Education reform is the name given to the goal of changing public education. The meaning and education methods have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Historically, the motivations for reform have not reflected the current needs of society. A consistent theme of reform includes the idea that large systematic changes to educational standards will produce social returns in citizens' health, wealth, and well-being.
A fire drill is a method of practicing how a building would be evacuated in the event of a fire or other emergencies. In most cases, the building's existing fire alarm system is activated and the building is evacuated by means of the nearest available exits, as if an emergency had actually occurred. Fire drill procedures may vary depending on the building type, such as hospitals or high rise buildings, where occupants may be relocated within the building as opposed to evacuating the building. Generally, the evacuation interval is measured to ensure that it is fast enough, and problems with the emergency system or evacuation procedures are identified to be remedied.
Academic tenure in the United States and Canada is a contractual right that grants a teacher or professor a permanent position of employment at an academic institution such as a university or school. Tenure is intended to protect teachers from dismissal without just cause, and to allow development of thoughts or ideas considered unpopular or controversial among the community. In North America, tenure is granted only to educators whose work is considered to be exceptionally productive and beneficial in their careers.
The Bayonne School District is a comprehensive public school district serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Bayonne in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.
Randi Weingarten is an American labor leader, attorney, and educator. She is president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and a member of the AFL–CIO. She is the former president of the United Federation of Teachers.
Proposition 74 (2005) was a ballot proposition in the 2005 California special election that intended to extend probationary periods for the state's public school teachers from two years to five before attaining tenure. It failed at the polls, with 55% of voters rejecting it.
Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Tenure is a means of defending the principle of academic freedom, which holds that it is beneficial for society in the long run if scholars are free to hold and examine a variety of views.
Merit pay, merit increase or pay for performance, is performance-related pay, most frequently in the context of educational reform or government civil service reform. It provides bonuses for workers who perform their jobs effectively, according to easily measurable criteria. In the United States, policy makers are divided on whether merit pay should be offered to public school teachers, and other public employees, as is commonly the case in the United Kingdom.
Christopher James Christie is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018.
Thomas Luna is an American politician who served as Idaho superintendent of public instruction from 2006 to 2014. Luna was the chair of Idaho Republican Party from June 2020 to July 2022.
Michelle Ann Rhee is an American educator and advocate for education reform. She was Chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools from 2007 to 2010. In late 2010, she founded StudentsFirst, a non-profit organization that works on education reform.
Absent Teacher Reserve is a term referring to teachers who are no longer appointed to a specific school, but are reassigned to a school or number of schools within a school district or school system throughout the school year. It may also refer to assistant principals who are rotated from school to school in a similar fashion and there are also AGRs, a guidance counterpart.
Waiting for "Superman" is a 2010 American documentary film written and directed by Davis Guggenheim and produced by Lesley Chilcott. The film criticizes the American public education system by following several students as they strive to be accepted into competitive charter schools such as KIPP LA Schools, Harlem Success Academy and Summit Preparatory Charter High School.
TNTP, formerly known as The New Teacher Project, is an organization in the United States with a mission of ensuring that poor and minority students get equal access to effective teachers. It helps urban school districts and states recruit and train new teachers, staff challenged schools, design evaluation systems, and retain teachers who have demonstrated the ability to raise student achievement. TNTP is a non-profit organization that was founded by Michelle Rhee in 1997.
Last in First Out is a policy often used by school districts and other employers to prioritize layoffs by seniority. Under LIFO layoff rules, junior teachers and other employees lose their jobs before senior ones. Laying off junior employees first is not exclusive to the education sector or to the United States, but is perhaps most controversial there. LIFO's proponents claim that it protects teachers with tenure and gives them job stability, and that it is an easily administered way of accomplishing layoffs following a budget cut. LIFO's critics respond that it is bad for students. They prefer that the best teachers remain regardless of how long they have been teaching.
StudentsFirst is a political lobbying organization formed in 2010 by Michelle Rhee, former school chancellor of Washington D.C. public schools, in support of education reform. The organization worked to pass state laws on issues such as expanding charter schools and teacher tenure reform. On March 29, 2016, it announced some of its state chapters would merge with 50CAN, and its Sacramento headquarters would downsize.
Kevin S. Huffman is an American lawyer and education administrator who was the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education. He was appointed to the position by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and served from April 2011 to January 2015. Prior to his work at the Tennessee Department of Education, Huffman held a senior management position in Teach for America and had worked as an attorney specializing in education.
Christopher D. Cerf is an American education administrator and attorney who previously served as the state-appointed Superintendent of the Newark Public Schools in New Jersey.
Clifford B. Janey was an American educator who served as superintendent of District of Columbia Public Schools, Newark Public Schools, and Rochester City School District.
Robert Richard "Bud" Spillane was an American school administrator who served as superintendent of Boston Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools.
