U6231+Challenges+and+Imperatives+of+Urban+School+Systems

Next Offered
Fall 2013

Professor
Harold Levy

Syllabus
Note: Syllabus is subject to change at the professor's discretion.

Course Description
Education remains one of the critical issues in American politics. The Obama Administration’s Race to the Top initiatives and the conditional waivers it has granted to states from the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act have further pushed the issue to the forefront of the political agenda. Dramatic reductions in financial support for Kindergarten-grade 12 as well as relentless tuition increases for higher education have resulted in a public outcry. Simultaneously, online and for-profit courses, Common Core Standards and new assessment tools are further changing the educational landscape. This course will familiarize students with the challenges and imperatives that a large diverse city like New York faces in educating both its children and adult residents while navigating these regulatory, funding and pedagogical changes. In order to understand the larger socio/political context, the course will explore contemporary issues confronting large urban school system administrators, higher education leaders and elected officials in managing the conflicting interests and priorities. Students will learn about the organization, politics and finance of education, teacher union, college faculty and principal collective bargaining, management and accountability systems, curriculum, privatization, capital projects, the role of such factors as ethnicity and attendance in student performance, the “culture wars,” the power of big data analysis and the impact of the new technologies.

Review
Not available

Student Contact Information
Not available