, remain safe. Massachusetts’ own Race to the Top reforms, for example, still essentially restrict charter schools to the poorest and worst-performing school districts.

Another is to require charters to be approved by traditional school districts. Considering that they operate existing public schools, this also deters charter school expansion. Suburban school districts, in particular, have little reason to embrace any kind of competition. This is why there are fewer charters in Maryland and Virginia, which have this requirement, than in neighboring D.C., which doesn’t — even though D.C. has a far smaller student population. Although exceptions to the rule are usually made in the case of big cities — because charters are supposed to help the parents who live there — there are occasional exceptions: The massive Los Angeles Unified School District, for example, attempted to frustrate charter school expansion efforts until public pressure forced its hand.

And though Race to the Top regulations can be interpreted to ban states from restricting the kind of students that can attend charters, this may not necessarily stand up once the vetting process begins in earnest. As I’ve noted in my recent report on charter school diversity, Tennessee only allows charters to enroll students who previously attended other charters, were formerly enrolled in laggard traditional public schools, or have failed the state’s standardized tests. Such rules may be rare, but they do exist — and states may not feel the pressure to abide by the spirit of the program.

It isn’t enough to just lift a cap on the number of charter schools. Expanding where charters can operate will go a long way in providing all children and parents the kind of options they seek in order to improve their educational destinies. It also goes a long way towards blunting the objections of civil rights activists who see charters as merely a path towards segregation (and ignore the concerns black and Latino parents have for ensuring high-quality curricula — and the presence of successful role models of similar race and ethnicity — for their children).

There will be plenty of more battles to come, even as Race to the Top is clearly spurring states such as California and New York to engage in truly meaningful reforms. The pressures politicians face from opponents to Race to the Top is strong — especially for Democrats in fear of losing statehouse and congressional seats and Republicans representing suburbia. There’s also the lack of focus among school reformers on rallying parental backing. And in  many states, a lack of well-supported grassroots reformers is also a problem. In short, school reform is a long way from being sustainable.

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