Creating New Leaders in the Charter Sector
Chester E. Finn, Jr.The charter community in the Buckeye State recently received some welcome news (see here and here ).
KIPP Columbus Seeks Founding Cluster Executive Director
Passionate about increasing excellent schooling options for all children? Here's a chance to work with one of the leading charter school networks in the nation. The KIPP Foundation is seeking an accomplished leader to create a cluster of KIPP schools in Columbus, Ohio.
Making the Grade (or Not)
Too many of America's youngsters--Ohioans among them--are still being left behind.
Charter School Achievement: What We Know
Bryan Hassel, Charter School Leadership CouncilFebruary 2005
Double the Numbers for College Success: A Call to Action for the District of Columbia
Coby LoupDC College Access Program, DC Education Compact, DC Public Schools, DC State Education OfficeOctober 2006
Tests, elections, and achievement
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Any number of things can be said about next week's election and I will forbear from most of them. But one issue has surfaced that is genuinely alarming for education reformers: indications that some Democratic candidates (and office holders) are turning against standards-based reform and moving to roll back the assessment regimen that plays a crucial role in it.
No Springtime for Hitler
Student Walter Petryk must have known when he donned a Hitler costume this past Tuesday morning that administrators at Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences wouldn't be pleased. Probably for that precise reason, or because he had grown a mustache for the occasion, he did it anyway.
Courting disaster
Schools in Garfield, New Jersey, boast the latest in high-priced amenities, including a spanking new $40 million middle school.
Make new friends, but keep the old
I appreciated last week's Gadfly editorial ("Urban tragedy," Oct.
Moe money for performance
"Makes no sense at all.... A truly dumb idea." A commentary on Mike Tyson's recent announcement that he wants to fight women? Nope.
A right to single-sex education?
Martin A. Davis, Jr.Last week the Department of Education announced new rules that clear the way for public school districts to open single-sex schools and classrooms. Since then, a flood of criticisms from women's groups and some civil rights organizations has spewed forth.
The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children?
The Fordham Report 2006: How Well Are States Educating Our Neediest Children? appraises each state according to thirty indicators across three major categories: student achievement for low-income, African-American, and Hispanic students; achievement trends for these same groups over the last 10-15 years; and the state's track record in implementing bold education reforms. It finds that just eight states can claim even moderate success over the past 15 years at boosting the percentage of their poor or minority students who are at or above proficient in reading, math or science.
Teacher and Principal Compensation: An International Review
Jennifer DeBoerSusan Sclafani and Marc S. TuckerCenter for American ProgressOctober 2006
The Future of Charter Schools and Teachers Unions: Results of a Symposium
Coby LoupPaul T. Hill, Lydia Rainey, and Andrew J. RotherhamCenter on Reinventing Public Education's National Charter School Research ProjectOctober 2006
Comma combat
"Grammar Greiner" suddenly has a following at Westfield High School in Northern Virginia. Although he's known as the toughest English teacher in the school, students who want to do well on the SAT's new essay-writing section know they have to improve their grammar. So they sign up and endure his lessons on commas, apostrophes, spelling, and sentence structure.
Fewer cop outs on dropouts
Low high school graduation rates have headlined the education woes of many urban districts, worrying educators and Oprah alike. But the data on dropouts have always been inadequate and rather one-dimensional, denoting that X out of every 100 students fail to graduate.
For the kids?
The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik, himself an Upper East Sider, believes "that a constant obsessive-compulsive anxiety about children--their health, their future, the holes in their socks, and the fraying of their psyches--is taken entirely for granted" in New York City.
Judgment day
Quentin SuffrenThis October, the Halloween treats came early for supporters of Ohio's 300 charter schools. In a 4-3 decision handed down Tuesday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the state's charter school program, much maligned by critics, is indeed constitutional. The ruling is consistent with decisions by other state courts across the nation.
Urban tragedy
Michael J. PetrilliDuring the past few years, scores of impoverished inner-city schools have shut their doors. On the surface, that could be a blessing. After all, one of the major problems with American education is that bad schools seem to live forever.
Beware the Phantom (Revenue)
Quentin SuffrenIf you think Halloween is spooky, consider what Ohioans will face on November 7th--a slew of new school levy and tax issues at the polls.
Charter Schools Not to Blame for DPS's Financial Woes
Quentin Suffren, Terry RyanThere is much to be said that's critical of charter schools that's also true.
Columbus Sets Its Sights on KIPP
Kristina Phillips-SchwartzIt's no secret that Ohio needs more high-quality schools, especially for its poorest children. So why not shoot for the best--the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP)?
Educational Entrepreneurship: Realities, Challenges, Possibilities
Martin WoosterFor years, common wisdom held that aside from textbooks, the business sector had little to offer the world of education. But scores of educational entrepreneurs are now proving this belief false.
How Well are American Students Learning: Volume II, Number 1
Tom LovelessBrown Center on Education PolicyThe Brookings InstitutionOctober 2006
(Brain) power shortage
The twenty-third permutation of the MetLife teacher survey series, which annually compiles data on teacher attitudes across a range of topics, recently emerged and was mostly ignored.
"Failing" or "Succeeding" Schools: How Can We Tell?
Coby LoupPaul E. BartonAmerican Federation of TeachersSeptember 2006
High School Graduation in Texas: Independent Research to Understand and Combat the Graduation Crisis
Jennifer DeBoerChristopher B. SwansonEditorial Projects in Education Research CenterOctober 2006
Courting Failure: How School Finance Lawsuits Exploit Judges' Good Intentions and Harm Our Children
Eric OsbergEdited by Eric A. HanushekHoover Institution's Koret Task Force on Education2006