Publications Issue All Student-Centered Learning DesignsEducator Talent PathwaysOutcomes That MatterAutonomy and Shared Power Resisting the Temptation to Comprehensive Action Memo • May 1983 Consider a given public policy problem. Everyone sees the problem is complex. From this comes an impulse to control all its elements. Everyone sees the importance of improvement. From this comes an impulse to command improvement. Together these produce the ‘blueprints’ we so often see: lists of actions all of which must be taken, in a certain order, over a period of time. But in the public sector blueprints usually fail. Mechanisms of “mutual adjustment” usually work better. Electronics Technology for Public School Systems: A Superintendent’s View Memo • November 1981 George Young, in 1981 superintendent of St. Paul, foresaw technology as a tool not to replace teachers, but to help them do their jobs. Using technology to individualize education can reform a system where students are lumped into grades and instructed as a group regardless of their learning style and abilities. Why President Obama Should Speak to the States Memo • January 2009 The country has the governmental relationships upside down, with the states setting the targets for results and Washington leaning on the states, districts and schools to make it happen. President Obama should put the roles right, so that the national government is "pushing buttons that are connected to live wires". What Is Innovation… and What Isn’t? Memo • June 2009 The discussion about "innovation" in K-12 education is coming on rapidly, as the sense grows that K-12 requires radical change. But there is confusion about concepts and terms. Partly, this is because we are all still learning. This brief paper will try to distinguish the various meanings of "innovation." Students Inform Legislators: What’s Important to Understand About Chartered Schools and Student Motivation Memo • May 2005 At the Charter School Student Summit held in St. Paul in December 2004, students discussed the growth and challenges facing the charter movement. Students discussed their own experiences and exchanged ideas for improvement of the sector, and were asked to inform legislators about chartered schools and what motivates them to learn. Site-Governed District Schools Memo More about a Minnesota law (MN Stat. 123B.045) provides schools, districts, and unions a way to formalize the autonomy of a district school by jointly agreeing to give that school legal “site-governed” status. Post navigation ← Previous 1 2 3 4 5 Stay In Touch Get updates, new publications, fresh analysis, and event invitations in your inbox. First Name Last Name Email Address State What do you want to receive? Monthly newsletter (once per month) Blog posts by email (about two per month) See past newsletters in the archive.