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Frederick M. Hess's Blog

Superintendent Turnover: Passing the Baton v. Hitting Reset

As I noted on Friday, I spent the latter part of last week out in Clark County, Nevada, talking with local leaders and the local Public Education Foundation. The Clark County School District, which encompasses Las Vegas, is the nation's fifth-largest school system (serving 310,000 kids). After two years in office, superintendent Dwight Jones unexpectedly stepped down two months ago. Nevada chief Jim Guthrie stepped down a short time later, after only about a year in office. This has all led to considerable, and understandable, consternation. Given the recent spate of superintendent openings in big school systems, e.g. Baltimore, Boston, Indianapolis, and so forth, this is a challenge with which a bunch of communities are wrestling.

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By Frederick M. Hess  |  Mon, May 20, 2013 9:08 AM  |  Permalink

Newark's Cami Anderson Speaks Some Simple Truths

I spent yesterday out in Las Vegas at the Southern Nevada Leadership Summit, where the Clark County Public Education Foundation was hosting school, system, and business leaders. (Full disclosure: I'm a senior fellow for the Foundation.) One of the speakers was Newark superintendent Cami Anderson, who drew a warm reception to her thoughts on the need to shift thinking "from what's probable to what's possible."

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By Frederick M. Hess  |  Fri, May 17, 2013 7:47 AM  |  Permalink

The IRS, DOJ Wiretaps, Benghazi, Alms for Sebelius... and Ed Reform

Second terms are notoriously brutal. Clinton and Lewinsky. Reagan and Iran-Contra. Nixon and Watergate. Bush 43 and New Orleans, the Iraqi insurgency, financial meltdown, and everything else.

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By Frederick M. Hess  |  Wed, May 15, 2013 9:05 AM  |  Permalink

Why the "Schools v. Poverty" Debate Feels Aimless: A Twitter Play (in Three Acts)

I finally joined Twitter the other day. (I'm at "rickhess99," if you care.) I haven't yet actually penned any tweets, and don't know that I will. But I thought I'd practice my tweeting a bit (just in case), by taking a crack at boiling down last week's familiar back-and-forth debate over "is it schools, or is it poverty?" Fordham's Mike Petrilli kicked things off last Tuesday with a letter to Debbie Meier over at "Bridging Differences." That yielded a flurry of back-and-forths in a "reply all" public email exchange. Unsure how much of this was posted anywhere, I thought I'd try to distill it for you, twitter-style, since I thought it fairly illuminating. (Note: I may have taken some liberties in Act 3 when it comes to current or former U.S. Secretaries of Education, and the ghost of Kurt Vonnegut.)

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By Frederick M. Hess  |  Mon, May 13, 2013 9:17 AM  |  Permalink

Common-Core Turbulence: Inevitable or Preventable?

It's been a turbulent few months for the Common Core, raising real questions about its future. Opposition on the right has stretched well beyond the fringe has now been voiced by the Republican National Committee, with several Republican U.S. Senators speaking out in opposition and legislation to withdraw from the Common Core proposed in seven state legislatures. Meanwhile, in a big blow from the left, Randi Weingarten used a high-profile speech to weaken previous AFT support for the Core and to raise doubts about how the standards are being implemented and used.

Amidst all this, there are two questions that I've been asked a lot lately. Was this turbulence inevitable? Is there anything that Common Core proponents can do, or could have done, about it?

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By Frederick M. Hess  |  Fri, May 10, 2013 9:11 AM  |  Permalink

In Which I Interview an Insincere Reformer

I recently had a fascinating exchange with a smart journalist. He wrote, "I'm looking into the major donors from across the country who tried to influence school board races. Critics have questioned the[ir] motives...To what extent are they sincere in advancing reforms they believe in?"

I was struck by how little the question surprised me. After all, supporters of charter schooling, test-based accountability, mayoral control, overhauling teacher tenure and pay, and the like are routinely denounced as "corporatists" or worse. Given that they haven't yet definitively disproved such charges, they must be true. But why are these foundations assiduously pursuing a malevolent, covert agenda?

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By Frederick M. Hess  |  Wed, May 8, 2013 9:05 AM  |  Permalink

Back With a Full Dose of Distemper

Hidy all. Well, I'm back. I'd like to offer a big thanks to all the terrific folks who stepped in while I was off sabbaticalizing. (Not that it involved many thrills--mostly lots of talks about cage-busting, a big dose of AERA and the NewSchools Venture Fund summit, and such much... apologies to Casablanca).

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By Frederick M. Hess  |  Mon, May 6, 2013 9:02 AM  |  Permalink

Three Years, a Sabbatical, and a Guest Star Extravaganza

So, it's been three years since I started writing RHSU. Other than some of the bizarrely ad hominem commentary, it's been terrific. But it's also a bit wearying, and I'm in need of a bit of a break (especially as I do the requisite road show and writing around Cage-Busting Leadership). So, here's the deal. Today, as we do at this time every year, we'll re-run the inaugural RHSU post (and mission statement) for those new to RHSU since last year. Starting Monday, I'm going to be on sabbatical through the end of April--then I'll be back, tanned, rested, ready, and ornery as hell, on May 6th.

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By Frederick M. Hess  |  Fri, February 15, 2013 6:27 AM  |  Permalink

"More PD": The Easy (but Ineffectual) Answer

As I argue in Cage-Busting Leadership, it is tempting for most school and system leaders to emphasize culture, coaching, and consensus above all else. It's what they were taught in education leadership prep programs, what the ed leadership gurus advise, what most leaders know, and is generally popular. Thus, it's no surprise that professional development (PD) is nearly everyone's favorite go-to. After all, if one is disinclined to rethink staffing or spending, replace employees, reward excellence, or root out mediocrity, hoping you can train staff to be better at their jobs is really all you've got left. The problem: most PD doesn't pay off.

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By Frederick M. Hess  |  Thu, February 14, 2013 9:02 AM  |  Permalink

Cage-Busting Leadership & the Halfway School Reform Agenda

I've little to say on the President's SOTU last night, or on Sen. Rubio's response. I found Obama's remarks predictable and less than compelling (spend more on pre-K, dream up yet another iteration of Race to the Top, blah blah), and thought the same of Rubio's hat-tip to school choice. The only interesting thing was the president again helping Common Core critics depict the whole endeavor as a federal power grab. Despite prohibitions on the feds getting involved in curricula, and repeated declarations from CCSSO and NGA that the Common Core is a voluntary, state-led exercise, Obama asserted, "Four years ago, we started Race to the Top--a competition that convinced almost every state to develop smarter curricula and higher standards." Whoops. That sure seems to make those who claim the Common Core's not a federal exercise look like dimwits, liars, or apologists. Is the administration that tone deaf or arrogant? (Remember, last summer's Democratic platform did something similar), or does the president have a soft spot for the Pioneer Institute?

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By Frederick M. Hess  |  Wed, February 13, 2013 9:48 AM  |  Permalink

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