Quotable & Notable
?You can't be proficient at some academic tasks without having certain knowledge be automatic? you need something like drilling.'' ?Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia
A promising future for charter schools in Dayton
Emmy L. PartinThere was a terrific editorial in Saturday's Dayton Daily News about the storied 12-year charter school history in Fordham's home town and why we can be optimistic about the future of charters there.
Don't bring that weak stuff up in here
Kevin Welner asserts that a recent blog post in which I criticized him, his organization, and his colleagues ?avoids substance? and includes a ?broad intimation?
Education News Nuggets
It's not surprising that there are health benefits for kids who walk to school, but now research indicates that it might make them smarter, too (if you can even
Quotable & Notable
?Most days I wake up and think, gosh, we've just begun to scratch the surface of issues that plague this school system.'' ?Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools
Should Rhee stay, or should she go?
The DC Democratic primary?which had Vincent Gray ousting Adrian Fenty?has many in the edu-blogo-sphere wondering: what will happen to Michelle Rhee once Gray takes the reins?
Eureka!
Natalie Hopkinson has figured out what has caused all the preternatural perennial [look, they both start with the same letter and it's Friday afternoon, okay?] problems in Washington, D.C.'s public s
?Chilling?
That's how the Washington Post's Valerie Strauss, on the paper's Answer Sheet blog, described the D.C. premiere of Waiting for Superman. ?D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee,? Strauss wrote, ?used the occasion of the D.C.
Alfie Kohn on Robert Samuelson
Education writer Alfie Kohn takes on the Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson. Some of Kohn's points are fine, but really: Is Samuelson so wrong?
Flypaper's Michelle Rhee poll
It's missing an answer option: ?She should go. She has already made clear that she doesn't want to work with Vincent Gray, and so their relationship could not be a productive one.? ?Liam Julian
DC Reformers: To the suburbs!
Michael J. PetrilliAll the buzz is about education reform in the District of Columbia in a post-Adrian Fenty (and, probably, post-Michelle Rhee) world. Here's a thought: the massive attention on the D.C.
Quotable & Notable
?Mr. Fenty's defeat could send a discouraging signal to other big-city mayors considering far-reaching education overhauls.? ?Michael J. Phillips and Stephanie Branchero, Wall Street Journal
Movie review: Waiting for ?Superman?
Chester E. Finn, Jr.Feeling just a bit sheepish about being one of the few people in the throng who hadn't already seen this film, I went last evening (with Fordham research director Amber Winkler) to the big Paramount/Viacom-sponsored Washington premiere of Waiting for ?Superman??the much-discussed new education movie.
Levers for Change: Pathways for State-to-District Assistance in Underperforming School Districts
Amanda OlbergA blueprint for how states can break the cycle of ineffective district intervention
The Enhanced Reading Opportunities Study Final Report: The Impact of Supplemental Literacy Courses for Struggling Ninth-Grade Readers
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.Intensive high school reading programs work--temporarily
School Districts' Perspectives on the Economic Stimulus Package: School Improvement Grants Present Uncertainty and Opportunity
Daniela FairchildDistricts are iffy on the what and how of turnaround initiatives
The charter schools--and the bike lanes--will remain
Michael J. PetrilliRhee may move away, but charters are here to stay
You'll be sorely missed, Mike Castle
Chester E. Finn, Jr.DE ousts one of America's great edu-reformers
DC election: The charter schools?and the bike lanes?will remain
Michael J. PetrilliIt's understandable that education reformers will go out of their way to argue that Michelle Rhee's reforms weren't determinative in Adrian Fenty's mayoral re-election bid.
Field Notes: Kafka, the sequel
Peter MeyerI knew as soon as we had finished saying the Pledge that it could be an interesting school Board meeting: there were only four members present, which (because we were a 7-member board) meant that we had to have unanimous consent to pass any resolution, including, as we would soon learn, convening a meeting.
Morning After: How Fenty Lost
Peter MeyerThere will be a lot of post-mortem's on Adrian Fenty's dramatic fall from grace in D.C.? This is a good one from the Post, which concludes that the mayor ?misread an electorate he was sure he knew better than anyone, ?
Education News Nuggets
Now that Fenty's been ousted, the big question is Michelle Rhee: will she go?
Quotable & Notable
?What we don't need is more scapegoating of public service workers and their benefits.'' -Matt O'Connor, Spokesman for the Connecticut State Employees Association
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
The people who run the Think Tank Review Project have a newish book out: <