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Core 24 – Education for the 21st Century
The State Board of Education will consider changes to the required number and distribution of credits required for high school graduation at their meeting tomorrow and Thursday. It is clear to the legislature, and pretty much to everyone who looks at the issue seriously, that it’s almost impossible to be prepared for college with fewer…
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Budget Thoughts
This email came to me early in the session in 2010 and was incredibly touching. It’s easy to get involved in the details of the budget in a very technical way and forget the human needs we try to address. As a policy geek I’m perhaps more subject to this than other people. Dear Rep. Hunter,…
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Customizing education via the Internet
My friend Richard Brodie commented on my labor day post that he thought education could be delivered a lot lot faster and cheaper over the internet. This sparked a debate about the effectiveness of machines over real teachers, the value of daydreaming, etc. Both points of view are incredibly valid. Here’s what we’re looking at…
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Labor Day – Where do we go from here?
The Seattle Times today is filled with stories about the future of the American worker, and how workers of tomorrow will have to have more education and skills than many of today’s workers. Labor Day 2010: Few jobs for low-skilled workers There is a certain irony this Labor Day at a time of record unemployment,…
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KJ Does a Crossover Dribble on Ed Reform
The League of Education Voters is sponsoring a speaker series on public education. The first event features Kevin Johnson, former NBA star and currently mayor of Sacramento, talking about ed reform. He’s the chair of a task force of big city mayors appointed by Arne Duncan to improve education in the inner city. The event…
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Interesting Study on Charter Schools
The US Dept of Education just released a study on charter middle schools that’s worth reading. Click Here for the report. I’ve supported charter schools in the past as a way to experiment with new ways of building schools, but not as a panacea for all students. Just like regular schools, charter schools vary significantly…
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Education Data
For a number of years we’ve been working on improving the collection of data about education. This has been painful – there are 17 different data systems across K-12, plus different systems in each of the higher ed silos and no data collection at all in early learning. We’re trying to make sure we understand…
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Important Education Bills Signed
I sent out the following press release today on the signing of several key education bills. We mostly stayed focused on the budget, but stayed the course on ed reform, both financial and structural. THese bills don’t do all that I want, but are a step in the right direction. ———————– AUBURN – Rep. Ross…
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How Much is Enough?
A constituent asked me the following questions in email this week and I think the answers are worth pointing out. 1) Can you show me the studies that indicate there is a correlation between money spent per student and student achievement? It would be good to know that spending more money would get better results.…
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School Funding post-McCleary
I have not yet completely read the long opinion Judge Erlick issued yesterday in a court case brought by school districts, parents, and educator groups but I’m excited by the summary and the implications for a positive impact on school funding in Washington. The judge ruled that the state does not adequately fund public education…