Diane Ravitch: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Can We Get Her Involved in the Struggle to Save Public Schools from Plutocrats? @AOC #AOC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Can We Get Her Involved in the Struggle to Save Public Schools from Plutocrats?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Can We Get Her Involved in the Struggle to Save Public Schools from Plutocrats?

The New York Times wrote that the first-year member of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was tending bar in the Bronx a year ago, is pushing the Democratic Party to the left.

Alexandria (@AOC) is a remarkable figure in our politics today. By sheer force of personality, she has emerged as a dominant voice. She terrifies moderate Democrats and the entire Republican Party. She has proposed a Green New Deal. She has proposed that people who have an annual income of more than $10 million pay a tax of 70% of everything above $10 million (the marginal tax rate was 90% during the Eisenhower years).

She has two million followers on Twitter.

If anyone knows how to reach her, I would love to get her aid in fighting the privatization of public schools. She would be a powerful ally.

This is part of what the Times wrote about her today:

“Not so long ago, left-wing activists were dismissed as fringe or even kooky when they pressed for proposals to tax the super rich at 70 percent, to produce all of America’s power through renewable resources or to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Then along came Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — and her social-media megaphone.

“In the two months since her election, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has had the uncanny ability for a first-term member of Congress to push the debate inside the Democratic Party sharply to the left, forcing party leaders and 2020 presidential candidates to grapple with issues that some might otherwise prefer to avoid.

“The potential Democratic field in 2020 is already being quizzed about her (Senator Kamala Harris praised her on “The View”), emulating her digital tactics (Senator Elizabeth Warren held an Instagram chat in her kitchen that looked much like one of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s sessions) and embracing some of her causes.

“Ms. Warren and Senator Cory Booker, among others, have recently endorsed the idea of a “Green New Deal,” a call to reimagine an environment-first economy that would phase out fossil fuels. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez thrust that issue into the national dialogue after she joined a sit-in protest in the office of then-incoming House speaker, Representative Nancy Pelosi, in one of her first, rebellious acts in Washington.

“Her rise has stirred a backlash among some Congressional Democrats, who are seeking to constrain her anti-establishment streak and fear her more radical ideas could tar the party as socialist.

“Back home in New York, she has stoked opposition to a deal with Amazon to set up offices in Queens, putting pressure on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats, to justify corporate incentives.

“Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a Bronx-born 29-year-old of Puerto Rican descent, is the youngest congresswoman ever, and Washington veterans say they CONTINUE READING: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Can We Get Her Involved in the Struggle to Save Public Schools from Plutocrats?

SYHS fears insolvency over payments to Olive Grove Charter School - Santa Ynez Valley Star

SYHS fears insolvency over payments to Olive Grove Charter School - Santa Ynez Valley Star

SYHS fears insolvency over payments to Olive Grove Charter School

A decision by the California Department of Education apparently requires the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District to pay more than $700,000 this year to help operate Olive Grove Charter School, which high school district officials say they can’t afford.

 “This decision by the Department of Education could be crippling, and the ripple effects will be massive. We are already facing a $750,000 structural deficit this year, so adding an additional $700,000 with potentially more in the coming years will ruin us,” SYHVUHS Superintendent Scott Cory said.

Cory will present an agenda item about the in-lieu property tax payments to Olive Grove during the high school board’s meeting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 15. Also on the agenda is appointing a fifth board member.

The high school district twice denied a petition from Olive Grove to operate a charter school within its boundaries, but Olive Grove’s appeal to the California Department of Education (CDE) was approved in July.

That makes Santa Ynez a “sponsoring district” for Olive Grove and, although SYHS will have no supervisory role, it will be required to help pay for the charter school.

Because Olive Grove also has campuses in Lompoc, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara and New Cuyama, those districts will be required to pay support to the charter school as well.

According to the latest estimates, Santa Ynez owes $350,942 to the charter school immediately, and Olive Grove officials project a total of between $1 million and $1.2 million for the 2018-19 fiscal year. Those numbers are subject to change when the CONTINUE READING: SYHS fears insolvency over payments to Olive Grove Charter School - Santa Ynez Valley Star

LAUSD strike: Why LA teachers are walking off the job - Vox #UTLA #REDFORED #UTLAStrong #StrikeReady #March4Ed #WeAreLA

LAUSD strike: Why LA teachers are walking off the job - Vox

Why thousands of Los Angeles teachers are going on strike
The second-largest school district in the country joins a growing national movement for better school funding and higher teacher pay.

Monday morning, tens of thousands of Los Angeles educators will leave their classrooms and go on strike, throwing the weight of the country’s second-largest school district behind a growing national movement for better school funding and higher teacher pay.

The strike comes after months of fruitless contract negotiations between the teacher’s union and the Los Angeles Unified School District. The union’s asking for a 6.5 percent raise and for the district to spend more to improve the quality of students’ education. Officials from both the state and district agree they need to invest more — just not to the level that the unions demand.

The school system extended a last-minute deal on Friday, but organizers rejected it, saying they’re fighting for the future of the education system — with implications that extend beyond the district’s borders.

“Get ready, because on Monday, we will go on strike,” Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said at a news conference late Friday.

Nationwide, stagnant teacher wages, crumbling infrastructure and deep budget cuts to education have helped fuel a wave of educator activism. From Arizona to West Virginia, Kentucky to Oklahoma, teachers garnered widespread support and won major victories boosting salaries and benefits last year. And now the movement has a powerful ally joining its ranks.

Union leaders in Los Angeles expect some 31,000 teachers, counselors, nurses, and librarians to walk the picket line this week. Like the string of striking teachers who preceded them, they’re fighting for a raise. But they have larger grievances: They say that class sizes are so large, there aren’t enough desks to go around. That the proliferation of charter schools is leading to an over-tested student body and a system that treats education like a business rather than a right for all students. And that staffing levels are so low, some schools lack a single nurse or librarian.

Addressing all those issues to the teachers’ satisfaction requires money that district officials say they don’t have.

So Monday, LA schools will see their first strike in 30 years. During the last one, 20,000 teachers walked out of their classrooms for nine days. This time, union leaders want to make a major contribution in the fight for education, setting the tone for 2019 with the first walkout of CONTINUE READING: LAUSD strike: Why LA teachers are walking off the job - Vox

CURMUDGUCATION: SAT: New Frontiers In Pointlessness

CURMUDGUCATION: SAT: New Frontiers In Pointlessness

SAT: New Frontiers In Pointlessness

David Coleman, he who single-handedly built the architecture of Common Core ELA in the image of his own (untrained) biases about how language should be taught, is taking a step back from some of his College Board duties. That news has been accompanied by further evidence that the SAT is increasingly pointless.

Like most of the CC architects, isn't stick around to make sure his baby was properly installed and put to use; instead, he moved to start cashing in, which in his case meant a lucrative gig at the College Board, the folks who bring us the SAT, PSAT and AP courses. He's been serving as both president and CEO of the company, but last week he stepped back from the president spot and the company installed Jeremy Singer in the post.

Singer is a fine fit. He's been the COO at College Board since 2013; before that he was with Kaplan, the test prep people. His career also includes a stint at McGraw-Hill, a school turnaround outfit, and a web-delivered solutions company. This after he started out in the business development biz, highlighted by a stay at McKinsey.

Digital baloney and business growth are his things, so it's not surprising that announcements of his rise focused on the "technological transformation" of the College Board. But some of the comments in this EdSurge article are not very inspirational.

Some probable goals: expanding the "partnership" with Khan Academy, simplifying the college application process, and "easing the financial burden" of applying to colleges. So, I don't know-- CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: SAT: New Frontiers In Pointlessness

LA Teachers Strike is About Charter Schools and High Stakes Testing | gadflyonthewallblog #UTLA #REDFORED #UTLAStrong #StrikeReady #March4Ed #WeAreLA

LA Teachers Strike is About Charter Schools and High Stakes Testing | gadflyonthewallblog

LA Teachers Strike is About Charter Schools and High Stakes Testing

On Monday more than 30,000 teachers at 900 schools in Los Angeles, California, will be on strike.

And unlike the wave of teachers strikes last year in red states like West Virginia, this time educators are taking to the streets due to the policies of Democrats.

At issue are things like lowering class sizes and providing more nurses, librarians and counselors.

But behind these issues lies one of the most important facts about our country.

When you get right down to it, there is very little difference between many Democratic policymakers and their Republican counterparts.

You think Betsy Devos is the opposite of Arne Duncan? Wrong.

You think Barack Obama is the opposite of Donald Trump? Wrong again.

 Though there are differences, those often amount to differences of degree.

Corporate Democrats like almost all Republicans support the same education policies – school privatization and high stakes testing – that are robbing the LA Unified School District of the funding it needs to meet the needs of its students.

THAT’S why class sizes have ballooned to more than 45 students in secondary schools; 35 students in upper elementary grades; and 25 students in lower CONTINUE READING: LA Teachers Strike is About Charter Schools and High Stakes Testing | gadflyonthewallblog