The Thirteen Most Impactful #EdReform Twitter Feeds of 2013

By Kevin P. Chavous

Earlier this week you read my reaction to the list of “top” education policy Twitter feeds released by Fordham Institute’s Michael J. Petrilli. Michael based his list on Klout scores, and as a result the list was absent many ed reformers who have actually made an impact in the lives of countless children.

Greater Access to Educational Options Necessary for Hispanic Students

As we celebrate National School Choice Week, we are reminded that there is still much work to be done in fixing our nation’s education system.   This rings especially true for the Hispanic community.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 15 percent of Hispanic students dropped out of high school in 2012.  While this number is on the decline of where it was over a decade ago (32 percent in 1990), it is still much higher than the dropout rate for black (8 percent), white (5 percent), and Asian (4 percent) students. 

With limited educational options available to Hispanic students, we can do better as a nation to deliver high-quality programs to communities in need, closing the racial achievement gap.

In a poll we conducted last year in partnership with the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, education ranked second only behind the economy and jobs as the most important issue to Hispanic voters.

In a piece featured today on the Heritage Foundation’s The Foundry blog, Israel Ortega calls on lawmakers to make “bold education reform policies” in order to address the educational needs of Hispanic students. 

“Each parent should have the ability to send his or her child to a better public school, a charter school, or even a private school,” Ortega said.   “What’s more, children should not be confined to failing schools with ineffective teachers or high levels of crime and safety-related issues.”

We couldn’t agree more. 

Students should not be pigeon-holed into a one-size-fits-all education.  All students deserve access to an education that works for their needs, free from senseless restrictions based on their family’s income or geographic location.

-American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, KMS

The Powerful Voting Block: Latino Voters

At the conclusion of this year's election season, while there was much debate about why candidates won and lost, both parties essentially agreed that the Latino vote was critically important to the election—and will be so in future elections, too.

This year, 23.7 million Latinos were eligible to vote—an increase by more than 4 million since 2006.  As Christina Martinez and Julio Fuentes (the head of the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options) write, this election resulted in historic numbers of Latino voters and Latino officials:  Latinos represent 11 percent of voters in 2012—up from 8.2 percent in 2004. And let's not forget that Latino officials serve in the state legislators of 36 states.

As candidates from both parties begin to heavily campaign to Latino voters in coming elections, they should keep in mind the sure place to win support: in education policy.

According to a poll commissioned by the American Federation for Children and HCREO in May 2012, Latino voters in five battleground states strongly support educational choice:

• Ninety-one percent of Latinos—in five key states—Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Nevada—think voucher or scholarship tax credit programs should be available in some form.

• A strong majority of Latinos also support specific types of educational options: 69 percent support voucher programs, 71 percent support scholarship tax credit programs, and 70 percent support education savings accounts.

• An astonishing 80 percent of Latinos support special needs scholarship programs, which can be in the form of voucher programs, scholarship tax credit programs, and education savings account programs.

Latino voters have shown that they support educational options; they have also shown that they vote in large numbers.  Let’s hope elected officials notice and put strong support behind much-needed educational choice.

- American Federation for Children | Alliance for School Choice, MSG

Study Shows Support for School Choice, Accountability, and Teachers

Researchers from Harvard University and the University of Mississippi recently measured support for education reform—including school choice—by both the general public and teachers, according to newly-released data. Published in The Forum, researchers (including Paul E. Peterson of Harvard University, who spoke at the AFC 2012 National Policy Summit) found that 70 percent of the general public supported various types of educational options.

In the realm of school choice, 70 percent of the general public support allowing scholarship tax credit programs and charter schools to operate.  And a majority of respondents support vouchers and half support means-tested vouchers.  Teachers also responded favorably to school choice options, with a majority of teachers supporting scholarship tax credit programs, charter schools, and online education.  According to the study, parents support school choice more than non-parents when it comes to vouchers, scholarship tax credit programs, charter schools, and online courses.

And here's a finding that we're especially excited to see: Democrats and Republicans had no statistical difference in their support of school choice options—and both equally supporting scholarship tax credit programs.

In addition, African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to support school choice than whites.  Supporting that recent finding are results from a poll released earlier this year from the American Federation for Children and the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options showing that education ranks as the second-most important issue to Latino voters in the upcoming presidential election.  The poll also showed that a total of 85 percent of voters and 91 percent of Latinos think vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs should be available in some form, while majorities of likely voters and Latinos also support specific school choice proposals as well. 

But school choice isn’t the only area that showed interesting results.  According to the study, the general public strongly supports accountability.  When asked about requiring annual testing, 88 percent of the general public supported the idea. 

The study also looked at general views of teachers.  And the results are just what one would expect: teachers are, rightly, held in high regard.  The authors write:

It is not only in the movies that educators are beloved.  Unlike lawyers, bankers, used-car dealers, and state legislators, teachers maintain a superb reputation.  We all remember at least one who had a decisively positive impact on our lives.  We see them as selfless members of a helping profession.  Most Americans say that teachers have “very great prestige,” an accolade otherwise given by a majority of the public only to firefighters, scientists, doctors, nurses, and military officers.

Two-Day HCREO Event Highlights Need for School Choice in Southwest

Elected officials joined education reformers from around the country in thunderous applause, as they took to their feet to cheer a young Arizona Hispanic student after hearing the young scholar's inspiring story.

It was just one of the many moving stories told this week in Arizona, where a two-day conference hosted by one of the most unwavering of school choice allies aimed to address one of the seminal educational problems facing the country.

The event, hosted by the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (HCREO), brought together reformers from around the country, elected officials from several states in the Southwestern U.S., and local parents and students eager to discuss how they could all get more involved in providing Hispanic children with educational options.

Amid Court Proceedings, Allies Reach Out in Arizona

The United States Supreme Court, where an Arizona case upheld
the constitutionality of scholarship tax credits earlier this year.

It's been a busy week in Arizona, and things aren't letting up in the days ahead.

First, there was the news early last week that an Arizona court dismissed one of the plaintiffs' claims in a lawsuit aiming to stop students from participating in Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program.

And then, today, parents of students enrolled in the groundbreaking program took to court to defend additional claims from the plaintiffs. (In this case, a group of special interests intent on maintaining the educational status quo for Arizona families.)

You can learn more about the history of Arizona's court battles, as well as Monday's developments, by clicking here.

But it's not all about court wranglings out in the Grand Canyon State. The next two days will also feature some of the best that Arizona school choice champions have to offer, as the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (HCREO) is teaming up with reformers around the country to address one of the most pressing educational problems facing the state.