Taking Failing Schools to Court
The California court’s ruling in Reed v. State of California is a reminder that collective-bargaining agreements cannot trump the constitutional rights of children.
When public education’s two Ps disagree
It’s long been said that public education must achieve both public and private aims. The public, which foots the bill, has an interest in a well-educated populace. Parents—schools’ primary clients—want a strong foundation for their own children. Much of the time these two interests are in perfect alignment. But what happens when they’re not?
Leading the Recovery School District Six Years After Katrina
Since May, the leader of the Recovery School District, the state agency that now runs most New Orleans schools, has been John White, a 35-year-old Teach for America alum who had been serving as a deputy chancellor in New York City.
Trouble in Kansas
Parents in a wealthy district sue to pay more taxes
Parents in a wealthy district sue to pay more taxes
Florida Reformers Got It Right
Hybrid schoolers reap the benefits
Hybrid schoolers reap the benefits
Up With Teachers, Not So Much With Unions
The new Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup survey makes clear that most adults value their children’s teachers.
The Public Weighs In on School Reform
Intense controversies do not alter public thinking, but teachers differ more sharply than ever
Intense controversies do not alter public thinking, but teachers differ more sharply than ever
The 2012 Republican Candidates (So Far)
What they’ve said and done on education in the past, and what they might do about our public schools if elected
What they’ve said and done on education in the past, and what they might do about our public schools if elected
Shouldn’t the Public Sector Share the Pain?
If the right cuts are made, the public sector can remain equally effective but operate in a more efficient manner.
Importing Leaders for Turnarounds
Potentially thousands of leaders capable of managing successful school turnarounds work outside education, in nonprofit and health organizations, the military, and the private sector.
The Army of Angry Teachers — When Success Breeds Failure
The unions succeed by intimidating politicians with their raw power while convincing the public that teacher unions love their children almost as much as the parents do. But when the public face of the teacher unions is the Army of Angry Teachers, they no longer seem like Mary Poppins.
Let’s Talk Education Reform: A GOP candidate’s speech
The Republican presidential field is beginning to take shape, and candidates and maybe-candidates are figuring out where they stand and what to say. Sooner or later, they will need to say something about education. May we suggest a few talking points?
President’s Approval Rating Turns Negative: Not accidentally, bipartisanship does too
Two numbers that have come out since last Friday are depressing the chances for action on federal education policy. Everyone now knows that employment ticked upward to 9.2 percent, but few have noticed that Obama’s Real Clear Politics (RCP) job approval rating, positive for most of 2011, turned negative early Sunday morning.
How to Run Public Schools in the 21st Century
Almost everyone who cares about revitalizing American primary-secondary education senses that many of its fundamental structures are archaic and its governance arrangements dysfunctional. Yet any effort to address those problems typically leads either to a glazed look on the visage of the putative audience or else to eye-rolling and shoulder-shrugging.
A Federal Policy Proposal that Won’t Change the World
Uncle Sam is at least three steps removed from the classroom, and all the carrots and sticks in the world won’t allow him to make everything right in our schools.
Arnius Duncanus?
Poor Arne. Nobody seems to like his warning to Congress that if it doesn’t get cracking on NCLB reauthorization he will take matters into his own hands via regulations.
Moe v. Meier on Teacher Unions
Two key fault lines ran through the lively panel discussion of Terry Moe’s new book, Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America’s Public Schools. One was the notion of “reform unionism” and professional voice. The second was how to judge whether schools or teachers were doing well.
What Subjects Does Edu-World Track?
For the first four months of 2011, we tallied the average monthly page visits to each of the Ed Week subject matter blogs. Here are the results.
Think Tank vs Academic Work?
Holly Yettick’s paper, The Research that Reaches the Public: Who Produces the Educational Research Mentioned in the News Media?, is an interesting look at the sources of mentions on educational issues in Education Week, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.
U.S. Dept. of Ed. is Breaking the Law
It is now clear, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s own description, that the Department is in violation of the law by which it was created.
Thou Shalt Not Say Jesus
Do elementary school students have free-speech rights?
Do elementary school students have free-speech rights?
Anne Bryant: It’s “Wrong” for Unions to “Buy” School Board Seats
The defense of “the school board as we know it” just got dramatically weaker. And Anne Bryant’s place in the pantheon of impatient reformers just got more secure.
The Problems of Education Governance in Twenty-First Century America
The shortcomings of elected local school boards are only the most obvious of the many problems of education governance in the United States in 2011.
Steiner Wins Race to the Top but Won’t be Going to the Promised Land
When David Steiner, a reformer’s reformer, announced last week that he was giving up the reins as New York state’s Commissioner of Education, the education world seemed to take a collective deep breath.
The New Unionism, Legislative Version
The unions can try to rebuild their image (while doing good for America) by actively participating in efforts to figure out how to evaluate teachers and how schools can make personnel decisions based on those evaluations.
