Joe Biden to educators: “You are the most important profession in the United States.” - Education Votes #NEARA2020 #edJustice #DEMOCRACY #BIDEN2020

Joe Biden to educators: “You are the most important profession in the United States.” - Education Votes

Joe Biden to educators: “You are the most important profession in the United States.”

By Amanda Menas / photo: Joe Biden at NEA’s Strong Public Schools Presidential Forum in Houston on July 5, 2019.

“Education should be put more in the hands of educators. You should have more input on what you teach, how you teach it, when you teach it,” Joe Biden told more than 8,000 educators at the National Education Association’s virtual Representative Assembly on Friday. Biden joined the livestream not only to address the delegates, but to listen to educators’ concerns and answer their questions about what he will do as president to strengthen public education.

After enduring four years of a presidential administration that has turned its back on students, stripped funding from public schools, and left schools adrift with inadequate resources and guidance during a global pandemic, Biden has promised that if he is elected, educators will have not one, but two friends in the White House. His wife, Dr. Jill Biden, is a long-time educator and NEA member.

NEA President Lily Eskelsen García rallied educators as she introduced Biden to the delegates, “There is never going to be anything as important as you do maybe in your entire life than what you’re going to do this year to protect democracy and to protect our country. We have got to stop the DeVos-Trump agenda.”

Throughout his candidacy, Biden has made it a priority to speak to educators and listen to their top concerns. He has promised that his administration will invest in public schools and listen to educators before setting education policy. He has promised to fire Betsy DeVos and replace her with an education secretary who has actually been an educator. He told the RA delegates specifically, “this is going to be a teacher-oriented Department of Education, and it’s not going to come from the top down. It will come from the teachers up.”

Biden stated that under Donald Trump’s failed leadership during the pandemic, more than CONTINUE READING: Joe Biden to educators: “You are the most important profession in the United States.” - Education Votes

'How the hell are we going to do this?' The panic over reopening schools - POLITICO

'How the hell are we going to do this?' The panic over reopening schools - POLITICO

'How the hell are we going to do this?' The panic over reopening schools
The CDC issued additional guidance this week on safely reopening schools, with infections spiking in the South and West.

Pediatricians say schools should strive to bring kids back to classrooms. Teachers unions are on the verge of revolt, in fear of infections. Local school districts are struggling with everything from technology to staging schools for socially distanced learning.

And Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is largely on the sidelines, saying the coronavirus back-to-school planning is a state and local issue.

No wonder parents across America are freaking out.

The CDC issued additional guidance this week on safely reopening schools, with infections spiking in the South and West. Some education leaders fear the guidelines are being disregarded, casting doubt anew on how the new school year will even be able to launch. Yet the beginning of the school year is nearing and worried parents are wondering if they will be able to count on in-person classes resuming by the time they must return to work, inextricably tying school reopenings to the revival of the economy.

In Virginia, Fairfax County’s teachers unions say teachers aren’t comfortable returning to schools and are encouraging members to state their preference for online learning until more information about face-to-face instruction is available. In Texas, the governor is now requiring face masks in public spaces in counties with 20 or more Covid-19 cases — but his order didn't mention schools. Arizona has delayed schools’ reopening date until mid-August as cases surge.

From social distancing to health checks, the list of concerns is seemingly endless as school districts draft their plans, many of which are still in the development stages. Those concerns are only intensifying as Covid-19 cases begin to skyrocket.

"There are no plans for most of these places,” said Lily Eskelsen García, CONTINUE READING: 'How the hell are we going to do this?' The panic over reopening schools - POLITICO

Derek W. Black: Supreme Court voucher decision threatens public education and US unity

Supreme Court voucher decision threatens public education and US unity

Supreme Court school voucher ruling threatens American unity and public education
Even the mildest voucher program sends the wrong message, telling individuals that there is merit in retreating to their own corner.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue could drive a value shift far more important and troubling than its narrow practical effect. The ruling demands that Montana allow private religious schools to participate in its school voucher program. But for most states, the decision is currently irrelevant. About half of the states do not fund private school tuition. Many of those that do already fund private religious education. Espinoza’s primary impact is to hand an enormous symbolic victory to those with a goal beyond religious education — a goal of shrinking public education and replacing it with government-funded private school choice.

Public schools serve the overwhelming majority of the nation’s children. At one end of the spectrum, Utah’s public schools serve 93 percent of the state’s children. At the other, Louisiana and the District of Columbia only serve 80 percent. But those numbers are rapidly changing. 

Public schools bring us together

In 2013, Indiana passed what was the largest voucher program in history. Shortly thereafter, other states proposed and passed even larger programs. Today, states fund three times as many private school students as they did in 2007 — with no signs of letting up. 

Florida, which funds close to $1 billion a year on private school tuition, passed legislation last week to double the size of its voucher program. CONTINUE READING: Supreme Court voucher decision threatens public education and US unity

NEA Today - At 2020 NEA RA, NEA President: Educators Will Help Determine Our Democracy’s Future #NEARA2020 #edJustice #DEMOCRACY

NEA Today - News and Features from the National Education Association

NEA Today - At 2020 NEA RA, Educators Vow to Help Lead Nation Through Crisis

Big Education Ape: We fight for a democracy worthy of us all! - Lily's Blackboard

#NEARA2020 #edJustice #DEMOCRACY - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/07/we-fight-for-democracy-worthy-of-us-all.html

At 2020 NEA RA, Educators Vow to Help Lead Nation Through Crisis

by Tim Walker / 15h

NEA President Lily Eskelsen García during her keynote address at the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly. Of all the events and activities that ground to a halt amid the greatest public health crisis in the nation’s history, the 2020 National Education Association Representative Assembly (RA) wasn’t going to be among them. On July 2 and 3, the more than 7,000 delegates gathered remotely (of course)

NEA Executive Director: A Just Society Begins with a Just Education

by Cindy Long / 19h

In her first address to RA delegates, NEA Executive Director Kim Anderson began with honesty and humanity, presenting a piece of herself to illustrate the profound impact educators can have on a life. “I want to share with you today some things that are part of my lived experience….as one of your former students, as a parent with two children of my own, and as a person of color in America,” she s

‘Your Team Needs You,’ says National Teacher of the Year

500+by Michelle Chovan / 20h

National Teacher of the Year Tabatha Rosproy, a preschool teacher from Kansas, addressed the NEA Representative Assembly on Friday, exhorting them to “elevate the voices of the unheard” in their union and in their school communities. A proud member of Kansas NEA, Rosproy said she knows what it’s like to be overlooked. She was the first preschool teacher in her rural, southwest Kansas district to

2020 ESP of the Year Says NEA Members Must Vote for Change

300+by Cindy Long / 20h

Andrea Beeman, NEA’s 2020 ESP of the Year, told delegates to NEA’s virtual Representative Assembly on July 3 how the selfless acts of others inspired her to devote a career of service to students with intellectual disabilities. “I am committed every day to giving my students three things: Love, laughter, and learning,” Beeman, a paraeducator from Maple Heights, Ohio, said. It’s what she was surro

Meet the 2020 NEA Higher Educator of the Year

by Mary Ellen Flannery / 20h

Elizabeth Davenport, a professor of educational leadership at Alabama State University, recently spoke with NEA Today about her reputation as a hard grader, her dedication to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and why the greatest achievement of her five-decade career in higher education rests with the women she has mentored. On Friday, July 3, the NEA Representative Assembly h

NEA President: Educators Will Help Determine Our Democracy’s Future

100+by Tim Walker / 1d

The nation stands at a crossroads, said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García in her final keynote address to the 2020 NEA Representative Assembly on Thursday, and it’s up to educators everywhere to make sure it chooses the correct path. Even though the 2020 RA is being conducted remotely during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 8,000 educator delegates from every state have come together vir

Supreme Court Gives States Green Light to Expand School Vouchers

by Tim Walker / 4d

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images) Today the United States Supreme Court allied itself with the far-right school privatization agenda by sanctioning the use of public funds for private school tuition. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled in Espinoza v. 

NEA Today - News and Features from the National Education Association

Teacher: 12 things we must consider before reopening schools - The Washington Post

Teacher: 12 things we must consider before reopening schools - The Washington Post

12 inconvenient truths about schools and kids that should be considered before reopening — from a teacher

As other countries reopen their schools or are well on their way to doing so, school districts in the United States are still putting together their plans for the 2020-21 school year, which is supposed to start next month in many parts of the country.

Districts are surveying parents and teachers, looking at advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and contemplating guidance from their state governments as they figure out what will work best in their communities.

But, with concerns about insufficient funding, the infection rate of the coronavirus in individual communities and other issues, many teachers are questioning whether some of the plans make sense. I recently published a post by Louisiana teacher Mercedes Schneider titled, “‘Parents need to go to work’ does not stop covid-19 at the school entrance.”

Here is a new piece on the subject, this by New Jersey educator Mark Weber, who looks at a dozen “inconvenient truths” about how schools work that policymakers should consider when developing reopening plans.

Weber is a full-time music teacher in Warren Township, N.J., and a part-time lecturer at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. He is also special analyst for education policy at New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive nonprofit that pushes policy change to advance economic justice and prosperity for all through evidence-based, independent research, analysis and advocacy.

This is a shortened version of a piece that appeared on his blog, jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com, and he gave me permission to publish it.

By Mark Weber

I’ve read and heard a lot of commentary from a lot of people who seem to think we can quickly prepare for reopening schools in the fall, as long as we have some flexibility and maybe some extra resources. I’ll be the first to say (along with others) that more funding is absolutely required if we’re going to have any chance of reopening schools. CONTINUE READING: Teacher: 12 things we must consider before reopening schools - The Washington Post

NANCY BAILEY: Happy 4th! Celebrating America’s Teachers, NOT Chromebooks!

Happy 4th! Celebrating America’s Teachers, NOT Chromebooks!

Happy 4th! Celebrating America’s Teachers, NOT Chromebooks!

Americans miss their public schools, their universities, and their teachers. On this 4th of July we owe much to the frontline hospital healthcare workers who save lives. Also give thanks for America’s teachers. They stand by their students and are trying to navigate uncertainty concerning Covid-19.

Back in March, many believed the virus would be a Shock Doctrine end for public education and teachers. Online learning would replace public schools and teachers. Brick-and-mortar schools would be a thing of the past.

For years, politicians, education reformers, and a zillion nonprofits backed by pro-privatization and technology agendas, pushed for stay at home online learning. Think K12 Inc. and Connections Academy, two online tech programs with abysmal track records.

Online charter schools like Summit and Rocketship are about replacing brick-and-mortar public schools and teachers. During these tedious months both Summit (they’re talking about data downloads) and Rocketship have been promoting their success. Tech plays a supporting role, it doesn’t stand well alone.

Anytime, anywhere learning was supposed to become the new school reality because of CONTINUE READING: Happy 4th! Celebrating America’s Teachers, NOT Chromebooks!

Schools Matter: Quadruple-Dipping by Corporate Welfare Charter Chaingangs

Schools Matter: Quadruple-Dipping by Corporate Welfare Charter Chaingangs

Quadruple-Dipping by Corporate Welfare Charter Chaingangs

Let's add 'em up: charter schools in California are eligible for 1) state per pupil funding equal to public schools, 2) chunks of the half-billion dollars each year from the federal Charter School Program (CSP) grants, 3) hundreds of millions from white philanthropic oligarchs and high rollers who see total compliance charter schools as the solution to what white philanthropists of the last century referred to as "the Negro problem," and 4) hundreds of millions available under new federal relief for small businesses.

And on top of that, you may add the stacks of cash saved by charter schools operating as non-profit corporations.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

. . . . Fourteen charter schools or chains in Oakland combined to receive roughly $20 million from the program. They included Education for Change, which runs six schools in the city and received $5.25 million, and Lighthouse Community Public Schools, which has two campuses and got $2.3 million.

Eight charter schools or chains in Santa Clara County combined to receive roughly $20 million. All but one received at least $1.5 million. Summit Public Schools, which has three schools in the county and a total of eight in the Bay Area, received $6.8 million.

At least two schools in San Francisco received loans. San Francisco Creative Arts Charter School got nearly $600,000. Envision Education’s City Arts and Tech High School also received a loan, but says the money will go to its consulting business — not the school that is supported by public funds. It did not divulge the amount it received.

And the St. Hope charter schools in Sacramento, whose board is chaired by school choice advocate Michelle Rhee and which was founded by her husband, former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, received more than $1.5 million.

Some of the loans were first publicized by Parents United for Public Schools and In the Public Interest, which oppose charter schools and the privatization of education. The Chronicle CONTINUE READING: 

Schools Matter: Quadruple-Dipping by Corporate Welfare Charter Chaingangs

Public Education: Born on the Fourth of July, 2020 Medley #14 | Live Long and Prosper

Public Education: Born on the Fourth of July, 2020 Medley #14 | Live Long and Prosper

Public Education: Born on the Fourth of July, 2020 Medley #14

Independence Day is a good time to explore the thoughts about public education expressed by the Founders. This year, we have witnessed the weakening of America’s public education system with the latest SCOTUS ruling on Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue — a decision that will divert even more public funds to religious institutions in addition to weakening the concept of church-state separation.

First, let’s hear from the Edu-blogosphere. The writers of each of the following posts have several concerns. First, by allowing public tax dollars to go to religious institutions, the state (here, with the permission of the federal judiciary) is “forcing” citizens to pay for religious instruction…to pay for religion. As Ben Franklin wrote…

When a Religion is good, I conceive that it will support itself; and when it cannot support itself, and God does not take care to support, so that its Professors are oblig’d to call for the help of the Civil Power, ’tis a Sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one.

Second, vouchers divert money from and damage public education.

Third, if governments provide money for religious schools, those funds ought to come with government restrictions — the same as the restrictions imposed on public schools. If it is illegal for public schools to discriminate in hiring when CONTINUE READING: Public Education: Born on the Fourth of July, 2020 Medley #14 | Live Long and Prosper

Success Academy Parent: SA “Discriminatory, Hurts Public Schools” | deutsch29

Success Academy Parent: SA “Discriminatory, Hurts Public Schools” | deutsch29

Success Academy Parent: SA “Discriminatory, Hurts Public Schools”

On July 02, 2020, I received an email from a Success Academy parent asking “to submit an anonymous (to avoid retaliation) letter about our firsthand experience,” with the goal to “encourage parents and inspire change one day” at Eva Moskowitz’s New York-based Success Academy charter school network.

The parent added, “I did a lot of writing to officials seeking help in confronting Success Academy, but there is no change, and everybody is scared of the CEO (Moskowitz) and her corrupt political connections.”

I responded to this parent and asked to privately view documentation so that I could verify that the person was indeed the parent of a Success Academy student. The parent complied with my request by sending me his/her child’s SA acceptance letter, which satisfied my need for verification.

And so, in order to provide this parent with a voice and to shed light upon Success Academy in a public space, I offer my readers the following narrative of the experience a Success Academy parent who has two children enrolled in Moskowitz’s charter schools network. (I added some links.)

Success Academy’s Secret to “Success” is Discriminatory, Hurts Public Schools

NYC’s top Charter School Success Academy is known for students with high scores, but it appears more and more insiders are coming out to expose its “abusive practices,” according to its ex-Spokesperson Liz Baker. Including the Charter School’s horrendous reputation against students with disabilities, its growing troubles actually might be contributing to CONTINUE READING: Success Academy Parent: SA “Discriminatory, Hurts Public Schools” | deutsch29