Based on "School Sleuth: The Case of an Excellent School," a program for his PBS series The Merrow Report, this book seeks to answer the question: How do you know if your school is any good? Merrow aims here to help parents and others who are "determined to push and pull the system beyond `good enough.'" To that end, he examines various aspects of schooling from testing and homework to safety, values and technology drawing on years of school visits and interviews. While highlighting issues of current concern, e.g., high-stakes testing, safe schools, and the place of technology in the curriculum, the author also provides an overview of the "best practices" in education.
John Merrow began his career as an education reporter with National Public Radio nearly 40 years ago with the weekly series, Options in Education, for which he received the George Polk Award in 1982. He is currently Education Correspondent for PBS NewsHour and President of Learning Matters, an independent production company based in New York City.
Merrow earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College, an M.A. in American Studies from Indiana University, and a doctorate in Education and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He received the Harold W. McGraw Prize in Education in 2012, a Lifetime Achievement Award From the Academy Of Education Arts And Sciences in 2012, the James L. Fisher Award for Distinguished Service to Education in 2000, the HGSE Alumni Council Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education in 2006, The Horace Dutton Taft Medal in 2010, and honorary doctorates from Richard Stockton College (NJ) and Paul Smith’s College (NY).
He lives in New York City with his wife, Joan Lonergan, the Head of the Hewitt School.
John Merrow also maintains a weekly blog, Taking Note.
I just reread “Choosing Excellence,” The book I wrote as a companion to “School Sleuth:The Case of an Excellent School.” I am pleased to report that it wears well.