SATURDAY+Plenary+session+3

· **//Mike Feinberg,//** //KIPP, USA// · **//Kaya Henderson//**//, Deputy Chancellor, District of Columbia, USA// · **//Christine Gilbert//**//, Head, Ofsted (Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills), UK// · **//Marco Petruzzi//**//, CEO, Green Dot Schools, USA//
 * 14:00 – 15:15 || **PLENARY SESSION 3** ||
 * || = CAN A PRIVATE SECTOR APPROACH TO EDUCATION DELIVER BETTER OUTCOMES THAN THE TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL APPROACH? = ||
 * || Can the private sector hallmarks, such as accountability, free market competition, human capital and so on, drive change in the public school system; and can the private sector deliver where government has failed? ||
 * || · Opening remarks (10 minutes): **//Tony Wagner//**//, Co-Director, Change Leadership Group,// //Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA//  ||
 * || //Proposed speaker panel:// ||
 * || · **//Professor Ralph Tabberer//**//, Chief Schools Officer, GEMS, UAE//

· **James Willcox**, CEO, Aspire Public Schools, USA · **//Tony Wagner//**//, Co-Director, Change Leadership Group,// //Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA (moderator)// ||

TONY WAGNER'S COMMENTS

RALPH TABBERER'S COMMENTS

A few opening remarks:

I have never liked the lines that some people draw, on moral or political grounds, between public education (good) and private education (bad) or, on quality grounds, between private schooling (good) and public schooling (bad). A little friendly rivalry is healthy but too often I have seen this spill over into rank prejudice, that leads to lost opportunity. In most walks of life, private, public and not-for-profit providers exist side by side - in education, we can gain (as in health services or telecommunications) from the heightened investment, the further innovation, the boost that often occurs in outcomes, and even the frisson that comes from a healthy competitive edge.

After all, the world has a shortage of great schools - and this is a shortage that governments cannot address alone. Yes, private education has a lot to offer including more investment and facilities, more direct accountability to students and parents, and greater diversity and choice. And, make no mistake, private schooling is set to expand rapidly, worldwide.

So the better questions are: (a) how do we work together, for the public good and (b) how can we ensure that in the pursuit of excellence we do not simply reinforce inequality? The argument that we can address these questions positively has been greatly helped by the compelling examples emerging, around the world, of how private providers have taken to the challenge of addressing some of our most disadvantaged communities.

MIKE FEINBERG'S COMMENTS

KAYA HENDERSON'S COMMENTS

CHRISTINE GILBERT'S COMMENTS

MARCO PETRUZZI'S COMMENTS

JAMES WILLCOX'S COMMENTS