“One Newark” Assigns Five Siblings to Five Different Schools
Here is “choice” at its worst. Cami Anderson, Governor Chris Christie’s pick to run the state-controlled Newark schools, is closing public schools to make way for charter schools. All children get new assignments. The Tillman family used to attend the Newton Street school, across the street from their home. Their father, George Tillman, Jr., walked his five children to school every day. But unde
Michael Klonsky: Who Is Sucking the Oxygen Out of Classrooms?
Mike Klonsky knows who is sucking the oxygen out of classrooms and killing the joy of learning: Arne Duncan. Don’t take Mike’s word for it. Arne confessed. He said he would give schools a one-year reprieve from his testing mandates. One year to breathe deep and suck in some real oxygen. Then he returns to take your oxygen away again. Makes sense, no? No.
The Top Ten: The Global Search for Education
C.M. Rubin traveled the globe and interviewed educators with interesting ideas, insights, experience. She conducted more than 250 interviews. She invited Adam Steiner, a technology specialist in the Holliston, Massachusetts, public schools to review them and select the Top Ten. I am happy to say that I am one of them. Read here to find the Top Ten and their interviews.
Great News for Detroit!
Jack Martin, the emergency manager for Detroitpublic schools, has canceled his proposal to cut teachers’ salaries by 10% and to increase class sizes to as many as 43. This is great news for the children and teachers of Detroit! “In place of the pay cuts, Jack Martin will ask state education officials to extend the district’s five-year deficit elimination plan to seven years, consider layoffs for n
Néw York Regents: Test Scores Should Be 40% of Teacher Evaluation
Remember that Arne Duncan said that there was too much testing, that testing was sucking the oxygen and joy out of classrooms? New York didn’t get the message. In that state, state tests count for 20% of educator evaluations, and local assessments count for another 20%. That is the agreement negotiated with the unions when the state won Race to the Top funding. That was then, this is now. The Néw
An Inside View of Eva’s Charter Success Academy Schools
A reader directed me to a website where people rate their work experience and their employer. Former and present teachers at Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy posted devastating critiques of their experiences. SA must have gotten wind of what was happening on this website, because as you will note, the reviews suddenly turned from bleakly negative to enthusiastically positive, echoing the reformers’
Why Everyone Should Support Strong Public Schools
Patty Williams has been an active advocate for good public schools in Wake County. The second of her two children just graduated and is off to college. Does this mean she will abandon the public schools? No way! In this article, she and her husband David Zonderman explain why good public schools are important for our society, our communities, and our economy. Whether you have children in the publi
Paul Horton on the Chicago Clique and the War on Public Education
Paul Horton is a history instructor in the University High School at the University of Chicago Lab Schools. This post explains the Obama administration’s love for charters and its disdain for public schools. Martin Nesbitt is the President’s best friend, and close associate of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, who provided much of the start-up capital for Parking Spot, a very successful off airpo
Joel Westheimer: We Need More Mr. Keatings!
Joel Westheimer is a professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada, where he serves as the University Research Chair in Democracy in Education. He wrote this tribute to Mr. Keating, the fictional teacher in “The Dead Poets’ Society” before Robin Williams’ death. He wrote: In a popular scene from the 1989 movie, Dead Poets Society, the eccentric Mr. Keating (played by Robin Williams),
Peter Greene: How Arne Duncan Handed Off $28 Million to the College Board
Peter Greene calls attention to a new federal grant program of $28.4 million, to pay for low-income students to take Advanced Placement courses. AP courses are a source of revenue for the College Board, whose president is David Coleman, architect of the Common Core. Greene writes: “I will remind everyone, as I always do, that the College Board (home of the AP test and the SATs) is not a philanth
L.A.: Deasy Cancels Apple-Pearson Contract, Reopens Bidding
Following the release of internal emails that suggested inappropriate contact between Superintendent John Deasy, other LA officials, and top officials at Apple and Oearson, Deasy canceled the contract and announced he would start the bidding again. The LA Times wrote: “The suspension comes days after disclosures that the superintendent and his top deputy had especially close ties to executives o
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-25-14 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Bob Braun: How New Jersey Leaders Broke the Law to Charterize NewarkBob Braun, veteran reporter turned independent blogger, charges that officials in New Jersey broke state laws requiring a random lottery to advance the charter movement in Newark. He writes: “New Jersey and local school officials have been involved in a conspiracy