A Loud 'Yes, We Can!' From San Francisco
Dear Diane,
I'm writing this from the West Coast following three days at the annual Fall Forum of the Coalition of Essential Schools. The big news is that we are moving forth—next year in Rhode Island! We are also in the process of rethinking and reinventing our mission and strategy—including, for starters, how we fund the network, especially at a time when the national school agenda is powerfully poised to dismiss any strategy that doesn't put test scores in the driver's seat. We're falling back on an old idea—the reforms we want must come from the bottom up first and foremost. Money, too. So we are confident that reminders to members, allies, and well-wishers will help us raise what we need to do the core of our work.
Among the forum speakers was Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University. She reminded us that, from the mid 1960s through the '70s, the decrease in poverty and the increase in school test scores went hand in hand. The widening of that gap once again coincided with the unraveling of the safety nets that are so much more robust in the countries that "outscore" us. The data Linda presented was as shocking to me as when I first heard it. If we look at wealth, not income, the correlation is even starker. It doesn't augur well for the future. But it poses an even stronger reason to see our schools as community agencies focused on the development of all the assets a community possesses. That includes using our minds well—at every age level.
Visits to local Bay Area schools helped create an atmosphere of hope for the 700-plus registered attendees, including lots of high school students who held their own sessions and joined in others, too. Coalition founder