This Week In Education

Coldplay In The Quad - Locke May 2009

2009-05-17T02:53:00.006-05:00

I think the song is called "Clocks."
Deandre Hogan
Angel Gamez

2008-02-04T08:52:00.000-06:00

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We've Moved Around The Corner

2007-01-10T17:41:00.000-06:00

OK, I guess it's time to get out of here and move over to the new site at EdWeek.org.

You can find it here, or at "http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek"

My favorite part of the new digs so far? The EdWeek disclaimer:

"The opinions expressed in This Week in Education are strictly those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications."

Don't Forget The Teachers, Says LDH

2007-01-10T10:26:00.001-06:00

"Whatever one thinks about the 5-year-old federal law," writes Linda Darling-Hammond about NCLB in a commentary from this week's EdWeek (A Marshall Plan for Teaching), "it’s clear that developing more-skillful teaching is a sine qua non for attaining higher and more equitable achievement for students in the United States."

UPDATE: Teacher quality could also be addressed through the still-unfinished HEA reauthorization, reminds another EdWeek article.

Speaking Truth To The Powerless

2007-01-10T10:07:00.000-06:00

It turns out it wasn't just me (and Rush Limbaugh) who noted Oprah's harsh comments about poor American students last week. In Tuesday's Chicago Tribune, columnist Clarence Page notes that just because Oprah's comments "delighted conservative commentators... doesn't mean she's wrong." According to Page (Oprah's `truth' shouldn't hurt), "Liberals love to speak 'truth to power,' but the powerless need to hear the truth too."

Rotten Apples Of 2006

2007-01-10T08:46:00.000-06:00

Gerry Bracey's 2006 Rotten Apples report is finally out (downloadable doc here), featuring the usual assortment of outrages and misdeeds.

Bracey leads of with Spellings' infamous "99.9 percent pure" declaration, followed closely with the Barbara/Neil Bush donation laundering operation.

Morning Round-up January 10, 2006

2007-01-10T07:17:00.000-06:00

In Testing for Gifted Programs, a Few Knots NYT
A new admissions process for highly coveted gifted-and-talented programs in the New York City elementary schools has been riddled with glitches, including last-minute notice of entrance exam dates in some areas.

Hearing on school takeover by mayor set LAT
A state appeals court panel Tuesday scheduled an April hearing for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's lawyers to defend an invalidated law that would have given the mayor substantial authority over the Los Angeles public schools.

School choices satisfy, study says JS Online
University of Colorado researchers are issuing a report that says low-income parents in Milwaukee are happy with the range of choices they have for their children. The report also says those parents select schools in ways that aren't much different from higher-income parents elsewhere.

NCLB Watch: Week One

2007-01-10T05:30:00.000-06:00

A week ago, nearly everyone was predicting it would be 2009 before NCLB got renewed. Since then, things have gotten a little messier, but the basic dynamics are clear. A powerful set of folks folks (Spellings, President Bush, the Chamber, the BRT) are pushing for a quick NCLB reauthorization this year. Other folks (Miller, Kennedy especially) are also pushing for reauthorization-- and lots more cash. Meantime, NCLB opponents (the 100 groups that signed the letter) want to see NCLB revamped substantially and don't seem particularly concerned about when it happens -- though of course the sooner the better. Last but not least, some folks (Dodd, Ehlers, Fordham, New America) want to focus on national standards, which many of those who want to see NCLB reauthorized (Bush, Spellings, Chamber, BRT) consider something of a threat to a timely reauthorization. Got it?

UPDATE: Joanne Jacobs rounds up the blogs' coverage (via Education Wonks). And EdWeek's David Hoff reminds us that there's another group of folks who want some movement sooner rather than later: schools and districts operating under the current version.

Exclusive: Romer To Head Gates/Broad '08 Election Push

2007-01-09T18:04:00.000-06:00

Sitting in a DuPont Circle Starbucks, who do I run into but former LAUSD superintendent (and CO Gov) Roy Romer, making cell phone calls across from me. He wants to know what I'm doing with a laptop attached to a digital camera (you all know the answer to that one). I want to know what he's doing in town besides going to the NAF event (see below). Turns out Romer is getting set up to head a Gates/Broad initiative to make sure education gets a substantial and meaningful bit of attention in the 2008 election cycle. You read it here first. I think. More details to come.

More On The Education Industry

2007-01-09T17:52:00.000-06:00

Did you know that 2006 was a tough year for K-12 education stocks, with several companies like ProQuest, Educate, Plato Learning, and LeapFrog down big? Not me. Hell, I've never even heard of most of these companies, much less know what they do or how they're performing on the stock market. But that's what you get when a friend sends you Class Notes, a 25-pp industry report that's put together by some analysts at RW Baird and Co and includes fascinating info on the education industry. It's not just about publicly traded companies, either. There's stuff in there about the budget process and the earmarks (see previous posts). You can check it out here: Class Notes 1-07.pdf)-- at least until they tell me to pull it down.

Friendly Faces

2007-01-09T10:09:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who came up and said "hi" yesterday in DC -- it was great to see so many familiar faces from the past (Kate Laguarda from PSA, Manish Naik and and Henry Duvall from the Council, Larry Snowhite from Houghton Mifflin, and to meet lots of new folks (Heather Podesta on her birthday, Kate Szostak from Dodd's press office, Lindsey Luebchow and Justin King from New America, and a slew of helpful people from the EdSec's press office including press secty Katherine McLane). The rest of you? See you next time.

A Teacher Uses The N-Word -- Over & Over

2007-01-09T09:56:00.000-06:00

A white Jefferson County public schools English teacher was suspended for 10 days for using the n-word towards an African-American honors student, and this local news clip takes the unusual step of letting the teacher explain -- at length (and with visual aids) -- the different possible pronunciations of the word. Video NSFW click below.

Read More...

All NCLB, All The Time

2007-01-09T08:48:00.000-06:00

Democrats Push for Changes to NCLB Law NYT
Democratic Congressional leaders on Monday called President Bush’s signature education law too punitive in its sanctions on public schools and pledged to increase educational spending, signaling the stance they will take this year in negotiations over the law’s renewal.

Bush, lawmakers meet to plan next phase of NCLB AP
President Bush pushed for renewal of the No Child Left Behind education law Monday in a meeting with congressional leaders but was noncommittal on their request for more money to help schools meet the law’s requirements.

'No Child Left Behind' Law Up for Renewal NPR
The Bush administration is using the law's fifth anniversary to urge reauthorization without changes. But the process won't be as simple as the adminstration once hoped. Plus: A Principal's View of 'No Child Left Behind'

New America Makes A Splash

2007-01-08T17:41:00.000-06:00

Whether or not national standards happen, New America in partnering with Senator Dodd and Fordham has carved out an interesting bit of space that otherwise could have been filled (or ignored) by other center-ish education groups -- and I'm not just saying that because I've done some work for them. The main press room was full at today's event, and the overflow room was overflowing. Ehlers couldn't be there, but Dodd gave a speech featuring sarcasm and wit (as well as a concluding call to action that seemed straight out of the climactic monologue in The Girl In A Cafe). Pictured here, the victorious staffers -- MaryEllen McGuire (Dodd), Michael Dannenberg (New America), Rachel Post (Ehlers), and Taniesha Woods (SRCD/AAAS fellow in Dodd's office) -- all headed back to work rather than to happy hour, this being DC. Missing: Mike Petrilli (Fordham).

Do NCLB Opponents Create A "Petrillian Dystopia"?

2007-01-08T14:31:00.000-06:00

Check out Eduwonk.com for the new NCLB logo and the news that the USDE is serious about trying to get NCLB reauthorized this year. (True enough, from what I saw at the Spellings event this AM). And you gotta love Andy's warnings for NCLB opponents about the possibilities of a "Petrillian dystopia..."

Politics, Schools, and The Gap Between

2007-01-08T13:27:00.000-06:00

"Over the years, I've talked to a lot of political folks who think once the legislative battle is won, the fight is over and they can move on to the next legislative battle," writes Mike Antonucci in a post that riffs off my "mission statement" on the gap between educators and policymakers: Intercepts: Alexander Russo Gets It Right (I Think)" I've talked to a lot of education policy folks who think the power of empirical evidence is enough to get their chosen reform enacted. I've talked to a lot of education reporters who don't understand me when I tell them things like the battle over charter schools is not about charter schools, but about collective bargaining and union membership."

Competing Agendas, "No" On National Standards, New Faces

2007-01-08T11:35:00.000-06:00

Everyone's staking out their turf today in DC, where there are something like five education events (CAP, White House, Spellings at the Chamber, New America, Heritage, etc.). The highlight of the Spellings event was hearing the call for a 2007 reauthorization and strengthening of NCLB, and Spellings' guardedly dismissive comments on the short-term need for national standards (more on that later).
Great also to see familiar faces like Susan Traiman and Bill Taylor and D'Arcy Philps and EdWeek's David Hoff (back on the federal beat), as well as meet "new" folks like David DeSchryver (right) and that Edison dude Doug Mesecar (pictured left), who are much more important (and good-natured) than I originally reported.

Monday In DC

2007-01-08T09:00:00.000-06:00

If you see this slightly devilish-looking person wandering around with a laptop at the events in DC today , please come up and say hello. However, be warned that I may blog about what tie you're wearing.

Three Takes On NCLB Anniversary

2007-01-08T07:27:00.000-06:00

How Bush education law has changed our schools USA Today
A cornerstone of Bush's domestic agenda and one of his few truly bipartisan successes, it took what was once a fairly low-key funding vehicle (it was known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act before Bush borrowed the catchy name from the Children's Defense Fund) and turned it into a vast — and contentious — book of federal mandates.

Pupils still far behind despite law Chicago Tribune
Despite pumping more than $4 billion in No Child Left Behind funds into Illinois, most of the law's intended improvements have either fallen flat or have not been enacted fully.

Next round begins for No Child Left Behind CS Monitor
Achievement levels are creeping up toward the 2014 deadline when all public school children are supposed to be "proficient" at math and reading, and the racial and economic achievement gaps have narrowed slightly in a few cases, but not at all in others.

The Week In Review (January 2-7)

2007-01-07T23:19:00.000-06:00

On The Hill
Off To The Races With National Standards
Looking for ways to mess up your boss's next two years? Consider signing him or her up as an original cosponsor of a new voluntary national standards bill. (See also: Flip-Flopping Finn).
PLUS:
$1B In K12 Earmarks Further Imperiled
First-Week Proposals On The Fritzwire
Website Exclusive: CRS Previews Reauthorization

Blogs & Media Watch
Now That's What I'm Talking About
The Knight Science Journalism Tracker "sifts the Web for the day's newsiest science stories, summarizes the topic, and assesses the work of one or two of the reporters before linking to the other takes on the story...making it easy for reporters and editors to read and judge the competition." Education desperately needs one of these.
PLUS:
A Tempest In Andy's Teapot
EdWeek.org Gets A New (Wide) Look

Best Of The Rest
Why Oprah's School Isn't In The US
Wondering why Oprah didn't decide to build her new school here in the US rather than in South Africa? Me, too.
PLUS:
Banana + Anacaonda = Bananaconda
More USDE Officials Head For The Exits

Site News
Pimp My Blog
Washington Post's Four Best EdBlogs

$1B In K12 Earmarks Further Imperiled

2007-01-07T11:07:00.000-06:00

On Friday, the House voted to make lawmakers identify which earmarks are theirs, endangering roughly $64 billion in earmarks -- including about $1B in K12 earmarks left over from last summer. Reporting that earmarks have tripled in size over the last 12 years, the NYT describes impact of the change here. The list of education earmarks left in limbo is here (under "innovation and improvement"). It runs from recognizeable programs like Troops to Teachers through a long list of $75-750K local items. Guessing which lawmaker pushed which items doesn't seem that hard, but as you'll see there are some outfits like KIPP and Communities In Schools that have figured out how to get several bites at the apple.

First-Week Proposals On The Fritzwire

2007-01-07T10:52:00.000-06:00

Lawmakers love to introduce proposals during the first few days of a new Congress -- staking out territory, announcing their arrival on the scenee, and giving voice to their constituents' and supporters' priorities. Most go nowhere. Some get wrapped into larger efforts or added to spending measures.

Thankfully, there's a resource for tracking all these bills -- it's called Fritzwire and you can get addded to the list by emailing Fritz Edelstein at fritz@publicprivateaction.com.

Some of the most interesting-looking on Fritz's extensive first-week list include: S. 114 (Obama, Illinois), introduced to authorize resources for a grant program for local educational agencies to create innovation districts (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions). S. 152 (Boxer, Cal.), introduced to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a program to help States expand the educational system to include at least 1 year of early education preceding the year a child enters kindergarten (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions). H.R. 35 (Ehlers, Michigan), introduced the "Science Accountability Act", to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the use of science assessments in the calculation of adequate yearly progress (Education and Labor).

Banana + Anacaonda = Bananaconda

2007-01-05T10:30:00.000-06:00

Never heard of a Bananaconda? You need to get out more. The creature -- part banana, part snake -- is one of many popularized in Scranimals and wildly popular among kids according to several recent news reports including this one. Other creatures include Hippopotamushrooms, Potatoads, Broccolions, and --my favorite --Toucanemones.

Fordham's Follies

2007-01-05T10:01:00.000-06:00

More thoughts about Fordham's "Insiders" report: Much as I love her, since when did Michele at AFT become a power player? And that Edison dude -- is he really one of the top folks? Other folks who should have been included (besides Dannenberg and the others I named before): Dianne Piche and Bill Taylor at CCCR, Kati Haycock at the EdTrust, someone from the Department.

UPDATE: AFT Michele says she's not sure she should have been on the list, but thinks I should have. At least until she reads this post. (The Insider).

UPDATE 2: As predicted, Michele didn't like this post very much, but even when she's mad she's funny. Click "Enjoy!" to see her Jib-Jab caricature of me.

Off To The Races With National Standards

2007-01-05T08:52:00.000-06:00

Tired already of the 110th Congress and looking for ways to mess up your boss's next two years (like I did with Feinstein and the Clinton health care legislation)? Consider signing him or her up as an original cosponsor of a new voluntary national standards bill. Republican Congressman ~~John~~ Vernon Ehlers (left) is joining the irrepressible Chris Dodd in introducing it on Monday. The 24-page legislation, called The SPEAK Act, amends NAEP and focuses on solely on math and science. It is, like NCLB, nominally voluntary, but could provide as much as $600 million in federal funds that states would be hard-pressed not to apply for. There's a 2:30 event at New America on Monday that will include supporters include New America Foundation and Fordham Foundation, Former Governors Engler & Wise, and the Council of Great City Schools. No sign of the Sector, AEI, CEP, Heritage, or CAP (much less Miller, Kennedy, McKeon, or Enzi). So far, Dodd and Ehlers are the only cosponsors, and the bill language and summary are embargoed, but you've got all weekend to think it over.