Opinion

• Systemic change vs. atomization March 11, 2010
  I have not thrown in the towel on systemic change for our schools. I continue to worry that the atomization of schools—charters, magnet schools—brings about pockets of excellence in urban school districts opposed to improvement in larger numbers. Michael Fullan has written extensively on his education reform work with the Province of Ontario in Canada and ot […]
• From the editor: Parents propose marriage March 11, 2010
  Let’s say a group of parents at a neighborhood school banded together and proposed to a high-performing charter school that the two schools combine efforts to create a PreK-12 school that would help send all kids from the struggling neighborhood to college. What’s not to like, right? Parental involvement at its best. Community engagement. A tacit recognition […]
• Is this the best we can do? March 11, 2010
  A February 27 Denver Post editorial and a related article on Colorado higher education funding were frustrating in an amazing number of ways. Both barely touched upon the single most important issue: Our higher education funding levels are not sustainable. In 2008, before the current crisis, Colorado ranked 48th in the nation in per pupil funding. Since then […]
• “Building a better teacher” March 11, 2010
  Those of you who missed the detailed, probing article about what makes a good teacher in yesterday's New York Times Magazine should invest the time to read it. Often lost amid all the policy and political debate is detailed examination of what goes on inside the nation's classrooms. The author of this piece, Elizabeth Green, helps run the excellent […]