Paul E. PetersonKennedy School of Government, Harvard UniversityApril 2007
Four years back, Fordham teamed up with The Broad Foundation to publish Better Leaders for America's Schools: A Manifesto. This call to action depicted a role for the public school principal akin to that of a CEO.
Most elementary teachers seem to require intensive, expensive, and continuous professional development in mathematics. Even if current federal and state initiatives to train experienced teachers are successful, their costs are staggering.
It would be easy to berate 2nd grade teacher David Keyes for his recent op-ed in the Washington Post (as blogger Kevin Carey did here).
The American way of life changed last Monday when intrepid New York Times columnist Bob Herbert traveled to Avon Park, Florida (a "backward city," he writes), population 8,872, to document an emerging national pandemic. That's how Herbert would tell it, at least.
China is making headlines for more than trafficking pirated Lost DVDs. Some U.S. educators and employers envy that nation's success in teaching math and science (at least in producing scads of engineers and suchlike) but now China seems to be showing greater curiosity about American schools.
Though most public school principals believe that effective leadership of their schools requires authority over personnel decisions (e.g., staff selection, deployment, dismissal), they report having little such authority in practice. Based on a series of interviews with a small sample of district and charter-school principals, the report shows that most district principals encounter a sizable gap between the extent and kinds of authority that leaders need to be effective and the authority that they actually have.
A new study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) found that the “highly qualified teacher” (HQT) designation required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act fails to carry much weight in the classroom.
As a sponsor of nine schools in Ohio, we have learned (the hard way, at times) that effective charter school management and governance require four essential elements: sound state policy, including appropriate funding; diligent and attentive sponsors; well-trained and highly capable school leadership; and an engaged and knowledgeable governing board.
Ohio recently joined eight other states in a pilot effort to develop a common Algebra II assessment (Algebra II is required under the Ohio Core), as well as a uniform set of standards to go with it.
The latest report on the 2006 High School Survey of Student Engagement tells a somewhat predictable, not to mention disheartening, story about how teenagers approach their education and school environment.
Robert C. Pianta, Jay Belsky, Renate Houts, Fred Morrison, The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Early Child Care Research Network Science Volume 315, March 30, 2007
Newly elected Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is set to strangle charter schools in his state. Calling charters "a dismal failure," he would impose a moratorium on new schools.
Henry Levin, Clive Belfield, Peter Muennig, Cecilia RouseTeachers College, Columbia UniversityJanuary 2007
Karin ChenowethHarvard Education Press2007
New York Times columnist David Brooks is that kind of conservative. In Why I Turned Right, a new collection of essays by leading members of the right detailing their moves away from liberalism, Brooks calls himself "the kind of conservative some New York Times readers can stand."
Until recently, Mike Merrifield served as the Colorado House Education Committee chairman. Then he sent an email to another state legislator in which he opined that "there's a special place in hell" for supporters of charter schools.
Charter schools in Florida are on shaky ground. On one hand, they're expanding like crazy. About 98,000 students have signed up for spots in over 300 Sunshine State charters over the past decade. On the other hand, the quality of many of those schools is questionable.
I just don't get it. Fordham prides itself on positions that are based on research, data, and thoughtfulness. Why do you abandon this framework repeatedly when expounding on middle school reform? "Teaching to the middle" (March 22) is a good anecdote.
New Yorkers upset about the specter of unionized charter schools can at least expect such schools to be welcomed by the unions themselves, right? Not! Consider the plight of Green Dot, a chain of unionized charter schools whose proposed expansion in L.A.
As policymakers wrestle with No Child Left Behind's reauthorization and educators struggle to comply with its spirit, it is clear that both communities are increasingly serious about seeking out rigorous and useful research.
After New York's budget negotiations ended, charter school supporters exuded both cheers and moans. The good news: Lawmakers agreed to expand the state's charter school cap by 100 schools, bringing the total to 200. That's progress, to be sure.
January 8, 2007, was the fifth birthday of the No Child Left Behind Act. This isn't just another milestone to be celebrated (or mourned). The law is now due for an update from Congress. But will NCLB be reauthorized on schedule? What changes are likely? No one knows for sure, but the ubiquitous 'Washington insiders' might be in a better position than others to cast prognostications. While not a 'representative sample' of thousands, their inside knowledge adds valuable insight.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have generously supported Fordham’s charter school sponsorship efforts in Ohio. In doing so, the Gates Foundation requested that we share some of our experiences and the knowledge gained monitoring nine charter schools.
When it comes to reforming and improving Ohio’s education system, there is more than enough drama in Columbus--as well as a fair share of proposals aimed at moving our education system backward. Two bills, in particular, are prime examples of the latter.Representative Wolpert’s Condition
Overseeing the academic, fiscal and operational components of a charter school is a significant responsibility for individuals who serve as governing authority members. To assist them in their efforts, the Thomas B.
With so much rhetoric (some of it misleading, and much of it espoused by the state’s teacher unions) surrounding Ohio’s charter school program, it’s easy to overlook key elements of both the program and the 300+ schools that comprise it.
Governor Strickland’s budget (introduced as House Bill 119) may not offer any carrots to supporters of school choice in Ohio (see here), but his proposals to
Angry at recent announcements heralding $39 million in district budget cuts, the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT) is fighting back. CFT launched an advertising campaign against the board of the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), alleging gross mishandling of the district’s budget by board members.
