New York: Parents Outraged by Cuomo’s Deal on Tests: What About the Children?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 2014 More information contact: Eric Mihelbergel (716) 553-1123; nys.allies@gmail.com Lisa Rudley (917) 414-9190; nys.allies@gmail.com NYS Allies for Public Education http://www.nysape.org Parents Outraged by APPR Albany Deal that Ignores the Children The deal reached today by Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature regarding minimizing the impact of Common
Louisiana: Who Is in Charge? The Saga Continues.
Governor Bobby Jindal says he will not ask for John White’s resignation. They disagree. Jindal says the state is dropping Common Core and pulling out of the PARCC test. White says the governor is wrong. White says the state is staying in Common Core and PARCC. The governor has canceled funding for PARCC and called for an audit of the state department of education. Stay tuned.
Cuomo Shapes Compromise to Shield Low-Rated Teachers from Common Core Evaluations
Governor Cuomo reached a compromise with teachers’ unions and legislators to protect teachers who received the lowest ratings on the Common Core tests. Such teachers will not be evaluated by the tests. Only 1% of the state’s teachers were rated ineffective. What this deal really means is that a meaningless and deeply flawed teacher evaluation system, cobbled together to get Race to the Top funding
Federal Prosecutors Investigate Governor Scott Walker
According to newly released documents, “prosecutors believe Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a potential 2016 Republican candidate for president, was at the center of a nationwide “criminal scheme” to illegally coordinate fundraising with outside conservative groups, according to previously secret court documents released Thursday.”
Ohio: Another Charter School Closing
From Bill Phillis of the Ohio Adequacy and Equity Coalition: Another charter school will close down: corruption, ethics, nepotism and poor performance, at issue. The superintendent of the VLT Academy, a charter school of 600 some students, was making $140,000 per year; her daughter was making $92,000 per year for data entry; and her husband was making $62,000 in addition to running his company th
Shaun Johnson: What’s Behind the Attack on Tenure?
Shaun Johnson, an elementary school teacher, explains the attack on tenure and details what reformers would do of they really cared about teachers or children or the quality of education. He writes: “Obsessions with teacher tenure, or tenure in any academic profession, is all about union busting, and flipping the teaching profession into an unprofessional, short-term, part-time, scab workforce.
Why Privatization of Public Services Harms Society
You will find this publication of great interest at this time. It is titled “Race to the Bottom: How Outsourcing Public Services Rewards Corporations and Punishes the Middle Class.” It was written by a group called “In the Public Interest.” The full PDF file is available for free. Here is the executive summary: “As state and local governments outsource important public functions to for-profit a
New Orleans: The Other Side of the Story
Here is the latest from New Orleans, as locals try to tell “the other side of the story” from what you see in the national media. Dr. Raynard Sanders is an educator who is affiliated with Research on Reforms. Phoebe Ferguson is a co-founder of the Plessy & Ferguson Foundation for Education, Preservation, and Outreach. “Dear Friends and Colleagues, “For the past two years Phoebe Ferguson and I
TFA Members Want to Open a “Model” Rural Charter School in Tennessee
Tracy O’Neill is a mom and education activist in rural Cheatham County, Tennessee. This pleasant community is now riven by a controversy, as TFA corps members seek approval to open a charter school to compete with the public schools. Aside from the financial cost to the community, the charter school will divide community support for the local schools. Tracy is running for a seat on the local schoo
Horton: Not a Conspiracy Theory: The Gates Foundation Bought Control of U.S. Education
A year ago, Paul Horton wrote a letter to Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, asking him to conduct hearings on the Common Core and Race to the Top, and specifically to inquire about the role of the Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation in shaping federal education policy. Nothing happened. Now that the world knows that the Gates Foundation, working in alliance with the U.S. Department of Education, unde
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-18-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Shocker: Obama Administration Proposes “Race to Top” Model for Indian Tribal SchoolsIn a bold effort to reorganize the tribal schools run by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Obama administration proposes a competition for funding based on Race to the Top. “A revamped BIE, as envisioned in the proposal, would eventually giv