Flunked Movie Screening

We have a problem.

Results of national and international tests show that our students are falling further and further behind. The average American student is no longer able to compete with foreign students, and in many cases, they're failing to meet even basic academic standards. Success rates are plummeting, and remediation and dropout rates are skyrocketing. Students entering the current American education system are in for a grim ride.

On March 1, School Choice Illinois is providing the only Illinois screening of the film Flunked, which is narrated by actor Joe Mantegna. The film explores the "story of failure" and provides "a formula for hope."

Following the film, School Choice Illinois will moderate an education panel discussion with some of the state's leading education thinkers.

Not only will you have the opportunity to view an explorative and insightful film, but you will also have the opportunity to support a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding the options Illinois parents have when it comes to educating their children.

Tickets are limited, so the sooner you act the better.

Here are the details:
Sunday, March 1st, Sunday, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Gene Siskel Film Center
Light refreshments will be served.

For more details or to register, you can contact us at
312-268-6880 or through our website at
https://www.schoolchoiceillinois.org/flunked.php.

We hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
Phylicia Lyons
Founder, President and CEO

School Choice Illinois
1030 W. Chicago Ave, Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60642
312-268-6880 phone
312-268-6864 fax
http://www.schoolchoiceillinois.org/

Studies cast doubt on CPS strategy

"Students at two elementary campuses in the controversial Chicago Public Schools turnaround program aren’t performing appreciably better than kids in nearby neighborhood schools.
That’s a key finding in one of two new reports released yesterday by the Collaborative for Equity and Justice in Education at the University of Illinois-Chicago..."

Will More Money Fix Our Schools?

CER Newswire Vol. 11, No. 7 February 17, 2009: POLITICS
Published by The Center for Education Reform (CER) Making Schools Work Better for All Children

"JOBS vs EDUCATION. The economic stimulus has sparked serious discussion in newsrooms and at policy think tanks everywhere about whether the new federal spending bill is likely to have any impact on making schools work. Nicholas Kristof's weekend New York Times article praises the spending, but reminds us that "The implication is that throwing money at a broken system won't fix it, but that resources are necessary as part of a package that involves scrapping certification, measuring better through testing which teachers are effective, and then paying them significantly more - with special bonuses to those who teach in 'bad' schools."

Others remind us of the bureaucratic paths that all money takes before actually (ever?) having an impact. Checker Finn and Mike Petrilli call attention to this, saying "Especially challenging will be your innovation fund. Details are sketchy.... Doing this quickly - and without the appearance of cronyism - will be a whopping challenge. The rest of the education stimulus package will be tricky, too. If the short-run economic goal is to save 600,000 teacher jobs, as you have stated, then districts need to be able to use this flood of federal funds to 'supplant' state and local dollars that are otherwise on the chopping block. At minimum, that's going to take much written guidance to the field, for it overturns decades of ESEA practice. It might take new regulations, too. And how can you make sure that, in the rush to get money to communities to save jobs, some of that money doesn't get skimmed off or used inappropriately? (Someone will inevitably try to use the funds to buy football uniforms; what are you going to do about it? If you don't do anything, what will the GAO and Inspector General say later?)"

But what is the point unless the money stimulates reform at the same time it stimulates jobs? After all, even Arne Duncan admits that bad schools make him sick:

"Without getting into too many details, I am extraordinarily concerned about the poor quality of education, quite frankly, the children of Detroit are receiving. I lose sleep over that one. And I think the dropout rate there is devastating."

ARTIFICIAL DISTINCTIONS. Though private school students will continue to be eligible for non-secular, publicly supported programs for disadvantaged students, they lose out on any school facilities funds. Likewise, charter schools - though much anticipating precious "innovation" funds from the new Secretary's new $5 billion play fund - do not quality for any construction funds. If jobs and education are the point of the stimulus, why distinguish by school type? If the federal government can make an unprecedented expansion in federal support for schools, where is the rationale behind limiting it to just traditional district-based education?

ANSWERS. The answers to how best to spend funds are apparent. Award-winning veteran journalist Jay Mathews offers 7 cheap-as-free suggestions on how best to improve the nation's schools. Number 2? Unleash charter schools. Jay argues that "...they often attract creative principals and teachers who do more with less. School finance experts don't all agree, but I am convinced that charters are a bargain. So let's have more." Great minds think alike. Check out Mandate for Change for more along these lines. "

To see the rest of CER's Newswire, please click on link above.

"For Education Chief, Stimulus Means Power, Money and Risk"

By SAM DILLON
Published: February 16, 2009: The New York Times

"WASHINGTON — The $100 billion in emergency aid for public schools and colleges in the economic stimulus bill could transform Arne Duncan into an exceptional figure in the history of federal education policy: a secretary of education loaded with money and the power to spend large chunks of it as he sees fit.

But the money also poses challenges and risks for Mr. Duncan, the 44-year-old former Chicago schools chief who now heads the Department of Education.

Mr. Duncan must develop procedures on the fly for disbursing a budget that has, overnight, more than doubled, and communicate the rules quickly to all 50 states and the nation’s 14,000 school districts. And he faces thousands of tricky decisions about how much money to give to whom and for what....."

To read the rest of the article, please click on the link above.

School Choice Illinois Presents:

Please join School Choice Illinois for the only screening of the documentary flunked in Illinois!

Held at the famous Gene Siskel Film Center in downtown Chicago, the screening will be followed by an enlightened education discussion from a distinguished group of panelists. Light refreshments will be served.

Date: March 1, 2009
Time: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Location: Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State Street, Chicago, IL 60601

Flunked highlights the common threads of successful education: strong leadership, high standards, excellent teachers, and solid curricula. By focusing on schools that are successfully applying these principles, Flunked sends a message loud and clear: Parents, students, principals, and teachers do not have to settle for mediocrity in their own schools.

For more information call (312) 268-6880 or email us at contactus@SchoolChoiceIllinois.org

Tickets are limited. Student discounts are available.

Our Future, Bleak or Optimistic?

Acquiring education is necessary for any society to move forward, especially K-12 education. A society is at its basic level a combination of people with different skill sets coming together and contributing to its wealth. From this it would follow that every child should be educated. But, one question remains, a fundamental one, does every child deserve a good education? If we answered yes, then we agree that education is important and vital to the success of our nation. So changes need to be made to our current education system, especially those schools that are failing or need to be improved.

Many people across party lines, race, religions, etc. feel this way; so what are we waiting for? Should we wait as long as needed for everyone to reach the same conclusion(s), even at the cost of giving our current students sub-par education in the meantime? How do we expect our future to be better than our past and present if we continue to do nothing about the status quo? Will we be able to enjoy the fruits of a strong economy in the future? What are your thoughts??

To find research on this, you may start by looking at Education Next: A Journal of Opinion and Research (Hoover Institution) and read the article "RESEARCH: Education and Economic Growth".

Spring 2008(vol. 8, no. 2) Table of Contents
By Eric Hanushek, Dean T. Jamison, Eliot A. Jamison and Ludger Woessmann
"It's not just going to school but learning that matters"

The Center for Education Reform Newswire

CER Newswire Special CHANGE Edition Vol. 11, No. 4 January 27, 2009

Newswire - January 27, 2009
"Special Change Edition: Juan Williams on Federal Accountability ... John Engler on Transparency ... Kevin Chavous on Charter Schools ... Jeanne Allen on School Choice ... Richard Whitmire on Teacher Quality"


"The Center for Education Reform / edreform.com" button links to http://www.edreform.com/, your interactive source of data, analysis and resources on education reforms that create better educational opportunities for all children. The Center for Education Reform website helps turn parents into activists, policymakers into advocates, and educators into reform leaders."

Would you like some education with that Latte?

This just in: The Chicago Public Schools wasted money. What? My tax dollars?? This can't be! Surely, then, it must be for a good cause like the professional development of teachers, additional enrichment courses, or new high-end computers??? An article from the Chicago Sun-Times this month details the startling (but not surprising) news: CPS spent $67,000 on Cappuccino machines. Yeah, coffee. Our money went to machines that turn little beans into a drink (granted a delightful, frothy, invigorating drink!)

The best, however, was still to come. When asked about the purchase, Inspector General James Sullivan was quoted as saying: "'We also look at it as a waste of money because the schools didn't even know they were getting the equipment, schools didn't know how to use the machines and weren't prepared to implement them into the curriculum.'" WAIT. Hang on one second. Is he saying that if the schools (twenty-one of them) were informed of the machines that it would be okay? Is he saying that if the schools knew how to use the machines, everything would be alright? Is he suggesting that if CPS could find a way to implement cappuccinos into the curriculum that somehow the purchases would be forgivable or vindicated?

Well, let's give it a try. How does this course sound: "Cappuccino 101: How to drink a cappuccino, appear scholarly, and gain nothing out of your education."

No, Mr. Sullivan, these purchases are not forgivable. Period. The correct line would have been: "These purchases are a waste"; the fact that he "also" viewed them that way implies that the real shame was the schools' inability to figure out the instructions and enjoy a nice cup of European joe.

Oye. If this continues, we'll be able to add point number 16 to the "Top 15 Effects That Coffee Has on Your Health"--it could literary throw a wrench in your child's education. Anybody feeling stressed?

The "Obama Effect" in test-taking??

It is a preliminary study, but an interesting one at that. The idea that confidence, social anxiety and quite simply- hope, can influence competency.

I saw it in the faces of every kid I passed in Grant Park the day Obama got elected. The cynicism seemed to be lifted out of the air. The idea that their voices mattered and that they might have a say in their own futures was prevalent and something I will never forget.

New Schools Expo

Learn about Chicago's new public schools at:

The 2nd Annual New Schools EXPO:
Presented by: Parents for School Choice & the Chicago Public Schools


For more details, please go to the website for Parents for School Choice by clicking on "New Schools Expo".

Parents Want More Choices in Education

And it seems choice can now save $$$.

Article written by Eric Johnson, posted on Sunday, January 18, 2009 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"... it’s time to start thinking about parents such as Skollar and stop offering a one-size-fits-all education model to Georgia students. It’s time to offer a school voucher program for parents who want it for their children who need it."

"The economic recession and the state’s $2.3 billion budget shortfall will be tossed around as an excuse not to help children. But vouchers actually save money for taxpayers and help local educators."

President Obama on Education

To view President Obama's vision on education, please click on the title "President Obama on Education".

Obama on Education

Donate to the Vision

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered one of the most revered speeches in our nation’s history. His I Have a Dream speech marked a defining moment in the quest for racial equality and freedom. Though the sinews of racism have not been fully extinguished, King’s dream has never felt more alive than at the present moment. On January 20, 2009—forty-six years after King’s speech; one-hundred and forty six years after the Emancipation Proclamation; and three-hundred and ninety years after the introduction of slavery into Jamestown—the culmination of the civil rights movement will, it seems, take place. Barack Obama’s inauguration as President of the United States—the first African American ever elected to this position—will forever live in the annals of our nation’s history.

Due to the enormity of President Obama’s inauguration, in conjunction with the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, School Choice Illinois is asking for your support to make our dream—providing every child with an excellent education—a reality.

Where will the money go? Your donations are vital to the livelihood of School Choice Illinois. Every dollar helps our organization grow by providing much needed resources for our grassroots campaigns. A Challenge Grant has been made to School Choice Illinois by two anonymous donors that will match each individual donation made up to $100,000. As a result, the value of your gift will immediately double!

Please also view Martin Luther King, Jr's famous speech, here. It is vital for us to reflect on his legacy.

Rockford's Chance at Choice

Richard Lorenc of the Illinois Policy Institute continues to track the city of Rockford's progress (and tentative success) towards educational choice. On January 13th, 2009 the Rockford School Board unanimously approved the Legacy Charter School's application. This means that Rockford, IL will have its first charter school by 2010. For the full blog, click here. For more in-depth coverage, see Richard's original article in the Rockford Register-Star from December 20, 2008.