Marc Madness

Marc Porter Magee, top-notch education reformer from ConnCan, all-around good guy, and husband of Fordhamite Kathleen Porter Magee, is producing some short, fun??videos

Weak interventions

In this Gadfly piece where I criticized the School Improvement Fund, I predicted with sadness that most states and districts would take the easy way out and (instead of closing and replacing failing schools) use the weakest intervention model possible, the "transformation" option.

Education news nuggets

Have you made your Race to the Top bracket yet? What are you waiting for???

Quotable and notable

???If a school continues to fail its students year after year, if it doesn't show signs of improvement, then there's got to be a sense of accountability.??? ???President Barack Obama

Mulligan!

President Obama is teaming up with General Colin Powell right now to talk dropout reduction. I've got no beef with that.

More Catholic closures

Yesterday, the Baltimore Sun had a front-page story about more upcoming closures of Catholic schools in the city. Despite their strong service of disadvantaged kids, these schools are suffering under an unsustainable financial model.

Collision of religion, charters, vouchers, and accountability

This story is worth keeping an eye on. We've been able to hold off a major and messy policy debate about the intersection of vouchers, charters, private schools, accountability, and choice. Court cases like this though can force the conversation.

Making money on turnarounds

This post from Russo last week raises a very, very interesting issue.

Denver and the school system of the future

RTT predictions

Ed Week's Michele McNeil and Lesli Maxwell have made some predictions about RTT finalists. Tom Carroll did likewise. (Finalists should be announced by ED later this week.)

State RTT stuff

CT, which has one of the weakest RTT applications I've read, is considering policy changes to improve its chances the second time around.

Duncan to testify

Secretary Duncan is appearing before the House education committee on March 3.

Human capital in Boston

This Gadfly story about human capital in Boston is worth lingering attention. Apart from the drama related to the report's release, it shows how policies and contracts can clearly--and tragically--inhibit a city's ability to improve the quality of its teaching corps.

Education news nuggets

If you thought the only ed story out of Rhode Island was Central Falls, think again.??

Education news nuggets

E-textbooks, e-governance, and e-schools are taki

Quotable and notable

???It is a fundamental principle of the free market that when you infuse competition into any equation, you make it better.?? We are lacking any substantial competition in education.??? ???Virginia Del. C. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah

Caprice Young - Fordham's newest board member

The Board of Trustees of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has elected Caprice Young as its newest member. An exceptional education reformer with extraordinarily wide-ranging experience, Ms.

UTLA gains control of 22 LA schools

I've now gone from optimistic to doubtful to disappointed on the LAUSD outsourcing plan. If you recall, the district decided to outsource the management of 12 low-performing schools and 18 new ones. Teachers, parents, charter organizations, and other non-profits were invited to apply.

Quotable and notable

???While we have some excellent individual teachers, our students continue to be held back by a lack of quality education and by union leadership that puts their self-interests above the interests of the students.??? ???Don Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island

Video: Rod Paige on closing the achievement gap

Seeking American history

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="(Three girls stand against a wall in the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California, one of 10 U.S. camps that interned Japanese-Americans during World War II.)"][/caption]

One gutsy guy

Is America’s civil-rights leadership looking out for the essential interests of African-American children? Former education secretary Rod Paige says no.

The State of City Leadership for Children and Families

National League of Cities; Institute for Youth, Education, and Families2009

Human Capital in Boston Public Schools

Emily Cohen, Aileen Corso, Valerie Franck, Bess Keller, Kate Kelliher, and Betsy McCorryNational Council on Teacher Quality and Massachusetts Business Alliance for EducationFebruary 2010

D.C. School Chooser 2010-2011: A K-12 Guide to Finding a Great School for Your Child

GreatSchoolsFebruary 2010

Fringe goes mainstream

Milwaukee Public Schools faces a conundrum that might be familiar to systems nationwide. The district needs to rein in exploding healthcare and retirement costs, but must overcome a recalcitrant teachers union, which has outsized influence on the school board.

Going to the Gallo(w)s

When Frances Gallo, Superintendent of Central Falls, Rhode Island, announced two weeks ago that she was going to fire all the teachers at the perennially failing Central Falls High School, teachers (not surprisingly) went ballistic.

Certifiably generous

Nevada is broke. But don’t worry, you can help--by purchasing one of Governor Jim Gibbons’ new Education Gift Certificates.

Why the AFT should be an afterthought

“How much attention should we pay to AFT?” queries Mike Antonucci. His answer: not much. Since the reign of Al Shanker, we’ve regarded the American Federation of Teachers as the more open-minded of the two national teachers’ unions.

Will the Common-Core standards prove safe and effective?

Even though they still haven't seen the light of day in draft form, much less been joined by any assessments, the evolving "common core" standards project of the NGA and CCSSO is already being laden with heavier and heavier burdens.