Valerie Strauss: What Is DeSantis Plan to “End Standardized Testing”?Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post uses her awesome journalistic skills to try to figure out what Governor Ron DeSantis means when he says he intends to “end standardized testing.” I was confused by his statement, confused by his explanation, and remain uncertain about what he intends to do. Neither he nor the State Superintendent Richard Corcoran are educators. One suspects that they have po
Excellent Summary of Rhode Island Me$$A regular reader called Bethree summarized the Rhode Island situation, in which friends of the Governor won a $5 (plus) million contract, although the corporation was formed only weeks before the contract was awarded and was the high bidder. She wrote: Read the wpri.com coverage 9/7,8,14 for the nitty-gritty (google wpri.com McKee ILO). As a one-time procurement supervisor for an engrg co, I foun
North Carolina Parent: I Used to Think My Legislators Supported Public Schools. They Don’t.Renee Sekel is a parent and public school advocate in North Carolina. She sends her children to public schools. She remembers when she naively believed that the state’s legislators supported public schools. Then the budget cuts started coming. Then charters. Then vouchers. Now, she says, public schools are in a race against time. She wrote: Four years ago, both Republicans and Democrats in North
St. Paul: Hmong Charter School Loses $4.3 Million by Investing in Hedge FundThe authorizer of the Hmong College Prep Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota, wants to fire the superintendent of the school after learning of big losses in the school’s funds. A St. Paul charter school’s authorizer has placed the school on probation and recommended the board fire its superintendent after she lost $4.3 million of the school’s money investing in a hedge fund. The authorizer, Bethel Uni
Lisa Haver: Philadelphia School Board Silences Parent VoicesLisa Haver, parent activist in Philadelphia, was thrilled when the state relinquished control of the school board in 2018. Now Philadelphia has mayoral control of its schools. Haver soon discovered that the appointed school board is not interested in parent engagement and shuts parent voices down. She wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer: Just weeks into the new school year, Philadelphia school com
Scandal in Rhode Island, continued…I posted Aaron Regunberg’s article in The Providence Journal , in which Governor Dan McKee awarded a $5.1 million contract to a brand-new firm created by friends from Jeb Bush’s Chiefs for Change. The contract was supposedly to help schools reopen. He wrote: Take the recent story of a $5-million “school reopening” contract given to Governor McKee’s longtime financial backers at the corporate educ
Chicago Picks a Corporate Reformer as New SuperintendentChicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot selected Pedro Martinez, Superintendent of the San Antonio School District, as the Windy City’s public schools. Martinez is a “reformer.” In San Antonio, he was known for his obsession with data and commitment to opening charter schools. He is a graduate of the tattered Broad Superintendents Academy. He is chairman of Jeb Bush’s Chiefs for Change . Chiefs for Change b
Today: The Salem Witch TrialsThe following appeared in The Writer’s Almanac: On this day in 1692 eight citizens of the colony of Massachusetts were hanged for their supposed connections to witchcraft. Theirs were the last of the deaths caused by the Salem Witch Trials , preceded by 11 other hangings, plus five who died in prison, and one who was crushed to death for refusing to enter a plea. A period that roughly spanned the
Aaron Regunburg: Rhode Island Governor McKee Awards Fat Contract to Political DonorsAaron Regunburg began his career as a leader of the Providence Student Union. He subsequently served in the legislature and ran in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, capturing 49% of the vote. He lost to Dan McKee, who is now Governor, after succeeding Gina Raimondo when Biden appointed her to his cabinet. Regunberg wrote in the Pr ovidence Journal that McKee seems to be engaging in
Iowa: School Board Rejects Mask Mandate After Some Parents Threaten to Remove Their ChildrenThe school board of Waukee, Iowa, planned to mandate masks, but then a campaign started in the community against the mandate. Faced with threats to “make the district pay” by withdrawing students, the board voted down the mask mandate. The only dissenting vote was a physician. The anti-maskers prefer to expose their children to a highly contagious and deadly disease.
A Fun Task for Middle-SchoolersI received this request, which looked as though it might be fun. Please consider sharing this nation-wide challenge for middle school students with your audience. There are images and a video link below. Please let me know if you have questions or would like to talk with leaders at the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site. Thank you! Indianapolis, IN …The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site has ju
Linda Lyon: How to Make a Difference as a CitizenLinda Lyon is a local school board member and former president of the Arizona School Boards Association. she is a retired military officer. She expresses great concern about the tumult and anger at many school board meetings and speculates that some of the outrage is generated by paid shills. She writes here about why school boards matter and how citizens in every community can make a difference:
Nancy Flanagan: School Boards at the Center of Political ConflictNancy Flanagan describes the political battles that have descended on school boards. Elected members probably thought they ran for office so as to oversee the budget and represent their constituents. They didn’t know that they would be constantly targeted by angry mobs, fighting over masking, vaccination mandates, and critical race theory. She writes: I am stunned by the vicious nature of the ant
Steve Hinnefeld: Polls Show Public Support for Public SchoolsSteve Hinnefeld, Indiana blogger, reviews recent polls and reports that the public continues to prefer public schools to school choice. The public schools are the heart of their communities. They are democratic, overseen by elected boards. They belong to the public. If ever there was a time for parents and the American public to turn against public schools, you’d think this would be it. But two r
Parent: Why I No Longer Support VouchersDountonia Batts is a parent advocate and community organizer in Indianapolis. she is a member of the board of the Network for Public Education. She explains here why she once supported vouchers but no longer does. I can remember exactly when my thinking about school vouchers began to change. I was attending a community meeting, waiting to find out whether my small children, then in kindergarten a
Manufacturing Consent for Market-Driven SchoolingChristopher A. Lizotte of the University of Washington and Dan Cohen published an interesting research paper about how market-driven policies have been promoted and sold. The paper was published in 2014-2015, and the trends described here have become more powerful, promoted by some of the wealthiest people in the nation. The title of the paper is “Teaching the Market: Fostering Consent to Educati
Bill Phillis: A Major Difference Between Public Schools and “School Choice”Bill Phillis of the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy of School Funding is a champion of public schools in a state with many charters and vouchers. He writes: A primary purpose for the creation of the common school system for all the children of all the people was to maintain a republican form of government. Knowledgeable people in unity with one another will ward off tyranny, in favor of li
How the FBI Failed to Act on Allegations Against Gymnast DoctorYou have probably read about the gymnasts who testified before Congress last week, complaining about the failure of the FBI, the US Olympic Committee, and others had ignored their reports of sexual abuse by the doctor for the gymnastics team. Like me, you probably never read the FBI report describing its own failure to take their reports seriously. This CNN story has a link to the report . It is
TFA Pursues a New Mission After 30 Years of Making Little Difference in the ClassroomTony Messenger of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote recently about Teach for America’s changing focus . Founded in 1990 to recruit college graduates to teach in urban and rural schools for a minimum of two years, TFA made bold claims about the success of its teachers in closing achievement gaps and raising test scores. For many years, they attracted hundreds of millions from corporate sponsors, f
Trevor Nelson Explains How Parents Fought Back Against Extremists in Arizona to Demand Safe SchoolsParent activist Trevor Nelson explains how parents organized to get accurate medical information to other parents and the public. Governor Doug Ducey took a strong stand against mask mandates, and anti-maskers turned school board meetings into screaming matches. Nelson organized parent opposition to policies that endangered their children. He tells his story here at ”Public Voices for Public Scho
