Posts tagged Education Reform
-
DC’s charter schools are sharply segregated. Here’s what we should we do about the racial and economic divide.
In order to build a more diverse student body, successful local schools have focused on the deeper issues driving segregation. They've also created a space for parents to have honest and uncomfortable discussions about identity and race. Keep reading…
-
Charter schools and why they’re so controversial, explained
DC has the fourth-highest charter school enrollment of any city in the country, with 46% of all public school students attending a charter school last school year. So why is the issue of school choice still so divisive? Keep reading…
-
Schools are still segregated in Maryland, and state legislators want that to change
Studies have shown that while our country is becoming more ethnically diverse, our schools have become more segregated. In fact, studies by the Civil Rights Project have found that Maryland to be among the most-segregated state in the country for black students. A bill hoping to change that just passed through the Maryland state legislature. Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: Human error
Red light problems; Bad news for buses; Bring on the user fees; WMATA Real talk; Shelter selection woes; United on MetroAccess; Alexandria housing drama; Ivy City is gonna be huge; Power to the principals; Teacher pay tension. Keep reading…
-
Are long waitlists for DC’s public preschools hurting the entire school system?
At some DC Public Schools, the programs that prepare kids for kindergarten by teaching pre-literacy and math skills, like learning the alphabet and counting, are in such demand that many neighborhood residents are unable to enroll their children. If DCPS doesn’t expand the number of preschool slots where demand is highest, it risks losing those families to charter and other… Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: Future visions
Data-based sting; Affordability counts; Keep the warehouses; Hard choices; Schools shift credit; Highway funding fixes; I hate the interstate; And…. Keep reading…
-
High test scores at many charter schools may actually be “false positives”
For years, many elementary schools serving low-income kids—particularly charter schools—have focused on teaching basic skills in reading and math. But now one nationally recognized charter leader says that to close the achievement gap, schools need a different approach. Will DC charters follow suit? Last month, a leader of Achievement First, a well-respected… Keep reading…
-
Does education reform have to be impersonal?
Do education reformers rely on “impersonal” solutions, as a recent New York Times op-ed argues? Not from what I’ve seen in DC. Teachers care about students, but the effects of their caring are hard to measure. And caring may not be enough. Today’s education reformers ignore the “inherently complicated and messy human relationships”… Keep reading…
-
Michelle Rhee takes a break from education reform
Last week former DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced that she is stepping down from her post as head of StudentsFirst, the non-profit advocacy group she founded. Is this the swan song for an education reform leader who rose to prominence through her time at DCPS? Rhee says she will remain involved in StudentsFirst and is proud of what she’s accomplished… Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: Slow change
Mayoral meddling; A “pop-up” pause; The future of Tysons; Teaching parents; Litter enforcement; Purple line procurement; Poverty and pedestrian deaths; Meaningless buttons; And…. Keep reading…