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He Stood, He Delivered
We mourn the passing of Jaime Escalante, one of America's foremost educators in the late 20th century, a cla
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Why Florida didn't catch a break
There has been much written about Secretary Duncan's decision to choose only Delaware and Tennessee for first round winners in the Race to the Top.?? Perhaps the decision was easier than people think. [quote]
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Education news nuggets
Reactions continue on RTT, and stakeholder support is the big winner (well, other than
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Timely, informative debate on unions
About a week ago, Tim Hoffine from the Ohio office, wrote up the recent NPR debate on the influence of teachers unions on America's schools. I'd also strongly commend it to you.
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Quotable and notable
???No one is protecting the status quo.?? No one is saying they're doing well enough.??? ???Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education
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A coincidence?
Over the weekend, David Broder argued that education should be the next issue on the Congressional agenda, and that it could be a rare chance for a bipartisan victory.
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My RTT hopes and predictions
Later today, we'll find out which states have been selected as winners in the first round of the Race to the Top. The Department's announcement will answer three burning questions: How many? Why???Which?
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My initial RTT assessment
The selection of DE and TN answers the questions I posed this morning--not necessarily in the ways I wanted, but we got answers nonetheless. First, both state had good plans. Not great plans but certainly good. And the Department deserves credit for selecting only two states. Secretary Duncan was tougher in choosing winners than in choosing finalists, and I give him credit for that.
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The implications of "stakeholder support"
The Department of Education has released the final peer reviewers' scores for Race to the Top (RTT) finalists. I find it very worrisome.
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Quotable and notable
"I think the process was robust. We literally met with thousands of people who expressed their views. We heard them, and in the end, we disagreed." ??? Joel Klein, New York City Schools Chancellor
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Montana enters race on the wrong foot
Montana didn't apply in the first round of the Race to the Top. ??At the time, its state superintendent said the program was pushing an urban agenda on rural states. Eric Feaver, the state union head, called it "devastating and irrational" and vowed to "do everything in our power" to keep the state from applying.
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Creator of "evidence-based model" of school funding can't answer tough questions
Yesterday at a meeting of Ohio's School Funding Advisory Council ??? the group tasked with drafting state education spending recommendations by the end of the year -- council members got to hear from the man behind the ???magic??? of the evidence-based school funding model (EBM) that Ohio recently adopted.
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Now for the good news
If you haven't read Andy's new "Stimulus Watch" piece from the American Enterprise Institute, get right on it.
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My RTT picks
So I'm a little mad that my NCAA bracket is doing so poorly. (I'm last place in the Fordham pool by a lot. I've only got two teams still in it--Duke and West Virginia. That's what I get for not watching basketball all season long. But I digress.)
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Obama hates private schools
That's at least the conclusion of CNS news, which reports that the 3,000 White House Easter Egg Roll tickets set aside for DC students are restricted to public and charter school students only. DC parochial and private school students need not apply.
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Take our Gadfly survey and win $100!
Flypaper readers should be familiar with Fordham's weekly newsletter, The Education Gadfly. I certainly blog enough about it!
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Arne Duncan: Race to the Top grants to be announced "very soon"
I just heard Arne Duncan speak at a Policy Innovators in Education Network conference, and he indicated that we'll know shortly which states will take home the prize in Race to the Top's round one. He also reiterated--for about the thousandth time--that it's going to be a "very very" high bar.
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Beware interest group-itis
So I warn the "entrepreneurial sector" in advance of the NewSchools Summit on May 12. -Mike Petrilli
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Education news nuggets
Check out our recently released review of draft Common Core standards, or read this review of our private public schools report.
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The Full Story on the Race to the Top
Today, AEI released my third report on the education portions of the federal stimulus.?? This edition focused exclusively on the Race to the Top.?? (First two here and here.)
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Today's Fly, so good
New From Fordham: Review of the Draft K-12 Common Core Standards.Our expert reviewers have analyzed the draft Common Core K-12 education standards according to a set of rigorous criteria.
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Quotable and notable
???I asked the teachers to do lesson plans, which they hadn't done in years.?? Sheryl Byrd said that was a change in work expectations.?? It's a requirement in the Ohio Revised Code, and we're going to follow it.??? -- Mike Dixon, Superintendent of Twin Valley Community Local Schools
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Congress sues four citizens!
Enough is enough. At least that’s what the tiny school district of the “no-stoplight” town of Congress, AZ is saying to four women who have bombarded it with over 100 public records requests in eight years. The purpose of this paperwork?
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Honors grades for the Common Core
We’re one step closer. “Common” standards for U.S. schools are knocking at the door. They won’t likely make it all the way in but even a partial entry is looking like it might do some good.
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Shuttered schoolhouses
What do two mediocre charter schools on opposite coasts have in common? They’re both slated to close come June on account of low enrollment, financial concerns, and subpar test scores. Justice Charter High, a Los Angeles Green Dot campus, and New Covenant School in Albany have been on thin ice in recent years, but they’ve both made great gains in and out of the classroom.
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Health-caring for our teachers
If you’ve been wondering how the just-passed health care reform bill will affect your own coverage, consider the coverage of our nation’s teachers. Many enjoy the incredibly cushy Cadillac kind, courtesy of indefatigable unions and generous school boards.