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Friday, January 25, 2013

Diane in the Evening 1-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:






Teachers, Please Read This and React

An article in Education Week reports on studies by economists claiming hat when teachers take early retirement, student test scores go up. Behind this is the assumption that new teachers are more successful than experienced teachers.
This sounds counter-intuitive to me, but I would like to know what teachers think.
A quote: “Boosting early retirement in cash-strapped districts doesn’t hurt students’ math and reading scores,


Will Contempt for Unions Mar Bloomberg’s Legacy?

Well, that’s the question raised by Michael Powell, a political reporter for the New York Times.
There are bigger problems than this that will mar the mayor’s legacy.
He has closed dozens of schools, opened hundreds of schools, destabilized communities, handed out hundreds of millions in no-bid contracts, had a huge technology scandal (Citytime, which cost the city $600 million or so), and public support for mayoral control is about 18%.


Support Thomas Mertz for Madison, WI, School Board

Thomas Mertz trained as a historian of education. We have that in common. Though I have never met Thomas, I endorse his principles and I am happy to see that he is running for election to the school board in Madison, Wisconsin. The need has never been greater to elect allies and strong supporters of public education. Please help him in any way you can.

Prepared, Progressive, Passionate
I am excited to announce my candidacy for the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education, Seat #5.
Our public schools are the backbone of our community, the wellspring of our democracy, and the 

Who Will Speak Up for the Nation’s School Boards?

In the last few years, there has been an all-out attack on local control. Most of the attack comes from the privatization movement, which thinks that school boards debate too much, listen too much, move too slowly. The privatizers prefer mayoral control in cities to get fast action. And they push laws and constitutional amendments allowing the governor to create a commission to override local school boards that reject charters. This is the ALEC agenda.
Happily, leading members of the National School Boards Association will have a chance to ask Arne Duncan why he pushes mayoral control, which has done so little for Cleveland and Chicago–and is now approved in NYC 


LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Jersey Jazzman to NY Taxpayers: Thank You! by dianerav Jersey Jazzman wrote to thank the taxpayers of New York, whose dollars subsidize his blog via advertising by Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy network (formerly known as Harlem Success Academy). JJ notes that this charter chain spends millions of dollars each year on recruitment, advertising, public relations, and marketing. This is a necessary business expense to drum up thousands of applications for a small number When Students Awaken, Everything Wi... more »