Time for some genuinely critical race theory

Oklahoma's HB 1775 is a good law, Greg Forster writes.

An uncomfortable truth

Some public schools allow Black student-athletes to play for their majority-white high schools even though they can't read or write at grade-level, writes Nehemiah D. Frank, founder and executive editor of The Black Wall Street Times in Tulsa. 

Diversity and community on campus

"The University of Oklahoma's mandatory student 'diversity training' is a horrifying recital of coercive tactics, clearly designed not to educate students about diversity (which would be valuable) so much as to manipulate, threaten, and control them so they don’t think the wrong things," Greg Forster writes.

DeVos will help the most vulnerable

Yesterday in the Tulsa World, OCPA president Jonathan Small made a case for Betsy DeVos.

'MLK's vision provides impetus to promote school choice in Tulsa'

Read Ginnie Graham's column in the Tulsa World.

Parents have a universal human right to choose the kind of education given to their children

[I was pleased to attend the World Congress of Families (WCF) last week in Salt Lake City, and indeed to speak at a separate policy roundtable event co-sponsored by the American Conservative Union (ACU) and the Sutherland Institute. Below is a press release from the WCF which should be of interest to readers of this blog. —BD]

Brandon Dutcher participated in 
an October 28 panel discussion 
titled “Economic and Social 
Conservatives Must Unite if 
America Is to Save Its Culture: 
The Family Prosperity Initiative." 
Also featured in the policy roundtable 
discussion: OCPA economists Wendy 
Warcholik and Scott Moody, ACU 
executive director Dan Schneider, Kansas 
Gov. Sam Brownback, Wisconsin 
Family Council president Julaine Appling, 
and Iowa state Senator Julian Garrett.

The World Congress of Families (WCF) has asked pro-family advocates around the world to sign an online petition that defends the basic human rights (as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - United Nations, 1948) of every human life from conception to natural death. As the historic Ninth World Congress of Families drew to an end last Friday in Salt Lake City, organizers of the congress were pleased to announce that 17,433 advocates had signed the petition within a week. The online petition was circulated by World Congress of Families partner CitizenGo. Click here to sign the petition.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, and has generally been accepted as the foundation of international human rights. It also represents the commitment of 193 members of the United Nations to basic human rights and fundamental freedoms to all human beings.

"The remarkable amount of signatures this petition has received in such a short period of time is indicative of the importance of human rights and our need to be vigilant in supporting them," said Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, executive director of WCF IX. The WCF is challenging other human rights and civil rights organizations around the world (including Human Rights Campaign, Amnesty International and Southern Poverty Law Center) to sign the pledge and also protect the basic human rights of all people.

Here are a few key points from the UDHR:

• In Article 3, the UDHR defends the right to life by saying that "everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." 
• Article 6 says that "everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law."
• Article 18 defends the right to freedom of thought and religion by explaining that "everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
• Article 16 unequivocally states that "Family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State." Article 16 also states that "Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and found a family." 
• Article 25 states that "motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance," and that "parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given their children." 

Berkeley liberals and the roots of ESAs

Ron Matus has the story.

The voucher left

Ron Matus reminds us that school choice has deep roots on the left.

'Are we going to tolerate school systems that put the interests of adults ahead of children?'

"Meaningful progress toward social justice cannot be made in sclerotic education systems that put adults' job security before children's civil rights," Arthur Brooks writes in his new book The Conservative Heart.

Only a crusade for social justice will stand a chance at winning this fight. The public schools in this country are failing millions of kids. Are we going to be the generation that tolerates this? Are we going to continue to tolerate school systems that put the interests of adults ahead of children? ... 

Why do we want education reform? It's not because we hate teachers' unions. It's because we love kids. It's because the abuses of the bureaucracies and unions are eating up all of the public school money while resisting accountability and innovation, which hurts kids—especially poor kids. We believe in school choice because it will unleash innovation and allow poor families to escape failing schools. We believe in collective bargaining reform because it frees school districts from the stranglehold of collective bargaining rules—allowing them to save money, add more teachers, and hire and fire based on merit instead of seniority. It is common decency to put the interests of children ahead of the interests of employees.

Arthur Brooks is speaking in Tulsa on October 21. For more information, contact my OCPA colleague Rachel Hays at 405.602.1667.

'But for the right school, you are Freddie Gray'

School-choice champion Derrell Bradford grew up in the same neighborhood as Freddie Gray. He writes:

[B]ut for the right school, and the shining fingertip of providence, you are Freddie Gray. In a world of infinite timetables for school improvement that are rarely if ever reached, choice is the most powerful way to create new worlds of possible for kids who are destined to have so little possible for themselves.

Do Parent Trigger laws work?

Early indications are positive, according to an October 8 press release from Parent Revolution:

Ever since parents began using California’s historic Parent Empowerment Act, a key question has followed our work around California and the nation: Does parent power lead to student success?

We know that the challenging nature of school transformation efforts means that it will take years to more conclusively answer that question. Almost all student assessments were suspended in California schools last year due to field-testing for new Common Core-aligned assessments.

Even with that enormous challenge, however, it is encouraging to see that the first two Parent Trigger schools saw significant student gains in CST science scores, the one test that was administered last year. Here is some raw data:

24th Street / Crown Preparatory Academy

CST Science – Grade 5, Grade 8, and Grade 10 Life Science

	2013	2014
Students Tested	84	102
% of Enrolled	98.8%
Students with Scores	84	101
Mean Scale Score	312.6	373.0
% Advanced	2%	33%
% Proficient	19%	32%
% Basic	42%	23%
% Below Basic	18%	7%
% Far Below Basic	19%	6%

Desert Trails Preparatory Academy

CST Science – Grade 5, Grade 8, and Grade 10 Life Science

	2013	2014
Students Tested	82	68
% of Enrolled	83.7%
Students with Scores	82	68
Mean Scale Score	297.5	348.5
% Advanced	2%	12%
% Proficient	10%	35%
% Basic	30%	38%
% Below Basic	30%	9%
% Far Below Basic	27%	6%

10 year science score data for Desert Trails Elementary Schools

Year	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Adv.	3	2	0	2	4	0	0	3	5	2	12
Prof.	8	15	14	13	24	21	12	19	26	10	35
Basic.	45	38	37	35	44	30	34	33	30	30	38
BB	30	27	37	25	17	21	32	24	11	30	9
FBB	15	19	12	26	11	28	23	20	28	27	6
Adv./Prof	11%	17%	14%	15%	29%	21%	12%	22%	31%	12%	47%

This data, while very limited in nature, also aligns with the parent survey data gathered at the end of last year, in which 91 percent of parents at Desert Trails Preparatory Academy and 83 percent of the parents at 24th Street Elementary said their schools had improved from the year before.

Kathy Duncan, a parent of two Desert Trails Preparatory students, shared her satisfaction with the school’s transformation: "As a parent, I am happy to send my child to DTPA. Everyone was happy the first day. I saw new faces that had never seen before. I would like to shine a light on [Desert Trails school leader] Ms. Debbie Tarver and her staff. My children, Jeremiah and Evelyn have had an exceptional time at DTPA."

While this data doesn’t paint anything close to a complete picture, it’s promising. Chief Strategy Officer Gabe Rose explains, "We of course cannot draw conclusions based on one subject test during one year, but the emerging evidence at these schools gives us an abundance of hope that we are on the right track, and can’t wait to share all data we gather with parents as they organize to do what’s best for their kids. We know from research that at best, only 25-30 percent of school turnaround efforts generally succeed, but we are confident that the consistent presence of organized and engaged parents will make our efforts substantially more successful."

Yes, it matters to close the political power gap and to empower low-income parents of color. It’s not only the right thing to do, and it can, does, and will turn schools around so they work better for all kids -- because all kids matter.

Inner-city Democrats warming to school choice

Even as rural Republicans balk.

It's time for educational choice

Take it from Jalen Rose, Stephen A. Smith, and others:

#NarrativeFail

Private schools produce more tolerant schools than public schools, Jay Greene reminds us.

Any Oklahoma child can learn

"KIPP and Ryal prove that any child can learn," the state's largest newspaper observes. "Poverty isn't what's preventing educational achievement."

Could school choice erase the wealth gap?

If Democrats truly care about low-income Americans, Diana Furchtgott-Roth says, they will support parental choice in education.

Parental choice #NarrativeFail

Over at HuffPo Education we are reminded that the emerging cry for parental choice is being driven by libertarian billionaires low-income parents.

Democrats for school choice

The forgotten history.

Liberal law prof favors school choice

Cal-Berkeley law professor Stephen D. Sugarman says too many of his fellow liberals are on the wrong side of the school choice debate.

Center-left think tank: Expand school choice

Oklahoma policymakers should take note.