Readers of this blog may enjoy an exchange taking place on the Bridging Differences blog between Deborah Meier, a longtime education thinker, and Elliott Witney, a former leader in a KIPP charter school.
Over the next month, the pair—whose views about charter schools and school choice are starkly different—will be exploring and challenging each others’ positions on education policy. Meier started off the conversation with a post asking a myriad of questions about KIPP’s discipline policies, which she describes as militaristic. Witney has posted his response to her questions, which touches on the issues of discipline, test performance, and the overall KIPP model.
For more about the discipline policies in different charter schools, check out Education Week’s recent series of stories on the topic. The report also includes a Q&A with KIPP’s CEO Richard Barth about the charter network’s implementation of discipline policies.