Omnibus education bill SB 1196

by David SafierToday's Star editorial warned of the rush to legislate in the waning days of the Arizona legislative session. This passage jumped out at me. We doubt that lawmakers have time to study and fully understand what they're doing in considering some the more complex bills. One such bill is SB1196, which originally was … Read more

A word of warning to charter schools

by David SafierA cyber (online) charter school in Pennsylvania is in big trouble for the most common type of charter school abuse — funneling money to management companies and other businesses that charge high rates and are connected to people who run the charter. Pennsylvania education officials say Agora founder June Brown misused millions of … Read more

A local feels-great education story

by David SafierIt's the main story on the Star's front page. TUSD's Palo Verde High landed a $265,000 grant to be part of DNA research on Holocaust survivors. . . . they'll aid in the creation of a virtual memorial, envisioned as a Facebook-style social networking site that could help survivors, separated by distance and … Read more

A charter school movement to evaluate charter schools?

by David SafierI posted awhile back about the Arizona Charter Schools Association wanting to strengthen the oversight of charter schools and close the bad ones. This move is an effort by directors of some of the top (read, College Prep) charters, along with Lisa Graham Keegan, ex Ed Supe in Arizona and one of the … Read more

He wants your vote for Ed Supe

by David SafierJohn Huppenthal sponsored a bill that would grant teaching certificates to someone with any one of these three qualifications: Graduate in the top 10 percent of his/her postsecondary graduating class. Score in the top 10 percent on a nationally recognized norm-reference admissions exam for post-baccalaureate programs. Taught for at least three years at … Read more