CG in the newsRethinking School Discipline
David C. Bloomfield, School Administrator, June 1, 2008
David Bloomfield discusses educational bureaucracy and tedious procedures, making special note of Common Good's Over Ruled project, "The New Three R's: Rules, Regulation and More Rules" report, and the October 2007 "Class Disrupted" forum.
Common Good Colorado Supports Education Bill
Todd Engdahl, Education News Colorado, April 3, 2008
Common Good Colorado testified before the Colorado House Education Committee in favor of the "Innovations Schools" bill.
Ed. Schools Beef Up Classroom Management Training
Vaishali Honawar, Education Week, December 11, 2007
Common Good Director of Education Policy Dina Hasiotis comments on teachers' concerns about school discipline.
Schools Increasingly Sending Discipline Issues to Court
Yvonne Wenger, The Post and Courier (SC), November 11, 2007
The Post and Courier examines why school discipline matters -- not crimimal ones -- are increasingly reported to authorities and tried in courts. The article quotes Common Good Director of Education Policy Dina Hasiotis.
Public School Discipline Code Said To Need Private Tutoring
Sarah Garland, New York Sun, May 11, 2007
The New York Sun reports on Common Good's recommendations for improving school discipline and restoring order to our public schools.
Philip Howard on Fox
April 9, 2007
Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard appeared on the Fox & Friends morning show to discuss a fight between two 7th-graders in an elementary school in Florida. The teacher was prohibited – by school regulations – from stopping it.
Get Out of the Way!
Deidre McFadyen, New York Teacher, November 2, 2006
New York Teacher highlights a recent Common Good Report that asked eight New York City teachers to keep a detailed diary of their work life for two weeks. The study illustrates how paperwork, mandates and student discipline prevent our teachers from teaching.
What Matters Most
Randi Weingarten, New York Times, September 15, 2006
Randi Weingarten, President of the United Federation of Teachers, writes about how Common Good's "All in a Day's Work" report illuminates the burden of day-to-day bureaucracy on teachers.
Group's Goal Is Uncommon
Karen Abbott, Rocky Mountain News, April 1, 2006
The Rocky Mountain News reports that "[i]t can take months to suspend an unruly student from a public school in Colorado, and it can take more than a year to fire a bad teacher" according to new research done by Common Good Colorado.
A "Wedge" for Better Schools
Editorial, New York Post, March 8, 2006
In an editorial endorsing Schools Chancellor Joel Klein’s proposal to allow New York City principals to bypass more senior assistant principals for assistant principals of their choice, the New York Post mentions Common Good’s efforts to highlight the overregulation of New York City schools.
Common Good Honors Three Judges with Third Annual Gatekeeper Awards
January 25, 2006
Three judges have been selected as the recipients of the third annual Common Good Gatekeeper Awards. The Awards highlight the important role of judges in drawing legal boundaries of who can sue for what. They recognize judges whose decisions restore public confidence that reasonable actions will be supported by the courts. This year’s awards highlight judges who made notable decisions with regard to lawsuits challenging educators.
ABC's 20/20 Featured Chart Prepared by Common Good
January 17, 2006
In a special 20/20 report on the state of America's public schools, ABC's John Stossel presented a chart prepared by Common Good titled, "How Do I Fire an Inept Teacher." The program, "Stupid in America: How We Are Cheating Our Kids," aired on Friday, January 13th, on the ABC Television Network.
Common Good’s School Rules Many educators spend their days complying with burdensome regulations and fearing lawsuits and non-compliance. Common Good has put together a list of ten school rules to help teachers and principals stay compliant and lawsuit free.
IN DEPTH: NY Daily News Calls for Contract Reform
Editorial, New York Daily News, September 8, 2005
A New York Daily News editorial calls for reforms that will empower principals with the authority to effectively administer their schools. It demands that principals "gain the right to recruit the best teachers, reward meritorious service, and, when necessary, dismiss incompetents with much streamlined due process."
The Confluence of Law and Education
Donald C. Wesley, Journal of the School Administrators Association of Western New York, August 1, 2005
Donald C. Wesley, a former high school teacher and administrator of 38 years, examines how adversarial legalism in schools has gradually broadened and deepened. Wesley uses Common Good's documentation on the subject for support.
Class War
Philip K. Howard, The Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2005
Common Good chair Philip K. Howard calls attention to the "most unappreciated" problem in our public schools: "the general decline in order."
Free the Schools
Philip K. Howard, New York Daily News, May 15, 2005
Common Good chair Philip K. Howard argues that effective schools and real accountability will only be created by abandoning the "bureaucratic structure" of public education.
An Urgent Call for Reform
Staff Editorial, New York Daily News, May 11, 2005
Common Good's Over Ruled study continues to fuel calls for reforming America's over-legalized public schools.
The Burden of Law
Diane Ravitch, The Miami Herald, March 1, 2005
Common Good Chair Testifies Before New York City Council
February 8, 2005
Howard Speaks at White House Economic Conference
December 15, 2004
Common Good chair Philip K. Howard was invited by the President to speak at the White House Economic Conference on December 15, 2004.
Unfixing Our Schools
Jack Moseley, Arkansas News Bureau, December 10, 2004
Citing Common Good’s Over Ruled study and Philip K. Howard’s recent op-ed, “You Can’t Buy Your Way Out of a Bureaucracy,” editorialist Jack Moseley argues for unburdening schools across the country.
Fixing Schools, Wholesale
Responses to "You Can't Buy Your Way Out of a Bureaucracy"
The New York Times, December 6, 2004
Letters to the editor of The New York Times responded to "You Can't Buy Your Way Out of a Bureaucracy," an op-ed on the burden of law in public schools by Common Good chair Philip K. Howard.
83 Steps to Fire a N.Y. Teacher
Michelle Garcia, The Washington Post, December 5, 2004
The Washington Post covers Common Good's "Over Ruled" study.
You Can't Buy Your Way Out of a Bureaucracy
Philip K. Howard, The New York Times, December 3, 2004
Common Good chair Philip K. Howard calls national attention to the "insurmountable legal barrier" that "blocks even the simplest of choices" in today's public schools.
Down the Rathole
Richard Schwartz, New York Daily News, December 2, 2004
An editorial calling for fundamental reform of the New York City public schools, citing Common Good's "Over Ruled" study.
Over Ruled
New York Sun Staff Editorial, The New York Sun, December 1, 2004
A New York Sun editorial discussing Common Good's "Over Ruled" study.
New York City School Principals Are Paralyzed by Laws, Rules, and Regulations
Julia Levy, The New York Sun, November 30, 2004
The New York Sun gives front-page coverage to Common Good's "Over Ruled" study.
It's a Red-Tape Jungle for Schools
Joe Williams, New York Daily News, November 30, 2004
Coverage of Common Good's "Over Ruled" study.
Regs Stifle Schools, Study Says
David Andreatta, New York Post, November 30, 2004
Coverage of Common Good's "Over Ruled" study.
Over Ruled: The Burden of Law on America's Public Schools
November 29, 2004
Principals on the Defensive
Has the Threat of Lawsuits Changed Our Schools?
Gary Hopkins, Education World: The Principal Files, September 28, 2004
In a recent Harris Interactive poll, commissioned by Common Good, 77 percent of principals said that principals--other than themselves--avoid decisions they think are right simply because they might be challenged legally. Education World, an online resource center for educators, asked a group of principals from across the country to respond to this poll.
Student Discipline and America’s Lawsuit Culture
Ruth A. Wooden, The Christian Science Monitor, September 9, 2004
Editorial discusses the results of "Teaching Interrupted," a Public Agenda poll commissioned by Common Good, and argues that too little attention is being paid to student discipline in the movement to raise student achievement.
Student Misbehavior Impedes Learning, Drives Out Teachers
Krista Kafer, School Reform News, July 1, 2004
An article on Public Agenda's May 2004 poll, "Teaching Interrupted: Do Discipline Policies in Today's Public Schools Foster the Common Good?", which was commissioned by Common Good.
Why is School Discipline Considered a Trivial Issue?
Jean Johnson, Education Week, June 23, 2004
Public Agenda Senior Vice President Jean Johnson writes about their new poll, "Teaching Interrupted: Do Discipline Policies in Today's Public Schools Foster the Common Good?". The poll was commissioned by Common Good.
Teachers Tied Down by Legal Worries
Jim Bencivenga, The Chirstian Science Monitor, June 14, 2004
An Urgent Need for Authority in the Classroom
Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch, June 11, 2004
CG Director of Policy Nancy Udell discusses school discipline in the Columbus Dispatch. "Teachers should have authority over their classrooms," Udell said, "and lawsuits aren't the answer."
Education Week Reports on Common Good Forum, Public Agenda Poll
from "Report Notes Impact of Student Behavior"
Darcia Harris Bowman, Education Week, May 19, 2004
School Suits
Tresa Baldas, National Law Journal, May 17, 2004
Behavior Problems Hurt Teachers, Students
Deb McCown, The Washington Times, May 12, 2004
Coverage of Public Agenda's "Teaching Interrupted," a new poll commissioned by Common Good.
Press Coverage of "Teaching Interrupted"
A Public Agenda poll commissioned by Common Good
May 11, 2004
Study: Students Suffer in Unruly Classes
Ben Feller, Associated Press, May 11, 2004
Coverage of Public Agenda's "Teaching Interrupted," a new poll commissioned by Common Good.
Addressing the Discipline Problem
Jay Matthews, The Washington Post, May 11, 2004
Column on Public Agenda's "Teaching Interrupted," a new poll commissioned by Common Good.
Former CG Director of Policy Nancy Udell Discusses Defensive Teaching
Topical Currents, May 3, 2004
Undue Process
Some educators tire of teaching in the shadow of lawsuits
Caroline Hendrie, Teacher Magazine, May 1, 2004
Discipline, the Achievement Gap and the Law
Urban Education, May 2004
A review of CG Education Advisory Board Member Richard Arum's new book, Judging School Discipline, praises Arum for avoiding standard ideological positions to arrive at a groundbreaking analysis.
Fighting Back
'A teacher fights back against unruly kids'
D.J. Burrough, Christian Science Monitor, April 23, 2004
Asking for Trouble
CG Advisory Board Member Diane Ravitch, New York Post, December 19, 2003
Discussion of legal fear in America on NPR's Talk of the Nation
December 18, 2003
Keeping the Courts Out of Education
December 11, 2003
On the heels of the Newsweek's cover story, "Lawsuit Hell," the Education Gadfly, a weekly newsletter from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, discusses legal fear and Common Good's work in education.
How Courts And Congress Wrecked School Discipline
Stuart Taylor, Jr, National Journal, November 15, 2003
Responding to a wave of violence gripping Anacostia Senior High School, located just a few miles from the Capitol, Stuart Taylor Jr. argued in The National Journal that the courts share considerable responsibility for undermining discipline in America's schools.
Group Says 'Lawsuit Culture' Hampers Schools
Caroline Hendrie, Education Week, November 12, 2003
Coverage of Common Good's November 5, 2003, forum, "Is Law Undermining Public Education?"
Teachers' Rulebook is Killing the Schools
CG Chair Philip K. Howard, The Daily News, June 11, 2001
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