Tuesday, November 08, 2011

CoGCS membership pays for APS?

APS belongs to a group called the Council of the Great City Schools. APS Supt Winston Brooks is in fact, the Chairman of their Executive Committee.

APS responded to pressure about whether the dues (that taxpayers pony up) are well spent. Brooks thinks they are, as does the Council's Executive Director Michael Casserly. He wrote an op-ed that the Journal happily published. APS also published his op-ed, on their award winning website, link.

The gist of their argument is, without the Council's help, APS would not have received millions in federal grants. Nor would they have benefited from the Council's expertise on all things educational. I think both points are debatable, but not here and not now.

If you ask a teacher to point to the greatest barriers to education; high on their list will be chronically disruptive students and their impact on the efforts of other students. If you look on CoGCS' website for any mention of their study of the problem or how to deal with it, you will find nothing; they haven't done one.

I rest my case.

No comments: