Policymakers across the country are struggling with issues of charter school quality. Even well-intentioned, reform-minded leaders aren't sure what to do when many of their charters veer off track. Ohio is no exception.
Education reformers found a silver lining in the Katrina tragedy when Louisiana officials announced that charter schools would play a central role in the rebirth of New Orleans's education system.
American Institutes for ResearchOctober 2006
It was big news when, a couple of weeks ago, the interests of Harvard University's Public Relations department aligned with the interests of its Noblesse Oblige department, and did so without apparently discomfiting its departments of Admissions and Finance.
Teachers are used to hearing creative excuses for tardiness. But only at New York City's Manhattan School for Children might one hear such protestations as "I was up all night finishing some important paperwork for Trump," or "I had a late reservation at Joel Robuchon's new spot." Precocious students? Not quite.
Charter schools have taught us much. Since Minnesota enacted America's first charter law in 1991, 39 states have followed suit and eager school reformers have created some 4,000 of these independent public schools. About 3,600 are still operating today, enrolling approximately a million kids, 2 percent of all U.S. elementary and secondary pupils.
Team spirit is paramount in the eyes of teachers at Bellaire Elementary in Hurst, Texas. That's how they explain their decision to reject--by a vote of 45 to 2--a $90,000 merit pay grant from the state. Texas's pay-for-performance plan is the biggest in the nation, rewarding high-performing teachers in high poverty schools.
Thank you for Michael Petrilli's article on the Reading First brouhaha ("Reading Last," September 28). I am a parent in Arlington, Virginia.
School choice is a good thing. But what about when it leads to racial isolation? In Pinellas County (St. Petersburg) Florida, a district rule capping black enrollment in any given school at 42 percent has been around since 1971. But it ends this year.
Public AgendaOctober 2006
Greg ForsterMilton and Rose D. Friedman FoundationOctober 2006
In 2005-06, 8,446 schools and 1,624 districts nationwide failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as required under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Many states are scrambling to improve student achievement before districts and schools face state and federal sanctions (Columbus Public Schools alone has 45 schools in this predicament).
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools welcomes proposals for presentations during the 2007 National Charter Schools Conference. The conference will be held April 24 - 27 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and will celebrate the 15th anniversary of the opening of the first charter school.
Charter schools have taught us much. Since Minnesota enacted America's first charter law in 1991, 39 states have followed suit and eager school reformers have created some 4,000 of these independent public schools. About 3,600 are still operating today, enrolling approximately a million kids, 2 percent of all U.S. elementary and secondary pupils.
Recent campaign rhetoric and debate exchanges about education funding between gubernatorial candidates Ken Blackwell and Ted Strickland have been disingenuous at best.
Think performance statistics and longitudinal databases are just pillow talk for policy wonks? Don't tell the Data Quality Campaign (DQC), a national educational collaborative promoting better data collection and data-driven practices.
In 2005-06, 8,446 schools and 1,624 districts nationwide failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as required under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Many states are scrambling to improve student achievement before districts and schools face state and federal sanctions (Columbus Public Schools alone has 45 schools in this predicament).
When "core curriculum" supporters like E.D. Hirsch, Jr. do their advocating, it goes something like this: "In order to gain power in our democracy and economy, children must develop ‘cultural literacy' in a common core of knowledge so they can function in a world where interactions and understandings are greased by shared reference points and allusions."
The brouhaha over the federal Reading First program illustrates everything that's wrong with government today--not the alleged improprieties, but a twisted government culture that prioritizes "proper procedures" over actual results and that looks for scapegoats and fall-guys when the going gets tough.
Brotherly spats are not uncommon, and fraternal one-upmanship is a time-honored tradition. It is a rare case, however, when one brother governs a state and the other governs a nation, and the two disagree, not over lawn maintenance, but over educational accountability systems.
Had our attempted conquest of Canada in the War of 1812 succeeded, the U.S.
I enjoyed your recent article on faith and reason in education. Although it's true that science cannot inform us of what values to hold, reason can. Reason is larger than just science. Values, morality, and character are not inseparable from religion. A broadly acceptable philosophy of conduct and character (i.e., ethics) based on reason can be taught.
When the lights flood Vaught Hemingway Stadium on Saturday nights, and Ole Miss fans raise the Rebel Yell from the stands, gentle Michael Oher is there savoring every moment. He never misses a game, though by all rights he shouldn't even be in college. Growing up homeless on the streets of Memphis, he was one of the lost.
The Texas Education Agency's fine arts curriculum framework for fifth graders describes a model lesson from a real classroom: the teachers "replicate painting on the ceiling as the Renaissance painters did by taping butcher paper to the bottom of students' desks and asking students to lie on the floor to paint." It's a clever idea (at least for classrooms with clean floors
The Abell FoundationSeptember 2006
Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. WintersManhattan InstituteSeptember 2006
Kevin CareyEducation SectorSeptember 2006
Here's a less-than-shocking headline for you: Parents in leafy suburbs have a wealth of high quality schooling options. That's the gist of a recent Wall Street Journal story that highlights several affluent areas where parents are moving their students out of private schools and into the local public institutions.
