Privatization Efforts Find New Target in School Secretaries and Teaching Aides
By Tim Walker and John Rosales
Across the country, many politicians at the state and local level have been making catastrophic decisions impacting schools – all under the guise of “budget cutting” and often without any consideration to the harm they are inflicting on the students and communities they are supposed to serve. Latest case in point – Englewood, New Jersey, where the board of education is moving ahead with plans to outsource all school secretaries and teaching assistant to private companies.
On June 7, board members voted 8 – 0 to negotiate with two to private companies with the goal of outsourcing a total of 66 paraeducators and 24 secretaries. All this ostensibly to plug a $4 million shortfall, which, says Norman Danzig of the New Jersey Education Association, is hard to believe since the board
By Emma Chadband Forty years ago this week, Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in any federally funded education program, was signed into law. Many people think this groundbreaking law’s effects have been limited to equal access to athletics, but Title IX’s impact on the education system has been far and wide. 1.Equal access to higher education... [Read more]
Data-Driven Culture Brings Dramatic Gains in Achievement
By Amy Buffenbarger The North High School Academic Decathlon Team from Des Moines, Iowa had its most successful year in a decade during the 2011-2012 school year. Competing against 12 schools in Central Iowa, the North team placed first in a regional competition. The win at regionals led them to the state competition, where the team placed 5th and... [Read more]
After 30 Years, Plyler v. Doe Legacy Under Attack
By Emma Chadband After Alabama’s H.B. 56 went into effect last September, Foley Elementary School Principal Dr. William Lawrence watched several of his students run off their school buses in tears. They were afraid their parents would be deported by the time they got home from school, and they wouldn’t have a chance to say goodbye. Parents were... [Read more]
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