MVP
January 12, 2012 § Leave a Comment
This is not a post about Drew Brees.
Brees is certainly the most valuable player in the NFL, and, I think, the most valuable person in the New Orleans at the moment. This is a post about another kind of MVP – minimum viable product.
[name of school]
January 4, 2012 § 10 Comments
Before our children were born, my wife and I spent lots of time on the Baby Name Wizard Voyager. If you are expecting, or want something to do for the next 5 – 100 minutes check it out here. It’s rad.
Unfortunately, it does not work on names for new charter schools. That’s a shame because I’m still struggling to find the right word, or name, for the school. « Read the rest of this entry »
Mission Control
December 9, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Sorry for the radio silence. I know I haven’t posted in quite a while. The Thanksgiving holiday messed with my flow.
I started working on the process of actually writing, or at least outlining, the charter application document. This is particularly difficult since:
1) OPSB has not issued an RFA (request for applications) yet
2) There is no known timeline or due date for applications
Either way, I know what needs to go into a typical charter application. So, I just started writing.
I started working on a mission statement. Here’s an early draft:
The XXXX School develops students to be intellectually curious, socially responsible and purpose-driven citizens who pursue academic and personal excellence in an integrated, rigorous and dynamic learning environment to prepare them for success and fulfillment in college, in a career and in life.
I think it’s in an okay place right now, but I would love feedback. I want to communicate a few things in the mission:
1) an emphasis on life-long learning, living with intention and being an active citizen
2) a sense of personal excellence as well as academic excellence
3) that the best schools prepare their students not just for college, but for life
You’ll notice that there is no school name – more on that early next week.
For now, I’m curious to hear your input on the mission as currently constituted.
Project 27: A Quick Conversation
November 28, 2011 § Leave a Comment
On the 27th of each month, my 4.0 Innovator School colleagues and I are continuing project 27, an experience that started during 4.0 Essentials. The rules of project 27 are straightforward: Go. Learn. Share. Go somewhere, learn something from someone, and share it with others.
You can read my contribution below, and visit the blogs of my leader school colleagues on their blogs (see the blogroll in right sidebar), or check in with the whole project when we cross-publish our entries on the 27th of each month on our project 27 blog: http://essentialsproject27.blogspot.com/
**
Admittedly, today is November 28, and Project 27 posts should be up on the 27th of every month. Sorry for the one day delay. I hope there is some grace period for holiday weekends. In the short story profile below, I am changing the name of the person profiled.
Tamisha – Tamisha is a recent graduate of Sarah T Reed High School in New Orleans East. She now attends Dillard University in Gentilly. She told me that she did not think Reed prepared her well for Dillard, because they taught everyone as if they were all at the same level, but didn’t offer any opportunities for students who wanted to learn more, or who wanted to learn at a faster pace. When she got to Dillard, she already felt behind. When queried about the state of public education in New Orleans, she said that she is against charters, and doesn’t think that the planned chartering of Reed HS will happen. I asked what informed her anti-charter opinion. She remarked that she had been attending UNTO meetings with a relative for a while and they are very against charters. Also, charter schools kick out kids who don’t achieve or behave, so they get all the best kids.
A “Controlled Choice” Approach To Enrollment
November 21, 2011 § 2 Comments
About six months ago, OPEN, the Orleans Public Education Network, hosted an event which they called “Neighborhood vs. Charter Schools,” but was really a evening about diversity in New Orleans public schools. I was out of town and could not attend, but I was able to watch it on OPEN’s vimeo channel (or at the bottom of this blog entry).
The event’s featured speaker was Richard Khalenberg from The Century Foundation, who has written extensively on socio-economic integration in public schools. Though his work and research is primarily with traditional school districts, many of the policies he advocates for could be modified to work for a charter school. « Read the rest of this entry »
You’re Invited.
November 20, 2011 § 1 Comment
The next Caisson EduChat will be held at Monday night in the East Riverside neighborhood. If you are interested in learning more about this project, or New Orleans public schools in general, please join us. Here are the details:
Monday, Nov 21 @ 7:15 PM
3714 Laurel St.
The Best Reason To Still Have A Land Line
November 18, 2011 § 1 Comment
Yesterday I had the unusal experience of enjoying participating in a phone survey. The first few questions were typical of political surveys: they were asking for the favorabilty of elected officials like Gov. Bobby Jindal and Mayor Mitch Landrieu. 
My interest suddenly peaked when they asked my opinion of RSD Superintendent John White, OPSB Superintendent Darryl Kilbert and State Senator Karen Carter Peterson. When they asked about my opinion of the teachers’ union, I started writing down the questions. Here are some of the most interesting: « Read the rest of this entry »
