There is probably no tougher issue for urban leaders than education. Fads come and go but test scores never quite live up to the promises.

Dr. Ken Wong is a national expert on education accountability and he has found a surprisingly positive correlation between the school systems controlled by mayors and improved education achievement, particularly in elementary grades. His latest book is The Education Mayor: Improving America's Schools. Ken chairs the Education Department at Brown University, where he holds the Walter and Leonore Annenberg Chair in Education Policy and directs the graduate program in Urban Education Policy.

Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland are also education researchers. In their work for at Harvard, they've been uncovering the effect visual arts education has on student achievement. Their research project is called Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education. Ellen is professor of psychology at Boston College. Lois is an Associate Professor of Art Education at the Massachusetts College of Art.

Education is our topic this week on Smart City.