All Writing

Learn more about Bellwether’s work by reading our publications, news articles, press releases, and case studies.

Authors

March 9, 2020
Media
Our Work on Teacher Pensions Featured in The Washington Post
Jay Mathews
Traditional teacher pension plans really only work well for about one-fifth of teachers. Jay Mathews, columnist at The Washington Post, highlights Bellwether's work on making pensions more equitable in his latest column.

the Washington Post
March 5, 2020
Publication
Do New York City Teachers Have “Adequate” Retirement Benefits?
Chad Aldeman
In response to financial pressures, the New York State Assembly has created new, less-generous retirement plans for teachers and other educators. Employees are assigned to a benefit tier depending on their hire date. There are now six tiers, and each one offers workers less-generous benefits than the prior version.

How far have the benefits fallen, and does the current tier structure provide sufficient retirement benefits?

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February 27, 2020
Publication
10 Years of Bellwether: A Case for Nuance

As we reflect on our impact during the last decade, we're proud to have worked with the most diverse cross-section of organizations in the field, attracted or developed deep expertise on a range of issues, and built a talented team to deliver the nuanced and stress-tested results we're known for.

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February 25, 2020
Media
Where Education Advocates Must Do Better — and What You Didn’t Know About Carter’s Time in Office
Andrew J. Rotherham
Bellwether partner Andrew J. Rotherham interviewed polling expert and former white house Aide Greg Schneiders on the state of education in America./p>

The 74
February 24, 2020
Media
Phonics. Whole Language. Balanced Literacy. The Problem Isn’t That We Don’t Know How to Teach Reading — It’s Politics
Andrew J. Rotherham
We treat poor reading instruction as a problem of craft and assume that if we just make sure teachers know how to teach reading, the politics will take care of themselves. But what if it’s a political problem that lets the craft problem persist?

The 74
February 19, 2020
Media
High performing public charter schools coming to low-income parents
Andrew J. Rotherham
Richard Whitmire
Thousands of low-income Black and Hispanic parents relying on charter schools are on thin political ice as the conservative-liberal alliance to support charter schools begins to falter.

The Hill
February 19, 2020
Publication
Staking out the Middle Ground: Policy Design for Autonomous Schools
Kelly Robson
Jennifer O’Neal Schiess
Phillip Burgoyne-Allen
"Staking Out the Middle Ground: Policy Design for Autonomous Schools" provides state and local leaders with key insights into the various contours of autonomous school policies. Two research briefs drawing from the full report provide specific summaries of Recommendations for State Leaders and Recommendations for Local Leaders. The report also surfaces lessons and recommendations from in-depth Profiles of Autonomous School Policies in Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, and Massachusetts.

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February 3, 2020
Media
The Iowa Caucuses Steer Our National Priorities. But Iowa’s Education Policies Are Bad for the Nation — and for Iowa
Chad Aldeman
The Iowa caucuses are bad for education policy. The policies favored by an unrepresentative sample of Iowans have an outside influence on our national politics. That has distorting effects, and not in a good way.

The 74
February 3, 2020
Media
Debate over charters must consider access to good schools for underserved families
Andrew J. Rotherham
The polarized rhetoric about charter schools obscures the work both “sides” ought to be doing to better serve all kids.

The Hill
January 27, 2020
Media
We Expect Textbooks to Do Too Much
Andrew J Rotherham
We ask textbooks to do too much and there is no way around the centrality of good teaching.

Project Forever Free
January 23, 2020
Media
District Schools? Charter Schools? There’s a Third Way — Autonomous Schools That Work Like In-District Charters
Mary K. Wells
Communities across the country are embroiled in charter school battles, from a D.C. debate about charters, data and transparency to the latest round of Chicago teacher strikes. These debates almost always devolve into the familiar charter-versus-district narrative that paints a false choice between the two school models.
The 74
January 10, 2020
Media
The 2010s May Be The Best Decade Ever in Terms of College Attainment
Chad Aldeman
As educational achievement has flatlined, attainment rates have risen. It’s easy to dismiss them, but don’t. They have value, too.

The 74