People said we were crazy when we applied to start John W. Lavelle Prep Charter in Staten Island. It was a college prep middle school that would cater to students with emerging mental health challenges. There were no other models to look at in NY, and these kids often faced immense challenges. This is what…
The NY Times Graph of Race and Achievement Makes my Head Hurt
200 million tests aren’t wrong. And its making my head hurt. The NY times released an amazing set of interactive graphs this week showing correlations between NAEP tests—the so called nation’s scorecard—and family income and race. The results are incredibly discouraging, and really the more you look at it the more your head will hurt.…
2 Easy Fixes for Oakland Unified
Sometimes, working with districts the simple things seem hard. Common sense isn’t as common as it should be, and low hanging fruit falls from the tree and rots on the ground. Oakland Unified has shone a light on its current status with the Strategic Regional Analysis, but it’s really up to us to push for more…
What Black and Brown Parents Want, What they Get, and Why Charters
Our parents almost universally want more challenging schools, at the same time they rightly believe that education is unequal according to a recent study. I say, rightly, because there is compelling evidence of a broad and wide belief gap about the capacity of kids of color, and in reality, our kids often do get the…
Moving Beyond Rumor to Honest Debates in Oakland
I was worried when I heard that Oakland Unified was potentially firing 17 principals. While I think Oakland is moving in the right direction, I really had to question the District’s leadership in this case. Further, this seemed to confirm the worst fears of OUSD’s critics, showing the District’s tone deafness, while reinforcing charter conspiracy…