Big Education Ape

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Jersey Jazzman: More Obnoxious Charter School Propaganda

Jersey Jazzman: More Obnoxious Charter School Propaganda:

More Obnoxious Charter School Propaganda

Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!

State Sen. Shirley Turner recently introduced legislation seeking a moratorium on expanding enrollment for New Jersey’s charter public schools. This legislation will rob educational opportunity from thousands of New Jersey’s children already in charter schools, and deny more than 20,000 children on waiting lists the opportunity to attend a charter public school. Turner’s bill (S-2887/A-4351) intends to incarcerate thousands of students in the generationally failing local public schools that they are trying to escape. We cannot allow this bill to become law -- and I will tell you why. [emphasis mine]

So now we're equating public school students with prisoners. Just lovely.

How many times do I have to point out the "Sixty bazillion children on the NJ charter waiting list!" talking point is a complete crock? How many times do I have to challenge the New Jersey Charter Schools Association to show us, once and for all, their source for this absurd claim?

I have no doubt that Dale Caldwell's charter school has terrific teachers and amazing students and committed families, and that he should be be very proud of all of them and their work. But what he writes here is both toxic and idiotic:

Why would Turner, vice chair of the Senate Education Committee, introduce such legislation? The bill is nothing more than an attempt to limit parent choice in communities of need and stunt the educational achievement of our state’s charter public school students. Achievement that is very real and measurable. Charter school students’ success is a direct threat to the lucrative franchise the NJEA holds on a public education system that has failed generations of New Jersey children, especially in some of our state’s most challenged communities, including Trenton, Newark, and Camden. And this is where we need to address the miseducation of our lawmakers.

Oh, I see: the problem isn't poverty, or chronic school underfunding (nearly $30 this year for Trenton alone), or the extra money districts have to pay charters under the new "hold harmless" provision (nearly $1 million for Trenton alone). No, the problem -- in some evil, magical way that Caldwell doesn't care to explain -- is unionized teachers!

(By the way -- the NJEA does not represent Newark's teachers. But, hey, why let facts destroy a good sliming?)

Why would someone like Caldwell make such an obnoxious argument? Because he doesn't want you to think too carefully about this:

Wrong, senator. The five charter schools in the Trenton area (Sen. Turner’s home district) outperformed the district schools as measured by both the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) and New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) standardized tests. HSPA math scores were 30 percent higher, and

- See more at: http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2015/07/more-obnoxious-charter-school-propaganda.html#sthash.UCatqfB9.dpuf

No Child Left Behind Is Heading Out, but Standardized Tests Are Here to Stay - The Atlantic

No Child Left Behind Is Heading Out, but Standardized Tests Are Here to Stay - The Atlantic:

No Child Left Behind Is Heading Out, but Standardized Tests Are Here to Stay

No Child Left Behind is really, really unpopular. Roughly three in 10 Americans think the George W. Bush-era federal education law has actually worsened the quality of education, according to a 2012 Gallup poll. The original law on which No Child Left Behind is based—the half-century-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act—was supposed to be renewed nearly a decade ago. Politics just kept getting in the way.

Congress appears poised to finally reauthorize the act and get rid of No Child Left Behind for good. They’re shooting for a compromise that avoids giving the feds too much clout while ensuring already disadvantaged children don’t get put at an even greater disadvantage. But politicians on Capitol Hill have a lot of work ahead of them.

The most promising proposal is a bipartisan bill—the Every Child Achieves Act—that the Senate began debating Tuesday after getting unanimous approval from rather unlikely allies in the education committee, including Rand Paul and Elizabeth Warren. Meanwhile, the House will be taking up a separate proposal to rewrite the law: the GOP-drafted Student Success Act, which was pulled off the floor earlier this year after it failed to garner enough support but could return for a vote as soon as Wednesday.

Both proposals could easily flounder, and senators were already clashing Tuesday over how accountable states should be to the federal government. “It’s far from a slam dunk,” wrote Education Week’s Alyson Klein. The Obama administration said it “can’t support” either of the bills as they stand because they “lack the strong accountability provisions that it is seeking,” according toThe New York Times.

Why has No Child Left Behind left such a sour taste in people’s mouths? And how, if at all, would the proposed rewrites make amends?

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA, was designed to earmark extra funding for poor students—a program that would give the federal government a much greater role in classrooms. Giving disadvantaged schools an extra boost was certainly a worthy goal; it still is. Unfortunately, “the widespread challenges faced by children from low-income families in America remain extraordinarily difficult to tackle as they continue to struggle with vastly inadequate educational opportunities,” wrote Julian Zelizer, a Princeton history professor, for The Atlantic. The gap in test scores between students from lower- and higher-income families has grown by 40 percent since the 1960s.

Despite its bipartisan roots, No Child Left Behind, Zelizer argued, has done little to reverse those trends. Testing became the centerpiece of education reform, and schools faced harsh sanctions if they didn’t fulfill expectations. Teachers invested more time in test prep and less time in valuable instruction. Schools were shut down were in poor communities. Achievement levels are still greatly uneven.

Here’s a rundown comparing how the current law and proposed legislation (as of Tuesday) address some of the key challenges in American education today:

Testing

No Child Left Behind: The law mandates annual testing in math and reading for kids in grades three through eight as well as high school. Schools are expected to show progress in student test scores and face penalties if they don’t.

Every Child Achieves: The law would have the same testing requirements as No Child Left Behind. States would have to make test scores public, including data on how scores break down by race and income.

Student Success: Under this measure, states would be allowed to opt out of federal accountability requirements if they develop their own plans. (Education Week reports that the proposal now includes an amendment that would allow parents to opt their kids out of testing without those zeros counting against schools’ performance rankings.)

Standards

No Child Left Behind: The federal government uses test-score benchmarks as the standards against which schools are assessed.

Every Child Achieves: The law would explicitly prohibit the federal government from requiring states use a specific set of standards—i.e., Common Core. However, it would mandate that all states adopt “challenging” math, science, and reading standards that ensure kids are prepared for college or vocational pursuits.

Student Success: Similar to Every Child Achieves, the law would strictly prohibit the federal government from prescribing (or incentivizing states to adopt) standards such as the Common Core.

Teacher Evaluations

No Child Left Behind: The law originally required states to factor test scores into teacher evaluations.

Every Child Achieves: Under this proposal, states wouldn’t be required to evaluate teachers nor use test scores as a metric for assessing them.

Student Success: The law’s stipulations would be similar to those outlined in the Every Child Achieves Act.

Economic Segregation of Schools

No Child Left Behind: Under No Child Left Behind, schools with the highest concentrations of low-income students receive extra funding. The theory is that targeting money at high-poverty schools helps lift them—and their students—out of poverty. But research suggests that the extra funding doesn’t always compensate for the various social disadvantages associated with attending high-poverty schools, such as student and parent engagement and higher teacher expectations.

Every Child Achieves: The Senate proposal would largely retain No Child Left Behind’s funding formula, though the Department of Education is expected to promote provisions that would encourage economic diversity.

Student Success: The bill includes a school-choice provision that would make public money “portable,” allowing it to follow low-income children to different public schools. Democrats tend to oppose this tactic, arguing it would shift money from poor schools to rich ones.

Local Control

No Child Left Behind: The federal government plays a large role in determining what defines a struggling school and prescribes the sanctions applied to such schools.

Every Child Achieves: The law would shift to the states decisions about how test scores are used to assess school and teacher performance. It’d be up to states to determine how to improve struggling schools. This is a major reason civil-rights groups say they don’t support the existing legislation.

Student Success: The law would give states significant control over accountability.No Child Left Behind Is Heading Out, but Standardized Tests Are Here to Stay - The Atlantic:

Cuomo says de Blasio must earn mayoral control | Capital New York

Cuomo says de Blasio must earn mayoral control | Capital New York:

Cuomo says de Blasio must earn mayoral control

Governor Andrew Cuomo is not finished antagonizing Mayor Bill de Blasio on mayoral control of New York City's schools.

Speaking Tuesday about de Blasio's recent criticism of the governor, Cuomo said the mayor will have to earn further extensions of mayoral control.

"Next year we can come back, and if he does a good job, then we can say he should have more control," Cuomo said after an unrelated press conference.

That's the opposite argument from the one de Blasio put forth—that supporting mayoral control should be about the broad system of governance, not one mayor's education policies.

De Blasio got a one-year extension during this year's legislative session after advocating for permanent control of the New York City schools and then saying he would accept a three-year extension.

In the last weeks of the session, de Blasio, his senior officials and a large coalition of allies he's assembled on the topic repeatedly argued that lawmakers in Albany could disagree with his education agenda and still support mayoral control.

In a series of speeches, press conferences and emailed statements during the session, they warned of the dangers of returning to the old Board of Education system.

"This is not about your support of a particular mayor or a particular agenda," deputy mayor Richard Buery told a coalition of independent charter school leaders last month, a group that eventually threw its support behind an extension of mayoral control.

"Whether or not you agree with the policies is not the same as whether or not you agree with the principles," Dave Levin, the C.E.O. of the KIPP charter network, said last month. First lady Chirlane McCray, a large group of local business leaders and even education secretary Arne Duncan made similar arguments.

Cuomo turned that reasoning on its head on Tuesday, saying, "A lot of people say, well, mayoral control, it depends on who the mayor is."

Few city-based legislators or educators have made that claim publicly, with one notable exception: Success Academy C.E.O. Eva Moskowitz, who is a new ally of Cuomo's and perhaps de Blasio's most stalwart critic.

Moskowitz has called de Blasio undeserving of mayoral control in an attempt to further undermine him and in so doing, played directly into the hands of State Senate Republicans who were eager to embarrass de Blasio this session after he campaigned against them last fall.

The idea de Blasio will have to earn further extensions by substantially improving the public school system by next year, when it will be up for another renewal, presents a serious predicament for the mayor.

De Blasio has said the city's 94 struggling "Renewal Schools" will have at least two more years to show significant improvement. And many of his other key education initiatives, including new community schools, pre-kindergarten and expanded afterschool, are all designed to make gradual progress. It will be years before some of those programs can Cuomo says de Blasio must earn mayoral control | Capital New York:

The Great Common Core Textbook Swindle - The Daily Beast

The Great Common Core Textbook Swindle - The Daily Beast:

The Great Common Core Textbook Swindle

Only one in eight Common Core-aligned textbooks actually meet Common Core standards—and none by textbook giants Pearson or Houghton Mifflin Harcourt—but they were repackaged and sold to public schools anyway, at taxpayers’ expense.

Cheryl Schafer was a veteran math teacher by the time Common Core arrived in New York back in 2010. It was apparent to her almost immediately that teachers didn’t have the materials they needed to teach to the new national standards.

Take a middle school staple like the Pythagorean Theorem: “One text series had it as a sixth grade unit, one had it at eighth grade, and the Common Core wanted us to teach it in seventh grade,” Schafer recalled. “So it didn't matter what you were using: there was disagreement all over the place.”

In response to the new standards, textbook publishers touted new editions they said were aligned to the Common Core. But nearly all of them were just repackaged versions of earlier books.

And even five years later, the vast majority of textbooks say they’re aligned with the Common Core when they actually aren’t, creating a huge burden for teachers whose performance is often tied to their students’ test scores based on those standards.

“If you don't have the material that you need, it makes your job incredibly more difficult,” Schafer said. Teachers were left scrambling, doing their best to make due with materials that often didn’t line up with what they were supposed to be teaching.

Schafer retired last year, pushed out of the classroom by stage four breast cancer. But she hasn’t stopped working in education. Today she’s a reviewer for a nonprofit called EdReports, whose executive director says the group wants to become a Consumer Reports for education. The group is funded by the Gates Foundation, the massive organization that led development and adoption of Common Core and hires teachers to conduct intensive reviews of textbooks.

Its ultimate goal is to exert a meaningful positive force on the multi-billion dollar textbook industry, which gets nearly all its income from taxpayer.

This spring, EdReports conducted its first round of reviews, looking at the best-selling math textbooks for elementary and middle schoolers. Of the more than 80 textbooks it reviewed, just 11 met expectations for alignment with the Common Core. Nine of those books were from a single series, “Eureka Math” by publisher Great Minds, whose materials aligned with Common Core from kindergarten through eighth grade.

EdReports released publisher responses alongside its own reviews. In a multi-page statement, publishing giant Pearson—which had zero textbooks evaluated as being aligned with the Common Core—said EdReports’ evaluations “reflect a very narrow interpretation” of Common Core “and fall short of the true intent of the standards."

And even five years later, the vast majority of textbooks say they’re aligned with the Common Core when they actually aren’t, creating a huge burden for teachers whose performance is often tied to their students’ test scores based on those standards.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt—which had over 30 texts evaluated, none of which fully met standards—said it was “fully committed to working with our customers” and would continue to work toward improving its products.

As political fights over Common Core continue to rage on, the new standards have largely become a fact of life for most American teachers. They’re expected to teach to a test for those new standards. How each child performs on those tests is playing an increasing role in evaluations of the teachers, themselves—and, increasingly, it even affects their pay.

That's why teachers need materials that actually align with the Common Core: their paycheck could depend on it.

So if a teacher is saddled with a textbook that doesn’t align with the Common Core, they need to spend time patching together materials that will. That might The Great Common Core Textbook Swindle - The Daily Beast:

The False Promise of Core Knowledge | Nicholas Tampio

The False Promise of Core Knowledge | Nicholas Tampio:

The False Promise of Core Knowledge

When I was in second grade, my friend Rebecca and I used to read books together. We would peruse classics such as C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series, Charles Dickens's novels, and Paul de Kruif's Microbe Hunters, a history of the scientists who discovered vaccines. Rebecca and I were both public school students who would go on to earn doctorates and lead satisfying professional lives.

Thus I am somewhat sympathetic to E.D. Hirsch's argument, made in books such asCultural Literacy (1987) and The Making of Americans (2009), that cultural literacy exists, is a good thing, and should be cultivated by public schools. According to Hirsch, young people need to learn basic subjects, facts, and ideas in order to master the English language, navigate the modern economy, and participate in democratic politics.

I also tend to agree with much of what Hirsch says young people should know. In The Making of Americans, for instance, Hirsch writes that the goal of second grade is "to foster curiosity and the beginnings of understandings about the larger world outside the children's locality, and about varied civilizations and ways of life." That seems like an appropriate standard for second graders.

For the past few years, though, I have been puzzled about E.D. Hirsch's connection to the Common Core. In 2014, Politico published an article on the affinities between Hirsch and David Coleman, the architect of the Common Core. The article suggests that Coleman took to heart Hirsch's insight about the connection between knowledge and literacy and that the Common Core is "a step" in the direction of Hirsch's vision.

That does not seem right. The Common Core famously emphasizes evidence-based reading and writing. For Common Core assignments and exams, students only get full credit if they answer questions using evidence from the passage under consideration. Why? In a New York Times article on the SAT overhaul, Coleman explains that the new test will not favor children from affluent backgrounds and will be free of ethnic, racial and religious bias. Instead, the Common Core-aligned SAT measures analytical and evidentiary skills rather than, say, knowledge of obscure vocabulary words. In other words, Coleman wants the Common Core to negate the advantages possessed by the culturally literate.

To see the challenge of reconciling skills and content, Coleman's vision and Hirsch's, look at the Core Knowledge curriculum.

The Core Knowledge Foundation claims to provide "a coherent, cumulative, and content-specific core curriculum" to teach children the fundamentals of science, government, world history, mathematics, and masterpieces of art and music. In 2013-2014, over a thousand schools used all or part of the Core Knowledge Sequence. In New York, the State Education Department recommends Core Knowledge materials, a pattern that is happening around the country as states and school districts look to offer a Common Core-aligned curriculum.

Although E.D. Hirsch is the Chair of the Core Knowledge Foundation, the materials do not match up with his recommendations in his books. Instead, they reflect the Common Core's emphasis on skills.

Take, for example, Grade 2, Unit 1 on "The Cat Bandit." In this Unit, students learn the Core Knowledge Language Arts daily routines and exercises, including decoding and phonetics.

Here is the opening of the story about the Cat Bandit:

Mom had a hot dog.
She left the hot dog on a shelf in the den.
The hot dog sent up a smell.
The smell drifted and drifted.
The cat bandit sat on the deck, wishing he had a snack.
Then the hot dog smell hit him.
Such a smell!
Sniff, sniff, sniff!

The Cat Bandit story does not have an author. It is not a classic. One does not become culturally literate from reading it. It is a story about a cat without an ethnicity, a history, or anything else that can cause a controversy. As a second grader, I believe, this story would have bored me to tears.

To be clear, this type of literature predates the Common Core. As Diane Ravitch documents in her book The Language Police, groups have long pressured textbook publishers and state education agencies to remove materials that could be viewed as racist, sexist, or elitist. As a result, however, children read banal stories about The False Promise of Core Knowledge | Nicholas Tampio:

Reid, McConnell point fingers over No Child Left Behind fix | TheHill

Reid, McConnell point fingers over No Child Left Behind fix | TheHill:

Reid, McConnell point fingers over No Child Left Behind fix

"Republicans and Democrats have long agreed that the No Child Left Behind is broken and needs to be fixed, but the Senate didn't do anything about it for seven long years, missing its deadlines repeatedly," McConnell said from the Senate floor, referring to Reid's time as majority leader.

The Kentucky Republican compared the inability to previously pass a reform bill to the Senate's current debate on the Every Child Achieves Act, a reform bill that passed out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee by unanimous consent.

"Just think about it, from third rail to unanimous bipartisan support. Now, that's an impressive achievement," McConnell added.

He suggested that the Senate's ability to take up the legislation was another example of Republican leadership's promise to restore regular Senate to the order and highlight the GOP's ability to govern ahead of the 2016 election.

Dozens of senators have submitted amendments to the legislation, and McConnell called on senators to "continue working cooperatively across the aisle" and "reining in the power of the executive branch."

Reid fired back that the Senate could have previously passed a fix to the No Child Left Behind law, but that he couldn't get cooperation from Republicans.

"It's nice that my friend, the Republican leader, comes and talks about all the great things being done in the Congress now, but the fact is it could have been done many years ago had we had a little bit of cooperation from the Republicans," he said.

The Democratic leader noted that former Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who chaired the HELP Committee, "tried very hard" to pass legislation, adding, "Why didn't we get it? Because the Republicans blocked us from doing it." Reid, McConnell point fingers over No Child Left Behind fix | TheHill:

Teachers union opposes BROADIE Metro schools chief finalist

Teachers union: Reference opposes Metro schools chief finalist:

Teachers union: Reference opposes Metro schools chief finalist

At least one of the references listed by a controversial candidate for Metro Nashville Public Schools director wouldn't actually recommend the candidate, which should raise another red flag about the candidate, says the local teachers unions.

The Metro Nashville Education Association says John Covington, one of the four finalists to lead Nashville schools, listed at least one reference on his application that doesn't check out. Erik Huth, president-elect of the local teachers union, said in a statement Wednesday that questions arose after the union called Andrea Flinders, head of the Kansas City teachers union. Covington previously worked in Kansas City and listed the local union leader there as one of his many references.

"We called the president of the Kansas City local about the reference and she laughed, thinking it was absurd," Huth said in a news release.

"She had not been asked by Covington to be a reference and had not been contacted by the search firm to verify her name being used. She was clear she would not recommend him for the job. This raises even more questions about the validity of the search and the documents supplied to the board."

THE TENNESSEAN

Controversy follows Metro schools chief finalist

THE TENNESSEAN

Delay Metro's superintendent hire? Mayoral candidates weigh in

Flinders didn't immediately return a message left by The Tennessean.

Asked about Flinders not recommending Covington, Covington said, "OK." In a brief telephone interview Wednesday morning, Covington said he would be happy to answer media questions after he interviewed with the Nashville school board.

"Before I can talk with the media, I at least need to give the members of the board an opportunity to interview me," Covington said.

Bill Attea, executive search partner with search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment. He defended his firm's work in Nashville and in general during a recent interview with The Tennessean.

"We've not batted 1.000," Attea said Tuesday. "We've made mistakes, and some we've Teachers union: Reference opposes Metro schools chief finalist:

Congressman Fattah Statement on ESEA Reauthorization and Its Implications for Education Reform in Pennsylvania | news.sys-con.com

Congressman Fattah Statement on ESEA Reauthorization and Its Implications for Education Reform in Pennsylvania | news.sys-con.com:

Congressman Fattah Statement on ESEA Reauthorization and Its Implications for Education Reform in Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) issued the following statement on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization—currently known as No Child Left Behind—and the recently released White House report, "Giving Every Child a Fair Shot." The House of Representatives is expected to vote on reauthorizing ESEA this week. Fattah has been recognized as Congressional leader in education policy; he is the architect of GEAR UP, the nation's most successful college preparedness program and was the co-creator of the Department of Education's Equity and Excellence Commission:

"This week, the White House issued a report, "Giving Every Child a Fair Shot," detailing information and statistics on the performance of schools in each state. I share the President's assessment that as a nation we have seen meaningful progress in improving student outcomes and increasing graduation rates. However, there is much more to be done, and there are too many states around the country—including Pennsylvania—that are falling behind when it comes to student achievement and educational equity.

"It is imperative that every student, regardless of their zip code or economic background, is given the same opportunity to succeed. This means equal access to quality teachers, sufficient school resources and support, and funding. Unfortunately, we are working within an outdated piece of legislation—No Child Left Behind—that cannot sufficiently address the educational needs of today's students and teachers. As Congress looks to reauthorize ESEA this week, we must ensure that we are prioritizing a bill that enables states and local districts the flexibility to implement locally-driven reforms, promotes equal funding and resources, invests in early education, provides incentives and recognition for innovation and success, and puts our children first.

"Earlier this spring, the Department of Education released data showingPennsylvania schools as the most inequitable in the nation. This came as no surprise to anyone in Philadelphia, where as a city we have watched for years as many of our low-performing schools have persistently remained low performing.

CIO, CTO & Developer Resources

"The Governor and legislators across the Commonwealth must find common ground and must work together to craft a mindful budget that supports the resources necessary to close the achievement gap for all Pennsylvania students and ensures that our most needy schools not only receive more equitable funding, but also increased attention targeted at solving their unique challenges. Without serious education reform and funding parity, Pennsylvania cannot turn around its low-performing schools and produce the type of achievement gains necessary for our students to meet the most basic academic standards. If the status quo continues, it is inevitable that our city and state economies will suffer, hindering their ability to attract businesses seeking a well-educated, highly skilled workforce.

"The White House report tells us what those in the education policy community already know; that with the right leadership, commonsense reform, innovative thinking, and alignment of resources, states and school districts can witness dramatic progress in changing student outcomes. Philadelphia can learn from successful initiatives like those highlighted in Tennessee, Washington, D.C., andDenver.

"I am encouraged by these success stories and others from around the country. I know Philadelphia can do better, and I know our nation can do better. As Congress turns its attention to this bill this week, I will only support a final product that sufficiently addresses the challenges of our modern education system and protects students' rights, ensuring every young person equal access to the educational instruction and support necessary to prepare them for college and beyond."

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/congressman-fattah-statement-on-esea-reauthorization-and-its-implications-for-education-reform-in-pennsylvania-300110339.html

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka FattahCongressman Fattah Statement on ESEA Reauthorization and Its Implications for Education Reform in Pennsylvania | news.sys-con.com:

Poverty rates in every U.S. school district, in one map - The Washington Post

Poverty rates in every U.S. school district, in one map - The Washington Post:

Poverty rates in every U.S. school district, in one map

Anyone who cares about the plight of poor children in America should take a look at a new interactive map, below, put together by the new nonprofit EdBuild.

The map shows Census Bureau poverty rates in each of the nation’s nearly 14,000 school districts nationwide. The darker the blue on the map, the greater the concentration of children living in poverty. It seems like the kind of map that should have been easy to find long ago — but it hasn’t been, at least not in the public realm.

Zoom out, and you can see macro-level concentrations of poverty and wealth, like the dark blue swaths of impoverished districts along the Mississippi River in the Deep South and in rural parts of the West. Zoom in, and you see how school district boundaries often serve as stark lines of division between the poor and the affluent.

EdBuild founder Rebecca Sibilia says that the map should serve as a wake-up call that gerrymandering is as much a problem for kids in public schools as it is for voters. The difference is that boundaries are drawn to contain poor families rather than to favor a certain political party, she said.

[In 23 states, the richest school districts get more funding than the poorest]

Take Camden, N.J., pictured below. More than 45 percent of Camden’s 16,000 students live in poverty. Within a five-mile radius of the city center, there are 32 other small school districts that each serve a wealthier population.

Or look at Birmingham, Ala., a district in which more than 40 percent of children live in poverty. The impoverished district, in dark blue in the map below, includes islands marooned within more affluent suburbs.

EdBuild published the map to highlight inequitable school funding across the country. Fixing that problem is the main aim for the new nonprofit, says Sibilia, an alumna of StudentsFirst, the lobbying organization founded by Michelle Rhee. Sibilia is also a veteran of the Rhee era of reform in the District; she was chief financial officer of the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education during Rhee’s tenure as chancellor of D.C. Public Schools.

Below is an interview with Sibilia, edited for length and clarity.

Why did you start EdBuild? What are you trying to do?

We’re really focused on what we believe to be the core structural challenges to moving forward with a modern, 21st Century delivery of education. We’re in a position where we have blended learning and iPads in the classroom, but we’re still funding our schools using formulas from 1986. It’s a crazy mismatch.

There are three core issues:

First, the amount of funding that is being provided on a student-by-student basis to the same schools, to students with the same needs, is wildly arbitrary. Take Ohio: The state funding formula spits out $5,000 more per pupil for kids in Toledo than those in Canton, despite very similar demographics.

The second problem really relates to the core focus of what we tried to get at with the map, which is our over-reliance on property taxes to Poverty rates in every U.S. school district, in one map - The Washington Post:

Latest News and Comment from Education