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I-1240 Would Put Washington in Top Spot Among Nation’s Charter School States, Says Leading Charter School Group
If voters pass an initiative allowing charter schools, Washington will become one of the nation’s leaders in its embrace of the nontraditional mode of educating students with public funds.
Under Initiative 1240, charter schools would operate with as much or more flexibility, access to funding and accountability than allowed under laws now on the books in 41 states and the District of Columbia.
State Schools Chief Randy Dorn: Graduation Rates Among Minority and At-Risk Students ‘Too Low’
Washington students are making steady progress on state tests, but too many – especially minority kids – are still failing to reach the big goal of graduating from high school on time, state education officials said Wednesday. … [State...
Public Charter Schools Under I-1240 Would Give Parents and Students More Options
When it comes to educating our children, most Washington parents agree that more options are a good thing. That’s why it’s surprising that Washington is not already one of the 41 states that allows parents to choose whether our children can attend a public charter school. It’s especially odd given the high premium our state puts on education and innovation.
I-1240 Makes the Goal of a High Quality Public Education For All Students More Possible
Initiative 1240, Washington’s experimental toe dip into charter schools, promises to be serious heavy lifting. Opponents are not going to concede and agree to even a limited, publicly accountable experiment in an education system still structured and governed as it was 100 years ago. …
Public Charter School Opponents Caught “Cherry-Picking”, Ignoring Dozens of Studies Reporting High Academic Success in Charters
The official Voters’ Guide Pro and Con statements on Initiative 1240 just came out. I-1240 seeks to lift the state ban on charter schools. I was surprised to read in the Con statement the claim that, “Research conducted by Stanford University and...
Q&A with Teachers United’s Chris Eide: Washington Needs a Public Charter School Option
…Washington state is one of only nine states that don’t have charter schools. But voters can change that in November if they approve Initiative 1240, which will allow up to 40 charters statewide over five years. Chris Eide, who heads a Seattle-based ed reform group called Teachers United, tells redefinED in this emailed Q&A that it’s the students who struggle the most who will benefit if voters say yes.
State Rep. Pettigrew: Charter Schools Will Help Children Now Falling Through the Cracks
State Rep. Eric Pettigrew represents a southeast Seattle legislative district with five of the lowest-performing schools in the state. He’s unsuccessfully tried to get charter schools passed in Olympia and he’s pushed for stronger teacher evaluations. …
Pettigrew represents a small but growing number of legislators who are part of a group called Democrats for Education Reform.
State Officials Certify More Than Enough Signatures to Put Charter School Approval Measure on November Ballot
… A measure that would allow for the creation of charter schools in Washington will go before voters Nov. 6, after backers of the plan succeeded in collecting enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot. Secretary of State Sam Reed says his...
New York City Charters Earn High Marks as Portals of Achievement and Opportunity for At-Risk Youth
During the eight years I served as chancellor of New York City’s public schools, the naysayers and the apologists for the status quo kept telling me “we’ll never fix education in America until we fix poverty.”
I always thought they had it backward, that “we’ll never fix poverty until we fix education.” Let me be clear. Poverty matters: Its debilitating psychological and physical effects often make it much harder to successfully educate kids who grow up in challenged environments. And we should do everything we can to ameliorate the effects of poverty by giving kids and families the support they need. But that said, I remain convinced that the best cure for poverty is a good education.