Who does Tony Bennett think he’s kidding?
Tony Bennett
I wasn’t ready to return to work after foot surgery until I read the news about Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett, who, according to this AP story, pushed for a change in Indiana’s school grading system (when he ran the schools there) to ensure that a favored Indianapolis charter school got an “A.”
The amazing story is told in a series of e-mails obtained by the Associated Press, which show how Bennett pushed staff members to make sure that the charter school headed by Christel DeHaan, an influential Republican donor, did not get a “C.” Anything other than an A was not acceptable, he made clear. After all, he had been going around the state talking about how his standardized test-based school reform program had been working wonders. A “C” for this school would, apparently, hurt his accountability reputation.
The school grading system that Bennett adopted in Indiana was, ironically, pioneered in Florida when Jeb Bush was governor, from 1999-2007. After Indiana voters pushed out Bennett late last year, Florida’s Board of Education wasted no time in bringing Bennett
The problem with ‘the problem with teachers’
We hear plenty about the problem with teachers. Here’s a piece on the problem with that problem, written by Marcus D. Pohlmann, professor of political science at Rhodes College in Memphis. He has written extensively on race, poverty and education. … Continue reading →
