PPI - Radically Pragmatic
  • Donate
Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Locations
    • Careers
  • People
  • Projects
  • Our Work
  • Events
  • Donate

Our Work

Osborne and Langhorne for US News, “Texas Has Ambitious Plans to Transform Urban Schools”

  • April 13, 2018
  • David Osborne

In public education, the nation’s fastest-improving cities have embraced both charter schools and charter-like “innovation” or “renaissance” schools: public schools with real autonomy (some run by nonprofit organizations), real accountability for performance (including closure if their students are falling too far behind), and a variety of learning models from which families can choose. Those rapidly improving cities include New Orleans, Washington, Denver, and Chicago.

Imagine the progress possible if a state decided to push its urban districts to emulate such models. Texas is doing just that, using carrots – including $120 million in grants and assistance over two years – and sticks to convince urban districts to embrace the new approach.

“I think Texas has used district-level incentives and implementation support for districts who want to move more towards 21st century school systems in a far more thoughtful way than any other state,” says Chris Barbic, who ran Tennessee‘s Achievement School District for its first four years and now invests in state efforts to turn around struggling districts and schools through his position at the Houston-based Laura and John Arnold Foundation.

Continue reading at US News.

Related Work

Op-Ed  |  July 15, 2025

Manno for Forbes: Prudence Is A Gateway Virtue For K-12 Education

  • Bruno Manno
Op-Ed  |  July 8, 2025

Manno for The 74: Survey Finds Teens Worldwide Are Lost in the Transition After High School

  • Bruno Manno
Op-Ed  |  June 30, 2025

Manno for Forbes: Civic Education As We Look To Our Nation’s 250th Anniversary

  • Bruno Manno
Op-Ed  |  June 18, 2025

Osborne for The 74: Red States’ School Vouchers Mark Biggest Shift in U.S. Education in a Century

  • David Osborne
Op-Ed  |  June 16, 2025

Manno for Forbes: Are Micro-Credentials Democratizing K-12 Credentialing?

  • Bruno Manno
In the News  |  June 12, 2025

Kahlenberg in The Assembly: One Critic of Race-Based Admissions Says Colleges Can Still Improve Diversity

  • Richard D. Kahlenberg
  • Never miss an update:

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
PPI Logo
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Donate
  • Careers
  • © 2025 Progressive Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved.
  • |
  • Privacy Policy
  • |
  • Privacy Settings