It’s national school choice week next week, and as the resident charter killjoy, I am compelled to throw some cold water on the celebration. School choice is not a panacea. There is no real “market” in education (and if there were it would be scary) and there is nothing inherent in providing a hypothetical choice…
Month: January 2016
Oakland Ed Week in Review 1.15.16
What’s new in Oakland Education wise? OUSD Board Officer Elections– Director Harris retained the presidency (hands clapping) and Nina Senn took over as the Vice President. Oakland’s common enrollment proposal was “debated” in the Contra costa Times, as we argued in Bad Arguments Against Common Enrollment Part 1, many of those critiques didn’t hold water.…
So You Want to Start a Charter School?
You have to be Effing crazy. I should know. I have helped folks start schools for 20 years. I run a school incubator, and that line about being crazy is the opening and closing line of my introductory training. And I am serious. We don’t have any hedge fund donors, aren’t drinking any free…
Bad Arguments Against Common Enrollment Part 1
As OUSD debates a proposal to create one unified enrollment system that includes charters and district schools the Contra Costa Times has framed the debate as whether we are creating, “a streamlined system that allows families to more easily navigate a daunting array of school applications to find the best fit for their child…(or) another…
A Moment of Silence, Make that Two
SF Chronicle, today, ”A 15-year-old boy has been charged in the Dec. 20 fatal shooting and robbery of a 17-year-old Torian Hughes in West Oakland. The suspect, whose name was not released because of his age, is also charged with robbing a 16-year-old boy who was with Hughes.” Please take a minute to breathe and…