I had hoped to write a big ol' primer on the Walsh Administration's plan to charterize the Boston Public Schools. But it's hard for me to write coherently about something that makes me so angry, and, anyway, anything I wrote would basically … [Read more...]
Follow the (Walton) Money
As soon as John Connolly had renounced the Stand for Children money he (and Conley and Barros) attempted to get to influence the Boston mayoral race, local pundits began suggesting that the whole controversy was just political theater and … [Read more...]
On The Extended School Day
The other day, I wrote about lifting the charter school cap. Today I'd like to address the other education "reform" being pressed in the Boston mayoral race: extending the school day. It's worth noting that after twenty years of … [Read more...]
‘ROUNDING THE GLOBE’-10: What does STAND stand for?
'ROUNDING THE GLOBE'-10: What does STAND stand for? There are a host of journalistic sins. When it comes to its coverage of education policy, the Boston Globe has committed all of them: selective sourcing in news, exclusion of dissenting … [Read more...]
ROUNDING THE GLOBE 6: Does one right makes two wrongs?
She then went on to discuss the startling, new positions of education scholar Diane Ravitch, once an advocate and now a critic of testing, charters, standards, and school closings. Incredibly, the Globe has still not followed the lead of … [Read more...]
ROUNDING THE GLOBE 3: Twelve Underperforming Schools To Be ‘Shaken-Up’ in Boston
Ho-hum. It was the usual one-two punch in the Globe today. James Vaznis reported on the Boston superintendent's announcement that 12 'underperforming" Boston school will be shaken-up. Boston superintendent Carol Johnson announced that five … [Read more...]
ROUNDING THE GLOBE 2: How Ravitch Got Disappeared in the Boston Globe
Yesterday, I launched a continuing feature on this page called "Rounding the Globe," which will be my best effort to keep the Globe's feet to the fire when it comes to editorial, op eds, and reportage about education policy. I will be … [Read more...]
Innovation Schools – A Challenge to Educators
Innovation Schools provide teachers with an unprecedented opportunity to seize control of their schools and to take charge of both academic programming and operations. What does that mean? It means teachers can operate schools under … [Read more...]
Lift The Charter School Cap
This is not because I've suddenly realized that charter schools are a good idea. It's because they've distracted us long enough, and because the story of heroic entrepreneurs saving education has stubbornly resisted the facts, the … [Read more...]
How can we reform education?
1) With the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 (MERA) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in place can local school districts implement meaningful reforms on their own?2) Are there any school districts in Massachusetts … [Read more...]