Tag Archive for 'Green Dot'

Reality Check

Published by Robert Pondiscio on August 20, 2009 in Education News and Educational Policy. 0 Comments

Just-released test scores in California show 10 schools overseen by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa posted decidely lackluster results–including Green Dot’s closely watched makeover of Locke High in South Los Angeles.  “Last year, 12.7% of students tested proficient in English; this year the number was 12.4%,” the L.A. Times reports.  ” Last year, 2% of students were proficient in math; same for this year.”  The paper calls the test scores a reality check:

The scores at Villaraigosa’s schools fall well short of what his original rhetoric suggested. He implied that he could deliver rapid academic gains if given control of schools in the nation’s second-largest district. At the time, L.A. Unified officials and some education experts said Villaraigosa was unfairly discounting the school system’s incremental progress.  On Tuesday, it was the mayor’s turn to celebrate increments.

Flypaper gives Green Dot props for trying, but writes “the PR surrounding their attempt at a turnaround at Locke High School has gotten far ahead of the results”  Andy Smarick, who favors starting new schools instead of attempting turnarounds asks ”if this is the best example of a successful turnaround, should we be spending billions of dollars on this?”

Over at Public School Insights, Claus Von Zastrow looks at what’s happening in L.A. as well as mixed results at “turnaround schools” championed by former Chicago superintendent Arne Duncan, and notes notes how quickly education reformers and the “establishment” can find themselves in the same boat.

In LA and Chicago–as in schools nationwide–the reformers and the “establishment” can both tout successes. And they must both own up to big ongoing challenges. Even after reforms to governance and incentive structures, we have to do the very hard work of improving teaching and learning.   “Welcome to our world,” said the old establishment to the new.”

 

Marching Orders for the Next Ed Secretary

Published by Robert Pondiscio on September 3, 2008 in Assessment and Testing and Educational Policy. 0 Comments

If we want to spur innovation in education, the Department of Education should act more like the National Institutes of Health.  So say Newark Mayor Cory Booker, venture capitalist John Doerr, and Ted Mitchell, chief executive of NewSchools Venture Fund in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. 

“We need a new, results-driven mind-set at the Department of Education that will drive pure educational innovation and ’scale up’ proven experiments and novel ideas that work, the trio write.  ”The federal government stands in a unique position to meet these needs.” 

The evidence for making a national commitment to innovation in education is compelling. Today, many of the most promising solutions are emerging from entrepreneurial organizations that embrace freedom and accountability. Indeed, such social entrepreneurs represent a growing force. They have started nimble, typically nonprofit organizations that work in partnership with creative mayors and school superintendents.

They cite the examples of KIPP, Uncommon Schools, Green Dot and others as worthy of federal support.  Booker, Doerr and Mitchell want the next president to create a “Grow What Works” fund and a second fund to provide research and development money for promising early stage initiatives.  They also favor eliminating caps on the number of public charter schools allowed and “excessive restrictions on how teachers are trained and credentialed.”  They also call for national standards and tests — without actually using the words, prefering instead “a common set of standards” and “a national data infrastructure.”