Christina Martin: Recent K-12 Education Reforms Let Kids Transfer to a Brighter Future

Public education exists to serve children – period. However, as evidenced by the Oregon Education Association’s (OEA) ongoing actions, some believe public education should serve primarily the adults who work in the system. Thankfully, this legislative session, Oregon’s state leaders concluded otherwise.
After tense negotiations on several education-related bills, Oregon’s legislature passed the most substantial education reforms Oregon has seen in decades, at the governor’s request. The more “controversial” elements of that package will provide students – who find their traditional public schools unsuitable – more educational options from which to choose, including charter and online schools. Such student-focused, choice-based measures were a particular pebble in the OEA’s shoe. Click here to find out why.

Christina Martin: Victories for Oregon’s K-12 Kids

Oregon’s legislators looked somewhat frenzied as they fought for key education reforms in Oregon. After tense negotiations, significant amendments, and a tug-of-war on several education bills, the Oregon legislature passed a package of education reforms with strong bipartisan support. The governor has said that he supports all bills in this package, meaning that these bills should soon be law.
While some of the reforms have problems, the overall outcome is excellent as it gives significantly more power to parents to choose the right public school for their kids. Among the reforms are freer access to virtual charter schools, creation of college-sponsored charter schools, and more school choice.
Click here to read more about this great victory for Oregon students.

Christina Martin: Report From the Virtual Education Movement Front

Just hours after a hearing on on a bill, SB 927, that would kill virtual charter schools in Oregon, I went on the radio to talk to Bill Post.
I explained why the Oregon Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, is against charter schools, and why they support SB 927.
During our conversation, we talked about choice, teacher pay at charters vs. traditional public schools and the promise of virtual education. We also talked about "what's next" for SB 927.
Bill posted a podcast of the May 12 show. Click here, scroll down to the May 12 show, and then go to the 13:40 minute to hear our conversation.

Christina Martin: Oregon Showdown OverAnti-Virtual Charter School Bill is at Hand

It started this morning. The Oregon House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education will hold a public hearing for a bill that essentially would force Oregon’s virtual charter schools to close.
The bill (SB 927) closely resembles an idea that the OEA (Oregon Education Association, a union) proposed last year to the Oregon State Board of Education. The bill in its current form would:
*Force all existing virtual charter schools to close and to reopen as alternative schools, which in Oregon are generally only for at-risk students.
*Make existing districts the creators and providers of online content, managed by a consortium called the Oregon Option Consortium. Individual districts would be able to purchase courses from the consortium (which would be run by the Oregon Virtual School District).
*Each student could enroll in the consortium’s classes only if a district-appointed advisory team decides the classes are suitable for the student.
Click here to read more about this anti-virtual charter school bill and what you can do to help defeat it.

Christina Martin: Will Oregon's Legislature Help K-12 Education Get Online?

Oregon's legislature is again considering several bills that would affect K-12 students' access to online education. While virtual charter schools (public schools operated by non-profit organizations that provide a full-time online education for K-12 kids) are valuable and worth protecting, it seems that our elected officials are missing the forest for the trees.
The most exciting potential for online education to advance K-12 learning is not in the full-time online education model, although that is an essential option. Rather, part-time and the blended learning approach hold the greatest promise to rapidly improve Oregon's education opportunities.
Part-time learning allows students enrolled in a regular brick-and-mortar public school to enroll in one or more online courses. Blended learning combines face-to-face teaching with online curriculum.
Click here to read more on the three online education bills the Oregon House Education Committee has heard testimony about this year. Oregon's kids deserve more options, not fewer. Creating more effective online educational opportunities does not require increased spending, but it does require smarter spending and flexibility.

Christina Martin: Expand Charter School Rights in Oregon

The Oregonian painted the picture of what happened in Salem on March 8: "As virtual charter school families rallied on the state capitol steps, the Oregon House was due to vote on House Bill 2287, which would expand charter school rights.
"But just before the bill was debated on the floor," the Oregonian report continued, "Republicans and Democrats requested a caucus meeting."
The upshot: Debate, and any vote, on the bill was delayed. The Oregon House is scheduled to take up the issue again on March 14.
HB 2287, which has bipartisan support, would create consistent guidelines for school districts to follow when they decided whether to accept or deny a proposed charter school. The measure also prohibits districts from imposing bureaucratic obstacles that are intended to delay a proposed charter school from moving forward.
These changes would benefit virtual charter schools. In 2009, the state legislature narrowly passed and created restrictions on virtual charters. The bill placed a two-year moratorium on the growth of existing schools by restricting them to the student counts enrolled on May 1, 2009. HB 2287 would help in the expansion of existing virtual charters and ease creation of new virtual charters.
In February, I testified before the House Education Committee about the need for passage of HB 2287. Click here to read my testimony.

Christina Martin: Oregon's K-12 Future Must Include Online Education Options

According to the College Board, 75% of Oregon schools do not offer Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes in the four core courses: reading, math, science and social studies.
Many Oregon schools face budget cuts. How can Oregon increase opportunities for its students, allowing kids to reach their academic potential? By giving parents the power to choose programs beyond their local district school. This should extend to allowing kids to stay in their local public school while attending classes that aren’t offered locally.
Online education programs already make a wide array of courses available to students across the country while keeping costs low. Programs like Florida’s Virtual School allow thousands of kids attending regular public schools to access effective advanced courses, as well as rudimentary courses designed to help them catch up with their peers.
This session, Oregon’s legislature is considering how the state should move forward with online education. Legislators should continue to allow online public charter schools to provide full-time programs to Oregon’s kids. But legislators also should empower students across the state to benefit from high-quality individual online classes on a course-by-course basis.
Spread the word about the benefits online education and what it would mean for Oregon's future. Click here for an audio clip, suitable for broadcast, and click here to download a PDF of this "Quick Point."

It's National School Choice Week

That's right, it's a time to reflect on the progress of the school choice movement and rededicate efforts to move forward.
Liberating Learning blog contributor Lisa Graham Keegan helped pioneer the school choice movement in Arizona. In 1990, an organization called Arizona Business Leaders for Education (ABLE) created a state plan for education reform. Key components of that plan were public report cards for schools, student testing and school choice.
Click here to read more about ABLE and Graham Keegan's memories of this fledgling effort.
Christina Martin is another Liberating Learning blog contributor. Martin is a policy analyst for the School Choice Project at the Cascade Policy Institute. This week, Martin writes, the institute has several events to increase awareness and build support for school choice.
Click here to read about them.
The Georgia Public Policy Foundation, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, was a pioneer in the push to expand education choices in Georgia. The foundation is one of about a dozen organizations that will gather at the state's capitol on Jan. 25 for a school choice celebration and rally. Click here for more information.
The Center of Education Reform is another early advocate for school choice and provides a wealth of information about choice and other education reform issues. This week, the center is featuring a series of lunchtime (noon Eastern) interactive events that focus on school choice issues.
On Jan. 27, the center's series spotlights "A Virtual Choice," and features Mickey Revenaugh, senior vice president of Connections Academies and board vice chair of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL). Click here for a complete list of all programs.
There are lots of events this week, and also sure to be lots written about school choice and the virtual education movement. The Liberating Learning website will keep you informed on it all. In the meantime, for more information on National School Choice Week, click here to find an event or to learn more about the movement.

Christina Martin: Union's School Funding Fears Unfounded, Study Finds

Online charter schools offer kids even in the far corners of Oregon the chance to receive a public education tailored to their individual needs. Yet many districts and union representatives oppose Oregon's virtual charter schools claiming they drain money from local districts.
Due to these complaints, Oregon's legislature will consider allowing school districts to deny additional students access to virtual charter schools if 3 percent of the district's students have already enrolled in an online option.
But a report released earlier this month by the Cascade Policy Institute shows that these fears are unfounded. Overall, online school have had little impact on spending and actually can allow district to spend more per student.
Unlike ordinary public schools, online charters do not receive local funding and they receive substantially less per-student funding than traditional public schools. That means a student to an online charter school usually enables the student's home district, and the charter school's sponsoring district, to spend more money per remaining traditional public school student.
While virtual charters have little financial impact on school districts, they have a huge impact on each child who thrives in an online school. Instead of talking about limiting options further, legislators, district officials, and union members should celebrate success and look for ways to increase kids' educational opportunities.
Click here to read the full report.