New School Leaders Must Emerge A new paradigm is needed for real, rapid and lasting change in educational outcomes for Black and Brown students . And it seems that school leaders are likely the answer. Not just any school leader
Tough Choices and Challenges for Black Gifted in New York City
In New York City, there is a debate raging about the lack of diversity in the city’s specialized high schools for academically gifted students. These schools require each applicant to take a standardized test which delivers an achievement score on
Innovation of Inclusion – Results Don’t Lie
Rising to the Challenge in Cambridge Massachusetts Throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, educators have anticipated the release of the 2017 Spring Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) state test results. The MCAS assessment is given in grades 3 through 8 and grade
2016 Summer Olympics, School Choice and Gifted Students
2016 Summer Olympic Achievements It is August 2016. The Summer Olympics are in progress in Rio. American athletes have done well with a very respectable collection of more gold medals than any other country so far. Among the top performers
America’s Difficult Conversations: The Apathy-Empathy Scale
The Apathy-Empathy Scale: A Conversation Starter For our American community, It has been a tragic few weeks, in a tragic month, in a tragic series of years. We are facing a new day. One that I fear we are not
The Biggest Winner Math Challenge – Results Don’t Lie
In a prior blog post we described a school-wide community initiative, developed in New Orleans, called The Biggest Winner Math Challenge that produces gains in math scores by engaging and focusing students on individualized goals. The Biggest Winner Math Challenge campaign
On the Ground in a Turnaround – Results Don’t Lie
(This is a long blog post. You can read it or scan the graphs or play the videos or click the links. It is one story of the successful turnaround of a failing charter school in Massachusetts) There have been
Learning Analytics Can Deliver Double Digit Student Performance Gains
Too many school leaders have not yet embraced the power of “Learning Analytics“ and data to guide the turnaround and transformation of their schools. When a school leader is faced with the challenge of turning around or transforming a low
A 2016 Moon Shot – Revitalizing the Nation One Community at a Time
Education Reform is a Start but it is Not Enough Reforming education alone will not revitalize lower income communities across the US. Creating meaningful career paths and job opportunities for young people of color provide the best motivation for their
Another Inconvenient and Unfortunate Truth – A Failed Moon Shot
In these days leading up to the 2016 election, it is difficult to avoid news events created by the presidential candidates scrambling for our attention and vote. In election season, forgotten neighborhoods are visited, promises of a great future are