by Bruce Friend
The Foundation for Excellence in Education, started by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, works to improve schools by advocating for higher standards, using data systems to drive district- and school-level decision making, to incorporating technology and digital content as part of the teaching and learning process.
You may recall reading a previous blog submission in which I described how the Governor has compared today’s schools to milk; and that milk has actually had more innovation applied to it than many our school systems.
“Go down the aisle of nearly any major supermarket these days, and you will find an incredible selection of milk. You can get whole milk, low fat milk or skim milk. You can get organic milk, milk with Vitamin D, or milk enzymes to improve the way your brain functions. You can get flavored milk—chocolate, strawberry or vanilla—that doesn’t even taste like milk. Most of the time, there is a whole other refrigerator case dedicated to milk alternatives—like soy milk, almond milk, and rice milk. They even make milk for people who can’t drink milk. Who would have ever thought you could improve on milk? Yet, freedom, innovation, and competition found a way.” Jeb Bush, December 2010.
At this year’s Excellence in Education event, Governor Bush provided some specific examples of how significant school reform initiatives have started to take shape in 2010. While there is still much progress to be made, “commonality of purpose” that was demonstrated in the past year between leaders on both sides of the political spectrum provides a glimmer of optimism that perhaps partisanship can be put aside on the important challenge of improving our schools.
Some of the significant reforms that the Governor spotlighted were:
• The establishment of Common Core academic standards
• The recent Race to the Top process was a catalyst for school reform efforts
• The efforts by many states and districts to modernize the way that teachers are evaluated and compensated, with the inclusion of student achievement as a critical component to both.
While it may seem these reforms may only impact public school education, the truth is that homeschool families can also benefit from some of the latest reform movements. For example, slower but steadily, barriers that restrict education choice options for students are being torn down. This is especially true in the field of online learning where the growth of private – public partnerships are opening up more options for all students.
If you have questions about the use of online learning and what options may be available to you, feel free to email me at: bruce.friend@sas.com
Bruce Friend is the Director of SAS® Curriculum Pathways®, an award-winning education resource that provides online lessons, engaging tools and activities at no cost to U.S. educators. Bruce has spent the past decade working in the field of online learning. He is a national pioneer in helping to establish the country’s first statewide online program and has been the chief administrator of two state virtual schools.
In 2003 he was honored with the “Most Outstanding Achievement in Distance Education” award by the US Distance Learning Association. Prior to joining SAS, Bruce was the Vice President of the International Association for K12 Online Learning; a non-profit organization that provides support to students, parents, and online learning programs.
The Foundation for Excellence in Education, started by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, works to improve schools by advocating for higher standards, using data systems to drive district- and school-level decision making, to incorporating technology and digital content as part of the teaching and learning process.
You may recall reading a previous blog submission in which I described how the Governor has compared today’s schools to milk; and that milk has actually had more innovation applied to it than many our school systems.
“Go down the aisle of nearly any major supermarket these days, and you will find an incredible selection of milk. You can get whole milk, low fat milk or skim milk. You can get organic milk, milk with Vitamin D, or milk enzymes to improve the way your brain functions. You can get flavored milk—chocolate, strawberry or vanilla—that doesn’t even taste like milk. Most of the time, there is a whole other refrigerator case dedicated to milk alternatives—like soy milk, almond milk, and rice milk. They even make milk for people who can’t drink milk. Who would have ever thought you could improve on milk? Yet, freedom, innovation, and competition found a way.” Jeb Bush, December 2010.
At this year’s Excellence in Education event, Governor Bush provided some specific examples of how significant school reform initiatives have started to take shape in 2010. While there is still much progress to be made, “commonality of purpose” that was demonstrated in the past year between leaders on both sides of the political spectrum provides a glimmer of optimism that perhaps partisanship can be put aside on the important challenge of improving our schools.
Some of the significant reforms that the Governor spotlighted were:
• The establishment of Common Core academic standards
• The recent Race to the Top process was a catalyst for school reform efforts
• The efforts by many states and districts to modernize the way that teachers are evaluated and compensated, with the inclusion of student achievement as a critical component to both.
While it may seem these reforms may only impact public school education, the truth is that homeschool families can also benefit from some of the latest reform movements. For example, slower but steadily, barriers that restrict education choice options for students are being torn down. This is especially true in the field of online learning where the growth of private – public partnerships are opening up more options for all students.
If you have questions about the use of online learning and what options may be available to you, feel free to email me at: bruce.friend@sas.com
Bruce Friend is the Director of SAS® Curriculum Pathways®, an award-winning education resource that provides online lessons, engaging tools and activities at no cost to U.S. educators. Bruce has spent the past decade working in the field of online learning. He is a national pioneer in helping to establish the country’s first statewide online program and has been the chief administrator of two state virtual schools.
In 2003 he was honored with the “Most Outstanding Achievement in Distance Education” award by the US Distance Learning Association. Prior to joining SAS, Bruce was the Vice President of the International Association for K12 Online Learning; a non-profit organization that provides support to students, parents, and online learning programs.
