Sparking the evolution of education choice
Who may run against Rick Scott. According to Florida Trend, at least six challengers are already lining up: Nan Rich, Alex Sink, Dan Gelber, Buddy Dyer, Jimmy Morales and Charlie Crist. Rich, Sink and Gelber have taken strong positions against many of Florida’s ed reforms, while Crist of course vetoed[Read More…]
Washington: Supporters of a charter school ballot initiative raise $5 million in six weeks, including another $2 million from Bill Gates (Associated Press). California: A judge rules that parents who won a parent trigger battle can open a charter school next fall (Los Angeles Times). Florida: A new initiative to[Read More…]
Pity the parent trigger. Its political identity crisis never ends. In Florida, the trigger erupted in a state House race this week, with a Democratic challenger accusing her Republican rival in an attack ad of voting last spring “to take control of our schools away from parents and teachers, and[Read More…]
Actress Viola Davis is great as a teacher/parent in “Won’t Back Down,” the potent movie about parental empowerment that’s hitting theaters Friday. But as a spokeswoman for school choice, she’s even better in real life. Here’s what she said the other night on “The Tonight Show,” to huge applause, after[Read More…]
We like to think of Florida as School Choice Central, but there is more competition for that title every year and, alas, according to the Center for Education Reform, it may now belong to Indiana. The Hoosier State takes the top spot in the center’s newly created “Parent Power Index,” released today, while Florida comes[Read More…]
After spending time at the Republican convention in Tampa and the Democratic convention in Charlotte, I needed to decompress, so I headed to Montana where I am now sitting on a hill watching a herd of deer graze in the meadow below. These deer have no funny hats on their[Read More…]
In Orlando back in June, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and other big-city Democratic mayors convinced the U.S. Conference of Mayors to unanimously endorse the idea of parent triggers – and were promptly savaged by critics. They were tools of ALEC, profiteers, enemies of public schools. Nutter just spoke to the DNC a[Read More…]
“We’re living in a revolutionary moment,” says Ben Austin, executive director of the Parent Revolution, as we begin our interview for redefinED’s inaugural podcast. And the moment to which he refers has been marked by California’s “parent trigger,” a law that has upended the status quo at one Compton school[Read More…]
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