Education News Nuggets
Think your privacy is secure in public schools? You may want to think again. And it looks like money isn't always going to the right places in New York.
Quotable & Notable
?The most successful charters [are] protective of the keys to their success because they [are] competing with other charter networks for new contracts.'' * ?Luis Huerta, Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy at Teachers College at Columbia University
Finn on BBC
As a footnote to the earlier NBC post,?Checker also was?interviewed by the BBC about the PISA results and Shanghai's dominance.
Finn on NBC
Yesterday, NBC Nightly News featured a segment about the newly-released PISA results, which, as you probably know by
Relax
Reading Checker's piece in today's Wall Street Journal sent Terry into a brief fit of arrhythmia and anxiety.
A Rubber Room by any other name ? is still a rubber room?
Peter MeyerAccording to today's NY Times, the city's infamous ?rubber rooms? ? made more infamous by last year's Steven Brill New Yorker article ?
Joel Klein's legacy by the numbers
Chris IrvineReview: Children First and Student Outcomes: 2003-2010
Education facing demands at a time of leaner rations
Terry RyanChecker's WSJ piece on the recent ???Sputnik moment??? for American education sent my mind reeling and my heart racing.
Education News Nuggets
Teacher training is all about the technology lately?coaching via earpieces and
Quotable & Notable
?We are trying to shift the balance of power in the education landscape away from the powerful groups who want to keep the status quo. We are going to be the group that is advocating on behalf of kids.? Michelle Rhee, Former Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools
Sputnik for the 21st century
Chester E. Finn, Jr.This piece originally appeared in today's Wall Street Journal (login required).
Taking off the gloves
Chester E. Finn, Jr.By happenstance, the same day that Michelle Rhee announced formation of her new education-reform advocacy group, Students First, a committee of our own board okayed a staff (and attorney)?recommendation that we engage in what the IRS calls a ?501 (h)?
The war is implied
Frederick M. Hess of the American Enterprise Institute tells the Christian Science Monitor that former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee ?very explicitly is setting out to be a political answer to the unions.?
Try again
Edward L. Glaeser, a Harvard economics professor, presents today on the New York Times Economix blog some ways in which Republicans in Washington might improve education. Alas, his ideas are not new.
Behind the numbers
Checker is among those educators ?stunned,? as he told the New York Times, by China's performance in what the Times noted was the nation's ?debut in international standardized testing.? And stunned he, and we all, should be.
50/50 Race to the Top split isn't unusual
Jamie Davies O'LearyDespite the fact that the Race to the Top program disappeared from the news several months ago (winnings for the last round were announced in late August), there have been lingering questions and issues with the program.
Like batting averages? You'll love VAM
Janie ScullReview: Evaluating Teachers: The Important Role of Value-Added
Education News Nuggets
Want to learn how to improve children's lives? It's more than just fixing schools. And if you're not already busy this weekend, maybe it's time to get buzzy.
Quotable & Notable
?The debate shouldn't be about whether a school is a traditional or charter public school.? It should be about whether it's high-performing, period.'' * -Joel Klein, Outgoing Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education
Event highlights: Are Education Schools Amenable to Reform?
Well, we held yet another interesting and valuable event here at Fordham on December 2.? The topic at hand was a crucial one: Are Education Schools Amenable to Reform?
The Brighter Side of IT: Figment.Com
Peter MeyerThat's the name of the new website for literate and literary teens being unveiled by New Yorker staff writer Dana Goodyear and former New Yorker managing editor Jacob Lewis.? (This, according to this morning's Times.)
Context matters, but so does getting the fundamentals right
Daniela FairchildReview: How the World's Most Improved Systems Keep Getting Better
Dayton Urban League ceases operations after 63 years
Terry RyanDayton is the Fordham Institute's hometown. Thomas B. Fordham made his fortune here and he and his wife are buried in the city's Woodland Cemetery.
Special education, back in the spotlight
The special-education system has long been a thicket of politics, social obligations, massive spending, and (mis)diagnoses.
The dark side of IT: Cyberbullying coming to a school near you
Peter MeyerI might not have appreciated today's front-page Times story about cyberbullying if I hadn't received a?barrage of text messages this morning from a school aide?mad?at me?she said she was ?too enraged? to call?for a newspaper story I was quoted in.?
The great compromise of 2010
High drama in NYC: Cathie Black got her waiver from State Commissioner David Steiner on the condition that she team up with Shael Polakow-Suransky. Wait, who? Black's new number two is a former Gotham teacher and principal currently employed by the NYC Department of Education's central office, as well as an alum of the Broad Superintendents Academy.
Smile! You're on Not-so-Candid Camera
Peter MeyerSam Dillon? tackles the question of teacher evaluations in the Times today with a front-page ?story pegged to Bill Gates' investment of $335 million in overhauling teacher evaluation systems.