Program on america and the global economy Making a SucceSS of every School: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century Paul Vallas with Tressa Pankovits Edited with an Introduction by Kent Hughes Making a SucceSS of every School: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century Paul Vallas with Tressa Pankovits Edited with an Introduction by Kent Hughes www.wilsoncenter.org/page Available from : Program on America and the Global Economy Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars One Woodrow Wilson Plaza 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004-3027 www.wilsoncenter.org/page Cover Photo: “Schoolgirl using laptop“ © Image Source, Getty Images ISBN: 978-1-938027-05-5 the woodrow wilson international center for scholars, established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a living national memorial to President Wilson. the Center’s mission is to commemorate the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson by provid- ing a link between the worlds of ideas and policy, while fostering research, study, discussion, and collaboration among a broad spectrum of individu- als concerned with policy and scholarship in national and international af- fairs. supported by public and private funds, the Center is a nonpartisan institution engaged in the study of national and world affairs. it establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. 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Department of education; David ferriero, archivist of the united states; fred P. hochberg, Chairman and President, export-import Bank; James leach, Chairman, national endowment for the humanities; Kathleen sebelius, secretary, u.s. Department of health and human services private citizen Members: timothy Broas, John t. Casteen iii, Charles Cobb, Jr., thelma Duggin, Carlos M. gutierrez, susan hutchison, Barry s. Jackson wilson national cabinet: eddie & sylvia Brown, Melva Bucksbaum & raymond learsy, ambassadors sue & Chuck Cobb, lester Crown, thelma Duggin, Judi flom, sander r. gerber, ambassador Joseph B. gildenhorn & alma gildenhorn, harman family foundation, susan hutchison, frank f. islam, Willem Kooyker, linda B. & tobia g. Mercuro, Dr. alexander V. Mirtchev, Wayne rogers, leo Zickler contentS IntroductIon 1 MakIng a SucceSS of every School Part i 7 the need to evolve Part ii 27 rebuilding and reforming new orleans conclusion 49 appendIx Biographies 53 about the Program on america 56 and the global economy v introduction aMerica faces an education challenge. While America’s uni- versities lead the world, its K-12 system has fallen badly behind. Compared with its advanced economy competitors, American 15-year-olds rank 17th in science and 25th in mathematics. When major emerging market econo- mies are included, the American performance looks even worse. The Wilson Center is delighted that its Distinguished Scholar, Paul Vallas, has agreed to put on paper his approach to reform that he has developed over his years leading the public schools in Chicago, Philadelphia, the Recovery School District in New Orleans, and most recently, Bridgeport, Connecticut. In preparing this paper, he has been ably assisted by Tressa Pankovits, who has worked with Vallas on a number of projects including his international initia- tives. She brings to this collaboration an extensive background in writing, tele- vision journalism and work as a litigating attorney. Both Vallas and Pankovits stressed the valuable support provided by Kevin Shafer, a Teach for America alumnus and Deputy Chief of Staff with the Bridgeport Public School System, and express appreciation for the research provided by Dr. Kenneth Wong, the first Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair for Educational Policy and Chairman of the Education Department at Brown University. The full Vallas and Pankovits biographies can be found in the Appendix. Paul Vallas, the noted education reformer, has developed an approach that he is convinced can make any school a success. Needed and positive change can occur in both traditional public schools and publicly funded charter schools. He moves beyond the debate over the value of charter schools to focus on the key elements that will make any school a quality educational institution. Vallas’ thinking on school reform has emerged from years of experi- ence in first working on the financial side of city management and then as superintendent of the aforementioned school systems. In recent years, he has 1