Columbus Children Falling Through the Cracks
The recent news out of Columbus—that 17 of the 75 local charter schools had closed in the past year—is bad in so many ways. It throws up a big obstacle for reformers in that city, in Cleveland, and elsewhere who need to use chartering as a policy to create good options for all families. It […]
Asking the Hard Questions about District-Charter Collaboration
Egocentric standoffs between charter and district leaders too often get in the way of smart negotiations and collective action that would benefit students. That’s the reason many cities are pursuing portfolio reforms and district-charter collaboration agreements. But we also know that collaboration between historically hostile parties takes time, and that time is too often not […]
The Big Message from NAEP TUDA
It is tempting to squeeze the urban NAEP scores for evidence about what city is doing better or worse than other cities. But the big messages are that everyone’s scores are very bad, and that cities with the highest concentrations of low-income and minority kids do the worst. Some cities have gotten unstuck from the […]
What the NAEP TUDA Results Don’t Tell Us
The recent NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) had everyone “a twitter” yesterday comparing notes on which districts are leading, which are falling behind. Andy Smarick posted a sobering piece on Flypaper that, among other smart observations, pointed out how badly some of the Broad prize districts had done, while others celebrated promising performance trends […]
State Chiefs Need To Cage-Bust, Too
There is no escaping the idea that state education agencies (SEAs) need to step up their acts. Most are gigantic bureaucracies designed to administer state and federal programs and to hold school districts accountable for reporting and fiscal requirements. It’s not that the work of a typical SEA is totally disconnected from school improvement efforts, […]
Washington’s Charter Schools May Not Be “Common” But They ARE Public
Yesterday, the King County Superior Court issued a ruling on a challenge to the constitutionality of Washington’s State’s charter school law approved by voters last November. Contrary to early media reports that the law was found unconstitutional (setting off a Twitter frenzy), the judge actually upheld the entire charter law, with some minor exceptions. The […]
Don’t Manage Talent by Remote Control
Leaders of portfolio districts agree that schools should be more autonomous and accountable, and that teachers should be judged and rewarded on the basis of performance. Those principles can be complementary, but the actions taken in pursuit of them are sometimes in conflict. In particular, state-mandated teacher evaluation systems can undermine school autonomy. We know […]
Doing No Harm
One of the key arguments of charter school opponents is that charter schools hurt the kids left behind in district-run schools. It is true that as families choose charter schools, district enrollment, and therefore funding, shrinks. But what happens next is up to the districts. If districts choose to preserve expensive central offices and cost […]
New York City Compact Threatened: New Mayor’s Proposed Policies Could Set Back Efforts to Improve District-Charter Collaboration and Equity
NYC’s mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has proposed a moratorium on co-location of district and charter schools and is considering charging rent to at least some charter schools that use city facilities. These moves may threaten both the hard-won relationship between district and charter schools and the well-documented gains in student achievement during the Bloomberg administration. […]
Truth in Advertising in the Portfolio Strategy
Portfolio cities are not all created equal. Some, like New Orleans, have been able to advance quickly. Others are slowed down by the public reactions to school closures or school board turnover or other political or technical realities. District leaders like the idea of accountability for schools, but avoid creating clear performance criteria. They like […]