Rhode Island: Dark Money Backs “Parent Group” for More Charter SchoolsMaurice Cunningham specializes in digging up the facts about Dark Money (political contributions where the donors’ names are hidden). His expose of Dark Money from the Waltons and other billionaires turned the public against a 2016 state referendum in Massachusetts to expand the number of charter schools, and it was defeated. I wrote about this campaign in Slaying Goliath. In this post, published
UTLA Votes Overwhelmingly to Demand Safe Schools Before Returning to Work100+by dianeravitch / 10h
For immediate release March 5, 2021 Media contact: Anna Bakalis / 213-305-9654 91% YES: UTLA members overwhelmingly unite behind a safe return LOS ANGELES — UTLA members have voted overwhelmingly to resist a premature and unsafe physical return to school sites. Over five days of voting March 1 through 5 conducted by Integrity Voting Systems, 24,580 ballots were cast, with 91% Yes ballots (22,480)
The Dark Secrets of the Privatization Movement: An Interview with Charles Siler100+by dianeravitch / 23h
Jennifer Berkshire and I interviewed Charles Siler about his inside knowledge of the privatization movement. Jennifer is co-author of the important new book (with Jack Schneider) called A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door. As you will learn in the interview, Charles was brought up in a conservative environment. He studied at George Mason University in the Koch-funded economics department (you can read
Who Signed the Pro-Testing Appeals?Education Trust, led by former Secretary of Education John King, sent two letters to the Biden administration, urging the administration not to allow states to receive waivers from the mandated federal testing. The signers of the letters were not the same. As State Commissioner in New York, King was a fierce advocate for Common Core and standardized testing. Leonie Haimson, leader of Class Size M
Vouchers Would Ruin Public Education in New HampshireMolly Kelly, a former Democratic legislator in New Hampshire, explains what is wrong with the Republicans’ voucher plan . In New Hampshire, as in Florida, Indiana, and other states, the state constitution explicitly prohibits spending public money on religious education. But apparently Republicans believe that the state constitution is just a piece of paper, whose actual textual language is meani
New Hampshire: Join the Fight to Save Public Schools!Rightwing Republicans in New Hampshire are determined to give away public school dollars to religious schools, private schools, home schoolers, for-profit schools, and anyone who claims to be operating a “school.” If you live in New Hampshire, you can join with others to stop this raid on public money. “Reaching Higher New Hampshire” is forming a state network for those interested in public educa
New Hampshire: Bitter Fight Over Voucher BillParents and educators overwhelmingly oppose the New Hampshire voucher proposal, which would be the most expansive in the country. In terms of turnout, voucher opponents outnumber proponents by 6-1. Proponents claim that it is only educators who oppose vouchers, but many parents turned out to testify against the legislation. Yet the Republican sponsors of the bill are forging ahead, claiming that
Give Thanks to Our Teachers for Braving the Pandemic!I am breaking my recent promise not to post articles that were previously published, but this is one of those rare exceptions to the rule, because it would not get the national audience it deserves without reposting it here. This article by Sandra Vohs, president of the Fort Wayne Education Association, appeared originally in the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, one of the few newspapers in Indiana an
Join Me Tomorrow Tonight to Talk with Two Super GuestsJennifer is co-author of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door with historian Jack Schneider. Join me on Zoom tomorrow tonight as I talk with Jennifer Berkshire and Charles Silber about the privatization movement. Charles worked in the belly of the beast at the Goldwater Institute, and then he had an epiphany and walked out into the sunlight. Join us! Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Jennifer Berkshir
Go to This Link to See Best Posts of the DayPeter Greene is listing the best blog posts of the day here on the NPE website. Don’t miss his selection!
A Grand Virtual Festival to Honor Sir Ken RobinsonSir Ken Robinson inspired educators around the world with his vision of child-centered schools that focused on imagination, creativity, the arts, and the joy of learning. Sadly, he died last August at the age of 70. His daughter Kate Robinson has organized a virtual celebration of his life and work on March 4, called “Imagine If…” I hope you will watch it. The New York Times said this about him :
New Hampshire: Rightwing Commissioner Offers Top Job to DeVos CloneSince today is New Hampshire Day on the blog, I am reposting this article. Since the 2020 election, Republicans have controlled both houses of the New Hampshire. The governor is Chris Sununu, a very conservative Republican and son of John Sununu, who was chief of staff to George H.W. Bush. In other words, New Hampshire is controlled by very conservative Republicans, even though the state has two
My Latest: 20 Years of Failed ReformsI wrote thi s article for The Progressive. It describes the failed bipartisan consensus of the past 20 years. It’s my view of what Joe Biden needs to do to reverse the toxic legacy of No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, Common Core, and the current Every Student Succeeds Act. With the Biden administration’s decision about testing, he’s off to a bad start. The article begins: President Joe Bide
Bill Gates Invites You to Learn About “The State of Education”Let’s just say it upfront. If you wanted to know more about “The State of Education,” and how to “rebuild a more equitable system,” the last person you would ask is a billionaire. Right? Specifically Bill Gates, who has spent billions over the past 20 years promoting high-stakes testing, charter schools, merit pay, value-added measurement of teachers, the Common Core, test-based accountability, a
Where to Find a Collection of the Best Blog PostsIt used to be here, but no more. Peter Greene has graciously accepted responsibility for posting the best of the bloggers. Go here to see his selections: https://networkforpubliceducation.org/best-posts/ I will find a way to get this link permanently engraved on the top of the blog. Soon.
Bayard Rustin: A RemembranceMy youngest grandson is in second grade. His class was studying Black History, and each student was asked to make a project. He chose to create a poster about civil rights leader Bayard Rustin. I was thrilled to see his finished project, because it was not only well done, but because I knew Bayard Rustin and I started thinking about him. He was a good friend of my then-husband and me. We got to k
A New Direction for This BlogI started this blog in April 2012, because I had a lot of things I wanted to say, more than I could put into a tweet. Since that time, I have posted commentaries more than 26,000 times. Most of the posts have been about testing and privatization because they are, in my view, destroying public education and real education. But I have also posted humor, political commentary, poetry, and whatever I
Jeff Bryant: Biden Has a “Golden Opportunity” to Strengthen Public EducationJeff Bryant wrote in the LA Progressive about President Biden’s “golden opportunity” t o strengthen public education by throwing out two decades of failed “reforms.” As we now know (and Jeff did not when he wrote the article), Biden got off on the wrong foot by mandating another round of standardized testing this spring. This unwise decision was foretold when the news came out that the Biden admi
Tom Ultican: What Are the Education Development Center and the Urban Collaborative?Tom Ultican, retired teacher of physics and advanced mathematics in California, is a dogged researcher who uncovers the mysteries of privatization and the education industry. In this post, he responds to a parent who asked him about an organization that was providing free airfare for her school district’s leaders. He was on the case. He begins: A North Carolina resident asked “what do you know ab
