Charter School Leader Paid $553,000 Yearly
The Detroit Free Press ran a story about a candidate for the U.S. Senate who will have to take a big pay cut if he wins.
He currently is paid $553,000 in total compensation to oversee and fundraise for three small charter schools, enrolling 1,500 students.
If legislators and business groups are really concerned about reining in the costs of education, they should require that charter school executives are paid salaries no greater than the local district superintendent. That is, if charter schools really are public schools. I await the day when some smart researcher compiles a list of the charter leaders of the national charter chains and their salaries. For public officials, that is a matter of public
How Times Change
A reader writes:
I have an editorial comic on my refrigerator with two panels, one labeled 1960 and the other 2010. In both panels a boy is bringing home a failing grade. In the first panel the parents yell at the boy. In the second panel they (as well the boy) yell at the teacher.
I have taught grades k through 9. The best combination for student success is a dedicated teacher, supportive parents, and a willing student. Once when teaching second-grade I had two struggling students whose abilities were at the exact same level. One set of parents was very
I have taught grades k through 9. The best combination for student success is a dedicated teacher, supportive parents, and a willing student. Once when teaching second-grade I had two struggling students whose abilities were at the exact same level. One set of parents was very
Chicago: Do Charters Increase Violence?
Chicago has just seen another upsurge in youth violence, and different observers have different solutions.
This post by Parents Across America argues that what is needed to reduce youth violence is a closer connection between communities and schools.
It maintains that the city’s decade-long policy of closing neighborhood schools and opening charters and schools
What Michelle Rhee Told the British Education Minister
You will not be surprised to learn that when Michelle Rhee went to England recently, she spoke of her great success in improving the D.C. public schools.
Her secret? Finding the best teachers and firing the worst teachers.
The only problem with her narrative is that it is not true.
Her IMPACT system was imposed in 2009. Since then, the D.C. public schools have made little progress on
What Fiction Teaches Us About Our Lives
A reader responds to a post about Rollerball and Brave New World and what we learn from dystopian fiction.
It is useful, I find, to step away from informational text and to view a society that operates on totally different principles. We can do that to some extent by reading history, but the contrast becomes even sharper when you explore a fictional society through the eyes of a deeply insightful writer.
Sometimes we can learn more about society by reading fiction than by reading informational text, even sociology. This is why we read classics: They teach us about ourselves and our society. They are classics
Character Assassination?
Earlier today I posted a letter that appeared on the NYC parent blog, in which Students First was offering a gift to anyone who posted the most comments on blogs. I made no reference to the person who wrote the letter.
It has been reprinted elsewhere, including the blog of Coach Bob Sikes in Florida. Coach Bob got a response from the letter writer at StudentsFirst. She said she was the target of a well funded campaign of hatred and
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 7-28-12 #SOSCHAT
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