So President Obama caused a bit of a stir when he picked a charter school for his first visit to a public school.
Now, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will use his first “Education News” TV show appearance tonight from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. to address the topic: “Charter Schools: School Reform that Works.” You can watch it at very odd hours on TV on channels like The Learning Channel, or on public broadcasting stations. It looks like it’s also available via webcast. The show is a longstanding Education Department initiative to communicate education information to parents. A registration is required.
(By the way, I found out about this from an ed department “tweet.” This is not your father’s education department, because these folks are Twittering.)
The description of the show talks about how Obama and Duncan want to embrace and foster innovation, and singles out “progressive” districts in Miami, Milwaukee (vouchers!), Tampa, and Chicago.
“Charter schools, in particular, are increasingly appealing to parents, and for good reason,” the description of the upcoming broadcast says.
Specifically, the show’s description indicates that Duncan and other guests will talk about the latest tools and options for parents, how the charter school and school choice movements have impacted academic achievement, and what a high-performing charter school looks like.
UPDATED: Politics K-12’s own Alyson Klein was holding court of her own on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal this morning—described as a “wonderful lady” by one caller, she explained the stimulus package and fielded numerous questions from callers.