Teachers in Grand Rapids Say They Qualify for Food Stamps
Want to know why teachers are demoralized? Read this story from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Michigan has been a national leader in attacking public education, increasing charters, and diminishing teachers’ pay and benefits. Governor Rick Snyder must take pride in crushing his state’s public school teachers.
Oh, did you know that more than 80% of the charters in Michigan are for-profit?
Michigan has been a national leader in attacking public education, increasing charters, and diminishing teachers’ pay and benefits. Governor Rick Snyder must take pride in crushing his state’s public school teachers.
Oh, did you know that more than 80% of the charters in Michigan are for-profit?
Breaking News! Public School Supporters Sitting In Philly Mayor’s Office
Public school activists are conducting a sit-in in the office of the mayor of Philadelphia to protest school closings.
This is the announcement I just received:
BREAKING NEWS – March 5, 2013 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hello PCAPS (Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools & Moratorium Endorsers,
The fight for education has just reached new levels! Parents, community activists, retired teachers and allies are sitting in the Mayor’s office as we speak and they are refusing to leave until we win a one year moratorium on
This is the announcement I just received:
BREAKING NEWS – March 5, 2013 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Hello PCAPS (Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools & Moratorium Endorsers,
The fight for education has just reached new levels! Parents, community activists, retired teachers and allies are sitting in the Mayor’s office as we speak and they are refusing to leave until we win a one year moratorium on
Viva Eastside Memorial High School!
On other posts, I have told the story of Eastside Memorial High School in Austin, Texas.
The school board and superintendent (Broad-trained) decided to give the school to a charter chain called IDEA. This was not popular with the community. Many families in the neighborhood pulled their children out of the IDEA charter in protest and sent them elsewhere. In the November election, the community elected a school board member opposed to the charter takeover, and the board severed the contract. Now the state is considering shutting down the school, and the parents and students are trying to block the school’s closure. At the Save Our School Rally last weekend in Austin, a large contingent of parents and students from Eastside Memorial High School marched and chanted in unison, raising their “bear paws” to show their support for their school.
Here is a letter from a parent:
Dear Diane, Thank you so much for sharing our story! ~~
There are many misconceptions about our school. Some created by self-serving “
The school board and superintendent (Broad-trained) decided to give the school to a charter chain called IDEA. This was not popular with the community. Many families in the neighborhood pulled their children out of the IDEA charter in protest and sent them elsewhere. In the November election, the community elected a school board member opposed to the charter takeover, and the board severed the contract. Now the state is considering shutting down the school, and the parents and students are trying to block the school’s closure. At the Save Our School Rally last weekend in Austin, a large contingent of parents and students from Eastside Memorial High School marched and chanted in unison, raising their “bear paws” to show their support for their school.
Here is a letter from a parent:
Dear Diane, Thank you so much for sharing our story! ~~
There are many misconceptions about our school. Some created by self-serving “
Why the Bloomberg Reforms Failed
Mayor Bloomberg plans to start four charter high schools that will open after his term of office ends.
This constitutes an admission that his own efforts to reform the public schools have failed.
The mayor has had 11 years of total control of the public school system. Every year, he closes more schools. Some of the schools he closes are schools that his own administration opened..
Less than 5% of the city’s 1.1 million students attend charters.
The other 95% have been forgotten, adrift in a system that has been reorganized four times, with all regional and
This constitutes an admission that his own efforts to reform the public schools have failed.
The mayor has had 11 years of total control of the public school system. Every year, he closes more schools. Some of the schools he closes are schools that his own administration opened..
Less than 5% of the city’s 1.1 million students attend charters.
The other 95% have been forgotten, adrift in a system that has been reorganized four times, with all regional and
The History of the Term “Failing Schools”
Kevin Kosar, who earned his Ph.D. at NYU in a study of federal education policy, researched the use of the term “failing schools.” It was seldom used until 1990. Since then, as you can see when you open the link, it has become a commonplace term.
This is clearly political, since test scores for every group are higher today than they were in 1990, graduation rates are higher, and dropout rates are lower.
“Failing schools” is a term that enables privatizers to take over more public property and to enroll more students when their neighborhood school was closed.
This is clearly political, since test scores for every group are higher today than they were in 1990, graduation rates are higher, and dropout rates are lower.
“Failing schools” is a term that enables privatizers to take over more public property and to enroll more students when their neighborhood school was closed.
Research on School Closings
Before the passage of No Child Left Behind, public schools were seldom closed for low test scores. School officials and the public understood that low test scores reflected the social and economic conditions in which students live. It made no sense to punish the school because its students were living in poverty. After NCLB and Race to the Top, more and more urban schools are being closed to punish them for their low test scores.
A reader suggested that we read the following research brief:
“Here is a recent Issue Brief from Research for Action that
A reader suggested that we read the following research brief:
“Here is a recent Issue Brief from Research for Action that
Florida Newspaper: What Miracle?
Former Governor Jeb Bush traverses the nation, especially the red states, bringing news of the Florida miracle. After the debacle of the “Texas miracle,” which thrust NCLB on the nation, Mr. Bush would be well-advised to pick another issue.
The Palm Beach Post wrote a scathing editorial taking down the myth of the Florida miracle (which Bush’s former deputy Hannah Skandera is now selling in New Mexico).
The editorial says:
“Former Gov. Jeb Bush has an undeserved reputation as an education reformer. Florida’s recent education
The Palm Beach Post wrote a scathing editorial taking down the myth of the Florida miracle (which Bush’s former deputy Hannah Skandera is now selling in New Mexico).
The editorial says:
“Former Gov. Jeb Bush has an undeserved reputation as an education reformer. Florida’s recent education
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-5-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Occupy DOE Calls on States to Drop Common Core Testing by dianerav This just in from organizers of protest demonstration in D.C. From April 4-7: Campaign to Withdraw from Assessment Consortia The Common Core was a clever plan hatched by the corporate sponsors of ACHIEVE to ensure that national standards based tests, now being completed by the federally financed PARCC and SBAC consortia, would be cemented in place for years to come. States were pressured to sig... more »