The media and observers across the ideological spectrum were surprised and, in some cases, disconcerted in July 2014, when at the annual American Federation of Teachers (AFT) convention in Los Angeles, the union's leadership team announced that its Innovation Fund grants of $20,000 to $30,000 were going to be made available to state and local…

When former U.S. congressman and Obama administration chief of staff Rahm Emanuel marched triumphantly into the Chicago mayor's office in 2011, he promised to revamp Chicago Public Schools (CPS) in ways that had barely been contemplated in 16 years of mayoral control over the city's sprawling public-school system. This article discusses…

In February 2009, newly elected President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Capital City Public Charter School in northwest Washington, D.C. This was the First Family's first official public-school visit, just a few short weeks after President Obama was sworn into office. Obama's enthusiastic support for charter schools was one of…

This article features Boston superintendent Tom Payzant. In a national landscape dotted with dysfunctional urban systems and short-lived superintendents, Payzant stands out. With over a decade at the helm, Payzant is arguably the best big-city school leader in the nation and Boston the most improved urban district. The success side of the Payzant…

In the spring of 1995, the Chicago Public School system, the nation's third largest and, arguably, one of the most troubled, made national headlines when it was taken over by Mayor Richard M. Daley, then starting his third term and the most popular mayor since his father, Richard J. Daley, held the office for 21 years. By far the biggest reform…

New Leaders for New Schools is the brainchild of a group of graduates from Harvard's business and education schools, including CEO Jonathan Schnur, a former Clinton administration official. New Leaders was designed to supply new blood to cities that were reportedly facing shortages of qualified principals ready to turn around dysfunctional…

Profile of Paul Vallas, superintendent of the Philadelphia public school system. Vallas is credited with turning around the Chicago public school system during his tenure as superintendent from 1995 to 2001. He is known as a nontraditional superintendent, a tireless worker, and firm believer in accountability. (WFA)