I wish I could say I’m surprised that Linda Borg, education reporter at the Providence Journal, decided to write a whole piece about the proposed expansion of Achievement First without even a mention of the schools’ student outcomes and how they compare to those of students in their sending districts as well as across the state. I… Continue reading When Education Reporters Don’t Even Mention Student Outcomes
Providence mayor Jorge Elorza caught a lot of people off guard yesterday during the Achievement First board meeting when he, seemingly out of nowhere, floated the idea of them expanding by way of closing a lower performing charter school. If there had been a record player in the room, I suspect it would have screeched… Continue reading Elorza Jumps the Shark—And Providence Children Are Collateral Damage
Jorge Elorza is probably the only Mayor in the country who has direct access to one of the best and one of the worst performing school systems in the state in their own city — and yet he has made the calculated decision not to lead on connecting and collaborating to maximize the impact of… Continue reading With a Waitlist of over 3,000, Elorza Can Finally Lead By Opening Up Additional Seats at Achievement First
In April 2017 Rhode Island leaders in government and education came together to form a rare united front in support of the bold decision to adopt the same statewide test that Massachusetts uses for its annual testing. They called it MCAS; we would call it RICAS. Superintendents, school committees, union leaders, legislative leaders and even… Continue reading RICAS Results Are Major Wake-Up Call
Bob Walsh, Executive Director of the NEA in Rhode Island, is a smart guy. Unlike some others in his organization, he makes his case respectfully and the scope of his technical knowledge is infinite. But last week he left me truly stumped (and a bit appalled) after an appearance on A Lively Experiment on our local… Continue reading NEA’s Bob Walsh: Blocking, Begging, and Belittling
As another charter battle heats up in Little Rhody, the usual status quo protectors are talking about everything except what matters most: student outcomes and parent demand. And when it comes to Achievement First, the charter school looking to expand, it’s impossible to deny that they’ve earned the privilege of doing so. They’ve proven the… Continue reading Student Outcomes and Parent Satisfaction Must be Front and Center in Debate over AF
