Live Sustainably. Big It’S a Simple Mantra, but the Implications Are Infinitely Complex
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Nonprofit U.S. Postage PAID Boston MA Permit No. 1839 SED 2 Silber Way @Boston University School of Education Boston, Massachusetts 02215 SPRING 2011 THE How Brockton High climbed up from the bottom of the charts (p. 6) live sustainably. BIG It’s a simple mantra, but the implications are infinitely complex. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Join faculty experts and fellow alumni for a weekend of exploring your role in the bigger picture: Earth. -------------------------------------------------------------------- TURN- sustainability in the city June 10-12, 2011 ALUMNI COLLEGE is an immersive educational experience with on-campus residential option, led by the College of Arts & Sciences. AROUND www.bu.edu/alumnicollege Also Inside: l Waiting for “Superman”: Thumbs up or thumbs down? (p. 4) l Solving our national math problem (p. 10) | INSIDE | | NEWS & NOTES | Congratulations! W. Patrick Hughes (’70) has Banking on Reform: s SED’s Oscar winner A volunteer Nick Hofer and Phoenix 2 been appointed president in Peru Charter Academy and CEO of Fallon Community Jeffrey Lurie (’75) and his Health Plan. wife, Christina Lurie, were Having joined the executive producers of the Peace Corps Photo courtesy of Susan Lawton The French Minister of Inside Job, a hard look at shortly after Dear Alumni and Friends, Education named Mary the 2008 economic melt- graduation, Susan Lawton (’09) (above) is Oussayef (’71) a Chevalier down. The arguably preventable mortgage the volunteer coordinator for the Center for s Still Waiting for Last spring, a teacher at a turnaround school in Boston in the Ordre des Palmes crisis was a “crime without punishment,” as Special Education: Castilla, in Piura, Peru. Superman: told me of a student who said to her, “I heard you’re a bad 4 Some critical reviews Académiques. one reviewer put it, that cost the nation $20 She successfully raised funds for training and teacher, and that’s why we’re not doing well.” What an equipment to create a multisensory class- awful thing for a professional to hear—awful and, frankly, trillion and millions of lost homes and jobs. Linda Herzog Snowdale (’74) room for the school’s 32 severely disabled untrue. was elected to the Cohasset, Beating Waiting for “Superman” (see p. 4), students. Lawton hopes the success of the Around the country, schools are making drastic changes to Mass., school committee. Lurie’s film won an Oscar for Best program will encourage other local parents turn themselves around. One model has taken hold in which Documentary—the biggest of several to enroll their own disabled children, cur- a school board will fire a struggling school’s principal and Scott Turcott (’83, ’86) is now prestigious awards Inside Job earned. rently languishing at home. 50 percent of its teachers. The theory is that a school that the vice president of institu- s is underperforming for a number of years has developed a Lurie is the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, For more information, contact Lawton at The Big Turnaround: tional advancement at Eastern 6 The case of Brockton negative culture that affects both teachers and students, but he taught social policy at BU before [email protected]. High School so one way to change that is to change the personnel. The Nazarene College in Quincy, launching a career as a film producer. He belief is that as new teachers come in with new ideas and Mass. bought the NFL team in 1994. new strategies to effect change in kids’ lives, the school’s performance will improve. However, a school needn’t The Fay School in Summing up the lack of true contrition on employ dramatic techniques to produce outstanding results. Southborough, Mass., selected the part of the top bank execs who caused Lauren Roby (’07, ’10) and the collapse, U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano Solving Our National It is heartening, therefore, to hear about a school that turns Yuka Morita Terada (’07) (LAW’84, Hon.’09), in a Congressional Math Problem: s itself around without resorting to these kinds of drastic The Noyce scholarship methods. South of Boston, some SED alums have been to launch its first preschool hearing, had a line that made the trailer (and program involved in a ground-up effort to improve teacher evaluation program. They’re designing a closed it): “You come to us today, telling and student performance, resulting in exceptional progress 10 play-based inquiry curriculum us, ‘We’re sorry. We won’t do it again. at a traditional big urban high school. (See p. 6.) Trust us.’ Well, I have some people in my modeled after their old SED constituency that actually robbed some of At the same time, it is also inspiring to learn about a charter practicum, the Early Childhood school that does something radically different by helping at- your banks. And they say the same thing!” Learning Lab (see p. 12). risk teens—and young adults—who have fallen through the Learn more at www.sonyclassics.com/ cracks get a high school diploma. It is no surprise that there Assistant Professor Alejandra are SED alums at the forefront of this effort, too. (See p. 2.) insidejob. s Salinas, Dicky Ng (’03, ’03, 12 Play With a Purpose: Education reform looms large in our national consciousness, ’09), and Diana Cheng (’10) Preparing tomorrow’s leaders Whitewashing Twain SED’s Early Childhood and concern about teacher preparation puts pressure on were accepted into the National Learning Lab schools of education to improve their performance. At SED The School Administrator, the monthly maga- SED Dean Hardin Coleman has weighed we work very hard to continue our 93-year-old tradition of Science Foundation’s Service, zine of the American Association of School in on the new editions of Mark Twain’s graduating informed, thoughtful, highly skilled, and hard- Teaching and Research Program Administrators, invited Donald Beaudette Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and working educators who are making a difference in schools for Early Career Mathematics (’87) to contribute an article to its February Adventures of Tom Sawyer that erase the of all kinds and of all sizes. Educators. (Read about another issue. Beaudette wrote about his dual role “N” word. Coleman condemns the editions’ Editor NSF scholarship program for as the superintendent of schools in Norwell, “sugarcoating” as “very disturbing from the Patrick L. Kennedy (COM’04) @SED math teachers on p. 10.) Mass., and an adjunct professor at SED. [standpoint] of intellectual honesty.” Boston University Contributing Writers For an article about the controversy, includ- School of Education Corinne Steinbrenner (COM’06), Teaching at SED, Beaudette wrote, “helps Andrew Thurston me to stay current with best practices, to ing a link to a video of Coleman’s commen- Hardin L. K. Coleman, PhD SPRING 2011 apply theoretical frameworks to explain tary, visit www.bu.edu/today/node/12233. Graphic Designer Dean and Professor, School of Education Garyfallia Pagonis Dean Boston University real problems, and to develop a sense of Hardin L. K. Coleman Cover Photo 2 Silber Way the market for future school leaders.” For class notes and other info, visit Development & Alumni Cydney Scott Boston, Massachusetts 02215 SED’s new and improved website, Relations Officer 617-353-3213 (work) Read about the experiences of Beaudette Produced by www.bu.edu/sed. and three other teaching superintendents Ray Billings Boston University Creative Services 617-353-7777 (fax) 617-379-2839 Skype (hcoleman52) at www.aasa.org. Recycle. 0511 056393 [email protected] ( 1 ) Printed with 100% renewable electricity. | ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT | By Andrew Thurston | Photo by Vernon Doucette Disrupting the theory “What Phoenix Charter Academy does is take students who are The board started by approaching centers ( of influence—parole officers, after-school Nick Hofer is not your traditional school dropouts. We’re disrupting the theory that charter schools are programs—and letting potential recruits reformer. A senior vice president at know, “We might be your last chance.” Boston Private Bank & Trust Company, successful because they’re educating the best from each district.” ) They also tried to quash any excuses Hofer (’05) spends his days talking high for skipping school—the academy has finance—helping venture and private were former high school dropouts, so happened in “a random coffee shop” in included an on-site child care center from capital groups find cash, giving wealthy 12 people who would be out on the Cambridge. Hofer says he liked the idea day one, for instance. customers sage advice on their invest- street without an education now have from the start: “From a business perspec- ments. But he’s also a founding board an education.” tive, it’s the blue ocean strategy: you’re Recruitment is less of a challenge now. member of Phoenix Charter Academy on open waters.” This was something With fresh success stories being pro- in Chelsea, Massachusetts. From banker to educator new: an independent school with a stated duced every year, there’s a list of stu- dents waiting to get in. Not that they’ll Incorporated in 2006, the academy If he hadn’t been a banker, Hofer mission to “close the achievement gap have an easy ride. The average school takes students aged 14 to 22 who’ve would’ve been a teacher. In fact, he was that exists between academically under- day runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., there’s been neglected or abandoned by public for a time, taking two years out from his performing adolescents” and their peers. a uniform, and loitering between lessons schools (or who chose to check out) banking career to teach mathematics To date, Hofer is aware of only one other is not an option. and pushes them toward a high school at a New York prep school.