Road to reform -- baltimoresun.com:
"In the last two years, both Baltimore City and the District of Columbia have embarked on ambitious school reform programs led by dynamic new CEOs committed to proving that urban school systems can produce high levels of student achievement. In both cities there's enormous popular and political support for reform, and both have adopted similar strategies for change: Reduce the size of central headquarters staff, give principals more authority over budgets and programs and hold teachers accountable for classrom effectiveness.
Yet today the mood of the two cities couldn't be more different. In Washington, where city public school students recently posted the highest gains in the country on national standardized tests, Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is locked in confrontation with the union over contract negotiations and a recent decision to lay off 200 teachers. National labor leaders have called for her ouster, and the city council is holding raucous public hearings on the issue."
"In the last two years, both Baltimore City and the District of Columbia have embarked on ambitious school reform programs led by dynamic new CEOs committed to proving that urban school systems can produce high levels of student achievement. In both cities there's enormous popular and political support for reform, and both have adopted similar strategies for change: Reduce the size of central headquarters staff, give principals more authority over budgets and programs and hold teachers accountable for classrom effectiveness.
Yet today the mood of the two cities couldn't be more different. In Washington, where city public school students recently posted the highest gains in the country on national standardized tests, Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is locked in confrontation with the union over contract negotiations and a recent decision to lay off 200 teachers. National labor leaders have called for her ouster, and the city council is holding raucous public hearings on the issue."