A few bits to read this morning: catch AP’s look at Bill Gates’ latest work to shape federal education policy, and Jay Mathews’ update on how reform is going at two District of Columbia high schools that Chancellor Michelle Rhee contracted out for improvement.
You probably heard last week that Ted Sizer, one of education’s big figures—especially in the world of high school reform—died of cancer. Our story does a nice job of capturing Sizer’s thinking about secondary school. It also links to three commentaries and a Q and A he did for us, in which he shares his thoughts about what was needed to reshape American schools.
Read more about him by the organization he founded, the Coalition of Essential Schools, and in the Washington Post and The New York Times. Andy Rotherham reflects on Sizer in his blog, as does Tom Vander Ark in his, and Mike Klonsky in his.