Quotable and Notable
???This isn't about stopping money.?? This is a huge civil rights travesty going on in Boston.?? People need to open their eyes and deal with that.??? - Jane L??pez, attorney at Multicultural Education, Training & Advocacy
???This isn't about stopping money.?? This is a huge civil rights travesty going on in Boston.?? People need to open their eyes and deal with that.??? - Jane L??pez, attorney at Multicultural Education, Training & Advocacy
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.
The Civil Rights Project released a study today going after charters for being racially segregated.
???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
The 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.
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.
"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
It'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.
I'm back after some time buried in other projects. Here are a few interesting things I found while trying to catch up:
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:
That's certainly what the LAUSD vote on which of 30 schools to hand over to outside operators sounds like.
???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
The 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.
Today is budget day; all of Washington is abuzz. The U.S. Department of Education's budget details are here. What to make of them?
A 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
"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
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:
???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
While Joel Klein braves a blizzard during his last week as NYC schools chancellor,
On primary-secondary education, as on most??topics,??Mr.
???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
Just 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.
Ed 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.
Just 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.
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.
"There's something unseemly about tax dollars being used for lobbyist fees... that go after additional tax dollars." ??? Nebraska Sen.. Bill Avery
Can 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.
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.