TEAM Charter Schools

Message from Ali Nagle, fifth grade TEAM teacher and founder of the TEAM in Africa project. She is writing from Rwanda with 3 TEAM students:

“Today was the best day of my life! At Kabwende Primary School in Rwanda, we handed out 1000 books, one to every child, and have one waiting for the 950 students coming this afternoon! Bethanie, author of one of the stories, says today she feels ‘great and very accomplished.’”

Together with Indiana University, students at Newark Collegiate Academy, TEAM’s high school, wrote and published children’s books for the students at Kabwende.

Ryan Hill, Founder and Executive Director of TEAM Charter Schools speaks in favor of more time in school, as practiced at TEAM in Newark and the rest of the KIPP schools across the country.

On this national issue, President Obama says, “We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed for when America was a nation of farmers… That calendar may have once made sense, but today it puts us at a competitive disadvantage… That’s why I’m calling for us to not only expand effective after school programs, but to rethink the school day to incorporate more time.”

On Wednesday, June 3rd, TEAM Charter Schools held its third annual Be the Change Celebration at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. More than 450 supporters, parents, board members, teachers, students, family and friends filled the Victoria Theatre and enjoyed an evening which alternated between poignant student performances and the recognition of the event’s three honorees: Doris and Donald Fisher, Josh Weston and Councilman Ron Rice. Each of the honorees has both played a critical role in TEAM’s success and helped create a strong foundation for our continued growth. We are thrilled to have had the chance to recognize these individuals’ great impact and efforts.

Check out the latest news from Indiana University and Newark Collegiate Academy’s Books & Beyond project. 15 co-authored stories went to the publisher last Monday, soon to be hand-delivered to 2,000 students in Rwanda!

Books & Beyond is a collaborative student project linking Indiana University, TEAM Charter Schools in Newark, and Kabwende Primary School in Rwanda to improve educational practices and English language development in Rwanda.

What a great example of TEAMwork and Improvement, two of TEAM’s values. Will, a Rise Academy math teacher, had his coworkers cover his classroom for a day so that he could spend time getting a broad overview of all the math classes. By looking for similarities and differences across schools and grade levels, TEAM math teachers can have more perspective on how to vertically align the 5-12 curriculum and build on what is already going on inside the classrooms.

Newark described as being at a tipping point for how high-performing charters can influence the improvement of education across the region.

By SHARON McCLOSKY

If, as they say, a rising tide lifts all boats, Newark, N.J. may soon need a marina.

Charter school advocates often contend the presence of successful charter schools in otherwise poor performing school districts can only help by forcing the remaining schools to improve.

They may have found a friend in Newark.

Challenged by a growing number of high-performing charter schools within its bounds, the Newark Public School District last week announced an ambitious plan to turn around its schools to create a system that is bolder, more accountable, more transparent and more innovative.

[Read More...]

Monday, January 12, 2009
By DAVID BROOKS
New York Times Op-Ed

The fight against poverty produces great programs but disappointing results. You go visit an inner-city school, job-training program or community youth center and you meet incredible people doing wonderful things. Then you look at the results from the serious evaluations and you find that these inspiring places are only producing incremental gains.

That’s why I was startled when I received an e-mail message from Roland Fryer, a meticulous Harvard economist. It included this sentence: “The attached study has changed my life as a scientist.”

[Read More...]

The Economist’s education correspondent recently visited TEAM Charter Schools to learn about and report on examples of innovation in US education.  Read the reflections from her week here.  While she was anxious about her Thursday visit with TEAM — “I’m actually a bit nervous. KIPP has a fearsome and to my mind not entirely attractive reputation in England for a zero-tolerance approach to discipline…” — her fears were easily and readily dispelled.  She says about TEAM, “…I cannot remember when my expectations and reality last clashed so much: the day turns out to be the most fun I’ve ever had visiting schools.”

365,000 kids on charter waiting lists. That would be one huge, passionate protest: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124044271936945479.html

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