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School Reform and the Superintendency SchoolSchool ReformReform andand thethe SuperintendencySuperintendency The 4th and 5th Journals of the Northeast Superintendents’ Annual Leadership Institute Volume 4, 2002 The Northeast Superintendents’ Leadership Council, a consortium promoting equity and excellence in American schools, is an organization of superintendents and for superintendents, which explores the many equity and excellence issues surrounding current educational reform. All of these explorations are seen through the special lens of meeting the educational needs of diverse student groups. For information about the numerous professional development and networking activities of the council, contact: The Northeast Superintendents’ Leadership Council The Education Alliance at Brown University 222 Richmond Street, Suite 300 Providence, RI 02903-4226 Phone: 800.521.9550 or 401.274.9548 Fax: 401.351.9594 Web: www.alliance.brown.edu/programs.shtml#leadership Many of the council’s activities are supported by the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University (LAB). The LAB, a program of The Education Alliance at Brown University, is one of ten regional educational laboratories funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement. The goals of the LAB are to improve teaching and learning, advance school improvement, build capacity for reform, and develop strategic alliances with key members of the region’s education and policymaking community. The LAB develops educational products and services for school administrators, policymakers, teachers, and parents in New England, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Central to our efforts is a commitment to equity and excellence. For information about LAB programs and services, contact: LAB at Brown University The Education Alliance at Brown University 222 Richmond Street, Suite 300 Providence, RI 02903-4226 Phone: 800.521.9550 or 401.274.9548 Fax: 401.421.7650 e-mail: [email protected] Web: www.lab.brown.edu Copyright © 2002 The LAB at Brown University. All rights reserved. This publication is based on work supported by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Depart- ment of Education, under contract Number RJ96006401. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of OERI, the U.S. Department of Education, or any other agency of the U.S. Government. TABLE OF CONTENTS Leadership Institute 2000 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1 The Economy and Student Mobility, Barry Bluestone ........................................................................................................ 3 The Impact of Standards and Curriculum on Students in Motion, Katherine Nolan ........................................................ 13 Reflections and Observations of Children in Motion, Isidra Albino ................................................................................. 33 Bridging the Digital Divide, Martin Huntley ................................................................................................................... 39 Appendix........................................................................................................................................................................49 Leadership Institute 2001 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 58 The Condition of Public Education: Why the Critics Are Wrong, Gerald Bracey ............................................................. 59 Learnings about Collaborative Leadership, LAB research partner panel ............................................................................. 71 Leadership of Instructional Improvement, Richard Elmore ............................................................................................... 83 Current Work of the Annenberg Institute, Warren Simmons .......................................................................................... 101 Leadership Institute 2000 INTRODUCTION On May 24, 25, and 26, 2000, the Northeast Superintendents’ Leadership Council held its 12th Annual Superintendents’ Leadership Institute in Newport, Rhode Island, at the Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina. The theme—“Children in Motion: The Whole Child - Standards, Assessment, and the Search for Accountability”—and its critical role in public schools were underscored by a major article on the topic that appeared in The New York Times on May 25, the second day of the Newport Institute. The goal of the Institute was to examine the issue of student mobility from several perspectives, including Northeastern University professor Dr. Barry Bluestone’s economist’s view and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform’s Dr. Kate Nolan with her analysis of the impact of curriculum and standards on children in motion. Dr. Isidra Albino, undersecretary of education for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, having considerable knowledge and understanding of the issue, offered her reflections and observations, and Dr. Martin Huntley, director of technology at the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown University (LAB), posed concerns about the developing “digital divide.” Special guest Milagros Lanauze, senior program specialist in the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education, shared greetings from her department and participated as an active observer. Responding to the Bluestone and Nolan keynotes, superintendents met in two breakout groups: Impact of Mobility on the Whole Child, and Impact of Curriculum and Standards on Children in Motion. Each group was led by colleague facilitators and reporters, and Education Alliance staff served as recorders at the sessions. Two special-interest group dinners were held as part of the Institute program. Charlene Heintz, director of professional development for educational leadership at the LAB, led the Women in the Superintendency group, and Jennifer Borman, research and evaluation specialist at The Education Alliance, facilitated the Deans and Superintendents session. Summaries of the two breakout sessions are included in the Appendix along with reports from the two special-interest dinners. The Northeast Superintendents’ Leadership Council is particularly interested in these topics and will continue to include them on the organization’s active agenda. John R. Correiro Director, Superintendents’ Leadership Initiatives The Education Alliance at Brown University School Reform and the Superintendency THE ECONOMY AND in Germany. Why is Germany doing so badly? Why is its unemployment rate so high? Why is its growth rate STUDENT MOBILITY somewhat lower than ours? The answer: “Our schools are no good.” Germany? “Our schools are no good. Barry Bluestone We have to do in Germany what the Americans are doing.” Etzioni and I smiled at each other. I have been rather active this past year (2000) in A month later I am in Japan. I am in Tokyo with a writing a series of books that all happen to be coming fairly distinguished group of government officials and out at the same time. One of them is a book that is university professors. And again the question is, “Why already in the bookstores called Growing Prosperity: is America doing so well? Why does Japan have The Battle for Growth with Equity in the Twenty-first essentially a zero growth rate? You know the reason? Century. Because that book deals with why America is Our schools are no good.” Japan! “We need to have a doing so well now economically after 20 years of better school system and maybe you, Dr. Bluestone, wandering in the economic desert, I have been invited can tell us how you do it in America?” Well, of course, all around the world to speak about that book. In just if you come to America, despite the fact that we have a the past 4 months I have traveled to Italy, Spain, 3.9% unemployment rate; despite the fact that we Germany, and, in December, Japan. What is quite have a better than 4% growth rate; despite the fact interesting is that we go to all of these countries––and that we now have productivity growth which is every I particularly thought about Germany and Japan as I bit as good as during the boom years at the end of thought about my comments here tonight––and the World War II, everybody is complaining about the question that gets raised over and over again is: “Why school system that created the kids of our generation is America doing so well, and why are we doing so who are rebuilding the American economy. Something poorly?” Here in the United States our unemployment is not right here. We have to understand that. rate is down to 3.9% nationwide. In some parts of What I want to do today is to talk about the issue that New England, in greater Boston, it is below 3%. In you are going to be talking about for the next three Europe it averages 11%, with unemployment at 12% days. And I have to tell you at the outset that this is in France, 16% in Spain, 11 or 12% in Italy. In Japan, not my forte. I am a labor economist who studies while the unemployment rate is low, it is rising, and labor markets. I direct the Center for Urban and for the first time in post-World War II history it is Regional Policy now
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