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Election Year: Incumbent or challenger – You MUST READ this column
In a stunning piece written by pro-public education advocate and CT Newsjunkie columnist Sarah Darer Littman, Connecticut’s elected officials and anyone considering running for office are provided with a MUST READ substantive, educational and powerful piece entitled, “Politicians Underestimate Common Core Opposition at Their Peril (by Sarah Darer Littman). While parents, teachers and public school
Charter Company: We’re from the Bronx, NY and we are here to help
When it comes to Governor Malloy, his Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor and the corporate education reform industry, perhaps the most absurd, inappropriate, insulting, and anti-local control privatization scheme is playing itself out in Stamford, Connecticut. Fellow pro-public education advocate columnist Wendy Lecker lays out the facts about Bronx Charter School for Excellence effort to open
MAR 19
Investigation needed into Malloy administration’s handling of Clark Elementary School Fiasco
Last October Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, and his corporate education reform industry allies teamed up with Hartford’s outgoing superintendent of schools, Christina Kishimoto, to hand Hartford’s Clark Elementary School over to Achievement First, Inc., the large charter school management company that was co-founded by Stefan Pryor. See Wait, What? articles? Breaking Ne
MAR 18
The Malloy Administration’s Big Lie: Parents Can’t Opt Out.
Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor and his band of corporate education industry reforms continue their crusade to persuade Connecticut parents that they don’t have the right to opt out their children from the Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test. Pryor claims that federal and state laws trump parental rights. He is lying… […]The post The Malloy Administration’s
MAR 17
Pryor: Enough! Read the statute and back off the lie that students must take the common core test
March 17, 2014 Commissioner Pryor, The charade has gone on way to long. Connecticut General Statute 10-14n is clear and concise. It reads, “For purposes of this section, a state-wide mastery examination is defined as an examination which measures whether or not a student has mastered essential grade-level skills in reading, language arts and mathematics. […]The post Pryor: Enough! Read the statut
Testimony on the Common Core Bill at last week’s hearing
Despite the best efforts of the Malloy administration and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly, the Education Committee conducted a hearing on legislation impacting the he Common Core on March 12, 2014. Connecticut residents provided and submitted incredibly powerful testimony. Here are just a few of the best examples. More will be posted in coming […]The post Testimony on the Common Core
All I Really Need to Know about Corporate Education Reform (and why we should fight it) I Learned in Kindergarten – by Dr. Yohuru Williams
Dr. Yohuru Williams is a professor of history at Fairfield University and a Badass Teacher Activist. Diane Ravitch recently featured Dr. William’s piece on her blog. Here is the full piece; Sometimes the simplest explanations are the best ones. Robert Fulghum’s hugely popular All IReally Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten offers the basis for a […]The post All I Really Need to Know about Cor
MAR 16
Teachers just never know (By Roger Conway)
Valued Reader Roger Conway weighs in with a great letter, For all the words spoken and written about education “reform” and all the bloviating about teacher benchmarks and evaluations, very little is said about what and how teachers feel. And part of the reason for this is that teachers keep their most important feelings about what […]The post Teachers just never know (By Roger Conway) appeared fi
The list of towns (Part 2) misleading parents on the Common Core Test grows…
As Connecticut superintendents work overtime in their effort to implement Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor’s directives, many local school administrators are sending out letters that try to highlight the “silver lining” of having students take the Common Core Smarter Balanced Field Test. For example, administrators in Granby wrote, This is an exciting opportunity for our school. […]The post Th
MAR 15
Another reader speaks truth to power about the Common Core SBAC Test
Wait, What? has the greatest readers. Here is another great comment to today’s blog. The Memo from Commissioner Pryor’s office is a minor classic of doublespeak in the service of damage control. Just look at the opening: “We wish to convey a time sensitive update with you…” Yes, that is one way to put it; […]The post Another reader speaks truth to power about the Common Core SBAC Test appeared f
More testing, less learning
So many comments on Wait, What? posts deserve to be their own post. In fact, more often than not, the most interesting information and observations can be found in the comment section. Here a reader confronts the mindlessness of the decision, that in the name of ensuring that students are college ready, the Malloy administration […]The post More testing, less learning appeared first on Wait What?.
Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test of a Test delayed a week
As teachers and school administrators learned on Friday, the Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test isn’t (quite) ready to be given. Years in the making and the consortium behind the absurd Common Core test informed partner states on Friday that things would not be ready to go this coming Monday, as scheduled. The “shocking […]The post Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test