by David Safier A building on Palo Verde just north of I-10 is the home of Arizona Virtual Academy. It’s a Charter Cyber School that gives online education to Arizona students all over the state. Because it’s a charter school (if you’re confused about charter schools, here is a primer), the students pay nothing. The … Read more
by David Safier As part of No Child Left Behind, the Bush administration has plowed $1 billion per year into a program called “Reading First.” Its purpose, according to the Department of Ed’s website, is “to apply scientifically based reading research—and the proven instructional and assessment tools consistent with this research—to ensure that all children … Read more
by David Safier This is the first of what will be a series of posts about Arizona’s Charter Schools, and more specifically about Arizona’s online charter schools, also known as “Cyber Schools.” The question I’m trying to answer for myself is, Should a Cyber School, with no building and no daily classroom meetings of staff … Read more
by David Safier I got off one shot before my camera went bad. It was a Tucson Media Circus out there last night. Here are a few bits and pieces I didn’t have time to write about, including some thoughts about the whole process from Mark Stegeman, who is running for School Board. • The … Read more
by David Safier A note: Someone should tell the Board members that no one thinks their ideas are so incredibly incisive, so spellbinding, that it makes sense to prattle on endlessly. Brevity is the soul of wit (wit meaning smarts and wisdom), someone once said. It may not be true in every case, but a … Read more