At a time of bitter national polarization, there is a critical need for leaders who can help us better communicate with one another. In "A Search for Common Ground," Rick Hess and Pedro Noguera, who have often fallen on opposing sides of the ideological aisle over the past couple of decades, candidly talk through their differences on…

In "Letters to a Young Education Reformer," Frederick M. Hess distills knowledge from twenty-five years of working in and around school reform. Inspired by his conversations with young, would-be reformers who are passionate about transforming education, the book offers a window into Hess's thinking about what education reform is and…

Above all else, the American creed is one of liberty and opportunity. In the 21st century, whether the topic is economic opportunity, responsible citizenship, or political engagement, the role of education is more significant than ever before. That means political and civic leaders committed to a vision of opportunity--and especially to equal…

While US parents have historically played supporting roles in schooling, they are becoming increasingly involved in education advocacy and policy. Contemporary school reform requires political muscle to enact controversial changes, meaning entrenched interest groups such as teachers unions have traditionally enjoyed an outsized impact in the realm…

In recent decades, many calls for transformative change in American schooling have advocated school choice. Yet these calls themselves have too often accepted the orthodoxies of the nineteenth-century schoolhouse. In the new book "Customized Schooling: Beyond Whole-School Reform" (Harvard Education Press, 2011), the authors worked with…

In "Education Unbound: The Promise and Practice of Greenfield Schooling," this author argued for new education service-delivery organizations that, free from the constricting norms and rules of traditional providers, focused single-mindedly on executing their model. The challenge for reformers is to recognize that enabling such providers is not…

Nearly two decades have passed since the Wisconsin legislature enacted the landmark Milwaukee Parental Choice Program. Advocates had hoped and promised that this experiment in school choice would lead the way in transforming American schools. But it is clear by now that voucher programs and charter school laws have failed to live up to their…

The most intriguing reforms in K-12 education today are entrepreneurial ventures like the New Teacher Project, the KIPP Academies, and New Leaders for New Schools, which command notice for their efforts to reimagine schooling. In "The Future of Educational Entrepreneurship: Possibilities for School Reform," the author collaborates with a…

To an unprecedented degree, this is the era of educational entrepreneurship. Dynamic new thinkers have waded into the world of K-12 education, founded influential organizations, and shattered familiar conventions. They have developed new models for delivering instruction and recruiting teachers and at the same time have applied old-fashioned…

Neither the proponents of district-based reforms nor supporters of choice and competition can claim that their solutions have produced the schools that we want. To move forward, we must shake off assumptions that tried-and-true responses will deliver the reforms that schools need. To achieve the desired results will require fostering the…

While Mr. Hess does not advocate the universal adoption of any single philosophy of management, he feels quite strongly that preparation programs for school leaders are doing their students a disservice by not exposing them to the ideas of the most influential thinkers in management and business. (Contains 7 endnotes.)

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is the single most influential piece of federal education legislation in American history, and Hess and Petrilli provide a concise yet comprehensive look at this important and controversial act. Signed into law in 2002, NCLB seeks to ensure that all American students are proficient in math, reading, and science by 2014.…

To an unprecedented degree, this is the era of educational entrepreneurship. Unconventional thinkers have waded into the world of K-12 education, founded influential organizations, and upended conventions. They have developed new models for delivering instruction or recruiting teachers and have applied old-fashioned practices with inspired…

Essay addresses three questions: What purposes should schools serve and who should determine those purposes? Who should set performance goals for schools? Does school choice comport schooling mission to serve the public interest? Argues for need to be more disciplined and explicit in determining the public interest that schools serve and how that…

The author forthrightly declares in this book of essays on school reform that teachers are no more saintly than anyone else, that poor schools should be closed and lousy teachers should be fired, that philanthropy may sometimes do more harm than good, that teaching experience is not essential to being a school principal, that schools should be…