3rd District Democrats honor public education advocate Bush | Political notebook | The Journal Gazette

3rd District Democrats honor public education advocate Bush | Political notebook | The Journal Gazette

3rd District Democrats honor public education advocate Bush

Public education advocate and activist Phyllis Bush, who died March 19 at the age of 75, was named this year's recipient of the J. Edward Roush Service Award presented by the 3rd Congressional District Democratic Party.

The party honored Bush posthumously at an April 27 dinner at the Eagle Glen Clubhouse in Columbia City. The annual award is for "contribution of time, talent and treasure" to 3rd District Democrats, said Misti Meehan, Allen County Democratic chairwoman.

Bush had taught English at South Side High School in Fort Wayne, founded Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education and was a board member for the Network for Public Education. 

Bush "demonstrated steadfast dedication to the betterment of the education system for all people," Meehan said in her remarks at the dinner.

"Whether writing and organizing for the cause or holding a sign, Phyllis wanted people to know what is happening in their community. ... She participated in any way she could and was always willing to help," Meehan said.

The award is named after the Democratic congressman who represented northeast Indiana in the U.S. House from 1959 through 1968 and from 1971 through 1976. Roush, a Huntington resident who died in 2004, is best known for his legislative work to create the 911 emergency telephone system, build flood control reservoirs in Indiana and develop the nation's space exploration program.

3rd District Democrats honor public education advocate Bush | Political notebook | The Journal Gazette

Lecker: The disturbing transformation of kindergarten - StamfordAdvocate

Lecker: The disturbing transformation of kindergarten - StamfordAdvocate

Lecker: The disturbing transformation of kindergarten

One of the most distressing characteristics of education reformers is that they are hyper-focused on how students perform, but they ignore how students learn. Nowhere is this misplaced emphasis more apparent, and more damaging, than in kindergarten.

A new University of Virginia study found that kindergarten changed in disturbing ways from 1999-2006. There was a marked decline in exposure to social studies, science, music, art and physical education and an increased emphasis on reading instruction. Teachers reported spending as much time on reading as all other subjects combined.

The time spent in child-selected activity dropped by more than one-third. Direct instruction and testing increased. Moreover, more teachers reported holding all children to the same standard.

Is this drastic shift in kindergarten the result of a transformation in the way children learn?

No. A 2011 nationwide study by the Gesell Institute for Child Development found that the ages at which children reach developmental milestones have not changed in 100 years.

For example, the average child cannot perceive an oblique line in a triangle until age 5 1/2. This skill is a prerequisite to recognizing, understanding and writing certain letters. The key to understanding concepts such as subtraction and addition is "number conservation." A child may be able to count five objects separately but not understand that together they make the number five. The average child does not conserve enough numbers to understand subtraction and addition until 5 ½ or 6.

If we teach reading, writing, subtraction and addition before children are ready, they might memorize these skills, but will CONTINUE READING: Lecker: The disturbing transformation of kindergarten - StamfordAdvocate

American Schools Lack Playtime, According To New Research | WSKG

American Schools Lack Playtime, According To New Research | WSKG

American Schools Lack Playtime, According To New Research

American schools have a “sad” lack of play, according to new research published in the American Journal of Play.

The work done by Olga Jarrett, a professor emeritus at Georgia State University, stresses that recess should be mandated and is a right of all children.

The American Journal of Play, published by the Strong Museum, is the first interdisciplinary journal dedicated to the research of play. Its editor, Jeremy Saucier,  said advocating for play is important because  most school systems today don’t value play.

“Olga shows us that schools are really under pressure to increase test scores, which are sometimes tied to teachers’ salaries,” Saucier said. “So you can understand that in that sort of prep-and-test mode, play is often taking a back seat.”

Saucier said rethinking what the classroom is might help validate play and make it mandatory. He said more than just physical activity happens when kids are on the playground.

“They’re also learning social skills, like how to organize. How to lead and follow directions,” he CONTINUE READING: American Schools Lack Playtime, According To New Research | WSKG

Nearly a decade later, did the Common Core work?

Nearly a decade later, did the Common Core work?

Nearly a decade later, did the Common Core work? New research offers clues

A 2008 report offered a dire warning: U.S. schools were falling behind their international peers. Its prescription: states should “adopt a common core of internationally benchmarked standards in math and language arts.”

The idea of the Common Core would soon gain steam. Thanks to interest from state leaders and financial incentives offered by the federal government and private philanthropies, most states adopted new academic standards over the next few years. That would soon mean new tests, new textbooks, and new teaching methods — and in many places, backlash to those changes.

But amid the fierce debates, there has been virtually no research on whether the standards were actually accomplishing their goal of improving student learning.

Until now. A new study, released in April through a federally funded research center, shows that states that changed their standards most dramatically by adopting the Common Core didn’t outpace other states on federal NAEP exams. By 2017 — seven years after most states had adopted them — the standards appear to have led to modest declines in fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math scores.

“It’s rather unexpected,” said researcher Mengli Song of the American Institutes for Research. “The magnitude of the negative effects tend to increase over time. That’s a little troubling.”

Studying the effects of Common Core is challenging, since the changes reached so many students nationwide at the same time — so there is a good deal of uncertainty in determining whether the standards were successful. And another study, which has not yet been published, offers a more encouraging view: the Common Core may have led to modest increases in test scores, though it only looked through 2013.

But the latest research suggests that even in the best case scenario, the academic CONTINUE READING: Nearly a decade later, did the Common Core work?

CURMUDGUCATION: Why It's Important To Say There Is No Teacher Shortage

CURMUDGUCATION: Why It's Important To Say There Is No Teacher Shortage

Why It's Important To Say There Is No Teacher Shortage

I've been saying it. Tim Slekar has been saying it. Other people who aren't even directly tied to teaching have been saying it.

There is no teacher shortage.

There's a slow-motion walkout, a one-by-one exodus, a piecemeal rejection of the terms of employment for educators in 2019.

Why is it important to keep saying this? Why keep harping on this point?

Because if you don't correctly identify the problem, you will not correctly identify a solution (see also every episode of House).

It's not lupus.

"We've got a teacher shortage," leads us in the wrong direction. It assumes that, for some reason, there just aren't enough teachers out there in the world, like arguing there aren't enough blue-eyed people or enough people with six toes. It assumes that "teacher" is some sort of solid genetic state that either exists or does not, and if there aren't enough of them, well, shrug, whatcha gonna do?

"We've got a teacher shortage," argues that we've had the meat widget equivalent of a crop failure. The drought and the dust storms were just so bad this year that we didn't get a full harvest of teachers. And when the harvest is slow, CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Why It's Important To Say There Is No Teacher Shortage

Teacher Protests Are Student, Worker Advocacy | radical eyes for equity

Teacher Protests Are Student, Worker Advocacy | radical eyes for equity

Teacher Protests Are Student, Worker Advocacy

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, I was a public school English teacher, and for part of that time, I was also a coach.

I taught more than 100 students each year, meaning I responded to about 4000 essays and 6000 journal entries every academic year along with thousands of other assignments and mountains of paperwork. I was responsible for preparing students for state testing, Advanced Placement testing, and the SAT.

While coaching, and during the soccer season, I would run to the gym between classes to wash and dry the soccer uniforms. Most days, I had to find time to go to the bathroom, and rarely had moments alone even during lunch.

I have never loved more deeply anything than teaching, and I so deeply loved all my students that is often overwhelming to think about no longer being a high school teacher. Facebook has provided me some connection with those students, but I miss intensely being that teacher and that coach.

When I left high school teaching for higher education, I was wearing a wrist brace because I could barely move my right hand from almost two decades of marking essays and trying my damnedest to teach young people to write well.

If you have never taught, you cannot appreciate the psychological and physical toll of being on throughout the day and in the service of dozens of CONTINUE READING: Teacher Protests Are Student, Worker Advocacy | radical eyes for equity

Capping Illinois teacher salaries will continue the shortage of quality teachers. – Fred Klonsky

Capping Illinois teacher salaries will continue the shortage of quality teachers. – Fred Klonsky

Capping Illinois teacher salaries will continue the shortage of quality teachers

Following up on yesterday’s post.

On April 11th Illinois State Senator Andy Manar succeeded in pushing a package of bills through the Senate. One raised the minimum teacher salary from $10,000 a year to $40,000 a year.

The average starting teacher salary in the Illinois is currently $39,000. The bill will take four years to reach the $40,000 minimum level.

Another Manar bill returned the cap on teacher wage increases to 6 percent after it was dropped to 3 percent in a bill Democrats passed and Rauner signed last year,

The bill  repealing the 3% cap moved to the House where a similar bill had already been filed.

Both SB1952 and HB350 were assigned to the House Rules Committee where no hearings have been scheduled.

And that is where they will die.

There has been a lot of talk from some Illinois Democratic legislators about their concern with the state’s teacher shortage.

Central and southern Illinois have been hit the hardest and where the teacher pay CONTINUE READING: 

It Looks As Though Proposed Ohio School Funding Overhaul May Have to Wait Two More Years | janresseger

It Looks As Though Proposed Ohio School Funding Overhaul May Have to Wait Two More Years | janresseger

It Looks As Though Proposed Ohio School Funding Overhaul May Have to Wait Two More Years

There was a sense of hope on March 25th, when Ohio State Representatives Bob Cupp and John Patterson proposed a new, bipartisan school funding plan for Ohio, a plan that was intended to serve as the House’s education proposal for the 2020-2021 biennial budget, which must be passed by June 30.  We owe these two legislators enormous thanks for overcoming partisan rancor and setting out to try to address school funding injustice in our state.

Under a patched together mess of additions to old formulas, Ohio’s school districts have suffered for years from state funding that hasn’t met the state’s constitutional obligation. The problem has become more serious as state revenue for schools has declined. Following the Great Recession a decade ago, Governor John Kasich and his all-Republican legislature continued the phase out of local business taxes, eliminated the state estate tax and reduced state income taxes. In a state where all tax increases are required by law to be voted, school districts have been forced to ask their residents to increase local property taxes and at the same time to cut programming.  Just as school teachers have been striking all year across other states to highlight outrageous problems with large classes and shortages of counselors, social workers, nurses and librarians, Ohio’s students and teachers have been experiencing the same funding inadequacies.

The proposed Cupp-Patterson Plan was supposed to fund schools adequately—according to a calculation of what it actually costs to provide required services.  It was supposed to be stablewithout the kind of quirks and changes Ohio school districts have noticed recently in their state funding.  And it was supposed to be equitable by considering not only a district’s property valuation but also the community’s aggregate income in calculating what Ohio calls the local chargeoff—the calculation of what a school district has the capacity to generate in local taxes. Currently in Ohio, 503 of the state’s 610 school districts are on guarantee; they have been getting from the state just what they got last year and the year before and the year before that.  The new Cupp-Patterson plan was designed to flip that situation and restore the awarding of formula-calculated funding to at least 510 districts.

The only problem was, once the computer runs for the state’s 610 school districts were CONTINUE READING: It Looks As Though Proposed Ohio School Funding Overhaul May Have to Wait Two More Years | janresseger

An Open and Extended Response (On Testing Season) | The Jose Vilson

An Open and Extended Response (On Testing Season) | The Jose Vilson

AN OPEN AND EXTENDED RESPONSE (ON TESTING SEASON)

I laid my lesson plans on top of the roller tray. I pulled off my “problem of the moment” off my printer and put scissors on top of them. I turned on my Promethean board and connected the AppleTV to it. I pulled out my iPad mini and turned to the released questions from the New York State math test for both 7th and 8th grades year 2017. I flipped quickly to the extended responses as shown on my lesson plan.

The students came in. Besides a salutation, I didn’t say anything. After a few minutes, I felt like I was merely floating about the classroom, not angry or elated. Just floating. Then, a student asked me, “Mr. Vilson, are you OK?” I snapped up and said, “Yes, but I’m getting concerned that we’re taking a little while to get ready for class.”

No, I’m actually fine.

The NYS math test starts on Wednesday and I’ve done everything in my power to teach the major (and minor) topics that could potentially be covered by this exam. Because I generally don’t do multiple choice assessments, I’ve geared the vast majority of my learning through open, extended response questions. For the eighth graders, I delved into scientific notation, gave multiple renditions of linear relationships, and drew comparisons between linear and non-linear functions through multiple representations. For the seventh grade, I made the vast majority of the work about proportional reasoning through modeling, calculations, and contextual examples. I was equal parts architect, CONTINUE READING: An Open and Extended Response (On Testing Season) | The Jose Vilson

Making Schools Business-Like: The Case of Summit Charters (Part 3) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Making Schools Business-Like: The Case of Summit Charters (Part 3) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Making Schools Business-Like: The Case of Summit Charters (Part 3)

Many educators use business-speak. Students are customers. Principals and Superintendents are CEOs. School board members ask staff what the return on investment is. Another common phrase educators use borrowed from the corporate community, especially when seeking dollars from donors, is “scaling up.”

Going to scale is what occurs when an innovation “works” (in quote marks for the word has different meanings to different people) and donors or high-ups want to spread the “success” (ditto for this word also) to other schools in the district, state, and nation.

The history of diffusion of innovation–that is the phrase that academics have used–is a checkered one. Some innovations have, indeed, spread (think the mid-19th century age-graded school and early 20th century kindergartens, and small high schools later in the century) but when an innovation is complex with many moving parts, permeable to outside forces, and dependent on relationships with teachers, students and parents for the program to work, then scaling up is damn hard to do. Variation in putting the innovation into practice occurs frequently making it difficult to impossible to assess whether the new model or innovation caused changes in student and teacher outcomes. Recall what has happened to the innovative New Math in the 1960s or the Common Core standards in the past decade.

And that is the story captured by recent articles on what has happened to the Summit Learning Program for “personalized learning” (ditto again) that Summit charter schools have given away free to many schools and districts. Donors gave a pile of money to Summit schools to prepare the high-tech tool and transfer the model elsewhere in the nation. Keep in mind that these pieces come from an intricate, organic, and complex operation deeply dependent upon teachers, a CONTINUE READING: Making Schools Business-Like: The Case of Summit Charters (Part 3) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

NYC Public School Parents: inBloom redux? NYSUT, NYSAPE and Parent Coalition for Student Privacy protest

NYC Public School Parents: inBloom redux? NYSUT, NYSAPE and Parent Coalition for Student Privacy protest

inBloom redux?

 NYSUT, NYSAPE and Parent Coalition for Student Privacy protest

I thought this announcement was from 2013 until I saw the date: a new NY state effort to “envision” a new state data system with funding from the Gates Foundation.

Apparently the grant was obtained by the Capitol region BOCES but Commissioner Elia must have approved it. Do these guys never learn? 

Envisioning a New Statewide Data System

A variety of data is collected about children and students—from birth through their school years and into young adulthood. Used purposefully, this data can be a powerful tool to inform, engage and create opportunities for our students. It can paint a “bigger picture” of who students are and what they most need to grow, achieve and meet their educational goals, and help educators and others make connections that can lead to school and curricular improvements.

See the letter of protest sent today from NYSUT, NYSAPE and our Parent Coalition for Student Privacy below. Meanwhile, a series of sessions are being held throughout the state “to gather feedback” in late May and early June.  Please sign up if you can.

Let Voters Fix Harrisburg School Board – Not State Takeover | gadflyonthewallblog

Let Voters Fix Harrisburg School Board – Not State Takeover | gadflyonthewallblog

Let Voters Fix Harrisburg School Board – Not State Takeover

Pushing the self-destruct button is the ultimate measure of last resort.

But that’s how several Pennsylvania lawmakers are suggesting we fix the dysfunctional Harrisburg School Board.

An election that could oust most of the very school directors responsible for the district’s troubles is less than a month away. But Democratic Representative Patty Kim, Republican Senator John DiSanto and Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse all say we shouldn’t wait – The state should takeover the Harrisburg School District immediately.

This would effectively destroy all democratic government in a district located in the state capital.

While senators and representatives from all over the Commonwealth work to enact the will of their constituents from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, residents at city schools a few miles away would be robbed of their own voices.

Under state law, if the district were put into receivership, a court-appointed receiver would assume all the functions of a locally elected school board, except the power to raise and levy taxes. This appointee would effectively take charge of the district’s CONTINUE READING: Let Voters Fix Harrisburg School Board – Not State Takeover | gadflyonthewallblog

2019 Medley #9 | Live Long and Prosper

2019 Medley #9 | Live Long and Prosper

2019 Medley #9 | Live Long and Prosper

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

Two reports endorse investment in early childhood education

Truthfully, neither of these reports tells us anything new (see also Untangling the Evidence on Preschool Effectiveness: Insights for Policymakers). What they do tell us, however, is that states aren’t investing in early childhood education the way they should…too many tax breaks for the wealthy and for corporations (“Corporations are people, my friend.”) to be able to afford any investment in something so lacking in a quick return on investment as early childhood education.

The supermajority in Indiana still hasn’t been able to figure out how to help their friends profit from the state’s pilot program in pre-school…a “pilot” now in its sixth year.

A pair of reports released this week offered supporting arguments for one of Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s top priorities: increasing investment in early childhood education.

Both reports, one by a group of law enforcement officials and another by leading business executives, use data from the Illinois State Department of Education that shows roughly three-fourths of all students entering kindergarten in Illinois lack necessary school readiness skills in at least one of three critical areas – social-emotional development, literacy or math. Only about a quarter of all new kindergarteners demonstrate school readiness in all three categories.

What Preschool Isn’t: Waterford UPSTART and Any Other Online Program!

Yes…we’re trying this in Indiana, too. Indiana is nothing if not consistent. We’ll  CONTINUE READING:

Classified School Employees of the Year Announced - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

Classified School Employees of the Year Announced - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2019 Classified School Employees of the Year

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today honored six outstanding classified school employees for their dedication to California’s public school students.

“Meeting students’ basic needs, as well as their social and emotional needs, is essential to ensuring that every student can learn,” said Thurmond. “These dedicated employees make sure that kids have healthy meals, safe transportation on school buses, and have someone to talk to during difficult times in their lives—allowing California’s students to reach their greatest potential.”

The annual program honors six outstanding classified school employees from the following categories: Child Nutrition; Maintenance, Operations, and Facilities; Office and Technical Support; Para-Educator and Instructional Assistance; Support Services and Security; and Transportation. This year’s recipients were chosen from more than 100 nominations statewide.

The 2019 Classified School Employees of the Year, who will be honored by Thurmond at a luncheon in Sacramento on Thursday, May 23, are (information contained in the following biographical sketches was excerpted from their nomination forms):

Child Nutrition: Debora Watkins, Food Service Cook, Westminster School District, Orange County. 24 years in current position.Debbie has an incredible work ethic and goes above and beyond to ensure the cleanliness standards in the kitchen are impeccable and that all rules and regulations are followed. Debbie is responsible for planning, cooking, and distributing 7,500 meals to Westminster Elementary school sites each day. In the 24 years she has worked for the district, there has not been a single day that students have not received a meal. Debbie is one of the most reliable, hard-working individuals at the district.

Maintenance and Operations: Kim Bramsen, Director of Maintenance and Operations, Ballard Elementary School, Ballard School District, Santa Barbara County. 21 years in current position.
Beyond taking great care of the school, Kim is an integral part of the community at Ballard School. An elementary school with around 120 students, Kim gets to know each child by name and establishes relationships with them. He is always a willing participant in the hijinks of the kindergarten classroom, whether it involves leprechauns and their mischief or regaling the children with historical tales of the school house.

Office and Technical: Michelle Brobak, School Secretary, Del Rey Elementary, Orinda Union School District, Contra Costa County. Seven years in current position.Michelle runs the Del Rey front office with heart. Students trust her and feel safe. She is calm and reassuring, particularly when dealing with injured students and their concerned parents. On many occasions, teachers and staff report escorting a crying child to the office during yard supervision and witnessing Michelle quickly assessing the situation, providing necessary first aid, and ensuring the student feels safe and as comfortable as possible.

Para-Educator and Instructional Assistance: Maria Arroyo, Behavior Specialist, Daly Academy, Chula Vista Elementary School District, San Diego County. 12 years in current position.There is not a single “hat” that Maria doesn’t wear at Daly Academy. The work that Maria does on any single day is nearly unmatched—it takes a special type of person to do it all with a smile and a desire to do it well so that students have an amazing day. Maria understands trauma-informed care and never takes things personally. The children immediately know they will be loved, cared for, and educated. This allows for an environment of grace which helps our children thrive.

Support Services and Security: Benito Torres, Police Officer, Stockton Public Safety Academy, Stockton Unified School District, San Joaquin County. 19 years in current position.
During his 19 years of service with the Stockton Unified School District Police Department, Officer Torres has worked in many capacities. He exudes the definition of role model and mentor for the students. He is passionate about so many things, especially making a difference in the lives of others. That includes taking a call on his personal cell phone at 1 a.m. from a scared cadet whose house was just shot at; helping a family who can’t afford medication for their child; and simple everyday actions that make everyone he encounters feel safe, heard, and important.

Transportation: Ramon Moreno, Bus Driver, Greenfield Union School District, Monterey County. 12 years in current position, 20 years with the district.Ramon is a bus driver for special education students who get services in other school districts in Monterey County. He is always conscientious about students’ feelings and well-being. There are times where his routes result in very long journeys due to traffic or delays. During these times, Ramon engages with students when they become irritable or sad. He is in constant communication with parents during these delays. He personally communicates and informs parents of transportation time changes in his route. These are tasks that he does not have to perform but is willing to do to ensure students are comfortable and parents have peace of mind.

Please visit the California Department of Education’s Classified School Employee of the Year web page for more information. The program is co-sponsored by the Classified School Employees Association and our Presenting Sponsor, San Mateo-based California Casualty. California’s Classified School Employee Week, established as an official week of statewide recognition in 1986 through Senate Bill 1552, will be celebrated from May 19 to May 25, 2019.

# # # #

Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Classified School Employees of the Year Announced - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

Education Reform: Warnings Confirmed, But Lessons Learned? | radical eyes for equity

Education Reform: Warnings Confirmed, But Lessons Learned? | radical eyes for equity

Education Reform: Warnings Confirmed, But Lessons Learned?

Soon after I began my career as an educator in 1984, I became a serious cyclist. An unexpected hobby sprang from that newfound activity—being my own bicycle mechanic. In fact, over the past three-plus decades, I have built up dozens of road bicycles from the parts for myself and my friends.

In the last 1990s, I bought my first titanium road frameset made by Litespeed. Not long after I began riding it, I noticed an irritating creaking sound and soon learned that the different metals involved in the various parts often created such problems, notably mating aluminum bottom bracket cups with the threaded titanium bottom bracket.

Several times, I rebuilt that bottom bracket fitting, cleaning, changing greases, and even using thread tape. I worked on the bicycle while mounted on my indoor trainer, and each time, when I tested the bicycle there, the noise was gone.

However, once on the open road, the same creaking returned.

Frustrated, I resigned myself to taking the bicycle to a shop mechanic. Like I did, he rebuilt the bottom bracket, multiple time, but each time he went out to test the bicycle, the creaking noise persisted.

After spending an inordinate amount of time fruitlessly working on the bottom bracket, the mechanic called me to report that he eventually discovered the noise was coming from the quick releases on the wheels. In fact, he also shared in exasperation that the mating of aluminum quick releases to titanium dropouts was a common noise problem.

The moral of this story? The mechanic and I were so focusing on a solution that we failed to properly evaluate the problem in the beginning. For the professional mechanic, this was particularly disturbing because he CONTINUE READING: Education Reform: Warnings Confirmed, But Lessons Learned? | radical eyes for equity

JEFF BRYANT: Progressives take a bold stance at an epicenter of the charter school movement for public education | Salon.com

Progressives take a bold stance at an epicenter of the charter school movement for public education | Salon.com

Progressives take a bold stance at an epicenter of the charter school movement for public education
Unifying this diverse coalition was an uncompromising political argument about what makes public schools public

To learn more about school privatization, check out Who Controls Our Schools? The Privatization of American Public Education, a free ebook published by the Independent Media Institute. Click here to read a selection of Who Controls Our Schools? published on AlterNet, or here to access the complete text. This article was produced by Our Schools, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

When President Trump appointed Betsy DeVos to be U.S. Secretary of Education and made charter schools, vouchers, and other forms of “school choice” practically the sole emphasis for his K-12 education policy—other than slashing funding and programs for public schools—he brought national attention to a decades-long battle over privatizing public education that was already raging in communities across the nation.

The community that’s been on the frontline of the fight for the longest has been Milwaukee, where the city’s public schools have been undermined by a nearly 30-year-old voucher program—the nation’s oldest—and an invasion of charter schools going back to 1993, when the state passed its first charter school law just a year after the very first charter school law in the nation passed in Minnesota.

Despite the decades-long effort to privatize Milwaukee’s local school, recent events in that community have revealed how public school advocates can successfully fight back against the forces of privatization.

In Milwaukee’s recent school board election, a slate of five candidates swept into office under a banner of turning back years of efforts to privatize the district’s schools. The win for public schools was noteworthy not only because it took place in a long-standing bastion of school choice, but also because the winning candidates were backed by an emerging coalition that adopted a bold, new politics that demands candidates take up a full-throated opposition to school privatization rather than cater to the middle.

Unsurprisingly, the coalition includes the local teachers’ union, who’ve long been skeptical of charters, vouchers, and other privatization ideas, but joining the teachers in their win are progressive activists, CONTINUE READING: Progressives take a bold stance at an epicenter of the charter school movement for public education | Salon.com

Jersey City school board sues state to restore “horrific” cuts in state aid |

Jersey City school board sues state to restore “horrific” cuts in state aid |

Jersey City school board sues state to restore “horrific” cuts in state aid

The Jersey City school board has sued the state, demanding the Legislature restore at least $27 million funds cut from New Jersey’s second largest school district.

Sudhan Thomas, the board’s president, said state aid cuts–$27 million this year alone–represented a “complete abandonment” of the state’s constitutional responsibility to the children in Jersey City.

“We will not allow 30,000 children of Jersey City to be denied the education they have a constitutionally guaranteed right to. This is the civil rights battle of our generation and this lawsuit is filed to protect the fundamental rights of every student in Jersey City and to ensure that they have a real shot at the American Dream.”

The statement released by Thomas and other Jersey City school officials follows. Analysis will be added later.

   

Sudhan Thomas, JC school board president, vows to fight state’s “abandonment” of children in New Jersey’s second largest district

Jersey City Board of Education Files Lawsuit Challenging Devastating State Education Aid Cuts District Faces $27 Million Reduction, 400+ Teacher Layoffs This Year Unless Unconstitutional Aid Cuts are Reversed

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The Jersey City Board of Education has filed a lawsuit in Hudson County Superior Court seeking to overturn dramatic cuts in state education aid that would lead to permanent, irreparable harm for thousands of local students if allowed to continue. The loss of aid, which amounts to $27 million in this school year, could lead to as many as 410 layoffs of teachers and instructional support staff in 2019-20. The projected cuts of $180 million over the next five years would lead to massive layoffs in addition to the elimination of extra-curricular activities including sports and athletic programs, after-school CONTINUE READING: Jersey City school board sues state to restore “horrific” cuts in state aid |

CURMUDGUCATION: OH: The Ongoing Fight To End School Takeovers

CURMUDGUCATION: OH: The Ongoing Fight To End School Takeovers

OH: The Ongoing Fight To End School Takeovers

I have been watching events unfold in Lorain, Ohio, site of both my first job and an absolute clusterfrick of epic proportions It's time for an update.

You can find the complete story so far starting here, but the short form is that Ohio has a bone stupid law known as HB 70, passed using underhanded legislative shenanigans in order to get it run through quickly and without public discussion. The law takes over school districts that score low on state evaluations too many years and installs a mostly-state-appointed board which in turn hires a school tsar. HB 70 strips the powers from both the elected school board and the district superintendent and hands them to the tsar. So far, Lorain, East Cleveland, and Youngstown have been put under the HB thumb. Knowing how the Big Standardized Test effects class and economics, you will be unsurprised that these are three of the poorest districts in the state.

State superintendent DeMaria: Everything's great, right?

In Lorain, it has not gone well. The tsar, David Hardy Jr, is a TFA product with little actual experience, who has brought in other TFAers, also with little real experience, to help run things. Hardy writes pretty speeches about collaboration and relationships, but he doesn't live in Lorain, won't meet with local elected officials, and has adopted a management style that improbably combines Chainsaw Al and the Three Stooges.

There have been lessons to learn from Hardy's reign. For instance, Lorain appears to answer the question "What would happen if you tried out some charter school management techniques not on newby teachers who didn't know any better, but on seasoned veterans who can tell that it's a bunch of baloney?" (Answer: morale plummets and CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: OH: The Ongoing Fight To End School Takeovers