I've been very engaged in Illinois and Chicago civic activities for a long time; mostly around building businesses and helping entrepreneurs grow companies, but also around education and education reform.
Indeed, while so much in education reform can divide activists into warring camps, expanding learning time unites reformers around a shared vision of bringing excellence and breadth to our nation's most impoverished and struggling schools.
The economy is the start and end of everything. You can't have successful education reform or any other reform if you don't have a strong economy.
I know from my days working on education reform in government that it's almost impossible to exaggerate how little those who work on education policy think about 'how to improve learning.'
Education reform has as its main purpose to make sure that the education delivered is of quality.
Those outside of autism need to understand this is an epidemic and we need more government funding, insurance coverage and education reform.
I got my masters in social sciences and education at Stanford, and initially - this is back in 2002 or 2003 when I graduated - I wanted to move to D.C. and work on education reform, specifically with No Child Left Behind.
The promise of education reform can never be fulfilled without adequate funding, and by shortchanging our schools, President Bush is breaking his promise to our children.
There is a growing acceptance and interest in publicly funded school choice as a catalyst for education reform in general and a way to empower parents to be education reformers.
President Obama and Secretary Duncan have made stronger teacher evaluation a key part of their education reform efforts. Under their signature plan, called 'Race to the Top,' states can win federal support for schools by improving teacher evaluations.
