“School leaders have more power than they think.” Rick Hess talks about breaking through the “culture of can’t,” or the idea that something can’t be done because it hasn’t been done before, in schools. (Education Next)

Learning in more ways than one. A district-museum partnership in California melds English instruction with science lessons to give English-language learners exposure to thContinue Reading »

What should be on the new administration’s “to-do list” under the heading of education? That was the question posed to a panel of education experts Education Sector brought together this week at the event “Should There Be an Undersecretary of MOOCs? A Waiver Watchdog? And Other Questions for the Next Four Years.” The experts, all members of Education Sector’s K20 Task Force, took onContinue Reading »

Teacher quality is all the rage in education policy discussions these days. And for good reason, given what we know about the importance of teachers to student learning. That’s why the ES policy team has been blogging about improving teacher preparation for the past four days, following up to our recent policy brief on the topic.

But what about school leaders? These are, after alContinue Reading »

Martin O’Malley has a new plan for improving Maryland’s low performing schools – $200,000 principal bonuses, paid out over four years. That’s an impressive sum, and refreshing to see someone putting real money on the table – as the plan states, “Half-hearted measures will not work.” However, it is only a start. There are two key elements missing from this plan:Continue Reading »