Schools for Tomorrow Blog

IF there was any doubt, this article by the irrepressible Diane Ravitch looks as the Gates (Bill, not Rubber) initiative to create small high schools and finds that there are no quick fixes for urban education.

A new study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Ed investigated the positive effects of small schools on student achievement, and found … well, nothing.  According to the press release, “There were no significant trends observed in academic achievement, as measured by either scores on statewide assessments or college entrance exams over the short period of the study.”

The study did come up with some other interesting findings:  students in “small learning communities”, or SLCs, are more likely to be promoted from 9th to 10th grade and are more likely to report that they plan to attend college. But SLC’s were fraught with other problems, especially insufficient SLC-related professional development.

After extensive investment in small schools, including the Fed’s $80 million annual investment and the Gates Foundation’s billion-dollar bet, what has happened?  Why aren’t we seeing more impressive results?  Most likely, the fancy-sounding Big Idea of small school reform was seen as…

This week, I had the privilege to visit the Mapleton Expeditionary Learning School for the Arts, MESA and was blown away.  I�m not one that typically gets teary-eyed (in a good way) and feels like screaming for joy when leaving a school.  I more often leave the typical high school feeling depressed, angry and ready to file a child negligence lawsuit.                         

MESA may be the first district managed public high school with a diverse student population (about 50% low-income) in Colorado to get 100% of its seniors to apply to and get into college (mostly four year schools).   We will have to wait to see if this happens but I suspect MESA will do it, based on what I heard there. 

A school-wide meeting run by students began with accolades for quality work and character, followed by a time where students took responsibility for various violations to the community. Then, the school…

Last week’s volunteer clean-up day at Manual set a great tone for the reopening of the school August 20. The soundtrack accompanying the slideshow below is the irrepressible Michael Simmons, a Manual parent and Denver Public Schools community liaison on loan to Manual, leading the volunteers in a chant at the end of a long, hot day’s work.

Is the much-touted success of new, small high schools in NYC being overhyped by city education officials and a lap-dog media? Diane Ravitch thinks so. 

What’s not to like about the idea of moving the Denver Public Schools administrative offices to Manual High School? It sends multiple messages, all of them good. Administrators will come into daily contact with the kids they are paid to serve. Claiming part of the school building for non-school purposes will guarantee that Manual remains a small (roughly 700 student) school.

The soulless, Darth Vader-visaged 900 Grant Street can be turned into a boutique hotel (though it may house more ghosts than the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining).

It’s not a bad idea to seek public input before making the decision, especially when this school, and this neighborhood, are involved. After all, the correct but precipitous decision to close Manual, made in the winter of 2006, caused DPS a major political headache.

But it’s important to remember not to let squeaky wheels get greased. There will always be people raising objections…

The long hours and extra effort put in by teachers at small high schools trying to live up to the mantra of rigor, relevance and relationships were powerfully documented in the article “Cultures of Commitment” (registration required) which appeared in the April 18 edition of Education Week.

The article had several examples of schools where teachers who do heroic work, leave after a few years, moving on to get a life