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

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

Just Try to Catch Diane Ravitch's blog 

A site to discuss better education for all

Will Bunch: Why Bloomberg Cannot Win

by dianeravitch / 5min

Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has officially entered the Democratic primaries . He will skip the first four primaries and join the race on Super Tuesday, focusing on the states holding their primaries then. One of the world’s richest men, with a net worth estimated by Forbes to be $53 billion, Bloomberg is positioned to be a force to counter the candidates who emerge from the first four nomi

Great Hearts Charter Schools Target Middle-Class and Affluent Students

by dianeravitch / 2h

The original idea behind charter schools was that they would help the neediest, most disadvantaged students, including those who were disengaged or failing in their public schools. Some charters have been criticized for selecting the most compliant students. One charter chain stands out for ignoring the neediest, the poorest, the most disadvantaged: Great Hearts. This charter chain was repeatedly

Carol Burris and Kevin Welner: In Defense of Warren’s K-12 Plan

by dianeravitch / 2h

After Elizabeth Warren released her bold K-12 education plan, with massive funding increases for poor students (Title1) and for students with disabilities, the charter lobby reacted with outrage because she also announced that she would eliminate the federal Charter Schools Program. The CSP has been not only wasteful and ineffective but has been used by Betsy DeVos as her personal slush fund, to

Parents: Beware of the Mind Trust!

41by dianeravitch / 3h

The Mind Trust is funded by billionaires to advocate for privatization of public funds and public schools. Now it is going after parents. Of course, the best person to make the case to parents is an education entrepreneur. Dear Friends, I deeply believe that those most impacted by systemic injustice are also the people who are best positioned to lead the fight to create a more just and equitable

YESTERDAY

Breaking News! Pennsylvania Voucher Bill Blocked, for Now!

37by dianeravitch / 19h

You read it here first. It has not appeared online. Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Turzai did not have the votes to bring his voucher bill up for a vote. Your emails, phone calls, and letters made a difference! Stay alert! He may bring his zombie bill back in the future. The Network for Public Education Action Fund will keep watch.

Legal Organizations Join to Support Education Equity and Rights

by dianeravitch / 21h

This is good news for everyone who cares about the constant encroachment of Big Money and Dark Money into American education. The school choice movement has been an effort to substitute changes in school governance for equitable and adequate funding. Diverting funding from public schools to support charters and vouchers injures the vast majority of students, who are enrolled in public schools. Ab

Watch Fiona Hill Testify: She Is Riveting!

by dianeravitch / 22h

Dr. Fiona Hill, the government’s top Russia expert, was born in England, the daughter of a coal miner. She said in introducing herself that if she had stayed in England, her accent would have marked her and her opportunities would have been limited. She didn’t mention it, but in the US, her British accent makes her sound upper-class, not a coal miner’s daughter. Her testimony was, to me, the most

Oakland: Stop the School Closings! Students Need Stability!

by dianeravitch / 23h

School closings in Oakland are accelerating. These closures disproportionately affect the lives and well-being of black and brown students. They need stability, not disruption and constant churn. Black communities across the nation have suffered disinvestment in their communities because of school closings. Reply-To: “Kwesi Chappin, Color Of Change” info@colorofchange.org > Tell Acting School Boa

Massachusetts: Legislature Unanimously Passes $1.4 Billion for Education

by dianeravitch / 1d

Both houses of the Massachusetts legislature unanimously passed a major funding bill f or education, directing $1.5 billion mainly to the neediest districts. Massachusetts has long had the most successful public schools in the nation. The state is poised to build on its record of success. The majority of the $1.5 billion set aside in the bill will go to lower-performing and underfunded school dis

Angie Sullivan: Nevada Must Increase Education Funding by $1 Billion!

by dianeravitch / 1d

Angie Sullivan regularly writes blast emails to every member of the state legislature and to the state’s journalists. Here is her latest: CCEA members voted at a General Meeting yesterday to raise dues. Those teacher union dues will be used to campaign for a billion dollars. Yes, billion. Yes, dollars. We need to think big to win big. Teachers need those funds to fund class-size reduction. We nee

Bill Phillis: It is Wrong for Ohio to Require Public Schools to Pay for Transportation Costs of Charters and Vouchers

43by dianeravitch / 1d

Bill Phillis asks a reasonable question: Why should public schools in Ohio be required to take money from their budget to pay the transportation costs of charters and vouchers? School district transportation costs increase with the 

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