Monthly Archives: March 2011
D.C. Council Election: Sekou Biddle
It’s time for me to talk about someone new on my blog. Sekou Biddle is running for D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown’s former at-large seat on the Council. He won the seat in the special election in January and will … Continue reading
Posted in Educational Leadership
Tagged D.C. Politics, Education, Education Reform, Sekou Biddle
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further analysis of the USA Today allegations of cheating in DCPS
Today I obtained a list of the DCPS schools that were flagged for erasures in 2008, 2009, and 2010. You can view them here. I love to play with numbers, so let’s take a look at how these schools break … Continue reading
Posted in DC Public Schools, Testing
Tagged Cheating, DC Public Schools, Education, Education Reform, IMPACT, Michelle Rhee, Testing
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Cheating in DCPS
Quite frankly, my main response while reading USA Today’s lengthy piece on potential standardized test cheating in DC Public Schools was “oh shit”. This just has really horrible implications for all involved, and it’s a pity that things have come … Continue reading
Thoughts on the IMPACT System in DCPS
There’s been a lot of press coverage of the IMPACT evaluation program in D.C. Public Schools recently. I worked in the central office when that program was launched, and though I won’t provide further details about what I was doing, … Continue reading
by request: more thoughts on Michelle Rhee’s leadership
One of my very engaged Twitter followers asked me to elaborate on why I like Michelle Rhee’s policies and management style. This is also a good time for me to talk about Richard Whitmire’s recently released book about Rhee, called … Continue reading
life after the classroom: are ex-teachers doomed for constant guilt? – this blogger’s experience
Last night my roommate came home after spending several hours helping her charter district schedule interviews with the many teacher applicants they have for the coming school year. She is leaving her school after four years of teaching to pursue … Continue reading
Segregation and Integration in 2011
Several days ago the New York Times published an article about an issue that’s been around since the genesis of American public schools: integration. Before I get to the article itself, I’m going to go back once again to the … Continue reading
Flunking at Funding
“Leaving Children Behind” “A Moment of National Insanity” These are the titles of two pieces I’ve read in the last 24 hours, and they aptly express the crisis brought on by this year’s round of budget cuts. Last week the … Continue reading
The REAL Goal of Teacher Evaluation
Randi Weingarten reminded us that education reform isn’t a contest to see who cares more about kids; I’d like to take this opportunity to assert that it’s also not a contest to see who loves or hates teachers more (and … Continue reading
Education Inside Out 