Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Gist Bites Dog

When Central Falls exploded across the national scene, a lot of experienced education reporters, like Linda Perlstein and Alexander Russo wondered what the big deal was. While the Central Falls case did have a few unique facets, in general they had a point: reconstituting schools isn't unusual nationally or in Rhode Island. In fact it is so mundane in Rhode Island that nobody here seemed to remember the many times it had been done in this state during the past decade.

I suppose closing charter schools isn't that unusual either, but the way Gist v. Highlander is unfolding is pretty darn weird, and, I'd think newsworthy.

Also, it is rather obviously a case where Gist is grandstanding for the national stage. I'd like to see some real national reaction to the particulars of the case, not just the general idea of having high expectations for charters.

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