This past August fellow Singularity Hub writer Aaron Saenz wrote about Udacity, the online university created by Stanford artificial intelligence professor and Google autonomous vehicle leader, Sebastian Thrun. At the time Thrun was gearing up to teach his Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course to a class of 200 at Stanford. But why teach 200 when you can teach 1,000…or 160,000? With Udacity, Thrun and fellow AI giant Peter Norvig created an online version of the course, and anyone that wanted to enroll could – for free. The homework assignments and exams would be the same as the ones given to the Stanford students, and they would be graded in the same way so online enrollees could see how they stacked up to some of the brightest students in the world. It was to be a grand experiment in education.

Now, the semester’s over. The exams have been taken, the homework’s been turned in, computers logged off and pencils set down. How’d it all turn out? Thrun spoke recently at the Digital Life Design conference about he and Norvig’s experience. As you’ll see, his students weren’t the only ones with much to learn.

Online, the course went viral. Over 100,000 people enrolled in the initial weeks. By the time the lessons began Thrun and Norvig were instructors for a class size of 160,000. With students all over the world, they enlisted the help of some 2,000 volunteer translators to translate the classes into 44 different languages. Discussion groups were set up on social networks like Facebook so students could help each other, forming what Thrun called an “entire counterculture.”

Thrun also proudly pointed out that he was teaching more students than all the students of Stanford.

The lessons themselves were very simple – at least in method if not in content. Material was explained by Thrun and Norvig as they drew on sheets of paper. Kind of like the overhead projector lessons before the days of Powerpoint, except the online students could interact with the drawings. Rather than simply lecturing to the student and asking them to regurgitate the information on exams, the online format allowed for constant quizzing. Students would be asked a question then answer it by clicking or entering values right on the drawings. They wanted the student to actively think, be constantly challenged and given constant feedback.

The flexibility that this format offers is immediately clear. If the student misses a point or doesn’t quite understand, he or she can rewind, watch it again. Get the quiz wrong, just take it again…and again if you have to.

Until you get it right.

After arriving in Twin Falls 2 1/2 years ago, migrant worker Jose Juan Gutierrez didnt know where to find services for his family.

He works 12-hour days at a farm outside the city while his wife, Claudia, cares for their four children. When seasonal work is done here, hes on the move, looking for another job.

Its a lifestyle thats taken the family around Mexico, California and now, Idaho. And it has taken its toll on the children.

Patti ODell, associate superintendent for the Twin Falls School District, says students of migrant workers are among Idahos most at-risk student populations since their education is frequently interrupted.

Sometimes we lose kids along the way, she said.

Although following the work has been a struggle for the Gutierrez family, theyve been able to receive services through the school districts migrant education program. Migrant liaisons helped the family get a computer its two school-aged children use for their school work. The children also receive extra academic help and tutoring.

While families who qualify for migrant services are connected with community resources ranging from food and medical assistance to translation services, meeting strict federal mandates isnt easy.

And despite Twin Falls growing population of migrant students, ODell says many people remain unaware of their presence in the community.

About 261 migrant students enrolled at Twin Falls public schools during the 2010-11 school year. That ranked the district third in the state, behind only Vallivue (in Caldwell) and Cassia County districts.

There arent quite as many students enrolled now in Twin Falls — about 144 — since its not the peak agricultural season.

The largest population of Twin Falls migrant students, 63, attends Oregon Trail Elementary School. Thats mainly because two migrant housing complexes — El Milagro and Colonia de Colores — are in the southern Twin Falls schools attendance area.

The school is also the home base from which Abby Montano, district migrant liaison coordinator, travels to work with students and their families at different elementary schools.

For decades, TFSD had only one liaison. This year, though, that changed. The district added middle school liaison Vicky Fajardo and high school liaison Lucinda Padilla. ODell says their addition has allowed services to be more focused toward each school level.

Its making a difference already, she said.

Funding for the new positions came from federal migrant education money. This year, the district is receiving $187,106.

The Gutierrez family lives in a small brick apartment in the Colonia de Colores migrant housing project, only minutes from Oregon Trail Elementary.

On a recent morning while both parents were home, Claudia bounced 11-month-old Agustine on her lap while 4-year-old Eduardo played a game. The two older children — Jose Jesus, 15, and Melissa, 13 — were at school.

Claudia and Jose Juan Gutierrez, who speak Spanish as their primary language, shared their thoughts on the migrant student program through Padillas interpretation.

Claudia says shes grateful for the program and its helped the family while they were struggling. Although moving for work is hard on her children, theyre strong enough to adapt and find friends. Its a little harder for them to keep their grades up, though, she said.

The older children like to play sports, but cant join any teams since their father is the only one who has access to a car. Plus, its hard to find enough money to pay for activity fees.

Padilla knows firsthand about the challenges migrant families face. As a child, her family traveled from their hometown in Texas for seasonal work. They moved to different states, including Idaho for the potato harvest.

In Murtaugh, migrant students make up about 20 percent of students enrolled in the 250-student school district.

Superintendent Michele Capps said the number of students receiving services, though, has started to drop.

Our percentage used to actually be a lot higher, she said.

Now, a lot of families dont qualify for services since theyre choosing to settle in one location.

Migrant funds are really restrictive, ODell said. Liaisons talk to families to determine whether their children qualify for migrant status.

The Idaho State Department of Education defines a migrant student as a child who is, or whose parent, spouse or guardian is, a migratory agricultural worker or a migratory fisher who, in the preceding 36 months, in order to accompany or join such parent, spouse, or guardian who is a migratory agricultural worker or a migratory fisher has moved from one school district or another.

In Jerome, the pre-recession number of migrant students was on the decline, as steady work was more readily available. But that trend started to change in 2007.

We saw some increased mobility due to the economy, said Clark Muscat, federal programs director for the Jerome School District.

The district currently has about 90 enrolled migrant students and only one migrant liaison. But the state funds one regional liaison, based in Jerome, who works with nine area school districts.

In order to help manage the caseload, Jerome School District has a designated manager for migrant students at each of its schools.

Part of their responsibility is to be aware of the migrant students in their building and to manage those extra points of support they may need, Muscat said.

The goal of migrant student programs is to make sure students needs are met, whether academic or otherwise.

We want migrant students to have every opportunity that a regular student has, ODell said.

Christine Brown, federal programs director for the Cassia County School District, said the first step is to make sure students basic needs are taken care of, such as having warm clothing and school supplies.

The next step is to work with students to meet their educational needs. The school district, like many others, offers preschool, summer school and after-school programs.

Recently, we started purchasing bilingual preschool materials to help them be a little more prepared for when they start school, Brown said.

As migrant students progress through the grades, services are tailored accordingly.

In the Twin Falls School District, for instance, federal migrant money has been used to fund high school students college visits.

A lot of students didnt know they could continue their education, Padilla said. Now, theyre getting more excited.

One challenge, ODell says, is that parents of migrants students often dont speak English fluently, and thus struggle to help their children with homework or college applications.

Its a familiar situation for the Guzman family, which includes four children enrolled in Twin Falls schools. Both parents are agricultural workers.

Lizabeth, 16 and Jose, 15, go to Canyon Ridge High School. Miguel, who turns 13 this month, attends Robert Stuart Middle School and Chelsea, 8, goes to Oregon Trail Elementary.

Their mother, Bertha Guzman, has worked for Seneca Food Corp. in Buhl for 15 years. She said the migrant program has been a great help for her family. Liaisons make sure her children arent falling behind in school.

Her youngest daughter, Chelsea, is reading now. At her home near Oregon Trail Elementary, Guzman pulled out a folder with her daughters work, including handwritten vocabulary words.

Padilla is helping Guzmans older children think about future opportunities such as college.

Its an opportunity Guzman didnt have. In addition to working for Seneca, she also worked in bean fields for 14 years, but didnt get called back this year. Now, shes unemployed, but recently applied for a job at the Chobani Greek yogurt production plant coming to Twin Falls.

Guzman says strong family ties keep her going. Her oldest daughter, Lizabeth, has helped with tasks such as laundry since she was a child. Her son Miguel loves cooking dinner for the family — especially enchiladas.

And Guzman is committed to helping her children get a good education __ the primary goal of the migrant education program.

The only way to break the cycle of poverty in America is education, ODell said.

___

Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com

Giving a key speech last September at a community college in south London on the future of free schools, Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, was clear. Let me reassure you: yes to greater diversity; yes to more choice for parents. But no to running schools for profit, not in our state-funded education sector.

The announcement was trumpeted as a Liberal Democrat victory over the Tory obsession with market mechanisms. This weekend, that reassurance looks a little hollow.

Last week the education secretary, Michael Gove, gave the green light to Breckland Middle School in Suffolk to be renamed IES Breckland and run under a £21m, 10-year contract by Swedish for-profit firm Internationella Engelska Skolan (IES). The introduction of a profit-seeking company into the management of the school is allowed because of a technicality: the founder of the school is a charitable trust that has decided to outsource the entirety of the management to a fee-charging company – whose global business has a turnover of £60m a year, earning profits of £5m, according to analysis by the Adam Smith Institute.

The development is set to open the floodgates. Today the Observer can reveal that for-profit firms, encouraged by what is happening at Breckland, now plan to run more schools in what promises to be a watershed in British education. The Observer has learned that:

? Two Swedish companies, IES and Kunskapsskolan – a similarly sized Swedish firm that already runs three academies on a not-for-profit basis – now aspire to manage chains of between five and 10 free schools on a fee-earning basis to create economies of scale.

? Wey Education, one of the unsuccessful bidders for the Breckland contract, told the stock exchange in December that a market opportunity brought about by the deconstruction of the education function within local authorities offers a clear potential to make a substantial return to investors and improve education in the UK.

? The same firm, run by Zenna Atkins, the former chair of Ofsted, hopes to make an impact in a positive way on the lives of 250,000 children over the next five years, while Weys broker forecasts a turnover of £17.5m by 2014 and a £9.9m bottom line, through providing services in the UK and abroad.

? A shares prospectus for that firm spells out that current teaching methods, allocation of resources, wastage and inefficiencies create [an] opportunity to deliver education at a lower cost and provide a financial return.

A senior Lib Dem source has admitted to the Observer: We didnt foresee this. But while it is clear that profit-making companies are now set to play a key role in the UKs education system – via the back door, critics claim – the question is whether that is a bad thing.

It is undoubtedly true that the private sector has long been a part of the fabric of the state school system. Under Labour, the rationale – largely borrowed from America and its philanthropic culture – was that private money could revitalise a cash-starved system. The private sector invested in schools, took over the provision of local authority services and built and managed buildings through the controversial private finance initiative. The charitable sector was even allowed to manage state-funded academy schools, a limited programme at that stage designed to help failing schools or those in underprivileged areas to raise theirstandards.

In a handful of cases – for example, Turin Grove school in Edmonton, north London, and the Priory school in Taunton, Somerset, a school for pupils with special educational needs – profit-making companies Edison Learning and Lilac Sky Schools were given short-term £1m contracts and permission to take a profit if they managed to lift the failing institutions. The results were impressive and the schools improved.

However, this time there is a difference in scale thanks to the extent of Goves reforms: 45% of all state maintained secondary schools are now academies or about to convert, and there are now 1,529 academies in England, compared with 200 when the coalition came to power. In these changed circumstances, the involvement of the for-profit sector – taking advantage of the breaking down of local authority control, supervision and services – is set to explode.

And despite Cleggs rhetoric, there is ample evidence that Gove is supporting such a revolution, not least by establishing a new government framework of companies pre-authorised to offer project management and educational services for a fee.

James Grew from Policy Exchange, the thinktank at which Gove was formerly chairman, says he will publish research next month that challenges the opposition to profit-making in the schools sector, citing efficiencies and results enjoyed abroad.

Those involved certainly insist they have philanthropic aims and that the money they may make is an irrelevance when measured against the benefits they hope to bring.

Atkins, who earns £100,000 a year in her role at Wey Education, says she is working with seven potential founders of free schools and hopes to help them to manage their establishments once they are set up – at least in part because of the daunting nature of the task. Parents and governors, she says, having created an academy, may realise they dont have the capacity and they dont have the risk appetite, because you have to have a big one to take everything on their shoulders and they want to contract that out – thats my business.

She is aware of the resentment in some quarters against the for-profit sectors involvement in schools, but believes that the issue of money-making is a red herring because any profit is only taken when efficiencies are made. The only judgment, she insists, should be whether the model works.

Profit becomes a real issue if you control price, she said. If you dont control price, as you dont in this instance, profit is irrelevant because the price is fixed.

The only thing that is relevant is quality. You need to judge schools on how they operate, not on whether the operator is making 5% profit, because you dont care.

If that 5% profit is making a far better school than one that is not making a profit or is making a bloody loss, you are interested in quality.

She added: There are real risks with the private sector getting involved in state school education and there are real opportunities. And I think the trick is backing the right private sector organisation.

Steve Bolingbroke, managing director of Kunskapsskolan, added: I have a problem with the phrase for-profit thatis used. I dont think we or anyone else in the market is interested in slicing 10% of the cost of a school. That is just a cost cut. We are interested in investing in schools and if we get good results and get lots of people to come to them then we might leverage a return on our investment.

And the way to make that return is to make sure the schools are full, popular and run a number of them to ensure you make efficiencies across the schools.

Jodie King, the UK manager at IES, says her company will be scrupulously fair in assessing the fees it will charge for Breckland, and that IES is in talks with a further two free school groups over running their institutions for fees – but the firm has greater ambitions.

It would be nice to go to one trust who, if they had 10 schools across the UK, we could go through procurement to have those 10 schools, she said. It is what we are exploring.

But, while being insistent that her company is in the sector for the right reasons, she hints at the dangers of the new model, which sets up autonomous schools run by for-profit companies competing for pupils through results.

It is awful, but we kind of have to accept failure more than we do at the moment. So if a school does fail because of its results, then that is right that it should fail – it should not be kept going at all costs. Yes, it is awful at that time for that year group, but surely the next year will be better for them rather than saying we are going to forsake the next five years of that childs education. So if there is an awful company out there, then they should be allowed to fail and then someone else can take over.

It is the consequences of failure on a childs education that concern critics of the for-profit sector. Christine Keates from the teachers union NASUWT says she is so suspicious of the governments agenda that she believes detailed figures released last week on the revenues of state schools in England were merely designed to tempt private companies looking for investments.

She said: They are publishing financial information about schools which is supposed to give parents choice, but actually all of this is about getting the public sector, and education in particular, in a position where it is an attractive option to private companies in terms of taking over and running schools, or in terms of providing services.

Our concern is that a lot of the private companies coming in, particularly now the secretary of state has said they can be profit-making, are completely changing the ethos of why people get involved in education. If you are in the private sector, you are looking for a contract that is going to maximise your profits. When it is no longer financially lucrative, who picks up the fallout from that?

The Department for Education disputes Keatess claims over the statistics. Of Breckland School, a spokesman said that the free schools charitable trust has decided that it wants to draw on the expertise of an established education company, with a proven track record of running good schools. This is not the same as the free-school proposers making a profit themselves.

He added: The charitable trust will manage the contract and hold the contractor to account, and will be fully responsible and in control over what happens in the school.

John C. White, Louisianas newly appointed Superintendent of Education, speaks with 7th-grader Michael Norris during a recent visit to Cope Middle School. In the background is principal Judy Grooms. / Jim Hudelson/The Times

Citing recent progress in infrastructure, employment and ethics-related bills in the legislature, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is now focusing his efforts to improve public education with significant reform proposals.

Its a topic – buoyed by declining school test scores – that has initiated comprehensive structural changes in several states, with many more eyeing the developments.

Speaking at the Louisiana Press Association luncheon in West Monroe Thursday, Jindal, recently sworn in for his second term, said childrens future and the economic prosperity of the state are at stake.

The way forward is for more choices. Our children grow up only once, Jindal said.

A contingent of representatives from Bastrop attended the luncheon, including Morehouse Police Jury President Terry Matthews, Bastrop-Morehouse Chamber of Commerce Director Dorothy Ford and its board of directors president, the Rev. Chad Ballard.

They, along with about 500 guests, heard Jindal speak on three basic educational areas his administration is focusing on revamping, including:

* Fostering equal educational opportunities for families.

* Re-assessing teacher effectiveness and salaries.

* Enabling school-system administrators to spend tax dollars in innovative, effective ways on the local level.

Jindal cited previous speeches by members of Congress and President Obama that emphasize that its the right of all children to receive a quality education – and not one predicated on race, background or zip code.

Many families move to locations where the schools are good, others send their children to private schools. Good for them, he said. But the reality is that too many families dont have those choices because they cant afford to relocate. Parents should not be trapped in a (poor performing) school district.

In response, the governor wants the legislature to give families more access to school vouchers, the formation of more charter schools, more business, online and university-led courses, and a loosening of restrictions that inhibit families ability to transfer to other districts.

He spoke at length about studies that have revealed how much the impact of a teacher can make or break a students future and aggregate income level.

According to studies, an effective fourth-grade teacher can affect whether a student goes on to college and decrease the chances of teenage pregnancies, he said.

He said more efforts are needed to eliminate the gratuitous bureaucratic paperwork that teachers tackle every school year.

Making structural changes that could replace less effective teachers with proven quality teachers is likely to draw criticism from teachers unions due to the current tenure policy, Jindal acknowledged.

Some will argue for the status quo, but now is the time to realize the need for change, he said.

With regards to localizing decision-making, Jindal said that while there are school districts facing problems, the ones that are working well in both flourishing areas and in impoverished areas all have one common denominator. They are innovative.

We must do what we can so schools can do more independently, including giving them flexibility, Jindal said.

President Obamas new plan to force colleges and universities to contain tuition or face losing federal dollars is raising alarm among education leaders who worry about the threat of government overreach. Particularly sharp words came from the presidents of public universities; theyre already frustrated by increasing state budget cuts.

The reality, said Illinois States Al Bowman, is that simple changes cannot easily overcome deficits at many public schools. He said he was happy to hear Obama, in a speech Friday at the University of Michigan, urge state-level support of public universities. But, Bowman said, given the decreases in state aid, tying federal support to tuition prices is a product of fuzzy math.

Illinois has lowered public support for higher education by about one-third over the past decade when adjusted for inflation. Illinois State, with 21,000 students, has raised tuition almost 47 percent since 2007, from $6,150 a year for an in-state undergraduate student to $9,030.

Most people, including the president, assume if universities were simply more efficient they would be able to operate with much smaller state subsidies, and I believe there are certainly efficiency gains that can be realized, Bowman said. But they pale in comparison to the loss in state support.

Bowman said the undergraduate experience can be made cheaper, but there are trade-offs.

You could hire mostly part-time, adjunct faculty. You could teach in much larger lecture halls, but the things that would allow you achieve the greatest levels of efficiency would dilute the product and would make it something I wouldnt be willing to be part of, he said.

At the University of Washington, President Mike Young said Obama showed he did not understand how the budgets of public universities work.

Young said the total cost to educate college students in his state, which is paid for by both tuition and state government dollars, has gone down because of efficiencies on campus. While universities are tightening costs, the state is cutting their subsidies and authorizing tuition increases to make up for the loss.

They really should know better, Young said. This really is political theater of the worst sort.

Obamas plan would need approval by Congress, a hard sell in an atmosphere of partisan gridlock.

In his State of the Union address Tuesday, Obama described meeting with university presidents who explained how some schools curtailed costs through technology and redesigning courses to help students finish more quickly. He said more schools need to take such steps.

Obama said at Michigan that higher education has become an imperative for success in America, but the cost has grown unrealistic for too many families and the debt burden unbearable. He said states should properly fund colleges and universities.

We are putting colleges on notice, Obama told an arena packed with cheering students. You cant assume that youll just jack up tuition every single year. If you cant stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down.

Obama is targeting only a small part of the financial aid picture: the $3 billion known as campus-based aid that flows through college administrators to students. He is proposing to increase that amount to $10 billion and change how it is distributed to reward schools that hold down costs and ensure that more poor students complete their education.

The bulk of the more than $140 billion in federal grants and loans goes directly to students and would not be affected.

The average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges this school year rose 8.3 percent and with room and board now exceed $17,000 a year, according to the College Board.

Rising tuition costs have been attributed to a variety of factors, among them a decline in state dollars and competition for the best facilities and professors. Critics say some higher education institutions are attempting to wait out the economic downturn and have been too reluctant to make large-scale changes that would cut costs such as offering three-year degree programs.

The federal governments leverage to take on the rising cost of college is limited because higher education is decentralized, with most student aid following the student.

The response to Obamas plan wasnt all negative. Many university presidents said they welcome a conversation about making college more affordable and efficient.

In Missouri, where Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed a 12.5 percent funding cut for higher education in the coming fiscal year, Obamas proposal could put even more pressure on public colleges and universities to limit tuition increases. By state law, schools must limit such increases to the annual inflation rate unless they receive permission for larger ones. Nixon has warned schools that he doesnt want to see a tuition increase of more than 3 percent, the latest Consumer Price Index increase.

The presidents message isnt inconsistent with the agenda that weve been pursuing here in Missouri, said Paul Wagner, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Higher Education. Its good to see him put the focus on the same things.

Obama also wants to create a Race to the Top competition in higher education similar to the one his administration used on lower grades. He wants to encourage states to make better use of higher education dollars in exchange for $1 billion in prize money.

Obama is also pushing for more tools to help students determine which colleges and universities have the best value.

Charles Wohlforth, Executive Director of Citizens for the Educational Advancement of Alaskas Children, right, signs a settlement agreement with Mike Hanley, Commissioner of Education and Early Development, in the Moore v. State of Alaska case at the Attorney Generals office in Juneau on Thursday.

We have implemented very high academic standards that are internationally competitive
– Michael Block

The co-founders of BASIS Schools, Michael and Olga Block, aimed to offer the type of education students receive in the top performing education systems around the world, the type of education that would help American students compete in the global economy.

Ten years after BASIS Schools opened its first campus in Tucson, Arizona, the school topped the national rankings, earning the #1 spot on Newsweeks list of Americas Best High Schools, and was named a gold medal school by US News World Report. In addition to BASIS Tucson, today there are a total of 6 operating BASIS charter schools, including BASIS Scottsdale (2003), BASIS Oro Valley (2010), BASIS Chandler (2011), BASIS Peoria (2011), and BASIS Flagstaff (2011). There have been more awards and there are more schools on the way, including BASIS Phoenix (2012), BASIS Tucson North (2012), and BASIS DC (TBA).

What can the rest of the world learn from the BASIS Schools model?

I had the pleasure of chatting with Michael Block, Co-CEO of BASIS Educational Group. Dr. Block received his BA, MA, and PhD in Economics from Stanford University. Prior to BASIS, he was a Professor of Economics, Professor of Law and Director of the Office of Economic Education at the University of Arizona.

Can the BASIS Schools model be replicated across the nation?

We are expanding our model and opening BASIS schools in more locations. We have about 4,000 students attending six BASIS schools this year. Next year our programs may reach approximately 6,000 students. This is still very limited reach when considering the millions of students receiving mediocre education across the US. The bigger issue might be what is there to learn from the BASIS model? There are three points I think can be transferred in some manner.

First, we have implemented very high academic standards that are internationally competitive and higher than any American states requirements. We also require students to demonstrate mastery of those standards before they can progress to the next grade. In the US, not only are standards abysmally low, but the tests used to examine students mastery of the standards are often poorly designed and unrelated to the content taught in school. Systems used around the world, such as the Cambridge International Exams, the College Boards Advanced Placement exams, the Program for International Student Assessment, and others, can assess mastery of high-level content. That is something I think we do well at BASIS – we teach to very high standards and then assess our students progress toward reaching those standards using internationally recognized assessments.

The second point is much more controversial. At BASIS we focus first and foremost on recruiting, hiring, and retaining teachers who are experts in the subject they teach. Whether or not the individual is certified to teach by the government or graduated from a school of education – which, in the US, is not often the most distinguished academic institution – is of secondary importance. We believe it is critical that teachers possess a thorough knowledge of the material they present to their students and we believe it is more effective for subject experts to learn the craft of teaching than for pedagogical experts to learn the subject content they may be lacking. At BASIS, we have teachers in our classrooms starting in the Lower School grades that are subject experts; many possess masters and doctoral degrees.

Finally, Americans seem to have given up on teaching rigorous content in middle school. BASIS demonstrates that you can teach serious subject content in these grade levels. Let me give you an example. We visited one of the great schools in America, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the suburbs of Virginia, and were incredibly impressed with the level of education the school imparts on its students. Thomas Jefferson utilizes a selective admissions process to enroll students who are prepared for their rigorous curriculum, but at BASIS we offer a similarly rigorous education to all students who wish to enroll. We are only able to do this because of our accelerated middle school curriculum. By starting at a modest 5th grade level and requiring students to learn more than a years worth of standards every year, we prepare students to take Honors and AP courses beginning in 9th grade and post-AP courses in 11th or 12th grade, just like their peers at Thomas Jefferson.

At BASIS, all students complete pre-calculus and take AP-level science courses in the 9th grade — Michael Block

Are the BASIS schools for highly motivated students in certain subject areas only?

No, the BASIS education is not focused on certain subject areas. We offer an accelerated program in all core subjects; however, in contemporary America it seems schools that provide high-quality math and science education are pigeonholed. At BASIS, all students complete pre-calculus and take AP-level science courses in the 9th grade; as a result, BASIS is sometimes considered a math and science school. But while our students do outpace their peers in math and science, they also complete a minimum of one AP English and three AP history courses by the end of 11th grade, engage in six years of foreign language, take a college-level economics course in 8th grade, and participate in PE and fine arts classes throughout their academic careers. The BASIS education is much like the gymnasiums in central Europe; we offer a high quality education in all of the liberal arts.

Is the school only for highly motivated students?

Students dont have to be gifted to excel in the BASIS program, but they do have to put in effort. We work very hard to create a culture of academic excellence in our schools. We hire educators who can convey passion for their subject in a way that teaches students that learning is exciting. As older students build a sense of personal responsibility for their education, they become models for younger students and create a culture of positive peer pressure. This culture motivates students to excel in their academic exploration and teaches them that success is the function of hard work.

What is your process for selecting a great teacher?

Finding talent is tough. We try to have a very broad base of candidates from which we select our teachers and often search worldwide to fill math and science positions. Our interviews are conducted first by veteran BASIS teachers and then by the Head of School. The candidates then participate in demonstration lessons – in which they teach current BASIS students for two class periods – which I think is unusual in public schools. This allows us to determine whether the candidate is capable of conveying advanced concepts to young students. We have the most senior staff members at BASIS do the final round of interviews before making a decision.

After our teachers are hired, we have a summer training session which all new teachers and many experienced teachers attend. The training session exposes new teachers to the BASIS philosophy and focuses on the teaching techniques used in many of our classrooms. Finally, we try to mentor teachers as they begin their careers at BASIS. We spend a good deal of time with them. The process of finding and developing teaching talent is difficult and of course we make our share of mistakes.

We offer a high quality education in all of the liberal arts — Michael Block

Why do we do so poorly in the PISA test?

PISA tests what an education system teaches its 15-year-old students, and in the United States we dont teach math and science well in middle and high school. Many 10th graders in the US have not been exposed to the concepts of an Algebra 2 course and in a many states students can graduate without taking Physics. I think that is inexcusable.

I also believe the US education system focuses too much attention on inputs like teacher certification, class size, student-teacher ratio, length of the school day and school year, the form of supplemental services, the physical plant, and technology in the classroom, and too little attention on outputs like how well students are able to master important academic content. Focusing on inputs is diversionary and means educators and school leaders have less time to assess and improve the quality of the education they provide.

Final thoughts on the education reform issues we face in the US today?

There is one more issue I want to mention that I think BASIS is designed to get at. There are two achievement gaps in the US. The achievement gap that receives almost all the attention in the media – which is real and shameful – is the achievement gap between rural areas and the poorer sections of major cities on one hand and the suburbs across the country on the other. Another much more hidden achievement gap is the international achievement gap. What US suburbanites consider a good education is actually mediocre by international standards. Thats an important aspect of the BASIS experiment – our academic program addresses the international achievement gap that exists between the United States and other industrialized countries.

Michael Block and C. M. Rubin

(Photos courtesy of BASIS Schools, Inc.)

In The Global Search for Education, join me and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Michael Block (US), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Jean Hendrickson (US), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Dr. Denise Pope (US), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Dr. Diane Ravitch (US), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. Anthony Seldon, Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Dr. Mark Wormald (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
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C. M. Rubin is the author of the widely read online series, The Global Search for Education, and is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland.

The city school district is resurrecting an old idea to help solve its most challenging and persistent problem: student performance. More than 40 of the citys schools are on the State Education Departments list of public schools in need of academic improvement.

The school board and superintendent have drafted a policy to create of zone improvement teams. The teams would be charged with reviewing academic programs and student performance in every school, and making recommendations for improvement.

There will be one team for each of the districts three zones – northeast, northwest, and south. And the five- to seven-member teams will have a combination of teachers, parents, students, school administrators, and community members, says Interim Superintendent Bolgen Vargas.

The teams can recommend broad strategic changes, such as expanding a successful program in one school to other schools within a zone, to closing a low-performing school and creating a new school. The policy, which must be approved by the school board, calls for creating the teams next year, beginning with the northeast zone.

Creating zone improvement teams was an idea Vargas helped develop when he was on the school board in the late 1990s, though it was never implemented. It was a component of the districts school choice policy, which was intended to make all schools available to all students within certain guidelines. The competition was supposed to foster better-performing schools.

But the choice program, according to the districts research, still requires some level of management. For instance, schools where the student population is predominantly poor and minority can become what educators call socio-economically isolated. The test scores of average students in these schools tend to drop without additional support.

If we want to have an effective school choice program, weve got to get control of the quality of all schools, Vargas says. We have a tendency of putting students with low performance in schools that have low selection from parents.

The boards recent decision to close School 6 helped revive interest in the zone improvement teams. School 6, which is in the districts northeast zone, will be closed for at least a year. Vargas selected the school because it is an underperforming and under-selected school.

Within a year, the team for that zone will make recommendations for the future use of the building. But the recommendations have to reflect the needs of the entire zone, which includes about 20 schools.

This will allow for a broader conversation about all of the schools, says board member Willa Powell. This way one school isnt being protected, and when you talk about closing a school, it isnt being discussed in isolation.

School 36 is on par with School 6 in terms of performance, she says. Without the recommendations of a zone improvement team, Powell says, the school choice policy can be abused.

It can be used like a blunt instrument to justify closing one school over another, she says.

In a recent speech, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg advanced the following solution to the problems of public education. It reveals, once more, how far from getting it public officials are in understanding what education is all about. According to the mayor:

Education is very much, Ive always thought, just like the real estate business: there are three things that matter: location, location, location is the old joke. Well in education, it is: quality of teacher, quality of teacher, quality of teacher. And I would — if I had the ability, which nobody does really, to just design a system and say, ex cathedra, this is what were going to do, you would cut the number of teachers in half, but you would double the compensation of them, and you would weed out all the bad ones and just have good teachers. And double the class size with a better teacher is a good deal for the students.

If he followed the analogy that education is just like the real estate business, then the mayor should consider just how successful the industry has been in the past few years: creating false wealth and then sticking the consumer with unmanageable debt. But Bloombergs error in using a fraudulent system of creating wealth as comparable to teaching goes much further. He assumes that the quality of a teacher is quantifiable, just as he assumes that standardized test scores are a measure of quality. But let us follow his line of reasoning further: Cut the number of teachers in half…[and] you would weed out all the bad ones and just have good teachers. This is truly the logic of the marketplace and the assumption that the good teachers and bad teachers are easily recognizable in the same way as a car dealer can measure the good from the bad salesmen by the number of units sold. Mr. mayor: children are not units.
There are a few effective ways to attract potentially good teachers into the profession — and many teachers are potentially good when starting out but there is no way of knowing how good they really are until theyve been teaching for about five years, which is the average length of service before they leave. What attracts good teachers into the profession is as true for me — a 45-plus-year veteran of college-level teaching — as it is for a newly graduated grade-school teacher.

1. A degree of classroom autonomy. Even young teachers who welcome guidance dont want to be micro-managed. Bloomberg is a micro-manager of the first order.

2. A need for helpful and positive guidance in teaching practices. Bloombergs echelon of new breed school administrators is wedded to the concept of micro-managing. Guidance is often presented in the form of threats to raise test scores or else.

3. The opportunity to use an enriched, multi-faceted curriculum to enable the teacher to reach, inspire and motivate young learners to want to learn. Bloombergs emphasis on standardized testing and test prep rob not only the students of the desire to learn, but the teachers with the opportunity to teach.

4. A positive attitude and appreciation of the difficult job that teachers have often in environments in which young learners have little motivation to want to learn. The rhetoric of politicians hurled at teachers and teaching has vilified them as lazy and irresponsible and has convinced a significant portion of the public that if only teachers were good, their children would learn. This is said without their showing the slightest awareness of the connection between good teachers and good students: good students make it possible to be a good teacher; the most important factor is the students zip codes.

5. Some sense of job security considering the social and economic conditions in the neighborhood in which the school is located. Poor location, location, location, Mr. mayor, makes it very difficult if not impossible for teachers to get students to read and calculate on grade, especially since the standardized tests are not primarily related to good teaching outcomes but test taking.

Although I wouldnt consider Bloomberg in the forefront of teacher-bashing, his apparent obliviousness to any substantial information that shows him that standardized testing does nothing positive for challenged learners reveals that he has no more concept of education than a motorist who believes that putting gas in the tank will get a car to run that doesnt have an engine.

Quality teachers are not easy to develop if they leave teaching after five years; quality teachers are not easy to keep in the education system if they are being fired or relocated when their school has failed because it didnt have the right zip code; potential quality teachers will not be attracted to a profession, no matter what the compensation, if they realize that they are being asked to waste their time and those of their students on a useless and harmful regimen of testing which robs all of them of any of the inherent motivations for learning: the joy of it.

If Mayor Bloomberg were really serious about getting quality teachers into the classroom, he would abolish standardized tests, limit charter schools, give more material support to struggling public schools, and, by the way, raise the minimum wage in the city of New York to $20/hour so that children in poor neighborhoods might have a chance to actually want to learn rather than worry about where they are going to sleep at night and when they will be getting another decent meal. You cant have quality teachers without a quality economic and social system. If Bloomberg were to focus on those problems, many of the quality teachers he hopes for will suddenly appear.