Penn GSE News Archive
Black faculty and radical retention
Damani White-Lewis offers research-based recommendations on retaining Black faculty.
How to spend a billion dollars and other lessons from college-sports class
College sports are an integral part of the university experience. They help with recruiting and retention — and they help the bottom line. Penn GSE’s Karen Weaver teaches one of the country's only courses to prepare university presidents to manage the related complexities.
Chronic truancy on the rise in Philadelphia schools
Michael Gottfried says that Philadelphia’s rise in unexcused absences is a sign of student disengagement triggered by a return from remote learning to an in-person classroom.
Regional Roundup
Sigal Ben-Porath discusses how hate speech intersects with First Amendment rights on college campuses.
Guest Commentary: Extracurriculars keep our students safe
James H. Lytle, argues that stuents in inner city high schools have significantly less time and engagement in school related activities compared to their counterparts in suburban or private schools. Lytle theorizes, what we call, the “achievement gap” between students is actually a “time gap.”
School leaders learning from one another
Zachary Herrmann reflects on the challenges and opportunities senior-level district leaders face, and how they can work, collaborative, and problem-solve together.
Projects for Progress, two years in
Colleagues from Penn GSE and the Netter Center were honored for being selected in the first cohort of the new Projects for Progress award.
The Pros and Cons of Non-Conference ‘Pay Games’
Karen Weaver, sports finance expert, shares that Group of 5 schools use money games to supplement income instead of raising student athletic fees — which can be highly controversial, told Front Office Sports.
One way of addressing book bans? Allow for compromise
Jonathan Zimmerman discusses the opt-out option included in the guidelines for teaching sex education in schools and suggest similar compromises be applied to alleviate the polarized views on book bans.
Pa. waived the basic skills requirement for educators. Will it work to attract more teachers?
Pam Grossman and Richard Ingersoll speak on the potential drawbacks of waiving basic skills tests for teacher preparation programs.
Central Bucks West tells teachers not to use students’ preferred names and pronouns without parent approval
Patrick Sexton says that procedures like the new guidelines in a suburban school district can disconnect students from their academics and from a necessary system of support.
Back to school… and back to the culture war
Jonathan Zimmerman, expert on the history of education, discusses how Florida Governor Ron Desantis is making public schools a "national political project." Zimmerman explains that historically teachers get fired for differences in political idealogies that arise at a local or state level, but not any more.
What is the impact of Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan?
Laura Perna, expert in college access, affordability, and success, takes a look at the budgetary costs and distributional impact of the U.S. President’s initiative.
How bad is the teacher shortage? Depends on where you live.
How bad is the teacher shortage? The answer depends on where you live, according to an article in the New York Times. Jacey Fortin and Eliza Fawcett spoke with experts and educators from across the country, including Richard Ingersoll.
How do we teach history in America today?
Abby Reisman joins five other Philadelphia educators to discuss American history, equity and inclusion, critical race theory, and other hot-button issues schools and teachers face in 2022.
Here’s how Black boys can cope with racial and gender violence
Howard Stevenson speaks about the PLAAY Project, which prepares Black male youth to cope with crisis and high-stress situations through sports.