It seems like all around, there are school systems talking about reform, trying to boost retention rates, graduation rates, and improve "failing" schools. Here is an exerpt from an interesting article, it highlights the approach that the newly appointed Secretary of Education, Arnie Duncan has taken:
CHICAGO—For years, the Julia Ward Howe School in Chicago's Austin neighborhood was beset by discipline and academic problems. At one point, only 20 percent of the students at the K-8 public school were meeting state academic standards. In 2008, Arne Duncan, then leader of Chicago Public Schools, was so fed up he approved what usually is seen as a nuclear option: To save the school, he fired the entire staff and put a nonprofit group in charge. New principals and teachers were brought in to set the school on the right path. "Sometimes it takes a fresh start," says Don Feinstein, executive director of the Academy for Urban School Leadership, the nonprofit group that took over Howe in September and now runs a total of eight "turnaround" schools along with six teacher-training academies in the city.
Interesting huh? Read the rest here.
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