Joel Klein on The Failure of American Schools

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Joel Klein, who recently stepped down after serving as New York City School Chancellor for nine years, draws on his experiences in office to describe an education system that is “run for the adults” and creating “two Americas,” – an elite upper-class and an underclass that is lacking in skills, in a recent article in The Atlantic. “The system doesn’t want to change because it serves the needs of the adult stakeholders quite well, both politically and financially,” Klein says, and a “major realignment of political forces” is necessary for dramatic improvements.

He highlights three keys to rebuilding the K-12 school system: 1) improved accountability – internal, through effective evaluations and external, through school competition, 2) attract better quality teachers by restructuring pay, and fire ineffective teachers and 3) better use of innovative technology.

Read the full article, “The Failure of American Schools,” here.