Publications

Ideas matter. In addition to our work with clients, Bellwether Education Partners generates and gathers ideas and policy solutions, analyzes ongoing reform efforts, and writes about and discusses education and education reform. We believe that the work we do to improve education for all students benefits from thought leadership, analysis, and thoughtful discourse around emerging ideas, in order to help challenge leaders and leading organizations to think differently and improve, to coordinate efforts where possible, to inform policymakers and improve the political and policy context, and to share successful approaches with the public education field at large.

Authors

Five Myths About Teachers Unions

September 14, 2012

Publication

The Washington Post -- The Chicago teachers strike, which tentatively ended Friday, thrust teachers unions into the national spotlight this past week. In Chicago and around the country, some see unions as saving public education and others as driving it into the ground. But the reality of how teachers unions operate is more complicated than the rhetoric about them.

The Chicago Teachers Strike

September 12, 2012

Publication

The Diane Rehm Show -- Chicago teachers on strike: How the union’s fight over merit pay and job security highlights a broader national struggle.

Behind the Chicago Teachers' Strike: Why Talks Must Be Made Public

September 10, 2012

Publication

TIME.com -- With city officials and the Chicago teachers’ union at an impasse, both sides should heed Louis Brandeis’ call and start negotiating in the open.

Virginia’s ‘Together and Unequal’ School Standards

August 24, 2012

Publication

The Washington Post -- [W]hen Education Secretary Arne Duncan allowed states to set new performance targets earlier this year, Virginia, along with many other states, jumped at the chance. Unfortunately, rather than taking the opportunity to focus more on underserved students, the state took the stunning step of adopting dramatically different school performance targets based on race, ethnicity and income.

Recent State Action on Teacher Effectiveness

August 22, 2012

Publication

From 2010-2012, more than 20 states passed legislation designed to address educator effectiveness by mandating annual evaluations based in part on student learning and linking evaluation results to key personnel decisions. This report surveys more than 20 states' laws and rates each on the law's strengths and weaknesses in teacher evaluation design requirements, transparency and public reporting of evaluation data, principal autonomy over teacher hiring and placement, and the extent to which the law links teacher evaluation results to key personnel decisions, including tenure, reductions in force, dismissal of underperforming teachers, and retention.

Mother Knows Best?

July 30, 2012

Publication

TIME Magazine -- New to homeschooling, an angsty parent tells all.

Why Romney’s Big School Voucher Idea is Really Rather Puny

June 14, 2012

Publication

TIME.com -- Three reasons the candidate’s school-choice proposal is less provocative than it seems.

Forget Wisconsin. The Unions’ Biggest Loss Was in California

June 7, 2012

Publication

TIME.com -- Pension reform will help cities balance budgets, but will their schools still be able to attract talented teachers?

Why the Wisconsin Recall Sets a Bad Precedent

June 1, 2012

Publication

RealClearPolitics --

The Next Great Resource Shortage: U.S. Scientists

May 26, 2012

Publication

TIME.com -- [R]ather than trying to squeeze a few more STEM students from populations that can already choose STEM if they want to, perhaps policymakers should focus even more on giving currently under-served populations the ability to make a STEM choice in the first place.