Table Of ContentProgram 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
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Program on America and the Global Economy
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
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www.wilsoncenter.org/page
Cover Photo: “Schoolgirl using laptop“ © Image Source,
Getty Images
ISBN: 978-1-938027-05-5
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Joseph B. gildenhorn, Chairman of the Board
sander r. gerber, Vice Chairman
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leach, Chairman, national endowment for the humanities; Kathleen
sebelius, secretary, u.s. Department of health and human services
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wilson national cabinet: eddie & sylvia Brown, Melva Bucksbaum
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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
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