Steve Zimmer on Why Class Size Matters
At a recent meeting of the Los Angeles school board, newly re-elected member Steve Zimmer spoke passionately about the reasons to reduce class size. Watch here to see Zimmer’s address to the board. Zimmer was a TFA teacher who taught in the L.A. schools for 17 years before he ran for school board. Los Angeles has some of the most crowded classrooms in the nation. The board passed a resolution t
Why Los Angeles Is Now Ground Zero for Corporate Reform–and Pushback
In this post on the New York City parent blog, activist Leonie Haimson explains the hard-fought battle for control of the Los Angeles public schools, and what is at stake. The reform crowd doesn’t care about class size; the anti-status quo board members do. The reformers do nothing to slow the pace of privatization. We will see if the new board majority is able to create true accountability standa
L.A. Community Activists Seek Role in Recruiting Néw Superintendent
Received this morning: Short: http://j.mp/12nVmuG http://www.laschoolsmatter.info/2013/07/venceremos-join-community-search-for.html ¡Venceremos! Join the community search for a new LAUSD superintendent! An open letter and call to action to our LAUSD community and national education experts regarding the urgent search for a new LAUSD Superintendent If the union is sound and the teachers voted of th
More than TFA Dissidents Meet Tomorrow
A reader comments on an earlier post about a conference tomorrow in Chicago that will discuss TFA and the privatization movement. She writes: “Diane, it is not only ex-TFA members. I am also one of the presenters at the conference, representing traditionally trained teachers in New Orleans who now struggle to find employment. We also have parents, students, and community members who have suffered
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 7-13-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Reform as Crony CapitalismResponding to another reader, Robert Shepherd challenges the claim that reformers want a free market in schooling: “We are NOT seeing the emergence of free market alternatives to public schools. We are seeing is crony capitalist alternatives dependent upon federal and state regulation and the public dole t
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 7-13-13 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGTODAYDoes John White Care About Voucher Fraud?Robert Mann, a professor of communications at Louisiana State University, tries to imagine how Bobby Jindal and John White would react if they heard that Headstart centers kept sloppy records and couldn’t pass an audit. He writes: “Imagine if almost every one of those schools