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Podcast

Success stories shouldn’t be a secret | Episode 1004 of The Education Gadfly Show

Karin Chenoweth Michael J. Petrilli Amber M. Northern, Ph.D. David Griffith, Ph.D.
2.4.2026
Karin Chenoweth
 

This week on The Education Gadfly Show, we’re joined by Karin Chenoweth, founder of Democracy and Education and author of Schools that Succeed, to talk about what she’s learned from years of visiting successful classrooms, schools, and districts across the country. We explore a deceptively simple question: Why don’t educators, policymakers, and researchers spend more time studying success?

Then, on the Research Minute, Amber Northern highlights new evidence from New York City showing that small public high schools significantly boost graduation rates and college enrollment, especially for disadvantaged students.

Recommended content:

  • Schools that Succeed —Karin Chenoweth
  • Learning from greatness: The conversation continues —Holly Korbey, The Bell Ringer
  • Best practices are the worst —Jay P. Greene, Education Next
  • Effects of New York City’s small schools of choice on postsecondary degree attainment and employment —Rebecca Unterman and Miki Shih, MDRC (2026)

Feedback Welcome: Have ideas for improving our show in 2026? We would love to hear them. Send them to [email protected]

Karin Chenoweth

A long-time reporter and education writer, she has studied and learned from high-performing and improving schools and districts serving children of color and students from low-income backgrounds. She spent many years at The Education Trust, where she authored four books and co-authored a fifth, all published by Harvard Education Press. Her most recent book is Districts That Succeed:…

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President, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Michael J. Petrilli is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, executive editor of Education Next, editor in chief of the Education Gadfly Weekly, host of the…

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Amber Northern is senior vice president for research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where she supervises the Institute’s robust research portfolio and…

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David Griffith is the National Research Director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where he manages or authors reports on various subjects including charter schools, …

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