Jack Jennings

Overcoming a Fear of Politicians

A longtime federal education authority concocts a three-part cure for addressing a common school leader’s phobia Psychologists label them phobias. They are a fear of something such as heights, closed spaces or ever-smiling elected officials. Science and medicine...

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A Strong Voice from the Classroom

John Thompson is a truth-teller. A Teacher’s Tale, his new book, honestly addresses the toughest issue in American education—how to improve urban schools impacted by concentrations of poor children. Thompson worked in higher education and then did legislative lobbying...

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Will Education Flourish After NCLB’s Repeal?

No other federal law has generated more hostility from teachers and other educators than the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). That statute has been denounced for causing too much testing of school children, making teachers “teach to the test” to avoid penalties, and...

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A Nation Adrift

Today, attention is on the Congress as it addresses changes to the No Child Left Behind Act. That action is overdue since the law expired eight years ago. But, it must be understood that congressional amendments are merely removing unpopular requirements, not creating...

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Title I: Replace the “Belle of the Ball”?

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson launched a campaign to improve education, especially of children from low-income families. An unprecedented billion dollars of new aid was sent to the schools under the first part or "title" of the Elementary and Secondary...

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After Cleaning up the NCLB Mess, Then What?

Congress is finally grappling with which parts of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) ought to be repealed or retained. Various officials, and the president who must sign the final agreement, have different lists. After the squabbling, a shadow of a national school...

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Interviews about Jack Jennings’s new book, Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools: The Politics of Education Reform

In the last six months, there have been four radio and webinar interviews with Jack Jennings about Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools. This list of the interviews contains the working web connections as of May 23, 2015. At times, those web addresses change...

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Presentation and Signing: Jack Jennings’s new book, Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools: The Politics of Education Reform

Invitation to a presentation and signing of Jack Jennings’s new book, Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools: The Politics of Education Reform

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ESEA at 50

The Phi Delta Kappan magazine (April 2015) contains an article written by Jack Jennings on the 50th anniversary of the enactment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the fundamental federal law in the area of education. ESEA at 50 should be available through http://pdk.sagepub.com/content/96/7.toc.

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From Negative to Positive School Reform

Test-driven accountability has produced a negative atmosphere for school reform, without fulfilling its promise of general improvement. The country must move to a positive, long-term improvement strategy based on research and educators’ experiences. The following article by Jack Jennings, which appeared in Education Week the week of February 23, 2015, describes this need drawing from his book, Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools (Harvard Education Press).

Jack Jennings Positive School Reform Reimagining the ESEA

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New Book by Jack Jennings Available: Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools

In March the Harvard Education Press released a new book by Jack Jennings. Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools analyzes a half century of national school improvement efforts, such as Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the No Child Left...

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