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

Back-to-School Special: 5 Tips on Picking Good Schools

August 4, 2011

Publication

TIME.com -- Here are some lessons from our school-hunting experience that might help guide yours.

Supporting and Scaling Change: Lessons from the First Round of the Investing in Innovation (i3) Program

July 15, 2011

Publication

In 2012, the U.S. Department of Education unveiled its Investing in Innovation (i3) initiative to fuel greater innovation in public education – and to sustain it. In this paper, education entrepreneur Kim Smith and innovation writer Julie Petersen assess the initial effect of the program’s first round on specific elements of the innovation ecosystem in education, including innovators, philanthropic donors, and the federal education agency itself. While the program increased public and philanthropic attention to the need for innovation and to measuring and scaling up what works, factors like its narrow eligibility requirements, limited definition of acceptable evidence, and over-simplified process have kept the program from achieving its full potential.

Summer Reading: 7 Education Books to Take to the Beach

July 14, 2011

Publication

TIME.com -- Whether you’re heading to the beach, the mountains, or somewhere else for a summer break, you can rest assured that the education wars will continue unabated while you’re gone. Looking for some education reading to tide you over? Here are seven new education books to check out and get a taste of where the debate about our schools is headed.

Media Strategy: Getting the Free Press to Teach Civics

July 7, 2011

Publication

TIME.com -- Newspapers and broadcast networks are sitting on a trove of material that can be converted into curriculum and sold — yes, sold — for use in our nation’s schools and universities.

Should Tenure Be Abolished?

June 30, 2011

Publication

TIME.com -- Critics of tenure contend it has outlived its usefulness and is a poor fit for the modern university. Supporters counter that the intellectual independence it confers is essential to a culture of inquiry.