Hello? Anybody home?
by jonpelto
Governor Malloy issued a call for a Special Session of the Connecticut General Assembly to deal with the growing state deficit.
That Session is taking place today.
The State Senate and State House convened at 10:00 am and then recessed until 4:30 pm so that elected officials could attend funerals and memorial services resulting from the Newtown Elementary School Massacre.
When they reconvene at 4:30 pm, a joint session of the Legislature will be held so Governor Malloy and Legislators can hold their own memorial service in honor of those who lost their lives in Newtown.
And then the legislature is scheduled to debate and vote on a plan to resolve Connecticut’s $415 million budget deficit.
Governor Malloy has already made $123 million in cuts, mostly to social services and Connecticut’s public colleges and universities. The cuts to UConn, Connecticut State
TFA Leaders and Education Reform commentators make Diane Ravitch even more relevant
by jonpelto
Teach for America (TFA) provides some outstanding young people with a unique, short-term opportunity to teach in some of America’s poorest schools. Some of these dedicated individuals even use that opportunity as an alternative route to a longer-term career in the teaching profession.
But the founders and leaders of TFA have a very different agenda. First and foremost, they make a lot of money. TFA’s founder and CEO pulls in just under $400,000 in salary and benefits. Over a dozen of the top TFA executives make more than a quarter of a million dollars each.
In addition to making huge amount of money, TFA is about advocating and lobbying for “education reforms” that include a variety of anti-teacher positions including the excessive use of standardized testing, the expansion of charter schools and efforts to end tenure
Friend, parent activist and fellow pro-public education blogger Wendy Lecker’s letter to President Obama.
by jonpelto
Yesterday, in the wake of the Newtown massacre, Wendy Lecker sent the following letter to President Obama.
Her letter was posted on the Parents Across America website and as reprinted on Diane Ravitch’s site.
Here is a link to Ravitch’s site: http://dianeravitch.net/2012/12/19/letter-to-president-obama-from-connecticut-founder-of-parents-across-america/
And here is the letter as printed on the Parents Across America site:
Parents Across America grieves with the community of Newtown, Connecticut over the loss of their precious children and educators. The following letter, sent yesterday to President Obama from the founder of Parents Across America-CT, expresses some aspects of what many of our members are feeling at this difficult time.
Hon. President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
As a public school parent of three in Stamford, Connecticut, I wanted to thank you for lending your support to the devastated community of Newtown. I listened intently to your remarks at the memorial service last night, especially to the questions you raised: “Can we claim, as a nation, that we’re all together there, letting them know that they are loved, and teaching them to love in return? Can we say that we’re truly doing enough to give all