Rudy Crew Leaving Oregon, Returning to NYC
This is a surprise.
Rudy Crew, former chancellor of the New York City public schools, former superintendent of the Miami Dade schools, currently chief education officer of the state of Oregon, will return to New York City to assume the presidency of Medger Evers College in Brooklyn, which is part of the City University of New York system.
Rudy Crew, former chancellor of the New York City public schools, former superintendent of the Miami Dade schools, currently chief education officer of the state of Oregon, will return to New York City to assume the presidency of Medger Evers College in Brooklyn, which is part of the City University of New York system.
Scottish Schools Go Their Own Way, Away from Testing
The public schools of Scotland have decided to take a different path, one that rejects the Anglo-American obsession with testing and standards. “In the same week that Britain’s education minister, Michael Gove, announced yet another measure to make the national exams taken by high school students in England more rigorous, their counterparts in Scotland were […]
Haimson: “No Accountability at the Top and I Can Prove It”
Leonie Haimson filed a Freedom of Information Act request for fairly simple information: she asked for the accountability reports on the top officials at the NYC Department of Education. The bad news: there are none. No one at the top is held accountable. Their performance doesn’t matter. It is not measured. They have no growth […]
Aaron Pallas: The Trouble with the NCTQ Ratings of Ed Schools
Aaron Pallas is a sociologist at Teachers College, Columbia University, who is one of our nation’s best scholars of education. He is quick to spot Bunkum. He said this about the report on teacher preparation programs by NCTQ: “To be sure, few of us relish being put under the microscope. But it’s another matter entirely […]
Minnesota Governor Vetoes Funding for TFA
In a rare setback for Teach for America, Governor Mark Dayton vetoed an appropriation to fund more TFA recruits in the state. Minnesota has a small number of TFA corps members, but the governor questioned why the state should underwrite the wealthy organization to supply ill-trained teachers who don’t plan to stay on the job.
Jindal Signs “Reverse Parent Trigger” Bill
Governor Bobby Jindal signed legislation allowing parents in the state-run Recovery School District to vote to return their low-performing school to local control. “The measure by Baton Rouge Rep. Ted James lets parents petition the state-run RSD to return a school to local control if that school has earned a “D” or “F’” grade from […]
Brian Sims: How to Fix Pennsylvania’s Budget Crisis (LINK FIXED)
Imagine this: an elected official in Pennsylvania who says that budget cuts are not only wrong but completely unnecessary. Brian Sims is a member of the House of Representatives who knows that Governor Corbett’s $1 billion cut to public education was wrong. In this post, he explains that the state could raise the needed funds […]
Karen Lewis Connects the Dots
Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, told the Chicago City Club that the city’s elites were failing the city’s children and public schools. She blamed school closings on public officials, “rich white people,” and banks that decided to disinvest in black communities. She singled out Bank of America as an institution that had […]
Florida Teacher: Please Tell Me About Groups Fighting Back
From a reader: “As a public school teacher in Miami, FL I would like to reach out to you and express my similar hope in developing a long-term coalition and eventual movement of teachers, parents and community to fight back against the pro-corporate anti-public education policies being pushed in FL. If someone knows of any […]
School Budgets Cut, Corporate Taxes Cut
I recall a few years ago when I learned from Forbes’ columnist Erik Kain that Governor Snyder of Michigan was slashing school spending at the same time that he was cutting state corporate taxes. This turns out to have been a popular tactic in many states. Governors and legislators have decided to get more jobs […]
The Reformy-to-English Dictionary You Have Been Waiting For
Valerie Strauss published a terrific column by a Chicago public school parent, Karen McKeegan Fraid. Fraid has written a wonderful translation of some of the reformers’ favorite phrases, which they repeat ad infinitum. It begins thus: “Assessment (noun): A test made by a corporation and protected from peer review and public scrutiny by intellectual property […]
The Secret Of Achievement First’s Success
In Connecticut, the charter chain Achievement First is a financial and political powerhouse. State Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor was one of its founders. But there is a worm in the apple. Achievement First leads the state in suspensions. Half its students are suspended or expelled at some point during the year. Legal Aid in […]
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-24-13 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] School Budgets Cut, Corporate Taxes Cut by dianerav I recall a few years ago whe I learned from Forbes’ columnist Erik Kain that Governor Snyder of Michigan wasslashing school spending at the same time that he was cutting stAte corporate taxes. This turns out to have been a popular tactic in many states. Governors and legislators have decided to get more jobs now by sacrificing the future of their state’s children. An analysis of 155 large corporations found that ... more »