Personalized Learning
Innovating or incrementing?
The NYTimes asks Can governments till the fields of innovation? The story profiles John Kao who recently launched The Institute for Large Scale Innovation (ILSI) founded to address three key questions: · How can innovation be fostered most effectively at a societal level (country,…
Personalized Learning
June is the new Friday
Most PR specialists tell you to drop bad news on Friday. Maybe the same is true for end of the school year. We’ve certainly had bad news this month. Diploma Counts 2009, the annual EdWeek graduation rate study commissioned by the Gates Foundation, said “ While long-term trends have…
Personalized Learning
New Leaders for New Schools
Secretary Duncan recently visited high performing North Star charter school in Newark New Jersey. He’d like to see states and districts close the lowest performing schools and replace them with more schools like North Star. The first big challenge is getting state and district officials to…
Personalized Learning
Encouraging results from Early College initiative
In 2002, a phone call from Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, and a bus ride with Cece Cunningham, a Ford funded Middle College consortium, lead to the creation of a $100M national Early College initiative. After assembling about 8 partners ranging from community colleges to charter networks, the goal…
Personalized Learning
EduPoem: Melissa Quits School
Spending the day with the AdvancePath.com team discussion drop out prevention and recovery reminded me of this Lucile Burt poem Melissa Quits School I’m not going down into that cave anymore, that room under everything where they stick us…
Personalized Learning
Charter school news & views
1. Enrollment hit the Wisconsin virtual charter cap with 1,000 kids on the waiting list. It’s crazy to limit options for kids. This is clearly a case of protecting the status quo rather than doing the right thing for kids. The cap has got to go!…
Personalized Learning
Shalvey: passing the torch, leaving legacy
At the end of May, Don Shalvey handed the helm of Aspire Public Schools to James Willcox. While in San Carlos, Don started the first charter in CA. He put in 10 good years at Aspire and is headed to the Gates Foundation. Don is one of the…
Personalized Learning
Duncan needs a big lever to close 5000 bad schools
Edu-curmudgeon Diane Ravitch wants to kill NCLB and go back to local control. Most folks working in education would agree with her EdWeek commentary—just throw out measurement and accountability, at least the federal mandates. Dr. Ravitch and I agree that the reauthorization of the Elementary…
Personalized Learning
NJ charters get great grad rates
Full post of press release from NJ Charter Assoc (since they don’t seem to have it posted on their site). This is great news for Newark in particular but for folks like Stig & DeShawn at the Newark Fund, Melanie Schulz at the leg, Heather Ngoma at Rutgers and…
Personalized Learning
Can ‘embracing geekness’ help improve schools?
A reporter asked me this today. The question of motivating American kids is an interesting and important one with limited associated research. A dissertation on this subject might be titled, “Removal of Psycho/Social Developmental Barriers of High Achievement” (that was actually a section in a charter application I…