NOTES FROM DIANE – MARCH 29, 2013
Diane Ravitch President
Dear Friends and Allies,
The major issue of the day is the rapid increase in school closings in cities across the nation. The latest and most outrageous example is the decision of the Chicago Public Schools to close 54 public schools and displace some 30,000 students. This is unprecedented in American history. This is the bitter fruit of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. As alarming as the Chicago action is, what is even more shocking is that the American public is being persuaded by a constant barrage of corporate reform chatter to believe that public schools should close if they have low scores. But public schools are not shoe stores. They are community assets. We must build their capacity, support them, strengthen them. No school was ever improved by closing it.The article in the New York Times describing this startling decision to shutter 50+ schools described it as the largest single closing of public schools “in recent memory.” The more accurate description would have been “ever.” In nearly two centuries of American public education, no district ever engaged in school closings as a
Does New York State Care About Education?
Jere Hochman, superintendent of the Bedford Central School District, describes the outrageous pressure on schools. Governor Cuomo put a 2% cap on new taxes, and it requires a super-majority of 60% to lift the tax cap. Many schools are cutting the budget, cutting programs, laying off librarians. More mandates keep coming from the state and federal government.
Do “reformers” protest the budget cuts? Do they protest when class sizes go up or librarians are laid off?
As long as they get more testing, Common Core, and value-added assessment, the reformers are satisfied.
Do “reformers” protest the budget cuts? Do they protest when class sizes go up or librarians are laid off?
As long as they get more testing, Common Core, and value-added assessment, the reformers are satisfied.
The Mystery of the $18,000 in Alabama Solved
A reader did some sleuthing when presented earlier with the question of who was paying for an ad buy of at least $18,000 to support the Alabama Accountability Act:
He writes:
Oh, what a tangled web we weave…
So, alabamaaccountability.com/ is owned by Domains by Proxy LLC, a company that has already been identified as engaging in troubling activities (in particular in the political domain, seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domains_by_Proxy)
The organizations featured on Alabama Accountability’s website as “supporters” are Heritage Foundation, the
He writes:
Oh, what a tangled web we weave…
So, alabamaaccountability.com/ is owned by Domains by Proxy LLC, a company that has already been identified as engaging in troubling activities (in particular in the political domain, seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domains_by_Proxy)
The organizations featured on Alabama Accountability’s website as “supporters” are Heritage Foundation, the
Who Are These Ideologues? Fill in the Blanks
Ed Berger has written a wise blog about the damage that ideologues do.
In this post, he describes two people but does not identify them by name.
He writes about how their narrow experience, their arrogance, their certainty, and their inability to learn from their mistakes do serious damage to other people.
Who are they?
In this post, he describes two people but does not identify them by name.
He writes about how their narrow experience, their arrogance, their certainty, and their inability to learn from their mistakes do serious damage to other people.
Who are they?
Which Entrepreneur Will Get Camden’s Kids?
Jersey Jazzman has done his usual spectacular research job and discovered that a new charter operator is poised to enter the Camden “market” of school choice.
It happens to be the same for-profit charter operator who runs the Chester Community Charter School, who happens to be the single biggest campaign contributor to Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett. Since he opened
It happens to be the same for-profit charter operator who runs the Chester Community Charter School, who happens to be the single biggest campaign contributor to Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett. Since he opened
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 3-28-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Hype, Spin, and Deception: The Reform Narrative by dianerav Have you heard about the latest miracle school? Have you heard about the school that graduate all students regardless of zip codes? Want to learn more about their success? EduShyster explains it here. Camden, NJ, School Board Member: I Quit by dianerav After Governor Christie announced his intention to take control of the public schools of Camden, this school board member resigned in protest. The state... more »
Here’s a video from a former Teach For America corps member named John Bilby, who taught in the South Bronx from 2009 to 2010 after going through TFA’s five-week summer training and finding it totally inadequate to prepare him for what he faced.
