Ed Morrison · The Wind of Change: Innovation in Cleveland’s schools

May 26th, 2010

This morning’s Cleveland Plain Dealer carries Edith Starzyk’s important story about three inner city schools:

Three Cleveland schools lauded in study of Ohio urban districts

Finding Needles in a Haystack

A recent report form the Fordham Institute highlighted these three schools among eight urban schools that have been showing extraordinary results. You can download the Fordham Report from this page.

Needles in a Haystack Full Report

Here’s the Institute’s presentation that focuses on some key points.

Needles in a Haystack Presentation Web

In addition, you can download very informative summaries for each of the three Cleveland schools:

Citizens’ Academy
Horizon Science Academy – Cleveland Middle School
Louisa May Alcott Elementary School

Below, you can also see videos from each of the schools.

The Wind of Change Sweeping Public Education

In 1960, British Prime Minister Harold McMillan made his famous Wind of Change speech signaling the collapse of British colonialism in sub-Saharan Africa. We’re at that moment in public education in this country. A major shift is underway.

We are moving from an era of incremental school reform to an era of education transformation. In both urban and rural districts, this transformation is underway. Here’s one example that a group of us at Purdue promoted in rural Indiana.


Reinventing high school in rural Indiana from Ed Morrison on Vimeo.


We are also working with a group of thirty districts in Southeast Wisconsin, represented by the Center for Education Innovation and Regional Economic Development. The Center is applying the framework of strategic doing to the challenges of school transformation.

Steven Brill summarized the transformations underway in his excellent article in the NY Times Sunday Magazine. If you are at all interested about the future of Cleveland and its schools, spend time reading Brill’s piece.

The Teachers’ Unions’ Last Stand

Watching the Transformation in Cleveland

The Fordham Institute provides video inside of the classrooms in Cleveland’s exemplary schools.

Needles in a Haystack: Citizens' Academy from Education Gadfly on Vimeo.

Needles in a Haystack: Horizon Science Academy-Cleveland Middle School from Education Gadfly on Vimeo.

Needles in a Haystack: Louisa May Alcott Elementary from Education Gadfly on Vimeo.

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