With a financial squeeze (?strangle hold? might actually be more accurate) on the horizon for Ohio,?voters are eager to hear how soon-to-be elected officials will handle the state's mammoth budget hole. Not surprisingly, many fear the budget saw (see photo below for a special Fordham interpretation of ?budget saw?) will fall on K-12 education as it represents 40 percent of the state's budget.
Stop the presses! We have a winner of the Who Said It? contest ? two, actually.? (That was fast. Too easy, I guess.) ?Though I like Jamie's entry, which was close ? ?an artist formerly known as Prince? ? ?commenters known as Hmmmmmmmm and Eric (hmmm?) both got it right:
I went to bed last night reading the latest issue of the New York Review of Books and, as some of you know, I woke up this morning ? it is morning, isn't it? ?
I realize that in the Google Age nothing can stay unknown for long, but I have noticed, of late, an awful lot of merging of education reform roads; at least, there seem to be more blurred lines about more topics than ever.? So, in the interests of ?continuous improvement,? I'm wondering if there could be a new parlor game:??Who Said It??
On Oklahoma's ballot today, voters find eleven questions, one of which asks them whether per-pupil funding in the OK should be increased to match the expenditures of neighboring states.
Phase One of Mark Zuckerberg's cool $100 million grant to Newark Public Schools has commenced?and it's taking place outside the schools. Volunteers and paid canvassers are hitting the streets (and the phones) to find out parents' opinions on what does and doesn't work for their children's education.
Review: International Benchmarking: State Education Performance Standards
Everyone wants to know what a Republican-controlled House of Representatives will mean for ESEA reauthorization. Here's my take: it will mean less money, and less reform. And on the whole, that will be a good thing.
First, the good news: The Wall Street Journal reports that ?two national education groups? have spent some $3.5 million in local, political campaigns ?in an effort to challenge teachers unions' longstanding clout in the political arena.?
David Lazarus, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, feels an understandable?duty to educate his young son and prepare him ?for whatever life may throw at him.?
After much anticipation, Election Day is finally here?and we've got the photos to prove it.?
?Once you put authorizers in the position of being at once a regulator and a support agency, you've put the authorizer in the game too much.'' ?Andrew J. Rotherham, Co-Founder and Partner at Bellwether Education Partners
Washington Post's Jay Mathews has a new column out this morning, about election day and what it might mean for education policy if Republicans gain control of the U.S. House (and,?according to?some daring suggestions, maybe even the Senate).
Hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween! Not everyone was celebrating, though.
A love/hate relationship sums up what's happening across the country when it comes to district-charter collaboration. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is trying to spread the love by providing support and encouraging cooperation among district and charter leaders in places like New York City, New Orleans, Denver, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
Florida's ?no-win? class-size situation is a foreshadowing for Ohio, as we're bound to come to the same obvious conclusions about universal class-size reduction (CSR) requirements: does it really add value and even so, how the hell do we afford it?
Review: Sounding the Alarm: A Wakeup Call with Directions
I'll admit it: while she's not perfect, I'm still a huge fan of Michelle Rhee, what with her ?let's not mince words? style and her all-in approach to school reform. So it's not surprising that her Wall Street Journal ?manifesto?
Huh? Guess the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is really hurting for op-eds these days. ?Liam Julian, Bernard Lee Schwartz Policy Fellow
Bellwether Education's Andrew Rotherham has penned an atypically sensible article on income-based integration?atypically sensible, that is, for pieces about income-based integration, which tend to be flowery and na?ve, and not for pieces that Rotherham writes, which are often quite prudent.
?Four years ago, we both found a cause that inspired us to work hard every day. Reformers nationwide need to take up that mantle. Now is not the time to go soft on tough decisions. Fixing our schools will require courage and persistence, but young lives are at stake. What could be more worth the risks?''
No sooner had I hit the ?publish? button on my recent post on school closures than my new issue of Education Week arrived (yes, in the mailbox on the front porch). And after glancing at the front page ? ?Turnaround Team Picks Up the Pace in Ky.?
Review: Efficacy of Schoolwide Programs to Promote Social and Character Development and Reduce Problem Behavior in Elementary School Children
On Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reported that more than half of the state's schools failed to meet federal testing targets.?? This isn't a widespread indictment of the performance of public schools, however.??
If you're following the school closure / school turnaround debate, the story in today's NY Times ? ?In Sharp Rise, 47 City Schools May Close Over Performance? ? will offer some insights, if not a great deal of , er, closure.
Listen to a good radio debate between Michael Kirst and William Evers (by way of Andy Rotherham) on education and the California gubernatorial race.? It's money and more.
While our education system obsesses over the latest socio-pathological?disease (e.g. bullying) or vacuous phrase (e.g. 21st century skills),? more of the rest of the world seems to be keeping its eyes on the education prize.?
A chicken in every pot and a playground in every school. Along with healthy lunches, we can go a long way toward improving schools.
