New U.S. Senate Education Committee Members | Truth in American Education : New U.S. Senate Education Committee Members Just an FYI, there have been some changes on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee due to the election. These committee members will hold their hearing for Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos on January 11th . I’d encourage you to contact
Betsy Devos’s presumed agenda: Dismantle public education | Politics | Chicago Reader : Betsy Devos’s presumed agenda: Dismantle public education Local experts warn that Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education will wage war on “government schools.” Betsy DeVos, president-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of the Department of Education, might not be the worst of the megabucks donors and r
Embedded Assessments: An End Around Parental Opt-Outs | Truth in American Education : Embedded Assessments: An End Around Parental Opt-Outs Over the last several years, a major point of contention between parents and the education establishment (both federal and state) has been the issue of testing. Especially as states have responded to federal mandates by administering unvalidated assessments a
Public Education and the Spectre of Fascism | BustED Pencils : The Spectre of Fascism “Fascism is capitalism in decay”, said Lenin. We’ve seen this before. When the traditional capitalist system is failing, there are cracks within the ruling class, and its accompanying political structures are in turmoil, a section of that class backs a strongman for its own protection. These strongmen have a pop
The Rocks On Which We Can Build Better Schools (and a Better Democracy) | The Huffington Post - Linkis.com : The Rocks On Which We Can Build Better Schools (and a Better Democracy) During my first semester teaching in the inner city , Davina (as I will call her) did not ask permission to interrupt when I was in the middle of a sentence; she just got up and walked across the room. I wondered what
Republican legislator introduces bill to repeal Connecticut’s STUDENT DATA PRIVACY ACT. - Wait What? : Republican legislator introduces bill to repeal Connecticut’s STUDENT DATA PRIVACY ACT. When it comes the Connecticut General Assembly and education policy, one of the most important developments was the passage, last year, of a new Connecticut Student Data Privacy Act that requires school distr
Facebook Hires Campbell Brown to Help Smooth Relations with Mainstream Media | Diane Ravitch's blog : Facebook Hires Campbell Brown to Help Smooth Relations with Mainstream Media This is a stunner. Facebook has hired Campbell Brown to smooth over bad feelings with the mainstream media. To friends of public education, Brown is known as a propagandist for privatization. Will she give up her billion
CURMUDGUCATION: PA: The Property Tax Problem : PA: The Property Tax Problem AP's Marc Levy reports this week that Pennsylvania's legislature ( one of the largest and most expensive ones in the country ) is expected this year to once again tackle one of the great third rails of Pennsylvania politics-- property taxes. This system is part of the mechanism that gives Pennsylvania one of the country's
Third Wave Of Washington Charter Schools Eyed - Lens : Third Wave Of Washington Charter Schools Eyed Opening and running a charter school isn’t for the faint of heart , but in Washington their ranks will grow this year with three more starting up in the fall. Eight are already running – six under state supervision in King and Pierce counties, and two under the Spokane School District’s purview .
Coleman: Trump’s schools pick is scary : Coleman: Trump’s schools pick is scary Few of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks frighten me more than Betsy DeVos as education secretary. Sure, his foreign policy team is suspect and potentially dangerous. His nominee for attorney general, U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, is a throwback to pre-Civil Rights era Jim Crow days. But DeVos, a former Michigan
Trump’s education nominee and her family members are major donors to the senators who will vote on her confirmation - The Washington Post : Trump’s education nominee and her family members are major donors to the senators who will vote on her confirmation Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary, is not just a prospective Cabinet member seeking confirmation from th
Schools Matter: Ed Deform 2.0 in Less than Five Minutes : Ed Deform 2.0 in Less than Five Minutes Published on Jan 5, 2017. This is a summary for the one-hour talk "Ed Reform 2.0-Personalized Learning in Orwellian Times" available for viewing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0quQS .... For additional information visit Wrench in the Gears at https://wordpress.com/stats/day/wrenc... . Schools
How testing practices have to change in U.S. public schools - The Washington Post : How testing practices have to change in U.S. public schools Florida teachers protest in Tallahassee against state’s education policies. (Photo by Mike Archer, Used with permission) There has been some testing reform progress made in the last year or so as state and federal officials finally began to acknowledge a
Ed Notes Online: Aim Of School Choice Is To Limit Choice - Norm in The WAVE : Aim Of School Choice Is To Limit Choice - Norm in The WAVE http://www.rockawave.com/news/2017-01-06/School_News/Aim_Of_School_Choice_Is_To_Limit_Choice.html AIM OF SCHOOL CHOICE IS TO LIMIT CHOICE School Scope By Norm Scott I’m continuing my series of columns on the voucher/school choice issue which will come to the for
DeVos would set precedent as secretary of education without strong commitment to public schools | EdSource : DeVos would set precedent as secretary of education without strong commitment to public schools Betsy DeVos may well be the first U.S. secretary of education to come to office without expressing a strong belief in the importance of traditional public schools as a core democratic institutio
Stabenow Opposes Betsy DeVos For Education Department Secretary | News/Talk 94.9 WSJM : Stabenow Opposes Betsy DeVos For Education Department Secretary Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D), Mich. U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow says she will vote against Betsy DeVos as the next head of the U.S. Education Department. The Michigan Democrat says she talked to DeVos. Stabenow says DeVos’ support for charter schools
AFT President Weingarten to Give Major Education Speech : AFT President Weingarten to Give Major Education Speech WASHINGTON , Jan. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the nomination of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education, President-elect Donald Trump has signaled that the one bipartisan consensus on public education—the Every Student Succeeds Act—should be ignored, choosing instead the mos
How 2012 Chicago Teachers Strike Changed Fight Over Public Education | Chicago Tonight | WTTW : How 2012 Chicago Teachers Strike Changed Fight Over Public Education The Chicago teachers strike of 2012 made international headlines and marked a major shift in the fight over public education reform. After seven days on the picket lines, 26,000 teachers went back to the classroom with a new contract,
The American Teacher vs. Betsy DeVos : The American Teacher vs. Betsy DeVos They are asking me the question, ‘Is the American Dream dead?’ And the American Dream is in trouble. But we’re going to get it back and do some real jobs. –Donald Trump, Rochester, NH Town Hall, September 17, 2015 The appointment of Betsy DeVos as education secretary will offend every teacher in this country who has studi
Connecticut Congressional Delegation has raised more than $100 million - Wait What? : Connecticut Congressional Delegation has raised more than $100 million “Money is the mother’s milk of politics .” – Jesse Unruh, California Politician As California politician, Jesse Unruh, famously observed, money is the primary nourishment for American politicians. Big donors and lobbyists curry favor and buy
New research shows broad academic benefits for students taking ethnic studies classes | 89.3 KPCC : New research shows broad academic benefits for students taking ethnic studies classes Public school districts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Long Beach and about a dozen others have started ethnic studies classes in recent years. But they’ve done so without a key ingredient: academic res
Democrats Who Oppose Betsy DeVos Have Nothing To Lose : Democrats Who Oppose Betsy DeVos Have Nothing To Lose In “an unprecedented break” from tradition, Democrats in the US Senate are expected to challenge as many as eight of Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees, including Betsy DeVos for US Secretary of Education, according to a report by the Washington Post . The opposition to DeVos, Politico repor
Education Law Prof Blog : Addressing the Recent Increase in Bullying: A Webinar for Parents On Wednesday, January 11, 2017, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Parental Readiness and Empowerment Program (PREP) in partnership with the Center for Safe Schools and the Center for Education Equity will host a free webinar for parents and advocates on school bullying in response to a su
Small Local Group Uncovers Widespread Opposition to Confirmation of DeVos as U.S. Education Secretary | janresseger : Small Local Group Uncovers Widespread Opposition to Confirmation of DeVos as U.S. Education Secretary On Tuesday, January 3, as everybody crawled out from under holiday cooking, gifting and celebrating, leaders of our local Heights Coalition for Public Education met to consider mo
Badass Teachers Association: Trenton Deserves Board Members Capable of Selecting a Qualified Superintendent (NJ) : Trenton Deserves Board Members Capable of Selecting a Qualified Superintendent (NJ) The state capital of New Jersey has been under attack from education reformers for years. Following reformer playbook moves time and time again that seek to minimize the voice of the community and tak
Bill Ayers: Demand the Impossible! | Literati Bookstore : BILL AYERS: DEMAND THE IMPOSSIBLE! Literati welcomes Bill Ayers to Ann Arbor as part of a national tour to celebrate the release of his latest book, Demand the Impossible!: A Radical Manifesto . Demand the Impossible! is a manifesto for movement-makers. In an era defined by mass incarceration, endless war, economic crisis, catastrophic env
“Say it Ain’t So” NEA and AFT | tultican : “Say it Ain’t So” NEA and AFT In 1919, the biggest baseball star in Chicago and possibly all of America was “Shoeless Joe” Jackson. After “Shoeless Joe” and seven other members of the Chicago White Sox were convicted of fixing the 1919 World Series, the Chicago Daily News headline – “Say it ain’t so, Joe” – was the anguished plea from fans and especially
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 1/5/17 Featured Post The Rotten State of Charter Schools in Michigan: A For-Profit Bonanza, Sponsored by the DeVos Family | Diane Ravitch's blog Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: U.S. schools
