Big Stories Of The Day

McCain Emphasizes School Choice, Accountability, But Lacks Specifics EdWeek
He has supported efforts to boost federal funding for special education programs. In 2001, he voted for the No Child Left Behind Act and has voiced his support for it during his presidential campaign.

Chicago looks to 'turnarounds' to lift failing schools Christian Science Monitor
The unproven reform includes firing a school's entire staff.

Survey on Homework Reveals Acceptance, Despite Some Gripes EdWeek
According to the survey, 77 percent of students and more than 80 percent of teachers and parents say homework is important or very important.

Campuses Face New Reality of Safety Situation NPR
Following Thursday's killing of five students on the campus of Northern Illinois University, Host Liane Hansen talks with Jonathan Kassa, executive director of Security on Campus.  PLUS: Illinois College Applied Lessons From Massacre At Virginia Tech.

A Quick Spin Around The Blogs

 

McCain on NCLB, Obama on Vouchers, and More: The Hoff crosses the line into Michele's turf with the video above.

TIME looks at merit pay, and its history:  A good catch from a blog I should check more.

Resource on Candidates' positions: Education.com revealed as Scientology news outlet. [Before we all start using them, does anyone know who these guys at Education.com really are?]

Multiple Choices: AFT vs. Susan Ohanian -- who'd a thunk it?

Scratch a dinosaur, find a dinosaur:  Edwize doesn't like the new Fordham/Hess report on labor contracts.

A dose of reality on our dropout rate:  It's bad.  Really bad.

"Good Ideas" Not Enough, Political Panel Says

Highlights from the morning panel on politics included a Paul Tough sighting (the NYT magazine editors' book on the Harlem Children's Zone is coming out in September), Joe Williams from DFER talking about what an interesting time it is now that Obama is talking charters and other labor unions besides the NEA and AFT are getting active on education issues, and Steve Barr and Marc Lampkin from EDINO8 highlighting the need to make reform a visceral middle-class issue, not an altruistic theoretical one.

What else?  Barr and Hess went out for steaks and cigars without me last night, those bums.  There's a guy talking at us while we eat lunch saying that low-cost inferior products (this blog, for example), often come in and disrupt higher-cost, higher-quality products (a newspaper, say).  Oh, and everyone here is hot for education. 

What You're Missing At Yale

I've passed in and out of consciousness during Rick Hess's opening talk at the Yale thing today -- the guy talks so fast and I'm still catching up on coffee.  Favorite lines so far include one about how he's not going to talk about how much he loves kids.  That's not the point, says Dr. Hess.  Hear hear.  I often think about renaming this blog "It's Not About The Kids."  Hess also slammed the current turnaround craze, pointing out that even in business most turnarounds fall on their faces.  That may be, says I, but new school creation isn't going to get us there, either.  Spotted so far:  Andy Newman (Eduventures), Steve Barr (Green Dot), Jonathan Gyurko (UFT), Jenny Medina (NYT), Joe Williams (mentioned on Slate!), Eva Moskowitz (NYC).  Pics and updates to follow. 

Obama And Vouchers Nothing New

Longtime readers of this blog won't be surprised at Barack Obama's willingness to talk about vouchers more openly than others.  He's said all this before (From 2006:  Vouchers & Obama In The 2008 Primaries, from 2005:  Open Minded On Education, from 2004:  Obama and Vouchers).  And indeed I've pointed out that more and more Dems have gone over to the voucher side, whether it's about DC schools or Katrina victims.  On substantive grounds, the pure antivoucher position is a tough one to maintain.  Especially given the existence of vouchers for higher ed (ie, Pell grants). 

What's different here is that Obama's in a close race for the Dem. nomination, and that his comments follow on similarly unorthodox remarks on charters.  This is the opposite of pandering to the teachers unions and labor.  He's saying he's above all that, and can say what he wants and is right.  Which is either true, or incredibly hubristic.  Right now, he's still winning union endorsements [SEIU].  But if his candidacy falls apart, and labor plays a part in that, we'll all look back to this and wonder if it was part of the reason. 

Rotherham To The Rescue

Given a choice between examining the substance or siding with his think tank friends, Andywonk chooses...his friends.  Big surprise, I know.  Within the club, these guys stick together like white on white.  In this case, it's about the Ed Next article on New York City that Diane Ravitch found objectionable and I found otherwise wanting.  Andy thinks it was declasse of me to say that I could have done it better.  I thought it would have been strange to comment on another freelancer's work without admitting my own interests. Ravitch v. Bloomberg...v. Ed Next?.

Si Se Puede (Yes, We Can)? Turn Around Low Performing Schools

Turnarounds are all the rage.  Politically and practically, turning around low-performing schools is essential.  It's where school leaders and politicos show their chops -- for real or at least for a moment.  It's where the kids and teachers who need help most are often congregated (5,00 schools, 2.5 million kids) .  It's where no amount of new school creation (ie, charters) is going to get you anytime soon.  It's where NCLB is going.

There is for me, however, a sickening echo of the half-baked efforts behind comprehensive school reform (CSR) from the 1990s, and small schools conversions from earlier this decade. Can we not do that all over again, please?  That's my hope.  And, intellectually at least, the new turnaround folks seem to get it (Inside the ‘Crucible’ of School Reform).  But I'm not sure anyone else does.  And no one needs another round of failed interventions. 

Next:  A conversation with Mr. Turnaround, Andy Calkins.

Using NASCAR -- And Authentic Lab Questions -- To Engage Students In Science

Forget trying to scare kids into being interested in science.  Pull them in with stuff they're already interested in -- like NASCAR, according to this New York Times article (It’s All Aerodynamics).  Nothing new to good teachers, I'm sure.  But a scientist who just wrote a book is making the point once more  -- figuring out why drafting works to make the guy following AND leading go faster, and how bumping and power bumping evolved -- is what gets kids excited. 

“When you listen to a driver and his crew chief trying to figure out how to give the car more grip in Turn 2, that’s the scientific method in action. They’re asking questions about load transfer and downforce, and they don’t know the answers until they’ve done the experiment.”

Next step:  Figure out how to make mixed martial arts a part of the curriculum.  It's the new pro wrestling.

Workplace Rivalries Lower Productivity

Work related romances create a certain set of problems, according to this Time Magazine article, but even more destructive is the "collenemy" -- a friend-like colleague who is really a rival or underminer (Fear the collenemy).  It's the newest variant on the "frenemy" concept.  And it's not at all uncommon.  Something like 50 percent of workers in one survey reported losing time at work over a real or potential dispute with a colleague. 

Big Stories Of The Day

Gunman Slays 5 at N. Illinois University AP
Friday’s classes were canceled at Northern Illinois University after a gunman went into a lecture hall on Thursday and killed five students and himself. Sixteen other students were wounded.

Bills to Aid School Facilities Get Attention EdWeek
Democratic lawmakers have sponsored a spate of bills aimed at providing federal resources for school construction, including so-called “green schools.

Homework Survey Shows Teacher-Parent Divide NPR
One in four teachers rated the quality of their homework as "excellent." But one-third of parents rated the quality of homework "fair to poor." Parents also complained that homework takes up too much time and deprives their children of sleep.

Varying Degrees of Flexibility Found in Teacher Contracts EdWeek
Just five of the teacher contracts in the nation’s largest school districts grant school leaders the kind of flexibility they need to run schools well.

One goof - now schools' reputations are at stake Las Vegas Sun
Elementary and middle schools in the Clark County School District have been blindsided by a scheduling error for a crucial statewide test, a mistake that has ratcheted up the pressure on many teachers and students.

Chicago looks to 'turnarounds' to lift failing schools Christian Science Monitor
The unproven reform includes firing a school's entire staff.

Secret Admirers In The Education World

In the spirit of secret Valentine's Day crushes, here's one of the folks who's been suggested for this year's Hot For Education.

She's Pauline Vu, the education writer for Stateline.org, who found her calling via Medill and UCLA.  Forget those credentials, though.  With that smile and that hair, her sources don't stand a chance. 

Vu says she has no idea who suggested her and wishes I wouldn't be doing this.

 

Are you a secret admirer?  Keep those nominations coming in!

Once Around The Blogs

Lots of good stuff out there today:

The Wages of Wynn
Criticizing NCLB may get you a teachers' union endorsement, but not a win.

Right on, Ravitch: One of the irascible Klonskies thinks I was criticizing Ravitch.

The Randi Weingarten Succession Obsession: She's got more power at the UFT than she'd have at AFT or the USDE.

Should McCain Get an "Incomplete" Grade in Education?: Flunk the old coot, I say.

We Need Better Teaching: Karin Chenoweth interviews a teacher union leader.

New Polls – ED Moves Up! Recessions are good for education, it turns out.

Obama Feeling His Oats: He might be pulling a John Kerry here, says EIA.

Vouchers: alive, well and working:  Public school choice, however, now that one's dead.

Charting The Education "Club"

Much as I like eduwonkette's attempt to chart the connections between school reform groups (It's a Small World After All), appreciate her link back to a previous post of mine (A Surge Of Think Tanks), and love pretty much anything that makes Andywonk squeal like a baby, I wish The 'Kette had looked back a little further in the TWIE archives to find a string of previous posts on this same topic that might have helped her. 

The relationships go further and are deeper than everyone sitting on everyone else's boards, creating a strange little club that is hard to figure out and even harder to join.  Here's a post about power couples in education.  Here's a wiki about who's who among the wonks.  Here's a post from last year's NSVF summit (The Sundance Of School Reform).  Don't even get me started about funders. 

Education's Parallel World

Coming up tomorrow, the Yale  Education Leadership Conference is one part New Schools Venture Fund minisummit and one part job fair for SOM folks.  It looks like it's going to be full of people and organizations that I've written about in the past -- New Leaders, Joe Williams, Paul Tough, etc. -- and people I'm still hoping to profile -- Steve Barr, etc.  In addition I'm looking forward to meeting new folks -- Marc Lampkin from EDIN08 (now called "executive director" -- wonder if Romer knows?), Dennis Littky from Big Picture who I've talked to but never met, and Adam Newman from Eduventures, which just sold off part of its business.  Based on previous experience, it's likely to be a little charter-heavy and hand-wavy for me -- a little light on real folks from unions and districts and politics.  This won't be that kind of crowd.  But I'm still looking forward to it and will surely enjoy it nonetheless.

 

Big NCLB & AP Stories Of The Day

Kennedy lends heft to NCLB Politico.com
“No Child Left Behind has become a banner for what’s wrong with our education system,” Kennedy admitted in a recent interview. “But what we have to try and do now is see how we can take the benefits of six years of this legislation — even with all of its faults — and see if we can’t find the common ground that will strengthen and improve our children’s education.”

PLUS:  Enzi adheres to ‘80/20 rule'

AP Scores Fall as Test-Taking Rises EdWeek
More students are taking Advanced Placement tests, but the proportion of tests receiving what is deemed a passing score has dipped, and the mean score is down for the fourth year in a row, an analysis of newly released data from the College Board shows.

OR:  Larger Share of Students Succeed on A.P. Tests NYT

Pointy Headed Pundits Can't Make Local Control Go Away

I've already posted a couple of times about Matt Miller's fun but ridiculous article about getting rid of local school boards, but Matt Yglesias has his own thoughts and -- even better -- a handy dandy map of funding variations within states and across the country (The Trouble With Local Control). He's also got a million readers and lots of fun comments to check out.

"Miller's article isn't even primarily about money. Instead, it's about the fact that these general institutional issue persists throughout our educational system -- things are wildly different from district to district, and especially from state to state. That's the American tradition of local control at work. But while this is very much our tradition, it's not a very good one."

Yglesias' best point is his last one -- that Iowa and New Hampshire are fierce local control states, and early in the political primary season.  Who's gonna go against that if they want to win national office?  If only Miller had called Yglesias before he wrote the piece.  I propose a ban on "neat" policy notions that include no viable path towards adoption.

Around The Blogs

Here's how it works.  Bloggers blog.  I find the best ones and comment on them.  You read (or not):

Learning to Lie New York Magazine
Not really a blog post but too good to pass up.

 What Happened in Public Education Before Social Entrepreneurship?
Or:  Join a consulting firm, not a think tank.

NEA's Conventional Influence
Oh no! NEA Super-delegates might decide the nomination! For Clinton, I'm saying.

Mystery meat
Mad cow in the lunchroom cafeteria.

Huck/Finn?
Best headline of the day, so far. 

Crushing On A Colleague? Send It In.

It's almost time for the 2008 edition of "Hot For Education," an annual roundup of education hotties, male and female, famous and just well-known.

As you may recall, last year's list featured a shirtless Barack Obama (then new to the Senate education committee) and a kissable EdSec Spellings (aka, the "yummy mummy of NCLB"). 

The original group included Ted Kennedy, Nina Rees, Jon Schnur, Wendy Kopp, & Tim Knowles (pictured), as well as Pedro Noguera. 

Got any ideas about who should be in this year's edition?  The rules are simple.  Previous winners are not eligible. Nominees have to work in education or an education-related field (ie, education reporter).  They have to be hot, broadly defined.  There has to be an easily available picture.   Shout them out in the comments section, or whisper them secretly via email (thisweekineducation@gmail.com).

UPDATE:  So far, so good (see below).  Keep those nominations coming.

Big Stories Of The Day

What’s in a Name? GOP Says Anything Except ‘Vouchers’ EdWeek
When President Bush proposed “Pell Grants for Kids” recently, he added another entry into the dictionary of creative names for school choice programs.

Settlement opens door to charter schools in L.A. Los Angeles Times
More Los Angeles campuses will have to make room for charter schools, even if some teachers are forced to give up their classrooms and become roving instructors, under a litigation settlement approved by the Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday.

New Title I Fiscal Guidance Has Big Implications for Schoolwides Title I Monitor
The U.S. Department of Education has released new Title I fiscal guidance intended to resolve, once and for all, questions about how to consolidate funds in schoolwide programs.

Teacher taught high school for 17 years without being able to read MSNBC
Corcoran's life of secrecy started at a young age. He said his teachers moved him up from grade to grade.

One Dad's Campaign to Save America Washington Post
Bob Compton may be wrong about American students losing out to our hard-working Indian and Chinese competitors, but he is astonishingly sincere in his views.

No Clinton Cabinet For Weingarten

UFT President Randi Weingarten's name came up pretty quickly a few months ago when we first started speculating about who would be the next education secretary.  Now it turns out that it wasn't such a wild guess.  From the NY Sun today (Path Clear for Weingarten In Washington):

Ms. Weingarten ruled out another possibility, that she would seek a position in a presidential cabinet were her favored candidate, Senator Clinton, to win the election.

She said she was deeply offended by the idea that she would only endorse Mrs. Clinton for the presidency in hopes of winning a cabinet seat, and she said she telephoned Mrs. Clinton to assure her that was not her intention when the speculation first arose.

Notice that she may not have ruled out being asked to be in the Clinton cabinet.  She just wanted to make sure that it doesn't look like she's angling for it.  But in doing so she makes it awkward and now public.  And since McElroy is out so early and we may not know who the Dem. nominee is much less if a Dem. wins the White House, it seems much less likely that she can keep that option open.

The Times has the AFT story but not the Clinton angle: 
Teachers’ Union President to Step Down; New Yorker Is Seen as Successor

Phantom Restrictions In District Labor Contracts

Remember how Secretary Riley used to talk about "phantom regulations" back during the 1990s?  These were rules that people -- especially in Title I (NCLB) -- thought were there, or had heard about from their state or district, but weren't actually in the law?  Well, that's what may be happening when it comes to collective bargaining agreements, at least in some places. All but a few districts, however, don't know about or use the flexibility they have.  Fordham has the news -- their report is coming out on Thursday.  It's their Valentine to us. 

Ravitch Quits Ed Next Board Over Lazy Bloomberg Puff Piece

According to this Elizabeth Green story in the NY Sun (Ravitch Quits), historian Diane Ravitch has split from Paul Peterson et al on the board of Education Next over a new article that appears to praise Mike Bloomberg's stewardship over the New York City Schools and endorse his candidacy. 

Maybe this is just Ravitch throwing a tantrum -- I'll be interested to see what others think -- but publishing a puff piece about Bloomberg seems like a tin-eared and a cockeyed move to me, given all the substantive and widespread criticism that his DOE has received, not to speak of the political moment having long passed.   

Losing Ravitch and endangering Ed Next's reputation over a freelancer's article seems even dumber. The Ed Next folks had to know she'd have strong feelings about the piece, which  upon first skim reads like it was written by someone new to the topic -- not in a good way  (here).   

It's full of first-person "I met Bloomberg" fluff, includes fuzzy snapshots that look like they were taken with a disposable camera, and ignores things like the high exclusion rates that made NYC's NAEP scores seem higher than they otherwise would have been, the zigzag path of the Klein reforms, the failed efforts at weighted student funding, etc. Several other recent articles about school reform in NYC have done a much better job (LynNell Hancock in The Nation here, Sol Stern in City Journal here, Elizabeth Green from the Sun here.)

Disclosure:  I have written for Education Next in the past and could have written a much better article.  Of course, I'll probably never be asked to write for them again. 

AFT President McElroy To Retire

According to the below email, AFT president Ed McElroy is going to retire this summer:

""Both McElroy and LaCour will continue to serve in their current capacities until the July 2008 AFT national convention in Chicago, where more than 2,000 delegates will vote for AFT president, secretary-treasurer, executive vice president and 39 vice presidents. The winning candidates will assume their posts immediately."

It's not an unexpected move.  Rumor has it NYC local president Randi Weingarten is the front-runner to run the union.

Around The Blogs

Today's best posts from around the edublogosphere:

Mike Huckabee for Education Secretary?
Who knows?  Maybe Hillary would go for it.

'Troublemaker' Finn Recalls Setting 'Proficiency' Standard
No mention of alleged steroid use detailed by Petrilli.

Will Obama Stand Up to the Teachers' Unions?
Sure he will -- but only until he's elected.

7th Circuit Rules Against School Districts in NCLB Challenge
We don't need no stinkin' IDEA, appeals court says.

Pace of Restructuring Is Slow, New Report Says
And likely to get slower until we get a new law.

No skipping class
Not kids, but teachers are too absent.

New Schools Upping the Ante?
Social venture entrepreneurship could be over before I knew it.

Big Stories Of The Day

School Officials Expecting Cuts Due to Downturn in Economy AP
School budgets have seemed to defy gravity in recent years — going up steadily without ever coming down. But school board members from across the country say that's likely to change soon, and they're bracing for leaner times forced by the nation's economic downturn.

4 Charters Competing to Run Troubled Washington Academy Washington Post
The D.C. Public Charter School Board is weighing proposals from four charter schools to assume the management of Washington Academy, a move designed to keep the financially strapped school from closing later this month.

Philadelphia high school gets pullet surprise MSNBC
Monday mornings are hard enough. Imagine finding about 50 chickens running loose in your high school. Workers arriving about 5:30 a.m. to open Northeast High School in Philadelphia found dozens of hens and roosters wandering around the hallways.

Student Shot at a School in Memphis AP
A high school student who was arguing with another shot him during a gym class on Monday, critically injuring him, before handing the gun to a coach, the authorities said.

'Stinky' Jon Scieszka has a read on kids USA Today
"I think it's all about engaging kids first and then sparking their interest in something. It's that sense of playing around with knowledge or playing around with the actual reading."

School Integration, Despite Kozol

I can't vouch for all of it, but this might be the best article about race and schools you read all Black History Month.  In the latest Atlantic magazine (Tales Out of School) a California parent and former Kozol fanatic realizes that she's over the progressive legend:  "Pfizer should develop a special antidepressant—“Zokol: for when you’ve read too much Kozol.”  But it's about much more than Kozol.  There's funny, harsh stuff about white parents and public schools:  "For these shrinking families, the aesthetics alone of public schools are horrifying—the chain-link fence, putty-colored bungalows, fluorescent lighting."  In the end, she finds Kozol negative and oblivious, and ends thusly:  "True integration, I think, does not result from a single grand dramatic gesture, like the march on Washington Kozol envisions. True integration evolves from daily, tiny, bridging human moments." via TQATE.

UPDATE: The Atlantic link seems to have gone bad, but you can read the article here.

Chicago Debates Obama's Education Record

Education Notes does a good job of connecting some of the back and forth that's been going on in Chicago about Obama's education record (Smearing Obama).  As you'll read, the most intense criticism has come from George Schmidt, a former Chicago teacher and CTU official who feels like Obama stood by while Mayor Daley and others crushed local schools underfoot.  I've posted a fair amount about Obama's education record, more which I'm trying to unearth, though I haven't come out for or against him.  Still, that's come across as unfair and smeary according to small schools guru Mike Klonsky.

UPDATE: 

More on Obama and Education in Chicago Class Size Matters
"We wanted him to take up the LSC cause more vigorously than he did, and he disappointed us from time to time, but never on anything major."

Clinton, Obama, NCLB and the state of the Union Mike Klonsky
Frankly, I can't see any real difference between Clinton's and Obama's positions on NCLB.

Around The Blogs

It's not enough to be a good principal anymore, says the Core Knowledge Blog (Just Win, Baby!).

I'm not the only one who hates big conferences -- Dorn does too! (Huge conferences are inherently dysfunctional).

Money won't solve everything, says KDR (More on Poverty).  He's also giving up on phonics.

That Eduwonkette -- she's so topical and fun (My Funny Valentine Poetry Contest).  It's starting to annoy me.

Education research company Eduventures sale marks big changes, says Millot (The End of an Era).

Blogging Teacher Comes Out To Her Boss

A LaCross, Wisc. teacher who had been blogging anonymously (as many teachers do) recently decided to reveal herself to her employer -- and wasn't fired or forced to take the blog down.  She and her readers have been talking about their decisions, about how various districts handle things like this, and how it feels to blog anonymously.  Via Cool Cat Teacher.

The Week Ahead: Spellings, Fritz, Russo

A slew of events (including the Clemens steroid testimony) this week from the Fritzwire (click below), as well as this and that from the Secretary:

Monday, February 11  NO PUBLIC EVENTS Tuesday, February 12 9:30 a.m. EST Secretary Spellings will deliver remarks at the ACCT/AACC Legislative Conference. Wednesday, February 13  NO PUBLIC EVENTS  Thursday, February 14 10 a.m. CST Secretary Spellings will participate in an education policy event with Governor Haley Barbour at Woolfolk State Office Building. A media avail will follow. Jackson, Miss.  Friday, February 15 12:40 p.m. EST Secretary Spellings will visit Alan Shawn Feinstein Elementary School and tour classrooms and participate in an education policy roundtable with Governor Donald Carcieri. A media avail will follow. Providence, R.I.

Also on Friday, I'll be back at theYale Education Leadership Conference for a second year, listening and talking and meeting people. Come up and say hi if you see me.   

Big Stories Of The Day

A School That's Too High on Gizmos Washington Post
What's wrong with the teachers at T.C. Williams High School?

Asian students left behind on special education Boston Globe
Chinese people are a little ashamed to let others know they have a child with special needs at home," said Zhong Ruan, who reaches out to Chinese families ...

Houston, Denver Move Into Next Stage of Pay Plans EdWeek
More teachers getting compensation based on nontraditional factors.

A union-teacher gap Los Angeles Times
As the first debate got underway, 16 candidates sat at the front of the multipurpose room at Grover Cleveland High School. Facing them were 16 audience members scattered among 240 chairs set in neat rows.

Bad News Arrives Quickly NYT
Increasingly, the Internet has become the main tool to let parents know when school is canceled or to distribute any other notice that needs to get out quickly.

The Best Of The Week (February 4-11)

Campaign 2008
Obama's Education Law Still Roils Chicago Schools
Michelle Obama On Neighborhood Schools
The Wal-Mart Solution
Clinton Slams NCLB -- And Ted Kennedy
Cute 4th-Grade Reporter Rebuffed By Chelsea Clinton
Obama In High School: "The Audacity Of Hoop"

NCLB News
 Rumored March 3rd Senate Markup For NCLB
Hill Staffers On The Move- "Who's Who" Update
USDE Names New, Earring-Wearing Title I Director Named Zollie
Closing Schools Isn't Easy...Even When There's A New One Built Down The Block
It's Hard To Kill The Man Who Killed NCLB
Justifying Field Trips In The NCLB Era

Foundation Follies
Nagging Questions About New Leaders Survival Rates
Think Tanks:  A Row Of Little Georgetown Boutiques
The "New" Think Tanks: Management Consulting Firms
New Social Entrepreneurship Fellow$hip Program Being Created

Media Watch
A Scary Magazine For Education Blogs
Top Journalist Hired To Help Me Write Better Education Stories
More DC Schools Drama On PBS Tonight
High School Kids Working Too Hard, Says US News

School Life
What's Taking So Long?
Parents Fake Siblings To Get Into Magnets
Homeschool Good. Old School Bad.
An Even-Handed Look At Kids' Online Lives
A Good Teacher Can Justify Showing Any Movie In Class

Site News
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