Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, November 30, 2013

11-30-13 Wait What? All Week

Wait What?:

   




Public education advocate and fellow commentator Wendy Lecker has an outstanding piece in this weekend’s Stamford Advocate and other Hearst Media outlets about Hartford’s recent “school choice” debacle. You can find Wendy’s piece at: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Lecker-School-choice-or-extortion-5022275.php.  Below is a somewhat longer version. Both do an excellent job laying out t

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Malloy continues to cashes in in Education Reform initiative
Earlier this week, CT Newsjunkie and other media outlets reported on the fact that the Connecticut Election Enforcement Commissioner had authorized an investigation into Governor Malloy’s potentially illegal campaign activities. As Hugh McQuaid of CT Newsjunkie reported, “Election enforcement officials agreed Wednesday to investigate a complaint…claiming Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has been running for re-election […]The post Malloy continues to cashes in in Education Reform initiative appeared first on Wait What?.
Meanwhile…..John Rowland? No Dannel Malloy
Fellow Connecticut investigative journalist/blogger Zachary Janowski runs the website Raising Hale which is a media project” of the conservative Yankee Institute for Public Policy. Janowski has been pumping out truth-telling, hard-hitting articles that are proving, once again, that when it comes to forcing transparency in government, conservatives and liberals have a common goal. The notion […]The post Meanwhile…..John Rowland? No Dannel Malloy appeared first on Wait What?.
Wait, What? makes Diane Ravitch’s blog twice today
America’s leading public school advocate generously featured two posts today stemming from Wait, What? In “Steve Perry Loses a School and His Cool,” Diane reports on Wait, What’s investigative reporting on Capital Preparatory Principal Steve Perry and the coverage that information then received in yesterday’s Washington Post. Diane also featured a Wait, What? post entitled […]The post Wait, What? makes Diane Ravitch’s blog twice today appeared first on Wait What?.

YESTERDAY

Attention Capital Prep parents, former parents, former students, teachers, former teachers and concerned citizens
As the stories pour in from people who have experienced Steve Perry and Capital Prep’s “no excuses” approach to “education,” it has become increasingly clear that administrative and legal steps are needed to protect children and hold people accountable for their actions. Capital Prep parents, former parents, former students, teachers and former teachers have reported […]The post Attention Capital
Pass the Salary (cross-posted from EduShyster)
For those still digesting and cleaning up from yesterday’s festivities, here is a fun blog from EduShyster, fellow blogger and public education advocate who calls Massachusetts home.  I recommend everyone sign up for her blog, which can be found at: http://edushyster.com/ Just in time for the holidays, a reform groaner for the groaning board Reader: if […]The post Pass the Salary (cross-posted fro

NOV 28

A thank you to each and every one of you and a special wish for a happy, healthy and peaceful holiday season.
Friends, I want to say thank you to each and every one of you and convey my deep appreciate for your friendship, time, attention and participation in our world. May health, happiness and peace be with you and yours, along with comfort, joy and a good bit of prosperity. Below is a Thanksgiving wish or […]The post A thank you to each and every one of you and a special wish for a happy, healthy and p

NOV 27

A special moment of thankfulness for Bridgeport Board of Education member Bobby Simmons
This week’s Bridgeport Board of Education meeting was Bobby Simmons’ last meeting as a member of that committee. After twelve years in office, the longest-serving member of the Bridgeport Board of Education, pushed back his chair to make room for a new member to join the group responsible for leading Bridgeport’s schools. His quiet, but […]The post A special moment of thankfulness for Bridgeport B
My child is more than a test score… All children are more than test scores
My child is more than a test score…. All children are more than test scores Here is a 3-minute video made by ParentVoicesNY, an organization of public school parents in New York City. It is addressed to Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio but it applies just as well to every governor, state legislator or mayor in the […]The post My child is more than a test score… All children are more than test scores app
Wait, what about Steve Perry Investigation #1; About Capital Prep’s failures on bullying policy.
Following a recent tweet by Capital Prep Principal Steve Perry in which he said, “Strap up, there will be head injuries, “Hartford Board of Education Chairman Matt Poland told WNPR’s John Dankosky that he wanted an investigation of Perry’s threating social media rant and answers within 24 hours.” The status of that investigation remains unclear, […]The post Wait, what about Steve Perry Investigati

NOV 26

The Malloy administration’s approach to financial planning in 2013
“Aware that the city school board was prepared Monday to pass a resolution demanding the funds, Barnes said he felt the time was right to make the deal.”  – CT Post 11/26/13 You heard him right… “The time was right to make the deal.” The deal being that the City of Bridgeport would get a giant […]The post The Malloy administration’s approach to financial planning in 2013 appeared first on Wait Wha
Paul Vallas: $1,200 a day from the taxpayers of Illinois while collecting $900 a day from the taxpayers of Bridgeport and Connecticut.
Hey, it’s not like we didn’t warn them… Governor Pat Quinn became Illinois’ chief elected official with a very narrow victory.  Arguably he won, in no small part, thanks too strong support from Illinois teachers. When Quinn picked Paul Vallas to be his running-mate, I told members of the Illinois media that considering what he […]The post Paul Vallas: $1,200 a day from the taxpayers of Illinois wh
Hartford School Board vote reveals more about secret deal within Malloy administration
As reported by the Hartford Courant, “The city board of education reversed itself Monday night and approved two proposed magnet schools for the 2014-15 year, nearly a week after voting to reject the plans that were negotiated as part of a settlement in the Sheff v. O’Neill case.” The Hartford Board of Education also approved […]The post Hartford School Board vote reveals more about secret deal wit

NOV 25

A powerful and haunting report from a former Capital Prep teacher
Note:  This incredible article was posted earlier today on fellow education blogger EduShyster’s site: ‘Did You Grow Up Around Black People?’ My year working for “America’s Most Trusted Educator” By Ebony Murphy-Root   Dr. Steve Perry @DrStevePerry The only way to lose a fight is to stop fighting. All this did was piss me off. It’s […]The post A powerful and haunting report from a former Capital P
NEWS FLASH: Is Perry mocking Hartford Mayor and School Board Chair in Capital Prep Flyer or revealing secret strategy?
Last week the Hartford Board of Education rejected the secret one year Sheff v. O’Neill Settlement Agreement amid concerns that it was an inappropriate, and potentially even illegal, attempt to allow Steve Perry to set up his own company and then hand control of both Capital Prep and SAND elementary school over that private entity. […]The post NEWS FLASH: Is Perry mocking Hartford Mayor and School
Bridgeport: Where “truth” is sometimes fiction
Paul Vallas likes to brag that he “balanced” Bridgeport’s school budget during the two years he ran Bridgeport’s schools. Mayor Bill Finch likes to brag that he is making a huge “investment” in Bridgeport schools. Every time Paul Vallas speaks about his budget success he fails to mention that he didn’t actually balance last year’s Bridgeport […]The post Bridgeport: Where “truth” is sometimes ficti
Wait, What? – A weekend of political news and commentary
Connecticut and American Politics: Will Rogers, the “unequal distribution of the money” and the elections of 2014 and 2016 Meanwhile…..John Rowland? No Dannel Malloy Malloy continues to cash in on Education Reform initiative (corrected version)   Bridgeport: Mayor Bill Finch, Paul Vallas: UPDATED: Secret Deal for Malloy Political ally turns Education Funding Formula into a […]The post Wait, What?
A public school parent calls Capital Prep’s Steve Perry to account
Over the last few days, a series of posts on Steve Perry, the principal of Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut has generated more than 15,000 visits to Wait, What? and more than 200 comments (a record). The discussion about Perry went well beyond his infamous, bullying, sexist twitter rants to an exploration and […]The post A public school parent calls Capital Prep’s Steve P

NOV 24

NEWS FLASH: Secret Deal for Malloy Political ally turns Education Funding Formula into a joke
Apparently without the approval of the State Board of Education or the approval of the Connecticut General Assembly, the Malloy administration is planning to provide Malloy ally, Mayor Bill Finch, with a special deal so that he doesn’t have to have the City Bridgeport meet the state law concerning their minimum budget expenditures for local […]The post NEWS FLASH: Secret Deal for Malloy Political
Will Rogers, the “unequal distribution of the money” and the elections of 2014 and 2016
“I was born on Nov. 4, which is Election Day. . . . My birthday has made more men and sent more back to honest work than any other days in the year.”  – Will Rogers There was a time in our nation’s history when one out of three Americans followed the writings of a […]The post Will Rogers, the “unequal distribution of the money” and the elections of 2014 and 2016 appeared first on Wait What?.
Oh and in case you missed it: Vallas lawyer’s gratuitous attack on those who sued Vallas
Although it didn’t get a lot of play at the time, following the Supreme Court’s decision in the Carmen Lopez v. Paul Vallas case that let Paul Vallas off the hook for not having the credentials necessary to get his 093 State of Connecticut superintendent certification, attorney Steven Ecker wrote a commentary piece following the […]The post Oh and in case you missed it: Vallas lawyer’s gratuitous

NOV 23

Hartford Board of Education schedule re-vote for Monday
Matt Poland, the Chairman of the Hartford Board of Education, has scheduled a “Special Meeting” of the board on Monday, November 25, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. in the plaza level conference room at 260 Constitution Plaza in Hartford. According to the agenda that was sent out at 4:59 pm Friday (for a Monday meeting, state […]The post Hartford Board of Education schedule re-vote for Monday (Capital Prep deal