The miniaturization of education reform
Once upon a time, education reform concerned itself with fixing "the system." Then we moved into our current fascination with fixing (and creating) individual schools.
Once upon a time, education reform concerned itself with fixing "the system." Then we moved into our current fascination with fixing (and creating) individual schools.
One of the reasons that ???data quality??? can be so elusive is that bad data can just sit there, in a drawer in someone's desk, never getting discovered. It's an old axiom: data that never see the light of day tend not to be as reliable as data that are viewed and used. With more visibility comes more accountability for data quality.
This Post article about Duncan's speech to the nation's governors focusses primarily on potential teacher layoffs (giving more reason to suspect we're about to see a second stimulus, at least for school
Dillon writes in the NYT this morning that the president, in a speech to the governors today, will announce that the administration's NCLB proposal will require states to adopt "college- and career-ready standards" in order to receive Title I funds.
The House is holding a hearing this Wednesday on the All Students Achieving through Reform (All-STAR) Act, which would create a new competitive grant program designed to help replicate and expand high-performing charters.
Two things you might want to check out. A flyer from the Los Angeles teachers union. Tomorrow, they are holding a candlelight vigil to protest district reform efforts.
"I've learned as an author over the years that I am not perfect. So, if somebody in Iowa sees something in my book that they perceive is wrong, I am absolutely willing to give them the benefit of the doubt." ??? Neil F. Comins, Author, "Discovering the Universe"
???I think anything that offers parents more choice is positive.?? One size doesn't fit all.??? ???Nina Gilbert, Principal of Ivy Preparatory Academy
The Cleveland Teachers Union (CTU) has launched a campaign to unionize the city's charter schools. The union made public records requests to area charter schools asking for teachers' names, years of experience, current salary, and other information, presumably in preparation for reaching out to the teachers about joining the union.
A new report from Fordham today, authored by yours truly and our research assistant Janie Scull, identifies some
Our new report, America's Private Public Schools (described below), is meant to pierce the tired rhetoric used by so many defenders of the status quo in education.
The Post is reporting that a bipartisan group of House members is going to begin work on an NCLB reauthorization bill.
I'm sure many of you skipped over this job opening mentioned in this week's Gadfly. The bureaucratically named federal Office of Management and Budget may not sound like the hottest place to work. But if you or anyone you know is looking for a great edu-job, definitely give it some attention.
???This is the best opportunity we have had to have really substantial change in how we meet the educational needs of our kids. Congress would love to go home and say, ???We fixed No Child Left Behind.'??? ???Rep. George Miller, D-California
This collection of papers and “toolkits” is meant to help districts and charter management organizations navigate through some of the most complicated issues facing school systems. These papers distill “best practices” from 10 urban districts and are supposed to serve as set of guidebooks that school leaders can adapt to fit their particular needs.
This book recounts the author's experiences in the for-profit education industry. It starts out at the Harvard Kennedy School, winds its way through New American Schools and the Edison Project, and ends with Sandler’s development of an education consulting firm named EduVentures.
Building on previous work of The New Teacher Project, data from the National Council for Teacher Quality, and other research, this overview of teacher tenure policies asserts that the tenure bar is set too low, that student achievement has nothing
Already the subject of much consternation in the blogosphere, this report investigates the current state of charter school demographics and chastises the charter movement for the proliferation of racially-isolated schools.
Moving to Michigan? You might want to check out the website BestSchoolsinMichigan.com to pick a promising school district--or you might not. The nine districts featured on that site, and highlighted in a special half-hour TV segment recently aired in the Detroit area, paid $25,000 each for the honor.
Did you know that a group of fifteen people basically control your child’s curricula?
Houston Superintendent Terry Grier’s plan to link value-added student test scores to teacher evaluation and dismissal decisions drew attention when he proposed it early this year. Now, the school board has unanimously agreed.
It’s hard not to get the sense right now that the Democrats are in free fall.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="180" caption="Clipping Arne Duncan's sails?"][/caption]
"I am saddened and shaken at the core by the enormous ramifications of my responsibilities. The only solace I have is that I know I provided every opportunity possible, in fully public and transparent ways, the means to avoid this."
Watch out edusphere, here comes Hess. Our good friend (and Gadfly show co-host) Rick Hess has launched a new blog, Rick Hess Straight Up on the coveted real estate of edweek.org.