The Roundtable meetings on charter schools and educational options went beautifully yesterday!
An added highlight was a chance for the Roundtable briefing team to discuss the issues with 10 legislators in Frankfort.
Rep Brad Montell (R-Shelbyville) (Partly hidden, left) briefs state legislators during the charter schools discussion in Frankfort
Legislators in the picture include: Front row, l-r: Rep Tim Moore (R-Elizabethtown), Rep Mike Harmon (R-Junction City), Rep Ron Crimm (R-Louisville), Rep Bob DeWeese (R-Louisville), Rep Addia Wuchner (R-Burlington) – Back Row, l-r: Rep Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger), Rep David Floyd (R-Bardstown), Rep David Osborne (R-Prospect)
The charter school expert briefing team (backs to camera) included:
Kenneth Campbell -- President, Black Alliance for Educational Outcomes,
Todd Ziebarth -- Vice President, State Advocacy and Support, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and
Jeff Reed -- State Program & Government Relations Director, Foundation for Educational Choice (Formerly the Friedman Foundation).
Pastor Jerry Stephenson, Midwest Church of Christ and founder of the Kentucky Education Restoration Alliance, Inc. welcomes Kentucky Senate President David Williams (R- Burkesville) to the legislators' briefing
I also provided a briefing to the legislators and the two Roundtable Discussions on school performance across the state and in Lexington and Louisville. You can access the power point to that briefing from a link in the freedomkentucky.org Wiki site.
Martina Ockerman from the Asteroids Organization of Lexington keynotes the Lexington Roundtable Discussion
Roundtable organizers and major supporters included:
Asteroids Organization of Lexington,
The Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions,
Black Alliance for Educational Outcomes,
Kentucky Education Restoration Alliance, Inc., and
Parents for Improving Kentucky Education (PIKE).
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Legislators and Roundtables discuss school choice in Kentucky
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3 comments:
The round-tables are fantastic. It is good to see a focus on education reform.
But - can these groups work together during the session to make something happen or is it just going to be business as usual again?
Sure, these groups can work together, but my question is, when will Gov. Beshear actually listen? Governor support for education reform is the missing link for school choice options in Kentucky.
Concerned Citizen and Freedom Fighter raise good points.
Part of the answer, as I learned this week from Senator David Williams, is to get the word out about charter schools. There are still a remarkable number of people in Kentucky who simply don't know what our kids are missing. Citizens will need to let state leaders know they want to try this important public school innovation, which is already in use in the vast majority of states around the country.
You can help with the information battle. If you have an organization that would benefit from hearing about charters and the currently unacceptably slow rate of improvement in Kentucky's public schools, let us know. We'd love to talk to them.
And, point your friends to this blog to read more about how charter schools can be part of the answer to Kentucky's endemic education problems.
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