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District Reform
Schools across the country are being asked to show measurable results for their teaching. Across the board, there is a new reliance on data and statistics as indicators of failure and success.
With this new focus, school districts's roles have changed to leadership and support. In large, urban school districts in particular, there is increasing pressure to narrow the long-existing achievement gap between students in low-income, predominantly minority schools and their more affluent neighbors.
It's the era of No Child Left Behind -- and if schools don't measure up, they could lose federal funds or their local control.
As a result, school administrators are stepping up their leadership to become experts in teaching and learning. In a 2003 University of Washington survey of superintendents at the nation's 100 largest school districts, nine out of 10 said they needed more authority in order to improve student achievement.
What's more, almost 90 percent of superintendents report that lack of money keeps them from making substantial progress, according to a 2005 Education Week special report.
The debate between strong district leadership and school-centered decision-making is raging, and many districts are trying to strike the right balance between the two extremes.
The result is a new conversation about the role of school districts in 21st century schools. Some, such Rick Hess, director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and Paul Hill, director of the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education, argue that the traditional school district structure is out of date.
Some are bypassing the school district altogether in favor of other forms of management. In cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Baltimore, struggling schools have been taken over by state and city governments, who sometimes hire private companies to manage them. However, this solution has not been the panacea some hoped it would be. In Chicago, for example, in the 10 years since Mayor Richard Daley took over the Chicago schools, test scores have improved but racial gaps have gotten worse, according to a February 2006 report by Catalyst Chicago.
Still others are calling for districts to create common standards, curricula, teacher training and assessments. Several urban school districts have shown positive results by applying common requirements and using assessments to inform the curriculum. Take the Norfolk, Va., school district as an example. According to a U.S. News & World Report article on the district, the introduction of a standard, aligned curriculum and the use of testing data to direct decisions about teaching and learning brought unprecedented success across what was once a failing district.
While common standards are lauded by some, others point to an unequal distribution of resources within school districts with low-income areas getting the short end of the stick, according to a January 2006 study published by Marguerite Roza and Myra McCormick, both of the University of Washington's Center for Reinventing Public Education.
As a result, education reporters must cover school districts in a new way. The challenge is to move beyond the buzzwords and understand actual results.
Following are some questions to ask as you cover district reform:
- Are school districts leading the way and providing the support necessary to help schools improve student outcomes?
- Are the reforms creating real change or are they merely window dressing?
- Are districts "tinkering around the edges?"
- Are there quantifiable "real" results?
Many of these questions remain unanswered because true reform takes time. The reporter's role is to illuminate the process and help educators and the public recognize the keys to success.
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Thomas Alsbury
North Carolina State University
College of Education - Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Campus Box 7801-608M Poe Hall
Raleigh, NC 27695-7801
(919) 513-4321
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Antonia Cortese
Executive Vice President
American Federation of Teachers
555 New Jersey Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 879-4400
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Kacey Guin
Center on Reinventing Public Education
University of Washington
2101 N. 34th St., Suite 195
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 616-1642
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Frederick M. Hess
Director of Education Policy Studies
American Enterprise Institute
1150 Seventeenth St. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 828-6030
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Meredith Honig
Assistant Professor and Co-Director
Center for Education Policy and Leadership
University of Maryland
2202 Benjamin Building
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-5579
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Jessica Levin
Chief Knowledge Officer
The New Teacher Project
304 Park Avenue South, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10010
(212) 590-2484
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Brian K. Perkins
Department Chair, Educational Leadership
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent St.
New Haven, Conn. 06515
(203) 392-5341
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Marla Ucelli
Director, District Redesign
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform
320 West 13th St., 6th Floor
New York, NY 10014
(646) 486-8179
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U.S. Census Bureau Fact Finder
Web site offers tons of hard data and downloadable databases on education, families and related issues.
6/14/2007
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Ann Rubenstein Tisch, Young Women's Leadership School of East Harlem, founder and president of the Young Women's Leadership Foundation, which develops public schools for girls, 212-207-3221.
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SchoolMatters.com Gives Access to Wide Range of Education Data
Standard & Poors created SchoolMatters.com to give the public access to education data at the national, state, district and school level. Everything from enrollment statistics and student proficiency information to No Child Left Behind results and staffing trends is available on the site.
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Do School Districts Matter to Education Reform?
EWA held a regional seminar on district reform issues on Jan. 20-21, 2006 in Baltimore.? To read more about the speakers or view slideshows of the lectures, click here.
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FEC's Campaign Finance Disclosure Data Search Find out who's giving money to which candidates, read summary reports about the political parties and more at the Federal Election Commission's Campaign Finance Disclosure Data Search Web site.
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Southern Regional Education Board's Goals for Education Report
The Southern Regional Education Board has released its 2010 state progress reports. Click on member states to see data and other presentations.July, 1, 2010
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The Condition of Education
The percentage of public schools where more than three quarters of students are eligible for free or reduced price lunch - a key indicator of poverty - has increased in the past decade.IES National Center for Education Statistics, May 2010
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Don't Leave Accountability Behind: A Call for ESEA Reauthorization
A new report argues that, despite the promise of education reform efforts such as Race to the Top and the state-led common standards movement, improvement can only be sustained if Congress and the Administration update and improve the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Alliance for Excellent Education and the Aspen Institute’s Commission on No Child Left Behind, March 1, 2010
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The Role of School Districts in Education Reform
Watch Chester Finn and Gordon MacInness discuss the role of school districts in education reform. Sara Mead, of the New America Foundation, serves moderator for the discussion. December 9, 2009
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The Schools Teachers Leave: Teacher Mobility in Chicago Public Schools
This report reveals that about 100 Chicago schools suffer from chronically high rates of teacher turnover, losing a quarter or more of their teaching staff every year, and many of these schools serve predominantly low-income African American children. In the typical Chicago elementary school, 51 percent of the teachers working in 2002 had left four years later, while the typical high school had seen 54 percent leave by 2006. Elaine Allensworth, Stephen Ponisciak and Christopher Mazzeo, Consortium on Chicago Public School Research at the University of Chicago, June 2009
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Equitable Resources in Low Income Schools
The New America Foundation released a white paper analyzing teacher equity and federal Title I funds. “Equitable Resources in Low Income Schools” finds loopholes in federal law and regulations have made the comparability provision in Title I meaningless. June 8, 2009
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Lost Opportunity: A 50-state report on the "Opportunity to Learn in America"
The Schott Foundation has released a report finding 84 percent of states fail to provide students with a proficient public education system. Lost Opportunity: A 50-state report on the "Opportunity to Learn in America" finds minority and low-income students have only half the opportunity to learn in our public schools as their white peers. The foundation says the federal government must make access to higher quality learning a guaranteed right for all Americans by establishing an accountability system to track student access to educational resources. 6/2/2009
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Changing the Game: The Federal Role in Supporting 21st Century Educational Innovation
In a report released by the Brookings Institution, New America Foundation's Sara Mead and Education Sector's co-director Andrew Rotherham proposed that the federal government provide funding for innovation and experiment.
12/12/2008
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The Misplaced Math Student: Lost in Eighth-Grade Algebra
The Brookings Institution analyzes the disadvantages of eighth graders taking Algebra I when they are not prepared. Tom Loveless, senior fellow and director of the Brown Center on Education at Brookings, is the lead author of the report.
by Brookings Institution , 12/12/2008
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Facing the Future: Financing Productive Schools
The Brookings Institution and the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington released the final report of a six-year study examining the finances of K-12 school districts.
Center on Reinventing Public Education - Paul Hill, Marguerite Roza, and James Harvey, 11/12/2008
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Why Rural Matters 2007
Why Rural Matters 2007 is the fourth in a series of biennial reports analyzing the importance of rural education in each of the 50 states and calling attention to the urgency with which policymakers in each state should address rural education issues.
The Rural School and Community Trust - Jerry Johnson and Marty Strange, 10/23/2007
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Are Private High Schools Better Academically Than Public High Schools?
The study released by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) examines 12 years of data that finds students who attended private schools didn't have much of an advantage over their peers who attended public high schools in regard to test scores, career happiness, and civic engagement. Family involvement is key and the study finds that low-income students from urban public high schools generally did as well if they had a good support system.
Center on Education Policy (CEP) - Harold Wenglinsky, 10/10/2007
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Important, But Not for Me: Kansas and Missouri Students and Parents Talk About Math, Science and Technology Education pdf
The study released by ublic Agenda is based on a 10-year project to improve math, science and technology education in the Kansas City region.
Public Agenda - Alison Kadlec and Will Friedman, 9/24/2007
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Open to the Public: How Communities, Parents and Students Assess the Impact of the No Child Left Behind Act 2004 - 2007 The Realities Left Behind pdf
This report summarizes the opinions that the Public Education Network culled from students, parents and community leaders who participated in 25 public hearings, forums, focus groups and online surveys on NCLB held over three years across the country. Their view was that NCLB must have a more compelling vision, strong policies to support it, and greater public engagement.
Public Education Network - Anne Lewis, 7/30/2007
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The Condition of Education 2007
High school students in the United States are taking more courses in mathematics and science, as well as social studies, the arts, and foreign languages, according to an analysis of high school student coursework that is highlighted in this government report. Statistics on student achievement, school environment and a wide range of other topics related to early childhood education through postsecondary education are also included.
by National Center for Education Statistics, 5/1/2007
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Tough Choices or Tough Times
A bi-partisan commission, comprised of former Cabinet secretaries, governors, college presidents and business, civic and labor leaders, is calling for a total shakeup in how America educates its people. Its findings include ending high school at 10th grade, revamping and reducing pension systems, collective bargaining at the state -- instead of local -- level.
by The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce , 12/15/2006
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Urban Districts: 2005 Science Assessment
Ten urban school districts volunteered to have their results on science portions of the National Assessment of Educational Progress published as part of an experiment to compare urban districts to the rest of the country. Some urban districts do better than others, but as a whole, not as well as the rest of the country.
11/20/2006
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L.A. Story: Can a Parent Revolution Change Urban Education's Power Structure?
Steve Barr, the founder and chief executive of a nonprofit network of Los Angeles charter schools, is rallying thousands of mostly Latino parents to the cause of school reform and using that political clout to force changes in the 727,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the nation's second-largest school system.
Education Sector - Joe Williams and Tom Mirga, 7/25/2006
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The Condition of Education 2006
The 2006 Condition on Education summarizes important trends and developments in education. The report includes 50 indicators in five main areas: (1) participation in education; (2) learner outcomes; (3) student effort and educational progress; (4) the contexts of elementary and secondary education; and (5) the contexts of postsecondary education.
National Center for Education Statistics - Patrick Rooney, William Hussar and Michael Planty, 6/1/2006
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The Education Flatline: Causes and Solutions pdf
With the release of its annual Child and Youth Well-Being Index (CWI), the Foundation for Child Development and Kenneth Land of Duke University found that once again children's performance in the education domain was flat - a trend that has continued for 30 years. This report recommends four areas of reform - preK-3 implementation; charter schools; national standards for curriculum, and tests; and the training of high quality teachers.
Foundation for Child Development - Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill, 3/28/2006
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Executive Agendas: Education Week reviews the 2005 education agendas and outcomes for all 50 governors pdf
In a study of the 2005 education agendas and outcomes of all 50 U.S. governors, Education Week found that most focused their efforts on policies related to high school and preschool.
Education Week - Alan Richard, 3/22/2006
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Strong Foundation, Evolving Challenges: A Case Study to Support Leadership Transition in the Boston Public Schools pdf
Among the urban school districts in this country, the Boston school district stands out for its stability and success. This report examines the district's accomplishments and challenges that lie ahead.
Annenberg Institute for School Reform - The Aspen Institute's Education and Society Program, Annenberg Institute for School Reform, 3/20/2006
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Educational Equity, After Katrina
The devestation caused by Hurricane Katrina exposed the race and class divide that plagues America's educational system. What will it take to achieve educational equity? A realization that the solution involves more than financial resources.
Voices in Urban Education - Robert Rothman, 3/1/2006
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Unintended Consequences: The Case for Reforming the Staffing Rules in Urban Teachers Union Contracts pdf
This report focuses on the contractual staffing rules governing "voluntary transfers" and "excessed teachers" and how these rules undermine the ability of urban schools to hire and keep the best possible teachers for the job.
by Jessica Levin, Jennifer Mulhern and Joan Schunck, 2/15/2006
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Board-Savvy Superintendent: Whose Job Is It To Lead Reform?
McAdams draws on the existing confusion amongst education board members and superintendents about governance roles when a school district is low-performing and the public is demanding reform.
The School Administrator - Donald R. McAdams, 5/1/2004
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D.C. and Md. named 'Race to the Top' finalists; rest of Obama's education agenda stagnatesWhile states are moving at warp speed to overhaul public schools, President Obama's education agenda is hitting a wall in Congress. Nick Anderson, Washington Post, July 27, 2010
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Projecting Success of Failing Students Often Wrong
Last school year, the Texas Education Agency implemented a new “growth measure” purported to reward schools for improving student performance — even if they still fail state tests.But a new analysis of the same data shows the student projections that would actually affect school ratings were wrong as much as half the time, according to a document the agency released this week at the insistence of state representative. Brian Thevenot, The Texas Tribune, July 9, 2010
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The ABCs Of Saving A Failing School
If a school is consistently failing and kids aren't learning, shut it down. Start over with new teachers and administrators willing to do something dramatically different. Closing failing schools and turning them around has been in vogue since No Child Left Behind, and now the Obama Administration is embracing the idea. It's even offering millions of dollars to school districts to help them do it. Read Part Two of the series here. Claudio Sanchez, National Public Radio, July 7, 2010
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Congress approves provision to cut Race to the Top funding
The House approved a war spending bill with a provision that would include $10 billion to help school districts avoid educator layoffs, paying for the effort, in part, with $800 million in cuts to several of President Obama’s key education initiatives. Sam Dillon, New York Times, July 2, 2010
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The Littlest Schoolhouse
Brainy but easily distracted, Ta-Nehisi Coates barely made it through high school and dropped out of college. Would a program like New York’s new School of One, which uses technology to tailor learning to each student’s style and pace, have made all the difference? Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic Monthly Magazine, June 9, 2010
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States Receive a Reading List: New Standards for Education
The nation’s governors and state school chiefs released on Wednesday a new set of academic standards, their final recommendations for what students should master in English and math as they move from the primary grades through high school graduation.Sam Dillon, New York Times, June 3, 2010
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35 States Plus D.C. Apply for Race to Top, Round 2
With $3.4 billion left in the Race to the Top hopper and states facing dire financial straits, 35 states plus the District of Columbia have thrown their hats into the ring for what may be the last round of the Obama administration's signature education-reform competition.Michele McNeil, Education Week, June 2, 2010
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Can 120 new teachers lift six failing Louisville schools?
When the new year begins this fall at Valley Traditional High School, there will be five new English teachers, three new math teachers and two new science teachers, as well as new special education, choral and art instructors. They're among 120 teachers Jefferson County Public Schools will hire or transfer in as part of a comprehensive JCPS plan to overhaul six of its lowest-performing middle and high schools by replacing as much as 60 percent of their faculty, and in some cases, their principals.Antoinette Konz, The Courier Journal, May 26, 2010
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The Teachers' Unions' Last Stand
Michael Mulgrew is an affable former Brooklyn vocational-high-school teacher who took over last year as head of New York City’s United Federation of Teachers when his predecessor, Randi Weingarten, moved to Washington to run the national American Federation of Teachers. Over breakfast in March, we talked about a movement spreading across the country to hold public-school teachers accountable by compensating, promoting or even removing them according to the results they produce in class, as measured in part by student test scores. Steve Brill, The New York Times Magazine, May 17, 2010
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Push to Spur Innovation Raises Hope - and Eyebrows
The decision by a dozen major education grantmakers to team up on an initiative designed to dovetail with the federal Investing in Innovation grant competition is being seen by supporters as a chance to maximize the power of public and private resources to help transform K-12 education. But it’s also renewing concerns that the Obama administration and the philanthropic sector are becoming too intertwined—in ways that could crowd out support for worthy reform ideas not favored by the federal government. Erik W. Robelen and Michele McNeil, Education Week, May 7, 2010
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Poorer TN schools will get most Race to the Top aid
Tennessee schools are set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid through the Race to the Top program, but districts can expect to get vastly different amounts from the effort to raise the state's education standards.How much each district gets will be tied to poverty measures, meaning that urban and poor rural districts will get many times more money per pupil from the program than their suburban counterparts. Chas Sisk, The Tennessean, April 15, 2010
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Obama's plan to reward schools for innovation sparks congressional debate
President Obama aims to reinvent the Education Department as a venture capitalist for school reform, investing more in schools with innovative ideas. The proposal splits congressional Democrats. They are staunch protectors of education funding for their states and districts, but many worry about promoting innovation at the expense of equity.Nick Anderson, Washington Post, April 13, 2010
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D.C. schools, teachers union reach tentative deal
D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and the Washington Teachers' Union have reached tentative agreement on a new contract, ending more than two years of closely watched and often-rancorous negotiations, union and District officials. Bill Turque, Washington Post, April 7, 2010
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City Will Stop Paying the Poor for Good Behavior
An unusual and much-heralded program that gave poor families cash to encourage good behavior and self-sufficiency has so far had only modest effects on their lives and economic situation, according to an analysis the Bloomberg administration. Julie Bosman, The New York Times, April 1, 2010
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Race to the Top awards go to Delaware, Tennessee
Delaware and Tennessee won bragging rights Monday as the nation's top education innovators, besting the District and 13 other finalists to claim a share of the $4 billion in President Obama's unprecedented school reform fund. Nick Anderson, The Washington Post, March 29, 2010
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Protests and Promises of Improvements at Schools
Josephine Norwood, a Bronzeville mother of three Chicago public school students, has rebounded from two rounds of school closings that displaced her children from their schools. As she watched the Board of Education approve another set of schools for closing or turnaround last week, Mrs. Norwood had a simple question: Can Chicago Public Schools officials promise that the new schools will be better? Crystal Yednak, The New York Times, March 1, 2010
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Mass firings at R.I. school may signal a trend
The mass firing of teachers at a Rhode Island high school this week is hardly new: For nearly two decades, states and school districts have been "reconstituting" staffs at struggling public schools. Greg Toppo, USA Today, March 1, 2010
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Obama Pitches Education Proposal to Governors
President Obama kicked off a drive Monday to upgrade American education, unveiling a plan requiring states to adopt new reading and mathematics standards and committing his administration to “breaking down some of the barriers to reform." Peter Baker and Sam Dillon, The New York Times, Feb. 22, 2010
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HISD pilot program would extend school year
Some students could see their summer breaks slashed and their academic year stretched as part of the Houston Independent School District's effort to overhaul poor-performing campuses. Ericka Mellon, Houston Chronicle, Feb. 17, 2010
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Education system overhaul outlined
While Illinois residents are focused on election season and budget woes, the state's top education officials have quietly pushed through a sweeping agenda that will transform how students are tested, teachers are rated and failing schools are fixed. Stephanie Banchero, The Chicago Tribune, Jan. 29, 2010
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Large High Schools in the City Are Taking Hard Falls
The boos cascaded over the auditorium as a city education official read out the case against Christopher Columbus High School, one of the last remaining large high schools in the Bronx.Columbus has had "long history of sustained academic failure” and “chronically poor performance and low demand,” Santiago Taveras, a deputy chancellor, told the standing-room crowd. As a result, he said, it should be closed. But the frustrated teachers, soft-spoken students and former football players who stood up at the hearing said otherwise. They described a school that had served some students well, despite the difficult circumstances faced by many. They told of a school that, even after the city identified it as struggling, continued to receive ever-growing proportions of the city's most demanding students — the very students that needed the most help. Sharon Otterman, The New York Times, Jan. 25, 2010
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Daley school plan fails to make grade
Six years after Mayor Richard Daley launched a bold initiative to close down and remake failing schools, Renaissance 2010 has done little to improve the educational performance of the city's school system, according to a Tribune analysis of 2009 state test data. Stephanie Banchero, The Chicago Tribune, Jan. 19, 2010
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Despite Teacher Pushback, D.C. Continues Schools Reform
Gwen Ifill speaks with John Merrow reporter (and EWA board member) for an update on efforts to reform Washington, D.C.'s troubled public school system. Dec. 25, 2009
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Beyond the Bell: Educational Engagement
Research shows parental engagement brings results, but efforts - including in Milwaukee Public Schools - have lagged. Part 1 in a series. Erin Richards, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 1, 2009
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After Criticism, the Administration Is Praised for Final Rules on Education Grants
Three months after provoking an outpouring of criticism with preliminary plans for the nation’s largest competitive education grant program, the Obama administration has added flexibility in the final rules, released Wednesday, drawing praise from a state governor who was initially critical and from leaders of the national teachers’ unions. Sam Dillon, The New York Times, Nov. 11, 2009
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President Obama uses school dollars to prod states to change
States are jockeying for a new $5 billion pot of education money even before the contest has begun. The Obama administration was opening the competition Thursday for grants for ideas like charter schools or judging teachers based on student test scores. Applications are due in January and the first round of grants will go out in April. Libby Quaid, November 12, 2009
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Why Michelle Rhee Has to Play Tough
Read this editorial written by EWA board member Richard Whitmire for the Washington Post on DC’s controversial schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s reform efforts and support of charter schools. Whitmire says the chancellor takes a step in the right direction to promote student achievement, but she is racing against time to rehabilitate the beleaguered school system. Richard Whitmire, For the Washington Post, Oct. 14, 2009
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Fenger kids tell why they fight
The Chicago Tribune begins an in-depth look at youth violence, examining its complex causes and uncovering possible solutions. Azam Ahmed, Kristen Mack and Annie Sweeney, The Chicago Tribune, Oct. 6, 2009
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Metro Nashville school workers abused expenses
Digital cameras, Bluetooth headsets, iPods and gift cards are just a few of the $22.6 million in purchases Metro Nashville Public Schools employees charged with district credit cards.Employees in the cash-strapped district dined out at local restaurants, bought gourmet coffee and purchased expensive office chairs with the swipe of a card. School officials said many of the purchases were necessary to keep the 75,000-student system running. Jaime Sarrio, The Tennessean, Oct. 5, 2009
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In Search of The Real Michelle Rhee
Arrogant or dynamic? Harsh or honest? The Washington Post Magazine profiles Michelle Rhee D.C.'s controversial schools chief. Marc Fisher, Washington Post Magazine, Sept. 25, 2009
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Financial decisions made by the Burlington-Edison School Board in Mount Vernon, Wa., could harm the quality of education for the district’s students for years to come. This is a fourth in a series. Kate Martin, Skagit Valley Herald, September 16, 2009
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New rules for schools
Maryland and eight other states have set up new accountability systems under No Child Left Behind that have given more flexibility and focus to the efforts to resolve problems at schools that don't meet standards. Liz Bowie, The Baltimore Sun, Sept. 4, 2009
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Chicago selective enrollment high schools face huge demand for few spots
As a federal investigation swirls around admissions practices at eight vaunted selective enrollment high schools in Chicago, it has spotlighted a troubling problem in the city's education system: There are so few good high schools for high-achieving teenagers that they must fight over scarce slots. Stephanie Banchero, Chicago Tribune, August 25, 2009
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Some Texas districts yet to change grading policies
A new state law aims to stop school district policies that bar teachers from giving students grades lower than a 50, a 60 or even a 70. But with less than a week before fall classes begin, some districts aren't ready to change their policies. Dallas ISD officials say that because the law doesn't specifically mention report card grades, district policy remains that teachers may not assign a grade lower than a 50 on six-week grades. Katherine Leal Unmuth, The Dallas Morning News, August 18, 2009
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MPS struggling to create stable corps of principals
To be a successful principal, Julia D'Amato says, you need to be "a 29-baller." That's someone who can juggle 29 balls at the same time, not dropping any of them. That's what it feels like to run a school, says D'Amato, principal of Reagan High School, the south side school she has led from birth in 2003 to the top bracket of Milwaukee high schools now. It's hard to find people who can juggle like that. And it's hard for Milwaukee Public Schools to find top-notch people to lead approximately 200 schools. Alan J. Borsuk, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 10, 2009
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Elite Chicago Public Schools Admissions Probed
A scandal is rocking Chicago's public school system. Federal investigators are among those looking into the city's elite public schools. The investigation suggests there is more to the admissions process than just the lottery that several thousand students enter each year. There are allegations parents use their clout to get their kids into certain schools. Tom Arnold, Chicago Public Radio, August 4, 2009
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Investigation of CPS admissions requested
The Inspector General for Chicago Public Schools has been asked to investigate how kids were picked for admission to some of the city's most coveted public schools -- a process long criticized and questioned. Rosalind Rossi, Chicago Sun Times, July 30, 2009
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13 Schools In District to Offer Specialty Programs
D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, seeking to stanch declining enrollment and the exodus of students to the District's fast-growing charter schools, announced Tuesday that 13 public schools will launch plans for specialized programs in science and technology, arts and languages. Bill Turque, The Washington Post, July 29, 2009
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How three troubled Metro schools got back on track
As Metro Nashville schools celebrates meeting standards after five years of missing them, principals and others are reviewing what went right in the three high schools — Maplewood, Hunters Lane and Hillwood — that allowed them to come off a state watch list after two consecutive successful years. They're trying to do the same for other troubled schools, including Glencliff High, which has missed standards more consecutive years than any other in the state. Chris Echegaray, The Tennessean, July 27, 2009
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Numbers Man
He modernized Chicago’s emergency-response center, served as Mayor Daley’s chief of staff, and led (albeit briefly) the CTA—all before his 38th birthday. Now Ron Huberman, the Israeli-born gay ex-cop, has brought his intensity and his technocratic management style to the city’s public schools. Failure is not an option. Ryan Blitstein, Chicago Public Schools, July 23, 2009
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In 2003, the Bethlehem Area School District was a dozen years and $93 million into renovating every one of its school buildings but had yet to tackle the most expensive projects -- construction of a new Broughal Middle School and renovations at Freedom and Liberty high schools. Part one of a four part series. Tim Darragh and Steve Esack, Of the Morning Call, June 6, 2009
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A Tale Of Technology In Two School Districts
For schools, computers for students are essential, but they are also expensive. With budget pressures increasing, schools are looking for ways to cut technology spending. Here's a tale of two school districts, and how they are trying to trim their tech budgets without hurting learning. by Larry Abramson, National Public Radio, June 12, 2009
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Plummeting tax revenue has left schools across the country on the ropes, but in few places has the situation been quite so dire as in Oregon -- which has no sales tax, severe limits on property taxes, an automatic rebate on tax collections during boom years and a corporate tax structure that allows companies with multimillion-dollar profits to pay as little as $10 a year. Before the Legislature passed an emergency $51-million appropriation last week, the flood of red ink had threatened to close two-thirds of Oregon's 197 school districts before their scheduled last day. The prospect of early closures is particularly alarming in Oregon, where school calendars already are three weeks shorter than the national average.
Kim Murphy -The Los Angeles Times
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The Local List: Challenge Index 2008 Well-Connected Parents Take On School Boards
For a new generation of well-wired activists in the Washington region, it's not enough to speak at Parent-Teacher Association or late-night school board meetings. They are going head-to-head with superintendents through e-mail blitzes, social networking Web sites, online petitions, partnerships with business and student groups, and research that mines a mountain of electronic data on school performance.
The Washington Post - Michael Alison Chandler, 1/30/2009
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In Detroit, a lesson in same-sex schools
Detroit has been at the forefront of a growing but controversial movement that aims to boost student achievement by splitting the sexes into different schools. Now Boston officials are fighting to open the state's first single-gender public schools in more than a generation.
Boston Globe - James Vaznis, 1/2/2009
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Charter Schools Make Gains On Tests
Students in the District of Columbia's charter schools have opened a solid academic lead over those in its traditional public schools, adding momentum to a movement that is recasting public education in the city. The gains show up on national standardized tests and the city's own tests in reading and math, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Charters have been particularly successful with low-income children, who make up two-thirds of D.C. public school students.
The Washington Post - Dan Keating and Theola Labb,-DeBose, 12/15/2008
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Giving Students Cash for Grades
While growing up in Daytona Beach, Fla., Roland Fryer understood the benefits of becoming the best basketball player or the fastest track athlete in the school. But what Fryer did not understand at the time were the benefits of becoming a good student, and he suspects many other students in cities across the nation now are just as unaware as he was then. To help these largely poor, minority students comprehend the value of working hard in class, Fryer has partnered with administrators in three urban school districts to offer students money in return for their classroom achievement.
U.S. News and World Report - Jessica Calefati, 11/28/2008
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Rhee Tackles Classroom Challenge
DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is featured in this Time Magazine article about saving the troubled school system.
Time Magazine - Amanda Ripley, 11/26/2008
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Fenty, Rhee Look for Ways Around Union
D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee are discussing a dramatic expansion of their effort to remove ineffective teachers by restoring the District's power to create nonunionized charter schools and seeking federal legislation declaring the school system in a "state of emergency," a move that would eliminate the need to bargain with the Washington Teachers' Union.
The Washington Post - Bill Turque, 11/16/2008
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The Lightning Rod
Michelle Rhee charged in as chancellor of the Washington, D.C., public schools wielding BlackBerrys and data-and a giant axe. She has made a city with possibly the country's worst public schools ground zero for education reform, and attracted a cadre of young zealots some critics call ?Rhee-bots.? Now the changes that she insists schoolchildren need are colliding head-on with the political wants of adults.
The Atlantic Monthly - Clay Risen, 10/17/2008
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