A Progress Report on the Reforms in D.C. Public Schools
A Progress Report on the Reforms in D.C. Public Schools

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, Restructuring, and the District of Columbia

Publisher:

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 108

ISBN-13:

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A hearing before the oversight committee for the District of Columbia (D.C.) public schools provided the opportunity for several senators and educators to comment on the progress of educational reform in the District's public schools. The hearing was held at a time when the opening of the city's public schools was delayed because of their many safety and code violations. Representative Richard K. Armey spoke about the conditions in the D.C. schools and discussed the school choice legislation he has sponsored. Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform, discussed charter schools and emphasized that the priorities of the public school system are not consistent with fundamental education reform. Nina Shokraii of the Heritage Foundation advocated vouchers to allow parents to send their children to schools of their choice. Kent B. Amos discussed a proposal to change the funding of charter schools in the District of Columbia. Bruce K. MacLaury, Chairman of the Emergency Transition Education Board of Trustees of the District of Columbia Public Schools, presented the views of the transitional board about the progress toward school reform in the city's schools and offered support for charter schools. General Julius W. Becton, Jr., the appointed Superintendent of Schools, discussed the condition of the schools in general and outlined some improvements made under his administration, focusing on the ongoing physical plant repairs. An appendix contains the District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship Act of 1997 and some supporting statements, including prepared remarks of those who testified at the hearing. (SLD)

Status of the District of Columbia Public Schools Readiness for the 1998-1999 School Year
Status of the District of Columbia Public Schools Readiness for the 1998-1999 School Year

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. Subcommittee on the District of Columbia

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 94

ISBN-13:

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A Congressional hearing was held to discuss the readiness of the District of Columbia public schools for the 1998-99 school year. In the 1997-98 school year, the District's public schools had not been able to open on time because of repair work that was not completed. After opening remarks by Congress members Thomas M. Davis and Constance Morella, Constance Newman, Vice Chairman of the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority, spoke about the efforts underway to improve the D.C. public schools. Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent of Schools for the District of Columbia, assured the Subcommittee that the schools would be opening on time and that improvements to facilities and to instruction were ongoing. Colonel Bruce Berwick of the Army Corps of Engineers, responsible for engineering technical assistance to the school system, emphasized that all schools would be able to open in safe conditions by September 1, 1998, even though all capital projects would not be completed. Arthur Turowski, Director of Portfolio Management for the Public Buildings Service of the National Capital Region of the General Services Administration, reviewed the role of that agency in the facilities repair and improvement process. Additional statements were made by these witnesses: (1) Maudine Cooper, Chairman of the school system's Emergency Transition Board; (2) Wilma Harvey, President of the elected School Board; and (3) Carlotta C. Joyner, of the U.S. General Accounting Office. Constance Newman and Arlene Ackerman summarized issues facing the D.C. schools and touched on areas related to academic achievement and the situation of charter schools. The prepared statements of each witness follow their testimony. (SLD)

Addicted to Reform
Addicted to Reform

Author: John Merrow

Publisher: The New Press

Published: 2017-08-15

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1620972433

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The prize-winning PBS correspondent's provocative antidote to America's misguided approaches to K-12 school reform During an illustrious four-decade career at NPR and PBS, John Merrow—winner of the George Polk Award, the Peabody Award, and the McGraw Prize—reported from every state in the union, as well as from dozens of countries, on everything from the rise of district-wide cheating scandals and the corporate greed driving an ADD epidemic to teacher-training controversies and America's obsession with standardized testing. Along the way, he taught in a high school, at a historically black college, and at a federal penitentiary. Now, the revered education correspondent of PBS NewsHour distills his best thinking on education into a twelve-step approach to fixing a K–12 system that Merrow describes as being "addicted to reform" but unwilling to address the real issue: American public schools are ill-equipped to prepare young people for the challenges of the twenty-first century. This insightful book looks at how to turn digital natives into digital citizens and why it should be harder to become a teacher but easier to be one. Merrow offers smart, essential chapters—including "Measure What Matters," and "Embrace Teachers"—that reflect his countless hours spent covering classrooms as well as corridors of power. His signature candid style of reportage comes to life as he shares lively anecdotes, schoolyard tales, and memories that are at once instructive and endearing. Addicted to Reform is written with the kind of passionate concern that could come only from a lifetime devoted to the people and places that constitute the foundation of our nation. It is a "big book" that forms an astute and urgent blueprint for providing a quality education to every American child.

Blueprints for Reform
Blueprints for Reform

Author: Project 2061 (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1998-07-30

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780195124279

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Concerned about the lack of science literacy among today's graduating students, the American Association for the Advancement of Science compiled reports on the education system aimed at the implementation of specific reforms. BLUEPRINTS FOR REFORM is a summation of those reports, offering a starting point for reforming our education system.

Reinventing America's Schools
Reinventing America's Schools

Author: David Osborne

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2017-09-05

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 1632869918

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From David Osborne, the author of Reinventing Government--a biting analysis of the failure of America's public schools and a comprehensive plan for revitalizing American education. In Reinventing America's Schools, David Osborne, one of the world's foremost experts on public sector reform, offers a comprehensive analysis of the charter school movements and presents a theory that will do for American schools what his New York Times bestseller Reinventing Government did for public governance in 1992. In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the city got an unexpected opportunity to recreate their school system from scratch. The state's Recovery School District (RSD), created to turn around failing schools, gradually transformed all of its New Orleans schools into charter schools, and the results are shaking the very foundations of American education. Test scores, school performance scores, graduation and dropout rates, ACT scores, college-going rates, and independent studies all tell the same story: the city's RSD schools have tripled their effectiveness in eight years. Now other cities are following suit, with state governments reinventing failing schools in Newark, Camden, Memphis, Denver, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Oakland. In this book, Osborne uses compelling stories from cities like New Orleans and lays out the history and possible future of public education. Ultimately, he uses his extensive research to argue that in today's world, we should treat every public school like a charter school and grant them autonomy, accountability, diversity of school designs, and parental choice.

Courting Failure
Courting Failure

Author: Eric A. Hanushek

Publisher: Hoover Press

Published: 2006-11

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 9780817947835

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The expert contributors to this volume assess recent court actions in school adequacy lawsuits and their impact on student outcomes. They show that simply throwing more resources at the problem has not brought about a solution and call for changes centered around accountability, incentives, and more informed parents and policymakers.

A Plan for Evaluating the District of Columbia's Public Schools
A Plan for Evaluating the District of Columbia's Public Schools

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-08-25

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 0309209366

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The District of Columbia (DC) has struggled for decades to improve its public education system. In 2007 the DC government made a bold change in the way it governs public education with the goal of shaking up the system and bringing new energy to efforts to improve outcomes for students. The Public Education Reform Amendment Act (PERAA) shifted control of the city's public schools from an elected school board to the mayor, developed a new state department of education, created the position of chancellor, and made other significant management changes. A Plan for Evaluating the District of Columbia's Public Schools offers a framework for evaluating the effects of PERAA on DC's public schools. The book recommends an evaluation program that includes a systematic yearly public reporting of key data as well as in-depth studies of high-priority issues including: quality of teachers, principals, and other personnel; quality of classroom teaching and learning; capacity to serve vulnerable children and youth; promotion of family and community engagement; and quality and equity of operations, management, and facilities. As part of the evaluation program, the Mayor's Office should produce an annual report to the city on the status of the public schools, including an analysis of trends and all the underlying data. A Plan for Evaluating the District of Columbia's Public Schools suggests that D.C. engage local universities, philanthropic organizations, and other institutions to develop and sustain an infrastructure for ongoing research and evaluation of its public schools. Any effective evaluation program must be independent of school and city leaders and responsive to the needs of all stakeholders. Additionally, its research should meet the highest standards for technical quality.