What 9/11 means for America’s schools twenty years later
Dale ChuThis week, we remember and reflect upon an unforgettably tragic day. This comes amid throes of national conflicts over information, misinformation, even the nature of facts and truth themselves. Schools can’t fix all this, but they must reclaim their vital role in ensuring that Americans understand their history and the interconnectedness of today’s world.
Seven questions about September 11
Lamar AlexanderThis advice from my friend Lamar Alexander for teaching about 9/11 was published twice by Fordham, first in 2003 and again (lightly revised) in 2011.
From the personal to the political, for the love of freedom
William DamonThis superb short essay by Stanford professor Bill Damon is a hard-hitting piece from a gentle, thoughtful, and learned psychologist, and (as with Senator Alexander's contribution) was first published by Fordham in 2003
Alternative certification policies and teacher recruitment outcomes
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.A recent study published in Educational Policy is a timely look at the ways in which states’ alternative certification (or AC) policies for teachers have impacted the composition of the corps of novice educators.
A commonsense alternative to critical race theory bans
Robert Pondiscio, Tracey SchirraThere are good arguments to be made in favor of so-called critical race theory “bans” that have now been considered in some form by more than half of all US states.
A better way to improve literacy among Black and Hispanic children
Ian RoweFor the last half-century, if you read the mission statement of virtually any education reform organization, you will find earnest language about closing the racial or class achievement gaps. Unfortunately, not only have gaps failed to narrow during this multi-decade obsession, overall achievement levels have also remained mostly static.
NWEA measures the impact of the pandemic on student achievement and growth
Jessica PoinerResearchers at NWEA have been using data from their MAP Growth assessments to predict and analyze learning losses since the start of the pandemic.
Using deeper learning to strengthen our democracy
Kent McGuireThe past eighteen months have been some of the most tumultuous in the history of our nation. The twin pandemics of Covid-19 and social injustice have highlighted how today’s students face very different expectations than students encountered in previous generations.
A bright future for open enrollment
Matthew Ladner“Hi. Welcome to the future. San Dimas, California. 2688.” Rufus, played by George Carlin, thus opened the American film classic Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure by explaining that, in the distant future, everything is great. The water, air, and even the dirt is clean.
Every high schooler in America deserves the U.S. history and civics education I have had
Cate BikalesBlack Lives Matter protests, raging wildfires, a monumental election, and the global pandemic. As a seventeen-year-old growing up in Portland, Oregon, these past eighteen months have been the craziest I have ever experienced. Never would I have thought that I would essentially miss the entirety of my junior year of high school, forced into taking classes in a solely online environment.
Lax school discipline won’t cut it as kids return to school
Michael J. PetrilliAs traumatized students return to classrooms, educators must be ready to handle worsened behavior issues, as some kids externalize the suffering they’ve been through and re-learn how to “do school.” Unfortunately, the discipline policies in place in many schools may exacerbate the challenge, potentially setting us up for disaster.
More dumb things done in the name of educational “equity”
Dale ChuParents across the country are up in arms over their school systems’ equity initiatives. To be clear, this is not “equity” as I came to define it when I started teaching nearly a quarter century ago.
A third disrupted year can only strain Americans’ ties to traditional public schools
Robert PondiscioIn the early days of the pandemic, I was dismissive of “new normal” talk about Covid’s long-term impact on schooling. There was good reason for skepticism.
Examining the benefits of career and technical education at scale
Olivia PiontekWhen it comes to career and technical education, there’s one state that seems to be getting things just about right: Connecticut.
School choice upholds America’s founding ideals
Daniel BuckThere is a heated debate going on among school choice advocates, in which the essential question is whether school choice is sufficient to reform American education. The civil disagreement belies a tension within the conservative movement writ large between the libertarians and the institutionalists. But it needn’t be a stalemate. A means to palliate the competing undercurrents can be found in our nation’s very founding.
The future of local school politics: Division or détente?
Paul T. HillDivisions about mask and vaccine mandates, in-person versus remote learning, student discipline, and racism and anti-racism in the curriculum will make it difficult for schools to serve anyone well this year.
The vast majority of parents want schools to teach children social and emotional skills
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D., Michael J. PetrilliThe biggest takeaway of our new report, "How to Sell SEL," is that most moms and dads want their children to acquire social and emotional skills and think that schools have a role in making that happen, even as they recognize the key role that they and other family members play. Read more.
State civics and U.S. history standards are less politically biased than before. Let’s keep it that way.
Jeremy A. Stern, Ph.D.In 2020, as we began to look at state U.S. history standards for the first time since 2011, I was concerned about what we would find.
Can changing our eduspeak help with post-pandemic schooling?
Dale ChuThe radio show Marketplace recently ran a piece asking, “Can changing home appraisal language help close the wealth gap?” The story examined structural racism in the housing market, specifically the wealth gap that persists as a result of Black and Hispanic families having t
A chilling effect: School board composition and charter schools
Amber M. Northern, Ph.D.In states as diverse as West Virginia, Florida,
Want great teachers and higher achievement? A study from Wisconsin suggests trying flexible pay.
Aaron ChurchillMany teachers are paid according to salary schedules that reward seniority and degrees earned, the result of state laws that require school districts to follow this rigid compensation scheme.
How to Sell SEL: Parents and the Politics of Social-Emotional Learning
Adam Tyner, Ph.D.This report examines parents’ opinions on SEL and pitfalls in communicating about it. It finds overwhelming support for the essence of SEL and its place in schools, but differences by political party and challenges in getting the terminology right.
Groundhog Day for school discipline
David GriffithOn June 4, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights asked for information that would help it “support schools in addressing disparities and eliminating discrimination in school discipline and fostering positive and inclusive school climates,” suggesting that something resembling the Obama-era discipline guidance may be reinstated in the near future.
The case for partisan school board elections
Aaron ChurchillThis November, Americans will cast their votes in thousands of local school board races. The stakes couldn’t be higher. These governing bodies will decide how public schools handle hot-button issues like masking requirements and critical race theory.
Five ideas for recruiting and retaining more Black and Hispanic teachers
William RostBecause of how Covid-19 has devastated the U.S. education system, many see this time as a unique opportunity to galvanize state and local education systems to enact large-scale changes. Bellwether Education Partners believes that one such transformation should be how state and local education agencies recruit and retain Black and Hispanic teachers.
The Education Gadfly Show #781: The House Democrats’ attack on charter schools
We’re moving toward a more student-focused, parent-directed, pluralistic K–12 system
Bruno V. Manno“Never in my lifetime have so many parents been so eager for so much education change.” So said longtime pollster Frank Luntz after surveying 1,000 public and private school parents on how the pandemic affected their view of schools.
Remote instruction is to blame for plummeting test scores
Nat MalkusTexas recently became the first state to release state test score data since the pandemic hit.
Biden’s anticompetitive moves on charters and choice
Dale ChuEarlier this month, President Biden issued a sweeping executive order encouraging federal agencies to undertake a series of initiatives aimed at increasing competition in the U.S. economy. But there’s a mismatch between his approach to competition in the private sector and his support for monopoly when it comes to public education.