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
by David Safier Joel Ireland says he’s voting against all closings. The reason is, the judge’s lifting of the desegregation order means schools can be considered for cutting that couldn’t be considered under the deseg order. So he wants to table the decision for now and begin the process over again, creating a committee and … Read more