Sandy Hook Parents Win Defamation Suit Against Conspiracy Theorist Alex JonesSandy Hook parents won a defamation lawsuit against rightwing media figure Alex Jones. Their children were murdered on December14, 2012, in a massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. A total of 20 children between the ages of six and seven were killed, along with six staff members, including the principal. For years, Alex Jones has asserted that the massacre was staged an
Jan Resseger: Why Don’t We Value Early Childhood Education?Jan Resseger describes the crisis of early childhood education in this post. The importance of early childhood education for healthy development has been repeatedly documented, most recently by the Learning Policy Institute. Yet the sector continues to be underfunded, teachers are underpaid, and they are in short supply. She writes: The kind of enriched child care envisioned by experts at the Lea
Tight Labor Market Forces Minimum Wage Up to $15 an Hour for More WorkersWhen candidate Joe Biden proposed raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15, it seemed like pie in the sky. When labor unions demanded the same, the big employers ignored them. But then came the pandemic, and everything changed. As the economy reopened, employers encountered unexpected labor shortages. They raised wages, they offered signing bonuses, and without Congressional act
Steven Singer: Teachers Are Not OkaySteven Singer writes that teachers are getting sick and exhausted because of the stress of the pandemic. One week, they are heroes. Next week, they are villains. At the staff meeting the other day, one of my fellow teachers turned to me and said he was having trouble seeing. He rushed home and had to have his blood pressure meds adjusted. Another co-worker was sent home because one of her student
D.C.: Time for Fundamental Changes in Charter SectorValerie Strauss posted an important essay on her blog “The Answer Sheet” by Steve Bumbaugh, a former member of the D.C. Public Charter School Board from 2015 until early this year. Bumbaugh graduated from Yale University and Stanford School of Business. His parents were ministers. He writes: Let’s travel back to September 2017. I was in Southeast Washington, D.C., scheduled to tour a school in an
Afghan Girls and Women Face a Bleak FutureThe return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan is very bad news for girls and women. For twenty years, they were able to go to school and university and to pursue a career. All that personal freedom comes to an end under Taliban rule. The New York Times wrote about their fate here . KABUL, Afghanistan — The director of a girls’ school in Kabul desperately wants to learn details of the Taliban’
UnKochMy Campus: Send a MessageThe organization called “UnKoch My Campus” does a great job of tracking and exposing the influence of billionaire Charles Koch in schools and higher education. Join with them in calling attention to Koch’s Dark Money: Each year in October, UnKoch My Campus coordinates a National Day of Action that focuses on building public awareness of the impact of the Koch network within institutions of educat
Jan Resseger: Does Chicago Mayor Lightfoot Want to Return to Arne Duncan Era?Jan Resseger is puzzled that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot selected San Antonio Superintendent Pedro Martinez to lead Chicago’s public schools. His experience and views overlap with those of Arne Duncan, for whom he served as Chief Financial Officer. Parents and teachers wanted the next superintendent to be an instructional leader. Martinez has no experience as a teacher or a principal. He represe
John Tanner: Why Do Politicians Cling to Failed Education Policies?John Tanner is a blogger in San Antonio. In this post, he asks a question that I have asked myself many times: Why do ”reformers” and politicians keep funding failure? Why do they demand more charters and vouchers when neither has matched their claims, neither has closed achievement gaps or dramatically higher scores (except when they cherrypick their students)? Tanner asks the question about tes
Pandemic Boosts Charter EnrollmentCharter schools experienced a large increase in enrollment during the pandemic , perhaps due to the indecisiveness of public school leaders. Charters gained 250,000 students and grew from 6% to 7% of total national enrollment.
Mercedes Schneider: How TFA Alums Use Their Network to Move into Top Jobs and Score Fat ContractsThis post is Mercedes Schneider at her best, pulling together the strings of a tangled web involving money, power, TFA, Chiefs for Change, John White, the Rhode Island $5 million contract, and Julia Rafael-Baer. Read it to the end. It’s rich with details that show how an ambitious young person can monetize her TFA experience and her network. There is big money to be made in the education industry
Ibram X. Kendi: How to Dismantle RacismProfessor Ibram X. Kendi spoke about dismantling racism at a virtual summit hosted by the Boston Globe. His books are being censored in red states but he was free to speak out in Massachusetts. While the civil unrest of 2020 may have ignited necessary conversations about racial injustice and inequalities, it hasn’t yet sparked the big, bold changes needed to dismantle racism, professor and best-s
Oakland: Activists Win Six-Figure Settlement, which They Will Use to Fight PrivatizationI am posting this notice after the press conference described here, but the details are important nevertheless. A group called Oakland Not For Sale formed to fight privatization and just won a major settlement. For many years, the Oakland public schools have been a plaything for billionaire privatizers and a succession of Broadie superintendents. MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: September 23, 2021, 3:30 PM PT
Illinois: Mysterious Group Asks Schools if They Have Materials Included in “1619 Project”I received the following alarming notice from a friend in Illinois. Some organization wants to know whether schools in the state have any articles or books cited in “The 1619 Project.” This looks like the beginning of a McCarthyite witch hunt. Subject: Interested in the 1619 Project? Work in IL schools and educational spaces? You’ll want to be aware of this. Public school districts are receiving
Peter Greene: In Case You Missed Michelle Rhee…You Can Join the ZoomPeter Greene wonders if you have missed Michelle Rhee , once the Wonder Woman of the edreform biz, but recently absent from the national scene. After her meteoric rise to national prominence, when she was selected to be chancellor of the District of Columbia public schools after two years of TFA teaching, she was a colossus: on the cover of TIME as a miracle worker, featured in the documentary “W
North Carolina: Search for “Indoctrination” in Schools FlopsThe editorial board of the Charlotte Observer wrote about the state government’s failed search for “indoctrination” in the schools. Charlotte Observer Editorial Board: North Carolina’s indoctrination-in-schools witchhunt was a big, embarrassing dud North Carolina’s Lt. Governor Mark Robinson launched a witch hunt for teachers and schools “indoctrinating” students. But when they released their rep
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
