Today is #ThankATeacher Day. So I just want to thank Elaine Oldham my 6th grade teacher at Wildwood School in Piedmont, CA in 1960-61  for inspiring me to make education my passion and my vocation. I happened to connect with her on Facebook a few years back and we shared a few thoughts about our class that year. In keeping with the standards of the time (yes, there were standards back then too … at least implicitly), she drilled us...

It has been a very long and winding road since the original Elementary & Secondary Education Act was signed into law in 1965.  I was in 10th grade then and certainly did not have a clue that ESEA would become such a major part of our education landscape (as well as a major fixture in my professional life).  In the coming months no doubt there will be many articles written about the blessing and curse of ESEA as we approach its 50th...

Teach for America is making big waves in ed reform these days in much the same way envisioned by the US Teacher Corps over 40 years ago. Back then the call went out to idealistic, ambitious college grads to make a difference in helping to innovate k12 education in America.  As the domestic version of the Peace Corps focusing on education, the Teacher Corps captured the hearts and minds of people like me. And I jumped in full throttle. It ended...

Here is a must read to commemorate MLK Day …. King’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” published in The Atlantic as “The Negro Is Your Brother,” was written in response to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight white religious leaders of the South. It stands as one of the classic documents of the civil-rights movement. While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your...

Imagine my glee and fascination when I read this NY Times op ed by Akiko Busch  about the ecotone and edge-effect in the environment. It captures our conception of EDGE better than anything we have tried to put into words thus far.  To paraphrase, EDGE is  where “both sides converge, rendering it a place of complex interaction and diversity…a decidedly advantageous perch…(producing) change, diversity, vitality…where...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS We share peace and joy with you this holiday season and wish you the very best for the year to come. At EDGE we have been blessed since the launch of our education consulting boutique earlier this year. We have greatly appreciated the high interest, inspiring work and fulfilling partnerships with many of you. 2014 looks to be a year of great promise and advancement for public education in America and around the...