NJ Education Report

The Los Angeles Times has an op ed co-written by John Doerr, partner in a venture capital firm, Ted Mitchell, chief executive of NewSchools Venture Fund and president of the California Board of Education, and our very own Cory Booker, mayor of Newark.

Booker, a rising star in politics, attended a meeting last week at the Democratic convention where he reminisced ruefully about fierce blowback from NJEA when he advocated school choice. In the LA Times piece, “Better Education Through Innovation,” he and his co-writers make the case for charter schools, Teach for America, and an expanded federal role in setting high national education standards. They write,

Beyond new funding, the federal government must use its influence over state and local policy to sweep away regulations that hamper innovative thinking, such as caps on the number of public charter schools allowed and excessive restrictions on how teachers are trained and credentialed. In addition, it can use the power of the purse to direct competitive funds to states that embrace urgent innovation. States control 70% of public education funding; a push for state support of entrepreneurial education efforts could have a huge effect.

It’s heartening that a major player like Booker can come out of the closet. Here’s to some more fresh air.