The voc-ed solution
Joanne Jacobs features a thorough article, from Houston, about the new voc-ed--you know, voc-ed for the 21st-Century, not your grandfather's voc-ed, etc. The benefits of such programs are numerous.
Joanne Jacobs features a thorough article, from Houston, about the new voc-ed--you know, voc-ed for the 21st-Century, not your grandfather's voc-ed, etc. The benefits of such programs are numerous.
The Washington Post has been running a series all week on the childhood obesity crisis and our society's inadequate response to it. Today's article is about the schools' role:
Eduwonk Andy Rotherham is a business-minded fellow, and yesterday he made the point that as districts downsize, schools close, and some teachers (mayb
Speaking of Eduwonk.... You may think you know Andy Rotherham. You've sat with him on panels, chit-chatted??with him??over cocktails, rubbed elbows with him in the corridors of power, enjoyed a??cigar with him while lounging in leather chairs in??the smoky wicket-doored rooms where American ed policy is crafted.
That's one finding from this new Public Agenda survey.
First it was Randi Weingarten, who yesterday embraced Core Knowledge as the sort of program New York City's schools need.
So reports Charles Barone, a former (Democratic) hill staffer: Memo to Democrats: Bush used a message similar to McCain's to good effect in 2000.
A teachers union negotiating with a public school district to eliminate seniority rules? That's what's happening now in Washington, D.C., according to today's Washington Post .
For years, the media has been obsessing over the rise of "Islamophobia" (never mind that America's Muslims enjoy full political, religious, and civil rights--considerably more, in fact, than their co-religionists in Europe, Africa, and even the Middle East, where tyranny and Islamic sectarian violence are rife).
I was reviewing a federal evaluation report that came out last week on small schools (also known as schools within schools or small learning communities).
MOUNT VERNON - A Mount Vernon City Schools' science teacher has a monitor in his classes these days after he allegedly promoted Christianity in his classroom and used a hand-held laboratory electricity generator to mark crosses onto the skin of students.
The federal Department of Education has released its interim report of Reading First (see here), the centerpiece program of No Child Left Behind that is supposed to help the most economically disadvantaged and academically struggling elementary students learn to read.
Mitch Chester, former senior associate superintendent for policy and accountability at the Ohio Department of Education, began a new job Monday as commissioner of elementary and secondary education in Massachusetts.
We take no joy in the Marc Dann scandal, but the Attorney General's resignation does raise the possibility of a more level-headed approach to the charter-school debate in Ohio.
The Economic Policy Institute updates its 2004 report on teacher pay and then some in The Teaching Penalty: Teacher Pay Losing Ground. The institute finds that the pay of public school teachers is 15 percent lower than that of comparable professionals and that, over time, teacher pay has grown at a slower rate than inflation or the pay of similar workers.
As Alexander Russo mentioned yesterday, the annual NewSchools Venture Fund summit comes to Washington today. Here's the agenda: 8:00-9:00 Welcome Opening by Ted Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer, NewSchools Venture Fund
I've disagreed with Neal McCluskey before--about the federal role in education, the effectiveness of vouchers, the correct spelling of the name "Neal"--but I had a mostly positive reaction to his take, posted today on National Review Online, about ED in '08, the platform of which McCluskey f
Today's conference--see the agenda below --brings together leaders of charter school networks, major funders, start-up curriculum companies (or "tool builders" in NewSchools-speak), policy types, and assorted "edu-preneurs."
We're only 15 minutes into the main event, and already two of my three questions have been resolved. Yes, someone has spoken about education... and that someone was none other than UFT president (and AFT heir apparent) Randi Weingarten.
I read Bob Herbert columns when I have trouble sleeping, and so it was that I noticed his piece, published Saturday, about high schools--how they're not preparing students for college and work, and how too many students drop out.
"If [teachers unions] are really really really so bad, then why wouldn't the schools in states that are union-free do so much better than the states that have unions?"
Andy Rotherham might not want to throw Randi tough questions, but D.C.
One clear message from today's conference is that Washington, D.C., is the new "it" city for education reform activity. The jealousy in the room is palpable. First, there's Michelle Rhee (speaking now), who is dynamic, entrepreneurial, and fearless.
After a long hiatus for lunch and some break-out sessions, the liveblogging returns. As someone who's helped to organize many an education conference, I can't help but be impressed by the full room this late in the day. It's either because: a) People really want to hear Newark mayor Cory Booker speak. (He's about to start.)
I'm hardly the first person to note the striking similarities between Cory Booker and Barack Obama. (Whitney Tilson, for example, discussed this connection long ago.) But their commonalities are overwhelming. Both men are black, highly educated, eloquent, inspirational, former community organizers and exude post-racial post-partisanship.
It's twenty minutes into his speech, and Cory Booker is finally starting to talk education. He describes walking into excellent charter schools in Newark--Northstar, KIPP--and seeing "what's possible."
We're throwing a little soiree at the Fordham offices. The crowd is filing in, and one question is on many minds: How's the food?
Don't let anyone tell you that ed reformers are a ragged bunch. The crew I'm observing right now is as sartorially sophisticated as they come. Especially noteworthy: Ben Wildavsky, wearing a particularly natty sport coat, and our own Amber Winkler, whose skirt is multi-hued, multi-pleated, and strikes one as a fresh burst of springtime.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was supposed to be the education governor of California.