Early hybrids show the way: the PLC story
Clay Christensen talks about innovation occuring at the margin–often the choice between something and nothing. That’s certainly true in education where we’ve seen innovation start in alternative or special education. Neil Shorthouse co-founded Communities in Schools, the most respected dropout prevention network in America. After three decades of working…
Portfolio Strategy goes mainstream: CRPE report
I think Jim Shelton and I coined the phrase “portfolio strategy” in reference to cities developing a managed choice/multiple operators educational strategy. More important than where the term came from, a bunch of us landed on this idea 7 or 8 years ago as the charter and accountability movements simultaneously…
Reflections on Excellence in Action: 2009
Gov. Bush puts on a good conference. As you can see from the text of his keynote (Wednesday’s blog) he’s on fire about the transformative power of learning technology. Michelle Rhee rocked the house with an honest assessment of performance in DC schools and her plans…
Jeb Bush was great at his national summit
Gov Bush keynoted the Excellence in Action 2009 summit. While moderating a conversation with the Governor, I had the opportunity to tell the audience that he was the best education governor of the last decade. His leadership on data,…
Go slow to go fast (why ESEA should wait)
There’s an old saying in consulting that sometimes you have to go slow to go fast; in other words, you have to build the infrastructure of support in order to create profound change. I think that applies to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The law should have…
Stop dumb stuff, start smart stuff
I’m stuck on a comment in Bill Maher’s closing commentary last week. He said something like, “In America, we can’t stop doing dumb stuff and we can’t start anything big and important.” Once a government program gets started, we can’t kill it after it has served its…
New tools bring new roles
New tools and formats will not only increase options for students, they are creating a much more diverse range of employment options for learning professionals including: · content development of lessons, units and courses · platform development of social learning platforms, recommendation engines, learning management applications ·…
Platforms for change
It's time to look at platforms that will change education, especially blended learning models that increase peer-to-peer learning and a good mix of online and tech.
Radical choice
EdSector is holding an interesting online chat about online learning and the implications for choice. We’re trapped in the mindset of ‘this school or that school.’ That’s all going to change (relatively) fast. We’re headed for radical choice–not just school choice but choice to the lesson level. We’ll…
Another interesting day at EdReformer.com
Here’s a quick summary of a couple of today’s conversations: 1. Parent Revolution plans to support full implementation of Yolie’s initiative in LA and the intent to send all new schools and school in need of improvement for 5 or more years out to bid. Their work is/will…