Contributor
Bill Jackson, Founder and CEO, GreatSchools
Related Link:
http://www.greatschools.net
Biography provided by participant
Bill Jackson is the founder and CEO of GreatSchools, an independent, nonprofit organization that improves education by inspiring parents to get involved. GreatSchools provides parents with information and tools so they can choose the best school for their children, support their children's education, and improve schools in their communities. Since its founding 10 years ago, GreatSchools has emerged as the nation's leading source of preschool and K-12 school information, reaching about one out of every three K-12 households in the U.S. Bill is also a member of the Parent Association Council at the Chinese American International School, a member of the board of directors of the San Francisco Education Fund and a member of the California P16 Council.
Recent Responses
September 23, 2009 05:40 PM
Trying to reduce the rate of high school dropouts without directly and actively engaging parents is like trying to fix a leaky roof without plugging up the holes. You can put out lots of buckets, nail up some plastic, but every time it rains the water is going to gush right through. No matter how much we reform curriculum or improve teacher training, if parents aren’t voraciously leading the charge against dropping out, kids are going to continue to view leaving high school as a rational and easy option. I say kids because we are talking about kids —…
Read moreSeptember 2, 2009 09:31 AM
I think one promising route to success here involves re-conceptualizing the role of school districts so that they come to think of themselves as "managers of a portfolio of schools." The Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington published an interesting report on this a few days ago. And, to make that transformation happen, we are going to have to find a way to cultivate more of that all-too-illusive ingredient: public will. More parents and citizens are going to have to be convinced that their schools today are not as good as they think they are and that the…
Read moreAugust 27, 2009 05:29 PM
Senator Ted Kennedy led a tireless crusade advocating for the sick, the poor, the disabled — the under-privileged. For forty years Kennedy fought for our children, demanding universal access to quality education and advancing legislation to reform and strengthen schools across the country. He was a devoted volunteer in local D.C. and Massachusetts schools, teaching the value of public service in tackling the dropout crisis and strengthening our education system. While I didn't know the senator personally, every major education law passed since the 1960s has borne Kennedy's imprint, from Head Start to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.…
Read moreAugust 24, 2009 10:39 AM
Monty Neill makes a case that, so far, the NCLB regimen of standards and assessments has not produced major gains on NAEP. I agree with that assessment. Clearly, more work is needed. “You can’t fatten a pig by weighing him more often.” When it comes to actually working on the problem, I think the Obama Administration has a pretty good list of priorities. First, let’s make the standards “fewer, clearer and higher” and then let’s improve the tests that measure student achievement relative to those standards. Second, let’s give educators good data so they know where their students stand. Third, let’s…
Read moreJuly 30, 2009 11:01 AM
I want to build on what Richard Rothstein and High Price wrote. Rothstein emphasizes the importance of access to services like health care. Children with a toothache or asthma cannot learn nearly as well as children who have those problems taken care of. This is common sense. Of course, we ambitious education activists must help work for the day when children come to school with their toothache taken care of or their asthma treated. Whether the solutions be “liberal” or “conservative,” we must pursue them if we want more children to come to school ready and able to learn. Price is…
Read moreJuly 23, 2009 12:12 PM
To understand school quality, we need clear, simple, meaningful data that everyone can understand. Parents – who, along with students, are the real stakeholders – need to be able to answer the question: "Will this school put my child on track for college?" Low cut scores and artificially inflated passing percentages don’t tell parents anything they need to know. Auditors can’t change this. All auditors can do is enforce an already flawed system, ensuring "accuracy" without any real meaning. The last thing we need is more bureaucracy in the form of auditing agencies. Parents need simple answers to simple questions.…
Read more
About This Blog
This Education Blog is funded by support provided, in part, by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the purpose of creating an educational forum for sharing research, ideas and opinions regarding issues related to college readiness and college completion. The Blog may not be used to post partisan political statements supporting or opposing candidates for public office. All statements and materials posted on the Blog, including any statements regarding specific legislation, reflect the views of the individual contributors and do not reflect the views of National Journal or the Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation. National Journal and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation take no positions regarding any legislation discussed in the Blog. National Journal reserves the right to monitor material placed on this site and to remove any posting they may deem inappropriate.
