edited by Don McAdams, Paul Hill and Jim Harvey, Center for Reform of School Systems, 2001
Houston has been much noticed of late, mainly because it's showing better results than most urban school systems, partly because former HISD superintendent Rod Paige is now U.S. Secretary of Education, partly because its reform-minded school board is so unusual, and partly because veteran board member Don McAdams is trying to help other cities effect the kinds of education reforms that appear to be working in Houston. This report from McAdams's Center for Reform of School Systems summarizes findings reported at a Houston conference in October 2000. Edited by McAdams, Paul Hill and Jim Harvey, it's not a collection of loosely joined papers but, rather, a coherent forty-page analysis. (It lists - but does not otherwise help the reader to obtain - the eleven papers discussed at that conference, including one by Gadfly editor Marci Kanstoroom and one by Fordham trustee Bruno Manno.) It provides data about HISD and information on the reform strategies underway there, organized primarily under the themes of accountability, capacity and empowerment. Perhaps its most important contribution is helping readers see the coherence - the master plan, even - of much of what's been done in Houston under the heading of school reform. If you'd like a copy, contact Don McAdams by e-mailing [email protected], write the Center for Reform of School Systems, 123 North Post Oak Lane, #405, Houston, TX 77024, or phone (713) 682-9888.
