Gadfly congratulates The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching on its perspicacity and judgment in naming Fordham prize winner Anthony Bryk to succeed Lee Schulman as president of that century-old organization. (See here and here.) A Stanford professor since 2004, Bryk is one of the nation's foremost education scholars but, unlike so many others in the field, his interests and enthusiasms range well beyond conventional public education. He co-authored one of the most perceptive books about Catholic schools, for example, and has been much involved with charter schools both in Chicago and in the Palo Alto area. He isn't one to allow custom, dogma, institutional interests, or politics to deter him from getting as close as he can to the truth about what's best for kids who need to learn more. We are delighted (if a bit surprised) that Carnegie was wise (and open-minded) enough to make this superb selection.
