Senator Rob Mayer, sponsor of SB603 that would create an open enrollment law for Missouri, responds to misinformation in Tuesday’s Daily Dunklin: It is a hot topic today among school administrators, parents and parents-to be, and Missouri politicians. The issue of open enrollment is in the limelight for the second time in as many years.

The legislature returned to Jefferson City to begin the 2010 session on January 6 and education reform legislation is already a hot topic of discussion.  Despite budgetary concerns limiting what is likely to be considered this session, items with little or no impact on state finances are rising to the top of the education reform [...]

Missouri Education Reform Council (MERC), advocates for open enrollment and state vouchers to attend private schools, is a crucial voice in education reform

We are desperately in need of new, high-quality teachers, and we know that there is money available for the express purpose of offering merit pay to encourage and keep good teachers. Missouri can’t hesitate to pay our good teachers for the excellent work they do.

To Be and to Have is a French documentary detailing the day-to-day interaction of a one-room school house teacher and his students of widely varied skills and ages. I watched it a few nights ago – it’s available to watch instantly on Netflix – and while the concept of a single rural school teacher educating every local child seems outmoded and old-fashioned, I was struck by how much individual attention this teacher afforded to each student.

The 2009 legislative session hopefully marked the start of bringing real education reform to the state of Missouri. Key legislators seem to realize that Missouri must move forward on school reform so that our students can compete with those from other states and countries. For example, in the field of information technology, we do not have enough graduates to fill all of the positions available. As a result, a large number of immigrants from the Far East are filling them.

Parents would be able to send their children to neighboring public schools under a bill filed in the Missouri General Assembly this year.