HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle

War Stories From the Charter School Movement

Views: 809
Building a network of successful charter schools isn't easy, especially in a state as wary of school choice as California. But Dan Katzir and Gloria Romero have transformed public education in the face of tough opposition from political party leaders, union bosses, and school administrators. Katzir and Romero discussed the challenges of school choice with Lisa Snell at Reason Weekend, part of a series of lectures held annually by Reason Foundation.

----

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/reasontv
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason
Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes: https://goo.gl/az3a7a

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.

---

Gloria Romero, a former California state senator and Democratic majority leader, says she's "gone rogue" on her own party. Starting her own charter school, Scholarship Prep, required challenging the prevailing wisdom of party bosses, who tried to expel her from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.

But Romero wouldn't be silenced. "Even if the pope were to tell me to stop talking about reproductive rights," she said, "I wouldn't, having grown up a Catholic, I wouldn't have listened to him, either."

Romero's determination comes from having watched public schools repeatedly fail poor and immigrant students. She watched the bureaucracy in Sacramento prioritize pay, perks, and pensions over student achievement. "Our schools are more of a public works program than a public education program," she says. "We've got to blow the system up."

On the other side of the panel sits Dan Katzir. Katzir is president and CEO of The Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools, a network of 28 high-performing Los Angeles charter schools.

Opposition to school choice is baked into California's education system from the beginning. "You can't open a public school unless someone authorizes you," Katzir warns. "You essentially have to go to the monopoly provider and ask permission to compete against them."

Getting a charter school proposal authorized by the state is the first challenge of many. Then, says Katzir, "you sign a five-year contract with the devil. Because over those five years they have oversight and regulatory responsibility for you. Which in bureaucrat-ese means we are going to make your life as miserable as possible, because we now control you."

Despite formidable politcal challenges, California boasts some of the most successful charter schools in the nation. Katzir and Romero show how transformative change is possible, even against the most powerful and entrenched state bureaucracies.

Edited by Alex Manning. Cameras by Jim Epstein and Meredith Bragg.
@ReasonVidsfollow
Thumbnail for Dad Drops Son a Mile From Home. Goes to Jail.5:46
Dad Drops Son a Mile From Home. Goes to Jail.
ReasonVids
1101 views
Thumbnail for 128 Days Later: It Can Always Get Worse1:10
128 Days Later: It Can Always Get Worse
ReasonVids
798 views
Thumbnail for Biden's Plan To Stop Ghost Guns Is Doomed To Fail9:33
Biden's Plan To Stop Ghost Guns Is Doomed To Fail
ReasonVids
900 views
Thumbnail for "I Pledge to Serve Barack Obama" (Urgent 2012 Election Update)1:21
"I Pledge to Serve Barack Obama" (Urgent 2012 Election Update)
ReasonVids
951 views
Thumbnail for Stossel: Stop! You Need a License To Do that Job!4:33
Stossel: Stop! You Need a License To Do that Job!
ReasonVids
904 views
Thumbnail for Bitcoin: 'A Weapon for Us To Fight Oppression'5:56
Bitcoin: 'A Weapon for Us To Fight Oppression'
ReasonVids
874 views
Thumbnail for Ted Pike tried warn us in 19871:28
Ted Pike tried warn us in 1987
bestofupgoat
70 views
Thumbnail for We Can Survive Global Warming. But Not Without Fossil Fuels: Alex Epstein1:36:06
We Can Survive Global Warming. But Not Without Fossil Fuels: Alex Epstein
ReasonVids
783 views
Thumbnail for Justin Amash on How To End the Civil War in the Libertarian Party1:13:13
Justin Amash on How To End the Civil War in the Libertarian Party
ReasonVids
807 views
Thumbnail for What Americans Think of the Police & Millennials Think of Capitalism: Q&A with Pollster Emily Ekins10:27
What Americans Think of the Police & Millennials Think of Capitalism: Q&A with Pollster Emily Ekins
ReasonVids
974 views
Thumbnail for What Americans Really Think About ISIS5:55
What Americans Really Think About ISIS
ReasonVids
937 views
Thumbnail for Do You Have a Right To Repair Your Phone? The Fight Between Big Tech and Consumers12:11
Do You Have a Right To Repair Your Phone? The Fight Between Big Tech and Consumers
ReasonVids
908 views
Thumbnail for The Dumbest New Ban in 2014: Incandescent Light Bulbs2:30
The Dumbest New Ban in 2014: Incandescent Light Bulbs
ReasonVids
948 views
Thumbnail for The 3 Rules of Hate Speech: Free Speech Rules (Episode 2)3:42
The 3 Rules of Hate Speech: Free Speech Rules (Episode 2)
ReasonVids
1014 views
Thumbnail for Former MTV VJ Kennedy on Her Libertarian Evolution28:22
Former MTV VJ Kennedy on Her Libertarian Evolution
ReasonVids
1030 views
Thumbnail for The Fracturing of Communist Cuba’s Propaganda Machine4:58
The Fracturing of Communist Cuba’s Propaganda Machine
ReasonVids
869 views
Thumbnail for Chinky Toronto mayor is back! @da ribrary 0:43
Chinky Toronto mayor is back! @da ribrary
bestofupgoat
83 views
Thumbnail for Mom Fighting Insane $100,000 Parking Violation Wins First Round4:51
Mom Fighting Insane $100,000 Parking Violation Wins First Round
IJvids
861 views
Thumbnail for Errol Morris on Donald Rumsfeld, The Unknown Known, and Evidence-Based Journalism41:30
Errol Morris on Donald Rumsfeld, The Unknown Known, and Evidence-Based Journalism
ReasonVids
843 views
Thumbnail for The Miami GOP Debate in 90 Seconds2:05
The Miami GOP Debate in 90 Seconds
ReasonVids
1013 views
Thumbnail for back to back world war champs0:12
back to back world war champs
bestofupgoat
389 views
Thumbnail for The NSA Wouldn't Let Us in This Building (But We Found Out What's Inside)5:05
The NSA Wouldn't Let Us in This Building (But We Found Out What's Inside)
ReasonVids
868 views
Thumbnail for Ted Pike tried warn us in 19871:28
Ted Pike tried warn us in 1987
x0x7
174 views
Thumbnail for Virginia Postrel: Glamour, Politics, & Voter Expectations8:14
Virginia Postrel: Glamour, Politics, & Voter Expectations
ReasonVids
1095 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian, reason magazine, reason.com, reason.tv, reasontv, charter schools, california, school choice, utla, parent trigger
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle