Bombshell Report: $100 Million in Taxpayer $$ Wasted or Stolen by Deregulated Charter Industry
A new report reveals massive waste, fraud, and corruption in the charter industry, where private corporations control public funds with minimal oversight or accountability. “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 5, 2014 CONTACT: Kyle Serrette: KSerrette@populardemocracy.org, 202-304-8027 Sabrina Stevens: media@integrityineducation.org, 720-295-0238 A new report released today reveals that fraudulent charter
Politico: DFER Meets “Pickets in the Pines” at Camp Phalos
On Politico this morning: “OF PHILOSOPHERS AND PICKETS: Democrats for Education Reform planned a nice quiet retreat this week at the luxurious Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid, N.Y. where top strategists of the education reform movement could map out their next moves at seminars such as “Living to Tell the Tale: Changing Third-Rail Teacher Policies” and “Rocketships, Klingons and Tribbles: Charters
NYC “Charter School Gold Rush” Begins, Thanks to Governor Cuomo
A story in today’s New York Daily News reports that charter schools will flock to New York City, thanks to Governor Cuomo’s preferential treatment of them in a state law that applies only to New York City. Charter students account for only 3% of the state’s enrollment, and only 6% in the Big Apple, but Cuomo made clear that he was taking care of the hedge fund managers who put $800,000 into his ca
Good News from Philadelphia!
Helen Gym sent the following report. The parents at Steel Elementary School voted to remain a public school, despite an aggressive campaign to turn the school over to a charter chain. But the school’s advisory council voted 9-8 to hand the school over to privatization. The final decision will be made by the city’s School Reform Commission. “Happy news for Monday morning! “On May 1, 176 parents at
Tennessee: “Parents Know Best”—–Help This Letter Go Viral
Today I came across a letter from a Tennessee parent that went viral. The theme, quite simply, is: Parents know best. In it, this parent explains why she is opting her child out of state testing. Please click on the link so that Alicia Maynard and other Tennessee parents know you support them in their determination to end the testing madness. **************************************************** “
NYC Parents, Elected Officials To Protest Preferential Treatment for Charters on May 6
Another protest against the law sponsored by Governor Cuomo to give preferential treatment to the billionaire-sponsored charter schools. the Cuomo law was enacted at the same time that New York City’s public schools are overcrowded, with class sizes at their highest point in fifteen years. The Cuomo law guarantees that privately-managed charters get free public space; that the city must pay for th
Warning Alarms at Camp Phalos! Infiltrators Within!
I usually don’t worry about the hedge fund managers when they are hanging out with VIPs like Andrew Cuomo, but I just received inside information that the Camp has been infiltrated! Hedge fund managers! Watch what you say! Trust no one! There is a public school teacher—more than one, actually–who has entered the sacred grounds of Camp Phalos. I know you have security. But they slipped up and
Jonathan Pelto Reports on Wendy Lecker’s Critique of Governor Malloy’s Failed Teacher Evaluation System
Jonathan Pelto here reports on a great new piece by civil rights lawyer Wendy Lecker. He writes: “In her latest MUST READ commentary piece, fellow public education advocate, Wendy Lecker, lays out the facts about Governor Malloy’s unfair, inappropriate and fatally flawed teacher evaluation system. Like the junk bonds that helped take down Wall Street, Connecticut’s teacher evaluation system is b
Obama Selects Robert Gordon, Early Proponent of VAM, for Top Policy Post in Department of Education
President Obama chose Robert Gordon, who served in key roles in the first Obama administration, as assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development in the U.S. Department of Education. This is a very important position in the Education Department; he will be the person in charge of the agency that basically decides what is working, what is not, and which way to go next with pol
Lloyd Lofthouse: Obama ‘s Mindless Education Reforms
Reader Lloyd Lofthouse finds President Obama’s education reforms to be as unrealistic as those of George W. Bush. The basic theory of action is to set I reachable goals and to punish those who can’t reach them. He writes: “The Common Core high stakes testing that judges teachers, gets them fired and public schools closed took public education systems that operated based on individual state legis
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-4-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Why the Anti-Teacher Book Is Not Selling, ExplainedAt first I thought that Paul Peterson’s new book about how teachers are blocking school reform was selling poorly, despite a vigorous public relations campaign, because people actually like teachers. Now, I am not so sure. Look at the recommended reading levels and grade levels for