Restarts beat turnarouns
We just don’t know how to turnaround failing schools, but we do know how to start good new schools. We should do what we know works. That’s the message from Andy Smarick in his important EdNext article, The Turnaround Fallacy. I’ve been involved with the development of 1200 new…
Advice to states on RttT
In general, states should use RttT as an opportunity to advance accountability, choice, and teacher/leader effectiveness (see EEP policy papers) and the innovation agenda. Following are thoughts on the four required categories and bonus categories. Standards & Assessments Adopt Common Core Adopt statewide guidance & college access system…
Districts should use budget woes to innovate
The National Journal asked about public-private partnerships backfilling budget cuts. Here’s my response. Public-private partnerships are a good idea; there should be more. But I hope the private partners supplanting public funds are in for the long run–I think schools in many states have a couple more years…
6 reasons foundations should incorporate venture strategies
Foundations should invest at least a portion of their endowments in return seeking vehicles related to their programmatic goals (often called Mission Related Investments, MRI). They should also leverage their balance sheets to provide venture debt and credit enhancements (often structured as Program Related Investments, PRI) to help scale promising…
It’s the learning, stupid
This week I had the good fortune to meet Jamie P. Merisotis, President, Lumina Foundation for Education. As one of the few higher ed funders, he’s pushing an exciting agenda with a big goal: Over the next 16 years, Lumina wants to increase the percentage of Americans with college…
So far to go on the new edu-employment bargain
DC Chancellor Rhee is still getting beat up for a 5% layoff that partially considered performance. As she explained in a thoughtful note to staff: When we learned of the shortfall and realized that some school positions would be cut, according to DC law for a reduction…
Ted Sizer asked us all the think
Ted Sizer asked us to think deeply about accepted norms in American Education. His books and a series of school visits starting in 1999 shaped my views about secondary school reform. The NYTimes summarized his seminal contribution: The Essential Schools movement sprang from Professor Sizer’s seminal book…
The Quiet Revolution
The success of Obama’s first term education agenda will be sealed with the announcement of phase 1 Race to the Top winners in March. All indications are that the Obama administration will hold firm on its landscape changing competitive grant program. Only a handful of states will receive grants in…
Travel questions
A few travel questions from this week’s excursions: why is the print on hotel shampoo bottles so small? (ever put lotion on your head?) why do middle seaters think they get the armrest? why are NYC taxis the only ones that take credit cards? how did we navigate before Google…
Advocating for online options
We’re building a advocacy initiative for online and blended learning. some of the goals include paint pictures of the future of learning promote quality options for kids/families guide state and local policy development encourage investment in innovation Tell me if I missed something obvious and if there are groups that…