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The Engine of Innovation
Thanks to the federal stimulus package, new Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has a $160 billion budget -- and of that, he can spend $5 billion any way he pleases. With over 200 special interest groups and countless superintendents clamoring for his attention, Duncan has a lot of options.
Duncan shares his thoughts on best strategies, and how he hopes to impact an education system where 3 out 10 ninth graders fail to graduate.
  
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 7:00
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The Road Ahead
Former Assistant Secretary of Education Christopher T. Cross has seen a lot of education secretaries come and go, but none with as large a budget as Arne Duncan.
Mr. Cross details the challenges Duncan will face as he aims to spend his department's $160 billion budget. With over 200 special interest groups and countless superintendents clamoring for his attention, Cross says Duncan has a tough job ahead.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 7:53
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Bridging the Divide
Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, believes that reform begins with teachers. But the question now is how to support them.
Weingarten offers her opinion on how the new secretary should use his budget and explains why she thinks national standards should be his priority.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 8:03
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The Supers
Arne Duncan has $5 billion dollars of discretionary money to disburse as he sees fit. Superintendents across the country are debating where they think the money should go. Four of the nation’s best Superintendents discuss their feelings on one issue that is certain to be on Arne’s agenda, national standards.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 6:16
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Across the River
Peekskill, New York is one of the many small cities across the country where the recession is making a huge impact on education. David Wald, Managing Producer at Learning Matters, sat down with correspondent John Tulenko to talk about the stimulus package and the effects of the recession on the Peekskill School District and other districts across the country.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 9:25
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Carrot and Stick - Paul Vallas in New Orleans
Paul Vallas has adopted a dozen strategies to fix New Orleans' ailing Recovery School District. In this podcast, he talks about his district's attendance problem, hiring truancy officers to combat the problem and how his strategies are working.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 11:50
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The Coach
Darrin Slade is a veteran middle school principal who talks about what it takes to lead an urban school and what it's like working for Michelle Rhee.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 8:41
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The Contract Challenge
Michelle Rhee and DC Teachers’ Union President, George Parker talk about negotiating a contract with much of the education world watching.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 9:53
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Due to Financial Reasons…
Meet Alyson Karakouzian, a 32-year-old freshman at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. Alyson went straight to work after high school and started a family. She lives with her husband and their three children as she begins her first year of college.
Produced & Edited by Selly Thiam / Duration: 8:51
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Dis-investing in Higher Education?
George Miller talks about the Higher Education funding problem and why it is bad for those who are currently getting their education.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 11:13
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The Many Headed Monster: Financial Aid
Greg Johnson runs an organization that helps at-risk youth get into college and graduate. He answers some practical questions about the process of financing a college education.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 12:24
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American Debt Culture
Pat Callan, President of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, talks about how fewer families will be able to afford to send their children to college.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 9:18
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Gay Rights in the Classroom
It's 2008 and the campaign for Proposition 8 in California was heated and costly. The opponents of gay marriage claimed that homosexuality would be taught in classrooms. In 1976 the same debate was going on--and John Merrow covered it. What's changed? What hasn't?
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 31:28
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Before Twenty-five
Paul Vallas wants to hire as many bright, young teachers as he can--and he's bringing in hundreds of teachers through Teach for America and Teach Nola. Vallas talks about the energy and change young teachers are bringing to his district.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 8:03
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The Second Year
Colleston Morgan is a 22 year-old Harvard Graduate in his second year of Teach for America. Morgan talks about his hopes for the upcoming school year, some of his challenges and successes and if he thinks Paul Vallas’ new initiatives are working.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 15:11
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Dance of the Lemons
Michelle Rhee continues her sweeping changes with a teachers union contract that aims to rid the system of ineffective teachers. But the union itself has to approve it. What will happen to happen those deemed ineffective?
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 9:28
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Life in the Hot Seat
George Parker is charged with negotiating the two-tiered contract that Michelle Rhee has proposed. But the union seems divided and Parker has 4,000 teachers that he has to answer to. The rest of the education world is watching as well.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 14:57
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Deborah Meier Offers Education Advice
Deborah Meier has spent more than four decades working in public education. A MacArthur Foundation ‘Genius,” she founded Central Park East Elementary school and, later, Central Park East Secondary School. Visit project site for more >>>
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 10:53
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Bob Compton Offers Education Advice
Bob Compton's documentary film, 2 Million Minutes, takes a look at how six high school students from three countries spend their high school years. Visit project site for more >>>
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 6:39
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The Dean of Superintendents
Paul Vallas talks to John Merrow about his successes, challenges and strategies for making change in the New Orleans Recovery School District.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 18:58
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High Marks for Vallas
Urban education expert Michael Casserly tells John Merrow why Superintendent Paul Vallas deserves an A- for his first year in New Orleans.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 9:56
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No Regrets
Michelle Rhee talks with John Merrow about her controversial first year as DC public school's chancellor and what she has planned for year two.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 16:29
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Not the Only Kid on the Block
George Parker, president of Washington DC's Teachers Union shares some astonishing confessions about the lack of accountability in the union and how that's affecting competition between public and charter schools.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 13:07
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The Critics
Michelle Rhee has the full support of DC Mayor Adrian Fenty in her quest to overhaul the DC Public School System. But what do DC parents, community activists and attorneys have to say abou her tactics?
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 16:22
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The Changing Face of Teachers in New Orleans
Are alternatively certified teachers changing the face of teaching in the New Orleans’ Recovery School District? Lindsay Enters, just completed her first year as a second grade teacher at Fannie C. Williams Elementary School.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 13:47
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A Step Back in DC Schools Reform?
William Lockridge served as an elected official on the DC school board for over 9 years. Now the school board has been dissolved leaving Mr. Lockridge and other community members with little say in what is happening in DC schools.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 11:56
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Teaching for America: A Talk with Wendy Kopp
Today, Teach for America (TFA) is the country’s largest provider of teachers for America’s low-income communities. Wendy Kopp sat down with us to talk about TFA’s core values, some bright alums (including Michelle Rhee) and how TFA is influencing DC and New Orleans school districts.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 9:54
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Michelle Rhee Questions Reform
We've interviewed Michelle Rhee a number of times for our DC school series, Challenging Course, but never in front of a room full of reporters. At the recent EWA Conference, the Chancellor cut loose and spoke candidly about her experiences trying to reform the DC public school system.
Produced by Selly Thiam / Duration: 21:11
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George Miller
"Democracy at Risk" is a new report that documents where we are with education today, and it’s not good news. Last week we attended an event at the National Press Club that highlighted the release of this new publication.
Produced & Edited by Christine Renaud
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John Deasy
"Democracy at Risk" is a new report that documents where we are with education today, and it’s not good news. Last week we attended an event at the National Press Club that highlighted the release of this new publication.
Produced & Edited by Christine Renaud
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Patrick McWalters
"Democracy at Risk" is a new report that documents where we are with education today, and it’s not good news. Last week we attended an event at the National Press Club that highlighted the release of this new publication.
Produced & Edited by Christine Renaud
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Linda Darling-Hammond
"Democracy at Risk" is a new report that documents where we are with education today, and it’s not good news. Last week we attended an event at the National Press Club that highlighted the release of this new publication.
Produced & Edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 15:10
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Dr. Milton Goldberg
"Democracy at Risk" is a new report that documents where we are with education today, and it’s not good news. Last week we attended an event at the National Press Club that highlighted the release of this new publication.
Produced & Edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 9:40
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Honoring a Great American Educator
For 25 years Al Shanker was a teacher, union leader and a social crusader. He died in 1997 after a long battle with cancer.
We interviewed Al dozens of times over the years, and in 1998 we produced a program for NPR tracing his evolution from militant unionist to education's elder statesman.
Duration: 52:53
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Integrating Northern Ireland's Schools
In Northern Ireland only 6% of Catholic and Protestant students are taught together.
Michael Wardlow, CEO of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE), discusses the impact integrated education can have on lasting peace in a country rife with religious conflict.
Produced by Christine Renaud / Duration: 16:52
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A Level Playing Field
Superintendent Paul Vallas has the monumental task of turning around his state-run district comprised of New Orleans’ failing schools. Desperate times call for drastic measures, and Vallas has several in mind.
Produced by Julie Almendral & Valerie Visconti. Edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 15:30
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A Principal's Perspective
Principal L. Nelson Burton must raise test scores at Washington, DC’s troubled Coolidge Senior High School – but he says that half of his teachers are not effective.
Produced by Jane Renaud. Edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 11:23
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Listen Up! Turns 10
Ten years ago we started with a small idea but realized something big: young people can use video to change their lives and to change their communities. Listen Up! has since become the biggest network of its kind. Austin Haeberle and Rhea Mokund, Listen Up’s Directors, talk about the past, present and energized future of youth media.
Produced & edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 15:30
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DC Mayor Weighs in on Reform
Mayor Adrian Fenty and Chancellor Rhee are moving quickly to make big changes in DC's failing schools. But their controversial proposal to fire central office employees and close 23 schools has left some feeling that that they are moving too fast. Mayor Fenty talks candidly about their controversial plan.
Produced by Cat McGrath. Edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 8:10
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Just One of Me and A Lot of Them
Helen Miller, a single mother in New Orleans' Ninth Ward, works full time to provide for her family of five. While she applauds Superintendent Paul Vallas' initiatives to keep youth in school and out of the street, Ms. Miller is afraid that her 16 year-old son, Antoine, will become one of New Orleans' notorious statistics.
Produced & edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 7:28
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A Cost of War
How do we reward our veterans for putting their lives on the line? According to U. S. Senator Jim Webb (D, VA), a former marine and Vietnam vet, paying decent education benefits should be considered an acceptable cost of war.
Produced by Mike Joseloff. Edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 7:17
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Community Engagement & School Reform in DC
Parent advocate Margot Berkey is thrilled about the prospect of lasting school reform in Washington, DC. Berkey discusses the ramifications of what she sees as a lack of transparency on the part of DC schools leaders.
Produced by Jane Renaud. Edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 10:03
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Sometimes One Brick at a Time isn’t Fast Enough
Paul Vallas, has received national attention for his sweeping initiatives. But how does his boss, the State Superintendent of Schools, Paul Pastorek, judge Vallas’ progress?
Produced by Valerie Visconti & Katie Robbins. Edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 14:13 |
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Push Them to a Cliff
Rudy Crew, superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City Board of Education, talk about challenging leadership issues in education.
Produced and edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 23:00
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Everybody's Doing It
Lute Olson, University of Arizona men's basketball coach, talks about the educational aspects of college sports and why basketball and football in particular are critical to the university and all other college sports.
Produced and edited by Christine Renaud / Duration: 20:11 |
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Bold Initiatives in New Orleans
Paul Vallas, the new superintendent of Recovery School District in New Orleans is betting on some bold initiatives to turn the system around.
Produced and edited by Valerie Visconti and Katie Robbins / Duration: 20:05
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A Union Leader on the Hot Seat
George Parker, president of the D.C. teachers’ union is negotiating a new contract with School Chancellor Michelle Rhee.
Produced and edited by Jane Renaud / Duration: 12:14
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Daily, Weekly, Monthly
NCLB has generated a massive amount of testing data. But is the data useful in the classroom?
Produced and edited by Jane Renaud / Duration: 11:14
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One Little Snapshot
5th grade teacher Betsy Walter sees her students making progress – but often, tests required by NCLB tell a different story. Walter discusses how NCLB evaluates her students.
Produced and edited by Jane Renaud / Duration: 12:29
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Teachers at the Table
Maddie Fennell, the 2007 Nebraska Teacher of the Year, talks about NCLB and how the law looks different in Washington than it does in her Omaha classroom.
Produced and edited by Jane Renaud / Duration: 11:47
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The Right Answer?
Lynn Riggs, a science teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia, worries that NCLB testing is teaching students how to give the right answers – at the cost of learning how to ask the right questions.
Produced and edited by Jane Renaud / Duration: 16:55
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 | WHAT MAKES AN EXCELLENT SCHOOL? A conversation with veteran educator Ted Sizer. Duration: 26:19 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT-.pdf 104KB]
(RELATED PROGRAM: SCHOOL SLEUTH- THE CASE OF AN EXCELLENT SCHOOL) |
| WE KNOW WHAT WORKS-Nancy Shulock doesn't think community colleges should get more money -- that is, without also implementing some major policy changes. Professor Shulock, Executive Director of the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy at Sacramento State University, offers insights that have upset some community college leaders. Duration: 15:55 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 124KB] |
| SECOND CLASS-Most students at Los Angeles Trade and Tech aren't seeking to transfer to a four-year school. Instead, they enroll to gain critical job training.Vice President of Academic Affairs Marcy Drummond discusses the challenges of running Trade Tech, and why she believes her institution is a "second class citizen." Duration: 13:30 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 133KB] |
| A RIGHT TO FAIL? PART 2-In subjects that are notoriously hard to teach -- remedial reading and writing -- Joliet Junior College Professors Edy Alderson and Kathleen Perryman are remarkably successful. They believe in telephoning their students when they don't come to class, learning through games, and offering rewards like chocolate bars. Should a remedial teacher teach differently than she would in a college level course? Duration: 15:11 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 208KB] |
| A RIGHT TO FAIL? PART 1-Professor Steve Zuro says that a student with a healthy work ethic will never fail his class. But in his four remedial math classes at Joliet Junior College last semester, fewer than half of the students did well enough to advance to the next level. Do the students shoulder the responsibility for this dismal performance, is the system broken, or is there another explanation? Duration: 12:14 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 128KB] |
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 LESSONS OF WAR-What is life like in a school where half of the children have a parent in a combat zone?How should a teacher respond when a 7 year old asks, 'Will my Daddy die?' or 'Will my Mommy come home safe?' We went to McNair Elementary-a Department of Defense school in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to find out. Duration: 13:00
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| LEADING THE SMALLEST SOLDIERS-Retired military officer Tim Howle finds a new way to serve his country as principal of McNair Elementary on Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He maintains that the two jobs are very similar, but perhaps not in the ways you might expect. Duration: 13:00 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 113KB] |
| SPELLING IRAQ-Almost all of Nancy Welsh’s kindergarten students have a parent in Iraq or Afghanistan. Can she comfort all of them when they need comforting and still keep them focused on academics? Duration: 16:00 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 79KB] |
| AFTER HE'S GONE- 27-year-old Scarlette Keeling struggles to raise her three children after her husband, Corey, leaves for a 1-year tour of duty as a medic in Afghanistan. It’s his third tour of duty. Duration: 20:00 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 87KB] |
| CLASSROOM VETERAN-Third grade teacher and army veteran Gary Wieland has seven students who have parents serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. How does a veteran teacher juggle academics and a student's need for affection and reassurance? Duration: 23:00 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 89KB] |
| ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE?-We expect a lot out from our 1200 community colleges, and most of them bend over backwards trying to provide it job training, a jumpstart on a 4-year degree, remedial education, even classes in motorcycle repair and ballroom dancing! But is being all things to all people possible, or even desirable? Duration: 25:00 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 258KB] |
| PROFIT AND LOSS-John Merrow's conversation with Steve Mariotti about creating a global movement around entrepreneurship education. Duration: 20:25 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 55KB] |
| EATING DISORDERS ON AMERICA'S COLLEGE CAMPUSES- The prevalence of eating disorders in society is hard to ignore. As many as 10 million women and 1 million men in the United States alone have either anorexia or bulimia. In this exclusive video podcast, we take a look inside America’s college campuses, where eating disorders may affect up to 20% of its students. Duration: 15:01 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 130KB] |
| TEACHING ENTREPRENEURSHIP- Watch as inner city high school students launch their own soda company, and hear why some say entrepreneurship education is "the civil rights issue of our time." Duration: 9:50 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 61KB] |
| DUMB JOCKS?- A college football championship special. Despite all of the problems with college athletics, Dr. Harry Edwards very much believes in the communicative power of sports. After all, he inspired two African American athletes to raise their gloved fists on the Olympic medal stand in 1968 bringing the civil rights movement to the world stage. Duration: 37:00 [DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT- pdf 82KB] |
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