“When I think back on all the c*** I learned in high school; It’s a wonder I can think at all.” —”Kodachrome” by Paul Simon (1973) Those lyrics (listen here ) spoke to me the moment I first heard them, 43 years ago. Not because I had a terrible high school experience, but because I could relate …
We learn best with ‘a little help from our friends’ Read More »
Who are we? Better yet, who do we want to be as a community? Seriously, are we ready and willing to take the steps needed to solve the problems of poverty and decline that have beset us now for more than a generation? Or, will we once again, take comfort in stereotypes and settle for …
This video, by Stanford University sociologist Prudence Carter, explains why diversity in schools does not equal true integration. As we’ve learned from our research of other places that have achieved socioeconomic integration, real success requires building inclusive school communities. Prudence Carter explains that when she quotes a 15-year-old student she interviewed: “If you want to …
Sometimes a map is worth a thousand words These two were posted on Vox.com and prepared by the Urban Institute.
Should private schools be allowed to compete in Section V and New York State Public High School Athletic Association post-season tournaments? This question is as old as high school tournaments, but private schools in New York have competed everywhere, except Buffalo’s Section VI region, since forever. But 18 Monroe County school superintendents (read more here) …
This video was posted this week on Vox.com. The speaker is reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, who writes for The New York Times Magazine and she has written on school segregation for ProPublica and This American Life. Agree or disagree, this piece deserves our attention. Stick with it through the end.
Improving outcomes for the youngest children in our poorest schools is probably the single most important thing our community can do right now to give city students a chance at success. I am often told by educators that the research is clear on this point: Children who do not move from “learning to read” to “reading to …
Integration is key to sustaining early childhood gains Read More »
With nearly 30,000 students, is the Rochester City School District just too big to deliver the quality education city students deserve and are entitled to by the NYS constitution? That’s the questions asked by an Oct. 1 WHEC TV 10 story—“ Should the Rochester City School District be broken into smaller districts?” The story reacts …
No doubt you’ve heard or read somewhere that the post-Katrina New Orleans school system, one of the most under-performing in the country when the storm hit 10 years ago, has become a model for urban high-poverty school districts. Nearly every school in the city is a charter these days and supporters say the graduation rate …
When you start a conversation about the impact of high poverty schools on a child’s academic and social success, data doesn’t matter. Not because there is no good data (there’s plenty of research to show that when almost every child in a school arrives way behind their middle class peers and lacking the experiences and …
