By Frank Bruni
The New York Times
10/28/14

“More than halfway through Joel Klein’s forthcoming book on his time as the chancellor of New York City’s public schools, he zeros in on what he calls “the biggest factor in the education equation.”

It’s not classroom size, school choice or the Common Core.

It’s “teacher quality,” he writes, adding that “a great teacher can rescue a child from a life of struggle.”

We keep coming back to this. As we wrestle with the urgent, dire need to improve education — for the sake of social mobility, for the sake of our economic standing in the world — the performance of teachers inevitably draws increased scrutiny. But it remains one of the trickiest subjects to broach, a minefield of hurt feelings and vested interests.”

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By Nicholas Kristof
The New York Times
10/25/14

“THE best escalator to opportunity in America is education. But a new study underscores that the escalator is broken.

We expect each generation to do better, but, currently, more young American men have less education (29 percent) than their parents than have more education (20 percent).

Among young Americans whose parents didn’t graduate from high school, only 5 percent make it through college themselves. In other rich countries, the figure is 23 percent.”

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By Haley Sweetland Edwards
Time Magazine Cover
10/23/14

“It’s really difficult to fire a bad teacher. A group of Silicon Valley investors wants to change that

On a warm day in early June, a Los Angeles County trial-court judge, Rolf M. Treu, pink-cheeked beneath a trim white beard, dropped a bombshell on the American public-school system. Ruling in Vergara v. California, Treu struck down five decades-old California laws governing teacher tenure and other job protections on the grounds that they violate the state’s constitution.”

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By Keith J. Ferrante
The Legislative Gazette

“State Supreme Court Justice Philip Minardo has granted a motion by the New York State United Teachers to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the state’s tenure law.

NYSUT’s motion gives teachers the opportunity to defend the state’s tenure law by allowing seven teachers from upstate school districts to serve as defendants in the case. The legal filing states the plaintiffs want to “eviscerate laws” that protect teachers from arbitrary dismissal.”

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By Peter Cunningham, 10/09
Education Post

“New survey research of public school parents commissioned by Education Post shows a high level of faith and trust in local public schools, principals and teachers, along with considerable concern that today’s schools are not preparing our children to fully compete in the global economy.

The results also reveal an equally significant appetite for positive change, with only 3 percent of those surveyed saying they believe schools are “fine as is.”

There is broad support for the kind of improvements needed—high standards, meaningful accountability and quality educational options for parents seeking the right school environment for their children—along with honest questions about what is and isn’t working and what it means for their own child.”

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Feature from Fall 2014 issue of Philanthropy magazine
By Ashley May

“As a sophomore at Cesar Chavez Learning Center in Los Angeles, Beatriz Vergara had a captivating history teacher last year.This teacher nurtured in her a love of the subject, instructing with enthusiasm and drama while fostering an encouraging class environment. Beatriz now finds history interesting and, daresay, fun.
But Beatriz didn’t always like going to class. She used to have a history teacher who let students smoke marijuana in the back of the room, spent the majority of instruction time on his laptop, and hinted the Latino stu- dents would grow up to “clean houses for a living.” In a middle-school science class, she never asked questions because she was afraid of her teacher, who at times called female stu- dents by rude nicknames.”

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By Nina Rees
10/07/14

“Campbell Brown, the journalist-turned-education-reformer, has been in the news a lot lately. Her Partnership for Educational Justice recently filed suit in New York, challenging the city’s teacher tenure laws. The organization is chaired by David Boies, who represented Al Gore in the contested presidential election of 2000 and recently argued against California’s ban on gay marriage. Brown and Boies have pledged to file several other suits around the country, focused on upending the status quo in education.

Opponents have already cried foul, questioning Brown’s credentials and the motives of her funders. But what Brown brings to the table is not only an ability to fight in the court of law but to win in the court of public opinion. That explains why her advocacy has attracted such vitriol by opponents – they see it as a real threat. For education reformers, the work is encouraging, since she has the potential to galvanize public support.”

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