It's hard to lose something you were so involved and invested in"
I spoke with a teacher and a student from Green Dot's Animo Justice Charter High School, to gather material for a larger piece I'm working on. Green Dot founder, Steve Barr, had earlier told me that the school has been marked for closing by Green Dot's board of directors, on recommendation from the management team, on grounds that it's not cost effective to run the school with 450 students and that the school has been the "lowest performer" among a cohort of Green Dot schools.. The announcement has led to ongoing student protests and an angry response from parents.
Ismael is a 17 year-old senior at Animo Justice and vice-president of the senior class. He's on his way to
WEEKEND QUOTABLES
L.A. Supt. Ray Cortines as he cuts more days from school year
"Our people will be asked to do more with less." (L.A. Times )
Herman Brewer, acting president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League
"These folks who have known nothing but prosperity are now in shock because all of a sudden the crisis they have generally associated with poor communities -- with the city of Chicago -- has hit them," Brewer said. "Our funding formula has created disparities so acute, people are starting to see it now." ("Layoffs could top 20,000 in school districts" Sun-Times)
FairTest's Lisa Guisbond & Monty Neill
George W. Bush’s education secretary, Margaret Spellings, often said we need to give state tests every year, because otherwise we would have no way of knowing if students were falling behind. But that’s hogwash, as any teacher, student or parent could have told her.In the classroom of any reasonably competent teacher,
