Polls: 20 percent of teachers not likely to return to reopened schools - The Washington Post

Polls: 20 percent of teachers not likely to return to reopened schools - The Washington Post

Polls: 20 percent of teachers not likely to return to classrooms if schools reopen this fall

Twenty percent of U.S. teachers say they are not likely to return to their classrooms this fall if schools reopen — and most parents and educators believe that school buildings will open, according to polls published Tuesday.

The polls — one taken of K-12 teachers and the other of parents with school-age children — found that 73 percent of parents and 64 percent of teachers said they believe that children will eventually make up for learning lost because of the disruption of school during the coronavirus crisis. And 63 percent of parents and 65 percent of teachers said they believe school buildings in their areas will reopen this fall.

The findings came in USA Today-Ipsos polls published Tuesday in USA Today. The newspaper and Ipsos, a global research and marketing firm, conducted two polls at the same time from May 18-21 and said that the “credibility intervals,” which are similar to margins of error, are plus or minus five percentage points for the teachers survey and 5.6 percent for the survey of parents.

It is not possible to know how school districts would be affected if 1 in 5 teachers did not show up to reopened schools, because schedules and attendance expectations will probably be different in the fall to comply with social distancing requirements.

School districts are racing to complete plans for the fall semester but are also factoring in contingencies: full-scale openings, no openings or some hybrid.

Many districts have said they are considering having students come in on some school days but not others so that social distancing rules inside classrooms can be respected. An outbreak of the coronavirus on any school campus could lead to a full-scale closure.

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In the polls, about two-thirds of both teachers and parents said they support having students go to class up to three days a week and staying at home to work remotely the other days. Such a schedule could CONTINUE READING: Polls: 20 percent of teachers not likely to return to reopened schools - The Washington Post

A Bold Pitch To Boost School Funding For The Nation's Most Vulnerable Students | 89.3 KPCC

A Bold Pitch To Boost School Funding For The Nation's Most Vulnerable Students | 89.3 KPCC

A Bold Pitch To Boost School Funding For The Nation's Most Vulnerable Students

School district lines have become engines of inequity in many states. Not only can they be used to keep children out of a neighborhood's schools, they can also keep a district's wealth in. But with many districts facing severe budget cuts because of the coronavirus pandemic, a new report proposes a radical solution:

Leave the lines, but spread the wealth.

The report, titled Clean Slate, comes from EdBuild, a nonprofit that advocates for equitable school funding. It's a moonshot pitch to many district and state leaders that recommends distributing local property tax revenue more broadly — at the county or even state level. According to EdBuild, only 13 states currently do this.

Don't see the graphic above? Click here.

After a nationwide analysis of school funding data, the report found, "the bigger the school district taxing jurisdiction, the more equity was being created," says Rebecca Sibilia, EdBuild's founder and CEO.

Under this reimagining of America's school funding system, EdBuild found, more than 2 out of 3 K-12 students (69%) — and 76% of low-income students — would receive equal or greater school funding than they do now, an average increase of nearly $1,000 per student.

Sibilia admits some communities may see this idea as a threat to their local control of schools, but funding should not be confused with governance, she says.

"I hope this report will take the first step toward really challenging this question of whether or not being able to run your own schools means being able to keep all of the money that you happen to have," Sibilia says.

To understand Sibilia's proposed solution, here's a quick primer on the system as it is: On average, America's schools receive nearly half of their funding from local sources, mostly property taxes. But those local dollars usually don't cross school district lines. So if one community's property wealth far surpasses that of its neighbors across the road, the inequity will show up not just in the size of the homes or the number of businesses, but in classroom spending, too.

According to EdBuild, in counties with more than one school district, the average CONTINUE READING: A Bold Pitch To Boost School Funding For The Nation's Most Vulnerable Students | 89.3 KPCC

Teacher Tom: Why Does Children's Play Enrage So Many Adults?

Teacher Tom: Why Does Children's Play Enrage So Many Adults?

Why Does Children's Play Enrage So Many Adults?

Back in the olden days, children, we used to fly on jet airplanes that took us to new and exciting places to meet new and exciting people. Some of us remember the airports, places where people dashed and dawdled from jet airplane to jet airplane. What they don't tell you in your history books, however, is that most of what we did in airports during those more innocent times was wait. Can you imagine?

At least that's how it feels in these days of plague, as if air travel is something from a bygone era. Yesterday I mentioned to my sister that I needed to get my passport renewed and she asked me pointedly "Why?" And, of course, as I've noted repeatedly right here, I've very much enjoy breathing crystal clean air that has resulted, in part, from the grounding of all those jet airplanes. Still, I'm eager for it to return, if only for the waiting.

I know it sounds strange. The waiting is the bane of the existence of most travelers, but I have come to embrace it. From the time I was a boy, I've experienced airports as places apart. Sure, the buildings might physically exist in Seoul or Frankfurt, but in another sense they are no place at all. Hailing simply from planet Earth, there are no permanent residents, we are all visitors, in transit, just passing through. I think this is what makes airports such an incredible habitat for people watching.

I consider myself a researcher. I read, of course, but most of my research is done by observing. Here on the blog, I tend to write about things I've thought and noticed in the classroom, but it nags at me that the fact of my presence, that I'm a CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: Why Does Children's Play Enrage So Many Adults?

Congress Must Pass Additional Fiscal Relief to Prevent Alarming Cuts to School District Budgets | janresseger

Congress Must Pass Additional Fiscal Relief to Prevent Alarming Cuts to School District Budgets | janresseger

Congress Must Pass Additional Fiscal Relief to Prevent Alarming Cuts to School District Budgets

There is plenty of confirmation from the experts about the 50 states’ desperate need for additional federal relief dollars for school districts to open public schools next fall. Without immediate help from Congress, state budget cuts will diminish educational opportunity especially for the school districts that serve our nation’s poorest children. We must not take for granted that public schools will be able to provide the same programs for our children as they did before what promises to be a deep recession. The pending school funding crisis—across all 50 states—has received scanty coverage in the press, which has paid more attention to whether, how, and when schools can reopen. Here are the grim fiscal realities.

On May 15, the House passed a new federal relief program—the HEROES Act (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act), but the U.S. Senate went on a Memorial Day Recess prior to even taking up the bill.  Education Week‘s Evie Blad reports: “The HEROES Act would create a $90 billion ‘state fiscal stabilization fund’ for the U.S. Department of Education to support K-12 and higher education. About 65 percent of that fund—or roughly $58 billion—would go through states to local school districts. The bill would also provide $1 billion to shore up state and local government budgets that have been hard hit by declining tax revenues as businesses closed to slow the spread of the virus.”

The HEROES Act passed by the House on May 15 is far from perfect.  The New York Times Editorial Board explains: “The Democratic-led House passed a $3 trillion relief package on May 15. That bill was imperfect but it was something.  Mr. McConnell, on the other hand, has repeatedly said he’s in no hurry for the Senate to offer its own proposal.  He has put talks on an indefinite pause, saying he wants to see how the economy responds to previous relief measures. The Senate may get around to putting together a plan when it reconvenes next month. Or perhaps it will be in July.”

School districts cannot plan for essential staff like teachers, counselors, nurses, social workers, and librarians when their state budget allocations are being reduced right now before the fiscal year ends on June 30—with more state budget cuts projected moving into next fiscal year.  The director of state policy research for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, CONTINUE READING: Congress Must Pass Additional Fiscal Relief to Prevent Alarming Cuts to School District Budgets | janresseger

The University of California System Abandons the SAT/ACT: Will SUNY Follow? How Will Prospective Students Be Selected? | Ed In The Apple

The University of California System Abandons the SAT/ACT: Will SUNY Follow? How Will Prospective Students Be Selected? | Ed In The Apple

The University of California System Abandons the SAT/ACT: Will SUNY Follow? How Will Prospective Students Be Selected?

In a historic move likely to have national repercussions, the University of California Board of Regents voted … to stop requiring students to submit college-entrance tests the SAT or ACT for admissions purposes. The vote was a unanimous 23-0.

The system has given itself until the fall of 2025 to develop a bespoke standardized test for California residents. If the UC cannot create a new test that better aligns with what students learned in school, it’ll drop the testing requirement completely for Californians. 

The debate over college admissions has been ongoing for years, many years: Are the current tests discriminatory? Can you create a non-discriminatory test? Are other methods, for example, class standing discriminatory to another class of students?

The Scholastic Aptitude Test, the SAT, has been around, in many forms, since the 1920s.  The SAT (and the more recent ACT) have been the gatekeepers determining admission to colleges. Elite colleges have required higher scores and have made allowances for legacy students, students of alumni, commonly contributors to the school.

The research is overwhelming re the discriminatory impact of current “standardized” tests.

The evidence for a stubborn race gap on this test does… provide a snapshot into CONTINUE READING: The University of California System Abandons the SAT/ACT: Will SUNY Follow? How Will Prospective Students Be Selected? | Ed In The Apple

SSPI Works Toward Internet Access for Students - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

SSPI Works Toward Internet Access for Students - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and Digital Divide Task Force Work Toward Solutions to Inequitable Internet Access for Students

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and state leaders serving on the Closing the Digital Divide Task Force continued their work today on behalf of California’s most vulnerable students and families who continue to experience barriers to internet access despite calls for providers to expand their services.

During the task force’s latest hearing, Thurmond and members heard testimony from advocates for students living in urban and rural areas, who described continued inequities that stand to put California’s most at-risk learners further behind. During the hearing, representatives from internet service providers were asked to respond to concerns raised, including limited or no service in specific zip codes, “free” internet offers that require costly long-term contracts, mandatory deposits, and other constraints to access.

An archived broadcast of the task force hearing can be watched on the California Department of Education (CDE) Facebook web page.

“We must find solutions to connect our most vulnerable students, many of whom live in underserved, low-income neighborhoods or rural areas and already experience numerous barriers to academic success,” said Thurmond. “The testimonials we heard today from parent and student advocates, and the challenges they continue to face accessing reliable and affordable internet connections, is troubling. We agree with today’s speakers that a student’s ability to access the tools necessary for success should not be determined by their zip code.”

The task force heard testimony from the following speakers:

• Ryan Smith, Chief External Officer, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools
• Stephanie Hernandez, Manager, Parent Leadership and Advocacy, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools
• Anna Hasselblad, Public Policy Director, United Ways of California
• Sunne McPeak, Chief Executive Officer, California Emerging Technology Fund

The task force, co-chaired by Senator Connie Leyva (D-Chino), has held multiple hearings and asked that internet service providers offer free guest access to all California students and do more to expand and promote their services to those in need.

“As the task force continues its important work to eliminate the technology gaps faced by far too many students in California, I am pleased that our ever-increasing partnerships with stakeholders—including internet service providers—are resulting in important momentum and commitments that will help to address the digital divide in our state,” Leyva said. “The current pandemic has made clear what we all already knew: the digital divide is real and largely impacts students in poor and/or rural households and communities.  I am confident that the work we are doing will continue to bear fruit since all California students, regardless of their household income or where they may live, deserve nothing less than true and ongoing digital access.

Joining State Superintendent Thurmond and Senator Leyva on the task force are Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg), Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), Assemblymember Autumn Burke (D-Inglewood), Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), and Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa).

# # # #

Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

SSPI Works Toward Internet Access for Students - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

WHAT HAVE 50 YEARS BROUGHT? – Dad Gone Wild

WHAT HAVE 50 YEARS BROUGHT? – Dad Gone Wild

WHAT HAVE 50 YEARS BROUGHT?

“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”
― T.H. White, The Once and Future King

“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.”
― J.M. Barrie, The Little Minister

Yesterday the Weber family engaged in our holiday day trip tradition. Every summer holiday – Memorial, Labor, Independence – we pile into the car and head out of town towards some vague destination within 2 hours of the city limits. Yesterday we pointed the car towards Erin Tennessee, which proudly offers a slice of the old country in Tennessee, to do a little exploring.

Upon arrival, we walked around Erin for a bit before heading towards Dover. On the way, we stopped at the animal resource management lands and witnessed an osprey on her nest. In Dover, we ate at a Taco Johns – which I don’t recommend – and went for a hike at Fort Donaldson – which I do recommend. Along the way we talked, observed, and interacted in an effort to ensure that our family connections remain strong.

In the evening we joined our neighbors for a pleasant holiday BBQ. It was the kind of day holidays are built for. Unfortunately, as I scrolled through social media at the end of the day, the good vibes instilled by a day well spent fled like a herd of gazelles faced with a pride of lions.

As I flipped from public shaming to public shaming, it was like watching a car wreck in slow motion. Vehicles hurling towards each other, the outcome beyond doubt, yet no means offered to alter the quickly approaching calamity.

Tales of people without masks intentionally coughing on those with masks, packed swimming holes in the Ozark’s or Texas, a 70-second video of a confrontation between a white woman and a black man in Central Park, videos of customers verbally chasing a non-mask wearing person from a CONTINUE READING: WHAT HAVE 50 YEARS BROUGHT? – Dad Gone Wild

Former Leaders of SDS, Meet the Current Members of DSA - In These Times

Former Leaders of SDS, Meet the Current Members of DSA - In These Times

Former Leaders of SDS, Meet the Current Members of DSA
The authors of “An Open Letter to the New New Left From the Old New Left” failed to grasp several things about the Democratic Socialists of America.

Generic anti-Trumpism and leftward tut-tutting is not a winning campaign strategy. It is choosing ease over effort, convenience over organizing.

As the Trump administration abdicates its responsibility for mass testing and contact tracing, tens of thousands of Americans—disproportionately working-class and people of color—are dying.

Meanwhile, America’s young people—loaded with college debt, inadequate health insurance and bleak job prospects—confronts an increasingly dystopic future. The pandemic is, of course, not the only threat; climate change is poised to wreak unimaginable havoc. Young people rightly think that the free market has failed to provide solutions to both crises.

Inspired by Bernie Sanders, many millennials have turned to democratic socialism. In one of the most hopeful political developments in decades, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has seen its membership grow from 6,500 in 2014 to 66,000 today. (In These Times was founded by members of the New American Movement and the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, which merged in 1982 to form DSA.)

So it is disconcerting to read an open letter in The Nation, signed by 81 former leaders of Students for a Democratic Society, that condescends to tell DSA youth to “face facts.” Those facts being: “A common effort to unseat [Trump] is our high moral and political responsibility.” The signatories are “gravely concerned.” They worry that some Bernie supporters have refused to endorse Biden, “including the leadership of Democratic Socialists of America.”

Before being so quick with the pen, these members of the  “Old New Left”—as they describe themselves—should have considered how DSA operates, what its members do and the considerations that inform its approach.

DSA is a democratic organization. At the most recent convention, delegates voted to only endorse candidates who openly identify as socialists, like Bernie Sanders.

But the group’s stance on 2020 does not mean DSA members will be sitting out the election. After Sanders suspended his campaign, DSA’s governing body, the 16-member National Political Committee (elected every two years by ranked-choice voting), issued this statement: “We fully agree with Sen. Sanders that taking on the reactionary, racist and nationalist right wing represented by Donald Trump is CONTINUE READING: Former Leaders of SDS, Meet the Current Members of DSA - In These Times

NYC Educator: College Credit for High School Students? It's Not Working.

NYC Educator: College Credit for High School Students? It's Not Working.

College Credit for High School Students? It's Not Working.

So says Professor Nicholas Tampio, of AP courses, and I couldn't agree more. There is a whole lot involved in college courses that may or may not be covered in AP courses. The fact is these courses are a financial bonanza for the College Board, which uses us and our schools as resources, then shares nothing back with our system. My friend Jonathan gives chapter and verse on his blog.

In fact, according to state regulations, there's a whole lot involved in teaching high school that isn't required for college. At Francis Lewis High School we have a program called College Now, given in cooperation with Queensborough Community College. Essentially, a bunch of college teachers unqualified to teach high school students come in and teach high school students. Of course these teachers are not certified to teach high school, and that's just fine with the DOE. Rules are for the little people.

I had to take all sorts of tests to get this job. I had to be fingerprinted. I had to send my college transcripts in to multiple places more times than I can count. I had to take specialized courses in special education, which I don't teach, and a whole bunch of other things so varied I can't even recall what they are. I had to fulfill requirements for certification. When I couldn't get a job teaching under that certification, I had to get another one. In fact, I've got three altogether.

Do you know what the requirements are to teach in college? I'll tell you. The one and only requirement is to get the college to give you a job. I taught for twenty years at the CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: College Credit for High School Students? It's Not Working.

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

Juan Gonzalez: The Struggle to Save a Public School in New Brunswick, New Jersey, from Corporate Clutches

by dianeravitch / 55min

Juan Gonzalez is a veteran journalist who wrote a regular column for the “New York Daily News” for many years. He retired from the “News” but frequently appears on “Democracy Now” as co-host with Amy Goodman. Gonzalez is renowned as an investigative reporter and champion of justice. He wrote this post for the blog. New Brunswick, New Jersey Community Fights to Save a Public School From Corporate

Holy Moley: Oklahoma Science Standards Include Evolution and Climate Change

21by dianeravitch / 1h

This would not normally be news, but in the a Trump era, when science is disregarded, it is amazing. The Oklahoma Legislature approved state science standards that include evolution and climate change! The e-word — “evolution” — is unabashedly used: for example, a high school standard for biology expects students to be able to “[c]ommunicate scientific information that common ancestry and biologi

Save More with Honey—PayPal’s New Tool

by Honey

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Mother Jones: The Incredible But True Story of ECOT, Ohio’s Virtual Disaster

34by dianeravitch / 2h

This is the incredible but true story of the improbable rise and precipitate collapse of the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), which sucked nearly $1 billion out of public schools in Ohio over nearly 20 years. It was written by James Pogue and published by Mother Jones in 2018. Read this article in full. Pogue describes ECOT’s founder William Lager as a “washed-up lobbbyisr” with big dream

Massachusetts: The Challenges of Reopening Schools

29by dianeravitch / 4h

The Boston Globe reports on the questions that public officials are trying to resolve in Massachusetts: State and city school officials haven’t made a firm commitment yet as to when Massachusetts public schools might reopen for a number of good reasons. Before they can welcome a million students back to their classrooms, administrators must resolve a seemingly endless series of hard questions. Ho

YESTERDAY

Washington Post: Joe Scarborough Did Not Murder His Staffer

by dianeravitch / 18h

Trump has repeatedly tweeted that MSNBC talk show host Joe Scarborough murdered a young woman in his Florida office when he was a member of Congress. Scarborough used to be a Republican, but has become an outspoken critic of Trump. Amber Phillips wrote in the Washington Post : This is a conspiracy theory that normally would not make it into this newsletter, were it not for President Trump allegin

NYCLU Wins a Victory for Black and Latinx Parents in East Ramapo, New York

100+by dianeravitch / 21h

The NYCLU just won a civil rights case in East Ramapo, New York, where all school board elections were at-large, guaranteeing that every member of the school board was elected by the tightly organized Orthodox Jewish community, whose children do not attend the public schools. EAST RAMAPO – A federal court today ruled that the East Ramapo Central School District’s at-large method for school board

My Zoom Talk to the Rutgers Conference on Education and Social Justice

by dianeravitch / 23h

A few days ago, I had a Zoom meeting with educators at Rutgers University, where I was invited to talk about education and social justice. Of course we talked about the pandemic and what happens next. But the theme of the day was equity. I hope you enjoy it.

An Open Letter to Joe Biden

100+by dianeravitch / 1d

More than 200 advocates of public education endorsed this open letter to Joe Biden, which was published on Valerie Strauss’s blog “The Answer Sheet” at the Washington Post. They call on presumptive Democratic nominee Biden to reject the stale and failed policies of the past 20 years. Their letter (our letter, since I signed it) begins with this preamble and then offers a list of specific proposal

Congressional Democrats Rebuke DeVos. She Ignores Them.

56by dianeravitch / 1d

Democratic Congressional leaders wrote a stern letter to Betsy DeVos, rebuking her for turning coronavirus relief funds into cash for vouchers. They are acting in the belief that Congress decides how money is to be spent and defines who should receive federal funding. Betsy DeVos really doesn’t care what Congressional leaders say or do. She considers herself superior to Congress because she is a

G.F. Brandenburg: MAGA is a Fascist Movement

30by dianeravitch / 1d

G.F. Brandenburg cites Jared Yates Sexton’s “American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the a World But Failed Its People.” I am not sure what part of the essay is Sexton and what part is Brandenburg. It almost doesn’t matter 

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