Once upon a time, major federal education legislation was authorized for five years at a time and funds could only be appropriated for programs so long as the authorization remained valid. As a result, big fat laws such as E.S.E.A. and the Higher Education Act were, in fact, reauthorized every five years, always with amendments and additions, sometimes with improvements.
The connection between rhetoric and reality in discussions about reforming America's high schools wears thin.
The genesis of Fizzy Fruit's success arguably comes from Genesis, in which we learn that fruit is one temptation from which mankind simply cannot abstain. For kids, however, fruit holds less allure--but soda is a Godsend.
Advanced Placement enrollment has exploded, and several schools in the Washington, D.C., area have gone so far as to eliminate conventional honors courses altogether because, they claim, AP provides students more academic rigor and holds them to higher expectations.
The ed reform crowd genuflects before the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the holy grail of testing. And in most cases, its deification is appropriate. But when comparing charter schools to traditional public schools, the holy grail becomes a Dixie Cup.
David Jason FischerCenter for an Urban FutureMay 2008David Jason FischerCenter for an Urban FutureMay 2008
Gilbert T. SewallThe American Textbook CouncilMay 2008
Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso, taking a page from Fordham's playbook, is remaking the city's funding system to push dollars and decisions down to the school level. Several principals (and their union bosses) are displeased, however.
Jeff calls California's governor a "dismal failure" when it comes to fighting for better education.
Joanne Jacobs features a thorough article, from Houston, about the new voc-ed--you know, voc-ed for the 21st-Century, not your grandfather's voc-ed, etc. The benefits of such programs are numerous.
The Washington Post has been running a series all week on the childhood obesity crisis and our society's inadequate response to it. Today's article is about the schools' role:
Eduwonk Andy Rotherham is a business-minded fellow, and yesterday he made the point that as districts downsize, schools close, and some teachers (mayb
Speaking of Eduwonk.... You may think you know Andy Rotherham. You've sat with him on panels, chit-chatted??with him??over cocktails, rubbed elbows with him in the corridors of power, enjoyed a??cigar with him while lounging in leather chairs in??the smoky wicket-doored rooms where American ed policy is crafted.
First it was Randi Weingarten, who yesterday embraced Core Knowledge as the sort of program New York City's schools need.
So reports Charles Barone, a former (Democratic) hill staffer: Memo to Democrats: Bush used a message similar to McCain's to good effect in 2000.
I was reviewing a federal evaluation report that came out last week on small schools (also known as schools within schools or small learning communities).
A teachers union negotiating with a public school district to eliminate seniority rules? That's what's happening now in Washington, D.C., according to today's Washington Post .
For years, the media has been obsessing over the rise of "Islamophobia" (never mind that America's Muslims enjoy full political, religious, and civil rights--considerably more, in fact, than their co-religionists in Europe, Africa, and even the Middle East, where tyranny and Islamic sectarian violence are rife).
MOUNT VERNON - A Mount Vernon City Schools' science teacher has a monitor in his classes these days after he allegedly promoted Christianity in his classroom and used a hand-held laboratory electricity generator to mark crosses onto the skin of students.
We take no joy in the Marc Dann scandal, but the Attorney General's resignation does raise the possibility of a more level-headed approach to the charter-school debate in Ohio.
The Economic Policy Institute updates its 2004 report on teacher pay and then some in The Teaching Penalty: Teacher Pay Losing Ground. The institute finds that the pay of public school teachers is 15 percent lower than that of comparable professionals and that, over time, teacher pay has grown at a slower rate than inflation or the pay of similar workers.
Mitch Chester, former senior associate superintendent for policy and accountability at the Ohio Department of Education, began a new job Monday as commissioner of elementary and secondary education in Massachusetts.
The federal Department of Education has released its interim report of Reading First (see here), the centerpiece program of No Child Left Behind that is supposed to help the most economically disadvantaged and academically struggling elementary students learn to read.
As Alexander Russo mentioned yesterday, the annual NewSchools Venture Fund summit comes to Washington today. Here's the agenda: 8:00-9:00 Welcome Opening by Ted Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer, NewSchools Venture Fund
I've disagreed with Neal McCluskey before--about the federal role in education, the effectiveness of vouchers, the correct spelling of the name "Neal"--but I had a mostly positive reaction to his take, posted today on National Review Online, about ED in '08, the platform of which McCluskey f
Today's conference--see the agenda below --brings together leaders of charter school networks, major funders, start-up curriculum companies (or "tool builders" in NewSchools-speak), policy types, and assorted "edu-preneurs."
We're only 15 minutes into the main event, and already two of my three questions have been resolved. Yes, someone has spoken about education... and that someone was none other than UFT president (and AFT heir apparent) Randi Weingarten.
