Seattle School Board Meeting, January 22, 2025
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*Update 2:*
I forgot the Board had an executive session at 3:30 pm; clearly, it ran
long.
The SPS channel has its music that I call “school board meetin...
Against AI Theft
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Among the many reasons to give Artificial Intelligence some real side-eye
is the business model that rests entirely on plagiarism-- stealing the works
of...
There is nothing peaceful about this transition.
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If I hear one more liberal politician talk about how this is a peaceful
transition of power, I will scream.Fred Klonsky in Retirement is a
reader-supported...
Shanker Blog: Reading Policy, the Wind and the Sun
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Shanker Blog: Reading Policy, the Wind and the Sun
There is a well-known tale about the Wind and the Sun who once debated who
was stronger. They agreed th...
Trump's Day One Executive Orders
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Day One of Trump 2.0 was full of shock and awful, precisely what we had
every reason to expect. In classic fashion, there was so much, and it was
so a...
Why We Need Children in the Midst of Life Itself
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My brother and I used to fight over who got to sit in the window seat on
airplanes. We wanted to be able to look out. The world from 30,000 feet was
an ...
Billionaires Driving Science of Reading
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By Thomas Ultican 1/21/2025 On January 2nd, billionaire created education
news source, The 74, declared there is a reading crisis in Los Angeles
Unified Sc...
Trump Acts Like a Maniac
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Or course, no one expected Trump to suddenly declare that the country’s
immigration system—the central topic to his ten years of dominance in
politics...
The Orange Turd feeds the racists
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The Orange Turd has been feeding red meat to the millions of angry racists
for the past 8 years. He has succeeded in hoodwinking these sad souls into
placi...
Civics
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“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to
think critically. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true
education.”...
W.B. YEATS, MEET W.H. AUDEN and MATTHEW ARNOLD
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Prior to the November election, I invoked the poetry of W.B. Yeats, asking
his question, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches
towar...
Heroes, Hypocrisy, and Hubris
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“One of the grimmer realizations of Sarkis’s youth had been the discovery
that knowing you were being an ass did not actually stop you from
continuing to b...
A Man’s World (pt. 3): Gaiman Edition
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[Header Photo by Museums of History New South Wales on Unsplash] I am
currently reading Haruki Murakami’s newest novel, The City and Its
Uncertain Walls. I...
Retiree Advocate Town Hall: The ARISE Campaign
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I am excited to be working on a UFT election campaign through Retiree
Advocate. Our first event is a Town Hall this Sunday at 7:30. Please
register if you ...
Ed Tech Digest
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Ten years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog
of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “Ed Tech Digest” post
where...
The Five Musketeers
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One for all and all for one … and in a modern update, One in Five, a
Texas-based foundation that grew out of the Uvalde tragedy to help patrol
schools and ...
Site Index - Updated December 31, 2024
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When I was teaching,
I got tired of hearing how bad American educators were.
*My Promise *
WHEN I STARTED BLOGGING IN 2011, I said I planned to speak ...
Perhaps this is a meaningless ramble
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but I am choosing to reflect on a number of disparate topics that are
currently on my mind. Perhaps I should start by explaining that I have been
at leas...
December Parent Engagement Resources
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Parent involvement in schools ⬆️. 87% of K–12 students from
English-speaking families had parents who reported attending a general
school meeting in 2019, ...
The 2024 NPE “Coal in the Stocking” Awards
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At NPE, we know who is naughty and nice when it comes to supporting our
public schools and their students.
The post The 2024 NPE “Coal in the Stocking” A...
Juntos lo haremos
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En el año que viene, tendremos que tomar decisiones difíciles sobre quienes
queremos ser en cada comunidad y como nación. Ha sido un año muy intenso.
Desde...
WTF, Democratic Caucus?
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Why is the failure of this current budget bill being blamed on Republicans
when almost every single Democrat voted against it? If only half of the
Dems had...
In Memoriam: Nikki Giovanni
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The literary and cultural world has lost an irreplaceable voice with the
passing of Nikki Giovanni. As one of the most celebrated poets and
activists of ou...
Education Has Failed and What Can We Do Next?
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Education has failed to prepare children for the world today. Despite the
increased investment, impactful reforms, hardworking teachers and school
leaders,...
Defining Productivity, Cost, and Efficiency
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Recycled material here… The central problem with US public schools is often
characterized as an efficiency problem. We spend a lot and don’t get much
for i...
Number 18 — A barely-hanging-on Blogoversary
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Blogoversary #18 SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 I started this blog while I was still
teaching, in 2006. I had just begun my 31st year as an educator. Just like
in pre...
Student "Growth" Measures Are STILL Biased
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This caught my attention:
New Jersey school districts may soon be evaluated differently, *with a
greater emphasis on student growth* as compared to stud...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
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As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
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Well, this is the first anniversary of the introduction of Generative AI in
the form of ChatGPT to the world of education. Before it was a week old,
over o...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
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In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ...
Read more
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
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THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
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Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
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TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
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I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
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[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
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Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
The Threat of Integration
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I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
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The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
The Fight For Our Children
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*The number of suicides among people ages 10 to 24 nationally increased by
56 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to a new federal report showing
the ...
Read to Self: Just a Kid and a Book.
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Date: Monday, January 5, 2020 Place: My classroom Student: Mrs.Mims, could
we start doing Read to Self again because I got this great book for
Christmas an...
Keeping Progressive Schools Alive
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Dear Friends and Colleagues, Happy New Year and a special thanks to those
who respond to past blogs about choice, et al. I always mean to respond to
each c...
Reminiscences
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I just finished dumping the rest of my lesson plans. I guess I held on to
the calculus ones for so long because I spent so much time working on them
an...
Just Asking for some Teachers I know.
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Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, We must … recognize that
part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators
who t...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
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Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Critique of Standards-Based Grading
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It first happened to me about ten years ago. I was beginning my third year
of teaching in a new school in Washington, DC. Social studies teachers were
si...
My First and Last Visit to Hudson Yards
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Figuring I did not need to invite any more darkness and vulgarity into my
head than that provided on a daily basis from Trump’s White House, and
after read...
The World According to Michelle Rhee
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The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Whose Opinions Matter in Education World?
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It's hard to identify education heroes and sheroes. And perhaps even harder
to pinpoint just whose work is slanted, paid-for and dishonest.
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
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Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on
Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
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Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
Lesson Plan: Rhyme and Rhythm in Poetry
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I’ve started a recent unit on poetry with my class. I’m not a poet, and I’m
not a poetry fan (I don’t hate it, but I’m a prose gal), so this makes it
harde...
The Apotheosis of Betsy DeVos
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Betsy Devos has drawn few headlines in recent months, and that is a good
thing for the Secretary of Education. Her tenure began with Vice President
Mike P...
Education Is a Civic Question
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In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
Should We Be Grateful?
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In an odd turn of events, and with little explanation, Michigan Governor
Rick Snyder has decided to return the state’s School Reform Office back to
the Dep...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
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An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
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The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
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Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
REPORT: States With the Best and Worst Schools
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States With the Best (and Worst)Schools
By *Evan Comen, Michael B. Sauter, Samuel Stebbins and Thomas C. Frohlich*
January 20, 2017- http://247wallst.com
...
Test Refusal = People Power
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In recent months, social media has been ablaze with talk of regular folk
taking action to resist the Trump agenda. Protests are a daily occurrence,
and ev...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
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I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
AB 934: A LEGISLATIVE FIX FOR VERGARA?
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By Michael Stratford | in the Politco Morning Education Report | via email
05/24/2016 10:00 AM EDT :: Two national education groups are backing a
Califor...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
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Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
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I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
New Beginnings: Kickstarter and EdWeek Teacher
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Greetings to InterACT readers one and all! If you’ve been following posts
here recently you might recall that I’m moving my blogging activity to
other loca...
Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School
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*“With Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School closing, Newark families must
move on.”* The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/25/2013
NEWARK — Bobby and Troy Shanks saw the...
Voice Is Only Effective If Someone Listens | My Island View : Voice Is Only Effective If Someone Listens I have been writing in social media about education and changes in education for about a decade at this point in time. One of my observations, as I enter discussions with educators in various parts of the country, is that many educators bring up problems within their own districts that were di
Audio: Using art-making to start conversations with kids about social justice | 89.3 KPCC : Using art-making to start conversations with kids about social justice How can parents talk to young kids about racism and inequality? The Hammer Museum is offering up one answer: to use art. In partnership with the Los Angeles Public Library, the museum has launched a series of art-making workshops for ki
Hitting Left with the Klonsky brothers #4. | Fred Klonsky : Hitting Left with the Klonsky brothers #4. Matt Farmer joins us in-studio on Hitting Left with the Klonsky brothers. This week’s edition of Hitting Left with the Klonsky brothers was jam packed. Plus we got ambushed by some brief technical noise. It was obviously caused by The Man trying to silence us. No way that was going to work. The
CURMUDGUCATION: Deserving : Deserving One of my regular reads is Blue Cereal Education, a blog that regularly makes me say, "Gee, I wish I'd written that." Just this week, the post " It's Not About Them (It's About Us )" gave me both that feeling and a wave of flashbacks to when my children were young. The point is deceptively simple-- we should treat people based on our understanding of the righ
The boogers of public policy: Where to put them? - NonDoc : The boogers of public policy: Where to put them? E ver wonder why policy people are often warned to avoid picking their noses? It’s because, if they pull out a booger, they’ll have to find a place to put it. That’s an example of just one memorable scholarly metaphor presented during the fantastic Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness
Invisible No More: Native Realities in a Post-Election Era | Schott Foundation for Public Education : Invisible No More: Native Realities in a Post-Election Era Less than 0.3% of philanthropic dollars go to native groups. This fact was pointed out at Philanthropy New York’s event, “Invisible No More: Native Realities in a Post-Election Era”, by Schott Foundation Vice President of Programs and Adv
Distinguished Labor Leader & American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten Honored by Suffolk Community College Foundation Annual Gala | LongIsland.com : Distinguished Labor Leader & American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten Honored by Suffolk Community College Foundation Annual Gala Prominent labor leader, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Te
Betsy DeVos: I Will Replace The Failed Ideas Of Bush-Obama With My Own Failed Ideas | The Huffington Post : Betsy DeVos: I Will Replace The Failed Ideas Of Bush-Obama With My Own Failed Ideas DeVos does not have a single innovative idea. It is the same old retreads of the privatization movement. Betsy DeVos gave a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), explaining that the
Please Help Educate Betsy DeVos! | Diane Ravitch's blog : Please Help Educate Betsy DeVos! Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos repeats the hackneyed and erroneous claims that American public schools are failing. She says the Obama ideas (testing, charters, and accountability) have failed, so she wants to impose her own ideas, which sound no diffferent from the failed ideas of the status quo. Ameri
California education officials reject Long Beach’s request to replace statewide assessment with SAT | EdSource : California education officials reject Long Beach's request to replace statewide assessment with SAT A Half-dozen states are planning to swap their 11th-grade statewide assessment tests for the SAT this spring. Long Beach Unified wanted to join them, but California’s state superintenden
California legislators reassure transgender students of protections, denounce Trump | EdSource : California legislators reassure transgender students of protections, denounce Trump ay after the Trump administration rescinded federal protections that allowed transgender children and youth to use the school bathroom of their choice, members of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus on Thur sday tol
School Funding Fairness : School Funding Fairness New edition of "Is School Funding Fair? A National Report Card" just released. The ability of state school finance systems to fairly deliver resources to students is an essential precondition for the delivery of high quality ed ucation. States must provide a sufficient level of funding that is fairly distributed to address the additional needs gen
Breaking News - Bridgeport, Danbury, New Britain and Waterbury among most financially strapped school districts in the nation - Wait What? : Breaking News – Bridgeport, Danbury, New Britain and Waterbury among most financially strapped school districts in the nation In a stunning and disturbing new report highlighting the political malfeasance of elected and appointed leadership across the countr
Betsy DeVos is Publicly Polite, but a Political Fighter - The New York Times : Betsy DeVos is Publicly Polite, but a Political Fighter Hours before President Trump rescinded a federal policy allowing transgender students to use the school bathrooms that match their gender identities, his education secretary, Betsy DeVos, met with a representative of gay and transgender employees at the Education
Education Law Prof Blog : Washington Charter Schools Back on Trial Two years ago, in League of Women Voters v. State , the Washington Supreme Court declared the state's charter school law unconstitutional. The court reasoned that the state constitution requires the state to create and fund “a general and uniform system of public schools," and “the entire revenue derived from the common school fun
Gov. Brownback Vetoes Legislature’s Tax Increase Fix for Kansas Budget and School Funding Crisis | janresseger : Gov. Brownback Vetoes Legislature’s Tax Increase Fix for Kansas Budget and School Funding Crisis Yikes! Sam Brownback, the governor of Kansas, just vetoed a budget into which the Kansas legislature had inserted a two-year, billion dollar income tax increase, which legislators had propo
Turtle Learning: FEBRUARY IS AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH: CHARLOTTA BASS AND THELMA DALE PERKINS : FEBRUARY IS AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH: CHARLOTTA BASS AND THELMA DALE PERKINS CHARLOTTA BASS AND THELMA DALE PERKINS Thelma Dale Perkins Continuing my favorite month (my birthday month) I want to share a bit about the lives of two unknowns, Charlotta Bass and Thelma Dale Perkins . In particu
Trump And DeVos Have A Deceptive Scheme To Push School Vouchers : Trump And DeVos Have A Deceptive Scheme To Push School Vouchers Since President Trump picked Betsy DeVos to be his new U.S. Secretary of Education, there’s been lots of speculation in the media that his administration, with his secretary out front, would push for a school voucher program that would allow families to withdraw their
Full Transcript of Betsy DeVos’ CPAC Interview with Kayleigh McEnany | deutsch29 : Full Transcript of Betsy DeVos’ CPAC Interview with Kayleigh McEnany On February 22, 2017, US ed sec Betsy DeVos participated in an interview with journalist and Trump supporter, Kayleigh McEnany , for the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC). Below is the full video followed by the full transcript of tha
NPE board member Julian Vasquez Heilig to participate in IQ2US debate - Network For Public Education : NPE board member Julian Vasquez Heilig to participate in IQ2US debate Charter Schools Are Overrated In the 25 years since Minnesota passed the first charter school law, these publicly funded but privately operated schools have become a highly sought-after alternative to traditional public educat
PAA’s letter to the Maryland legislature on screen time safety | Parents Across America : Parents Across America supports Maryland HB866 and SB1089 National parent group has prepared extensive materials about the harmful effects on children’s academic, intellectual, emotional, physical and social development when digital devices are misused and overused February 21, 2017 The national parent group
The Real Carpetbaggers in LAUSD’s District 2 : The Real Carpetbaggers in LAUSD’s District 2 Carpetbagger: A person from the northern states who went to the South after the Civil War to profit from the Reconstruction. ” If the picture on the front of the latest Monica Garcia flyer to hit your mailbox looks familiar, it is because it was the same one that the California Charter School Association (
Let's Change Teacher Licensure to Address the Teacher Shortage: FAILURE! | BustED Pencils : Let’s Change Teacher Licensure to Address the Teacher Shortage: FAILURE! Two weeks ago The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) in partnership with a host of other groups (Leadership Group on School Staffing Challenges) released proposed changes to teacher licensing in the state of Wisconsin. The leaders
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/23/17 Featured Post ‘The system is failing too many kids’ — text of Education Secretary DeVos’s speech at CPAC - The Washington Post Great series by PAA President on Personalized and Social-