Two recently published reports, Graduation by the Numbers: Putting Data to Work for Student Success, Diplomas Count, 2010 Edition, and Yes We Can: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males, 2010, should be read by everyone working in education and every parent of school age children. The first, published by Education [...] Continue reading → Recently, the LA Times ran a series of reports on the Los Angeles Unified School District and how effective its third through fifth grade teachers have been in improving students test scores over a period of 7 years, from 2002-03 through 2008-09, using an evaluation method called “value-added.” In a nutshell, the value added approach [...] Continue reading → As a former elected official of my local city government, I can tell you that there is nothing more important than voting in the upcoming elections. We are all at the mercy of our politicians who, more often than not, work full time at other jobs, and do not have the time, or expertise, to [...] Continue reading → I’ve been actively involved in my union now for almost a decade. My colleagues often ask me why. The response I give them is simple. “As teachers, we are always the first to be asked for help by others,” I say. “Yet as professionals, we are the last to ask for help for ourselves. Our [...] Continue reading → In less than two months, voters will have the opportunity to voice their opinions at the polls. I will publicly admit, if it is not a presidential election or a local school-levy issue, I am not interested. I have never been into politics. Conversations about politics make me squirm. I have so much going on [...] Continue reading → As this year’s election nears, I remember the early years of being a teacher. During election season, I remember how often veteran teachers in my building would talk politics in the teachers’ lounge. I am a social studies teacher by certification and a political junkie by nature, so I always appreciate political discussions. The discussions [...] Continue reading → Despite the fact that Ohio did not place in the top 20 on Forbes’ list of America’s Greenest States (we came in a dismal 39 out of 50 in 2007), or that there are no Ohio cities that made the top 50 list of greenest cities in America, according to Popular Science (2008), Ohio schools [...] Continue reading → Districts, classroom teachers, and families have been forced to cut back on spending year round. What does that look like during the “Back-To-School” shopping season? For districts, the next school year actually begins before school lets out for the summer. Budgets must be determined and supplies must be ordered. For many schools, it is a [...] Continue reading → I am encouraged that the House of Representatives has passed emergency legislation that may save 100,000 education jobs around the country, even though it is estimated 300,000 jobs are at stake. The bill now goes to the Senate. Unfortunately, pundits like Charles Lane of the Washington Post, think this “scary” number was pulled out of [...] Continue reading → As this summer began I was excited to start up with my summer reading. It seems during the school year there is never enough time or energy to read an entire book. As I hit Border’s during the second week of June, I quickly decided on the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Freedom Writers Diary [...] Continue reading →