Terminating DC vouchers
The administration's cruel treatment of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program continues. The Washington Post editorializes here. There are so many angles to this, it's hard to decide on which to focus.
Charters segregate?
The Civil Rights Project released a study today going after charters for being racially segregated.
Quotable and Notable
???I hope you you'll come away from this meeting with a knot in the pit of your stomach about how far we have to go.?? It should keep you up at night.??? -Larry Shumway, Utah Superintendent of Schools
"Proficiency" Pollyanas
Michael J. PetrilliThe No Child Left Behind hard-liners are striking back at President Obama's call to move beyond the goal of getting 100 percent of American students to "proficiency" by 2014, and working instead to get most students "college and career-ready" by the time they graduate.
New leadership at EEP
The Education Equality Project announced this morning that its board of directors will be led by a troika of big names. NYC's schools chief Joel Klein, UNCF head Michael Lomax, and La Raza president Janet Murguia were elected co-chairs of the advocacy organization's board of directors.
Quotable and Notable
"For them, it's like standing in a soup kitchen line desperate for some sustenance." ??? Stephen M. Saland, NY State Senator (Rep.), on how??states view Race to the Top funding
Reform realists, unite!
Michael J. PetrilliIt's Groundhog Day, and like Bill Murray, I'm experiencing a serious case of deja vu. But I have to admit, I don't mind it one bit.
Interesting news
I'm back after some time buried in other projects. Here are a few interesting things I found while trying to catch up:
Can failing schools be turned around or is it better to close them?
Watch our debate on school turnarounds vs. closures, and don't miss insightful and provocative comments from the panelists, including this one from Andres Alonso, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools:
Messy democracy
Stafford PalmieriThat's certainly what the LAUSD vote on which of 30 schools to hand over to outside operators sounds like.
Quotable and Notable
???It really marks the passing of an era. The push for proficiency may have been unattainable for everyone, but it did get states to move in the right direction.??? - Jamie Gass, Director of the Center for School Reform
To renew NCLB, redefine "reform"
Michael J. PetrilliThe folks over at the National Journal's education experts blog are starting to debate whether the No Child Left Behind act (a.k.a. the Elementary and Secondary Education act) can be reauthorized in 2010.
The President's budget request: More pro than con
Michael J. PetrilliToday is budget day; all of Washington is abuzz. The U.S. Department of Education's budget details are here. What to make of them?
Budget day winners and losers
Michael J. PetrilliA few minutes ago I shared my main thoughts about the President's budget request for education. Now let's read between the lines and examine the big winners and losers. Winners
Quotable and Notable
"I know it's a strong statement, but it's actually quite accurate.?? It was a pathetic system before the storm." ??? Paul Pastorek, Louisiana State Superintendent
Rewriting ?No Child Left Behind? a heavy lift
Sam Dillon writes in today's NY Times about the outlook for reauthorizing/rewriting No Child Left Behind. In a nutshell, experts say it'd be a heavy lift to get it done this year. Still, Sec. Arne Duncan/the admin & lawmakers are apparently starting to move on it. According to the story:
Quotable and Notable
???Shining a spotlight on those teachers and those principals who are doing a great job, rewarding them, learning from them--cloning them, if possible--is part of the solution.??? --Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education
Education News Nuggets
Amanda OlbergWhile Joel Klein braves a blizzard during his last week as NYC schools chancellor,
Checker Finn: Thumbs-up on Obama's k-12 education themes
Chester E. Finn, Jr.On primary-secondary education, as on most??topics,??Mr.
Quotable and Notable
???A public school like Berkeley High has an equal obligation to students who have struggled.?? We shouldn't be continuing to allocate resources to students who have had them all along.??? -Philip Halpern, Berkeley High School teacher
Era of big education spending still upon us
Michael J. PetrilliJust 24 hours ago I wrote about the news that President Obama will propose to freeze discretionary spending in his State of the Union address tonight.
Arne Duncan's secret grand jury
Michael J. PetrilliEd Week's Michele McNeil broke the news last week that Arne Duncan has decided not to release the names of the "Race to the Top" reviewers--until after the competition is over and grants have been announced.
SOTU: Is education really the best anti-poverty program?
Michael J. PetrilliJust a few minutes ago, President Obama said that "in the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a first-class education." Sounds like a throwaway line, and hardly objectionable. And??this very sentiment??motivates many of us who spend our days working to make the?? U.S.
Real charter accountability
I'm as big a fan as there is of the work that Chancellor Klein and his team are doing in NYC to build a new system of public education. Given the size of the district, its historical challenges, and the city's politics, it's astonishing how much they've accomplished.
Quotable and Notable
"There's something unseemly about tax dollars being used for lobbyist fees... that go after additional tax dollars." ??? Nebraska Sen.. Bill Avery
Bring charters in from the cold
Terry RyanCan Ohio finally bring itself to see charter schools as an asset, and not a liability? It is in the interest of the state, its education system, and its children to do so.
Proposal would allow online coursework to make up for snow days
School districts and STEM schools should be able to assign online work to students to make up for calamity days, according to legislation introduced earlier this month in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Reevaluating the meaning of teacher commitment
Yesterday Terry responded on Flypaper to remarks made by the president of the Dayton Education Association (DEA) as to why the union turned down up to