tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011-06-29:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94 2011-06-06T11:20:25Z The members of the Futures of School Reform Group represent leading thinkers from the academic, business, philanthropic, government, and public-policy sectors. Organized by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, they are contributing to a seven-part opinion series on education reform that is being published in Education Week’s Commentary pages. In this opinion series, they will expand upon and discuss their visions for the future of schools. Meet the contributors and read their invitation to join the discussion. Movable Type Pro 5.2.7 tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18767 2011-06-06T11:30:47Z 2011-06-06T11:20:25Z

This post describes four possible paths forward towards significant improvement for the school system.

Jal Mehta This post describes four possible paths forward towards significant improvement for the school system.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18771 2011-06-06T03:14:03Z 2011-06-06T03:41:17Z

By Jal Mehta As we close the blog, I wanted to thank everyone involved. Elizabeth Rich at Education Week was really important in seeing the potential for this kind of venture, the contributors did their part by laying out a...

Jal Mehta By Jal Mehta As we close the blog, I wanted to thank everyone involved. Elizabeth Rich at Education Week was really important in seeing the potential for this kind of venture, the contributors did their part by laying out a...
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18739 2011-06-03T12:57:02Z 2011-06-03T17:40:24Z

This post suggests we need to devolve trust from feds and states to districts, from districts to schools, from schools to teachers, and from teachers to students.

Jal Mehta This post suggests we need to devolve trust from feds and states to districts, from districts to schools, from schools to teachers, and from teachers to students.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18712 2011-06-01T18:00:00Z 2011-06-01T17:53:02Z

This post looks at international evidence and poses a strong challenge to the American approach to school reform.

Jal Mehta This post looks at international evidence and poses a strong challenge to the American approach to school reform.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18679 2011-05-31T12:15:00Z 2011-05-31T13:05:34Z

This piece offers a quick sketch of what the federal government is well positioned to do in education.

Jal Mehta This piece offers a quick sketch of what the federal government is well positioned to do in education.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18647 2011-05-27T04:27:28Z 2011-05-27T04:26:04Z

The inclusion of wraparound services is pragmatic approach to long unaddressed problems in the lives of children, problems that routinely interfere with learning. It's high time that we, as educators, recognize these problems and begin to get more active in working with others to solve them as they constitute such a threat to our achieving our educational aspirations. We must maintain our commitment to high expectations, regular assessments, and accountability. However, we must face up to those factors which are undermining our best instructional intentions.

International Perspectives on Education Reform Group http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/international_perspectives/ The inclusion of wraparound services is pragmatic approach to long unaddressed problems in the lives of children, problems that routinely interfere with learning. It's high time that we, as educators, recognize these problems and begin to get more active in working with others to solve them as they constitute such a threat to our achieving our educational aspirations. We must maintain our commitment to high expectations, regular assessments, and accountability. However, we must face up to those factors which are undermining our best instructional intentions.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18628 2011-05-26T04:08:12Z 2011-05-26T15:53:52Z

No one, I dare to reckon, has accused Joel Klein of possessing a bureaucratic mindset. Let me be the first. I do so because it is one particular aspect of this mindset--a narrow focus on a designated function and set of institutional tools-- that seduces too many well-intentioned reforms to dismiss the "outside-in" consideration of non-school factors that Paul Reville and I argue in our commentary will be a important tools for social intervention in the future of education reform.

International Perspectives on Education Reform Group http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/international_perspectives/ No one, I dare to reckon, has accused Joel Klein of possessing a bureaucratic mindset. Let me be the first. I do so because it is one particular aspect of this mindset--a narrow focus on a designated function and set of institutional tools-- that seduces too many well-intentioned reforms to dismiss the "outside-in" consideration of non-school factors that Paul Reville and I argue in our commentary will be a important tools for social intervention in the future of education reform.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18607 2011-05-25T04:26:44Z 2011-05-26T14:42:19Z

A popular phrase coined a few years back, "schools can't do it alone," suggests that we, as a society, place too high of a burden on our schools to both alleviate all the negative influences that play a role in student learning, such as those associated with poverty, and at the same time, prepare every student to access and graduate from college. For schools feeling pressure to "do it all," having community partners that offer learning opportunities, provide enrichment activities, and engage children and youth in positive developmental experiences seems appealing; however, school-community partnerships continue to be sporadic, and the government response to include out-of-school time programs into the education fold continues to be largely haphazard and reactive.

International Perspectives on Education Reform Group http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/international_perspectives/ A popular phrase coined a few years back, "schools can't do it alone," suggests that we, as a society, place too high of a burden on our schools to both alleviate all the negative influences that play a role in student learning, such as those associated with poverty, and at the same time, prepare every student to access and graduate from college. For schools feeling pressure to "do it all," having community partners that offer learning opportunities, provide enrichment activities, and engage children and youth in positive developmental experiences seems appealing; however, school-community partnerships continue to be sporadic, and the government response to include out-of-school time programs into the education fold continues to be largely haphazard and reactive.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18583 2011-05-24T04:08:12Z 2011-05-24T01:32:15Z

I believe that much of our current education policy effort is mistakenly adopting a short-term perspective that inadvertently rewards actions with an immediate impact and discounts actions - the same one that most good parents make -- that may germinate for years before blossoming in very important ways.

International Perspectives on Education Reform Group http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/international_perspectives/ I believe that much of our current education policy effort is mistakenly adopting a short-term perspective that inadvertently rewards actions with an immediate impact and discounts actions - the same one that most good parents make -- that may germinate for years before blossoming in very important ways.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18561 2011-05-23T04:02:04Z 2011-05-23T14:18:24Z

We need to reinvent a child development and education system that is equal to the bold aspirations for student success that we appropriately proclaim for the 21st century. All means all.

International Perspectives on Education Reform Group http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/international_perspectives/ We need to reinvent a child development and education system that is equal to the bold aspirations for student success that we appropriately proclaim for the 21st century. All means all.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18539 2011-05-20T04:45:14Z 2011-05-20T04:54:21Z

We need to learn together over time about what combinations of learning opportunities and supports are needed to help all children thrive, and to do this, we need a much more diverse who in the conversation than we currently have, and we need to have real conversations.

International Perspectives on Education Reform Group http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/international_perspectives/ We need to learn together over time about what combinations of learning opportunities and supports are needed to help all children thrive, and to do this, we need a much more diverse who in the conversation than we currently have, and we need to have real conversations.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18515 2011-05-19T04:07:37Z 2011-05-19T16:02:46Z

When companies like GE realize that they have significant resources and expertise internally to develop people, and that they are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on remediation of their employees AND concurrently investing millions of dollars in the schools where their employees send their kids to try and grow future workers, they may decide to get into the charter school business. One day soon KIPP's biggest "competitor" might be "GE Schools."

International Perspectives on Education Reform Group http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/international_perspectives/ When companies like GE realize that they have significant resources and expertise internally to develop people, and that they are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on remediation of their employees AND concurrently investing millions of dollars in the schools where their employees send their kids to try and grow future workers, they may decide to get into the charter school business. One day soon KIPP's biggest "competitor" might be "GE Schools."
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18499 2011-05-18T04:34:50Z 2011-05-18T01:58:59Z

No one has told these students that they cannot control their own learning. No one has "schooled" the adult tutors, who are largely recruited from the rural communities they serve, that they are "unqualified" to teach or to serve as leaders of learning in their communities. The students and tutors share an understanding that, if there are things that they need to know in order to teach others, they will learn them through the teaching of others. The students and adults form a powerful social movement, with a common identity around access to learning.

International Perspectives on Education Reform Group http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/international_perspectives/ No one has told these students that they cannot control their own learning. No one has "schooled" the adult tutors, who are largely recruited from the rural communities they serve, that they are "unqualified" to teach or to serve as leaders of learning in their communities. The students and tutors share an understanding that, if there are things that they need to know in order to teach others, they will learn them through the teaching of others. The students and adults form a powerful social movement, with a common identity around access to learning.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18480 2011-05-17T04:19:00Z 2011-05-17T02:39:21Z

I wonder, finally, what would happen if we simply opened the doors and let the students go; if we let them walk out of the dim light of the overhead projector into the sunlight; if we let them decide how, or whether, to engage this monolith? Would it be so terrible? Could it be worse than what they are currently experiencing?

International Perspectives on Education Reform Group http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/international_perspectives/ I wonder, finally, what would happen if we simply opened the doors and let the students go; if we let them walk out of the dim light of the overhead projector into the sunlight; if we let them decide how, or whether, to engage this monolith? Would it be so terrible? Could it be worse than what they are currently experiencing?
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org. tag:blogs.edweek.org,2011:/edweek/futures_of_reform//94.18458 2011-05-16T04:37:24Z 2011-05-23T14:20:23Z

By formally defining and assigning the role of watching out for the whole student, and providing this role with the right time and tools, teaching teams can make sure that no student falls through the cracks no matter how the work of instruction is divided.

International Perspectives on Education Reform Group http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/international_perspectives/ By formally defining and assigning the role of watching out for the whole student, and providing this role with the right time and tools, teaching teams can make sure that no student falls through the cracks no matter how the work of instruction is divided.
Click the headline to read the full post. Questions? Email websupport@epe.org.