News from 2014
Dispatch from a Summer Internship: Corey Matthews
This summer, GSPP student Corey Matthews is posted at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, which works to create jobs and attract new businesses to Los Angeles' 88 counties. He has been working closely with the Director of Public Policy to align stakeholders around the growth of the aerospace and defense industry. "A week after I started, LA County was designated one of twelve manufacturing destination areas from the Federal Government," says Corey. "Since then, we have been moving…
Alice Waters and the Edible School Yard
Photo Credit: Cyrus Kawalya "Food can be affordable, but it must never be cheap," said Alice Waters in her meeting with the Young African Leaders Washington Fellows. "When food is too cheap, it is the farmer who pays the price." Alice Waters is the proprietor of Chez Panisse restaurant, a champion of local, sustainable food and the founder of the Edible School Yard. She is also the Vice President of Slow Food International, a nonprofit organization…
YALI Washington Fellows on KQED’s Forum
Four of the 26 Washington Fellows of the Young African Leaders Program studying at the Goldman School this summer were interviewed on KQED's Forum with Michael Krasny. From left: Chief Sbonelo Mkhize, Chair of the uThukela House of Traditional Leaders in South Africa, Zana Ouattara, co-director of the Bouake Caravan of Non-Violence in Cote D'Ivoire; Chundung Ashley Dauda, peace builder with the Women Without Walls Initiative in Northern Nigeria; and Elaine Muntongwizo Vere, attorney with the…
GSPP Welcomes Young African Leaders Initiative Washington Fellows
The Goldman School of Public Policy and UC Berkeley welcomes the Young African Leaders Initiative Washington Fellows for six weeks of intensive study on civic leadership. The Institute was launched in 2013 by President Barack Obama to “give thousands of promising young Africans...the opportunity to come to the United States and develop your skills at some of our best colleges and universities.” The 500 young African leaders studying in the US this summer at 20 partner universities were selected…
Taking on Teacher Tenure Backfires
By Jesse Rothstein In his decision on Tuesday to strike down California’s teacher-tenure system, Judge Rolf M. Treu of Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that laws protecting teachers from dismissal violated the state’s constitutional commitment to provide “a basically equal opportunity to achieve a quality education” and drew parallels with prior cases concerning school desegregation and funding levels. But there is a difference between recognizing students’ rights to integrated, adequately funded schools and…
The Benefits of Mixing Rich and Poor
Whenever President Obama proposes a major federal investment in early education, as he did in his two most recent State of the Union addresses, critics have a two-word riposte: Head Start. Researchers have long cast doubt on that program’s effectiveness. The most damning evidence comes from a 2012 federal evaluation that used gold-standard methodology and concluded that children who participated in Head Start were not more successful in elementary school than others. That finding was catnip to the detractors. …
Raising Up The Next Generation
New York City was abuzz with anticipation for Fashion Week. Everyone was excited -- except for me. In August 2008, I had heard then-Senator Barack Obama speak at the Democratic National Convention and realized that I wanted to be a part of a new generation of leaders who can deliver creative public policy. That is an excerpt from the statement of purpose I wrote in my Goldman School application. I often get asked what made me want to leave the glamour…
The ADHD Explosion
It was a medical and public policy mystery. In the last decade, the rate of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has gone up by more than 40% nationwide. What could account for such a sharp increase? In their new book, The ADHD Explosion: Myths, Medication, Money, and Today's Push for Performance (Oxford University Press, March 2014), Professor Richard M. Scheffler, a health economist and Professor Stephen P. Hinshaw, a clinical psychologist combine their expertise to sleth out the…
From cradle to kindergarten in Sacramento
The buzz in Sacramento is that early childhood education might get a healthy infusion of state funds this year. It's a top priority in the Legislature, and Gov.Jerry Brown, while not leading the charge, appreciates the potential impact of giving kids a running start. There's overwhelming evidence of the life-changing potential of good prekindergarten. Analyses of model preschools, which tracked youngsters from their preschool days to their 40s, have shown its lifelong benefits. Nobel Prize-winning economist …
Dazzling in the “Anti-Flash”
Last month, the 25,000-member American Educational Research Association selected David Kirp’s “Improbable Scholars” for its 2014 Outstanding Book Award. The honor, reserved for education’s intellectual heavyweights, is not only a nod to Kirp’s scholarly achievement, but more, an acknowledgement of the power of marrying journalism and policy into a narrative that can drive public interest where there is seemingly so little: systems change. Kirp, a professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy…