Commentary
Commentary
On Making Lemonade: DPS Should See Levy Defeat as Opportunity
The decisive recent levy defeat (by a margin of 58 to 42 percent) was indisputably a blow to the Dayton Public Schools (DPS), bringing grim fiscal realities that will force district leaders to scale back certain programs, curtail some activities and furlough a number of teachers and staff--much of this in less than two months.
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Come work with us!
The Fordham Institute seeks talented individuals to fill two positions in Ohio: an Editor/Researcher to be based in either Dayton or Columbus; and a Research and Data Analyst for the Dayton office. Both must be interested in education policy and reform, tireless workers, and in general accord with Fordham's principles.
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Correction
Alas, in our last issue our announcement of official accord between President George W. Bush and U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton during National Charter Week was just wishful thinking. While both certainly are and have been supportive of charter schools, Senator Clinton did not introduce a resolution in the Senate praising them.
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Frontier reform
Charter schools are hot in urban districts, but parents in the hinterlands are warming to them, too. Take Sterling, Colorado, population 12,589, where a group of parents has spent two years trying to open one. But the school board thrice rejected their petitions to launch Sterling Charter Academy, saying the parents' applications were too vague about operational details.
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A new hope
Many of us had high hopes that New Orleans's school makeover would offer a silver lining to the Katrina tragedy. But when schools opened last autumn, many didn't have enough classroom space, books, or even food for their students. Some were also rife with fights and gangs.
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Royal mess
In a battle of celebrity versus substance, substance almost always loses. Such was the case this past week in D.C. and Virginia, where the Queen set hearts a-flutter.
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Table of treats
With so many topics vying for attention, no one entrée will do for this meal. Instead, herewith, a series of what the fancy chefs call "small plates."
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Virtual dust-up
Cyber charters in the Hoosier State have been lost in a broken legislative server. Seems that senate Republicans had put together a budget to allow two virtual charter schools to open with $21 million in public funds. But the deal collapsed at the witching hour when Democrats struck out the bucks for virtual learning establishments.
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Stuck in the gate
On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of floppy-hatted revelers will descend upon Churchill Downs to watch the 133rd running of the Kentucky Derby.
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Seize the day
Education reformers around the nation are keeping an eye on Massachusetts, which this school year implemented an "Expanded Learning Time" initiative (ELT), putting into practice the much-ballyhooed idea of longer school days. The Bay State's program awards an extra $1,300 per student to ten high-need schools that volunteer to extend their day by at least 25 percent.
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Potter's appeal
It is with bittersweet anticipation that Hogwarts disciples await the final installment of the Harry Potter series, to be released across the land at midnight on July 21st. Young readers such as Ithaca, New York, sixth-grader Marcus Weathersby won't be the only ones sad to witness the dynasty's end, however; lovers of learning should be just as disappointed.
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Union "ad" ons
Teachers' unions have long used their members' money for political goals--but it's getting out of hand. Consider Newark, New Jersey, where the local AFT affiliate has put up billboards that read "Help Wanted.
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Education Trust or bust?
Is it possible that the greatness and longevity of a social movement are determined more by the excesses it avoids than the successes it achieves? That to stand the test of time, reforms need to embrace mid-course corrections and shun the temptation to overreach?
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School Choice and State Constitutions: A Guide to Designing School Choice Programs
Richard D. Komer and Clark NeilyInstitute for Justice and the American Legislative Exchange CouncilApril 2007
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A Possible Dream: Retaining California Teachers So All Students Learn
Ken FuternickThe Center for Teacher QualityCalifornia State University2007
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Charter Schools and Strange Bedfellows
Who knew that National Charter Schools Week could bring President George W. Bush and Senator Hillary Clinton together? President Bush issued an official proclamation designating April 29 - May 5, 2007 as National Charter Schools Week.
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Innovation in Indianapolis
In spite of the contentious debate over charter schools in Columbus, there are emerging opportunities for cities in the Buckeye State to pursue and implement innovative strategies and practices made available by the charter option (see above).
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A Bargain for the Dayton Public Schools
With the Dayton Public Schools (DPS) levy vote just a week away, there is still a fair amount of uncertainty surrounding its fate (despite ours and other organizations’ endorsements). Like Ohio’s other big urban school districts, DPS’s efforts are complicated by history.
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Counting heads
According to the Indianapolis Public School system, 94 percent of its students are in class each day. Sounds pretty good, right? But a four-part report this week by the Indianapolis Star, while not exactly disputing that number, tells a very different story.
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Kindergarten flop
There was Ahnold, on the cover of the April 16th Newsweek, expertly balancing a photo-shopped globe on his right index finger, a knowing smile on his face. And why wouldn't he smile? In climate change, Schwarzenegger has found an issue that he can attack with impunity, and one that will garner him significant praise from all corners.
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Where's the evidence on "autonomy"?
When the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation issued a manifesto about principals a few years ago, I was asked to sign it and I declined. I did so because I don't believe that anyone from any field can be "trained" to be a good principal, and I thought that this was a logical outcome of the views expressed in the manifesto about opening up the job to outsiders.
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Performance-Pay for Teachers: Designing a System that Students Deserve
Center for Teaching QualityApril 2007
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The parents' party
For decades, Republicans have had trouble figuring out what they're for in K-12 education, especially at the national level. Until about twenty years ago, they were far more adept at saying what they opposed: a bigger federal role.
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Education, the new healthcare
The Gates and Broad Foundations are pumping $60 million into a campaign called "Strong American Schools," designed to boost consciousness and foster debate about three big education reform ideas during the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, and more fundamentally, make sure that candidates don't ignore the issue (see
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Expressing International Educational Achievement in Terms of U.S. Performance Standards: Linking NAEP Achievement Levels to TIMSS
Gary W. Phillips American Institutes for ResearchApril 24, 2007