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Ann1ve R Sary ' ~Center for Education Reform • .... ,. " - ann1ve r sary ', "' MONTHLY LETTER TO FRIENDS OF THE CENTER FOR EDUCATION REFORM OCTOBER, 2003 No. 80 torn ANNIVERSARY ISSUE In the B~ginning "Subject: Today's Briefing- The Center for Education Reform celebrated its kickoff last night with a reception at its Washington, DC headquarters. The Center is a national clearinghouse for research and action in matters related to school choice, accountability and general education reform. The Center will support and help shape coalition building locally, statewide and across the United States." "The White House Bulletin" October 7, 1993 ( - "The Center for Education Reform is the newest player on the school-reform field .. It is founded and direct~d by Jeanne Allen, an alumna of the Education Department and the Heritage Foundation [and] a walking clearinghouse of information on education reform in this country ... The Center for Education Reform will serve as the organizing principle, and as a source of support, encouragement and reassurance, for the many and varied, large and small arms of the school-reform movement." Editorial, The Washington Times, October 18, 1993 ,. • ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Dear Friends: So much has happened in the decade since the founding.of The Cent~r for Education Reform that it's sometimes hard to remember where,we were when we started1 or to appreciate how far we've come, or to recount the specifics of Ii.ow we got here. But in this Tenth ·" Anniversary edition of the Monthly Letter we will try, and look back at some of the highlights, large and small, of our travels together over these past ten years. For me personally and professionally it has been ten years of challenge, reward, and exhilaration, tempered by occasional frustrations and, in a few cases, deeply painful loss. But through it all, with your support and our joint commitment to move forward no matter the obstacles, we have not just survived, but thrived and made the kind of differences I had hoped for when I started out with you ten years ago. · There is no way my words can adequately express my gratitude to all of those who, over the past decade, have lent their time, resources, and talents to our work. We couldn't have \ \" ,· gotten to where we are without you, and the great changes that have, and are, leading to reforms in education across the country wouldn't have either. ' '- ' . A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Ten years ago we took that step, -. and today we look back on how far we've come in order to renew our-strength for the miles still ahead. As you'll see, it's been a great trip and I only hope that the next ten years are as exciting '. .; \ and rewarding as the last ten. ' ·, 1 ~ : r Enjoy, and I look forward to our continued travels together. With heartfelt appreciation, I \ . A word about our organization In reviewing the work carried out by as active and involved an enterprise as CER is, we quickly discovered that it was impossible to chronicle every one of our undertakings of the past ten years. We also found it impossible to neatly categorize the initiatives we ultimately chose to highlight. A single effort might be seen as advocacy, activism, grassroots development, community education, legislative outreach, communications, or education - or all of those things combined and more! Thus the following is organized somewhat less scientifically than you would find under, say, the Dewey Decimal System, but with more precision than you might achieve by throwing a dart (albeit not much more). MAJOR INITIATIVES While much of our work has always been (and always will be) targeted to the specific challenges at the local, state and federal levels - fighting for charter legislation, working with groups and individuals to create choice opportunities, advocating standards and accountability - we've also enjoyed success in establishing programs that meet key challenges in a broader, on­ going way. Here are some of the major initiatives we've undertaken over the past ten years. Education Leaders Council In response to national organizations that were actively opposed to education reform efforts - and a dearth of pro-reform groups of state education leaders - in 1995, the Center convened a meeting of nine reform-minded state school officials who shared in the belief that something needed to change. That meeting marked the founding of the Education Leaders Council (ELC). • This national organization of state education officials is currently led by Council founder and former Arizona State School Superintendent, Lisa Graham Keegan. ELC supports parents and teachers working together to chart the course of a child's education, and ensures accountability and professionalism in the teaching ranks. In its eight years of work and now with nearly 400 members, ELC has become a powerful voice for effective, responsible reform. School Board Network "CER's School Board Network is a great resource for me. Keep the pressure on." Phil Enright, New York "Every time we come up with a new idea for accountability, the superintendent and his staff finds a way to knock it down - even if it's worked somewhere else. Now, [CER's School Board Network] gives a place we can go to get what we need to combat this mentality." Rita Thompson, Virginia In April 2001, CER set out to build a network of activist, reform-minded local school board leaders. Providing best-practice guidance and the actionable tools needed to effectively advance education reform at the local, state and national levels, the Network helps convert ideas into action, and turn advocates into activists. 2 Initially, a few hundred members received a bi-weekly "Friday Report" and participated in CER-conducted conference call meetings where experts addressed school board members' concerns on a variety of issues. Now, an estimated 1,200 school board members regularly consult CER, and visits to the School Board Network section of the CER web site are approaching 10,000 per year. The Partners Program There is a vast array of organizations, individuals, parents, teachers, community leaders and innumerable others for whom education reform is a hope, a cause and a commitment. In July 2001, CER brought the strength of partnership to these disconnected entities by forming its 'Partners Program.' As a first step in the program CER identified 400 potential grassroots 'partners,' and then began to recruit these organizations. CER' s partners receive strategic consulting, organizational support via conference calls, ongoing email discussions about how to approach issues, grassroots mobilization support, priority status for research and action, free publications, and media and op-ed support. To bring more attention to grassroots and state-level efforts, CER has worked with its partners to increase their media coverage, and has fostered communication among the groups through its Leaders Forum, regional meetings and website. And in a demonstration of true partnership in June of 2002, 12 CER partners joined in the Amicus Brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of school choice. Grassroots Action Center Launched in April of 2003, the Grassroots Action Center (GAC) is CER's latest activist support initiative. GAC gives CER Partners and other groups a rapid mobilization and activation tool for the effective coordination of their membership activities quickly and effectively. In just six months of operation more than 50 individual groups have used the Grassroots Action Center to mobilize their members over important_issues and to generate nearly 500 letters and emails to lawmakers in support of charter schools and other school choice poli~ies. CHARTERS "You all must have more on charters than anyone on the face of the earth." Fawn Vrazo, editorial writer, Philadelphia Inquirer From our work to educate legislators on charters, to our help in drafting legislative language for charter bills, to on-going efforts to strengthen weak charter laws and to protect strong charter laws from being weakened, since our beginning we've been heavily involved in the creation, adoption and support of charter laws in states across the nation. Some highlights: The Early Days • In one of its first major outings, in 1993, CER leads a team of experts and community organizers to Detroit, Michigan for a town hall meeting on charters. An unexpectedly large and diverse crowd flocks to the forum after which CER receives nearly 50 requests for information on how to develop charter schools and support the charter movement. 3 • Arizona is another of the states where CER focuses its early efforts in support of charter schools. By 1994, Arizona's charter school law is enacted and over the next ten years, CER becomes one of the state's biggest champions, promoting its work in such places as The New York Times and in 1998, setting the record straight with U.S. News and World Report when it ran an unfair, inaccurate cover story on charter accountability in the state. • In 1995, Arkansas enacts a charter law and CER offers its hand in working to improve the state's charter school infrastructure, increase charter autonomy and the number of charter schools, and educate parents and school officials on the benefits of charters and public school choice - all work that continues-today. Ohio In the fall of 1995, CER begins work with Ohio lawmakers, including Representatives Mike Fox, Sally Perz and other state officials, to build support for charter schools. In a process of nearly two years of education, advocacy and activism, with CER's input and support, Ohio's charter law is enacted in 1997. "Your presentation to state officials changed the whole mood of the legislature about charter schools [and] as a result of your meeting with the Governor's tap advisors, the Governor's Chief of Staff now says the Governor will support charter school legislation." Andrew Little, (then) President, The Buckeye Institute, Ohio DC - Slow but Sure In 1997, Congress begins to take notice.
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