EdPolicy
2011 Excellence in Action: A Climate of Change
Education leaders, policymakers and lawmakers convened at the 2011 Excellence in Action National Summit on Education Reform in San Francisco, Calif. this week to discuss personal digital learning, new innovations in education and the future transformation of education reform in the U.S.
10 Things States Should Do Now
The 2012 election season is in full swing. I listened to a great gubernatorial campaign speech this week suggesting that jobs and education were the priorities—and I couldn’t agree more. I spent a day with Policy Innovators in Education (PIE-Net), a great network of state policy groups. The…
Neural Gawkiness
Adults' enduring perplexity about teenagers are captured in quotes by Aristotle and Shakespeare in The New Science of the Teenage Brain, the cover story of the October National Geographic. The article by David Dobbs explains how young people's lives are shaped by the mind-blowing reorganization occurring in the brains of adolescents between the ages of 12-25. The article is fascinating and worth reading the entire piece. It's also a fabulous tool for us to use to get policymakers attention to why so many policies and programs like Scared Straight, lock them up, and zero tolerance don't work. So after reading the article, spend a few minutes sending an email or two or a letter to the editor in your local paper.
Kansas City: A Great Education Improvement Story
In what may be the most improved urban American district, Kansas City, Kansas achieved results by a sustained focus on rigor and relationships. They started with a new goal—college and career readiness (a novel idea ten years ago). They got to know their students, they got them in the right courses, and the teachers got on the same page about good teaching.
All4Ed Advances Digital Learning With New Center
The Alliance for Excellent Education has announced the launch of the Center for Secondary School Digital Learning & Policy. The center will expand the Alliance's focus on digital learning and focus on improving outcomes for low-income students and low-performing schools. Both the Alliance and Gov. Wise have played an active role in the Digital Learning Now! campaign over the past year by helping to form the Digital Learning Council, acting as Co-Chair and actively working with states to shape and change policies in order to implement the 10 Elements of Digital Learning.
Six premises, seven ideas for better teacher training
At the Twitter Town Hall with Education Secretary Arne Duncan (related: the full transcript of that dialogue is online) on August 24, he promised some new initiatives regarding schools of education. In the hope that the suggestion box is still open, I have a suggestion — not for the Secretary but for schools and colleges of education.
Debating Petrilli’s Post “One size fits most” for Ed Reform
By Bruno Behrend We education reformers are a fractious lot. We like to debate each other more than we like to take on the obstacles to transforming education. One exception to this rule is Mike Petrilli of The Fordham Foundation. He is well known for his tendency…
Indiana Chief Outlines Reforms
Tony Bennett is Indiana superintendent of public education. Bennet chairs Chiefs for Change and was recently recognized by Fordham as a leading reformer. Here's a few excerpts from his blog today.
Responding To Tennessee State Representative Craig Fitzhugh
I couldn’t let this column by state Rep. Craig Fitzhugh (D-TN) titled, “Virtual Schools Bad for Education Reform” go by without responding. It was so full of errors I almost didn’t know where to start. I don’t know Rep. Fitzhugh, so I won’t suggest he was intentionally misleading readers. I’ll just give him the benefit of the doubt and presume that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Let me attempt to dissect it.
Madison County: “A great place to be if you’re a kid”
Spend a few minutes with Tommy Floyd, superintendent of schools in Madison County Kentucky, and you'll be optimistic about public education.