Mobilizing Communities Is Reform's Missing Link
Whenever President Barack Obama addresses the need to improve American education, he invariably mentions a vitally important ingredient that is missing from most school reform recipes. That is the role of parents and communities in motivating youngsters to achieve.
As recently as this winter’s State of the Union address, the president reiterated this point. “We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl that deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.” I urge President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to use their matchless bully pulpits and convening power to transform exhortation into action.
Most of the energy, resources, and policymaking devoted to improving student performance these days is concentrated on schools and school systems. This makes obvious sense. Yet the emphasis on what happens inside schools overlooks another important facet of the solution, namely the need for communities to create a culture of achievement and...
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