Education Week takes a big picture look at how the new reform plans in San Diego Unified differ from the controversial changes under former Superintendent Alan Bersin — and how those reforms fared in a recent study.
The weekly takes San Diego as an example to be learned from for reformers across the country. Here’s a quote from one expert it used in the story:
“One way to read the San Diego experience is, reforms that don’t have a local constituency and are not supported by local advocates and efforts are not likely to stick,” said Frederick M. Hess, the director of education policy studies for the American Enterprise Institute think tank. “In many ways, Bersin was a test case for how much you can force a school district to change. That’s just an enormous cautionary note when we hear [U.S. Secretary of Education Arne] Duncan talk about how we’re going to drive reform and what these superintendents are going to be able to accomplish.”
Want more? Here’s our latest piece on the new reforms and what they could mean for schools. And don’t forget our blog post on a new study of the Bersin reforms.
— EMILY ALPERT