Charter School Approved

Per a story by Paige Parker in today's Metro section of The Oregonian, the board of directors for Portland Public Schools has approved the Koreducators proposal to create the Leadership and Entrepreneurship Charter High School in northeast Portland. Wanderer Don Wardwell and I attended the meeting, as did like a hundred other Koreducator supporters, many with children. The board had earlier denied this proposal, with some board members absent.

Nirel almost came, as she's back to doing her big budget video documentary on the future of public education, but her batteries were low, plus we'd been unable to produce a tripod. So we left her and Jules at Jake's Grill, where we'd enjoyed the crowded happy hour (1/2 lb. cheeseburgers for only $1.95!). But we needn't have rushed. The board had many hours of business to attend to before it got around to taking a second look at the charter school proposals.

Jules, just old enough to legally drink beer, is a big Neal Stephenson fan and is close to finishing the Baroque Cycle. He's also a fan of Ricky Gervais (The Office, Extras) and Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen). He encouraged us to catch the latter's interview with Pat Buchanan (clip).

I've flagged the new Koreducator school as a potential asset on in-house company maps (as has Coca-Cola). The emphasis on entrepreneurship might dovetail well with Portland's growing reputation as an open source capital. New talent has to come from somewhere. Why not from northeast Portland?