Tag: schools

  • Proposal to Scorch the Earth in Toledo Public Schools

    There are times when the little policy matters seems irrelevant. Who cares if a subject is declared “core” by your state department of education or USDOE? Take a good look at this story coming out of Toledo. It is a rather stunning example of how a school district is proposing the elimination of all certified…

  • The Mayor Of London Gets in Front of a City-Wide Music Education Plan

    Well, apparently he’s both in front of and behind the plan. In fact, Mayor Boris Johnson is clearly excited by this project. Click here to listen to him speaking about music education and this new project. Click here to view the plan. There are many local music services,orchestras, arts organisations, charities and schools which do…

  • If There’s Only One Book to Read on K-12 Education, Read This One!

    All the time, I run into people in the arts field who ask me to explain exactly what the hell is going on with K-12 education. Between vouchers, choice, turnaround, merit pay, alternative certification, race to the top, race to the bottom, AYP, value-added assessment, process-driven goals, backwards-mapped curriculum, and more, trying to get a…

  • Can the Arts be a Central Part of Urban School Improvement?

    Well, of course. Unfortunately, that answer is not widely known or embraced among the policy elites. That’s part of our job as advocates. Middle School 223, once shuttered as one of the most violent middle schools in New York City, was reopened in 2003 as M.S. 223/The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology. Today, Principal…