Bob Schorsch of the Letter Carriers Union and Jose Zamarripa of Laborers Local 681 join me as part of a panel on attacks on labor.
“I think you’re wrong just to pick on the Democrats. The Republicans are worse.”
The lady was sitting in the back of the meeting room at the Batavia Public Library where I was participating on a panel discussing the attacks on the middle class.
I don’t really like the term middle class when we mean working class, but I’ve given up debating it. I have other
I had a wonderful dream last night. I was teaching in a half-classroom, half-auditorium type room (dreams...who knows....), and I had my new class of freshman language arts students. It was the first week, so they were all timid and polite. And for some reason, a number of other students were coming into my room to do things like play basketball, jump rope, and just hang out. In my dreamy auditorium classroom, this seemed perfectly normal to everyone.
Toward the end of the lesson, I began talking about a book I would have the class read together. As we began discussing it, and reading it, the kids from around the room began turning their heads to hear what I was talking
(Below is Doug Martin’s in-depth look into the corporate forces in Indianapolis working to keep true community-led charter schools from operating. Please sign the petition to “Save The Project School.”)
On July 17, Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard announced he was closing The Project School, one of the few community-led charter schools in Indiana and the 2012 winner of NUVO’s Cultural Vision Award. Blaming low test scores and financial problems, the mayor gave TPS officials only 15 days to respond and held no public meeting, besides a press conference, where the “official” narrative presented was quickly aped by local media.
All of this appeared out of the blue. TPS’ leader, Tarrey Banks, in an email to the school’s community, says that last week Beth Bray, Ballard’s director of charter schools, emailed him and said not to “worry about” the school’s upcoming year plan, since in early fall the mayor’s office would meet with TPS’ board to discuss the school’s fourth year review. After a parent notified Banks that someone had heard the closing announced at a meeting, he called the mayor’s office, but was ignored. Bray finally emailed TPS about revoking its charter at 4:45 that day, while Jason Kloth, deputy mayor, was holding the press conference.
The mayor’s accusations concern the school supposedly using funds from a federal start-up grant to pay teachers. Tarrey Banks responded by saying that “We have been fully transparent about all grant expenditures. The ‘issue’ they are stating in terms of grant mismanagement is an issue from the 2nd year of the school and is inaccurately articulated in the media. The Mayor’s office has had this report for well over a year and has NEVER expressed any concern or even questioned us about it.”
Banks went on to refute other statements from the mayor’s office, saying the school has never missed payroll and that the audit proves the school has “had strong enough financials to fully finance and purchase our building in one of the toughest economic and development times in our state’s history.” TPS, according to its leader, is also “in good standing with our bank and bankers.”
All of this has outraged parents, students, and teachers. With only a few weeks before classes are set to start, there is no time for TPS to find another of the many authorizers in Indiana to grant the school a new charter.
As a hands-on learning center, TPS is unique, and its board of directors is even more unique, for it, unlike the
Gracie Fowler dropping her son, Jackson, and daughter, Havilah, off at karate lessons. She wants Florida to expand access to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act to ensure coverage for her kids and herself, but doesn’t think it should come at the expense of schools.
Gracie Fowler earns $11 an hour at an Orlando title company. It’s just enough that sometimes she earns too much for her two kids to qualify for Medicaid.
That’s what happened for two months earlier this year.
“Luckily they didn’t get sick but that was like the only couple of months where they didn’t have a little ear infection or they didn’t need to be tested for strep,” she says. “If they would have needed to go to the doctor then it would have been an emergency room visit. ”
Part of the mantra recited by proponents of the national-designed Common Core State Standards, endorsed in concept by both Gov. Mitch Daniels and Superintendent of Education Tony Bennett, is that they will make students “college-ready.” Producing college readiness, however, could take place in one of two ways: 1) Increase the academic preparation of students to meet college
One of the Largest Interactive Exhibits at the International AIDS Conference
Juanes, Miss Universe to Join Latino & Caribbean Participants in the LCDC Community at AIDS 2012 Global Village
Daily Panels, Workshops, Performances at the LCDC Community Networking Zone
July 22 to 27, 2012
Lower Level of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC
July 21, 2012 (Washington, DC) – Latino and Caribbean HIV researchers, experts, and community members from more than 50 programs across Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and the United States will participate in the Latino Caribbean Diaspora Collaborative (LCDC) Community in the Global Village—one of the largest installations within theXIX International AIDS Conference—AIDS 2012.
Daily interactive exhibits and activities in the LCDC Community will focus on educational, scientific, and networking opportunities, together with live music and cultural performances. Experts will discuss numerous HIV subjects, ranging from research, prevention, testing, medication, and treatment, to science, policy, and advocacy that serve various priority communities—including MSM, LGBT, People Living With HIV/AIDS, injection drug users, Trangender persons, Latinas, and youth.
Pop star Juanes and former Miss Universe Stefania Fernandez are among the celebrities confirmed to speak at the LCDC Community. A Latino-American. Richard Zaldivar. was selected to be the Master of Ceremonies at the Global Village. All Global Village activities are free and open to the general public.
What:
Latino Caribbean Diaspora Collaborative (LCDC) Community, Global Village, AIDS 2012
When:
Sunday, July 22, through Friday, July 27, 2012
Where:
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, N.W.,
Washington, DC 20001
We Offer:
Well-equipped Media Center, with assistance available throughout AIDS 2012
Interview site
Production assistance
Real Time Updates:
Facebook: Latino Caribbean AIDS 2012: Puentes Entre Vecinos
Twitter: @LatinoAIDS2012 #LatinoHIVForum
A reader writes about the injustice of closing schools in Chicago instead of helping them.
It s odd to think that Chicago is now our national model of school reform, as Chicago continues to rank in the bottom tier on NAEP in reading and math, in fourth grade and eighth grade.
In Chicago, 10 more schools lost ALL their staff and administration to turnarounds this year . They will be opening in the fall with a much younger, less-diverse staff but the same students (Black and Hispanic).One school, Pablo Casals, posted an 8% gain in its ISAT scores , in a year when the system average gain was only 0.9%. It is at par with all its neighborhood schools, and outscored over 100 elementary schools in Chicago ( even in 2011). Still, it was put on the list and acted upon by CPS , and now its teachers ( the ones who helped achieve that 8% gain) are spread out across the city. Weary from this process, many moved on to much
Rita Solnet is a parent activist in Florida who works hard to support public education in Palm Beach County, in Florida, and across the nation. She is a co-founder of Parents Across America.
She writes in response to the article about whether schools are and are not like businesses:
I am a product of corporate America and still involved in organizational consulting for corporate America.I listened to the lobbyists and the FL BOE members recklessly scatter business terms throughout their State BOE meeting this week. At one point I wanted to shout “these business terms are for companies with products; they’re not meant for the process of educating children.” Not to mention the fact that some of the terms were preposterously misused.Frequently interspersed with education jargon were terms like: Rebranding; ROI (return on investment);, ROA (return on assets); Six Sigma (a program emphasizing quality and perfection in
I am extremely critical of current trends in education policy which involve deluging schools with standardized tests and rating teachers, administrators and whole institutions based on test result. Such policies result in school disengagement on the part of students, destroy teacher morale, and magnify health problems in poor and working class communities by crowding out exercise and the arts.
Given my criticism of existing policies, skeptics have a right to ask-“What do you want to see urban schools doing that they are not doing now.” So let me take the time to lay out my own vision of what kind of things urban schools should be doing that will promote student engagement, parent involvement, teacher excitement, and transform schools into centers of community empowerment
Portions of what I am talking about are already being done by schools all over the country. I invite you to see
The arrogance of Florida’s Jeb Bush’s education policy establishment reared its head in Tuesday’s Fort Lauderdale meeting. From Leslie Postal in the Orlando Sentinel:
Board member Akshay Desai, a physician from Tampa, said he was glad the state was able to “fend off” attacks from those, in his view, who are “trying to discredit” testing in Florida. He mentioned a certain “constituency” that does like testing, apparently a reference to Florida school boards approving resolutions that argued an over emphasis on standardized testing was hurting education in Florida.
”We have been able to continue to fend off the unnecessary attacks on the A+ system,” he said, adding that he thought Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson had done a good job answering
Letter posted to the NY Times website, July 16, 2012. Readers were invited to respond to this letter for the NY Times Sunday Dialogue with the understand that I would respond.
To the Editor: The common core movement seems to be common sense: Our schools should have similar standards, what students should know at each grade. The movement, however, is based on the false assumption that our schools are broken, that ineffective teaching is the problem and that rigorous standards and tests are necessary to improve things. The mediocre performance of American students on international tests seems to show that our schools are doing poorly. But students from middle-class homes who attend well-funded schools rank among the best in world on these tests, which means that teaching is not the problem. The problem is
Taxpayers are funding privately-held, no transparency cyber charter schools with that giant sucking sound - moving jobs, not overseas like with NAFTA for cheap labor but bringing it to a school and a neighborhood near you. Who needs building, gyms, cafeterias, food, nurses, or teachers when all you need is to put a kid in front of a computer. Pa Cyber will take care of your kids, don't worry just because Pa is a crook.
Cyber excess: Taxpayers should not over-fund charter schools
July 20, 2012 12:00 am
/ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
There is something very wrong with an education funding system that has public school districts chopping staff and ending programs while a publicly funded charter school is making so much money that it can pay millions to
Last night was beautiful. A short break in the 90 degree summer we’ve been sweating through.
Anne and I walked up to the Monument where the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival is running this weekend.
Our friend Peter has a couple of large-scale photographs on exhibit. Peter used to work for the City and was Mayor Washington’s photographer. He, like me, is retired now and taking his photography is new directions. They’re great.
We stopped at Lula on the way home. We sat at the bar and Anne had a gin and tonic with some locally made gin. It’s made by a little company started by the bartender somewhere on the north side. Anne said it was pretty
Fred, I’m sure those who crafted SB7 just regret not making it even more union busting. I’m sure they wish they’d called for a 99% threshold for a strike vote. I’m sure they wished they’d specified that Michelle Rhee or Jonah Edelman as the fact finder. I’m sure they don’t think this was a failure [...]
Let us go back to the Spring of 2011. When the teachers in our local took a look at Senate Bill 7, we were appalled. In fact, when we went to Springfield as a part of the 2011 Lobby Day effort and were told to push for pension protection and for Senate Bill 7, we [...]
Nobody would ever confuse right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson for a progressive Jew. My grandma Esther might have called him a putz. But she would never use such language. Some might confuse him for Joe McCarthy, however. Carlson’s Daily Caller has decided to go after a [...]
Fred, That Gov. Quinn – what a swell guy. He wants grandma to choose between having to sell her house or getting her blood pressure medicine. He wants grandpa to choose between hiring someone to fix his roof or having that dark mole on his forehead looked at by a dermatologist. He wants your elderly [...]
H/T Roger Sanders. Capitol Fax reported that Governor Quinn still has dreams of getting the General Assembly back in session before the November election. The members of the General Assembly may have other ideas. But in Springfield two things can always be counted on. Either nothing happens. Or it happens before you can do anything [...]
Chicago Newsroom host Ken Davis couldn’t believe a hundred percent of teachers agree on anything. I had to laugh at that. And then cry a little. Team Englewood High School teacher and four-year member of the CTU House of Delegates David Stieber says he’s never seen it happen before. But it happened the other night [...]
Public Radio station WBEZ and Catalyst analyzed the CPS budget and found: The proposed $5 billion dollar CPS operating budget directs funding to magnet, specialty, selective and charter schools and away from neighborhood schools Nearly 90% of the city’s 100 charter schools will get more money from CPS. 70% of the system’s neighborhood public schools will [...]
“I blame Galileo.” Stephen Colbert: ..The minds of our young people are being poisoned by knowledge… I have long praised the Texas Board of Education for their valiant work rewriting our nation’shistory textbooks. But now I believe they’ve got some stiff competition from the Texas GOP, who recently put a plank in their 2012 party [...]
Here is the response from CTU President Karen Lewis following the vote of the House of Delegates this afternoon which unanimously rejected the fact-finder’s report: Thank you. I’d like to introduce Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey, Recording Secretary Michael Brunson, Financial Secretary Kristine Mayle, and CTU Attorney Robert Bloch.Today the Chicago Teachers Union [...]
“What’s up, Klonsky?” “Give me a bottle of whatsever cold,” I mumbled to Marty behind the bar. We’ve had thirty-one days of 90 degrees and above in Chicago so far this summer. “It’s so hot, the sun makes me woozy,” I told Tony. “The beer will help. Just pour it over your head,” said Tony. [...]
Even the Chicago Sun-Times, which was recently bought by close pals of the Mayor, have pointed out the obvious. Chicago teachers have taken Rahm to school. For a political chess player who never makes a move without thinking three moves ahead, Mayor Rahm Emanuel looks more like a high school clubber than a grand master [...]
Since Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan prefers to see the cost of the pension benefits as the cause of our state’s pension problem, it came as no surprise this past spring that he proposed a solution that called for reducing the cost of the COLA for active teachers and other current public employees. What did [...]
When I appeared on the radio show Stocks and Jocks with Tom “The Chief” Hough, our only major difference was on the issue of investment returns. Tom considered this one of the main reasons for the TRS system being only 40% funded. I claimed the underfunding was primarily the result of over 50 years of [...]
Fred, I appreciate your dedication to our schools, students, parents, community, and to the advancement of public education nationwide. I live in Hawaii. We are generally behind the curve of what happens on the Mainland and, more specifically, what happens in traditionally strong teachers’ unions in NYC and Chicago. What your latest blog indicates is [...]
On behalf of the Illinois delegation to the NEA RA, I presented NBI 13. I explained the reason that the entire NEA should pass a resolution specifically in support the AFT Chicago local’s current struggle with the Mayor and his hand-picked school board. “It is a special case,” I said. “We didn’t choose it. Stand [...]
Hyatt heiress Margot Pritzker. “She has an idea,” says the Sun-Times. Reading the Sun-Times this morning brought back memories of the classic SNL Gilda Radner character, Emily Litella. On Weekend Update Litella editorialized about violins on television. “Teamwork,” suggests heiress Margot Pritzker of the union-busting Hyatt Hotel Pritzker family. Teamwork? Yes. Teamwork. “It kept the [...]
The process of bargaining a contract has mutually agreed upon rules. The process is also is governed by labor laws. From my experience over twenty years of engaging in the process, I can say that it works. If both sides want it to. Everyone expects that both sides will start far apart. If the intention [...]
To call David Gergen a media whore is to give insult to whoring. Gergen is presently a CNN pundit. He started out as a speech writer in the Nixon White House on a team that included the far right-wing anti-Semite, Pat Buchanan. He then went on to work in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and [...]
I was invited on a local Chicago radio show to talk about teacher pensions. The morning show is called Stocks and Jocks. Luckily they didn’t ask me any jock questions. Or any stock questions, for that matter. Stocks and Jocks is a radio show that is aimed at the small investor. The host, Tom “The Chief” [...]
The report from the mediator is due this week. Reports are that it will contain a proposal for a 15 to 20% salary increase. Word is that the CPS board has offered 2%. Jeff Sharkey, CTU VP commented to the press yesterday. On Sunday, union Vice President Jesse Sharkey, who declined to comment on the [...]
This morning’s New York Times answers the question, “Where in the world is Penny Pritzker?” Penny headed up President Obama’s fund-raising operation in the 2008 campaign. But in appears that this time around she has pulled back or has been pushed aside because she is simply too much of an embarrassment to the Obama campaign. [...]
In the two years since West Virginia’s Massey mine disaster no federal safety laws have passed and no executives were criminally charged. John Dillon’s vocabulary of the week: Collateral Damage. Who gets hurt by shifting the cost of public employee pensions from the state to local municipalities and districts? You do. Stocks and Jocks. I don’t [...]
