Charter Operators Face Challenges in ‘Scaling Up’

The pace at which the highest-performing charter-management organizations are “scaling up” is being determined largely by how rapidly they can develop and hire strong leaders and acquire physical space, and by the level of support they receive for growth from city or state policies, say leaders from some charter organizations viewed by advocates as successful. […]

New Class of Fellows Named for Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education Program

Aspen Institute – NewSchools program recognizes leaders ready to embrace the challenge of improving public education  SAN FRANCISCO, CA – August 15, 2011 – The Aspen Institute and NewSchools Venture Fund today announced the selection of the fourth cohort of the prestigious Entrepreneurial Leaders for Public Education Fellowship Program. These 24 accomplished leaders join more […]

Unlocking the Secrets of High-Performing Charters

Charter schools are approaching the ripe old age of 20. Although more work remains if we are to fully understand this complex education reform “movement,” a growing body of data and research is being compiled about its strengths, weaknesses, and impact. An important subset of the charter school sector is just now receiving a similar […]

“Public education is broken: How will you fix it?”

In April, NewSchools teamed up with the student-led nonprofit Students for Education Reform (SFER) to host a national essay competition. We all recognize that public education is broken; we wanted to hear from students how they propose to fix it. Macy Olivas, a junior at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, authored the winning essay. “Public […]

NewSchools Summit 2011: Sal Khan and Joel Klein

Technology has opened new ways for information—and lessons—to reach students. In a good-hearted and fast-moving conversation between Joel Klein, who recently left his post as Chancellor of the New York City schools to join News Corporation, and Sal Khan, author of more than 2,000 free, virally popular instructional videos, debate what the future of education […]

Kaya Henderson and Reed Hastings at Summit 2011

In what many attendees considered the highlight of NewSchools Summit 2011, Carlos Watson moderates the closing keynote discussion between D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and Netflix Founder Reed Hastings. This widely respected district leader and nationally renowned innovator offer passionate and contrasting views on what it will take to accomplish wider change in public […]

Federal Teacher-Training Bill Echoes N.Y. Regulations

Big news today on the teacher-training front, as colleague Alyson Klein reports over at the Politics K-12 blog. In essence, a bill introduced by three U.S. senators would create a new program to aid states to set up an authority to approve teacher-preparation “academies.” Such academies could be within or outside of higher education, would serve […]

NewSchools Summit 2011 in video

NewSchools Summit 2011 led the conversation about what’s new and what’s next in education. More than 800 participants joined sessions including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, legendary venture capitalist John Doerr, and DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, as well as Khan Academy’s Sal Khan, Netflix founder Reed Hastings, and former New York City Public Schools […]