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I recently interviewed Simon Hauger, a math teacher at West Philadelphia High School's Academy of Applied and Technical Sciences. Hauger and his students in the Academy have grabbed headlines over the past few years by building the world's first high-performance, environmentally-friendly cars. Their cars consistently win top honors at the Tour de Sol, a prestigious national green car competition. In fact, Hauger and his urban students have repeatedly bested teams from universities like MIT. Their story is incredibly inspiring. (Click here for PublicSchoolInsights.org's account about the Academy's program.)
In the interview, Hauger offers a ringing endorsement of programs that bring hands-on learning into the school day. He describes his own program's genesis, some of the obstacles it has faced, his work with community partners, and lessons he and his students have learned along the way. It's truly worth a listen.
Hauger also poses a very interesting question: If a bunch of high school students in impoverished West Philly can create a high-performance car that gets over 50 miles to the gallon, why won't the major car companies? ...
We at the Learning First Alliance are breaking out our gaters, gortex and field glasses to celebrate the approach of Earth Day on April 22nd.
Because we agree with the truism that we should not cram all our environmental concern into a single day, we have planned several weeks of events focusing environmental education. (No, we don't think three weeks suffice either, but we're taking this admittedly short time to honor people who devote themselves to environmental education year-round.)
So, stay tuned to Public School Insights through the rest of April for interviews with and profiles of leading environmentalists and educators. Highlights will include exclusive interviews with: ...
Yesterday's edition of USA Today profiles the success of Oak Ridge High School in Tennessee, where three students recently won the prestigious Siemens high school research competition for a "supercomputing tool aimed at helping scientists develop bioethanol." Their work reportedly helped the neighboring Oak Ridge National Laboratory secure an $800,000 grant to do similar work.
These extraordinary students--and the extraordinary teacher who helped them--deserve high praise. Their story should warm the hearts of those who fret about the nation's future economic competitiveness. ...
An Exclusive Interview with Richard Simmons about His Campaign for P.E. in Schools
Tank top, striped shorts and all, Richard Simmons is becoming a force to be reckoned with in Washington's education policy debate. He has mounted a major campaign to get physical education into the schools and has caught the attention of key policymakers on Capitol Hill.
Amidst all this activity, he recently found time to talk me about his goals, the dire need for physical education and his frustration with the glacial pace of reform in Washington during an election year.
Richard told me about his advocacy for the FIT Kids Act, which would establish a framework for schools to closely look at the quality and quantity of PE they are providing, and to supply parents with that information to better understand the PE their kids are receiving. ...
In the week since the New York Times published a conversation on education philanthropy entitled How Many Billionaires Does It Take to Fix a School System, some high-profile bloggers have characterized the piece as an unintentionally sad commentary on the state of education funding. The transcript of a conversation among NYT Magazine editor Paul Tough and five education talking heads: Green Dot Charter School Founder Steve Barr, American Enterprise Institute education impresario Frederick Hess, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Venture Philanthropist Vanessa Kirsch and former Gates Foundation education head Tom Vander Ark.
To Diane Ravitch, the article confirms that the champions of corporate-style education reform have nothing but disdain for those "ordinary educators who toil in the classroom.... Only those untainted by actual direct experience of education have the insight to 'fix' the school system." ...
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Michael de Vito and Carmen Macchia of Port Chester Middle School, one of the many successful schools we feature on this site.
De Vito and Macchia told me the remarkable story of how they and their colleagues created a safe and positive school climate, a richer, broader curriculum focused on literacy and aligned to state assessments, a commitment to literacy across the curriculum, intensive collaboration among school staff, and strong support for teachers' work.
A central piece of their strategy: a focus on reading across the curriculum. DeVito and Macchia describe how their school-wide commitment to literacy has actually enriched their curriculum, rather than narrowing it.
One of Principal Macchia's insights bears repeating: It takes time to effect real transformation in schools. Though the political environment may favor instant turnaround, Macchia urges educators to settle in for a much longer haul. He advocates for multi-year plans to effect true systemic change.
Do you have a story about your school's transformation? Leave us a comment below, or share it through our story tool. ...
The Seattle Times is reporting that federal testing demands have driven the cost of Washington State's standardized tests much higher than expected--and higher than state lawmakers are willing to spend. Lawmakers' answer to the problem: Seek savings by "chopping the number of open-ended, thought-provoking questions and delaying some extra features...."
The situation in Washington State offers an object lesson in the perils of mounting ambitious testing regimes on a shoestring. As Tom Toch argued in 2006, policymakers' tendency to nickel and dime assessment programs is strengthening incentives "for states and their testing contractors to build tests that measure primarily low-level skills." Not only do such tests encourage schools to put higher-order skills on the back burner, they offer meager evidence of actual student learning.
As budget crises loom in states across the country, advocates for sound assessment will have their work cut out for them. ...
Yesterday, I posted publicschoolinsights.org's exclusive interview with leading Native American children's book author Joseph Bruchac.
After the interview, another renowned children's book author, Cynthia Leitich Smith, emailed me an overview of themes in Native American Themes in Children's literature as well as a list of books and other resources specially for teachers and librarians. Check them out. ...
The National Association of Secondary School Principals has released a list of Breakthrough Middle and High Schools for 2008. NASSP and the Metlife Foundation have recognized these schools, all of which serve many poor students, for dramatically improving student achievement. ...
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A VISION FOR GREAT SCHOOLS
On this website, educators, parents and policymakers from coast to coast are sharing what's already working in public schools--and sparking a national conversation about how to make it work for children in every school. Join the conversation!
