Selling our schools
Eric OsbergRepublican George Allen and Democrat Paul Goldman (Virginians both) have teamed up to write an interesting piece in the New York Time s urging Congress to modify certain tax credit rules so that they include school renovations.
Ed Week on fire, charters in Maine, and more
Excellent Ed Week articles on school boards and governors and education and use of ARRA funds
Fordham on School Governance
Emmy L. PartinChecker, Terry, and Fordham board member David Driscoll offer up their opinions on school governance at the state and local levels over at Education Week
The difficulty of attaining education equality
Checker writes on EducationNext's blog today about the inability of Title I and various versions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to bring about achievement gains for
Fordham's latest report in the news
If you missed last week's coverage of our new report on national education standards, check out this Washington Post article from today.
Today's quotable and notable
Quotable: "It's very exciting.?? This is the first accountability system for school meals in the history of the school system." -Jonathan Stein of Community Legal Services in Philadelphia
Worth the read
New NY education commissioner Steiner fails first test? Wise cautions about "innovation" and the i3 from former IES head Whitehurst Good Toppo article??on Latino aspiration gap
Good i3 webinar
ED just hosted a webinar on the i3, led by OII head Jim Shelton. Though the basic information in the presentation tracked faithfully with the priorities document (so nothing terribly new or different), some of the Q&A was quite interesting.
Media coverage of new Fordham Institute report
Our new report is discussed in two interesting articles---one in the Washington Post and one in
Fordham's newest report assesses Common Core education standards
The Fordham Institute's newest report???-Stars By Which to Navigate? Scanning National and International Education Standards in 2009--reviews the ???Common Core???
Today's Quotable and Notable
Quotable: "I just don't want to see us sell our soul as we are racing to the top and not making philosophical decisions along the way." - Connecticut School Board Vice Chairwoman Janet Finneran
Unwanted vacation in paradise
What should schools do in the face of massive budget cuts? Not what they’re doing in Hawaii, that’s for sure.
Toward a Research Agenda for Understanding and Improving the Use of Research Evidence
Steven R. Nelson, James C. Leffler, and Barbara A. HansenNorthwest Regional Educational Laboratory2009
Projections of Education Statistics to 2018 (Thirty-seventh Edition)
Janie ScullWilliam J. Hussar and Tabitha M. BaileyNational Center for Education StatisticsSeptember 2009
Poor extrapolation
The tragic and violent death of Chicago honors student Derrion Albert raced across YouTube and internet news.
Positive tracking
At Sam Placentino Elementary School in Holliston, Mass., a significant number of parents enroll their kids in programs that are basically guaranteed to reduce their child’s state test scores. In an interesting twist on the idea of parental choice, the school offers three separate pedagogical tracks: traditional, Montessori, and French immersion.
Stars by which to navigate?
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.It might actually happen. Planets and stars are beginning to align. Some sort of national education standards may actually become a reality.It’s a heavy lift, to be sure, but the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, in partnership with Achieve, ACT, and the College Board, have embarked on just such an undertaking.
Sweet tooth police
Step away from the snickerdoodles. Banish the brownies--and the blondies. This is the Big Apple, not the Big Glazed Apple Cinnamon Fritter. In a nod to healthier living, the New York City Department of Education has effectively banned bake sales--that ubiquitous fundraising staple of soccer teams, debate clubs, and school bands.
i3
Yesterday, ED released its "proposed priorities" for the Investing in Innovation (or i3) fund, a $650 million program embedded in the federal stimulus legislation.??I give the document a full treatment here, but??here's a quick and dirty explanation and analysis with a bit of
Not another education committee...
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.I had the pleasure of attending Fordham-Ohio's conference on standards on Monday.
Today's Quotable and Notable
Quotable: "There's a history of violence associated with moving kids from one area to another.?? You have a trail of blood and tears ever since they launched (Renaissance 2010)." - Tio Hardiman, director of CeaseFire Illinois
Interview with Andy....
Here's a recent??interview with Fordham Institute's Andy Smarick about NCLB prospects and the administration. It ran this week on Ednews.org.
Extra stimulus dollars
Schools and non-profits can get extra stimulus dollars, Libby Quaid of the AP reported this afternoon. The Department of Ed today issued rules for a $650 million competitive grant fund for school reform, according to the piece.
Interesting tidbits
Good thoughts from the Hassels on how to manage the distribution of quality that results from charter start-ups. ??(And they continue our??Montague-Capulet turnaround battle here.)
Michael Gove: Attempting a revolution
Stafford PalmieriWe commented on the new British Tory plan for education in last week's Gadfly.
Today's Quotable and Notable
Notable: 388 Number of employees being laid off by Washington, DC public schools in the face of recent budget cuts, according to a statement released Friday. The number includes 229 teachers, or roughly 5% of all DCPS faculty.