Vision 2015 Annual Conference: It’s About the People, Not the Programs
More than 300 educators, business leaders, parents, community leaders, and public officials met on Tuesday, October 18, at the annual Vision 2015 conference at the University of Delaware to take stock of Delaware's collective progress in creating world-class schools.
There were clear successes to report—new standards, new assessments, and...
The Devil’s in the Details Over Different Federal Education Policy Visions
Today, the Senate HELP Committee debated and marked up Senator Harkin’s bipartisan legislation to overhaul No Child Left Behind – signifying a significant opportunity, and risk, as stakeholders come together to redefine the federal government’s role in education. After mark-up, the bill must still garner Senate support and then pass the...
NEA and TFA Agree – Teacher Preparation Needs an Overhaul
Last Friday, Secretary Arne Duncan unveiled his plan for teacher education reform and improvement in America’s schools at an Education Sector event. Secretary Duncan was joined by NEA president Dennis Van Roekel and Teach for America founder and CEO Wendy Kopp, both of whom endorsed the plan and gave their thoughts on educator preparation...
Rethinking Professional Development
I’ll be honest—during my teacher tenure I didn’t always pay attention in professional development sessions. I either lesson planned, graded papers, or focused my efforts on the million and a half other things I needed to do yesterday. That’s why I had to pause when I saw several million dollars of Race to the Top funding going towards...