DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG TODAY? A site to discuss better education for all

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

DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG TODAY? 

A site to discuss better education for all

The Report of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force: Good But Weak Pablum on Charters

by dianeravitch / 17min

The Biden and Sanders campaigns created a “Unity Task Force” to make recommendations on important issues. Here is their report with recommendations. It is 110 pages. There is much to like in the report, proposing an agenda to reverse four years of savage attacks by Trump on the environment, on the rule of law, on government itself. The education portion aPears on pp. 22-27. It contains welcome pl

Mercedes Schneider: A Parent at Success Academy Tells All

by dianeravitch / 1h

A parent of two children at the Success Academy charter chain in New York City reaches out to Mercedes Schneider in Louisiana to spill the beans about the chain’s efforts to kick her children out. The teachers and administrators made it clear that her children should find another school, but she stubbornly hung on. They weren’t problem children, but the older child was “average,” and the younger

Texas and Florida Tell Schools to Reopen Fully, Despite Surge in Virus Cases

29by dianeravitch / 2h

Two states—Texas and Florida—are moving forward to open their schools for five-day, in-person instruction, even though the rate of coronavirus infections in both states is rising. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has demanded that schools across the nation restart and become fully operational, although she has no power to force schools to reopen when local officials believe it is unwise and uns

Ohio: Audit Finds Misspending and Conflict of Interest at Richard Allen Charter Schools

100by dianeravitch / 3h

Once again, a state audit has uncovered waste and misspent funding at a charter chain, in this case, the Richard Allen Charter Schools in Ohio. Among other findings, the head of the school leased a Maserati with public funds. A new state audit of the Richard Allen charter schools includes multiple findings of improperly spent money in 2016-17, and allegations of ethics violations and conflicts of

UTLA: It Is Not Safe to Open Schools This Fall

100+by dianeravitch / 12h

Media Contact / Anna Bakalis 213-305-9654 For immediate release / June 9, 2020 Press release: https://www.utla.net/news/utla-recommends-keeping-school-campuses-closed UTLA recommends keeping LAUSD school campuses closed; refocus on robust distance learning practices for Fall LOS ANGELES — Amid COVID-19 infections and deaths surging to record highs, Trump’s threats to open schools prematurely, and

House Democrats to Trump and DeVos: We Won’t Let You Defund Public Schools

54by dianeravitch / 14h

Leading Democrats in the House control the federal government’s appropriations. They have the power of the purse, given to the House of Representatives by the Constitution (do Donald and Betsy know that?). They have a message for Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos: Bo bullying. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 9, 2020 CONTACT Katelynn Thorpe (DeLauro), 202-225-1599 Bob Schwalbach (Sablan), 202-309-5787 Chair

Reject the Trump-DeVos One-Size-Fits-All Plan

by dianeravitch / 16h

Call on Congress and Governors to supply the funding to reopen our schools safely! Don’t open schools where the pandemic is raging. Protect the lives of students and staff!

Happy Birthday, Oliver Sacks!

by dianeravitch / 22h

This appeared in Garrison Keillor’s “The Writer’s Almanac.” It’s the birthday of writer and neurologist Oliver Sacks (1933) (books by this author), best known for his lyrical explorations of the brain’s strangest mysteries in books like Awakenings (1973), The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1985), and Musicophilia (2007). Sacks was born in London. He was the youngest of four boys and both his

Palm Beach County: This Video Explains Why the Pandemic Is Surging in Red States

100+by dianeravitch / 23h

Want to know why Florida, Texas, and Arizona are the new hot spots for the coronavirus? Watch this video and you will see and hear why some people refuse to protect themselves and others. What would Dr.Fauci say?

Kevin Welner on Trump’s Failure to Make It Safe to Open Schools

44by dianeravitch / 1d

Kevin Welner is the director of the National Education Policy Center and a Professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He writes: The definition of chutzpah, according to the old joke, is the kid who kills his parents and then asks the judge for mercy because he’s an orphan. President Trump has added a twist on the joke: the kid who kills his parents and then complains that they don’t dri

Arizona: School Leaders Worry About Reopening as Virus Spreads

52by dianeravitch / 1d

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey—a zealot for charters and vouchers whose election was funded by Charles Koch and Betsy DeVos—has ordered the state’s public schools to reopen on August 17 as the disease rages out of control in his state. School leaders are not so sure this is a good idea . Common sense suggests it is a very bad idea. The Arizona Republic reports: The school year hasn’t begun, but an A

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court Rules That Trump Must Release Tax Returns to NY Prosecutors!

21by dianeravitch / 1d

No one is above the law! We are still a nation of laws. Separation of powers exists still. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump must release his tax returns to prosecutors in New York who are investigating him. David Savage of the Los Angeles Times writes: The Supreme Court dealt President Trump a major defeat Thursday by rejecting his claims of presidential immunity and upholding subpoenas fr

Tom Ultican: Don’t Reopen the Schools. It’s Not Safe.

100+by dianeravitch / 1d

Tom Ultican says that we have to face facts. It is not safe to reopen schools. Ultican recites the politicians and pundits demanding that the schools open on-time, in-person, no excuses, no new funding. He writes: These neoliberal forces are promoting the idea that teachers and children must be thrust into an unsafe environment so the world’s economic engines can continue providing decent return

Say NO to Trump-DeVos Pressure to Reopen without Resources for Health and Safety

400+by dianeravitch / 1d

Trump and DeVos demand that schools reopen in full, in-person, on time in a few weeks, even as they block the resources needed by schools to protect students and staff from the pandemic that is raging across the nation. Districts 

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