This week, May 5-11, 2013, is both National Teacher Appreciation Week and National Charter Schools Week. AAE is pleased to recognize inspiring educators and to celebrate the growing national public charter school movement, this week and every week.   Continue Reading...

This morning, AAE staff had the pleasure of attending the Center for American Progress' panel discussion, "What Ails the Governance of Public Education, and What Can Be done to Cure it?" The panelist included Cynthia G Brown, vice president for education at the Center for American Progress, Checker E. Finn Jr., president of the Thomas B Fordham Institute, Neerav Kingsland, CEO of New Schools for New Orleans, Nelson Smith, a senior advisor at the National Association of Public Charter Schools.   Continue Reading...

According to new reports, the number of public charter schools in the U.S. has surpassed 6,000 for the first time in the 20-year effort to provide students and teachers with effective options. Figures are based on estimates from the 2012 – 2013 school year. These 6,000 charter schools currently provide education to more than 2.3 million students, another record number.   Continue Reading...

This week, the town of North Bennington, Vermont, received reluctant approval from the State Board of Education to move forward with opening a new independent school for the 2013-2014 school year. This approval triggers the North Bennington Prudential Committee's (the local school board's) authority to close the existing public elementary school and rent the building to the new Village School. The move essentially takes the public school independent, but it also gives every child in the community school choice under Vermont law – the right to attend any public or approved independent school, in state or out, with at least the full statewide tuition (currently over $12,000) following the child.   Continue Reading...

Happy New Year! AAE is thrilled to once again join with other like-minded education organizations and schools in participating in National School Choice Week this January 27- February 2.   Continue Reading...

In the past year, Washington, D.C. public charter schools have experienced a five percent enrollment increase, rising to nearly 81,000 students this school year alone. They now comprise 41% of all public school students in the District of Columbia.   Continue Reading...

This morning, AAE staff members had the pleasure of attending an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) education policy event in Washington, D.C. With the 2012 election fresh on the minds of all attendees, AEI hosted a discussion answering the question, "What will the 2012 election mean for education?"   Continue Reading...

Education has been a consistent theme in the 2012 presidential campaign. Although each candidate offers a different solution to improving America's education system, both President Obama and Governor Romney acknowledge that education reform is a critical part of their political platform. Regardless of the outcome next week, it is clear that the 2012 election will have a lasting impact on federal spending and K-12 education for years to come.   Continue Reading...

This week, AAE had the pleasure of attending a Thomas B. Fordham Institute event entitled, "After Chicago – the Future of Teacher Unions." The event consisted of a debate over how the education reform community should address the role of teacher unions in order to prevent another high-profile teacher strike.   Continue Reading...

An interesting article ran early last month in USA Today called "More Teachers Green in the Classroom." The story highlights a recent study by Richard Ingersoll at the University of Pennsylvania that shows attrition rates for first-year teachers have risen from about 10% to 13%, leaving a constant demand for new teachers who are usually, unsurprisingly, inexperienced. In fact, in the 2007-08 school year, there is a more than threefold increase in the number of inexperienced teachers. In contrast, 20 years prior, the biggest group of teachers had 15 years of experience. In  the most recent data, the 2007-08 school year, the experience term for the largest group of teachers is one year.   Continue Reading...

As the presidential election heats up, both President Obama and Governor Romney have taken strong positions on education reform and the role of the federal government. These opinions were clearly outlined in last night's presidential election, as both candidates conveyed their plans to reform America's struggling education system.   Continue Reading...

This weekend, a feature film highlighting struggling schools and parent and teacher empowerment will be released to theaters everywhere. "Won't Back Down," opening this Friday, September 28, gives moviegoers the opportunity to watch a film that pairs Hollywood entertainment with a message about American education reform.   Continue Reading...

Education in America takes center stage as NBC News kicks off the third annual Education Nation summit this week. The event is a chance for some of the leading minds in the country to work together toward meaningful education reform.   Continue Reading...

The United States is an increasingly multiracial society, with white students accounting for just over half of all students in public schools. According to data from the US Department of Education, while our demographics are shifting nationwide, white students are still largely concentrated in schools with little diversity. According to a new report by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, minority students — particularly African American and Latino students — are isolated from their white counterparts in record numbers.   Continue Reading...

Welcome to the Association of American Educators' online biweekly publication, Reform Matters. This education reform-focused publication features both original AAE content and a compilation of the latest news from the growing education reform community.

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According to the 2012 annual Phi Delta Kappa/ Gallup poll of the public's attitudes toward public schools, Americans have a number of conflicting viewpoints in their preferences for investing in schools, choice, and education reform policies.   Continue Reading...

Single-sex education (teaching males and females in separate classrooms or schools) is an old approach to instruction that has been gaining new momentum in the education reform era. Although the practice has long existed in many private schools, it's a relatively new option for traditional public schools and charter schools. Now that over 500 public schools offer some form of single-sex education, experts are renewing the debate over the value of separating boys and girls in the classroom.   Continue Reading...

As you know, AAE recently launched a new website for the charter school community: www.aaecharters.org. The new website is geared toward charter school teachers, administrators, education reform leaders, associations, and interested parties searching for timely updates and research on issues affecting the public charter school community.   Continue Reading...

In light of the rise of public charter schools and the growing popularity of parent-trigger laws and tuition tax credits across the country, the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a congressional hearing yesterday to examine state and local efforts to increase parental engagement and school choice options.   Continue Reading...

Last week, the Alabama House Ways and Means Education committee declined to vote on a less-than-ideal public charter school bill that would have allowed low-performing public schools in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, and Mobile to be converted to public charter schools. The decision is considered a blow to the Alabama education reform movement and will leave charter proponents at least a year away from another chance at comprehensive public charter school legislation in the state.   Continue Reading...