What Philanthropy and Community Learned in the Wake of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting | Schott Foundation for Public Education

What Philanthropy and Community Learned in the Wake of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting | Schott Foundation for Public Education:

What Philanthropy and Community Learned in the Wake of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting

This June marked the anniversary of a day that holds many titles:

• the deadliest mass shooting by a single shooter in the United States
• the deadliest incidence of violence against the LGBTQ community in the United States
• the deadliest terror attack within our country since September 11th

On June 12, 2016, Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was hosting “Latin Night” when a shooter entered and ultimately killed 49 people. At Orlando Strong Funders Symposium: One Year Later, national and local philanthropic leaders gathered in the city to share lessons learned from the response to the Pulse shooting tragedy. I attended the two-day symposium, held June 14-15, and came away with many lessons about the power of a community coming together to stand in the face of hate, as well as what happens when different philanthropies are challenged to move swiftly during a crisis.

The symposium’s first day focused on how various service sectors united to respond to unspeakable tragedy within the first days, weeks, and months following the massacre. The breadth and depth of the panels displayed just how many people came together quickly to make change. Doctors and hospital staff, for example, discussed the importance of having emergency plans and enacting drills. From hospitals to fire departments, lines of communication, which didn’t exist before the shooting, emerged and became crucial to recovery efforts.

Immediately after the shooting, philanthropies united to take action. The Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Arcus Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Executives’ Alliance to Expand Opportunities for Boys and Men of Color, and Our Fund Foundation joined together as contributing partners to the Contigo Fund. The Contigo Fund is “an effort to strengthen and network existing agencies and to identify and support grassroots efforts that advance Latinx and LGBTQ causes and the intersection of these two communities.”

Normally, things don’t happen that fast in philanthropy, but in this case, the response was rapid.

Orlando’s economy thrives off tourism, and I was proud to see the tourism industry and theme parks step up right away. NBC Universal donated $1 million to the OneOrlando Fund, which was set up to aid the victims of the attack. That contribution then sparked a $1 million donation from The Walt Disney Co., as well as a dollar-for-dollar donation match from the company for its employees’ donations. 

The City of Orlando also deserves recognition for how it handled the tragedy. It responded by embracing its native children. The outpouring of love and support was essential to begin the healing process. Today, Orlando is clad with rainbow flags and lights, made by the city and local businesses, to honor the victims and survivors. The city has taken steps also to identify the What Philanthropy and Community Learned in the Wake of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting | Schott Foundation for Public Education:

Why John Adams saw July 2 as America’s true Independence Day - The Washington Post

Why John Adams saw July 2 as America’s true Independence Day - The Washington Post:

Why John Adams saw July 2 as America’s true Independence Day

(This is a version of a post I have published previously around the Fourth of July)

July 4, of course, is Independence Day, a federal holiday celebrated to commemorate the adoption in 1776 of the Declaration of Independence, which split the 13 American colonies from England.

But John Adams, who had a lot to do with the American colonies’ break from Great Britain, didn’t think the day to commemorate was July 4. Adams, a leader of the American Revolution who became the first vice president and the second president of the United States, thought July 2 was the date that would be celebrated “as the great anniversary festival.”

Why? Because it was on July 2, 1776, that delegates at the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia officially separated the 13 American colonies from Britain by approving a motion for independence advanced by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. Twelve of the 13 colonies approved it (New York abstained, as its representatives did not have permission to vote for it at that time).

The next day, on July 3, Adams wrote a letter to his wife Abigail with this prediction:

The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

Later that day, the Pennsylvania Evening Post published this:

“This day the Continental Congress declared the United Colonies Free and Independent States.”

So why do we celebrate July 4 as Independence Day?

That’s when the actual Declaration of Independence — whose principal author was Thomas Jefferson — was adopted (although not signed) by members of the Continental Congress. Jefferson had been writing it, draft after draft. He was one of the Committee of Five the Why John Adams saw July 2 as America’s true Independence Day - The Washington Post:

Officials restore money to L.A. schools soon after making controversial funding cuts - LA Times

Officials restore money to L.A. schools soon after making controversial funding cuts - LA Times:

Officials restore money to L.A. schools soon after making controversial funding cuts

Barely a week after the Los Angeles Board of Education approved a budget based on reduced federal anti-poverty aid, schools officials have restored nearly all of the funding.

The added dollars will help L.A. Unified avoid some cutbacks and may make some planned layoffs unnecessary.

While the news was welcome, it was less clear why the belt-tightening went forward in the first place: Federal officials had told the district about the improved funding projection in a May 24 letter, and the school board did not approve the budget until June 20.

“I am relieved that schools will not after all be enduring a disproportionate cut in budget and services,” said board President Steve Zimmer, whose term ended Friday. “I am troubled by the stress that they went through over a cut that, in the end, was not nearly as dramatic as people feared.”

The planned $40-million reduction would have affected more than 700 campuses, about 70% of district schools. The cut in the anti-poverty funds was about 16.5% at each affected Officials restore money to L.A. schools soon after making controversial funding cuts - LA Times:

Keeping retirement weird. Charter schools at the NEA Representative Assembly. | Fred Klonsky

Keeping retirement weird. Charter schools at the NEA Representative Assembly. | Fred Klonsky:

Keeping retirement weird. Charter schools at the NEA Representative Assembly.

After 20 years, my last NEA RA was a couple of years ago in Orlando.

For a couple of decades I celebrated the Fourth of July weekend in what ever town the National Education Association was holding their national Representative Assembly.

Not any more.

Last night Anne and I were listening to the symphony in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago.

I didn’t love the choice of music they were playing, but the setting and the weather were unbeatable.

A young couple sat down next to us. He was from a small town in Lyon, France. She was from a Polish town near Krakow, Poland. He was working here for a French firm. She was on a short visa to see him.

“I don’t understand,” he said. “I never meet anyone who voted for Trump and yet he was elected.”

“Wrong city,” I explained.

Meanwhile one of the big issues at the RA in Boston is charter schools.

Funny thing about the NEA. They were early to endorse Hillary Clinton but are just Keeping retirement weird. Charter schools at the NEA Representative Assembly. | Fred Klonsky:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago in violation of state law on ELL. Charters worst violators.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago in violation of state law on ELL. Charters worst violators.:

Chicago in violation of state law on ELL. Charters worst violators

Most of the worst violators of state law were charter schools. Fifteen were run by the UNO Network of Charter Schools; nine were run by the Noble Network of Charter Schools. Source: Chicago Public Schools

Congrats to Chicago Reporter's Kalyn Belsha whose story on CPS's failure to meet the needs of English learners was named among this week's top education stories by Atlantic Magazine.

Belsha reports on a recent review of CPS records which found that, of the 342 schools audited, nearly 71%, or 242, had bilingual programs that were in serious violation of state law. As a result, English learners go without legally required services, such as books in their native language and teachers who speak that language or have English as a Second Language training.

Most of the worst violators of state law were charter schools. Fifteen were run by the UNO Network of Charter Schools; nine were run by the Noble Network of Charter Schools.

In 2009, U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras lifted the consent decree ending three decades of efforts to integrate Chicago schools. The decree’s bilingual education provisions, according to Kocoras, duplicated protections in state law. The ruling came despite evidence presented by DOJ lawyers in court that the district repeatedly failed to enroll English learners in bilingual education fast enough or provide them with required services.

I would be remiss if I failed to point out once again, that it was former schools CEO Arne Duncan who successfully pushed Judge Kocoras to abandon the consent decree. Thousands of the district's English language learners and their families are still paying the price.Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago in violation of state law on ELL. Charters worst violators.:

What should students know about religion? New guidance on teaching it in public schools. - The Washington Post

What should students know about religion? New guidance on teaching it in public schools. - The Washington Post:

What should students know about religion? New guidance on teaching it in public schools

Try to guess when this was written:

“In this era of educational reform, the social studies curriculum has been a frequent target of critics representing every point on the political spectrum. While educators argue that history is neglected and traditional values are missing, others contend that the curriculum lacks social relevance and avoids significant public issues. Most agree, however, that religion is not adequately included in the social studies curriculum. They argue that teachers, administrators, school boards, and textbook publishers have tended to strip social studies courses of all but the most bland references to religion as a social force in the past and present. As a result, students are prevented from learning in school about one of the most significant factors in human societies from the prehistoric era to the world today.”

If you had said that it is current, you could be excused, as it reflects prevailing thinking, but, in fact, it was published in 1988, the start of a piece titled “Teaching About Religion in the Social Studies.”

Now, all these years later, the National Council for the Social Studies has attached a supplement to its College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards, as noted here by Education Week.  The new section, which is described by its authors as “Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History,” joining sections that provide resources on teaching psychology, sociology and anthropology.

[The big problem with what Trump just said about religion in schools]

Why now? The introduction to the section — titled Religious Studies Companion Document for the C3 Framework — notes:

“Student inquiry into complex issues — including the dynamic relationships within a religion, between religions, and between religion and secularism — provides a unique environment to learn how to recognize and evaluate assumptions without undermining personal religious identity, to navigate diverse and shifting cultural values, to engage respectfully with diverse neighbors, and to resist common misunderstandings that have negative real-world consequences. These skills are invaluable in a society whose increasingly multicultural schools, workplaces, and local, national, and international public spheres all need What should students know about religion? New guidance on teaching it in public schools. - The Washington Post:

Badass Teachers Association: The School Years Fly By Like Months by Dr. Michael Flanagan

Badass Teachers Association: The School Years Fly By Like Months by Dr. Michael Flanagan:

The School Years Fly By Like Months by Dr. Michael Flanagan

This week concludes my 31st year in education.

It seems the school years fly by like months, each one faster than the last.

I blink and another year has gone.

Teachers crawl to summer break, and question if we are making a difference at all.

Pack away the books, rip down the bulletin board papers

Wonder how we can possibly do this another year.

Wasn’t it just September?

What could we have done better?

Next year I’ll do things differently

I will be stricter about the cell phones.

I’ll own that Danielson teacher evaluation

“Highly effective,”  here I come!

Or, maybe I will just continue being the best teacher I can be, rubrics be damned

Teachers scramble to find standardized exam scores

They watch the elation ofBadass Teachers Association: The School Years Fly By Like Months by Dr. Michael Flanagan:

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

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

Today is Diane's Birthday Diane Ravitch's blog 
A site to discuss better education for all

Help wish Diane a Happy Birthday!

 July 1st is Diane’s birthday.  She asks for only one gift: the hope that America’s public education system will thrive for the sake of our children – all of our children.

The Network for Public Education, the organization she founded and leads, is dedicated to helping Diane get her birthday wish.   And so she asks that you help her celebrate by making a tax deductible donation to NPE in her name.

If you make a donation of $10 dollars or more, we will put your name on a special card we are preparing for Diane.

Give a donation to something that matters. Help NPE fight privatization and Betsy DeVos.  Nothing will make Diane happier.

Happy 79th birthday, Diane!

 You can make your donation  here.

Happy Birthday, Diane!

Help wish Diane a Happy Birthday! - Network For Public Education:

The Best Birthday Card of the Day

1by dianeravitch / 47min

I got this card from my friend Leonie Haimson. It reminded me of when I could move like the person on the card. Of course, there was also a great card from Cece Cunningham, with a picture of a gray-haired old lady with a gorgeous body, waist about 24″, in a bikini.. The card says, “Helen ran out of funds halfway through her extreme makeover.”

Why Is Trump Obsessed with Cable News?

3by dianeravitch / 3h

For the last few days, Trump has been obsessed with cable news stations, especially Morning Joe and CNN. This morning, he unleashed a tweet storm of rants against news stations. I am no fan of Joe and Mika because Morning Hoe has a long history of featuring critics of public schools and never inviting anyone who disagreed with them (like me). Whether it was Rhee or Klein or any other mouthpiece f

Good News! Our Friend Linda Weber Qualified to Run for Congress in New Jersey!

2by dianeravitch / 4h

Last night, I issued a last-minute appeal to help Linda Weber raise the last bit as f money she needed to qualify by midnight, only two-and-a-half-hours to go. She needed $1,100 to reach $120,000. She did it! You helped to put her over the top! Linda and Mark Weber thank you. I thank you. On to win the 7th Congressional District in New Jersey.

Courage or Madness: One of Most Amazing Stunts Ever

by dianeravitch / 6min

This has nothing to do with education. It is a video of a man jumping from an airplane 25,000 feet high. He is not wearing a parachute. He has to land in a net almost five miles below the airplane. Why am I posting it? I have watched it many times. I have shown it to friends. It amazes me. I get a sense of awe. The 

Robert Sternberg on the Scourge of Standardized Testing: Are We Producing a Society of “Smart Fools?”

1by dianeravitch / 24min

Robert Sternberg has studied intelligence for many years. In this interview by Scientific American, Sternberg decries the new era of standardized testing. At last weekend’s annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) in Boston, Cornell University psychologist Robert Sternberg sounded an alarm about the influence of standardized tests on American society. Sternberg, who has s

I Recommend This Book: Richard Rothstein’s “The Color of Law”

6by dianeravitch / 1h

You know how sometimes you read a book and wish that everyone else would read it too? That’s the way I felt when I finished reading Richard Rothstein’s compelling new book, “The Color of Law.” I wished that every member of the 

SomeDAM Poet: “The Midnight Blog of Diane Ravitch”

4by dianeravitch / 48min

Thank you, dear Poet. I blush. And I laughed out loud. “The Midnight Blog of Diane Ravitch” (apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) Hear ye, my teachers, of techy wares The “teaching” inventions of billionaires Of testing and Cores Political whores And a blogger with passion who really cares She said to her friends, “If the billionaires roll By software or hard, from your towns tonight Hang a l

Good News: Chicago Public Schools Outperform Matched Schools Across Illinois!

5by dianeravitch / 1h

A new study reaches a very heartening conclusion. Despite all the brickbats hurled at the Chicago Public Schools over the past 30 years, student achievement in these schools is the best in the state, when compared to similar students. There has long been a perception that Chicago, like other big-city districts, has dismal academic performance. But the new study matched students by race and income

YESTERDAY

Linda Weber Needs to Raise $1,100 by Midnight EST to Qualify for a Crucial Race for Congress

5by dianeravitch / 13h

Linda Weber is running for the Democratic nomination for Congress in the Seventh District of New Jersey, a seat presently held by a Republican who supports Trump’s priorities. She is the spouse of our friend Jersey Jazzman, whose blogs have kept us informed about the privatization movement in New Jersey. If Linda is elected, she will be the best friend of public education in Congress. She needs t

Civil Rights Activists Outraged by Trump Choice to Lead Civil Rights Division at Justice Department

12by dianeravitch / 17h

The key job in the federal government in terms of civil rights enforcement is the leader of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. Trump has selected Eric Dreiband, who has represented numerous clients accused of violating civil rights laws. Activists are outraged. The selection of Dreiband is in keeping with the selection of Betsy DeVos, an opponent of public education; the selecti

A Proud Graduate of Indianapolis Public Schools Laments “A Sad Day”

15by dianeravitch / 18h

Shannon Williams is proud to be a graduate of the Indianapolis Public Schools. She now writes for the Indianapolis Recorder, where she published this article about the current plan to shrink the district. She writes: There are countless emotions tied to Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), and even more emotions now associated with the district due to the proposal to close or repurpose three of its

Los Angeles Times: Cheerleading for Privatization and the Trump-DeVos Agenda

9by dianeravitch / 20h

The Los Angeles Times editorial board published an editorial today chastising the California Teachers Association for resisting privatization of public education via charters. I assume that this editorial was in no way influenced by Eli Broad, who subsidizes the Times’ education coverage, which is a blatant conflict of interest. The editorial board can’t see any critics of charters other than tea

We Lost a Dear Friend of Public Libraries and Public Schools: Joan Kramer of Los Angeles

100+by dianeravitch / 21h

Joan Kramer, a hero of public libraries, public education, and the common good, died a few days ago. Joan was a hero to all who knew and loved her. This is a tribute from some of her friends who knew her well. Here she is testifying before the Los Angeles Unified School District board on behalf of libraries. She had a fantastic blog, beautifully illustrated. I recommend that you read it. You can

Big Oil Sells Fossil-Fuel Love to Children in Elementary Schools

6by dianeravitch / 22h

This is an alarming story, prepared by the Center for Public Integrity. . Teaching materials are being distributed by the fossil fuel industry to elementary schools. It begins: “Jennifer Merritt’s first-graders at Jefferson Elementary School in Pryor, Oklahoma, were in for a treat. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, the students gathered in late November for story time with two special guests, st

National Education Policy Center: New Research on Virtual Charter Schools

6by dianeravitch / 23h

The National Education Policy Center has released new research on virtual charter schools that shows variation among those in different states, though all have poor academic results: Key Takeaway: Case studies from the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute suggest that policymakers should prioritize understanding and improving virtual school performance before permitting further growth Pre

Nancy E. Bailey: Beware! Computer Instruction is NOT Inclusion!

3by dianeravitch / 23h

Nancy E. Bailey writes here about current efforts to put children with disabilities on a computer and call it “personalized learning” and “inclusion.” It is neither. “Personalized learning must not be mistaken for inclusion. The reality is that it’s student isolation! “Inclusion is generally defined as the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure. Doing school

Montana Teacher: Questions About AP Courses

21by dianeravitch / 1d

This comment by a reader called Montana Teacher continues a discussion of the value of AP courses. My observation: AP courses are a big money-maker for the College Board, which on its face is nonprofit, but aggressively pursues opportunities to generate revenues, like claiming that access to AP courses promotes equity. Other posts are here and here . Montana Teacher writes: “Thank you for all of

Tomorrow Is My Birthday!

6by dianeravitch / 1d

Tomorrow I will be 79! My older sister says that it’s all downhill from here, but I’m not going anywhere, not without raising a ruckus. Carol Burris has created a giant birthday card for me. I hope you will consider signing it. https://networkforpubliceducation.org/2017/06/help-wish-diane-happy-birthday/ This will be the first time in my life that I ever asked anyone to sign a birthday card that

Urgent Note to Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan: Hands Off Our Schools and Our Children!

77by dianeravitch / 1d

Education Week reports on the plans of billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan to redesign American education. They have launched something called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative–or CZI Initiative–to carry out their plan for “personalized learning”‘( I.e., “depersonalized learning”) to remake education into whatever they think in their limited experience is best. They have hired J

June 30: Join Student Data Deletion Day!

13by dianeravitch / 1d

Today is the first Student Data Deletion Day. This is a parent’s response to the obscene amounts of personal data collected about every child. Why do they do it? Because they can, and because you let them. Please open to see the many 

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