National Charter School Conference in New Orleans

In honor of one of the largest conventions in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina almost three years ago, the city threw a parade for attendees at the National Charter School Conference. Over 3,000 people are attending the national conference that began yesterday and ends tomorrow. About 53% of public school students in New Orleans attend public charter schools.

Yesterday, I sat in a workshop by Marci Cornell-Feist, from Meetinghouse Solutions, Inc. Here are a few bullets from what I learned:

• Each individual board member should evaluate him/herself and then have a one-on-one discussion with the board chair regarding their performance.
• Strong boards hire strong leaders.
• If the school leader brings small items to the board, they're inviting micromanagement.
• How much are we focused on the strategic instead of what's already happened?
• Every governing board should have a board agreement in place.

This morning at "The Fate of NCLB, " David DeShryver filled in for Mike Petrilli of the Fordham Foundation; some of his points were:

• Proficiency levels were previously too loose; the focus was more on equity rather than excellence.
• The Fordham Foundation has recently released a report on high-achieving students.
• Congress is considering allowing extra flexibility in accountability for states with standards benchmarked to international standards.