Dustin Marshall, the businessman who sends his own children to private school, was re-elected to the Dallas school board in a run-off election against parent Lori Kirkpatrick. The result was a significant reversal from May’s three-way race between Marshall, Kirkpatrick and Richard Young. Kirkpatrick almost won the seat outright, beating Marshall by 291 votes, but falling 23 votes shy of the requi
This is indeed a new world. When I was in my early 20s, and probably long after, the word “cancer” was not mentioned, especially to the patient. The protocol, for some reason, was to lie to the patient as long as possible. Phyllis Bush, dear friend, founding board member of the Network for Public Education, and a retired teacher in Indiana who also founded the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public
Donyall Dickey was chosen as the sole candidate for the Portland Superintendency. He announced his resignation as Atlanta’s top academic official. A few days later, he withdrew his name from the Portland job.
This is a delightful article about words, Merriam-Webster, and Twitter. Is there a definition for “covfefe”? What follows are many other instances where Merriam-Webster became the go-to site. “When Kellyanne Conway spouted her Orwellian term of art, “alternative fact,” for example, Merriam-Webster was there with the definition of an actual fact. When United Airlines insisted that the man who was
California must be so flush with cash that it simply doesn’t care how many millions are lost to charter school scams. In California, accountability ranges between lax to non-existent, and charter leaders use public money with no
Mark Weber, veteran teacher in New Jersey now studying for his doctorate at Rutgers, has yet another revelation of Chris Christie’s determination to place charter schools even though the community doesn’t want them. Clifton, New Jersey, said no. That doesn’t matter. Clifton has been persistently underfunded. That doesn’t matter. Worse, this is a charter school with serious legal and ethical issue
Michele Boyd, a parent in Virginia, sent this message. Both Tom Perriello and Ralph Northam describe themselves as progressives. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren endorsed Periello. However, Boyd writes, Perriello –who was DFER’s “Reformer of the Month in 2010–continues to receive money from corporate reformers. She reports that he received $25,000 from Palo Alto-based The Emerson Collective, w
The New York Times writes today about the Holland Christian School that educated Betsy DeVos. The article gives a picture of her strong preference for “God-centered” schools. Readers are assured that she is willing to allow public schools to exist, if they are “great.” However, as we have also learned from her previous statements, she believes that “choice” is more important than quality. https:/
Nick Melvoin beat Steve Zimmer for the LAUSD school board in the most expensive school board race in history. The LA Times says he has fresh ideas. Here they are. Most of what he says is intended to enable the normalization of charter schools. Or is trite. But get this: “About 40% of a teacher’s evaluation should be based on measurable academic growth, such as standardized test scores, Melvoin sa
Wendy Lecker, civil rights attorney, writes here about the New York Times editorial endorsing academic rigor for kindergarten children, because a study said it would produce higher test scores someday. I guess the Times’ editorial board doesn’t read this blog. Too bad for them. They would have learned more by reading Froebel than by reading the latest study of how to raise test scores. Last week,
A comment earlier today: “I’m not known in this community (though I’m a Ravitch fan, hello!) but I’m a longstanding progressive and a resident of Virginia. “After long thought I decided on Northam. “Most importantly, we are not re-litigating Bernie v. Hillary. This is not a 2016 do-over. We shouldn’t act like it is. “Both men are basic liberals, and neither without flaws. Northam is better on edu
ProPublica had performed a public service by obtaining the financial disclosure forms of top appointments in the administration. Take a look at those who are special assistants to Secretary DeVos. Each form lists previous jos held outside the federal government. Several worked in the Trump campaign. One came through a Koch brothers organization. Another worked for DeVos’ American Foundation for C
Remember the wonderful and tragic novel and movie “Sophie’s Choice”? The novel by William Styron was made into a film starring Meryl Streep. It was about a Holocaust survivor who tells her story of having to choose which of her children will live and whic will die. Steven Singer writes about what he calls “Betsy’s Choice.” Which will she be faithful to: civil rights or school privatization? “As U
Jeff Bryant warns that Betsy DeVos’ new hires spell bad news for protection of civil rights by the U.S. Department of Education. He writes: “Already, much has been written about Candice Jackson, DeVos’s deputy assistant secretary and acting head in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights…. “An in-depth profile by ProPublica revealed her “limited background in civil rights law”
New York is a blue state but has a divided legislature. Democrats control the Assembly, and Republicans control the State Senate. Republicans are not the majority of the State Senate. They are in power because of a small group of Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:
