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Blogs on Education Reform

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Persuasive Writing is a Key Focus in Common Core Standards

Heather Wolpert-GawronNovember 1, 2011

Tags Common Core Standards, Education Reform, Integrated Studies, Lesson Plans, Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

I've been examining the Common Core Standards and the upcoming assessments lately in an attempt to tease apart this huge seismic shift that is about to go down. And while I think it will have its challenges, I have to admit that I like what I'm seeing. For one thing, they prioritize a more accurate alignment of school life versus real life, seeking to blur the lines more than ever.

How to Use the Startup Model to Ignite Innovation

Elana LeoniOctober 22, 2011

Tags Education Reform, Teacher Development, All Grades

Can you remember what you did in the last 54 hours? Chances are you didn't create a company. But that's exactly what some entrepreneurs and educators did at this past weekend's Startup Weekend Edu. In just over a weekend, many startups were launched with a mission to leverage technology and innovation to help improve education.

Engaging Parents: An Elementary Teacher's Field Guide

Gaetan PappalardoOctober 13, 2011

Tags Education Reform, New Teachers, Parental Involvement, Primary (K-2), Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5)

I love watching the new teachers scramble for the laminating machine and make copy after copy of bio info, homework routines, and schedules in preparation for Back to School Night. They sweat, stutter, and turn bright red. Don't get me wrong; I'm not making fun of their anxiety at all.

Education Nation: Early Ed, Innovation and Some Unanswered Questions

Betty RaySeptember 30, 2011

Tags Accountability, Achievement Gap, Education Reform, All Grades

Last year, the first-ever Education Nation summit in New York City took a lot of heat for under-representing the teacher perspective. They dropped a divisive bomb from the get-go by screening the movie Waiting for Superman. Then they followed up with a panel discussion that pitted controversial then-DC chancellor Michelle Rhee against the head of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten. There was a clear pro-charter agenda which made for some controversial (and ratings-friendly) sound bites. And it really peeved a lot of teachers.

Have We Been KIPP-notized?

David MarkusAugust 25, 2011

Tags Achievement Gap, Charter Schools, Comprehensive Assessment, Education Reform, Principals, , Student Engagement, Teacher Development, High (9-12), California

When the Edutopia coverage team arrived at the campus of KIPP King Collegiate High School in San Lorenzo, California, I was carrying some extra baggage. About five years ago, I had viewed televised reports about the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) schools in Houston and New York City, showing sixth, seventh and eighth graders, mostly African American and Latino, dressed in school uniforms and expressing their devotion to KIPP and its intensive approach to learning.

Reinventing Education One Tweet at a Time

Elana LeoniAugust 11, 2011

Tags Classroom Technology, Education Reform, Game-Based Learning, Leadership, Online Learning, , Student Engagement, Teacher Development, Technology Integration, All Grades

Elana Leoni is Edutopia's Social Media Marketing Manager. Follow her on Twitter, @elanaleoni.

Last week I attended #140Edu, the first ever 140 Characters Conference (#140conf) dedicated to education, hosted by Chris Lehman (principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia) and Jeff Pulver (thought leader, author, and social media advocate). #140confs are held all over the nation and explore "the state of now": the effects of real-time Internet. Pulver elaborates about the power of the real-time Internet: "There's something amazing happening on the Internet today -- right now. When enough people speak up, voices can be heard, and it can affect change."

Connecting Project-Based and Blended Learning

Bob LenzAugust 3, 2011

Tags Blended Learning, Curriculum, Education Reform, Project-Based Learning, Technology Integration, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

This guest blog post was written by Brian Greenberg, Envision School's former Chief Academic Officer.

Don't listen to the current education reform rhetoric: There is more than one way to educate a child. In fact, sometimes very different approaches can yield terrific results when combined together.

The Next Generation of School Turnarounds

Anne OBrienJuly 25, 2011

Tags Accountability, Achievement Gap, Education Reform, Teacher Development, All Grades

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that one of the areas where the federal government has focused its efforts in education recently is on school turnarounds. They want to identify chronically low-performing schools and concentrate on making them better -- significantly better -- quickly.

Teacher Development Is Key to Closing the Achievement Gap

Brian SimsJuly 22, 2011

Tags Accountability, Achievement Gap, Education Reform, Leadership, Principals, Professional Development, Professional Learning Network (PLN), Standardized Testing, Teacher Development, All Grades, Illinois

Brian Sims is managing director of training academies at AUSL in Chicago. Betsy Haley Doyle co-authored this blog. She is a manager in The Bridgespan Group's education practice.

Last June, as principals and teachers from 14 Chicago public school "turnarounds," run by the nonprofit Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL), gathered at the Academy's leadership summit, there was a moment when the room turned silent. A slide went up comparing the percentage of students achieving annual expected growth at each school to the average score for each school's teachers. The figures were based on a sophisticated teacher evaluation tool, the nationally recognized Danielson framework.

Debunking those Pesky Classroom Myths

Ben JohnsonJune 29, 2011

Tags Classroom Management, Education Reform, Student Engagement, Teacher Development, All Grades

We have all heard the following classroom myths: If you want discipline to go well, don't smile until Christmas, and, if you want to have good classroom management, never turn your back to the students.