KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all

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

KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG 

A site to discuss better education for all

Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools

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TODAY

Kentucky: New Governor Invites Teachers to Lead Inaugural Parade!

by dianeravitch / 29min

Newly elected Governor Andy Beshear has invited teachers to lead his inaugural parade! Governor-elect Beshear recognizes that angry teachers powered his upset election over the loser, Matt Bevin, who showered contempt on teachers. And paid for it. A group of Kentucky teachers will serve as the grand marshals for the inauguration parade. It’s set for Dec. 10 in Frankfort. “In my first inauguration

Chicago: Teachers Union Members Endorse New Contract!

by dianeravitch / 29min

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union adopted the agreement reached with the Mayor that provides significant new benefits for students. This is now known as “Bargaining for the Common Good.” STATEMENT: For Immediate Release| ctulocal1.org CONTACT: Chris Geovanis, 312-329-6250 , 312-446-4939 (m) , ChrisGeovanis@ctulocal1.org CTU members vote overwhelmingly to accept tentative agreement New contrac

YESTERDAY

Peter Greene: Can the State of Ohio Outlaw Facts?

93by dianeravitch / 17h

Perhaps you laughed, perhaps you were astonished when you read that Republicans in Ohio in the House voted for a law that would allow a student’s religious beliefs to give the wrong answers on science tests. Peter Greene shows that the proposed bill is even worse than we thought. He begins: It’s called the “Ohio Student Religious Liberties Act of 2019” and it sets out to accomplish a few things:

Florida: Teachers Reject Governor DeSantis’ Bonus Plan

71by dianeravitch / 20h

The Florida Education Association rejected Governor Ron DeSantis’ bonus plan. Bonus plans have a long history of failure. Nov. 14, 2019 CONTACT: Joni Branch, (850) 201-3223 or (850) 544-7055 FEA reacts to DeSantis bonus plan announcement TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Education Association (FEA) was disappointed to learn Thursday that what Gov. Ron DeSantis envisions as a way to properly compensate ex

Pennsylvania: GOP Speaker Pushes DeVos Plan for Vouchers

by dianeravitch / 21h

Republican Mike Turzai, Speaker of the House in Pennsylvania, is encouraging the state to adopt the Betsy DeVos agenda for diverting public funds to religious and private schools. Turzai’s agenda is described here by Lawrence Feinberg, a school board member in Haverford Township and director of the Keystone State Education Coalition. Feinberg writes: The 2022 race for governor’s race has begun, a

North Carolina: A Mother Sends Her Children to a Charter School But Is Shocked When She Finds Out About the Real Estate Deal

by dianeravitch / 22h

Larry Lee, an education advocate and blogger in Alabama, posted the story of a North Carolina mother who enrolled her sons in charter school, taking a blind leap of faith. She is a diligent mother, so she attended board meetings and followed her sons’ progress closely. But then she inquired about who and what was behind this charter school and she was gobsmacked. Lee was interested in the story b

Ohio: House Passes Bill Allowing Students to Get Credit for Wrong Answers in Science If Answers Are Based on Their Religion

300+by dianeravitch / 22h

We are entering into a strange era where religious belief is being permitted to trump scientific fact. Ohio legislators in the House passed legislation allowing students to receive credit for wrong answers on science tests if their answer is based on their religious beliefs. Does anyone think that actions such as this one will prepare students to live and thrive in the modern world? Will students

Wisconsin: It’s Time to Hold Legislators Accountable for School Success!

47by dianeravitch / 1d

The Resistance has opened a new front in Wisconsin! The proper place for accountability is at the top: with those who decide how much money is available, and those who write the laws and the mandates and the regulations. The legislature determines whether funding is available to reduce class size, to provide adequate staff, to offer appropriate compensation to those who work in the schools. The l

Wisconsin: Join the Resistance! Here! Now!

26by dianeravitch / 1d

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Heather DuBois Bourenane, Executive Director, Wisconsin Public Education Network, (608) 572-1696, hdb@WisconsinNetwork.org ; Dr. Julie Underwood, President of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools board of directors, julie.madison.wisconsin@gmail.com , (608) 469-2287 View this release online here . Lawmakers Held Accountable for Votes on Education with Repor

NOV 14

Los Angeles: UTLA Endorses Bernie Sanders

200+by dianeravitch / 1d

Tonight, the United Teachers of Los Angeles endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination for president. LOS ANGELES — United Teachers Los Angeles, the second-largest teachers’ local in the country, is proud to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders for US President in the 2020 Primary Election, making UTLA the first teachers’ union in the country to endorse a presidential candidate. Toni

Kentucky: Matt Bevin Concedes Defeat

100+by dianeravitch / 1d

The Kentucky governor’s race is over at last. Matt Bevin conceded defeat. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin on Thursday conceded to Attorney General Andy Beshear after a recanvass of votes confirmed Mr. Beshear’s victory in last week’s governor’s election . “We’re going to have a change in the governorship based on the vote of the people,” Mr. Bevin, a Republican, said in a brief speech from a podium in f

Jack Hassard: Read the Transcript! No Quid Pro Quo! Bribery!

by dianeravitch / 1d

Jack Hassard, having taught science education for many years, is scrupulous about evidence. So he took seriously Trump’s demand that everyone read the transcript of his “perfect” phone call with the president of Ukraine. He gives a close reading to that transcript here. What transpired, he says, based on the transcript, was not a “quid pro quo.” A this-for-that can be completely legitimate: You m

Texas: A Power Grab to Squeeze the Public Out of Public Education

by dianeravitch / 1d

Parent activist Lynn Davenport posted this warning about a “public-private partnership” that leaves out the public. Corporate interests are plotting to privatize public schools while hiding behind the facade of the “portfolio model,” a term used to deceive the public of Grand Theft Public Schools. Davenport writes: The new oil in Midland is student data. The Midland Collective Impact initiative u

Walton Foundation and UNCF Collaborate to Lure Young African Americans into Disruption Movement

by dianeravitch / 1d

A friend share this link about a program in which the United Negro College Fund is funded by the far-right Walton Family Foundation to give summer internships to young African Americans to work in organizations that undermine public education, unions, and the teaching profession. The purpose of the program is to build a “robust pipeline of African Americans engaged in education reform in America.

Shawgi Tell: Charters Open and Close Like Day Lilies

300+by dianeravitch / 1d

Shawgi Tell is a professor of education at Nazareth College in New York. He points out that “More than 765 Charter Schools Have Closed in Three Years.” This is what Disrupters refer to as “high-quality seats.” Here today, gone tomorrow. Currently, about 3.2 million students are enrolled in roughly 7,000 privately-operated charter schools across the country. This represents less than 7% of all stu

Justin Parmenter: Why N.C. Governor Cooper Vetoed a Pay Raise for Teachers: It Was a Sham!

24by dianeravitch / 2d

Justin Parmenter, an NBCT teacher in North Carolina, explains in this article why Democratic Governor Roy Cooper vetoed a pay raise for educators passed by the ultra-conservative state legislature. He begins: Asheville City Schools full-time instructional assistant Angel Redmond is in her 4th year with the school system and her 21st year in education. Angel has a degree in psychology, and her dut

NOV 13

CNN: Deval Patrick Will Enter the Democratic Primary Contest

by dianeravitch / 2d

CNN reports that former Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will throw his hat in the ring. After leaving government, Patrick entered the private sector and was employed by Bain Capital, the same firm where Mitt Romney made his fortune. Patrick’s entry, like potential candidate Bloomberg, will weaken Joe Biden, the current front-runner in most states.

Nancy Bailey: Who Is to Blame for Poor NAEP Reading Scores? Here Are Their Names

29by dianeravitch / 2d

Nancy Bailey read a list of organizations who were blaming teachers for not adhering to the “science” of reading and thus blaming teachers for NAEP reading scores. She got steamed and pointed out that none of these individuals or organizations criticizing teachers are known as teachers themselves. She got so steamed that she names names in this post. These are the organizations, she says, that ha

See This Documentary: “American Factory”

37by dianeravitch / 2d

Reader David Kristofferson recommended this documentary , which is streaming on Netflix. I regret putting any money in Reed Hastings’ coffers, but this is a very compelling program. “American Factory” tells the story of a GM factory in Ohio that closed, putting thousands of workers out of work. A few years after the closing, a large Chinese company named Fuyao arrives to revive the factory, dedic

Laura Chapman: The Disrupters Refuse to Slink Away Despite Massive Failure

33by dianeravitch / 2d

Last night there was a grand event at the Kennedy Center where veterans of the Bush and Obama education world joined together to wring their hands about the crisis at hand. The crisis is not the mess they made of American education for the past 20 years. The crisis is that the tests are not hard enough, the punishments are not tough enough, and the nation needs to buckle down and keep on testing

Leonie Haimson: Why NAEP Scores Went Flat or Declined

by dianeravitch / 2d

Leonie Haimson explains here why NAEP scores have been flat or declined for the past decade: the combination of the recession of 2008 (and its aftermath) and the Common Core was a hard blow to students and teachers. She writes: The poor results are most likely a consequence of several factors, including the damaging double whammy experienced by schools in 2009-2011 – when the great recession hit,

Campbell Brown’s “The 74” Does Not Like Elizabeth Warren

38by dianeravitch / 2d

Campbell Brown was a CNN anchor. Then she became the new face of the Education Disruption movement after the disappearance of Michelle Rhee. Brown advocated for charters and vouchers and she opposed teachers’ unions and teacher tenure. She claimed in various articles in the New York City press that the schools were overrun by teachers who were sexual predators, protected by the union. She created

Gary Rubinstein: Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy Grows But Continues to Have High Attrition Rates

24by dianeravitch / 3d

Gary Rubinstein read a story in the local Rupert Murdoch newspaper saluting Eva Moskowitz’s charter chain for its high SAT scores, but then noticed how many students were in the senior class . (Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch is a multimillion-dollar donor to the Success Academy charter chain.) What school advertises its SAT scores? Success Academy! Gary noticed that of the students who st

NOV 12

The Secret to Trump’s Alliance with Turkey

by dianeravitch / 3d

A fascinating story appeared on the New York Times website tonight. The relationship is based on Jared Kushner’s friendships with Turkish sons-in-law. Guys like him. Read this: By David D. Kirkpatrick and Eric Lipton ISTANBUL — Behind President Trump’s accommodating attitude toward Turkey is an unusual back channel: a trio of sons-in-law who married into power and now play key roles in connecting

Support Little Rock Educators with a Donation

100+by dianeravitch / 3d

I hope you will join me by donating to Bread for Ed, which supports the strike of the teachers in Little Rock. The Walton-controlled State Board stripped them of their collective bargaining rights. They are demonstrating for their students, their right to organize, and for democracy.

Tonight! A Bipartisan Requiem (or Celebration) for the Failure of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top

23by dianeravitch / 3d

Political Morning Education reports a big event in D.C. tonight where partisans of the test-and-punish education policies of the past twenty years will gather to rededicate themselves to their failed programs. Will these advocates for accountability accept any accountability for the misguided practices they have foisted on American education? Will they hold themselves accountable for the billions

Little Rock: Teachers Will Strike This Thursday!

by dianeravitch / 3d

Grassroots Arkansas reports that the teachers of Little Rock will strike this Thursday. It will be a one-day strike. The State Board of Education (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Walton family) stripped the local union of its collective bargaining rights and is trying to destroy and privatize public education in that city. For the billionaire Waltons, Little Rock is the petri dish that is near a

John Richard Schrock: Trump’s War Against Science

29by dianeravitch / 3d

The federal government has an important role in the support and advancement of science. Science should be free of political influence. Decision making should not be based on partisanship. Yet, as science professor John Richard Schrock shows, politics have often intruded on decisions about which policies to fund and what to make public. He cites bad decisions over the years under both Republican a

Why Mike Klonsky Will Not Vote for Bloomberg

by dianeravitch / 3d

Mike Klonsky explains why he in not excited about the prospect of Michael Bloomberg’s candidacy for president. He writes: Why is this billionaire Republicrat media tycoon and former New York mayor even considering jumping into a crowded Democratic primary as a 14-to-1 longshot? He knows the odds as well as anyone. One, because he can afford to, and two, he wants to be a hedge against the progress

Breaking News: The Supreme Court Will Allow Sandy Hook Lawsuit Against Gun Manufacturer to Go Forward

42by dianeravitch / 3d

A headline from the Boston Globe, just posted (I don’t have a link because, although I am a subscriber, the Globe website does not permit me to log in.) The Supreme Court is letting a lawsuit proceed against the maker of the rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The justices rejected an appeal Tuesday from Remington Arms that argued a 2005 federal law shields firearms manufactu

Jane Nylund: Oakland Is in the Sights of the “Destroy Public Education” Crowd, Who Control the Board

59by dianeravitch / 3d

Jane Nylund, parent activist in Oakland, wrote the following warning after reading about the ouster of the Disrupters in Denver. Parents and activists and concerned citizens must organize and oust the agents of Disruption: Oakland also must flip 4 board seats next year. The Walton-bought board has recently closed two schools, Roots and Kaiser Elementary, and there is talk of accelerating the “Blu

New York Times: How Warren Plan Would Reduce Billionaires’ Fortunes

by dianeravitch / 4d

The New York Times published an analysis of how Elizabeth Warren’s tax plan would affect the giant fortunes of the nation’s billionaires. If you subscribe to the Times, you can see how each of the biggest billionaires is affected. Although they would pay big taxes, they would still be billionaires. Bill Gates denounced Warren’s plan at a Times-sponsored event, claiming that Warren would tax away

NOV 11

Charles Blow: Why You Must Never Vote for Bloomberg

by dianeravitch / 4d

Today in the New York Times, columnist Charles Blow wrote a scathing critique of Bloomberg, based on his “stop and frisk” policy. He wrote: Let me plant the stake now: No black person — or Hispanic person or ally of people of color — should ever even consider voting for Michael Bloomberg in the primary. His expansion of the notoriously racist stop-and-frisk program in New York, which swept up mil

Teresa Hanafin on Nikki Haley and Her Loyalty to the Orange One

by dianeravitch / 4d

Teresa Hanafin writes Fast Forward for the Boston Globe almost daily She wrote about Nikki Haley’s new book and her defense of Trump. Haley was on one of the cable talk shows and she said Trump should not be impeached because he did not get the Ukrainian president to hold a press conference and he did give Ukraine the money that Congress appropriated. This is akin to saying that a bank robber sho

D.C.: Charter Enrollment Declines for First Time Since 1996

100+by dianeravitch / 4d

While we are on the subject of the District of Columbia, here’s an interesting tidbit. Despite the drumbeat about “waiting lists,” charter enrollment declined, and enrollment in public schools increased. The numbers are not large but they seem to reflect a trend. Charter enrollment also declined in Michigan, DeVos’s domain. Maybe parents are getting tired of schools that open and close like day l

Valerie Jablow: D.C. Ripped Off By Charter Real Estate Deals

by dianeravitch / 4d

Valerie Jablow is a parent in D.C. whose blog follows the ethical scandals of public officials and the charter industry in her hometown. This one is a doozy. It is so crazy that I can’t summarize it. Somewhere in this Pink Panther-style story are the moneymakers. The guys who finance the real estate: Turner Agassi. Tennis star Andre Agassi opened his own charter school in Las Vegas. He promised t

33 Writers: Please Stop Using Term “Quid Pro Quo”

74by dianeravitch / 4d

This letter appeared in the New York Times on To the Editor: A plea from 33 writers: Please use language that will clarify the issues at hand. Please stop using the Latin phrase “quid pro quo” regarding the impeachment inquiry. Most people don’t understand what it means, and in any case it doesn’t refer only to a crime. Asking for a favor is not a criminal act; we frequently demand things from fo

Dana Milbank Explains Quid Pro Quo

by dianeravitch / 4d

A column such as this one by Dana Milbank explains why I read the Washington Post every day. And it serves to remind us of the value of Latin (I took two years of Latin in high school and wish I had studied it for four years. Regrets.) He writes: Et tu, Mulvaney? Three weeks ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled the impeachment inquiry with a Latin phrase spoken by Julius Caesar when he crosse

New York Times: Elizabeth Warren Is Making Billionaires Nervous

by dianeravitch / 5d

The New York Times published an editorial chastising the billionaires who are outraged by Senator Warren’s proposed tax on billionaires. No plan emerges through Congressional hearings unscathed, and you can bet K Street lobbyists will work overtime to protect the nation’s 607 billionaires. The Times said: When Bill Gates founded Microsoft in 1975, the top marginal tax rate on personal income was

NOV 10

Peter Greene Explains Why Market Forces Do Not Provide Charter School Accountability

35by dianeravitch / 5d

Charter promoters have long argued that traditional forms of accountability like auditing and financial and academic oversight are unnecessary because the magic of the market will hold them accountable. If parents enroll their children, that is all the accountability that is necessary. Peter Greene explains in this article why the market does not create accountability for charter schools. It has

Bill Phillis: An Experiment in Ohio That Will Probably Never Be Repeated

20by dianeravitch / 5d

Bill Phillis, retired deputy commissioner of the state education department, is a watchdog for Ohio schools, especially finances. Charter schools in Ohio are called “community schools.” He writes: 2015 Auditor of State Report on Community School Student Attendance Counts In 2014, the State Auditor’s office conducted an unannounced head count in 30 Ohio site-based charter schools. One charter had

Jan Resseger Reviews Andrea Gabor’s Dissection of the New Orleans “Miracle”

21by dianeravitch / 5d

Jan Resseger is one of the keenest analysts of the assault on public education today. In this post , she reviews Andrea Gabor’s excellent article in Harper’s magazine about the privatized district of New Orleans. She begins: When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in September of 2005, I was serving in the Justice & Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomi

John Thompson: How Billionaire “Reformers” Messed Up the Public Schools of Tulsa

100+by dianeravitch / 6d

John Thompson, historian and recently retired teacher in Oklahoma, assays the damage that corporate reformers and their patrons have inflicted on the public schools of Tulsa. The district is overflowing with Broadies and has Gates money. What could possibly go wrong? The Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) offers an excellent case study in data-driven, market-driven school reform. Before No Child Left Beh

NOV 09

David Dayen: Thumbs Down on Bloomberg Candidacy

by dianeravitch / 6d

The Billionaires are not happy with the recent rise of Elizabeth Warren. They don’t like her proposal to tax people with more than $50 million. Bill Gates hinted that he might vote for Trump over Warren. The nerve of that woman, threatening to tax the 1%! Now it seems that another billionaire might join the race. David Dayen of The American Prospect is not pleased. November 8, 2019 Dayen on TAP O

A Gift for You: A Fabulous Production of “42nd Street”

by dianeravitch / 6d

If you love Broadway musicals as much as I do, you will love this PBS Great Performances production of the classic “42nd Street.” The show will no longer be available after November 29; after that date, you will have to pay to view it. I have seen the original movie and I have seen the show twice on Broadway. This is the best production yet. It is a stunning use of cinematography to capture the t

Philadelphia: Kendra Brooks Made History in the Election!

by dianeravitch / 6d

For the first time in 70 years, a third-Party Candidate was elected to the City Council in Philadelphia. Kendra Brooks of the Working Families Party just won a seat that has long been Republican. Working Families Party candidate Kendra Brooks held an insurmountable lead of 10,000 votes over her nearest rival, according to unofficial election returns. The insurgent third-party candidate, who campa

William Mathis: What to Do with a Dead Horse? Beat It Even Harder.

20by dianeravitch / 6d

William Mathis, a member of the Vermont Board of Education and managing director of the National Education Policy Center, reviews reactions to the dismal scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The people who inflicted high-stakes testing insist that more and more and more testing is needed. More of the same policies that have already failed will surely work if we keep d

Nancy Bailey: If Only Students Could Sue Betsy DeVos and the Corporate Reformers for the Damage They Have Done

98by dianeravitch / 7d

Nancy Bailey writes here about the long-term damage that corporate reformers (the Disruption movement) have inflicted on two generations of students. If only students could sue them for ruining their schools! If only teachers could sue 

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

Wendy Lecker: The fallout of school takeover laws - StamfordAdvocate

Wendy Lecker: The fallout of school takeover laws - StamfordAdvocate

Wendy Lecker: The fallout of school takeover laws

What does Colin Kaepernick have to do with public schools? By silently kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, Kaepernick displayed the kind of civic engagement that is the goal of public education. Kaepernick’s actions inspired other athletes, at the professional, college and high school levels, to join in the silent, respectful protest. His protest sparked many to think about the true meaning of patriotism, beyond mindlessly repeating the words of “The Star Spangled Banner.”

This season, the NFL decided to ban these silent protests, under penalty of stiff fines. It is sadly not surprising that when African-Americans start to exert some influence, whites in positions of power attempt to thwart them. As Michelle Alexander pointed out in her book, “The New Jim Crow,” throughout American history, white society has reacted to any progress African-Americans made toward equality with attempts to repress those gains.

Takeover, a new book by Rutgers professor Domingo Morel, demonstrates that this pattern of backlash against African-American political empowerment has guided major education reform policy as well.

State takeovers of school districts are a favorite tool for education reformers. States swoop into impoverished school districts, declare them failures, strip districts of decision-making authority and often appoint an outside “expert” to turnaround the district.

As detailed in an earlier column,state takeovers are also a proven failure. In Detroit, Tennessee, New Orleans, and elsewhere, takeovers cause a great deal of disruption for teachers, students and families, but almost never result in any real CONTINUE READING: Wendy Lecker: The fallout of school takeover laws - StamfordAdvocate

Follow These #EdJustice Superstars on Twitter AND Standing with Puerto Rico | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Follow These #EdJustice Superstars on Twitter | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Follow These #EdJustice Superstars on Twitter

It’s that time of the year again... the Schott Foundation’s second annual list of 10 Education Justice Superstars to follow on Twitter! Spice up your feed with knowledge and inspiration from these influential and energized advocates. They’re leading the way, pushing racial and gender equity, fair funding, community schools, grassroots organizing and other crucial issues to the fore. Be sure to give them a follow!

Zakiya Sankara-Jabar 

Zakiya is the National Field Organizer for Dignity in Schools Campaign and Co-Founder of Racial Justice NOW! She came to advocacy, organizing, and policy work as a parent pushing back on the pre-school to prison pipeline. 

Marianna Islam 

Marianna is the Director of Programs and Advocacy at the Schott Foundation for Public Education. She has a passion for racial and gender equity and her twitter feed is a go-to spot for all things social and education justice. 

Carlos Rojas

Carlos is a Schott Foundation Board Member and Director of Special Projects at Youth on Board. Check out his Twitter feed for a bit of politics, social justice, and humor! 

Jasmine Gripper 

Jasmine has committed her life and career to dismantling systemic racism in education. She will soon be the new Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education and tweets about public education in New York State.

Dr. Anika Whitfield 

A Human Justice activist and jazz enthusiast, Anika tweets about all things Arkansas Public Education! She has served as a mentor, classroom volunteer, tutor, and PTA president and is currently a volunteer grassroots organizer for Save Our Schools and Grassroots Arkansas. 

Carol Burris 

Carol Burris is executive director of Network for Public Education (NPE). Her Twitter feed is filled with updates on the and social and education justice. A retired principal, she brings her career as an educator to her analysis and commentary.

Denisha Jones 

Denisha is an educator, future social movement lawyer, and activist. Her feed is awesome for updates on education policy and justice! She also writer for her own blog.

Dr. Monique Morris 

Monique is a scholar, author and advocate, whose book Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools will soon be a feature-length documentary film! Also the founder and president of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, she tweets about education, racial and gender justice with a focus on the school-to-prison pipeline.

Joanne N. Smith 

Joanne is the founder and president of Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) and a lifelong advocate of women’s rights. She tweets about activism, social justice and politics.

Kate Terenzi 

Kate is the Education Justice Campaigns staff attorney at the Center for Popular Democracy. Kate’s feed is a great place for all things civil rights and education justice!

Follow These #EdJustice Superstars on Twitter | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Standing with Puerto Rico: Uniting Diverse Struggles for Education Justice

Like flowers blossoming after a storm, deep and widespread social movements in Puerto Rico have emerged to confront the brutal austerity regime imposed by Wall Street and Washington, DC and enforced by the island's own political and economic elites. The summer of 2019 saw over a million Puerto Ricans take to the streets and go on strike against Governor Ricardo Rosselló and all that he represented, culminating in his resignation on August 2nd.

But leading up to the fight against Rosselló were massive waves of education organizing and protest involving educators, students and parents against back-room deals that would have gutted educator benefits and privatization plans to shutter hundreds of public schools all across the island.

Despite a virtual media blackout in the mainland U.S., grassroots groups across the country have built links of mutual solidarity and support with education justice movements in Puerto Rico. Schott grantee partner Journey for Justice Alliance (J4J) has been at the forefront of this work, most recently inviting organizers from Puerto Rico to its conference in Chicago and sending a delegation to witness and support the struggle firsthand. You can listen to an interview with Mercedes Martinez and Lourdes Antebella on J4J's podcast.

This kind of movement cross-pollination is vital to not only seeing the commonality of all our struggles, but also to building CONTINUE READING: Standing with Puerto Rico: Uniting Diverse Struggles for Education Justice

Jeff Bryant: Striking Teachers Are Fighting For Much More Than Paychecks | OurFuture.org by People's Action

Striking Teachers Are Fighting For Much More Than Paychecks | OurFuture.org by People's Action

Striking Teachers Are Fighting For Much More Than Paychecks

While national news outlets hail the conclusion of a historic teacher strike in Chicago, another important story often overlooked by national reporters is the ongoing struggle to defend public education in the months that follow successful strikes. In Oakland, California, where teachers won important concessions from the district as a result of their strike earlier this year, the community is nevertheless still seeing their students’ education undermined by lack of resources and disrupted by school closures and further privatization from charter schools.

Recently, when Oakland teachers, joined by contingencies of parents and students, showed up at a school board meeting to voice their opposition to a decision to close a beloved elementary school, they were met with barricades and a phalanx of police officers who roughed up peaceful protesters.

The ongoing struggle that continues in Oakland after teachers held a successful strike illustrates why advocacy for public education can no longer settle for labor-friendly contracts that make life better for teachers and students, but has to challenge more widespread political and societal conditions that undermine schools, as Chicago teachers just did. Calling for these deeper structural changes means taking on an economic and political agenda and a hierarchy of policy leaders that choose to give public funds and tax breaks to an array of beneficiaries other than public schools.

Advocating for this more ambitious goal can result in real change not only in local communities, as teachers have been proving in CONTINUE READING: Striking Teachers Are Fighting For Much More Than Paychecks | OurFuture.org by People's Action

New Charter Schools Division Director Named - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

New Charter Schools Division Director Named - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Appoints Stephanie Farland as the New Director of the Charter Schools Division

Stephanie Farland, a consultant on charter school oversight in California, said she sees the benefits that students can receive when there is no labor agreement. But she also sees the price that young or new teachers pay because of high involvement, home visits and long hours.

“Charter schools often are successful because they have highly engaged and involved staff,” said Farland, executive director of Sacramento-based Collaborative Solutions for Charter Authorizers, which works with school districts and county education offices in California.
One of the reasons, she said, is that “most charters don’t have union rules they have to follow. They really work the teachers pretty hard.”
That translates into historically high turnover rates and burnout, she said. “While they are there, they are doing a great job,” Farland said. “But once they burn out, there are really no protections for them.”
She said she understands the need for teachers to be paid well and fairly. “But for the charters that are successful and have high expectations for teacher involvement, I think unionization is going to hurt that.” St. Hope schools founded by former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson will unionize, labor group says | The Sacramento Bee - https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article148345879.html

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today that he has appointed Stephanie Farland as the Director of the Charter Schools Division for the California Department of Education (CDE).

The Charter Schools Division oversees State Board of Education-approved charter schools throughout California and administers the Federal Public Charter Schools Grant Program.

Currently, Farland is the Executive Director and Founder of Collaborative Solutions for Charter Authorizers, a private consulting firm dedicated to assisting school districts and county offices of education in their work as charter school authorizers. In that position, she works on all aspects of charter authorizing and oversight to ensure that a fair process is being implemented in California.

“I am pleased to add a professional with Stephanie’s knowledge of charter school issues to the CDE leadership team,” said Thurmond. “She is highly regarded as an expert in the field and for over a decade, has been a valuable resource and advisor to educational agencies and legislators throughout the state. Stephanie is a dedicated advocate and will lead the Charter School Division as itnavigates new processes and changes, while continuing the ongoing support and guidance to charter schools on behalf of the students we serve.”

Previously, Farland spent 13 years at the California School Boards Association as a Senior Policy Consultant. In that position, she was the principal point person on charter schools, and trained local governing boards around the state on charter authorizing responsibilities.

Farland taught history and government at Hiram Johnson High School in the Sacramento City Unified School District for five years. She graduated from California State University, Fresno with a Bachelor of Arts in history and minor in Chicano/Latino Studies. She received her Preliminary Single Subject Credential from California State University, Sacramento.

Farland replaces former division director Lisa Constancio who now oversees the School Fiscal Services Division.  She will start in her new role on December 15.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Last Reviewed: Thursday, November 14, 2019
New Charter Schools Division Director Named - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

Seattle Schools Community Forum: PTA Fundraising and Spending; Let's Talk

Seattle Schools Community Forum: PTA Fundraising and Spending; Let's Talk

PTA Fundraising and Spending; Let's Talk

A really informative article from The Atlantic on PTA fundraising.  Wonder if the new Board make-up, what with a former president of the SCPTSA and a former SCPTSA Board member, might have the courage to tackle this one.  But there is not just an "opportunity gap" but this:

A 2017 report from the left-leaning Center for American Progress found that of the roughly $425 million that America’s PTAs collectively raise each year, about a tenth is spent at schools attended by just one-tenth of 1 percent of the country’s students.

I also note that the district loves the money that flows into the district from PTAs because it certainly helps their bottom line.  Does the state fund education so that each teacher is not going into their own pocket to have the supplies/resources they need? No and neither does the district in turn.

SPS may have done nothing about PTA spending because there is so much money flowing to the district that it would be noticeable at JSCEE if it were curtailed.

 For example, the district likes it when PTAs do landscaping maintenance.  Bless the hard work of parents out there toiling but it then allows the district to hire fewer landscaping crew members.  The district likes it when PTAs replace carpeting because that's more money for other purposes.  (I recall when my CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: PTA Fundraising and Spending; Let's Talk