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Saturday, May 11, 2019

KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG | A site to discuss better education for all

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


KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG 

A site to discuss better education for all






William Mathis: The High School Rankings: Born on Third Base or Hit a Triple?
by dianeravitch / 34min
William Mathis is managing director of the National Education Policy Center and a member of the Vermont Board of Education. He says that you can take the model below and apply it to any state; the result will be the same. The high schools in affluent communities are the “best,” and the high schools enrolling students in low-income communities don’t make the cut. That is about the way both NCLB an

YESTERDAY

Pennsylvania: ALERT: Phony Voucher Reform Bills in Legislature!
by dianeravitch / 19h
Pennsylvania citizens! Watch out! There are phony “charter reform” bills under consideration in the Legislature! Don’t be fooled! The “reform” bills were written by charter lobbyists. The State Auditor said that Pennsylvania has the worst charter law in the nation. These bills will solidify the charter frauds in your state. Speak up!
Tennessee: Billions for Testing, But Nothing to Alleviate Student Poverty
by dianeravitch / 20h
We keep reading glowing stories about the economy but very little about low wages, barely enough to live on. We read very little about the schools and classrooms that maintain food pantries for families or the teachers who pay for their students’ school supplies. Here is a teacher in Maynardsville, Tennessee, who maintains a “hygiene cabinet” in her classroom , where students can get free toothbr
BREAKING: Julian Vasquez Heilig Reports that Houston Ousted TFA
by dianeravitch / 21h
On his blog, Professor Julian Vasquez Heilig reported that the Houston Independent School Board has terminated its contract with Teach for America. How could it be that Houston doesn’t want just-graduated-from-college recruits with five weeks of training to transform the lives of students in only two years?
Oregon: While Teachers Strike, Corporate Reformers Kill Bills to Stop Testing Pre-K-2 and to Expand Opt Out
by dianeravitch / 21h
Corporate Reformers in Oregon joined with their allies in the business community to kill a bill (HB 2318) called “ Too Young to Test,.” Modeled on laws in New York a nd New Jersey, the bill would have prohibited mandatory standardized testing from pre-k through grade two . Most of the testimony favored the bill. The purpose of HB 2318: Prohibits State Board of Education from requiring, and school
Peter Greene: Data Analytics Firm Knewton Bites the Dust
by dianeravitch / 22h
Well, here is a nice development for those of us who object to depersonalized learning. The data analytics firm called Knewton is going out of business. Knewton was acquired by Pearson and was supposed to be the ultimate refinement of data mining. Peter Greene describes the rise and fall of Knewton here . The founder and CEO of Knewton was Jose Ferreira, who believed he was bringing Big Data into
Robert Kuttner on the Role of Democrats in Gutting Unions
by dianeravitch / 23h
Robert Kuttner writes regularly for The American Prospect, where he is co-editor. He is brilliant. May 1, 2019 Kuttner on TAP In Which the Superb Tom Edsall Gets One Big Thing Wrong About Unions. New York Times contributing columnist Tom Edsall is a national resource. In column after column, he provides encyclopedic research both scholarly and journalistic, extended interviews, astute insights, a
Jan Resseger: Why Betsy DeVos is Clickbait
by dianeravitch / 1d
Jan Resseger was taken aback when she read that Betsy DeVos warnedthe Education Writers Association not to use her as “clickbait.” For one thing, she was surprised that DeVos knew the word. She assumes that someone on her staff wrote her speech. DeVos, as we know, is not exactly as courant. Resseger takes this apercu as an opportunity to demonstrate why DeVos is clickbait. She is running a Cabine

MAY 09

Washington Monthly: What Happens in 2020 If Trump Loses But Refuses to Give Up Power?
by dianeravitch / 1d
Now, here is a scary thought, raised by Daniel Block, as editor at Washington Monthly : What happens in 2020 if Trump loses the election but refuses to give up the office? What if he says the election was rigged, hundreds of thousands of illegals voted, and simply says he won’t give up the presidency? What if the supine Republican party leaders agree with him? What if he challenges the election i
The Most Important Article You Will Read This Year: “Stop the Bleed”
by dianeravitch / 1d
The New Yorker magazine published this very informative and important article by journalist Paige Williams about training bystanders to save lives. Bystanders can and must be first responders, and they can learn the techniques to stop bleeding. These are crucial as a person can bleed to death in five to eight minutes. It is a sad commentary on our society but it is reality: none of us knows when
Peter Greene: Who Is Murdering Charter Schools?
by dianeravitch / 1d
Peter Greene has a rapier sharp wit, which he wields so deftly that the object of his attention has been beheaded without knowing what happened. If you want to see him at his best, read this mystery: Who is murdering Charter Schools? Teachers? Unions? Lobbyists? If you live in the real world, the people fighting privatization are heroic defenders of the commonweal, protecting the public interest
Mercedes Schneider: The Utter Failure of Louisiana’s Voucher Program
by dianeravitch / 2d
Mercedes Schneider summarizes here the story of vouchers in Louisiana , which are now widely recognized as a train wreck. New Orleans’ public radio station WWNO broadcast a detailed account of this policy failure, which steers students to D and F rated schools. State Superintendent John White, one of the voucher program’s most ardent advocates, refused to be interviewed for the program. ”Multiple
Alabama: Rules Are for Public Schools, Not for Charters
by dianeravitch / 2d
Alabama journalist Kyle Whitmire puzzles over how state officials created charters, setrules for openingthem, then broke all their own rules to clear the way for a charter school that no one wants. Read this story and you will understand why the public is turning against charter schools. Not hard to figure out. Might be something about an old-fashioned word called “democracy.”

MAY 08

Oregon: Tens of Thousands of Teachers Walk Out, Closing 600 Schools, to Protest Working Conditions
by dianeravitch / 2d
Thousands of teachers in Oregon joined the Red4Ed Movement, walking out to protest overcrowded classes and a lack of support staff, including school nurses and mental health counselors. Nearly 45% of all reported classes in Oregon have 26 students or more,” said John Larson, a high school English teacher and president of the Oregon Education Association . Some classes have 56 or more students, he
Teachers to DeVos: Please Resign
by dianeravitch / 2d
Betsy DeVos tweeted a thank you to teachers whose public schools she reviles. Teachers responded: If you care about us, please resig n.
Valerie Strauss Reviews Betsy DeVos’ Performance at Education Writers Association Meeting
by dianeravitch / 2d
Betsy DeVos says there is no such thing as “public money.” This was one of the things she told the nation’s education writers. Valerie Strauss reports on her appearance here. What comes through in her answers is that she lives in an alternate reality. She denies facts she doesn’t like. She nimbly avoids answering difficult questions. She lives in a rarefied billionaire bubble.
NY Times: Donald Trump: Flim-Flam Man
by dianeravitch / 2d
An expose in the New York Times revealed that Trump is a financial flop. “The numbers show that in 1985, Mr. Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his core businesses — largely casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings. They continued to lose money every year, totaling $1.17 billion in losses for the decade. In fact, year after year, Mr. Trump appears to have lost more money t
Valerie Strauss: The Tide Is Turning Against Charter Schools
by dianeravitch / 2d
Valerie Strauss reviews the education budget of the House Appropriations Committee and notes that budget proposal increases the programs that Trump and DeVos while endorsing an unprecedented cut for the Charter Schools Program. As she notes in the title of the article, the committee concluded that the Education Department was not “a responsible steward” of the charter fund. Surely, they must have
Tom Ultican: EPIC Online Schools Prove That P.T. Barnum Was Roght
by dianeravitch / 2d
Cybercharters, aka virtual charters, are the big moneymakers with the worst results, yet states are slow to regulate them or prohibit them from opening. They collect full tuition but don’t provide the services that brick-and-mortar schools do. In state after state, they are low-performing yet never held accountable. The only online charter that collapsed was ECOT in Ohio because the owner decided
Mercedes Schneider: DeVos Receives Alexander Hamilton Award But Has No Idea Who He Was
by dianeravitch / 2d
The rightwing Manhattan Institute recently honored a Betsy DeVos with its Alexander Hamilton Award. Mercedes Schneider brilliantly explains that Betsy DeVos knows nothing about Alexander Hamilton or his convictions. Indeed, her anti-government views are the opposite of Hamilton’s, but she doesn’t know that. Schneider writes: According to MI, its Alexander Hamilton Award is named such “because, li
Jeff Bryant: How Progressives are Fighting the Plot to Gut Public Education
by dianeravitch / 2d
As the reputation and fortunes of the corporate reform movement sag, its allies are redoubling their efforts to spread charters and vouchers, as we have seen in recent attacks on public education in Florida, Texas, and elsewhere. Jeff Bryant writes here about the successful resistance to privatization in Milwaukee, which has had vouchers and charters for decades, with nothing to show for it but t
Peter McPherson: The District of Columbia Needs an Elected School Board
by dianeravitch / 2d
Peter McPherson, a former parent of students in the District of Columbia public schools, describes the failure of Mayor Bowser’s leadership of the city’s schools. He lists her many poor decisions, her authoritarian style, and her refusal to take responsibility for scandals on her watch. She seems determined to keep the Rhee agenda intact. About half the children are enrolled in charter schools, w
Economic Policy Institute: Teacher “Wage Penalty” Reaches a Record High
by dianeravitch / 3d
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! If you believe that teachers are important and that they change lives, become an advocate for higher pay for teachers. The Economic Policy Institute is one of the very few think tanks in D.C. (maybe the only think tank) that is not funded by billionaires. It focuses on economic issues affecting working people and issues of economic justice. In this post , Sylvia A
Ohio: Thanks to Generosity of Our Readers, Student Journalists Will Attend Ravitch-Phillis Dialogue
by dianeravitch / 3d
Do you remember when high school student journalists were not allowed admission to a “Roundtable” between Betsy DeVos and Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin? The young journalists have been invited to cover a discussion in Columbus, Ohio, between me and renowned policy expert Bill Phillis on May 16. Jeanne Melvin of Ohio’s Public Education Partners wrote today: GOOD NEWS! Because of the generosilty of

MAY 07

Larry Lee: What Happened in Alabama When Regular People Stood Up for Their Community Schools
by dianeravitch / 3d
Larry Lee, Alabama journalist and blogger, tells what happened in Washington County, Alabama, when people got fed up with being pushed around and decided to protect their public schools. Alabama has a Republican supermajority in the Legislature, and that supermajority does whatever it wants. Whichever party has a supermajority, it’s not good for democracy, because people feel helpless. What has h
Setback for Federal Charter Schools Program! DeVos Request for $500 Million Trimmed to $400 Million!
by dianeravitch / 3d
This is good news! The House Appropriations Committee issued its budget report. Betsy DeVos requested an increase for the federal Charter Schools Program, from $440 million a year to $500 million. But the education appropriations subcommittee cut the appropriation to $400 million. This is a program that is riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse, as the Department of Education’s own Inspector Genera
Milwaukee: Former School Board President Convicted of Accepting Bribes from Charter Operator
by dianeravitch / 3d
Former Milwaukee School Board President Michael Bonds was convicted of accepting bribes to help a Philadelphia charter school operator. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Bonds, 60, pleaded guilty to two counts in federal court in Philadelphia. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine at his sentencing, tentatively set for September, but which will depend on when he completes
Montana Supreme Court Struck Down Voucher Program
by dianeravitch / 3d
Somehow I missed this important story when it happened last December. The Montana Supreme Court struck down a tuition tax credit program as a transparent effort to violate the state constitution’s prohibition of sending public funds to religious schools. Other states have adopted such devious strategies to send public money to religious schools, despite their state constitution. Florida is a lead
Jan Resseger: The Futility of School Closings
by dianeravitch / 3d
Jan Resseger does not title her post “The Futility of School Closings.” She calls it “Considering School Closures as Philadelphia’s Empty Germantown High School Faces Sheriff’s Sale.” I inserted “futility,” because that is what I see as I read the books and studies she cites. I am persuaded by books like Eve Ewing’s Ghosts in the Schoolyard (Chicago) and by Shani Robinson’s None of the Above (Atl
Steven Singer Has a Very Innovative Idea for Schools: More People
by dianeravitch / 3d
Steven Singer goes through the long list of failed innovations that “Reformers” have foisted on the schools. Think how many billions have been wasted on standardized tests, interim assessments, data coaches, test-based evaluations, Common Core, etc. He has an idea for an innovation that he is certain will make a difference: more people. Have you walked into a public school lately? Peak your head
The Nation: Meet ALEC’s Little Brother, ACCE
by dianeravitch / 4d
We know ALEC as the corporate Bill Mill that enlists 2,000 state legislators as members. ALEC promotes a far-right libertarian agenda that is anti-government, anti-regulation, and pro-unregulated free enterprise. Among its sponsors are the DeVos family, the Koch brothers, and many major corporations who don’t want government getting in the way of low wages and high profits. ALEC supports fracking

MAY 06

Gary Rubinstein: Episode 7, High School Graduation
by dianeravitch / 4d
This is the last of the podcasts that Gary Rubinstein reviews. There’s dissent in the high school. The students rebel against the discipline. Most teachers bail out. But graduation comes at last. Of the 73 students who started, 16 graduates made it. It annoys Gary that the interviewer tiptoes around the issue of attrition. Senior year started with 17 students. One mysteriously disappeared. 16 sur
Los Angeles: One of the Richest Cities in World Can’t Afford Elementary School Libraries
by dianeravitch / 4d
I am often asked what billionaires should do with their money if they stopped investing in privatization. Here is a small project for billionaires in California. Los Angeles may close its elementary school libraries. Can’t afford them. Where are you, Reed Hastings? Eli Broad? Bill Bloomfield? Arthur Rock? Mark Zuckerberg? You give millions to charters and TFA, and what good have you done? Do some
Gary Rubinstein: Episode 6 on Success Academy, Its Political Campaign to Get Free Space, and Its Teaching Strategy of “Rip and Redo”
by dianeravitch / 4d
Gary Rubinstein deals in this segment with two controversial sagas in the brief and tumultuous life of Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy Charter Chain. The first came about because Mayor DeBlasio declared that he would rein in Eva Moskowitz when he was elected (under Bloomberg and Klein, she got whatever she wanted). Eva’s billionaire friends promptly put up a kitty of millions to run emotional tel
Gary Rubinstein: Episode 5 Spills the Beans about the “Success” of Success Academy
by dianeravitch / 4d
identifies episode 5 as the crucial reveal about Success Academy, Gary Rubenstein identifies episode 5 as the crucial reveal about Success Academy, where even a supportive reporter notes the behaviors that shows the central message of Success Academy: Control. Star Wars fans know that Episode 5 — The Empire Strikes Back, was the best of the Star Wars saga. And of Beethoven’s nine symphonies, the
Arthur Camins: Why We Must Push Back Against Corruption to Protect the Common Good
by dianeravitch / 4d
Arthur Camins writes here about two different worlds, two different perceptions of reality. On one side is money and power, defending privatization, promoting disruption, and ignoring corruption. On the others are the defenders of the common good, who do not have money and power. In recent years, people associated with the hedge fund industry, technology titans such as the Gates, Zuckerberg, and
Gary Rubenstein: Episode 4 and the Infamous “Got to Go” List
by dianeravitch / 4d
Gary Rubinstein continues with episode 4 of the podcast about Success Academy. This episode attempts to explain away the embarrassing revelation of the “got to go” list, which was reported in the New York Times. You see, getting rid of “bad” children assures the greatest good for the greatest number. Once ejected, where do these children go? The only place that will take them: the public schools
SomeDamPoet Explains the Mysterious Gulen Schools
by dianeravitch / 4d
One of the abiding mysteries of charter world is the Gulen charter chain. The schools use different names, like Harmony or Magnolia or Sonoran, but they have certain characteristics in common. The board is dominated by Turkish me. Many of the teachers are Turkish, in the US on visas. The schools teach the Turkish language. But when asked if they are Gulen schools, the head of the school (usually
Gary Rubinstein: Episode 3 of the Story of Success Academy
by dianeravitch / 4d
Gary Rubinstein moves on to the third episode in the story of Success Academy. In the first episode of Startup’s seven part podcast about Success academy, they presented the case that most schools in New York City are ‘bad’ and how Success Academy’s unique approach to education levels the playing field. Episode two, The Founder (can be found here ) details Eva Moskowitz’s rise to power. She start
Gary Rubinstein: Episode 2 of the Success Academy Story
by dianeravitch / 4d
This is the second of Gary Rubinstein’s posts about Success Academy. This post and this podcast explain why Eva hates unions. Gary writes: In the first episode of Startup’s seven part podcast about Success academy, they presented the case that most schools in New York City are ‘bad’ and how Success Academy’s unique approach to education levels the playing field. Episode two, The Founder (can be f
Nashville: City’s Lobbyist Also Lobbied for Vouchers
by dianeravitch / 4d
Nashville leaders were surprised to learn that its own lobbyists were working to push vouchers at a time when the votes in the legislature for vouchers were very close. The voucher bill targets only Nashville and Shelby County (Memphis). Nashville’s lobbying firm is coming under fire from the Metro Council because it also advocates for school vouchers — an issue one councilman says puts the lobby
Today Is Dedicated to Gary Rubinstein’s Review of Success Academy Podcasts
by dianeravitch / 5d
Teacher Appreciation Week begins today. How better to launch it than by devoting the day to Gary Rubinstein’s review of podcasts about Success Academy? Gary began his teaching career in TFA, but turned into a sharp critic of TFA and a dedicated career teacher. Gary Rubinstein came across a trove of podcasts about Success Academy, and he suspected theyheld the key to the “success” of Success Acade
Say “Thank You” to a Teacher!
by dianeravitch / 5d
Today is the start of Teacher Appreciation Week. Say thank you to a teacher you admire. Say thank you to a teacher who changed your life. Say thank you to America’s teachers.
Gainesville Sun Slams Florida Voucher Plan to Steal Money from Public Schools for Religious Schools
by dianeravitch / 5d
The Gainesville Sun published an editorial denouncing the newRepublican voucher program, which diverts money from public schools to unaccountable private and religious schools. “Last week, Florida lawmakers voted to raid taxpayer money meant for public education to pay for middle-income families to send their children to private schools. “They passed the measure despite these largely religious sc

MAY 05

Ohio: Repeal HB 70, the Disastrous State Takeover Bill
by dianeravitch / 5d
Remember when Republicans believed in local control of public schools? In recent years, they have turned against local control and rejected democracy in their determination to force state control on school districts and promote privatization. Bill Phillis has led the fight in Ohio to restore democratic control of public schools. ‌ ‌ Repeal of HB 70 (HB 154) passes the House with only 12 oppositio
Indiana: Phyllis Bush, Education Advocate, Receives Posthumous Award
by dianeravitch / 5d
Phyllis Bush, career teacher, education advocate, founder of the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education, board member of the Network for Public Education, was honored with a posthumous award by the 3rd District Democrats of Indiana. A life well lived. 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 Ro
Valerie Strauss on the Strange Case of the Charter School That Plans to Open in Rural Alabama
by dianeravitch / 5d
Valerie Strauss investigated the strange case of the charter school that was approved to open in rural Alabama, over the objections of the local mayor and despite the rejection of its proposal by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. The deed for the building is held by a Utah holding company. The principal is described as “Amy O,” with no last name. The school will be operated
Carl Cohn: California Must Reform Its Charter Law
by dianeravitch / 5d
Carl Cohn is one of the most respected figures in American education. He is a problem solver who has been superintendent in several districts in California. He won many plaudits for his leadership in Long Beach. I met him when he was superintendent in San Diego, which was probably the first urban district to be subjected to a heavy, concentrated dose of what was called “reform,” in the late 1990s
Mercedes Schneider: Bad News for the Free-Market Ideologues
by dianeravitch / 5d
Mercedes Schneider reports that teachers at three charter schools in Chicago are on strike. How terrifying for the Waltons, the Koch brothers, and Betsy DeVos! These are not the first charters to go on strike. But it must be a huge annoyance for their funders. She writes: According to idealized market-based ed reform, the CEO is supposed to be the one with the power, and collective bargaining sho
Carol Burris: Florida Charters Are a Swamp of Waste, Fraud, and Profiteering
by dianeravitch / 6d
Florida is controlled by Swamp creatures who want to divert money from public schools and send it to charter schools and religious schools. Jeb Bush is the puppet master who has demanded strict accountability for public schools, minimal oversight of charter schools, and no accountability at all for religious schools. I n this article , Carol Burris—the executive director of the Network for Public

MAY 04

Boston: New Superintendent Is a Win for Parents and Community Groups
by dianeravitch / 6d
Christine Langhoff, retired teacher and education activist, welcomes Brenda Cassellius, Boston’s new Superintendent of Schools. She is not a Broadie, and she is not a Walton stooge. She’s experienced and she arrives ready to lead, untethered to the disruption agenda. That’s good news. Langhoff writes: The screening process was secretive and deeply flawed. Three candidates were selected for presen
Michael Mulgrew to New York Legislature: Don’t Raise the Cap on Charters
by dianeravitch / 6d
Michael Mulgrew, president of the New York City United Federation of Teachers, urges the Legislature not to raise the cap on charters but to enact legislation to make charter schools transparent and accountable. There is a national pushback against untrammeled growth of charters, and New York State is unlikely to give the charter industry carte blanche since Democrats won control of the State Sen
SPLC: This Is What Vouchers Really Mean
by dianeravitch / 6d
In a statement posted last month, the Southern Poverty Legal Center clearly described the high price paid by students and citizens for vouchers. Public schools serve all students, no matter their backgrounds. Private schools do not – they can cherry-pick which children they serve. What’s more, when families take a private school voucher, they lose known academic standards, certified teachers, civ
Tampa Bay Times: Legislature Imposes Death Sentence on Florida Public Schools
by dianeravitch / 7d
The Tampa Bay Times published a powerful editorial about the Legislature’s enactment of yet another voucher program for private and religious schools. Needless to say, the Legislature does nothing for public schools other than to 
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