Why should Americans concerned about education know the name of a state senator from Colorado? Because he, and others like him who are willing to work across the aisle, are likely to be the face of American education reform of the future. State Senator Mike Johnston has quite the pedigree: Ivy League undergrad (Yale), Teach Read more about State Sen. Mike Johnston: An Up and Comer in Education Reform[…]
Melanie Plenda at The Atlantic Education recently described a new trend in American education that shows promise to attract strong student attention and help engage long term memory: Gamification. The idea of turning learning into games that students play is not new, but some of the research surrounding it is, as is the idea of Read more about Are Multiplayer Games the Future of Education?[…]
Thomas Kane, of the Harvard School of Education and writing for the Brookings Institution, has recently penned an important article describing an aggressive plan for helping American students catch up with their international peers over the next 10 years. Kane produces calculations that reveal that incremental reforms are unlikely to be aggressive enough to allow Read more about Shooting Bottle Rockets at the Moon: Overcoming the Legacy of Incremental Education Reform[…]
Maureen Kelleher at the Center For American Progress has written an interesting piece describing how several urban school districts have experimented with different school networks. The preliminary findings suggest that other urban school districts should be willing to let their schools create networks of common interests to help those schools that need it most. School Read more about The Rise of Networks: How Decentralized Management Is Improving Schools[…]
Education Evolving launched the Teacher-Powered Schools Initiative at the Education Writers Association’s 67th National Seminar’s “Teachers Take Charge” panel discussion. The launch is especially timely given the release of Education Evolving’s new national survey data that that reveal overwhelming public support and teacher interest in a professional partnership model of teacher leadership, or “teacher-powered schools.” Read more about Teacher-Powered Schools Initiative[…]
Recently, Lyndsey Layton of the Washington Post wrote a lengthy story concerning the role of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in fostering the Common Core State Standards. If you haven’t already seen the full article, you should read it (see below for the link). For now, we will summarize it for you. The article Read more about Bill Gates and the Common Core[…]
As demands on teachers increase, schools across the country are expanding their calendars to give teachers more time to collaborate and develop new skills. Recently, NCTL unveiled its newest report at an event in Washington, D.C. co-hosted with Teach Plus. Time for Teachers: Leveraging Time to Strengthen Instruction and Empower Teachers looks at how expanded-time Read more about Time for Teachers: Leveraging Time to Strengthen Instruction and Empower Teachers[…]
Ten years ago, education leaders, policy makers, and philanthropists caught on to what parents already knew: In a school, teachers are the most important factor determining whether a student succeeds in the classroom. A decade ago, the Joyce Foundation decided to fund research and advocacy on the importance of placing a highly effective Read more about Ten Years of Research on Teacher Quality[…]
The impact of “Opportunity Culture” schools could be students gaining years of learning, and teachers earning hundreds of thousands more over their careers. In a major policy brief out, Public Impact estimates what a state would gain by implementing “Opportunity Culture” models statewide, using North Carolina as an example for analysis. Opportunity Culture models redesign Read more about Projected Statewide Impact of “Opportunity Culture” School Models[…]
With America’s public schools unlikely to return to past funding levels in the near future, the District Management Council (http://www.dmjournal.org/spending-money-wisely/) released a policy guide this week to help districts thrive, rather than just survive, within the constraints of their new fiscal realities. In the main report, “Spending Money Wisely: Getting the Most From School District Read more about School Districts Get Advice on ‘Doing More With Less’: Report reflects new realities[…]
For the past few months, Marc Tucker, of the National Center on Education and the Economy, has written a series of blog posts in which he lays out his plans for comprehensive reforms to bring more accountability to American education. Tucker began back in February with a post entitled, “NCLB, California and Accountability in all Read more about Marc Tucker: Designing a Better Accountability System[…]
High school students everywhere may rejoice to hear the latest research on school start times for students in their age group. A new report from the Education Commission of the States (www.ecs.org) says school begins too early for these students, a point about which there should be no dispute. Following are three key takeaways from Read more about Should High Schools Open Later?[…]
Jane Best and Courtney Cohen of McREL have written a helpful document looking at some of the hot button education issues today, but with a unique focus on rural education. While a quarter of all American students are enrolled in rural public schools, many rural teachers and administrators believe that education stakeholders are slow to Read more about Rural Education: Examining Capacity Challenges That Influence Educator Effectiveness[…]
NASDTEC has undertaken an important new initiative, the development of a model code of ethics for educators. The focus of this work is to provide a uniform set of standards that educators can use as they interact with colleagues, parents, and students. The goal is to provide a model code of ethics that state agencies, Read more about A Model Code of Ethics for Educators[…]
More support for educators and increases in student achievement are among signs of progress at the anniversary of President Obama’s signature education reform, at least according to the U.S. Education Department. In the four years since the Obama Administration announced its first Race to the Top grants, the President’s signature education initiative has helped spark Read more about White House Report: Race to the Top Setting the Pace for Gains across the Education System[…]
The fourth quarter of the school year is generally a time of preparation for schools and districts as they finalize next year’s budget, student and teacher schedules, and professional development for the upcoming school year. During this time of preparation, it is important that schools and districts discuss ways that they can support parents and Read more about ED Releases New Parent and Community Engagement Framework[…]