Seattle School Board Meeting, January 22, 2025
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*Update 2:*
I forgot the Board had an executive session at 3:30 pm; clearly, it ran
long.
The SPS channel has its music that I call “school board meetin...
Against AI Theft
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Among the many reasons to give Artificial Intelligence some real side-eye
is the business model that rests entirely on plagiarism-- stealing the works
of...
There is nothing peaceful about this transition.
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If I hear one more liberal politician talk about how this is a peaceful
transition of power, I will scream.Fred Klonsky in Retirement is a
reader-supported...
Shanker Blog: Reading Policy, the Wind and the Sun
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Shanker Blog: Reading Policy, the Wind and the Sun
There is a well-known tale about the Wind and the Sun who once debated who
was stronger. They agreed th...
Trump's Day One Executive Orders
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Day One of Trump 2.0 was full of shock and awful, precisely what we had
every reason to expect. In classic fashion, there was so much, and it was
so a...
Why We Need Children in the Midst of Life Itself
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My brother and I used to fight over who got to sit in the window seat on
airplanes. We wanted to be able to look out. The world from 30,000 feet was
an ...
Billionaires Driving Science of Reading
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By Thomas Ultican 1/21/2025 On January 2nd, billionaire created education
news source, The 74, declared there is a reading crisis in Los Angeles
Unified Sc...
Trump Acts Like a Maniac
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Or course, no one expected Trump to suddenly declare that the country’s
immigration system—the central topic to his ten years of dominance in
politics...
The Orange Turd feeds the racists
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The Orange Turd has been feeding red meat to the millions of angry racists
for the past 8 years. He has succeeded in hoodwinking these sad souls into
placi...
Civics
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“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to
think critically. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true
education.”...
W.B. YEATS, MEET W.H. AUDEN and MATTHEW ARNOLD
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Prior to the November election, I invoked the poetry of W.B. Yeats, asking
his question, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches
towar...
Heroes, Hypocrisy, and Hubris
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“One of the grimmer realizations of Sarkis’s youth had been the discovery
that knowing you were being an ass did not actually stop you from
continuing to b...
A Man’s World (pt. 3): Gaiman Edition
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[Header Photo by Museums of History New South Wales on Unsplash] I am
currently reading Haruki Murakami’s newest novel, The City and Its
Uncertain Walls. I...
Retiree Advocate Town Hall: The ARISE Campaign
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I am excited to be working on a UFT election campaign through Retiree
Advocate. Our first event is a Town Hall this Sunday at 7:30. Please
register if you ...
Ed Tech Digest
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Ten years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog
of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “Ed Tech Digest” post
where...
The Five Musketeers
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One for all and all for one … and in a modern update, One in Five, a
Texas-based foundation that grew out of the Uvalde tragedy to help patrol
schools and ...
Site Index - Updated December 31, 2024
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When I was teaching,
I got tired of hearing how bad American educators were.
*My Promise *
WHEN I STARTED BLOGGING IN 2011, I said I planned to speak ...
Perhaps this is a meaningless ramble
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but I am choosing to reflect on a number of disparate topics that are
currently on my mind. Perhaps I should start by explaining that I have been
at leas...
December Parent Engagement Resources
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Parent involvement in schools ⬆️. 87% of K–12 students from
English-speaking families had parents who reported attending a general
school meeting in 2019, ...
The 2024 NPE “Coal in the Stocking” Awards
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At NPE, we know who is naughty and nice when it comes to supporting our
public schools and their students.
The post The 2024 NPE “Coal in the Stocking” A...
Juntos lo haremos
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En el año que viene, tendremos que tomar decisiones difíciles sobre quienes
queremos ser en cada comunidad y como nación. Ha sido un año muy intenso.
Desde...
WTF, Democratic Caucus?
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Why is the failure of this current budget bill being blamed on Republicans
when almost every single Democrat voted against it? If only half of the
Dems had...
In Memoriam: Nikki Giovanni
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The literary and cultural world has lost an irreplaceable voice with the
passing of Nikki Giovanni. As one of the most celebrated poets and
activists of ou...
Education Has Failed and What Can We Do Next?
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Education has failed to prepare children for the world today. Despite the
increased investment, impactful reforms, hardworking teachers and school
leaders,...
Defining Productivity, Cost, and Efficiency
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Recycled material here… The central problem with US public schools is often
characterized as an efficiency problem. We spend a lot and don’t get much
for i...
Number 18 — A barely-hanging-on Blogoversary
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Blogoversary #18 SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 I started this blog while I was still
teaching, in 2006. I had just begun my 31st year as an educator. Just like
in pre...
Student "Growth" Measures Are STILL Biased
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This caught my attention:
New Jersey school districts may soon be evaluated differently, *with a
greater emphasis on student growth* as compared to stud...
AIN’T IT AWFUL
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As the terrible feelings of dread and angst spread across the world the
great majority of the American people feel powerless before the onslaught
of those ...
The Sky is Falling, or is it?
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Well, this is the first anniversary of the introduction of Generative AI in
the form of ChatGPT to the world of education. Before it was a week old,
over o...
Vote NO on the UFT Contract. Here is Why:
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The best reason to vote no on this contract is this: UFT Unity* lied* to us
in 2018. They misrepresented that contract. It was predicated on deals we
wer...
Metaphors in ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech
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In this article, we will explore the powerful use of metaphors in Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” ...
Read more
Testimony to the CPS Truancy Task Force
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I prepared testimony for one of two public hearings held by the Chicago
Public Schools Truancy Task Force, a body mandated by state legislation.
The meetin...
There Is A Teacher Shortage.Not.
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THERE IS A TEACHER SHORTAGE. And just to be sure you understand, it’s not
that teachers don’t want to teach. It’s not that there aren’t enough
teachers cer...
Book Banning Turns to Dick and Jane
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Breaking News: Dateline February 4, 2022 - Parents in Dimwitty, Alabama
have asked the Dimwitty Board of Education to ban the children's primer *Fun
with...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
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TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Follow me at Substack
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I've moved. Follow me at Substack
I'm now posting regularly at Substack. You can subscribe for free to my new
Edu/Pol blog at michaelklonsky.substack.com
...
Aspiring Teachers Get New Help Paying For College
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[image: colorful classroom pattern]
*; Credit: shuoshu/Getty Images*
Cory Turner | NPR
New rules kick in today that will help aspiring teachers pay for c...
Tips Akses Situs Judi Qq Tanpa Perlu Takut Nawala
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Kegiatan berjudi slot melalui situs judi qq online, sekarang sudah
dilakukan oleh banyak penjudi Indonesia. Tentu, Kamu yang sedang membaca
artikel ini a...
The Threat of Integration
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I have lived in the same house in the Miracle Mile section of Los Angeles
for over 30 years, where up until now I have had little or no interaction
with th...
We fight for a democracy worthy of us all!
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The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García
in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly and
it’s up...
The Passing Of Chaz 1951-2020 Age 69
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I am the son of Chaz and like to inform you that he passed away this
afternoon from the COVID virus. My father passed in peace beside his loved
ones. We ar...
The Fight For Our Children
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*The number of suicides among people ages 10 to 24 nationally increased by
56 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to a new federal report showing
the ...
Read to Self: Just a Kid and a Book.
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Date: Monday, January 5, 2020 Place: My classroom Student: Mrs.Mims, could
we start doing Read to Self again because I got this great book for
Christmas an...
Keeping Progressive Schools Alive
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Dear Friends and Colleagues, Happy New Year and a special thanks to those
who respond to past blogs about choice, et al. I always mean to respond to
each c...
Reminiscences
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I just finished dumping the rest of my lesson plans. I guess I held on to
the calculus ones for so long because I spent so much time working on them
an...
Just Asking for some Teachers I know.
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Recently Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers stated, We must … recognize that
part of supporting our kids in the classroom means supporting the educators
who t...
Cara Menang Bermain Judi Bola Online
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Bermain judi bola online tentu saja memiliki kesenangannya tersendiri baik
itu mendapatkan keuntungan maupun ketika menantikan hasil skor pada sebuah
perta...
A Critique of Standards-Based Grading
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It first happened to me about ten years ago. I was beginning my third year
of teaching in a new school in Washington, DC. Social studies teachers were
si...
My First and Last Visit to Hudson Yards
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Figuring I did not need to invite any more darkness and vulgarity into my
head than that provided on a daily basis from Trump’s White House, and
after read...
The World According to Michelle Rhee
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The men behind the curtain fashioning the brave new world of corporate run
education in America! Michelle Rhee is the founder of StudentsFirst, The
New T...
Whose Opinions Matter in Education World?
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It's hard to identify education heroes and sheroes. And perhaps even harder
to pinpoint just whose work is slanted, paid-for and dishonest.
Blockchain: Life on the Ledger
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Originally posted on Wrench in the Gears:
I created this video as a follow up to the one I prepared last year on
Social Impact Bonds. It is time to examine...
New Local Businesses in Sacramento
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Starting a new local business in Sacramento is a monumental task, but can
be accomplished with footwork, perseverance and knowledge. One must learn
the loc...
Lesson Plan: Rhyme and Rhythm in Poetry
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I’ve started a recent unit on poetry with my class. I’m not a poet, and I’m
not a poetry fan (I don’t hate it, but I’m a prose gal), so this makes it
harde...
The Apotheosis of Betsy DeVos
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Betsy Devos has drawn few headlines in recent months, and that is a good
thing for the Secretary of Education. Her tenure began with Vice President
Mike P...
Education Is a Civic Question
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In their final post to end Bridging Differences' decade-long run, Deborah
Meier and Harry Boyte urge readers to put the energy, talents, wisdom, and
hard w...
Site News: New Home for Education News & Commentary
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Quick! Get over there! The daily education news roundup and education
commentaries that you're probably looking for are now being published over
at The Gra...
Should We Be Grateful?
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In an odd turn of events, and with little explanation, Michigan Governor
Rick Snyder has decided to return the state’s School Reform Office back to
the Dep...
An Open Letter to NC Lawmakers
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An Open Letter to NC State Lawmakers and NC State Superintendent Mark
Johnson: I am a NC native, voter, and public school teacher. I am
addressing you all ...
The Secret to Fixing Schools (My Next Bestseller)
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The Secret to Fixing Schools (My next bestseller) Prologue I just finished
watching a fascinating documentary on Netflix entitled, “The Secret”. The
film p...
Farewell, Sleep
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Today is the official last day of my spring break. I've done a scientific
survey: My natural bedtime is 2 AM, and my natural wake up time is 9:41
AM. Tom...
REPORT: States With the Best and Worst Schools
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States With the Best (and Worst)Schools
By *Evan Comen, Michael B. Sauter, Samuel Stebbins and Thomas C. Frohlich*
January 20, 2017- http://247wallst.com
...
Test Refusal = People Power
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In recent months, social media has been ablaze with talk of regular folk
taking action to resist the Trump agenda. Protests are a daily occurrence,
and ev...
Random Musings and Observations. . . .
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I’ve been gone a while from the blogging scene. Some of my more regular
readers no doubt noticed but did not hassle me about it. Thank you for
that. Sinc...
AB 934: A LEGISLATIVE FIX FOR VERGARA?
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By Michael Stratford | in the Politco Morning Education Report | via email
05/24/2016 10:00 AM EDT :: Two national education groups are backing a
Califor...
MY NEW BLOG
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My new blog will consist of fictitious headlines, meant to be a blend of
humor and satire. I apologize ahead of time if any other satirical site has
simila...
Thank you
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Dear Readers,
Thank you for visiting *The Perimeter Primate*. This blog is being retired
for the time being. Although I no longer post here, I do still s...
I am Retiring
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I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
New Beginnings: Kickstarter and EdWeek Teacher
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Greetings to InterACT readers one and all! If you’ve been following posts
here recently you might recall that I’m moving my blogging activity to
other loca...
Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School
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*“With Adelaide L. Sanford Charter School closing, Newark families must
move on.”* The Star-Ledger (NJ), 6/25/2013
NEWARK — Bobby and Troy Shanks saw the...
Nancy Bailey writes here about the long-term damage that corporate reformers (the Disruption movement) have inflicted on two generations of students. If only students could sue them for ruining their schools! If only teachers could sue them for ruining their profession! If only the public could sue them to disruption their schools and communities! She begins: Frustrated by public schools? Look no
Betsy DeVos gave New Hampshire $46 million to. Double the number of charter schools. The state commissioner of education said, illogically, that adding charter schools was a good way to handle declining student enrollment. If that doesn’t make sense, It is because it’s nonsense. Adding new charters is sure to accelerate enrollment declines. The legislature’s fiscal committee voted on party lines
Politico Morning Education says Betsy D won’t testify. Trump officials ignore Congress: DEVOS AT RISK OF SUBPOENA: The committee is now reviewing options, “including a subpoena,” after DeVos declined to testify, a committee aide told POLITICO Thursday night. Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) had given DeVos until Thursday at 6 p.m. to respond to his request that she appear. — House Democrats are sched
Thanks to the efforts of the New York State Attorney General, Trump was forced to close down his “foundation,” which he had used to pay debts for his businesses and to buy a $10,000 painting of himself. This week, a judge ordered Trump to pay a fine of $2 million for failing to carry out his fiduciary duty for faithful administration of the foundation funds. Trump responded by lying. But in a sta
Our reader Laura Chapman wrote about a newly elected member of the school board in Cincinnati. He is a local executive for TFA. The board on which he will serve pays TFA $100,000 to supply inexperienced teachers. He should resign his TFA position or resign from the board. At the very least, he should recuse himself from any discussions of contracts for his employer. Chapman wrote: Some details on
Jeannie Kaplan served two terms on the Denver school board. She spotted “reform” as a hoax from the beginning. For ten years, she has urged her fellow citizens to reject the regime of “test-punish-close schools-privatize.” Today she feels vindicated. Over the past 10 years millions of dollars from outside Denver have been spent to prop up a failed educational experiment. And failed it is. But a n
Tom Ultican shares a delightful and very satisfying story of what happened in Denver, where voters chose three non-corporate reformers to fill out a majority of five on the district’s seven-member school board. Denver has had a solid decade of corporate reform (or as I call it, Disruption) control. Schools opened and closed; charter schools opened; students shuffled around. Apparently, the voters
Betsy DeVos is using the federal Charter Schools Program as her personal slush fund. She recently dumped $46 million into New Hampshire in hopes of doubling the number of charters schools in that small state. The Governor Chris Sununu is a rightwing school choice zealot. The State Commissioner of Education Frank Edelblut homeschooled his children and is eager to eliminate public schools. The legi
This story in the Washington Post makes clear that Republican Governor Matt Bevin list because of his mean-spirited attacks on teachers, who are respected members of their communities. It was no accident that Bevin’s Democratic opponent Andy Beshear selected a teacher as his running mate. When they marched on the statehouse in Frankfort, Ky., in the midst of a spring snowstorm and a political fir
W. J. Gumbert left the following comment about the state takeover of Houston, based on the low test scores of one high school. For the uninitiated, Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick hate public schools. John Arnold is a billionaire who made his money as an energy trader at Enron and now campaigns against public sector pensions and in favor of charter schools. Gumbert writes: Let’s rem
I am a K-12 graduate of the Houston Independent School District. I am appalled that Texas officials would dare to strip Houston citizens of their elected board because of ONE LOW-PERFORMING HIGH SCHOOL. Wheatley High School happens to have a high concentration of students who live in poverty (88%), don’t speak English, and have special needs (19%). The Texas Education Agency and Commissioner Mike
Candidates backed by teachers for local school boards in the Denver area (including Denver) won all but one race. Candidates supported by the teachers’ unions swept school board elections in Denver, Aurora, Douglas County, Littleton, Adams County, Cherry Creek, and Jeffco. The only candidate to lose was in Jeffco. The “reformers” bold experiment in teacher-bashing has come to an end, at least for
I am speechless. Wordless. How could anyone who cares about their reputation join the most shameless department in the most shameless administration in history? DeVos showed her colors when she harassed 16,000 students to pay debts for their time at the closed for-profit Corinthian Colleges when the debts would have been cancelled. She has repeatedly shown her views: her contempt for public schoo
I am not sure that I agree with Steven Singer’s point here, that NAEP scores tell us nothing other than that students from affluent homes have higher test scores than students who live in poverty. His main point is undeniable. All standardized test scores are highly correlated with family income. We could use income and poverty data to learn what the test scores tell us, without wasting billions
Angie Sullivan teaches in an underfunded Title 1 school in Las Vegas where many students are impoverished and don’t speak English. She frequently writes blast emails to Nevada legislators and journalists. Margaret Raymond once joked that Nevada has the worst charter sector in the nation . From Valerie Strauss’s Answer Sheet blog in 2015: “Be very glad that you have Nevada, so you are not the wors
Imagine a brand new nonprofit organization starting with more than $200 million. The usual group of billionaires has funded an organization called the City Fund, whose main purpose seems to be to buy local school board elections. Thus far, they have targeted Atlanta, Indianapolis, Newark, Denver, San Antonio, St. Louis, and Nashville, but they may have added or subtracted other sites. The City Fu
When I was in the early grades in the Houston public schools, we learned penmanship. At the time, we dipped our quill pens into an inkwell. It was messy, at least for me. At some point we switched to pens that had ink reserves, and you filled them up and wrote with ink. That was better than dipping the quill. Then a new writing technology came along, called the “ballpoint pen.” No messy inkwells
Jacob Carpenter, reporter for the Houston Chronicle, tweeted that the state education department plans to strip the Houston school board of its authority because of the persistently low scores of one school. @ChronJacob BREAKING: Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath has notified Houston ISD that he plans to strip power from the district’s elected board and appoint a new governance team, the r
Candidates for Public office endorsed by NPE Action won big. We didn’t give them money. We gave them our valued Seal of Approval, demonstrating that they are the real deal, genuine supporters of public schools. We also celebrate the apparent victory in Kentucky of Andy Bashear and the apparent defeat of Governor Matt Bevin, who mistreated teachers and sought Betsy DeVos’s approval. Kentucky has a
Jim Hood lost the race for governor in Mississippi but he gave it all he has. He gives hope that Mississippi might one day not be a taken-for-granted good-ole-white-boy state. He gives hope that people will one day vote for their own best interest, for the common good, not just thoughtlessly vote for those who don’t care about them or anyone else. This is the letter he sent to supporters (I made
Denver is one of the jewels of the Corporate Reform/Disruption crowd where outside the state money has purchased board seats in the past. This election, however, three seats were up for grabs and the corporate reformers were defeated in all three races. In their place, candidates who are skeptical of charters, school closing, and high-stakes testing were elected with the support of the Denver Cla
This is one of the best descriptions of Trump— ever—by a British writer. Someone on Quora asked “Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?” Nate White, an articulate and witty writer from England wrote the following response: A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibili
Craig’s Chicago Business acknowledges that the children in Chicago public schools need what the Chicago Teachers Union won in their contract negotiations. But still, they wonder, are taxpayers willing to pay the price? Now that financial details of the pact are starting to trickle out, it’s clear that the mayor was telling the truth—that is, for the teachers. And that truth raises a very signific
John Thompson, historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma, reviews an important recent book. It is ironic that the evidence for the value of integration grows at the same pace as resegregation. Surely we can agree with Malcolm Forbes on one thing: schools should nurture “the art of thinking individually together.” Can we agree that the path to such a goal requires school integration? Children of t
The 2019 ACT scores, which are supposed to measure “college readiness,” dropped to a record low. This follows nine years after the release of the Common Core State Standards, which were supposed to promote “college and career readiness.” Nick Anderson of the Washington Post writes: ACT scores for the high school Class of 2019 show that rates of college readiness in English and math have sunk to r
In a major setback for Republicans in Virginia, Democrats swept control of both houses of the state legislature! Trump has no shirttails. This election and the election in Kentucky should send a message to the a Republican majority in the Senate. Will Democrats sweep both houses of Congress next year as Mitch McConnell and every other Republican Senator stick by Trump to the bitter end?
Democrat Andy Beshear, Attorney General of Kentucky, defeated hard-right Republican Governor Matt Bevin! Hooray! Bevin made war on public schools and teachers and threatened teachers’ pensions. He allied himself with Trump and Betsy DeVos. Bevin threatened to cut healthcare insurance. Teachers in Kentucky walked out and demonstrated at the state capitol to oppose Benin’s efforts to destroy their
The county leaders in Citrus County, Florida, rejected the library’s request for a subscription to the New York Times. The Times, they said, was “fake news.” They don’t want the local citizens to hear any point of view that contradicts the Dear Leader. This is the quintessence of ignorance. Do they also censor every cable news station except FOX? By Antonia Noori Farzan / The Washington Post Post
Count on John Merrow to find a totally fresh way of looking at the 2019 NAEP scores! He asks: What would John Dewey, Maria Montessori, and Aristotle say? The scores were disappointing but the responses were predictable: The responses from the Administration , the center-righ t, and the left were not surprising. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos labelled it a ‘student achievement crisis’ and issu
Foxconn is the giant Taiwanese tech company that manufactures electronic products for major tech companies around the world. They are known for poor working conditions and long hours, also for employee suicides on the job. When Scott Walker was governor of Wisconsin, his great coup (or so he thought) was to woo Foxconn to open five “innovation centers” in the state. This was supposed to create jo
Wendy Lecker is a civil rights attorney who writes frequently for the Stamford (CT) Advocate . In this article, she takes issue with a public-private partnership that fails to address the state’s woefully School finance system. Ray Dalio, a billionaire who wants to do good, has created a partnership with the state government that will operate outside public scrutiny. Dalio and the state will each
The board of Alabama’s first charter school, LEAD Academy, fired its principal, Nicole Ivey, and she is retaliating with a lawsuit that airs the school’s dirty laundry. Those named in the suit include Charlotte Meadows, the school’s founder and board president who is also running for the Alabama Legislature ; Soner Tarim; owner of Unity School Services, an education service provider; Unity School
The Independent newspaper reports that Attorney General William Barr showed up in London with requests that one British official said “is like nothing we have come across before, they are basically asking, in quite robust terms, for help in doing a hatchet job on their own intelligence services.” Barr and Trump want to find evidence that the CIA and FBI were wrong about Russian hacking of the 201
Greg Sergeant wrote this morning in the Washington Post : President Trump is now openly calling on his Republican allies to produce doctored transcripts of witness testimony that will exonerate him. Trump did not put it quite that directly, of course. But given all the known facts — and given everything we’ve seen from Trump over the past few years — there is simply no other way to read them. It’
Audrey Watters is one of the leading voices among those who are concerned about student privacy. I n this post , she notes the growing attention to surveillance of children but observes that some parents are purchasing devices that facilitate surveillance. Do you want your child to be surveilled by unknown persons and corporations?
Mercedes Schneider teaches high school English in Louisiana. She has been a close observer of the corporate reforms (the Disruption movement) under State Superintendent John White. White has been in charge since 2012. He has had the authority to pursue his own agenda, with the unwavering support of a state board elected by out-of-state money. Schneider lays out his record, based on NAEP scores an
Gary Rubinstein, math teacher at Stuyvesant High School, is a skilled myth buster. He frequently unmasks “miracle” stories. In this post , he demolishes the claim that Louisiana has improved faster in 8th grade math than other states. This is the last gasp of the Disruption movement, which has controlled federal and state policy for 20 years but has little to show for it. As Rubinstein shows, Arn
Gay Adelmann, the mother of a recent graduate of the Jefferson County Public Schools, writes here to explain why voters in Kentucky should get rid of Matt Bevin and elect Andy Beshear as Governor. She writes: “During Kentucky’s past two legislative sessions, Gov. Matt Bevin lashed out at the record numbers of teachers descending upon Frankfort. But teachers are not the only ones who have been sho
I received an e-mail from SPLC: Tella Barnett fears she’ll end up behind bars again if she gets behind on her payments. She’s one of thousands of people in Alabama who pay to stay out of prison. One day last March, she paid a $30 monitoring fee as well as a $40 supervision fee. She paid $40 in drug testing fees and $30 in “rescheduling fees.” “Oh, my goodness, I can barely afford to eat,” said Ba
Do not read this post by Peter Greene unless you are a Christian . Do not read it unless you are a Dominionist and believe in the battle to advance God’s kingdom on this earth. You see, our Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos just won an award for her work on behalf of God. Peter Greene writes: “Dominionism argues that the US should be a literal Christian nation, its government run by Christians.
The Coalition for Student Privacy writes here about a new book by Dianne Tavenner, who leads the Chan-Zuckerberg-funded Summit Charter Schools. The Summit approach is based heavily on screen time, and it has encountered student and parent protests in numerous cities. Tavenner’s new book is called Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life. The book will be launched at an event funded by the fa
Arthur Camins retired after a career as a teacher, aprofessor, a scientist, and director of a lab in charge of innovation. In this post , he lays out the great mission of our era: take back our government, restore our democracy of the people. Start with public schools. An excerpt: Public schools are the bedrocks of democracy and equity. They are a great place to start reclaiming government becaus
Former D.C. math teacher Guy Brandenburg attended the NAEP press conference in D.C. where Betsy DeVos explained what lessons the nation can lean from the NAEP results. DeVos thinks the rest of the nation should learn from D.C., which has the largest racial gaps of any urban district tested by NAEP; Or Florida, where test scores went down; or Mississippi, where scores rose even though it is at the
Ron Chernow, author of Hamilton , wrote in the Washington Post that Trump is the populist demagogue that Alexander Hamilton feared and warned about in The Federalist Papers. He wrote: There seems little doubt, given his writings on the presidency, that Hamilton would have been aghast at Trump’s behavior and appalled by his invitation to foreign actors to meddle in our elections. As a result, he w
The Chicago teachers’ strike is over but it performed a valuable service that reaches far beyond Chicago and its educators. In recent years, the union movement was recoiling from blow after blow as its adversaries attempted to destroy it by passing right-to-work laws in the states, attacking it in state courts with challenges to due process, and winning a Supreme Court victory (Janus) that was in
Jan Resseger explains the history and context of the truly historic teachers’ strike in Chicago t hat recently ended. She explains it with clarity, as only Jan can do. This was not a strike for higher salaries. The mayor offered a 16%