Quotable & notable
?The genie of school choice is out of the bottle'' * ?Terry Ryan, Vice president for Ohio programs and policy, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
PODCAST: 666 is 999 turned on its head
Mike and Janie hold down the fort this week, discussing the Harkin-Enzi bill, same-sex schooling, and St. Louis (both its new gifted-ed program and the Cardinals). Amber evaluates teacher-prep programs and Chris finds a novel way to hide a bald spot. [powerpress]
Talking High Flyers at ?The Other Achievement Gap?
Monday's panel discussion, ?The Other Achievement Gap,? provided a chance for critics and supporters of the Fordham Institute's recent study Do High Flyers Maintain their Altitude? to make their cases in person.?
Education news nuggets
I wonder if Sesame Street and the movies can teach math to our students more efficiently than a
Why watch the Fall Classic when there's ?The Other Achievement Gap??
In case you missed the entertaining back-and-forth at Monday's panel discussion, you can now watch the ?The Other Achievement Gap? in its entirety on our website.?
Responding (reluctantly) to the Think Tank Review Project
The left-leaning Think Tank Review Project reviews virtually every analytic report that Fordham publishes—and they have yet to find one that they like.
K5 Learning offers new findings from High Flyers data
In this guest blog post, the team at?
Quotable & notable
?Kids are barometers of truth. ?They know whether you care for them.'' * ? Angelique Jacques Marcoulis, Principal of Opportunities Unlimited Charter High School
The authorizer mystique
Guest blogger Alex Medler is the VP for Research and Evaluation at the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA). Medler chaired the board of directors of Colorado's Charter School Institute, a statewide charter authorizer.
Advice to Senate Republicans: Just say no to Harkin-Enzi*
Michael J. Petrilli[caption id="attachment_19702" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Photo from colorlines.com"]
A teacher's response to Mike Petrilli's article, "Accountability's end?"
Guest blogger Roxanna Elden is a National Board Certified Teacher in Miami, and the author of See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers.
Quotable & notable
?At the end of the day, you can't give a death sentence for stealing a turkey.'' * ?Derrick Bass, Dean at Marshall High School in Chicago
Criticism of High Flyers ups the stakes for ?The Other Achievement Gap?
While Checker dispenses with the United Educators of San Francisco on one coast, a more worthy opponent has emerged much closer to home.?
Accountability's end?
Michael J. PetrilliIt's official: Federal policymakers across the political spectrum are finally willing to admit that Congress overreached when it passed No Child Left Behind and put Uncle Sam in the driver's seat on education accountability.
Quotable & notable
?And Johnny still can't read. Even his diploma. I don't see what there is about the last 50 years of failure that's worth enshrining in marble, and a shock to the system might be just what the system needs. We can hardly make matters worse.'' *
Checker Finn: Public (education) enemy #1
Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education (FEE) kicks off its annual summit today out in San Francisco.
Podcast: Rick dresses for a protest
Mike takes back the driver's seat, with Rick, once-again, in his sidecar. Together, they offer up substantive takes on Harkin's new ESEA bill, Jerry Brown's API veto, and the role of for-profits in education; chat with Amber about controlled-choice programs; and go on a sting operation with Chris. Then they ride off into the sunset. [powerpress]
Traditional pensions: cui bono?
Chris TessoneYounger teachers in Illinois, whose pensions were slashed last year by the legislature, should start asking whose benefits they're really paying for. The new Tier 2 pension only costs about 5 percent of salary...yet teachers are paying 9.4% of their salaries into the Teacher Retirement System.
Quotable & notable
?We are moving into a partnership mode with states, rather than telling states you've got to do this and this and this'' * ?Tom Harkin, Senator from Iowa and head of the Senate education committee
Learn about High Flyers on the radio, online, or in person
Listen live this evening at 5:35 p.m.
A progressive school finds some accountability religion
Peter MeyerI was prepared for a rant against all things reform when I started reading the New York Times Q & A interview with Maria Velez-Clarke, the principal of the Children's Workshop School in Manhattan's East Village, about the school's C-grade from the City.?
Quotable & notable
?At the end of the day it might be all talk, but I think there are a lot of families that value diversity.'' * ?Madely Rodriguez, P.S. 29 parent
Even done well, differentiated instruction won't work without a curriculum
Peter MeyerI have always been suspicious of differentiated instruction if only because, like its kissin' cousin customized learning, it sounds too good to be true.?