The practice of teachers in classrooms is what matters most when it comes to students learning in school. The principle strategies of school reform -- 'higher' standards, school and teacher 'accountability', intensified testing, and 'choice' -- may affect teacher practice indirectly, but the the relatively poor record of school reform...

There's never been a golden age of arts education in American schools. Back in 1930, less than a quarter of 18-year olds had taken classes or lessons in any art form. There was much progress after that, but by the early 1980s more than a third still...

This post was co-authored with Paul Sznewajs, Ingenuity, Inc.

It is good to see that almost all the suggestions about how a longer school day might benefit Chicago's public school students include time to study the arts. Whether the school day is extended or not, though, the...

Despite its preoccupation with the economy, health care, two wars, and other pressing matters, the administration has already shown a real appreciation for the arts. Its White House performance programs are welcoming the diversity of American culture to the "People's House." It has appointed energetic new leadership to the Arts...

The viaducts beneath Lake Shore Drive are utilitarian gateways to lakefront neighborhoods, and the glories of our Lake Michigan parks. They are also dark, dirty, and loud. They are the last places one would expect to become points of community pride and pleasure. But the viaduct at Bryn Mawr Avenue...