The Christina School District board has perfected the art of pushing paperwork that produces little progress for Wilmington students. Last week, its members signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gov. Carney’s office designed to take a bolder approach to education in a district whose graduation rate has dropped each of the last three years … Continue reading Why the reforms Wilmington’s kids need are sure to fail
Delaware’s kids need conviction not compromise from Carney’s administration
The picture of Governor Carney proudly parading a signed budget bill accompanied by applauding legislators from both parties will be one of the lasting images of Carney’s first legislative session. The smiles and the across the aisle high-fives were the climax of a contentious negotiation process that required overtime to pass a $4 billion budget … Continue reading Delaware’s kids need conviction not compromise from Carney’s administration
DeVos can’t destroy public education, but our hypocrisy can
Amid the hullabaloo surrounding Betsy DeVos’ confirmation hearings for U.S.Secretary of Education, there was also a force at work with the potential to destroy American public education---and we missed it. Some of history’s greatest activists and thinkers warned of the need to see even the stealthiest of threats to progress. Malcolm X challenged that liberals … Continue reading DeVos can’t destroy public education, but our hypocrisy can
How another police shooting reveals public education’s problems with race
As a father of a 16-month-old, I'm tired. But after enough “you don’t know what tired looks like” clapbacks and side-eye from my wife, I no longer say such silly things in front of her. The many times I am up at night with my daughter pales in comparison to the amount of sleep she … Continue reading How another police shooting reveals public education’s problems with race
Why Delaware education is going to miss Christopher Ruszkowski
Christopher Ruszkowski’s six-year tenure at the Department of Education (most recentlyas the Associate Secretary of the Teacher & Leader Effectiveness Branch) came to an end in April. Rumor has it he rode off into the sunset en route to a position as Deputy Secretary in the New Mexico Department of Education. His detractors likely collectively … Continue reading Why Delaware education is going to miss Christopher Ruszkowski
Keeping Students in our View
When education policy leaders are spending months negotiating the technical details of state accountability systems or educator compensation policies, it can be easy to lose sight of their mission: serving students. Mired in debates about whether to pay highly-effective teachers more; whether the Smarter Balanced assessment should be reincorporated into teacher evaluation; whether parents should … Continue reading Keeping Students in our View
Urgency of Now 