EdTech
Rhee-engaged
Last week was the first time I’ve seen Michelle Rhee since taking on DC schools. She is a compelling speaker with an honest data-driven message about what needs to happen to make things better for kids. She’s facing a firestorm about a recent layoff that included 229 of the city’s…
Personalized Learning
Charter applications tougher but better?
As the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) prepares to meet in Salt Lake City next week, it’s an appropriate time to reflect on the art of authorizing. I’ve had the opportunity to observe four charter school applications over the last year and a half–that’s how long it takes…
Personalized Learning
Progress in Georgia on charters & dropouts
Georgia wins Most Improved charter policy set this year. But the new law creating room for more charters and funding parity is already under attack. While visiting with Tony Roberts and the Georgia Charter School Association, we discussed the need for restart capacity. I think charter restarts…
Personalized Learning
SIGs likely to cause heat
After spending time with district leaders in NY & LA this week, I was struck by the impending challenge of integrating district accountability and improvement efforts with federal School Improvement Grants. The feds have signaled that $3.5 billion in SIGs will require alignment with four strategies (transformation, turnaround,…
Personalized Learning
No physics teacher? Emerging solutions
You’re a rural principal and you don’t have a physics teacher. What do you do? Eduwonk posed this prompt yesterday. The simple solution is to offer an online course. There are solid offerings in most states (but it does depend on state policies; there are a…
Personalized Learning
State charter associations can play key role
I think charter associations can/must play an important role. The best associations eliminate caps and barriers advocate for equitable funding and access to public facilities promote charter quality provide value added services I think there’s more opportunity for charter associations to provide ‘freemium’ services with fee based premium services for application support,…
Personalized Learning
Systems of Survival
A board dinner discussion about scaling educational impact reminded me of Jane Jacobs’ Systems of Survival. The Library Journal summarized it this way: Jacobs argues that modern societies utilize two distinctive moral systems–one being suited to the world of commerce, the other to the world of politics. Commercial morality…
Personalized Learning
Early hybrids show the way: the PLC story
Clay Christensen talks about innovation occuring at the margin–often the choice between something and nothing. That’s certainly true in education where we’ve seen innovation start in alternative or special education. Neil Shorthouse co-founded Communities in Schools, the most respected dropout prevention network in America. After three decades of working…
Personalized Learning
Portfolio Strategy goes mainstream: CRPE report
I think Jim Shelton and I coined the phrase “portfolio strategy” in reference to cities developing a managed choice/multiple operators educational strategy. More important than where the term came from, a bunch of us landed on this idea 7 or 8 years ago as the charter and accountability movements simultaneously…
Personalized Learning
Reflections on Excellence in Action: 2009
Gov. Bush puts on a good conference. As you can see from the text of his keynote (Wednesday’s blog) he’s on fire about the transformative power of learning technology. Michelle Rhee rocked the house with an honest assessment of performance in DC schools and her plans…