Charter Schools
Personalized Learning
Harlem miracle and thoughts on authorization
Now old new, last week’s release of Hoxby‘s report demonstrating the superiority of New Yorks’s charter schools is a BFO for those of us that spend time in NYC schools. Following up on my recent post on the best school operators, it’s worth highlighting two ladies running networks of extraordinarily good…
Personalized Learning
Attacking the dropout crisis with 'restarts'
The National Journal topic this week was the drop out crisis. I think Secretary Duncan is right, we should improve/replace the worst schools in the country. This would quickly improve the drop out problem. The improvement in holding power of Locke High School after Green Dot took over is an…
Personalized Learning
The best school operators in the country
After spending two days with the best charter school operators in the country, I was impressed by three things: 1. Passion: the room was packed with smart hard working teachers, principals, and network leaders passionate about improving the life choices of low income and minority…
Personalized Learning
Charter heroes at Charter School Growth Fund
Charter heroes Mike Feinberg, Chris Barbic, and Ref Rodriguez participated on a Kevin Hall moderated kick off panel at a Charter School Growth Fund meeting in Denver. On the subject of growth: MF: Growth is a function of people quality not powerpoint quality CB:…
Personalized Learning
UK opens 200th sponsored academy
One of Tony Blair’s reforms that I’m fond of is the Academy program–the equivalent of a sponsored charter school in the US. The BBC reports that the 200th opened with 67 more to come this year. They’re dropping a feature that I liked–the requirement to invest at least 2 million…
Personalized Learning
The role of the private sector in edu
The WSJ reported that “The US government doled out $502 million for a dozen wind and solar energy projects.” The big winner was Iberdrola, a Spanish wind giant. Coming in second was Horizon, a subsidiary of a Portuguese firm. Third place went to a UK owned firm.
Personalized Learning
How to fix failing schools
The National Journal question this morning was, “What are the best methods for school improvement?” We’ve learned a good deal about improving elementary schools in the last decade. A focused leader, data driven instruction, and improved time on task can quickly boost lagging reading and math scores. Secondary…
Personalized Learning
Paul O'Neill, Stanley Kaplan, and USED staff
1. Paul O’Neill may be the best charter school attorney in the US, certainly the best east of the Mississippi, by virtue of handling a high volume of charter contracts for more than decade. Paul’s Charter School Law Deskbook is the definitive book on the subject. He…
Personalized Learning
$3.5B for school improvement will benefit charters/services
This EdWeek blog is a good summary of the USED guidance $3.5B Title 1 school improvement fund. Each state will receive an allotment and will distribute it to districts that agree to enact one or more of the four prescribed strategies: · Turnaround: replacing at least…
Personalized Learning
Inglorious Board
Just five years ago, San Diego was high on the list of districts most likely to become a national model. Alan Bersin had a great Blue Print and worked aggressively to improve existing schools and open innovative new schools. After firing Bersin, driving off decent superintendents that…