David Sirota: How Eva Used Kids As Political Pawns
Investigative reporter David Sirota wonders about the legality of Eva Moskowitz closing her charter schools and busing the students to Albany for a political rally. Even stranger is that Governor Cuomo attended and supported her rally. If her schools were public schools, she would have been fired. At once.
My Speech at the Network for Public Education: “Why We Will Win!”
The Network for Public Education held its first annual conference at the LBJ Center of the University of Texas in Austin. It was an amazing gathering of some 400 activists from across the nation: students, teachers, parents, principals, superintendents, journalists, union leaders. Many familiar names, bloggers everywhere, interspersed with state and local heroes, people fighting for kids and publi
Wisconsin: This Takes the Cake
This letter was written by Scott Wittkopf of the Forward Institute in Wisconsin to the Senate Education Committee about a bill to create a new “model academic standards board” consisting of political appointees, not educational experts. March 6, 2014 To Wisconsin State Senate Education Committee Members: Senator Luther Olsen, Chair Senator Paul Farrow, Vice Chair Senator Alberta Darling Senato
Durham, NC, School Board Loves Its Teachers
Members of the Durham school board voted unanimously yesterday to join a lawsuit against the law eliminating “career status” protections afforded to veteran teachers. Guilford County and Wake County are also opposing the llegislature’s mandate to identify the “best” teachers and offer them a bonus to abandon due process. Think how dumb that is: find your best teachers and make it easier to fire th
Why Cuomo Loves Charters
Governor Andrew Cuomo, who once promised to be a lobbyist for students, is in reality a lobbyist for charter schools, which enroll about 5% of the state’s students. He is not a lobbyist for the other 95% +, whose schools are cutting their budgets because of Cuomo’s tax cap. How could this be? Geoff Decker of Chalkbeat, a New York City’s nonpartisan education blog, explains Cuomo’s close connection
Wall Street Journal: Cuomo Poll Numbers Tumble
There is little doubt that Andrew Cuomo will be re-elected, given that he has raised $33 million from New York’s financial titans. But the latest Wall Street Journal poll shows that Cuomo’s numbers dropped sharply to their lowest point. Apparently, his claim to be the “lobbyist for students” hasn’t worked so well, especially with black and Latino voters. His fervent embrace of charter schools in r
Ladd and Fiske: A Guide to What Happened to Public Education in North Carolina
Professor Helen F. Ladd of Duke University and her husband Edward B. Fiske, former education editor of the New York Times, have written a comprehensive analysis that explains the politics of education in North Carolina in recent years. They have generously shared it with readers of this blog. Professor Ladd is one of the most distinguished economists of education in the United States. Fiske is edi
Cuomo Distorts Charter School Facts and Issues, Gets a Grade of F
A researcher who has followed the issues in New York state closely submitted the following analysis of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s views on charter schools. The researcher has requested anonymity; he has documented his review. The sources are nonpartisan and unimpeachable. This is recommended reading for all journalists and citizens. Forgive the formatting. ************************************
Parent Advocate in New Orleans: The “Miracle of New Orleans” is a Fraud
EduShyster here prints a guest column by Ashana Bigard, a New Orleans native and parent advocate who describes the hoax perpetrated on the national media about school choice in that city. Bigard describes schools where children are punished because they are poor. She writes: The majority of schools in New Orleans have these overly rigid disciplinary codes—they’re run like little prisons. The schoo
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-5-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Watch the Brilliant Speeches by John Kuhn and Karen Lewis HereJohn Kuhn and Karen Lewis spoke as keynoters at the first annual conference of the Network for Public Education at the LBJ Center at the University of Texas in Austin last weekend. Watch and listen here.1 by dianeravitch / 30min hide // saveNPE Leadership Calls for Con