This opinion piece in the New York Times is so on target, and so important, that I am posting it here so that more people can read and ponder it. There are excellent, even essential functions of government – but we cannot afford those functions when, for example, benefits packages for state employees are 41…
This “manifesto” of public school system reform was published in today’s Washington Post, signed by 16 of America’s leading reform-oriented Superintendents and Chancellors, including Dr. Terry Grier who is the Superintendent of my school district, the Houston Independent School District. This is an excellent document that says the things that need saying in a short…
The reform-oriented Houston Independent School District has been winning some big cash grants in recent days and weeks – $42.9 million in the last week alone. Those funds have arrived in support of several innovative efforts HISD is making to significantly improve public education in Houston. A district press release noted last week, after two successive…
I saw the new documentary Waiting for Superman back in May with a group of education reform leaders in Los Angeles. We went to the Paramount Studios lot where one of the theaters had been set up for the viewing, hosted by director Davis Guggenheim. I loved it. I loved it not because it told…
Today Los Angeles public schools opens the most expensive public school in US history. I was quite sure I had misread the number when I saw it the first time this July: $578,000,000 to build a single public school in Los Angeles? With funding for public schools as tight as it is; with budget cuts…
The cover story for the August 2, 2010 issue of Time takes on one of America’s strongest institutions – summer vacation. It makes some good points, particularly as pertain to how we are going to eliminate the huge achievement gap when the kids who are furthest behind spend three months forgetting what they learned the…
This press release went out today from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, who have completed a lengthy study into HISD’s teacher performance management system, known as ASPIRE. It’s a good release, and there is also a link to the case study itself. Press Release – Michael and Susan Dell Foundation Houston Independent School District’s…
Everyone talks about Twitter, but a surprising number of people still don’t use Twitter because they don’t realize it can be an incredibly efficient source of brief, filtered information in a world that overwhelms us with news! I will direct my remarks to those of you adults who held off as long as you could,…
This excellent article appeared today in the Hechinger Report, a non-profit, non-partisan web blog about issues in public education staffed by experienced writers from leading national magazines and newspapers. Large-scale reform under way in Houston It’s back to school today for students at four high schools and five middle schools in Houston. These students won’t…
In only a few short days, some very big noisy machines have turned the tiny old Grady Middle School into a pile of rubble, and the neighborhood is delighted! Coming soon is a new $12 million two story wing that will provide a 21st century learning environment with arts facilities, cafetorium with stage, computer labs,…
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