Nancy Pelosi was a veritable jack(ie)-in-the-box during Barack Obama's speech last night to a joint session of Congress, leaping to her feet to lead an ovation anytime Obama said something inspiring. There was one notable exception, however. When Obama raised the issue of charter schools--
--Pelosi remained seated. In fact, the mention of charter schools was perhaps the weakest applause line of the evening.
What does that mean? Perhaps nothing. But it does allow me to return to the somewhat controversial issue of a new public school in Portland's Pearl District, which, as I pointed out last night, is home to a charter school with a waiting list of 125 students. The Emerson School, like most charters, is not a viable alternative to a traditional neighborhood school. (Nor are the other focus options in the area, which are open, theoretically, to any student in the city.)
Two discussions about the Pearl school are on-going in local blogs. One is hardly worth reading, filled as it is with comments from know-nothings and cynics. The other, over on Blue Oregon, offers a slightly more substantive conversation, not always brilliant, but much more, well, helpful (if you ignore the back-and-forth between one particular commenter and anyone who disagrees with him.)
Another discussion is just opening over at PPS Equity. The level of discourse there is always pretty high. If you want to learn about Portland school politics, PPS Equity is a must read site.
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