Disappointed
E-mails have been making the rounds among some educational advocates and researchers, stating rumors that Andrew Rotherham (Education Sector), Wendy Kopp (Teach for America), and Russlyn Ali (Education Trust) were being considered for sub-cabinet posts under Education Secretary-designate Arne Duncan, and asking that recipients contact the transition personnel office to object to such appointments. While […]
Oversight boondoggle
Last week the Wall Street Journal lambasted Florida Governor Charlie Crist for failing to appeal a ruling that struck down the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission as an unconstitutional infringement on the powers of county school boards in Florida. The legislature wanted to set up the FSEC as a second authorizer of charter schools in […]
Brooklyn KIPP teachers unionizing
As reported in EdWize. What caught my attention was the issue of turnover: KIPP AMP teachers believe that the high staff turnover at the school has harmed their efforts to build a positive and consistent school culture for their students. “There is a need to make the teacher position more sustainable,” says [Luisa] Bonifacio, “so […]
Where is the bureaucracy reenactor crowd?
In the past few months, I have been struggling with how to teach a difficult topic: bureaucracy. It’s not hard to enter the topic with a class; everyone experiences bureaucracy in ways that they can talk about at one level. Generally, I find that students absorb notions of street-level bureaucrats, scripts about “real school,” and […]