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A weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else — from the nation’s leading voice on education innovation and opportunity.
Happy New Year and…
….So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye to 2020!
WE JUMP INTO THE FIRST NEWSWIRE OF 2021… and our nearly 1,000th… with renewed hope for progress - progress in fostering education opportunity for all students, and innovation throughout the knowledge sector, two tenets we uniquely set out to achieve in 2016 when we issued our New Opportunity Agenda [[link removed]], a manifesto laying out the most important framework we must fight to achieve if all are to
have access to participate in the future, a critical vision we espouse, once coined by our chair and GSV founder Michael Moe [[link removed]].
WHAT OPPORTUNITY LOOKS LIKE. It varies, and shouldn’t it? It’s big and small, it's art and science and everything in between, it’s project based, experiential, or for some, direct instruction. It’s substantive, thoughtful, accountable and accessible by choice. It’s 10 grades, or 12 or even 14. It’s hybrid, AR and VR; it’s virtual or on ground or something yet to be discovered. It’s what will propel us forward in 2021 and beyond. And it requires putting power — with money — in the hands of the families and students to craft and develop as they see fit. That’s our ambition. We hope it’s yours. Or be ready for the fight.
CHOICE IS OPPORTUNITY AND IT IS NOT PARTISAN. Agree with the concept or not, labeling the opportunity for parents to choose a school as one ideology or another is just plain wrong. The editors at the Washington Post made the colossal mistake of labeling school choice as “conservative” in a recent article quoting our CEO Jeanne Allen about President-elect Biden’s choice of Miguel Cardona as the new Education Secretary. So she sets the record straight — again — [[link removed]] in a letter to the editor which to their credit they published. “...education opportunity has been widely embraced by both Republicans and Democrats — including, at times, President-elect Joe Biden and The Post’s editorial page,” she wrote. And more.
WHAT COVID HAS WROUGHT. If you had any doubt that diverse learning opportunities — as we have argued years for years — were necessary, just look at the data of who is in school and not, and the degree to which Covid is affecting communities and schools. Policymakers keep getting shut out by unions and special interests without regard for data. Don’t believe us? The story of DC’s dysfunctional school closing and attempts to reopen are well documented [[link removed]]. There’s no excuse, because thanks to data scientists, policy researchers and philanthropy there is a fabulous tool called the Covid School Dashboard [[link removed]] where you can view aggregated data and analyze the trends. Not only should you use this data to guide you, but you should make sure your school is participating. Find out how by clicking on that link.
TEACHERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO TEACH IN EVERY MODALITY. Teaching online requires considerable support and training. Many teachers complain they’ve had little of it. So word of this major one day summit THIS SATURDAY, Jan 9th, online, hosted by Arizona State University and part of the RemoteK12.org initiative is a must attend for educators. The Connected Teacher Summit [[link removed]] is designed for K-12 teachers and those who support and enable teachers in all manner of
school. Attendees will learn, network and share experiences on teaching and learning approaches in virtual, blended and in-person settings, and can qualify for an ASU certified Professional Development Credential. [[link removed]]
NOT TOO LATE FOR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS. CER’s three Revolutionary Resolutions for 2021 are headed for the best seller list (well, not really but…) If you missed them, never fear — help is here! [[link removed]] [[link removed]]
In Memoriam
MIKE DID WELL AND GOOD. I was devastated to hear about the passing of Michael Sandler [[link removed]], an education advocate, entrepreneur, and friend of exceptional innovations in education. He was generous with his intellect, time and talent, and was the consummate mentor and role model to thousands, like me, for whom he always had time and a kind
word, or positive suggestion for doing more — and better. Among many other things Mike founded Eduventures, played a pivotal role in establishing the Education Industry Association (where I was blessed to have been awarded their prestigious annual “Friend” award by Mike) and a huge advocate for UPenn, his alma mater. His book, “Social Entrepreneurship in Education: Private Ventures for the Public Good” paved the way for bold leadership that recognized, as he used to say well before anyone else, that we must seek to do both well and do good. We send our sympathies and prayers to Ellen and the family.
Jeanne Allen
For most of us, our message to 2020 is “Don’t let the door hit you in the rear on your way out!”. A slightly more delicate — and definitely more enjoyable — way of saying that was done by The Sound Of Music [[link removed]]. Enjoy — and as always — don’t hesitate a moment to let us know if we can be of help to you, your school or your kids.
The Center for Education Reform
1455 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 250
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