Schools for Tomorrow Blog

Denver Public Schools has just called a news conference for 6 to announce “its finalist” for the superintendent’s position recently vacated by Senator-to-be Michael Bennet.

The choice undoubtedly is Tom Boasberg, the district’s chief operating officer. The press release says “The board will announce the finalist and timeline for formal appointment during the press conference.”

Visit the Education News Colorado web site for a story as soon as this is official — by 7 p.m., if I type fast.

Later: It is, in fact, Boasberg. Huzzah to the school board for doing the right thing, and expeditiously. It takes courage to make a decision of this magnitude quickly, especially with some interest groups putting on pressure for a national search. It seems that a board member or perhaps two had to be berought along kicking and screaming. Let’s hope the dissidents see the light and make the Jan. 22 vote a unanimous one.

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It’s worth watching the following excerpts from Terrance Carroll’s speech upon being voted in as the first African American Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. He eloquently addresses the value of education as an equalizer, even when the odds are long, as they were in his case:

Having just posted on the need to close bad charter schools, it’s good to end the week on a positive note.  In Washington D.C., long one of the cities with the worst public education system in the nation, charters are showing some considerable gains (full article):

Students in the district’s charter schools have opened a solid academic lead over those in its traditional public schools, adding momentum to a movement that is recasting public education in the city.

The gains show up on national standardized tests and the city’s own tests in reading and math, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Charters have been particularly successful with low-income children, who make up two-thirds of D.C. public school students.

The article is instructive on both why many of these schools work, and some pitfalls to avoid (there has been accusations over conflicts of interest from the Charter board). It’s excellent reading.

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Few educators probably have The New Yorker on their list of professional journals, but a current article by staff writer Malcolm Gladwell (also author of “The Tipping Point”) deserves a close read.

Gladwell poses the question “How do we hire when we can’t tell who’s right for the job?” and discusses great teachers in the context of NFL quarterbacks and successful financial advisors. There’s something here to make everyone in education think – or feel uncomfortable.

OK, so let’s imagine for a moment that Michael Bennet is D.C.-bound. It certainly looks like a distinct possibility. Who’s the next Denver superintendent?

I’ll put my money on someone already inside the system. The last thing DPS needs is to be whipsawed again. Just who the insider might be is anybody’s guess. One of my favorites would be East High Principal John Youngquist.

Geoffrey Canada, architect of the Harlem Children’s Zone, holds his own against Stephen Colbert:

Some of you may be offended. Others may experience a (much-needed) chuckle in these dark times.

http://edtweak.weebly.com/index.html

Send a positive thought or a prayer the Rocky Mountain News’ way today. E.W. Scripps has announced the paper is up for sale. In these times, and in this market, glutted with newspapers on the block, the prospects for a sale probably aren’t too good. By the end of January, the Rocky’s fate will be known. Keep your fingers crossed for a miracle.

The Rocky is stocked with true professionals. Nancy Mitchell is an exemplary education writer. Burt Hubbard is a true wizard with computers, maps and databases. It’s impossible to name everyone over there who deserves praise and comfort today.

No town is served well by a lack of competition in the news business. Monopoly enterprises tend to get fat and lazy. As newsholes shrink and outlets vaporize, little mom and pop operations like Education News Colorado try to help fill the void. But it’s impossible to match the resources of a full-blown newspaper.

I worry…

As I run into people who read this blog here and there, I receive a lot of feedback. “Love (or hate) reading your blog, but why don’t you have more perspective from teachers, or principals, or parents or (fill in the blank)?”

Now deep into its second year, the blog has suffered a bit of attrition in its writer corps. So, dear readers, especially you who seethe when you read this blog, here’s your opportunity. I am looking for a few new people to write for the blog. If you’re daunted by the time commitment, you shouldn’t be. If you’re sweating bullets over writing blog posts, you’re going about it the wrong way. Toss off a few thoughts, and see what kind of reaction you get. But prepare to be challenged: if you haven’t done your homework, someone will nail you for it.

Interested? Send me an email: agottlieb@pebc.org Tell me a…

I thought some of you might be interested in a few interesting new books on modern middle and upper middle class parenting.  There’s a great review by Joan Acocella in the New Yorker .  The opening paragraph is a hoot.  I wonder how many of you have been there…it is a modern form of hell.

“We’ve all been there-that is, in the living room of friends who invited us to dinner without mentioning that this would include a full-evening performance by their four-year-old. He sings, he dances, he eats all the hors d’oeuvres. When you try to speak to his parents, he interrupts. Why should they talk to you, about things he’s not interested in, when you could all be discussing how his hamster died? His parents seem to agree; they ask him to share his feelings about that event. You yawn. Who cares? Dinner is finally served, and the child is sent…

I’ve made no secret of my disdain for the scheme to pay kids for good grades. My parents never paid me (and I never got good grades…hmm…). But I’m open to changing my mind. Here’s the idea’s number one proponent, Roland Fryer, talking with Stephen Colbert. And Fryer is one funny man. NOTE: You have to click either on the headline to this post or the “read more” link at the bottom to see the embedded video. (Hat tip to Alexander Russo at This Week in Education)

I’ve had a great time over the past few weeks learning about and observing Denver’s fledgling Urban Debate League. I’ve just posted a fairly lengthy article about it on the HeadFirst Colorado section of the Education News Colorado website. Have a look.