As go Latinos, so goes the nation

yes John Horton / November 9, 2012

...The education system can make all sorts of achievement gains but still fail because of the substandard education too many Hispanics receive.

In the words of a former republican president, they got thumped last night. While this is not the space to recount Republican failures in both the presidential and senate races, this much is clear: They cannot win national elections anymore by merely appealing to white voters. The last president who won with the percentage of white voters that Mitt Romney achieved was George H.W. Bush in 1988 (both received 59% of the white vote). However, Bush Senior received over 400 electoral votes; Mitt Romney won 206. The white share of the electorate is currently dissolving at a rate of about 3 percent every election.

And this is just the beginning of the demographic wave. According to the U.S. Census, racial and ethnic minority births now account for more than 50 percent of all births in the country. Hispanics, now 10 percent of the electorate, are the fastest-growing segment of the population—and one-third are currently under the age of eighteen.

The challenge that Republicans face is similar to the challenge facing the education system: Hispanics account for 20 percent of the public-education population, and the number is growing. Unfortunately, the graduation rate for Hispanics is 10 percent below the national average, and the dropout rate is a staggering 17 percent. So just as the

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As go Latinos, so goes the nation

Wanted: An ed reform comrade-in-arms!

yes Andy Smarick / November 8, 2012

I love my job, and I’m looking for someone to join the fun and become the newest member of my Bellwether team.

Maybe you?  Maybe someone you know?

In short, I work on 1) a wide array of really interesting research and writing projects (including blogging here!) and 2) an even wider array of initiatives designed to help ed reform organizations get better at various parts of their jobs.

That means in the span of a few days, I might work on projects related to teacher preparation, charters, educator evaluations, Common Core, common assessments, blended learning, nonpublics/choice, accountability systems, SEA reform, and portfolio management.

I’m looking for someone to lend a hand on all of this stuff.  S/he would do lots of research, help write and edit, and serve as a sounding board and thought partner.  S/he would also have the chance to think up new projects and new approaches to existing work.  There’s much room for entrepreneurialism and professional growth.

I’m hoping to find someone sharp, creative, hardworking, dedicated to this work, and nice.

The position will provide the opportunity to dive into the major issues of the day and get to know many of the most important and influential organizations in the field.

And this person will get to be part of the amazing Bellwether

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Wanted: An ed reform comrade-in-arms!

Jacques Barzun—A personal remembrance

A. Graham Down / October 30, 2012

Guest blogger A. Graham Down was acting director of the College Board's Advanced Placement Program and executive director and president of the Council for Basic Education.

I first met Jacques Barzun in 1960 at the Lawrenceville School. He was the featured speaker at the school’s 150th anniversary, making a presentation entitled “The Place and Price of Excellence.” He cut an impressive, if somewhat austere, figure. Regal, aristocratic, and articulate, Jacques Barzun made an immediate impression on me. The fineness of his mind, the extraordinary wealth and depth of his knowledge, and his insistence on the highest academic standards were all readily apparent. Later, in seeming apposition, I learned that he wrote mystery and detective novels under a pseudonym with a life-long friend, Wendell Taylor, the head of the school’s science department.

Regal, aristocratic, and articulate, Jacques Barzun made an immediate impression on me.

Flash forward to August 1974. Our paths crossed again in an entirely different context. Now, informally dressed and over a glass of beer on the back porch of his summer compound on Cape Cod, he interviewed me (in his capacity as a board member) for the position of executive director of the Council for Basic Education, a national organization which championed the liberal arts for all students at the pre-college level. The entente was immediate. He naturally and visibly epitomized the council’s ideals. Intolerant of intellectual mediocrity, he wanted to make sure that I was scholarly enough

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Jacques Barzun—A personal remembrance

Summiting the mountain

yes Andy Smarick / October 26, 2012

Yesterday morning, I had the opportunity to introduce Teach for America founder, Wendy Kopp, at the White House Fellows Annual Leadership Conference.

Though I had to excise some of the material below to meet a pre-ordained time limit, the following is the original text of my comments.

Good morning, everyone. It is an honor and pleasure to introduce our next speaker.

It has been a terrific morning, but it’s also been a bit long, I know. So with that and the conference’s theme of “Creativity and Leadership,” in mind, I thought I’d start off somewhat differently to spice things up a little.

By talking about football.

It’s not just what we do but what we build.

Legendary San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh won four Super Bowls—a coaching record. But he left a far greater legacy than just those Lombardi Trophies.

He was such a great teacher and mentor that six of his assistant coaches went on to become NFL head coaches. And then their assistants became NFL head coaches. And their assistants, too.

His influence continues to this very day. Contemporary NFL head coaches Mike Tomlin of the Steelers, John Harbaugh of the Ravens, Andy Reid of the Eagles, Mike Shanahan of the Redskins, Lovie Smith of the Bears, and many others trace their pedigree directly back to Bill Walsh.

Now that’s a legacy. It’s not just what we do but what we build.

Walsh retired in 1988, at the pinnacle of his career, but also, tragically, possibly

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Summiting the mountain