Thursday Oracle Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Thursday Oracle Diane Ravitch's blog

 A site to discuss better education for all

Trump Choice for Ed Department’s General Counsel Helped Stop Litigation in Florida Against Trump University

by dianeravitch / 1h

The Associated Press reports that the lawyer who was chosen as general counsel of the U.S. Department of Education was involved in defending Florida’s decision not to prosecute Trump University for fraud. As a top aide to Florida’s attorney general, Carlos G. Muniz helped defend the office’s decision to sit out legal action against Trump University. Now the president is naming him to be the top l

More on DeVos’ Decision to Cancel Protections for Students Lenders

by dianeravitch / 1h

From Politico Education (yesterday): CONSUMER AND LABOR GROUPS BLAST DEVOS’ DECISION TO SCRAP OBAMA-ERA OVERHAUL OF STUDENT LOAN SERVICING. On Tuesday, DeVos halted Obama-era plans to overhaul how millions of student borrowers pay back their federal loans including new consumer protections for borrowers and contract provisions aimed at boosting the quality of federal loan servicing. Sen. Elizabet

Connecticut: Charter-Loving Dem Governor Malloy Will Not Seek Re-Election

by dianeravitch / 1h

Jonathan Pelto reports that Connecticut Governor Malloy will not run for a third term. He has spent his time in office promoting the charter school agenda and undermining public schools, the teaching profession, and higher education, 

Bannon in Trouble with the Boss: Sad. So Sad.

by dianeravitch / 30min

The Washington Post reports that Steve Bannon is on thin ice with Trump. He made the mistake of feuding with Jared Kushner. Guess he never learned that blood is thicker than water and family is always first. Sad. Inside Bannon’s 

Betsy DeVos Withdraws Protections for Students from Predatory Loan Agencies

by dianeravitch / 29min

In an inexplicable move, Secretary of Education DeVos canceled rules –some of which date back to the first Bush administration–to set standards for student loan agencies. This benefits the industry that fattens on student loans, but it will 

The Daily Show: Sean Spicer as Kindergarten Teacher

by dianeravitch / 10min

This is hilarious!

North Carolina: State Mandate to Reduce Class Size Will Cost Loss of Thousands of Teachers

by dianeravitch / 43min

The legislature in North Carolina never tires of finding new ways to mess up their state’s once-greatly admired public schools. By mandating class size reduction across the state without providing additional funds, districts will be 

Who is the Walton Family Foundation Funding?

by dianeravitch / 25min

It is very instructive to scan the long list of organizations that are funded by the Walton Family Foundation. Some will surprise you. Some will not. Here is what we know about this foundation. The Walton Family (beneficiaries of Walmart) is the richest family in America. There are many billionaires in the family. Like Betsy DeVos, they don’t like public education. They don’t like regulation. The

Dana Goldstein on the Florida Voucher Schools and Special Education

by dianeravitch / 1h

Dana Goldstein is a noted education journalist who joined the New York Times shortly after Trump’s inauguration. As she writes, she began to focus on vouchers since that would be the focus of this new administration. Betsy DeVos has held up the Florida voucher program as a national model, so Goldstein went to Florida to learn about the McKay Scholarship Program, which provides vouchers for studen

Trump’s Budget Cuts Will Crush the Dreams of Low-Income Students Who Want to Go to College

by dianeravitch / 2h

This article was written by An Garagiola-Bernier and published in the Washington Post. She had a difficult life, growing up in a low-income home, dropping out of high school to help pay expenses, then suffering a debilitating disease that made it impossible to work and required multiple surgeries. She relied on charity to get by, but eventually enrolled in a community college. She made it to Haml

YESTERDAY

Mike Klonsky: Duncan Says Kids in Chicago Drop Out Because School Is Too Easy

1by dianeravitch / 12h

Arne Duncan, same old Arne. Mike Klonsky quotes an opinion piece that Arne wrote praising Rahm Emanuel’s proposal to withhold diplomas from seniors in high school unless they have a definite commitment for college, a job or the military. Arne says that kids drop out because school is too easy. Mike has a few choice words on the subject. If they had rigor…if they had grit…if they were faced with h

Setback for Camelot Education as a Result of ProPublica-Slate Expose

2by dianeravitch / 17h

ProPublica won a Pulitzer Prize this past week for its excellent journalism. Only days ago, ProPublica and Slate published an expose of a for-profit education company called Camelot, which operates alternative schools. As a result of their story, a district in Georgia has delayed adoption of a $6.3 million contract for three months, to learn more about Camelot and its methods. This story was co-p

Mitchell Robinson: The Best Argument Yet for Public Schools

2by dianeravitch / 18h

This post appeared on Mitchell Robinson’s Facebook page. He is a professor of music education at Michigan State University. The best argument yet for public schools… Donald Trump, Kew-Forest School and New York Military Academy, private Betsy DeVos, Holland Christian Schools, religious Sean Spicer, Portsmouth Abbey School, private Steven Mnuchin, Riverdale Country School, private Mick Mulvaney, C

Success Academy Suspends Boy for 45 Days

1by dianeravitch / 20h

An unnamed child was suspended by Success Academy Charter School for 45 days after having been accused of physically assaulting his teacher. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/mom-success-academy-failed-son-45-day-suspension-article-1.3044976 “When a 55-pound first-grader tussled with Success Academy Prospect Heights’ assistant principal, the boy’s mom believes the fight was fixed. “The

Another Staffer Joins the Department of Education: Ex-TFA

1by dianeravitch / 20h

People who came into education have a strange penchant to work for ultra-conservative politicians, like John White in Louisiana, Kevin Huffman in Tennessee, and Eric Guckian, who was education advisor to the far-right North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory. Now comes this news via Politico Pro. I can’t give you a link because I don’t have a subscription (they told me it costs $3,500 and I run a very

Mercedes Schneider: How Louisiana Superintendent John White Ran Out of a Contract and Falsely Credentialed Himself

by dianeravitch / 21h

Mercedes Schneider, who teaches high school in a Louisiana public schools, points out in this post that State Superintendent John White’s contract expired, so he is now a month-to-month employee. He can’t get a contract without eight of the state board’s 11 votes, and he only has seven. White, who comes from TFA and Joel Klein’s administration as chancellor in NYC, was appointed during the reign

Maryland: Legislature Limits Hours of Testing, But Don’t Celebrate

by dianeravitch / 22h

Both houses of the Maryland legislature endorsed legislation to limit the hours of standardized testing in the schools. But don’t celebrate. The limit is 2% of instructional time. That means that students in elementary and middle schools may be subjected to 24 hours of standardized testing! High school students may be tested for 26 hours! How humane. A third grade student–eight or nine years old–

Tulsa Teacher: “I Resign. I Can’t Afford to Live on This Salary”

1by dianeravitch / 23h

Here’s another story of a teacher who is leaving. She can’t live on her salary. “Local schools are facing their new spring rite of passage — waves of resignation notices from teachers leaving Oklahoma for higher-paying jobs out of state. “Shelby Eagan was recruited here from Missouri four years ago, but she wasn’t a hard sell. “Oklahoma is home. My mom was born here, my grandma lived in Bristow.

New Study: Why Teachers Created a New Genre: The “I Quit” Letters

1by dianeravitch / 1d

There is a photograph circulating on Twitter of a teacher recruitment fair in Michigan, in a large room with many tables staffed and ready for recruits. But the room is empty. It is a sad picture, dramatizing the effect of the current policy atmosphere on the profession. Please note that the empty job fair was held in Michigan. That is Betsy DeVos’s home state. Apparently in her dream school of t

National Education Policy Center: Failing Cybercharters Continue to Grow

2by dianeravitch / 1d

Despite the significant research demonstrating the failure of cyber charters, they continue to expand, according to a new study by the National Education Policy Center. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was an investor in the worst of the cyber charter chains, the for-profit K12 Inc. started by Michael and Lowell Milken and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It is not clear whether she dives

Tim Slekar to Wisconsin Legislators: Stop the War on Teachers

3by dianeravitch / 1d

Tim Slekar is dean of education at Edgewood College in Wisconsin and a veteran teacher educator. He has watched and fumed and protested and spoken out as Governor Scott Walker and his puppet legislature wage war on public education 

 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: