Pittsburgh was the First District to End Its Contract with TFA
Shortly after posting that the school board of Durham, North Carolina, voted not to renew its contract with Teach for America, I recalled that another major city had done the same, reversing the previous board’s decision to bring in 30 TFA recruits. Last December, the newly elected majority on the Pittsburgh school board voted 6-2 not to renew its contract with TFA. The issue was how to fill posit
Breaking News: Durham Public Schools Votes to End TFA Contract
The Durham public school board voted 6-1 to finish its current contract with Teach for America and then sever the relationship. “The Durham school district will honor its current contract with Teach For America, but the national teacher training program’s future with Durham Public Schools is up in the air. “The school board voted 6-1 last week to honor its commitment to TFA teachers, including fi
Stephen Sawchuck Asks: Do Evaluations Punish Teachers of Needy Students?
Stephen Sawchuck notes in his blog at Education Week that a pattern is emerging from teacher evaluation programs: The highest ratings go disproportionately to teachers of advantaged students and the lowest ratings to teachers of students who are disadvantaged. He wonders whether this suggests that the ratings systems are biased against those who teach the neediest students or does it suggest that
Schneider: The New Sales Technique for Common Core
Mercedes Schneider has discovered a new public relations campaign to sell the Common Core, especially in California, where the state has not jumped head first into testing, as New York did. Since public support, especially teacher support, for Common Core appears to be evaporating, it makes sense to hire a sophisticated group of communications experts to redesign the sales campaign. No more cris
Ohio: When Does Public Money Turn into Private Assets?
Bill Phillis, a veteran warrior for public schools and equitable financing of them, wrote the following in response to a court case that will be heard on September 23. Does a for-profit private corporation own all the assets of the schools it manages? Who owns school facilities, equipment, technology, furniture and other assets purchased with taxpayer’s money? White Hat Management? The privately-o
Ohio: When Is Public Money Not Public Money?
Bill Phillis of the Ohio Equity and Adequacy Coalition asks, where is the outrage? He writes: “Charter school operators argue that public tax money becomes private when it reaches the borders of charterland “Real estate, facilities, equipment, education materials and all other assets purchased by public school districts, obviously, belong to those political subdivisions-not private individuals. D
Susan Ochshorn: Play Is Necessary for Children’s Healthy Mental Development
Susan Ochshorn, a specialist in early childhood education, demonstrates in this post (as she has before, and will again) that play is crucial for the healthy mental development of young children. Ochshorn is the founder of ECE Policyworks and a tireless advocate for childhood. Ochshorn cites the research of Deborah Leong to explain the importance of play. “Self-regulation, as the non-neuroscient
Chicago Public Schools Best Charters
Ra Rmanuel has not disguised his dislike for public education or his love for charter schools. After all, he closed more public schools at one time –50–than any other school district in U.S. history. Well, how about this? An independent report found that Chicago public schools outperformed Chicago charter schools, especially in reading, but in math as well. “Austin community activist Dwayne Trus
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 8-30-14 #thankateacher #EDCHAT #P2
Diane Ravitch's blogLISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONGDIANE RAVITCH'S BLOGRuth Conniff: The FBI Is Investigating Charter School MalfeasanceRuth Conniff of “The Progressive” reports that the FBI is becoming more assertive in its investigation of criminal behavior by charter schools. Charter schools receive millions of dollars of public money with minimal accountability. In some states, they have