Jeff Bryant: Charter Schools Are a Major Dividing Line for the 2020 Democratic Candidates—Education Fights in Pennsylvania Point the Way | Common Dreams Views

Charter Schools Are a Major Dividing Line for the 2020 Democratic Candidates—Education Fights in Pennsylvania Point the Way | Common Dreams Views

Charter Schools Are a Major Dividing Line for the 2020 Democratic Candidates—Education Fights in Pennsylvania Point the Way
Charter schools now cost Pennsylvania taxpayers over $1.8 billion annually and account for over 25 percent of the state’s basic education funding

Charter schools have finally broken into the national political dialogue, with presidential candidates in the Democratic Party proclaiming their stances on these schools. But a national debate about charters and “school choice” will be an exercise in empty rhetoric unless the candidates’ views are grounded in the real consequences of how charter schools and school choice affect communities.

Although much of the debate is stuck to a bumper sticker message about the need for families to have a choice to attend charter schools, few if any candidates seem willing to acknowledge providing families with an option to choose charters can come with considerable costs to everyone else in the community.

To understand those costs, consider Pennsylvania, where the costs of charter schools are most blatantly apparent but nevertheless representative of the cost of charters everywhere.

A ‘Perfect Storm’ Crushing the Middle Class

Across the state, charter schools are part of what Dan Doubet tells me is “a perfect storm of economic factors crushing down on middle- and working-class families.” Doubet is executive director of Keystone Progress, a Pennsylvania-based activist group focused on progressive issues and community organizing.

Pennsylvania passed its charter school law in 1997 and now has 179 charter schools enrolling 135,100 students, the sixth highest charter school enrollment in the nation. One in four of these students attends “cyber charters,” statewide schools that operate online.

Although charter schools are promoted to Pennsylvania families as a free option to look outside their neighborhood public schools, the costs of charters are borne by local school districts—and all the taxpayers who support them. Charter schools now cost CONTINUE READING: Charter Schools Are a Major Dividing Line for the 2020 Democratic Candidates—Education Fights in Pennsylvania Point the Way | Common Dreams Views

Have West Sacramento Charters Become Self-Segregated Enclaves? | Capital & Main

Have West Sacramento Charters Become Self-Segregated Enclaves? | Capital & Main

Have West Sacramento Charters Become Self-Segregated Enclaves?
Borders, boundaries and barriers have been a way of life in the lower Sacramento Valley since the Gold Rush days. The newest form of green line here are charter schools.

West Sacramento is hardly alone when it comes to racially isolating charter schools. A 2017 Associated Press study was the latest to find rampant self-segregation in the national charter sector, reporting that charters are “vastly overrepresented” among so-called apartheid schools — those with at least 99 percent minority enrollments. Even in majority-minority California, which scores higher on charter school integration than other states, black students have been shown to typically move from a traditional public school that is 39 percent black to a charter that is 51 percent black.

“The problem with charters is their fundamental premise that if something’s not public it’s going to be better,” says Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project (CRP) and a research professor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education. “We learned in the civil rights period that you had to have requirements on [school] choice if you’re going to get a positive outcome. But a lot of these charter schools are set up in a way that explicitly [segregate]. They don’t reach out for other groups of kids and have no integration policies at all, which raises big constitutional issues.”

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“Dual-language programs have been a way that many people have seen to integrate schools. But they can be used to segregate kids.”

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A landmark, 2010 CRP study on school choice and segregation found that schools specifically CONTINUE READING: Have West Sacramento Charters Become Self-Segregated Enclaves? | Capital & Main

Have West Sacramento Charters Become Self-Segregated Enclaves? | Capital & Main

Gov. Newsom’s task force recommends more discretion to deny charter schools | EdSource

Gov. Newsom’s task force recommends more discretion to deny charter schools | EdSource

Gov. Newsom’s task force recommends more discretion to deny charter schools
Majority of members urge more restrictions, including cutbacks on appeal

In a report forwarded to Gov. Gavin Newsom, the statewide task force on charter schools is unanimously recommending that school districts be given more discretion to approve new charter schools by including “saturation” and need for new schools as factors that districts could consider.

Districts with large numbers of charter schools, like Oakland Unified and Los Angeles Unified, have clamored for financial relief and more controls over charter schools. If Newsom and the Legislature implement the task force recommendation, those districts could cite duplication of effort and charter school overload as reasons for rejecting new applications.

More leeway in decision-making on new charter schools was one of four recommendations — reached by consensus — of the California Charter School Policy Task Force, whose 11 membersinclude representatives of charter school organizations, labor unions and organizations representing county offices of education, school administrators and school districts. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has led the task force, which has been meeting privately for between 3 and 5 hours each week from March through May. The recommendations are: CONTINUE READING: Gov. Newsom’s task force recommends more discretion to deny charter schools | EdSource

Report Alleges 'School-To-Guardianship Pipeline' - Disability Scoop

Report Alleges 'School-To-Guardianship Pipeline' - Disability Scoop

Report Alleges ‘School-To-Guardianship Pipeline’

Too many people with developmental disabilities are being funneled into guardianships rather than exploring less-limiting options, a new government report suggests, and schools may be to blame.

A report out this week from the National Council on Disability finds that schools often provide biased information leading many parents to pursue guardianship, creating a “school-to-guardianship pipeline.”

As a result, 58 percent of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities ages 18 to 22 have guardians. And, once established, the council said many people remain under guardianship for decades.

For the report, the federal agency tasked with advising Congress, the president and other government officials on disability issues, looked at data on guardianships, information collected from stakeholders across the country and examined the experiences of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Washington, D.C. both before and after guardianship reforms took effect in the city in 2015.

School officials often ask parents about guardianship when students with disabilities turn 18, and in many cases educators do not present other options because they are unfamiliar with alternatives, the report found.

Families told the National Council on Disability that they were informed by schools that guardianship was the only way that a student with an intellectual or developmental disability could continue having a family member or friend assist at individualized education program, or IEP, meetings.

“Youth with ID/DD are ultimately disempowered by schools actively encouraging guardianship to the exclusion of less-restrictive alternatives, and not providing families and students in special education with sufficient information about the CONTINUE READING: Report Alleges 'School-To-Guardianship Pipeline' - Disability Scoop

BILL AYERS: about Becoming a Teacher | Teachers College Press

about Becoming a Teacher 9780807761496 | Teachers College Press

BILL AYERS: about Becoming a Teacher

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about Becoming a Teacher

William Ayers

Publication Date: April 5, 2019

Pages: 96

Series: School : Questions

Education activist William Ayers invites new and prospective teachers to consider the deepest dimensions of a life in teaching. Should I become a teacher? How can I get to know my students? What commitments come with me into the classroom? How do I develop my unique teaching signature? In his new book, about Becoming A Teacher, Ayers muses on 10 such questions (and a little more) to shape and structure an indispensable guide that features hands-on advice and concrete examples of classroom practice, including curriculum-making, building relationships with students and parents, fostering an effective learning environment, and teaching toward freedom. This brilliant and concise text offers a conception of teaching as both practical art and essentially ethical practice.

Book Features:

• Specific strategies for becoming a successful classroom teacher.
• Foregrounds the ethical and intellectual qualities of excellent teaching.
• Recognizes the complexity of teaching even as it provides a map to achieve excellence.
• Accessible without oversimplifying the content and reducing teaching to something anemic and superficial.

about Becoming a Teacher 9780807761496 | Teachers College Press

Task force’s findings signal renewed fight over charters :: K-12 Daily :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet

Task force’s findings signal renewed fight over charters :: K-12 Daily :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet

Task force’s findings signal renewed fight over charters

(Calif.) A one-year moratorium on establishing new charter schools won majority support of a blue ribbon task force on charter reforms, the group announced Sunday.

The panel, convened by Gov. Gavin Newsom and led by state schools chief Tony Thurmond, also backed removing the California State Board of Education as the final court of appeal for charter applicants rejected on the local and county levels.

The 11-member task force, a majority of which represent labor unions and traditional public school entities, has no authority to dictate changes in state law or policy—but the backing of new restrictions on charter growth by the group signals a likelihood that lawmakers will return to battle over the question in the coming weeks.

Myrna Castrejón, president and CEO of the California Charter School Association, which was one of the organizations represented on the task force, said in a statement that the education community remains polarized over the growth of charter schools and that the work of the task force has not ended that debate.

“While we recognize that this marks an important step forward in fulfilling the charge entrusted by Governor Newsom to Superintendent Thurmond, there are elements that are deeply concerning and require more work ahead,” she said.

Earlier this year, the governor requested formation of the task force primarily to look at the fiscal impacts of charter growth on traditional public schools. That call came as a wave of legislation was being introduced targeting charter growth, the application process and management rules.

Although Newsom signed a bill in March that imposed new “good governance” requirements on charters, lawmakers set aside a number of further restrictions late last month in anticipation of the recommendations from the task force.

Now, efforts to revise the state’s charter school laws will no doubt take center stage again, and while the governor is generally not supportive of the charter movement, the question still deeply divides CONTINUE READING: Task force’s findings signal renewed fight over charters :: K-12 Daily :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet

How Can Educators Navigate the STEM Technology Desert? - Teacher Habits

How Can Educators Navigate the STEM Technology Desert? - Teacher Habits

How Can Educators Navigate the STEM Technology Desert?

STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) jobs are set to increase over the next year and likely beyond — demand has been growing for the past decade. Yet, there aren’t enough graduates pursuing STEM-related careers after graduation. Additionally, teachers who are skilled in these subjects and can teach them in a compelling way are few and far between.

STEM subjects are taught in schools everywhere, but students aren’t as excited about them as art, physical education, or theater (let alone lunch or recess). STEM classes are required, but electives and creative classes are what students get excited about. However, by approaching STEM education in a new way, teachers can show students just how thrilling STEM classes can be.

To start, they simply need to skim news headlines: From increasingly sophisticated AI finding its way into our classrooms to the possibility of insect droids pollinating Mars, what seemed like science fiction a decade ago is now reality. Technology of the future is all part of STEM, and giving learners a window into these developments is sure to spark interest.

But what can educators do once they’ve caught students’ interest? Let’s explore some ways we can improve STEM education in technology deserts.

Three Ideas for Better STEM Education

The best STEM lessons combine interesting, hands-on activities with CONTINUE READING: How Can Educators Navigate the STEM Technology Desert? - Teacher Habits

Democrats Once Proposed Tripling Charter Schools. Here's What's Changed - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Democrats Once Proposed Tripling Charter Schools. Here's What's Changed - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Democrats Once Proposed Tripling Charter Schools. Here's What's Changed

In 2000, Vice President Al Gore ran for president as a Democrat on an education plan that called for tripling the number of the nation's charter schools —a plan that was mirrored in his party's platform that year.

Nearly two decades later, many of the busload of politicians seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination are hesitant to say anything positive about charters, and some have sought to distinguish themselves through sharp critiques and even calls for a national moratorium on the publicly funded, privately operated schools. It's been one of the most notable education talking points in the primary.

A look at the two major parties' platforms in the years since the first charter school law was passed shows that Democrats first supported charters as an alternative to private school vouchers, which were supported by both Sen. Bob Dole in his 1996 GOP bid for the White House and by former President George W. Bush during his 2000 campaign.

You can see the evolution of the platform language in the chart below and explore the changes for yourself.

"We should expand public school choice, but we should not take American tax dollars from public schools and give them to private schools," says the Democrats' 1996 platform in its first mention of charter schools since Minnesota passed the first state charter law in 1991. "We should promote public charter schools that are held to the highest standards of accountability and access."

But the party has  added conditions to its support of the concept, at least in print, while Republicans have largely remained consistent in lauding both private-school vouchers and charters.

Some highlights:

• In 2004, Republicans' support for charters included a call for assistance with facilities, a major issue for the sector.
• In 2008, Democrats specifically mentioned promoting charter schools "that are accountable," along with other priorities, like reforming teacher-preparation programs.
• In 2012, Republicans listed virtual schools among the options they supported. Concerns about accountability of virtual charter schools have divided some in the school choice advocacy community.
• In 2016, the Democratic platform included opposition to charter schools managed by for-profit organizations, calls CONTINUE READING: Democrats Once Proposed Tripling Charter Schools. Here's What's Changed - Politics K-12 - Education Week

The Problem with Too Much Screen Time And Too Little Privacy Is Parents (Anya Kamenetz) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

The Problem with Too Much Screen Time And Too Little Privacy Is Parents (Anya Kamenetz) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

The Problem with Too Much Screen Time And Too Little Privacy Is Parents (Anya Kamenetz)

Anya Kamenetz is an NPR education reporter and the author of “The Art of Screen Time.”

This appeared as op-ed in the New York Times, June 5, 2019

Parents this year were introduced to a goblin for the digital era: Momo, a bird-woman with an eerie grin who commanded the children who watched her videos on YouTube to harm themselves. The story turned out to be essentially a hoax, but it went viral in the first place because it seemed to validate a widely held belief: Our kids are in danger because of threats associated with the dark corners of social media and risk of addiction to phones and tablets.

The annual American Family Survey found last fall that “overuse of technology” had risen to the top of the list of concerns for parents of teenagers, above drugs, sexual activity and mental health. Viral headlines like “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” and books like “Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids” are resonating with parents. One of the authors of the original American Academy of Pediatrics “no screens before age 2” rule (it has since been softened) has written a book with the fearsome title “The Death of Childhood.” Screens are his main culprit.

The truth isn’t so simple. Smartphones and social media may be, in fact, transforming the experience of childhood and adolescence in some ways. But the hard (for many adults to hear) truth is that many of technology’s effects on kids have less to do with screen time per se than they do with the decisions grown-ups are making — many of which place children’s privacy at great risk.

First, there’s surveillance. Children are now under intense scrutiny from a young age, from platforms and advertisers, but also parents and other authority figures.

Many public schools use online gradebooks, and sometimes app-based communication systems like Class Dojo. Depending on their settings, these systems allow parents to instantly see the score on every quiz, and a record of every time their child is disciplined or praised. Family dynamics vary; these CONTINUE READING: The Problem with Too Much Screen Time And Too Little Privacy Is Parents (Anya Kamenetz) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

West Virginia Lawmakers Out to Punish Educators for Taking a Stand

West Virginia Lawmakers Out to Punish Educators for Taking a Stand

West Virginia Lawmakers Out to Punish Educators for Taking a Stand

In October, the West Virginia Legislature promised to give educators a pay raise. It failed to deliver on that promise and so a special session was called to hash out the details. As many suspected, strings would be attached.

“Not exactly an earth-shattering revelation,” wrote Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, in an editorial in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, “but even we’re a little shocked at how far West Virginia’s [senate] has gone to punish public school teachers and service personnel for striking two years in a row to defend their livelihoods and the kids they teach.”

On June 3, the state senate narrowly passed an amendment to its Student Succeeds Act (S.B. 1039), which does include some provisions educators support, like providing more social workers, counselors, and nurses. But the bill also comes with a heavy dose of bitter pills: banning teacher strikes, removing local control from county superintendents to close school districts for a strike, canceling extracurricular activities during work stoppages, and docking the pay of teachers and staff who go on strike—or firing them altogether.

Additionally, the bill proposes an unlimited number of charter schools and diverts public dollars toward voucher programs.

“[T]he Student Success Act … [was] never about students at all,” Lee explained. “[T]his late addition is petty and vindictive, and probably what Senate President Mitch Carmichael … wants more than anything, after being embarrassed by the teachers, school service personnel, and their unions two years in a row.”

In 2018, WVEA members statewide went on strike for nine days, which lit the fire for#RedForEd across the U.S. Thirteen months later, they showed their power again with another work stoppage over charter expansion and vouchers.

West Virginians Ignored

The Student Success Act is similar to a previous senate bill (S.B. 451) that died in the house in February 2019. The main discord between the two chambers was over charter schools and vouchers.

Wendy Peters, an elementary school teacher, told MetroNews at the time, “Some CONTINUE READING: West Virginia Lawmakers Out to Punish Educators for Taking a Stand

A Billionaire Declares: Better Public Schools Won’t Fix America | Diane Ravitch's blog

A Billionaire Declares: Better Public Schools Won’t Fix America | Diane Ravitch's blog

A Billionaire Declares: Better Public Schools Won’t Fix America

Nick Hanauer was a big supporter of charter schools. As he explains in this fascinating article, he swallowed the Corporate Reform Dogma whole. He believed that America’s “failing public schools” were the cause of poverty and inequality. Fix the schools and—poof—poverty and inequality will disappear.

He writes:

Taken with this story line, I embraced education as both a philanthropic cause and a civic mission. I co-founded the League of Education Voters, a nonprofit dedicated to improving public education. I joined Bill Gates, Alice Walton, and Paul Allen in giving more than $1 million each to an effort to pass a ballot measure that established Washington State’s first charter schools. All told, I have devoted countless hours and millions of dollars to the simple idea that if we improved our schools—if we modernized our curricula and our teaching methods, substantially increased school funding, rooted out bad teachers, and opened enough charter schools—American children, especially those in low-income and working-class communities, would start learning again. Graduation rates and wages would increase, poverty and inequality would decrease, and public commitment to democracy would be restored.

But after decades of organizing and giving, I have come to the uncomfortable conclusion that I was wrong. And I hate being wrong.

What I’ve realized, decades late, is that educationism is tragically misguided. American workers are struggling in large part because they are underpaid—and they are underpaid because 40 years of trickle-down policies have rigged the economy in favor of wealthy people like me. Americans are more highly educated than ever before, CONTINUE READING: A Billionaire Declares: Better Public Schools Won’t Fix America | Diane Ravitch's blog

With A Brooklyn Accent: How Charter Schools and Teach for America Have Contributed to the Destruction of Public Education in the United States

With A Brooklyn Accent: How Charter Schools and Teach for America Have Contributed to the Destruction of Public Education in the United States

How Charter Schools and Teach for America Have Contributed to the Destruction of Public Education in the United States

The following is a chart summarizing federal education policy in the last 20 years. Note where Charter Schools and Teach for America fit in the puzzle

Step One: Require all states to administer standardized tests to students enrolled in all public schools as a condition of receiving Federal funding

Step Two: Require states to rate schools and school districts on the basis of scores on those tests

Step Three: Require states to close schools which are designated as "failing" on those tests, and take school districts designated as "failing" into receivership.

Step Four: In replacing schools which have been closed, give preference to Charter Schools.

Step Five: Staff the "replacement schools"- most of them Charter Schools-, with Teach for America corps members

What have been the results of this? Hundreds of thousands of CONTINUE READING: With A Brooklyn Accent: How Charter Schools and Teach for America Have Contributed to the Destruction of Public Education in the United States