Category Archives: Urban Schools

Nearly three months ago Rhode Island’s Central Falls High School made the national news when Superintendent Fran Gallo fired teachers and other employees en masse when the union refused to make some concessions aimed at helping to turn around the low-performing school. President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan weighed in with supporting comments, and the spotlight grew even larger. Well, as of Sunday, a chapter has closed on this story. Central Falls has re-hired the teachers (H/T Alan Gottlieb). At first blush, Flypaper’s Andy Smarick worried aloud that the re-hiring was poorly conceded on a deal that wouldn’t aid the turnaround. But with more information in hand showing a strong, favorable deal had been reached, Rick Hess remarked:

Last Friday I told you that a great new education movie called The Cartel is coming to town. In fact, on this coming Tuesday at 7 PM, at Denver’s Chez Artiste Theatre, my Independence Institute friends are co-hosting a special screening event with a brief Q & A following the movie. Given the events of this week, in which thousands of New Jersey students walked out in protest at proposed K-12 education budget cuts, watching the film takes on all the more fresh relevance. As edublogger Matthew Tabor points out, the adult organizers who incited the event are doing a disservice to students by showing no interest in truly solving the Garden State’s education problems. Had they watched The Cartel with an open mind first, they might have taken a different perspective on quite possibly the most fiscally bloated and corrupt state education system in the nation. Got your attention yet? If you’re still not sure about whether to come, I invite you to read a brand new review of the film written by local blogger Joshua Sharf. It provides a refreshing and insightful perspective, coming from someone smart and thoughtful who isn’t enmeshed in the finer points of the […]

People in Iowa, avert your eyes for a moment. The shame might hurt too much. Did you see this story? Thanks to Mike Antonucci, I learned today about the “teacher who Un Des-Moines her own protest.” For all you Cleveland Indians fans out there, that’s what we call a pun. The Iowa State Daily tells us more about the protest: Earlier that week, students arranged a gathering outside of Merrill Middle School in Des Moines to protest the cuts before the school day started March 8. The rally was organized by Theresa Hoffman’s language arts students while Hoffman got an OK with Merrill’s principal. “They were very upset that we lost shop and drama [last year], and then when they heard we were going to lose vocal music and that I am retiring and a math teacher is retiring, and they’re not replacing us, they’re concerned with the size of classes,” Hoffman explained

From today through Thursday, you have the chance to help decide where President Obama gives a high school commencement address later this year. Why should you care? Besides some hint of local pride from my fellow Coloradans, that is. Because as David Greenberg points out on the Ed News Colorado blog, one of the six finalists is the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST). The school’s track record of success is impressive. And Flypaper’s Mike Petrilli offers even more reasons to vote for DSST. So here’s your assignment for the week: Go to the White House website so you can review and rate each of the six finalists’ brief essay and video entries. I am confident you will do the right thing and give your highest ratings to the Denver School of Science and Technology. This isn’t about what you think of President Obama, but about putting the national spotlight on a successful charter school that is replicating throughout Denver.

Break out the heavily-buttered popcorn, and don’t forget the Kit Kats and Junior Mints. Movie night is coming! And not just any movie… My Education Policy Center friends are co-hosting a special screening of The Cartel on Tuesday, May 4, at 7:00 PM, at Denver’s Chez Artiste Theatre. Besides the special screening event — at which Pam Benigno and Ben DeGrow will follow the movie with a brief Q&A — The Cartel is scheduled to show at Chez Artiste four times a day from April 30 to May 6. (Tickets for all screenings are available online or at the box office.) The new, award-winning documentary focuses on New Jersey to offer a fresh inside look at the K-12 public school system and opens eyes to the need for significant reform. Click the play button below (or follow this link) to listen to a new iVoices podcast as The Cartel producer/director Bob Bowdon gives a sneak peek at his film and shares what it’s all about:

This week was a good one for school choice. Let’s start with Florida (two days in a row!), a national leader and superstar in education reform. This week 5,500 Floridians came to Tallahassee to rally for a proposal that will increase private school choice opportunities for economically challenged families. Watch this excellent 2-minute video news report of what may be the largest school choice rally in American history (H/T Jay Greene):

Back before Christmastime, I told you about the promising work going on in the once-troubled Cole Arts and Science Academy in Denver, thanks to its newfound liberating status as an Innovation School. Well … freedom and autonomy lend themselves not only to innovation but also toward groundbreaking partnerships not nearly as likely to take place in the traditional public K-12 school system. Determined to place their mostly poor students on a track of college success, Cole parents and leaders recently have reached out to the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) charter school as a potential partner.

Ed News Colorado’s top-line story today details the “surprising findings” of a new National Association of Charter School Authorizers report that a majority of Denver Public Schools students attend schools that don’t meet district performance expectations: “There are 20,000 elementary school students in the Denver Public Schools system who … don’t have a performing elementary school to go to,” said NACSA vice president William Haft. “That’s half the elementary-aged students in the system.” Discouraging results? In some sense, yes. But we have known that a lot of hard work remains before us in improving educational outcomes for American students, especially poorer students in urban settings. And the fact that Denver actually has been serious about establishing and using a performance framework puts the district ahead of some of its peers. The report is fascinating, with a lot of detailed information, so it’s worth a read. But one observation highlighted in the Ed News Colorado story caught my attention:

When it comes to changing the way teachers are paid, many people have heard of Denver’s ProComp. My Education Policy Center friend Ben DeGrow wrote an issue paper (PDF) about that performance pay plan and others in Colorado. But clearly, as far as the extent of innovation goes, Denver has nothing on El Paso County’s Harrison School District. To get a strong sense of why this is, I recommend you click the play button below (or follow this link) to listen to a brand new 17-minute iVoices podcast interview with Harrison Superintendent Mike Miles: Not only a lot of thought, but also a lot of time and hard work went into Harrison’s “Effectiveness and Results” (E and R) pay program. E and R is set to transition during the upcoming year until all teachers and other licensed employees will be paid based on performance and achievement in 2011-12. Best of luck to Harrison! I hope other school districts, officials and education leaders are paying attention and taking close, careful notes. The proof will be in the pudding, so let’s study the E and R program to see how successfully and efficiently it helps improve student learning.

Ed News Colorado’s Alan Gottlieb has excellent coverage of last night’s lottery event in which 170 mostly poor and Hispanic 5th grade students were vying for 130 slots to enroll into the new West Denver Prep charter school. The original West Denver Prep is the highest-performing middle school in Colorado’s largest city (as opposed to some Michigan school districts that paid money to deceive parents into thinking their schools were the best). Alan posted a video that might be difficult to watch, if you have a hard time watching the disappointment of parents who recognize their children’s educational futures may be on the line. Here’s a poignant and powerful reminder of why we work so hard to expand school choice and promote other important education reforms: