World News Center
D.C.'s Wilson High overcomes the poor urban school label
September 9, 2010Why did Peter Cahall, principal of Woodrow Wilson High School in Northwest Washington, give my colleague Michael Birnbaum a long interview last month after the carjacking of a Wilson teacher, allegedly by a Wilson student? Doesn't Cahall know that urban principals avoid even mentioning the word...
Seniors should cap high school with projects
September 9, 2010 If my campaign to require senior projects in Washington area public high schools was itself a senior project, I would be getting a C-minus. My inspiration, the long-standing senior project program at Wakefield High School in Arlington County, is still in good shape. But few other schools show any...
How-to book whets appetite for no-nonsense teacher training
September 9, 2010A storm is brewing in American schools of education. It involves a generational change that we education writers don't deal with much, but it is more important than No Child Left Behind mandates or Race to the Top grants or other stuff we devote space to.
Foreign language emphasis is often just talk
September 9, 2010My online discussion group, Admissions 101, recently exchanged verbal blows over foreign language courses in high school. Most of us defended the conventional wisdom. Learning another language improves cognitive development, we said. It enhances academic skills, encourages a sense of the wider wo...
Pr. George's principal succeeds with a startling shake-up
September 9, 2010One of my education reporting maxims is that principals of schools in troubled districts never seek me out. Journalists are poison to them. We only want to write about bad stuff. Anything they say can be held against them.
Betts set a standard for learning that will live on
September 9, 2010 It is difficult to adjust to any 6 a.m. phone call, but the one I received this morning was particularly jarring. Brian Betts, one of the most energetic and enthusiastic educators I have ever met, had been found dead in his home in Silver Spring, just months before what I expected would be good n...
Washington area education bloggers wanted
September 9, 2010Several weeks ago, my blogging colleague Valerie Strauss (The Answer Sheet) and I announced our picks for best education blogs of this year. Our favorites were a diverse bunch, with many witty teachers, incisive journalists and droll experts of other kinds providing unusual perspectives.
High school teachers disagree on benefits of reading aloud
September 9, 2010Recently, I visited a history class at a local, low-performing high school, where students read in turn from the autobiography of a famous American. The teacher was bright and quick. He interrupted often with comments and questions. The 18 sophomores and juniors seemed to be into it, but it was s...
The Fixer: Former Wakefield High principal Marie Shiels Djouadi works to improve other schools
September 9, 2010Former Wakefield High School principal, Marie Shiels Djouadi successfully reformed a struggling school. Now her mission is to improve others.
No news about a Washington area school can be great news
September 9, 2010 Cedric Sheridan, a Prince George's County parent, worries about the high school where his son is a senior and his daughter a junior. He told me, "I fear that it started on a downward slide a few years ago."
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