The "achievement gap" — the ongoing racial inequality in public school education — has proven stubbornly persistent. Schools have employed a variety of measures in an attempt to reduce this academic divide; the emergence of education organizing as a school reform tactic offers a promising alternative, outlined in AISR's Center for Education Organizing publication...
Recent Publications
Teaching quality is one of the most intensely discussed and debated themes in education reform today. This guide, prepared by AISR with support from the Schott Foundation for Public Education, offers six game-changing strategies that both our own experience and our survey of the field have shown to be powerful supports for the quality of instruction. For each strategy, we outline the problem; what needs to happen; an example of best...
Since Spring 2009, AISR has partnered with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) in support of the ambitious reform agenda, entitled "MNPS Achieves," launched under the leadership of Director of Schools Dr. Jesse B. Register. An AISR research team conducted its first evaluation of the system-wide transformation through July 2010; its second report, covering August 2010 - May 2011, was issued in December 2011 to coincide with the reform effort's National Advisory Panel...
The role of seniority in teacher layoffs is a perennial subject of intense debate, with different states taking sharply differing approaches: some have ended layoff policies based only on seniority, while others prohibit districts from considering any factor other than seniority. This policy brief from the Annenberg Institute's Center for Education Organizing (CEO) examines the history and intent of seniority rules and...
With rising standards and expectations, greater student need, and ever-more-intense financial pressures, what will it take for communities to help schools meet these new challenges? This issue of VUE was produced collaboratively by AISR and Public Education Network and grew from the work of the National Commission on Civic Investment in Public Education, convened by PEN in 2009 with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Prudential Corporation. Much of the...
In January 2010, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) identified Central Falls High School (CFHS) as one of the state’s persistently lowest-achieving schools, which required the district to choose one of four turnaround models. The subsequent conflict and negotiation between the district and the union, which made national news, ultimately led to the adoption of the "transformation" model. The district hired...
Through the voices of parents, this film chronicles fifteen years of effective parent organizing for education reform in New York City – organizing that has stopped budget cuts, increased school funding, and led to the adoption of a citywide lead teacher program. The goal of Parent Power is to provide an example of successful education organizing to urban-based community groups looking for organizational inspiration and practical guidance in their...
This downloadable guide is designed to enhance community groups’ use of the film Parent Power in their own education organizing. The guide outlines successful organizing strategies that are depicted in the film, offers up questions for groups to consider when formulating their own organizing strategies and goals, and answers frequently asked questions that may come up while viewing the film.
...
This downloadable toolkit is designed to help organizations and individuals who are hosting screenings of the film Parent Power to plan and host a screening, as well as jumpstart community conversations and actions aimed at improving their schools and districts. The toolkit includes ideas for framing your event as well as tips on publicizing the screening, moderating post-screening discussions, and partnering with other groups to host the...
AISR's Center for Education Organizing staff prepared three resource sheets on school discipline, designed to accompany the policy brief Discipline Policies, Successful Schools, and Racial Justice, written by Daniel Losen of the Civil Rights Project (CRP) and published by the National Education Policy Center at the University of Colorado as part of the...