The Rochester school board last night approved a plan from the University of Rochester to partner with East High School with the goal of dramatically improving student performance at East. The vote was 6 to 0, with board member Melisza Campos absent. The plan, which allows the UR to take over the management of East […]
turning around failing schools
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Supposed reform of Newark’s schools is a cautionary tale
A friend brought New Yorker reporter Dale Russakoff’s article “Schooled” to my attention. Newark, New Jersey’s school reform efforts involving Governor Chris Christie, Senator Cory Booker, and social media’s boy-billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is a must read. Russakoff chronicles Booker’s rise from a sharp, post-civil-rights-era law scholar and community activist to Democratic mayor of Newark, and eventually to a […]
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Green light on UR plan with a warning
The Rochester school district can move forward with the University of Rochester to develop a plan to turn around troubled East High School. Rochester School Board President Van White received a letter today from State Education Deputy Commissioner Ken Slentz saying that the district now has until July 1, 2014, to submit a detailed plan […]
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Rochester school board prepares backup plan for East High
Rochester school board President Van White has asked Superintendent Bolgen Vargas to be prepared to submit his plan to improve East High School on Thursday, May 15.
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Rochester school board chooses UR proposal for East High
As expected, the Rochester school board has decided to work with the University of Rochester to improve East High School. The board made its decision at a meeting last night. The UR proposal was chosen over that of a nonprofit and Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s own plan. Vargas wanted to convert East into three smaller schools […]
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UR proposal tests school officials
Superintendent Bolgen Vargas and the Rochester school board ventured into entirely new territory this week. What happens next with East High School is going to pull back the curtain and tell us a lot about how effectively school officials really operate. It’s looking more probable that the school board will choose working with the University […]
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UR says it won’t be rushed into rescue of East High
University of Rochester officials say they’re interested in helping East High School, but they won’t be rushed. UR President Joel Seligman has sent a letter of intent to State Education Commissioner John King, agreeing to submit a proposal for East if certain conditions can be agreed upon by King, UR, the Rochester City School District, […]
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Tough talk from East High’s suitor
If the Rochester community is serious about giving students a quality education that prepares them for college, then things at East High School must change. That was the message from Gillian Williams, president of School Turnaround, at a special meeting yesterday. The Rochester school board is considering hiring the organization to take over East. School Turnaround […]
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Serious questions about East’s potential savior
School Turnaround, the organization that may be charged with rehabilitating East High School, has 48 hours to respond to a barrage of questions, says board president Van White. The committee that screened the proposal had numerous questions at a meeting yesterday, White says, and more questions followed the meeting. “These are really thoughtful questions that […]
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Committee to screen East High proposal tonight
Changing old habits wired into the psyche is difficult even for the most motivated individuals. And in some ways, that’s what an educational partnering organization will confront working with East High School: changing the old habits of the school’s current leaders. The Rochester school board has created an EPO Screening Committee to review the proposal […]
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Rensselaerville offers help for East High
Updated at 5:15 p.m. A statement from the the city school district says the proposal came from School Turnaround, an organization affiliated with Rensselaerville. The Rensselaerville Institute has responded to Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s request for proposals for an educational partnering organization, or EPO, to turn around East High School. The Delmar, New York-based organization was formed […]
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Dozens speak out about East High’s problems
When a school is failing as badly as East High, the surrounding community seems to go through many of the same emotional transitions as a person dealing with a life-threatening illness. There’s the initial shock, followed by denial and anger. Many of those raw emotions were evident at a meeting at East last night, where […]
