“Racing to the Top” to Prepare Turnaround Principals … What’s Next?

By Kathleen M. Brown, Ed.D.

Four years ago, North Carolina was awarded one of only 12 federal Race to the Top (RttT) competitive grants, bringing nearly $400 million to the state’s public school system. Approximately $17.5 million of these funds were specifically earmarked to “increase the number of principals qualified to lead transformational change in low-performing schools in both rural and urban areas.” As such, the policy objective undertaken by North Carolina’s Regional Leadership Academies (RLAs) was to recruit and prepare more than180 “turnaround principals” serving more than 30 counties in three vastly different and very distinct regions of the state -the Northeast (NELA), the Piedmont Triad (PTLA) and the Sandhills (SLA). Findings to date indicate that:

Read More →
30
Jan 2014
AUTHOR Kathleen Brown
COMMENTS No Comments

Eduwonk: Gates Foundation’s Vicki Phillips On Common Core Momentum

Vicki Phillips, director of education, college ready at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, offers a compelling and supportive piece about the implementation of the Common Core State Standards on Eduwonk.com. Phillips provides a clear picture on the Gates Foundation’s position on the importance of accountability, thoughtful implementation, and high-stakes consequences – all in support […]

Read More →
30
Jan 2014
AUTHOR The Hunt Team
COMMENTS No Comments

“A police chief, retired general and business CEO walk into a hearing…”

By Miriam Rollin, VP/COO, Council for a Strong America

It may sound like the opening line of a joke – but it’s no joke. It’s a powerful reality to make the case for the continued implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and aligned assessments.

For instance, last summer, 23 police chiefs from across Tennessee released a Fight Crime: Invest in Kids report demonstrating the connection between educational deficits, unemployment, and crime in their communities. Research shows that long-term changes in wages and employment opportunities among non-college educated men may explain as much as half of property and violent crime rates. The report also focused on the importance of continued implementation of the CCSS to address those educational deficits. The media coverage included stories on four local TV networks, as well as in The Tennessean and another local paper.

Read More →
23
Jan 2014
AUTHOR Miriam Rollin
COMMENTS No Comments