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Does 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 could not produce any records to prove that their expenditures did not constitute “gross irresponsibility or gross indivi
Mercedes Schneider Grades John White’s Letter to the Editor: F
John White wrote a letter to the editor to defend his record and praise the sweeping, bold, innovative reforms that he has led. Mercedes Schneider subjected White’s letter to a severe fact check and found it deficient, especially in relation to basic accuracy. She cuffs him about the head and says: “Reformers like White thrive on promoting the false dichotomy that “disagreeing with me” equals “a
YESTERDAY
Who Abandoned the Children of Philadelphia?
A new survey shows that Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate of any of the nation’s 10 largest cities. 28% of the city’s people are poor, as are 39% of its children. The national child poverty rate is 23%. Now we know from reformers that poverty is no “excuse” for low test scores, but we also know from the reality-based world that low income is highly correlated with low test scores. If you
Connecticut: Yes, Democracy Matters
Hugh Bailey argues that fighting democracy is a losing battle. He refers to the struggle over the future of the public schools of Bridgeport, Connecticut, which has involved an ongoing battle by the mayor to gain control of the schools (he lost a referendum when the public said no) and now involves a court battle to keep Paul Vallas as superintendent. He was hired, Bailey says, by an illegitimate
Karen Francisco: How Failed Charter Schools Survive and Turn a Profit
In an earlier post, Karen Francisco (editorial page editor of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette) lamented that failing charters escape accountability by turning into voucher schools or shopping for an authorizer with low standards. When challenged by a reader, Francisco explained what happened in Fort Wayne. She wrote: “In fact, the two failed Imagine Inc. charter schools in Fort Wayne are being con
An Eloquent and Incredibly Brave Child Speaks at the UN
Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who was shot in the head by Taliban thugs who don’t want girls to be educated, spoke at the United Nations and was amazingly eloquent in calling for free, compulsory education for every child. What an incredible and heroic young woman. Some heard her and got goosebumps. The attempt to murder her made her more courageous. ““Let us pick up our books and our pens,” M
IMPACT Has No Impact
Long Island principal Carol Burris recently examined the effects of Michelle Rhee’s IMPACT program in DC. It was started in 2009. By now they have enough data to identify all the great teachers, right? They know enough to demonstrate whether three great teachers in a row closes the achievement gap, right? But test scores in D.C. have been nearly flat since IMPACT was adopted. The achievement gap i
Phony “Revival” of Arts Education in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education (co-founded by Superintendent John Deasy and some of the city’s wealthiest citizens) will contribute $750,000 to revive arts education in that city’s public schools. Teachers will receive training to integrate arts education into math, social studies, and other areas of the curriculum. This is a sad response to the gutti
Idaho Approves TFA for “Teacher Training”
Idaho just recently approved Teach for America as a “state sanctioned vehicle for the preparation of teachers in Idaho.” At first I thought this was an April Fools joke but it isn’t April. The weakest aspect of TFA claims is its “preparation” of teachers in only five weeks. If that is all it takes, then teaching is not a profession but a job for temps. Travis Manning, a high school English teach
Students Seeking Debt Relief Get Duped Instead
John Hechinger of Bloomberg News has unearthed the unsavory practices of the “debt relief” industry. These are loan sharks that advertise that they will help people pay off their students loans, then charge them as much as $1,600 for services they could get for free from the government. It is a good business, but it preys on uninformed people. It is best to be informed, know your rights, contact y
Deasy Defies New L.A. Board Majority
When the Los Angeles school board prepared to elect a new president, Superintendent John Deasy let it be known that he might resign if Richard Vladovic won the election. Vladovic won by 5-2. The two nay votes came from outgoing president Monica Garcia and her ally Tamar Galatzan. Before the election, there were rumors that Vladovic was under investigation for verbally abusing board employees, an
Indiana: “It’s the Money, Stupid”
Karen Francisco writes that she is often asked to explain what a charter school is. She used to say that it was a publicly- funded school that is exempt from many state regulations in exchange for higher accountability. But now she sees falling charter schools turn into voucher schools or go shopping for an authorizer with low or no standards. She writes: “If I’m feeling less charitable, I expla
William Mathis: NCLB Reauthorization is a Bipartisan Disaster
William Mathis, a former school superintendent in Vermont, now associated with the National Education Policy Center, analyzed the proposed legislation of both Democrats and Republicans and finds that both parties have no understanding of the damage wrought by No Child Left Behind. Washington insiders continue their hapless crusade to “reform” the schools by high-stakes testing and privatization. T
JUL 11
Protests Planned Against Nation’s Largest Charter Operator
This post was written by Sharon Higgins, a parent activist and indefatigable blogger in Oakland, California. Her blogs include “Charterschoolscandals,” wherein she tracks the amazing variety of graft, theft, corruption, scandals, and other predictable consequences of deregulation of public money with little or no oversight (I.e., privatization). She has written on many occasions about the prolifer
Moskowitz “Success Academy” Sues to Block State Audit
When New York State Comptroller Tom Di Napoli informed Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter chain of his intention to audit its financial records, the corporation sued to block the audit of public funds on grounds it was unconstitutional. According to the story in a legal journal, “Success Academy claims that a 2009 ruling by New York’s highest court found the Legislature overstepped its boun
Eva Moskowitz Charter Pushes Out Harlem Special Ed School
Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter schools (originally called Harlem Success Academy) have been ruthless in grabbing public school space from existing schools and crowding their “hosts” out. Currently they are involved in taking space from a Harlem public school dedicated to children with special needs. Moskowitz has several fabulously wealthy hedge fund managers on her board. It is a shame
Connecticut’s Privatization Manager Moves On
Jonathan Pelto reports that Debra Kurshan, the state’s “Chief Turnaround Officer” is leaving for another position after eight months on the job. What a close and cozy world these corporate reformers inhabit! As Pelto writes: “Commissioner Pryor has announced that Kurshan, who previously served as the head of School Portfolio Development for Mayor Bloomberg’s school privatization efforts and also
Is Time Running Out for the Reformers?
The public is beginning to awaken to the realities of what is deceptively called “school reform.” Read David Sirota’s terrific piece on how they are unraveling, here. First, what is happening in state after state, in direct response to federal policy, is school destruction, not reform. Second, the end game for the so-called “reformers” is privatization, not reform. Everything the “reformers” advoc
Gary Rubinstein Gives Good Advice to Teach for America
Gary Rubinstein is a former member of Teach for America, and he is now one of its toughest critics. He is also its best friend, but TFA doesn’t know it. His criticism is always fair and insightful, never angry or mean spirited. If TFA would listen to him, it could reclaim its original mission and goals. Because it does not listen, it does not learn. Instead, it cements its image as a narcissistic
What Happened in Dallas: A Year Later
A bit over a year ago, I wrote about the arrival of a new superintendent in Dallas. Mike Miles is a man with a military background who is a graduate of the unaccredited Broad Superintendents Academy. What could go wrong? He had a long list of goals, for example: “By 2020, he says, the graduation rate will be up to 90% from the 2010 rate of 75%. By 2020, SAT scores will jump by 30%, and 60% of stu
How Charter Entrepreneurs Make Millions with Taxpayer Dollars
This is a stunning research job by Jersey Jazzman about the money tree that is turning canny businessmen into multimillionaires by investing in charter schools. They package financing from the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. Department of Education, the Walton Family Foundation, and they spin it into gold–for themselves. The family charter group he describes controls over $100 million in real
Minneapolis Public Schools: Will They Survive?
It is not news to readers of this blog that public education is under attack in cities across the nation by a politically powerful and heavily funded privatization movement. In some states, this movement has moved into the suburbs as well. This video pulls away the mask of reform and explains in clear detail the nexus of connections behind the privatization movement in Minneapolis. This district w
JUL 10
Vallas Will Fight Judge’s Order to Go
In response to a judge’s ruling that he lacks the proper credentials to be a superintendent in Connecticut, Paul Vallas will fight for the job. The attorney for the city will lodge an immediate appeal. The governor says it is a local issue, but says that if he ran Chicago, Philadelphia, and New Orleans, he must be qualified even if he doesn’t meet the demands of the law.
About the Military Coup in Egypt
Lots of interesting things going on about education but I have to say something about what is happening in Egypt. I am a historian by trade, and I care passionately about democracy and the democratic process. I don’t think a modern society can evolve when democracy is stifled. The people are not always right but they should always have the right to participate in choosing their leaders. That is wh
Achievement First Responds to Criticism About Boot Camp for Kiddies
This comment was posted today: Our approach to discipline is just one facet of the structure offered by Achievement First’s 25 non-profit, college-preparatory public charter schools. This structure provides students with a consistent, safe and productive environment in which they can reach their full academic potential. Our system of consequences, which include demerits, acts as a deterrent to m
Astonishing: Judge in CT. Rules Vallas Must Vacate Post Now
Jonathan Pelto reports that the judge who recently ruled that Paul Vallas was not qualified to serve as superintendent of schools in Bridgeport because he did not meet the requirements of state law decided today that he must vacate his position immediately.
NY Times: The Destruction of North Carolina’s Progressive Legacy
The New York Times wrote a searing critique of the slash-and-burn policies of North Carolina’s governor and legislature. What was once one of the south’s most forward-looking states is rapidly being decimated into a hard, mean backwater. As we have learned over recent months, the legislature has imposed deep budget cuts on public schools, is taking away salary raises from teachers who get advanced
Sorry, You Missed Today’s Symposium about Cashing in on the Charter Sector
If only I had known sooner, I would have posted the announcement of today’s symposium. Yes! There is money to be made by investing in charter schools! It’s all about the children! It’s the civil rights issue of our time! And a great investment too!! “Bonds and Blackboards: Investing in Charter Schools (New York, NY) Symposium – July 10, 2013; 9:30 – 6:30 PM WHAT: A one-day symposium to help Wall
What Einstein Said About Standardization
Robert Shepherd was pleased that Susan Ohanian joined the honor roll of the blog. He wrote this: “Susan Ohanian’s website is a garden of many, many delights. I love this bit she posted from Albert Einstein, who was a pretty bright guy (and who had some truly wonderful ideas about education): “I believe in standardizing automobiles. I do not believe in standardizing human beings. Standardization is
A Shocking Display of Common Sense in Syracuse
Michael Gilbert, a school psychologist at Meachem Elementary School in Syracuse, New York, offers words of wisdom to his fellow citizens. Please read and share them. He writes: ….Much of what is happening in public education “reform” is not about what is in the best interest of students and schools. It is about politics, power, special interests and money. All children in public schools are ri
Cash In on the Education Market Now!
Here is an event you won’t want to miss, if you can pay the price of admission. So many opportunities to cash in on the emerging market of education. There are, as the ad says, lots of needs to address: “This is a long-overdue shift the public has been clamoring for — measuring quality by what students are able to master, not by time spent in a classroom — and the private sector is offering numer
Achievement First: Boot Camp for Kiddies
Achievement First prides itself on its high test scores, but recent stories report that these charters are also distinguished for startlingly high suspension rates. Half the 5-year-olds were suspended last year. Dacia Toll, the Ivy League-educated leader of the charter chain, promised to cut the suspension rate in half. Instead of suspending the kids, apparently they will get even tougher on them
Walmart Refuses to Pay a Living Wage in DC
Walmart, owned by the fabulously wealthy Walton family of Arkansas, has told the city of Washington, DC, that it will not build stores there if the City Council passes a “living wage” bill. The members of the family are billionaires and at the very least multimillionaires. Walmart wants to pay only the minimum wage of $7.50 an hour. The City Council wants a “living wage” of $12.50 an hour, reflect
Teacher: Idaho Doesn’t Care about Education
A billionaire family in Idaho has been running ads (“Don’t Fail, Idaho”) disparaging the schools as failures. The Albertson family wants to promote online learning, which will save money but provide worse education. A member of the family invests in K12. A sad story from an Idaho teacher: I live in Idaho. I have seen public education dollars drop so low, that we are seeing our largest district i
Wendy Davis, a True American Hero
The world knows Wendy Davis as the state senator in Texas who filibustered for 11 hours straight against an bill that would restrict abortion. Unlike Jimmy Stewart in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” she was not allowed to take a drink of water or go off-topic or even lean on the speaker’s desk. What you may not know is that this was not her first filibuster. That was in 2011, when she filibustered
My Friend, Randi Weingarten
I have known Randi Weingarten for about 15 years. When I met her, she was president of the UFT in New York City. Over the years, we have shared many important life events, including birthdays, weddings, and funerals. Randi and I first wrote an article together in 2004. It was a protest against the autocratic way that Michael Bloomberg was running the NYC public schools. The title of the article i
JUL 09
Schneider on NCTQ Report: “Put on Your Hip Boots”
Mercedes Schneider here reviews the controversial NCTQ report. Having reviewed the members of the board, she concludes that NCTQ is uniquely unqualified to pass judgement on the nation’s colleges of education. NCTQ is not a research organization. It is not a think tank. It is not a professional organization. It is an advocacy group and few of its board members have ever taught or have any direct
President Obama, Please Read This
This teacher in Pennsylvania wonders why President Obama is turning his back on the calamity facing students in Philadelphia. Please send his comment to the White House. After years of budget cuts and layoffs, isn’t it time for action? The Obama girls attend a wonderful school with small classes, experienced teachers, arts, physical education, science labs, a library: shouldn’t everyone? The teach
Katie Osgood: CPS Is Hurting Children
Katie Osgood spoke at a rally on July 4 outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home. This is part of what she said: “My name is Katie Osgood and I am a teacher. I teach at a psychiatric hospital here in the city, working with students from all over the Chicagoland area and of all ages including hundreds of CPS students. And in my hospital, I have seen directly the impact of Rahm Emanuel’s terrible school
A Teacher in Huffman World
Tennessee state superintendent Kevin Huffman expects to get great teachers by cutting the salaries of those with advanced degrees and experience. Wonder where he learned that formula? And of course, he will evaluate teachers by test scores, aka junk science. This is supposed to improve education because the top graduates of the nation’s universities will rush to teach in a state where advanced deg
New Republic: Why Is Rhee in Tennessee?
In The New Republic, Jeff Guo writes about Michelle Rhee’s brazen attempt to buy the Tennessee legislature. In the last election cycle, she supported hard-right Republicans except for one Democtatic legislator who supports vouchers. This renegade also supported the notorious “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which sought to prevent teachers from discussing homosexuality. (Rhee’s StudentsFirst named the author
Which State Has the Highest Graduation Rates?
Graduation rates change every year, and the definition is not always exactly the same. In the most recent federal survey of state graduation rates, published in October 2011, the data are correct as of 2009. At that time, the average for all reporting states was 75.5% and the states with the highest graduation rates were: Wisconsin (where 90.7% of students graduated in four years’ time); Vermont,
Stop Knocking Indiana’s Great Public Schools
A.central feature of the corporate reform narrative is the oft-repeated claim that our public schools are failing. They elite e that if they say it often enough, the media will repeat their narrative. But it is not true. Read this commentary from Indiana, where the privatization movement has slandered the public schools repeatedly, as a prelude to their takeover. The privatized schools get worse
JUL 08
Hugh Bailey on Vallas: Don’t Believe in Miracles
Hugh Bailey is tired of the oft-told tale of the miracle district and the “savior” who comes in on a white horse, turns around a low-performing district, then rides off into the sunset. He is writing in this case about Paul Vallas, but he is looking at the repeated stories of miracle districts (think Houston) and miracle-makers (think Rod Paige, Paul Vallas, and the list could go on.) If only the
Rhee Returns–in Texas
Following John Merrow’s withering critique of Michelle Rhee’s tenure in D.C.,–in which he debunked all of her claimed gains– as well as his continuing effort to obtain documents about the cheating scandal, Rhee kept a low profile. But Jersey Jazzman has tracked her down. She will appear at a statewide charter school conference in Fort Worth, Texas, next December.
How Many Voucher Frauds in Louisiana? No One Knows
The voucher program in Louisiana continues to amaze. It is a living demonstration of what happens when public officials abandon responsibility for the children and institutions in their care. Watch what happens when the state gives children a voucher for public funds and then says that whatever choice they make is okay. John White memorably said last year: “To me, it’s a moral outrage that the gov
“Declaration of Independence” by United Opt Out
United Opt Out has consistently spoken against the abuses of testing and high stakes for students and teachers. Here is a link to their Declaration of Independence and to other important information about them. And here is their Declaration of Independence from corporate education reform. United Opt Out National http://unitedoptout.com IN OPPOSITION, July 4, 2013 The unanimous Declarati
Peter DeWitt: Is Arne’s Defense of Common Core Falling Apart?
Peter DeWitt, in his outstanding blog at Education Week, pulls apart Secretary Arne Duncan’s aggressive defense of the Common Core. In his speech to the nation’s new editors, Duncan ridiculed the critics as though they were almost all paranoid nuts. That is unfortunate. Reasonable people have legitimate concerns about how the Common Core will work, and Duncan would do well to address them. Some ar
Farewell to Mayor Villaraigosa: Pragmatist or Lacky of the Rich?
As Antonio Villaraigosa exits the mayoralty of Los Angeles, there will be both tributes and brickbats. Among other things, he will be remembered for his failed attempt to take control of the public schools and for his hostility to teachers, to their union, and to public education. On his watch, there was “an explosion” in the number of privately managed charter schools, a high priority for the bil
How Teachers Crashed the Economy
We have heard in state after state that teachers’ pensions and wages must be curtailed because they–and other public workers–are destroying the economy. Those greedy, selfish teachers and principals! However. The Economic Policy Institute in DC reports that in 2012 the average CEO made 273 times the wages of the average worker. Now it is very important to understand the concept of shared sacrifi
JUL 07
Leonie Haimson Slices and Dices NY Times Editorial on Bloomberg Era
Leonie Haimson, who is undoubtedly New York City’s most outspoken and energetic education activist, wrote a terrific critique of the New York Times’ editorial defending the Bloomberg era of education misrule. The editorial, as she correctly notes, is a defense of the tired and failed status quo of the past dozen years. It reads as if it had been written by “the City Hall PR machine.” Haimson point
Teacher: A Ground Up View of Bloomberg “Reforms”
This letter froma teacher was written in response to the post by Marc Epstein on Big Lie Journalism in NYC: “I began teaching nine years ago,after careers in law and business. There is a profound irony in analyzing the consequences of the so-called Bloomberg business model. While I’ve only taught during the Bloomberg tenure, I’ve seen pervasive mismanagement in my school ( and have heard similar
The NY Times on Bloomberg Era
The Néw York Times editorial board gave its opinion of what the next mayor must do about education and its opinion is woefully uninformed by contact with the real world of students, teachers, principals, and parents. Bear in mind that only 22% of NYC voters want more of the Bloomberg school reform style. The Times thinks he might have listened a bit more to parents, although it was a central ten
Scenes I’d Like to See: Pundits Teaching
A reader, Karl Gabbey, has a proposal: “MAD Magazine once had a page in each edition entitled, “Scenes We’d Like To See,” that depicted a bit of “Schadenfreude” about people who deserved it. It might be fun to see loudmouthed politicians and assorted corporate types who consider themselves “educational experts” teach for an extended period of time. I have a suggestion: They ought to teach high sch
Marc Epstein: Big Lie Journalism in New York City
Marc Epstein taught at Jamaica High School in NYC for many years. He has a Ph.D. In Japanese history. Since his school started closing, he has taught in many of the city’s schools. He writes: What Ever Happened To In Loco Parentis? Well, another June another student field trip drowning. But this time around the schools chancellor has assured us that there were a sufficient number of chaperones an
David Foster Wallace in 2005: “This Is Water”
David Foster Wallace gave the commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005. In this speech, called “This Is Water,” Wallace tried to explain to the graduates what really matters most in life. Wallace was a gifted and successful novelist. He contrasted “the default setting” in which most of us live, reacting with frustration, anger, greed, me-first, to a conscious choice about leading a different
The Superintendent of a High-Performing District Speaks Out
An earlier post linked to an article by Scott Waldman in the Albany Times-Union, in which Waldman pointed out that rankings accurately reflect the socioeconomic status of families in the schools, not the quality of the schools. He asked, what do those school rankings really demonstrate? This letter came from a superintendent in the area of upstate New York about which Waldman wrote: I am the sup
ee cummings on the common core
David Coleman, the architect of the Common Core and now president of the College Board, once famously said–in a presentation at the New York State Education Department–that as you grow older, you learn that “people really don’t give a s–t what you feel or what you think.” And so students will be reading more “informational text”–not prose, not nonfiction, but “informational text,” which sounds lik
JUL 06
How One Rogue Democrat Saved Vouchers in Arizona
Just when vouchers seemed to be in trouble in the Arizona legislature, Democrat Barbara McGuire changed her vote to preserve this stealth attack on public schools. Blogger David Safier says no one should be surprised by her last-minute switch.
Oklahoma: Barresi Pulls Out of PARCC, Blames Schools
Janet Barresi, the dentist who is Oklahoma’s superintendent of schools, has decided to withdraw from the PARCC testing consortium because of the state’s disastrous experience with online assessment this past spring. Oklahoma’s not ready, she says, doesn’t have the technology, and can’t afford it. The corporate reform group Stand on Children is disappointed. How will people compare children in Okl
Tony Bennett’s Excessive Devotion to Common Core and PARCC
At a time when many states are taking a second look at the demands if the Common Core and the associated testing, Florida’s Tony Bennett has become even more zealous as a cheerleader for both. Coach Bob Sikes wonder where his priorities lie: with the needs of Florida or the demands of the Common Core and PARCC. Oklahoma just announced it was dropping out of PARCC because it cost too much and the
Schneider on the “New Orleans Miracle” That Wasn’t
Corporate reformers cling passionately to the myth of the New Orleans miracle because it is all they have. The New York a city miracle evaporated in 2010 when the State Education Department acknowledged that the state scores were inflated. The DC miracle never happened. The Vallas miracle in Philadelphia vanished on day one. Arne Duncan’s amazing score gains in Chicago disappeared. All that is lef
George Schmidt: Don’t Believe the Vallas Hype
George Schmidt was a high school teacher in Chicago who was fired by Paul Vallas for releasing the contents of a standardized test that he was required to administer to his students. Here he responds to a post called “In Defense of Paul Vallas,” written by Diane Fager, who was on Vallas’ staff in Chicago. Schmidt writes: By the middle of the 20th Century, reporters were trained to check for accu
Setting Goals by Race, Etc.: Everyone Does It, and It’s Wrong
In a recent post, I criticized Alabama for setting goals based on race, ethnicity, and disability status. I said it was unAmerican. Our goal as a society is equality of educational opportunity. There is something repulsive, to me at least, in saying that schools will set targets based on the color of children’s skin, their parents’ income, or other factors. We know that not all kids will end up at
My Message to the Badass Association of Teachers
I was uneasy with the name , but I got over it. The reality is that the Badass Association of Teachers fills a need. Teachers have been beaten up in the media, and have seen state after state strip away their academic freedom, their rights, their status in the community. I was invited to join and to write an “ address to the BAT. This is it.
