Education Week takes a look at the response to Secretary Duncan's call for turning around 5,000 failing schools.

Quotable

"Am I optimistic that they can avoid it? I am not." --Ray Graves, a retired bankruptcy judge who has been advising Robert Bobb, Detroit Public Schools' emergency financial manager

WSJ: Detroit Schools on the Brink

Notable

1554 : The number of New York City public school teachers given the rating of "unsatisfactory" this year. The 2005-2006 school year saw 981 get that rating. Overall, about 2 percent of the teachers, both tenured and not tenured, received a "U" rating this year.

GothamSchools: More than 500 extra teachers rated "unsatisfactory" this year

Quotable

"We're doing this because we're stuck - we have kids coming out of windows." --Emily Heckman, parent of a child whose school may cut parent-paid teacher aides because of complaints from teachers' unions.

New York Times: Parent-Paid Aides Ordered Out of City

Notable

$50,000 : Cost of the press box at Hylton High's baseball field.

Washington Post: Hylton High Sports Fields Eyed for Signs of Sex Bias

It's been awhile since I outright fawned over President Obama, so I'm going to let this one fly without any restraint or reserve: His speech to the NAACP last week kicked butt. It was transcendent. It was inspirational. It was honest, direct, bold, and, I hope, important, maybe a turning point.

Don't just read it; watch it or listen to it. (I was driving home from the Delaware shore last night and caught it on public radio; I'm glad I did.) Because it was the interaction between the president and his audience that was so powerful. Here's a sample:

The state of our schools is not an African American problem; it is an American problem. (Applause.) Because if black and brown children cannot compete, then America cannot compete. (Applause.) And let me say this, if Al Sharpton, Mike Bloomberg, and Newt Gingrich can agree that we need to solve the education problem, then that's something all of America can agree we can solve. (Applause.) Those guys came into my office. (Laughter.) Just sitting in the Oval Office -- I kept on doing a double-take. (Laughter and applause.) So that's a sign of progress and it is a sign of the urgency of the education problem. (Applause.) All of us can agree that we need to offer every child in this country -- every child --

AUDIENCE: Amen!

THE PRESIDENT: Got an "Amen corner" back there -- (applause) -- every child -- every child in this country the best education the world has to offer from cradle through a career.

And then this, which got most of the press coverage:

But all these innovative programs and expanded opportunities will not, in and of themselves, make a difference if each of us, as parents and as community leaders, fail to do our part by encouraging excellence in our children. (Applause.) Government programs alone won't get our children to the Promised Land. We need a new mind set, a new set of attitudes -- because one of the most durable and destructive legacies of discrimination is the way we've internalized a sense of limitation; how so many in our community have come to expect so little from the world and from themselves.

We've got to say to our children, yes, if you're African American, the odds of growing up amid crime and gangs are higher. Yes, if you live in a poor neighborhood, you will face challenges that somebody in a wealthy suburb does not have to face. But that's not a reason to get bad grades -- (applause) -- that's not a reason to cut class -- (applause) -- that's not a reason to give up on your education and drop out of school. (Applause.) No one has written your destiny for you. Your destiny is in your hands -- you cannot forget that. That's what we have to teach all of our children. No excuses. (Applause.) No excuses.

You get that education, all those hardships will just make you stronger, better able to compete. Yes we can. (Applause.)

Of course, not everyone is happy with this line of argument. The socialists, for example, detest it. More reason to sing its praises!

It's true that there wasn't any policy substance in the speech that was particularly new or different. But we policy wonks tend to overrate policy substance anyway. Here's an African-American president, speaking to the NAACP, and arguing for reform in our schools and responsibility in our homes and community. This is worth celebrating.

So I'm bringing back the Obama Administration Reform-o-Meter for a special appearance (take that, AFT!), and happily giving the Red Hot label to this speech. Do you agree? Cast your vote below.

For the last several years, Maryland's legislature has debated a scholarship tax credit bill. These programs are increasingly popular across the nation (they were even a topic of discussion at this meeting). ????Unfortunately, MD's didn't make it over the goal line before an important Catholic school in Baltimore had to close.

I discuss this issue (and how I think public officials ought to talk about schools) in this Baltimore Sun op-ed.

Quotable

"I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers. I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States." --President Obama, in his speech to the NAACP

AP: Obama Stresses Education in Speech to NAACP

Notable

2 : The number of Ohio standardized tests that got the axe. Leglislators agreed to drop the fifth-grade social studies and fourth-grade writing exams, which will save the state $4.4 million over the next two years.

Columbus Dispatch: Two standardized exams fail budget test

Fun Fact Friday! - Star Wars and Calculators from Education Gadfly on Vimeo.

VIDEO SOURCES

"Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" box office figure: Box Office Mojo

The number of American high school students: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005-2007 American Community Survey

Cost of a TI-30 scientific calculator: Amazon.com

During my time at the WH, one of the best things I worked on was a series of projects designed to raise the profile of the faith-based urban schools crisis and find solutions. President Bush mentioned it in his final State of the Union, there was an associated budget line item (Pell Grants for Kids), the White House hosted this summit, and I wrote this report.????Sadly, the losses in these schools, especially Catholic schools, continued, and the wider world didn't take much notice.

I was beginning to feel like this work amounted to an old, large, proud tree falling in a forest with no one around to hear it. But since yesterday, I'm thinking a better analogy is a planted seed that needs time to grow.

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education hosted a meeting to continue this critical work. ????Titled the "Forum on Improving the Sustainability and Performance of Urban Faith-Based Schools," the event gathered a couple dozen of the most active folks in this area for a discussion about what can be done.

I honestly had no expectation that this administration would take on this issue. Neither President Obama nor Secretary Duncan has talked about these matters or even visited a faith-based school (even though Judge Sotomayor's important personal narrative includes a fully Catholic primary and secondary education), and their handling of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program was lamentable.

But the moderators of the forum (OII head Jim Shelton and Peter Groff, director of ED's faith-based and neighborhoods office) appear to care a great deal about this issue. Groff even began the meeting by acknowledging the work of the previous administration--an unexpected, humble, and admirable move.

Only time will tell if the committee structure that resulted will lead to results or if the Department will take action beyond gathering activists for conversations. But this was a heartening event, and I appreciate the effort put forth but Peter, Jim, and their staffs.

Moving forward, there are two things the Department ought to do in the short-term. First, as they are finishing up the application and guidance documents for the Race to the Top Fund and the What Works Fund, they should make clear that state applications for the former can include private and faith-based schools as partners, for example as data systems are being built. ????Also, it should be made clear that networks of faith-based schools are eligible applicants for the latter.

Second, Secretary Duncan or President Obama should visit one of these schools in the very near future and deliver a simple message:

"This administration loves all great schools, regardless of provider. We care about and support great traditional public schools, great charter public schools, and, yes, great private and faith-based schools. Urban faith-based schools have been helping America's disadvantaged boys and girls for generations, and we commend them for their service. We will help make sure they are preserved."

DC government fails to provide charters over $100 million

Interesting NYT profile of Judge Sotomayor's Catholic elementary school

Ed Week on charter accountability, performance, model laws, etc.

NYT on the geography of the achievement gap.

If you're curious what my book is about, why I favor start-ups over turnarounds, why I've watched Live at the El Mocambo a million times, and more, check out my interview with Education News.